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You can retire the teacher, but you can’t take the students out of her heart! Coming up Tuesday, December 12!!! The Salem Children’s Charity event at Hotel Hawthorne. This festive event offers hors d’oeuvres, a live bar, a live auction, raffles and much more, the proceeds will benefit Salem schoolchildren all year long.

You helped the Salem Children’s Charity to survive the COVID year! They are still tremendously worried that their efforts to be the “superhero” for Salem schoolchildren will come up short in this post-COVID period of inflation hurting struggling families and serious stress on schoolchildren.

They want to remind you that the sole purpose of Salem Children’s Charity is to provide year-round assistance to Salem’s schoolchildren in times of need without bureaucratic red tape or delay. They hope is that this knowledge will once again drive you to help them overcome significant obstacles in the lives of Salem children.

My donation to the charity event is Snow Berry Cardinal, acrylic on canvas, 8x10x1.5″. Many people believe that a cardinal is a visit for a loved one who has passed on to Heaven. This painting is a nice size to display on a shelf, and the deep 1.5″ canvas allows it to stand without an easel. It is also wired for hanging.

If you are unable to visit the event in person, you can bid online; the hugely popular hybrid silent auction www.biddingowl.com begins when doors open to the live event December 12 at 6:00 p.m. and continues through Sunday, December 18 at 8:00 p.m. For tickets, please contact the charity at www.salemchildrenscharity.org

My newest painting for the Art in Giving charitable foundation! This painting is titled Free Birds. It is 36″ x 48″ and is done in acrylic paint. The technique includes many layers of translucent metallic paints and glazes in golds, bronzes, and coppers. The finished effect is one that seems to change color according to the light and where the viewer stands, so it is a new painting from different angles in the room.

The inspiration for this painting was my kids’ leaving the nest as they journeyed out into the world. Married in 1974, first baby in 1975. Second and third babies in 1978 and 1980. Parenthood was a full time commitment! Disco? What was that? Extended maternity leave? Yes, please! Life was hectic and warm and wonderful. And exhausting. The kitchen calendar was packed with doctor’s appointments, PTA, youth sports, on and on. As time went by, the calendar was still full, but with college visits and college application deadlines.

Then, suddenly, quiet. The last little bird had flown away. I did cry all the way home from dropping her off at college. But the next day, my husband and I looked at each other and realized we had all day, all week, all month to fill in the calendar with plans just for us. The kids were still there, but not here!

For more information about Art in Giving, and to visit my Gallery Page there, please check their website, www.artingiving.com

An eclectic mix of subjects, mediums, sizes, and styles has resulted in an amazing alchemy of sixty paintings — all painted predominantly in the color green! The Slow River Gallery presents Green Gallery for the Green Belt which will benefit The Essex County Greenbelt, and I am excited that my painting Summer Afternoon has been juried into the show.

Summer Afternoon is a 12″ x 36″ acrylic painting on stretched canvas which I painted en plein air at the lovely Forest River Park in Salem, MA. On summer afternoons as the sun sinks below the tree crowns, long shadows stretch over the velvety green hills and slopes. It is a colorful and peaceful time to enjoy the beauty of this sea side park.

The gallery opening will be a community event with art, music, and light refreshments; it will be held on Saturday, March 4 from 4:00 till 7:00 p.m. The Greenbelt will make remarks about their organization at 5:00 p.m.

Slow River Studio is located at 17 Main Street, Topsfield, MA 01983. The gallery is open when studio classes are in session, generally Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. They will also open the gallery for viewing the Green exhibit from 10:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 11 and Sunday, March 25.

www.slowriverstudio.com

@slowriverstudio

#slowriverstudio

GALA, the Galleries at Lynn Arts, www.galleriesatlynnarts.org, has selected the paintings for their Small Works Exhibit and 2 of mine will be included! The show will run from February 3 until March 16, 2023 at their beautiful galleries, 25 Exchange Street, Lynn, MA 01901. The opening reception happens on Friday, February 3 from 5:30 till 7:30. The event is free and open to the public and donations are gratefully accepted to help support the organization.

One of my paintings is Writer’s Block, acrylic, 6″ x 6″ x 1.5″. This one was inspired by painter’s block! I was thinking about “What to Paint?” and was doodling on a piece of paper, using the Op Art style I love. The wavy lines and pools of ink reminded me of penmanship lessons when I was in grade 4.

If you can believe it, we actually used old fashioned writing pens with nibs which we dipped in an inkwell built into the top of our school desks. The biggest, strongest eighth grade boys (never girls — it was back in the bad old days— got to walk up and down the aisles with glass gallon jugs of ink; then they would pour that blue-black ink into those tiny inkwells. No wonder we had dark tiled floors and very ink-stained desks. The cool hues in my painting were inspired by those blue stains.

The size of Writers’ Block makes it a fun addition to any decor; it is wired to hang, and the depth of the canvas allows it to stand unsupported on a shelf — or on your writing desk.

The second painting in the show is Snow Penguins, acrylic, 8″ x 10″. It was inspired by an animal documentary I watched on Netflix. I guess that elevates “Netflix and Chill” to kind of a nerdy yet creative place. 

Looking at all those penguins standing around with absolutely nothing but snow and ice as far as their bright little shoe-button eyes could see, all cooperating with each other to stay warm and mind their babies ……. I started to think about them having a little non-Netflix fun and working together to build snowmen. No! Snow Penguins! I know, I have to get out more.

As a former kindergarten teacher and the illustrator of a few children’s books, I love to paint in a fun, happy, colorful style. Snow Penguins would be fun in any child’s room. Or let it warm up your winter decor. I hope that my little painting warms your heart!

Please visit my website for a peek at some of my other creations.

www.SheilaBillings.com

Facebook — @ Sheila Farren Billings: Artist

Instagram — @ Sheila F Billings

www.galleriesatlynnarts.org

Looking for something a little different for your holiday gift shopping? Try visiting the gift shop at Galleries at Lynn Arts (GALA)! Local artists from Lynn and surrounding communities have stocked the shelves with their unique creations. You will find jewelry, paintings, prints, sculptures, cards, ceramics, textiles, and so much more.

My offerings at the GALA Shop include my mini paintings with easels and matted prints of my artwork. The work I am showing during November and December is all in a winter and Holiday theme. The mini paintings are 3″ x 3″ and are each tiny, originals done in acrylic paint on wee wooden easels. They are perfect to tuck into a stocking or gift box and add Holiday flair to any corner of your home or office.

The GALA Shop is located inside the gallery at 25 Exchange Street, Lynn. You can check the GALA website for hours and special events. www.galleriesatlynnarts.org

The Galleries At LynnArts (GALA) is an arts based collaborative, artist run community art gallery and a 501 (c) (3) tax deductible private foundation.  It is lead by a group of local artists and art organizers who have designed two galleries and a gallery shop.  These spaces are used to exhibit group and solo shows as well as house a gallery shop filled with arts and crafts produced by North Shore artists and makers.  We work with artists and makers at every stage of their career.  Emerging artists are given support in developing their work, preparing work for professional presentation and exhibition, and access to the local gallery system.  GALA is a community where the gallery spaces and outside events are used to promote and sell artwork from artists who traditionally have had access to galleries as well as those makers who might not have had access into the space and to honor their products and objects equally.  We create community through exhibit receptions, artists’ sales and fairs, and by using the gallery spaces for public and private events.  It is our intention to support the whole artist by creating programming to promote skills growth, wellbeing, and foster a healthy art community.

The Galleries at Lynn Arts (GALA) are exhibiting the autumn Member Showcase! Come and enjoy the many styles of the local artists who are taking part in the show. Members’ artwork will hang from November 11 until December 16, 2022 at GALA’s beautiful showrooms at 25 Exchange Street, Lynn, MA. You can also view the paintings in the exhibit from the comfort of your home by going to their website www.galleriesatlynnarts.org

I am happy to have two paintings in the exhibit: Snow Cardinal, acrylic, 8″ x 10″, $250 and Snowy Gables, original screen print A.P., 11″ x 14″ framed, $200. Snow Cardinal was inspired by a cheerful cardinal that visits my yard all year. Most of the year, he lifts my spirits with his beautiful songs; but in the winter, he also looks stunning against the snow and bare tree branches. Snowy Gables is an original screen print done in blue and black ink on 100% rag paper. It had a small run of only about 8, and this one is an Artist’s Pull. It was inspired by the way that the old houses’ steep roofs look in the snow when the moonlight shines on them.

The opening reception on Nov. 11 is open to the public and donations are welcome! Please call GALA for more information. http://www.galleriesatlynnarts.org

“The Galleries At LynnArts (GALA) is an arts based collaborative, artist run community art gallery and a 501 (c) (3) tax deductible private foundation.  It is lead by a group of local artists and art organizers who have designed two galleries and a gallery shop.  These spaces are used to exhibit group and solo shows as well as house a gallery shop filled with arts and crafts produced by North Shore artists and makers.  We work with artists and makers at every stage of their career.  Emerging artists are given support in developing their work, preparing work for professional presentation and exhibition, and access to the local gallery system.  GALA is a community where the gallery spaces and outside events are used to promote and sell artwork from artists who traditionally have had access to galleries as well as those makers who might not have had access into the space and to honor their products and objects equally.  We create community through exhibit receptions, artists’ sales and fairs, and by using the gallery spaces for public and private events.  It is our intention to support the whole artist by creating programming to promote skills growth, wellbeing, and foster a healthy art community.”