After the Conference

Hosting the Synovate delegates was pretty amazing. Totally a wonderful experience. Delegates were from China, Thailand, Germany, Australia, UK, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the US, India, Poland and Hungary. I loved every second; this was a fantastic group. I realized that it's time to start teaching. Truly, I had no idea that I would so enjoy sharing and communicating. It was really fun and I'm grateful that Synovate chose to help the local artists through the Arts Council of New Orleans. There were beautiful pieces on display at the dinner Thursday night. We have some very talented artists here and it was a great pleasure to be a part of this.

In my studio, the delegates helped decide, by a vote, which painting I would enter. They asked many questions and came up with a written profile which will be put on eBay, when the paintings go to auction.

I can't remember having more fun; what a terrific experience!

Synovate Global Conference in New Orleans

The successful marketing firm, Synovate, third largest in the world, is holding its 4th global conference in New Orleans! Most exciting was their decision to help local visual artists, who have been largely ignored in the wake of Katrina.  Synovate is bringing over 500 delegates to their conference, which begins Monday. They have chosen, commissioned, and paid 40 artists, including yours truly, to develop a painting based loosely on "My New Orleans".  Fourteen international  delegates will go to each artist's studio to devise a marketing profile of the artist. All paintings will be auctioned online, with proceeds to be divided between the Arts Council of New Orleans and the individual artist. Definitely a win-win situation!

Delegates will be coming to my studio on Wednesday afternoon. I'm really excited to be a part of this and am looking forward to meeting the delegates. We will  gather in my newly refurbished watercolor studio, which recently had the wood floor installed and sanded, having languished since the flood. I painted large swaths of the wall with magnetic paint so that I can post watercolors anywhere, with the help of neodymium magnets rather than push pins or nails.  It's terrific to have the space back in use.

I'll post new work after the conference. Predictably, I'm having a hard time choosing which painting to select. Maybe I'm even getting a little over the top about which one will be featured. Two more days and the painting time is over.  I've made frames in two sizes to keep options open. The only definitive is that the painting will be a watercolor landscape.