At The Cooper Studio

Greetings,

A goal organized in 2008 is the quarterly sending of a studio newsletter. Only 25 days late on the quarter :), here's a copy of said newsletter that went out to subscribers earlier this week. If you are desirous of joining the group, here's the link.

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What's new at the Cooper studio ? We'll attempt for one-liners in an effort to keep it minimal!

My husband picked up a book a few years back, Keep Your Brain Alive, by Katz and Rubin. My favorite subtitle from the book is "routines can be brain deadening". Wouldn't the alternative then be change is good? My brain ought to be like that of a twenty year old. Allow me to share a mere 14 months of change:

1. March 2008 daughter Lindsey and son-in-law Chris decided it was time for me to change to Grandma status. Plural. Girls. Yup, count to two.

2. September 2008 son Brian and daughter-in-law Lynn decided to do it their way. Boy, but they kept it singular :)

3. Son Brent decided he needed to add to the excitement last fall, so he arranged for me to meet him at the emergency room. Do you know what the bottom of a leg looks like when the foot is over and to the left a bunch? I don't recommend that you find out.

4. Because we have four children and all four of them like to keep our brains fit with change, daughter Abbie decided last November was a great time to get married. In Florida . It was perfect, and now we have a Jim in the family!

5. And did I mention our house is on the market? We are planning to move south. Well, a little. Still in Iowa , but closer to my husband's work. This has actually been in the plans for a year and a half while we wait for #6

6. The youngest Cooper (the one who did the premium trash job on his ankle) graduates this May! High school that is. Yes, that means we are also doing all the onward to college stuff. Dios Mio.

Now, after that, aren't we all amazed that I am still mentally capable of creating paintings? But I have been! Let me share a few.

During the November journey to Florida, we came across the coolest of little (emphasis little) cafes.

This cafe, the Heavenly Biscuit, Fort Myers Beach, inspired the painting of the same name, At The Heavenly Biscuit, currently on display at the Wine Bar Art Gallery in Arnolds Park, Iowa. It's an acrylic painting on a gallery wrapped canvas (finished edges) and measures 30 x 30 inches.

Although nothing is finer than to smoosh the paint around on a nice big canvas, I have been playing around with a smaller size canvas as well. A quick peek at a few:

Everybody Need A Little Treat Now And Then, also an acrylic painting on canvas, this one measuring 12 x 12 inches. available here

Maybe I Would Like Some Of That, 12 x 12 inch canvas, available here

I was in Evanston, Illinois last summer. This painting and the following are scenes of some of the people that needed painting outside the "Unicorn Cafe" in downtown Evanston.

Saturday Morning, Nothing Much To Do, acrylic painting on canvas, this one is back to a larger size. Ha! Can't get that much fun on a small canvas. This canvas is 32.5 x 36 inches. It's framed in a narrow black canvas floater frame.

Tea And A Book At The Unicorn, again, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Icecream Line, 30 x 30 inch canvas, framed in a narrow black strip frame also from the Evanston sojourn, picturing a scene just one block south of the Unicorn Cafe. And there are others. You may hop on over to my website portfolio to enjoy those. Here's a link

Some of these paintings will be traveling this summer. As follows:

June 5-7, Iowa Arts Festival, downtown Iowa City, Iowa their website is http://www.summerofthearts.org/

June 26-28, the 35th Annual Omaha Summer Arts Festival, downtown Omaha, Nebraska their website is http://www.summerarts.org/

September 6-7, the 55th Annual Art Fair On The Square, downtown Lake Forest, Illinois their website is http://www.deerpathartleague.org/

I am considering a few additions to the list, and promise to keep you informed.Surely that is enough for you to mull over for now! If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call 712 580 5315 or an email coopkja@yahoo.com I would love to hear from you.

Later, Cooper