Happy Birthday Wes!

“It takes a long time to grow young.”
~ Pablo Picasso

Wes making me laugh, while blowing out his birthday candle!

Today, we celebrated Wes’ 46th birthday! He wanted to spend the afternoon painting while taking a break for a nice long walk in the sunshine, so that’s what we did. I made him a homemade chocolate pecan pie for his “cake” and homemade pizza for supper. The pie is already disappearing fast, with only a couple of pieces left! . . . I guess that’s good sign though! We’ve actually spent much of our time this past week painting on our miniatures, and a good portion of one day was also spent putting together and mailing out our newsletter, which many of you may have already received by now and are enjoying.

My precious Dovecakes sitting outside, while artist friend, Roger Martin’s,
dove sculpture sits in the foreground.

I’m so very pleased and excited to share with you that I have the honor of being included in the wonderful new book, “Dictionary of Miniature Painters 1870-1970”, and my portrait miniature “That Adorable Age” will be featured in the dictionary. The book is 296 pages and lists over 2,300 miniature painters working between 1870 and 1970 with lots of additional and previously unpublished information about many of them. After the dictionary section there are over a hundred pages in full color showing the work of some of the artists painting during this time and a section on Photo-miniatures and Monograms and Signatures. Since I was born in 1970, I barely, but thankfully made it! There will also be an exhibition in London of the miniatures featured in the book towards the end of March. For more information on the book and the exhibition, visit the Arturi Phillips blog at portraitminiature.

A look at the beautiful cover of the new Arturi Phillips book.

Fresh Off the Easel: I am painting on a couple of commission miniature paintings at present, with more on the waiting list. I’m currently working on a pet portrait miniature of a beautiful Golden Retriever named Lina, who is also a therapy dog, so that makes it even more special! The other miniature is of Raphael’s “St. George and the Dragon”, which will be a companion piece for the recently painted “Michael the Archangel” commission that I did. I am having great fun with them both, and I am really enjoying painting the miniature versions of the Old Masters works! Wes has finished his miniature of a Nuthatch in a beautiful pine tree titled “Exploring the Ancient Forest”, featuring gorgeous lighting in it. He’s currently finishing up a painting of a Celery Looper Moth, showing off it’s amazing camouflage skills, that was photographed in our yard.

Sweet Lina in progress, after the first wash has been put on.

“Exploring the Ancient Forest ” by Wes,
is 3½ x 2½ inches

St. George in progress, with a few of the first washes in place.

~ Upcoming Events and Exhibitions of Our Paintings This Week ~

~ We are very excited that our solo exhibition “EXQUISITE MINIATURES BY WES & RACHELLE SIEGRIST” is presently at the beautiful SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM in San Diego, CA, and will be on display there Saturday, January 21 through Wednesday, March 21, 2012. So if you’re in the area, I highly recommend a visit to this wonderful museum!

~ 37th Annual International Miniature Art Show (MASF) January 15 – February 5, 2012: Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL. Also, at the same time/place will be the Miniature Artists of America Traveling Exhibition, which includes two of our miniature paintings alongside that of 33 others honored for being the best in American miniature art.

To view all our upcoming exhibits: http://www.artofwildlife.com/exhibitschedule.html

“Collect the future’s history today while it is still affordable.”

Until next time ~ Rachelle