Portland Open Studios, Washington County Open Studios, Calendar

I am in the Portland Open Studios tour (Oct. 10-11, 17-18, 2015) and the Washington County Open Studios tour. 

(Oct. 17-18, 2015)

This is your chance to go to the artist's studio, see their workspace and their processes.

I have been setting up all the things I want to show you. :)

 Here is the Portland Open Studios catalog....

.....and the maps to different artist's studios that you can visit over the four days.
It's been really good for me because I have to think through what my process is: taking pictures, setting up a still life, drawing, painting, etc. .

Along with my approach to painting, I've decided to have a calendar and note cards available during the tour. 

I like to paint on wood panels, so I ordered 12, 10"x 10" to do flower paintings for the calendar and note cards.

These cradled boards have a very nice, smooth, 1-1/2 inch edges, so I decided to tape them (with Painter's tape) because I don't know if I am going to leave them natural, stain them, or paint them. 
Since I only have one working hand, I put the tape on the side of the table and pulled down.... 
it worked perfectly!

The boards needed to be prepared by using gesso as a substrate. Gesso is designed to penetrate supports and provide a surface to which paint can adhere. I am going to try Krylon Gesso Spray. 

More to come!

Listening to while I paint:

Audiobook:  

"To Kill A Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, narrated by Sissy Spacek 

Podcasts: 
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball
Online Marketing Made Easy, hosted by Amy Porterfield

The Nerdist, Patrick Stewart, hosted by Chris Hardwick

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

The Chalene Show, hosted by Chalene Johnson
Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto KasperTruth For Life, hosted by Alistair Begg

Music: 
My iPod

Really helpful!:
I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check. Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)