I’m excited to share that Woman Made Gallery, the prestigious Chicago art gallery, has chosen Red Berries Cling In Snow, one of my new style, nature-inspired watercolor paintings, to appear in its annual Small Works Members Show.

This yearly holiday art show celebrates Woman Made’s members and gives visitors the opportunity to support outstanding artists by shopping for holiday gifts from among an enticing array of beautiful artworks.

Join Me This Saturday, Nov. 23, At The Opening

The show opens this Saturday, November 23, with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and admission is free, always.

I will attend the opening. Join me there! I look forward to seeing you!

The gallery is located in a gorgeous space, right at street level (to showcase great art, viewable through the huge front windows, even when the gallery is closed).

Stop in and see this wonderful gallery for yourself at 1332 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607.

Show Runs November 23 – December 21

My Red Berries Cling In Snow piece will join art by 133 other Woman Made member artists. The show runs from Saturday, November 23, through Saturday, December 21.

My Red Berries watercolor painting measures just about 18 inches square, including the beautiful, custom mat and frame, created by a professional framer. So it’s not only lovely but ready to hang.

This colorful seasonal piece is perfect for holiday giving, thanks to its eye popping red berries, green paper, and snowy branches.

Enjoy Easy Holiday Shopping

Besides paintings, the show presents sculptures, mixed media art, prints, fiber art, and photography.

Everything in this “small works” show is for sale and measures no larger than 20 inches on any side. All pieces are priced at $400 or less, making these works perfect for holiday buying and giving.

To purchase my painting, contact me now directly. Or call Woman Made Gallery at 312-738-0400 or email the gallery at general@womanmade.org.

Three Receptions: Nov. 23, Dec 7 and 21

Woman Made Gallery will celebrate this show and the current festive season with three receptions, including the opening on Nov. 23:

Saturday, Nov. 23, 4 – 7 p.m.: opening reception
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2 – 4 p.m.: member/volunteer appreciation party
Saturday, Dec., 21, 2 – 4 p.m.: artists’ walkthrough and closing reception

I will attend the opening as well as the other events. I hope to see you there!

About Red Berries Cling In Snow

Red Berries Cling In Snow is one of the watercolors I’ve been creating in a new style, on new types of Asian paper.

Inspired by nature, it gives you the essence of winter in a single glance – yet draws you in and invites you to gaze much longer at nature’s beauty and wonder.

This painting shows tree branches in winter, dusted with a light coating of white snow, with three bright red berries still clinging to the branches despite the cold.

Imagine yourself in front of such a tree on a very cold day, enjoying the bright color and rugged bark texture. Seeing the snow and taking comfort that nature will provide for birds during winter, thanks to the berries still left on the boughs. (And smiling at the cheerful red color, which will liven up the winter landscape even on the darkest, dreariest day.)

The branches, snow, and berries stand out against an unusual olive colored paper. This special material, called “mango paper,” is made in Thailand from mulberry trees, with bits of mango leaves included in the pulp mixture.

The mulberry fibers give this paper translucency and lightness, while the mango leaf “inclusions” appear as beautiful golden “bits” embedded within the overall olive paper. Besides color, the mango leaf parts provide exquisite texture and visual interest.

After painting this piece, I mounted it in the traditional Asian process. This type of hand mounting requires great skill and sensitivity in order to be successful – it’s a high stakes process that can fail at any moment without great care and very close timing. (Failing means the painting falls apart, literally returning to pulp in moments if it gets too wet or the mounting doesn’t move along quickly enough).

Also, as a watercolor, the painting needed framing to protect it. I worked with a professional framer to select the perfect mat and wooden frame. Red Berries comes with a light gray mat that brings out its bright colors as well as a simple black frame that goes perfectly with the painting as well as every decor.

The framer also created the mat and frame to my exact specifications. The mat was cut slightly larger than the olive part of the painting in order to show a bit of the mounting paper. That way, you can see exactly how the painting was made AND mounted – and you’ll always feel the connection to the thousands of years of art mounting traditions in Asia.

I wrote a special Artist Statement about this colorful watercolor painting. You can see it now on my page for the Small Works Member Show. You’ll also find my artist biography there.

Visit Woman Made Gallery

Come see this painting for yourself.

Join me this Saturday or at one of the other special receptions at Woman Made Gallery.

The gallery is located at 1332 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607.

Regular gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

To contact Woman Made, call 312-738-0400 or email general@womanmade.org.