Open House and more

We had a wonderful day hosting our Phoenix Artists' Studio Open House and welcomed so many to see our work. Patricia Kidwell Lown, jewelry artist,  and I enjoyed sharing with friends, new and old, and loved having folks drop in after seeing our signs pointing them in our direction. Thank you all for making it a special day!

This is the other commissioned painting that I referred to in my last post. "The Sensory Garden" at the Montessori Center School, Phoenix, AZ is the first in a series that I am painting for the school. The garden not only has spheres representing the planets, but also living plants for the children to experience the 5 senses. It is a charming and wonderful garden created by Joe Vaz and his staff. I'm excited to continue with the series and will post more later.

In the meantime, I am preparing for my spring and summer shows - first the ACF Spring Marketplace in Flagstaff on April 12th at the Elks Lodge on North San Francisco Street. If you have a chance to be in the north country, I'd love to have you visit my booth. There will be 25 artists in a variety of mediums. Hours are 10 am to 4 pm.

Spring - From the Desert to the Mountains!

So much has happened this Spring, that I just haven't taken the time to "blog" to you. Now I will add a little synopsis with some photos...

"Springtime at Cabeza Prieta" in a gallery wrapped canvas giclée was chosen by my friend, Dorothy,  for her newly decorated guest room. When she saw my post about "green is in!", she wholeheartedly agreed and painted the walls a beautiful shade of green that compliments this painting so well. 
Thank you, Dorothy!

The Artists' Spring Marketplace took me back to Flagstaff where I had a chance to share my new work with my Northland friends. I especially enjoyed sharing another mini painting in my "Slice of Arizona" series. This time it is the San Francisco Peaks. Framed at 5"x11", isn't it cute?  I plan to do some larger paintings in this series, but these minis are only available as originals.

Then we were off to Albuquerque for a special week with my son and family - more on that later. But I was also able to visit with a former co-worker from Scottsdale Healthcare and see how she had framed and hung her Limited Edition Giclée of  "Heidi's Peaches". Ann's kitchen walls are painted a soft yellow and this watercolor looked beautiful also!

Thank you, Ann for choosing one of my paintings!

Then, our special family time in ABQ was planned so we could attend Heidi's graduation from the College of Pharmacy, UNM! Our son, Shane and their 2 boys, Ian and Cade show how proud we all are of Heidi!

I'll close now with a reminder about my Etsy Shop. It is growing and getting lots of attention from other Etsy fans. I hope you will follow me on this new endeavor at www.Etsy.com/Shop/CatherineSickafoose Thanks for all your support!

Meet the Artist at Brandy's Restaurant

It was a fun afternoon at Brandy's Restaurant during "Meet the Artist"! I had a chance to share my watercolors with so many friends and my sister, Janis, was even able to join us.  Brandy served her mini mimosas and some yummy cookies.  My show will continue until July 30th.

Longing for Cooler Days?

Just finished this little watercolor "Snow Shadows" (image 12x6). With my show at Brandy's up for an extended time, I'm working on new paintings to add as pieces sell and keep the show fresh. So look for this one soon!

Getting Ready for the 4th!

This is a little detail of my painting for the centerpiece at my show at Brandy's Restaurant this year. I am so excited to be showing my work over the July 4th weekend, so I have created a special watercolor from the Flagstaff parade last year. Hope you are planning on a visit to Brandy's - show opens on June 28th! Just 2 weeks to go...

Presentation for P.E.O. Chapter AY

This is a slide show that I presented recently to my P.E.O. Chapter demonstrating how I put together my photos for a painting of Hart Prairie. After several hikes along the Arizona Trail in the Hart Prairie area of the San Francisco Peaks, I chose the photos and arranged them in a collage to prepare my design. You can see how this process helps me to plan a unique composition. Then I proceeded with the drawing and painting... "Hart Prairie After the Summer Monsoon" was a special commission that I completed last summer.

Arizona Daily Sun - Thank you Betsey Bruner

A fun article, some great photographs and a few insights from a photographer/writer from Northern Arizona who offers invaluable press for Catherine Sickafoose Watercolors!  Enjoy! "Letting the Light Shine Through"

Museum of Northern Arizona

Last weekend , we put up a new show at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. The Museum Bookstore has been carrying my cards and small wrapped giclées for some time. Now I am so excited to have the opportunity to display my framed watercolors as well!

Here John is hanging the paintings which were chosen to reflect subjects related to the Museum and Northern Arizona. Marilyn, Museum Volunteer on duty, was a big help to us with the display. First chance that you get, be sure to stop into the Museum on Fort Valley Road to see the wonderful collections and exhibits and don't forget the Bookstore!

Open Studio Update and more...

After a busy Open Studio weekend and getting reacquainted with so many of you again, I have the winners of my "guest list drawing". Jim and Vel Hedberg from Munds Park and Laurie Cosolito from Flagstaff were excited to be called and asked to choose their mini giclée- "It's Holly Time Again" or "Late Summer at the Arboretum".


Congratulations!!! And thank you to all of you who visited my studio and entered the drawing. I also appreciated your good wishes for my speedy recovery from my fall. (I am making good progress and best of all - painting again!)


I hope some of you have been watching the PBS series this week, "The National Parks - America's Best Idea". (Visit pbs.org for details.) The film by Ken Burns was opened with a special live celebration concert in New York City's Central Park and broadcast to select audiences on September 23rd. I was privileged to be able to donate 2 giclée prints from Arizona National Monuments for the Eight Public Television and Eight Educational Outreach: ASSET audiences to assist with their membership drive - "Springtime at Cabeza Prieta" and "Hubbell Trading Post". In addition, 4 of my watercolor images were used for notecards to be given to the participants. I was so pleased to be able to contribute to this special event in this way!

Congratulations to Peggy George and Kristi Olson of Phoenix!









Now, I'm looking forward to cooler weather in the Valley and working on some special commissions.

Flagstaff Open Studios

"Colton House" (image 10" x 14")


Preparations are underway for an exciting weekend, September 19 and 20, when I will have my "condo studio" in Flagstaff open for you to visit 10 am to 5 pm. I will do a drawing each day, from the guests' sign in sheet, for a 5x7 giclée! And I will be doing a demo for you to see a painting in progress. (Yes, I do plan to be painting in spite of some injuries I sustained during a fall last week.) My sister, Janis, is coming early from Toronto, Canada to help me get everything ready.

Brochures with maps to the various studios are available at the Visitor Center (train station downtown) as well as many other locations around town. Also you can find one at the Artists' Coalition website www.flagstaff-arts.org. Or email (Catherine@CatherineSickafoose.com) or phone (602 918-0234) me and I will send you one in the mail. Looking forward to seeing you!

Brandy's Show

Original watercolors on little standup boxes (6x6 and 5x10)

for your table or mantel or you can hang them on the wall!

They are beautifully crafted by my husband, John,

and varnished for an archive finish.

Here we are relaxing after hanging 40 pieces of art. (That's Brandy for those of you who have not met her.) The show looks wonderful, thanks to all the staff who helped us. I hope that many of you will have a chance to stop by for a bite to eat and see the variety of new work that I have done, just for this show! The boxes above were finished just in the nick of time!