"Conversations With my Watercolor Box" - Exhibit by 2017 A.R.T. Artist Glenda Drennen!

Artwork ©Glenda Drennen

 

"Conversations with My Watercolor Box",  an exhibit by Glenda Drennen is now showing at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, IA. 

 

A native from South Dakota, Glenda Drennen was a former public school music teacher.  She then began to paint with Watercolor after leaving her teaching career; through her found passion, she has been awarded many memberships like the Iowa Watercolor Society, Watercolor Honor Society, and Iowa Artist. A number of her award winning paintings have been exhibited in corporate and private collections across the States and abroad. Drennen’s Studio - Watermark Studio, is located in LeMars, IA. 

 

Glenda's work is both colorful and whimsical. Her work is very dreamlike and attractive to the eye. Drennen uses her wonderful imagination of storytelling to create her paintings, being inspired from a variety of stories and events in her life.

 

The exhibit will be showing through August 26th - be sure and not miss this wonderful showing!  For more information contact the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake at 712 732-3400.  The Witter Gallery is located at 609 Cayuga Street in Storm Lake, IA.

2014 Artisans Road Trip Artists and "Art on a Card" Exhibit!

 

Artwork such as these can be found at the "Art on a Card" exhibit

at Arts on Grand! Images - top left clockwise - "Poinsettia" - watercolor - ©Anita K Plucker, "From My Window - Winter" - watercolor - ©Anita K Plucker, "Winter Hay Rake" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison, and "Winter Along the Little Sioux" - color pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

Four of the artists from the 2014 Artisans Road Trip will be featured in the upcoming "Art on a Card" exhibit at Arts on Grand in Spencer, Iowa in December! Exhibiting with other juried artists are Anita K. Plucker, Glenda Drennen, Joleen Dentlinger, and Bruce Morrison.

Arts on Grand invited artists to submit a winter theme image from which they then  feature as a printed card for purchasing - from each artist.  During the "Art on a Card" exhibit, the participating artists also exhibit other works on a winter or seasonal theme for the Christmas season.

"Art on a Card" will run from December 1st through 31st at Arts on Grand.  There will be an artist reception on Thursday December 4 from 5-7pm - the reception is open to the public.

Take in "Art on a Card" if you get a chance, and get into the Holiday Spirit!

Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving out there!

2014 A.R.T. Exhibit at the Witter!

Just a sampling of the artists exhibiting at the Witter in June!

(Artwork © the artists - upper left/clockwise - Bill Lieb, Glenda Drennen, 

Ron Netten, Robert Ansorge, Joleen Dentlinger, Ken Harskamp, 

Perry Polson and Dennis Dykema.)

The 2014 Artisans Road Trip is exhibiting at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, Iowa this month!  A.R.T. participates in exhibits as a group throughout the year.  This latest exhibit opened June 5th at the Witter Gallery and runs through June 27th.

 

There will be an artist's reception at the gallery on Wednesday evening from 5-6:15 p.m.  The exhibit at the Witter is being sponsored by Paxton's Jewelry of Storm Lake. 

 

Come and meet many of the artists involved in this year's Artisans Road Trip, and get a sampling of what this year's A.R.T. has in store for NW Iowa!

2013 A.R.T. Artist Glenda Drennen

Aqua media artist Glenda Drennen will show her work and demonstrate painting at A Piece of Work in Spirit Lake during the October 2013 Artisan Road Trip.  Drennen’s imaginative paintings are often interpretations of simple things, such as sharing a joke with friends over a cup of tea, or walking a dog. “I enjoy inventing a bit of humor related to otherwise ordinary events,” says Drennen, “such as a small dog that has hobbled his master with his leash. My paintings tend to evoke smiles.”

"Tea for One"

watercolor - ©Glenda Drennen

Tea for One is one of two of Drennen’s paintings accepted in the 36^th Annual Iowa Watercolor Society Juried Competition  to be held in Ankeny. The exhibition at the Ankeny Art Center will be open to the public Aug. 1 through Sept. 26. with an opening reception Aug. 1 from 5-7 p.m.  Drennen has a long history with IWS. She had her first painting accepted for competition in 1987 and earned signature membership in 1991. To date 19 of her paintings have been selected for the IWS competition.

 "Song Bird Series"

arylic painting  - ©Glenda Drennen

This week Drennen’s LeMars studio is filled with new paintings in her Songbird Series. These acrylic paintings are smaller than her usual watercolors, but every bit as imaginative. Three themes within this series are Birthday Birds, Sing Your Heart Out, and Singing Lessons. Each bird has very long legs, knobby knees, and often, striped stockings. Drennen will introduce several new songbird themes in this series during the A.R.T.

Drennen has been painting about 30 years, earning signature membership status in the Iowa Watercolor Society in 1992 and in the national Watercolor U.S.A., Springfield, MO in 2002.

In addition to preparation for A.R.T. 2013, she is currently creating 25-30 new paintings for a solo show at the University of Iowa Student Memorial Union in Ames in May/June 2014.  

Be sure to stop at A Piece of Work during A.R.T. 2013 to visit with Drennen and see her work.  At other times you can visit her in Watermark Studio in LeMars by appointment or access her website at www.glendadrennen.com

Stop by again for more on artists from the 2013 Artisans Road Trip!

 Our first artisan's spotlight of the 2012 season will be of Glenda Drennen, one of the Artisans Road Trip artists for 2012!

Glenda Drennen’s usual painting surface is watercolor paper, but this last year she added 6 -foot fiberglass ice cream cone sculptures to her repertoire. In a cooperative effort the LeMars Chamber of Commerce, LeMars Art Center, and City of LeMars Convention Center and Visitor Bureau planned and implemented a public art project to highlight the importance of the production of  ice cream by local industry, Well’s Blue Bunny.

Sponsoring business First National Bank, LeMars, chose Drennen, a resident of the “Ice Cream Capital of the World,” to apply her creative talents to one of the cone sculptures. The single dip ice cream cone now on display at the downtown bank entrance features 133 detailed coins. The coins, enlarged about 400%, cover the large dip of ice cream.  Many of the coins have special relevance to the region, such as coins commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition that camped in the area during the Corps of Discovery. State quarters for Iowa and all bordering states are also represented. A number of Lincoln pennies old and new are represented, as are two different versions of buffalo nickels.

One unusual coin features a portrait of Drennen herself among those of John F. Kennedy, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. “My first thought was to invent a coin with a likeness of the bank President,” Drennen said, “but during the time I’ve lived in LeMars there have been several people in that position, and I will always be the artist of this cone.”

 Glenda is currently painting a second sculpture to be installed in a LeMars park this spring. Parents who have lost children to disease donated funds for this cone as a memorial. The design committee wanted to stress parents’ wish to provide both roots and wings for their children, so one aspect of the design will be many butterflies and dragonflies against a sunset sky, symbolizing the gift of “wings” for their children.

Ultimately Drennen will paint five of the 41 painted sculptures projected.  Themes for the three remaining cones Drennen will be painting will be Noah’s Ark, the LeMars Rotary Club, and something dramatic for the Postal Playhouse Community Theater.

Be sure and come back soon for more from the 2012 Artisans Road Trip!!!

2011 Artisans Road Trip Artist - Glenda Drennen

Our Artisans Road Trip artist spot light this week is on Le Mars Watercolor artist Glenda Drennen.

The allure of watercolor captivated Glenda Drennen from the moment she first tried it nearly 30 years ago. A former public school music teacher, Glenda's love affair with this medium began when she married and left teaching. She is a seasoned artist who has earned signature memberships at both the state and national level in both the Iowa Watercolor Society and the Watercolor Honor Society, Springfield, MO and is a member of Iowa Artists.

"St. Joe's" - Watercolor

©Glenda Drennen

Earlier in her life as an artist, painting hundreds of commissions - usually house or business portraits - was a mainstay in her career. While she now accepts few orders, a recent commission painting, "Old St. Joes - Midnight Mass," was particularly successful. The painting featured a historic church that will soon be razed, and sold at auction at a Pheasants Forever fund raising event for $10,000.

"Too Many House Plants" - Watercolor

©Glenda Drennen 

Glenda uses the unpredictable nature of watercolor to advantage, and her energetic paintings often include surprises and reflect her sense of humor. She prefers to work from her vivid imagination, using little if any source material. Most paintings are started with little if any idea of a subject. Her work has evolved into a strong personal statement that is increasingly abstracted and subjective. While she honors and practices the time-honored tradition of transparent watercolor, she also embraces the use of other water soluble media and collage to broaden the creative possibilities. Her work is complex, rich with texture, and shows a maturity of creative expression.

"Tattered Veils of Fall" - Watercolor

©Glenda Drennen

 
"Tattered Veils of Fall" was one of two of Glenda's paintings recently published in an online  cyberbook, "Walk Into Abstracts 2 - How did they do that?" by Sue St. John. The book features images and single page descriptions of the working process for the work of 26 artists.

Ms. Drennen will be showing her work at A Piece of Work in downtown Spirit Lake during the Artisan Road Trip. Until then, some of her work and her blog (under "news") can be seen on her website www.glendadrennen.com

Be sure and check back again for more news from the 2011 Artisans Road Trip - thank you for visiting!