The Phippen Art Show

'Quick Draw'

I got to be an Indian Maiden
for 45 minutes! LOL!

Prescott, Arizona (the place I call home) is home to the Annual Memorial Day Weekend Western Art Show Sponsored by the Phippen Art Museum. This was the 34th annual show held at the Prescott courthouse square. The show features more than 130 of the best Western artists from across the nation at this prestigious outdoor art show.

Gary working on a practice sketch before the Quick Draw.

One of the most exciting events at the show is the 'Quick Draw'. This fast-paced event is a 45-minute, timed demonstration by 15 to 20 artists creating a piece of art in front of the public starting with a completely blank canvas. The pieces are then auctioned to the audience.


Since I live in Prescott, it was convenient for Idaho Artist, Gary Holland, to ask me to model live for him during the Quick Draw. Most of the artists painted from photographs or pictures, but Gary wanted to use a live model. I thought it would be an interesting adventure, so I agreed to do it. Of course, Gary wanted me to fit the part, so I requested the help of a local retail store, Black Arrow (Pendleton), because they sell beautiful Indian apparel. They loaned us a shawl, choker, and feather fan – perfect. Being that my face leans more toward my father’s Filipino features, rather than my mother’s Paqua Yaqui Indian features we needed to do something that brought out the indian part of me. I think the outfit helped a lot.

Pretty amazing work in only 45 minutes!

Modeling like that was harder than I thought it would be. I discovered that sitting still for 45 minutes without moving creates all sorts interesting annoyances in and around the body. LOL! I think every artist needs to sit for a painting session in order to appreciate what live models go through.


Once the 45 minute painting session ended, the artists had 15 minutes to put their painting into a frame, then proceed over to the stairs in front of the courthouse to wait their turn to hold up their painting in front of the crowd of people as the auctioneer works his magic.

Click on photo to see enlarged image.
Gary is sitting on the far right holding his painting.

Click on photo to see enlarged image.
I love this picture - the artists look exhausted
after an intense session of painting.
Well, I guess they could also be either bored or nervous, too.

Here is Gary holding up his painting,
walking back and forth in front of the crowd.

It was so fun to be a part of it. When it was Gary’s turn to present his painting you could feel the energy in the crowd change. The bidding climbed quickly, starting from $100. Gary’s painting ended up being the highest ticket for the auction - - selling for $2,400! Very Fun!

It was pretty intense for the most part, but once the event was over and the bidding was all said and done there were SMILES FROM EAR TO EAR from both the artists and the collectors.

Please visit Gary Holland's website:
http://www.hollandgallery.com/

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The Phippen Art Show

The Sum of Us

Are we the sum
of everyone
who has been a part of our life?

Just a few days ago I heard someone say that we are the sum of everyone who has been a part of our life. I’m sure there is a lot of truth to that, although, I don’t think it’s complete. It's not the first time I've heard that comment before; nevertheless, for some reason, this time, ever since I heard that comment it has crossed my mind quite a bit.

Labeled 36" x 36" original oil painting by Melanie Banayat

So now I keep having all these little memory flashes of the many different people that have been a part of my life. Some of these people that are popping into my thoughts I haven’t heard from or seen in over 25 – 30 years. I keep wondering how all these people have contributed to the molding of the person I am today. I mean some people (the major people in my life) are easy to figure out for the most part: family members, teachers, bosses, co-workers, closest friends, and then of course there's the "bad people" - the people who did unthinkable things. I know how all these people helped mold me.

But what about the seemingly random people? Those people who were really only a part of my life for a short time. Those people who were just a small part of my life, but left such big marks. For some reason I have allowed some of these people and their comments, or the experiences I had with them, to affect and influence my life in some pretty significant ways.

For instance, I remember a girl in 7th grade named Dena; she repeatedly made fun of a certain body part on me (which I'm not going to tell you about) that left this mental scar with me even to this day. Silly, I know. Especially since I was never a friend with this girl, never hung out with her, and she probably has no idea how her comments have stuck with me all these years. Oh, it’s easy to say, she was only putting me down to make herself feel better, which is probably true. The fact is, growing up is hard, and kids can be so mean to each other -- that is just a part of life that can either crush us or toughen us up.

So now, good ole’ Dena has made her way back into my life, and she doesn’t even know it. LOL! However, I’m happy to say that ‘body part’ that she made fun of so long ago has recently found an admirer. Although I have to admit, I can’t help but wonder why he likes that part of me so much, because every time I look at that part of me I feel self conscious about it. At least now I’m able to laugh about the whole thing, and say to myself, “What the Hell, he likes that part of me! Sweeeeet – the healing has begun!”

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The Sum of Us

Las Femmes Fauves

21st Century Fauvism

Artists pictured left to right:
Donna Wayman, me, Jennifer Main, & Bonnie Kelso.

The art exhibition in the Scandinavian Collection Showroom at the World Market Center’s Art Walk (in Las Vegas) this past Wednesday was a spectacular plethora of color to say the least!

Click on picture to view enlarged image.

This exhibition reminded me of the group of artists who exhibited together back in the early 1900’s who were critically dubbed “the Fauves” (wild beasts), which was in reference to their use of bold colors. This coined the French term for the art movement known as Fauvism. Back then the Fauves consisted of a group of male artists, but this past Wednesday gave way to a new group of Fauves – Female Fauves! Each artist at this show was so different in style and technique, yet the one thing they truly share in common is their use of pure color to express emotion. Have a closer look at each artist’s works by visiting their websites.

(just click on each name below):

Melanie Banayat
Jennifer Main
Bonnie Kelso
Donna Wayman

This was a fun exhibition where each of the artist's were doing live demos of their work.

This was my corner of the showroom where I was working on my latest painting shown on the easel to the far right.

There were more artists located in other showrooms -- some working with live models.

Here, Donna Wayman is showing a customer a print of her work.



Of course, it wouldn't be an Art exhibition without a little Peach Martini.

Cheers!

Bonnie Kelso hard at work. LOL!


Jennifer Main - gotta love her pants!


Me with Monica Petersen, and the Green Goddess. Monica matched my painting so perfectly that we had to take a picture or nobody would have believed it!

Wild Beasts and Colors

For a little history on the Fauves visit the following site:
The Fauves

Henri Matisse
Andre Derain
Georges Braque
Raoul Dufy
Maurice de Vlaminck
Henri Manquin
Kees Van Dongen
Albert Marque
Charles Camoin
Emile Othon Friesz

In the early 20th century, art underwent momentous changes. Artists became increasingly interested in non-naturalistic representation, departing from the traditional use of form and color. From 1904, the Fauve artists began to portray familiar objects with “unfamiliar” colors. The French term “fauvism” refers to “wild beasts.” However, a better name for the group might be “the artists of pure color.” Fauvism is the first modern movement in which color rules supreme.


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Las Femmes Fauves

The Wall

It was bound to happen at some point . . .

Given her
magic carpet . .

she set out
on her journey
to save the world.

I’ve been going like gangbusters for about a year and a half, and I must say it’s been quite a ride. I had a rhythm going. What I didn't realize was that the rhythm was ticktock, ticktock, like a time bomb. Then last week it happened. Boom! I hit a wall. Smack! I sort of saw it comin’, but I thought if I just tried slowing down a little I could get past it -- no such luck. I hit it anyway. My boss (me) hasn’t given me a day off in a long time, so I guess this was forced upon me. Exhaustion. Since last Thursday I’ve been feeling blue, and I felt like I just needed to let loose of something – but what? So on Mother’s Day I rented a chick flick, “PS - I love you” and had a good cry. It felt sooooo good to just cry for some reason. I wasn’t really sad about anything, or angry, or anything like that. I must have been holding my breath without realizing it. “Breathe, Melanie, Breathe!!! TAKE A DAY OFF!”

How could I let it get this bad? I’m usually such an advocate for self-care, but seems that I left myself out of that equation over the past several months.

Note to self: move “time off” to top of priority list!

“Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.” - Douglas Pagels

“Burnout is nature's way of telling you, you've been going through the motions your soul has departed; you're a zombie, a member of the walking dead, a sleepwalker. False optimism is like administrating stimulants to an exhausted nervous system.” - Sam Keen

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The Wall

Show Prep

Getting ready for an
art exhibition
can be quite daunting.

A week or two before the show . . .

Late nights determined to finish one more painting before the show, waking suddenly at 2 am when you remember that ‘one thing’ you forgot to do, trying to stay attentive to remaining somewhat balanced in your life (Hah! Hah!). You get the drift. All the little details; it’s exciting and exhausting. The hope, the anticipation, the energy. . .

Last night I was helping set up for tomorrow’s exhibition. It was fun. A little slow warming up, but once we finally decided to pick up a bottle of wine things loosened up a little. Of course Clem came back with the wine, and we realized we didn’t have a corkscrew! So, the hunt was on to find something to pull the darn cork out. Bill found a large hook (like a mug hook) and got to work on it. With a little leverage the cork was out, we said a little toast, turned on the jazz and we got into the groove.

The show is featuring the works of three artists - My work, Bill Cramer's landscapes, and Lisa Kaiser's miniature sculptures.

Here I posted two little snippets from my newest painting that will be at this show.











Here is the infamous mug hook that rescued the evening, properly placed on its throne - with the wine bottle cork still attached.


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Show Prep

Run•Dance•Live

This post is dedicated to Karen . . .

My sister-in-law, Michelle, and her girlfriends, Susie, and Sheryl, stayed at my place over the weekend; they came to Prescott to run the Whiskey Row Marathon. They train together, and run many marathons throughout the year. This year they wore these hats in honor of their friend Karen, who was part of their running group. Karen passed away last year just a few months after last year's Whiskey Row Marathon. Karen's big passion in life was Dancing.
















Here they are warming up before the big run.



































Michelle's awesome legs!

Run•Dance•Live

My Favorite Painting

For some reason some people want to know which one of my paintings is my favorite. The answer is all of them, which doesn’t seem to satisfy their curiosity. But the truth is, each painting is my favorite at different times depending on what’s going on in my life at any given time. I know…I know… BORING!

Ok, I’ll give you a little something…

One of the cool things that I love about being an artist is that ideas seem to be developing in my head all the time. I look for most of my ideas as I walk through life and interact with people. Usually the idea for a painting goes through an incubation period, which could be anywhere from a few hours, to a few days, to months or even years. Then all of a sudden I need to put it onto canvas when the time is right. Then again, sometimes I don’t have to look far for an idea, because it comes screaming in my face “PAINT THIS!” Like following two paintings . . .

Holding On 36" x 36" oil on canvas by Melanie Banayat

“Holding on”, and “Letting Go” each have a strong personal significance to me. It’s interesting how the titles of these two paintings present a dichotomy, yet they work well together toward a common goal – a better future. Those two expressions were repeated over and over again to me from many different people. At first I didn’t really understand what they meant. They would say, “Hold on -- things will get better some day!” I didn’t feel like I could hold on, especially when it felt like I was living in an ongoing nightmare! They would also tell me to, “Just let it go, you’ll see, ‘trust me’ -- things will eventually work out for the better!” I didn’t know how to trust them (or anyone else for that matter) when it seemed like everyone and everything was against me, and trying to send me to an early grave.

There are few things in life that feel more vulnerable then to be standing naked before the world for everyone to see your every flaw, every mistake, and every shortcoming. To feel as though you have been stripped of everything that is dignified, and/or important to you in life. To come face to face with a reality that is harder than you have ever endured in your lifetime, and just when you feel you can’t take anymore, things get worse. My question to myself when I was coming up with the idea for this painting was, “how do I paint that image without her looking defeated?” I want the image to represent hope in the midst of chaos, and pain.


The two triangle marks on the woman’s cheekbone represent the Pascua Yaqui Indian symbol for tears (or rain). I remember going on and on for about 8 months where I couldn’t keep myself from being brought to tears. If a cashier at a grocery store asked me how I was, my eyes would well up and I would try to choke back my true feelings and force a smile, because it wasn’t their fault that I was feeling distraught and sorry for myself. But I could tell that some people could see that I was in pain. I could tell that they felt for me. Others were kind enough to ask if there was anything they could do to help. Eventually I began to share my story with people who were willing to let me take up some of their time, and others were willing to share some of their stories with me, which is how I was eventually inspired to do these paintings.

Letting Go 36" x 36" oil on canvas by Melanie Banayat

Simply stated, The Stone & the Vine in “Letting Go” represent the burden and the stronghold.

The fact is ‘WE’ hold all the power over the majority of the strongholds in our life. The power is all in letting go of the burdens, the supposed need, and/or the fears. More often than not the things that keep us from moving on, or from feeling joy can usually be attributed to the idea that we need to have control over the things, situations, and people in our life, “if only they would do as I wish everything would be so much better!” But the truth is, the more we try to control everything, the more people pull away, and things all around us fall apart in direct connection to our life.

The woman in “Letting Go” is dropping the stone from her hand, and the amazing phenomenon that ultimately occurs, which she has to have complete faith in, is that at the very moment she lets it go is the very moment that the vine lets go of her. Fully trusting the process is something that many of us are unwilling risk, but the irony is that even if we don’t surrender to the process – we will still have to face the cause and effect of the strongholds in one way or another. In essence, Letting Go, actually holds more power then trying to force something to happen “Your Way.”

It is empowering; it is freedom!

Link to Pasqua Yaqui symbols


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Please share this post with others - Thanks! Melanie Banayat
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My Favorite Painting