Art critique + food= a great way to spend a Thursday night

Yummy food

I helped plan and participated in an art-critique/food gathering last night at one of my artist friends (Angela Rose) homes.We have done these fun evenings before and it's always a great way to stay current with what each of us is working on in our studios. Each person contributes to food and beverages; this time we had a mainly southwest food theme in honor of our guest Lauren, who is from Boston. Lauren made tomato-fontina-basil bites plus crackers and black olives for an appetizer. I made chipotle ranch coleslaw and southwest polenta hash; Linda brought a a fun red table wine called "Mad Housewife", and Angela provided blood orange Italian soda; Angela's husband Leo made a wonderful pina colada sorbet for dessert. So the food was pretty awesome!

Linda waiting for everyone to sit down

Three art pieces: drawing, painting, and sculpture

The art critique part goes like this: bring an art piece (usually one) for critique. It doesn't have to be finished; this session, there were three art pieces on the block: Angela's charcoal drawing, Linda's clay sculpture (to be cast in bronze eventually), and my tiny little acrylic painting. Linda's piece wasn't finished yet. We put out the work when we arrive and critique it after dinner. No talking about the work until critique time!


The whole purpose for our critiques is to grow as artists. Not allowed: phrases such as "That's nice" or "I like it". That doesn't help anyone! You have to talk about what's working, what might need some work, and give an overall impression of the piece. If the piece isn't finished, you can make suggestions for resolving it. The artist is not allowed to talk while others are commenting on their artwork; only at the end can they explain what they were trying to achieve.

Angela's drawing is truly amazing!

Look at "Rachel" from this angle. Stunning!

These critiques are a wonderful way to encourage each other, help each other know when to stop working on pieces, and try out new techniques. In my case, my tiny painting was an experiment. I did it as part of a demo when I taught my art class in December. The others really loved it though...so you never know! I might have found a new direction to go in.

Put down your sorbet and check out this tiny painting!