John Palmer directs Shanon Watson & Cody Soutar during the Painting Party.
Regular TroysArt readers know how much I adore the blending of art, food, and booze—so it should come as no surprise that I must rave about the June Painting Party with John Palmer.
I have known John Palmer since his first showings. (In fact, in the late 90s when I was the designer responsible for the restoration and conversion of the old Southern Pacific Building in downtown Houston into Bayou Lofts, I commissioned some large paintings by John for the lobby.) Since then I have come to know that anyone who loves art loves John; and anyone who loves a fun guy especially loves this one. John is one of the hardest working artists I know. And over time he has garnered international acclaim as founder of the Escapism art movement—Escapism enables the viewer to ease into abstraction through combinations of vibrant colors and brushstrokes with elements of realism.
Troy Broussard design for the lobby of Bayou Lofts featuring large paintings by John Palmer.
Kirk Longmire and I were participants in John’s first Painting Party which took place at swank Vallone’s where the steak is divine and John has large art installations (Troysart – Painting Party with John Palmer at Vallone’s). This time Cody Soutar joined Kirk and me for the party which took place at the John Ross Palmer Gallery on Heights Boulevard.
Before the task of painting began, Palmer and his partner Ryan Lindsay passed champagne, hors d’oeuvres, and gave a tour of the galleries, studio, and neighboring Escapists Art Gallery & Studios where Palmer mentors artists in his style. Lindsay claims to prefer Rosé champagne for gallery mixers as it was a personal favorite of Salvador Dali.
My finished artwork from a Painting Party with John Palmer.
Unlike Pinot’s Palette or Painting with a Twist, there is no set painting for participants to replicate–no hot air balloons, unicorns, dogwood trees, or fleur de lis here. Rather John encourages his nervous novices to just pick up a pencil or a paint brush and find a place to begin.
When I asked John for guidance about how he would begin he suggested, “Start by drawing horizontal lines with a pencil.”
So I did. And over the course of a few glasses of champagne my horizontal lines morphed into stripes and, continuing on, became the painting seen here. And under Palmer’s spirited tutelage rings were added along with a few clever techniques to pull the layers of paint together. My painting kind of even looks a John Palmer piece; I better hurry to write my name on it so no one tries to pass it off erroneously.
Shanon Watson, Troy Broussard, Cody Soutar, Kirk Longmire, and John Palmer at John Ross Palmer Gallery.
Cody worked diligently on his own version of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night; Kirk made what I would call a Missoni inspired color collage; the guy next to me did an ode to the Brandenburg Gate; the lady across from me made a painting inspired by a Moroccan lantern. The dozen finished pieces were each unique and different from the next. (Cody even won a prize.)
A row of work from the June Painting Party with John Palmer.
We will definitely do this again. And while all of the participants in the party got along famously, it would also be great fun to bring your own group—who wants to do a private party with me? The cost of the event is $100 per person and includes all painting supplies, libations, nibbles, and Palmer’s supervision. And all attendees leave with an original artwork to forever commemorate the evening.
Me! Me! ME!!!