Alabama Art Colony

The Convention Center at Children's Harbor where Alabama Art Colony is held.

The cabins...

The main workshop area...

Harbor House which the Independent group used.

Interior of Harbor House... before all arrived.

I've been an active member of Mississippi Art Colony (MAC) since 1987 and credit the high level of expertise by the artists who are regulars and the excellent invited artists who come twice a year to critique with my continued growth and development. Career momentum took hold and I slacked off for a few years, participating in few art gatherings but recently began to realize this is not good for the artistic soul... one MUST be part of an intellectual give and take or this 'one' gets very stale. So I not only returned to MAC but also signed up for another Colony which is only an hour and half away... Alabama Art Colony (AAC). The two groups are very similar but also very different.

At AAC, two workshops are normally given, this year Harry Ally conducted the contemporary painters and Dot Svensen worked with the plein air painters. For the first time, an Independent Group was added and I was one of the twelve painters included. Hugh Williams, Professor Emeritus Auburn University, has been instrumental to the development of both the Mississippi and Alabama venues which explains the high standards and expectations at both. He suggested the Independent Group and it will evolve year by year to best suit all involved. I simply ate it up and hope to be a regular at the annual fall sessions and still attend MAC as often as possible.

The facilities are fantastic! It's a fairly new 'camp' designed for seriously ill children and their families... corporate, big budget sponsored and kept super clean due to the needs of delicate immune systems. So okay... I'll learn to spread drop cloths and not sling paint! The photos above don't begin to do the area justice... but you get the idea...