What You’ll Want to Know About the Journey of Hope Show 2019

Journey of Hope Art Show 2019 writer Valerie Dacpano and artist Melani Grube in front of Melani's piece, "Flowing Over", inspired by Valerie's story of her mental health journey. Cropped for thumbnail image.

  I am so excited to tell you about the Journey of Hope Show 2019. The most important thing about it is it’s cause: to stop the stigma surrounding mental health issues. The Journey of Hope Show is about real life stories of living with mental health challenges portrayed through art. I know that I…

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I Think You’ll Love This ArtWalk!

  I think you will love this ArtWalk! Blue Line Arts in Roseville, CA. has organized a wonderful monthly event, the 3rd Saturday ArtWalk. They coordinate with a number of businesses in old Roseville on Vernon Street to have them display art from local artists.   I am so proud to be included for the…

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San Francisco, Here We Come!

  I’m thrilled to announce that my painting, “Gaia, Upon Finding the Light” will be in the online portion of the Sanctuary Show at the ARC Gallery in San Francisco. The opening reception is Saturday, May 18th, 2019, 7 to 9 pm. The show runs May 18th to June 22nd. ARC Gallery 1246 Folsom St.…

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The Completed Painting: “Wild Horses”

A detail from A herd of wild horses stampedes its way in a circuitous route, bolting and bucking and prancing and looking back. Violets, blues and yellows featured.

  The big reveal of the completed painting of “Wild Horses”. I am happy to say that it was already accepted into a shoitw, the Art of the Horse Art Exhibit. Getting into shows and exhibits takes a lot of work. So, it’s always a win when your artwork is accepted. These horses appeared as…

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The Girl Who Left Home to Learn David Hockney

A detail from Melan Grube's sketch of David Hockney's etching of Rapunzel, the Older, for his book, "Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm". A woman with incredibly long hair, flowing down her back and piled on the floor behind her. She wears a long gown and carries two white, long-stemmed lily flowers.

  Oh, I had such a fantastical afternoon, once upon a too bright Saturday. I found my way into the strangely dim, yet clear light of a brand new art center and its surprising gem of a show: David Hockney‘s Etchings from his book, “Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm“. These fairy tales are…

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Journey of Hope 2017 Exhibit: Unveiling the Completed Painting

A surreal woman stands and floats in a sea of waves and flowers. A rose-colored cloud escapes her lips. The flowers embrace and surround her. Mystical faces watch and accompany her. Violets and blues featured.

Official title: A Portrait in Song   Do you ever experience anxiety as you work on an important project? When I started this piece, I had anxiety about finding the image. I didn’t have an image in mind after reading the mental health journey story I was given by the exhibit coordinators. But that’s normal…

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Journey of Hope 2017 Exhibit: Work in Progress Video

Pending: Posting video soon. I’m sorry. I’m suffering from technical difficulties.   In this video, you can see the unfolding of this piece for the Journey of Hope exhibit. I was worried about trusting my intuition on this painting. You see, intuition forms the foundation of my creative process, I have to get in touch…

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Journey of Hope 2017 Exhibit: Work in Progress, Pencil Sketch

  A peek behind the scenes for you, a Work-In-Progress sketch for the painting for the Journey of Hope Exhibit. I work out some of the concept for the piece on a separate piece of paper. I spatter paint on paper for the actual painting, then look for the image that expresses the theme I…

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Journey of Hope 2017 Exhibit: Last Year’s Painting

A woman with radiating hair, sings among luminous faces in the air, all in lavenders and blues.

  If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen that I am creating a painting for the Journey of Hope Exhibit 2017 that is happening in October. I thought you might like to see the painting I created for last year’s exhibit. This painting is called, “Finding Her Voice”. The exhibit promotes mental health awareness and…

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