Thursday, November 20, 2008

Home Again-Off Again


Home again, off again. This is my life. Think maybe this is why I'm not making progress with my art???? San Antonio was 72degrees and wonderful. We were wined and dined at the best restaurants and I feel like I walked the entire river and saw many galleries along the way. I came home to 31 degrees with 4"of snow on the ground and more tonight. This is why my heart belongs out west. I live here and my soul is out there...out west somewhere!
My highlight was having dinner with General Collins. Wow! I could not get over how great he looked. White hair, white teeth and a good looking suit to boot. We reminisced about the past and memories and then he told us de-classified top secret stories from the Air Force. The stories they use for James Bond movies .! He told us they had him on the History Channel called "Wings". He said he'd send us a copy. The funniest part was walking him to his car which turned out to be a white corvette fully loaded. This is just like my dad. It must be something about being a test pilot..now that they don't have their planes in their golden years they have their jetty cars.
Saturday I'm leaving for Memphis and then North Carolina.
See you next week. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

The picture above is by Jim Waid. I discovered him in Las Vegas at the Billagio. You could only appreciate his work in person. He makes a series of layers and then chips into it revealing the colors underneath.
Quote

"Let a student enter the school with this advice: No matter how good the school is, his education is in his own hands. All education must be self-education."
~ Hobert Henri
1865-1929
From Artist to Artist
compiled by Clint Brown

Friday, November 14, 2008

Artist Trading Card





O.K. I admit I've been somewhat remiss...and then again actually not. I started on another dog by the advice of a friend who is an accomplished artist and says I need to do a series or do a study of the dogs. I'm not accomplishing much lately so what the heck. The dog is in such a raw state I would be too embarrassed to post it yet even though I've posted other embarrassing pieces.

The picture is actually an artist trading card. If you are not familiar with them they are small pieces. About 2 1/2 x 4" and you are suppose to draw, paint, collage,or what ever you are wanting to express. Sometimes they turn out to pieces of art work, however this one is just a collage about me on old sheet music .

I'll post better examples from the web. Some of these can be corny and some pretty good. I've selected some of the better ones.
One example is actually encaustic; Icy Winter by Wendy K. and the other Chicago Winter by Sherie Sloane and then a self portrait of Susan Schaffer.

I am leaving for 5 days to San Antonio, home for two days and then off to Memphis and North Carolina to see my sons for the holidays.
I'm excited about warm weather in San Antonio and seeing the River Walk. Also I am looking up my fathers old friend ; General Tom Collins. A gentleman I remember as a child and is a piece of my history as an Air Force Brat.
So, needless to say it'll be two weeks before I can paint again. I'll go through total with-drawl!!
http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/

Sunday, November 9, 2008

SOFA show Chicago 2008



Yesterday was the most delightful day! Gerri Govert (a well accomplished artist) and I attended the Sculpture Object and Functional Art Show in Chicago at Navy Pier. We took about three hours and savored every object, dissecting, drooling, savoring, and conspiring together! I CANNOT go to these shows and not think of the processes and techniques the artist goes through. It totally energizes me to try different techniques. I always feel like an over anxious kid in a candy shop. It's the same feeling when I'm in an art supply shop with lots of goodies I haven't tried yet!!

The show was fabulous. I have such respect for these artists. I saw things I didn't even know were possible to do. A small wooden bowl that looked like small thin pieces of wire! If you blew on it you felt it would disappear.

Every year when I come back from this show I love posting a few things I loved. which is hard since I loved almost everything!

The big face is from Gugger Petter from the Jane Seymour gallery I believe. The face is very large and is made from rolled newspaper and hemp and laid to make the face.

The other is a portrait from SOl Halabi in Argentina by the Maria Elena Kravets Gallery. I loved this work because the only thing done realistically is the face...everything else is done abstractly and it worked!!!

I am putting away the dog for awhile. It's not right and I want to move on. After attending this show I want to do a more serious piece now.

Monday and Tuesday I will be in Milwaukee. I plan and have a list to go to all the nice galleries including their state of the art museum of art.

Oh! I also picked up some brochures on classes that go for a week or more. Anyone have any comments on Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC?? Or other suggestions on classes this summer that are good?