Yesterday I put the paper on the background and then wound up painting on top of it and then pulling it up. The color is almost too subtle to have made much of a difference. After posting this I can already see things I need to work on. It's like when you take a picture and put it in front of a mirror or hold it upside down to see if it's right...things will pop out at you that you didn't see before.
I won't be painting today as it's my birthday...Happy birthday to all the Scorpios out there!

Scorpios

Scorpio is the astrology sign of extremes and intensity. Scorpios are very deep, intense people, there is always more then meets the eye. They present a cool, detached and unemotional air to the world yet lying underneath is tremendous power, extreme strength, intense passion and a strong will and a persistent drive. Scorpios have a very penetrative mind, do not be surprised if they ask questions, they are trying to delve deeper and figure things out and survey the situation. They always want to know why, where and any other possible detail they can possibly know. Scorpio's are very weary of the games that other people try to play and they are very aware of it. The person that a Scorpio respects and holds close to them is treated with amazing kindness, loyalty and generosity. On the outside, a Scorpio has great secretiveness and mystery. This magnetically draws people to them.

Small Progress

Since I had a meeting in the morning that lasted till 3:30 I didn't get much accomplished other than literally throwing some stripes on the wall that my sister-in-law from Boulder suggested. Good idea JoAnn! I am going to see about throwing that swirly see through paper over that as well.

Today I HOPE to get more done on this picture.

If only I could lock myself up in the studio with NO distractions for days on end!

Tomorrow is my birthday and my friend is taking me to lunch and in the evening we are going to Spiaggios in Chicago with antoher couple. We really must celebrate these birthdays especially now at my age I realize they are truly numbered. So lets celebrate!!! Life is unpredectable so lets take what we have now.

Progression of Painting with all the ugliness..

That's how I feel about this painting. Since I'm on a roll I thought it would be interesting for some people to see that coming to a finished piece of art is not always easy (and clumsy comes to mind) and that as artists we don't always know where we are going..and getting there means making mistakes and re-arranging. Especially for me since I'm trying to NOT to be serious and too realistic which my soul needs.
Since I took the picture for this days work I noticed again mistakes on the dog, so worked on that. I will continue to fine tune and then think, think, think about it and if feeling like it's alright will lay the see through textured paper on top and pray what I THINK comes out!
Again, opinions and comments welcome. Sometimes we get soooo CLOSE to the piece that we can't even see the obvious!

Point of Critical Thinking...

O.k.. I painted all day literally yesterday as I said. I'm playing and thinking...and thinking...I threw the blue on the table to get a "feel" but n ow I think I liked the lighter color on the table better.. Now I'm thinking....should I put a fork and knife on the table pointing towards the dog? or maybe a designed napkin leaning towards the dog...and the color in the back ground...I threw some green which I don't like...it's wrong...I almost think I like the white better..more crisp..because when I add the textured see through fabric over this painting it'll give it a little color.
So....any ideas out there??? I'm open!
Maybe throw caution to the wind and do a busy background?$^&(&%*#@
That's what I like about acrylics...if you mess it up you can paint it over...
o.k.. now I can see the shape of the table is off... I'm feeling the pink has to go..maybe red..
I took my charcole pencil and drew in slightly where maybe a fork would go, but I think it needs a fork and knife intersecting.

You know...I find it's much better messing around in the studio NOT thinking of all the media's ramblings. I am so disappointed in the election it saddens me. Is everyone on crack???? Will people turn back to normal when this is over??? Things will never be the same.

An odd contradiction, if the layman were correct in his unconscious assumption that the artist begins with reality and ends with art: the converse is true -- to the degree that this dichotomy has any truth --the artist begins with art, and through it arrives at reality.
~ Robert Motherwell
1915-1991

Piece in Progress...

Well, I was home all day and from sun up to 9:pm I painted. I started something new. It's about the retriever and the duck from the duck hunt. I started this on 300lb watercolor paper and used water color sticks and built up to acrylics. I always do that to feel my way through a painting. I drew the duck wrong so had to correct and re-do which took most of the day. I think I am going to use a royal blue hand made paper for the table only. Then I am going to apply a see through paper with swirls over the entire picture.
Remember to double click so you can see the picture.
The plate needs to be lighter..and the shadow dulled...oh well, like I said it's a piece in progress.

Experiment

This is one of my play around pieces. It's on 300lb cold press paper with watercolor, pencil and oil pastel. I see some problems but I think I need to re-do it now that I have a better handle on mixing these mediums. I just threw it on here...so I understand there needs to be a better mapped out plan for balance. I see that I need to darken the swirls under the fish tail also. I played around with texture from papers and molding paste.


I want to say I REALLY appreciate the feed back I got on 'JOY". I think all of them were very useful and I am working on all of them! I always want my viewers to voice what they feel. I cannot move forward without a critical view and acknowledging weak spots and strengths.

I THINK I'm done! Feedback time...

Alright. Here it is. I think I'm done, but I have to throw it out there for the feed back.

What happens in painting for me is that at the end of a painting I want it to be over with so much that I'm not sure if I'm rushing it or it truly is done. I know I have a tendency to over do the work.
I'll put a painting away for awhile and then when I look at it I go "OH MY GOSH! WHAT WAS I THINKING!!"

Within the last 30 minuets of taking this picture and posting it I have already changed the light on the brick around her. Now I'm thinking the background is TOO busy. So, You let me know.

I'm titling it 'JOY" If we could all hold on to the feelings we had as little children we'd all live longer!
Double click on the pictures to enlarge them so you can see the details better. I did add colored splashes around her head that you can't see otherwise.

This quote I must own! This is something I need to read every day.

I think this applies to everyone though...what do you think?

"It takes some courage to deviate from the norm - our own and other people's - but when we do, our individual expression can come into its own." Alex Powers Painting People in Watercolor - A Design Approach

Reception at Active Art Salon

Gerri Govert and Bev Topa with me. I love the orange and yellow ceramic bowl by Brenda Farris. Three portraits by Gerri Govert.





Last week we (18 Artist.com) had our reception at the Active Art Salon. As usual it was fun! Jennifer Groh who always gives a wonderful reception with lots of very tasty food came through again. Normally she has beer and wine flowing at a reception but due to the ATF she could not supply it this year. Well, you can't have a reception without some beer and wine so a few of us brought several large bottles of wine which was legal as long as we poured our own and put our names on the bottles.( I must clarify that I gave my bottle to someone else to share and they put their name on the label of the bottle as well to make it LEGAL.) I felt like I was back in the prohibition era.
I am in the orange holding my granddaughter and my arm is around a very dear friend of mine. Next to her my daughter and her good friend Jessica in the stripes.
Below is my future son in law, husband and daughter.
This week-end my son from Memphis is coming up and we'll attend a White Sox game, go out to a bar for an after the game get together and crash at Shannon s. It's so cool to have your children be equals. It's a lot of fun which I will enjoy since it's so deserved!!!

Frustrated Artist

Alright...This time it will be the END. I touched this up again...Is it all artists or what...that I can't seem to ever be satisfied with what I produce. It's just never right...I have to learn to just "Let go". Every time I want to do something quirky or odd it always winds up looking so traditional. I am to the point where I do not like traditional work and yet I can't seem myself to break out.
I'm hoping to take a collage class in Chicago starting the end of October. I hate taking the drive in $$$ but guess I'll have to suck it up unfortunately. I have found I have become stagnate...not moving forward, or not feeling like I'm moving forward or making progress.

When I was in Richmond, Virginia visiting my good friend and while going from Gallery to Gallery we came upon an art shop. I bought some crayon watercolors and some top of the line oil pastels to play with. I'm like a kid in a candy shop when I see all the new materials. so I buy them and then...they sit there.
I swear I must be sick!

"Being an artist means that you have the ability to imagine yourself into all kinds of othernesses. Doing that, you can rearrange perspectives on things, which can provide a revelation." -Eric Fischl 1948- "The universe is real but you can't see it. You have to imagine it. Once you imagine it, you can be realistic about reproducing it." -Alexander Calder 1898-1976 From "Artist to Artist" Compiled by Clint Brown

Awesome Meijers Sculpture Gardens!!!

Ron and I took a small day trip to Grand Rapids Michigan to see the Meijers Sculpture Gardens my friend had told us about. I was so blown away!!! It was a major treat for us. I want to share some pictures in case you could ever get up that way.

Take a hat and a water bottle and good shoes. There is over 100 acres of super large sculpture.
The picture of the man...It's so big it's unbelievable...but when you start to move around him he turns into a woman. It's just so wonderful to see these fabulous sculptures!!!
Also inside the glass conservatories there are exhibits of exotic plants and birds.

QUOTES

"What still concerns me the most is: am I on the right track, am I making progress, am I making mistakes in art? Such things as the materials, and care in the actual process of painting, and even of preparing the canvas, are the least important. They can always be fixed up, can't they? Whereas art -- oh, it's a very awkward and a very awesome thing to go into deeply. " ~Paul Gauguin 1848-1903

Current Piece in Progress...

O.K. I couldn't go too long without tackling a figure. This time it's my grandaughter. I absolutely LOVE the JOY that beams out of her like ENERGY!!! So that's what this will be about. I'll add alot more splashes to show her energy.

I'll post it again when I'm all done.

"Out of The Box" Reception

The reception for "Out of The Box" went well. Several paintings sold. I sold two prints!! We will show there again in 2009! Here are some pictures of the reception.
In the group photo I am the second on the right .

BUGS

For a loss of what to paint for the Big Show of Little Pieces I did bugs. I like BIG canvases!!!!
This is more of a challenge than anyone could imagine. So feed-back. What do you paint on a 5inches by 5 inches canvas?????

Out of the Box Show July 2008

These images of odd flowers you've seen before. I printed them and then did some die cutting on them, letting the paper behind come through. I put this in the Out of the box show along with the two abstract that I did. I'll sell these for 45.00 because of the cuts in them. That's also completely framed.














My next painting (and I say painting; no Lino Cuts) will be of my grandaughter. The painting will be about "JOY"! I'll show you the picture on my next post in it's rough state. I can't stray too long from doing figurative work.

Anyway- the show is in Three Oaks, Michigan at the old Vickers Theater. The downtown there is so cute. It's like walking in time. The brick roads the quaint little shops all upscale is wonderful. Check it out!

I'm In TUCSON

Sorry about no new posts. I am visiting my father in Tucson or rather Green Valley, Arizona. The other day it was 115 here, and at home it's only 75! Laying around the pool and checking out Tuboc and art town which is pretty much closed during the summer here. When I get home I'll have to get going in the studio. I started a picture I'm a little excited about...but it's too early to tell. I'll fill you in on it when I get back to the studio. I'll be home Sunday...see you then!

I'm Home Again!

Home again from Roatan, Honduras! So glad to be home. Now I can mend my no-seaum bug bites and continue my malaria medication. What a woman has to do to travel!!!
Anyway, we had a blast as usual with our dear best friends from Richmond, Va..We all got our Advanced Scuba Certification. We drank lots of beer and sang kareoke which I had never done and will not do again. We had a blast doing it until some talented girl came up and made us look totally foolish. We all had several messages on the beach which added to bites in places no one wants to talk about. I had the spiritual message with the pouring of the oils over the forehead and my head wrapped in a plastic bag. I have never laughed so much in all my life!!! My one and only spiritual message. The therapeutic message was awesome!
Anyway...no real photos that inspired me as I had hoped. But I saw a Honduran little girl that was like a picture. Here are some photos I'll share.

Gone for 15 days

Saturday I am leaving for Roatan. An island outside of Honduras. Every year we do an exotic scuba trip and this year it's Roatan. I am ready with Malaria medication already started!

I am hoping to get some good photo's to inspire me for some new pieces. Something tropical.

My daughter and her daughter (3 Years old) moved into Chicago in Wrigleyville one block from Lincoln Park. Shanon is a financial analyst with Marquette Associates. I will miss them dearly but so glad they are starting their new life together. This trip will be a good diversion from my loss!!!

Artropolis 2008 Chicago, Ill.

Every year I make it to Artropolis...I am an art addict. I love creating art and I love looking and buying art. I love to see the new ideas and how artists choose to translate those ideas. I get sucked into dissecting the piece after I've enjoyed the thrill of the encounter.

This year was no exception. An interesting method which I'd seen before but not to these heights were the paintings on metal and then using a drummel to scratch out and sometimes painting back into it. Something a little different was the same method but they did this on canvas. I am posting a picture from Michel Laberjerie from Spain. She takes images from Dali and Picasso and recreates them with her interpretation. These were oil on canvas, and scratched out. I love the light hand with the lines. To me the dove looks as though it is talking and it's sound coming out of it's mouth.

This next image is Xenia Hausner titled "You and I''. It's a lithograph, hand worked from the Forum Gallery in New York. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE the color in this and the loose painting approach.

I did enjoy the show...but there were those moments when my friends and I thought" How did they get into a gallery" "What is that about?" You know; the blank canvas with one line through it. I do understand that sometimes these are much harder to do than it looks, but if everyone or most everyone that looks at it and says " So what"...then I think the gallery needs to think twice.

I would recommend this show to everyone! Now I want to start a new piece!!!!

Another one done.....I think.....

I've been struggling with this one as well. If you read the earlier post below this one you will know how I struggle. I am trying to get a little more contemporary in style with this one so I wasn't too hung up on making it look "real". It's more about color and shapes.

Make sure to check out my first try at abstracts in the post below.

New Paintings/Old ones Reworked!

Being a member of 18 Artists, we have a show in June/July at Three Oaks, Michigan. The title of the show is "Out of the Box"which means we have to do something we don't normally do.

While visiting my most very dear friend in Richmond, Virgina we did the art gallery tour. While in the Glave Kocen gallery on West Main street I fell in love with these abstracts by Laura Loe. Needless to say I was inspired to try my hand at the abstract taking my love of her method. Hence these are what came from the inspiration.

Feed back is always wanted!

The other picture of the roses I've worked on forever because I felt there was something wrong with it...but couldn't figure it out. I worked some more and now must move on regardless...So now it's out and done with!
Just so you know how I've struggled trying to make the roses work (bad composition), I have painted a border at the bottom in and out several times. There is texture on the wall that doesn't show in the photo.

Lino Cuts!@#$#^&*(

O.K. I think I gave it a stab. I'm getting burned out on the Lino cuts. I am still in the elementary stages but not sure progressing on these is where I need to be. There hasn't been any real success with it for me. I might do a few more and maybe try the 3 color process which will require a more sophisticated subject matter.
I have actually found some very good web sites but they don't go into the three color process.

My latest painting done! I think.....

I am getting so tired of conventional images, and yes I know mine is...but I am getting to the point where I say " This is MY painting and I'll do what I want!"...I had done this painting awhile back and it was just too;too just fruit and Veggies...so I added the blue...and I like it...I have had comments saying..well the reflection is not in the background..".Hey, I don't care...It's my painting."I find I'm mixing real with not real..maybe it's a taboo...but....I don't care! In a way it's what I did with the leaf painting.
I'm growing and I can't do that if I'm too safe...so I'm taking chances.

NEED FEEDBACK

O.K. I admit it...I am going through the faze "nothing is working". We've all been through it. sometimes we can work too hard on something like this painting. I can't even see it any more! I feel like I'm regressing not progressing here.

I would like from my audience some honest feedback about what bothers them. Constructive criticisms.

I could make excuses like, surgery, virus, grandaughters virus, daughter moving and running into Chicago on week-ends...but it won't work.

I need a dose of reality.

Lino Cuts

These are first runs of some new Lino cuts I'm working on. You can see they need to be re-worked and cut on some more. They are way too busy. I plan to experiment with some mono-printing behind them and see what happens.