![]() It ended up being a pretty productive day. I used my rotating schedule to try and touch on a variety of things that needed to be done, and early on I was able to stick to my allotted time periods. My trip to PBSC wasn’t as fruitful; I wasn’t able to pick up my artwork. ..maybe later this week. I spent the majority of my ‘art time’ working on the round canvas, although I did manage to complete sketching in the hair/text elements on all of the paintings. I wasn’t sure what color to use to fill in the hair/text on the round canvas; I finally decided on white with just a hint of turquoise. The piece is still in progress…and I started painting more on the oval painting towards the end of the evening. (Right; 'Love', in progress... around 4:30, I had just started to fill in the text on the left side) One thing that was a big inspiration to me today was the opportunity to participate in a painting session with a former student via Skype. He had posted a piece on Facebook, I mentioned that we had both been painting at the same time and he had the idea to set up a Skype session. What a great idea. I haven’t used Skype since I went to Japan in 2009, so I had to install it again, find the camera…I never resolved the microphone so we had to use cell phones to actually talk. We ended up painting for about an hour and a half, what a great experience. One thing that is unique about making art now is that I am usually creating my work alone. My husband may be in the other room, but I am in essence working by myself, maybe with my Ipod or Pandora playing on the computer. There is a lot to be said about having access to other artists as you work, made me think of my time in the weaving studio, or working in my drawing and painting classes. Yeah, I focus when I work by myself, but it also gives you certain energy to work around other artists. What a unique experience to be able to work alongside a student that I taught almost ten years ago. It was awesome to catch up, to talk technique, to talk aesthetic, to talk about just feeling like you have to create. Amazing. (Check out his work; https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.schwager) So all in all, good day. The oval and round canvases are in progress, with the latter being close to completion. The other four rectangular canvases have at least been sketched out, so those will be waiting for me when I am ready to start adding color. (Below; I moved the set up back to the kitchen 'studio corner'...the rectangular canvases are sketched and ready...the other two, well underway after a great painting session via Skype)
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![]() Woke up this morning, early. Too. Early. It amazes me how I cannot sleep in. I was up til 2am painting last night and still woke up at 7:30. Now I didn’t say I woke up completely motivated and ready to start the day, but awake nonetheless. Sigh. Awaiting me in the kitchen, last night’s projects. One oval canvas, one round canvas and four rectangular canvases all white and ready to be painted upon. Six surfaces, waiting for some sort of resolution. One thing that I struggle with is maximizing productivity on my days off. If I don’t watch out, hours will pass by and leaving me wondering, ‘hey, where did my day go? And, more importantly, what did I accomplish?’ It is a constant battle to make time for art, to clean and organize around home, and to get things done for school. (Notice I didn’t include spending time with John in this list because he always supersedes any item on any list, awwwwww) One thing that I have started to do is to work in ‘rounds’, rotating my activities in timed increments. I even set the timer on my phone. I will work on my art for x-amount of time. The alarm rings. I will move to cleaning up for x-amount of time, etc, etc. I know that this seems very regimented, and it is. But when I can be disciplined in this way, it works for me, and I don’t re-awaken from zoning out on the couch and find that I was wasting my time watching a Real Housewives marathon. (Yes, guilty.) So far so good. I really like to document my progress. This helps me reflect on how I work, and make assessments on my productivity. As for today, off to a good start. I have six pieces in-progress. Still working with the face going off the bottom of the picture plane, still exploring specific words layered and intertwined to form hair structures. Love. Life. Truth. Self. Laughter. Inspiration. Just some things on my mind. Started to experiment with exaggerating my favorite facial feature, the eyes. Definitely inspired by the artwork of my friend, Jessie, who is an amazing artist and a big motivator for me right now. Now, a trip to Michaels (of course) and trip to pick up my work from the PBSC show could derail me, but I am hoping I will be able to get back on track, so to speak, once I return from these errands. ![]() Here I was thinking I would get all this work done today…not so much. After a late start I got busy doing….well, nothing. I did attempt to go to Michaels…totally forgot that it was a holiday weekend. Fail. By around 7:30pm I mustered some motivation to at least paint over some old canvases, prepping them to become the next…not sure. While waiting on my friend to stop by, and for the canvases to dry I reached for one of the round canvases that I picked up and found my idea, somewhere mingled, mangled and mixed up in all of the images that I file away in my head (and sometimes literally file away). I decided to continue with the theme of the face and my Mucha-inspired hair and love for text in the piece that I am still working on, inspired by all of the images that you see above. In true fashion, I didn’t start just one, I also started an oval-shaped canvas and of course I have intentions of buying several more to start all at once, will probably aim for at least five canvases in each shape for a total of ten dedicated to this theme/imagery. So far, faces are sketched on both canvases and only the round canvas has been developed further. I am working with the text ‘love’ to create the hair, pushing the face to the bottom of the picture plane. I started thinking about how it is easy to get preoccupied with one word, one thought to the point that it fills your head. Love it is, then. I am going to step away for tonight, look at the work with fresh eyes tomorrow and with some daylight! ![]() Pic with my granny, April 2010. I have been keeping busy this weekend with trying to find support for my fibers…that is to say, to help me either put away this paint brush and pick up my sewing needle again or reach for both. I think in some ways I am hesitant to delve back into my embellished pieces, even though I know that somewhere in those beads, the hand-dyed fabrics and the marks I make with pencil and paint lives some resolution for what I want to create. The beading can be intense, very laborious, with results that are not immediate. One thing that I have done this weekend is seek out groups that maybe I could join. I enjoy painting and drawing and admittedly prefer to do both alone with my music to keep me company, but there is a more social aspect for me when I work with fibers. Makes me think of folks sitting around weaving together, stitching together, of quilting circles, of my own grandmother crocheting while everyone was talking and eating around her, never missing a beat. Once I dye the fabrics and fuse them together, the actual stitch by stitch, bead by bead manner in which I embellish does well with some company. Not sure anyone in the area is doing this specific work, but I was hoping to find a knitting or quilt group at least. I have also been working on networking with the local community of artists, trying to find support and opportunities to exhibit my various drawings and paintings. Tomorrow, more painting. Maybe I will fuse some scraps together and just start a little beadwork, see where it takes me… ![]() The goals for this evening…originally it was just to mail off some work then sit down and make some art….then I remembered that I had to get some work ready for the PBCATA members show at Sugar Sand Park. So, after a two trips to Michaels and a little over an hour wrestling with frames, double-stick tape and wire…I have some semblance of three pieces ready for presentation. I love drawing, but you can really spend some money of presentation for drawings. Wow. Thankfully all I have to do for the Bear and Bird show is wire the back of the canvas, and my shoes I didn’t even worry about, just mailed those suckers off. (While I am thinking about it, for the record, please note that I always get the bear and the bird backwards…tsk, tsk) I digress. Oh yes, art…art is not happening tonight…instead, gonna get some sleep. I’m spent. ![]() So...I have actually done some work this week...two drawings under my belt...the first one is in the previous post...the second one was a revision of the first one...besides that, been busy packing up artwork to ship out, framing a couple of pieces for a local show and a friend's birthday...and hosting my first on-line art event. Looking forward to the weekend...ready to make some more art!! (Right) design based on 'Salvation Song'- Avett Brothers, version 2 ![]() So…about 9pm I started a new drawing…which was a great idea, right? Since I have to get up at 5am? Yeah….so anyways, drawing is still in progress…I was working away…worked at my drawing table, put the drawing on the island in the kitchen to stand and draw…even propped it up on the easel. I would stand back and look at the piece…It just…wasn’t…working. The tree is comprised of all words…for some reason I connected the edges…ewwwww. Not good. Then I remembered Mr. Elmore…in my college drawing classes. He would come along and look at your work, as if it was okay to fold it and…bam! Just like that, you could see how the composition wasn’t working…he…set..the..drawing..FREE! So that is what I did…ran to the office, put my drawing on the floor, placed the floor fan on top (the biggest circle I could think of, mind you) and just like that- improvement! Now, this piece is by no means resolved, but I can go to sleep now and feel better about what I have to work with tomorrow. In typical form, I have documented my pure joy in silly staged photos. Special thanks to the husband for humoring me and taking the pictures. Here are the shoes for Jazzy's (Southern Pines, NC) as well as a fun set of mini-shoes for our friend's little girl. (below) I had fun painting the shoes, it was a nice break. The trees and faces...that can get a little intense. Sometimes a gal needs a little whimsy. I think that the shoes would be good for the in-progress Etsy shop...they are fun, not too big and I can keep them at a good price point so folks can afford to buy them...more shoes to come!
I finally got around to photographing the trees... here they are! ![]() …wow. Been working off and on all day and I am finally calling it a night. Just about done with a figurative piece I started last night, with fourteen shoe paintings and started some small paintings for a friend. I made the pilgrimage to Michaels and found some great 4x4 inch canvases, I live way too close to Michaels, this could get ugly! Already found a purpose for four of the nine canvases…they are in the process of becoming mini-shoe paintings for a special little girl in Japan, the daughter of our friend who is stationed over there. I didn’t start the collage elements to the piece that I started last night…gotta think about that a little more. I did purchase some black metallic embroidery floss, I thought it would look cool to add that to the hair, add a little dimension to the piece. And I must admit, it was fun taking a break to work on the shoes, much more light hearted than the trees or working with faces. Tomorrow I hope to get all of these pieces finished and look to the next project…whatever that may be… ...stopped working on the figurative piece for now...thinking about adding some collage to it, maybe cut paper swirls or thin metallic threads...or both...until then, taking a little break for some funky shoe paintings...I created a quick mantra to keep me going on my drawing board...now can't get that old RuPaul song out of my head..."You better work..."
Why yes, what a great idea. |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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