Somewhere between the holidays, travel, being sick and prepping for a new semester...I didn't get around to a proper introduction of my new series, even though I have been posting the daily pieces as I create them in this brand new year. I knew for this month I wanted to get back to working with pencil. Originally my intention was to just work with pencil on paper portraits- no frills. But...I kinda like the frills, and the first piece just needed a little something. And then it came to me- pencil portraits of ladies...right now random ladies but I have thought about using specific faces, not sure about that yet...and I am pairing each face with a quote I feel goes with the expression/feeling of the face I render. And...heck, why not throw in some watercolor too. So...here is what I have so far; I decided to call the series 'Girl Talk' (#GirlTalkJLG) because I am drawing ladies...'cause ladies are so lovely...and...because there are quotes. The quotes so far haven't been all ladies talkin'...but now that I am kinda solidifying the series...well, maybe that might be a consideration for how I choose my quotes from here on out. I can be so regimented when I work, especially when I start a new series so I try to leave myself a little wiggle room if I can.
My goals for this month's series are to get back to drawing with pencil...getting lost in shading...playing with tight rendering and loose sketchy line...and using color as way to contrast with the pencil and emphasize it.
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Okay...not going to go in depth, but I did want to go over just a few thangs from the last part of December... I guess it goes without saying that with this whole 'daily art habit' of mine sometimes I have to 'create' my own studio. It may stay the same, depending on where we are and for how long, but when we are traveling it can get a little crazy. This past trip home to NC we were in a hotel for few days (THANKS AGAIN CHRISTI!!) and for the most part I used this great big ol' tray on the coffee table, an end table and the couch for my creatin'.
One thing that happened over the break- a special #AngelDropART happening! Instead of my usual angel paintings I created custom ornaments with my signature design and dropped those off at the emergency room at Moore Regional. I figured if it was Christmas Day and you were at the ER...you could problem use something to brighten your day, right? Another thing from the break...and this is kinda big for me...I had an art show! After my last solo show at Harold's back in November I started thinking that my friends and family from NC aren't able to be at my shows since I am so far away. I actually had not shown my work in a solo format in my home state since my graduate show back in 2009. So I started brainstorming possible venues and sending inquiries. One thing that I am thankful for is all the contacts I have back home thanks to my husband and his family...so I contacted Con and Betty, the owners of the Bell Tree Tavern- and it was on! I originally had 31 paintings in my #NovemberBlueJLG series, but some were already sold/promised prior to the end of the series, so twenty-three paintings made the trip back home to NC. And it went kinda like this; And I sold many pieces that night...it was really just supposed to be a pop-up show...but Con and Betty said go ahead and keep it up, so I did. Here's a peek at the second half of the show, about fifteen pieces left; And a the end of it all...I only had twelve paintings to bring back from the twenty-three I took down...and two pieces to 're-create' because they sold and someone else wanted 'em. And that...well, that made me kinda happy. Thanks so much to Con and Bettie O'Mahoney...and to all of my friends and family that came out to support me and my work. I think this might be an annual thing...so stay tuned! So anyway...here is a mini-video celebration of my fourth year of daily art. Come back and see me...I'm in year five and ready to see where this year takes me!!! ...and at some point I WILL sit down and do a recap of the Christmas break...go over some highlights of 2015...and talk about my goals for 2016 and newest series...But not now, no way. These are my last few hours before I have to go to sleep at a decent hour and get up to play grown-up tomorrow...so...gonna relax... and work on my daily art, of course!!
Please check out my Instagram @artinw_damuse to see what I have been up to til I come back to the blog! Hope your 2016 is going GREAT! -Jenny I admit it...I am caught up in the holiday madness...finishing up with the semester ...exams ...cheerleading ...shopping ...ummm... and a recent diagnosis of Feline Diabetes for one of our cats, Mackie :( August 2012...Later that summer, I donated the Star Wars (and Star Trek) paintings to benefit the victims of the theater shooting in Aurora, CO in July 2012. Here is the related blog post;
http://www.jenniferlovegironda.com/blog/in-da-mail And for more about Aurora Rise; http://www.aurorarise.org/about/friends-of-aurora-rise/ I was looking through some pics and I found this one of me painting glassware at Raffaele's restaurant a few years back, thought it would be fun to share; I would sit at the front of the restaurant and as the customers came in they would place their orders- I would have the items finished by the time they finished dinner. I did this with ornaments from time to time as well. I also helped out as needed...then had a nice chicken parm dinner after the restaurant closed.
I miss Raffaele's chicken parm...it was hands down the BEST. In addition to live-painting ornaments at the restaurant, I used to do custom orders, mostly for just folks local to me. I found some additional pics of old ornament designs I created, kind of fun to look back on them; ...it's a few days over due...but...have a #HollyJollyJLG! (with info about purchasing!!!)12/4/2015
...and before I get into the new series...can I just say that I LOVE DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS?! Seriously, Christmas lights make me so happy!! Here's a look at the 2015 Gironda Holiday Decor; Okay...now back to the new series...well, I guess I never got to it...so...here goes. For many years I have painted ornaments at Christmas time. I think I started back when we lived in Greenville, NC. I painted ornaments the cheerleaders...teachers at my school saw them and placed special orders for sports teams, etc. I used to sell them at cheerleading competitions, I would mass produce a standard megaphone and pom design and then customize it with the team colors and cheerleader's name at various cheerleading competitions...I even painted over 100 ornaments as wedding favors! So, I'm no stranger to painting ornaments. I will post some more pics of ones I have saved later this month, but for now, here are some old skool pics; I decided to return to painting ornaments for my 2015 series...so I am creating my whimsical girls on clear, glass ornaments, every day this month. Expect big eyes, big hair, big jewelry and some play with Christmas-inspired fashion...maybe some sparkle, too! I received a very positive response from the first image that I posted, which really took me by surprise. Even had some offers to buy the work, which 1) made me excited and, 2) immediately made me nervous...'cause this means I needed to come up with a...PRICE...yikes! So, I did some research for hand- painted ornaments, looked at the level of detail...calculated my own time and materials and I have decided on;
Right now, if you are interested please either directly email me at [email protected], direct message me via FB/IG, or use the CONTACT form on this site. I have a Paypal account all set up, and can also do check if needed. I am trying to decide if I am going to use my Etsy account or just do it myself...for now, just direct sale, so just contact me. If you have any questions, please contact me. Can you request certain things, like hair color, etc? Yes, send suggestions and I will work those into what I am creating. Here is what I have so far, Dec 1-3rd; Okay...so that was my attempt at a sales pitch. Now back to something I am better at than being a sales person-
making ART!
I thought it would be fun to post a link or some kind of playlist so folks could hear the music behind the BLUE artwork from this month...so...I saw that I could do this on YouTube...and well, here it is.
To view view the artwork, click here. (the link will open up another window...your on your own from there!)
Most of the songs are in the playlist, except;
I had intentions of going song by song and offering explanations as to why I chose each song...but then life happened...the art happened...but that whole blog/explanation thing....not so much. Thanks to everyone that gave me suggestions for 'blue' songs. I may not have gotten to everyone's...but I may be making just a few more if I can get this pop-up show idea going...so maybe I will get to some of those songs... But for now, that's all for the #NovemberBlueJLG series!
As I was leaving Gallery 2014, I was accosted by a small army of little girls dressed in lavender and pink...they complimented my accessories...and the fact that my jewelry matched my painting (and I was THRILLED that someone noticed!)...and said they loved the painting. The best part? They described it as 'a lady with blue shoes sitting on a cloud' And I just loved that, on so many levels! Next up...the 50/50 Art Auction at the Armory!My next event was a fundraiser for the Armory in West Palm Beach- the 50/50 Live Art and Art Auction event. The concept...50 local artists...paintings created on the spot in two hours...then the work is auctioned off at the end of the evening. I participated in this event a few years back, (CLICK HERE FOR 2012 EVENT PICS) It was fun to partner up with the Armory again, work alongside local artists, talk with folks that appreciate art...and the proceeds all go to a good cause, so that always feels great to use my art to give back.
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AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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