Whew!

I want to begin today by thanking each of you for your kind words and your patience with me as I prepared for our Thanksgiving meal. I am truly exhausted and plan on relaxing for the remainder of the weekend. We had a lovely day and had many things to be grateful for as during all of this time my father was dealing with some possibly daunting health issues which were resolved positively.

This little painting is just watercolor on rice paper. I did this the same time I did the flower one I showed here earlier. The same method was used with rubbing some paint from the tube onto the paper and using a spray bottle to move it around a bit.

Soulbrush has tagged me. While I have run out of people to tag, I thought I would share with you the 7 different things and open up the tagging to anyone who would like to run with this. I have found sometimes having a tag or an award in my back pocket helps when I need a blog post. :) I love to get the conversations going, however I also have to be in a place to get my head around it. Anyway, here are the 7 more unusual things about me:

1. The best place for me to solve problems is in the shower. I have been known to take a shower at all times of the day.

2. My favorite movies are humorous ones.

3. I can't go to sleep at night without an hour or so of reading.

4. I am often easily overwhelmed by crowds.

5. When something is important to me, it consumes my entire life.

6. I often refuse to follow directions just because it is someone (somewhere) who has told me how something must be done. This is why I am a terrible baker.

7. I also do not do all that great with anything requiring great precision.

So there you have it...do any of these resonate with you?

I hope you are looking forward to a lovely weekend and please consider yourself tagged!

Off Of The Brushes of Babes

Like many of you, I have wonderful friends from many different places in the world. One of my dear friends sent me this painting the other day.This painting has no title and I believe it is possibly watercolors on simple printer paper (cartridge paper). You can tell the painting has been done as a mirror image by folding down the middle of the paper. My friend is Vincent Brenker, and he lives in Itzehoe Germany (near Hamburg). Vincent is 4 years old. I adore these colors and how they have melded together.

I know many of you find inspiration in the work of other artists, but do you find inspiration in the art of children? Babs has shared some lovely work from her little grandson which is really wonderful, too. Do you think we have things to learn about art from children? I do.

I know I have neglected this and your blogs over the last week or so. I am now working to get back to you and going again. Mainly, my family has been my focus, although together we have been focused on a few extraneous issues here, too. I thank you all for being patient with me. I will get going again here before too long.

Finding Beauty

A while back, we had a discussion on this blog about hanging art on colored or non-white walls. I said I have a great love of doing that and have found in some cases it really shows off paintings nicely.

I have been painting my foyer and one of the walls is a very dark gray...kind of a paynes gray, if you will. The other walls are very light. So I hung this painting which you have seen before against this dark wall for you to see the result. My feeling is a white wall would wash this particular piece out, but the dark wall seems to really make it pop. I will show you more of this foyer project once it is complete and maybe you can see the edge as it sits against this wall, too.
In the book, "Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision" by Ian Roberts, the first chapter is about 'Searching for Beauty'. This chapter begins with these quotes:

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. - Emerson

By God, when you see your beauty you'll be the idol of yourself. - Rumi

I told beauty, take me in your arms of silence. - Aragon

Beneath our loquacious chatter, there is a silent language of our whole being which yearns for art and the beauty from which art comes. - Rollo May

So in your search for beauty, have you found it? Do you find yourself looking for it at every turn? Do you know how you define beauty? Is it important to you?

For me, simple things often define the beauty I find. It often involves something difficult for others to see as beautiful, such as hanging art on a dark or colored wall or the way fresh vegetables are displayed. I am always looking for beauty and always refining what it's meaning is for me. And that meaning is often based on something positive in some way. I can also say beauty is very important in my life.

I hope you are having a beautiful day!

Seeing Colors And Making Shapes

This is an old, old piece. It is pastels on black paper...about 10" x 14". It is just basically something I did fast one day to do something in a short time frame. One thing I have found interesting is the feather shape. I often want to make this shape for not any known reason. Do you have a particular shape which comes naturally to your hand?

Yesterday I talked about seeing colors when I dream and yes, today I found a quote from Audrey Flack about color perception. In her book "Art & Soul: Notes on Creating" which I pick up from time to time, found this:

Perceiving Colors

We see colors differently. I see blue hues with one eye, my right, and warm yellow tones with my left. I've found that many artist see this way. I believe this is a function of a highly developed color sense.

Now I am not so sure this is the way it works for me, but you can be sure I am going to be testing myself to see if Audrey's theory holds true for me. One thing I have noticed, though, is how two people with different eye colors see a hue differently. I attribute this to the reflection of the light as it is perceived by the eye. But I am not talking about colors in different locations, but people actually looking at the same color at the same time in the same place. And the other thing I have said to you before is how I am able to create and see various colors in different places where we live. I pointed to the example of the blues being so different for me when we were living in England. And the colors I worked with when we lived in the western part of the US were different from the ones I work with now here in the Eastern part of the US.

Have you ever noticed any of these subtle differences in how colors are perceived or how you work with them? Clearly both Audrey and I assume it is the eye which makes the difference, but maybe it is the brain which is translating them differently. What do you think?

I hope the day is sunny and delightful where you are today.

Monday Blanks

Today I do not have a great deal to share with you. While some of my blog friends were nursing sniffles, going to art shows and going along to high teas (you know who you are), I was painting the walls in my foyer and stairwell. And I can tell you they are looking much better. I still have a second coat to apply, then I move on to the upstairs hallway. The walls in this house were all painted in Caucasian and Asian flesh tones or wallpapered in similar hues and that does not suit me or my furnishings very well. So I have slowly been changing these walls.

When I paint walls, I spend a lot of time considering what I would do if I knew I would be in this house for the rest of my life, what I might talk about on this blog, or what other tasks I need to accomplish. Maybe that is why I paint canvases - with those I do not think of such things. But I paint walls in the same way I paint large canvases - sometimes painting large expanses while I dance around and then getting up close and getting tiny details. Do you find there are similarities in painting no matter what you paint? Do you have particular things you think about while you are doing non-creative, rote kinds of tasks?

I did a little canvas painting (you know the big red one), but I am not near ready to share that with you at this point. In the meantime, how about a little dumpr manipulation? This was a photo of some flowers (you can make them out, I am sure) sent to me by my best friend for my last birthday. They are in a handmade, pottery vase my daughter gave me for Christmas last year.

Are you having a good day today? It is my greatest wish you are doing just that!

Doodles and Thoughts...

Here is a little more doodling with the Inktense pencils. Sometimes, I just like to lay down colors to see where they might take me, and this is not any exception. What usually happens is I end up journaling on these bits. If I use a disposable technical pen (like the Micron), I will doodle a few lines and add a few word thoughts. I suppose some people would call this visual journaling, however these are not in book format...does that matter?

My apologies for not posting a lot these days, but it seems as if I am continuing my role as "glue" here. Are you ever the glue at your house? Do you find yourself doodling/journaling over other art from time to time?

I promise to work on more thoughtful posts very soon. Have a Beautiful Day!

Playing Around...

This is a quick shot...clearly not centered and not well lit...of one of the things I have been doing in my studio. Yes, I even threw some paint on the wall...but I had not painted that room on purpose and will have to prime it anyway (wallpaper).

I seem to do this. When I have been out of the studio for a while, I tend to want to do something which is poured or thrown rather than brushed. I wonder why that is? This is actually a bit of all three (poured, thrown and brushed). First it is a canvas which was painted before, and I wasn't crazy about it at all. So I painted over the original with Paynes Grey and allowed some of the paint from before show through. Then I poured some paint (pinks, lavenders, blues). Once that dried...took a while...I mixed some pearl acrylic with some of the clear glaze of which I have become so fond and painted that over the whole thing. I did this 4 times...once vertically, once horizontally and in two different oblique directions. The last thing I have done here is to pour and throw the same colors over the dried pearl effect.

What techniques appeal to you when you have been away from your studio for some period of time? Do you paint over or use parts of previous works you are not pleased with? By chance would your studio wall be reminding you of a Pollock?

I have no idea where this is going, if it goes anywhere. But I thought why not show you messes, too. It is all acrylic on a 30" x 40" canvas.

Sketching and Structure

While I am working on other things in the studio, I thought I would show you a couple of sketchbook doodles.
This was just a deal where I was seeing where the pen would go when I moved it across the page. The color is just color! There was nothing preplanned about this at all.

These are done in a Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook. I prefer these since they hold up to a lot of abuse.

This was an idea which came to me in a dream...my starters often happen that way. This was kind of a literal interpretation, but I am suspecting it might show up in a different way later. :)

Yesterday Chewy said she was going to begin a sketchbook day on her blog...I can hardly wait for that. I am afraid you are going to come here to see what you get with my blog, though. I am like that in my life, too. I don't do well with structure in a lot of ways. Do you do well with structure? Do you see that translated in your art?

Have a Beautifully Creative Day!

Art Antics and Inktense Pencils

As many of you know, I like to travel and I have been known to move around a lot. Because of this, I have also tried to come up with ways to take materials with me and to create portable studios in various locations.

Recently, I talked about this new product from Derwent called Inktense. These are basically waterproof ink in pencil form. Waterproof, that is, once the mark has been wet and allowed to dry. I believe this is going to be my new travel companion. The other good news is they have expanded their color line to include a total of 71 colors, now.

I wanted to test this product quickly, so I did this doodle in my Moleskine watercolor sketchbook. I deliberately did this quickly and even used one of those Aquaflo fill-able watercolor brushes...which sometimes makes it difficult to get smooth application. If you allow the colors to dry, you can keep the colors very separate and even create layered washes which allow colors to show through other colors without blending them. But you can also blend them if you wet colors at the same time.
This is the other thing I have done with these pencils...now this is my intuition clicking in here. When I ordered these cards, I really wanted a variety of colors in just a swatch on these cards, but I couldn't get them done that way without a tremendous cost. So I ordered a better grade paper, used the pencils and created the color myself. Of course the ego and the more logical people who have heard of me doing this wonder what in the world am I thinking! :) In reality, it is kind of meditative to do this...well, mindless, anyway. LOL

So I do like these pencils, will continue to practice with them and use them for travel. While I am not a drawer in the traditional sense, I love color. And the color of these pencils are very intense if you are used to using watercolors. They really are more like ink. I think it will also be a great way to workout some thoughts for larger paintings. Well, sort of, you know how they take on a life of their own. The other thing I want to try is using them on various surfaces...

What new products have you found lately? Do you drive the people around you crazy with your art antics?

Absolutely Enjoy Your Day!

Nature and a Little Test

Today I am running a test and sharing some of the inspiration nature is providing in my yard this spring.

Some people would call this a weed. I call it sweet and a great color inspiration, too.

Yesterday, I asked if anyone had any suggestions for me to improve this blog. Everyone was so nice about that, and I even had a suggestion to reconsider the black background. Well, I am a rebel, but I have told Chewy ,who commented about this, I would ask other people for their suggestions. Please go to the comments on yesterday's post and read what we have talked about there. I do not want to even try to express it to you in my words. If you don't want to comment here, but would like to give me your opinion, send me an email (find it in the column to the right).

I just love to see the new growth on the trees in our back yard here. Do you remember these with all the snow a few months ago?
These azaleas are just beginning to bloom out now. They must have been planted by the original owners. I bet they were really small when they planted them.

As you can, hopefully, see I have posted larger photographs today and also increased the size of the font. Does this make a difference on the black background for any of you who have issues with it?
Do you remember this dogwood tree when the owl was found sitting on the branch? I shared it on a post in early December.
Here is a close-up of one of the dogwood tree branches. These are the most interesting flowers to watch as they change color throughout the spring.

I hope you can also find some inspiration in some of these spring photographs from my yard. I always find it interesting to see photographs from other areas which are so inspirational for me. Travel, as you know, is one of my huge inspirations, so this is a way to see another place through my eyes...sorry Lynette, I am sure this isn't all that great for you!

Let me know your thoughts on the larger font and photos.

Testing...and Opinion

This weekend was one of painting and one of testing. If you remember last week I did a post showing a small painting on the Ampersand Aquabord. This particular product works very well. I also mentioned in the comments that Golden has a product known as Absorbent Ground which I had not tried, but owned a pot that I wanted to try. And try it, I did...

To use this product, you have to thin it with twenty percent (20%) water and paint it, thinly, on a gessoed surface. The directions said the thinner and more layers used the better the product. So here is what I did. I had some Ampersand Gessobord, so on one I painted 2 thin layers of the product allowing the first to dry before adding the second layer. The second layer was allowed to dry thoroughly before dropping paint on the surface. For this first piece, I sprayed the surface of the prepared board with distilled water and dropped thinned acrylic paint on the surface. As you can see, it clearly did NOT take up the paint in the way watercolor paper would or in a way the Ampersand Aquabord did.

This particular material handles in a very different way. It is a surface unlike paper or Aquaboard. If you are more of a traditional watercolor painter, it might work very well for you, though. If you are more of an experimental painter or abstract expressive painter with watery paint, you will get a very different result than the other two products. I have already began to change this particular piece...it was very difficult to look at even as a test!

The second Gessobord, I did three layers allowing for thorough drying between the layers. This time, I also sprayed the surface with distilled water, but I used acrylic ink rather than the watery paint. The intensity of the ink was more appealing to me, but the ink still sat on top of the surface more than I had wanted. Since a lot of it was just sitting on top, I tossed a bit of sand on the surface (I am not really a good tester, am I?) to get this result.
I liked the result of this okay. It is fine, but nothing to write home about. I, personally, still like the other surfaces better than the Absorbent Ground.

But, once all this had dried, I noticed my pot of Golden Pearl just hanging out nearby. So I picked up that and did a bit of dry brushing over the sandy surface. Granted this is not controlled at all, but I really liked the result.
I know it is difficult to see the pearl effect here, but I thought being able to see the difference would help. Photographing those more reflective paints is a real bear!

So what experiments have you done recently? Are you willing to share the techniques? Do you think it is good to share this kind of thing or do you feel it is something an artist should keep to themselves? How do you feel about sharing just bits and pieces like this...not really art, but tests or how mediums and materials react with each other? And is this kind of blogging unfair to other professions such as writers or workshop instructors?

I look forward to hearing from you...

Have a Very Beautiful Day!

Emotions

There is a very good reason I am showing you old work today. I promise...well, aside from the fact that I am still working on the new stuff. I will tell you...

On Tuesday, Robert Genn talked about Emotion in Buying in his popular newsletter, Painters Keys. His posting was talking about how he observed a couple buying a painting, and they knew immediately they loved it. Once they realized that, they immediately went into the size, colors, etc. They almost did not acknowledge why they were drawn to a particular painting, they just knew they were and moved right into the facts. You can read the post and see my response here.

This, you say, is the reason you are pulling out old stuff? Well, with these, I have some emotional responses from people who do not paint. I thought it would be interesting to share the responses with you who do paint.


This painting is called, Near Violet, which I painted in response to the light I found so intriguing when we first moved to England (24 x 36 Acrylic). A friend was visiting us when we lived in England and saw this painting. He was very taken with it immediately (but couldn't get it back to his country with him). The entire time he was visiting, he kept looking at it. I asked why he liked it, but he wasn't sure. On the other hand, I have never had anyone else who connected with this painting the way he did. As a matter of fact, my son often walks by it and shakes his head wondering what in the world I am thinking not to have painted over it yet.






















This is probably one of the most traditional works I have ever done...I know, I know you are laughing. These are Channel Spring 1 and 2 (18 x 18, Acrylic). My mother fell in love with these. She doesn't seem to be able to get her head around anything else I create, but these seemed to work for her. They are now framed (in very traditional oak frames made by my father) hanging above her bed. For me, they hold very little with the exception of test canvases. I was about to paint over them when she saw them, too. So once again, she saw it and boom.


This is Elizabeth's Painting (24 x 36, Acrylic). I was clearly experimenting with pouring here and had a good time doing so. When my daughter saw this painting she adored it. When my children love any paintings, they belong to them...no matter what! My daughter is quite classic in her tastes, so what drew her to this painting? She loves wearing skirts, pearls, etc. But this painting spoke to her and is now in her little cottage in California. Here is the thing, my husband feels sorry that I have had so many problems with this painting...all of those runs have to mean I made a mistake! I have to say, my daughter's educational background is very creative and being a writer she sees things others often do not. Does that explain it?

I find it interesting to see how non-artists respond to any paintings. I am usually really jazzed when a painting speaks to them...of course I am. But when I hear statements like, "Any child could have done that mess...how can you call that painting?" I am offended (and this is not in response to my work, but in a museum or gallery...no one would be that rude to say that to my face, would they). But it tells so much about people in listening to what they have to say...it means very little to the art itself. Of course it makes us question, but what is said by these people comes from a place of not understanding expression. What do you think? Tell me about your experience with responses to your work by non-artists. I know there are some beautiful/hilarious stories out there.

And speaking of children...Fiona (you know Fiona from yesterday's post) poses an interesting question on her blog. Her question is "Why Is Art Like Childhood?" Do you have any thoughts on this? I responded to Fiona on this subject.

Everyone have a beautiful Weekend! Remember next week...early in the week, too. I will be having another conversation! This time, it is with Barbara Wilson...you probably know her as Babs! You are going to love getting to know this wonderful artists even more.

A Little Hint... and What Would You Like?

Today is my 55th post! Yes, I am a baby in the blog world. I didn't even post for months after the first couple of times. With that in mind, I am here to ask you for some input. But first, no I am not telling your anything about this image today. It is basically a hint! No, not for tomorrow, either! I decided if a writer can give a "teaser", then so can I! :)

So as you all can see, I am not good with internet kinds of things. I don't know how to do things like write HTML or make a link with my writing by saying click "here" and things like that. I don't claim to be good with these things and thank all of you who have helped me get to this place. I kicked and screamed about the blog, but now I am glad I have done it. I have to say I am not getting as much painting done, but I am getting a lot more from the wonderful people I have met so far. So what I would like to ask you now is what kind of things would you like to find when you click in here? I have a few ideas, but I would really like to hear from you what interest you have. Are you interested in what people are reading? Are you interested in mediums? Are you interested in what is going on in art news? Do you want to know about other artists (yes, living ones)? I know there are lots and lots of blogs out there. Some are really, really into the web and the computer. I am not. I am also not good with giving business information. I think you know the kinds of things I can handle.

So tell me, what do you want to know? What do you want me to try to find out for you?

Also, I don't think spell check is working on blogger, so forgive any errors I have here...I am the first to admit I can't spell.

More Inspiration

My family enjoys traveling to the Northwest corner of Montana with some regularity. While there are many things which draw us there, the colors are very close to the top of the list. As artists have known forever, nature knows what she is doing.

In this area of Many Glacier, Glacier National Park, Montana the reds and greens of the rocks have become an inspiration for me when I am drawn to particular hues. But it is not only the rocks, but the glacial lakes, and one cannot forget the sky! The beautiful clear skies of the summer are an inpiration in themselves.

In the photograph on the right you can see some of the colors which draw me in. In the photo on the left, you can see a close-up and clearer image of the red rock which is seen on the side of the mountain in the long view photograph. The other interesting thing about this particular rock is the hue actually beomes quite purple when it is wet!