Reviewing The Basics

Do you ever feel it is sometimes important to review the basics of the work you do? I feel as though it has been important to me over the last few weeks. One of the reasons I think I have wanted to do this is because I am exploring new processes and new mediums, too. As I have said before, I am enjoying the use of FW Pearlescent Inks along with liquid and regular acrylics. No, no I have not given up on the glazing, but it seems as though I have to keep myself interested in other things while I also enjoy that very time consuming process of clear glazing. This is a little bit of one of the pieces I am currently working on. I know I should be documenting the process, however I just can't seem to take myself out of the flow of work to prepare that linear type document. There is more to do with this and you are not seeing the entire piece, I thought you might like to see how the inks are responding.

Now getting back to the idea of re-exploring the basics I have found a wonderful book called Painting Abstracts by Rolina van Vliet. While I am not one to follow a program, I am finding picking and choosing some of the exercises are quite helpful. It is helping me to think about the working methods which work well for me and reminding me to evaluate my work with the elements and principles of art in mind. While they sit back there constantly poking at my intuition, I think it is helpful to bring them to the front of my evaluation process from time to time.

If you enjoy abstract painting, I think you will find this book useful. If you are interested in exploring abstraction, I think this book is very useful in helping to understand what it is all about and what actually goes into the work of abstract painting.

Thanks to Amazon for the use of this image.

Do you find you have to make yourself step back from your work or does it come naturally? Have you ever felt as though it is important to return to basic ideas to begin to build again? How does the process work for you?

I hope all is well where you are and spring or fall is finding a way into your days!

I will be back with you soon!

Sharing Some of My Weekend Studio

As I posted on Friday, I stopped by my local art shop to find they had a nice Spring Sale going on. I wanted to pick up a few things, so the sale was a bonus. Below is a quick photo of the items I purchased on Friday. I used some of these things this weekend and some I did not. Obviously you will be able to see some of these items later on. But do you see those three little bottles in the front? They are the main subject I want to talk about today.

This is an example of rice paper which has been saturated with acrylic ink (yellow, blue and purple). Now Elis Cooke, who writes the blog Into the Bylistic, works magic with metallic powders. When I spoke with her about that, she recommended I give PearlEx brand a try. I have taken her advice and those three little bottles are indeed PearlEx powdered pigments.
I placed a small bit of the pearl powder in a double layered square of cheese cloth and gathered up the corners. While I held the little package by the corners in my left hand, I used my right hand to tap the left hand which was holding the powder package over the paper with saturated with wet ink. Then I hung it up to let it dry. The ink really absorbs into the rice paper, so make sure you have something under it to also absorb the ink. Do you hear an opportunity here?
Here I tried to get a close up shot for you looking across the paper.

But my favorite way to use this powder was to mix it with the acrylic ink.
This is the same blue and purple ink which I poured separately into little cups and added the pearl powder. Then I poured this over the rice paper! Of course the ink melded together and the powder had a mind of it's own and came together in the center of the ink images and melded itself! This is really appealing to me.

So I tested a lot of colors and several methods using these same mediums. You will get to see them, too. So, what do you think I am considering doing with these pieces?

I did not only work with these this weekend. I worked on a painting which has been on my easel, I started another canvas and am preparing a backing for one of the weavings I have been working on. So it was a very successful weekend in the studio. I worked and worked until I just didn't have any more space in there for things to dry!

Did you have a creative weekend?

Have a Wonderful Day!

More from the Past

Today I am just going to show you some of my older stuff, again. Babs has started a real trend here - just take a look at some of the blogs on my list on the right...quite a few are digging up some old things to share. Fun stuff, uh?

I am planning a weekend of art, so by next week we can begin to talk about some more current stuff. Yippee! So here we go:

This was the first time I ever played with soft pastels. I just can't get away from those dark backgrounds. :)
This I call playing catch. I am sure my son and husband had been throwing the baseball during the time I dreamed about this!
The first weaving I ever did...these were done on canvas from a canvas pad, so it is very much like fabric...
Do you ever feel like this? We had just been told we were going to be moving to Europe! I guess I was surprised and a bit overwhelmed as we had just moved less than a year before!
Just playing around...color just lifts me up...but a light background!

Have a fun weekend and go ahead and look into your old stuff and share some of the doodles.

Next week! NEW ART!

More Award Winners

Today I am just going to share some more inspiration shots as well as the other five Excellent Blogger Awards.

This is just some paint on a page of my sketchbook - nothing more.

You know there are so many Excellent Blogs I read each day. Yes, most of them are Art Blogs, but I also read other blogs for inspiration. Being able to narrow down the Excellent bloggers to 10 has been brutal. I really wanted to say everyone on my blog link list and these 10 others! But a part of the responsibility of the award was selecting 10.
This is a collection of tiny pots and a raku heart rattle. These sit on a desk in my living room.

Here is the last 5 for the Excellent Blogger Award:

Lynette Clay who I had a conversation here with last week. She writes the blog Original Art by Lynette Clay and always has a kind word for every blog she reads.

Jessica Torrant who writes Art and Life as well as Look See Saw. I am always amazed at artists who can document while they are working. For me, it is like an open studio...how do people do that?

Wurzerl writes a gardening blog, Garten - Impressionen, in both German and English. Her photographs are fabulous, her encouragement is awesome and her kindness is consistent. At the moment she is on a bit of a sabbatical, but visit her blog's back posts. They are wonderful.

Belinda Shinshillas writes a blog of the same name. She is a fabulous painter and poet, and she writes her blog in both English and Spanish. Do visit her blog and continue on to her web site.

And for some beautiful art, visit Danielle Le Bris' blog, D. M. Le Bris. Her art is clearly her blog! You will enjoy the tiny paintings she shares there.

I think you will enjoy each of these blogs, so please go and enjoy! They are truly wonderful people.

Now this is a little part of my inspiration board. Yup! Those are wine corks! The post cards I purchased in Vienna...they are lovely, so click to take a closer look. As you can see, there are just little bits and pieces here.

So there you have it for today. I am kind of like Lynnette these days...she said she was trying to get her muse back and get herself back in the studio. I think my muse may have been visiting me in the night since I have been awake since 3 this morning. She is probably poking at me to get back into the studio. I always have a bit of a struggle to get going when I have been away. Do you have that problem? When you are away from the studio for some time, getting stuck back in is somewhat of an issue? I may be shaking myself free today, though! Let's cross our fingers!

Have a Beautiful Day!

Making Art

The first thing I want to share with you is personal. I know I said I was going to stop doing that, but this was also a part of art!

My dear husband decided he was going to make me an ART CAKE for my recent birthday. Now here is the thing...he doesn't really cook unless it involves a grill, and he has NEVER (yes, you have read that correct) baked anything! I thought...OMG, how in the world and what am I in for as far as a mess? But hey, the kindness was TREMENDOUS! So my son went upstairs to his room, my daughter and I went shopping and Steve started in the kitchen! When I returned home 3 beautiful layers of cake were cooling on the counter, the kitchen was spotless and (the best part) Steve was smiling! He insisted this had to be an ART CAKE, and I wasn't sure what he meant. This is it:

I think you will agree with me this was an incredibly sweet and kind gift. The cake was absolutely delicious, and Steve may have started something! By-the-way, "Mumphie" is what they call me around here, in case you wanted to know. I am pretty much only Mom when being spoken of to someone else.

The other thing today is not about cake baking or sweet families (although I could go on and on about the last subject). I haven't been in the studio all week...I know, I am ashamed, but wanted to confess. But I have been thinking about art a lot and doing a bit of sketching and doodling. Most of you know I travel a bit and often have a need to take along art supplies, etc. Today, I thought I would share a bit of that with you.
This is a bit of what I might carry along when going somewhere. The backpack, I gave myself. I have sketchbooks, inspiration books, ink, watercolor pencils and crayons, pens, brushes and a bit of water. The other thing I always have with me is my camera. I am always adding to and taking away from. I keep this downstairs, because sometimes I would rather be down here as opposed to being upstairs. From time to time, I will pull things from the studio to take a long if I will be away for any length of time.

But what about when I am just moving around this area...running errands, etc.? I keep a few things in my purse, too, which are always with me. Here is a sample of those bits and pieces.
I always have to have my little Moleskine. I carry like 3 of these books with me (sketch, address and calendar), a Rotoring sketch pen with extra ink, a set of Copic technical pens and my (new) iPod. The little knitted deal in the corner is what I use to stash the iPod so I can have my hands free (spent time knitting that this week...blah).

So tell me thing things you find helpful to carry with you and how you might find them useful. How do you carry them? What do you do for art when you are not in your studio?

Have a lovely weekend! Next week expect to see some studio work! :)

If All Goes Well...Tomorrow Will Be the Day!

It looks like tomorrow, Wednesday 27 February, is going to be the day the surprise will be ready to reveal to you! Are you excited? I know I am excited. Let me tell you a little about this without telling you about it... A few months ago I was approached by someone to do this particular thing. At the time, I was not all that interested, because I wanted to do this in my own way. Then some other people came to me with the same idea, so I began to feel a bit of pressure. I am not one to bow to pressure very easily, but this thing kept playing in the back of my mind, too. I still had to do it my way. Then the opportunity just came flying at me, so I decided I could take a hint! I began working on this and how I wanted to work it out...it had to be my way! Tomorrow, you will get to experience the results of what has been going on with me for several months now.

So today I wanted to also share something else with you. A few weeks ago, Chewy who writes the blog, The Back of My Headboard: A Place to Stick It recommended a book called "Spirit of Drawing" by Connie Smith Siegel. Something made me order this book, and it arrived yesterday. Now I am not much of a drawer, but this book is awesome! I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone interested in expressive art! The title will fool you as it is so much more than drawing. For me, I can see where it is going to help my sketchbook take on a whole new meaning and when I travel...oh that will be completely changed!

Do you have any books you would like to recommend?

Now, don't forget to visit me tomorrow! I think it will be an exciting and inspiring day!

Movable Studio and Honors!

Happy Monday Everyone! Friday's post inspired some of you out there. I have noted this morning two other bloggers have spoken about it. You might like to visit their blogs. Diane writes Umbrella Watercolors and has created a pieced based on some work she did with her mother! Please visit her and see what she has done. And Paula writes Second Studio from New Mexico and has featured me on her blog today. She said she is going to try the woven paintings. Thank you both for this lovely honor. I am glad you felt inspired by Friday's post. And guess what? This is not what I have to share with you this week! We will get to that soon, but not today. Stay tuned, though. There are a few more things to do and that will be ready to share with you!

Last week, I promised I would let you have a look/see at my very cramped studio. Above you see my little music area. Now, though for a little background. For those of you who are not aware of it, we move a lot so my studio has to be very mobile. The last move we made was from Europe so our possessions arrived in 3 shipments and at the time, my daughter was also living with us. So everyone grabbed the spaces they wanted while I was unpacking things like the kitchen, and this little bedroom was left for me. I am such a good mama! :) I was so wanting to paint, I just unpacked my things and set up a simple studio. No painting...I didn't want to take the time to strip that ugly wallpaper...no anything except plopping things down. One day, I will claim another space, so I can redo this room, but for now it is what I have.

From the door, this is what the room looks like...yes, it is also my library! :) That may change sooner, rather than later. Do you see the drying line? I mainly dry my brushes here, but lately I have been working with rice paper and also wipe off brushes on tissue (which can make for some really interesting painted papers for collage) and find drying those on that line works great.


This area sits to my right when I am at my work table and just behind me when I am at my easel. I know it looks very messy, but I know just where everything is located...and no one else can find a thing (you know I love that).

This tambour sits to the right of my easel and holds a lot of things for me. The nice thing about a lot of the items I use is they can be easily broken down and moved where I need to go next.

And this is my work table...it is actually an old drafting board...there is a parallel bar at the top...which sits on another table. Can you see my paper storage on the table under the board?

This is not an ideal studio, but it works for me for now. If you could see what I have to do when we live in locations where we do not purchase a house you would probably be shocked! The good news about this spot is it is just across the hall from both a bathroom and a laundry room, so I have good access to sinks! I don't have to hang plastic from the walls here and I have a room!

Here are today's questions. Do you have a separate room for your studio? Do you have special needs for your studio? Do you have any ideas which will be helpful when you have to relocate a studio with regularly?

Do not forget to keep checking here, because once everything is ready, you will be the first to know The Secret.

From the Past

Untitled 18 x 24 Acrylic deep, gallery wrapped canvas

Today I thought I would share with you a painting from my past. There is a bit of a glare, but with the recent weather, it is the best image I could grab. My apologies, please. At any rate, this painting has two siblings. True, one is in England, and the other one is in New Zealand. This one is at my house. I don't know why I have not done any other paintings like this, because the other two siblings quickly found homes.

I did this like a monoprint, but with two...would that be a polyprint? First I painted the backgroun of three canvases of the same size. Then from the paint tube, I "drew" a design on one canvas, and after that I pressed in turn the other two canvases to the first one. As you can imagine the second and third canvases did not have the same quantity of paint as did the first one. I also pulled the canvases apart differently, so the texture was different. [I wish I had pictures to show you of the other two, however I lost some photographs when we moved from England back to the US.] Once this was done, I then took a brush and worked each of these in a slightly different way. After they were dry, I did a bit more working of each painting.

To me, this one looks like a dancer in flowing skirts. The best news, these were great fun to do, because dealing with the color was the only thing I had control over in the beginning. There is a lot to be said for doing that from time to time.

Have a Very Lovely Day!

I Can Take A Hint

Kim Hambric ( http://kimhambricart.blogspot.com/) asked to see some work I had abandoned (I just don't trash things), so here is one of them. You can see why. I really like drippy paint, but I just didn't have enough control of the pour here! It happens, you know? :)



But on to the topic of today -

"[There were only five galleries in those days, and the artists really depended on each other socially, psychologically, and even critically. It’s impossible now. Business sure screwed up the art world universally."]Robert Rauschenberg

Today Andrea (http://cestandrea.blogspot.com/) left me this quote along with two comments on the post below titled "A Little Hint...And What Would You Like?" She had left another nice comment there about the things she would like to see happen here on this blog. ( I am keeping a list of these requests, so keep posting them.) Then earlier this week, Todd Camplin (http://camplinart.blogspot.com/) posted about how important the groups for artists to discuss art have been to the history of this profession. He said he knew the blogging world was important to us, but he was seeing the importance of creating a group. My response to him was I agreed, however not everyone had the chance to live in a place where a supportive group was available and the artist of the past didn't have the internet. But I can take hint, it is time to address these thoughts and get your input. Here are my questions to get the discussion going:

1. Do we need to create a more structured community of like minds similar to the past artists groups utilizing the internet and blogging, specifically? I mean not only groups of visual artists, but also literary people in keeping with what has worked in places like the French Salons or the NYC artists groups?

2. Would you be willing to participate regularly in such a group?

3. Do you think it should be open or by invitation? Or are two types of groups important?

4. What kinds of things do you feel we could gain from such an organized group?

I am really depending on your input for this one. It seems as though it is really quite important and it will require some committment from the group. But now is the time to voice your opinion. If, for some reason, you are not comfortable commenting here, then email me.

There is the opportunity here to be a part of something very exciting!

Have a Very Lovely Day!

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.

Another Medium????

After a day of travel yesterday, I was delighted to return home to find a delivery of art supplies. Yes, I have to admit, I couldn't resist spending some holiday gift money for supplies! How bad am I? Mainly I purchased things like mediums, but I did get one thing which was not from Golden!

My husband had given me some wonderful paper which I was dying to work with. The paper is for dry applications (I had it on my wish list), but the pastels I owned were not the quality the paper deserved. So I just plopped down the money for these wonderful soft Senneliers. These are the dark tone set. I have a set of the oil pastels which I adore. I have also used Sennelier's oil sticks on some of my paintings. Many people are intrigued by depth they add to a painting. But I am off track here. I hope I can begin to work abstractly with the pastels and also continue to work with the acrylics. Sometimes, there is just the need to play around with a lot of different things.

I was talking to artist, Florence Artur who told me she often returned to her work with pastels between paintings. She said on some days she just didn't have the energy painting required, but pastels seem to do the trick for her. I hope to use them on the days I can't seem to get to the paint. Visit Florence's web site, www.florenceartur.com to see how she uses one medium to influence the other. So it is with Florence's encouragement, I take her suggestion to try pastels, again. By-the-way, Florence's web site can be viewed in English or French (note the buttons in the upper left of the opening page).

What do you do to influence your work?

Unfolding

This weekend, Steve (my husband) and I went to his company's holiday party. It was a lovely time, and we actually stayed at the hotel rather than head out into the early hours of Sunday morning. When we returned home late Sunday morning, we found this new friend sitting on a branch of a dogwood tree in our front yard! Jonathan grabbed the camera and took a few shots. For me, s/he was so content and happy just to hang out there a bit to see if it was the place to be. This owl is a good artist, don't you think? S/he was willing to take the risk of resting on a low branch of the tree, happy just to see what was happening around her/him and allowing the next door to open where it might. Sometimes I feel as though I am not a productive artist if I don't spend "X" number of hours in the studio, but maybe I am like this owl...I am doing art as long as I am living my creative life, and all I do has an impact on what I do when I finally make it into my studio.

Where Oh Where Will It All Go?

It seems the last of the winter weather is clearing out for us. With temps in the low 50's F, I am feeling Spring 2007 is just around the corner. Today, I have been going over the plan sketches of our new house trying to decide how to set up my studio space. It seems there is a call for lots of space from the men in my life! I suppose they are wanting to spread their wings after living in our little European cottage. Well, that is fine. I can find space for my work.

Our air shipment arrived and I quickly pulled out the few things I had in there. How nice it was to see those boxes of pastels and make a mark on the page with them. They felt so nice in my hand. I also had some metal bits my friend, Silke, had given me tucked in the bag of supplies. A few of those escaped from their containers and made me wonder what it would be like to combine oil pastels and metal bits. I think that will be something to try out soon.

But I am still longing for my paints! I have a feeling, though, painting on the house walls will probably come before painting on Kim's canvases. Oh well, that wall painting is going to give me time to gather more inspiration. I have painted so many walls in my day, I should be able to crank those out quickly. I just have to get them all planned out, so I can get them taken care of.

Mostly, I think we are all just eager to get settled. We are going to have to wait, though. We still have 3 weeks before we close on this house. That is probably just enough time to get things ready so we can toss everything else up in the air, again!