I Heart Art...

"...We name life 

in relation to whatever we step out from when we

open the door, and whatever comes back in on its own."

-- from the poem No Ideas But In Things 

by Jessica Greenbaum

This piece is just an exercise in frustration for me. It's what happened after a long day of working on another painting that I was very excited about when I started it. When I came up for air and actually looked at it hours later, I was ... not so much. :(  Something happened between the idea I had when I started and the thing that transpired onto the canvas. So I put that away to let it rest for another day. I haven't given up on it but I'm not ready to go back to it right now. *sigh*

Not wanting to leave the studio just yet, I decided to slap some paint down with my hands on some watercolor paper just to see what would come of it. I love to use my hands as a paintbrush when I get into a mood... After a few minutes I thought I saw the outline of a heart and took it from there. Voila. Frustration worked out...  

I had a selection of poems on my desk that I have been using for inspiration and the quote I used at the top of the post has really stuck with me. Those are the last lines from the poem and I love them. I'm working on a couple of paintings right now. Hopefully something can be salvaged from one of them. 

Turning

Turning

Going too fast for myself I missed

more than I think I can remember

almost everything it seems sometimes

and yet there are chances that come back

that I did not notice when they stood 

where I could have reached out and touched them

this morning the black shepherd dog 

still young looking up and saying

Are you ready this time

by W.S. Merwin

I loved this poem when I first read it. It describes perfectly how things have been for me lately. It seems that time keeps getting away from me and I'll just marvel at how much I've missed. I'm trying to make an effort to slow down and appreciate more of the things and people that are important to me. I don't always make much progress but I am definitely becoming more aware. 

This is another art journal page and my entry for Paint Party Friday. This was a loose sketch I did one night a while back and I just decided to paint it today. Still loving those watercolors I used in the background.

Another thing I want to try and be better about is visiting all of you more. Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my last post. They helped me more than you know. I look forward to visiting all of your blogs in the coming days! Big Hug to all of you!

I Wish...

"I'm so tired,

I wish I was the moon tonight..."

Neko Case

Well it's been a while since I posted! I want to thank everyone who has sent emails asking about me. I'm fine. Just a little tired. I've been taking a little time off to visit with family and friends and to hopefully get some inspiration for my art. Now that I'm home and settled back in, I am hoping the time away will bring some energy back. Aren't you supposed to feel MORE rested after a vacation?  ;-) 

This is a journal page I did while trying out my new watercolors. They are yummy!  So that's supposed to be me staring at the moon, waiting for energy and ideas... We'll see if it works. This song keeps playing in the meantime:

Feeling Like Alice...

"Because it feels like I have just woke up

In a world where down is up

And up is a long way from here..."

Lisa Mitchell, Alice in Wonderland

This just about sums up how I've been feeling lately: upside down! Can't seem to get it together no matter what I do. So I painted a girl with her head all messed up; just like me.  ;-) Actually, I do sit with my head tilted like this a lot. Hmmm... could explain a few things. 

Anyway, this is my entry for Paint Party Friday. I was also inspired by the song Alice in Wonderland, by Lisa Mitchell. I've included that as well. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'm off to visit your blogs now! It may take me a few days but I intend to get to you all. Big HUGS!! 

Journey

"...But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn 

through the sheets of clouds, 

and there was a new voice

which you slowly 

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper 

into the world."

from The Journey, by Mary Oliver

I've been inspired by that poem before in my art. It fell out of a folder as I was trying to clean up my studio. LOVE this particular part! I'm also getting ready for another trip back to Ohio in two weeks to visit my friends again before the weather turns bad. This one will be good timing; my sister's birthday will fall during that week. So I'm really looking forward to seeing her again. 

I was playing with some new watercolors and came up with this. Watercolors are not my thing but I have some in my supplies and and am giving them a try during Jane Davenport's class. I figured what the heck.  :-)

However, I did add acrylics in her face. Couldn't help myself...

Hope you all have a wonderful week! I'm working on something I hope to have finished in time for Paint Party Friday. We shall see...

Circus Girl

I'm back from vacation and slowly getting settled into my routine. I had a fantastic time visiting with my friends and just soaking up all the fun in my hometown. Of course the time went too fast and I was sad to leave (as always). I'm planning another trip in November so that will keep my spirits up.

Katie Kendrick's class has ended and I really enjoyed it! She's a wonderful teacher and I'm eagerly awaiting her book that is coming out in January (I think). This is a mixed media piece I just finished using a background I did from Katie's class.

I'm also taking a class from Jane Davenport called Supplies Me. It's an awesome class. I confess to buying many art supplies and then once I get them home, I'm not quite sure what to do with them... Jane is an admitted art supply hound and she shows you exactly what to do with all of those supplies!

This week we are experimenting with pastels. I've never used them before so I thought I would try Jane's technique and see if I could do a figure in pastels. This girl just popped up. I've had a poem in my head called The Circus Watcher, by Mary Jo Bang and I was thinking about that as I was sketching, so I guess this is my Circus Girl.  ;)

Thank you all for your kind thoughts on my Aunt's passing and on my last painting. They meant very much to me. Big HUG to all of you! I plan on catching up with all of your blogs this week.

Painting a Dream

I'm really enjoying Katie Kendrick's class, Layered Impressions. One of our assignments was to paint a dream we've had. I sometimes write them down if I remember them but I've never painted one.

My mom is in a lot of my dreams. They aren't necessarily about her but she's in them. Last night she was in another one. I recently lost an aunt who died in a fire. That's been on my mind a lot. In my dream last night all I remember was a room, kind of cave-like, but with couches and rugs, like a living room. Mom was there and she was apologizing for the room being so dark because we were going to read. We used to love to read together. We would have our books and just sit for hours reading. I said it was okay but I remember thinking the room was just too dark.

In our assignment we were to capture the feelings as well as the dream itself. I call this "Turbulence" because of the unrest that I felt when I woke up. I think all of the emotion surrounding the events of the fire plus Mom's presence always with me all came out in the dream. I found it a very healing exercise.

I've been absent from Paint Party Friday for too long and wanted to have something to show today. Check out the other artists who participate. They never disappoint!

Playing With Layered Impressions

I am taking a wonderful class by Katie Kendrick called Layered Impressions. This painting is from one of the lessons. Hubby says she looks like she's hungover.  ;-)  I don't know. I kind of like the result. Starting with a found image we were to add our own touches with paint and collage. The goal wasn't to get a realistic face but just to see what the papers and paint were leading us to do. This class is so much fun! Katie has a very laid back teaching style and I love the techniques she's showing us.

Also this week I'm getting ready for my trip home to Ohio to visit with my friends. I'll be leaving next weekend and will be gone for a week or so. I'm really looking forward to that. My knee is still giving me fits but it is trying to heal (slowly).

I'm working on a few other pieces right now and hope to post again before I leave for my trip. Have a great week everyone!

Let It Go

"And in a burst of light that blinded every angel

As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars

You felt the gravity of tempered grace

Falling into empty space

With no one there to catch you in their arms."

--from "Iridescent", by Linkin Park

I'm often inspired by music and poetry. This song has been playing on my iPod constantly. There has been a lot of frustration for me lately. Maybe it's because the knee is still not completely healed. Sometimes when I'm hurt or sick, little things will often become magnified. Aarrgghhh! Then I find myself having little pity parties. Well, I have to stop that. I have to keep reminding myself that the little things are not worth it and I do need to just let them go. Otherwise I let them eat at me and take what little energy I do have.  :(

So I went to the canvas and the verse I quoted above really stuck with me. And when I started to paint I just let it ALL go. It felt good! :-) I have these gold mica flakes that I love to use for special effects. They don't show up very well in the photo but on the canvas they really shine, like little stars. This piece makes me happy. That was my goal when I started, so mission accomplished! Here's the song that started it all. I hope you like it as well as I do:

Playing With Graphite

After a long, dry spell I'm slowly working my way back into the studio. This was an experiment with graphite powder and acrylics. Fun, but messy. ;-) I'll be doing more with the graphite. I'm still mixing it with other media and playing. I saw these lines in a poem called Statuary by Katherine Larson and was inspired:

"The late cranes throwing 

their necks to the wind stay

somewhere between

the place that rain begins

and the place that it ends

they seem to exist just there

above the horizon at least

I only see them that way

tossed up

against the gray October

light ... "

I also took a tumble down the five steps that lead into our garage while I was unloading groceries from the car. Yes, I landed in a big pile on the concrete floor. My knees and wrists took the brunt of the fall so it could have been worse.  I'm on the mend now. I haven't fallen in a while. It always scares me when I do. No broken bones, just many bruises and a swollen knee.  :(

The Summer stupor has started to wear off and now I'm beginning to feel the energy that always seems to accompany the beginning of Fall. It's about time! I have a few things in the works and hope to have something to share later this week. 

Soul Searching

This is a mixed media piece I did a while back when I first started experimenting with beeswax. It was before I had any of my encaustic equipment. I thought the art papers had a nice aged look and just begged for some wax! I loved the little goddess and had to use her in this piece. The text at the bottom is from an old dictionary and the reference is the soul.

I want to thank you all for your awesome comments and wonderful emails! I truly appreciate it and love hearing from you. I'm sorry I haven't been online as much these past few weeks. I'm trying to get back to a normal schedule. I promise to visit everyone in the next couple of weeks! I've got family visiting this weekend and am stressing about that. I'll be glad when that's over and then I can get back to a normal life, I hope.  ;-)

This song has been playing a lot on my play list, soothing my nerves. I hope you enjoy it too. A BIG hug to you all!!

Very Cool Surprise

What is this, you ask? Well, the folks at CitraSolv asked if they could use my Warhol collage to help promote the use of their product for art. Of course I said yes. Especially when I heard other artists such as Robert Burridge were also included in this little venture. But how were they going to do this?

Voila! Little tags will hang from the bottles showing how you can use CitraSolv in your art! And there is my tag! :-) Have a look inside:

There will be different artist's tags that will hang from the bottles. They will have a little info directing you to the artist's blog or website. How cool is that? And here is the back of the tag:

I was pretty excited to receive my tags in the mail yesterday. It was a very nice pick-me-up! I want to thank Melissa and the folks at CitraSolv for thinking of me!

Reflecting

If She Only Had One Minute

by Kay Ryan

What would she put in it?

She wouldn't put

she thinks; she would take,

suck it up

like a deep lake --

bloat indiscriminate

on her last instant --

feast on everything she

had released, dismissed, or

pushed away; she would make

room and room as though

her whole life of resistance

had been for this one purpose:

on the last minute of the last day

she would drink and have it; ballooning

like a gravid salmon or the moon.

Another of my favorite poems of Kay Ryan's. *sigh* This is a mixed media piece I did a while back. I'm still digging through some of my older pieces looking for inspiration. I expect that with the coming Fall things will pick up. I am already beginning to feel the stir of excitement in anticipation of the new season. That's when I begin to come alive artistically. For now, I'm just being a little quiet; taking it all in.  ;-)

Imprint

I haven't been very productive lately. I don't know why. I have been taking a little time to energize and hopefully find some inspiration. I'm also planning another trip home to visit my friends in Ohio in a few weeks. That always helps lift my spirits.

This is a mixed media piece put together with a little bit of everything. I found this little scrap of a poem I had written along with it in my unfinished box:

A deep impression

Time washes away the tears

But your mark remains

I was experimenting with rusted elements at the time so it was nice to include those. Digging through this box of unfinished pieces has yielded all sorts of surprises. I hope to be back with some new pieces soon -- and back with regular participation in Paint Party Friday!