on money and art and doing what you love inspired me to do this pen and pencil drawing. As the first assignment of the year, my studio art classes concentrated on the simplicity of radial composition with a push for a range of values to lend the work more depth. Here are some of their samples. I think some of them are very inspired.
I am astounded by the recurring question in all aspects of mid life- but especially now in the realms of finance... I hear it asked in the personal, cultural, service, and corporate boardrooms. There seems to be hovering amongst us a dense layer of fear... not enough money and no sight of change. Do we keep doing the same old thing and hope there's a turn for the best or do we make some radical cuts? Making no decision has become a choice as well.
I may not have painted a masterpiece this weekend BUT I DID PAINT THE CLOSET. Last June I had the closet reconfigured so that there was a more reasonable access to the attic where the heating system- ONE of the multiple heating sytems this house thrives on- lives. Before this ladder was installed you had to sort of leap up to a shelf, bend over backwards and squeeze to the north and then to the south to fit through a hole in the ceiling. Since my husband moved out I have had to go up there to find the loose connection where bats were getting into the duct-work and I learned to replace a filter and a belt up there. My youngest son and dearest dad recently insulated the ducts and cleaned up debris left by years of visiting service men. This new closet, green and red and white, is an ode to gradual claiming of the hidden corners and inner workings of this house... Facing my worst fears and getting beyond them. (ndp)
Painting on the fly... Those are keys above the head board- not a funny looking bird.
I find myself one week into classes. I have not had time to do my daily painting and I wonder "do any of the daily painters have full time jobs as well?" I feel a bit off balance without the discipline of it.
through art. The 33 artists (including me) who painted over 48 hours at the Dutchess County fairgrounds have work placed at auction. It took me 8 minutes to figure out how to register and bid on a work today- and many of the works- by wonderful artists- have starting bids of $50! What a way to capture some of the essence of summer in the country! Even better, you will be supporting the Dutchess County Arts Council as well as the artists. The council does a ton of work advocating for the arts, educating the communities, supplimenting the schools and providing services to art related-businesses.
Just spent an afternoon with a friend (Michael G) who had dropped his latest painting at a gallery for an opening this weekend and was showing another dealer his current series of paintings when he got a phone call from a third art dealer wanting to schedule a visit his studio. A triple crown!
WHO says we get smarter as we get older? This is one of my two classrooms. I will be teaching digital art to 12 beginers, medium level and AP students starting on Monday. It may be the craziest thing I have ever signed on to do.
my tears of surrender
Had a wonderful day visiting studios in the northeastern area of dutchess County. unfortunately I could only visit about 6 of the 22 artists. Too much.
Just having put the finishing touches on a painting I started last spring- it occurs to me that the process might be of interest to some. It certainly baffles me! Where did this painting come from? How did it get here?
So... looking backwards... the idea for this untitled painting came about last spring. As I was leaving an art opening this young woman, resting her chin carefully on her fingers caught my eye... she seemed dreamy and lost... and best of all, she gave me permission to photograph her! In the early summer I found the appropriate sized panel and sketched her in...with a slight change to her bench. Immediately the redness scared me, and I felt there was too much exposed ground for the figure to float in. I wasn't sure what I was trying to say so I zoomed in to focus more on the chin resting. After a few fitful painting attempts I took the panel outside to find the right setting for my figure. I was looking for hay-bales, but just missed them. All the farmers had pulled them off the fields- In fact the sky was cloudy and threatening. I found a murky slime green pond around the corner from my house. It was perfect and in less than two hours I had a setting. THEN, the direct nature of the stag, it's veritable precious whiteness, started annoy me... my answer was to try and disguise him. I Xeroxed my piano bench for the tapestry texture and thinking of the Unicorn tapestries I slowly layered the stag with weave and maps and flowers... After another month I worked into the flesh tones of the female figure, glazed some warm tones, and added some text. This September, five months after the germinating idea, I topped off the sky with map transfers and the trees with map names...
THRU ideas by the dozen... I am hardly ever in my bed. Out early and in late...The new teaching job has me mulling over lesson plans, learning new technology, and burning with inspiration.
