Month: June 2008

And the winner is. . .

. . .the barn in pencil!!! Thank you all for helping me to see my way clearly to a decision. There were also a number of people who emailed me directly instead of commenting on the blog, and each one of those voted B. 2 voted for A, and I appreciate their strength in not running with the pack.

There is a different juror/judge each year. Some care about how well the entries interpret the category. Others only put the piece in the appropriate place and then judge it based on artistic merit. One judge actually down-graded a fabulous piece because the title didn’t match the work! Hard to say, so I just do my very best with each entry and do not settle for “good enough”.

We won’t know until late August how the piece fares in the competition. As with most things in life, more will be revealed in the fullness of time. (Are you sick of hearing that yet?)

several items, hopefully of interest

About these paintings in progress (They need So Many Layers!):

1. Maggie, can you spot your lemons? Clearly, I am thinking Series here!

2. Doug, can you spot your (if you like them) pumpkins?

3. Kathy, can you see your bridge beginning to emerge?

4. The 2 with their backs to you, the audience, are waiting for the fullness of time in which they will be revealed.

5. This is Zeke. He keeps me company in hopes that food might appear; he also loves to contribute hairs to the wet paintings.

And 2 items not related to the paintings shown:

1. My dental hygienist was quite pleased with her poppy painting. This makes me both happy and relieved, because when I allow someone to put pointy things in my mouth, I want that someone to like me!

2. About the choice of barns? More will be revealed. . . And I am wondering why no one noticed my brilliant use of the word “forsooth”! Did anyone wonder about it? Did anyone go for his dictionary? Most importantly, did anyone laugh?

Your opinions wanted

There is an art competition each year called “Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts”. This is a beautiful show with several categories that relate to agriculture: Dairy, Citrus, Irrigation, Cotton, etc. . . Artists can enter 2 categories, and this year I have 2 ideas for the same category. This is a no-no, because one would be competing with oneself if the same category were entered twice.

This is where you come in! Here are 2 different pieces of art for Farm Equipment And Structures. Since my choosing which piece might be akin to selecting my favorite cat (I love them all to distraction!), I am requesting help from you, my blog readers, in the hopes that you will be more objective than I am able to be.

These are not in order of my preference. Forsooth, if I had a preference, I wouldn’t be asking (begging and pleading and groveling) for your help! And there is no need for anyone to say, “I don’t know anything about art; I only know what I like” because this IS about what you like!

Choice A

Choice B

Inspiration, part 6

Yesterday in drawing lessons, a student brought photos of the family farm in hopes of designing and drawing a collage. There were close-up shots of fruit and blossoms, medium shots of individual trees and equipment, and long range views of orchards with hills behind them. I have been drawing this stuff for years, but yesterday one of those photos caused me to spontaneously erupt with “I’d like to paint that!” Why? Because it was beautiful! I am inspired by beauty, once again! Here is a similar picture that I drew in colored pencil a few years ago. Sorry, it is sold.

Okay, I lied. I am not sorry that it sold. I love to sell my work!

inspiration, part 5 (open mind)

Sweet Seat II – 8×10 – oil on wrapped canvas – $80

My friend Lisa inspires me with her hard work, determination, and encouraging helpful criticism. We met the first semester of our freshman year at Redwood High School in an art class. She has been teaching junior high art for a number of years, and is now working on her master of fine arts degree in an online course. This adds about 30 hours to her work week, a killer schedule.

Lisa is an abstract painter, and has opened my eyes and mind to this style of art. Most abstract “art” leaves me scratching my head with wonder and amazement not only at the mess on the canvas, but at how it passes for art, enters a gallery and gets sold! I used to think it was nothing but an emotional outburst in a 2-dimensional form, but watching Lisa plan and create her work has changed my mind. Good abstract art does exist, and it is a result of hard work without the usual benefit of a scene, object or photo to guide the artist.

So now my mind is a bit more open, but I exercise caution in this area, lest my brains leak out.

Finished?

Being finished is a nebulous concept. . . as long as oil is wet, it can be changed and manipulated. Come to think of it, when it is dry, it can be painted over and changed! So how do I know when I am finished? Sometimes, it looks good. Sometimes there is a looming deadline. Sometimes, every new stroke is a mistake. Sometimes, there are other pieces needing to be worked on.

By the way, Paula, it is too wet to sign, varnish or put a wire on the back. Wait, no wire, it will sit on an easel! (gotta go floss the oil paint out of my teeth now. . . )

more on commissions

Our dental hygienist reads my blog. No, that doesn’t set my teeth on edge – it pleases me! She asked my husband if I do commission work, and he sent her to my studio. She had seen something on my blog that led to an idea. Together with a co-worker of hers, we designed a small painting for a specific area of her home. Her vision was a little unframed piece to sit on a table-top easel with lots of bright colors. Here is the painting that may have triggered her idea:

Next, I hope to show you the finished piece.

Commissions

Commissions are “an order for something, especially a work of art, to be produced” –

I can do this!!

Some very fine people (with very good taste in art, I ever so humbly add) have a blank wall facing their front door. They gathered about 10 photos, and together, we figured out which photos lend themselves to be grouped together and into how many pieces. Our conclusion was that three drawings, each with multiple subjects, would fit nicely.

Here is the first sketch:

Next, I took their photos home with me, except for the ones they had torn from a calendar. Those are copyrighted, so I looked through my own photos for the same subject matter. Then, I made three separate sketches so they could see if I was on the right track.

Here is the first more detailed sketch:

(good thing they already know that I know how to draw!!)

When they approved the first sketch,I started right away. Never mind about prioritizing with other work, closer deadlines, etc. . . I LOVE to draw!! (you knew that) Here is how it looks so far:

In the fullness of time, more will be revealed. . . stay tuned!

Inspiration, part 4

There is an art newsletter called Robert Genn Twice Weekly Letter. Sometimes I don’t read it for weeks, then slam through a bunch of them at once. His writing reminds me a bit of the way the water keeps charging full force over the dam in a seemingly endless supply. The man never runs out of ideas, and he really makes me think!

Here are some of his subjects: pushing oneself through mediocrity, 14 points for jurying art, 16 ways to keep yourself working, attitudes necessary when working en plein air (French for on site), kalopsia (the condition of things appearing more beautiful than they actually are), works on paper versus works on canvas, and the way one artist creates caricatures. These short letters come 2 times a week, on and on and on! And, they are free!

www.painterskeys.com/subscribe/

First things first

Washington Navels – graphite – 11×14 framed – $175

A man sent me some photos of his paintings and asked my opinion. It was unchanged from the last time he asked, which was unchanged from the previous time, which hadn’t changed since he quit drawing lessons to learn to paint!

My opinion is that one must learn to draw before learning to paint, IF one wants paintings to look believable. My point was not to badger him into returning to drawing lessons; it was to let him know that until he learned to draw accurately, his paintings would not be satisfying to him.

When I began painting, I chose subjects that were too difficult for my skill level. When I figured this out, I backed up to what I always tell my beginning drawing students: pick a simple single object, one with which you are already familiar. That object for me is oranges. (There is that series idea again!) At last count, I think I was on Oranges XXXIII. (for those of you in Rio Linda, that means number 33)

In no way do I mean to criticize this eager man who really really really wants to learn to paint! Au contraire – I understand him completely! When I was learning to knit, my attitude was “Scarves? We don’t need no stinkin’ scarves!!”, and my first project was a sweater. Not just a simple pullover, but a cardigan, complete with button bands and button holes! Needless to say, I am the proud owner of many weird sweaters. But, after 3 years of knitting, I now own quite a few not-so-weird ones also. So, one can probably learn to paint IF one is learning to see and understand shapes, proportions, perspective and values in the process.

And, the illustration above is not a simple single object. If a beginner chose this picture, I’d advise cropping it to a single orange with part of one leaf. Get the idea?