Show Prep

The weather was stunning last week, which made it difficult to focus on work. Trail Guy invited me to go enjoy the great outdoors with him, so I spent 2 hours doing non-work. Then I dove back into my show prep.

First, I chose photos for Arts Visalia to use for publicity. They requested 4; I chose 12. Oops. 

Then I worked on the artist statement, which I streamlined a bit more (thank you, Blog Reader Sharon!)

Next, I filled out the contract. Seems a little bit out of order, but maybe they know that I am a woman of my word.

Finally, I painted.

These big boys are a little cumbersome to move around and store while wet. 

Finally, I decided this smaller one is finished, no more messing around.

Sunny Sequoias #33, oil on wrapped canvas, 12×16″, $325 (including tax)

You may breathe easier, seeing that I didn’t put this Sequoia oil painting in the dumpster.

Pippin is certainly feeling better about life now that he is allowed access to this chair in the living room.

 

Goofing Off

I have some very dear longtime friends from the northwest who decided to escape the cold, wet, and gray for a week in January. Well, oops. During their visit, we got the most rain and cold that we’ve had yet this winter. I didn’t work while they were here, and surprisingly, I didn’t take many photos either. My friend (since age 17) and I decided that we look like 10 miles of a bad road, so it didn’t really cross our minds to take a picture together, until we realized that the next time we are together, we will probably look worse.

We found some grapes while poking around the river – sour sour sour!

This little waterway was completely dry 2 weeks ago. Wow, we are so thankful for the precipitation.

It is getting green. I love green.

We got permission to pick oranges in Lemon Cove on their way out of town. That is a privilege I never take for granted or take lightly.

The sun came out the afternoon that they left.

The sun was out the week before they arrived too.

It was a great week of goofing off. Now, I have a show to prepare for.

But wait! There’s more! I suddenly noticed a peculiar sight along the highway. A dinosaur with a Rudolph nose and lights? Why didn’t I notice this in December?

P.S. Nope, not gonna show you the selfie we took together. If I was inclined toward exhibitionism, I’l be on one of those social media sewers.

Collaborative Drawing

A former drawing student lost her cabin in the Creek Fire this past summer. I asked her if I could draw it for her; she said yes and sent photos.

This former student participated in an art show a few years ago, along with 2 other advanced students and me. I asked those 2 others if they wanted to join me in drawing the cabin, and they both said yes. We all really like our friend and wanted to express our sympathy.

It took awhile to figure out what to draw, how to fit it together, who should draw which part, and even how to sign it. 

It took awhile, but we did it! Our friend was very touched, particularly by the fact that we each had a part.

 

Looks Better in Person

All my paintings look better in person. Maybe I should I stop showing you my paintings in progress so that you will be inclined to attend my show at Arts Visalia in April.

Nah.  These posts could cause you to either really become interested in the show or run away screaming.

Now that I see the before and after together, I am wondering if the upper painting (before) looks better than the lower painting (after). 

I added more sky on the upper right, more detail in the corn lily on the bottom left (weird colors in the photo aren’t true), more detail to the corn lily on the bottom right and put in more distant forest.

Now that I see the photos here, I can see some botanical problems with the trees.

I’ll keep working on it.

Virtual Drawing Lesson 3

C really got on a roll and made great progress. Most of my students don’t work at home, and I continually remind them “no tests, no grades, no homework, no deadlines”. I should probably add “no guilt” because often they act as if they have done something wrong when they come to class without having done anything. But C is working very determinedly at home on her own, and it is most impressive.

This time I demonstrated the ear on the right (Rocky’s left ear), the nose/mouth (muzzle??), the fuzzes at the top of the forelock (“bangs”), and a bit of the mane to show that the clumps of hair actually cast shadows.

After she goes through these instructions, she’ll scan the drawing once more for a final analysis. This is about the 3rd or 4th drawing I’ve helped her with, and it is the quickest she has ever completed a drawing.

It is apparent that I could use a bit more planning and organization when I demonstrate and write the instructions. C and I are learning together how to engage in drawing lessons when not in person, and based on her progress with this drawing,I think it is a successful experiment.

 

What is an “Artist Statement”?

An artist statement is not a biography, nor is it a list of accomplishments and awards. It is a few paragraphs meant to cause someone to want to view the artist’s work and provide a bit of insight into the reasons the artist makes the art.

The most helpful questions I’ve read about writing a statement are these:

What do you want people to see in your work?

What is a distinguishing characteristic of your art?

Based on your conversations, what do people find delightful or surprising about your art?

The least helpful “advice” I’ve read about writing an artist statement are these questions:

What informs the color in your work?

What are the paradoxes in your work?

How do your cultural roots inform your practice?

This is what I have come up with. Does it make you want to see my work or help you understand why I do what I do?

My artistic goal is to show people that Tulare County has beauty, and we can feel proud to call it home. I also want my art to ignite the viewers’ curiosity about the places that I paint and draw.

Using pencil and oil paint, I am a studio artist who makes art that people can understand. My style is straightforward realism with tight detail, a somewhat cleaned up and brightened version of real life. I like my paintings to look good both close up and from a distance, which is a result of having used nothing but pencil for the first decades of my career.

My favorite place, Mineral King, is clearly a huge influence on my choice of subjects; I think it is the most beautiful place in our county. Recognizing art of familiar places brings delight, so to that end I gladly accept commissions of the places and things that people love.

And you thought I just sat around drawing all day.

Pippin would like to know what in the world I am going on and on about.

 

Learned in January

  1. My friends don’t think of me first as an artist; this means I am not very self-promotional, which can be both a good thing and a not-so-good thing.
  2. Quesadilla Gorilla is not just in Visalia and Three Rivers; it is also in Fresno and Hanford and is raising money to expand by selling bonds. How in the world do people learn how to do this high finance stuff?? 
  3. Sharpshin hawks are creepy cannibals; one keeps getting other birds right in front of our kitchen window.
  4. Nosocomial means “in hospital”; sometimes illness is spread nosocomial. I hope none of my blog readers ever needs to know this word.
  5. Tucker, my black cat, is a digger. I was burying kitchen waste in the herb garden, so I dug a hole, dumped the stuff in, turned away to rinse out the container, and then when I turned back, Tucker was covering the pile up for me. I actually filmed him doing this, but don’t think it will work on the blog. Besides, there are plenty of cat videos out there on the World Wide Web. (Maybe not one covering up garbage.)
  6. I went 30 days without sugar or sweets. The results: both a sense of accomplishment and one of deprivation. 
  7. Horse bangs are called a “forelock”. I wonder why people forelocks are called “bangs” instead of a “forelock”. (A person could bang her head on the wall trying to figure this one out.) In Britain, bangs are called a “fringe”; I learned this back in the days of Princess Diana.
  8. When you have tech troubles, it is helpful to engage in activities that cannot be accomplished with a computer. I had a bad couple of tech trouble days, and was helped immensely by Apple, but still took great comfort in knitting, baking bread, and yardening. Try those things on a computer, you Virtual Digital Techie Robots.
  9. Bears might be able to wear a size 4 in Crocs.

Still Here, Tasks Ahead

Showing in a good gallery involves many tasks, like gathering a mailing list, completing a contract, providing digital images for publicity, titling and pricing all work, making an inventory list, coming up with a title for the show, and horror of horrors, writing an artist statement.

I have been working on this last one for awhile. You may remember that I despise the pretentious way that artists tend to talk, which I call ArtSpeak, occasionally poking fun at some of the nonsense. (A post about it is here.) So, I wrote up an artist statement and sent it to a dear friend who has helped me with many marketing tasks through the years.

This is not my artist statement but it is what I said to her when requesting her help in editing.

“In reading guidelines for writing an artist statement (just the very term causes my lip to curl up in disgust), I have come up with the following and wondered if you could be Jane Bag-of-Donuts from West Undershirt and see if it reads well, makes sense, and is straightforward enough for Tulare County without insulting the Wanna-be Snobs.”

More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . .

If I was a smoker, I’d light up about now, but I think I’ll knit a few rows instead.

A Good Yarn, colored pencil, private collection

Still Here

Last September my exhibition proposal to Arts Visalia was accepted for January of 2022. Lots of time to prepare, lots and lots of time.

Alas. Two weeks ago Arts Visalia asked me if I could be ready this April. After asking many questions and getting good answers, I said yes.

This meant instead of just dabbling, slow-poke style, I have to now shift into Git-‘er-dun mode.

I had 1-1/2 hours of time with nothing to do but think about the show (what else can one do in the dentist chair?)While there, I came up with the title for the show: Still Here.

You can interpret this several ways, all of which work.

I am still here in Tulare County, still making art. Tulare County is still here after all those fires. It is still here, compared to the bustle of a city. 

We are unsure as to whether this show will be a virtual one or if people can attend in person. 

More will be revealed. . .

Virtual Drawing Lesson 2

C sent me her drawing and a list of questions. Instead of circling new areas on the photo and addressing those, I will attempt to help her with her specific concerns. This is what I would have done if we were sitting together in class, before giving her new instructions.

Her list is in green below.

1. The dark line on the left side of his face is definitely too dark. Not sure why I left that, but I’m guessing I need to use my gum eraser and lighten that up. The white area that is above the eye looks much better on your example from last week, mine is too dark, but I’m not sure how to adjust that or if I need to. Your thoughts?

2. I erased the little swirl in the middle of his forehead because I realized it was not in the correct spot so I will add that back in this week.

3. I have some lines in the forelock that are a bit strange, from erasing, that I need to correct. Other than that, how do you think the forelock looks and what are your suggestions?

4. The mane. I attempted it and feel like it’s starting to look ok, but would it be possible to break the steps down a bit more on that for me? I feel like you gave me step 1 and step 4 but me being me,  I need steps 2 and  3 also.  Like here’s the squiggly lines (step 1), now here’s an example of the next step, and then the step after that to get to the clumps of dark and light (step 4). I hope that makes sense. 🙂

5. The very bottom of his chest on the left, that I have shaded in, looks a bit strange. The pencil strokes don’t look right. What would you suggest to correct that?

It was much harder this time, because I needed to show her by placing tissue over her drawing and drawing on top so she could see how to correct things. Instead, I had to rely on words.

 

It is pretty difficult to show steps this way because I have to draw step one, then draw it again and show step two on top and then draw steps one and two again with step three on top of that and then redraw one, two, and three before adding four.

Here are my notes in response. Time will tell whether or not this method of teaching is helpful to C.