Big Dream For My Art World

 During physical therapy for a broken arm I discovered that the tendons on my hand were no longer able to raise my fourth and fifth finger. The hand surgeon indicated that a repair could be made. And so I wait. 

    This is my short term dream. Please God, allow my hand to be repaired and let me be able to paint freely and play the piano freely. I once wrote that painting was a sustainable hobby. And, I still think it is but I never dreamed my hand would be in jeopardy. My other hand has become more capable and strong during this process but it is not my dominant hand. 

Surgery is scheduled in the Spring and so I wait. But yet I can still paint, maybe more awkwardly. Today is the last installment of the 21 Days In My Art World and I appreciate that perhaps you read some of these posts. They were helpful to me as the writer. I am more able to appreciate what I have accomplished and more eager to keep learning. I believe art making and displaying art is very nurturing in life. Even if you don't create art yourself think of purchasing a piece of art to elevate your home. While prints are great, I own many, buying an original painting is really inspiring. The brushstrokes and paint bring the artist right into your life. 

"You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before-colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter."

                                                Dieter Uchtdorf

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Favorite Technique

I stumbled on to a technique of framing which was genius. We all know the cost of framing our art. Some artists hire a framer who builds their frames with a particular style, some learn framing themselves, while others buy frames from custom framers. All of these ways were too expensive for me.

The technique I discovered was to buy inexpensive wood art panels and turn them around to become the frame. I painted the recessed back to look like a mat board and then painted the edges black.

                                   To make the edges less matte I painted them with a clear gloss medium. 

I attached the painted panel with six squares of velcro in the middle. So for under $20 I have a consistent way of framing.

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From The Archives

 I started out in collage and acrylic paint. Taking paper images and placing them into a painted world was familiar to me. I think I made collages all through my life. In 2016 I went through a period of fascination with stained glass. A local artist sold beautiful pieces of gardens through the stained glass window. I tried it many ways. 

The difficulty was being exact with the designs of the window.With ruler in hand I carefully measures out dimensions. Some of my tries were wobbly and off center but I did end up with this one. I still like to hang it in the living room during the warmer seasons.

Here is another 2016 collage. This one reminds me to consider whether I'm committed to serve others with all my heart. A favorite scripture rests behind the hands. I think if this period of art making as a way to process thoughts and ideas. My goal was always to reconsider my truth and go deeper than my first surface ideas.

"The Hummingbird" was a really enjoyable collage to create. The pieces of paper were small and it required some patience to lay them side by side to get the right shading. I gifted this to the widow of a man who I admired. He was kind and gentle and a passionate birder. He died of Alzheimers and left this world unable to remember most of us. But, he remembered birds, their calls and their beauty.

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Celebrate!!!

 Today I'm taking time to celebrate the realization that I have created over 70 works of art in the last five years.

It wasn't until I was working on my photo app to create an album entitled "Paintings' that I realized I have pictures of over 70 works of art in five years. That is more than one painting a month.

I needed this realization right now as I tell myself things like, "you have a lot of junk in your art studio", "Is it right to keep making useless things?", "Will anyone value this after you are gone?". 

I doesn't matter!!

What matters is that these images made my heart swell and I learned through my eyes, my hands, my ears, my nose, and my heart.

It's a matter of heart!

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Largest Painting

 Painting large requires room to anchor the canvas and a lot of paint. This is an acrylic painting and canvas size is 3 feet by 3 feet. I entitled it "Fischer Pond In Autumn" and it hangs in my piano teaching space. My process was to lay down many, many layers of paint, first warm colors and then cool. I let the layers run into each other by spraying them with a light mist of water.

There wasn't a vision at the beginning. I was just laying down paint and almost finger painting. But then I looked at the bottom third and decided to change the direction of the paint. A tranquil water scene emerged and I envisioned the pond, surrounded by the change of colors. One of the distinct aspects of the pond is the plant life and in the autumn only the stems of the water lilies poke out of the water. Painting these abstract lines in various directions seemed to anchor the painting. What was once a mess of color settled into a horizon, reflection, and living plant life. I haven't attempted this size again but I do have an empty canvas waiting upstairs. 

Don't be afraid to hang a large painting on a wall. The colors and brushwork will invite you into the artwork and you will grow to love the moment in time you have immortalized. 

                                        

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Smallest Painting

    My smallest paintings are 4 inch by 4 inch, painted on oil paper and then mounted on wood blocks or framed. I did eight of them, some birds, flowers, and some Christmas ornaments.  This size is perfect for a day painting, just enough room to put down color and enough room to add small details.

This peony bud painting is a favorite of mine because of the color. Peonies can be pink, red, yellow and white with many shades in between. I usually buy them in bud to get the longest time with them. The unfurling is really magical as each petal expands outward until it lifts it's edges away from the bud. 

To get a size reference, you can place 9 little paintings of the peony on the 12 inch by 12 inch pumpkin painting. It would be fun to do a patch work painting of 9 in a frame. Hmm....

I don't really have a preference because each painting has it's own wonder and limitations.

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Naming A Painting

 How do I name my paintings?

I don't often have a name for a painting. Below is the painting "Trust Your Journey". I think you can tell how I named this one. The white enamel cup did have these words but the focal point of the painting was supposed to be the Pfefferkuchen alongside. Because of the color of the cup and the placement of the words the eye goes right to the middle.

Below is a painting entitled 'The Pen is Stronger Than the Sword". I hope the image conveys the message even without the title but if not, the title is essential. This painting may go into a non-fiction work my brother is writing.

This painting can only have the name "Wally". Wally is a Burmese Mountain dog and a force in his own right. When he moves by it's best to be on sure footing. He has the endearing way of laying out on his belly with his legs stretched behind him. I put my camera on the floor in front of him to capture this shot. The painting is owned by his family and often he lays right under the painting as if he knows it is his image. 

One last painting with a title. This one is "Yarn Bowl" Obviously it is a yarn bowl, made by a friend. I loved the color of the clay bowl so much that I matched my yarn to the bowl. The yarn ball spins around inside when I am knitting. 

           Entitling a painting is optional in my opinion. Some paintings, like these above, have titles that seem natural to the subject, but I can see if a painting creates a mood then an evocative title would draw the observer into the canvas. Years ago I had a small show of my art. Each piece I displayed had to have a name to differentiate it from the others. That was hard so long after creating the piece. Maybe I should think of a name as I finish each piece of art. Maybe......

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Sold!

 Making art doesn't necessarily mean that it must be sold in order to be a valid piece of art. Selling a piece of art can be simply accepting the value someone else has placed on my work. 

My friend and I were at an art show yesterday. We moved from artist to artist and and shared our responses to their paintings. Some of them moved us deeply and will be remembered. She reminded me that she purchased one of my very early collages. It was entitled "The View" and had a cat looking out of an open window while an owl peered in from the outside. I listened to her interpretation of the piece and it felt as if we were talking about something foreign to me. When she took it home years ago it became part of her story and no longer was sorely my creation. That is entirely normal and fine. It is part of the creation process. I do however find it strange that a piece of art comes from inside of one person and then as it lives with a new owner it changes in meaning, strange but magical.

The hen was purchased by a friend and now resides back East. I can't imagine the life the hen must be living but I am very grateful she lives with such a good and kind person.

The bottom left painting of the dog was purchased by an online friend who lost her and was grieving over her loss. I did my best to capture her beloved pet in a most joyous setting. It wasn't perfect but I was very satisfied by bringing this pet back to a visual life.

Selling or giving art doesn't mean it has to be perfect. It means it attempts to be genuine. We attempt to make something that is a representation of who we are or were. 

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Establishing Or Copying A Process

 One Way Or Process.........

First take a picture that has an interesting subject. If the background has contrast, lights and darks, that is ideal. Upload the picture and place it on a grid. 

       Pencil in a grid on your canvas. Now you have the photo divided into smaller sections and you can see where to start with the darker colors. Just looking at one square of the whole image provides me with the information to see color, shape, and lines. I can let go of the right brain concept of 'the mushrooms'. 

As I add paint, the details relax again and become more just marks of light and dark. The lightest shapes are added last. This is just one process I learned from an artist I've observed many, many times. Following her process gave me structure I needed to get over the anxiety of the blank canvas.

Every artist has a process that can be magical to observe. In my experience copying a process is a way to finding my own style. If I have done enough paintings with this process it doesn't mean I'm going to throw out the grid over a photograph step, it just means I will move move naturally and add something that is intuitive to the moment. Maybe I'll observe a new process by a different artist and practice that for a while. I welcome the idea that I can never run out of inspiration. 

Process is just dividing inspiration into smaller steps.

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Current Motifs Or Themes

Philocalist

  I am a lover, philo in Greek,

Of all luscious things beautiful,

  Kalos, in the language so to speak,

A new word to savor, most suitable 

 For those of us making words,

Pictures, and paintings to hover over

 After seeing, making records

Of charm, delight, pleasure leftover.

If I were to look at recurrent themes in my art work it would be the look of the change of seasons. The winter hush in snow and gray horizons, spring flowers and buds, summer bounty of fruits and vegetables, and the fall signs of decaying leaves and of course, pumpkins. I am always a season ahead so right now I'm thinking of peonies again. Last winter I wanted to paint 50 peonies pictures but I think I only made it to 33. Shall I continue? Here are three of my favorites.

I must confess that I look at many, many paintings every day online, in museums, anywhere, and they inspire me greatly. What I have seen influences my art but stealing images is something we do, as humans. Whatever we look at finds a corner in our mind. Those images rise up and place themselves along side other memory images and soon we have a collage of what we have seen with our eyes but now it is something more. It is a variation made of our own creativity. It becomes our own view of the world. 

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A Turning Point

Creativity itself doesn't care at all about results - the only thing it craves is the process. Learn to love the process and let whatever happens next happen, without fussing too much about it. Work like a monk, or a mule, or some other representative metaphor for diligence. Love the work. Destiny will do what it wants with you, regardless. 

Elizabeth Gilbert

It all started when I signed up for an online class. The syllabus was The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown.

   

I did not understand that the application part of the class would happen through art journaling. I liked buying a little empty journal book and my first set of gouache paints but I didn't get it. Brené didn't get it either, she was not comfortable with art. But she surrounded herself with artist and writer friends who helped her see how to use creativity to integrate emotions. Yes, as a vulnerability and shame researcher, her work indicated that "The Wholehearted" people she studied had creative outlets, all of them. So, how does writing down your story, painting a representation of your inner life, or making up a song integrate the most beautiful and the most difficult parts of your life?

  Recently, I listened to a podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert, who was interviewing a young woman song writer. She was grieving the loss of her sister to cancer. She told about her fear of writing music again because the loss was so fresh and making music brought up images that were very disturbing. Elizabeth suggested she let the music guide her to what was bubbling up into her heart. Later, in another call, Elizabeth asked how her creative juices were doing. A joyful song had emerged, quite to her surprise. The music had bridged the gap from pain to joy. 

What is the fear when we pick up a brush?

The fear is that we won't be good enough. Good enough for what? Good enough to have others applaud at our greatness? Then that is true in my experience. But, if we embark on the path of creativity to integrate our inner life with our outer life then it is much more likely that we are good enough. My love of art is sustainable. I can do it the rest of my life, as long as my hands work. It brings me joy and satisfaction. God inspires me and my island life supports my pursuit. You can view my art here.

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Where My Art Happens

 Made

A stitch from this hole to the next,

A yarn over to create a space,

A paint brush blending two objects

Each made by my own hand with grace.

There is a power in creating,

Starting with only a general idea,

And then magically waiting,

While stitch, yarn, or brush became a panacea.

This is my creative space. It is located upstairs in a bedroom where my children played and slept. It is an effort to go up and start the process so I've learned to go up first, clean my palette, and prepare my brushes. When I know the room is ready the resistance to starting a session wanes.

Sometimes I have small plants on my art desk which brings a little outside joy inside and inspires my color choices. 

Do we really need a space to create? Can't we just do it on the kitchen table?

The art space is so very important because it makes the place available any time. No cleaning off the objects from one world to make room for another world. Creating is entering another world and deserves space if at all possible.

I love peeking into other artist's spaces. Some years ago I spent a whole day in my friends art studio creating a reclaimed board book. Below are pictures of her studio. 

The children's board book I created during the hours there. And below a view of her studio entrance.

Happy Creating!!!!!

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