Heading to Boston for a weekend with my peeps...

It's time for our annual girly weekend -- Female Bonding Weekend is the official term -- and it's a tradition we've kept up for about 20 years now. To be honest, I don't remember the exact year it began, but I think it was the late 90s. My stepdaughters, who are now 30 and 32 (happy birthday today, Sarah!!) were around 12 and 14 for the first one, which they both attended. It has evolved, as have we, but the basic essence of it remains the same. We eat, drink, shop, laugh, and thoroughly enjoy each other's company...and after about 2.5 days, we've had exactly enough of one another and go home!!!

And speaking of females that I am fond of, here is a set of 3 little paintings that I made for a friend's birthday which is coming up very soon...



Detail...

Sweet Sixteen!

This one was created for someone special...



detail:

Here is something about art and being in the moment that I always find magical, no matter how often I experience it. I had been thinking about this painting (a 16th birthday gift), for awhile. On the day that I had finally carved out time to make it, I started, as I always do, with my baskets (many) and bins (also many) of collage materials -- mostly paper but also all sorts of ephemera and found objects. And what I continually find amazing is that without alot of searching among what is admittedly an overwhelming amount of (artful) stuff, the right pieces landed in my vision and my hands with almost no effort to bring this artwork into being. It was like I had willed each piece of ephemera into my hands to create this very personal piece.

I know that this is a common experience among anyone who has ever had an idea and allowed that idea to germinate. It both grows roots and reaches for the sun, and all you have to do is water it with your imagination and something both expected and surprising emerges.

Oh, to be 16, and or sweet again!

The heart remembers

Summer is usually a time for me to regroup and redirect my creative energies outdoors, but some recent rainy days have been a great time to hang indoors and paint. (beats cleaning!)

14 x 11
plaster, mixed media and collage on canvas

Begin. Reach. Act.

Peace

Series of three.
5 x 5 acrylic, collage & mixed media on canvas.

Works in progress...

Started some 5 x 5 mini canvasses this weekend. Not sure if they'll be hearts or something else. With V'day coming, hearts are the logical choice. But art is not logical. We'll see where the muse takes me.

Also a picture of my favorite guy - Max. Playing coy - really just looking away from the flash. He'll be six years old at the end of February. Time flies.

A digitally altered painting...

Always...

Just a little Photoshop fun - wide swings of color balance, a little typography, and some transparent layers. Here was the original painting, in greens and yellows, and below is the altered version.

Painting as therapy...

I had a bad day at work yesterday. My bad days at work are very few and far between, but nonetheless, it was not one of my better days. At 5 sharp, I left hastily, looking forward to wrapping some holiday gifts, lighting a fire, and watching tv with Max curled up at my side.

When I pulled into my driveway, it was 5:30-ish and dark. I glanced across my front lawn and thought, "What's all over the lawn?" As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I figured it out. It was most of my split rail fence. I live on a main road, and for the second time in less than a year, someone crashed into my fence. The first time, there was just minor damage to one post, but this time, two-thirds of my fence was spewed like matchsticks all over my lawn. This was not the way I had envisioned my evening to begin. But a couple hundred profanities later, I was over it.

I mean, first of all, the person who hit my fence was obviously having an even worse day than me. And according to the accident report, she wasn't injured, which was good news, and a miracle, given the condition of my fence the auto debris that she left behind.

So I walked Max, lit a fire, ordered a pizza, poured a glass of wine, (and then another) and finished this painting, which is a gift for a friend who has been doing some interior decorating. I stayed up way too late, because I was totally in the zone, but it was the perfect ending to a much less than perfect day.

A(nother) new hobby?

My latest obsession...

The Pottery Place in Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany NY...
I have had the intention of stopping in to paint something for about a decade now (way back when the place was called Color Me Mine). A friend and I finally went last week, and I painted this pasta bowl (actual size is 14" round). I had so much fun and I was so pleased with how it turned out that I want to go back and make about a dozen. I might be able to justify the indulgence if I give some of them away as holiday gifts.

The only frustration is the waiting - which I am not good at - it takes a week to get the finished/fired piece back. I only had a vague idea of what the glazes would look like when fired but I liked that part. I loved being surprised at the transformation from dull pastel colors to bright and shiny glaze.

There were hundreds of items besides bowls that I could choose to paint, but I loved the big round surface. Ideas are already spinning in my head about what I might paint on my next bowl (chili peppers? christmas lights? sunflowers?)

Heart lock...

Heart lock - 10 x 14 acrylic & mixed media collage on deep set canvas

...and speaking of hearts...my niece Avery's new heart continues to beat perfectly and there are no signs of rejection. She's been out of the ICU and on the regular cardiac floor for several weeks now, and is up and about every day, with her energy and humor and spicy personality intact, so it is just a matter of time (a short time we hope) before she is able to go home! Nutrition, eating solid foods and balancing her meds are all that keeps her there at this point.

So once again, my own heart is full of gratitude to all of you who have kept her in your hearts and minds for most of the last full year. My heart bursts with thanks for the basic goodness and generosity of humanity.

Light hearted

Lighthearted - 12 x 12 acrylic & mixed media collage on canvas.

This piece is very whimsical to me. I've had that light bulb in my stash of found objects for years, and it fell on the floor as I was digging through a basket for something else. The colors in the painting matched it perfectly...so that's a perfect example of how I find inspiration. If I had dropped some old teeth on the floor it would probably have gone differently, but fortunately it was a cute little pink light bulb.

Some believe...

Some believe - (trio) 5 x 5 acrylic, mixed media & collage on canvas.

I am in a mood today, or more accurately many moods. They change by the moment. I am uncomfortable in my skin when I get this way, but I know I just have to ride it out.

Do you ever ask yourself if you are enough? Or simply why? Or how?

True...

True - 10 x 10 acrylic, mixed media & collage on canvas.

There is major construction taking place on my regular route to and from work, and it is virtually impassable during commuter hours these days, so I took a side road into work today. As I wound this way and that before being deposited just above the traffic jam, I gave a moment's thought to the creation of roads, and how some of them go straight from point A to point B, while others, like the one I was on, have dips and curves, meandering this way and that before reaching their end.

It could be that winding roads are that way because making them straight would have meant plowing through rock or impossible terrain, but I like to think that some creative soul made them that way because they make the ride better - more rhythmic and fluid.

Either way, it also reminded me to take the side road more often - just for the change in scenery and the enjoyment of the journey.

Home...

Home - 18 x 24, acrylic & mixed media on canvas

This is a gift for a friend who just bought her first home. As any of my regular blog readers know, home is a recurring theme in my art and a very important symbol in my life. It represents security, family, comfort, love, and acceptance - the one place I always feel grounded and real and safe.

I wish you all a good weekend and a place to call home.

More little heart paintings...

Heart swirls - 4 x 4 mixed media and acrylics on canvas.

I am 45 today. Probably more than halfway there.

Truth...

Truth.
11 x 14 mixed media and collage on canvas.

I am working a lot with rusty pieces of flotsam and jetsam that I find primarily on my dog walks. Although there are ways to rust new objects with chemicals and smelly stuff (liver of sulfur), I prefer to find items that have survived the elements. In addition to being rusted, they are usually mangled and crushed and run over and abused, and something about this appeals to me -- perhaps that they have managed to survive, and to me, all that weathering adds a beauty that was lacking in their original form -- another metaphor for life.

Some new art pieces...

Just a little fun in my studio.

Life. Love. Joy. Hope. Peace.
5 x 5 mixed media & collage on canvas

No additional words necessary.

To fall in love. 10 x 10 acrylic & mixed media collage on deep set canvas.

Sacred Spaces...

Sacred Spaces-Home. 11 x 14 acrylic & mixed-media collage on deep set canvas.

That's the theme of the exhibit I will be participating in from Sept 3 to Oct 29 at the Colonie Town Hall in Latham, NY. This is the first of 4 or 5 pieces I will be exhibiting.

I was recently invited by my friend Marilyn to become a member of a newly-formed local artists group - art 'round town (a.r.t.), and since the rules are few and participation is flexible, it sounded like just the right opportunity for a rules-resistant, deadline-hating artist such as myself.

And although I am busy with a lot of things this summer, I loved the theme for this exhibit, so I could not resist participating.

Here is the flier promoting the event:


If you're in the area, stop by the Town Hall and check out the exhibit!

Heart strength

16 x 20, mixed media acrylic & collage on canvas

I have a number of new paintings in the works - several more in the heart series, which will continue at least until my niece gets her transplant*, and a new series of 4(or 5) for an upcoming local show with a new group of artists that I have joined. I will be providing more info as the date gets closer and when the official logo for our group has been approved.

*FYI, Avery is doing very well with her Berlin heart, eating, drinking, making crafts and even taking trips out to the hospital garden during the day.
I am also on the verge of meeting with one of my co-conspirators in art to discuss some workshops that we would like to offer, so teaching will be back on the table very soon.

I would tell you more, but so many details are still up in the air.

Tomorrow I will share some photos from a weekend luncheon and artist's date that I attended. It was so great to hang with a group of "art girls" for an afternoon.

From her little heart...

From her little heart - 12 x 12 acrylic mixed media collage on deep set canvas.

I've finally returned to my art room after an unplanned hiatus, and this is my first finished piece. To give you an idea of how I create, and the kind of planning that goes into my paintings...I dropped a paintbrush on the floor as I was working on this piece, and saw the watch faces in a box under my table as I bent to pick it up. That's how it ended up as part of this painting. It's very often that simple. It's one of the reasons I like to have art supplies and found objects stored in open containers around me. It looks messy and chaotic, but if they're in my line of sight, and I don't have to break the creative flow to find them, they're more likely to end up in a finished piece.

In other news...
I was interviewed a short time ago by fellow artist and blogger Liz Ness, and the interview has now been published on her blog. Check it out. Liz and I have never met in person, but we've been fans of each other's art and blogs for several years. Take your time when you visit Liz' website and blog (which she maintains with friend and artist Jackie Wood) -- it's full of great artist interviews, digital tutorials, product demos, and a great online store, to name just a few.