The Coverup and a Selfie

 Last week I posted one that had several layers and I still wasn't liking anything. I covered it with more colors, then some white and I didn't like the brush strokes.  I had a baby wipe in my hand because I was cleaning paint off my fingers,  WHAT IF I smooth things out with it? I discovered it did more than smooth the brush strokes, it brought just a touch of the color underneath to the surface.  I finished one but didn't get it photographed before I took it to Central Park Place for the Gallery Uptown 50th Anniversary show.  This is the second one still waiting to be finished.

And another fun exercise this week -- blind drawing self portrait.  A Creative Restart Workshop exercise and I love how some of them came out.  None a really good likeness but fun anyway.

The one on the left is with a fountain pen, on the right, charcoal. One thing I realized looking at them later, if one has drawn enough faces one can come pretty close to lining eyes, nose and mouth up because one knows the nostril comes down from the corner of the eye and the mouth is just below that.  I have done a lot of faces.  Another advantage I have is a couple wrinkles across the bridge of my nose between my eyes, I can come pretty close to positions. Making them accurate is another story.

Sometimes You Just Have To Cover It Up

 And that is just what I'm doing on this piece.  What you see on the right is what it was and I've done several layers and keep thinking -- surely I can make this work. Well, I had several good compositions and decent finishes but didn't like them so I also did a lot of sanding.  Finally, this morning, I decided it's the color.  I just don't like the green and so I decided to sand again and use totally different colors.  That's started on the left.  Hopefully I can come up with something I'm happy with.  Still a long way to go before it's done.

DeStash Bash Done, Time To Plan For Retreat

 And I'm pleased to report that this piece has gone to a new home.

I was able to sell some good art supplies at a very reasonable price to several artists in need.  It felt good for two reasons -- one, more gone from my studio and two, budding artists got some good supplies at bargain prices.

I will be heading up to my annual art retreat next week. This is the view from my perch at the bar where I do my morning journal.

Since the bash my time has been spent figuring out what I want to work on and deciding on the necessary supplies.  We also spent a few days on Mackinac Island.  Marshall did the Chicago to Mac race again this year and we took his son up so they could spend time on the island.  Didn't turn out as we expected but a good time anyway.  In addition to time with all three of my guys we spent some time with my niece Shannon and her husband who were there staying at the Mackinac Island Yacht Club.  All good.

Still Sorting and Finding Surprises

 I had totally forgotten this one that I had tucked away.  I still like it though it is totally different than anything else I've done.  Women at the Well, it's small, a bit over 4 x 6 inches. No idea what I'll do with it but for now, I'm enjoying looking at it.

Sorting and keeping track of my son as he first did "The Hook" and this weekend "Chicago to Mac" sailboat races.  Moms never stop worrying about their kids do they?

The Art Tribe Is Back at The Gallery Uptown

 

So what's an Art Tribe, in this case a group of artist friends who get together occasionally for lunch or wine and cheese to chat about life and art and sometimes to talk about doing a show together. In the past we've done some collaborative pieces but this year we did something a bit different, our theme is Beauty in the Ordinary. The Tribe members, Carol Cousineau, Bette DelVecchio, Barb Fugazzotto, Sandy Meyer, Annie Morgan and I, each did individual works.  Margaret Benefiel is another Tribe member but couldn’t participate this year.  She’s with us in spirit.

You’ll see paintings and collages along with scarves, table runners and assemblages and some surprise pieces. 

The exhibit is up now and the reception is Friday July 11, 5:30 to 7:30.  Hope you can come see, it's a great show!

Almost at the end of The 100 Day Project

 It's been fun exploring different ideas and I've been good about keeping track of what I've done each day.  I'm feeling fairly confident that I will be able to continue this practice of an hour of play before getting serious about a project.  Here is some of this weeks play -- flowers drawn with non-dominant hand on scraps of paper.

 

I think the last few days of the project will be spent trying to decide what my next series will be.

Redoing Space and Some Paintings.

I am so easily distracted. I keep finding things I had forgotten about or have been ignoring and then start working on the "find" instead of the clutter clearing.  This piece is one that I have been ignoring. I had buried it among a bunch of papers that needed sorting.  I knew why it was buried, it needed something but I had no clue what so I finally just threw more paint at it without giving any thought.

The old horizon line is obvious and my first thought was "sand the whole thing back" but the more I looked at it I began to think maybe this can go somewhere. What do you think?

Something a little different

This week I spent a little time every day working on a face.  At one time I did these often and usually in a recycled book that I had made into a journal.  This one is one a plain page in a sketchbook.

The image is from a wetcanvas weekend drawing event and I think I've done a drawing of him once before but that was a long time ago. He was fun but I prefer doing this type of drawing in an altered book sketchbook.  I may think about going back to it one of these days.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on the clutter clearing and am making good progress.  As I work on that and see different things in the studio I'm really wanting the space clear so I can get on to another project.  Three quarters of the way home!

The Project Continues

“I like finding things I didn’t know I had lost…..”

Kristin Peterson

My morning project has changed a little, a new question as I start my morning.  Now I'm asking myself: What am I willing to let go of. What needs to go away so I can move forward with clarity instead of distractions?  Another plus to this new project is that I’ve found some things I had totally forgotten about that may stay in the studio for a while. The image above is one; it’s small and may become a focal point for another collage.  I can see if I want to do more with things like this once most of this clutter is gone. As I said, this is still part of my 100 Day Project, just a slight variation.

An artist I follow, Louise Fletcher, posted a blog about letting go.  When the student is ready the teacher will come.  That blog post connected.  She is posting about getting rid of some hurts in her life as well as old art.  For me it was my art.

An aha moment – I can do the same thing with the clutter that surrounds me and has been distracting me -- too many choices.  I’ve always been interested in trying new things – in all aspects of my life – from swimming across the lake I grew up on to riding an elephant with my son when we visited a circus. I was always willing to give it a shot, still am for that matter.  The same with my art.  If I saw something that looked like fun I would buy what was needed and give it a go.  Some things stuck, some didn’t.  But the things I bought to try the didn’ts still have a home in the studio.  Time for them to go.  I’m also sentimental, I have things on display that remind me of times past, some good, some it’s time to let go of. 

This is one to let go of… a reminder of two small items that cost me a $400+ repair on my LeBaron.  I did love that car but not this bill.  The LeBaron is gone, these can go too.

Other things leaving are art supplies I know I’m not going to use.  So far I have two good size boxes filled for StudioJSD’s DeStash Bash in July.  One more box is in process.  Progress!

Almost At The Halfway Point

I'm still enjoying my 100 Day Project, just playing with no thought to what the result might be and only posting on my blog.  Sometimes the result is not so great but I still had fun and the result is useful.

This one is a mess but it was great fun testing different stencils to see which I want to keep and which will go in the DeStash Bash box.  And there is collage fodder in there.

Another play day was magazine image transfers and like the mess above I will need more practice. These were done on substrates that I can use for collage so much of it can be covered up and only a small section will be visible. Do you see where the small section at the right came from in the lower left image?

In between I've been doing some collage and a lot of sorting.  There is much in here that can go away.

 

Still Throwing Paint Around

 This is way too much fun! I'm still working on the 100 Day Project.  This is one from a few days ago.

It's more blue than it looks.  Today, in addition to starting a few new watercolors I sorted photos, fabric and odds and ends of papers to see what I can do with a canvas piece I tore up.  More on that next week.

The Project Continues

 I'm having fun just throwing paint around and not really paying attention to the result.  

And I'm finding that the less I pay attention to the result the better.  I got a few good postcards and entered three in the MMA Postcard Salon. We'll see if anyone else likes them.   I didn't photograph them before I entered them; have to take a photo when I go up to see the exhibit.

In addition to just throwing paint around I'm trying some different techniques -- some work, some don't and it really doesn't matter.  So far it's just been watercolor and I have learned that trying to make good doesn't work as well as not trying so hard.  Still want to do more play with acrylics, collage and my gelli plate.  Yes, I'm going through a lot of paper but I hope at the end of the 100 days a habit of Play With Abandon will be well established.

The 100 Day Challenge

 

I’m doing it again but a bit different than in the past. Picasso said Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. So I’m going to be working but not posting.

My project is to spend at least an hour every day making art but this year I won’t be sharing on social media. Sharing on social media shifts my intention from fun to making good or at least halfway decent works.  The pressure builds, the joy fades and the work shows it.  This time it’s just for the fun of doing the work.  I will still be posting my quick morning sketches but that isn't part of the project, that's just what I do every morning to start my day.

My intention is to start the morning asking myself what I want to make today.  It could be working on something new – or maybe finish one of the many starts I have laying around.  I could be drawing or making a paper clay bowl.  It doesn’t matter what and it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, only that I do it just the fun of doing. I'm on day 5 and have already had fun ripping up canvas strips from a painting that I finally decided was not working and wasn't going to because I didn't like any of it.  I do like the strips I got from the ripping -- now thinking about what I can do with them.

 

Art Is Everywhere

 " You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water"

And you can't make a painting simply by looking at your paints.  But you can do a quick sketch every morning and you can do art so many other ways.

You can do art other ways as well.  I was reminded of that this morning as I was reading an email sent to me by one of the Gallery Uptown artists, Chris Brown. He wrote: "To me art is every day. I may not do my oil pastels today, but I may cook dinner, trim a few bonsai's, drive to the lake or farmlands and take few photos. Art is everywhere."

I was reminded of my smile this morning as I looked out at the shadows the sunshine was making on the snow in our back yard.  It's rare, sunshine in winter in Michigan, and much appreciated when we are lucky enough to get it.

Looking through images for inspiration is another way of doing art, sometimes one stands out, sometimes not but the looking at images of things that have inspired me at one time or another is enjoying art so that counts.

Breakfast with friends is another I think.  Sometimes the conversation -- or the art on the walls --or the decor on the tables.  Sometimes it's just a bush waiting for Spring when it will begin to bloom again.

Parts of this one may be my morning sketch tomorrow.  I usually post those on instagram and sometimes on Facebook.

And speaking of posting and Chris Brown, I got the email from him because the Gallery Uptown is bringing back it's blog.  The Gallery is celebrating 50 years in business and among other things the blog will be featuring a bit of artist history.  We're doing interviews via email and I got a return from Chris this morning.  Watch the gallery blog for some interesting reading.

It's The Month For Hearts

 So I made one for my spouse.  He doesn't read my blog or Facebook so he won't see it until it's time.

I love the penmanship.  I have several letters from Paddy to my mother and I am stingy with them but had to use one for this.

Dancing, choir practice and my morning sketches were pretty much all the creativity this week.  One sketch I posted and said I might add color when I did my afternoon journal.  I did and here she is along with this morning's quick one --

 

These morning sketches are done very quickly, anywhere from one to five minutes.  I do them in a daily journal that I write in at the end of my day in the studio. As you can see from these two, some come out decent, some not so much.  But it is a good exercise.

The rest of the time was sorting, purging and finally finishing taking down Christmas.  So much for my plan to work on at least one painting this month.  Oh well, the month isn't over yet.

Fun With A Pot That Wasn't

 

The group I paint with on Tuesday mornings went to Spring Lake Library this week. Most of us use a sketchbook dedicated to our Tuesdays.  The one I am currently using just wasn't working for the type of watercolor sketching I normally do but I have more pages to fill so I decided to add some gesso, collage paper and masking tape along with coffee splatters to them to see if that helped.  It did this week but what I painted isn't what was there.

Spring Lake Library has violets on it's windowsills. Someone was sitting at the table with the sun hitting it so I went to the one in the shade.  I loved the look of the pot and thought it would work perfectly with my recently doctored paper. I quickly drew in the shape and a few violets just because I thought the pot needed to hold something.  Then I began to examine the pot.  It wasn't what it appeared to be. The reality -- an ordinary garden variety clay pot sitting in a dirty plastic container.  Oh well, I'll just paint what drew me to it in the first place and I was correct, it does work on the doctored paper.

Collage Papers Fun and a Warm Up

 

This warm up is too busy for my taste but I did have fun making it.  Then I went back to making more collage papers.  I was especially enjoying making bubble papers once I finally figured out how best to do it.

 

The quick morning sketches have also continued and you can see by one of them, I'm still putting Christmas away. I get Christmas out and in place a little bit at a time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and I put them away the same way -- between New Years day and the end of January. The tree will be the last thing that comes down.  I enjoy sitting by it late in the afternoon and working in a new daily art/journal. The sketches are done in the morning, the journaling in the afternoon.  

 

And the daily journaling has been consistent so far.  It's also been fun doing different lettering.

Today more Christmas will get put away and the many collage papers I've been making will get sorted so I can make some collages tomorrow.  I'll post those next week.

 

Back to Stones and other things

 I’ve been keeping a schedule which was one of my goals for this year.  Not perfect yet but a start. Another start is getting back to a sketch every day and stones.  Here are two small, 4x4 in, stone pieces finished. 

 

As promised, here are the two small ones from that free collage workshop I wrote about last week. These are also 4x4 in.  I didn’t realize it until I looked at the photo but the vintage paper on the right will be 100 years old on the 27^th of this month.

One concept she was teaching was pick papers you love for your collage based on what we had done in the class. Since I had picked colors that aren’t part of what I normally gravitate toward I wasn’t in love with any of them, vintage excluded, but I did like some way better than some others and I think that’s close enough and a good rule to follow. There are a couple shows coming up so I need to get busy doing more of these.

What else, daily sketching, so far I'm sticking to it..  I finally realized the for me, an art journal is part art and part journaling with the journaling being primary.  So, I’m back to doing some morning sketches and sometimes a bit of collage paper in the journal to separate out spaces to write.  At the end of a studio day I sit with that journal and write about what I did or did not do that day.  The hats are one subject.  That started with the one I posted last week.  Here are a couple more…  

  

The one on the left was very colorful.  I may do it again and take some time to add color.

Back to Sketching and a New Journal

 

Even if it’s just a quick sketch like this one, I’m back to doing it regularly.

My Mini was recalled so I had to take it to the dealer for service.  That meant a trip to Grand Rapids and Ed following to pick me up.  We decided to visit the Museum since we were in town and, being a hat lover, I had to do a quick sketch in the fashion section. I took some photos so there will be more of these in future journals.

My word for this year is JOY and I started a new sketchbook/journal with a page writing about why I picked that word.  And because it’s a word I have been concentrating on I keep finding more joy in my life… even on not so good days.  This is the spread.

Instead of what most think of as an art journal, this year mine is going to be a journal with some art.

Another January project was a free Collage Taster Workshop.  10 Days of collage lessons, most of them preparing papers.  I did learn some techniques that were new to me and some ideas for selecting papers.  I found that some of her techniques would take more practice than I wanted to take time for primarily because I already knew a way to get the same result with a gelli plate. I was also reminded of some techniques that I had totally forgotten about.  Like using marbles.  I didn’t have marbles but I did have fake pearls, they sort of worked.  I’m going to the dollar store for marbles.

I’m hoping to do two small collages tomorrow using the papers I selected from the many I made during the class.  I’ve also added some vintage just because I like vintage.  These are the papers.

I’ll post the finished pieces next week.