Acceptance is wonderful !

Social Climbers

"Social Climbers" is one of two paintings of mine accepted this year for the Our Town Exhibition held annually at the Birmingham Community House.  It's a short exhibit, meant to generate sales to raise funds for the Community House's many programs.  It begins with a splash of a party, an additional fundraiser.   This is one reason I am always happy to fork out the application fee: artists in the show are invited to the reception gratis.   Also, last year  both of my two paintings that were accepted were sold: so I have that to live up to.

In any case, this is wonderful news to hear, just before vacation. Like a birthday present. The vacation itself is a birthday present, of course, with the frosting being that, each year the Perseid meteor is "held" in honor of my birthday.  We always try to get to our cabin on the lake for that week, so we have the premium night sky to help us enjoy (wish us luck either staying awake or getting up in the wee hours).

Kanuga Chatter!

So much news the past couple of weeks about "chatter" -
 and not very nice news.

In my corner of the world, the chatter has already shifted to a wonderful new topic, and I think it would be great to spread the chatter.

On August 1st we could all finally download our applications for the 2014 Kanuga Watermedia Workshops.  A few days later, the glossy brochure finally arrived.  During the the last weeks of July,  my email was alive with conversations wondering why we hadn't yet gotten the brochure, discussion about the various workshop teachers, and comparing the initial course descriptions (handed out at the April 2013 sessions) to the ones that were now found online.  Talk about chatter!

 My friend Pat and I have now attended Kanuga three years in a row (I know, we are just newbies, but I think we've agreed to keep going every year as long as we can!) and were waiting with bated breath to register.  We dithered a bit about our choices of teacher, mainly about the second choices.  Not sure why we spend so much energy worrying about the second choice, since when we mail our applications (together) generally on August 1st, we've gotten our first choices consistently.  Knock on wood!  But lots of chatter going back and forth on that topic.

Last year Pat and I talked some new artist friends into trying Kanuga. In spite of a LONG lunch telling them all about what fun art camp was, and lots about what to expect, I think they were still a bit overwhelmed on registration day. Face it, there is a LOT to do on that day, and I bet all of us were overwhelmed the first time. After a few years, though, the familiarity of the routine and the anticipation of the week outweigh any stress.  These "new" friends do seem to have Kanuga fever, though, and so we are having a reunion lunch tomorrow to reminisce about the old days (just this past April, wasn't it . . .) and perhaps share some art work done since then, inspired by our various workshops. Are they planning on attending again? We hope we'll find out tomorrow!

And I'm sure we'll all talk about what we hope to experience this next year, with our various choices.

Do you have Kanuga fever? If so, tell us about it. If not, why not? Are you a Springmaid addict instead? Let's get the chatter going!!

Improvement over time - LOTS of time.

A much better try at the backyard laundry line. I don't have it yet: in an attempted to merge the dark shapes and dramatize the sunshine, I turned the wooden clothespins into rock, with mud on the sides.  In an odd way, they  are putting me in mind of the Easter Island faces.   But the patterns I invented in the sheets are making me VERY happy.  I  need to try again, and have already started the next version.  Same composition, better choices of color and handling of the background and the pins, I hope.

"On the way to the dumpster" (who posted that just recently?) I discovered my original laundry line image - already chopped, and the middle section is missing (woe is me). Apparently I'd been utilizing the back for something else.  Anyway, this is what's left - even worse than I remembered, but I'll share it because it IS almost 20 years ago, after all.  And then I'll get these really awful little disasters into the recycle bin.  Isn't it nice to know we can all get better EVENTUALLY?

CIRCA 1995 -NOT new !!!!!

Donna Zagotta on Georgia O'Keefe

This blog post by Donna Zagotta is so dead on for me, I hope you will all take time to read it.
    Here is the .LINK.

The phrase that resonated: "this thing that is your own".
The action with which  I could identify : analyzing my work to recognize the (many) influences that are NOT necessarily my own.

What could be more important than finding the thing that is your own? 

Simplify, focus on what I like

I probably already said that landscapes are not my strength. I quickly determined that a page full of the backyard's contents would not even hold  MY interest, let alone anyone else's.  It would certainly just turn out to be a "depiction" of a place.
So I focused on what attracted me in the first place, the laundry line.  In this first little watercolor sketch, I caught the feeling of the wind blowing through my sheets. But I've lost the warmth of the sunshine.

My next try may be to drill down even further, to the clothespin holding the sheet to the line.  I tried for a source photo this morning,  but of course as soon as I had the idea the weather changed: no sun (I want those shadows), and WAY too much heat.

Trite, trite, trite

Oh, my next painting is going to be SOOOOO trite.   But, in keeping with my resolution to go back to having FUN while I paint, I'm going with an impulse.  I do love our little suburban back yard, and can't get enough of it when there is a line of laundry hanging there. . I've been known to stand at the kitchen sink window and just smile at the yard when the sun and breeze are tossing my sheets and making them smell wonderful.

Here's my sweet little back yard

So, this week I sketched for a while (until the mosquitoes drove me back inside), then took a bunch of pictures and am now drawing the various elements of the yard that truly make me happy. Trying to reorganize the elements into a good composition, as I think most landscape painters may do (yes?).  Many years ago, as a new painter,  I succumbed to this same temptation and ended up with such an embarrassing mess, it's been painted over with gesso and re-purposed long ago.  No images remain, except in my head.   The memory of that one has kept me from trying again - until now. 

And here are some first sketches.

By the way, we live in an OLD suburb, thank goodness:  

none of those snooty neighborhood association rules  - I hope YOU, dear reader, are not a laundry snob.  And while we are on pet peeves, does anyone else have issues with neighbors with lawn services that use (loud) blowers to "clean" off lawns after mowing, throwing all the dirt into the air, onto clean laundry, and through open windows?

Okay, end rant.

Too many workshops, too little time

Workshops are so rewarding. Sometimes.  Especially after the last two, I have come home full of new ideas, new plans, new attitudes towards my artwork and painting.  Ready to spend hours in the studio pursuing these ideas.

 However, with summer upon us, I generally have little time to paint until fall, and, this year with elder care responsibilities taking first priority, the time to paint has shrunk and, more importantly, splintered into little shards of time. 

I find that the bits of time do nothing for my ability to reclaim and revisit the lessons I thought would guide my painting for the coming months. I’ve  ruined so much paper in recent weeks, attempting to do that.  And not had time (or energy) to analyze the failures to learn from them.

So I’m surrendering (for now). I need to recapture the enjoyment of  painting time, regardless of any progress I may not experience.  I’m going back to flowers and cats, painted from my own source photos.  I made the decision a couple of days ago.  And am a much happier woman, even if not a better artist!

What do YOU do when you have the ideas and the energy but not the time? Is there a way to keep a new spark alive other than shutting yourself away in the studio for hours?  Ideas and suggestions are welcome!

 These three images represent my recent stuggles, in sequence:  getting worse and more confused with each one.Don't even ASK about that third mess, on the right.  Ideas from every place stuck into it!