Blue Pears

Finished the Pear painting today for April's theme at Art du Jour Gallery.

I may have to paint more pears, they are fun to paint, especially trying different colors.  Kind of cathartic.

How I Sketch

I was talking with a friend earlier.  One of my best friends from kid days and one of the most talented artists I went to high school with.  She does these amazingly detailed pen and ink drawings of animals.  She's going through a tough time right now, battling cancer.  She's been drawing again, but commented that it goes away if you don't use it.  I think it's about retraining your brain.  My college instructors always had us carry a sketch pad and draw, jot notes, glue clippings, just stay active throughout the day with your mind, your creativity and your drawing abilities.

Sue, this is for you.  Here's my last few weeks of sketches and paintings.  I warn you, my sketches are very loose, that's how I think best.  If you're working on retraining your brain to see perspective and scale, you can just sketch whatever you are looking at.  Chemo (I can't bear to think of you dealing with that), you can sketch to take your mind off of it.  Sketch the machines, or the medicine, write down your thoughts, anger, fear, surprise, monotony, boredom, whatever is going on in your mind.

In the montage of my recent sketches, the first photo is of the sketchbooks I tend to use.  I like them small enough to carry easily but not so small I can't fit anything on a page.  This one is about 5" x 5" by Pentalic and cheap at college bookstores.  I usually just carry an architects pencil, not sure of the specific name, drafting pencil maybe?  Pentel 0.7 are my favorites.  Charcoal just breaks too easily so these seem to travel well in my purse.

The montage above shows my notes and sketches for two of my recent works.  The first I did a few weeks ago and am still working on the larger, middle piece.  I started with words.  I wanted to do 3 pieces that went together and talked about my personal growth and struggles.  The first one is the past, people in your life who fill your world with criticism, the 2nd is about pushing through those things you start to believe and trying to find yourself and the last one is growth, balance, brightness, finally seeing yourself for who you are.

As I was working on these three paintings, I stumbled a bit in my personal life.  I swear, life is such a step-forward-and-two-steps-back type of thing.  So I started a new piece about crying, bleeding, finding the sun.  It started with the 2nd row of words and sketches on the montage.  I wanted to show the way my brain was spinning as I was trying to understand what I was feeling.  First I thought of very abstract, bright red splashes with a center of deep red, then I looked at using a tornado with my thoughts spinning to the vortex.

As I was working through my feelings and pain, I realized I was feeling better each day, so I focused the painting on how time heals all wounds.  That's when I jumped into building the canvas (which is a huge part of my process, I love texture).  I wanted the focus to be on a clock spinning, crazy and then the emotions forming a full circle.  I often clip images from magazines that inspire or interest me and those are pasted in my sketchbook throughout.  Since I had something specific in mind, I googled clocks, wanting to get an idea of how to make it look spinning or crazy.  I liked this dali-esque one because it was simple visually.  I also googled Alice in Wonderland and puddles and blood, tears, ray of sunshine, etc.  So this page has the clippings I glued into my sketchbook for this painting.  Then I have the last sketch I did and the final painting, which I called Time Heals.

Susan, I hope this gives you ideas on how to use what you're going through to get your creativity flowing again.  You are so talented, the world needs to see your amazing style.

Pears, Pears and More Pears

Working on the pears to go on the pear painting.  Kind of making me hungry!

This is the sketch for the piece.  Sitting at a SOSA meeting, doodling in my sketchbook.  How to do something with pears that is consistent with my style.  Hmm...

Pear Trees

I'm thinking about doing a painting of pears, with pear trees layered underneath.  So, I stopped today and took some pics of pear trees.  I love  the way the trees change during the seasons.  You really notice driving from Jacksonville to Medford.

It was the perfect sky to photograph.  I practically had to lay on the ground to get the tree and the sky in the photo, especially without crossing the barbed wire fence.

My Workspace?

I'm filling out an application for a festival and one of the things they request is a  photo of "you in your studio/workspace".  Now, I do finally have a woodshop/studio, but typically I paint wherever G is, for instance, this is me tonight...paintings lined up against the back of the couch, plastic garbage bag "drop cloth", etc.  Perhaps I should sit down here and pose.  ;)

Finished Time Heals, now to figure out how to photograph it without sheen.

Less Contained, More Abstract

I'm working on my new painting that I started last night.  I do love bright colors!  I wanted the painting to be centered around a clock.  I decided to paint a Dali-esque style clock because I want the feeling to be "spinning", which is how my head feels when I am processing and healing.  The painting is supposed to be about time healing wounds with a sunshine at the top (no, I will never get tired of painting sunshines!), sun rays to tear drops to blood drops, to a pool of blood and coming out of the sadness and pain, growth, reaching towards the sun.

I like it.  Which I've decided is the point of my paintings.  I stay true to myself for a while and then I am criticized and I re-evaluate, thinking I need to make my paintings more complex in strokes and style...but then I lose myself.  So, I am determined to continue painting what I like, what I feel, what makes me laugh and cry.  Hopefully people will get it.  My passion is less contained and more abstract.

Time Heals All Wounds

A friend asked me how my art was going.  I went into detail about "this festival, that retailer, this art walk, that contest" and he said, "how about your ART, you know...your paintings?"

Huh....good point.  What about my art?

I decided in the midst of the craziness of being my Gramma's caretaker, I need to remember my passion, where my happiness comes from.  Soo....I went out to the shop and built a canvas, pulled out the textiles and sketchbook, sketched up an idea that's been turning around in my head...and found myself smiling.  I almost love the process of art more than the finished product.  I was that way in my design classes as well, I would take photos and sketches through the process and include those in my final presentations.  I just love how people think and why they make the choices they do.  I always hope people can see beneath the paint...to see the whole piece of art.

This piece is going to be about how time heals all wounds.