The artist discusses her work and shares some new paintings

Once again, time has slipped by and then there's the sudden realization that this blog has been empty for a long period of time.

"So how is your painting coming along?" people reading this might be curious to know.

I've been actually quite productive producing some new pieces and fixing up some older paintings that at least in my eyes, needed tweaking. Fixing up a painting that in my eyes requires a change of color or shade or moving a line or two or more (emphasis on the latter) can spell disaster because frequently, I never know when to stop. When does the image on the canvas become perfect and how much paint can be applied without it looking like the artist can't make up her mind? Ask me! I know the answer! Never enough!

I've also been focusing my efforts on minis or 4x7" paintings that are shown in mini easels and find the paintings a delight to create. Given the amount of canvas, I've become quite proficient painting full images on smaller surfaces.

"How about art shows down the line?"

I'm contemplating - strictly at the contemplation stage now - organizing another condo art exhibition and sale for this coming summer. It gives local artists the opportunity to show their work along with the possibility of a sale if they're lucky. Given that it's an outdoor show, the problem is being dependent on good weather conditions. Lots of time to think about it.

Meanwhile, I'm sharing some of my latest paintings. Comments always welcome.

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Art exhibits and lost opportunities

Before starting to work on some of my paintings today, want to share some thoughts on an art exhibit.

A friend and member of our informal weekly art get-togethers, had the opportunity to place her work on display at a local library. It was a retrospective of her acrylic and water-color canvases, most of which are of the large sized variety. The submission process wasn't juried and open to all artists living in our community.

The exhibition space was ideal with a perfect balance of space, over-head lighting and the subdued atmosphere of a library setting allowing visitors to examine the pieces in solitude and contemplation.

As an artist for many years, my friend has accumulated a vast amount of canvases covering a wide variety of subjects. Care was taken in selecting the paintings and they were grouped according to subjects. The library donated the space while the artist is in charge of all aspects of their own exhibition. As an artist, couldn't help but notice there were some things that were omitted -  important inclusions that would have given the exhibit a professional look.

Titles of the paintings were written crudely with a marker pen on plain, white pieces of paper accompanied by the price of the painting. Given the plethora of stationery and computer programs available on the various internet sites, a better alternative would have been to print up professional information cards. An artists statement whereby the viewer/visitor is supplied with the artist's vision of her/his work was also absent. No press releases were sent out to local newspapers to alert readers to the existance of the exhibition and the duration of the show. Given the run of the solo exhibit, which will run for an entire month, it is the best kept secret. There was no background information on the artist. In my eyes as artist and visitor, these are important omissions.

My point in sharing these observations is that when fate smiles kindly on artists and an opportunity to exhibit one's artistic output presents itself, care should be taken to cover all the bases so to speak, to ensure that paintings are shared with as many people as possible. Small omissions can result in a lost opportunity to familiarize the public with the work of a new artist and the loss of credibility.

Meanwhile, I'm off to work on my paintings. Will be providing photos of newest creations.

Came accross an interesting piece on the www.artbusiness.com site, focusing on "How to Interact and Network With People at Open Studios and Gallery Openings." The article offers hints on the do's and don't's of how to act at openings, at open studios, or anywhere else where their art is for sale. Definitely read-worthy.

A taste of my paintings for the show

As mentioned in the previous blog, I'm preparing for the outdoor condo art exhibition coming up on Saturday, June 9 - weather permitting - or if it rains, which it did last year, Sunday, June 10.

Right now I'm finishing up a canvas, which I'm calling, "Pond Life" focusing on green water found in ponds, with reeds jutting out. Really like it. Why? I don't know but there are some paintings that just make me happy and this is one of them. Hopefully, I won't screw things up as I tend to do placing some last strokes. I have to control this urge to fix what ain't broken! I'm also toying with working on two other canvases, one considerably larger than I usually do and am known to mess up, and the other a smaller, safe canvas. I'll see.

Meanwhile, here are some canvases that will be on display.

Will be adding more in the coming days. So whad'ya think?

Opportunity to display my art

I'm always looking for a chance to display my artistic output. Even if nothing sells, at the very minimum, people not familiar with my paintings will see and hopefully, remember something that struck their fancy.

Given the occasion - a few hours at the end of a seniors club meeting this coming Thursday afternoon - my expectations aren't high. It's for this reason that I'm displaying my "minis" 7"X10" canvases that are really good. In addition, I'll bring along some of the newer larger pieces.

Also thinking about and investigating summer art displays, locally. Hope springs eternal... Will report back on the quickie art display.

Some thoughts about art on Christmas Day

Started another painting today. Not sure how it's going to develop but the background is varying shades of yellow. Yellow is one of my favorite colors after green. There is something about this shade that makes me feel warm and happy so I use it a lot, to the point where I'm running low on all shades. Christmas Day is a good day to start a new project given the choice of TV programs. Note to TV programmers: not everyone celebrates this particular holiday! But I digress.

Somebody donated some art supplies to our painting group a while back, which included some 10"x10" canvas boards. They are quite handy and I use them to try out new concepts, rather than waste larger canvases. Throwing out the larger sized canvases denotes failure to accomplish a finished picture in addition to wasted paint. After completing the yellow background, used a palette knife and scooped out a blob of red crimson paint with the intent of creating flowers. Added some thickening paste to make them stand out and accentuate the petals. Once again my chronic syndrome of never-knowing-when-to-stop-adding-itis kicked in and what started out to be a delicate flower ended up, for lack of a better description, a round 3D version of a red textured blob. In an attempt to fix it, I scraped off some of the layers with a palette knife, which made things worse having not allowed enough time to let the yellow paint dry. Red+yellow=orange. After half hour of "fixing", tosssed it into a plastic bag and the garbage can.

My cyber friend, Donna Campbell Smith, has decided to return to painting. I knew she would. Once an artist - always an artist. It's in the blood and even though she is an accomplished children's author, her return is not surprising. It's good in another way in that there is another person in which to discuss art and the creative process, therein. Looking forward to exchanging ideas and suggestions.

Did some touching up on my blue abstract painting, which really enhanced the overall look. Tempted to continue touch-ups, I resisted the urge - thank goodness. It really turned out nice, IMHO.

Seriously contemplating changing to water-based oil paint since the colors achieved are definitely brighter than can be achieved with acrylics. Mind you, I haven't tried all the acrylic brands but visually I like the results of oil paint.

 Once I finish the sky on my small landscape, will take photos of my three new additions and add them to the blog. The trouble with the creative process is sometimes it works and sometimes it don't. Like I always say, when it works, though, it's magic! By the way - if you're an artist and reading this blog and if you feel so inclined, share some of your painting experiences. Sharing is a learning experience in itself.

Of palette knives and cut canvases

These days I'm into using palette knives. It's strictly one of those learn-as-you-go educations. Started using the knives along with brushes when I first started painting a few years back. Although the effect is really interesting, have to admit that there have been boo-boos along the way. C'est la vie as the French so quaintly and non-chalantly phrase it. I wonder if Monet and his group experienced my latest problems.

Using palette knives is tricky and requires angling the bottom part and side to get the desired effect. While in the learning stage pressing down too hard on the blade end caused some slicing into a/some canvas(es). In the end, one was salvaged by turning it into a still life with the help of thickening paste. Actually, the painting turned out quite nice if I may say so myself - and I do.

I've continued to use them on-and-off and as mentioned in my blog, it's been a very interesting experience. I'm now working on a larger canvas that has already been "re-born" three times. Larger canvases are my nemesis in that for whatever reason, the size intimidates me causing undesirable results. I'm using shades of black, white and silver along with thickening paste. Maybe it'll work and then again maybe it will end up in "canvas heaven." Who knows - but the trip to discovery is very exciting.

Tomorrow I'll be evaluating the direction to take and hopefully not one that will result in an empty space on my display easels. Some of the leaves on the trees don't look right requiring some fixing. As my husband frequently reminds me that I never know when to leave well enough alone. He's right. I do the same thing in my writing. It's that internal inner artist sending me a message that the painting could still be improved. However, when everything does come together - it's a magical moment.