Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Following Intuition

After years of painting and studying art, an accomplished artist should have some sense of intuition. She should know what kind of composition she wants at the start of the project, what color harmonies will work best, and what emotion she wants to convey to--or invite from--the viewer. My latest painting is an example of intuition winning over reason... I began "Katie and Bogota" at the end of September, after having a wonderful late-afternoon photo session with the two. Katie is an award-winning dressage rider, and Bogota is her beautiful Oldenburg mare. I would have loved to start the painting from life, but when working with animals, I'm usually forced to use photographic reference. After taking over 400 photographs, I took my camera back to my studio and began to narrow … Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Friday, December 11, 2009

Some great thoughts on representational art

The following is an exert from the catalog for "Immortal Works," an exquisit show currently being held by the Nerdrum Art School and the Florence Academy of Art in Gothenburg, Sweden. I wanted to share some of the author's extraordinary thoughts on the philosophy of art, and why these traditional schools continue their work in the midst of a world whose definition of Art has changed completely. "WITH ALL DUE RESPECT Edvard Munch had several houses. Coming to one of them in order to paint, he had often forgotten the keys. So he had to find someone who could open the door. The person concerned would receive half a Krone for the job. But every now and then, Munch had forgotten money as well… At one such occasion, he tried giving away a print instead. Of course he meant well,… Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Monday, December 7, 2009

Ode to a Minivan

Two weeks ago, I lost an old friend. My trusty '96 Honda Odyssey - an invaluable gift from my mother-in-law about four years ago - finally died. I used to laugh about it and wonder why I had to be the childless soccer mom driving around in that thing, but truthfully, it was the best vehicle I could have ever had for that time in my life. It got me around campus while I was still in school (especially in the dead of winter - how on earth did I live without a car freshman year??). It helped me help friends who needed rides, and it fit ALL my stuff for coming back home when I graduated from Hillsdale. From the very start, I used it for hauling art and art supplies. These things take up a lot of space, you know! After I got married, the minivan came with Steve and me to Texas, and when we… Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Monday, November 23, 2009

Marshana

http://www.annasblankcanvas.com/gallery/adultoilportraits/Marshana.jpg Just to let you see some more painting development... Here is my painting of Marshana (one of our models in Michael Mentler's life drawing/painting group here in Dallas). Marshana was a wonderful challenge, with her beautiful dark skin being lit with warm light on one side, and cool light on the other. This made for a huge variety of color, and since color is my specialty...well, I had a great time with this one! Session 1 (20 minutes): Session 4 (finished): Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Sunday, November 8, 2009

"Who Does She Think She Is?"

Last Sunday, Steve and I attended the film screening of a documentary about women artists, called "Who Does She Think She Is?" ( http://www.whodoesshethinksheis.net/ ). I was invited by a member of the Lakeside Arts Foundation ( http://www.lakesidearts.org/ ) to exhibit some of my work at this event, because the film screening was held in conjunction with a women's art expo put on by Art for Peace, the Lakeside Arts Foundation, and Peace Project International. The theme was women and peace, and so, several of my paintings featuring women and children were on display, and will be until November 22. At first, I thought the film would be interesting, but I was going to take it with a grain of salt, because I'm not a feminist! I also assumed that because of my own personal situat… Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Friday, October 30, 2009

New Painting: "Little Fall Still Life"

"Little Fall Still Life" - Some oak leaves, acorns and a gourd, painted in lovely oranges, yellows, and forest greens because this Wisconsin girl just had to feel like it was fall down here in Texas! 6" x 8" oil on linen glued to board Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Thoughts on overcoming economic woes...

I subscribe to a number of blogs and email newsletters that are directed towards artists, and the current buzz is that artists, in general, are becoming disheartened by the lack of sales due to our suffering economy. FineArtViews writer Keith Bonds tells of "Six Destructive Ds": doubt, discouragement, distraction, lack of diligence, disobedience, and disbelief. Another artist, commenting on this article, added a seventh word, "despair," to the list. I must admit that as an artist, I've struggled with all of the above, especially this year. It's been tough for everyone, especially those of us who create items of luxury, such as oil paintings. Another artist blogger, Lori Woodward, says in her article, " When Circumstances Control Emotions ," "...It&… Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Stolen artwork!

Recently, a friend of mine purchased the small still life, "Trio of Pears". Unfortunately, my friend's car was broken into, and, among other things, this painting was stolen! I sat there in shock when she told me. I guess it was the first time in my own life that I've been somehow affected, though indirectly, by theft. What a hurtful thing! I know this is a far cry, but if you happen to stumble across this blog, and recognize this painting from somewhere, please contact me at 608-853-0582. Kelsey would love to have her painting back! Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Art festivals and more

Thanks to everyone who stopped by in Farmersville! It was a beautiful day for an art festival, and Steve and I got to meet lots of great people. There was also a huge amount of interest in my portrait work. Next scheduled art festival: Arlington Front Street Festival. Next on my to-do list: more painting! Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Friday, September 4, 2009

"Dale," finished

He's finished! Here is the final product. I'll be going into more depth about the progress of this painting in my next newsletter, as well as adding this to my website. Stay tuned! Finished (below): "Dale" - 10"x 8" - oil on linen glued to board Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A 45-minute head study

My husband Steve and I had the wonderful privilege of flying back to our home state of Wisconsin this last weekend for a 5-day reprieve from the hot Texas weather. We had a wonderful visit with family and friends, including two days at Steve's family cabin near Hayward, right on the Chippewa Flowage (where the world record muskie was caught, in case you were interested). Aside from enjoying numerous boat rides, home-cooked meals, and Cribbage games, I got to sit down with my father-in-law, Dale, and paint his portrait. We didn't have a lot of time, so I did a quick head study. I'm going to finish it here in my studio, but it was exciting to work from life and somehow capture a small piece of his personality. He is the perfect subject - curly hair, glasses, round cheeks, and a … Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Monday, August 10, 2009

New Still Life Paintings

I've been working on lots of small projects, and so I thought I'd share a couple more of the latest. "Bing Different" - 6" x 6" - oil on linen glued to board "Still Life with Melon and Plumcot" - 6" x 8" - oil on linen glued to board Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Another Small Still Life

Today's new venture: "Trio of Pears" - 6"x8" - oil on linen glued to board Sorry, this painting has already been sold! Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Monday, July 20, 2009

New painting inspired by "A Painting a Day"

Check out " A Painting a Day ," a website devoted to artists who turn out at least one new painting every day. Sometimes it's hard to keep creative energy flowing, and I believe that painting something , every day, is a good way to do this. So this morning I set out a trio of plums (having never painted plums before - it was about time!), and here was the result: "Plum Line" - 6"x8" - oil on linen glued to board I'm hoping to turn out many, many more of these fun little images in the near future. Read more »

Share/Bookmark

Saturday, July 18, 2009

My first art blog post!

Welcome to my personal blog about art! This blog is long overdue, as there are so many wonderful and exciting things to share! I am going to start my blog with some notes I took during a PSOA conference lecture by watercolor artist Mary Whyte . Out of all the key speakers and demonstrators at April's conference, I found Mary to be the most concise, helpful, and inspiring in her remarks. Her lecture was titled, " 12 Tips for Creating Your Best Painting Ever ". 1) Improve technical skills so you can make anything with paint. Painting is vocabulary . Don't mistake technique for expression...expression is what you have to say with technique (the vocabulary). 2) Know yourself . Know what it is that you want to paint. Know what you want to say with paint. If you have trouple with thi… Read more »

Share/Bookmark
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...