Sarah F Burns

Moving to Wordpress

2011-01-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

I'm moving my blog and website to one convenient location: for now it's www.sarahfburns.wordpress.com
and soon www.sarahfburns.com will point there as well. I hope you come and join me there! It was a tough decision - I've built up a lot of history with this blog - but it's going to be smarter to have both in one location - and it will likely mean I will actually update my website occasionally - which is what one is supposed to do. So fare well Blogspot - I'll keep this up to have the archives....

Success in Art

2010-12-31T22:55:00.000-08:00

Just watched two films on the uneasy connection between art and money: Art of the Steal, about Barnes Foundation move and Exit Through the Gift Shop, about the rise and exploitation(?) of Street Art.
I should say these movies are about greed and art, so as to avoid the error of demonizing money, because of course it's greed that causes problems.

That lure of a large audience is pretty powerful and since I've never had the opportunity to make millions - let alone billions at the expense of my integrity, I can't say for sure that I'd have made better choices. (I'd like to think so, of course.) I think most artists really crave attention badly. The sobering message to me from these movies though is this: better a smaller audience who respects you than a huge audience who turns you into what they want you to be. We all know this, right, but it's like wearing your seatbelt - you do it, you know it's the right thing to do, but if you come across a car crash where someone wasn't wearing one, you have even deeper reasons to remember to buckle up. So let's buckle up and not sell out.

Portrait sketch

2010-12-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

Three hour sketch of Chris Johnson.

Phoenix Countryside Landscapes

2010-11-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

Calhoun Road
Phoenix, Oregon

North Phoenix Road

Between Phoenix and Medford, Oregon

Both these subjects do not satisfy me composition wise. I've been thinking about composition more consciously lately and it seems like I was doing better when I was more instinctual about it. But I think that's just the learning curve when you're working out something new. You have to deconstruct to change and grow sometimes.

Pensive and Expansive

2010-10-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Vanessa, Pensive and Expansive

This sketch is from a few months ago, I ran into it while loading it onto my Etsy shop. It was a happy accident, I think I drew the view on the left first, and then the next pose was the one on the right. It's a good contrast.

Plein Air in Medford

2010-10-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

New Parking Garage, Medford

It took a lot of time with the drawing elements, proportion, perspective. Painted from behind Larsons. Maybe not a sentimental location, chosen for the interesting elements, the mountains in the distance.

Stanley Lewis and Lennart Anderson

2010-10-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

I was reading the latest issue of Art in America magazine, when an ad for paintings by Stanley Lewis caught my eye. His landscapes kind of feel similar to what I'm going for these days, and they remind me a smidge of Fairfield Porter, and even a wee bit Isaac Levitan - both artists I love love love.

In the process of googling him, I ran into a new artist to admire: Lennart Anderson.

I've been enjoying Edwin Dickinson's work lately, and his work reminded me of his, and it should because they were both Art Student's League folks, Anderson took classes from Dickinson - and got to know him a bit, as this piece shows.
The next video is an interesting piece discussing what to go for when painting a person.

More of Lennart's work can be found here. (Hopefully the videos posted okay - I seldom post videos, and get easily confused.)

Then I went to this amazing workshop

2010-10-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

given by Michael Grimaldi at BACAA near San Francisco. It was truly inspirational. We worked on the figure in grisaille and had a bonus anatomy study lecture - which was brilliant. Michael started the first gross anatomy class for artists in the US for over 100 years. He's awesome. I hated to leave.

Coast Paintings

2010-10-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Whales Head Beach, Brookings, Oregon

In August my sisters, my mom, husband, daughter, brother in law and nephew spent a weekend on the Beach. Great time. I still have sand in my easel. My sister's and I are pictured.

Rocks at Whales Head Beach

Tasty Zinnia's

2010-10-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Zinnia's are truly a candy shop rainbow wonderland of the flower world. I kept very busy during the first 2 - 3 weeks in August working on this Plein Air painting commission. It was a total pleasure, despite the intense summer heat and the chalky sunscreen I wore to keep from burning. It was fun for a million reasons. The family who commissioned it is happy, which makes me happy. And it looks really great in their space, I love seeing my artwork in the context of someone else's life.

It was a challenge too, I painted pretty much every afternoon for 2 weeks, and flowers just don't hold still and stop growing for you. Also, the light changes, this painting doesn't represent one split second, but kind of a rainbow of time within a short range. To meet the challenge I started in the center and worked out to the sides so all the flowers and leaves connected realistically. The painting is definitely on the graphic side, with it's saturated colors, which is interesting. Funny enough, my personal favorite parts are the leaves, they kind of rustle if you stare at them for a while. Anyway, it was good for me to be challenged as well, growth happens that way.

My Student/Assistant's Work

2010-10-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've been working with a young woman, Emily, who comes to my studio a couple of times a week and draws and then she helps me get stuff done in exchange. It's a wonderful arrangement; I enjoy her company, a little bit of teaching is good for me and she seems to like it too. She gave me permission to post her drawing and value study.

Well maybe a trickle...

2010-09-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have so much to post - but so much to catch up on, so very little time to do it. And I want to do it more or less chronologically so I've GOT to catch up, otherwise, I'll always be behind! Anyway - a quick plein air painting of downtown Ashland, OR, looking at the Ashland Art Center - where I work organizing classes and creative programs.

Here Comes the Flood

2010-09-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

Tea Party with Boob Job - or Sailing Flag with Siren

I really don't know where to begin, I've been out of town for almost a month, and before I left town I was super busy with my job at the Art Center and then had a fun commission that took a lot of time. I'll try to catch up on things chronologically. I painted this in July actually. Much more to come.

Phoenix and Medford too

2010-07-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Kim's Restaurant was in business when I was a kid. I remember going there only once when I was young, and being amazed by it's Disneyland quality. As an adult, it's kind of funny because most of the building is made of cinder blocks, so the fun decorative part just looks silly. It's for sale now, and the restaurant has been closed for several years.

Barkley's Tavern and Broasted Chicken is located in my town of Phoenix, Oregon. Many of the patron's came out to see what I was up to while I was painting this. I get the impression they don't actually sell a lot of chicken there.

Drawings of Claire

2010-07-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

Claire and the Sky Blue Cloth - sold

Claire and the Salmon Curtain sold

Claire and the Brown Curtain sold

Claire and the Sky Blue Curtain

Idena Suzanne and the Red Curtain

2010-07-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

We had belly dancer Idena Suzanne into our studio for Wed night drawing. There was so much color, I was mixing and testing like mad to come close to what I wanted in the allotted time. ~~This piece is for sale here. 12 x 16 inches, oil on gessoed birch.~~ sold! yay!

Pilot Rock and Emigrant Lake

2010-07-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

Last week, Meredith and I went over to Emigrant Lake, a man made mud hole outside of Ashland. I was actually really nice though, we had a lot of late snow and rain and the lake is more full than it often is, plus it's early in the summer so hadn't hadn't heated up enough to be gross. Our kids did a little water sliding at the lakeside water park and we thoroughly enjoyed our opportunity to paint. Pilot Rock, as seen in the paintings, is a neat thing: it's the throat of an old volcano. The mountain that used to surround it has eroded away long ago, leaving a wonderful focal point of hardened lava on the horizon. It's a classic rogue valley hike. Great views from the top of that thing.

Drew Reading and the Red Curtain

2010-07-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

From the Wednesday night sessions, which I organize at my studio with my studio mate, Meredith Page. We invite other artists to join us in drawing or painting a live model. Being an artist is such a solitary pursuit, it's a pleasure to get together with like minded folks, to practice our craft, gossip a little, perhaps have a beer or two. Very enjoyable.

This piece is 12 x 16 inches, oil on baltic birch, for sale here

Dixon Steel with White City Substation

2010-07-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

Oh, I love painting out of doors. It takes a lot of energy to get everything together to handle the heat and sun and paint but it is so worth it.

This painting is from a couple of weeks ago I went out to White City with another artist to paint. I'd scoped out the spot when on a visit to Builder's Bargain Center, (where my husband and I looked at doors and trim). White City is an unincorporated town, was started, as far as I know, with Camp White, a military base that has evolved into the VA Domiciliary, which, as far as I can tell, is a huge place for veteran alcoholics to go for recovery. They also hold Cub Scout camps at the VA Dom, which my painter friend's son was participating in that day. Also in White City are many saw mills, in fact my father worked in one when I was growing up nearby, outside of the neighboring town of Eagle Point. White City is a gloriously depressing place, with great vistas including gloriously ugly industrial buildings and gloriously pretty mountains in the distance, which without the buildings and wires to balance would make terribly boring paintings. All in all it's an amazing place to paint and I hope to go paint there some more, however given the effort involved it may take some time. Also, we were painting in a huge empty field, which we assumed would be fine to paint in, and it was, but this clean and pudgy republican golfer type guy drove up and said cryptically, "I didn't see you here." Which of course meant, "I somehow have something to do with the ownership of this land, and because you're not trouble makers I'm not calling the police for your trespassing, and I like being powerful, so instead of just driving by and maybe waving, I had to stop and let you know." But it was nice of him, we were glad to have the use of his land. My point is: it's tricky there to find places to paint, and I hope to do it again soon.

Claire and the Red Curtain Part Two

2010-07-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

From the Wednesday night series, 12.5 x 16 inches. oil on gessoed birch. sold

Big Summer Plans

2010-06-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

All I'm going to do this summer is paint outside, except for my Wed night model sessions.

This is my town, just a few blocks from my house. Downtown Phoenix, Oregon.

Roscoe's BBQ in the red building.

Next door to Roscoe's is La Tapatia, a mexican grocery and restaurant in the back. Get your cowboy boots and your cow tongue in one convenient location. And it's the best mexican food in Southern Oregon. And they're really friendly.

Look for more paintings of Phoenix, Oregon this summer. Who needs a studio in the summer anyway?

Second Floor Studios

2010-06-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

nearly finished with this painting of Mark Arinsberg

kitchen and dining area of second floor studios

me, finding it difficult to be photographed

me, trying to pretend I'm not being photographed, so I'll look like I'm acting naturally.

Photographs by Michelle Criswell.

Auggie's Pines

2010-06-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

The first Plein Air of the season.

Jewel Hugging Her Knees

2010-06-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

Vanessa Leaning on the Stage

2010-06-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

Drew With Towel

2010-06-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Graham Leaning on His Arm

2010-06-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

11 x 14 inches,

Original Drawing, Charcoal on Drawing Paper, $30, Buy Now

Caterina Stretching

2010-06-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

11 x 14 inches

Original Drawing, Charcoal on Drawing Paper, $20, Buy Now

Vanessa

2010-06-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

11 x 14 inches

Original Drawing, Charcoal and Sanguine on Drawing Paper, $30, Buy Now

Vanessa, Caterina

2010-05-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Vanessa Leaning on the Stage

Original Drawing, Charcoal and Sanguine and Pencil on Paper, 11 x 18 inches, $60 - Buy Now

Caterina Odalisque

Original Drawing, Charcoal, sanguine, pencil on paper, 11 x 18 inches, $60 - Buy Now

Shawn

2010-05-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

Oil on baltic birch, 12 x 16 inches

Jewel and the External Flame

2010-05-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm actually proud of this painting. It's funny too, because it was painted in a group setting and someone else set the pose. I think it's corny to set the pose with the model doing something, so I'd never had set this pose, BUT as it turns out, it's interesting to see a painting of someone doing something, instead of just posing. So there you go. I'm going to make paintings of things that I don't want to paint at all from here on out, and just see what happens.

Oil on birch, framed in a thin gallery maple frame.

Drew Looking out the Window is Finished

2010-05-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

So I'm finished with this piece. It took a while, and ultimately I stopped because I had no will to continue. I accomplished my primary purpose which was to work for a long time on a painting (lame purpose, I know). I treated it like a student exercise, which is also lame. It's not without it's charms, though. I'm showing it to you, right?, so I can't be that embarrassed. The pose is a little stiff. I always like people looking out windows, though. Okay, on to the next project.

Graham and the Red Curtain

2010-05-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

12 x 16 inches, oil on baltic birch, for sale here

Jewel Asleep

2010-04-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

A sketch from our Wed night drawing group.

Claire and the Red Curtain

2010-04-06T17:35:00.001-07:00

From last weeks Wed night drawing group at Second Floor Studios. 3 hour pose 12 x 16 inches, oil on birch, for sale here

New Sketch

2010-03-26T14:13:00.001-07:00

We started a life drawing group at my studio. This week was the first session - it was fantastic. I'll be making lots of drawings, which will be for sale on my Etsy shop. Affordable original art.

Butterfly Tea

2010-03-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

I painted this a week ago today. It's sort of a commission for the Ashland Community Hospital Hospice fundraiser: Butterfly Tea. The painting was required to contain butterflies and a tea pot. The flowers are by Enchanted Florist in Ashland. It's as sweet as can be. xoxo 12" x 12"

Mark Arinsberg

2010-02-17T15:21:00.001-08:00

He was shaved and trimmed this last week. Stay tuned.

Mark Arinsberg

2010-02-17T15:15:00.000-08:00

with beard, and a hair

Progress

2010-01-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

I've been working on painting my trusty model Drew and a portrait commission of Mark Arinsberg lately. Here are the latest incarnations. Mark has been reworked, he's no longer a hefty guy in a Hawaiian shirt. So we're making progress.

Next is the Drew project. I'm spending all the time I need on this one, I think we've done around 10 three hour sessions. I have no idea how much longer I'll work on it. The small painting one is a poster study, a technique I learned at a workshop last summer. It's useful for working out color issues. The actual size of the poster study is about 5 x 5 inches. The painting is about 16 x 16 inches.

So lots to paint, as always. I wish I were painting today, but I'm catching up on my to do list; hanging artwork in the gallery portion of my studio, taking out the recycling, blogging, hopefully photographing some older student work, meeting with a graphic designer to get some stuff ready for a presentation this weekend. Then going home and doing lots of household stuff there.

50 Years of Rogue Gallery

2010-01-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

Rogue Gallery celebrates their 50th Anniversary Jan 20. To celebrate they asked 50 artists to paint 50 Anniversary Cake paintings. I decided to go literal, and paint a piece of cake. Since I cannot eat wheat without getting sick, and have no interest in baking a beautiful cake, I had to buy some cake I knew I could not eat. To keep myself from losing control and eating it anyway I also bought some gluten free goodies from my local co-op food store.

The fork gave me the most trouble, I do not like painting squirly things that still need to maintain structure. Perhaps I'm lazy. I had fun, and the opening should be fun. Hopefully all or most all of the 50 will come to the show. I saw my high school art teacher on the list, it would be fun to see him again.

Hello Again

2009-12-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

Hello, it's me, again, hello. I've been on sabbatical - sort of- for the last two months or so. My husband and I bought a house, very exciting, and we've been unpacking and painting and patching and fixing and we'll have it ready for company in 10 years. Anyway, I'm back in my studio, and loving it. I don't have any new work to show, but I do have some work from last summer that I hated when I first made, but I like it fine now. - Is that strange or what? Often what I'm the least happy with at the time of painting is what I'll like later, and vice versa.

This uncertainty isn't uncommon with artists. I was just reading about a slightly different take on the issue on the blog The Colorist, one artist suggested throwing away the worst work so no one can see it. With my fickle mindedness, that strategy would be dangerous.

You're Not Going to Believe it, BUT..

2009-10-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

So much to tell! First - I found this AWESOME cow skull yesterday. I've been wanting some bones to study for ages and here they showed up on display at the local Hospice fund raising second hand store. I whipped the car around grabbed the skull - NO PRICE - what is it not for sale - Oh they just put it out 20 minutes before and were super excited about their rhinestone cowboy display with the skull as cherry on top but they agreed to take $25 if I would wait to pick it up until the end of the day - in which piles of people stopped by to try to buy it. I was so stoked to get this gem!

And then - I was visiting my friend Honey and she suggested I ask her friendly survivalist type handyman if he could get me some more animal bones, as he hunts for 99% of the meat his family eats. Well, he is on board and I'm waiting for perhaps an entire elk skeleton! How great is that?

Well, actually some of you may wonder how great it really is. I'm not a weirdo, and I'm not obsessed with imitating Georgia O'Keefe. But I do love anatomy and we have the same bones as animals - just in different shapes and sizes. If I could get my hands on a human skeleton with out spending a fortune or doing something unethical - I would. And yes, I know they have plastic ones, but real ones are better! But somehow it's helpful to understand our bones when you see a similar animal version of them. It's sort of deep and profound.

Ok and since my copy and paste command has mysteriously STOPPED WORKING!?! I'm going to comment on the next photos you see. So the photos are in order, but I don't want to type all that again. Augh! So as you can see, Drew and Mark are coming along. Drew still looks like he's in the army which is not the way he looks in reality. Gonna fix that, and Mark is taking shape.

2009-10-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Works in progress. I'm working on a grisaille of Drew - pictured next to the Michael Grimaldi workshop project. I'm going about it in a similar manner. Trying to take my time and do things correctly. Lots to fix in the drawing of Drew - the gesture isn't quite right and he looks a little broken - I have to work the torso more - visualize it through the arm.

Portrait of Mark Arinsberg - the always delightful bobble head model. Well - to be fair he's not a professional. Painting portraits is a whole different game than painting a professional model. Posing for a painting is much more work than you might think. It's super cool, but not easy. I've got a lot of work to do here too - Mark looks older here than in real life. Gotta fix that.

Well, lots of work to do. focus focus focus.

Starts of Three New Paintings

2009-09-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

I started three paintings this past week. In response to a workshop with Michael Grimaldi, I'm switching my work habits from fast and furious to a more deliberate process. The first step is to determine the composition. This takes time, and will mature with practice. What I'm sharing with you all today are the seeds of paintings. There are aspects in all these compositions that I love as well as things I'd like to tweak.

In this compositional study of Drew, I like a lot of it, but don't like the importance that box his hand rests on is having. It looks like a a courtroom scene - swearing on the Bible or something. I'll think on this and see what I figure out. I want the picture to be about Drew looking out the window, about the light and color and tone, about the body. I'll be studying anatomy quite a bit in the execution of this painting - it's more of an academic exercise than the others so maybe the box doesn't matter as much - although on the other hand - it matters. Paintings will always have some degree of academic exercise in them. Make the composition work. Don't be lazy.

Honey, seated, looking out the window. I tried positioning her looking at me, but I just love the way a person's face looks when they're gazing out a window. - It's becoming a common theme in my work. I'm considering lowering the picture to include her leg. She has a very lovely hand hanging down,

and then the composition would have a little of this Velasquez thing going on.

Here's an interior composition. I'm looking out of my studio door into what we call the Gallery and then into the kitchen and sliding glass door to the outside. The color of the light is really interesting. Because there is direct sunlight shining in I'll have to work on this one during certain times of the day - I think maybe I'll have an hour and a half - two hours at a time for this one. I don't know if the changing season will affect it either. It may. I'm not sure if I want it with the lighter curtain on the right or without - as seen below - sort of.

It's not that easy to share these so publicly, I'm not sure it's a great idea to share the process. But it's helpful for me to put it up - simply to get clearer about what I'm doing.

Starting a painting is a little nerve wracking. First of all, there are more ideas than time to execute them. I admit to laziness too; many of my ideas require effort and sometimes I prefer the comfort of the studio over the effort involved in capturing interesting topics of family life, paintings out of doors etc. Of course I do work on landscapes occaisonally, but I'm talking about spending time with a painting. It takes effort to cart your stuff to a location day after day - in the same light to work for a little while. I tend to stick to my studio out of laziness and convenience. I should work on breaking this laziness habit.

So anyway, another reason I find it nerve wracking to start a painting is because I can get impatient - I want it to get where it's going and move on to the next thing. I'm working on enjoying the process, relaxing. It'll happen. Physical exercise helps.

New Portrait Competition Show on Television

2009-09-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Since we've seen reality competition shows on singing, dancing, joke telling, cooking, modeling, designing, pet training and on and on and on, it's kind of a mystery that there haven't been any dealing with painting. Until now - or er, I just heard about it now - but it's in Canada, and apparently before that there was one in Great Britain.

So, Bravo TV Canada is set to air (tonight, Sept 12) Star Portraits, a new show where three portrait artists paint one celebrity client. Apparently the viewing audience votes for their favorite. What fun! I guess the BBC version had the sitter choosing their favorite portrait. To me the most interesting thing would be some sort of combination. It's interesting to see what people at large think, interesting to see what the sitter thinks and throw in some art critics too.

However it's done, it's a good thing to get art and portraits into the minds of the masses! Go team! So all you Canadians out there, tune in, as for the rest of us, maybe Netflix will have it sometime. Perhaps Bravo TV will create an American version one of these days.

Monday Night Sketching at Tease

2009-09-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

Maia Alexandra was the model. She wore sort of a sparkly tourquoise belly dance costume and has very large eyes making her look like a Disney Princess - Jasmine. The lighting was great - I'm going to try to get lighting like that in my studio. It lit the face from the front and above, creating a little shadow under the nose, putting the top lip in shadow and a little, but not all of the eyes in shadow.

View from my new studio

2009-08-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

2009-08-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

Yay - I'm home - super anxious to hit the studio, lots of things to study and work on.

I'll looking forward to working on Arinsberg's portrait, Honey's portrait. I'm anxious to start a still life, a long model pose. Michael Grimaldi suggested it was valuable to get a female model and a male model in the same room to compare and contrast them anatomically (hold the jokes - I'm talking rib cages, that type of thing). He also reminded me I need to get a hold of a skeleton - I know where I might be able to get one, - plastic of course, unfortunately. However if anyone has any cow or sheep or whatever bones, that would be really neat. I ordered my Human Anatomy Coloring Book - going to work on that. I might look into taking a class if one is offered in my area. I'm also going to read up on contemporary art - I know so very little about it - that's a failing - I went to SFMOMA and just didn't get it. whew!

ok what else - bring it on. I'm going to bed early, getting up early and taking it all on.

Still Alive

2009-08-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive, in San Francisco, studying with Michael Grimaldi at BACAA - Figure Painting. It's fantasitic. He's smart, organized, hard working, funny. There are lots of great students. I'm amazed that a serious art class can be relaxed and fun. Michael is a rigorous teacher but he's so positive with all the students. I hear him offering helpful critiques but always saying "good" or "cool" - with out being insincere, just keeping us going along. And it starts at 10:30 - which is highly civilized and goes until 5:00 - it's a full day, but you can still go plein air painting or go read. Fabulous. Linda, the director of BACAA provides snacks - your brain needs food when all the synapses are firing. It's very well run. (For the most part art school before was just stressful. It was largely about how you'd never be a master. Anyway, I'm trying to make a positive blog post, not flame around. I'm not naming names.)

Anyway, there's a lot I'm taking away from this.

One: Composition. Michael said art schools don't really address the subject and not soon enough. And in my experience it's true. We can get excited about what we're doing and maintain the stamina required for study if we like what we're doing. Duh. Besides that, he threw out some things to look for and think about when making compositions, and suggested some books that have valuable info on the subject.

Two: Great reminders on spending adequate time drawing, I needed that. I tend to get lazy and hurried.

Three: Size - we're working a little smaller than what I've been doing and it's actually kind of helpful for working slowly. I'm going to try some smaller canvas sizes.

Four: Drawing using more triangulation rather than simple measuring, horizontal vertical comparisons. That's practical. I can do that more.

Five: Anatomy, it's just fun and interesting, and he knows a lot. Very cool.

Six: Another student gave me some tips for stretching canvas, sounds like it will be helpful.

Seven: Color theory - here I am sorely lacking. This is badly needed.

And more. It's such a treat.

PS. If anyone is still reading, I went to SFMOMA today - kind of disappointing, small, mostly special exhibits that were sold out. Very trendy and crowded. Nice view from the roof garden, though.

New Business Cards

2009-08-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

So, I photographed my latest work in my new studio, for the purpose of blogging about it, and I think I left the camera at the studio. I can't find it. One of these days I'll bring the computer to the studio too, so everything will be together. For the time being I'm learning to juggle the seperation of my two biggest work tools - my studio space and my computer.

Anyway, I'm painting a portrait of Mark Arinsberg, designer and photographer and publicist in exchange for some design work etc. So here are my new business cards - Mark just made them - sweet, huh!?

my old business cards, homemade, adequate - but not inspiring

New Studio

2009-07-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

I'm preparing to move into a new studio space - outside of my home. Until now, I've worked in my garage. I could run upstairs and start dinner, check email, grab a vase for a still life etc. I'm really, really excited to have a space that's outside of my home, it feels more professional, more like a job. The space is better, too, it's actually insulated, has a sink, lots of great light. The time is ripe for it, I'm ready to take this step, but as I dive into this move, I'm running into questions. Do I take my big old fashioned but very functional home computer down to the studio? I use it all the time for work - mostly for work in fact. But I share the printer with my husband... Also, do I bring the stool both my models use in my studio but also my nephew uses in the kitchen. Naturally the studio is likely to win out, change is just interesting, it has lots of potential, and lots of adjusting. Lots to figure out. Moving is lots of work.

Pink Roses for a Pink Lady

2009-07-20T07:31:00.001-07:00

Here is my latest flower portrait. - a comissioned work. It's not what I would have chosen to make on my own, much girlier than my comfort zone allows, YET - it's my favorite flower painting to date AND making it felt very, very authentic, I felt as if I'd tapped into a groove that felt very ME. I've been searching for my groove, what feels really right is the almost cartoony quality. (What I wish I hadn't done is add the flower on the bottom, petals only would have been perfect, but I don't want to risk disaster by reworking it further, I went against my better judgement to add the flower, so I'm learning a lesson). Anyway, something about this painting admires my favorite painters who lean toward illustration - Maynard Dixon, Fairfield Porter. We'll see where things go next...

Lavender Festival Day Two

2009-07-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Hood River, OR - sunshine finally after escaping the Portland Marine Layer. I had to drive 70 miles inland to get it though. Lavender Valley Farm was a great spot to paint, very friendly, lots to see. The best thing about painting for the Lavender Festival was being out of town, having nothing required of me but to paint. It's so easy to get distracted at home with other things. But, this is my job. I resolve to just punch the clock and paint!

Lavender Festival

2009-07-08T22:34:00.001-07:00

Mark David Larsen at work

I'm up in Portland participating in the Oregon Lavender Festival - Plein Air Painting events. Today I painted at Blue Heron Herbary and coincidentally the Portland Plein Air Painters were having a paint out there as well.

My painting at Blue Heron

Kimberly Kent's encaustic plein air piece

Kimberly Kent was doing something unusual - Plein Air Encaustic - pretty cool!

Plein Air at Valley View Orchard

2009-07-04T00:01:00.001-07:00

Pie Cherries 11" x 14"

5" x 8" (great size for plein air for me)

Flowers again

2009-07-01T11:24:00.001-07:00

June - Peonies, Irises and Sage Flowers

Asiatic Lilies

I love this 16" x 20" inch size for painting flowers. Life size or nearly. I'm working on some more today. A commission - pink roses. I've got to get them while the roses still have life in them. I'm sorry I missed the heirloom varieties - they come and go in minutes in late May. I was too busy then - so it goes sometimes.

Sketching at Tease

2009-06-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Denver and San Francisco, I have museum review posts to prepare, but in the meantime, here's some sketches from fun little event last night - sketching with the Ashland artists club (not really a club) at Tease in Ashland.

Denver Art Museum - Review

2009-06-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

I've avoided blogging lately because I knew wanted to do this post on the Denver Art Museum, and I told myself I'd wait until I had time to do it justice - there was so much to see and talk about! I'll do my best now.

I visited my mother in Denver earlier this month, and naturally took the time to visit their art museum. The city of Denver is clean, well built, on an easy grid - it's different from the cities on the west coast I'm familiar with. Everything is so big and spread out here. They have more money for public focused projects, too. The museum is designed by an architect - modern and crazy looking. I'm not personally a fan; it looks great from the outside, but it's a very weird experience inside (some paintings were even hung on angled walls).

As far as DAM goes, it's more accessible to the public and consequently filled with people, and lots of children. Portland and San Francisco art museums are virtually child free, and in fact very quiet in general. In Denver, on a Tuesday, the museum was full - all ages. Each gallery had a small study and interactive library full of books relating to the exhibitions. They also employed grouped art in unusual ways. Instead of grouping everything by time and place, there were several sections with titles like: Portraits, Still Life, Landscape, and in them there were paintings from many times and places. In every section of the museum there were little games for kids (and adults) to play relating to the exhibition. For instance beside the special exhibition of Psychedelic Rock Posters from San Francisco, there was a room furnished like the time period and people could write their 60's concert experiences in a book, make kaleidoscope like light shows etc. In the Native American Galleries you could design beaded vests made from various magnets, in the African Gallery kids could play computerized drums (at low volume).

Robert Henri - Tom Po Qui

The highlight of Denver, being the capital of the West, was of course the Western Art. Particularly memorable was a Fechin portait of a Mexican Cowboy, a John Sloan, and once again, Denver is doing something I've never seen - including contemporary representational works in a museum. I haven't honestly seen many museums, but in every one I've been in, the contemporary work is limited to the post post modern heavily conceptual type. Clyde Aspevig's landscape was notable, and there were many others. Robert Henri's Tom Po Qui was a great painting, and especially inspiring to me was his quote: "I was not interested in those people to sentimentalize over them, to mourn over the fact that we have destroyed the Indian. I do not wish to explain these people, I do not wish to preach through them, I only want to find whatever of the great spirit there is in the Southwest." I love that - humanity not politics. I so agree.

They have work by Eakins as well. - I adore Eakins and loved seeing his work in person. (Singing Cowboy)

Chanet Lane - by Andrew Dansburg (My and my mother's particular favorite piece in the Western group)

I did notice, however, that every painting, every artifact, every sculpture seems to have been chosen for it's sex appeal - figuratively speaking - they're all very splashy, easy to access. Other museums certainly are more scholarly in their acquisitions process. At a certain point, perhaps it is a weakness, but THANK YOU DENVER for engaging the general public in the visual arts!!!!! People in general lack art exposure and education and museums like this go a long way to make a place for people like me who work as artists full time.

There was a lot more to see and talk about, but sadly - (this is a major beef I have with museums) - I cannot find images online of my favorite pieces and the gift shop had mostly postcards of work that is in other museums. When I go to a museum, I want to be able to be able to blog about it! They make it so hard. I did buy the little Highlights From the Collection - Denver Art Museum booklet - but their highlights weren't necessarily my highlights.

Post Script - Interesting - On the flight home I was reading ART news magazine and inside was an article on art museums attempts to bring people in.

Get Out There and Collect Some Art!

2009-06-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

It is such a delight, especially as an artist, to visit someones home and see their art collections. People have wonderful stories about how it was acquired, and what it means for them. Yet, often times you'll go into someone's home and find cheap prints etc or worse - blank space on peoples walls. Now, I know we all work for a living and original art can be expensive, but I think the larger problem is that people are often intimidated by art. We can all find some way to add thought and character to our space without hurting ourselves financially. So, in an effort to encourage everyone to get more comfortable, at least with the idea of collecting art, today I offer some unsolicited advice for people who are ready to find some art to live with.

First: Find out what you like. Look at as much art as possible. Go to all the art walks, fairs, museums, galleries you can manage. Think in terms of collecting art for a lifetime -and to be a caretaker until the next generation takes over. Avoid fads - but if you found you have faddish works, hang onto them until it becomes charming and retro. Everything gets cool again.

Be Engaging -- While you're looking at as much art as possible, seek opportunities to meet some artists. Artists generally love creating - and they get really good at that aspect of their craft and have a hard time marketing and promoting themselves. It's a dream come true if you seek out, ask around, spot something interesting in a restaurant and look up the artist website and seek to contact them directly. That's really cool for them- and it's fun for the collector too. You might even be able to arrange to visit an artist in their studio, learn about the process, see a lot of available work that you wouldn't otherwise see.

Be open minded -- avoid having an exact idea of what you're looking for, be ready to discover something unexpected. Keep this in mind if you're ever thinking of commissioning a piece. If you give the artist maximum freedom and minimum guidelines, you're more likely to get something fresh, alive and special. If you can picture exactly what you want - go to art school and learn to make it yourself.

Be Persistent and Patient -- You may not find something that strikes you for a while, but you will, keep trying. There's no reason to rush, but if you find something that makes your heart beat, get it now.

Be Discerning and Educated -- I believe art should last for several generations. There are numerous fabulous exceptions, of course, but there is something very special about having something that will age well and you can give the future. So when you do find something you like, ask questions: What did they do to ensure this artwork will be durable? How was this created? What materials were used? When you do buy a piece, write all this information down and save it in a file, including the year it was made, a description of the piece, the location it was made in, maybe where the artist studied, what kind of schooling they had. Get lots of information, it makes your artwork more precious.

Bargain - it's easier if you deal with the artist directly. Ask to make payments - this works directly with the artist and with galleries

Be Realistic -- You may be nervous about spending money on something like art, so avoid little pitfalls that can cost you money like unframed art. It's often a very good price, but a decent framing job costs a lot more than you might think - if you're buying art from emerging artists sometimes you'll spend more on the frame than on the piece itself. And NO you probably can't frame it yourself!

Finally, Be Patient -- don't try to collect a life times worth of treasures all at once, buy one or two things a year - you can buy better quality that way and your collection can grow with you.

When you've purchased artwork -- Never hang your artwork anywhere it will receive direct sunlight - everything fades eventually or be exposed to steamy moisture. Avoid sudden changes in temperature and humidity. This can cause warping, cracking, separation of the parts.

When moving - pack it very carefully. Insure it when shipping, photograph it for your renters or homeowners insurance, store the photos and value info online somewhere - and not in your home.

Yay for art!

Inspiring Artists at PAM - Review of Portland Art Museum, 2009

2009-05-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

I've been to the Portland Art Museum countless times. I've toured the permanent collection so much, that I felt I must have seen everything they rotate by now. So, I almost didn't go while in the Rose City last week. But, I feel so at home in art museums that I decided to go - even if it would just be a quick whirl - with focus on the wonderful Gilkey Center (PAM's house for the most amazing collection of prints).
I skipped the Asian and the European Silver - and hit the 18th, 19th and early 20th century paintings. There I found new life in paintings I'd already seen - particularly this Julian Alden Weir - The Spreading Oak - it's huge 39 x 50 inches and has thick brushstokes, like rough chiseled wood. It's so natural and beautiful. It inspired me to work larger someday.

Julian Alden Weir- The Spreading Oak

I also enjoyed the Childe Hassam, Pissarro and another stunner by Julian Alden Weir. The Hassam reminds me I want to paint a landscape that feels like you're in it - with the ground below and the clouds above, not just in the distance. I get caught up looking so intently ahead, that I sometimes miss creating a space for viewers to dive into. The Pissarro had such lovely tonal control, although my scanner automatically dials up the contrast, so the effect I loved is missing in this scanned postcard. In the original painting, all the values were so compressed, so close, light, like it really looks outside. And finally the Ice Cutters by Weir is just great. so simple.

Childe Hassam
Camille Pissarro
Julian Alden Weir

PAM is set up like and Art History text, in times past I've skipped the Rome - Renaissance - Baroque - Romantic - Pre Impressionist Sections - and I really shouldn't have. Although the Rome - Renaissance - Baroque was boring, I loved their collection of paintings from the 18th and
19th Century. (I wish I'd have taken some photos, I couldn't find most of the ones I liked online) Anyway they have this gorgeous Corot. They also have an awful Bouguereau. I hate that guys work more every day. He sold his soul at the crossroads - for sure.

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot

My main goal was always to get to the Gilkey center - but it wasnt' to be, yet, I wound through the maze and found myself in the modernist side. Starting with the impressionists (where the Pissarro was) and moving up into post- impressionists, modernists, post modern and contemporary pieces. Now the contemporary section had some neat stuff - Fairfield Porter and my new favorite Horatio Torres (the pics shown are not the pieces at PAM - once again unable to find them on the web) - but I don't care to see anything involving a Television - hate that crap, and so much of their contemporary collection looked like mucous to me. A huge encaustic of snot, a huge painting of blood and puss. Disgusting. A huge painting of creepy naked women crawling around with goats head on. I wish I had photos of these to share as well. (with me pretending to vomit next to them). So, I'm an equal opportunity hater - I hate sappy, soulless Bouguereau and I hate goopy soulless apocalyptic sludge.

Fairfield Porter

Horatio Torres

So I could feel my time running out, my husband and daughter had decided to visit Finnegan's - super fun toy store near by and I knew they wouldn't stay forever, so I skipped the regional section with Pacific Northwest Paintings (sadly) and I skipped the Native American Art, and the Native South American Art and made a beeline for the Gilkey Center - the holy grail of my quest. And I was not disappointed. Beth Van Hoesen truly inspired me. A female printmaker from Northern California whose subjects included portrait, still life of flowers, food, animals, nude figures, landscapes. She has a very pointed matter of fact way of looking at her subjects, sometimes illustrative, but always soulfull. I love how her works often convey a wholeness - not just beautiful, more than that. I'm still mulling over my connection to her work. My husband called to say they were parked outside, so I had to hurry, I couldn't take it in in the way I wanted to. I rushed to the gift shop to buy a book or postcard of Van Hoesen's work and was disappointed to find the magic lost in the books available. In the show it was so rich and wonderful, the books were boring and lifeless. Oh well, such is life. In my internet research I found that for you art collectors out there, her work is very affordable. I saw prices ranging $650 - $5000. Not bad.

Beth Van Hoesen

So the fact remains that PAM has a lot to offer for me, even after so many trips. I left wanting more. Hopefully I can get back sometime this summer.

Plein Air Painting -

2009-05-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

I painted this last week (or the week before that) at the middle school my daughter attends. Schools are one of the best locations for plein air painting in town, they always have fields creating enough uncluttered space to have a view.

Spring is so lovely, the hills in the distance have the most lovely green. The owner of this fence was spotted me painting and rode over on his moped to see what I was up to. He was so excited that I was painting his fence and tree that he gave me a bottle of wine he'd been storing in the moped. Great, huh?

We'll I'm off to the big city (Portland) tomorrow. I have no idea what's on at the art museum - but I'll give it a whirl (Gilkey Center is the best part of that show). We're going to see Dolorean - a nifty singer songwriter who plays at Laurelthirst Public house on Wed nights. It should be fun.

Resolution

2009-05-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

I am going to do some experimenting. I'm going to do some painting without concern for the outcome. I'm going to play with focus; I'm going to use blurred peripheral vision for a painting - and then focus on one area. I'm going to thread my focus from the whole to the parts to the whole to the part to the whole to the part and finally to the whole instead of focusing on the whole, then the parts then the whole. Mainly I'm going to look at the whole a lot more when I'm painting. It's just a matter of training the neurons to travel certain pathways more frequently.

I also have an experimental idea for a self portrait that I'm not going to tell anyone about until it's done.

All this will have to happen later - next week I'm going out of town and won't be painting. I'll stop by a museum and visit some galleries, though.

Lilacs and Figure Sketches

2009-05-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

I caught the lilacs this year. I'd like to catch the peonies and perhaps some irises before they go. I'll have to get on that tomorrow or Thursday, though.

I've been working bolder with more contrast when figure sketching. This way 1. I am forced to be more precise and 2. they look better when displayed. Figure sketches are far and away the best selling items in my Etsy shop. They're inexpensive and people love nudes.

And hey - I've organized my tags. I removed the silly ones, and made sure all the paintings have a painting tag, all the flowers have a flower tag, etc. Spring Cleaning!

Plein Air at Cape Arago

2009-05-05T12:45:00.001-07:00

A week and a half ago - at Cape Arago, near Coos Bay, Oregon. The sun would peek out occaisionally. It was chilly and windy, but we found a nice warm south facing rock to cuddle up to.

From the desk of:

2009-05-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Busy busy busy

2009-05-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Flower paintings-R-US lately. But I like doing them and people really like to have flowers in their homes. I may have hit on something. This bouquet my darling daughter picked while walking the dog. She said it was for "inspiration" for me. What a girl. and very inspiring. I couldn't have picked a better bunch myself. In fact - this isn't the first time I've painted flowers she has brought home for me.

I've been so very busy lately. I'm "cleansing" again. My life is all about soaking legumes, taking teas and saunas (ahhh) and making sure I have enough bowel movements and vegetables. It takes a solid two hours a day - and more if I have time. But the benefits are very real. I did a cleanse last fall and I'm a whole new person for it today.

Last weekend my husband and I cruised up to Coos Bay where I had a painting in a show at the Coos Art Museum. It was a juried show - I did not win a prize - which I never expect to, but always want to. It was a pretty good show, lots of room and lots of BIG paintings. There were several that I would have loved to own and several that I couldn't stand.

On our way home from Coos Bay we drove down 101 to Gold Beach to drop off paintings for the Gold Rush Art Festival. The highlight of that drive was stopping at Cape Blanco - wow, wow, wow. We're going to stay there for a couple of days this summer - it's the most wonderful State Park in Oregon. Many State Parks are near the highway - but this one is five miles out, has amazing beaches and insane views. We're so exicted.

In Loving Memory

2009-04-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of painting I should always be doing - something that carries meaning and emotion. (Granted sometimes I just have to study or explore gray areas), but anyway, I'm very happy with this work. I painted it to honor my friends and family who have passed away in the last year. I needed to scrape my grief up and focus it somewhere. My friend Anna died of Cancer earlier this year - a woman in her 40's with young children. My friend Alice died this year of liver failure. She was a wonderful, funny, graceful person and was dignified to the end. And finally my dear uncle Brian Lanning died suddenly and unexpectedly this month. He was a very, very dear uncle who always made people feel comfortable.

I miss them all very much.

More Flowers

2009-04-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

Painted last week, some pink blossoms from my neighbors tree. 6" x 8"

And I've been doing some painting too

2009-04-12T20:00:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been blogging about everything but my art. So here's a couple paintings I've finished lately. Spring flowers and the outcome of the sketch I posted a little ways back.

More Ashland Independent Film Festival

2009-04-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

IN A DREAM: Theatrical Trailer from Herzliya Films on Vimeo.

The other movies I saw at AIFF were In A Dream and the local Ashland short Model Rules.

First, In a Dream - I wasn't sure how I was feeling about In a Dream until about 2/3 of the way in. It always had my attention, though and by the end I was hooked, a big fan. It's very real, about life, not idealized, not demonized, just whole. very whole, very personal and specific to that family, but anyone in a family can relate to it, I think - even though most of us don't have such extraordinary parents. To see more visit the movie's website: http://www.inadreammovie.com/

Model Rules: A locally made short film. It was a good story, but it was based on the premise that nude figure models 1. Must not make eye contact with the students during session 2. Must not remain nude during breaks. 3. Must not speak to students during breaks. It was irritating as an artist, because I've been to piles of figure drawing groups and the only "rule" that rings true is that Models should wear a robe during breaks. (Not all do, but most do.) These rules may have applied 40 years ago, and the movie would have been more believable if it were set then.

The other real "rules" are: models should hold extremely still, no bare bottoms on furniture, and for the most part no awkward open legged poses for women. (Maybe the last one is not a spoken rule, but most people find that uncomfortable - models and artists.) Probably the most important rule for me is: show up for your modeling gigs - ideally on time, hydrated and ready to work. Modeling isn't easy. But we artists really appreciate it.

Ashland Independent Film Festival

2009-04-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

This year I'm seeing a few films at my local independent film festival. The Oscar nominated documentaries are so fantastic.

The first of the three Oscar nominated docs shown was Circles of Confusion, about a film makers suicide after Hurricane Katrina - but really it's about how human beings cannnot endure too much futility without much hope. I found it a bit confusing - but it really stayed with me, I mentally chewed it for a day or two and ultimately felt I digested it well. It wouldn't hurt to see this 11 minute film twice, though.

The second film shown was Smile, Pinki - a masterpiece really. It actually won the Oscar. It was about a hospital in India that surgically repairs cleft pallette in children for free. It was about everything though, family, life, fear, hope. At first India seemed really foreign, but as the story develops it seems anyone anywhere could relate to the families and health care workers depicted in the film.

The third film we saw was The Final Inch. It was sort of unfortunate that two of the three films chosen were about illness in India. It would have been better balanced had the AIFF committee chosen another film. That said, though, The Final Inch was a very good movie. It documented healthcare workers efforts to immunize all the children in a certain Indian state with the Polio Vaccine. Polio is a serious problem there, compounded by dirty drinking water (some scenes were very disturbing - baby bottles with brown water and sludge at the bottom), superstition, distrust by the Indian Muslim community of the ruling Hindi community, distrust of anything seeming to come from America. While I never thought much about it, this movie explains that polio is a terrible crippling and life threatening disease that was once rampant in the US. Children could go from being happy and healthy to irreversibly crippled or dead in a few days. Polio can return to threaten people as it once did if the majority of the population are not immunized. It was an appropriete movie choice for this town of Ashland Oregon because - I'm quoting from memory, probably inaccurately - Ashland has one of the highest rates of unimmunized children in the nation. People who don't want to immunize their children do so because of fears of autism - I think - and the health care community does warn you there are extremely rare but very serious side affects. When people are making their decisions about childhood vaccines, they could take information from this movie into consideration - the benefits sure seem to outweigh the risks in the case of the polio vaccine.

New Converted Exercise Zealot

2009-04-03T10:51:00.001-07:00

I am so crazy about my new gym!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm 32 years old and have never ever gotten the exercise workout thing. This last year it occured to me that I will actually grow older and that I should take time to care for my health in order to hopefully avoid serious illness in the future. Plus it occured to me that I love my life so much, I love my family, I love my friends, I love my work, but my body was feeling pretty lousy. I've worked really hard (with a lot of help) to get to a place where I can enjoy life. I had a very nice early childhood, but by the time I was 11 or 12 I was really lost and unhappy. My parents divorced, I didn't really get why we're here and what we should do. Then at 19 my father killed himself and I went into a real tailspin fueled by grief, confusion and drugs. I got pregnant, had a baby at 21, spent a little time in the mental hospital where I "hit bottom" so they say. Since then I've figured things out spiritually which led to me very slowly figuring the rest out (I don't want to get overly confident though). So, the reason I so openly share this is to underscore just how valuable it is to me to love my life. I appreciated being alive, but I was really unhappy for a very long time. So at 32 I am happy and wanted my body to feel happy too.

It all started with a dietary change, which made me feel a lot better, and prepared me exercise. Then I joined the gym at Hidden Springs. It's very relaxing, calm lighting, pleasant music, people who are exercising mainly for health reasons, rather than mainly for vanity. There's all this high tech, lastest health science stuff, too. Oxygen when you workout if you like, an infared sauna and cold plunge for detox. Plus they're going to limit membership numbers so it never gets stressful for people. People of all levels of health and age come. (and it's not expensive, costs as much as the YMCA)

Their program for strength training is bearable - once a week, just do it super, super, super slowly. 10 full seconds in and 10 full seconds out (metronomes keep you accurate) Breathing is a big deal, they teach you special breathing techniques. Then for the cardio it was so clearly explained how to do your cardio. I used to hate it because I'd just start running and my heart would pound and I'd breath super heavily and just hate it. They have you do 10 minutes of oxygenation where your start walking and breathing in and out through your nose, very deeply, working gradually faster and more inclined, then you increase speed and run if you want, always breathing correctly, never gasping for breath. They want you to get to the point just barely befor you gasp for breath and stay there until your body does this QUANTUM SHIFT and you have a burst of energy where you feel "you could go forever". You enjoy this fully and when you finish (30 mins or so) then you stretch and maybe do the K-1 - this vibrating thing that works out and massages your body.

I have yet to experience this quantum shift - but I did find myself laughing and crying at 12 minutes in both times I've worked out. As I said before - I've had a lot of tough experiences in life, so I always need emotional release. (I often cry during accupuncture too - and not because it hurts - which it doesn't usually).

anyway I'm so so so so so happy and grateful.

off to the Oscar Documentaries at the Ashland Independent Film Festival - then tonight I'm presenting some artwork at Ashland Community Hospital for the first friday art walk.

Avatar

2009-03-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about this post for a while now. I want to do it just right, though, and I've been busy, so I've put it off. Today I slept in until 10:00 am - and it's 12:00 and I'm still in PJ's, so I have the time finally.

It's kind of silly, but I want to explain my avatar. Several people have asked about it - I thought maybe someone would get the silly connection, but if anyone has, they haven't mentioned it. It all started, long ago (2006, probably) when I was in art school. I found an old 19th century photo of my art school buddy Pandora Rupert Santos.

I decided I wanted one too. She's much more free and outrageous than I am, so it had to be something simpler, quieter, but I wanted it to have lots of drama, anyway. I'd been reading a book that referenced Nadar, the french photographer - and I adored him, and I ran across this photo of Sarah Bernhardt - and there I was. It's a play on words, the period and look of the woman was right, so I've become attached ever since.

I sort of put her in a category with other women I deeply admire like Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. I can't say exactly why - it's their power and vulnerability and universal truth sharply pressing through the campiness. It moves me incredibly. I made a painting last year, inspired by these great women, and titled it after the music of another great woman - Dusty Springfield - Anyone Who Had A Heart (and if I remember right another great vulnerable dramatic woman, Amy Winehouse covered this song) I love that there are so many images of Sarah Bernhardt too. She was photographed, painted by great artists. I don't know why that aspect of her appeals to me - maybe it's because I shyly crave attention.

music video

2009-03-22T00:23:00.001-07:00

A Marathon Post - Inspiring Artist, Sketches, Snacks and a Musical Interlude

2009-03-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

I've been posing for Robert Paulmenn lately - and he introduced me to a new painter with whom I am in love: Edwin Dickinson. Interesting fact: Robert's education heritage is connected to Dickinson. One of Robert's teachers studied with Dickinson. Sadly Edwin Dickinson couldn't paint at the end of his life due to Alzheimers or Dementia.

I just can't get enough - and I can't believe I'd never heard of him before now!

Ok, moving on, we still have a lot to get to. Next topic: ricecakes - I eat 5 or so every night. Yum. When you can't eat corn chips, potatoes, white flour, then rice cakes do become wonderful.

Here is a sketch for the new painting I'm working on. The color is a bit garrish - in the sketch - but it's a short hand for cool and warm - notes essentially. The painting is going well. I can't wait to show you.

I scanned the sketch and the scanner was set to grayscale accidentally. But I liked how the sketch translated tonally.

And finally, something light - like ricecakes for your ears.

My Favorite New Sketch

2009-03-13T19:38:00.001-07:00

Cherokee, the model for this sketch is coming back Monday. I'm thinking of making this into a painting. either this or her seated in a chair with her back to me. It's been a few weeks since I've painted and I am so ready. The teen mentorship is over as of today - all we have to do is attend the show and reception.

New Sketches, Randomly Ordered

2009-03-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Finished Painting and New Ideas

2009-03-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

So, I have mixed feelings (as usual) and mixed reviews on this painting on Lila. I'm not completely happy with the hand that rests on her leg, and her head and neck, her far shoulder bothers me too. The compostition overall I like, but the counter that the plant is sittting on looks a little wierd to me. Anyway, in general I feel like it's a good experiment on the way to some better paintings. This photo distorts the painting somewhat, too, sorry.

Anyway, I just wanted to post something - all my posts lately have reflected the fact that I've hardly painted in two weeks (maybe more). This is the last week mentoring teens, (it's been great, but time consuming). I've also been gessoing 80 square feet of panels - for the next 6 months - 1 year. Experiments with gesso too. Gamblin oil ground, New Masters Gesso, applied with a brush or a roller - to figure out what I like best.

I have been sharing a model with another artist. Last week we had a particularly inspiring person come in. She's in her early 20's, and kind of heavy. Ample body fat looks fantastic on a young person. I hope to start a painting of her next week.

I HATE CHARTER

2009-03-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

Charter drives me crazy!!!!

So with this digital television switch thing, we had to get a converter box, because we don't have cable and we have an old tv. So our reception is pretty awful, and Tom saw an ad on TV where Charter offered cable hookup to the basic network channels for $9.99 per month. So he called them and asked them to hook us up. Ok fine. So they came out on a friday and set it up, and it works great. After they left, the internet didn't work. So Tom called Charter - and of course you can't get ahold of the guy who was just here, you have to call the 800 number and reach someone in Virginia. They say nope, sorry, we won't come out because you don't use Charter for your internet service. Really? The Charter guy can come to our house and screw up our lines and has no responsiblity?

So we call our internet provider, knowing they can't do anything, because they just provide the internet, not the physical lines. But they're a smaller local company, so maybe they at least know what we should do next. Well the first guy Tom talked to said to call Charter back. Which he did, DEADEND. I remember Ashland Fiber Network - part of the City of Ashland - installed the wires, so I thought perhaps we could call them. They don't answer their phones, they have a message telling us to call our internet company and they would contact AFN who would then contact us and perhaps come out and fix the problem. So Tom calls Infostructure, our internet provider back and we finally have the right information so we get a work order set up and we can expect to see AFN on Monday.

So we go all weekend without internet - we survive.

Monday morning early, (thank goodness I was showered and dressed) here comes a friendly competent local guy from the City of Ashland. He recognized a picture of my brother in law and knows him. It's a small town, very personable. He fixes the problem in five minutes and tells me that Charter does this kind of thing ALL THE TIME. He says he fixes their "mistakes" routinely. He says AFN doesn't do that to people either. But the City has to charge us $21 to fix it, which is not a big deal, but it's so irresponsible of Charter.

And the special $9.99 deal - he says that because Charter is in bankrupcy protection they're probably trying to pad their subscriber list so they can sell the company or portions of the company. HA!

I told a friend about this and he had a similar bad experience with Charter. When they disconnected their cable, Charter came and disconnected the cable tv and the internet - the internet was with another company. Thanks alot.

So I recommend avoiding Charter. They are more trouble than they're worth. Although now that we have the cable, we'll keep it until the price goes up (which it ineveitably will).

Mentor for Teens

2009-02-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

I am part of a program at Rogue Gallery where they pair working artists with interested teens. They had a record number of teen applicants this year, and so they were selective as to who would be involved - and it shows.

I'm working with two high school seniors, James and Courtney. They are adorably hard working. It's been lots of fun. I have a system of teaching worked out over several years of working with beginners. It's based on the education I had, and also the book The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed.

Anyway, we started out drawing, studying form. We have very little time for this project, so we just covered some basics. I really wanted them to get to some tonal work and painting. These photos are from our second day painting.

Courtney, Me, James

Courtney

James

Me. (They're doing so well, I have to offer excuses. I just did a quick example to show them what I wanted them to look for. I spent most of our session ordering frames online. )

goofing off

2009-02-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

I found this at Monitor Mix - link in next post. I love the drums in both of these songs. fun stuff. I wonder how the general public viewed this kind of thing when it was made?

ok, some goofing off

2009-02-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

this is a copy cat post - Carrie Brownstein from NPR Blog Monitor Mix posted this last Friday. At first I thought the bear footage went with something else, that someone had played the song with some PBS nature video, and when the camera pans over and there's the band - great. I love the merry go round later.

New Still Life Paintings

2009-02-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post for over a week, but have been busy, busy, busy. I'm mentoring some teens for the Rogue Gallery - and they are fantastic, and they come twice a week for 2 1/2 hours, which is great, but everything takes time. I also bought two sheets of baltic birch panels, which have been cut and I've been gessoing with every spare minute. They need four coats, which must dry overnight in between coats, and they take up space! Every surface in my studio is covered in drying panels. I've been taking "quick" trips to town too. Every "quick" trip seems to take half the day. And then there is dinner to make, family needs to care for. And my darling husband took me to the coast for a little anniversary trip. so that's my excuse.

A recent post in Daily Blog Tips recommended a posting schedule for bloggers. I've decided to adopt that plan. My intention now is to post on Tuesdays regularly, and again on Friday's if I have a more to share.

So, down to the post. Recent Works:

Vase with Books and Cell phone

My Parents

When I assembled the objects for this painting, it dawned on me that they strongly reminded me of my parents. It's interesting because I've either painted these objects before, or they've been hanging around for over a year, waiting to be painted. When I was painting them, I noticed I responded deeply to these, and thought they represented myself, and then it hit me: Mom and Dad. My mom sent me the vase and sent Adara the shells, and as I was growing up collected ocean rocks. The rocks are ones I collected, but definitely an idea I picked up from mom. The tin can, the nails, the oak leaves and the pennies are all about my dad.

I like this painting alot, mainly because it was so easy to paint. I was in the zone, hardly made a mistake, it was easy, I just had to do it. Sometimes painting is like that. I'm not sure the energy comes through. It was definitely a strong painting experience but does that translate into a strong painting?

Maybe I should title is less personally, and call it "Marriage". Titling artwork is a burden for me. I'm always afraid I sound affected or silly. Often in response I get a little sarcastic with my titles. Sarcasm is great for insecure people like me.

Gray Day Emo Shells and Rock

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2009-02-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

obviously I just figured out how to post videos to my blog - I'm unstoppable now!!!!!!!!!

more goofing off

2009-02-10T15:45:00.001-08:00

this song was in the movie Diving Bell and the Butterfly - a movie which I liked pretty well.

hmmmm

2009-02-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

I am waiting anxiously for a frame to arrive in the mail. I hope it comes right now because my students cancelled because their parents feared for them to drive into Ashland in the almost snow - so I have nothing to do. I mean I have tons to do but nothing planned. I should go downstairs and whip out some more little Etsy minded pieces. Not sure what to paint, though. I worked on self portraits that I'll never show anyone and that was depressing. (They're horrible, horrible horrible)

I'd go the whole wide wold, I'd go the whole wide wold just to find where they hide her.

Emo Gray Day Series

2009-02-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

Listen to Bon Iver and feel it all deeply and sadly with this series.

I love this new little group, painted specifically to sell on Etsy, but now that they're dry I'm imagining them framed and shown in a little shop somewhere - or given to my friends as gifts cause they're so cute. For now they're available on Etsy though.

Two Rocks and a Vulnerable Shell 5" x 5" $40 Available here

Lonely Shell 5" x 5" $40 Available here

Big Hurting Shell 5" x 5" $40 Available here

Salty Wounds 5" x 5" $40 Available here

Three Rocks and a Shell 5" x 5" $40 Available here

Poor Communicaters 4.5" x 5" $40 Available here

Inspiring Artists - Henri on Eakins

2009-02-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

I just got a new book, The Art Spirit, by Robert Henri - an American painter who taught and influenced lots of other American painters. It contains lots of little gems like: " There are pictures that manifest education and there are pictures that manifest love." Or "If in your drawings you habitually disregard proportions you bcome accustomed to the sight of distortion and lose critical ability. A person living in squalor eventually gets used to it."

I love his conviction. He was said to have been immensly charming in life and his writing draws me in 90 years after his death. I love how he bridges the gulf between expressive, emotive painting and accurate, classical painting.

Anyway - Henri writes a nice little essay on one of my favorite artists - Thomas Eakins. I thought I'd devote a blogpost to the essay and to some of Eakins work.

(oh, I love this portrait, oh, I love this portrait, oh I love this portrait)

"TO THE ART STUDENTS OF THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE

The exhibition of the works of Thomas Eakins at the Metropolitan Museum should be viewed and studied by every student and, in fact, every lover of the fine arts.

Thomas Eakins was a man of great character. He was a man of iron will and his will was to paint and to carry out his life as he thought it should go. This he did. It cost him heavily, but in his works we have the precious result of his independence, his generous heart and his big mind.

Eakins was a deep student of life and with a great love he studied humanity frankly. He was not afraid of what this study revealed to him.

In the matter of ways and means of expression--the science of technique--he studied most profoundly as only a great master would have the will to study. His vision was not touched by fashion. He cared nothing for prettiness or cleverness in life or in art. He struggled to apprehend the constructive force in nature and to employ in his works the priciples found. His quality was honesty. "Integrity" is the word which seems best to fit him.

Personally, I consider him the greatest portrait painter America has produced. Being a great portrait painter, he was, as usual, commissioned to paint only a very few. But he had friends and he painted his friends. Look at thse portraist well. Forget for the moment your school, forget the fashion. Do not look for the expected and the chances are you will find yourself, through the works, in close contact with a man who was a man, strong, profound, and honest, and, above all, one who has attained the reality of beauty in nature as it is; who was in love with the great mysterious nature as manifested in man and things, who has no need to falsify to make romantic, or to sentimentalize to make beautiful. Look, if you will, at the great Gross Clinic picture for the real stupendous romance in real life,

(sketch for Gross Clinic)

and at the portrait of Miller for a man's feeling for a man. This is what I call a beautiful portrait; not a pretty or a swagger ortrait, but an honest, respectful, appreciative man-to-man portrait.

But I have no intention to specify. I simply ask you to look. I expect the pictures to tell you, if you can but see them from out of yourselves, and I expect them to fill you with courage and hope.

Eakins many years ago taught in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and in those days it was an excitement to hear his pupils tell of him. They believed in him as a great master, and there were stories of his power, his will in the pursuit of study, his unswerving adherence to his ideals, his great willingness to give, to help, and the pleasure he had in seeing the original and worthy crop out in a student's work. And the students were right, for all this character you will find manifest in his work. Eakin's pitures and his sculptures are the recordings of a man who lived and studied and loved with a strong heart."

- Robert Henri - from the Art Spirit

This last drawing was included with reference to the Pennsylvania Academy. In those female nude models had to be blindfolded - somehow this made it acceptable in Victorian times. Eakins got in a lot of trouble for unblinding the models and allowing female students to study nude models etc. (as I remember it, sorry not to have taken the time to research to share the exact details...)

Anyway, I find him terribly inspiring.

I threw the study of my sister in the trash

2009-02-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Well the title say's most of what I want to share. This kind of thing just happens sometimes. I went back to work on it and ruined it. When will I learn to leave well enough alone? I'm trying not to be too hard on myself - I've been able to learn a lot of things so I think I can learn when enough is enough too. Moving on!

I'm Painting My Sister Again!

2009-01-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

I started a preliminary sketch/study of my sister today. I'm pretty excited to have her in the studio again. Last time she modeled for me was about a year ago and we got into a fight (minor - sister thing) and I quit the painting and threw it in the trash. (Mature, huh?) It wasn't a very good painting, so no loss. Anyway she's been busy, she's a full time college student, studying to be a teacher and she works and baby sits our other sister's kid. Anyway, I finally have her back and am really excited to paint her. She's so intense. Her gaze is direct and fantastic. Here's a link to another portrait I painted of her.

Procrastination and New Inspiration

2009-01-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well. I have been reading blogs on interior this afternoon - instead of cleaning my home, painting or doing any other productive thing. How do people choose paint for a home? I can mix a color for a painting with little effort, but to try and choose something great for a home? Forget it. I guess that's why we specialize.

So that's my procrastination. My new inspiration is neutrals. I painted this little still life while a student was working - it's very posed, isn't it. I wanted my student to study forms at certain angles. I was excited by the grays and beiges and the similar tones. It's a jump from the last group I did - which was all about contrast and color.

Grappling with Taste

2009-01-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

Anna's House - Andrew Wyeth

I like Andrew Wyeth. I like how personal his work is. I like the American-ness of it. I am not a patriot, not nationalistic at all. I am very interested in people and art from other places, but as an artist I keep being inspired by very personal, very rooted representational work. I love Eakins, Homer and I like Wyeth. And my goodness, what a handsome, magnetic man. He looks like a combo of young John Wayne and the new James Bond guy - Daniel Craig.

The reason I say I am "Grappling" with taste is that, well, he's so popular. I admit I want to be "cool" and know and like hip, obscure artists, but I don't really. I like Wyeth, not everything he's done, but I like him. So anyway. There it is. It's kind of like the Beatles, or Bob Marley, most people have to admit they like it. There's an honesty to his work.

but my attraction to "American" things is a realization that's been dawning on me for a few years. I'm not a "proud to be an American because at least I know I'm able to shop at Walmart" but I'm culturally an American. I like fried chicken and gravy. I embrace who I am as part of a culture. Not as being better than other cultures, just to appreciate my traditions and values. My ancestors came over to this country in the 1600's (the Irish ones in the 1800's) and this has informed my taste, my habits. I love roots and history and looking at things sentimentally but honestly. making a living on the land, knowing how to build and grow and repair - I love that kind of thing. I love the heartbreak too. Well, I don't love bad things that happened, but I want to feel them and let them be part of my past.

Post Script: I just found an excellent article from the Smart Set on Wyeth's Christina's World. The author addresses common Wyeth criticism and gets at the core of Wyeth's appeal. Link ">Here.

Sarah's Gone Crackers

2009-01-16T09:22:00.001-08:00

I've been on a special diet for months now. MONTHS. It's beginning to wear on me. The first diet was a lovely positive cleanse. I felt great and was so busy doing skin brushing and peat baths etc that I didn't have a chance to focus on all the foods I couldn't eat. Then, I started to transition back to regular food and discovered allergies to tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, corn and potatoes. Ok fine. too bad, but fine. And the contrast between feeling so good on the cleanse and then feeling normal made me realize normal wasn't good so I did some tests with my doctor and we found that I wasn't making enough stomach acid and that I didn't have ANY good flora and fauna in my gut. So I went on a special diet to change all that. It involoves no sugar, no alcohol, very little fruit, no white flour or white rice etc, no vinegar. So add that to no corn or potatoes and you get brown rice, quinoa, whole grain everything. So if I eat my one piece of fruit early in the day I have nothing but rice cakes to snack on in the evening. Night before last Adara said, "Sorry Mom, I ate the last rice cake. But there are some crumbs at the bottom of the bag." I ate them and I refused to share.

So yesterday I went to the COOP to stock up on rice cakes (wah) and found these Mary's Gone Crackers. The ingredients are simple: brown rice, quinoa, flax and sesame seeds. And they are AWFUL!

"Taste's Great" they say and "How can rice and seeds taste so good?" - Whatever! put a little peanut butter on it and you have those bird feeder bricks. So wah, I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself. Tom's toast popped up this morning and he was busy so I buttered it before it got cold and it made me really depressed. I'm going to have protein powder for breakfast. But I have to remind myself: I do feel better. and I did lose 15 lbs that I don't want to gain back. So I'll carry on. It won't last forever.

Evening in San Francisco

2009-01-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

I was going through older artwork and found this little painting. I wasn't crazy about it when I painted it - but with time and distance it has grown on me. It was painted from Sutro Park, on the Pacific side of the city. Sutro park is this great quiet park with lots of statues. It's high on a cliff and you can look down on the Great Highway (highway 1). The swath of grayish green in the right background is Golden Gate Park.

Winter Paintings

2009-01-12T11:45:00.001-08:00

These paintings seem a little out dated, the snow came and went. I was elated when it snowed here, these little paintings were wonderfully fun to make. They were painted looking out the window of my studio, and they look like scenes from a window.

I decided to frame them before putting them up for sale. That's my new plan, to have all my work ready to hang, (except for figure sketches).

Dengue Fever and Shifting Currents

2009-01-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

My trip to San Francisco was super inspiring.

I stayed with my very hospitable friend Michelle. We had some lovely meals with friends, and I managed to talk her into going to a hipster concert.

(view from her kitchen window)

I didn't have time to get to all the museums, I was only able to see the De Young, but that was enough. I was struck by the Asian/American/Modern Art: Shifting Currents, 1900 - 1970, and then Maya Lin. I didn't really expect to be. Much of the exhibit was chronological, the 1900 - 1935 was lighter in mood, expansive, universal (the postcards shown are from this time period), and then when WW II and internment camp time came, I nearly cried, the work was so moving. It was notable that much of the work made in internment camps was already degrading, good materials wouldn't be easily accesible. And then the 50's 60's and 70's came, modern and cool stuff. and Maya Lin can do amazing things with two by fours and press board.

Frank Y. Soto - Shadow From Garden 1925 Chiura Obata Setting Sun: Sacramento Valley 1925

So I'd heard that Dengue Fever - a group I've been listening to a lot this past year - was in San Francisco, I thought the tickets would cost a fortune, so I didn't look into it until the day of the show - and guess what! the tickets were 9$ - Wow! So it was too late to book online, and the club didn't open until 9pm - the show's start time. Michelle was hesitant - she thought she'd be the oldest person there, but for 9 bucks, let's just see. So we get down there and there is a line from the club to the end of the block and around the corner. It didn't look good. It was just a tiny venue. So we get in line and hear that they only have 50 unsold tickets and clearly we're too far back in line. So as we were discussing this, the man in front of us (who was at least Michelle's age) said he had an extra ticket, which he'd give us if we found another. Michelle and this guy suggested I should walk the line calling out for extra tickets -(not really in my nature) - but I did it, and someone had an extra, which I bought and so we got to go! It was 9:30 or so before we got in, and then the opening act had to play and so we were looking at 11:00 before Dengue Fever would go on, so I broke down and had some whiskey. (I've been on a special diet and haven't had alcohol for 3 months -(with one other exception). But I figured whiskey can't have much sugar (which I'm not supposed to have) so I enjoyed it.

The show was excellent - there are six musicians, sax, organ, drums, bass, guitar and the amazing Cambodian singer. They were all really solid and they played together. It was super inspiring. I can't even begin to describe how much it fed me creatively. Art won't save the world, but it is important. Below is a short video from the show.

And by the way, Michelle said she enjoyed the show and didn't feel out of place.

Unknown Artist Plans For New Year

2008-12-30T15:09:00.001-08:00

I made this drawing and wash last weekend - it's Tom napping. I actually love this, very pleased with this piece. It's nebulous and dreamy, just like a nap.

Well, this ends my first year as a professional artist. I saved all my receipts, and have been calculating them up. I did some deficit spending, with out a doubt, but that turned out to be a good thing - tax deductible. I did not plan on counting mileage on my car, though, so I had to go back and calculate all the distance I traveled for work based on my receipts. Would you believe I traveled over 4,000 miles for this art thing - and I didn't leave Oregon, barely left Ashland. Wow.

So, although I'm not one for new years resolutions, I am going to keep better records next year. I got a new calendar, that I think I'm going to love. It's a daily calendar which I think I'm going to like - lots of room to keep track of things - and I love the idea of keeping sort of a diary, but not a "dear diary, I'm feeling so...", but a record of life. So I plan to really write things down in it. It could prove to be interesting in 20 years.

so the end of a year and the start of another. Last year was all about seeing what I could do without an instructor - a nervous insecure kind of jumping off. Next year I hope to move further technically, but most importantly I'd like to become more of who I am as an artist. I'd like to mature a lot more this year, become clearer about what I love and am interested in sharing with the world. I'd really, really like to get gallery representation this year too. It's been hard to place myself, too. I come from a realist background, and I love to make realist art, but for the most part I don't like other realist art. It tends to be sappy and boring. So I don't know even which galleries to look at. I'm not very cool - so the hip modern galleries are out, and I have no name or reputation, so most galleries I'd like to be in may not take a chance on me, anyway.

19th century photograph of an electric spark -so inspiring!

Anyway, I'm heading down to San Francisco for a couple of days to visit a friend who's holed up with foot surgery, and as always when I'm in a place with museums, I'm dedicating as much time as possible to absorbing what I can there. Museums are so exciting to me. I feel so at home. I'm going to visit SF MOMA - which I've never been to. I was brainwashed against modern art for a while, so I'll go see what the fuss is about. I'm interested in these old photographs. The Legion has Leonardo drawings - very exciting -, faberge eggs, symbolist prints and more. De Young has Yves St Laurent clothing, some interesting photography shows and the best permanent collection in San Fran (in my opinion). It should be exhausting and invigorating at the same time.

See you next year.

George Bellows and Ashland Snow

2008-12-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

Well, it snowed here in Ashland recently, which is rare; the snow stuck and froze, which is even rarer. It was down to 15 degrees last night - which I can't ever remember experiencing. The house was noticeably cooler, we had to pay more attn to the woodstove. Anyway, I wanted to get outside and paint snow scenes, but it's just too cold for me, so I painted some snow scenes while looking out the window. It's more difficult because of the lighting, but much better than freezing.

I had an appointment and had to walk across town for it because I didn't dare drive down the icy hills in my neighborhood. I came home and ate everything I could find and then tried to paint and couldn't, so I started to prepare for a class I'm teaching in January.

I don't have any photos to share, and so I'm going to continue with some art work that moves me. It's very helpful to get this out, to have to write about it. It kind of focuses me, and carries me forward.

So, I'm inspired by the American painters in the early 20th century right now, so let's look at George Bellows. The famous work - Starkey's (or something, titles are boring) - is so intense, look for the gleeful, bloodthirsty man in the crowd.

And here is a portrait that feel entirely different. There's another story here.

I remember the title of this one: Cliff Dwellers.

This guy was so great. I adore this grandmother picture. There's a whole person in there. The hands, the hands. I'd like to paint some portraits of people in their own enviornment. I tend to set up in my studio because it's so much easier.

And then finally, I chose to share this one, beautiful and sad. This painter really inspires me - what a range, and I love the humanity. complex and subtle, a lot going on. Strong individuals with stories. So great.