Christmas Ventures

We began a tradition of exchanging homemade Christmas gifts with our extended family last year. I have been wanting to transfer some of my imagery into cloth and sewing so I figured this was a good opportunity to give that a try. This is my first attempt and I think I gained some good experience from it. I would like the stitching to be more organic so that the mistakes didn't matter. Not sure how to go about that.

Small Works Show

Weekends through Dec. 20, 2009
"Small Works, Big Ideas, Thinking Inside the Box"
Melrose Bay Art Gallery

These two paintings are new small works for the show at the Melrose Bay Art Gallery. I hung them this morning. There are so many really good art works still available at reasonable prices. It really is a mystery to me what sells and what doesn't.

Paddiwhack Event

I am happy to be included in this event. I love their new location next to Fresh Market what a fun place to be. Thursday, November 19 from 6 to 9 pm.

The Paddiwhack annual champagne & chocolate extravaganza Thursday November 19, 2009 6 to 9 pm This holiday season visit Paddiwhack for the largest selection of hand-made gifts in the area. Work from well known national and regional artists ... Barefoot Dreams Department 56 David Marsh Sticks Patience Brewster Patricia Locke Natty B Elizabeth Garvin Ed Levin Gary Rosenthal Yardbirds Tin Woodsman Story People Shoestrings creations Island Cowgirl Kathy Bransfield Eleanor Blair Krinkels Bill Campbell Folkmanis puppets Carol Barber Linda Blondheim Holly Yashi Stacey Breheney Amy Peters' Studio Sharon McGinley Basic Spirit Elements Jill Schwartz Churchill Weaver Chris Roberts -Antieau Heartwood Creations Jan Barboglio Kay Ash Lampe Berger Sid Dickens Join Our Mailing List! Paddiwhack 4128 NW 16th Blvd Gainesville, Florida 32605 352-336-3175 Dear Carol, Please join us for our 6th annual Champagne & Chocolate Extravaganza, it is sure to be our best ever with the added space of our new location. Paddiwhack's new home has over 6,000 Sq of showroom giving you the largest selection of American handmade furniture and craft in North Florida. This holiday season we invite you to preview the wonderful offering from over 300 American artists and craftsmen.. This private event is for our loyal customers and their friends, as a select member of this group you and your guests will have the opportunity to relax and shop with a glass of champagne and scrumptious chocolates. The "Extravagant" part is the wonderful discount, for one night, and one night only take 20% off your entire purchase. We only offer this discount once a year to our most valued customers and their friends so don't miss this opportunity to select from the vast array of unique gifts, jewelry and furniture that Paddiwhack has to offer. Sincerely, Chuck Sapp Paddiwhack Barefoot Dreams Throws 54" X 72" Reg $132.50 This holiday season surround yourself with our BambooChic® throw or robe, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. You will lose yourself in its softness as you relive the peace and comfort of your favorite blankie. Barefoot Dreams® BambooChic® throws are also featured at 5-star resorts and spas, a favorite among celebrities and the modern mom on the go! Available in 10 elegant colors, the BambooChic® throw will add style and sophistication to any home. BambooChic® knit is unlike most chenilles in that it is machine washable and dryable. It won't shrink, pill or wrinkle and will always return to its original softness.One of Oprah's favorite gifts. Patience Brewster Dashaway Vixen by Patience Brewster 12" tall Patience Brewster many of you may know as the creator of the Krinkles' line for Department 56. this year she as ventured out on her own with the debut of her new line for the holidays. Dashaway Vixen, one of eight reindeer figures, shows the attention to detail and quality that makes this and instant holiday favorite and family keepsake. Paddiwhack carries the entire line of Patience Brewster ornaments and figures. Linda Blondheim My Yard III 12" X 16" Oil on panel unframed by Linda Blondheim Linda Blondheim is a painter of the south, her work chronicles the fast changing landscape of rural North Florida and South Georgia. Having grown up in the region she is pulled by her connection to the beauty of the real Florida. Each painting documents her travels, of the love of the rural landscape, and it's need for preservation. Paddiwhack is proud to represent regionally know painters like Linda Blondheim, our current show is of recent painting by Linda. 20% off your entire Purchase For One Night Only Take 20% off the regular price of your entire purchase! Yes even on special orders! Offer good November 19, 2009 only. 20% is taken off of the regular price, can not be combined with any other discount

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Success

I had a fun time working on this painting, Decadent Forest, last week. I painted over an older painting and I feel that helped me achieve the delicate balance between intention and discovery. Sometimes I plow right through with my intentions and forget to play and be involved with the process. I have also just played and felt the painting had no structure or intention. It's a tricky balance.
It also felt really good to make some sales this weekend. The prices weren't high but nothing makes an artist feel better than a sale. Thank you to those purchasers, I appreciate you. And those sales also help the Harn Museum of Art and Melrose Bay Art Gallery, places that we love.

Landscapes and figures

David Hockney at 72 is painting landscapes! Is anyone else awe struck by seeing a master from the art history books paint like this or is it just me? See his work at: http://www.colugapictures.com/

These painted landscapes on the blog are mine for the small works show coming up in Melrose.
I have also been working on the figure in a landscape.

Durham, NC

I went to a beautiful wedding this past weekend in Durham, NC. While I was there I encountered some inspiring art also.
One interesting place was the Scrap Exchange. I think if I lived there I would hardly buy paint again. I would just make art from what was available. I bought a packet of materials to make a collage. Sometimes I do my best work when there are some limitations. Just being creative and making what I can from what is available.
Also visited a non-profit organization that provides a foundry for the community and artists. They poured the bronze bull in the town's square. Loved the gates around the fire area.
Visited a ceramics studio and gallery. http://www.claymakers.com/ I had never seen ceramic tiles used as canvases and glazes used as paint in this way. Also looked like some collaged digital transfers on some of the vessels that were interesting.
LabourLove Gallery, Art co-op gallery at Golden Belt, was a great place also. One artist there had done something that I have been thinking about. She had cut out images from felt or cloth and had them sewn to the upholstery of chairs and a sofa. The images were inspired by her paintings. We went to the wedding reception at the Golden Belt and I didn't even know until right now that it had a whole floor of artists' studios. The Golden Belt was once a factory that made bags for raw cotton. I am so excited about this because this is only an hour away from where my parents live in rural Virginia.
Last but not least, saw a Picasso exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art on the Duke campus. The exhibit was Picasso and the Allure of Language. I didn't even know Picasso wrote poetry which he did. The exhibit drew many different types of connections between his art and the use of language. One that I can use when I teach art to preschoolers this week is the influence of shapes of letters in some of his Cubist style paintings. One thing that inspired me, was Picasso taking one line drawing of a face and exhausting that image by drawing it as many different ways that he could without changing it proportionally. Like embellishing it differently or drawing it with different line qualities.

Contrasting Waters

My family has been going on the rivers more and more on the weekends. I was struck by how contrasting our water in North Central Florida can be. We have the crystal clear water coming from the springs and then the deep black tannin water resulting from the trees.

My work is experiencing some contrast also. I want to incorporate figures into my paintings and it is a bit of a shift in the way I have been working. I enjoy working from my drawings for my landscape paintings but I am not finding the same opportunities to draw figures. So I am using photographs at the moment.

Show at the Thomas Center

Here are some teaser photos of the show at the Thomas Center. Sarah and Sky's Island of Wild Things was a total surprise for me. And it is crazy how it goes with some of my paintings, especially since we didn't collaborate. It makes me wonder what would happen if we did collaborate. I can see doing some drawings and paintings from their island.
Reception is October 1st from 5 to 7 pm.

Thomas Center Show

I took my work to the Thomas Center this morning. I have had that date on my calendar for along time and to get to the other side feels sweet. Now I get to sit back and watch the staff of the Thomas Center work their magic in the hanging of the show.
I was excited about my latest painting but in my haste to deliver, I didn't take its picture. It reflects my love of Odilon Redon's work and I want to keep working with the figure. I will post some pictures after the installation.
The reception is Thursday, October 1st from 5 to 7 pm. The show runs from September 19 - October 18th.

New MT's Chop House

I just installed nine paintings at a restaurant with a new location. I was proud of myself for wielding the measuring tape and cordless drill. I literally had to run around due to limited time and needing to pick up my sons from their schools. I think that helped though: just do and don't think. The paintings look nice in this new location. Wishing them good luck on their opening.

Thin Washes

Warm Wind


Peter Doig, Peter Doig, Peter Doig. I want to be like the contemporary artist Peter Doig. I saw a youtube video of his latest exhibition and the narrator was talking about the thin washes that he used. So I tried these latest palms in thin washes of acrylic. I was surprised that I could paint vertical on the easel with the paint this thin. I liked the process of really moving the brush in this painting. Although it is nothing like Peter Doig.

I have a habit of breaking my subjects into many different colored shapes. I want to try breaking the composition into color blocks and allowing whatever is in that area to stay basically that color. I have observed this method in Odilon Redon's color work. An artist that I love from art's past.


Approaching Storm

One thing that I do like that is happening in my paintings is the staking of layers of shapes. Like is happening on the right side of "Approaching Storm".


I just read a new novel by Samantha Peale entitled "The American Painter Emma Dial". It was a fun book to read and strengthened my desire to be a serious painter. I had already decided to do paintings that I wanted to do and not worry so much about what might sell. I am thinking about getting a job in a print shop part time once my son goes to school. I think it will be more freeing to my art to have a job for income rather than try to rely on it for income.

Summer Work

Dancing Beach Trees

























Reflection in Blue



Wedding present for a couple who like to scuba dive and have a new dog.




My camp studio in the woods. My husband is building an oven out of native stone in the background.

Going with the Flow

I am reminded of my flower bed in the backyard. I started flowers from seed in the Spring in hopes of seeing bursts of color from our windows. I used some soil from our compost pile to strengthen our sandy soil. What I have now is oodles of little tomato plants all around the house that came from the compost and one little sunflower blossom that I can see from the window. Maybe in the Fall when the weather cools the tomato blossoms will set and I can make colorful salsas and sauces. Who knows? I will have to go with the flow and see.
My goal for the Summer is to paint some Florida water inspired paintings for a show I am having in September and October. The water inspiration will go with the glass vessels Sarah Hinds is anticipating for the show. Right now I am on the move with my two young sons who are free from school. We had an active vacation at a Florida Beach where I did some sketches and now we are off to camp on some family land in Pennsylvania. Not an ideal situation for painting Florida water but I am interested in what will result from the "quiet" of the woods. Although I am thankful for all of the fun we have had so far this Summer, I'm eager for some intense painting time. Who knows what exactly will result, I will have to go with the flow and see.

Flying Boy

This painting is not quite what I had in mind for my next work but it was fun to do. There is some drawing and photography research I want to do as preparation for my next painting but I haven't had time yet. It's next on my list.

Eureka!

With this painting I feel like I have finally found something that I have been desperately in search of for years. It was so unexpected, like turning over a rock by accident and finding a gemstone. I have been working and working and then boom everything came together; a meaningful idea, a satisfying methodology and successful visual painting elements. Also it seemed independent of my own desires and mood. I was feeling rather lousy about myself and just about everything and then this idea for a painting just came and worked. I plan to do a series of this idea and if that starts to happen, then I will explain the meaning more clearly. I don't want to jinx it all just yet.
I do find comfort in that artistic success comes from consistent work and not from personal happiness or state of mind. I have rediscovered that drawing in a sketchbook is very important to my process. Not to get a blueprint for a painting, but to put shapes into my visual memory. So that when I am painting, I can just be free to paint and not feel I have to be tied to any reference. I also think I will have to have a new motivation to get work done, like a ritualistic schedule instead of a frenzied search. I observed in Korea that the way people did tasks had to be like worship for them. How else could you be at peace cleaning a sidewalk with tiny brushes or trimming shrubbery to immaculate perfection?

Obessive

I really worked hard on painting this week. So much that I started to question my sanity. It is hard to stop painting and switch gears sometimes. The orange landscape is very detailed and it is a large painting, 36" x 24". I wanted to get away from painting hard outlines and details so I started painting just areas of color in the blue one with the two birds. I am still working on it and adjusting to painting with thicker paint and modeling paste.

Dots and Dashes

I don't know how I started painting like this, it wasn't a conscience effort. I do think these paintings will show well with the glass work in the Fall. Then I will have a show at the Thomas Center with glass blowers, Sarah Hinds and Sky Campbell.

I am finding sketching more and more valuable, which I think is a positive leap for
me. I don't consider photos of much value in my process. I am thinking to myself "I wish I had a sketch book right now" rather than a camera.

In subject matter, I want to get back to creating a fantasy world, an utopia. I am thinking I will try not starting my process in such a wet fluid state for the next couple of paintings and see if I can get to some more defined bold strokes and layering. I am constantly amazed about how the beginning of a painting process dictates the final product. I expect it to change drastically but it ends up returning to where it started.

Misty Cedar


















Water Hyacinths II






















Water Hyacinths I

A Walk in the Rain

Two Boys
A walk home in the rain
Pouring boots onto the porch in brown puddles
White socks turned to dark gray
Stripped of clothes at the door
Bits of black mulch and brown leaves stuck to their scalps
A long deep bath
After a "walk" in the rain
Two boys

Evening BBQ on the Bay

This party was my last adventure in Open Air Arts until the Gala reception on April 11th. (I am going on a family trip) The weather was glorious and I turned in three paintings. It was a perfect ending. I loved talking to other artists about their works in progress. I can't wait to see all of the finished products. To see pictures: http://freshsqueezedart.blogspot.com/2009/04/when-artists-pary.html

Open Air Arts

I made a slide show of my experience so far at the Open Air Arts event in Melrose, FL. I made an old fashion animated gif and do not know how to post it here. It is too late at night to figure out new tricks so please see my web page.
I am having fun on my plein air painting adventure but I am exhausted. I also fully intended to paint in my abstract style but I guess I am too close to the subject matter. Too close physically and mentally. For my abstracts I do a series of quick sketches and become removed from the subject matter before beginning a painting.

H*A*P*P*Y

What a contrast to last week, I am so happy with my new painting. When I got to this point, I used to think, "I have arrived everything will be easy now". But it is not like that. Art is ephemeral and hard to grasp. It could crash in failure at any time but for now I have success and I will enjoy the moment.












Check out this website. This makes me excited and inspired on many levels. I didn't have anything to do with this design: http://www.throwdownyourheart.com/

But I am helping with the graphics for our new web site at the gallery: http://melrosebayartgallery.com

Roses, Roses, Roses are bad

I want to post this to remind myself not to do this again. When I start without a compositional sketch and no clear idea I usually get this. I become too descriptive because I have vague shapes and I want to develop them into something clear. I want to be suggestive with art that is how you get to something meaningful and universal. I really need to have more than one painting going at one time. That helps me not to overwork the paintings and dwell on the failed ones.

On a positive note, the weather and spring flowers outside are beautiful. I think I will go take a walk and try to wash my brain from this.

I did successfully design a poster for Open Air Arts this week. It features one of Gary Borse's paintings which is gorgeous. I can't wait for Open Air Arts it so much fun to see what all of the different artists will produce.

Crossroads?

My new painting Out of the Swamp makes me feel content.
It seems for me there is two types of art that I can do. One is an abstract portrayal of nature that I like to do because I love to play with the colors and shapes. This work doesn't have a deep meaning, but it is really interesting visually. This work has brought me more recognition from the "art critics" such as getting into juried shows.
The other work has a subject matter that is largely developed from my imagination during the creative process. This work is fun because the unexpected happens. Many people that visit art fairs seem to really connect with this art. It is not for everyone, some only like realism. But the people that do like it are passionate about it and bring their own interpretations to it. But this work is somehow not serious enough for the art critics to accept and reward.
I am really happy to do either kind of art work. I did feel I needed to concentrate on abstract shapes and colors for a while to learn to craft a better painting. Now I am going to try to marry the two approaches and see what happens. Do other artists continually need to make these conscious choices? Or does their artwork progress and change on its own? It seems I am always getting stuck in these situations where I need to choose which way to go.

Out of the Swamp








Thanks Tim Malles for taking this photo of me painting at the Tioga art fair this past weekend. These cows weren't created from my imagination but derived from my sketches and photos.

High Key, Low key

I loved painting the abstract with the lighter pastel colors. It flowed from the beginning to end and was fun to paint. I call this High Key Tree, light colors on the value scale are called high key. Although this painting has too many dark values to truly be a high key painting. I had so much fun, that I decided to paint a match to it in low key colors, darker values. But this one has been a struggle from beginning to end. I have added a lot of light colors to it and I'm still working on it. I don't think I can hang this painting next to the other one as I had planned. The two styles of the paintings do not match. The next time I want to paint a diptych, I will paint on both paintings at the same time, as if they are one painting.
Just as these two paintings were to represent high and low so was the mood in the studio. Joy then struggle. Painting, just as life, is filled with triumphs and failures.