A Third of the Way

I am a third of the way through the mural and doubts arise. I am reminded of an article I read in the Smithsonian about a project and the director said if everyone is happy you aren't doing something right. You are not pushing it enough. Most have been complimentary of the mural but there are a wide variety of artisans and tradesman working on the building and many have their opinions. The painting is not everyone's cup of tea, some that are making strange comments I suspect really think realism is the best way to go in art. But the owners use words like "love" and "spectacular" so I am satisfied. I am also reminded of reading that Cy Twombly's work arises the most intense reactions of love and hate. I love it but don't have the courage to paint like that, not yet anyway. I actually think that I wouldn't mind painting realistically on a large mural because from my brushes' and eyes' perspective it is abstractly just blending colors. I heard Chuck Close say something similar in a documentary and it made me appreciate him as an artist even more. He said he was engaged and enjoying painting the little abstract paintings in the squares then it came together as a large realistic portrait for his viewers. If I was to paint this again, I may do it all differently but I had a bold bright vision and I went for it. All you can do is your best at any point in time and keep looking forward. Should you ever regret going for it? Do actors or singers worry they were too bold?

Mural Painting Begins

"We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success."  —Henry David Thoreau

Día de Muertos

Come to the Art The Arts Center In Orange on Friday October 25 from 6 to 8 pm to paint your own 3-D skull or mask. Call 540-672-7311 by Friday morning to register. Thanks!

Paint your ideas or paint my design with your own flair.

Mural Project

Some sneak peaks for an upcoming mural project I am painting in a vineyard tasting room.

Hanging a Show and Re-evaluating

Having a show is a great motivator to accomplish work and then hanging the show is an opportunity to step back and evaluate. My goal with paint has been to be more expressive. In the future, I want the painting process to be more immediate like my drawing process. Drawing delights, surprises and leads me to new discoveries. To accomplish this I feel I need to start painting from life. When I have tried this before it has been too much visual information for me to get into a successful painting but perhaps now that I have some faster methods of painting it will work. Drawing for me has that free and easy raw expression, not over thinking but purely expressing, I hope to get into my paintings. There will also be the logistics of time and transporting my materials. Wish me luck in adventures outside and if you get a chance, evaluate my paintings at DéCOR in Carytown of Richmond, VA through September 27th. Thanks!

My Children's Art Class at the Center for the Arts in Orange

Teaching art to children makes me curious and fascinated about our human capacity for creativity. It seems to me that deliberate effort combined with uninhibited thoughts can equal pure genius. The younger children have pure strokes of genius in process and manipulation and the older children have pure genius in ideas. The originality is remarkable. I am sad when children stop themselves because things aren't perfect. However, I have had plenty of "creative" jobs that the most important factors are speed and accuracy. Life and education's dilemma?
According to Robert Genn, to get back to this genius of a child you need to rely on intuition. http://clicks.robertgenn.com/paint-intuitively.php
I want to get the book: Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking , Daniel Dennett

Fierce: Expression, Determination, Existence

Fierce, 24" x 30", acrylic on canvas

Being pulled to separate my painting experience from my drawing and design efforts. I love the feeling of not being bound by anything when painting.

Spring Abstracts

It seems like these new paintings appeared like magic in my studio. I intended to play around with some background techniques and then I wanted to keep them as paintings on their own. What do you think? I really miss the festivals of Florida to hear people's reactions and what they are drawn to.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring.

I didn't intend to paint a rabbit just in time for Easter, it just worked out that way. I am working on the rabbit as part of a series of ideas, I don't want to name it yet until it develops. But I would love to know what feelings you get from this painting.

First Starry Night Class

The ladies did a great job painting like Van Gogh. Lots of fun. Watch for this opportunity again at the Center for the Arts in Orange.

Strong Colors and Black

"Meeting in the Echinaceas", 30" x 24", acrylic on canvas, 2013.

My new shipment of paint arrived and I gorged myself like a child that eats his entire Easter Basket of candy all at once. I intended to paint soft Spring colors but it didn't end that way. Neon Echinaceas!

Hope to teach my version of Van Gogh's "Starry, Starry Night" at the Arts Center in Orange soon. I changed the tree to a cedar. I thought the mountains looked close to our Blue Ridge already. Call Julie Jackson at 540-672-7311 to register.

New Graphic Design

It always surprises me when I switch media how many fresh ideas and approaches I have. I think some of the most valuable advice I got in graduate school was from a real working artist Mom who said "no matter what, don't stop making daily visual art decisions." So if your circumstances change and you can no longer paint large oil paintings then switch to small pencil drawings or something managable. It really pays to keep making those decisions, keep practicing, you will continue to grow.

Yummy New Paintings

"Cake", acrylic on board, 8"x10"

"Can I eat that?"

"Apple", acrylic on board, 8"x10"

King of the Yard

2013, King of the Yard, acrylic on board, 8" x 10"

I think this big guy would tell you that "it is good to be king".

With this painting, I am happy with the expressiveness of the brush strokes. Drawing is teaching me so much about being expressive and that really is my goal these days.

Young Children's Class

We had fun going "Into the Jungle" with Henri Rousseau. I look forward to going "Into the Garden" next week with Claude Monet.
I love studying about the artists, their lives are so inspirational. Rousseau didn't start painting full time until he was in his forties. He accomplished a lot by day dreaming on the job, he was essentially a customs inspector, and his weekend jaunts and painting. I was surprised to learn he never visited a jungle, just the botanical gardens and zoos in Paris and used his imagination to travel in his paintings.
Here is a good link to two of his paintings: http://www.nga.gov/kids/linkrousseau.htm

New Paintings

"Magnolia and Friends"

"Montpelier Snapshot"

Sky Meets Field

No. 5 A question came to me, "How do you layer when you see no layers?"

And an answer whispered, "You paint ABOUT something."

Couples Wine and Paint Class

Bring your sweetheart, friend or family member to the Arts Center in Orange for some painting togetherness on Friday, February 15 from 6 to 9 pm. I will walk you through this painting step-by-step. Bring snacks and wine for a fun, relaxed painting party. $40. for registration and supplies. Call Julie Jackson at 540-672-7311 to register.

No. 4 "High Meadow"

No. 4 "High Meadow"

I hope I am on the road to abstraction, but I'm not there yet.

Happy New Year 2013!

My goal this year is to be more prolific, I think this will help my art and opportunities.

My goal is about two paintings a week, I thought 113 sounded like a nice number. I am counting this as  Number 3.