BACKGROUNDS WORKSHOP DAY 1
Background class is well underway and was sold out months ago. First day we worked on a sky, trees and a meadow of yellow (probably mustard) flowers! Lots of fun things to practice with those three things going on!
Published by admin on July 17th, 2014 Tagged Pastel Workshop | 3 Comments »FOLLOW YOUR BLISS…
Okay, I’m hoping to spark some “discussions” with some quotes or thoughts I’m going to post. And no worries, we will still put lots of artwork up, but I’m thinking the emotional and intellectual support might be nice for all of us too. Painting can be a very lonely sport!! So if you read something and it triggers something inside of you, please, please write and tell us what you think.
Here we go! this is the first one:
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell
I’ll comment first (and let’s try to keep this mostly art related, please). Most of us have heard those words “Follow Your Bliss” by now. But did you know that they originated with Joseph Campbell? He was a writer and lecturer and those 3 words are probably what he is most known for. But I have a lot more quotes by him because I’ve spent lots of time reading his books. Lots more wonderful things to share with you from his brilliant mind.
The older I get, the more I believe these words because I’ve seen them come true, over and over again. In fact, at this time in my life, after losing my husband, business partner, best friend and love of my life, I’m so very curious to see what doors are going to open next and where they will lead. It’s very exciting to know that if I just keep pursing my passion (by painting) and looking, a new exciting opportunity (always better than anything I could think of myself) will come along. I just have to keep picking up the stones and peeking under them, asking myself: “Is it here? Is this the path? Which door is going to open next?”
Published by admin on July 13th, 2014 Tagged Artist's Musings, Fav Quotes | 8 Comments »
HORSE DEMO WIP
Here’s the demo from the last horse workshop that I’m continuing to work on! I thought it would be fun to put a couple more horses with him, thinking a white stallion and maybe a palomino. Sounds kind of pretty to me! This guy’s just barely laid in, so he’s still in his ugly stage. 
THE FINISHED KITTY
Thank you Leslie, Janis and Kim. It’s been kind of a bumpy road for five or six years now and I guess it’s just taken me a while to get going again. Having the support and encouragement of friends like you, helps a lot.
It was so good for me to look at my artwork from another viewpoint, from all of yours, and realize how important it is for me to paint to make other people happy. That was why I started doing it years ago and that’s what is resuscitating it now. So thank you, thank you! The friendship and the art are such a gift.
And here is the finished kitty! I hope you like him.
Published by admin on July 1st, 2014 Tagged Dogs and Cats | 1 Comment »MORE OF THE KITTY
Cats and horses are both really tough to get “right” as an artist. Anybody out there feel the same way? Cats faces have so much going on, hair going different directions, etc and I see very few artists that really nail them. Although there are some people that do an EXCEPTIONAL job. Do any of you know of Suellen Ross’ work?
Year ago I was in a gallery in Washington and I almost bought one of her originals… ahhhhhhh, how I wish I had!
Published by admin on June 28th, 2014 Tagged Dogs and Cats, In The Works | 3 Comments »
LESLEY IS PAINTING AGAIN!
I had a girlfriend/client stay with me last month and it helped me think about how much a creative person’s creations can mean to other people.
That’s easy for me to translate and understand when I think about music, books or somebody else’s art work and how much I love what they do and can never get enough of! Waiting with baited breath for the next book by a favorite author or going into a gallery hoping that I will see a new painting by an artist that I love and admire…. It’s really difficult to translate that into thinking and understanding how people feel about things belonging and coming from us personally. We downplay our gift and don’t value it in the same way that other people too. How sad is that?
But she got through to me and I have been painting every day since then and I am amazed how much happier I feel because of it. I just finished a very exciting commission that has been a couple years in the discussion phase and I will post it after the clients actually have it in their possession.
So now I have treated myself to the luxury of being able to paint just anything I want and this was what excited me the most! So it’s in the “ugly” stage but we will keep you posted on it’s progress.
When I was painting in Scottsdale last year for three months, one of the other artists kept bringing in photographs of her beautiful cats that they had brought all the way from the east coast with them. She invited me to come over and see and photograph them… and wow! Not only were they beautiful, but I got some wonderful reference material to paint from. And being the cat lover that am… here we go!!
Published by admin on June 23rd, 2014 Tagged Dogs and Cats, In The Works | 9 Comments »