My art desk

This was a particularly productive weekend of painting. On Labor Day, I didn't even put makeup on because I was so focused on completing some projects that I've had "in the wings" as they say. I have had a few people ask me to do some things for them that I just haven't had the time to get to...and maybe my motivation or inspiration hasn't been at full blast...so I did it. I got 23 Art-o-mat paintings prepped, 3 Frozen blocks nearly completed and 3 started, and another painting started that someone asked me to do. OH, and that funky painting in the background? The one with the different colored squares? That's the one I painted over and did the palette painting on that you'll see in a post somewhere below.

 

This was a good and satisfying day! I made a mess in the process, but I was on a roll. I find that I don't like to waste paint...a clump that has dried up on my plate almost makes me want to weep. I think that's the starving artist in me...but that was a bit of a catalyst for me in getting all this done. As you can see, blue and green were the strong colors of the day.

Latest experimentation with a palette knife

8"X10", Acrylic

I'm loading all these pictures at once today, so they are a bit out of order...but this was a painting I had done that I just wasn't happy with. Didn't know what to do with. An experiment gone wrong. I kept the canvas in front of my work space in the hopes that some day the lightbulb would go on and I would proclaim "YES! THAT is what I wanted it to be!". Months have gone by and this stupid thing was staring me in the face. Then I daydreamed. I've been thinking of ways to use a palette knife to create a piece of work. Wasn't sure how I wanted to do it and I kept having visions of a flower - and using really THICK globs of paint, but it just seemed daunting. Didn't quite make sense...but it wouldn't leave my head. Then, it happened. I had that moment. I was driving home - which is when I tend to daydream about stuff (dangerous I know, but I pass by some wall art on my way home every day and I can't help but dream about projects). It hit me that I needed to try this. And I had the perfect canvas to do it with! I immediately started on it when I walked through the door. I have to say I'm quite pleased with it. I experimented with the colors and for awhile it was very dark with the blues. I experimented with scraping paint from my plate and applying it to the canvas. I experimented with putting paint directly on the canvas. I experimented with the colors I used (yellow and orange are very weak colors). Success! And it was liberating to do in the process. I'm definitely going to try this again.

Aaannnddd more mini paintings

This is the latest batch ready to be sent off to Art-o-mat. A cool thing happened about a month or so ago. I troll Instagram and one of the hashtags I like to look for is #artomat. Well, one day I was flipping through the pictures and I saw a post from someone of a painting they had gotten from an Art-o-mat machine - AND IT WAS MINE!! I was sooooo excited!

A piece I did for Yellow Springs Art Council

4'X4' panel, Acrylic

This is possibly one of the first "Call for Artists" I have answered and by far the most out of the box for me. I have been focusing on little art for awhile and big pieces are a little intimidating. I did the fence mural for Erma's House a few years ago, so I knew I could do it, but not something I seek out. I'm not even sure why this one stuck out to me, but I answered it. Yellow Springs Art Council was looking for artists to design and paint 4'X4' panels to hang on a fence to hide some construction that was going on while building a new hotel in downtown Yellow Springs. This is a very artsy community and they didn't want the piles of dirt and the dirt movers to stick out like a sore thumb, so they covered the surrounding area with art. I did this entire painting in just a few weeks and super coated it with varnish, so I think it may live in perpetuity...at least that's my hope. It really just needed to last until construction is complete...but I don't have anywhere in my house where this huge monster can go, so I'm hoping (if it's not hanging on anyone else's fence once the project is over) it will hang on my fence...or my Florida room...or somewhere. I'm happy with the way this turned out.

 

A piece I did for a friend

Acrylic and indelible marker

 

My technique for this painting was a lot of swirls with the brush. It was whimsical and fun to do and it has some depth to it...possibly satisfying my desire to slather paint all over a canvas. I also incorporated a little zentangling to give it a little more oomph. Again, thinking outside the box and I think this one was fairly successful!

I was so excited to be a featured artist on artomat.org's site!

More mini paintings...I can't keep track of the number!

Last year, I submitted a prototype for Art-o-mat, which was accepted. I painted 50 of these little paintings for the initial order which got distributed to 5 Art-o-mat's around the country. Months went by and I didn't hear anything...then one day I got a check. And my spirits lifted! Then I got another check and a notice that all 50 had sold out! Around April/May, I sent another 50, and just a few weeks ago, I got another check and a notice that they were out again! So, I've prepped 50 more and I have canvases to do...oh, I don't know...another 300 or so. I'm ready and super excited!

Picasso dog project

Playing around with trees - this one I get lots of good feedback about

This is a finished piece that I donated for an auction

Cow tipping - I call shenanigans...

Just had another person claim to be part of cow-tipping. I'm not a believer. I find it ridiculous actually. So many people have crazy stories of late night cow-tipping, usually sneaking up on an unsuspecting sleeping cow and seemingly effortlessly tip the cow over. Sometimes it involves alcohol (the humans, not the cows).
You must think me extremely gullible to believe that a 1000 pound animal, that generally sleeps laying down, allowed you to put your hands on it long enough to knock it over. And that a 170-200 pound person with little muscle is capable of doing that. Not to mention, usually where there is one there is a herd. I call shenanigans and resent you for thinking I'd believe it.
I suppose it's plausible that you can knock a cow over, under the right circumstances. Perhaps you have several beefy, athletic-types helping, but late-night and drunk? Or maybe you just had the damn thing tied up. Plus, did you consider that 1000 pounds falling on it's side wouldn't cause some kind of injury? You're a jerk to boot.
So many times I've heard this stupid story and actually got into a bit of an argument with a cocky guy about how ridiculous it was. Since it takes so much effort for me to NOT roll my eyes when someone is making up their story, I generally lose the energy it takes to argue about it further - because that's how they choose to remember it. I walk away with a little less respect for the storyteller.

I'm Teaching??

What was I thinking?  As a person who does not go out of the way to meet/talk/interact with people...this prospect of teaching a bunch of kids art projects is quite daunting. I'll admit, I may be intimidated by 7 to 12 year olds. What if they hate what we're doing? What if I am suddenly stricken with a case of amnesia overnight and completely forget what project we're doing? What if I become mute and am instantly transported to the front of a classroom clad in my pajamas and I haven't even brushed my teeth yet?  Ok, so I suppose those last two might be a stretch of the imagination...but not completely impossible!  Anyway, I know once I get through tomorrow everything will be fine and I won't even be able to imagine what I was worried about.
My thought is to start of with an easy-ish project. Pinterest has been my inspiration. :)  I'm having them create 2 pieces of art on paper, then weave them together. It's been a challenge to come up with 35 minute projects for 3 classes over a 6-10 week span. I believe it can be done even if we have to do it over multiple weeks. Greg and Addison have been my guinea pigs, so I'm getting a better idea of what will work for the masses and what won't.
Wish me luck!!

New inspiration

So, I went to a funeral last week and was mesmerized by the stained glass windows. Catholic churches always seem to have the most beautiful artwork. As a result, I was inspired to paint a couple small paintings:

Acrylic paint, 9X12 canvas

Acrylic and gouache paint, 5X7 canvas

 

I think I liked the first one much better. It seems brighter. With the second one I was experimenting with mixing the gouache and acrylics since I'm feeling a little limited with my fluid acrylic color options. I just have a small 10 or 12 color set. I liked the results of mixing them. I'm still not sure if I'm sold on the "fluid" kind of acrylic. I think I may prefer the thickness of the other kind. I may need to just use it to mix with. Either way, they both look quite striking hanging up. I think I'd like to experiment more with this method.

 

Drop-in Figure Drawing @ Rosewood Arts Center

Haven't done portraits in years, so I'm very out of practice, but I think I did okay with this one.

Addison's first "official" spring break and the Indy Children's Museum

This year marks Addison's first "official" school spring break. We decided to do something a little special with her in the few days we had off from work, so we took her to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. As a special treat, we stayed at a hotel with a pool - which she loves to do.

First, we trekked to Indianapolis to the Wingate by Wyndham hotel. Pretty nice. I think I like staying on the first floor - and we were close to the pool. Plus, it wasn't busy...so I'm sure that made a HUGE difference. We decided to grab a bite, then go see The Croods at a nearby movie theatre (which we had gift cards for, hint, hint). Greg and I hadn't been to Grindstone Charley's in a decade and remembered it being waaaay better than it actually was. No more GC. Me, being the unprepared mom that I am, didn't bring my poor child a sweatshirt, and it was chilly, had to buy a sweatshirt at Target while picking up our smuggled-in movie snacks...then headed to the movie. I totally recommend, by the way.  In the movie theatre, I'm reminded why I don't care for watching movies in the movie theatre. Especially kids movies. For a late Monday night, there were a shockingly high number of very small children at this movie. Then there was the multi-generational family who seemed to bring all of the children in their family and their friends. Did I miss the bus somewhere? If you have a small child who is very vocal, perhaps a movie theatre isn't the best place for you. Trust me, you find your child MUCH more charming than I do. I was nearly in complaint mode...and that's not pretty.

We made it through the movie and headed back to the hotel for some late night swimming.Being that it was late March in Ohio, it was moderately chilly those few days...and the pool was supposed to be heated. I'm pretty sure it wasn't. Brrr! Luckily, they had a hot tub. Unfortunately, I decided that I could definitely enjoy a hot tub. We flitted between the cold pool and the hot tub to warm back up. I know, I know...bad idea. Good way to have a heart attack, but we had the whole things to ourselves and it was fun. Of course Addison decides to change from her swimsuit - right where the monitoring cameras were. Whoops. Don't ask me why she couldn't use the bathroom which was less than 20 feet away.

We headed to our room for a much needed night of sleep. Addison decided she'd rather sleep in Greg's bed, so I had a queen sized bed ALL to myself. I slept in the middle all splayed out just because I could.

In the morning, we packed up our stuff, enjoyed a very nice complimentary continental breakfast (with eggs, waffles, sausage and the works - not just cold cereal and muffins like you get some other places). Afterward, we headed to the museum.

Let me just say, do NOT follow the directions from Siri, or Garmin or any other gps. Look at the map and find the way that you do not have to turn LEFT to get to the street by the museum. We waited in traffic nearly 45 minutes just to turn to get to the parking lot. Being there right at the beginning of the day, the parking garage was STILL completely full. We parked on the very top level. Every single parking space was taken.

Once we got into the museum, we waited probably another 45 minutes just to buy tickets! This place is insane! We almost bought season passes just so we wouldn't have to stay in the line any longer.

After that, we explored the museum. There is so much to see, it was overwhelming at first. I think Addison had a hard time with it being so crowded and visually stimulating that we had a difficult time getting her to interact with anything at first. It was a very nice museum though. Here's what I learned...buy your tickets in advance, see everything, then go back to your favorite displays, and if you stay the whole day - people give you their stuff when they are leaving. We got free tickets to the carousel and the little play they put on.

All in all it was a very fun trip. I'm glad we didn't get the season tickets though.

 

Tiny painting #6

1st Annual Underwater Easter Egg Hunt 2013 @ Kettering Rec Center

BlogPress sucks...pass it on!!

It's not that I haven't had anything to say since August...(well, that was just pictures really), but a few times I have tried to painstakingly "thumb" out some blog posts from my phone. One of which I spent probably the good part of 30 minutes just typing some witty comments about Addison's birthday adventure at Chuck E. Cheese ~ only to hit the SAVE button on this stupid APP I was using and have the damn thing crash. Uh, yeah. NONE of my work had saved. This has happened on several occasions trying to post pictures and thoughts and whatnot. I nearly cried that time. It was a gold post too.

BLOGPRESS - YOU SUUUUUUUCCCKKKKKK!! 

I can't get on it to actually write a bad review because for whatever reason it says I don't have it. If it's on my phone - I had it. LOSERS.

I suppose I could sit down at an actual computer and save my thumbs for my 80's, but I can't seem to get there without homework staring at me or Facebook luring me away. So I will steal away a few minutes here and there to try to post from a more reliable source.

I realized after a workshop that I went to this past weekend that I didn't have a tab for my artwork...so that's a page in process that I'm adding. I will have to find another way to post my hilarity and wit since I am officially deleting that stupid app off my phone.

A day in the life...