Monday, May 30, 2011

Summer

Keep your appointment with the muse -  In her book "Art at the Speed of Life",  Pam Carriker talks about putting boundaries around your creative time.  "You need to give yourself permission to keep your appointment with your muse, " she says.   I love that.  I fight off dragons every day to keep that appointment!
Summer is 8x8" acrylic media and collage on panel.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Orchard Afternoon

May 27, 2011  Memories of Trequanda:  Eight years ago this month, fifteen of  us rented a farmhouse in Italy and settled in to paint. It was magnificent; there were views in every direction!  Across the valley of rolling olive groves and vineyards we could see the hilltown of Trequanda.   On the farm, after a day of painting in the sun,  we were well fed!   The farm's "fattoria" produced wine and olive oil, but I'd never had olive oil like this.  It tasted like grass, with a bite.  As I think of Savoring the Flavor, I remember the beauty and pungence of that setting, and I had to paint the hills and olive groves again!
In the evenings, we'd set our day's paintings on the hearth, gather around the fireplace, and see what everyone had painted.  Some artists painted 5-7 paintings a day!  It was amid this breathtaking work ethic that  several of us cut our plein air "teeth. "  A heady time it was.
Orchard Afternoon is 8x8" acrylic media and collage on panel.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Temptation

Well, with a juicy apple like that, anything could happen. 
Temptation is 6x6"acrylic media and collage on panel.

Bubbly

This was fun.  I'm still feeling warm and antic.
Bubbly is 6x6"acrylic media and collage on panel.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Nectar

Savory Thoughts:  Outside it was raining and chilly.  Inside the studio was warm conversation and hot cappucino.  And on the easels - gorgeous still lifes!  All savory.  So I took a stab at some still lifes, too.  I haven't done any in a while.  I decided to try simplified compositions on complex surfaces.
Nectar is 6x6" acrylic media and collage on panel.

Ambrosia

Simplify: I tend toward the baroque.  So restraint is always a challenge.  I tried to pare back even more, with more geometric shapes and a limited palette.  I do like warm and cool violets with red-orange. 
Ambrosia is 6x6" acrylic media and collage on panel.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Toward Home I

Geometry Swallowed my Metaphysics - This was said by abstract expressionist Barnett Newman about Piet Mondrian.   No, I won't be comparing myself to the rectangle-loving Mondrian!  But I confess I'm interested in experimenting with some geometry inside the organic-scape.  It's that contrast that's sneakily captivating.  Metaphysics, move aside!
Toward Home is 6x6" acrylic media and collage on panel.

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Moon Spilled Rubies

Like Pulling a Piano Out of a Swamp - I'm still trying to get back into the groove after too many vacations.  We've got a luscious new challenge, Savor the Flavor.  I've now got lots of intriguing starts in the studio.  Finishing is the challenge.  Struggling toward the finishes,   I must focus on:  a)  crafting good shapes, b) constantly reclaiming the light/dark pattern, c) rigorously staying on-composition.  In the famous  literary publication Southwest  Airlines Magazine (April 2011) actress, singer and musician Zoey Deschanel  talks about creating something where nothing existed before.  "Sometimes being creative" she says, " is like pulling a piano out of a swamp. "  That girl knows what she's talking about.
The Moon Spilled Rubies is 8x8" acrylic media and collage on panel.  

Monday, May 2, 2011

At the Edge of the Fields

Live, Laugh, Love - and Clean Your Room This weekend as we put together a teenager-sleepover, one of the kids texted home: "Dad, what's the plan for tomorrow?"  Dad texted back "Live, laugh, love - and clean your room."  Isn't this exactly right?  We had a lovely time displaying our Daily Painters Project work at the Encinitas Garden Festival this Saturday.  We lived, we laughed, we loved.   Now it's time to Clean our Room/Studio and begin to paint for our next challenge; Olive oil, Italian bread, rolling vineyards, sunbaked olive groves.  I've begun to warm up my palette after the Blues and Greens of the past two challenges.  Here I am remembering  Italian vistas and Savoring the Flavor.  I'll be focusing more on reds and yellows this month, lots of warmth.  
At the Edge of the Fields  is 8x8" acrylic on canvas.