Well Hello there!

Is it really mid September?  I just can't believe it.  I'm just going to start writing here as if my last post wasn't over 2 months ago!




 I did my first ever art fair this weekend, the Driftless Area Art Festival, which was only 15 minutes from home.  I've been fretting about this all summer, but I felt when it finally did arrive that I was well prepared and this helped settle my nerves a bit. We had the most beautiful weekend and I  couldn't have asked for better weather.

I'm happy to say that I exceeded my expectations.  I was a ball of nerves most of the time, but so very happy that I did it.  The people were wonderful.  I didn't hear a single negative comment, which I was so afraid I would hear.  I received so much positive feedback that it really helped give my confidence a much needed boost.  So much of my support came from people that I know.  This community that I live in prides itself in supporting its locals, whether it's the farmers, restaurants, stores/shops, or its artists.  This weekend they really proved this.

I wish I had more pictures to share, but I was too darn nervous and couldn't concentrate on getting any good pictures.  I tried to sell a variety of things from magnets, note pads that I made out of misprints, note cards, various sizes of prints with or without mats and some framed originals.  Maybe I'll take a few pics of my magnets, notepads and  note cards and share them in another post.  They all seemed to go over very well.



A great big thank you to everyone!  I really do appreciate it and all the kind words.  I had such a wonderful experience and am looking forward to my next one.  (I'm not sure when that will be, but there will be more!

Come and gone

                                                                     "Like a distant answer"  available here

Poppies, are one of my favorite flowers.  This painting I started I toward the end of May, well after they were done blooming.  They were just starting to bloom when I went out of town for 6 days and when I came back, they were already done. I've done a poppy painting the last several summers, so I thought I still needed to do one even though I barely had a chance to see them.  I have some Icelandic poppies that are blooming right now, but boy, they don't last long either. 

With this painting I knew I wanted to make the poppies out of painted tea bags and rip the paper for the petals, to give it that papery effect they have.   Right away the flowers looked like they needed something.  I decided to dip the edges of the petals in walnut ink and I really like the effect that had.  This worked so well, I did this for the leaves as well.  As for the background, I had no idea what I wanted to do.  It started out with a light watercolor wash, mostly aqua and orange, then I started to collage, but it just didn't feel right, so I started adding browns, this wasn't good either, along came green and then yellow and I was still not feeling it, I had thoughts of ditching the painting and starting over, but I stuck with it and I added some white and lime green.  This seemed to help a little but I still didn't like it, so in a last effort, I took a white wash over the entire background to tone it all down and I really liked the effect of that and felt that it finally made the painting come together.  I'm so tempted to add more to the poppies, like some white, but I think if I try that, it will ruin it.  I've decided to resist the urge and leave them alone. 

Dancing in the Rain!

Garlic scapes

Garlic scapes are the curling top of hardneck garlic plants.  As they grow they get really curly and then they need to be cut off so the plant can put all of its energy into the bulb instead of the flower.  They can be used in pesto, saute, dips, soups, in dips, pretty much how you would use garlic, just a little more mellow flavor.    With their unique curls and slender stems, I thought it would be fun to turn them into a little piece of art. 

My Lucky Day

I was picking strawberries this afternoon and I have clover popping up here and there.  Sometimes I pull it, sometimes I just leave it, but today I looked at a large patch and thought "I'm going to find a four leaf clover" and within 30 seconds I had myself a four leaf clover!  As I was looking at it to make sure it was indeed a four leaf clover I noticed that two of the leaves were still connected at the base, so they were not completely separate.  I wondered if this would still qualify as a four leaf clover or not?  I then thought to myself, "I'm going to find another four leaf clover and within 15 seconds I had myself another four leaf clover!  This time it was without a doubt a four leaf clover, and that it indeed had four separate leaves.  What are the chances of that?  I haven't found a four leaf clover since I was a kid.  I pull a lot of clover out of our garden and flower beds and will sometimes quickly look or just keep my eyes open for that extra leaf, but today I just knew I would find one.  How cool is that?  I love it.  

She's got talent!

While reading "The Artist's Magazine" I came across Ali Cavanaugh and was completely intrigued by her use of figures in her work.   She works with watercolor on a dampened clay surface in a modified version of fresco.  I would love to learn more about this technique.





All of her figures are against a pure white background, many of them the face is hidden or turned away as if covering their face from a bright light.  Gestures and body language play an important part in the composition, while the arms are usually covered in brightly patterned socks.  It's interesting how she uses the light and will even have parts of the figure that are completely overexposed and therefore not even painted.


I love how expressive these paintings are even though in many of them you can't even see the face.  The bold colors and patterns add to the emotions,  I'm completely amazed that these are watercolors. 


















 Very striking work.

Inspired, then uninspired, but now inspired again!

Recently I picked up a few copies of  "The Artist's Magazine" from our library for  50 cents and I am totally loving them.  I've read them from front to back.



 A lot of the work seems to be in oil, but there is some watercolor, acrylic, pastel,  and a bit of mixed media.   Much of the work is figurative, but there is also landscapes and still life.   Reading about all of the artists, techniques, styles, art school and inspiration makes me long for art school again and almost makes me want to paint a still life, but not quite, but  oh how I would love to take life drawing again.



By Robert T. Barrett



So even though I've been totally loving this magazine, I think partly why I haven't been too inspired to paint lately is because of this magazine.  It has made me rethink what I'm doing, questioning my style, my talent, my own inspirations, where I am going with it all.  It is so hard not to look at all of those talented artists and feel a bit inferior and compare myself to them, that I may not be a real artist because I paint "cute" things or because I don't paint in oils or I don't have an art degree, or my artwork isn't serious enough.  So while I've been enjoying this magazine, it has also brought up all of these issues within me.

I've realized this is all part of the growing process as an artist and also as a person.  I'm learning that it really doesn't do me any good to compare myself with others, it gets me no where but down.  I know much of it has to do with gaining confidence in myself and with my artwork.  And I'm slowly learning to do this.

I feel like I'm slowly coming out of my little funk.   I'm realizing there is no need  to compare myself with others(it definitely doesn't make me feel good),  but I can learn from them and incorporate that into my own style and growth.  I love to paint and draw, and I especially love to cut and paste too.  I know I could never be patient enough to work on a realistic portrait painted in oils, I'll leave that to them, but amazingly I'm patient enough to cut out hundreds of small petals and glue them down to form a flower.  This is what makes me happy, this is what makes my little heart sing,  this is what I know I love, learning to be me and expressing "me"!

                                                                                                      "In Bloom"  by me!

underwater

Finally!

I actually picked up my pencil and paintbrush today and started a painting!  Yeahh!  My goodness, it has been awhile, it feels good.

Summer time is:

homemade strawberry ice cream!