New painting is finished and sold already thanks to the genius of instagram! It is called, “Alter” and is 24 x 36 inches, acrylic on canvas.
Finally putting idea into action! I am returning to the brush after weeks of summer with the Fam. Been itching to paint. The relief I feel when I do is immeasurable. Here are a few sneak peak “in progress” photos…
Hello! I have been MIA from my little blog as I have been spending the summer squeezing every last inch out of family time with my hubby and kids before school starts. Kindergarten and preschool…big changes in our house come this fall. Oh, wait that’s 2 weeks away!? Yipes!
Anyways, spent most of July traveling and where oh where? The lovely, gorgeous island of São Miguel in the Açores, Portugal. I know. Amazeballs. I have soooo many awesome pics to share but because this is primarily my ART blog I wanted to share this….
Flippin’ ridonk! Riiiiight?! This is a store front in Ponta Delgada, the capitol of the Açores. It is by far, the most cosmopolitan part of São Miguel, conveying both a bustling city vibe and a nod to the trends of today. This painting stopped me in my tracks. It wraps around the building through an alley on the left of this picture. It was done as part of a commission by the Açores to bring incredible art to the streets. This beauty was created by the amazing ARM COLLECTIVE. Check out their facebook page here. https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARMcollective/272743989453705
Their work is unreal. Arm Collective is made up of the duo, RAM (Miguel Caeiro from Sintra, Portugal) and MAR (Gonçalo Ribeiro from Seixal, Portugal). They have done work on both government and abandoned buildings all over Portugal and the Açores.
I mean Whaaaaa???? The street art on the island is incredible! I friggin’ loved this trip. For so many reasons. But I found it extremely appropriate that the street art (one of my main influences in my own art) would be THAT sick. AWESOME.
This little guy sat left of the whale (harpooned and strapped with a house on her back). He is simply saying “Avo?” which translates to “Grandmother” in Portuguese.
Leaving you with some more street art from São Miguel…found by a dumpster(?!) near a restaurant in Lagoa on mine and my hubby’s date night.
Been itching to draw portraits. Funny thing too. As I was sketching last night I was lucky enough to catch this HBO documentary on the French graffiti artist, JR. Check him out here, http://www.jr-art.net/projects/inside-out-project-group-actions. Amazing work. He started this international project, Inside Out , where he encourages people to send him photographs of themselves or others (portraits) and use them to create their own statement. He will print them large scale for free and send them back to be pasted on the walls of public places. Something like 135,000 people from 98 different countries participated and continue to do so. They are making art and creating a discussion on all sorts of issues from the earthquake devastated ghettos of Haiti to the post-revolution streets of Tunisia. Simply inspiring.
I have an idea and a blank canvas in front of me. Here are a few of my sketches from last night.
Commissions can be both thrilling and extremely daunting as an artist. You are given the responsibility of bringing to fruition someone else’s vision. Sometimes that vision can be extremely specific and other times very loose.
My latest painting was commissioned by a talented female theatre director around town, some one who lives and breathes art, music and the fine skill of conveying storytelling. She was open to ideas and had a specific size in mind as she wanted to have a painting above her bed in the scale and shape to serve as a headboard of sorts.
As we discussed her color scheme, coordinating with her bedroom, we decided on a palette of deep red, gold, forest green and navy. Looking through my portfolio she pointed out pieces I had done that spoke to her.
She liked the graphic quality of Sally…
The moodiness of That Night…
and the colors and texture in Winter Orchid.
I went from this list of subject matter she was drawn to as well:
And sketched out these ideas.
These are the three drawings I came up with.
She picked the last one…which happened to be the first sketch I did!
So I embarked on creating the tree woman as I started calling her.
Here is me the first night with the 24 x 48 canvas. I did the sketch in charcoal and painted it with a deep red as I had done in the sketch.
I added layer after layer of the color scheme that was planned, adding washes of gold paint to bring out a sparkly sheen.
I also used ink to define parts of the woman and achieve a sketchy quality.
This is the final piece and I titled it i’m not alone. It was definitely partly inspired by the lush melodies and evocative, moody lyrics of one of my favorite bands, The National (whom the client also happens to love). She was extremely happy which is always a relief and joy! To be able to create something that speaks uniquely to someone and that no one else will ever have.
Newest painting is a neon inspired still life of one of my favorite flowers ever…Ranunculus! It is 16 x 20 on canvas board and incorporates some ikat pattern on stripes…another fave!
I’ve been a little scattered lately. The multi-tasking mom/artist zone I inhabit is a little muddy.
Perhaps it is the perpetual rain in Chicago and the fact that Spring is most certainly upon us. As the rain pours down, the grass is getting greener, the air is getting a little less chilly, and a menagerie of animals are taking over the backyard.
Spring always makes me want to open the windows, plant flowers, de-clutter, clean house. So while I am beginning my “spring awakening” process it’s still one step forward, two steps back walking through thick, sludgy mud…Oh, the rain!
This sludge-in-the-mud feeling is carrying over into my art process.
Yet often my most productive times creating art are on a wonderfully rainy day!
Lots of lists are running in my head. House projects, Art projects, to-do lists galore! And instead of being able to navigate these lists in my usual multi tasker fashion…I am finding it hard to do any of them.
This blog is a good example. I am hoping to move towards a place where I can blog more consistently and not have to be in a finished place with any one idea, painting, or project. Afterall, the process is where it’s at. The journey is where the art lives.
So today I will leave you with two incredibly inspiring speeches that spoke to my soul and gave me a renewed sense of strength as a Mother and as an Artist.
First, is Brené Brown’s amazing TEDx speech in Houston. Listening to her speak on the power of vulnerablity and the pitfalls of seeking perfection really resonated with me. Watch her amazing speech here…http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
The key to life is connection she says. And I’m like YES! That’s why we all do what we do. In some form or another, we are trying to connect with something…whether it’s your calling as an artist, or to be a parent, to connect with God, or just to slow down and connect with one another, with your children, with your partner, with nature. “Call deep on your courage.” And connect.
And then a friend posted this link to Patti Smith’s speech, Advice to the Young, http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/patti-smith-advice-young/and it was yet another reminder. To just CREATE and find the balance in not worrying about what other’s think, and yet also connecting with people through your art. Her book, Just Kids, was truly life changing for me.
So this post is rather scattered, like me, right now and I’m okay with that;)
This painting captures the mood too, I think…when you’re plummeting full speed ahead and yet sleeping and dreaming too. Train Sleeping. This one was painted while listening to The National’s High Violet and yes, it was definitely raining.
This was done with watercolor pencils back in high school.
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| Anonymous Heart |
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| Wanderlust |
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| Hello Deer |
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| The Strummer |
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| Alice |
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| The Three Mares |
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| Angel in the Middle |
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| The Catch |
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| Quickly Now |
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| Loverly |
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| Jungle Babies |
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| Reindeer Solstice |
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| The Clown |
Zoo Baby
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| Twinkle in My Eye |
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| The Key |
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| Maps |
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| Hydrangea |
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| Lisbon |
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| Loving Cup |
….and thought it’s a great day to start my blog!
Why did I name my little journal Wander In Art? Well, besides the fact that it sounded like a line from a lovely folk song, painting wandered back into my life after thirteen years. I had picked up a brush once every two years and tried to squeeze something inspiring onto the canvas. Once, eight years ago, when I was living in California, I did a painting for my parents, based on an old photograph. It was completed after months of work and self-doubt.
It was in January of 2011 (January…ah the month of resolutions!) where I began to paint regularly after the urging of my husband and mother-in-law. I tucked my five month old and two and a half year old daughters into bed. And I painted them, my two children. It was a good place to start.
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Since then it’s been a whirlwind of painting and learning how to navigate my one-woman art business from my home.
I’ll be sharing some of that and some of the rest of my art driven life. I love decorating my home, painting and doing projects with the girls, growing my garden, setting the stage for a fabulous dinner party, giving old furniture new life, and scouring blogs, books, and antique fairs for inspiration. Wander In Art encompasses all things beautiful that I strive for in a life well-lived.
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| My Original Muses |
