Day 30 of the 30 in 30 challenge! - Cat Call

 

Good morning! It is the final day of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.. And, I want to be honest… while it is definitely a challenge to keep up with the pace of a 30 in 30, and some days I was just plain tired… I am also sad it is coming to a close…  I love the groove I get into, the productivity and the influx of ideas and most of all I love all of the kind, uplifting comments and love everyone shares with me, cheering me on. So thank you!! This painting is titled "Cat Call" and is 3rd in a series of visual idiom paintings I am doing.  (There will be more, so stay tuned!) 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I love vintage things, particularly those of the 50's and 60's.  Their lines, colors and overall design is just appealing to me.  This rotary dial phone is one of the things I love for all those reasons.  I've painted rotary dials many times.. but never an avocado green one :)  This color was a staple of interior and product design in the 60's and 70's (check out some crazy house pics from this era here) and was used in everything from kitchen sinks and cabinets to drapery and carpets... It was definitely overdone in my opinion, but the there are still some things I love in avocado green, this phone being one of them.  And, I am proud to say that my kitchen has a vintage kitchen sink in avocado green!When we first bought our house, I figured we'd replace that baby... but now that we've been her for awhile, I've kind of fallen for it.  Pretty sure its here to stay... :)

The sleepy kitty on top of the phone is of course the cat of the title.  I've a new love interest in painting subjects and that is sleeping animals.  I suspect they are going to start showing up in many of my future paintings!  

Cat Call, 10"x10", oil, click here to purchase

Day 29 of the 30 in 30 - Dixie Chick Goes to School

There are many kids heading to school right now and things are quite different for them and their families.  I know it is a stressful time for a lot of them, but I also know that a good sense of of humor, patience and empathy for everyone involved are all important ingredients for success. This little chick is ready to go and excited to learn and I bet most of the kids going back are ready to be learning again too.  

I was inspired to paint this little painting for a few reasons... One, because I wanted to acknowledge all of the back to school vibes flying around right now, and two, because these little ducks are kind of a tradition for me.  The past few 30 in 30's I've done have all featured a few ducks in Chucks or Ducks in Mary Jane's and I couldn't let this one go by without painting at least one. :) These little guys waddle into my consciousness and are just too cute to not paint!

So, back to school is hitting close to home right now.  My son is going into 9th grade and his school will be totally cyber to start... but for him, it won't be much of a transition as he has been cyber and/or a blend of cyber and onsite for the past several years.. I feel lucky and thankful that we don't have any anxiety about his schooling this fall because his school is already set up to do cyber. I also feel for those school districts that are going completely cyber for the 1st time and for the kids who are navigating this new world along with them.  It'll be hard for sure, but be patient... it'll all be ok. <3

Just a quick note about cyber school... as I mentioned, my son is in cyber school.  He was in a traditional brick and mortar public school up until 6th grade and unfortunately, his needs were just not being met.  In short, he was bored out of his mind.  He is a bright kid and his style of learning was just not matching up with his district's methods.  I was skeptical about cyber, but circumstances were such that there was no other option at the time.  I gave in and decided to let him try cyber (which he had been asking to try for years..)  And I'll never regret the decision.  Cyber school has turned out to be a blessing and the answer to all of the problems he was encountering in traditional school.  So, to all the parents and kids out there worrying about cyber.. I say, give it a shot.  It may wind up not being for you, but be patient and open minded.  You may find that there are many benefits to cyber you had never realized.  Good luck and best wishes to everyone going back to school!

Dixie Chick Goes to School, oil, 7"x7", click here to purchase

Day 28 of the 30 in 30 - Llama Brush My Teeth

Every room in the house deserves artwork on the walls, including the bathroom! And while Degas' bathers are an obvious choice, what about Llamas brushing their teeth? This gal is sure to bring a sparkle to your smile... :)

Seriously though, this painting has a little more integrity than all that .. beneath it's silly exterior is an ongoing exploration of white on white, a value experiment I've been playing with for the past few months. :) So, I'll explain a bit more where this white on white thing is coming from..

Awhile back I began noticing that the artwork I was attracted to when I looked at other people's art tended to have a soft, quiet feel to it... with subtle colors and value shifts. I began to realize that my artwork tended to be just the opposite of quiet and soft.  Nothing wrong with that, but really, it was all quite bold and in-your-face...  the difference continued to become more and more apparent and I started feeling like my paintings were shouting, where as the softer artwork I would find myself looking at was whispering to me and I wanted to be able to paint like that too..  I decided I needed to try to tone my art down some... Not because I didn't like my own style of painting, but because it was obviously different and a challenge to me. This is early on in my soft experiments, but for some reason, painting white things on a white background (or mostly white) is helping me to understand subtleties better...I still paint my loud yip yaps.. because I love to paint that way.. but I'm loving these softer paintings too... It's always good to broaden the painting vocabulary.. 

Llama Brush My Teeth, oil, 8"x8", click here to purchase

Day 27 of the 30 in 30 - Darned Drowsy

I'm not going to lie.  I am on day 27 of the 30 in 30 painting challenge I've set myself and I am pretty  tired. I'm not complaining, honest!  But painting this yawning fox seemed so appropriate right now because today...  I'm feeling it!  However... as happens when you do a 30 in 30, lots of new ideas come and spawn even more new ideas ... and after painting this guy, inspired by my fatigue...well, now I want to paint more yawning critters! :) 

So this painting is a smaller one - 8"x8" -  and is also a continuation of my series of critters perched on top of spools of thread.  I've learned that I really do like things that come in tons of colors (think converse sneakers, vw bugs, bathtubs.. :) and spools of thread slide perfectly into this category.  Plus their classic shape (a cylinder) and the fact that nearly every human on the planet has at least seen a spool of thread, make spools a favorite thing of mine to paint.  I love it when I can put something many people can relate to into my paintings.  Art for everyone, I say! :)

Darned Drowsy, 8"x8", oil, click here to purchase

Day 26 of the 30 in 30 - Frogtography (In defense of Joy)

THE CHALLENGE: Well, if I'd have known what a challenging painting this was going to be, I would certainly have not done it on the same day I had a scheduled board meeting and then a meeting with the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts regarding the State budget and grants for art orgs... Perhaps this is needless to say, but, I was up until 1 in the morning painting this sucker... So I'm feeling a bit burnt... :) One of the wonderful things about art is that it forces me to slow down and really looook at things... And that is great.  It's just that this camera has ALOT to look at, and consequently paint, and it turns out  a whole lot more than I realized.  

THE CAMERA: I've always LOVED the look of this classic camera - Made by a German company called Rolleiflex - it was their long running line of medium format twin lens reflex cameras... (no I did not know that. I just looked it up on Wikipedia.)  But, I have known of these cameras and just exactly how freaking cool looking they are.  They are so cool, James Dean is famously known to have owned and used one... So, I've been thinking of painting a Rolleiflex for awhile.  For no other reason than it is the animal that seemed most likely to hang out on a Rolleiflex, I perched a tree frog on it. :)  

THE JOY-  Why a subtitle -"In defense of Joy"? Not that I feel I need to defend my art.  I don't.  But, I read something yesterday, someone's opinion of what they thought 'real' art is... In a nutshell, to this person, real art should make the viewer uncomfortable... and 'real' art is definitely NOT about Joy. There was a lot more said, a lot of it quite mean.. And so, I feel I need to give a shout out to Joy and Joyful art...

In defense of joy because... I believe that creating art with the sole intention of making people smile is just as necessary as creating art that makes you uncomfortable...  I know that political art.. art that speaks about global issues.. art that hopes to bring attention to the wrongs of the world.. that kind of art is absolutely important.  For obvious reasons.  

But I have come to learn that not all art (my art for instance) is cut from that cloth.  Joyful artwork is the counterbalance to that kind of art.  

Joyful art is the counterbalance to the everyday, mundane yet tragic quantities that make up the moments our lives. There is not one among us who is not touched with some kind of hardship, this is true...  And there is not one among us who's hardships are not valid and real.

I know and acknowledge the suffering of the world.  I know it is there.  And I know that there is work to be done to change the injustices of the world. What I have found to be the truest of truths... the most beautiful way that I personally can respond to this.. this enduring fact of the suffering that is life... is to create art that will bring a spark of joy into that mundane tragedy, to do my part to counterbalance the suffering.... if even for only a second.

With that defense and explanation,  I present "Frogtography". And, I hope it finds your heart and I hope it makes you smile.

Frogtography, In Defense of Joy, 11"x14", oil, click here to purchase

Day 25 of the 30 in 30 challenge - Bird Bath

So this is another entry into my mini series of Visual idioms... I guess 'Bird Bath' is a kind of idiom..?Coming up with titles an be difficult. Sometimes more difficult than doing the painting itself!  But with this painting, as well as 2 others I recently did (Duck Tape and Rabbit Ears) the title came first.  Then I had to decide what kind of bird and what kind of bath... 

The bath was a no brainer.  I've painted claw foot tubs before and they are a lot of fun.. They come in all kinds of colors and have the best lines.  The bird took a bit more thinking.  I first looked up "what are the biggest birds in the world?".  I wanted a big guy, I knew.  I looked at ostriches, cassowaries (blue heads...), rheas and turkeys.. None of them quite worked.  In searching, I started to come across pelicans and remembered another pelican I had once painted.  The pelican I had painted previously had actually befriended a woman who lived on a house boat.  The story goes that she came across him and I think he was injured.  She cared for him and then come time for him to migrate, he did.  She didn't know if she would ever see him again.  Lo and behold, the following season, the pelican came back to her.  As far as I know, he comes back every season and hangs out on her house boat with her.  I love that so much.. So the decision was made.  Time to paint another pelican.  

As an aside, the nautical flag is the flag that symbolizes Charlie (C) and also means "Yes".  Always good to include a bit of the positive, I thought, and, maybe it's just me, but this pelican could definitely pass for a Charlie. :)

Bird Bath, Oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 24 of the 30 in 30 - The Moment Before

 Once again, the Red Balloon has made an appearance in my painting.. I didn't intend to continue the exploration of this theme, but here it is.  Another unexpected thing, I didn't expect the presence of a balloon in my paintings would create such tension. But again, there it is. 

I titled this one "The Moment Before" after I sat and just stared at the painting for awhile, trying to figure out what is going on here.. Is the bird going to pop the balloon? Is this the same bird from the last red balloon painting?  Is the cat going to jump for the bird? Are they friends? Why is the balloon tied to the cat's tail? Are they playing a game? Is the cat trying to trick the bird?  I honestly don't have the answers.  I just painted the image, but I don't know what is going to happen or how they got there. Your guess is as good as mine!  So, this painting is about the moment right before we find out... it is an image frozen in time that is so full of questions, and tense with what will be.

Moments Before, oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 23 of the 30 in 30 - Tyger Tyger

An American cartoonist once said that Van Gogh would have sold more than one painting if he'd have put tigers in them (the internet attributes this strange statement to Bill Watterson)

I don't know about the wisdom of this and I'm sure I don't know why Bill said that. I guess I'd have to hear it in context.  I do find it utterly amazing though that Van Gogh only sold one painting during his life time.  According to the website Van Gogh gallery, the rest of Van Gogh's more than 900 paintings were not sold or made famous until after his death.

This painting, however, is not at all about Van Gogh, but... knowing the above fact instills solemn gratitude in me. I am grateful for every sale of my artwork, and thankful for all of the loving support I receive because I know that being true to your dream can be a lonely affair...

Anyway, THIS painting was partially about my recent obsession with White on White. It is challenging to paint images that read well that are also composed of  many similar values.  At least it is for me.  And its the challenge that keeps me coming back for more...

I was also specifically inspired to paint a tiger because the poem "The Tyger" by William Blake has come into my consciousness several times in the past few weeks... two very different books I recently finished.. both coincidentally and prominently featuring Tyger Tyger in the protagonist's thoughts and a random reading on the internet that led me to another reference to this poem...  And it got me thinking about Tygers and what Blake was talking about. In it he ponders creation.. and the creator... the question he posed in prose is, can a God who created something as fearsome and beautiful as a tiger also have created the lamb?

And what about teapots and corvidaes?  I have not the answer.. just the painting... :) Please see below for the entire poem. 

Tyger Tyger, Oil, 10"x10", Click here to purchase

The Tyger

William Blake - 1757-1827

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Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Day 22 of the 30 in 30 - Chicka Chicka Red Balloon

Good Sunday morning.  Day 22’s painting, titled "Chicka Chicka Red Balloon" is another take on the Red Balloon and an abstract background, with a twist...  When this idea popped into my head it was one of those that I almost pushed away thinking it was dumb.  A bird with a balloon tied around it’s middle... what? Here is how the conversation went in my head...

Ooohhh... a red balloon and a bird! 

No good. most birds fly all on their own...  Why and when would a bird ever need balloon assisted flight? This would never happen... 

But... when has the impossible stopped me?  

Yes, but what about all of the poor birds that literally get tied up in balloons that people release accidentally or on purpose..this is not good at all...don't paint this...

But then I thought, what if a bird purposely had the balloon around his waist?  I don't know.. maybe it was at a party and some other bird dared him to do it?  Or, maybe it was minding it's own business and found someone's red balloon and kindly was taking it back to them? Other scenarios vaguely passed through my head...still not entirely convinced, I then thought, I need to paint something, I should just do it... painting a painting a day requires flexibility and sometimes going out on a limb.

If you read my blog post about being open to the thoughts and images your brain produces and not censoring them, you will wonder, Why were you censoring yourself, Karen?  Truth is, I slip up sometimes and let negative Nelly talk.  If I'm lucky, my positive Patty poses convincing arguments and wins.  I was lucky this time and, I painted it.. I'm quite glad I did. After finishing it, I found myself just staring at, lost in some kind of feeling that I can't describe (ever have one of those?)   I still don't exactly know what to think of it, but the best way to describe it is it has a tension in the imagery.. a push and a simultaneous pull..  Is the bird flying, controlling the balloon? Or is the balloon pulling up, controlling the bird?  And, for whatever reason, I'm particularly happy with how the balloon came out :)

Chicka Chicka Red Balloon, oil, 11"x14", click here to purchase

Day 21 - Rabbit ears

 Following the theme of yesterday's painting - a shameless visual idiom, I give you Rabbit Ears :)  Don't you just love that vintage TV?  The color of the glass tho... ♥♥♥

Is it nostalgia or has product design become less interesting?  The lines, shapes and colors of everyday, useful things from the 50's ad 60's, like tape dispensers tvs, cars and telephones attract me over and over. There is a solid and natural quality that felt good in your hands, and pleasing to the eyes. Or maybe it's just me.. :)

Regardless, a rabbit on a vintage TV speaks of time past when TV's needed big antennas and took up undeniable space <3

Rabbit Ears, oil on gessoboard, 11"x14", click here to purchase

Day 19 of the 30 in 30 - Duck Tape

I like ducks... I love vintage curiosities. These 2 guys seemed the most natural of companions.  This was one of those rare and special paintings that just painted itself. Do you know the kind of painting I'm talking about?  When the whole painting evolves naturally and every single brush stroke is some how exactly the right brush stroke. Such a joyful experience and I am extremely gratified with the results!

I seem to remember a tape dispenser like this on my 3rd grade teacher's desk.. a cast iron 'whale tail" design put out by 3M in the 50's.  One of them weighs several pounds, but the beautiful lines and balanced design make me want to have one anyway. And what else would you put on top of one of these but a duck? :)

Duck Tape, Oil, 11"x14", Click here to purchase

 

Day 19 of the 30 in 30 - Ewe Are Loved

 If you have seen my artwork, you know I have a thing for stacking animals and other things on top of each other.  Surprisingly, I've never painted a sheep before, but when I saw this sweet face, I had to paint her.  What to stack on her head?  A tiny piglet finished off with a wee butterfly seemed the perfect things.  The sheep's expression is so loving and it is what inspired the title.  But, I speak the truth... You are loved.  Don't forget it. :) <3

One of my favorite things about this painting is the texture in the sheep's wool.  I used a special white paint by Gamblin called flake white replacement.  It has a thick consistency that was perfect.  

Ewe Are Loved, 8"x8", oil, Click here to purchase

Day 18 of the 30 in 30 - The Tetris Effect

 I am fascinated by iconic bits of humanity.. old telephones, vw bugs and this, a vintage gameboy, with the iconic game Tetris loaded and ready to play.  I just found out (from wikipedia) that the Russian inventor of Tetris wanted to create a game to "Make people Happy"... I just LOVE that tid bit as the art I create is specifically...  Designed to Make you Smile (aka, make you happy!!)   :)

I was also intrigued to find out that Tetris is one of the worlds best selling and most played games, ever.  Very cool is the fact that, it is considered high art, by some. In 2013, the MoMA in New York acquired an original 1984 copy of the game for its collection. (A lovely thing I did not know before I painted this...)

 And, perhaps, most fascinating is the "Tetris Effect" a phenomenon that occurs in the human brain when people play A LOT of Tetris.  Here is an excerpt from https://www.thrillist.com/tech/11-things-you-didn-t-know-about-tetris, which explains it better than I can.  

"The Tetris Effect is a real thing. And it’s kind of a big deal. It occurs when people play for such an extended period of time that they begin to pattern thoughts, mental images, and dreams in such a way that brings them to imagine how real world shapes can fit together. (E.g., items on a supermarket shelf or buildings on a street.) It’s been the focus of renowned psychiatrists, and has even been studied as a model to rewire the brain to think more positively."

Hmm.  maybe my little chickadee is experiencing the Tetris Effect in this painting... imagining happy thoughts of birdseed falling from the sky, stacking up neatly on the the ground.. ?

The Tetris Effect, Oil, 11"x14", to purchase, click here

Day 17 of the 30 in 30 - Creeping Charlie and the Lady Bug

 When I was little, I would often lay on the ground to inspect the world that lay at my feet.  A whole little world happens among the weeds and undergrowth and I still love looking at life from this perspective!  In this painting I've imagined a wee kitten exploring the world from under the canopy of creeping Charlie, a common garden 'weed' that I find particularly winsome and sweet.   I love the round leaves and even the smell of it when I have to pull out the more tenacious vines of it.  And, lucky me (I guess) it grows everywhere!  Those of us who are lawn lovers will probably be raising their eyebrows at me right now, but hold on.  Creeping Charlie (considered an invasive weed that needs to eradicated) was purposely brought here by Europeans to be used as ground cover and as a food source. I won't go into any of its health benefits as I am no expert, but I do sometimes wonder why we fight with so called weeds, spraying them with chemicals and pulling them out when really they could add texture and interest to your yard. There are so many other beautiful plants that grow without any help from us that can be used as ground cover.. Just saying. :) 

Creeping Charlie and the Ladybug, Oil, 9"x12", Click here to purchase

Day 16 of the 30 in 30 - No Prob Llama

 Well, I've gotten on the Llama train and painted a Llama. :)  And... fell in love with these frankly adorable animals. <3 There is no hidden meaning to today's painting..  Instead, No Prob Llama was purely for fun.   Llamas are too cute and Chickadees are one of my favorite birds to paint and I wanted to continue exploring white on white (something that has been a bit of an obsession this challenge).   I love the sweet expression on this guy's face and how the chickadees all seem to be watching each other.  

Check out the pics below too for a peek at how it would look framed, and a close up of some juicy brush strokes.

No Prob Llama, Oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 14 of t he 30 in 30 - How About a Nice Cup of Tea?

Ah, Alice In Wonderland.  A fantastical story, maybe about growing up... maybe just an escape into temporary madness...  The lure of this story to audiences all over the world may very well be the sheer insanity of it all.  None of it makes much sense, fear often plays a role and all of the characters are ludicrous in some way.  But now that the real world seems to take on these characteristics more often, I wonder how much of an escape this story is!  None the less, I have a thing for painting rabbits right now and the March Hare is likely one of the most famous rabbits there is (Peter Rabbit a close contender).  How I didn't yet think of painting a Hare in a Teacup yet is actually a bit surprising. :)  Well, now I did.... In this painting, my rendition of the famous March Hare sits expectantly in his Drink Me tea cup.. Perhaps he is waiting for his unbirthday to begin?  Perhaps we are late for a very important date?

Also, see below for a sneak peak at how this could look in your house... :)

How About a Nice Cup of Tea?, Oil, 11"x14", Click here to purchase

This painting is not yet framed, but could be framed just like this, which would show well in many different types of decor.  It is pictured here in a Farmhouse styled kitchen :)

If you want to know more about framing, please contact me at karenlyn1772@gmail.com

Day 14 of the 30 in 30 - Hang in There

 Of course I love the tiger ...and the balloon, but this painting is equally about the background.  I like to experiment balancing subject with background. I find myself sometimes with such a strong subject (remember the bunny on the soup can?) and then am stuck not being quite sure how to approach the background.  Ah well.  This is another attempt at something different.  I wanted to stay neutral with just that pop of red and orange and play with the concept of abstraction meets realism.

Anyway..have you ever seen the inspirational poster of a kitten hanging onto a branch that says "hang in there"?  That's what went through my mind when I was thinking of a title :)  

Hang in there everyone. :)  

Hang in There, oil, 11"x14", to Click here to purchase

Detail of "Hang in There" 

Day 13 of the 30 in 30 - Little Buddy

3rd in my mini-series of retrievers, I of course had to paint a chocolate lab. :)  I've only met a handful of chocolate labs in my life, but all have been so gentle with such kind personalities.  This guy looks like he too is filled with love and ready to be someone's little buddy, so, naturally, that is the title of this painting.  His eyes say it all!

Dogs can be our best friend, our therapies, our medicine, our heart. They are angels sent to help us through life.  They are teachers sent to help us learn unconditional love and compassion.  They are companions sent to help us learn to love. <3

Little Buddy, 7"x7", oil, click here to purchase

Day 12 - Labrador on Holiday

 I often create and work on series of paintings.  Themes that, to me, are worth exploring beyond just one painting. Because I largely work on smaller surfaces, it is easy and pleasurable for me to paint an idea in many different incarnations.  This painting is part of the Labrador series that I just realized I am exploring.. Sometimes I don't realize things until I'm hip deep... :)

I grew up having the pleasure of knowing and living with several black labs or black lab mixes... Joe, Nick, Ollie, Ben, Belle and Chet... They were all loving, caring, beautiful dogs (Chet still is..) and each had such personality.  My son came up with the title for this painting and I love it.. He said that his hat makes it look like he should be out vacationing, perhaps on a yacht or sailboat... :)  I think dogs deserve a holiday just as much as we people do.. ♥ My current canine companion is named Ember and while we aren't sure what breeds she has in her (she's a rescue melting pot of a dog), I know in my heart there is some Labrador in there..  Her heart is too big to not have a bit of this breed in her. <3

Labrador on Holiday, oil, 7"x7", to purchase click here

Day 11 of the 30 in 30 - Golden Through and Through

A smiling dog is one of the sweetest sights to see... :)

I have heard that Golden retrievers are some of the most friendly, steadfast and loyal dogs you will ever have the pleasure of knowing.  I've met many a Golden in my life and not one of them has yet to show me any different.  This guy seems like he fits that description, doesn't he? I also love that the retriever breed can have beautiful long golden coats, shorter yellow, brown or black coats... Such beautiful, rich colors and so much fun to paint.  A few years back, I painted a trio of retrievers, all of which have found forever homes :)  I decided it was time to revisit this special breed again..this time with hats.. :) Look out in the coming days for a few other variations on this theme and thank you!

Golden Through and Through, 7"x7", oil, to purchase click here

10 days into the 30 in 30 - Beauty in Broken Things

This time we are all living in can sometimes feels like it is trying to break us. But, I've seen such strength, resilience and creativity come from all of this insanity too.  So many people I know are becoming more courageous, fiercer and even more determined than ever to live a life worth living. I know that I am not singular, and in fact am luckier than many.  I feel fortunate every second of every day to have been gifted my art and and am thankful it is my healer, my outlet, my answer... When times are particularly hard and the veil is thick, it may be difficult to remember... until that moment when you do.  Beauty can always be found in moments of sadness, in times of despair and even if we feel we've hit rock bottom. Just look at a flower.  A bird.  A feather.  A fragment of broken glass.  Blessed be and know that this too shall pass.

Beauty in Broken Things, 8"x8", oil, available to purchase here

Day 9 of the 30 in 30 - Carrot Soup

 Had to kick off Monday, which is usually serious and somewhat daunting, with a light-hearted, whimsical concoction of seeming nonsense! :) As I mentioned in a recent post, I love to put together unrelated things to see what kind of story I can tell, and this was just exactly one of those kinds of paintings.  I absolutely love when paintings happen like this, and even more tickled when they somehow 'work'.  I'm not entirely sure how or why, but to me, this one works.  Why do roller skates on the bottom of a soup can with a tiny rabbit and carrot on top make sense?  I don't know but, they do, and now you have caught a glimpse inside of my brain. :)

I have taught art to children ages 6-18 and the biggest setback and difficulty I findis that most people tend to censor themselves when they are trying to come up with ideas for what they will next create.  People tell themselves "this is stupid", "its already been done", "I can't possibly do that", I don't know how, or that doesn't make sense.  And then they believe that B.S...  Here is the secret, most important piece of advice I can give you if you are an artist struggling with ideas.  Don't Censor Yourself.  If you are sitting in front of a blank canvas and have convinced yourself that you have no ideas, you most likely don't realize that you are actually censoring yourself unconsciously.  In reality, hundreds of ideas probably were bubbling up, but possibly before you barely caught sight of them, your mean old ego smacked them back down into the recesses of your imagination under the pretense of one of those lies I stated above.  

One of the most important gifts I have given myself as an artist was permission to let my ideas flow, no matter how strange, impossible or improbable they seem.  If my brain thought it, then it is a true expression of me, and who am I to censor it?  And even better, maybe the ideas that surface in my mind's eye are a true expression of a larger creative consciousness of which I am able to access, just because I listen and don't censor.  (wouldn't that be cool?)

Carrot Soup, 9"x12", oil, to purchase click here

So this post became a lot more personal than I thought it would.  I thought it was going to be silly and kind of funny. But I am very serious when I say that the best thing you can do for yourself as an artist is to believe in the ideas you have and allow them to come without censoring them.. follow them and explore where they take you. I promise you, you will never lack for ideas again!

Namaste and Carrot Soup.  

Please see below for a recipe for real Carrot Soup which  looks simply divine!

Day 8 of the 30 in 30 - High Summer Perch

 Good Sunday Morning. As this week begins, I am posting Day 8 of the 30 in 30  with another garden painting.   My family decided we were going to have a garden this year, after 4-5 years letting our garden plot go fallow.. It has been an enormous amount of work, but has given us an enormous amount of satisfaction and of course produce.  And a wonderful result has also been the time I've gotten to spend with my husband and children as we work in the garden   A few months ago, I found an old but very pretty chair sitting out for the garbage, and immediately knew it would find a home in my garden.  This vintage beauty may not be needed anymore as an inside chair, but I had a need to sit and rest after harvesting and a pot of very prolific portulacas were in need of a perch.  We also installed a few bird feeders near the garden and I always see all manner of little feathered friends perching on the fence and this chair.  I have been enamored with this chair and finally had to paint it.  I hope I've done this old girl justice!

High Summer Perch, 10"x10", oil, to purchase click here

Day 7 of the 30 in 30.. One week in & Brother Bjorn :)

 It feels good and kind of homey now that I'm a week into this 30 in 30.  And following suit, Brother Bjorn came to visit me in my studio, as a companion painting to yesterday's Uncle Urso. This guy doesn't have a story yet, other than it feels like he should live in the Swiss Alps for some reason... Mostly though, he was an experiment of white on white, and a trial of a hat on a polar bear. I do like, however, that Polar bears symbolize endurance and black eyed Susans symbolize motivation. Feeling like both of these attributes are so needed exactly right now, as we slog through this new world of cataclysmic change...endurance to keep on going and motivation to try even harder.

I wanted to achieve a soft and subtle feel and kept my tints all close in value.. also a challenge for me.  I am always tempted to go bold and striking in my paintings, but have recently been striving to go subtle and whispering.  I'll strike a balance eventually!

Brother Bjorn, Oil, 10"x10", to purchase click here

Day 6 of the 30 in 30 - Uncle Urso's Silk Hat

Uncle Urso has had this hat ever since I was a little girl.  He sometimes takes it off and pulls special treats out of it for his nieces and nephews, and even once pulled out a rabbit!  It is made of silk felt that is worn through in places and he always tucks a flower under the ribbon. No one knows how old it is (or how old Uncle Urso is for that matter) but he wouldn't be Uncle Urso without that hat. ♥

I've painted a few bears in the past year and it all started when I had a reoccurring dream about bears that would suddenly appear wherever I happened to be in my dream.  Once down at my Grandmother's (who doesn't live there anymore), once in an office building roaming around the cubicles... then in a park that is near my childhood home.. They were trying to tell me something, obviously, and the only thing I knew to do was to paint them.  I had the hankering to paint another bear (or 2..).  After I painted this guy, the snippet of a story I wrote above started to take shape.. I wonder who the little girl is, and why is his hat so special...

Uncle Urso's Silk Hat, 10"x10", oil

To purchase, click here

Day 5 of the 30 in 30 - Under Cover

5 days into this challenge and my mind is ticking away with new ideas.  I set out to explore painting techniques and mediums in this painting, and believe it or not, the subject matter was a bit secondary.  I did want to paint another animal stacker and, the umbrella is, in my mind, the most important aspect of the subject, hence the title... but really, I was super concerned with getting a soft appearance while staying loose, playing with a subtle color palette and again trying out a Zinsser under painting. So far, the challenge has been a lot of fun because of all the experimentation. :) It is also interesting to note how difficult it is to not paint in the style I usually paint in!  I generally paint alla prima, wet into wet with very loose strokes and with paint that stays workable for the duration of my painting session.  This new style I'm experimenting with is more of a dry brush technique, applying many thin layers of pigment to achieve a softer more atmospheric effect.  Very different and definitely a challenge..   And while the stacked animal subject was seemingly secondary as I grappled with technique, I loved painting each one of these critters.  The horse especially was a joy to work on as I love his graceful gesture.

Under Cover, 11"x14", Oil

to purchase, click here

Day 4 of the 30 in 30

Good morning! I'll hop right to this one... :)  About a month ago, the image of 3 wolves came into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. I had to paint it... It was a painting of healing and strength, 2 things I was needing to contemplate.  After painting that painting, I immediately had the image of 3 hares come into my head, and like the wolves, they aren't leaving me alone either.  And that is how this painting came about. I'm not sure what these guys represent, or why some images just won't leave me alone, but the number 3 is very important in art.  For instance, if you have the choice of having 3 items in a still life or 4, which do you think most artists would choose? To read more about the ubiquitous number 3, check out this article.  

I have also been experimenting with mediums lately and in this painting, I used an oil based primer made by Zinsser and tinted it with my oil paints to do an under painting.  I know, this may sound outside of the box... but I am in the mood to play and have read a lot about artists' love for Zinsser.  I've experimented with it before and do agree, there is something about it worth exploring.  Plus I am looking to achieve a certain atmospheric effect that the zinsser underpainting seems to benefit.. 

Splitting Hares underpainting

But the Zinsser has a very matte finish, and I didn't quite want that.  So, after this dried (in about an hour - the zinsser dries fast!) I coated it with my medium (linseed oil, stand oil and gamsol) and finished it off. Now that I look back at this earlier stage of the painting, I wish I would have kept some of the looseness, but on the other hand, I wanted the rabbits faces to have more realism. Here is the finished painting :)  

Splitting Hares, 10"x10", oil, 

to purhase, please click here

Day 3 of the August 30 in 30

 Good morning!  Its day 3 of the 30 in 30 and things are getting real.  Just kidding… but this one was a real hoot to paint!  You may know I have a thing for stacking objects in my paintings – any number of things and often things that don’t typically belong together, and certainly not stacked on top of each other.  But oddly I’ve never stacked a bunch of farm animals until today, and farm animals are actually a more common group of things for artists to stack..  Today was the day for me to give this one a whirl. To explain a bit about my 'stacking thing', I originally started stacking 2 dissimilar things because I was exploring the concept of creating a visual story. The things you put in a painting are going to talk to one another, so to speak, regardless if they are related or not. I wanted to see what kind of story would be created by putting together seemingly unrelated objects.. and have had a lot of fun in the process!  These guys were a bit of a tame diversion for me since they all have the common denominator of being farm animals.. but it was still fun to figure out how to balance them and the composition and then of course to paint them!

Vertical Farm, 11"x14", oil on gessoboard

to purchase, please click here

Incidentally, did you know that the tradition of stacking animals in folk art started with the story “The Town Musicians of Bremen" written by The Brothers Grimm? In the story, a donkey, dog, cat and rooster find themselves having to scare away some robbers by standing on each other’s backs.  If you want to read the whole story, check out this website.  I’ve always loved folk tales for their whimsical imagery… and now I’m thinking I may need to paint a rooster on a cat on a dog on a donkey… 😊  While poking around for stacked animal lore, I found a picture of this awesome statue by Gerhard Marcks depicting the Bremen Town Musicians located in Bremen, Germany. 

Day 2 of the August 30 in 30

What a glorious way to start August.  I am so happy that I dove into this challenge and am doing it!  Today's painting is an example of some experimentation I have been doing with backgrounds and painting techniques.  I really enjoy artwork that has an atmospheric and moody tone to it and have begun playing with this idea..  "Elephriend" evolved from this sentiment.  I built this painting around colors and textures, painting the background first, which is opposite of how I often go about a painting.  I typically paint the focal points and subject of the painting, starting with the darks, and get all of the 'things' in the painting blocked in before I even touch the background.  But it was important to me that I pay special attention to the background in this painting.  After getting the feel I was looking for,  I then used the same colors from the background to paint the elephant, which helps to provide harmony and a sense of unity.  Of course, the elephant needed a friend, so I added a happy little corvidae, hitching a ride on her back. :)  I hope to experiment more with the methods I used here during this challenge, because, after all, that is part of what the 30 in 30 is all about... experimenting, playing, learning :)

Elephriend, 10"x10", oil on gessoboard, $225

To purchase, please click here

Don't forget to check out Russ's progress!  Yesterday's painting is beautiful... a peek into his latest trip to Maine.  You can find his work here: www.russellslocum.com