So, something you may not realize, but, artists wear all of the hats...because there are so many different kinds of things that have to be done in order to 'Be an Artist', there are just some days that I am doing all kinds of art related things, but not necessarily finishing a painting in my studio. Yesterday was one of those days. After breakfast and hanging out with my son and his girlfriend, I headed off to West Reading to join several of my Art Plus Gallery buds where we hung an exhibit at the fabulous West Reading Tavern..
I should have gotten a better picture, but here is a smattering of my work that is there.. incidentally, this is an excellent show, so if you are in town, check it out!
After the tavern, there was grocery shopping (Artists have to eat too!).. Once settled in at home, groceries snug in their cubbies and fridge, I sat down at my computer and designed a few more paintings.. Yes, I do a lot of my artistic work on my computer which serves as a digital sketch pad for me. I use Photoshop pretty extensively because it allows me to play with composition, color etc, quickly and easily..
In this design, I knew I wanted the prismatic background, and a frog.. Found this guy while hunting around a royalty free image website and thought he was so cute! What I spent most of my time doing was fussing with the fern and the ladybug.. and in one, a leaf.. I finally settled on the top left design... Although looking at them now, I kind of like the top right better, so may change the fern in my sketch..
Next I headed up to my studio to sketch out the frog and another duck on some books that I designed a few days ago..
Lately, my dog Ember has been my constant companion and studio helper.. She is often napping in my studio while I paint or sketch and likes her blanket and sheep skin mat when it's cold out.. :)
I finished sketching the two designs and it was time to make dinner, so I headed down and started a meatloaf and baked potatoes.. fed Ms. Ember.. and contemplated what vegetable to make..
La la la... As I made the meatloaf, I also pondered if I should go back up to the studio to paint? I could have, but would have been in my studio the rest of the night if I did... it wouldn't have been the first time I painted into the wee hours.. however, I had something else that needed doing and while the meatloaf was baking it seemed like the perfect thing to do..
Make a frame!! An artist friend of mine asked if I could make her a custom frame for an odd sized metal sign she has.. I needed to get to it as it has been on the back burner for awhile and she asked me a few days ago "So, about that frame..??" So I headed down to my frame shop in the basement and got to it.. I started by ripping a plank, then dadoed (not sure if that is a word) the rabbet and chopped the miters.. Here you can see me with my beloved Frog (my name for my chop saw) and a bunch of random frames I have made and just haven't finished yet..
After nailing the sides together, I ratchet clamped it to glue up over night..
And here she is all clamped up.. Once the glue dries, I'll remove the strap and give her a good sanding, after which I will apply my famous distressed black finish.. :) It's not really famous, but it took a lot of trial and error until I finally figured out how to achieve the look I want and so, it is famous to me. :) I'll share an image of the finished frame in a few days after the paint dries.
Frame started, I came upstairs, poured myself a glass of wine and enjoyed some meatloaf with my family.. My hubby finished off the dinner with some steamed broccoli, (if you were wondering what the vegetable was) I thought about painting, but, it was late, so, decided a better thing to do would be to go to bed and share the real truth about a day in the life of an artist for today's post.. :)
Today I'll paint!
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