Day 26 - Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

 This is the latest in my Spirit Animal series, where I focus on animals as symbolic guides that help us through our lives.  This one features a coyote and 3 crows.  Coyotes are known for their ingenuity and adaptability, while crows are known for their intelligence and symbolize the mysteries of existence. I've painted both animals before, and have paired them together as well.. They seem to belong together somehow, as if their energies work together.. 

 In my painting, Coyote is joined by 3 crows (thought patterns?) to remind us that we are adaptable.. there is always the possibility of change.  I am a firm believer that if we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change..  Of course, thinking can not change everything.. My daughter reminded me that you can not 'think' away all of your problems.  But, a lot of problems are caused by how we are thinking about them.  Shift your perspective and observe what happens...  

Another variation on this theme is this quote that I came across: If you don't like where you are.. move!  You are not a tree..  Love that!  

"Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life", oil and cold wax, 11"x14", 

click here for purchasing details

Day 15 - The Blessing Within

 Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. 
The goal is to find it. -Buddha

"The Blessing Within", oil, 12"x12", click here for purchasing details

I love the sweet gentleness that this lady exudes.  She is here to remind you to find the blessing within all things, and above all, be gentle with yourself and others.

This painting was a little different for me as I experimented with my painting process... Normally I'll oil the surface of my panel before I start painting so I can paint wet into wet.  But today, I applied a light ground of burnt sienna, thinned with Gamsol (an odorless solvent) which dries much faster than the oil.  You can see a blush of the ground in the picture below.

That surface dried pretty quickly, leaving me with a much drier surface to paint on than I am used to.  

After I blocked the elephant and flowers in, I applied another wash of darker paint to the background, using the Gamsol again.  

After this mostly dried, I finished with thicker paint, leaving the background to pop through in areas.  (Finished painting at top of page) Painting on a dry surface is not as easy for me, but you can get different effects with a dry panel that you can't achieve with a wet panel..

The blending properties are very different, brush work  and brush strokes look very different and I found myself wiping out certain areas to take them back down to the original ground.  :)  

Day 14 - Purification

White animals often have a special place in the stories and myths of a culture. Because it is extremely rare for most animals to be white, if a pure white animal crosses your path, be sure to take note of what is going on in your life.  The color white usually symbolizes  clarity, purity, renewal, honesty and new beginnings.  

Because the Crow is such a resourceful animal, when we see a white crow (which is rare, but they do exist) it is a sign that now is a good time to take advantage of whatever opportunities may be presenting themselves to us.  Seeing a white crow means that you have clarity and strength at this time, plus the opportunity for new beginnings, should you wish.  Know that a time of purification is near :)

Purification, oil, 7"x7", click here for purchasing details

Day 9 - Transformation

A few years back, when I first was exploring the concept of Spirit Animals in my artwork, I painted a series of ravens on cairns.  In fact, ravens made it into many of my paintings at that time, and I secretly believed that they were acting as messengers to me, inspiring me to pay closer attention to my inner muse... 

Ravens are important birds in many cultures. To some they are symbolic of intuition and are believed to hold the power to connect the earthly realms with the spirit realm.  Cairns, structures constructed of stacked stones, are often used as landmarks or markers to help guide one's way. The two pair meaningfully together in my mind.. and together they are the messenger on the guidepost...  I have not painted a raven on a cairn in quite awhile, but this one came up in my consciousness today, out of the blue, and so I listened and I painted.  

Because the raven is in mid-caw, I see it as delivering that message directly and presently.  In fact, can you see the little plume of mist coming out of the raven's mouth?  You can almost hear it calling to you, can't you? :)  

Sometimes it can be hard to get out of ones own way and allow ideas to flow, but I think that when you can, it is when the best ideas come. This Raven is a harbinger of that flow of ideas.. ideas that are yet to come, but they are like the mist that is the visual manifestation of a message... and the cairn is the promise that guidance will be there when it is needed.. Transformation happens when we listen for the message and are open to the guidance that is there for all of us.

"Transformation", oil on panel, 7"x7", click here for purchasing details

Day 2 - A Windsong of Balance

 So, I did not technically paint this one today.. but it is a VERY recent painting of mine and is currently hanging in the Studio B show - Flora and Fauna.  AND, it is an award winner!  I am quite happy with this painting as it is a return to my exploration of the theme Spirit Animal, which I explored in many paintings a few years back.  The time is ripe to revisit this theme and as such, I feel affirmed that the very first painting I have completed and shown has gained some attention. To further explore this theme, I am trying my take at combining abstraction with realism, something that has fascinated me for some time, yet until now, I've not been happy with my results.  I will be further exploring this combination as well as part of my new Spirit Animals and am excited to see where it takes me.  

(by the way, if you get the chance to see the show in person, please do! It is a wonderful show filled with an eclectic mix of local talent. Info below..)

"A Windsong of Balance", oil and mixed media on panel, 16"x16", $790

The two birds represent the iconic and opposing forces of yin and yang.. and the necessity and inevitability of both in our world. If you look closely, you can see a portion of the yin yang symbol in the background.. I painted this on a panel that I textured ahead of time with a texturing medium I whipped up using PVA glue, marble dust and gesso... a recipe I found, where else, but on the net... There are many variations of this recipe to be found, but they basically all call for varying proportions of PVA to add elasticity, marble dust for the texture and gesso probably for opacity and as a binder.  I experimented around until I found a recipe that I like.  The painting was done in many layers from there, which is a complete diversion from how I normally work.  I tend to prefer to paint in a style called Alla Prima, meaning all at once. But, this painting took me several painting sessions, allowing layers to dry in between, until it was complete.  

There will be more to come with this technique and theme! :) 

Below are details of the painting that better show texture and paint application.

Studio B is located at 39 E Philadelphia Ave, Boyertown, PA 19512. 

Contact them at (610) 563-7879 for purchasing details. 

Day 29 - Gabriel's Steed

Its the 2nd to last day of this challenge and I spent most of the day photographing and framing my work.. As the holiday season approaches, art galleries are refreshing their art and hanging new shows.. which means doing all of the finishing things to my paintings to get them ready! Pictures and labels of my work are due for 3 shows this weekend and then I have a few more after that, so I've got my work cut out for me.  But enough about that, because this is supposed to be a post about today's painting...

Today's painting is titled Gabriel's Steed. I took this picture when I was out plein air painting at the Derry Edain horse farm and met a beautiful white horse.  In fact, I took about 40 pictures of that horse.. so many that I considered doing a white horse painting series.. and still may.  So, this would be the 2nd in that series, I suppose.. the first being "Moment of Clarity" which I posted last week some time.  I decided to keep this one more of a study because I am still learning about horse anatomy.  I feel lucky that the white horse let me pet her so much... allowing me to explore her cheeks and down her nose and neck.. It's really the first time I was able to do that and I think it may help me in future paintings.  

The story about the title, it is said that God gave the arch angel Gabriel a white spirit horse as a gift at some point in cosmic history... that horse was named Haizum and had wings and could travel between the spiritual and physical realms, carrying Gabriel through so he could bring God's messages to mankind.  I kind of like that story, and as I've mentioned, I kind of liked that white horse.  So, I'll think of her as Haizum, Gabriel's steed.. :)

Gabriel's Steed, Oil, 8"x8", to purchase click here

Since I was messing around with frames earlier, I tried the steed out in a few.. 

settled on this one as my favorite.

Hanging artwork in restaurants

You may have noticed a trend with fine dining establishments reserving display space for original fine art, usually by local artists.  When I first started painting, there were two modes of thought on this... Some artists felt that hanging your artwork in a restaurant was undesirable and was simply decorating another's space... for free! I was advised by some to not hang my art in restaurants... But, since I have been painting, I have had my artwork in many, many restaurants.  And it has almost always been a win-win situation.  If you are an artist and are thinking about hanging your work in a restaurant, here are a few pointers... Most importantly, make sure that certain things are agreed upon up front... The restaurant should always give you permission to have your work for sale and you should always be able to display label information with your artwork so patrons know your work is for sale. Along with your artwork, hang an artist statement with your contact info, website and social media links.  Make sure there is decent lighting and if the space has a hanging system in place, bonus! If not, make sure the owners are ok with you moving hangers if you need to. Determine the percentage the restaurant is taking (if any... some don't take a percentage!) and determine who will handle the sale, should someone want to purchase a piece.  Also, it doesn't hurt to have the staff on board and knowledgeable about your work so they can talk about it positively when you are not there, so you might want to leave a little info sheet for them to get acquainted with you..  I have had a lot of success hanging in alternative venues like this and would encourage any artist looking to put their eggs in more than one basket to give it a shot.

Take More Chances, Dance More Dances, oil, 8"x8"
Will be available at one of the 2 venues mentioned....

So, point of story....  I will be hanging my work in 2 beautiful restaurants on Monday! -  Say Cheese in West Reading and the Soltane Cafe in Phoenixville.  My gallery, Art Plus, has had a relationship with Say Cheese for some time and we hang our member's work there all the time. It is a wonderful restaurant and has a great gallery space towards the back of the restaurant where they even installed a hanging and lighting system to make it easier to hang your work! Things have been so successful, the owners are looking to expand the hanging space into the front of the restaurant. Very cool!  I have never hung in the Soltane Cafe before, but am so looking forward to getting my feet wet in the Phoenixville scene, and the manager, Emma Peabody is a total sweetheart. 

As you may have imagined, the past few weeks have been jam packed for me with preparing new work for these two shows.  I've painted 14 new paintings (which I can't even believe...) and am in the process of finishing frames.  The weekend will be spent deciding which work goes where, printing labels and putting the finishing touches on everything.  :) Life is good... 

Check out the details of both shows below, and happy Friday!

The making of a solo show

Last night I hung my solo exhibit, Spirit ○ Animal, at Art Plus Gallery. I have been actively preparing for this show the past 3 months and am a little in shock now that it is finally hung, perhaps similarly to when you are preparing for finals and you don't quite know what to do with yourself the day after you take the last test. I put a lot of work (literal blood and sweat... no tears) into the theme and creation of this show in an effort to weave some new ideas and mediums together with my love of animals and my life long interest in spiritual matters.

Over the past few months, I wanted to post more posts about the process of preparing for such a show.. the planning and designing, surface preparation, painting, frame design and building, finishing and preparing the work for sale... all this between being a mom and a gallery director! But, alas, I found myself so busy with painting and frame making (and momming and directing)  that I just didn't have a lot of time left over for blogging and telling y'all about what the heck I am doing.  If you are here, reading this now, I just want to thank you for taking the time to check this all out.  Below are just a few highlights from the past few months, and a little sneak peek at my freshly hung exhibit.  I am looking forward to sharing my work with everyone who makes to it the opening on May 11th, and, fyi, if you can't be there, the show runs through June 3rd.

Its great fun to take progress shots of my artwork as I complete it.  I don't always have a chance to look back on it right away, but going back through my pics later, I'm always grateful to find these painting 'diaries' to remind me  of what works and how I got there...

Telephant, oil, 12"x12", on display on APG

Below are just 3 of the about 50 works I have on display in Spirit ○ Animal...

Chickadee with Cherry Blossoms, 6"x6", oil, for sale at APG

Lost in Thought, 20"x20", oil and mixed media, for sale at APG

Nevermore, oil and mixed media, 12"x12", for sale at APG

You may also know that I make frames in addition to painting.... It isn't the most glamorous part of the job, and I find that only a few can really appreciate what goes into making frames... The past two weeks, I made close to 40 frames, which even I can't comprehend.  It takes a lot of math, staring at the wood, hundreds of cuts with a variety of saws, sanding till your arm is numb and plenty of loud music for me to make so many in such a short amount of time. Oh yeah, and the most important thing... the support of my husband.  (Yes, he brings me coffee and dinner, washes the dishes I don't have the energy to wash and makes sure I know he has my back...) I wish it was as easy as the pictures make it look, but all I will say is, IT'S NOT. :D   And the pictures skip Plenty of steps. But...this gives you a brief idea of the frame making process and the piles of wood I have to manipulate through it all. To be truthful though, I am not in this business because I like to do things the easy way.  Just the opposite actually, as the easy way is often thoroughly boring... 

And finally, after putting all of my paintings in their brand spanking new frames, and making them look all professional and what not, I get to hang them up in the gallery!  The absolute best part of the whole thing....

So, the show is hung, and I am most pleased with how it all came together.  A wonderful thing about intensely creating work... ideas build upon ideas... I have so many new things I want to explore from all I found in the past few months...There is so much more to come! Thanks for reading and looking and I hope to see you at the opening on May 11th!