How Many Paintings Within a Painting? -- Work in Progress

Cropped images from "Purple Rings"

Acrylic on canvas

I'm currently working on a 36" x 36" painting.  It's been awhile since I've painted a canvas this large.  In fact, this is the first time I've actually worked on a square canvas of this size.  It always amazes me how many interesting images can be found within an image.  Erin Spencer is currently exploring this concept with her "little details" oil paintings.  You might want to check out her blog and Etsy shop. :)

I tried my darndest to capture raindrops hitting the surface of the rainwater that I have allowed to accumulate in this 12" high vase/candle holder.  Finally caught one, but the picture was blurry.  Well, this one is a little bit "soft focus", too, but I liked what was happening through the vase below the surface.

My neighbor's tree delights me throughout the year. 

It has the most lovely branching pattern (to say nothing of the leaves!)

Happy Halloween !!

 (I've eaten half our candy!  Well - almost, anyway...)

Thanks for visiting....

Leaves

Leaves turn, then fall

Silence

A cacophony of color

before the sleep

  

Patina and a Painting

I love the patina of well-used hand tools!

Acrylic on canvas

16" x 20" x 3/4"

Another weekend has come and gone.  I began a new 36" x 36" painting and have deemed the above painting to be finished.   It's good to have a painting in progress.  So much easier to pick up the paintbrushes after a day at the office, once a painting has been started!!  So much less energy... and thought ...and effort required to sustain the work compared to initiating the work.

Spent just a little time in the garden cutting down the rampant phlox and harvesting the last of the tomatoes before the deluge. It felt good.  (Way too little time spent gardening these past few years.)  And I spent some time visiting your wonderful blogs, where I find so much inspiration....Thank you!!

Etsy Shop.....Now "Stocked"

 "Ambitions"

Mixed media on canvas

10" x 10"

You might have noticed......last weekend I finally "stocked" my Etsy shop with a couple of mixed media collages from my June Remnants show.  (Mind you, it's only taken me FIFTEEN months to actually upload an item to my shop! )  So I'm in a bit of a celebratory mood because, you know what they say -- "Beginning is half done."  Not that I have a zillion more things ready to upload to the shop.  But I do have some possibilities, and I'm beginning to see that there could be a sort of rhythm to this process.  "Ambitions" will be in the shop sometime this weekend.

A heartfelt WELCOME to new and continuing followers!

Have a wonderful day and weekend!  And if you have small children in your life, be sure to check out Joel Henriques' blog.  I discovered this Portland designer months ago while perusing blogs.  Made by Joel is devoted to creative, artistic, play (and learning) activities for smallfries and I think it's awesome.  Sure wish it had been around when my children were small.  (Of course, Joel was around then, but only a youngster himself!!)

Fall Light

 

 

Acrylic on recycled cotton/poly twill

4" x 6"

I've been watching David Hockney on YouTube videos and also, here.  I am so inspired by his studious, disciplined and eager approach to his work.  At 70, he was painting en plein air in the English countryside on a daily basis; often at 5:00 a.m. and through all kinds of weather in every season. (If you click on the first link, be sure to click on "Larger View" beneath the painting so that you can see the same scene in all four seasons.) He wanted to find out what it was like to be painting in the midst of the landscape rather than painting from a photograph of a scene that he had found by looking through the aperture of a camera.  More specfically, he wanted to know how the "seeing" of the scene would differ.  During one year, he literally painted 350 paintings while out of doors!  And talk about sketchbooks -- he definitely fills them.  But he has the confidence to "sketch" directly on their pages with paintbrushes rather than pencils; a practice he also employs on his canvases. 

 Watching these videos was the perfect transition from a busy work week to a weekend that absolutely MUST include putting some paint on canvas! 

Have a great weekend!!

:)

Bumblings and Sketchbook Patterns

 Prismacolor and graphite

8"x 8"

I seem to be bumbling about in my studio and mainly moving things around. In the "big" sense of the word --the happy result of a daughter having come home for a couple of weeks and having reclaimed her room which had morphed into additional studio space.  And in the "little" sense -- that of moving small pieces of paper and fabric around on larger pieces of paper and fabric; and similarly, moving ideas around in my head. I do have ideas percolating for a series of paintings (I've never really done a series before.) and also for some hand- and machine-sewn cloth items. Meanwhile, while I continue to bumble and percolate, I thought I'd "toss" a few more sketches out into cyberspace .

Prismacolor, graphite and acrylic

7" x 9"

Acrylic, Sharpie and gold gouache

7" x 7"

Thanks very much for visiting!

Have a wonderful day.

:)

Lisa Kaser....On the Way to Something Wonderful

Detail of "On the Way to Somewhere Wonderful"

Watercolor collage by Lisa Kaser

Several years ago, before Etsy came on the scene, I stopped into Lisa Kaser's former gallery in Portland.  She was seated at one end of the room, working on a large textile, but she looked up immediately and gave me her warm, welcoming smile. I had known Lisa briefly 25 years or so earlier and had subsequently lost touch with her.  But as soon as we established our earlier acquaintance, we launched into talking about art, and specifically, her art.  Because in addition to her textiles, the gallery was filled with her wonderfully imaginative, collaged watercolor illustrations of oddly humorous and lovable characters, and each illustration was accompanied by a line of verse that was just enough to tell a story. I was totally hooked!

At the time, I was anticipating my eldest daughter's departure for her freshman year at college and one illustration spoke directly to me.  It was of a character standing at the edge of a dock-- arms stretched wide and face displaying utter bewilderment.  Meanwhile, a  manatee-like  fish-person, upright with head and torso above water (in seahorse posture), all smiles in her spiffy hat and striped fish suit, was glibly striking out from the dock, without even so much as a turn of the head or a wave of the hand.  And the accompanying verse?  "If You Go, I Will Be Sadness Itself!"  Yup, I thought to myself, that about sums it up.

But Lisa's illustrations are not all about sadness.  Far from it.  And years later, when I found her work on Etsy, I discovered the majority of her illustrations are accompanied by an additional paragraph of imaginative text, full of nuance and sophisticated humor that further sets the stage for a delightful story.

 "On The Way To Somewhere Wonderful" by Lisa Kaser

"They had discussed the carnival, the county fair, the trail by the river, Betina's No-Meat Hot Dog Shack, the patch of grass over by the big tree, the little hill overlooking the pond, grandma's house, visiting Goat..."



 "Jule's Place Was Too Small for the Potluck"  by Lisa Kaser  

"Jules was no doubt a conflicted optimist. When volunteering to host the quarterly meeting for the "Dutch Film Noir" club, he had failed to consider that he had all of one chair, his table was the size of a nail head and the dimensions of his front door did not even accommodate himself when carrying a bag of groceries."

  

 

 Detail  of "Jule's Place..."

Lisa holds a BFA in Fiber from the University of Oregon, but was introduced to drawing at an early age by her father who taught art in the public schools.  Besides her illustration and textile work, she paints with oils and also creates fanciful sculptures out of hemp or felt, beeswax and found objects, such as tines from streetcleaner brushes found while walking the streets of Portland.

 "Once Upon A Time This Boat Dreamed Of Prairie Grass" 
by Lisa Kaser

Sold

 

 "A Walk With Eudora"  by Lisa Kaser

Lisa currently shows her work at assorted galleries.  Through October 26, she is a featured artist at Portland's Guardino Gallery where among other recent works, her charming sculpture, above, is on exhibit.  And-- hooray, hooray--her first children's book, The Story of the Three Pigs, is soon to be published!  Visit Lisa's website here. 

Cheers!


Images courtesy of Lisa Kaser.

 

Now Appearing.......enhabiten

Look what arrived from the East coast in time for the weekend!! A package from Liane, of enhabiten. Wrapped so simply--with string, vintage button, and a hand-printed tag with deckle edges and a personal "thank you."  When I took the package out of the box, I said to myself, "Of course!!.... This is sooo enhabiten!" 

Inside, were four carved wooden printing blocks from India that will be nice additions to my small but growing collection of blocks and objects that I use for relief prints and mixed media pieces.  They came from Liane's wonderful Etsy shop, where she sells very cool vintage goods; beautiful, graphic handmade pillows, and assorted other items sewn of natural and vintage fabrics.



enhabiten

"forgiven" and "entwined," filled with fragrant balsam and buckwheat hulls, are available now in Liane's shop.

enhabiten

I visit Liane's blog often....as often as she posts.  She has many interests, and she "sleuths out " fabulous visuals from the blogosphere to share with her readers.  And she's humorous and self-efacing.  And pretty doggone transparent.   And ever once in awhile, she'll write a post that is so heart-felt and so very poignant.

Well....you get my drift....If you're not already following her blog....you really should head over to enhabiten.

Early morning fog at the bay. (West coast)

Detail of small handwoven sampler: linen warp and hem tape weft.

(From many, many moons ago -- when I first thought about making a living from handmade items.)

Well, those printing blocks are calling to me!!  I'll give you a peek after I do something with them.

Cheers!!

:)