Snow Surprise and Some Welcome Quiet

This is our front yard this morning, only two hours after we had gotten up to see just a dusting of sleet on the ground. Soon the sleet turned into big huge snowflakes, which you can see in this picture. Snow is becoming big news across a lot of the country, and even here it’s closing schools and roads in an area not accustomed to big snowstorms.

The temperature will warm up enough for this snow to melt quickly. It may even be gone by the end of the day tomorrow. After all, people need to go about their business. I have packages to send out and groceries to buy.

But I will take advantage of the quiet and upload some files to ImageKind and FineArtAmerica, update my Etsy shop, and bake some bread while all that’s happening.

I want so much to gear the studio up for a few more days of collage, which is just something I do for sheer pleasure. One thing I want to do that will take a lot of time is create some new painted and textured papers and sort them into color groupings. And I’d also like to cut out some magazine pictures and text and get those organized.

Before I can do that, I have to straighten up in the studio. Every activity has its own unique “mess” and it’s time to get it ship shape again.

“Follow Me” – Collage, 5 x 7″

But before that, I am getting some little paintings packed for shipping and completing an application for a local juried show. Yes, a juried show! My entry will be the three vertical panels that were finished just before we moved last summer.

“Side Streets Series, I-III” – Acrylic and Collage on Cradled Panel
Each Panel 36 x 12 x 2″

I’m entering these as individual pieces, though they work just as well as a triptych. I’m hoping to get in. I’ve done this show three times before, but one never knows.

There are a thousand and one non-inspiring things to do in an artist’s studio in order to get to the fun parts.

Road Trip with My Sister

“My Bride Doll” – Digital Collage

I get to spend tomorrow afternoon with my sister. This is a rare treat for both of us. As always, she will tell me stories about our family’s adventures over the years. As my “big sister” she is the keeper of the story. And she has written much of it down. She is a genealogist and has written a novel about our great-great grandmother, as well as  voice recordings she has made of family elders’ memories.

Even though we moved this past summer and I am now just a few miles from her, we don’t see each other much. Just about the time we moved, her husband became wheel chair bound and she is his primary caregiver. Not because she could’t afford help, but because that’s just the way she is. Her daughter will stay with my brother-in-law so she can be gone for a few hours. We’ll be going on a road trip to visit a childhood friend of hers who is in the hospital, and it will be a road we’ve both traveled a thousand times over the years, many of them together. It will be sad for her to see her friend so ill, and I’m glad to be going with her.

The last time we spent a day together was when we drove to our uncle’s funeral about two months ago. On the way back, we got off the beaten path so she could show me a tiny town that is like a time warp, not too far from the first house I can remember living in. And after that we tried to find a short cut back to the main highway and ended up on a farm road that seemed endless. I said “I think I’d better turn around.” She said “Aw, where’s your sense of adventure?” We have always enjoyed “getting lost.” But I did turn around and we did end up back on the main road.

We’ll have a day full of stories tomorrow. I love my sister’s stories.

Note:  Pictured  above is a doll that was discovered along with some of my other dolls in a shed at my mother’s a few years ago. My sister rescued them and mailed them to me in Florida.

Five Beautiful Things

One of my readers emailed me yesterday to tell me that she has a little ritual that she does before going to sleep. She remembers five beautiful things that she saw that day. I was inspired by that, and hope to incorporate that into my night time routine. I think it’s a wonderful thing to do to put oneself in a good frame of mind for the next day.

It’s easy for me to remember five beautiful things around me. Today, we went for a short ride across Wilson Dam which spans the Tennessee River, and parked in an observation area just below the dam where thousands of birds gather to fish. Nesting pairs of eagles on the high bluffs are visible through binoculars, and one can also see seagulls and herons fishing this area.

Here is a view across the river, with the dam to the right.

And of course there are always the beautiful bare trees. I love the white limbs of these sycamores.

Another beautiful thing today was Ruby, the Basset pup, whose person was teaching her how to walk on a leash. They were the only others around.

OK, that’s three. Other beautiful things include the 15 or so species of birds, give or take, that frequent our four feeders every day. I love looking up into the branches of the big tree next door when they are loaded with starlings. These are loud and annoying birds to some, but they make me smile. And they don’t stay long. This picture was taken early in the morning.

And number five, but not the last in importance or beauty, the sunset from my back yard.

Do you remember to think about the beautiful things in your day?

Collage and Books About Collage

Here are two more collages from my Intuitive Collage Process demonstration. Some have been sent to New Zealand for the annual International Collage Exhibition and Exchange. I still have several of them, which are waiting to be listed in my Etsy shop.

“Predicting the Weather” – Collage, 5 x 7″

“Winter” – Collage, 5 x 7″

Four New Books

Here’s a confession: I am addicted to art books. Can’t get enough of them, ever. What I love is that I can read them through several times and the next time I open one, I see something new or am interested in some aspect of that book that is different from the last time that I read it. My most recent acquisitions have been more collage books! I love to see other artists’ approaches to collage, which is a never-ending source of fascination for me. These are my new books. Three of the four have arrived and I’m still waiting for the last one on this list. I can enthusiastically recommend all of the ones that are here already. Each one has a different style of presentation and approach.

Collage Techniques by Gerald Brommer

Collage Discovery Workshop by Claudine Hellmuth

Collage Art, a Step-by-Step Guide and Showcase by Jennifer Atkinson

Art Revolution — Alternative Approaches for Fine Artists and Illustrators by Lisa Cyr

One day I may own a Kindle, but I just can’t imagine that an electronic reader will ever take the place of the smell and feel of a well-loved book.

I want to eventually incorporate more collage into my painted panels. You might have noticed some text in a few of them. Here’s an example:

“Elements 16″ – Acrylic and Collage on Cradled Panel, 8 x 8 x 2″

Earlier Work and a Sense of Wonder

This diptych was painted in 2006, and looking at it again now, I can see how it ties in with my recent panels. This pair was sold soon after completion, so I don’t see it any more. It’s good to look back to see where we’ve been.

“Strata” – Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 30″

The only thing that would be different now is more texture. But other than that, they ring true.

A Sense of Wonder

The warm sun is out melting the icicles and the remaining snow and ice, which wasn’t very much. But the past 24 hours were well below freezing. I love seeing the drips of water coming off the icicles, and the remainder of the sleet that fell and stayed on top of the leaves, looking like little diamonds. People accustomed to winter probably don’t give these simple things a second thought. My eyes are full of wonder this year.

On Thin Ice

“On Thin Ice” – Digitally-enhanced photomontage

This will be quick. I’m getting later and later in the day with my posts, and if I don’t get this written soon, it’s going to be tomorrow.

Today was rather non-productive. It was sleeting most of the day, and I watched as ice accumulated on the lawn and glazed over the rose bushes. We are just in the southern edge of the ice storm that’s blowing through, so it remains to be seen how much ice will build up here.

Today I had a large giclee print to sign and return to a publisher, which meant I needed a Fedex pickup. The roads were passable on through the afternoon, but I worried about the Fedex guy after he left here. He was bundled up from head to toe, so he looked warm. I felt bad that I had to get them out here today, but of course I’m not the only one sending stuff, even in my little remote neighborhood.

The picture is a combination of two photographs from parts of the buildup of paint on my art table, which is covered with freezer paper. Then I played with the colors in PhotoShop Elements.

I’m going to keep the freezer paper taped down on the table until it gets a lot of paint buildup. When it’s ready to be replaced, I plan to transfer some of the paint passages from the paper onto another surface as part of new art. This can be done easily by just putting it face down over a smooth acrylic-painted substrate and ironing it on a warm setting. This works on paper, wood, and gessoed masonite. Anything with not much tooth. I’ll show that here in the blog when I do it. But I do like the idea of just photographing it in place. There are thousands of possibilities.

If you’re anywhere near this big winter storm, stay safe and warm.

Photographs of My World

We spent a couple of hours outside today, getting our tulip bulbs into the ground. They had been in the refrigerator for way too long. I don’t think they’re all going to come up, but the weather here over the past couple of weeks has made it impossible to plant. It’s either bitter cold and frozen, or raining. But today was a wonderful break in the weather, so we got the bulbs into the ground. I hurt, but in a good way!

But that meant no painting, and no collage either. So I decided to look around me at the things I find beautiful in my immediate surroundings.

There’s always a bowl of fruit in the kitchen window . . .

The cameo brooch in the bottom picture with a dogwood blossom is a piece that my mother hand painted. China painting was one of her passions, among many other artistic endeavors. A few vintage buttons complete the picture.

I need to paint. It’s pulling me in the worst way. Maybe this weekend when it’s too cold to do anything else.  We’re supposed to have freezing rain and could be stuck inside for a couple of days.

A Little Warmth

“A Warm Mist” – Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30″
Purchase Information on My Website

It hasn’t gotten very warm here since the recent ten-day deep freeze thawed out. Tomorrow will be our warmest day for a while, in the 40s and 50s, and then back down to well below freezing this weekend.

This painting isn’t “of” anything, but is “about” misty summer mornings. Something that seems so far away right now, but will be here soon enough. There. Don’t you feel warmer already?

Today we drove by one of my favorite scenes near the house. It’s a big open field with a fence row of bare winter trees in the background. The colors are so very subtle, almost imperceptible in their gentle transitions from cool grays to umbers and from palest yellows to soft, delicate greens. I long to paint it, but it’s so cold out that I think I’ll have to paint from photographs.

 Until I get some shots, here are some from my yard and beside the river, just down the road “a piece.” I hope these inspire you.

 

 

 

 

Inspiration for Art Titles

Since my last post about art titles, I’ve been amusing myself by making a new list of anything and everything that could possibly be a title for a painting or inspiration for a new piece.

I’m always on the lookout for anything funny, ironic, or thought-provoking — just not too serious or deep. It could be a snippet of a song, quote from a movie, line or title of a poem, or phrase from a book. When something grabs me I will add it to my running list for future use. I don’t normally start with a piece of text as inspiration for the art. But many times if I have a good list, it can improve my titles.

So today I went to Amazon.com and started searching through novels for words and phrases that might jump out. I looked for actual book page excerpts. Since not all books have individual excerpts available, I also scrolled down and read some of the literary reviews and even customer reviews. I also looked through song lyrics for more inspiration.

Here’s the Fun Part

I now have a beginning list that I will continue to build on, and I’m matching up some of the “titles” with existing art of mine to see whether or not I could have improved on the original titles. However, I could use these to think of ideas for new paintings if I chose to do that. I have already discovered that I’m more drawn to the non-serious titles and things with possible double meanings.

“The Song Inside My Head” – Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 36″
The original title is “Footprints.” Maybe the new one is just a step above.

“The Sizzle Factor” – Collage, 5 x 7″
Original title, “Horizon.”  I thought the new-and-improved title conveyed more of these hot colors and desert feel.

“Sweet as Banana Pudding” – Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 24″ – SOLD
Original title is “Barbados.” Well, the original title was fine, but isn’t the new and improved one more fun?

“Just Passing Through” – Collage, 5 x 7″
Original title was “Time.” Boring! Definitely changing this one.

“Ran Into an Old Flame”, Acrylic on Canvas, 60 x 48″
The original title is “Eclipse.” This painting is in my inventory and I seriously think I will change it.

Your turn to play: The Rules (there really are none!)

If you’d like to play this game with me then create a blog post with jpegs of some of your existing images matched with new titles you’ve found using this method. I’m sure you can come up with more ways to find random phrases that happen to be great art titles. (Mad Libs, anyone?) And don’t forget to try this Art Title Generator.  Then comment with the link to your post. Have some fun! I would love to see what you come up with.

Chasing the Storm, Acrylic on Canvas 30 x 40″

“Chasing the Storm” – Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 40 x 1.5″

I’m not a storm chaser and don’t understand why anyone would want to be one. But that’s the title of this painting anyway. I think I named it that in defiance of my lifelong fear of tornadoes.

I grew up in the edge of Tornado Alley — right here, where we now live again. We went from hurricanes to tornadoes. At least you get lots of warning with a hurricane.

When I was growing up here, my Dad was deathly afraid of tornadoes, and would often run down the hall in the dark of night and yell for us to get up and get into a closet or a bathroom because he just knew one was coming. The panic on his face and in his voice always terrified me, and that stayed with me for a long time. Of course we didn’t have weather radar to track them as accurately as they do now, so he was always vigilant during storm season when there were heavy winds and lightning. My Dad’s reason for being so afraid  was understandable. His aunt and uncle were killed in a tornado when he was young and he never got over that.

Once when I was a young adult, our family was out fishing in a boat on the lake and we got caught in a sudden storm before we could get to shore. By the time we did make it back to jump out of the boat and tie it up, a huge tornado was bearing down on us. My mother always told me that if  you could see the funnel cloud moving from one side to the other, you were safe. This one wasn’t moving. It was just getting larger. We scrambled for shelter inside a little block building where there was a fishing tackle shop, along with a dozen or so other folks, until the storm passed through. The building survived, but there was a lot of damage around us. Some of the roads were impassable getting home. Several times we had to drive around big trees in the road, and people were already out with their chainsaws cutting their way through. Our house was safe, but we had lost several trees.

Later after I had married and left the area, my Dad had a storm cellar dug out beside their house. Storm cellars are a common sight around here, especially out in the country. I’ve never been inside one, but they do serve a dual purpose. You can keep potatoes, flower bulbs, and jars of jelly in them year round.

It has been raining off and on for the past three days, but nothing threatening that I could tell. But just now I walked by the television and a local station was reporting that a tornado had touched down in Huntsville, just an hour away. The residents told the same familiar story. Things got suddenly quiet (there’s a reason they say “the calm before the storm”) then they heard a community warning siren, and then the tornado hit immediately afterward. It apparently wasn’t a devastating one as storms go around here, but it is always frightening just the same.

The pictures tell the story. My painting tells another one.

More information about this painting and other available works is here on my website.