Captivated!

I have been going thru all sorts of magazines clipping out images and words that speak to me.

Not questioning why, just kept collecting.  

(On a side note:  I even involved my GRANDchildren, if you want to get to know a little person better this is a great way.)

After I had accumulated quite the collection I went thru them to look deeper as to why I was drawn to them originally.  

It is an interesting discovery!

There was this one photo in particular of a dwelling in India that grabbed my full attention.  It touched me to the very core of my being.  

The colors, the textures, even the layout with the slant.   

Since I like to challenge myself, as an artist,  I decided to try and re-create this.  

I've been periodically working on it for over a week now with plenty more to do.  

There is a lot of drying time required between the stages.  

Here is my work in progress. 

for the final piece.

4/4/18  Addendum to the previous post:

I finished it!

My customer loved it

I've heard many stories of artists who venture out toward their dreams and of the struggles they face.

A common thread evolves around money or the lack of, that is.

Thus... the terminology "starving artist" became a catch phrase.

I can attest to the validity of how unsettling it can be not to have a "steady" income 

and how it can make you feel like shit.  

Which in turn encourages all kinds of self-doubt questions to take residence inside your head.

Thoughts are equally powerful, the good and the bad thoughts.

I can choose my thoughts which conjure up belief in myself, my story, and my art.

"If I think I can, I can."

I am extremely grateful to have several customers who qualify to be called collectors of my art because they have multiple pieces.  

Words can never express how grateful I am for their continued support and encouragement.

I have a customer that often calls on me to do custom work for her.

I teasingly tell her that she keeps me in business.  Which is actually the truth.

Some of her requests have me doing things I have not artistically done before.

Sharing with you, her latest project, was the catalyst for this post yet when I started writing it seemed I had more to say.  I decided to go with it.

Anyway...

   I wanted to show you about her project.

She found this wooden tool case that's from the 1920's.  It was rich with history.  You can tell it was well used, back in the day.

My customer found out her nephew and his wife are having a baby.  And she wanted me to turn it into something special.

These were her her guidelines:

She wanted it to be transformed yet not altered to the point of loosing it's character.

She wanted it to be a place for little baby toys, books, etc.

She did not want it to look babyish.

She wanted it to be able to be used, alter, for others things.

She gave me info of the mother-to-be  style and asked me to make it something she would like.

She gave me a deadline of little over a week.

I consulted with Mary, a friend of mine who specializes in refinishing and repurposing furniture.

She gave me some pointers and ideas which lifted my confidence.

Off I went.

I scrubbed, scrubbed, and scrubbed followed by sanding, sanding, and more sanding .

It had multiple layers of dirt and grime that needed to be removed until I could finally start making it look pretty.

The best part... my customer LOVED it!

Here are finished photos.

After several coats of stain

I painted the bottom off white and gently sanded to bring out the texture from the wood. 

I used joint compound with stencils for the patterns on the sides.  Sanded.  Followed by doing a light glazing to push back the white color.

I softly painted the flowers with PanPastels.

Sealed it with four coats of varnish.

Until the next time!

"Goddess Within" custom work

I got a message from a customer who purchased a piece of art from me several years ago.   

Her  sister had been visiting, saw the art, and "absolutely LOVE IT".   

She was wondering if I would make one like it that she could give as a birthday gift.

After explaining that you can never make an exact piece of art like the original 

she said go ahead and get as close as possible.

By this time I am stoked and ready to go.

13"W x 15"L loose canvas 

Gessoed then added a layer of joint compound for texture

After it dried I sanded then applied matte medium to seal the surface

Glazed with Golden Raw Umber

Sketched with charcoal

Added color using PanPastels and acrylic paint

Added more colors to the background using PanPastels

More texture added to the background with joint compound

After it dried I sanded it then sealed it with matte medium 

I wanted more depth to the background so added coffee ground, let it dry overnight

PanPastels and acrylic paints

Randomly added drops of black india ink

Stenciled vertical lines

Added more color with PanPastels

Stenciled the headdress using a paper doily and flexible modeling paste

Sprayed final fixative

After the headdress dried I sanded it then added more modeling paste to make it larger

Applied matte varnish

After the varnish dried I stippled another layer of matte varnish 

Let it dry for several days.

Varnished an vintage wooden clothes hanger, created a wire hoop with stone embellishment as a way to hang it

Attached the canvas to the wooden hanger

Signed it.

Finished.

I delivered this piece of art today and my customer LOVED it!

What a good feeling when the art I "create from my heart" is genuinely appreciated.

Thank You for all of your support and encouragement.

I will continue to do this because of YOU!

girlfriends

I had set an intention to draw a girl per day,  in one hour,  and add her to this journal spread.  

one girl in one hour-four days

I have been one very busy lady.  

Along with all my other items on my agenda I will admit to being a little hesitant to commit to this.

Yet I am so glad I did!

I have stretched myself creatively.

Which stirred my juices to learn other things.

Like encaustics...  I had taken a class with Crystal Neubauer several years ago.  She was an excellent teacher.  I love the whole process.  Bought some supplies then never bothered to use them.  

That was until recently.  

I did a loose drawing of a woman face with charcoal.  Applied joint compound around her face-oil painted on top of the joint compound

charcoal drawing
joint compound
oil painted
layer of encaustic wax
scrapping away
more layers of encaustic wax

collage
layer of encaustic wax
stamping flowers and adding color with PanPastel
scrapping away
more layers of encaustic wax
more stamping more Pan Pastels

The point I am making (for myself and you, too,  if it applies) is to continue to challenge myself to creatively grow!

She Has a Goddess Within

I happen to believe that we all know that we have a Goddess within, we just have to let her be seen. 

My intention was for her to resemble a regular woman yet when one takes the time to look closer what is revealed is the multiple layers that together creates a Goddess within.  

I took a liking to the Urban dictionary definition of a Goddess:

A woman who is so beautiful, brilliant, and wholesome that she is simply not like any other women on Earth and therefore possesses some sort of uncommon spiritual element that while it cannot be solidly defined it is clearly present. 

I've been asked by several people what I used to create her.  Please bear with me as I try to recall the many layers.  I did not document the steps as I did them. (this is a lesson I have now learned)

She is on an 14" x14" loose canvas.  I began by priming the entire canvas with gesso.  After it dried I applied a thin layer of joint compound (one of my favs) followed by a thin layer of matte medium to seal the joint compound then painted with acrylic paints.  Then I drew the face using charcoal  followed by painting her with acrylic paint.  After all of these layers were totally dried I did another layer combination of joint compound, matte medium, and acrylic paints excluding the areas where she was.  Accents colors added - shadowing was done - for her headdress I used a doillie stencil and modeling paste - on the other side of her face I used pan pastel and a stencil  and other mark making then sprayed with fixative - the random black dots are India ink - oil paint touches to her clothing - another thin layer of joint compound scattered around for the top layer of texture

There... I tried to describe how she was created.  If I missed something I apologize in advance.  Now I'm off to figure out how to mount her.  I have several ideas that I am mulling over.

If she speaks to you and want to bring her home just let me know.

The Prayer

"The Prayer"

Charcoal/Joint Compound

14 x18

Canvas panel with shadow frame

Available 

I have a ritual that I do when I enter my studio in the morning and it begins with an Affirmative Prayer.  This helps me to center myself and leave my doubtful self out in the hallway.  As soon as I finished saying the prayer I said outloud, "what will I create today?".   There was a canvas panel that was already prepped with joint compound so I grabbed it.  Got my charcoal powder, then I let my creative spirit out to play.  While looking at this finished piece I've said several times that this is totally out of my box.   Then I pondered,  "Is it really?  Or have I just been holding myself back?'  

Thank You for your continued support and encouragement.

the story behind the art

Last week, Thursday, I oozed enthusiasm because I was in the midst off creating what I deemed would be my signature piece.  By Friday, it was hard for me to contain my excitement.  But, I did!  This was my second day working on this project, I felt it was worth every minute of it.  I only showed two people the preliminary photos.  I used some of the mediums that I enjoy creating with the most ~ joint compound and hot glue.  The background began with a layer of joint compound for texture.  After it was dry I gave it a coat of matte medium to seal it then I painted several layers of acyclic paint followed by stenciling and mark making.  The flowers + stems + the hand + her face and neck are all from hot glue. (and yes, I burned my fingers a lot!)  I  painted all of these items with several layers of acrylic paint to get it "just right".   After all the pieces were done I laid it all  out on the canvas to determine the placements.  That's when I snapped the photo.   By this time I was so excited that I could actually feel my heart smiling, too!  I was in artistic heaven!!   Saturday was met with trepidation because it was time to complete the project by gluing it down.  We all know what it's like to do the final stage on a piece of art.  It can be daunting.  I pushed thru fear and glued everything down.  It all seemed like a walk in the park.  I carefully placed it in another room to dry overnight. When I checked it this morning the first words from my mouth was "Holy Shit!  What the f**k happened?" The rest I will not repeat!  She was a BIG  mess!!! All over her face and neck were bubbles.  It looked like she had cysts all over her.  My heart sunk!  Most of my day has been devoted to trying to resurrect my would-have-been signature piece.  Nothing I did was flattening the bubbles.   Later this afternoon I succumbed to the fact that it was useless to try any further.  So you may wonder if I was disappointed?  The answer is YES, I was.  Altho... I didn't cry.  After a short while I did what I know best, I got out my journal and started writing.  I wrote about how much and what this piece meant to me,  I relived the pure joy from several days ago when she looked awesome (to me), I wrote about my sadness that all the work seemed to be a waste of my time.  I evaluated what I can do technically different the next time.  Last, but not at all least, I wrote about what I was to learn from this experience.  So many personal and spiritual thoughts rose to the surface.  From the very depth of my heart I can say that I am grateful for this experience.  My signature piece still lives within me and one day will be exposed.  I will continue to show up and inspiration will find me working.

I was able to salvage her head.  Not sure what to do with it.

As the Terminator says:  "I'll be back!"

Resistance

OK - the truth is I have 4-5 projects sitting in my studio that have been started and not completed.  This has been bugging me because I like to complete things.  Anyway...I am on a mission by the end of the year to get them all completed.  I just finished one and wanted to share it with you.  I have been working with joint compound and I am loving the process and the result.  Taking me out of my comfort zone because it is quite messy.  I find joint compound stuck to everything.  The good news is, it flakes off. 

I want my art to be about "Simple Truths/Simple Reminders" which means this piece sat around in my studio waiting for just the right words.  Then they came. 

I have diligently been working on several projects toward making my dreams come true and feeling like I'm not getting anywhere.   It is a bummer, too.  I sat down to watch Oprah's Super Soul Sunday where she was interviewing Steven Pressfield.  He defines resistance as "a negative force that arises whenever we try to move from a lower level to a higher level".  OMG it was like lightening struck!!!!!  As Oprah would say I had an A-Ha moment.

Steven Pressfield says resistance is as natural as gravity.  That made so much sense to me.  And when we can identify that what we are bumping up against is "resistance" then we are able to remove any judgement about ourselves and then push thru.  So... that's where I am right now ~ pushing thru resistance.  He, also, says..."take your ass where you heart wants to go".