They Come And Go

We live in such a mobile society. My artist friends are no exceptions. My friend, Beverly McLarty recently moved here to Atlanta, from Arkansas. It was such a delight to meet a new artist, especially after the departure from Atlanta of a wonderful painter and print maker, Susanne Clark. Susanne is now happily living in Toronto and from all reports (see her blog), I can understand why. I recently received a link to a Slide Show of her mixed media creation titled “Geisha”. The moment I saw it I fell in love. Having spent some years as a young girl in Japan, anything Asian grabs my attention. I asked Susanne to tell me more about it and she generously shared this information. “The painting is 48 inches square and it’s on board. I under painted in acrylic and then finished it off in oils. The board was textured with lots of tissue paper glued on in layers before I started to paint. It’s based on a traditional geisha painting but I have modernized the look of it etc.” I particularly love the little gold rectangles that are scattered over the piece. Susanne says they are gold paint put on with a stamp she made. This wonderful piece hangs over Susanne’s breakfront in the dining area of her lovely home. I hope that you will visit Susanne’s website and enjoy all of her creations.

A New Creative Year

On January 2nd I received an email from an artist, Beverly McLarty, who just moved here from Arkansas and wanted to meet me. Beverly included a link to her site. I was very impressed with her work. The sheer volume of the pieces she has created amazed me. Her energy and productivity are unbelievable. In the short time Beverly has been in Atlanta, she has located and joined an art association, acquired a student and is now building a new studio!
Beverly’s paintings are very complex, with rich surface texture and color. Her figurative pieces are just as lush. The figures weave throughout the surface like brocade. Sometimes feeling like the works of some of the Symbolists such as Odilon Redon and Paul Gauguin’s painting “Where Do We Come From. What Are We, Where Are We Going?”
We are fortunate to have this talented, ambitious woman living in the Atlanta area. I’m looking forward to a rich friendship with Beverly and a very creative New Year.

Another New Year

Every year, filled with hope, I make my list of resolutions; tuck the list away, only to forget about it. It is as if just making the list would fulfill it. A wise person said, “The road to failure is paved with good intentions”. Although I do not consider myself a failure, I am often disappointed when I look at my list at the end of the year. I rationalize that maybe I set the bar too high, or that some other situation over shadowed everything, ie, the economy, family issues and health. Truth be known, I was just was not motivated enough to do the work. I find my retirement has given me license to avoid it. This year I decided to break with tradition and not make a list. I know what I would like to accomplish and if fate and my motivation stays with me, I will get it done. If not, at least I will not have another list to remind me that I dropped the ball again.