Appreciation

Over the many years of my career as an artist, I have received letters and notes from my clients telling me how much they have enjoyed owning my work. I have appreciated each of them. Recently I received one from Tom and Rochelle McDonald. I must say it was a beautifully written note and it really touched me. I was surprised because the artwork is a painting on a 30” hand contoured, rag paper disc, which I created in 1995. Tom, only 25 at the time, commissioned it for his sweetheart, Rochelle. Tom and Rochelle are now married; they have a son, Quinn and live in a lovely home at Berkley Lake. Tom remodeled their home a year ago and built a fantastic custom niche to display the disc. He sent me a couple of photos, one of which I have posted here. Thank you, Tom and Rochelle; I feel honored, you made my day!

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Another note of appreciation goes to Barry H. who recently purchased a large acrylic painting, “Rites of Spring”. Barry saw a canvas giclee of another one of my paintings in a health club he recently joined in North Carolina. He found my web site and a painting he liked. Long story short, the buyer and seller are happy. Thanks, Barry.

Nuts!

My absence from my blog was due to the issues with my heart since last fall. The cardiologist insisted that I have a cardiac catheterization, also called coronary angiogram. It is a test to check the blood flow in the coronary arteries, blood flow and blood pressure in the chambers of the heart, to find out how well the heart valves work, and check for defects in the way the wall of the heart moves. Fortunately, there was no blockage, but it confirmed my heart arrhythmia. It was a very painful experience and I pray I never have to go through it again. They did change my medication and all I do is sleep! Unfortunately, this could last up to six weeks with no caffeine or wine. Nuts!

Speaking of nuts, I really believe my constant snacking on raw almonds and walnuts are the reason my heart valves passed the test. I love them. They are great art subjects too. Since I have not been up to creating any art lately, I dug through my old drawings and found one I did when I was a young gal 43 years ago. Drawing was my first love. I have several that have survived the many moves I have made over the years, but I wish I had kept more.

Think I'll take another nap.......

Pat Dews Workshop

Pat Dews is one of my favorite workshop instructors. I own her DVD, ‘Designing Great Starts with Texture & Form” and I enjoyed just watching her work, She is so lively and creative that it is impossible to fall asleep watching it.

When I learned Pat was holding a workshop in Atlanta a few years ago, I quickly signed up. I was not disappointed. Pat stayed on “go” and demonstrated constantly all week long. I was exhausted, but pleased with everything she shared. She holds nothing back. I recently heard that she would be in Highlands, North Carolina, April 12- 16 at The Basocm. I understand they need a couple more students to make the class. Because of my health issues I cannot attend, but If you are near the area I highly recommend you sign up as you won’t regret it.

The painting above, “Sheltered View” is one of the pieces I created in a Pat’s workshop. The assignment was to take a very small portion of a photo and abstract it using monoprint techniques. My photo was part of an advertisement that featured a safari tent in the background.

Heart Awareness Month

Although this month is almost over, most of us know February is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Knowledge about prevention is so important. I have blogged about this before, but I feel the story warrants repeating. Last fall my basement flooded and left it damp and moldy. One of my storage containers was my father’s old military trunk. When I opened it and attempted to clean it, I inhaled the mold that was covering everything inside. The following weeks I spent trying to eradicate the rest of the mold in my basement and taking Claritin-D so I could breathe. Long story short, I am now being treated for high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia! I cannot stress the importance of wearing masks when dealing with toxic paints, and materials. Also, read the labels of any medication before taking it!
The image above is part of the old truck, which is now in my garage airing out. I drew a little heart on it to remind me not only that I love my father, but also I need to love myself by watching my health and what I consume.

I Had To Ask

Atlanta, like most of the country, is covered with snow. Our subdivision looks like a fairyland and the roads are still a icy. Snuggling in by my electric fireplace, I decided to finish a blog post I started last week about some Jackson Pollock movies. Previously I emailed MOMA, Museum of Modern Art asking permission to use one of the Jackson Pollock painting images. They forwarded my request to an art resource company. This company informed me that I would have to pay them $50.00 a year to use the image and I needed to get permission from the Pollock foundation! With all of the images on the net I was shocked and wished I hadn’t asked. I decided to create my own at Jackson Pollock org. This online program is a very tricky to use, but once you get the hang of it, and learn some tricks such as changing the paint color in a corner, it can be fun. I have a screen capture program so I can copy it and edit in Photoshop. Now I have my own fake Pollock painting.
This leads to my post about movies. I recently acquired a movie titled, “Who the $#%& Is Jackson Pollock?” (2006). It is about Teri Horton, a 73 year old former truck driver from California, who purchased a painting from a thrift shop for $5, only later to find out that it may be a Jackson Pollock painting. It was fascinating, watching the experts trying to prove or disprove its authenticity. I will not reveal the conclusion, as I hate spoilers. This is not an award-winning movie, but it if you enjoy watching people’s minds at work and having a closer look at the Jackson Pollock’s techniques this movie is the one to see.
I also own the movie “Pollock” staring Ed Harris.This one is an award winner! I love this film and have watched it several times. I related to so many of the creative struggles Ed Harris portrays in this movie, from being annoyed at the critics to sitting on my studio floor trying to birth a new painting for a show. Some artists ease into their work, but others, like myself, struggle to find something that is original and satisfying. Like a Rothko painting, I am sure Jackson Pollock’s painting must be viewed in the real to truly be appreciated and it is my dream to do this before I pass.

Special People

Living as a single woman since 1984 and struggling to support myself as an artist, I have had more than my share of personal crisis. Several years ago when I was going through yet another crisis, a soft-spoken artist (angel), Clara Dodd Blalock, appeared. She offered me a show at her church, the Church of the Atonement in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Being out of the show circuit for a while, my mailing list was completely out of date. I was such an emotional mess that fortunately Clara and her church cultural team took care of all the details. It was a lovely reception, but few of my former clients showed up and I managed to sell only one piece. I still feel guilty, but grateful, about all the hard work that they did for me. Clara has continued to be kind and supportive. She is truly one of the special people in this world.
Clara is also a fantastic artist. Her awards and accomplishments are numerous. I particularly love her abstract paintings. (You can see more of them on her website)I share Clara’s love of drawing and line. Clara’s calligraphic brushwork reflects this. It is fresh and exciting. Her subdued color palette contrasts with the energy of her marks, the epitome of "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." Clara is an accomplished contemporary landscape painter as well. The TV shows, “Trading Places” and "Extreme Home Makeover," featured her work and she is represented in several galleries across the United States. You can view some of her landscape paintings online at the Tucker Gallery located in Evanston, Illinois. I hope you visit the sites and enjoy more of her work.

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.

Recycled Again

One of my favorite and respected follows, Egmont van Dyck, left a helpful critique (see comments) of my recycled mixed media piece “Recycled”. I agree with what he had to say, but I am not sure I have accomplished what he suggested. The red crosshairs are merely guidelines to show that I have moved the focal point by cropping the piece. I eliminated the large black area by adding more of the dark gray collage paper and added accents of the other colors. I left the large blue gray area untouched to maintain some area of rest and the sliver of black for balance. I think I can live with this for now and will put it away until the mood to revisit hits me again.

RECYCLING

As another year comes closer to the end, prompted by an online mixed media class, I started reevaluating some of the pieces I had set aside to revisit. It is interesting to see these pieces with new eyes. Not worrying about the consumer market has freed up my thinking. The piece I am showing, titled "Recycling", was cropped from a larger piece and a small piece of additional collage was added to break up a shape.

Persimmon Season

I spent four years in Japan as a military dependent and one of the many treats I enjoyed in November, were persimmons. Having never tasted them before I was pleasantly surprised by their sweet juicy flavor. It did not take me long to learn that one of the varieties of this fruit, Hachiya, if not ripe, will pucker your mouth with its bitter astringent taste. However, the Izu persimmons, which is of the Fuyu variety, can be eaten in its firm state like an apple and is my favorite.
Recently a new Asian market opened here and I was happy to see piles of these wonderful Izu persimmons in the fruit bins. I brought home my delicious find and decided to do a watercolor of them. I recorded a video of my efforts and posted it on YouTube. My camcorder is new and I have not learned to angle it properly or how to edit the clips. I have always taken photos and made slide shows, but I have to start somewhere. It is better to view it in HD. Here is the link. Watercolor Persimmon Demo

More Autumn Memories

It is a beautiful autumn day here and like all good things, I would be happy if it would never end. Many years ago, I lived in Vermont and the autumns were spectacular. People came from all over the country to enjoy them. As the leaves would fall, we would rake them into large piles and, much to my husband’s dismay, our children would run and tumble into the piles, scattering them everywhere. Laughter and squeals of joy filled the air turning it all into a wonderful game. It was legal to burn leaves then so when the games and the raking ended we would make mini bonfires of our leaf piles. I loved the smell of the smoldering leaves. Later we spread the ashes of our happy day across the garden to feed the soil. Tired and happy, the boys, piled into our gelding pony cart, would ride to McKay’s roadside stand to buy crispy McIntosh apples, cider and apple turnovers. The day would end with a treat of warm, spiced cider and pie. Those days are gone forever, but the memoires are still vivid enough to inspire this digital painting below.

October Memories

Every October when I see the piles of pumpkins at curbside markets, my mind and heart races back to a wonderful time in my life. I was a new divorcee and one of my first dates was with a delightful younger man. He was clay artisan, a talented potter, shy, blond and very attractive. We were exhibiting at the same art festival. At breakdown time, he approached me and asked if I wanted to join him for a snack and then see something wonderful. Who could resist such an offer? All through our meal, I kept asking what it was he wanted to show me. He would grin slyly and say, “It’s a surprise and it’s not here!” We popped into his van and drove out to the countryside. The sun was just fading to a sunset and then I saw it! A field rippling with colors of gold and orange created by hundreds of pumpkins! Never had I seen so many. The setting sun enhanced the colors and drama of it all. I was astounded! The scene and my date made a lasting impression on me. He picked out a small pumpkin, purchased it and gave it to me, saying, “This is something to remember our date.” Our paths went different ways after that, but I kept the stem of the little pumpkin in a small, decorated Altroids tin box. I recently rediscovered the pumpkin stem and decided to do this digital collage in memory of the occasion.

Celebration of Life

This collage is combination of a collage on watercolor paper and a digital collage. I was never happy with the actual collage so I scanned the parts I liked and used them for this digital collage. Because I used Ginkgo leaves, I titled it “Celebration of Life”. The Ginkgo tree, to my understanding, can have a life span of 1,000 years or more. China claims to have a 3500-year-old Ginkgo tree and the Ginkgo, revered in Japan because one at a temple survived the atomic bombing, called it the “Bearer of Hope”. This has special meaning for me now. Apparently, the stress of a flooded studio caused an acute raise in my blood pressure and a pounding heart. I ended up in the ER having every test imaginable. I was happy to learn my heart is fine, but I do have high blood pressure and arrhythmia. I do not mind the medications, but I must confess my new tasteless, low sodium diet without a glass of wine is not appealing. Creating this collage reminded me of what is important and reasons to celebrate my life

After the Flood

With my studio still piled with rescued stuff awaiting a new shipment of mold treatment, I am using my computer for my creations. Today’s image is a digital collage created partly from some photos I took when I was in New Orleans the spring before Katrina. The background is a photo of a section of the wall that surrounds the famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 on Rampart Street. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest existing cemetery in New Orleans. Seeing the devastation in our city and the little I experienced myself, fragments of New Orleans seemed appropriate for my collage.

Deep runs the water
A painful purging
Catharsis from the unknown

Nightmare Challenge

Atlanta went from drought in 2008 to flooding this year. Almost everyone is experiencing some sort of water problem. I feel fortunate to have only a flooded basement, some folks lost everything. For me it is the second time in the past week. To add misery to it, we lost our power all night. I did not sleep much worrying about the food in the refrigerator/freezer and not being able to wet-vac the water. Yesterday, during a rain break, I made some gutter and concrete repairs, but we still have water running in so it is coming from some other place. I know that I am not up to doing this anymore. I wonder if I will ever get back to painting in my studio instead of cleaning up mold and water. It is really a mess again!
I want to thank those of you who emailed me and commented on the Java Sunrise. Although no one sent an image to post,Layers , Leslie Avon Miller and Blue Sky Dreaming had interesting comments about their collages along with the insights of van Dyck. Check their comments and wonderful sites, you will not be disappointed and think sunshine for those of us who need it.Thank you!

Another Challege

The latest challenge for the online art group was to use some household item as the material for our creation. I chose to create a collage with coffee filters and coffee in all forms. Although I titled this “Java Sunrise", some said it reminded them of a bouquet or a wild garden behind a fence. Either way, it was a fun challenge that will continue for the rest of the month. I may do another piece if time permits. What would you chose for your household item? Care to share? If so, email the image and/or the link to your site and I will post it here.

Masks

I recently entered another online challenge. The challenge was to create a modern twist on Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Artists have done this many times over the years, so coming up with something new was a challenge in itself. Lisa Patencio’s video on YouTube was my inspiration, and possibly by the fact that lately I have not been able to work in my studio without a mask.

Because of the wetter spring and summer this year, my basement has been mustier than usual. A month ago, I decided to try to remedy it by cleaning up any suspect areas. I opened an old trunk filled with some old art booklets. I was shocked how musty everything was. Immediately I removed the books and dusted out the residue without gloves or a dust mask. Then I sprayed it with an aerosol Lysol. The spray blew the spores all over me and released them into the room. The next day I was wheezing, a rash covered my arms, and my basement was mustier than ever. I bought another dehumidifier, replaced all the filters with HEPA filters, and now I am preparing to fog the whole basement using a mold control fogger from Home Depot. I hope after this I will be able to work in my studio again without a mask!