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Sharing life's wonder through art
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When we went to Florida last fall, we visited St. Joe Peninsula State Park and happened on this lovely scene I caught with my camera. Thank heavens for long lenses!
I used a lot of natural materials for this, including corn husk for the feathers, blue recycled wax paper that I’d done some leaf print work with, and of course twigs, grasses and tree bark. Golden mat gel and voila!
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You’ll see Warhol-style simplicity, some amazing phrases I found in books, a b & w photocopy of an old movie star posing with confidence and astarlet in her bo-peep cutesy dress, ribbon and curls gazing up at him adoringly. Finally, if you look close enough at the words in the woven section across the top, you will see they are all names and events that took place in the past few centuries that have given women a near-equal standing with men in this world.
In creating this piece, I had a real struggle not to go too snarky and cynical with it. I mean, with the listing of career choices such as “Reluctant leader … Seamstress … Spectator of sporting events” it was very hard to quelch my self-righteous, outspoken demons. But in the end, I am really pleased with this oddity and hope you all enjoy it too. My first collage piece… Done at long last.
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Before meeting my D.C. collector, I spent some time at the beautiful downtown Nashville Public Library. So nice to see such a worthy place filled with inquisitive minds. To me, a library is one of the most worthy institutions to support. And as I did since I’ve started painting for real, I hit the art section. Among the seven books I checked out was a great, fun one called “Pre-Pop Warhol” by Jesse Kornbluth.
It’s a great book, even covered to suit Warhol in corrugated cardboard! But inside is a treasure trove of goodies from the pre-discovered Warhol when he was a commercial art machine. Literally! Unlike Van Gogh, whose “Diaries” I reflect upon here, whereas Vincent ernestly painted for the sake of painting, Warhol was all about the business of art.
From the time he entered the N.Y. advertising and publishing world, first with Harpers Bazaar then after only a short time, landing his longtime gig at Glamour. He took on far more work than he himself could complete but kept a stable of fellow artists busy at it, employing his initial sketches before working out simple, naive, irregular-lined stylings before he fine tuned the work to his satisfaction. Within a few short years in New York he went from sharing a cheap apartment with a college pal to a swish place uptown, supporting his mother and other family members along the way.
Andy had a knack for endearing people to him and outdid other artists and illustrators in New York in the traditional gift-giving area. Whereas most annual offerings that landed on the tables of magazine art and creative directors were bottles of booze and candies, Andy, after first catching everyones breath by presenting each with a custom-crafted gold rose from Tiffanies, In following years, he designed (and had coloring parties to add color to) hand-crafted books in quantities of 100-200 and presented them to his clients.
Some process information is included in this book but it is the pictures, more than anything else that will inspire. Great, enjoyable read and I’m tempted to buy one to keep on hand since I have to return this one to the library.
>I’m referring, of course, to treasure hunting at the local Goodwill store. This time, I also hit the Dollar Tree where I found some interesting made-in-China items that I might be able to use in some way, shape or form if I ever get to collaging. Before I procrastinate a moment longer, I am signing off to go start one.
TTFN.
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A Washington, D.C.-based legislative staffer happened to be in the area, caught view of my leaf prints, and purchased a half-dozen of them for gifts. Though the 11 x 14 inch matted prints need frames, they do make terrific one of a kind mementos. I’ll be putting several up on Etsy in the next few days and you can buy them there. Alternatively, I can do custom works in select colors if one has certain colors in mind.
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I reworked this one that I’d put up in the show in May and am really pleased with the results now. It’s a 20″ x 20″ acrylic painting on gallery-wrapped canvas, protected with three coats of archival varnish and it is for sale if anyone’s interested, $160. I take credit cards through paypal.
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In 2004-2005, I co-wrote a screenplay with an individual who has become a real friend: Paul Lopes. The screenplay was loosely based on his life and an imaginary reunion he’d have with his deceased father someday where the old man shared his wisdom with the younger protagonist on a park bench. Called EMPTY SKY, the screenplay has been reworked a few times and submitted to a few contests where it placed well and received some favorable reviews. I just finished this painting which is my depiction of the scene and happily will present it to Paul in the next few days.
We’re looking for a producer if anyone with a heart for an existential drama/romance has an interest and pockets deep enough to fund a lower-budget indie. It’s set in Asheville, NC and Nashville, against the backdrop of the music industry here and could definitely be a vehicle for a pair of country musicians.
Back to the subject of painting: I struggled with this painting, having first laid in the largest foreground tree and sky. It took a lot of reworking to get the distant trees and grass in a light enough value to work while still ensuring the bench stood out. I hope you enjoy the end result.
>I love Goodwilling it and consider it like treasure hunting. One never knows what one’s gonna find there. A week or so ago, starting on my collage tangent, I picked up a book entitled Van Gogh’s “Diary”: The Artist’s Life in His Own Words and Art. Edited by Jan Hulsker, it captures Van Gogh’s thoughts since they are based on letters written by the artist to his brother, and others.
Growing up attending Catholic elementary school and public high school focused first on religious history and later academic studies, I missed out on art classes and art history and the like. And like a dumbass, in college, I decided to take Music Appreciation instead of Art Appreciation because roommates and friends were taking it. (That I can’t read a single note despite being expelled in frustration after two years of lessons given by the widowed Packanack Lake piano teacher whose sole income was teaching the likes of me should’ve tipped me off to the lack of wisdom in that choice.) So, I missed out on studying art and found visiting museums well, something to do just to take in the anthropoligical influences. Until I visited Vienna a few years back. There, at the Kunsthistoriches, my appreciation for fine art was awakened like a virgin’s hunger for more following a first orgasm.
But I digress…
I could not put the book down. Not that Van Gogh is my all-time favorite, but I loved to read his words, discover little gems that sprung from his mind. I even defaced this precious (1971 published) book with a few faint pencil asterisks and quote marks, envisioning including certain phrases into my art journal, and perhaps here too! It was sad reading about his ever-increasing episodes into madness, and I was interested to learn that the bit about the cutting off his ear for the love of a woman, which I’d always heard, was nonsense. He did cut it off, but after a big fight with fellow painter Gauguin. I was struck by two things: First, the diligence with which he learned and practiced his art, applying himself first to drawing for many, many months before ever taking up a brush and paint. Second, his observation that the light and colors in the south of France are much different than in the north. Oh, and the fact that in little more than nine years, he painted some 900 paintings, and countless drawings as well.
The last entry before his suicide doesn’t hint at his intent to end his life though earlier entries do raise the subject of suicide. Like most others in the book, his last words were in a letter to his brother, Theo, who passed away only months after Vincent himself. Theo had been Vincent’s supporter for years, both emotionally and monetarily and had been in poor health, often noted by Vincent’s words. Theo left behind a young bride and toddler. Years later, she published Vincent’s letters and the words and recollections of Vincent’s mother too. I’d love to read that down the road but am so glad I was the one right then and there at the Goodwill that picked up this precious gem of a book!
Next up, The Andy Warhol Diaries, Edited by Pat Hackett. Another Goodwill find. I love this universe!
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God, there’s something about a piece of work that’s finished off with a mat and deckled edge when appropriate that just makes it! Here are a few of the finished leaf prints. Despite my best efforts vis a vis lighting, there’s a metallic sheen to some of these that I couldn’t quite capture in these photos, perhaps cause it was like 105 degrees in the shade. Some of the finished prints were enhanced with paint or pen & ink. I love the look! Hope you agree! Enjoy.
>Despite the heat, last evening was a terrific feast for the eyes! My painting friends Lynne and Lucilla (sorry, no link since we still need to digitize that girl!) and I met for the First Saturday Art Crawl in downtown Nashville. Lynne has a painting up at the show sponsored by the Downtown Presbyterian Church (Fifth and Church – up all month) that is a fundraiser for Magdalene House, a wonderful residential program for formerly incarcerated women. Margot Baeder, another painting friend, has a donated picture there as well.
Anyway, after taking in the paintings donated for this fundraiser event, and those painted by Magdalene House residents and grads, we took the trolley (free of charge) to various other galleries downtown which participate in this great monthly event. It was just wonderful taking in the whimsy, grandiose, visionary, and envelope-pushing works of the great artists on display! I could’ve gone on taking it all in all night but unfortunately the heat was significant and my fellow “arties” and I realized we can set a standing date to take this in each and every month if we like!
Walking back to our cars, we were treated some pre-Fourth of July Fireworks downtown, and I swear, you’d a thought we were 12 again. But then, that appreciation for light and color and pattern and all things lovely is what bonds us and makes us all want to capture the magic on canvas anyway. We had a wonderful time, my 2D sisters and I, and I can’t wait for more!