An Abstract Lady

All dressed up and ready to go, this lady popped out at me today.  She's not perfect, has a big forehead and a doggy mouth however she has the attitude...and passion in her heart.  Can you see it?  Can you feel it?  I'm now taking my silliness to the gym for a nice weight lifting workout.

Stories that I Tell

So was involved in an abstract frenzy yesterday, totally tired myself out beginning 6 paintings on paper with acrylics.  Here is a photo of 5 of them.

Disregard the right, top which is a Leroy Neiman that is on my wall.  

Got up this morning and really like these so far and a couple of them may be close to being done.  I estimate these have at least 30 layers so far, layers which incorporate different textures, stampings, washes, etc.  A couple of these need 20 more layers, hahaha!  

So far these are attempts at telling the stories from my heart; one is from my intellectual heart, one is just love of the two colors together, one is love of squares and rounds together and the story they tell, one reflects my love of cats.  

Going to Yoga now, where I am learning my breathing, myself, my esophagus, my colon, etc.  lol

Re-Do All Done

Finished "re-do" I worked on last week.  It doesn't have a name yet.

Now I'm in the middle of an abstract frenzy with 6 paintings working.  I went to my flat file and picked some old papers that I had done some work on hoping that after they were stored for a year or so, I would miraculously go back and find a gold mine of good paintings.  That was not to be and so I have covered 6 of them over with more paint, textures with stamps, gesso, etc.

My goal is to get some stories going about my personal "wild" adventures, miracles, and things that I have pondered in my several past lives.  Whew!  Back to Work!

Clarity

Saw Cheryl Strayed interview, read her book Wild, the story of her incredible journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail back in '95.  At the end of the interview Oprah called her courageous for plowing through every day, facing her fears and at the end claiming her clarity.  Cheryl said she's the same as every person and that this is simply her story and had she not handled her life in this way, there would have been another path to get her to where she needed to be.

At a way younger time, I was scheduled on a flight and hotel out of town to be at a meeting in our client's office.  I would be representing my employer because of my work product, my credibility with our clients, and the respect my managers had for me.  Of course nobody would have guessed that my personal finances were in such a turmoil that I didn't know how I was going to rent a car, or how in the world I was going to buy food as I had absolutely no cash and no credit card.

At my wit's end, I decided to get to the city where my meeting would be and let the Universe help me with getting from the airport to the hotel and with any food I would need to purchase.  I sent the message to the Universe that if I was not to have the success I desired with this job, then in this endeavor I would fail.

Somehow I got to the airport.  I recall taking an aisle seat at the front of the plane and a young man asking if the middle seat was free, and me nodding yes.  I was in my 40's at the time, he was in his 20's I guess.  I say 20's because his conversation was all about himself, his marriage, his wife, his job, his child and being the good listener/motherly type that I am I don't recall sharing too much about myself just that I was on a business trip.  We did have a spiritual connection though, and I don't know how or why I know this-- but I have always known this.  He had a small, economical pick up truck in which he drove me the 10 miles to my hotel from the airport.  I attended my meeting which was very successful, had a co-worker driving me around for the rest of the trip, one of my managers bought my food the next day.

This was only one of the times the Universe has heard me and let me know about it.

Today, I cherish this memory and I desire incorporating these feelings in my work today.  And hello there, I'm breathing fine.

Scraping Off the Paint

Well last night looked at what I had done in the a.m. in my effort to "re-do" my old painting.  I got a terrible headache looking at it and the lack of wonderfulness that I thought I had seen in the morning.  So...I just scraped off all the new paint, then took the whole canvas into the sink and cleaned it off with soap and water to reveal the acrylics that are still underneath.  Now my art room smells like turpentine, with rags and old paint in the trash can;  I am less than in love with my work and need to get out of here for a little while; so I'll be back in here tomorrow.

So second draft of my re-painting:

Looks like I need to integrate the background with the flowers placed on the front.  Also most of the lines that were originally there are gone, and I want to put a few of those back.  I like the little bit of cool blue I have added.  I am imagining this painting to be predominantly warm, 90/10 ratio...so will focus on warms now.

Okey dokey...back to the easel!

Monday, Monday

So...it's Monday, and a new project is beginning.  Daughter #2 has returned a painting that she hung in her home  office for a while.

I never liked it, and now that I have it back...he, he, he, I can make it better.  It's too busy and the green with the gold makes me sick so I have neutralized the background a tad thus...

Now the flowers are too separated, and I'm thinkin' yellow...and maybe light blue somewhere...dunno, just sayin'. 

Tune in tomorrow to see what messes I've gotten myself into.  

Lookin' At Art

Not makin' art today, but doing art tonight with my peeps at our gallery here in Roseville.  Going to try and get over to the Blue Line Gallery too, Elma's art is on display and want to see the whole exhibition.

These're "the girls," some of the artists I hang with...from left is Chloe, then Elma, Pat A., Ms. Jane, Patty O, Donna and the back of Mikki.

Off to get brows and roots done with another kind of artiste!   

The Process

What a beautiful photo Kollin took while we were having lunch at a beautiful local nursery.  Children are able to tap into their art muse easily before other humans have way with the criticisms, judgements, and vocal observations.  He was totally into the process of taking pictures when he captured this flowing succulent just doing its thing:  living

We are all artists.  Enjoying the process of art is the WAY of it...how One gets to an art piece that "speaks" to others.   The art can speak to make the observer unhappy, conjuring up a bad memory; or the art can speak to make beautiful memories, opening up the senses to dream visions that are happy.  Or a piece can conjure goods and bads, telling a story that is both in the one creation.

It is my therapy, the way that I keep breathing.

Go On, Cross on Over

Sometimes I like to paint a dusty, unused road or a mountain trail and recently while looking through old photos decided to paint this scene.  It's another reminder to take the road less traveled and to surround ourselves with nature with which we are soooo connected.

The reflection in the photo was really minimal which I have embellished here on the water which was a pond rather than running water.  Everybody has painted a part of Monet's garden and now I have too.

I don't think I will give the garden precedence in the title though, I will call this "Cross Over" to indicate the story I am conveying is that of exploring and just checking out new avenues of thought and experience.

The All Important Reflections

This is actually the second draft of the Monet's garden painting.  The top image is the photo I took a few years back. I am going to add the reflection of the bridge in the water today, possibly change the color of the water a little, and soften the edges of the shadow and make some color changes with it as it looks the same as the dark area under the trees at the top.

A friend's Dad died last night.  So my friend and I had coffee this morning (on the phone since she's in SoCal), and talked about our dads and her last week with hers.  Dads and daughters...a relationship that is the best at times, then sometimes the most devastating.  I'm very thankful for the relationship I shared with mine, the goods and the bads.

Now to get this waterscape under control...oh, I mean created.  First, outside to do a little meditation so that I can begin to breathe today.

Flowers, Gardens, and Mexicans

So speaking of flowers, I did this rose when my father was alive.  He was a lover of flowers and grew roses in his garden, I should say in his many different gardens over the years since he grew and nurtured roses in all his 80 some years on this earth beginning with his mom's garden in East Los Angeles.  I remember a garden of many plants and flowers at my grandma's house, many in coffee cans and jars; ya' know, this is just what Mexicans love doing-- having a garden of flowers and cactus in coffee cans, growing things.  Then we take the edible stuff like nopales, tomatoes, onions, chiles, garlic into the kitchen and cook up scrumptious things to put into tortillas.  So Dad grew tomatoes too, and even when he was dying and couldn't eat them anymore he grew them to give away and to have and look at, and probably to stir the old memories of his Mexican-ness.

Daughter #1 admired this painting, so it was this year's birthday present for her.  She took it with her when she visited and I was so happy to see the empty spot that was left when she left because that meant she took a part of me and Dad with her.

So am working on a water scene from a photo I took when in Monet's garden a few years ago.  Oh... and I am suddenly aware that Anna Nalick is singing to me telling me to Breathe, Just Breathe...she's talking about being naked with getting words out her in her song.  That's what I'm doing, naked out there with my art...always breathing.

Work, work, work

Garden Scene

Well!  Been working all morning in my art room.  Finished up this flower-mania painting.  It's actually a very light and airy painting.  The blue background has a lot of green in it for a turquoise background.  Lots of paint for heavy texture and I did some slashes in the quiet places for interest as I can't be too quiet for too long.  

Now I'm working on this baby.  It was a big purple dude that I brought back From Patris' gallery.  Couldn't stand the purple so covered it up with a more neutral look.

Layers at a Time

So worked on this again this mornin', added some darks in pot and some lights at top.  Now I think there's too much blue on left of composition and need to add some greens on top so will do that tomorrow.  Am off to take my boys to lunch as I haven't had enough boy time this week.  Yeah, too bush on left side of painting still, need to unbusy it.

New Show, New Gallery with Patris

Not in the studio today, taking art to Patris' new gallery on 35th and 2nd Avenue in Sac.  I'm taking 4 pieces, thick oil paintings on canvas that are my latest work.

Delivering Fresh and Free, Stillness, Flowers and Water Pitcher, and Visions.

Then Saturday is the opening, and I will be there all day painting, talking, laughing and doin' my art thingee.  Yay!

Just getting the work done...

No sounds today, just got in my workroom and worked.  Maybe I got too detailed, but the color is spread out properly, lots of texture on the canvas and there is some happiness with the composition.  I'm going to come back tomorrow and smudge some stuff I think or add more pigment-- we'll see.  I think I got to about 30% warm though and I'd like to get to a ratio of say 80/20% at least.

Balmorhea Sounds and Creating

Began my next painting just going with my emotions listening to Balmorhea.  I got a text message from a friend, Megan, telling me about that music which is totally relaxing-- lots of piano, good feeling type sounds.  I had a few colors on my palette, was out of white so I just added a little of that and began mixing some light, sunshiney hues ending up with a kind of rainbow movement type of composition.  Eventually got a palette knife and started blobbing on some more shapes so...

at this point, I like the colors and the composition is kind of dreamy, predominantly cool with maybe 2% warm-- a good percentage in my view.  I need some green someplace more than just the right lower corner, lots more texture, the white little character face in the left lower corner needs to go away, and maybe something heavy in ground the bottom of this painting if I have it right side up which I don't really know yet.

Going to get in here early tomorrow and work some more on this...for now, I need to write in my dream book to gather myself and my dream psyche into helping me out with where I'm headed with this.  Breathe Bobbie, breathe...

Hockney's Birthday

In studio today, David Hockney's birthday.  I took a look at his work on ipad via Huffington art site, and am feeling so happy about it and about life.  He smokes and I love that, a man that smokes in these times and has he balls to just be out there with it.  Authenticity People!!!  Be back later with image of what is happening with my new painting.