Make Art!

Oh gosh, haven't been blogging for  few days I guess.  Well!  That is because we did a day trip to Tahoe and had a wonderful time Monday in the beautiful weather there.  We stopped and bought sandwiches and then picnicked right on that magnificent, crystal clear, blue lake.  Having a little convertible sports-car is perfect for that kind of drive and being so close to Tahoe is the best.  Jack took some movies of our escapade however I don't have any images for this blog.

I do have an image of the piece I am entering in the Blue Line's Lottery for the Arts upcoming show.

I've published it here before, but I love mandalas so why not look at it again???  Anyhoo, Kathleen from the Blue Line called and urged me to enter the lottery; my mentor, Elma, says to get out there again and again and don't every quit.  So I'm out there again hoping to be judged INTO this fundraiser in which  I am donating my art.  Make art!

Thick Washes, Layering, Layering

I have added a couple more thick washes on top of more stamping in the lower left corner in an effort to make the canvas part of the total piece.  I am thinking a couple more washes with possibly the bronzing pigment are necessary but at this point am just pondering and enjoying the piece as is.  I'll eventually know what more should be done to finish.

The story is "independent cats" and that is the tale of a friend dipping in too close because then we know the relationship has got to fall apart.  This brings to mind the poetic saying about some friends coming into One's life for a season, or a decade, or a day...not all friendships last forever; in fact, very few.

So while there is only one cat depicted in this story, the name is Independent Cat(s), plural for all the "cats" that have friends coming in and out of their conscious lives.

Independent Cats

So this began a few years back as a 30x22" piece of watercolor paper and after possibly 20 layers of paint evolved to a sublime piece of art with a cat peering into the abyss.  I have in the past couple of weeks glued the paper to a big canvas 30x40" which was prepared with some gesso and paint.  Today, I am adding to the stamping which is barely visible on this image and am beginning to collage the canvas incorporating the paper with paper, string, maybe some tapes.

Cats are independent, wise to organize their caring ways around their human when they want, how they want without judgment, without any intention for the outcome, without expectation.  In human relationships with one another, One often has expectations and is manipulative even in caring ways in order to obtain the outcome  desired.  Even if the intention comes from love, it is wrong to expect something in which the other person is not capable.

I think I should be more like a cat.  Mind my own self business, not "help" others to be what I expect them to be and remember the "live and let live" mantra of my youth.

And so to go deeper, my paintings are my emotions put onto paper telling my story...stories that may be different for each painting, a STORY which may be the same story over and over again without explanation, without narrative.

I'm breathing well today.

Friends and Flowers

Whew!  Where does the time go?  A few weeks ago, I did an oil painting workshop and signed up to do the next class which was in 6 months-- and here it is 6 months later already.

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.  Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away."  HENRY DAVID THOREAU

I have a friend.  She lives in my neighborhood presently but in a few short weeks she is moving to another neighborhood.  She's moving on.  She's moving on, and this means to me she needs to move on because she has outgrown her life here and in essence me or us, those that're left to be in the place that she has outgrown.  I'm laughing inside at how my ego tells he these things and how I can hear it and laugh to myself that I am so clever because I am so happy for my friend.  I know that my friend moving on is me moving on too.  I'm not going to let this beautiful person get away from me, she is my mentor, my confessor, my council, and nothing will break apart our friendship.  I'll take her flowers if I must...i'll take her flowers because I love her and appreciate her.  So Ego-Mine STOP--, stop that silly chatter and let me go watch the baseball game with Hubby for tomorrow I'm taking my friend flowers.

Breathe, just breathe.

Sister Golden Hair Who Has Never Been to Me

SO!  Never got back into the studio to paint until a few days ago.  Here's my princess painting now that I've glued it to a big wrap around canvas.

At this point One can see that there is a paper part of it so I'm working with pigment to incorporate the smaller image in the canvas.  I don't like the purplish on the right side of the canvas so will work to make the whole predominantly warm, with just the blue background shapes being cool along with a little cool on the skin's shadow parts which show very green here, are actually a neutral on the piece.

Don't know if I should finish off her head with hair placed on the canvas or not, at the top.  That could incorporate it into the canvas a bit more.

So worked for a couple hours today and am free to do more tomorrow.

Working title at this point is "Never Been to Me" after a song that describes a person who has been with Princes, done things women are not suppose to do...still is not authentically herself.