Have No Idea How I Got There

Maybe it's a good idea to come back to a painting and look at it with a different eye. How did this come about? Not my usual palette although I am trying to implement some brights in my work.

Seems I Am on a Magical Ride

19.5" x 13.5"

Oils Cold Wax Oil Sticks

cut canvas

Watchful Eye

How this painting came about I have no idea! It started out innocently with some bright color marks.
I didn't really want to connect with the mother and child so I turned it 90 degrees, a process I am learning now, and just added more layers till other images, real or imagined started to appear.

WIP

I Will Keep Watch Over You

13.75" x  19.5"

Oils Cold Wax Oils Sticks

Cut Canvas 

Here We Go Round

Always wanted a pony
Then a small camel

Daddy Buy Me That Spotted Pony

Oils ColdWax Oil Sticks

16" x 20.5"

Cut Canvas

Persevere

I have been reading a lot about picking a word for the year, that will help you through the year on any journey life seems to take you. However, picking this word has much to do with my art practice, not my art but the practice. There is a big difference.

How did I get to my word? It was pretty difficult at first, my mind seemed to be blank. I am never really clever with words. The first word that came to mind was PUSH. I really think I have to push myself more. Not curl up in a cacoon, play solitaire, or feel sorry for myself. After listening to a TED talk about struggle more words seemed to pop into my consciousness.

STRUGGLE
PERSEVERANCE
THRIVE
PROCESS
PERSEVERE

I decided on PERSEVERE. It sort of combines perseverance and struggle, and the outcome will be that in that process I will thrive! All comes together in that one word.

You all may know, or not, that I am sort of obsessed with tutorials and online classes. This past year I took part in PHYSAS 2019. What I found was that this is not really for me. There were some really great classes and great teachers and lots of new techniques but I felt sort of overwhelmed and that many times it was too much and instead of moving forward I was sometimes at a standstill. I have to decide where I want to move forward.

So I decided to make a big jump. Since I realize that in the perceivable future I can't take any  1 to1 workshops the next best thing is an online workshop, not a class, but a real workshop. I decided to take Joan Fullerton's online workshop. I have always admired her work and process. She combines abstract, landscapes, some realism, and design. She calls it a class but for ME it will be a year-long workshop. As I said a BIG JUMP! 

Also, since I work in oils and cold wax I signed up for Jeanne Oliver's new course called Underneath
I just couldn't resist! Now the blinders are on! These will keep me very busy!

I have been busy with some pieces but feel they are still in WIP form. Each seems to need something. I have been experimenting in using Topaz Studio 2 and photoshop to tweak and find some solutions. Really great fun.

WIP I

19.5 x 19.5 "

Oil Cold wax  Oils sticks

cut canvas

WIP II

19.5 x 19.5 "

Oil Cold wax  Oils sticks

cut canvas

Tweaked in photoshop  

WIP I

19.5 x 19.5 "

Oil Cold wax  Oils sticks

cut canvas

WIP II

19.5 x 19.5 "

Oil Cold wax  Oils sticks

cut canvas

Tweaked in photoshop 

Haven't done the actual tweaks, appreciate any suggestions and feedback!

Visiting Artist at Workshop

What a treat we had today at our weekly workshop. Because Reuven was traveling abroad he brought as a substitute teacher Marik Lechner an important young Israeli artist. We had a short lecture about his thoughts on art and slideshow of some of his works. After he made the rounds and gave his thoughts on our work. A real treat!

Some of his thoughts:
 Don't wait for the muse, it may not come
Take risks, don't fall in love with parts
Have fun!

Happy Summer in Buttonwoods

WIP

60 x 120 cm

Oils and Oils Sticks

Am trying to revise and painting from 2012. Did some sanding, see horizontal marks. Reuven says, happy accidents! 

Checking off the List

I seem to be always making lists. To do stuff, what I want to do today, mostly dealing with my creative practice, which seems to be so overwhelming that I am exhausted before I even start.
This post was at the head of my list, maybe almost a week ago. I am now going to date them as if that will help in some ways. Two were left undone. When I finish this post one left which I  put on today's new list. The old one in the wastebasket.

Amir, 17, where have all those years gone! May you reach all your goals!

Reaching for the Stars

Wrapped canvas 

47.5 x 23.5"

Oils and Oil Sticks

The hills are alive with the sound of music!

The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears

Richard Rogers Oscar Hammerstein II

I am sure this was not the music that my grandson was listening to when he was watching the beautiful mountains in Nepal last April. 

Listening To the Mountain Music

47.5 x 23.625 "

Oils on Wrapped Canvas

Transfer Photo

Painted on an old image with a very light burnt sienna leaving a section for transferring the photo image. Done mainly using oil sticks, about time because I have had them for 2.5 years. The sky was done with regular oils with cold wax, mainly with my silicon spreaders. I loved the looseness that I could get with the sticks but to fill in the sky was a problem. I learned a lot and will definitely use them on a smaller substrate. They are great for getting in the sketch.  

A male portrait exercise Week 9 HYHAS 2019 Instructor Muriel Stegers  Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway! What a title! Whoever thought I would be painting a male portrait without a reference!

WIP

11.6 x 16.5

Acrylic Paper 300 gm

Acrylics

Muriel is an excellent instructor! Lots more to do to this. Acrylics are not my favorite medium but slowly learning to layer and enjoy. This was after video #4!  #5 to watch and tomorrow another lesson!

Have no idea how to make this smaller 

Gift Buddha New Start

What a surprise was waiting for me on my table at workshop. One a big 7 x 11.5" handmade sketchbook from heavy watercolor paper, filled with owls and owls and more owls. The background for this was that last week I made a small one-page sketchbook that I learned from Kiala Givehand as part of the Sketchbook revival that I took part in. Sadly they have taken it down already. She also has a great number of youtube videos, but couldn't find the specific one she had on the revival session. I did find one similar but she doesn't show the hidden pages. Anywho I showed Traudi how to make it and she taught her granddaughter while making me the OWL book. Traudi also gave me another sketchbook like the one she previously gave me, she decided she wasn't going to use it and since mine is almost filled, it should be mine! Thank YOU Traudi, I so wish I could share some of her work but alas she hasn't a blog or Instagram etc. Maybe someday! And now you ask, why OWLS.
Well, we were discussing our project and I mentioned that I took an online quiz and OWL is my soul animal.

Cover

 1-2

3-4

5-6

Hidden Pages

lifting pages 1 -2

Full Spread

Back Cover

We all have some down days where our mind takes over with thoughts and we can't seem to get rid of them. With me, I take a nap which is like an escape sleep. After a shower decided to get it out on paper. In the sketchbook revival, I learned that scribbling and writing on the page has great power.

It really helped and this Buddha was the result! I also remembered the HUGE Buddha at the RISD Museum that I often visited. It was so calming and peaceful!

15 x 13"

Pencil HB on Light Sketchbook Page

 Well, hope you've come this far. This week at Workshop we had our guest mentor Ariel Asseo.

Since his specialty is in realistic figure painting I decided to do two figures. Not happy at all with this WIP. But in the spirit that I show what going on on my easel.  Have to fix the drawing mistakes particularly the left arm and decide on a color palette. It was the end of the session so I used oil sticks instead of getting out my paints. 

WIP

Charcoal  Oil Sticks 

Colored Matte Board

21.5 x 27.5

Following Up On an Urge

Did you ever get an idea while doing other things? An idea that you would like to follow up on later and you never do. Well, this idea has been running in my head since the class on figures a couple of weeks ago.

In the middle of what I was doing, I finally decided to "follow up".

WIP

34 x 51 cm

Gessoed Cover of Watercolor Pad

Charcoal Rubbing 

Crayons Oil stick 

click to enlarge

Love You Love You Naught

Love who you are - and who you are not. (Anonymous)

What a mess... a real mishmash!! Started back about a month ago. Was attracted by some images of daisies from a magazine and started playing around on an odd piece of brown paper. I think I started with the collage pieces and started putting on random marks in pencil and oil sticks. Not really knowing what was going to come out. No rest for the poor eye here.

Daisies Start WIP

35 x 39 cm

Brown Paper

Mixed Media

Trying to quiet down some too busy areas using my new oil sticks. Still a little too much. Decided in any case to keep to the flower motif

Daisies 2 

35 x 39 cm

Brown Paper

Mixed Media

Daisies 3

35 x 39 cm

Brown Paper

Mixed Media

Still needing something... seems a bit pareve   back for some tweaks

Out of the Darkness

What is art but a way of seeing? (Thomas Berger)

This was started way back in  late April. Again using some colors that were left on the palette. Again much agitation. Really didn't know where this would take me or that I wouldn't get back to this for quite a while. Finally back in the workshop and a few layers got the OK that it was finished. For the meantime I will leave it be. Want to move on.

Out of the Darkness

50 x 34 cm

Cut canvas

Oils with Cold Wax

Collage

Oil Sticks

Here is how it all started way back then!

Out of the Darkness Start

50 x 34 cm

Cut canvas

I am still finding it hard to sit at the computer and blog. I want to write interesting things but my mind is still a bit muddy( a lot).  We did have a nice party for the end of workshop season. Had a what they call laughing yoga which was a lot of fun. Laughter therapy. We did laugh a lot and had FUN!

Duchess

My Last Duchess

Robert Browning

That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, 

Looking as if she were alive. I call 

That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands 

Worked busily a day, and there she stands. 

36 x 50 cm

Cut canvas

Oils and Cold Wax

Collage

Oil Sticks

This piece started at the end of April. One of two paintings had started on cut canvas over a 

cardboard format.  Two different color palettes using some leftover oil and cold wax paints. Ironically

both showed signed of agitation that I really couldn't understand at the time.