Art School

"Well Crap!"

That is what I said to a (in my opinion) great artist in an e-mail to him.
I went on thusly:

“You have shown me just how much I do NOT know! That is a good thing, but as I just turned 67 today, it means I’d better paint....and learn....damn fast!

Thank you, for your generous and highly instructive blog. Even though it really makes me realize that I will never, EVER ‘catch up’ to those of you have studied and painted and learned for so many more years than I have.”

His reply to me:

”Thanks:
I guess. You can learn an awful lot about painting still. You can paint till you fall off your perch. Try that with basketball, or even golf. Good luck out there and I am glad I have been useful to you.”

Ever since I found his blog, I have been studiously attempting to apply things I am learning from him. Sometimes, I practice different concepts on the same canvas resulting in some pretty odd...in a completely uninteresting way...results.

In one way, it is quite disheartening to recognize how totally amateurish my paintings are.

In another way, it’s quite heartening to have gained enough knowledge and experience to realize that.

You can’t get better if you don’t know what you’re doing wrong. Right?

So...........

I’ll keep painting....and keep devouring his blog entries in my efforts to improve.

If you are an art appreciator, you might enjoy his blog, too, because he shares a lot of masterful paintings done by his favorite artists...and his own, of course. He shows and tells why those paintings are good and how the artist achieved the result. Great paintings are made by design...not by magic...and I’ve found it very interesting to read the details about the craftsmanship required to make a truly good painting.

And by the way, he’s humorous....sometimes scathingly so...and I enjoy that.

All that being said, know this. You probably won’t be seeing any paintings by me posted for a few days...or maybe a few weeks....or a few months....or maybe never again. (Not likely!)

I’m busy playing art school and am not even trying to make a painting decent enough to show anybody.

You can find his blog here.

http://stapletonkearns.blogspot.com

I am grateful to be learning new things.

WRESTLING ALLIGATORS

WHEW!!! 

I am tired!!!!

I can’t remember when…or if…it’s ever taken me so very long to finish one tiny painting. 

But, finally, I think it’s done!

And I’m worn out.

I thought  it was going to be an easy painting to do.

Ha!

To begin with, it’s a very special painting of and for a very special person.

You can read all about the trip to the Grand Canyon with grandson, Michael here. 

I didn’t take into account the fact that this is basically an aerial perspective…not a viewpoint I’m familiar with.

It needs to have an enormous sense of distance. 

It must ‘read’ Grand Canyon, in spite of the haziness which calls for very little detail in those far off buttes. 

And even though the figure out on that rock is tiny, it needed to be the very reason for the painting.

Since there really is a very small amount of detail, what in the heck took me so long, you might ask.

Well….’cause I forgot. 

I forgot to keep things simple. 

I forgot to remember that I was NOT trying to duplicate a reference photo. 

I forgot to sneak up on some very subtle value and color changes instead of going too far too fast with them.

I forgot to let my left brain lead the way and got way too right brained in the process.

By the time I got my head screwed on right again, I’d been at it for a very, VERY long time.  Once I accomplished that, things sure did go a lot faster!

I am grateful for that!

STANDING AMAZED

8 X 10

MY BOX OF TOOLS

Before I start painting, I need to make sure all my necessary tools are at hand. I need a canvas, brushes and/or knives, water, a rag, a palate and of course, paint.

 

 

Without the proper tools, I wouldn’t get far,would I?

A painting doesn’t just ‘happen’ because I want it to even if I have a clear vision of how I want it to be. And if I wait until something goes wrong in the painting process to acquire a necessary tool....I just might find myself in some deep doo-doo.

Creating a good day requires the proper ‘tools’, too and a good day won’t just ‘happen’ either.

A clear vision of what we want is a good thing, indeed, but all the vision in the world won’t create anything all by itself.

So, it would seem that if I want to create myself a good day, perhaps the first thing I should do....before any other action is taken...(except maybe putting the coffee water on) is to check my tool box and make sure it’s got everything I need to create this good day.

I have learned that THE most necessary tool I have is an attitude of gratitude. Without that, I won’t get very far into making a good day.

I need, also, an expectation of good.

I need an open heart-free of resentment.

I need the ability to calm myself (learned from practicing meditation) whenever life throws a curve my way.

Every persons tool box won’t contain the same tools, but every person needs their own specific ways to ensure they face each day properly prepared.

And checking to make sure all our tools are ready, right at hand, first thing each day, just might eliminate some unwanted piles of deep doo-doo.

And that’s a good thing.

I am grateful for my box of tools.

The Journey

On Monday, my friend died.  She had been fighting the good fight for many months, but now, she can rest easy and fly free.

I will miss her, so very much!

I have told before about an on-line book study group that began over eleven years ago.  The book was THE ARTIST’S WAY.  She and I were both in that group along with many others.  From that very large group a smaller group was born.   The originator called it The Cup of Kindness Café.  Our café membership dwindled until eventually there were only eight of us left as active members.  We have been through all the stages of life together now, from the birth of one members’ daughter to the death of our dear friend…..and everything in between.

Then, several years ago, I found my way to Oprah’s on-line study of the book, A NEW EARTH, by Eckhart Tolle.  Eventually, lots of us made our way onto Facebook where we all still gather together today.  We support each other.  We tease each other.  We cry with each other.  Sometimes, we disagree with each other.  But always we are aware that we are ‘together’ for a reason.

Many of these people, mostly women, have become as dear to me as any friends I’ve ever been blessed to have.  I know you will understand that.

This internet thing is such a marvel.  Somehow, we can bond so completely that it doesn’t matter one whit that we usually never meet in person.  Many times, we don’t even have a clue what a ‘friend’ looks like.  But, our heart knows their heart.  Our Spirits know theirs.

I was contemplating all this in the last week of Darlene’s life…the ways in which we all share each other’s journey.  I was moved to begin this painting.  I don’t know if it is yet finished.  But for now, I am done. 

The morning after she passed, I put a few more touches of light, here and there and wondered if it needs more ‘something.’  I don’t know what kind of ‘something’ but it seems almost too simple….

But maybe it all really is ‘simple.’

Our journeys are supposed to be taken together with other souls.  That’s what makes the journey sweet.

I am grateful, from the bottom of my heart, for each soul, each beautiful Spirit traveling with me on my journey.

Thank you.

BLESSED RAIN

After a long, very dry summer, we finally got rain....buckets and buckets of rain! 

After the first good one, I drove to our usually bone dry Rillito River to see what I could see.

And then, of course, I had to paint what I had seen.  So, I did this little study on a canvas panel.

RILLITO FILLING
9 X 12 ON CANVAS PANEL

I have to be honest.  The water really didn't look like that.  It looked like this. 

 But who would want a painting of such a muddy mess?

People around here don't care if the water is muddy though.  They are just happy to see water running in our rivers.  Muddy or  not, it's still a grand opportunity for boys...big and small....to practice their rock skipping skills.

That little study I did told me it wanted to be bigger.  So, I did another take on the river scene.

MONSOON SHADOWS
16 X 20 ON CANVAS

I've been re-working some old canvases that I'd done bad paintings on.  This one had been a poor attempt at capturing all the luscious green grass in nearby ranch country after last year's good rains.  Green is hard, as any landscape painter will testify.  I think I made it better.

 TALL GRASS TIME

18 X 24  GALLERY WRAP CANVAS

I'll get these added to my website soon....and then.....I get to paint some more!

my website

Have I ever mentioned that I'm grateful for the joy of painting?

Oh...and I am also very,very grateful for all that blessed rain!

My love poem to rain.

Palo Verde and Ocotillo

Oleander and Bougainvillea

Writhe in ecstatic love dance with the wind.

Semi-sheltered ‘neath the corrugated tin roof of my patio

Watching rain pour off like strands of liquid silver

Face kissed by windblown mist

Outstretched feet bathed in liquid love.

When I first began painting, all I wanted to do was landscapes of my Sonoran Desert and the surrounding mountains.  I was…and still am….so enthralled by the special beauty of this desert…

the colors, sometimes subtle, sometimes surreal

the shapes…soft and feathery…. hard and jagged….

It was all those paintings which made me truly at home and comfortable with paints and brushes.

I still love to do landscapes, although I have seen a real change in my approach to them.  Now, I’m more after the ‘feel’ of the place than a true representation of it.

And, I have become much more interested in trying to either tell a story with my painting…or invite the viewer to create their own from it.

That has led to new subject matter.  I’m doing lots more still-lifes, especially those featuring old things…things which prompt long-forgotten memories…or ever present  ones…

.things which have meaning for me....things which I have loved for many years…..

….things which I never used in my life-time, but I can imagine my mother or my grandmother utilizing in their daily life.

Connections to the past enrich and shape our ‘present’, don’t they?

Painting, for all these years, has led to fun and frustration. 

… sadness and celebration….

But always, ALWAYS a source of great and abiding joy!

It is a gift for which I am truly and deeply grateful!

MY FAVORITE DANCING PARTNER

I feel as though I should mark this date on my calendar. 

My favorite dancing partner just died.

However, before you get too sad, I guess I should tell you that my favorite dancing partner is a paint brush!

Many of you know that I was dubbed 'Dances with a Brush' by a wonderful friend, Louise, who is now roaming the Universe in spirit form.

Back when I first started on my artistic adventure, I did a lot....A LOT...of paintings on things like tiles and clay pots and old wooden cabinet doors.  My husband used to say that if it didn't move in 5 minutes, I'd paint it.  And he was pretty much right.  Nothing was safe from me and my bestest brush!

That brush has been used and abused.  I've left it sitting in water for too long.  I've used it to apply lots of things, besides paint, that I probably shouldn't have. 

This morning, after probably a good 15 years of faithful service, he gave up the ghost.  And, truly, I am feeling a bit weepy.

OK...I admit it. There's actual tears.

There's no way I can just toss him in the trash.  I'm even thinking of putting him in a shadow box frame and keeping him with me always, as I continue along without his help.

I will miss his smooth moves, his grace, his confidence and his maneuverability.

R.I.P., dear Brush!

I am grateful for all the lovely dances we shared.

A DAY OF BLESSINGS

I had some errands to run today. I needed to take my comforter to a Laundromat. I needed to get a haircut. I needed to try to find a pair of jeans that fit my ever enlarging belly.


But first, I had to go to the memorial outside Gabrielle Giffords’ office again.

I was just there, day before yesterday, but that didn’t seem to be enough. I needed more. More of what, I wasn’t quite sure.

But more of something.

It was immediately apparent that the mass of flowers and candles and posters and cards and teddy bears had grown substantially in the two days since my last visit. There were, perhaps, a dozen people there at the time.

I was taking in all the new additions to the memorial, when suddenly, a nearby woman looked straight at me, indicated the woman standing next to her and exclaimed, “This is Gabby’s mother!”

A lovely, diminutive, gray haired woman smiled broadly at me and affirmed, “Yes! I am Gabby’s mom!”

Her smile, nearly bigger than she is, loudly and proudly proclaimed her joy in that fact!

I stood there, for a split second, wondering what on earth I might find to say to this woman who is going through something I cannot even begin to fathom.

And then, I burst into tears.

I was immediately enveloped in a hug that seemed way too big to come from that little body. She hugged me and hugged me and patted my back and murmured soft words of comfort to ME!

I should have been comforting her but it was the other way around.

She insisted that Gabby’s family doesn’t want us to feel sorrow for them. They want us to feel no anger. Instead, they want us to rejoice and be grateful and happy and spread peace.

Before I left the house this morning, I chose a photograph of a collage I made and usually present as a card. This time, I just used the picture itself. The collage is bright and happy colors and has the words LOVE, PEACE and JOY on it.

When I showed her what I had brought, Gabby’s mom’s smile got even brighter. We visited for a few more minutes before that gracious lady left.

I felt as though I had been touched by an angel.

It’s possible that I was.

There’s more to this story, although, none of it better than those few moments I spent with Gabby’s mom.

I had noticed a young woman talking with people and writing in a notebook. I figured she was either a local reporter or a college student working on notes for a paper. Turns out, Ashley Powers is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times.

She interviewed me for a good while and though I doubt she got much worth using in a story, it was interesting to be pushed to answer questions fully. She wasn’t satisfied with my initial, off-hand responses to her questions. She kept following up until I got to the bottom line of what I was really feeling and thinking..

It was a good experience for me to get the answers to some of those questions, which I otherwise might never have asked of myself. She’s good!

Eventually, I returned to my car and my list of errands.

A favorite thrift store is in the same shopping center as my hairdresser. So, I went in to see what treasures I might find, especially looking for some larger, more comfy jeans!

I must digress here for a moment.

My beloved Lazy Boy recliner should have, long ago, been relegated to either a dump or a squatter’s camp! Replacing it has not been high on my list of ‘possibles.’ Firstly, a new one is not in the budget! Secondly, I want the same color as my old one. That color is no longer in ‘vogue’ so I didn’t think my chances of finding one I liked as well were very good.

Are you ahead of me yet? I bet you are.

Yep! A Lazy Boy recliner, which looks brand new and is the exact same color and smaller, ladies’ size as my old one, is now gracing my living room! The price?  $29.00!!!!

I was so excited I almost forgot to look for jeans. However, I found three pair that looked like they might work. Hoping at least one pair would fit, I tried them on and each and every pair was just right!

The purchase of all those items set me back a huge $34.53!   I am NOT lying to you!  On top of already ridiculously low prices, today was Senior Discount Day!!!

I got my haircut. I got my comforter washed.

I got a lottery ticket!

I figure today is, most assuredly, my day for special blessings!


Am I gratful?

You bet!

And I'm hoping each of you have a day of special blessings, just when you need it the most.