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.

WHY DO I PAINT?

This morning, I was checking out another blog by yet another fabulous artist. I'm sure I could, literally, spend days looking at one blog after another-all by artists better than me by a long shot!


Every one of those artists....and lots of the other gazillion good artists who are NOT blogging....are reaching for a sliver of art market pie. A very few actually snag a piece of said pie....and often, it is a very tiny sliver....hardly worth the effort, it would seem.

So.........the question is this:

Why do I paint when there are so many other paint pushers who are equal to-or way better than-me?

The quick, easy answer is, "Because I have to." I can no more imagine my life without painting that I can imagine surviving without my very breath.

There's lots more I could add to that. Lots of very deep psychological and spiritual influences fuel this fire in me to push paint around on a canvas.

But what I am writing about this morning is more about this question.
"Why are you, too, reaching for a slice of art market pie?

That one has a quick, easy answer, too.

"I have to sell in order to be able to buy more art supplies."

There might be some more reasons........

It could be that my depression-era parents drilled into me that it is not ok to spend so much time and money on any endeavor which doesn't have a financial return.

It could be that I need the validation from others that my art is, at least, acceptable. And that validation is provided by them handing over cold, hard cash for one of my paintings.

It could even be that something in my soul is satisfied when one of my paintings touches another so much that they just have to have it!

I know I love the compliments I often get when I show people my work. I do. I have to admit that. I also must admit that there is a little voice in my head that says, 'They're just being nice.'

But when they actually buy something....then, I believe them.

Oh...and it has to be a perfect stranger for me to get that validation I crave. When a friend pays me for my art, that little voice pipes up and says 'They wouldn't buy it if they weren't your friend.'

Deep in my heart, I feel that I should give my paintings to any friend or family member who wants it.

Oh, I'd love that!

How fun it would be to give my loved ones first pick and then just set up on the side of the road somewhere and give my stuff away to whoever wanted it! Or post it on-line with a first come-first serve give-away!

This little girl who resides inside this 65 year old body would like that. Very much!!!

SELF-PORTRAIT

8 X 10

So....I'm not sure I'm any closer to THE answer to my second question...or even if there is a 'THE ANSWER' to that question.

The only question I can answer, for sure, about this painting thing is:

"What are you going to do today?"

No matter what day it is, the answer is the same.

"I'm going to paint."

RILLITO RUNNING

18 X 24

And for that, I'm grateful!

P.S.
I'm not  positive this is going to work....but here is the link to my newest painting on Kodak.  Many of you have already seen these, but I did add three more this morning...just in case you want to have another peek.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?facebook=true&sourceId=984136008703

Most of these were done in the last couple of months....and even more that I don't have on here.  I've been busy painting...and not blogging!   ;)

MONDAY, MONDAY

As you might know, on Monday, I did not write a blog entry.  Well, I did, but it was more of a temper tantrum or a balking mule kind of thing, than a real blog entry.

Here's what I did instead.

First, I painted one of my very favorite things....my chimenea.

This was really fun and I was wanting me some fun!

It's a 16 x 20 canvas on which I had played one day with some bright red and iridescent gold paint.   I allowed some of the gold to show through here and there...especially where I placed  the flame.

I like it.

Then, I pulled weeds.

I have shown you my mass planting of African daisies.  This is what they looked like yesterday morning.

All over Tucson, these are in full bloom.  As you can see, mine are  not.  Mine are in shade for a large part of the day and African daisies are real sun-lovers....so they are a little slow to bloom in this particular spot.  However, after everyone else's daisies have succumbed to the summer heat, mine are still blooming their pretty little heads off!  So, it's a good trade-off.

You can see how thick they are.  Interspersed among all the daisies is an abundance of weeds.  Tiny ones, for the most part.  Removing them from this planting is either an exercise in futility or a labor of love..however you choose to look at it.

It is rather like trying to single out every brown hair left on my grey head and removing it.

It is a very Zen-ish activity so it was a good way to clear my head of all the negativity I was feeling yesterday.

It is very hard on my out-of-shape body.  I have to be very careful where I put my feet...or where I plop my big butt, or I will squash these sweet little daisies. There is a huge amount of stretching, bending and, God help my aching thighs, squatting.

We have all seeen those plywood cut-out yard decorations of the woman bending over with her big butt just sticking out like a........like a big butt!

I realized I have become that woman.  The squatting must be kept to a minimum...or I will surely die. 

Just look at this!  And try to pick out only the weeds!

Here's one.

Truth be told, after all my  weed-pulling it still looks about the same and I also know I will have to repeat this exercise in futility/labor of love every few days until those weeds are really under control. 

And guess what?

It is raining again this morning..which, of course means MORE WEEDS!

But that's a gardener's life, isn't it?

Speaking of which.............

Do any of you gardeners recognize this plant?

My daughter-in-law once shared some day-lillies with me and these must have been mixed up with them.  The lillies didn't make it...too much desert heat, I imagine...but these have flourished.  I love the crisp white against the Spring green.  They grow so easily that I am sure they are as common as weeds in some parts of the country but I haven't been able to find anyone here who knows what they are.

If you can tell me, I'd be so grateful.

And, I'm grateful that each day is a new beginning and I'm not stuck in 'yesterday.'

IT'S NOT MY FAULT!

It really isn't my fault that I forgot all about writing a blog for Friday.

It's Gini's.

She e-mailed me a really gorgeous photo of a stream in New Hampshire the other day and Thursday morning, nothing would do but I use it for one of my timed paintings.  All right.  That was my idea.  But if she hadn't sent it to me in the first place that wouldn't have happened.

See my logic?

That's why I think it's perfectly fair to blame it all on her.

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

Here's how the day went.

I had cropped Gini's photo to a version that appealed to me and then I set my timer for one hour because I was working on a 10 x 14 canvas.

Then....off I went.

I did this.

And this.

And this.
(I hadn't really changed the color of the sky, I just took this photo in bad light.)

And then the phone rang.  It was my cousin.  We yakked and yakked and yakked and laughed.  'Cause that's what we do.  But I just kept right on painting while we yakked and laughed.

Just before the timer went off I decided it was done.

Not done RIGHT, of course, just DONE.

It looked like this.

The photo was on my computer monitor...about 12 feet away from my easel.  That explains why the painting isn't closer to the actual photo.  But for my timed paintings, that shouldn't matter at all.  The whole point is to get the basics in and to zero in on what grabbed my eye.

I sure wish I'd remembered that at the time because............

What happened next just ticks me off!

I got to looking more closely at my version of Gini's photo and started trying to make the  painting look more like that.

I wish there was a really loud, unpleasant sounding buzzer that would go off in my head when I start doing such a thing!  Or some weird appendage of my body which would start knocking me upside the head when I start doing that!!  Or some art muse, sitting on my shoulder, yelling "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU DOING? " when I start doing that!!!

But I just went right ahead 'fixing' stuff that didn't need fixing until I had made quite a mess!

Next thing that happened....I hesitate to tell you about...but I will.

Remember my hubby?  The guy who got me started painting?

He hasn't  picked up a paintbrush since then and yet he came into the studio and started telling me what I needed to do about this and that in the painting.

And what did I do?

Well, I fell, face first, into a big stinky puddle of people-pleasin' poop and made some more messes!

Thanks a lot, hubby!

The more I 'fixed' the more frustrated I got...
and the more obsessed I became....
and the more rigid I got in my paint application.....
and the more frustrated I got...........

Got the picture?

See why it's all Gini's fault?

Of course, I should also let hubby share some of that blame, don't you think?

Here's what I finally wound up with before I finally got sense enough to leave it alone...for now.

I am so grateful that I feel perfectly fine about blaming my problems on other people when it suits me.

It is much easier than holding myself accountable, don't you agree?

FULL MOON ON SATURDAY

It was Saturday, February 27, 2010


After supper, I stepped outside and saw something which astonished and astounded me and nearly knocked me to my knees from the sheer beauty of it!

The moon was full and she was wearing a red and gold embroidered shawl. 

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Of course, I grabbed my camera and once more longed for one which would take better quality pictures. I knew, from previous experiences during manic mood madness that there was no way I could capture what my eyes were seeing with my point and shoot camera. As much as I love and appreciate it, my camera definitely has its limitations.

Nevertheless, I pointed and shot!

And look what I got!!!! Granted, these pictures are not true representatives of what I was seeing with my human eyes. But I bet you can get an idea from them that it was one magnificent sight to see!

Besides, the pictures are just flat cool, aren't they?

I played around with some editing on this one.  That's a palm tree on the left.  Actually the red and gold clouds actually did look very much like this.

I didn't play around any with this one.

Remember what I've said....take a chance...take a picture even if you're pretty sure it won't turn out...what've you got to lose? You might wind up with something really interesting and fun!

****************

Yes, I've been painting but I must admit I've sort of fallen off the wagon as far as the timed painting exercise in concerned.  The last two I've attempted have turned into regular paintings. One, was of the lady selling flowers at Barrio Del Mundo in San Diego.  Another was from a photo of my first born when  he was about 4 or 5 playing in a stream in Northern New Mexico.  I am calling this one.....

"INTREPID EXPLORER"

9 x 12 acrylic on canvas

And finally, my new artist friend and I didn't get to meet on Sunday.  It was pouring down a torrential cold rain and besides, she had come down with a sore throat and considerately chose not to share it with me. 

I am grateful for her good sense!

I DID IT AGAIN!

I just wrote a post about seeing things as they really are instead of as they appear on that imprinted tv screen behind your eyeballs.


I wrote it about painting...and about life.

Then, I started a painting with a bunch of flowers in it and I painted those flowers as they appear on that imprinted tv screen behind my eyeballs. They looked like.........well, you know. Starts with 'h'. Rhymes with 'bell.' In short, they looked like hell.

I could not help myself. I had a little rhyme going on there and just had to play it out! Sorry for the bad word. A little.

Anyway, even with the words I had just written still ringing in my own ears, I reverted to old bad habits the very next day!

And isn't that just the way it is. We 'learn' a truth. Believe it. Share it. Preach it. And then, we act as if we'd never learned it at all.

Someone says or does something we perceive as unkind to us and we get hurt, angry or fearful and forget that we have a choice in the matter. When, in fact, we do. We can choose to look at the old re-play of the movie flickering on our mind's tv screen. Or we can open our minds and see that we can choose to not react to an unkindness at all. It doesn't have to hurt us. It doesn't have to anger us. And it doesn't have to scare us.

And that, is the truth.
We see it.
We believe it.
Share it.
Preach it.
And then.......well you know what happens next.

But with time and practice and determination and mind cleansing, that can change. It really can. Change isn't always easy. I had to re-paint a whole lot of this painting to create the illusion of reality.  I didn't succeed...totally.  I still see many things which could be improved.  But it's better than it was.  And I choose to pat myself on the back for what I've done better than to beat myself up for what I haven't done perfectly.

And that's the way we create reality, instead of illusion, in our lives.  We just do it again...but in a different way...till eventually it becomes second nature.

We can choose drama.

In a painting, that might be a good touch.  In life, it just gets tiring.

Or, we can choose peace.

Peace, in a painting is often desirable.  And for me, it is always preferable in my life.  Peace.  Joy.  Love.

And gratitude.

All choices.

I continue to be grateful for the life lessons which painting teaches me.

I AIN'T SKEERED ANYMORE.

I guess I should apologize because the subject today...yet again....is

painting.

Are you surprised?

Well, I am.

I am very surprised by what my little 'timed painting' exercise has brought about.  And since almost every minute of every day has been spent with a paint brush in my hand, I just have nothing else to talk about...or blog about.

So, if you are bored by this subject by now, you might just want to skip this post altogether.

What happened, I am wondering?

It seems that I have made some kind of quantam leap in grasping the concept that I actually can learn to paint anything...IF I simply allow myself to really 'see' the shapes that are 'there' instead of the 'shape' my mind tells me is there.

Dang!

Hot Damn!

and

Hallelelujia!!!

The result of all this is that in the short time, since I set myself this task, I have produced four paintings that I am quite pleased with....no.......not just pleased........

I am over the moon!

I am doing the happy dance in my soul!

I am feeling like Rocky running up the steps!

I am woman...hear me roar!!!!

I am John Wayne catching the bad guys!

It all began with that little timed painting/study I did of Poppy's barn.  I really liked something about what I had done in the quick sketchy painting of it, so I pulled out a 16 x 20 canvas and did a 'real' painting.  I was still, somewhat, in chicken mode...meaning I was scared to attempt a part of the painting...so I really wimped out on it.  The particular part of the scene was the trees.  Sweet gini...yes, the one who often comments on here, called me on it.  I didn't accept her challenge immediately...still maintaining my poultry position.  But I did do another painting of the same barn...different view....and this time, I put in the dratted trees.  But I really looked at the different shapes in the trees in the photo and I'll be darned, they turned out pretty good!  So, I gave in, followed gini's good advice and re-worked barn #1, including proper trees!  On a roll, I painted barn #3. This time, with autumn trees instead of summer ones!  Again, I was  pretty happy with what I'd done.

Soon, I will post a blog about that barn and show you the three paintings.  But first, I want to get some information about the barn, which has been in my daughter-in-law's family for at least two generations.

While I was going through my collection of photos, looking for all my pictures of the barn, I had pulled out one of a lady in a garden in Old San Diego...and set it aside....for some reason.

One morning, about 3 a.m., I woke up, knowing I had to try to paint that image.  I made myself stay in bed until 4...then I filled my BE GRATEFUL mug with strong, hot coffee and still in my jammies and robe, headed straight to the easel.

LA SENORA

9 x 12 acrylic on masonite

This lovely lady looks so peaceful and serene, andn a little mysterious, relaxing in the garden.  I am thinking she has learned a valuable lesson about life.

When we hold on to our preconceived ideas, we are holding on to an illusion.  Nothing 'real' and 'good' can come from either illusions or delusions.  We must open our eyes to what is truly 'real' if we want to make progress as human beings.  Kind of like if you want to make a good painting, you have to open your eyes...and your mind...so you can see what is really there.

How grateful I am, once again for the joy of painting!

And ya know what?  I'm already well into another painting with a  person in it.  And this one has lots and lots of flowers, too.  I've always been really scared of painting flowers.

I ain't skeered anymore.

************************

I wrote that last sentence.  I read it.  I knew it was true.  I broke into tears. Good ones.

In another post, I'll try to explain why this moves me so much, but I can't right this minute.

************************

I am filled with gratitude!

BACK TO BASICS

I had done my timed painting and was pleased. I thought I’d find another of my photos to work from and paint another one, just for fun.


I got out a brand new 16 x 20 canvas and went at it.

Lessons learned.

1. Girl! You need to get back to some basics!

2. Gesso is my friend.

I am going to have to find the complete list, but there are some basic elements of design….each of which is very important.

My screw up had to do with composition, specifically, the placement of the focal point. I make this mistake often. Somehow, my focal point winds up near the dead center of the canvas. Since my intent is not to create a bull’s eye target, this simply will not work.

For example:

Remember this painting I did recently?

Compare it with this cropped version of the same painting.

Do you see how the second one is more pleasing to the eye than the first one?

It’s because the second one has the focal point in the correct location.

There is something called the ‘golden mean.’ I am going to google that to refresh my memory.

I’ll get right back to you.

****************

OK. I’m back. The ‘golden mean’ is not exactly what I meant to discuss. It’s a tad too complicated for me. If you want to google it for yourself, be my guest.

I am a believer in the K. I. S. S. principle….keep it simple, sweetie…so we’re going to go with the ‘rule of thirds’, instead.

http://painting.about.com/library/blpaint/blcompositionclass2.htm

I learned this, years ago.  But it seems, I forgot it.  Forgetting that rule has led to some major disappointments.

The same thing applies to photographs.  I went through some of my De Grazia pictures and found another example of a 'bull's eye' target.  I don't know about you, but when I look at this for a minute, I become darn near mesmerized by the hub of those 'spokes' in the dead center of that flower!  I guess that would be fine if you wanted to go into deep meditation.  But that's not usually the purpose of a picture.

See if you like this better.

I find it a tad harder to cocentrate my full attention on the flower's center.  I tend to want to see what else is in the scene.

Here's another way to do it.  I actually think I like this one the best.

I think I will start drawing those lines on my canvases BEFORE  I start my painting.  I need all the help I can get.

And then, possibly, I won't have to  use so much gesso to cover up a bad application of expensive paint!

But, I am grateful for gesso which can save many a canvas from destruction.

DAILY PAINTING 2.10.2010

I chose my next picture for my daily timed painting. It took a while. I want the picture to be fairly simple…but with some striking features.

I took this photo many years ago on a trip back east with hubby in his 18- wheeler. This is, I think, either Pennsylvania or New York. It was in the autumn. Being a desert rat, I had never seen such incredible fall color in such amazing abundance! Three times, that day, I flat-out busted into tears…I kid you not!

I like the overall softness. I will ignore that distant silo and the other buildings. I intend to make that bright green field...the one way back there... stand out a little more. So, I cropped it way down.

I’m going to have to be very careful not to get carried away with the colors of all the foliage on the background hills.  This was actually a very overcast day and the colors should all be quite muted.

By the way, this was taken with my old RCA digital camera which was NOT the best digital camera ever made. But it was one of the very first and I am grateful I had it.

Oh…now, I am remembering the ‘olden’ days.

I could take about 12 pictures with that thing and then I had to upload the pictures to the computer. It would eat up batteries like I eat up..well…nearly anything that is set before me. We had an inverter in the truck. An inverter is a thing that plugs into the cigarette lighter and gives you a place to then plug in an electric appliance or gadget…such as a digital camera. We’d be traveling down the highways and by-ways and I’d be on the bunk with Chuck’s laptop and my dinosaur of a camera uploading pictures as fast as I could. It wasn’t fast. It was painstakingly slow! My! How things have changed! Remembering all this is making me even more grateful for my little Kodak!

But I digress………

Then, I printed it. My print is of very poor quality, due to the camera’s capabilities…or lack thereof….and  probably something else, technological, that I don’t know how to fix.

But, that’s ok. It is only a reference. I can always look at the monitor and see it, so all will be well. I think. I hope.

Also, blurry just might be a good thing. I have to have glasses to read, but never wear them when I paint. You need to squint a lot when you’re painting, so I just ditch the glasses to begin with.

Why do you need to squint when you paint?

Because squinting helps you edit out all the extraneous junk. It helps you see the most important stuff…like shapes and values.

For more about squinting:

http://clicks.robertgenn.com/praise-squint.php

Enough of the talk. It’s time to paint!

****************

I had to take some artistic license in this one. The green field is the reason for this painting. In the photo, it’s too small. So, I made it bigger.

After all, I AM the creator of my world! ;)

I really like this one. I might spend a little more time on it and see if I can make some improvements on it.

Or......
I might just do it all over tomorrow.

I'm grateful that I get to play with paint every day if I want to!

P.S.  Today is our wedding anniversary.  Only thing is, we don't remember how many years it's been....around 17, we think.  If I hadn't married him, I probably never would have started painting.  Am I grateful for him, or what?  That's not the only reason, but it's a big one!