yeahhhhh

see my youtube video!
sorry for the quality,
better next time !!!

like a bee

busy, busy

i have several new paintings i will be listing in my etsy shop. i will be listing one tomorrow and the rest on sunday i hope.

even more exciting news, i have just finished editing my very first youtube video. it was more fun and not as hard as i imagined. should be up by tomorrow as well.

the film quality is not as good as it could be, i have a few adjustments in mind for the next one...

this could be addictive :)

what is for dinner tonight?

answer:
the question that plagues me day in and day out.

tonight it was resolved in top form. this is not a recipe blog, but i do regard cooking as somewhat of an artistic endeavour, well, good cooking anyway. so here's what we had...

mini grilled brie and spinach sammies
sweet potato fries
red seedless grapes

here's how to make the sandwiches.
make many 1/2" slices of french bread
spread apricot jam on one side
saute a little baby spinach in a little garlic, olive oil and pinch of salt till wilted.
thinly slice brie and put on jam sides
put spinach on top of brie
top with other slice of bread
butter both sides of bread
place in skillet, press with a bacon press, or plate or with your spatula
cook both sides until golden brown

i am not a recipe writer but hopefully you get the idea. delicious, easy and healthy. my favorite type of food!

did you have something good for dinner you want to share? i always am looking for new ideas.

IF: Worry

Most of my ladies already have a somewhat worried look, so this wasn't much of a stretch for me..

Top 5

Masters (In order of timeline)

Manet
van Gogh
Cezanne
Malevich
Jasper Johns

Manet for his ground breaking work in flattening the plane
van Gogh for being so brilliant and so human
Cezanne for his apples
Malevich, White Square on White may be the greatest painting ever done
Jasper Johns for his brush strokes

10% Luck

I’ve been hesitant to proclaim the news of my magazine cover, as I’m just a tad superstitious, and don’t want to jinx anything. However, it seems as if everything is in place and set to go forward. The magazine that contacted me is called Underwired. As the editor explained to me, “Underwired was designed to support women in their pursuit of meaningful work, creative passion and other spirited adventures. We launched in September in 2006, and women have rallied behind us!”

The issue I am involved with is, “June The Getaway Issue
Adventure bound, roads less traveled, riding, roving, wandering, rambling, planes, trains and automobiles, going abroad, seeing the world, globe trotting, getting lost, getting found”

I am just so incredibly honored to be a part of this. Some of the past cover artists include Claudine Hellmuth and Kelly Barton. To be in their company thrills me beyond belief!

As wise persons have said, “Success is 90% hardwork and 10% luck” Here’s to my 10% luck arriving.

IF: Wide

"ain't no river wide enough!"

-Diana Ross

nice scan

IF: electricity

Sorry for the low quality pic, I couldn't scan because the paint is still wet! But I wanted to get my image into IF before tomorrow.

school's out for summer!

Saturday was also my last class for the semester. It was my painting class and I'm even glad that is over. I'm confused about what that classes purpose actually is. Is it to teach everyone to paint like Rembrandt? Because if it is, that ain't happening. It should be a place for people to learn and explore their own artistic visions and be creative and play. I know it's a college course, and it's supposed to be "serious", but why is "realism" the golden standard.

After listening to student after student tear apart their own paintings, so dissatisfied with their work, the hopelessness, "I'll never paint like so and so..." I felt like half of them may leave and never paint again. When I chose my paintings for the final critique I used a fairly realistic portrait and some of my more "whimsical" pieces. I quickly breezed over the portrait, then talked about my mixed media pieces. The class came alive with questions, "what did you use", "how did you do that", "I really like this part" etc. I was surprised at their reactions, but I shouldn't have been. I made sure to mention, that even though my girls are not painted in a "realistic way" that I love painting like this and it makes me happy.

And isn't that what it's all about?

The big question

Had a marvelous night Saturday. Saw the Breeder’s perform, a cool sister band that’s been around since I was in high school. It was so great to see these forty something women doing what they love. They had a kind of ageless quality about themselves; if I didn’t know their ages I would have a hard time guessing. I was trying to imagine their lives, if they had children or significant others. In our society, you rarely meet people living their dreams. Sure you meet lots of mothers, teachers, engineers, lawyers, but you don’t meet rock musicians, writers, or artists. In fact, if you tell someone you’re an artist, at least in Missouri, you are likely to get a raised eyebrow. Well I wouldn’t actually know, as I have never told another “stranger” that I am an artist. I have been wondering for sometime, what event would have to take place for me to feel secure enough to say, “I am an artist”.

I may have my answer soon. A magazine, which shall remained unnamed temporarily, has contacted me, and wishes to put a painting of mine on the cover. It is a women’s magazine geared towards creativity. I think it is a small magazine, but it has a circulation of 10,000 and to me, that’s huge. To me, that means 10,000 people are going to see a piece of my work. Currently about 200 may see a painting of mine in a week’s time.

So now I have an artist’s bio and a nice photo and art on a magazine cover.

How will I answer the question of, “so what do you do?” next time I am asked…

IF: Seed

Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.
-E.B. White

holding hands

control

I don't consider myself a controlling person. I am live and let live, in theory. I roll with the punches, I go with the flow, and all that. I try to accept situations and look for the positive. That's not to say if something is making me unhappy, I won't change it, I just mean the daily nusances that crop up, like being stuck in traffic.

However, it ocured to me today, that perhaps, one of the many reasons I love painting, is the control it allows me.

When life (or my husband ;) is beyond my control, I can work on some art, and my bliss returns. It could be the creative process just makes me feel good, but it is absolutely my thing, my world, where I am the boss, I make the decisions, I am the captain of this boat.

This semester I was preparing for a presentation, and suffering some, regular readers may know of my speech anxiety. It is very hard for me to eat, relax, or even get my mind off the matter. It is a feeling of being out of control, as I have no ability to regulate the phsyiological effects of my nervousness, you know, racing heart, sweaty palms, stomache ache... On a whim, I went downstairs and started working on a painting. Magically, calm washes through me, well-being is restored, once again I am in control.

Art is so powerful, mysterious and healing.