Figuratively Speaking - Sorting It Out

8"x10" oil  $75

It was a discovery for me that I really like the shape of circles and bubbles.  I have always loved bubbles, their shape, flexibility, reflective quality, but didn't realize how drawn (pun intended) to them I am.  Generally I paint alla prima (doing the entire painting in one session) but I let this one percolate for a while while "sorting it out."  What I mostly love about painting abstracts is that it makes me think differently.  A book, a movie, a play, a dance, a poem, music, even an exquisite meal, that makes me think differently brings me joy.  I am currently reading a satirical book about the ideal Republican.  I believe its intention is to look at the foibles of Republican thought and policy by expressing an inflated belief in them, but mostly it comes across as sarcastic.  I am not sure its intention is to also poke fun at a particularly narrow minded liberal attitude about conservatives, but it succeeds on that end as well.  So why am I reading it?  The reason is to understand the author better.  This is the second book I have read recently to better understand these authors as humans, because they touch the lives of those I care about.  Then I think about writing a blog and how that tells something about who I am.  Too bad we can't read our own writing totally objectively, or evaluate our own artistic endeavors totally objectively.  All we can do is try to "sort it all out" as best we can.  Go figure.

Figuratively Speaking - Take a Moment

8"x8" oil SOLD

This is always a hectic month.  I am not sure how you avoid the hustle and bustle but I do know that taking a few moments on a regular basis to just breathe is a great idea.  Some of the ways I take it in is to take a walk, especially in the woods, do yoga, swim, and of course paint.  However, those things only work if I am willing to let everything else go and just be in the moment.  I am curious how you relax and regain sanity.  Do you read a good book or listen to or play music?  Let me know!

The S6"x6" inger

6"x6" oil price $100

One of the nice things about going to gallery openings, besides the wine and appetizers, good company, and great art, is the music.  I took a photo of this musician singing and playing at the Chaffee Art Center which is housed in a lovely old mansion.  It really is a treasure for Rutland City, and the central Vermont area.  I liked using the birch panel for the floors and walls.  Actually the walls are white and the floor is oak.  I do not know this musician and am sorry I didn't write his name down. He looked to me to be part Native American.  Is it wrong to mention what you think someone's ethnic background is???  Mine is Dutch, English, Irish and German.  There You go!

The Harpist

This piece tells too much of the story.  I liked yesterday's painting better because it told only enough of the story...her hands.  I also liked the abstract quality of that painting.  I am learning....and one thing that really struck me this week is the importance of some mystery in the work.  I think that is true. This is Day 22.

The Harpist Hands

6"x6" oil $100

Can you hear the music?

Duet

8"x10" oil

This painting was inspired by a photo taken by Carol Ricker who is a pianist and teacher. These little girls were playing a duet.  The original photo was a close-up of their backs and I loved the subject matter, so I added the missing details of the piano with flowers and their stool and legs.  This is why I say that I use photo references as inspiration or a jumping off place.  It is a bit like a movie about some specialist and only experts in that particular field would be able to tell the fictional parts of the character.  Sometimes it is more convincing than at other times.  For instance, I question the validity of Matt Damon's character in the Martian when he duct taped his suit and tent together on Mars to keep the integrity of air pressure.  Duct tape is amazing stuff...but...really?

A Few of My Favorite Things

5"x8" oil

I set up this still life with lovely flowers in my favorite twisted purple glass vase, a lavender candle, a book, my journal, and a CD and my favorite tea cup.  I went into Mr. Twitters, a local shop that is a fabulous plant nursery, antique shop, and gift shop.  I saw this iridescent tea cup as part of a brass candle holder and fell in love with it.  The shop owner graciously took it apart and sold me the tea cup at a really low price.  It is lavender/blue on the outside and orangy-gold on the inside.  I painted it for myself, which I rarely do.

Pink and Green

6"x6" oil

Can you hear the music of the waves?

Music

2"x6.5" acrylic

These abstracts are a result of a Mareva Millarc workshop I attended.  I titled this one "Music" because it has order and rhythm and little singing notes!

Entertainment8"x8"

8"x8" oil

The inspiration for this was and old vinyl album cover I saw.  I have great memories of listening to records with my sister on an old player like this.  My mom didn't learn how to read until she was an adult because she was severely dyslectic.  When her mother died, she had to stay home and help raise her brothers and sisters.  She kept this a secret for most for her life which just goes to show how brilliant she really was, as none of us knew and she was a bookkeeper in the Navy.  Anyway, she gave us many story and music albums when we were little because she didn't read out loud to us. One of my favorites was Peter and the Wolf, which also was a method for teaching different instruments in the orchestra.  Mom eventually became an obsessive reader.  I have great admiration for her all the things she overcame to become an artist and fabulous person.
To purchase this painting go here. 

To sign up for my newsletter go here

To "like" my fanpage go here
To go to my website click here
To see my DPW gallery go here 

Book Ilustration "Music"

9"x9" acrylic

My grandson loves playing my violin.  I may have to get my bow restrung, but that is a small price to pay to see how much he loves fiddling around.  This painting was inspired by an evening when he and his family were visiting.  He was playing the fiddle, his brother was gingerly tapping the piano, his dad was playing the guitar and singing, and his mom was playing the penny flute.  It was a cacophony of lovely sounds as of course they were not playing the same tunes!  Am I having fun?  Yes I am!

To sign up for my newsletter go here
To "like" my fanpage go here
To go to my website click here
To see my DPW gallery go here 

Prelude in D Minor

5"x7" oil

This is another exploration of color and music inspired by Rachmaninoff.  I especially like the explosion of pink at the top center and the wavy lines.  I think I learn a lot in these playful pieces.  However, retention of my learning may be another issue....

 To purchase this painting click here

To sign up for my newsletter go here
To "like" my fanpage go here
To go to my website click here
To see my DPW gallery go here 

Concerto in C Minor

5"x7" oil

This past weekend I did a stone carving workshop.  It was a 2 day affair and I had every intention of finishing my piece in the 16 hours I devoted to it, but you know what they say about the best layed plans of mice and men.... The workshop was filled with interesting conversations about a myriad of topics including the connection between art and music.  This inspired me to do some color studies using music as my inspiration.  I am keeping a notebook (gessoed canvas paper) of my color mixes, which is a little tricky with oils since they dry so slowly.  I am covering each page with wax paper, which will further delay the drying time, but also preserve the mix.  As I do the color mixes, I also am doing a painting, like this first piece, in which I chose (after listening to a lot of music) Rachmaninoff's Concerto #2.  He wrote this concerto in 1900 after a serious spell with depression that lasted about 10 years.  He had completely given up music and then started therapy with Dr. Dahl who used the auto-suggestion statement, "You will begin to write your concerto.  You will work with great facility.  The Concerto will be of excellent quality."  The result, is that we now have this lovely piece of music.  It is interesting how many artists suffer from depression...I guess from trying to reach that intangible thing!

 To purchase this painting click here

To sign up for my newsletter go here
To "like" my fanpage go here
To go to my website click here
To see my DPW gallery go here 

The Music Maker

6"x6" oil

If we could all be as brave and free as a little one banging away at the piano. I really want to learn to play the fiddle.  I heard on an interview on NPR the other day that for someone to be a professional classical violinist they need to start at 3 or 7 at the latest.  How can a 3 year old know what they want to do with their life?  I am a whole lot older than that and still figuring it out!  Well clearly I will never be a professional classical violinist, but I can still have fun like this baby.  I can make my own music, discover what a violin can do in the hands of a neophyte grandma, and learn a little on the way as well.  Thanks for looking at my work.  I hope you can hear the music.

 To purchase this painting go here.

To sign up for my newsletter go here
To "like" my fanpage go here
To go to my website click here
To see my DPW gallery go here