I'm realizing that if I keep waiting for the perfect time to blog (when I feel good, when I have news, when I've finished a painting, when the house is quiet, etc), I won't blog. So now I have to catch up on what's been goin' on!
Both of my paintings were jurored in to the South Carolina State Fair. Yea Rah!! Dear Husband and I attended the premier reception and I was blown away by both the amateur (me) and professional art, especially the watercolor paintings, which, even in the amateur division, were terrific.
To top off my experience, I received an email the other day from a fair attendee who liked my painting of the copper pot and lemons, googled my name and tracked me down requesting a commission of a similar painting. We chatted for over 45 minutes on the phone. It was wonderful to have been sought out like that. I'll find out if anyone else had an interest in my fall scene or not when I pick up the paintings on Monday.
The painting I started on Painting For Peace Day is finished, approved and mailed off. With any luck it will arrive today in time for it to be presented as a gift. Then I can share it. It was quite a challenge, but then, it seems everything I do is a challenge. I'm beginning to understaynd that's the way it works. Every subject matter is different and, because water never flows the same way and, when mixing colors, they never look or work the same way twice, the challenge is to constantly adjust to what happens, learn to work with it and try to make it both meaningful and beautiful.
Tuesday a week ago I attended my wonderful Gentle Yoga Class at City Yoga. Our instructor had us turn on our mats to face the wall and I realized my painting of the building had been framed and hung on the wall.
After class it was an opportune time to let the other yoga devotees know that I have prints available. Happily a couple who is moving from the Columbia area jumped at the chance to purchase something to remind them of one of their favorite places in the city.
Tuesday night I camed down with the doozy of all colds - head and chest and fever. UGH! Fortunately I could just go to bed with it and let Dear Husband tend to me, the dogs and the house. He made me a big pot of his chili and I must admit that, besides being a work of art, it's right up there with chicken soup when it comes to dealing with a cold. Not wanting to spread my germs I didn't join my Wednesday group but did start another commission. Yesterday I finished that panting and today it was approved of and complimeted so I'm happy. Waiting for a commission to be approved of and liked is like being back in high school and waiting by the phone for a boy to call ... except at least I can leave the house now thanks to cell phones and email. I think it's safe to share this painting because, although it's a surprise gift, I doubt that the receiver follows this blog.
Painting a commission from a photo you don't take yourself can sometimes require a lot of communication with the photographer in order to paint something that is also artistic / painterly. In this case I needed to bring light into the painting, especially on the front porch, which was very dark in the photo but also where so much sweetness was due to the rockers and wreath. I added some yellow and fall colors to the trees in the background to bring in some warmth. I also up rooted the tree on the right and transplanted it over about 3" so it wouldn't block the smaller tree. I'm learnig that I can make the sun shine where I want it to when I paint!
I'll close with a quote I read this morning when I was pondering what I'd be painting if I didn't have another commission to do first. (sorry for the small type - it's a cut and paste). I think I'd like to try some abstract painting!
Artists who work in a representational style can benefit from a set-of-abstracts experiment. Whether you're hostile to the idea of abandoning reality or have long craved the idea of flying without a net, building a series using only aesthetic intuition will test your design chops and could have a positive influence on your more conventional compositions. "When you see a fish you don't think of its scales, do you? You think of its speed, its floating, flashing body seen through the water. If I made fins and eyes and scales, I would arrest its movement, give a pattern or shape of reality. I want just the flash of its spirit." (Constantin Brancusi)
