Garden memories, Robert Motherwell and Harriet Beecher Stowe......

A friend once told me that being an artist is a lonely business, because it is just you and the canvas. That is true to a point, I have been doing a lot of reading lately and came across an article about Robert Motherwell, he believed that he was just a channel, "you just have to let go, and the brush will stumble on what one couldn't do by oneself. " Harriet Beecher Stowe also believed that when she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, there was" another hand" that was there writing through her. She said in an interview that she never knew what was going to come next. 

After finding a photo I had taken of our granddaughter I decided to paint and let memory and the brush take over. It was a fun painting to do, there are still so many things I don't like.....too controlled, the colors are a bit off.......and on and on.....so it goes. Until the next time, any comments greatly appreciated, It is nice knowing that I am not alone, there are other artists out there doing the same thing. And, sometimes in the quiet of the studio, the painting does talk back, and the brush does know where to go..... until then I'll just keep painting.

Getting Real And Personal In The Pursuit Of Happiness

Is there anything more exciting than watching a bunch of kids play the last game of the season? Recently we watched a friend's son play their last game of the season, at 6 he is more interested in playing than the score! Now, that is the real pursuit of happiness......so, I am on my own journey of "painting happiness." I am trying different paints, methods, and subjects, just painting what I like,  and trying to rediscover me, and my style.

 But, I do have a question,  can anybody reccomend a good camera for shooting people in the distance, my point and shoot is not making the grade.  I love to paint kids and this was "The last Game" I did this in oils; using a brush is different from the oil bars, but, I am getting more comfortable with the oils and brushes. Any comments greatly appreciated, love hearing from you. Happy Summer!

You win some you loose some

July has come to the Northwest, finally! My peas are up and the deer have found them! I entered a show and didn't get in, and was really upset, decided to donate all my supplies to the school, and turn the studio into an exercise room.......and so it goes. The good news is my miniatures got into the show( a different juror) and one miniature won 2nd place. So, just goes to show you win some you loose some. In the words of Kahlil Gibran " My soul preached to me and said: Do not be delighted because of praise, and do not be distressed because of blame." Since I don't have a picture of the winning miniature I am posting a picture of the first day at the beach.......the kids couldn't wait to run down to the ocean, such joy!

 Enjoy, and to all of you wonderful bloggers out there......Happy Fourth!

Remembering: Patterns and Meaning

This is Marion and Pearl the cat. Marion is on her way to grad school to be a Vet. Sadly Pearl is gone, she used to love to roll in the catnip in our front yard. I painted this picture for Marion as a graduation gift, we've known her since she was about 7, and have loved seeing her blossom into a wonderful young woman. I painted a picture of her and her brother right after they moved in. I really enjoy painting children, and find that that is a pattern in my life, so I have decided to continue on painting children.

Albert Camus said" A person's work is nothing but a long journey to recover, through the detours of art, the two or three simple and great images which first gained access to their hearts." I feel the colors could be a little brighter, I was trying to loosen up, my husband thinks it is great. He's great! Any comments greatly appreciated.

Chickens and Art and Thomas Keller

How does all of that go together? I ran across a quote from Thomas Keller, it is about cooking but could easily apply to art, from His French Laundry cook book. "When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy. That's what cooking  is all about." I got to thinking about this passage as I was trying to  paint the other day and becoming discouraged, and realized if you substituted art for food it makes perfect sense! So, I am posting my Chicken, not perfect but the attempt to paint it was fun and I did learn a thing or two. So here is my humble attempt at a chicken for the DPW chicken challenge. I tried painting it on a piece of canvas from a canvas pad, thought it would be easier to scan, and it was. Our daughter has just added some chickens to the family, so I hope to paint more.
Thanks for stopping by, look forward to hearing from you.

When the Sun Shines in Seattle

This past weekend we finally had warm days and sunshine. I was inside working at the Washington State PEO convention. Some of you will know about PEO, a wonderful woman's organization that is dedicated to helping women through education. I love hearing about and seeing the women who have benefitted from our scholarships. The fellowship that this organization brings is wonderful. So, even though it was sunny outside I was happy to be inside helping and sharing with a group of wonderful women!

This little girl shows her enthusiasm for a sunny day by the lake. I want to take off my shoes and run down to the lake too, and enjoy the sailboats out for the races, see Mt. Rainier at one end of the lake and Mt. Baker at the other end. 

I am back to painting and hope I will be able to post more. Thanks again for stopping by and visiting, let me know what you think. Happy painting and happy summer.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have been busy with welcoming the new members to Women Painters of Washington, and cleaning out my studio. It was a joy to welcome 10 very talented painters to our organization last Wednesday. There are so many wonderful artists out there, it is a constant joy to meet so many talented artists. Since I had gotten off track with my own painting I decide the best thing to do would be to clean my studio and make room for new ideas. Buried under papers, I found this illustration that I had done many years ago. It also reminded me that I had a hard time drawing people and I solved my problem by emphasizing design. So, I share this with you all. It would be fun to hear your comments. Thanks again to all of you who comment and encourage it is a delight to get to you. Sorry it seems a bit small here, it was a black and white ad in our local newspaper......back when they used fashion illustrations!