Category: Thoughts

Things I’m learning in Artworld.

Thinking like an artist

You know how you just cruise along, living your life, not giving any thought to how you measure up to anyone else? (Maybe you think about other people’s opinions, but I don’t very often.) So you’re just cruising along, doing what you do, doing what comes naturally, and BOOM! Someone tells you that you are weird! Weird? Nope, I’m just unique.

Here is an example: I just finished knitting a pair of socks for a friend. She chose and bought the yarn; I turned it into socks. While the socks were in process, I noticed that the colors on the Mineral King Road were the same as the yarn. That’s not weird, is it? (not that I care if you all think I’m weird – I’m just sort of wondering)

Time Out

In The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, she insists that field trips are very important to cultivating creativity. Yesterday, I took her advice (or was I using it as an excuse to mess around instead of work?) Have you ever heard of the Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno? I’ve been wanting to visit since 1978 but just haven’t. The gardens get closed from time to time for renovation, and when they are open, I am usually in Mineral King. Yesterday, I finally got to see this incredible place! http://www.undergroundgardens.info/ I can’t wait to go back (wish they rented it out for overnight stays!)

Fresno Underground Gardens

Too Much Beauty?

One of my favorite authors is John Eldredge. In Journey of Desire, he writes this about beauty:“We need not fear indulging here. The experience of beauty is unique to all the other pleasures in this: there is no possessive quality to it. Just because you love the landscape doesn’t mean you have to acquire the real estate. Simply to behold the flower is enough; there is nothing in me that wants to consume it. Beauty is the closest thing we have to fullness without possessing on this side of eternity. “Try to grasp these two huge ideas:1. You simply cannot have too much beauty. It is one thing where you do not have to worry about overindulging. It isn’t illegal, immoral or fattening, although it might be addicting! If so, it is definitely a healthy addiction. 2. You don’t have to own, accumulate or acquire anything to appreciate beauty. It can be found almost anywhere, and no credit card is required! ONE FINAL CLOSING THOUGHT: This too comes from a John Eldredge book. Of course we long for beauty! Our original home was the Garden of Eden!

Sunny Sequoias IX – oil on wrapped canvas – 16 x 20 – SOLD

oil paintings

Inner Slob

You have probably heard it said that inside each fat person is a thin one screaming to be set free.

I am the converse of that statement.

Don’t think that I think I am thin; I’m not, but I’m certainly not obese.(or “obeast” as I heard an acquaintance once pronounce it. I’m guessing she isn’t much of a reader.)

However, each day as I march out the door to take a power walk (4-8 miles at a 15 minute mile pace), I am leaving coffee, a comfortable armchair, the woodstove in the winter, knitting, my Bible, a library book or two, my cats, and many other lovely sedentary preoccupations.

Each day as I resolutely march out to my studio to paint, draw, plan, return phone calls or any other task necessary to keeping my business going, I pass numerous Adirondack chairs strategically placed around my yard for the purpose of taunting me.

They call out, they whisper, they cajole, they plead.

What are they saying? “Sit and knit!

Enjoy life from a stationary viewpoint!

Relax!

LEAVE THE INNER FAT GIRL ALONE!”

One time I finally sat down and this is what happened to the chair. A girl could get a fat complex. . .

Breakthrough!

First published in January 2009

This little gem is a sneak peak at the Giant Project, known hereon as GP. Why am I teasing you with this? Because I have had a victory and want to share it! I have been fighting my paint and brushes, trying like crazy to get them to do what I want. I struggle along, wondering if I will ever learn to paint properly, wondering why I can’t get anything to do what I request, wondering why no matter how many hours spent it still looks like a dog’s breakfast.

On Sunday a.m. a bottle of linseed oil appeared on my front porch with a note from my 6th grade teacher. (He signed it “Tom S.” and I thought it was from someone I know here in town because I always think of my 6th grade teacher’s first name as “Mr.”, not “Tom”, for goodness sake!)

Like the good girl that I try to be, I wrote him a thank you note and wondered if I would ever have a use for linseed oil in painting because my earlier attempts at using it have been crap less than satisfactory. It left random shiny spots on the painting which I tried to ignore, and then a well meaning friend said, “I like this painting but it has shiny spots on it”.

Then I learned about some special recipe from the teacher at the junior college where I soldiered through half a semester of a painting class 2 years ago. (I sort of knew he and I weren’t a good teacher-student match when he said to me “The trouble is, you don’t know how to draw!” Okay, thanks for that helpful tidbit Mister, but I am about to have an opening of a solo show of my drawings so your opinion of my abilities is crap less than satisfactory.) Anyway, this special recipe also made random shiny spots and was weird to use, sort of sticky and it made the color too weak, and I could see no point to using it. Maybe if I had stayed the entire semester I would have learned how to solve this problem, but it seemed that staying home to paint was a better use of my time than driving 80 minutes round trip for each class that was mostly just easel time with bad light and bad rap “music”.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I bravely went out to the easel, determined to master this problem of misbehaving paint and WHAM! into my brain came the idea of linseed oil from Mr. S. (the good teacher who taught me how to draw but denies it saying I already knew. . . go figure! I knew how to draw in 6th grade but somehow forgot through my career of drawing?)

Knowing things on the easel couldn’t possibly get any worse, I tried the linseed oil mixed with the paint and it was MAGICAL! It was fabulous! All I can say is THANK YOU GOD for sending Mr. S by with that linseed oil, even before I knew it was needed so desperately!

Murals

Reflection of societal values

First published in January 2009

The post “Art and the Economy” made me think about my art and if it serves the functions that were written about in Art Calendar magazine. Take the cheerful little cheap inexpensive painting of Three Peppers IV, which I am showing you again in order to lift your spirits with the state of the economy. 1. Is this a “non liquid asset par excellence”? It is certainly non liquid, and I think it is excellent. (I might change my mind in a few months as my abilities increase.)

2. How does this “reflect societal values”? Food is good. We like to eat. Variety it good. Color sells. Peppers are affordable. Peppers are good for you. Okay, this painting qualifies in this category.

3. Have I “offered new insight”? Lots of people paint peppers in the 3 colors, sometimes even four (peppers come in orange too). But how many people paint them in a blue colander, hunh?? Okay, got that one nailed! (This is exhausting my feeble mind, but for the sake of intellectual discussion I will soldier on bravely)

4. Does this painting “offer a new perspective of reality”? How many of you look at your groceries as art? Are you inspired to view your food from the perspective of beauty in addition to nutrition? Were you aware of the dual purposes of edibles? Aha! There’s a “new perspective of reality” for you!!

Excuse me. I think I need to go lie down for awhile from all this heavy mental lifting. Better yet, perhaps I will knit a few rows on the hat I am making FOR THE FOURTH TIME (but I am not upset about it – I am economizing on yarn with the state of the economy in these economic hard times et cetera)

Art and the economy

First published January 2009

Have you noticed how often the phrase “with the state of the economy” is getting used these days? Tiresome to hear the repetition of whatever phrase the media and culture latches onto. . . sigh. Anyway, here are a few thoughts about art in “these current economic times” (another worn out phrase – sorry!)

In the current issue of Art Calendar magazine (note the correct usage of the word “issue” here), there are several articles about selling art in an economic slowdown. One speaks of art as the “non liquid asset par excellence”. It also discusses art as a “reflection of societal values”, and as a chance to “offer new insight and perspectives of reality”. Is that what I do???

If so, it just happens, because my thought pattern is rather predictable when it comes to making art. First thought: “How beautiful!” Second thought: “Can I capture that first on film and then on canvas or paper?” Third thought: “I wonder if that will sell. . . ” I have never considered my art to be a non liquid asset, only a way to bring joy and beauty and memories and peaceful happy thoughts to my customers’ lives! (what kind of a simpleton am I anyway???)

My “guru”, Jack White writes about all the people whom are not affected by the economic slowdown. These are nurses, ambulance drivers, teachers, fire fighters, law enforcers, just to name a few. He says that these folks are our customers. In my opinion, these have always been my customers. Who else lives around here? I know one or two people who do esoteric stock market type jobs, and they aren’t any bigger customers than my blue-collar buyers.

Perhaps the way to survive “the current state of the economy” (sheeesh! how else can this be phrased??) is to live in a continually semi-depressed rural economy so that “these current economic times” are hardly noticed as any different (other than the excess of those hackneyed phrases).

For example, I know a guy who has been waiting months and months for 4 different contractors to bid on building a new house for him. Last night in Costco, it was crowded and shelves were empty (Hey! can I get some mozzarella cheese over here??) My husband and I have had our new roof lying in our yard for 2-3 years waiting for our favorite carpenter to install it and even with the state of the economy (sorry) he is still too busy.

Here, let your spirits be lifted with this bright, cheerful, colorful and cheap inexpensive painting! Three Peppers IV, 6″x6″, oil on wrapped canvas, SOLD (I certainly hope so, since 2009!)

art business

All About Drawing Pencils

I use three different brands of pencils. None is particularly better than any other, but my current favorite is the red one, Stabilo. I can’t find them anymore, but being someone who dislikes shopping, I haven’t tried very hard yet. The blue ones, Staedtler, are pretty good, quite dark, but not as dark as the Stabilo. Turquoise, made by Sanford, are the ones I used in college, so there is a weird sense of loyalty even though they aren’t as dark as the others. Besides, they are very easy to find. There are other brands, but these are enough for me. You can see colored pencils in the cups in the background, but that is for another entry.

That little black and silver dealie on the end of the three pencils in the lid of the box is a pencil extender. It used to be a bit of a game to me to see how short I could get a pencil and still use it. Then carpal tunnel syndrome kicked in, and it became clear that the longer the pencil, the less the pain.

For years I drew without understanding what the H and B actually stood for on those drawing pencils. With some reading, I finally learned that H is for Hard and B is for Black. The higher the number with the letter, the more there is of that particular quality. So a 5H is harder (and lighter) than an H (which is 1H but the 1 is assumed). A 6B is blacker (and softer) than a 3B. An HB is exactly in the middle, and is the equivalent of a #2.

And get this: the lead is a combination of graphite and clay. The more clay, the harder and lighter the pencil. The more graphite, the softer and blacker the pencil. Ever used a pencil that scratched? It probably had a rough piece of clay in it. (Don’t you just hate that?)

Sometimes students ask why the pencils don’t come with erasers. EASY answer! Because we would use the eraser up long before the pencil, and then we would automatically flip the pencil over to erase and scratch our drawings. By forcing us to develop the habit of picking up the separate eraser, the pencil manufacturers are sparing us some unnecessary pain. (And for that,we thank you, lovely Pencil Manufacturers.)

All this leaves me with some questions: 1. Who decided that hard is the opposite of black? and 2. What in the world does F stand for? 3. How does this all fit with the school-type rating of pencils, 1, 2 and 3?

How splitting wood is like drawing with pencils

Sports are not for me – in fact, I’ve been known to say that I have only two sports: walking and splitting wood. I love to split wood! That is the axe my dear husband gave me for my birthday, and this weekend I was thrilled to get to try it.

As I was splitting wood, it occurred to me that there are many parallels between splitting wood with an axe and drawing with a pencil. Look at these:

1. Neither require electricity.

2. Both require a sharp edge – blade or point.

3. For best results, start with the large and move to the small.

4. They both make wood bits – shavings from the sharpener or splinters from the axe.

5. Lots of strokes are required for results.

6. One has to start with good stuff to get decent results – great scenes make great drawings, and good clean-grained wood makes good shaped pieces.

7. Both require paying close attention to what one is doing, unless one doesn’t mind wasting time and energy.

8. The terms “hard” and “soft” are always being flung around, both with wood and with pencils.

9. Cedar makes the best pencils and also the best-splitting wood.

I’m sure there are more parallels; can you think of any?