New Collages

Robert Henri wrote in The Art Spirit, "I think the real artists are too busy with just being and growing and acting (on canvas or however) like themselves to worry about the end. The end will be what it will be. The object is intense living, fulfillment; the great happiness in creation."

I have been playing with a collage layering workshop that one of the Yahoo groups that I belong to offered. The group is The Latest Trends in Mixed Media art. I'm not sure if it is not done. In the first picture I applied various papers, second I added color and in the third gesso and more color. There are more steps but I think I will life with it for awhile.

a lens...a brush...a stroke

I'm currently in a show with two other artists. It is at a very busy coffee shop in downtown Ann Arbor Michigan called Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea Cafe. We had an Artist Reception this past Friday. The other two artists, Marty Walker and Wendy Chaiken, are also members of Ann Arbor Women Artists. What fun to plan this and then see your work up and admired, sure can't beat that. Well, maybe a sale or two would be icing on the cake.

Wedding News

What a beautiful day we had for our daughter's wedding. The day was perfect, the dress, the food, the family and friends even the sunset was perfect.The kids planned everything and we were so proud of them. We were at Michilinda Lodge in Whitehall Michigan, right on Lake Michigan

Artist Retreat

I had the opportunity to spent some time this summer up in Manistee Michigan with some fellow artists. We all belong to the Chelsea Painters. Bill Knudstrup, a wonderful oil painter, opened up his summer home to us. There were discussions about art and many about politics, what with the big election coming up but there was always time to enjoy the sunset with friends. I hope to paint this little girl who was attempting to fly with her beach towel.

Honorable Mention

This painting - Keeping It All Together - got an Honorable Mention at the Summer Show with the Ann Arbor Women Artists. It is a transfer and then I added pastel, colored pencil and some fluid  acrylic. I did it for another show - the Art of Healing. It was also juried in that show.

Memories of June

Where has this summer gone? I know I have not posted in a while. June started with my annual art fair with the Chelsea Painters. I can not believe I have been a member now for two years. It is an honor to paint with such talented artists. This is me in front of one of my favorite pieces, called - Nana's Love. The other picture is of my daughter who helped me out for the week end. It is a lot of  work but fun and I had a good year with sales. We only had one down pour and that was at the end of the second day. Thank goodness my daughter was there as I was making my last sale of the day, and she saved my cart of artwork that a big gust of wind had taken away.

Ladies of Leisure

Nancy Feldkamp sent me a jpeg of one of her great sheep paintings so you can all enjoy it. I have the pleasure of painting often with her. Her eye for color and design sense always amazes me. In the future I hope to show you some other artist that I have the pleasure of knowing. This is watercolor done on yupo paper. They are indeed Ladies of Leisure.

The Insecurity of Artists

I just spent some time with a wonderful artist, Nancy Feldkamp. She does these wonderful painting of sheep on yupo using watercolors. It was funny to have her talk about her own insecurities about her work. She being so accomplished but I guess it's true that we all struggle with this. I love the Carl Rogers quote "We can copy others, we can live to please others, or we can discover that which is unique and precious to us, and paint that, become that. It is a task which takes a lifetime." Amen to that . I love red tulips, they seem so strong and beautiful. This piece is called Tulips. It is watercolor on rice paper then beeswax applied as a resist and then removed and mounted on watercolor paper. Lots of steps but I liked the result.

Dusk

It has been so long snce I have posted. I have been busy making art. What fun I am having and entering shows and getting in. It's always exciting to have your work recognized. Right now I'm at the Riverside Art Center in Ypsilanti Mi. with the Ann Arbor Women Artists Juried Spring Show. So much wonderful art and artists who are always willing to share their expertise with you. This piece is called Dusk. It is a Mixed Media with photo transfer and then acrylic and colored pencil.

Ladies in Waiting

I've always known I've had some gifts that I was suppose to share with the world but I never knew what they were. I thought if I could only learn more, become the best at something. I was on this constant course of self improvement. It's taken me many life lessons to stop the urgent race to fulfill my special and unique potential. I am now ready to allow myself to be ordinary me and find comfort in the being rather then in the becoming. It's what I love about art. It is all in the doing that I love. Finding new ways, methods, playing with the materials. I understand now that the biggest waste of a life is never being present in it.

This is a watercolor I did awhile ago called Ladies in Waiting. I would apply washes and then bring out the figures by just using a brush filled with water to get back to the white of the paper.

Creativity

I love this quote from Rita Mae Brown. "Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work." I have been working a lot lately, doing photo transfers and then adding paint, collage even some colored pencils. I have been entering some juried shows and getting in. The latest show was called Aging with Attitude and this was my piece. It's called Nana's Love. It was hard to photograph because there is beeswax over the transfer. I hope to age with as much grace. It always helps to hold a little one. 

Journey

It's funny how titles of my work come to me. I really don't like art work that is "Untitled " followed with a number or a letter.Words are important and hold meaning to me. This painting is a watercolor pour and then I used some of the papers that I poured on to use as a collage in the piece. When I finished and put it up to enjoy and the word -journey - jumped out at me. There is a saying about it is not the destination but the journey that will bring you the joy. In my art it is all about the journey, the joy of exploring a new media and having fun with the process.It is also about balance and finding that space for some quiet time. You can't meditate fast. I am still working on finding the balance that worked for me.

Busy, busy,

I can not believe I have not posted in such a long time. I had all these good intentions of doing this at least twice a month. I have been busy getting work ready for some shows that I am in. This picture is of a piece I did back in college and just went off with my son across country. He is started a new job in California. I call her - The Lady -  She is done with crayon, colored into little squares. I was very proud of her. They say you should look at your work across time. I guess I was always interested in the dignity of faces and stories that they tell or perhaps the stories that the viewers give them.

Success

Don't you love it when things work out? I had this transfer and I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I started to clean up my work area and saw all these scraps left over from a watercolor pour that I had done and just loved how they looked, so collaged them onto the transfer. I really like the look. I called it - child of god - . Sometimes it pays to have chaos in the stuudio

Experimenting again

I was going to do thos once a week but life got in the way. This piece is another photo transfer over an unsuccessful monotype. Then I decided to put some beeswax over that and then I collaged some painted art paper. This was the technique from my Yahoo Art Techniques group that I am a member of. I attached the paper with beeswax. I'm not sure if I like the affect. The title is  "silence".

Nana

This is a piece I am currently working on. This is a photo transfer using gel medium over a collage of pattern pieces and the Sunday comics. My Nana taught me how to sew and laugh at myself and just to enjoy life, quite a gift for a little girl.

This is a piece I am currently working on. It started out as a photo transfer then played with some paint and then some beeswax and a heat gun, next I put the rosary on using wax as glue. I'm not sure where I will go next. It may become part of an altered art piece I have been playing with in my mind. Alan Alda said," You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of yor intuition. You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk, and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you will discover will be wonderful. What you will discover will be yourself."

Show at Flint Art Institute

This piece is called The Land Ladies. It is a mixed media with paint , a photo transfer and lots of texture. It won third place in a juried show at Uof M hosptal. The Ann Arbor Women Artists and a few Good Men board members have a show in Flint at the Art Institute. A very nice museum that I had never even been to and right in my own back yard, shame on me. The museum has just been remodeled and was a pleasure to tour. I've been doing some reading about Nathan Oliveira. I find his figures so haunting.I love this quote of his, "I believe in an art that layers time upon time, an art that simply reaffirms our presence and the depth of our extence on this earth, our planet in the universe."

Photoshop fun

This picture is of a young lady that I am mentoring. She wants to be an artist. We had fun using my digital camera and then playing with the photos in Photoshop. I still have so much to learn about this powerful program, sometimes I feel that my brain is going to explode and then I see how long I have been on the computer and I hurry off to my studio.  I am working on some pieces for a show in March called "Aging with Attitude". I'll be posting them at a later date.