What Happens When ...?

So what happens when you experiment on the experiment?

San Antonio Japanese Garden Bridge - 2nd revision

Now that I have scanned this painting, I realize how very much difference the lighting makes. Depending on where I put this painting, the lighting makes it look so different. I couldn't fit the whole painting on my scanner, but here is what the scanned painting looks like.

San Antonio Japanese Garden Bridge - 2nd revision

The first is a photo taken outside in natural but indirect light. The second is scanned.

This painting really does appear different in different areas of the house as well as outdoors.

To compare progression on this painting, you can view: It Was Tough Duty - But Someone Had To Do It and This Week in a Nutshell - or Bean.

I Read an Article

I read a comment by Michael Mentler (an artist whom I admire) and I came away with some interesting questions in my mind. He mentioned that you should keep your good paintings and destroy your bad ones. I found myself wondering, would I do that? I have been painting for a few years now - not full time. I have a job that doesn't include my painting, which obviously takes up some of my time, and I guess maybe some of my paintings are just for myself. Should I bother destroying these, or should I share them? I guess that remains to be seen. One painting in particular comes to mind. It is a painting that was painted soon after my last grandchild was born. He was beautiful, not like the average beautiful baby that is born. He was trizome-13 and only lived 36 hours, but they were an amazing 36 hours. A few months later, at Christmas time Matt's brother asked God, since he couldn't have his brother Matt there for Christmas, could he please have snow instead. And so it snowed for Christmas. Matt's brother lives in an area that seldom, but sometimes gets snow, and usually not for Christmas. Should I destroy the painting? I doubt that I would give it any awards in a contest. I also doubt that I will ever bother to destroy it.

I guess part of this reflection ties in with the recent death of my uncle. He lead a good and fulfilling life. He was 86 and left behind a great legacy - wife, kids and grandkids. The weekend was a time of letting go of him and celebrating his new life with his maker. It was also a marvelous opportunity to reconnect with family members, some of whom we played with as kids. All in all, it was a great weekend. One of my cousins opened his home up to us, and it was lovely. He and his wife have beautiful artwork. I loved every piece that I saw.

And so I guess I am left with the age-old question - what is good art?

It Snowed for Christmas

It Snowed for Christmas

This Week in a Nutshell - or Bean

Wanted to work on my art so this week I have been drawing beans. Twenty-six beans yesterday, 17 beans today, and many more to come - I am sure. I am trying to get better at figure drawing, which helps with drawing anything in space. So beans it is. I also went back through my photos and worked on picking photos that I want to consider for paintings. And, I keep walking past that acrylic painting that I did right before going on vacation. I am trying to decide if that needs to go into a file folder marked "Fix It Later." I am certain that I will eventually figure out what to do with it even if it is gesso and repaint. I wanted texture, but am wondering if the bubbles from the Acrylic Flow Improver, combined with the smooth panel, may have given a little too much texture. It does work well for the bricks or rocks on the bridge and ground. I'm going to have to experiment some more. It should eventually morph into something.

I am trying to keep up with both painting and drawing so that I don't lose ground in either. I am going to temporarily switch from drawing beans to gesture drawings. I still need to practice that, and I still need to wrap my head around the combination of twisting and bending put together that you have to think about with the beans.

At any rate, just so that you have something to look at, here is a photo from video footage that I took on July 4, when we visited California.

Cabrillo National Monument

And, by the way, I am still working on this.

San Antonio Japanese Garden Bridge - revised

It Was Tough Duty - But Someone Had To Do It

Just got back from vacation and as the title shows, it was tough duty, but somebody just had to do it. As you can see from these 2 last blogs, the food and beach were regimens that just had to be done. I mainly kicked back and absorbed the sights, sounds and smells, but also used my handy camera to capture scenes that I would like to paint. Probably the most "work" I did was in trying to keep up with my gesture drawing. It was fun to just relax. I will try to post some scenes later (either painted or photos).

In the meantime, I had started a painting with my new supplies from Jerry's Artarama that I had ordered. I had gotten some new acrylic medium that I wanted to try out, along with Ampersand's "The artist PANEL" primed smooth. As usual, it was an experiment. I had to stop and go on vacation (sigh) and now I am at that stage of "What do I do next?"

So here is the latest and, no I don't think that it is quite finished yet.

San Antonio Japanese Garden Bridge

Working Really Hard On My Art

Working really hard on my artwork. More to follow next week!

I Got It!

YES! I finally got it! Remember, I told you that I would let you know more when I finally got my new faucet? Well, I got it. It arrived today. Yep, right on my porch! Am I a little excited? I would say so. Took a picture of it already. It is still in the box and not looking very glamorous -- yet. But, I promise that you will get to see the "glam" shot later when my new Lita faucet is installed. I'm so excited, I could do the "Snoopy" dance right now. Do you all remember that? The way Snoopy would do his little dance when he was happy? You know, the Charles Schulz comic strip? Sorry, I just had to give a little blurb for artistic endeavors and bring in a little nostalgia.

So, be sure to tune in later for the elegant debut of Lita in upcoming months. In the meantime here is a glimpse of Lita.

My Amazing Lita Faucet That I Won From Pfister 

A Little Art in the Family

Hello everyone. I hope you don't mind the shorter posts. It takes you and me both less time. I spend less time writing them, and you spend less time reading them. That way, maybe you will actually have the time to check in and read my blog.

So, what to explore this week? Thought I would share some artwork by our grand kids. You realize that I have very carefully written up one lesson plan after another and given very intricate lessons. Hmmm. Actually, I walk in the door, my grand kids beg for my Asus Slate, I hand it to them and the rest is history. They do ask me to save their work for them because they are not sure where to find the file to save it to -- for the time being that is. They will probably learn that on their own the next time that I visit.

I have to laugh; I promise you that they are better at using the digital art software than I am. Give me a brush. Don't get me wrong. I like the digital art programs and have fun with them, but there is just something about a brush, real paint, and real paper or canvas. And I see that with them, too. They love the digital, but they like to go back and forth between the two.

Sorry, that I didn't get a picture of their artwork on paper (my excuse is that my battery on my camera was dead). But here is a peak at their digital work. Enjoy!