Friday

The week seems to have whizzed by. I don't have anything very interesting or new to share today. I have been working on a catalog for my cards, fairly boring task. Today I may cut loose and paint, to feed my soul. Here are a couple of pieces from awhile back.

Monday, Monday

Believe it or not, I really love Mondays. The weekend is sweet, hanging out with my girl, but by Monday morning, I am ready to be back at the studio. Today there are some sweet little sparrows in the bush outside my window, singing away. There is a distinct air of spring, which is very thrilling.

Several of the bloggers I follow regularly post images of their feet. Well, here are mine. Then it's off to the studio I go.

a little more new stuff

I have been making a few more small paintings the past few days. These seem to bridge my constant struggle to navigate my way between illustration and more "fine art" painting. I love the matter of paint, and have considered myself a "matter painter" because I love to emphasize the actual stuff of paint. Perhaps this is the sculptor in me as well. Yet I crave imagery, narrative, and symbolism, and have never felt fully engaged by strictly abstract work. I have never been able to just stick with one direction, or perhaps I have not yet found the one direction that suits me best.

These little paintings, of faces mostly, and a cup or a bowl, combine many of these loose threads for me. I love carving out the image with a big brush, and finding a form that way. They are painterly, and the single image is sculptural, but still engaging as subject. The ones shown here were done very quickly, and may not be quite finished yet.

I have written all this while my little one practices the piano. She stops every minute or so to ask me something. I hope the above makes a little sense, as my attention is scattered. Is there any evidence that motherhood causes ADD? It's a good thing she is so cute.

a few new things

I am starting a new series of portraits. Here are a couple for a start.




Also, I wanted to let folks know that my card sets are now available in the shop. Check them out. They are boxed with eight cards in each. If anyone wants singles, let me know. I didn't feel like listing those now, but I do have them.

Back in the Saddle

A friend emailed me that I have not posted here in a while. I am happy to know someone is reading this. There is a fine line between the wonderful new world of communication the internet allows us, and being so self-absorbed as to think that every little thought or action or image one conceives is worth pronouncing to the world via a blog. I am hoping to avoid that pitfall, while at the same time I am finding it refreshing to feel more connected to others by the ease of internet communication. I tend to be such a loner, and so private, I find opening up to be a good way of remembering my natural connection to others.

Anyway, here's what I have been doing: I cleaned the studio (somewhat) in preparation to paint.



I worked on these box designs to add card sets of both my botanicals and affirmations to my shop.




Then my sweet little Emma came down with strep throat AGAIN just a week after we got rid of it. I didn't think to dispose of her toothbrush, lip balm, etc, so that may be how she got it back. Needless to say, we both were a bit unhappy to be housebound again. So, we brought some paint home from the studio and worked in our sketchbooks.






Now I am off to the studio for some MUCH-NEEDED time alone to work and play with paints grown-up style.

Messy studio

Here are a few shots of my lovely studio. It is a great space, although I am a bit of a slob. It is due for a major cleaning and organizing. If this wonderful spring weather keeps up, I may be inspired to do the big spring purge. For now, here are a few scenes of the mess.

Emma home sick

Emma is home sick today, and there is a blizzard here in Denver. So much for my day at the studio. It's just as well; I will make soup, do laundry, clean house-- all that I did not do over the weekend. At least I went grocery shopping, so we won't have to brave the roads.
I am posting a few more images, just wanting to get my feet more wet here. These are a couple of years old. I will post newer stuff when I get things photographed. And a pic of my girls-- Emma and Nutty.

from Emma's Garden

I am in the stage of just figuring out how to use and work this blog, so bear with me. My main computer with everything on it is at the studio I have in a big, old church. I don't have internet access there, which is really a good thing as I don't have this distraction. But I need to bring home images I want to load here, and haven't figured all that out yet. I am going to put a bunch of things on etsy but need to sort that out yet, too. But, I do want to put some images on here, as this is like a new, fun toy, and I have a lot, so I am just randomly picking out what I have around now, to give a background of sorts about me and my work.
One thing I can already tell is that there is a large potential for neurosis here. So many choices! Color of type, background color, layout, on and on. I am one who works and reworks just about everything. In my paintings this creates a rich patina, but here, well, I will see. There is also the glorious feeling of just lettin' it rip... Here is a series of botanical images done over the past couple of years entitled Emma's Garden in honor of my daughter Emma. They started as preliminary sketches for large paintings, done in gouache on paper. I ended up liking the small ones even more, so made more, and have been selling them as prints. A few originals are still available, and the prints are open edition. Cards with these images are also available. (click on image to see larger)

The painting behind my head

Someone asked me what the painting is behind my head in my profile photo. Here it is, and the title is The Rites of Spring. I finished it this winter, despite the title. (Maybe wishful thinking.) It was one of those I kept layering over; finally the green emerged, triumphant, as spring. This is still available, price on request. It is 36" x 36", mixed media on canvas. (click on image to see larger, and on white background)

Sculpture from a few years ago

Here is a large sculpture I did a few years ago, entitled Seedbed. I joined Facebook and have been talking to my old friends from Bennington College where I went for grad school. I ended up switching my focus from painting to sculpture while there. I am not one to stay in any artistic vein for long, and I have felt schizoid about that at times. Now I just accept that all that I make is related on some level, and I wind in and out of various styles and materials as I feel internally (or externally because of money or studio space) driven to do so. It's all good...
This piece is made of steel, concrete, plaster, and bee's wax. Dimensions are approx. 12'L x 4' W x 10'H.

Here it is at last

I am finally getting around to making this blog, something I have wanted to do for quite awhile. I look forward to being amongst all you other bloggers out there. Here I want to share images and thoughts about art, craft, making things of all sorts, and making a living as an artist entrepreneur. For now, I just want to see the first post here, under my banner. Soon I will post images of my work, studio, and inspirations. I will start my etsy shop next, so please put me in your radar. Cheers!