HOLIDAY INSPIRATION

Once again, I was in New York at the most glorious time of year, the winter holidays. If there is any doubt in your mind that there is no holiday spirit......I was there( the I have no holiday spirit part).....just visit New York, smell the chestnuts, see the crowds, look in the windows, go to the open air holiday markets and be with good friends.

We saw the amazing windows at Bergdorfs (always the best, in my opinion), and went to a number of art exhibits and the Fashion Institute of Technology to see the Daphne Guiness exhibit .The Bergdorf windows always inspire me.( I was just glancing back to last years post at this time and I created some work in response to what I saw in the windows then.) I was intrigued this year by fashion as art and the people that are drawn to it. I have been experimenting with water color paints and yupo paper and found that using fashion and portrait paining lent themselves very well to the medium.

 

Portrait of Daphnie Guiness from a photograph

Window inspiration

Photo from a Chanel advertisement.......I was terrified to try to draw the perspective of the angle of this model. Is she super thin or is it just the camera lens?

My interpretation

Bergdorf window with "distorted model".

Happy Holidays ...from this crazy window gazer to you. May you find peace, joy and beauty in everything around you.

THERE IS NO SYMMETRY IN NATURE

" There is no symmetry in nature. One eye is never exactly the same as the other. There's always a difference. We all have a crooked nose  and an irregular mouth." - Edouard Manet

"Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend." - John Singer Sargent


"When I paint a person, his enemies always find the portrait a good likeness." - Edvard Munch

I am experimenting with yupo paper , an inexpensive completely synthetic paper.  I am finding that the water color paints  can be manipulated far more to my liking.....you know, smooshing, shmearing, swirling, rubbing out, scratching into....the fun stuff.

When my husband saw this "self portrait", he said "why the heck do you make your head so big ?" Other people have said I look sad. 

Well, neither is the case in reality. If you have ever painted a portrait, that's just how it goes. It's not always about perfection. It's about the process.

THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

        -Thornton Wilder
To everyone out there- Happy Thanksgiving!
I am in the process of coming up with a new look here. So I'll be playing around for awhile. Once I get going on bloggers template designs I can't stop. I will probably end up with something really simple, though. 

EVERY STROKE COUNTS

"Painting in watercolor is like walking a tightrope. One must find the perfect balance between  what the paint wants to do and what the artist wants to do, or all is lost." - Kate Wood McCoy

Playing in my sketchbook with watercolors. It is one of the few mediums I have not really embraced for a number of reasons. It's difficult to control. I am heavy handed with everything I do, which is not conducive to watercolor painting. Every once in awhile I like to challenge myself. We will see how long that will last.

"Watercolor is like golf, every stroke counts." - Mary C. Taylor

SO....WHAT'S NEW WITH U

Just wanted to let you know that I am fine and have been taking a break.......yes, it's been a long break.  

I am also excited to say, that you will soon be able to see my work as one of the featured artists in the new book by the multi-talented Seth Apter of the Altered Page. It is expected to be out in about 6 months or so. I am really looking forward to seeing the work of some wonderful artists and read their thoughts on an amazing variety of subjects. If you are a follower of Seth's blog, you have already contacted Amazon and your local bookstore and pre-ordered......if you can :-)


Below are some details of some of the work I did for the book. I used my beloved copper as a base, to draw, paint, sew, emboss, embellish....etc. 

CHAMPAGNE OR TEQUILA?

 "The Scale", from a book round robin called "Signs and Symbols" , subject astrology, sign Libra. Life is about balance. The good with the bad. I last blogged on March the 6th. Geez, time flies after you turn 60. There have been ups and downs since then. This is definitely about the ups. April was a fantastic journey. Paris with my guy and then the Riviera Maya in Mexico with my entire family. Both beautiful trips with their differences and similarities. I had a great time going through the photos figuring that out.

Sailboats for rent to sail in the fountain at the Garden of the Tuileries.

View from the beach bar, yes, you sit on a swing :-)

Shopping at the Marche aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt flea market for vintage clothing

Shopping for hats on the beach

Feeding the birds at the Tuileries Garden

Sleeping macaws in.........Mexico, duh....yes, they come out of the cage often and speak spanish

Walking through the Place de Vosges

Walking through the courtyard near Puerto Moreles

Bob, resting in the beautiful garden of the Place de Vosges...in the sun

You know who, resting in the sea

The cafe

The ping pong game

The art of the paper cut, Musee de Quai Branly, Paris. A most beautiful place inside and out, full of primitive art and magical things. (thank you Lynne Perella)

Paper cut wall divider

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Amazing art to see, outside of the Luxembourg Gardens

Amazing art to see outside of a restaurant on the beach

Happy Cinco De Mayo....beer for now.......I mean bye for now!!

DRAWING ON DRAWING

"There is a great appetite to work, and then my sketchbook serves me as a cookbook when I am hungry. I open it and the least of my sketches can offer me material for work." - Georges Braque

I have artists block. It is a dreary Sunday. Grey. When I am feeling uninspired, I always head back to the basics. I "draw" on drawing or sketching. There is something about making black lines on white paper that is so very satisfying.  It saves me from the clouds that begin to gather around the artful side of my brain. What lifts you out of the clouds? Of course, a new pair of shoes and thinking about spring gardening helps as well.

The state of my studio! You see, a sketchbook would be the only thing I could find here. I need serious help. This is what happens when you do project after project and do not clean up after after yourself. I am making myself show the world how disgusting it is. Perhaps that will inspire me to not only clean it up, but will help me begin to create more mixed media pieces.......in stead of mixed UP media, since I can't find much at the moment.

.......and after I am done.