Tuesday, July 28, 2015

a "studio in progress" tour

we started creating my studio last summer, demo-ing and rebuilding the old cellar so it would hold the New England weather at bay, and we are finally at the stage where i can create in it.  i use the term loosely, though, as i am limited to the art supplies i have brought down.  i am full of faith that this room will be completed before this christmas.

until then i have to laugh at the state of turmoil around me as i create.  and i am thrilled that my dedication to my art is big enough to deal with the spiders that still linger, the sawdust and drywall dust, and just the lack of tranquility that i would like around me as i do my thing.  i turn on some tunes and today sprayed some lavender misting spray to get some of the funkiness out.  i do what i can with what i have at this time.  and am happy i have any studio, even in this state.

the biggest purchase we still have to buy and install is the flooring.  i think after that is down, i will be bringing most everything i want to down!  i could care less about trim, but it might help keep the spider population down somewhat.  maybe.  i hope.

in the meantime, this is where i am creating...



to the left is my easel.  i use a small metal shelf for the paints i am using on my current canvas.  the drawers hold stencils and mark-makers (i will have a more in-depth post about where supplies live when it's all finished).  i use any surface i can to hold canvasses as they dry and await another layer.  



this is my awesome paint shelving!  i'm so excited about these, as i can search a shelf easily to get the right color.  as you can see one is pending, but i can use these well enough.




saw horses from staining the paint shelves have come in handy for drying canvasses, so i have not taken them out of my room yet.  again, any area can get used as canvas holding areas.  the big lotus and dragonfly is about to transfer upstairs in the next few days.




right now this area is for pre-loved canvasses i have yet to work on.  soon it will be for my blogging/bookwork/beadwork desk.  there will be another built in shelving unit of some sort in the corner.



my spot to meditate, read, chill.  the blanket on the floor is for the pup to lay down at my feet, but he'd rather lay in the sawdust instead, when its available.  good doggie.  the shelving here is for beads and other such items.




and on the other side of the half wall that creates the hallway to go from the cellar proper to the side yard i have storage for india inks, paint brushes, pencils, rubber stamps...  these shelves fit nicely there and don't seem to be in the way of the big lumbering men who do man type things in the tool room beyond my studio, so they will stay there.  their contents will probably change, but they work well for  these tools now.

and, there we have it!  my space where the fun stuff happens!  i will update with more news when it happens!

until later,
jenny

Monday, July 20, 2015

dragonfly canvas update

i did a little to my dragonfly on lotus canvas today, and i'm happy with the results so far.

i made the lotus itself a brighter color so it shows up better.  liking the contrast.  i finger painted the petals and then wiped with a cloth to get the previous layers to show.




then i concentrated on the dragonflys body.  i had outlined the dragonfly sketch with a dark teal-ish color in oil pastel and liked the color but nothing was close enough in my paints.  so i chose a dark green, and then painted over with a blue.  what happened was a very cool thing.  since i did not let the green dry at all, the next layer sat on the first and didn't mix with it at all.  it kind of moved to where it wanted to go.  i'm hoping it looks half as cool dry as it does wet, as it has this iridescent look to it right now.



i'll work on the dragonfly wings another day.

until later,
jenny

Sunday, July 19, 2015

newest painting in progress

i found and bought a wild canvas a few weeks ago and forgot to take a photo of it, unfortunately.  but maybe thats for the better, cause it was almost psychedelic in nature and gave me a headache.  it was painted in the 1970's and was multi-colored lines...  you had to be there.  it was freaky.

anyway, its a BIG canvas!  bigger than my last one.

i started playing with it the other day with some papers collaged on it and a light coat of gesso.  i liked some of the color peeking thru, for sure, but after seeing the texture of all the lines i decided a thick coat of gesso had to happen.

then i started sketching.  i decided this one would have a dragonfly and free-form lotus and leaves.  the leaves have a lighter layer of gesso underneath, so they have some of the color and lines going on and i like the effect.

i sprayed india inks on the still wet gesso areas, and sprayed water to get the color moving.

i'm thinking i will change the color of the lotus, but i like the rest of it.



here you can see some of the underpainting coming thru

close up of the dragonfly which will get more love from me soon.


until later,
jenny

Thursday, July 16, 2015

quick update

hi there.  i see its been longer than i've wanted it to be between blog posts.  life has taken hold of me. i've been down in the dumps but trying to keep myself from getting bogged down with depressive tendencies, which is hard for me in july.  july is a rotten month for me because its the month that my oldest son drown.  this year marked the 17th anniversary of his death.  thats three years longer than he was alive on earth, and its been a crazy 17 years.  lots of growth, thats for sure!  it's also the month my daddy died, just two years ago.  yeah.  july kind of sucks for me.

so, this year i made myself some goals for the month of july to try and keep myself from getting so depressed that i forget to live which is what usually happens.

1. go to my studio daily, even if its just to clean up a bit, or read or something.
    
i haven't been too bad at this.  not daily, but i've been conscious about being artful, and it's been more often than not.


2. write a chore list and check off accomplishments.

again, not too bad about keeping up with this.  i've been lazy with the lists a few times, but have still done things so thats a great step.


3.  drink my water

meh.  could do better with this


4.  concentrate on healthy foods and no grazing.

another meh.  i start the day with good intentions and then i start to mess up in the afternoon.  always a work in progress with that one.


5. less tv, less facebook, more artistic searches during computer time.

doing ok with this one.  i used to have the tv on at all times, just for the 'company', but i have made a real effort to cut that crap out.


6. one sketch a day

doing pretty well with this one!  in 16 days i've done 13 sketches.  though a couple days i think i did 2 a day.  on my sons anniversary i know i did 2.


i've also finished an amazing painting.  this thing is huge and i'm thrilled with it.






and here are a few sketches i've done


well, her face shows up anyway.  sorry its so light


in memory of Winter-Orion


sketched this at Winters spot




and a photo of my beautiful boy, Winter-Orion;


until later,
jenny

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

making plans, and research

the last few days i have been a researching fool!  i'm READY to move forward with selling my work, and have found a cool online site that will sell prints, as well as many other types of merchandise, from my original artwork.  i won't have to package and mail anything!  i'm excited to begin, but i feel the need to make lists and plan, which isn't a bad idea when one is undertaking a venture like this.  i've been looking up how to make an artist business plan, and the worrisome concept of copyright infringement.

hubby, mark, just wants me to be happy, and if all i do is paint and don't sell a thing, as long as i have a smile on my face, he will be content.  that man is a keeper, i tell you!  so, in his eyes i don't need to plan anything.  just put my images up and if they sell, great, and if not thats ok too.  why make a big production out of it?  i can see his point, too.  but, my thoughts are;

how will you know where you are going, if you have no map?


i don't want to bumble around, making mistakes that could be costly.   or not make any movement at all because 'it doesn't matter right now'.  the thought of not worrying about it sounds great, but if i never start to think about what i want my future to look like then i will stagnate and nothing will ever happen.

i worked on my business plan this morning.  i'm not sure if it helped settle my mind or made me more anxious.  i also got stuck on the 'goals and objectives' part.  i just have no clue how high or low to set my sights right now.  i have no idea if my goals are realistic or not.  but, again, mark just wants me to paint to be happy, and thats what i want to want, as well.  so, i feel i made realistic goals, as long as i start telling people where to go to find my art, and start showing my originals somehow.  i know i do not want to package my paintings right now.  thats stressful!  i have a block when it comes to trusting that my packaging is tough enough to be handled by the postal service.  no offense intended, it's just my fear.

there is a lot of pressure to be unique and be a big producer of 'stuff'.  the pressure to keep up the production of art is my own baggage, but to make sure its an original piece is out there.  it's called copyright.  i'm scared to take classes to gain knowledge of other skills for fear of making art that looks like so many others.  i can tell if someone has taken a class of several teachers out there.  there are a few 'trendy' looks in art right now.  how closely can one artists work resemble anothers before it gets fuzzy with copyright?  i'm scared to look on facebook as all the spiritual photos are so inspiring.  i don't want to unintentionally copy someone else's photo or artwork in my quest to bring out that certain 'feeling' in my canvas.

so, i have my 'list' of things i wish for, and a few ways to get there.  i guess all i can do right now is paint, paint, paint, and try to sleep at night for a change.



until later,
jenny

Monday, July 6, 2015

transformations of a painting complete

there once was an unloved canvas, looking for a home.  i knew it had been loved once, but it was lonely now.  i felt it's energy, and enjoyed its colors and texture.  it was now in my heart.



i sat with this painting in my room, waiting for it's time in the spotlight, knowing it would soon be chosen for a makeover.  and, soon, it was time!


it went thru many layers and stages 




 drips are fun!



then it decided what it wanted to be!




i sketched and painted, and painted and sketched.





it was coming to life!





and, then...  it got stuck.  it wasn't right.  but i didn't know how to help it.  so i went on to other paintings, quietly avoiding looking at this canvas like it was a child in time out who had no idea what it had done wrong to cause this punishment.

i took it out one day, to look at it, wanting to just paint over the mess.  



but it called to me.  it didn't need much.  the face was wonderful and magical to me, it just needed some extra attention, some patience and kindness.

i started by adding sky and pond.



i needed texture so sprayed with india inks



then patted the color in, keeping some drips.





i then had to sketch again, knowing the reason for my new love of lotus flowers was for this patient canvas




i had to check my inner critic at the door and just trust that the final product would look the way it needed to.





and it does!  it is now a beloved member of my home.  


this canvas is a big 22" x 50" beauty, full of drippage, texture and layers.  




until next time,
jenny