"The World Is Out There"

I just entered this painting in a contest, "Contemporary Expressionism -- The Creative Spirit" in the San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild contest. The contest is described as:

In conjunction with the play A Weekend with Pablo Picasso, the San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild presents the juried exhibition Contemporary Expressionism: The Creative Spirit at Lyceum Gallery, San Diego, California.

The World Is Out There

I had to write a description of this painting.

This painting is 18 x 24, oil on Ampersand Gessobord. I chose "old fashioned" pigments such as ultramarine blue, Venetian red, ivory black, terre vert, burnt Sienna and alizarin crimson along with Gamblin's Bright Gold (made with bronze flakes) for this painting because it is a painting of painting. I wanted the colors to be as close as possible to colors used to dye yarn used in medieval tapestries and for coloring illuminated manuscripts. 

This painting turned out to be a journey into self and into painting. I had begun a painting for a friend on this board, but didn't like it, put the board away and did that painting as a water color. The black underpainting here, that looks like a chalkboard or an asphalt street (which is what it was originally meant to represent) is what remains of that picture. Then I saw a James Bond movie (!) in which Sean Connery walked very powerfully out of a door. That image rested in my mind for weeks, and I realized I wanted to paint it. Later, I saw a photo of this velvet sofa, and I wanted to paint it. I painted the sofa first. Through its many mutations, this painting seemed to be taking me somewhere to show me something. When I realized I was painting myself, I dressed "me" in my favorite dress EVER (owned in the seventies) and red "disco" heels. Then I knew I was painting the tension between the faded word "Stop" and this woman's determined exit. That is the creative spirit; movement, specifically this movement. A painting, before it is begun, still in the mind of the artist, is really unknown; it has not yet happened. It's that doorway leading to life’s tapestry of mystery, color, image and mind, waiting for the artist to have the courage to walk resolutely out the door.

Ancestors

"How all in a single whole doth weave, one in the other works and lives." Goethe, Faust

This painting came about when I learned that my ancestors came from Switzerland and that the people I'd written about in the book  now known as "Rudolf" were essentially the same people with almost the same names.

Descanso Valley -- Painting for Descanso Days

Descanso Valley in Winter, oil on gesso board, 5 x 7

This painting will be raffled at Descanso Days, July 13, at the Descanso Townhall. The proceeds will go for Townhall restoration.

The Cows of Summer

This will possibly be my "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" painting

Second pass at the 25 Cows

8 x 10 oil for the raffle at Descanso Days -- in progress

Garnet Peak Trail After the Fire

Garnet Peak Trail Looking West toward Garnet Peak, Winter, 2004 after the Cedar Fire

San Diego County Fair!

Cornflowers, Oil on Ampersand Deep Cradled Gessobord

I feel like a "real" artist right now. Last week I helped hang the Spring Show for the Julian Arts Guild. A couple of days later, I learned that I had one painting out of four submissions accepted to hang at the San Diego County Fair. Today I drove all the way up to Del Mar to take my little painting of cornflowers.

As much as I didn't want to go up there, I kept thinking that I paid for the opportunity to be judged and no doubt THOUSANDS of little ladies such as myself have painted flowers this year and MINE was picked to hang.  I was suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer number of entries they must have gone through to pick this small painting (8 x 10). I felt like I owed this painting the $12 in gas it took to haul it up there (and the same amount to haul it back).

When I got there I was very impressed by the way everything works! What a great system they've developed over all these years. I was in there, treated very well, they had everything ready for all of us to just go in, drop off our work and leave. We were all invited to a reception for the arts show before the fair itself opens and we get two special parking passes. I'm really happy I didn't chicken out!

Taste of Julian Event Saturday, April 13

I will be doing a "painting demonstration" (and grading midterms!) at Julian Tea and Cottage Arts Saturday, April 13. The event is "Taste of Julian." I was nervous and worried about finishing my school work but got gently pushed by another member of Julian Arts Guild. I went to Julian this past Thursday to meet the owner of this shop. She was a lot smarter than I when it comes to promoting a business clearly as she's had her tea shop in Julian for 18 years. At the end of the meeting, I was ready to come home and make brochures and whatever else I needed to do. She also sent me home with this table to paint. It belonged to her mother-in-law. 

So, for fun, I'm posting the table's progress!