Another Sold from the Studio Sale!

I am very excited that someone has purchased one of my figurative pieces! I painted this one in that flurry of figurative paintings I had an urge to do a couple of months ago. I enjoy painting figures, or really, faces, but I always feel unsure about how the rest of the world will receive them. Even though I cannot say how many times in the past few months that people have commented that they love my figurative work, I still feel unsure. So, now someone has actually purchased one and this makes me very happy. And inspired to do more. Anyway, this painting will soon be on her way to Georgia.

A Day for a Hat
10" x 20"
Acrylic on canvas board, 2012

Sold from the Artful Home’s Studio Sale!

Industria #11 is one in a series of paintings I did for my very first art exhibit in 2005 at Remmi Fine Art in Denver, Colorado. I have always liked this painting and had determined to hang it back up in my home if it didn't sell in the Sale. But it did and now it’s on its way to its new home in Oregon!

Industria #11
20" x 20", Acrylic on canvas, 2005

Artful Home’s Studio Sale

The Summer Studio Sale is going on now. It started on Thursday and will continue through July 31. The Studio Sale has its own separate landing page on Artful Home’s site and below is how the first “Paintings” page appears when you click on it from there. As you can see, Sticks & Stones #56 has sold. Someone purchased it yesterday. In a couple of days it will be on its way to its new home in Cincinnati.

This is how the first page of paintings
looked today under “Studio Sale”.

The magic of Reverie

Here is another example of the great positioning the Artful Home gives to Reverie!  I got an email blast today from AH, featuring “New Work”. My work was not featured in the blast, but when I clicked on the link to “discover new work”, this is the page I landed on.

Second Time’s the Charm

This piece is entitled Thrice-Twice. That’s because underneath this painting is a whole n’other painting originally entitled Thrice that I painted in ’04. It measures 12" square. It was complete and signed, titled and dated on the back, and I even hung in my home for a time some years ago. But it was just one of those experimental pieces that never really worked, so I decided to paint over! No love lost over Thrice, but as this successor, Thrice-Twice has some things going on that I really like. At least it’s more in keeping with the abstract direction I’ve been going in lately. I have submitted this to the Artful Home’s Studio Sale which begins next week. I am very excited about the Sale! But more on that next week. Hopefully it will sell and embark on its new life free from the storage space.

Thrice-Twice, 2012
Acrylic, tissue paper, pumice gel on canvas

Thrice, 2004
Acrylic on paper adhered to stretched canvas

The Artful Home

Well, Skedaddle is up, but behind Reverie which is still on the first page in the “New” section of “Art for the Wall”. Very interesting!

How the “New” page under Art for the Wall looks today.

Not so magic…

Here's the latest. It didn't happen as magically as Arte de Natura II, but it was still fun to paint, simply choosing to reveal itself to me a bit more slowly and cautiously. I really love working in these bright colors! It should be up on the Artful Home by week's end. It may even give Reverie a run for its money!

Skedaddle
Acrylic, tissue paper and pumice gel on canvas
24" x 24"

Onscene Artists

More pieces that slipped through the blog…

After I started painting again back in February and before I started posting my new paintings on the blog, I did a couple of pieces for Onscene Artists. This is the thing that got me back into painting again. A friend of mine had recommended me and my art to her sister-in-law who was starting up a website that was to be a new venue for artists, both established and emerging. I met with the founder of Onscene Artists to show her my work and she was enthusiastic to include me in their next series which was entitled “Reveal”. This series was intended to reveal something about the artist through the works they submitted. I did a couple of paintings especially for it and the series went live in late May.

Time to Spend
12" x 12", acrylic and paper collage on canvas panel

The painting above is my favorite, “revealing” that I sometimes watch the shopping channels in the middle of the night when my insomnia kicks in. It’s rather mind-numbing programming that somehow lulls me back to sleep with the constant chitter-chatter.

Different Paths 2012
20" x 20", acrylic on canvas

Different Paths was originally a small painting on paper that I sold on eBay in 2006. I loved the original, it was so raw and imperfect. Somehow in translating it to a larger canvas, it tightened up quite a bit, lost its looseness and looks more like an illustration. For what it’s worth, this painting “reveals” that I sometimes wonder where my life would be today had I made some different choices along the way. It’s a simple pondering, without longing or regret.

I was somewhat disappointed in “Reveal” in that most of the other artists who also participated in the series simply used their Artist’s Statement which, in my humble opinion, did not “reveal” anything about them personally. Perhaps I simply misunderstood the guidelines, but what‘s the point of having a theme if everyone just submits anything as long as their statement justifies it?

Both of these paintings can be seen and purchased at Onscene Artists through August: onsceneartists.com

Sticks & Stones #62

I was submitting this piece along with other new work to the Artful Home and realized that I had never posted this little painting on the blog! I painted it in late May. Somehow, it just never got on the blog radar…

It’s the first time I had ever tried Yupo which is a synthetic paper. Yupo is very different from traditional paper. It’s more like vellum than paper. It definitely feels synthetic. I know a lot of artists like it and how it accepts washes, but the way I work is different since I texturize the surface before painting. In this case, I used several applications of molding paste so it just felt like I was painting on a hardboard or canvas since I texturize those surfaces in exactly the same way. But the beauty of Yupo is that there is absolutely no shrinkage or buckling, which happens with traditional paper when it reacts with the moisture of the pastes and paints. I love that!

This painting started out as a set, but its companion isn't working quite so well and will likely take a dramatic turn. But this one I like, its soft colors and natural elements seem soothing. Anyway, it should be up on the Artful Home by week’s end.

Sticks & Stones #62
20" x 20", acrylic on Yupo