Wednesday Painting.

I am painting a large experimental work on card. It is experimental because I shall be using gouache instead of my normal watercolours and because I shall be using card instead of my normal watercolour paper.
The subject matter inspires and moves me, so I hope it will turn out well regardless.

I am also listening to a song a friend sent me through email. My heart is inspired further by her beauty and love. Not even that I adore this song and I now have it, but that she took the time and thought to send it to me.

Today I am surrounded by love.

This girlio is one of my favourites. I am inspired just knowing her.

Nature and Art.

I must say I've never been a fan of landscape art. The only pieces that I admire I admire for skill alone and not subject matter. I decided yesterday that it must be because nature means so much to me. *So* much to me. It calms me when I am angry. It brings such a peace....even when I am peaceful. It's beautiful. It's whole. And to try and capture it in an image....even photography...seems impossible. I've never been as moved by an artwork of nature as I have by nature itself.

Now people....people don't always move me. People aren't always peaceful to me. Often (but not always!) mankind as a whole appears quite horrid. But sometimes the beauty sparkles through. I suppose this is why I can paint people...if it turns out ugly, there is still some level of truth about it. If it turns out beautiful, it's delightful. And if it turns out unmoving, well...as I started. People don't always move me.

Interesting.
I wonder if those who paint nature truly think they capture it. And if they do, I wonder if nature appears differently to them than it does to me.

Of course I don't paint people realistically, so I suppose people can say I don't capture mankind.
But then...how often is mankind realistic?

*puts self in ponder box*
*throws the key away*

My Dad's Birthday.

It's my dads birthday today! I love my dad so *so* much!
He's an artist too. He's an author. He has written and published a couple of books and has collaborated on another. But more than my creativity I steal from my dad his stubborn streak. Ohhhh, it's nasty! But I love it. I love his being stubborn and my being stubborn and the stubborn stubborn stubborness of it all. I also admire his strength. In fact most of the things that I like about myself come from my dad.

I really wish I could be there to celebrate his birthday with him.

It makes me sad that I'm not.
When I go back to New Zealand I think I'm going to stay there for a GOOD LONG BIT.
I want to be with *my* family for awhile!

As for tonight I shall light some candles and dance for my dad's birthday.
*nods head*

Happy Monday (Tuesday!) everyone.

*gasp* New Website!

New website!New website!New Website!

I am gloriously happy! Now that it's up I can focus on doing some more work. Plan of attack for today is to do 2007's self portrait primarily experimenting with colour and technique.

Hoorah!

To see my new site PLEASE CLICK HERE.

*love & sparkles*
xxxS.

Fried Marbles.

Somebody posted this link somewhere and I've ripped it.

'Tis a good link.

I will do this and then glue marble after marble down my spine.

FRIED MARBLES.

The End of the Golfball Rainbow.

My husband and I went hiking today. We walked along a river a wee way before finding a trail that led to a sandy bank. Of course we decided to go out along it and closer to the waters edge. Then I noticed a golfball. I said 'hey look, a golfball.' Then I noticed another. Then my husband noticed one. Then, suddenly, there were golfballs everywhere. Sticking halfway out of the sand. Barely poking through the sand. Sitting on top of the sand. It was *crazy*. We decided that somewhere along the river must be a golf course or country club and waaaaay out here in the state park was where they all swept up. And because I had picked up one, I had to pick up two. And because I had picked up two, I had to pick up three. And so on, and so on. Then...wouldn't you know it? In the middle of winter I could see them lodged in the sand in the water. Now although it was a delicious sunshiney day the water was FREEZING. But I had started collecting, you see, so I couldn't stop. So I took off my shoes and jumped in. I must have pulled out about nine from the water (there were many more on the bank). And it hurt SO BAD. But it was worth it. *grin*. Of course my sneaky husband - unbeknownst to me - took video footage of me jumping through sand and water, cursing and doubling over at the cold. I forgave him this monstrous film though when I noticed halfway through he turned the camera on himself to grin mischievously before turning it back again. A cute man can get away with anything! *shakes fist* But I digress....

Today we found the end of the golfball rainbow. I know we must have left hundreds there, deep in the sand. But it is only the beginning of the year. So who KNOWS how many we'll have by December?

(neither of us golf, btw. that is never the point of magic. *grin*)

How is this related to art?
Well, it's damned fun and quirky.
Like a short artistic film.
And like a square acrylic painting.

*high five*

Crazy Artist Speak.

Colours will save me, you know it?
I'm being having viciously vivid daydreams. Crazy moments of unreality. All polluted delightfully with pigment. They calm me.

Today I am going hiking. And I thought about snakes. And I thought about getting bitten. And I thought about poisons. And I thought...if I ever get dragged into a coma, one way or another, I'll imagine colours on the way in. You know how if you hit your head hard, or rub your eyes during a headache, and reds and blues swirl in front of you? Well, I imagine in that moment my mind will CLING to the colour. Because that's what my mind does. And in clinging to that moment before the bad, in loving that colour, I'll be just fine. And not slip further.

Like I said, crazy artist speak.

But I think it may be true.

Here's to hoping my highly intelligent father doesn't read this post and rag on me for all time.
*blowfish face*

xxxS.

Inconclusive.

Well, I'm undecided on the gouache. I kinda mucked up and experimented on little pieces (5 x 7 each) when I am used to painting on a larger scale. Because of this I wasn't as loose with my strokes as normal and had to change my painting style somewhat. Which makes it useless for comparing gouache with watercolour if I'm not painting in the same manner anyway.

I think tomorrow (or tonight) I will attempt a larger work in gouache and just go crazy with it.

The pieces from today are the paintings on this post..
My model was stock from Deviant Art (morf)

On Mucking Up.

I wrote (about a non art aspect of my life) on how I had mucked something up badly.
A friend responded:

" ...will be ok. unlike a pregnant lady, you can be unscrewed."

And suddenly the world was spun into persepective.
That's what friends are for, no?

*grin*

(leaves to paint)

Gouache

Yesterday I was meant to experiment with gouache. I want something bolder and brighter than watercolours, but something of a similiar medium. I drew the works and put own the undercoats but then I got sick and didn't continue. It's on the agenda for today but this is one experiment which seems pretty draggy...I've left it until it has become less exciting. I'm not as inspired as I once was. I guess I'll just have to jump into it.

I also want to work on more story-telling images, break away from simply portrait. If I can't convey an emotion fully through a figure or a face, I'd like to add props. I may turn some of my poetry into paintings, for example.

On the 'art I like' front (something which I hope to incorporate into this blog, surely I can find at least TWO new artists a week to like, no?) I have found Brian Viveros. I don't love all of his stuff, but there are some GREAT pieces in there.

Like the following.
'Pulling Weeds'

He does a lot of 'erotic' works which I don't like as much, except for a few pieces, (I'm not sure of the medium, perhaps pastel/pencil?) but I adore his bold paintings.

Anyway my head is smashing and if I'm going to go play around with gouache now is the moment.

Love,
S.

Food for Thought.

Somebody wrote me this today after I was talking about my works needing to be more powerful, more expressive.

"I can see hurt in you. Maybe that's why you have no need to put it in your art? You paint your dreams, and you only dream what you don't already know, yes?"

Food for thought at the very least.
Poetry regardless.

Thanks Hayzie.

Quantity.

I am scared that the most powerful drawcard of Share Your Tears will end up being the quantity of the work, the amount of people crying. I can envision them in a gallery and see the most powerful aspect being standing at the entrance way, completely swamped by painting after painting of crying people - from all over the world. Now, of course this is part of the beauty and essentially part of the point - that no matter how alone you feel, you really aren't; that no matter how unattractive you feel, you're really beautiful. So I'm glad this effect will be achieved. But I'm worried that standing and looking at individual pieces won't bring about much emotion.

I'm not sure what to do about that.
Will just a string of endless names be enough?
I mean, will seeing a *name* under *each* piece bring more to the individual work?

I really need to figure out what to do here. To keep going forward with the white backgrounds of each piece, or to bring in more. And if I suddenly choose to bring in more, do I go back and change the earlier pieces?

Curious and undecided.

Frustrated.

I Need to Say Something.

I'm at the point in my art where I need to say something more than just a portrait. I need to say something more than 'woman with tears' or 'man sitting down'. I have such vibrant ideas but they always worked best with acrylics and I no longer work in that medium (or at least I ty not to). I'm at a hurdle trying to figure out how to bring more into my watercolours. I'm sure it can be done. I just haven't seen it done much.

On a bright note I have found a woman in a magazine who paints in the same fashion I do. It's very inspiring to know that it is considered art and not just loose splotches of paint. When I excitedly told boy he said 'is it good that you paint like someone else?' I say YES. Because I still have my own spin, we just paint in the same fashion. And I needed to see this lady's work *published* to know that it is considered good by some.

Unfortunately her paintings just say 'man sitting' or 'woman with tears'. *wink*

So today will be a day of research. Trying to seek out work with my chosen medium that I like. Trying to see if what I want to paint can be done. And if I can't find it anywhere, I'll just have to crash on through and do it myself. There has to be a way to say more. I need to say something.

Today I will brainstorm *what* I need to say and *how* to do it in watercolour.

TODAYS GOAL:
Produce an artwork which is more than a portrait. Bring in bolder colours. Bring in a new element.

I need to say something.

The Online Art Journal Begins.

I'm very excited to have a place to write about my art and about the art of others. It seems very self-indulgent to do so but, as fellow artists will agree, the art world is a very solitary and isolated place. Even if you are in a room brimming with friends and artists, connecting with them on the *perfect* level of art is very difficult and doesn't happen as often as it should. It's due to everyone being unique, I suppose. But it makes it hard to rabbit on about your own work if you don't feel like anybody is *getting it*. Chatter, chatter, chatter that gets lost in the crowded air. Here, in this blog, it doesn't matter if anybody gets it or not because it's smaller, because it's for me. I understand my work and my blatherings. Chatter, chatter, chatter that collects in this small warm room and beads on the windows for me to look at. So pretty. I'm excited to write about all things art while I can! Not only is it inspiring to wrap myself up in art text, but it also gives an extra sense of purpose to everything I'm doing. Which - on some days - is most needed. So, this is it. My art blog. Delicious and dripping and bold and bright. I'm not sure how often I will update it as I really am my main audience. But I will try to make a point of coming and posting here often. At least once a week, often more but never less.

*leaves to contemplate compositions and and paintings*

Love,
xxxS.