Sketching while waiting...

Katie has to get a root canal today, poor baby--graduation is tonight, and she is the valedictorian, so has to give a speech, but leaves tomorrow morning with the choir for a five day trip to Vancouver and Seattle--so had to get it done today.

So we had to get up early, as its a fifty minute drive to the Endodontist's office. Everyone here at the office has been so extra nice and helpful, but I've found myself sitting here pondering insurance and health benefits in a country as affluent as ours--amazed that, without insurance, if someone didn't have $2000 to pay for a root canal, the tooth would just have to be pulled. Somehow that just doesn't sit well with me...

I'm sketching while I wait, jackrabbits and girls and butterfly wings and feathers...

Also doodled a zentangle pattern for a braid, and then realized as I softened the sketch up that it also could be a stalk of asparagus--I'm feeling as though that's some bigger cosmic message for me--

That everything is a pattern? That rigid patterns are improved by blurring the edges a little? That things are not always what they appear? That things do not always turn out the way I intend?

Lots to think on....

Apparently, I'm Painting Angels

Work in Progess

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Going through some old photos this week, I ran across some of an angel in a cemetery. Her wings had this angular shape at the top, and for some reason it made me think, why, I could paint some wings like that!

Sometimes that's all it takes for me, finally really truly SEEING something for the first time, and realizing that I can do that!  Sometimes, though, I'm not so convinced when I pick up the paintbrush, but just start to paint anyway--and guess what? It all works out--if I don't like what I paint I can always paint over it--but usually, I kinda LIKE what I end up with! 

And I do it again and again and again, until I'm really happy with it. So the moral is, sometimes you're inspired and you paint, and sometimes you're NOT inspired, but you paint anyways--and both are good things to do...

Even the Leaves Dance

It really does seem as though everything I've been doing in the last couple of years is somehow synthesizing in my art right now. These pieces are truly mixed media--this one has collage, paint, pencil, pastels, watercolos, and colored pencils--and is totally intuitive in that I start by writing a phrase (either from my head or from some of my found poetry) and then just start putting paint and collage materials together--No plan or pre-sketching. I'm including more of my own drawings, and adding not only physical texture (torn and braille paper) but also drawn texture with some zentangle-inspired patterns...

Feels like things are really coming together...

I Love This One

I'll Keep Going If You'll Come WIth Me (work in progress)

Here's one of the things I'm working on today.

When I start a piece, I usually jot down a few words or a phrase on the canvas/paper, before I ever do anything else. These words usually get completely covered up by paper and paint, but I write it down on masking tape and attach it to the piece, so I'll remember later. Often it becomes the title of the piece, and sometimes it influences what I paint. I feel like it's a secret message from me to...whoever enjoys the art.

It's cloudy and cool here today, which is unusual for this time of year. Usually by now we've seen the last of the year's rain, but it poured last night. I love it. I've always been a cloudy day kind of girl, I think. When I was little I loved to run around in the rain, or hide out in the jungle-y forest behind our house, sitting up in an old apple tree, mostly protected from the rain...

I've been thinking about adding more texture to the backgrounds of my paintings, not just with torn paper and text, but also with molding paste, or plaster, or doodles (much like zentangles?) Below is an example that I did the other night on a 3" by 5" piece of watercolor paper.

I've used Spackle on pieces before for texture, but it doesn't adhere as well to paper when the paper gets bent, and many of my 'experimenting' happens on watercolor paper...

I also am going to spend my evenings sketching animals, as I want to include some of my favorites in my paintings. The first animal I drew when I was little was giraffes--my mom used to find little pieces of paper EVERYWHERE with giraffes on them. Then there was a looooong horse phase... But I had a little stuffed elephant, and a stuffed monkey named Andy (who lives on the bookcase here in the studio)--and of course, don't forget jackrabbits--My guess is I'll be doing LOTS of drawing before I start getting any animals that look the way I want them to!

Here's a quick pic of Andy--he says "Have a great Tuesday!"

Finishing Some Paintings

Finished these two paintings up today and put them on Etsy to sell. Writing up the listings is fairly time-consuming for me. If anyone's found ways to speed up the process, I'd love to hear about it. I'm thinking I'll offer the girls a paid job doing it for me once school gets out--

Katie's decided to attend Cal State Long Beach next year. It was a tough decision for her, but I think she made a good decision. We will sure miss having her around here...

Trying to fight off a cold/sinus infection. Had trouble getting to sleep last night, having trouble being very motivated today--Yuck.

Hope everyone out there is having a great day!