Music to Paint By

I remember when I had a big pair of headphones connected to my stereo and cd player with a super long cord. Yikes, this dates me! Then came the ipod and it really changed my life. Literally!  Music is incredibly important to me and integral to my painting process. I almost never paint without it.  For Christmas, my family got me two extra pairs of earbuds for travel and so I wouldn't be hunting all over the studio or my luggage for a pair. Just a sign of how tied I am to my music.

I have an Iphone, an ipod, ipod dock and of course my computer to stream music from. I like my music loud and obnoxious. I listen to hard rock, alternative rock, rap and just plain junk that I wouldn't tell anyone about. Worse, than the worst "guilty pleasures" type music. I'm not quite sure why this works for me rather than lovely blues, jazz or classical. My best guess is that this "bad" stuff just washes over me and infuses me rhythm and a beat that helps me paint with energy and passion. I've had friends and students ask me to share my list, but honestly I'm just too embarrassed to share. So I'm not going to!

I like new or different music to  keep me interested, so I'm always on the lookout for new stuff. A few sources I use;

Pandora Radio - you pick a song or group and it chooses related music for you. A great way to hear different stuff

ITunes - the Genius mixed are fun and itunes will also makes suggestions for you. Dangerous!

Spotify - Facebook app that is fun, but I don't like that it posts what you are currently listening to. I don't really want you to know what junk I have on!

Youtube Playlists - this is another great way to listen to music that other folks have complied. It's amazing that people have the time to do this!

Friends - I'm always asking people what they are listening to. I'd love to hear about what you're listening to, other sources you use and why you like it or like me, it just works for you to paint by.

Many Tasks

More framing, a little painting, time on the computer, time on the phone made for a day with nothing too juicy going on, but it felt good to wrap up some of the small tasks I had on my plate. So while it wasn't like eating a delicious feast, I did feel nourished and a sense of accomplishment!!

I love it when I have days to dig deep into a body of work, but the truth is that many of my days require me to wear lots of hats and be able to take them on and off seamlessly. I've learned to stop and start, to have mental agility in the way I approach a day. Along with mastering the disinclination to work, there is the interruption of work and menial work that somebody has to do.

Framing is not so menial in that it requires attention to detail, patience and caution. And the right tools!! Gotta have the proper tools. The computer work takes a lot of patience too, since sometimes I'm just slogging through it, not really sure of myself, but trying this and that.

Tomorrow is set aside for Nia and painting and maybe some football.

New Pastels and Potato Leek Soup!

Here are a few new figurative pastels. Each of these was done on Professional Wallis that I mounted myself onto matte board with Super 77. Works great! They have watercolor under-paintings too.

 

 

An in keeping with the cooking theme, here is my recipe for Potato Leek Soup. I adapted this recipe quite a bit from an old cookbook, so I think it's safe to call it my recipe! This might just be the best soup, I've ever made!! It doesn't look like it from my picture!!

4 tablespoons butter
2 large leeks, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic
3 large russet potatoes, skin on cut into 1 inch cubes
6 to7 cups vegetable broth
1 cup chopped italian parsley
1 teaspon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 1/2 cups roasted bell peppers ( from jar drained)
1 cup half and half
1 cup milk

In a medium saucepan, heat butter and saute leeks for 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Add garlic. Saute for about a minute more. Add potatoes, 4 cups of the broth, parsley, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Add peppers, half and half, milk and 2 to 3 cups more of the broth.
Cover and simmer another few minutes. Puree two or three cups of the soup and blend with the rest. Season to taste. Good hot or cold. YUMMMM!!!

Sneak Peek of Collaborative Works

I've been a little stingy in sharing what I've been up to in the studio. So, here's a little iphone video of what's hanging out in my studio this week. Lot's of canvases in progress. They are large mixed media figures that I'm collaborating with my husband on. Not to worry, though, still doing pastels and oils!!

Details, Details - Framing

Of all the many hats I have to wear, framing is my least favorite. Yuck!! So this year I've made the choice to streamline the process a bit and go with no mattes on my new figurative pastels. This is a huge leap for me, since I'm a devoted fan of mattes. I love the look that a clean white, 8ply matte gives a pastel. So, for many years now I've used, 8ply rag mattes and dark wood frames which have a distressed red edge. Very pricey and lovely. I have used regular glass since the volume of work that I've framed just precluded the expense of museum glass. I had my frames built, mattes cut, spacers applied and hardware attached to the number of pieces and sizes that I needed for all my shows. I did the fitting of the art myself. This allowed me to not only work right up to the show deadlines, but to make some decsions regarding cropping, signature placement etc.. I really like the more contemporary look of this framing style. But, the white mattes are a problem to transport and so were the large frames with large pieces of glass. Then once at the show, I'd be struggling to keep the work safe on site if it needed to be removed from the walls at night. I also had the issue of how to send the work off with a buyer, so I needed to bring plenty of packing material. The other issue I'm avoiding is the piece sweating from exposure to direct sun and dripping on the matte.

Wood frame and 8ply matte

foam core spacer and hinged matte

The solution right now is to use dark plein air style frames in standard sizes. This is a BIG move for me!! I found several sources for these frames. I first ordered sample frames to make sure I was going to get what I expected and that the company could deliver on time and in the quantities that I need. I ended up with Art Ready Frames in Redmond Washington. I bought some 9x12 pieces of museum glass on ebay. A lot cheaper than retail and I bought a 16 piece box of 16x20 from a local framing supplier, Framers Inventory for  $335.00. Pricey, but still a bargin. The odd sizes, I'll have to have cut and bite the bullet on. I think I will come out ahead though, since I'm not using mattes and spacers. I end up spending about the same on the new frames but minus the hassle of a white matte and a nice individual shipping box/transport box for each piece. I also think that the new figure work looks appropriate in this style of frame.

Plein air style frame with clear plastic spacer and museum glass

Lastly, I spent some time updating my blog this weekend, with a slightly new look, links on the header to my website, workshops etc. Coming soon will be online registration some of the workshops!! Thanks for reading!!

Feeding, Nourishing, Trusting

I took the day off from my studio and did some things to feed my soul and to feed my new work. First I danced...always a good way to start off ones day. If you are dancing you cannot perceverate on the details of your day. Your mind has to be in your body, not in twenty other places. Love that!! Then I went to my framer and picked up a personal piece that I intend to keep in my own collection. It looks lovely, btw. Afterwards, I had a quiet and solitary lunch of hardy minestrone soup at a vegan bakery next to my framer. Perfection! After lunch I feed my vision for my new work with a photo outing. I was blown away by some of the stuff I saw and can't wait to see what percolates to the top and gets into my new pieces! So exciting.

All this was feeding, nourishing and trusting. I need to feed my conscious and unconscious ideas of what form my new work will take. I have to nourish myself with what I put in. Not just burn it up. So cracking open, but not cracking up. Then trusting that I will find "it" even though I don't really know what "it" is exactly. Trusting that leaving a void behind me will open a pathway that is rich and fulfilling.

Dancing, Painting, Watching and Asking

I do a dance practice called NIA which is a mixture of dance, martial arts and yoga. I've been practicing NIA for about five years now and have found fitness, agility, strength and peace of mind through this. This morning I danced and noticed, as I often do, a connection with my dance and my career as an artist.

The studio where I danced this morning has mirrors, as many of the places I dance do. I recognized a reluctance to look at myself in the mirror. I recognized a reluctance to make a gesture of asking for what I want and to look at myself in the mirror while doing so.

You can't get what you want unless you ask for it. You have to be able to look yourself in the eye and know this is what you truly want, before you think of asking it from someone else. You can't get what you want, unless you first ask for it. This doesn't mean that you're being aggressive or greedy or mean. It just means that you are honest and authentic with those you interact with.

So this year, I'm setting those BIG FAT HAIRY GOALS for myself and I'm going to ask for what I want. I'm not going to settle for the lesser goal, or the comfortable or for turning away from the mirror.

Look yourself straight in the eye and ask yourself for what you want. Tonight!