The Virtual Paintout

Love traveling from home and finding a great scene to express by participating in The Virtual Paintout.  Participated a few years ago and now this month.  The location this month is Cape Cod.


 I have not blogged here in almost two years, I see.  I am have been trying to insert an image of my drawing, Province Lands Road in a post here for a couple of days ; but have not been able to accomplish it.  So I hope you just go to The Virtual Paintout and have a look.

My Mother

I have not been anywhere near the steward to my blog, art and business as I have intended to be over the last few years.  I can say thet I have been much better with stewarding the relationship between me and my mother over the last five years.  For me the relationship I have had with my mother over the last five years has been the most unconflicted mutual relationship and experience of my life.  "One True Thing", though not the same story as the book.  If you feel you know some of me and a little of her, look at her memorial http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Martha-Siegrist&lc=6774&pid=155512001&mid=4959204&locale=en-US

I did enroll in a painting class, but have a demanding "part time" (ha)  paid job (don't know if I can keep doing it -- know I don't want to) and my camera is malfunctioning.  So this is all I can do here for now.

Thank you for stopping by.  Angela

Hello 2012

When I look at myself and my life in the past and future, I am constantly struck by the need to concentrate on gratitude/thankfulness.  I am thankful for the people in my life that I love and I am thankful to be able to love art and critters so much and have both in my life .  My number one goal for 2012 is to savor every moment the best I can, to constantly redirect myself to the present and what I am greatful for in every moment. (I can be such a worry wart and grudge holder -- often focusing on what I am scared of or resentful of --- this is not a good way to live.)

I am thankful for my family.  Here is a follow-up to "The Way We Were" .  My brothers came to the exhibit dressed as close to the picture as they could be (I did not have the slightest inkling they were doing this, though I was very happy they were planning on coming to the exhibit opening) and insisting we take a picture like the picture, LOL.  I was so warmed by this experience.  Here is a photo from the opening:



I am thankful that I am able to connect with people and finance my art through commissions.  Here are a few commissions I had this year, that did not get posted to my blog.





I so much enjoyed taking a drawing class at Denison University this year.   I felt totally absorbed in the drawing process and also feel I renewed confidence with drawing from life and various media within myself.   Here is a little bit more of the 100 drawings project I mentioned in a previous post:



I did a 100 page flipbook which is on the stool on the right, but I would have to video it to have it make any sense.

I may post a few more drawings from class, in the future.  Also, I am planning on taking a painting course from the same instuctor during winter semester.

I have already started a series of drawings looking out at my pasture from the back of my house and I will post one of these in a day or two (some troubles with my camera and must wait for sun).

I have a commission on my drawing board (which I can't post until it is gifted) and I am focusing on gratitude.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

A Lovely Anniversary Present and Drawing Class

This Bear and Dove was a fun and very touching commission.  A man contacted me about a present for his first wedding anniversary.  His wife called him "Snuggley Bear" and he called her "Lovey Dovey".  He wanted to know if I could do a bear hugging a dove.  I did several sketches and after we collaborated on picking out the preferred features of the sketches, this was the result.  It is 12x16, colored pencil on hardboard panel.
I think I mentioned that I am auditing a drawing class at Denison University this semester. At any rate, I am and it is really stimulating to be using other media -- conte crayon, charcoal, ink, markers and to be drawing from life.  Though alot of my in class drawings are currently stored at the university and I have not yet taken any photos of them, I though I would share some homework.  One of our assignments is to pick an object and incorporate it into 100 drawings.  This wooden horse I have had for several years is the object I picked:

Here are drawings 5-11.  I am using conte and it is on two sheets of 18x24 paper, so the final here is 24x36.  I may add more to it later.  As I said above, feeling very stimulated drawing from life (though it is still). His arm fell off while I was workig on this, so I have not included it for some of the drawings.

Two Works

My piece, The Way We Were, Coshocton - 1972 did get into the Johnson Humrick House Museum Exhibit.  The opening is October 22, 4-6 P.M. A convenient time for some of my family to be there and we can have dinner afterwards -- looking forward to a good time!  I did change the year in the title from 1971 to 1972 -- I thought about it some more and that is the year it was.

Here is a portrait of Riley, a clipped and wet Portuguese Water Dog, that I finished last month. It was a surprise gift and was well received.  I enjoyed the challenge of the water as something new in this one.

I am having fun but also kept busy with a drawing class I am auditing.   I am working more from life and using other media -- I am enjoying it very much.  I keep alot of my work at the university, but will try to snap some photos for the blog. Also, I will be posting some other commissions soon,also.  After a disappointing Christmas season last year, I have had steady stream of commissions starting in June of this year.  YEAH!

Thanks for stopping by.

The Way We Were, Coshocton, 1971, still a Work in Progress

I have been putting hours and hours into this one.  Deadline Sept. 1, (see previous post)  if that isn't a post mark date, I will drive the CD there.  At any rate I started with the faces, and felt they were fair enough that I could go on.  Now finishing the faces is all I have left and it is getting out of wack some.  Hope I get a grip and finish this with some satisfaction.  It is 16x20, colored pencil on panel.  In case you haven't guessed, I am on the far right and the other two hip characters are my two younger brothers.  As well as faces, which I am close to overdoing now, I wasn't sure about the car or blending in the background the way I wanted, but I am fairly pleased with both of those two issues at this point.  That car was my beloved first, a 58 Chevy that I worked and paid for myself. 

Two Portraits Finished and a WIP

Here's Sassy's portrait finished.  It was delivered a few weeks ago and Sassy's mom and dad were happy.  I got to meet this beautiful kitty, on this rug also!  She is a sweetheart!  8x10 colored pencil on panel

Here is a portrait of Bungy.  Bungy has also been delivered, but he was to be a present to the owner. The client was quite pleased and I am still waiting to hear how this present was received. 5x7 colored pencil on panel

My home town, Coshocton, Ohio, is celebrating it's bicentenial. 
There are many events happening in relation to this.  One event is a juried exhibit at the Humrick-Johnson Museum, deadline September 1.  The exhibit is titled "Inspired by Coshocton" and is open to artists with a connection by work or residence to Coshocton.  The subject matter is open.  I have taken lots of photos when visiting my mom in trying to come up with a composition or two to enter.  In the end I have been working on  a family snapshot.  I have been working on this all month.  Here is my first WIP photo,  I will show more WIP photos this week.  It is 16x20 and I am thinking about calling it "The Way We Were, Coshocton, 1971" 

Hope you are enjoying your week!  Thanks for stopping by!

Finished Dog Portrait and a Cat Portrait in Progress

Here is a second portrait of Allie completed.  It will be delivered some time this week.  I enjoyed working on at at the Graniville Art Affair held a couple of weeks ago.  It is a 912 in colored pencil.

Below are  some work in progress shots of Sassy, a really gorgeous cat.  The proud owners (or ownees, whichever the case maybe)  commissioned this piece at the the Granville Art Affair.  I started it yesterday and got this far.  I am looking forward to working on her today.  The size of this portrait is 8x10 inches.

And Now Something Different -Virtual Paintout

I discoverd this blog, Virtual Paintout, about a month ago.  Love it -- love seeing what people pick to do and how they interpret it! 

There are animals to be found by traveling various localities, but when deciding to participate this month, I did not find any.  So I picked this scene:

Hotel LaPeRouse, Nice, France

I started this in watercolor pencil -- an attempt to experiment, perhaps be looser and quicker, but alas, I ended up using alot of colored pencil and put in over 12 hours on this little 5x7.  It scanned a little brigter in the red area than it actually is.  I sure did enjoy this, but spent way more time than I planned.

Here is the Google Streetview link for this scene:

View Larger Map

A Month of Sundays - Two Commissions

Well, it seems like a month of Sundays since I lasted posted.  Thank you all of you who still checked in once in awhile.  It is only in this past week that I have felt like I have had some time to myself for gathering my toughts and concentrating on art.  Mainly other work and some family needs have kept me away so long.

Here are two commissions I just finished:

This is Allie, I used both of these photos to develop her portrait.

This is Casey, a German Shepherd mix.

Both portraits are 9x12, colored pencil on pastelbord.

Columbus Arts Festival Jury Experience

GREAT OPPORTUNITY

I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend the jury proces for the Columbus (Ohio) Arts 50th Annual Festival.  This festival is a national festival with a high ranking among arts festivals in the United States.  It is celebrating its 50th annniversary.  I have attednded, as a patron, at least 30 of these 50 over the last thirty-three years.  This was the first year that there was an Emerging Artist category for artistist applicants. 

Though I made the first round of jurying, I did not make it into the show during the second/final round of jurying.  I am waitlisted number three out of eight accepted openings.

Getting in or not, it was an invaluable opportunity to be able to see the jury at work and to be able to get some one-to-one feedback from the jurors. 

Personal Feedback

Though the jurors said they admired my drawing skills/talent -- they felt that some of the subject matter and style was not personal, interesting, unique or "expressive" (I add this word as I felt it was implied, if not exactly spoken) to make it stand out and be eligble for a fine arts show of this caliber.  I was advised to draw more of what is in my everyday life instead of hawks or tigers -- overdone subjects, they felt.  Above are my submissions, if I had not submitted "Ruby and Roscoe", the dogs, I would probably have been passed over in the first round -- this was the only work out of the above that the jury found compositionally interesting and personal.  The jurors were very supportive that everyone in the room keep on working and keep on trying.

General Jurying Process and Concerns

The technical aspects of making a photo of the artist`s work and booth were very important and could eliminate an applicant in less than a second.  Three-D objects in particular need to be up close, no white background with good contrast between the object and the background. Also, booth slides were often looked at for the similarity of the display and the work submitted.  There were some concerns intermittently expressed about whether or not reproductions of work should be allowed if they were not shown in the booth slide.

The vast number of slides forced the jurors to work very rapidly.  The average of their scores ranked the applicant in each category.  Often there was little discusstion, just computerized scoring as the projections of the applicants works and booths rapidly passed by on large screens at the front of room.  I did not see the scores, but the accepted applicants were shown to the jurors and audience at the conclusion of the jurying process.

Summary Thoughts

I need to think about what it is I want to say with my art.  If I want to be part of a fine art venue, I may need to narrow my focus more.  I am not sure where I will take this yet, I do know that I do not have the time yet for my art that I want.  I would like to experiment more, but this does not always seem compatible with my needing to make some money and maintain the farm. At this point in my life, the goal is to make art more central to my life.  Doing pet protraits and creating a body of fine art may be two divergent goals.

I did note that there was alot of animal related 2-D work, much of which was accepted into the show.  There seemed to be more animal than people related work.  This seems somewhat surprising and ironic to me.  Nobody that had a wolf in their presentation was accepted -- the animal artists who were accepted mainly had dogs or farm animals.   Also, perhaps not so much of a surprise, more paintings, than drawings seemed to be accepted.  There were some preferences for larger 2-D work -  over 36", it seemed to me, also.

My main problem at the moment is cultivating the time to regularly devote to my art, no matter what my goals or purpose for doing it are.  I thought retiring from my day job would cure this problem, but after a few years, it has raised its head again.  I see my future productive time as consisting of fewer and fewer years.  I believe I need to seriously rearrange/priortize my life in some major ways to devote the time remaining to art in a more meaningful way.  It remains to be seen whether or not I have the courage to change my life and my focus.

Columbus Arts Festival Jury

I am excited about going to watch part of the jury process for the Columbus Arts Festival tomorrow. The jury actually met 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. today and will meet 9:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. tomorrow. I applied in the Emerging Artist category, open to all media, which will be juried tomorrow.   All applicants were invited to attend the jurying process.  In addition, the jurors will be giving artists in the Emerging Artist category advise as to how to improve their application presentation at the conclusion of the jurying tomorrow.  I will write about my experience when I return home.

Tax preparation work as been in excess of 40 hours a week, alot different for me than it was last year.  I have not had much time for myself -- art or writing here. 

I have been thinking alot, however, about my art business goals for the year.  My art business  goals for this year will include talking with a consultant.  I am planning to apply to some local outdoor art venues that set up regularly during the summer and fall, but only for five hours.  My set-up is quite cumbersome for such a short time, I may get an Easy-Up for these short venues to make set-up a little easier.   Other than the applying to the Columbus Arts Festival, I do not plan to expand my art festival applications this year.  I am thinking I will spend less this year on outdoor shows  by working on my local exposure and improving my set-up as I learn more at these local venues. 

I also plan to really work on getting my brochures out to animal and art related locations.  I plan to get many of my prints and advertising about commissions in my loacl art organization galleries.

This is not a complete list of my art or business goals, but some of my current plans for this coming year. 

I have been toying with what word to come up with to focus on as an intention for the year -- and I think for this year it will be, "trust".  For me that means trusting each step I take, though it may seem small as well as trusting myself to experiment more with my art media without looking for immediate quantifiable results.

A print of my  work below, "Bath Five Cents" recently sold on Fine Art America.



Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon, Angela

Hit the Ground Running in the New Year

I have hit the ground since the new year started, but not necessarily running in the direction I would like to go.  This is the morning of my third day off since starting tax preparation work on Monday the third.  Was not this time consuming last year. I have been in a shock about it.  But, for now,  I am rolling with the punches and thinking about my art goals as I run along.  I have made a list of the art festivals to which I want to apply and their deadlines.  The Columbus Arts Festival is a really big one, I did apply in their Emerging Artist category, the jury is public and I am looking forward to attending on February 6. 

I do plan to make a list of goals and a business plan for this year as well as picking a word for guiding my intentions this year.  I know one of my goals will be to work with a consultant/advisor on the business of art.  I do have someone in mind, but still mulling it over just a little bit.  I will formally look at my goals from last year and see how I have done, but I do know that though I met some of them, the results were not what I had hoped for.  I had hoped that going to more festivals, even if not lucrative in sales, would help with commissions, this was not the case.  I do think that perhaps becoming a regular at some of these shows could help with that, but that is something I may be consulting about.

On this glorious day off, I am running to the big city to get the last three feral kitties spayed/neutered.  They are five and half months already,  must not have anymore.  It will be a relief to release them tomorrow, hopefully healthy, as well as infertile. 

I took a better picture of the red-tailed hawk portrait when preparing my images for art festival applications.  So I decided to share it here. 

Thank you for visiting and reading despite my long absence.  I WILL be back soon.

Wishing You All a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 Frankie, one of the several kittens born in the garage this year, a real sweetie!

Thank you all so much for reading this blog, I truly wish you happy holidays and a great new year.     Angela

Tasha and Chiaroscuro

I certainly enjoyed do this portrait -- loved working on the strong contrasts!  I have lightened the dog's right eye more than was true to the darkness of the reference/lighting conditions.  I am being urged by a related onlooker to do it more for the recipient's sake.  It is a gift,  I don't think I will, if the recipient does not appreciate it as is, I will offer to do another and keep this one.

This is only 5x7, but I sure did enjoy working on it.  There are alot of colors in it, even if that is not apparent overall. Tasha does have a skin condition which leaves her thinned hair and hairless in places.  I have only hinted at it in the portrait, but did lots of layers of colors to capture it.

The use of strong light and dark contrasts in art is referred to as chiaroscuro.  If you would like to read more about chiaroscuro, you can click this link: chiaroscuro.  I could not recall how to spell this term, but first went to the Wikepedia site to look at Rembrandt, hoping to find the term, and I did.  I am surprised that Wikepedia says the Expressionists often used chiaroscuro, I always think of the Renniasance artists,  when thinking of this term.  Since the Expressionists are my favorite grouping of artists, I will have to look at this connection between chiaroscuro and the Expressionists more.

I am not sure wether or not I will do more to Lokie's portrait.  After I do some more getting ready for Christmas tasks, I may do him over if there is time. I have to clean up some dust on Tasha's background, but I think I am calling her done, also.  ( P.S.  after posting and looking at this a little more, I may be modifying Tasha's nostril's just a little to make it a little more aligned.)

Though busy getting ready for company for Christmas and a second gathering the day after, I am enjoying every day of being home lately.

Have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Two Dobes WIP -- Christmas Presents



Here are Lokie and Tasha.  Lokie is probably finished, but I will look him over while working on Tasha.  I think something is a little off with Lokie, but I don't have good reference photos of him, but have met him several times.  He had an expressionist quality for a while which I may experement more with.  However, I am aiming for realism for the most part because I do not think the gift recipient will appreciat it otherwise.  I am enjoying working on the sunlit qualities in Tasha's reference photo.  



Lokie - Main Reference









Lokie - Nearly Finished Portrait






















  

































Tasha - Main Reference



Christmas Portraits Done & Good Links on Success

Here are Daisy's, the Collie,  and Izzy's,  the Cat, portraits finished:

I am enjoying some time at home before starting a tax preparation job in January.  I have finished this year's Christmas card, will share it the day before Christmas on the blog.  I will be do a couble of small portraits as a family gift. I plan to enjoy beading a necklace for a gift.  It is snowy here today and it is doubly nice being home with these two projects to work on.

I have been thinking about how to achieve better art business success. Moneywise, things seemed to go more backwards this year even with more action and effort.  I wonder if my ladder is on the wrong wall sometimes.  It could be just a step in the process of climbing.  I just don't know.  I have been reviewing seminars and consulting services -- getting some help is one of my goals for the coming year.  I did really enjoy David Barney's post on this subject today.  His post refers to two other posts on this subject, all of which are quite good.

Hope you are all having a warm, cozy and enjoyable day!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you are all enjoying your Thanksgiving holiday!  As far as art has been going, aside from commissions, I have been doing alot more surfing, reading and imagining than doing lately.  Somewhat enjoyable and stimulating, but also sometimes feeling bloated, like eating too much choclate candy at one sitting.  Looking at 3-D as well as 2-D media -- may blog about that later.  Feeling a need to do something looser and just for fun.

I have developed a  want for more studio space, my basement is a wreck of storage, that has been bothering me anyway -- planning to really work on that this winter, but more motivated to have more space for art making (space to do other media without having to back up all my colored pencil stuff in order to have room), framing (have to use kitchen island now, with no room for storage of materials) and for storage and display.  Not that I can't create without all this, but I am feeling motivated to move toward making it a reality for the longterm at this point.

I did buy myself some early Christmas present art books, two by Claudia Nice and one by Carla Sonheim.

Again hope you are having a great holiday, see you later!  Angela

Christmas Commissions, Part 2

Here is the Collie, Daisy, almost done.  I am giving it a rest before deciding whether or not it is finished.

I went ahead and started the cat, Izzy.  The owners say she is giving her "sweet look"  so I am really working on that.

Both portraits are 8x10, colored pencil on panel.

Christmas Commissions

I am currently working on some Christmas commissions.  Here is one of them in progress.

I have a little ways to go yet.  It is 8x10, colored pencil on pastelbord.  I am enjoying working on it.

I also have a cat to do for the same family.

Thanks for stopping by!