It's Good To Be Conflicted,

Or is it?

Do you remember earlier this week I posted about sketching for a new painting and having indecision about exactly what to begin next because I had two very different ideas swimming in my head?  After completing the last Desert Plant painting I planned to move forward with another, however I made a trip to the Palm Springs Art Museum to see the Diebenkorn exhibit (click HERE to visit PS Art Museum site with info)

                 Woman on a Porch
                  Richard Diebenkorn

and while there wandered into the Western/Indian exhibition section to see if there were new items being shown.  Sure enough, there was a great, yet small, basket display and I was introduced to Guadalupe Arenas, a Cahuilla, who lived and created in the Coachella Valley during the late 1800's into the early 1900's.  

Basket woven by Guadalupe Arenas

This woman fits perfectly into my Indian Women Portrait Series, so of course I was captivated and began to research her life and work and sketching for a painting which would represent her.

I settled on a composition but I am having problems finding photographs of her and since I want to know what she looked like to make a more accurate representation, and since I want to begin a new painting immediately, my decision was made.  The easel will hold a Desert Plant painting for now while I continue research on Guadalupe Arenas.  That conflict resolved.

Back into the sketch book to face more conflicting situations. Which plant and which composition?

 Barrel Cactus with side or top view?

 Fence Post Cactus?

Some composition of Prickly Pear?

I found myself drawing one and another and another Prickly Pear composition adding in large, flamboyant flowers much like that in the previous painting, shown below.

Prickly Pear Blossom

40x30

I believe these conflicted feelings were resolving themselves. Next step was to 'live' with the sketches for a few hours and after selecting one, paint a small canvas board.

Sketches with small canvas board painting.

These canvas board paintings allow me to work out color, movement, high and low lights as well as my satisfaction with the composition.  OK.  All conflict resolved.  Was it good to be conflicted?  Not sure, but I do know it is good to have a canvas on the easel and pigments in the palette, all ready to go.

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How Long Does It Take To Paint A Painting?

Yes, I have talked about this before...

Kayaking Into The Rocks

48x30

2000.00

However I have run into an interesting situation, one that has helped me understand something you might see in a museum or art gallery.  And what has just happened in my studio may help you understand this as well.

So, how long does it take to paint a painting?  Artists are asked this over and over again.   I truly believe it has taken a life time of doing what ever one has done before to get to the point of creating what ever it is that was just created.  That explanation is not always readily accepted though it is true.  But what about those paintings that sit in the studio, unfinished.  Or what about the painting that was completed and then worked on again some time later.

This is exactly what just happened to me.  I completed a painting several years ago, about ten years ago.  It has been exhibited and just recently returned to my studio.  During those ten years, between the completion of the painting and its return, my work has changed, evolved, moved in new directions.  I see the world and my inspiration differently.  I portray my inspiration a bit differently than I did ten years ago.  So when this painting came back into my studio I felt compelled to work on it again knowing I could ruin it and knowing I could improve it.  I had never done this before because I think that once something is done, it is done, leave it alone.    Oh boy.....brush in hand, I tackled the work, changing what had been there, working to improve the painting.

So what is it we see in museums and galleries that I refer to at the beginning of this post?  It is information given about the artist and the work.  The date a work was created is typically on the descriptive tag next to a painting, and sometimes that date spans several years.  I have always wondered about this.  Why so many years?  Well, now I have one answer to this question and now this particular painting will have the date listed as 2003-2013.  And I guess if I am asked how long it took to create this painting my answer may be: ten years.

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Leave Those Electronic Devices Behind.

Take A Vacation.

Yes... A vacation from your electronic devices.  We all love them, and sometimes hate them, but love 'em or hate 'em, they are a part of our lives.  Actually, I really like mine and use them with my work and for play, directions, entertainment...on and on.   But sometimes they are a bit too prevalent in our lives.  

So it was with wild-reckless-abandon that I left my iphone, the greatest tool, personal assistant, crazy little device, in my studio when I left town for a few days.  Would I be able to live without being connected?  It was only going to be four days.  I thought I could survive.

I packed my sketch book and a real honest to goodness paper paged book to read, then headed into Mexico for beach, ocean, friends, good food and a few lively libations.  I spent a great deal of time looking, just looking, mostly at the ocean, but also flowers, palm trees, cacti and other wonderful sights.  If you have read my book, See Where You Are, you know I encourage the ability to actually look and SEE what surrounds you.  (You can click HERE to see, preview and order the book.)

An interesting thing happened....my brain had to entertain itself........ I came up with a completely new and different body of art work to create.  Of course I will still continue to paint flowers, palms, cacti, rocks, and produce, but I am so very excited to begin experimentation with this new idea.  It can't happen soon enough.  All because I left the devices behind.  Another thing I noticed was that it was far more relaxing to be without connectivity.  So...that's it for this week and the blog.  Into the studio for me....music only, no connectivity, no electronic devices for the remainder of the day.  Try it.....step away for a few days.  You might surprise yourself.

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Apple Art

It's That Time Of Year

Nine Pie Apples

I think of it as the apple time of year with those juicy fruits piled high in the market and the scent of cooking apples in the air.

Five Reds

Apple fritters, apple pie, apple turnovers, apple sauce, apple cider, baked apples.....the list could go on and on.  And the kitchen smells so delicious.

Steuber's Apples

As well a cooking apples and eating them in their raw state, I like to paint these beauties.

Six Reds on a Board

The apple species is in the rose family and is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits.  The tree originated in Western Asia and was brought to North America by European colonists.  And we all know about Johnny Appleseed and how he spread the seeds of the tree across the U.S.  Lucky us to have these tasty fruits so readily accessible.

 Itty Bitty Apple

It's off to the studio for me where I will create another apple painting and munch on that crunchy, juicy, fruit in my hand.... that is after I use it for visual inspiration.

Solo Green

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Painting Give Away.

It's Time for my Annual Little Painting Give Away !!!!  And this is it:

More Olives

7" x 5"

To qualify for the Give Away get someone else to 'like' my Artist's Facebook page.  If you  Click Here you will go to that page.  And then do one more thing:  send me a message from my Artist's Facebook page telling me who you had 'like' my page, OR, Click Here to send me an e-mail message telling me who you had 'like' my page.  Then you are entered in the blind drawing which will take place tomorrow, Friday evening.  Notification of the winner will be Saturday.   Pretty Simple.

Now a bit about the painting.....  Inspired by a frosty gin martini filled with pimento stuffed olives.... for some a tasty adult beverage.  This painting is acrylic on a canvas board and sits beautifully in a small easel on a counter top or shelf.  It could be a decorative addition to a bar area that brings color and whimsy to the area.  You could keep it for yourself or gift it to a martini loving friend, so do these two simple steps and get yourself entered in the Give Away.

I am honored that a martini drinking gent I know has seen my cocktail paintings and wrote the following sonnet in honor of these works:

Ode To The Olive

Oh, but the magical olive tree what a gift it has given, especially to me.

A more perfect romance the world has yet to see

For in the morn we make magical love with color and brush

And in the evening I turn into the olive's adoring lush.

                                                           Gary Bird

Don't delay...enter today, and this colorful little painting may just be yours!

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Mural Painting

Giving Time to Help Another Painter

Even though I have a canvas on my easel, I took a few hours today to help a fellow artist work on her mural at Kings Beach Elementary School.  The design is based on a Shel Silverstein poem which deals with seeing things from a different point of view, hence the school bus in the clouds and the upside down tree.  There is more work to be done, children to be added, details here and there, but you get the idea.  I worked on the clouds and the tree greenery....such fun!

Some of the students have had the opportunity to be involved with the project giving them a sense of ownership and exposure to art.  That's a darn good thing since so many art programs have been removed from our schools.  And the whole idea of seeing your world from a different perspective is a inspiring thought for young children.  This is why I was very happy to give some time to this project.

Graffiti

Yes, Graffiti
On Lake Tahoe Boulders

Again this summer, the rocks off the Crystal Bay Point at Lake Tahoe have been tagged.  Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, sprayed, or painted illicitly on a surface in a public place.  Tahoe is definitely a public place and painting on the magnificent boulders is definitely illegal.  This is defacement and vandalism which is a punishable crime.

Graffiti can be a gang marking, it can make a social or political statement.  It has also evolved into an art form whose value is highly contested, reviled by some while also subject to protection by others.

This particular graffiti may be interesting,  a simple image of Salvador Dali, peeking out from between two huge boulders.  It is still defacement.  I don't see this as a gang marking, a social or a political statement, so it is difficult to understand why the artist chose to place their work in this spot.  Is this a case of individual hedonism, someone who must have their creation out in front of everyone, yet has the inability to work to find an appropriate venue?  

As a work of art this is clever, however painting this image on these boulders is defacement to the natural beauty of Lake Tahoe.  Did the artist truly think they could out do Mother Nature and make the area a better place with the addition of their work?   Did the artist believe it necessary to change the serene, majestic, natural environment?  Now when passing by this particular group of rocks, instead of enjoying the boulders, the location, and the peace of the place, the focus is on this image.

I was out on the lake in my rowing shell to revisit the boulders that are currently inspiring the painting that is on my easel.  I was shocked and horrified to see this graffiti.  

Lake Tahoe is one of the natural wonders of the world, an inspirational, peaceful, and I say it again, majestic place.  Tahoe is a geological wonder.  Lake Tahoe does not need this type of vandalism.

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Wine Glass and Cocktail Paintings in Tahoe Gallery

These Little Canvases are now at Vista Gallery

Sauvignon Blanc

Vista Gallery is located in Tahoe Vista.

Afternoon Cava

Tahoe Vista in on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.

Red Red Wine

Lake Tahoe was just voted "The Most Beautiful Lake in America" by readers of USA Today.

Zinfandel

The Gallery sits above The Old Range Steak House http://www.steakhousetahoe.com/ where they serve cocktails and wine.

The Cocktail Hour

Stop by for a beverage, maybe dinner, and then visit the gallery upstairs!  Each of these little gems is 8"x6", priced at $140. and includes a display easel.  A perfect ornament for a bar or kitchen counter.

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To contact Vista Gallery click HERE

Painting Tahoe Rocks.

While Painting Cocktails I Am Still Painting Lake Tahoe Boulders.

Over the past few months I have been working on two different Lake Tahoe inspired paintings composed of huge boulders that sit in the crystal clear water of Lake Tahoe.

These boulders are a granite that is light gray, medium to coarse-grained rock and along with other igneous rocks and metamorphic slate can be found throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Granite is composed of two light-colored minerals, quartz and feldspar.  Some granite appears to be salt and pepper in appearance due to the presence of darker colored minerals such as iron and magnesium.  That said, I am using a palette that does not contain black or  derivation of black, so the granite does not appear grey in my painting.  Artist license, and to me much more visually interesting.  

I thought I had completed 'Big Split', but not so.  After working on another boulder painting I decided to re-visit Big Split and the reflections on the water.  I am much happier with this painting.  This is just what it looked like this morning as I rowed past these rocks.

Big Split

48 x 36

3500.00

The reflection of the rocks and sky on the smooth water reached out towards my boat in ethereal, mystical, silent fingers.  It was a meditative start to the day.  It was also conducive to the re-work of the painting.

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