Clayboard
I am sooooooo excited! I tried a new multi-medium art board tonight and it was amazing. Called a “clayboard”, it is made so that it will virtually hold anything on it: watercolor, acrylic, oil, whatever! PLUS, it can be carved in to. So, being that I like to dig my heals in (just ask my hubby about that one!) I got the closest carving implement I could find (in this case it was the metal cap at the bottom of one of my drawing pencils) and started to carve into the board. The idea of the branch happened first. It just sort of flowed out of my hands and became my all too familiar choice of image. But I love vines, branches, trees, leaves, flowers, and rocks… And butterflies, birds, turtles, and bees… Anyway, once that presented itself I set in the watercolor paint which gave a little transparency to the image… Reminding me of stained glass… It wasn’t soft really, so, it chipped a little but actually that made for a cool effect.
One day
So I had a little art time the other day… It was refreshing… Made me wish for full-day kindergarden in our district! But anyway, here is what I did. I am a freak for small, detailed, botanical painting, but I branched out with a not-so-good Vermeer knock-off (it was done in about 20 minutes so, I know I could do better)…
Original Encaustic Samples
With the help of my amazing husband, and my amazing MacBook, I finally posted my movie of my hot wax works made on my trip in Cali! It isn’t perfect, but it’s done. Watch it here:
Hope and Faith
It’s 1:39AM and I can’t sleep. Today was a difficult day. We wept with some very dear friends as they said their peace and good-byes to their second stillborn baby, Hope Amanda. There are no words for sadness such as this. No solace to offer for the broken hearts of the parents and their loved ones. No words of simplicity for the young siblings that were eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new family member that again would never come home to greet them. No peace when you think of how much it must hurt to let go of your baby and be sent home.
Movement
In two weeks from today my much anticipated trip to California for an artistic safari will be half over. I have no idea what state of mind I will be in; no comprehension of how deeply this trip will affect me. I just feel utterly confused about how I will make it through. I am paralyzed just thinking about it.
A Start
So, I drew a picture from one of my favorite wedding photos we have ever taken. It is only a sketch, but I am excited see it in color someday. I told my friend of whom the picture is of, that it would be a painting someday. Anyway, here it is. I will post something else soon! Oh, and as for the “give me something” entry, I plan to eventually paint something from the fall season and with some type of water in it. I just need to clean the art room again. Capria decided to raid my cabinets one afternoon and now I have glue sticks and whatnot all over! I was “beading” at the time and let her do what she wanted… To my detriment of course!
Just shoot off my drawing hand, why don’t ya?
I am racked with emotions right now. That big exciting art show is only two days away. And I naively thought I had something of worth to show. I took my “prized” painting to a frame shop to get it matted, when finally asked about the piece the woman was looking to confirm her thoughts that it was a painting of conch shells. Conch shells!!? It is supposed to be a rose… Or maybe a peony at best. But shells? I was crushed. I didn’t even feel like getting it matted anymore after that.
Fair
“Life not go that way, mom. You know dat?” These are the words that sometimes come sailing out of my three year olds lips. Somehow, in his short time here on earth he has gotten the concept down already.
Cleared Path
Tonight was a landmark night. I set out with the goal to make some sketches of the rose photo and to prepare my mind for making the painting. Let me just say that I haven’t created something so life-like in a long time. At the end I sat there still for a moment just grinning from ear to ear. What lay before me was turning point…