Monday, June 27, 2011

To Every Thing There Is A Season . . .

. . . in 2009, the Dalai Lama said,
"The world will be saved by the western woman."
He later added, "Some people may call me a feminist . . . but we need more effort to promote human values - human compassion, human affection.  And in that respect, females have more sensitivity for others' pain and suffering."

I don't normally use my Art Blog as a soap box, but today, with the announcement that Ms. Bachmann will enter the 2012 presidential race, I wonder if the Dalai Lama's prediction will come true. It started with Hilary (who had too much Clinton baggage) and then Sarah (who was too far in left field - left field not left wing), and now Michele Bachman . . . who knows?

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

No Ribbon for my Rabbit!

I did not win at the York Art Association Rottler Exhibit,
not even an honorable mention!
Oh well! C'est la vie!
But the good news is:
~ My paintings are hanging in a public venue for one month
~ I now have a painting ready for the Juried Show in September
~ I now have 2 paintings ready for the Riverview Gallery next March
~ Painting Alice and the Rabbit was on my Art Bucket List !!

and as a consolation prize -
I did win the Judy Grupp Studio Award for
"Being Engaged in Life"
or better known as -
at least I got up off my tookus and did something!





Monday, June 20, 2011

The Drum Roll please . . .



 Deadline. Almost 3 months later, and the paintings that have consumed by free time are wrapped in plastic and delivered to the York Art Association.
My studio has been straightened, paints put away and brushes all washed.
I don't know what to do with myself.
There's always the lawn - it needs mowing - again!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

White Rabbit

My White Rabbit from beginning to end ~
from no eyes to blue eyes ~
I have secretly named him Sinatra.
Just putting on the last finishing touches, varnish, hanging wire, making sure the back looks tidy and neat. I always paint the back edges and glue down any loose pieces of collage material. When I paint on gallery wrapped canvas, I always make sure the painting wraps around the sides, and the back looks good too. I want to make a good impression from all angles!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Weakest Link

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link"
This applies not only in business but also to your paintings.
It is the weakest part of your painting that will lose the sale or keep you from winning the prize.


You might think the painting is so strong that the problem area will be ignored, in most cases it is the problem area that will cause the painting to fail. It is difficult to distance yourself enough to determine the problem areas - it is also difficult to admit there is a weak area - but what is the hardest - at least for me - is to actually correct the problem. For one, at this point the painting is 99.9% complete, and two, is it worth the risk of ruining the rest of the painting just to fix something that might not be a problem to someone else. Yes - fix it.

Don't settle for less than your best.

So close to complete, it's becoming a chore to work on these. I want them out of my house. I don't care if I ever see them again. This mood that I am in is one of my indicators that these painting might be done.
How do we know for sure?

What I do know for sure is that I am not the only one with these insecurities - check out Kim Henkel's blog, http://khenkel.blogspot.com/ ,  June 7th - "When is is Finished?"

Monday, June 13, 2011

Painting Deadline . . .



Being PREPARED when
Opportunity comes, means
DOING the WORK
Staying in the Studio
until you are done!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

2022

   Merry Christmas