I Think I've Figured It Out

It came to me clearly this morning that the subject matter I am most drawn to is that which seems to relate to American life. Marching Band, people with pets, kids on the beach, soccer players are some of the subjects that I've had the most fun with. I do love me a landscape, too. I feel a lot of peace when painting Nature, but feel most in tune with LIFE when I'm painting people. That is why I think the Austin Figurative Project is going to be a very good thing for me. I will paint study after study and get really comfortable with the human form. Then, I can paint what I feel about the people I observe. I'll be able to put their personalities on the canvas and that will make me supremely happy. All my painting sessions lately seem to be bent on maintaining a festive atmosphere, so it looks like I had better practice being more lighthearted about painting in the company of other people. I have never thought of myself as a serious person, but I sure come off that way when I am painting. I am amused that that is the impression I make. What they don't know is that I will usually sing and dance to whatever music is playing and that is why I don't drink and paint. Gotta keep that foolishness under wraps for now.

The Big Pear

Our final painting for Phillip Wade's "Magnificent Acrylics" was a project on a textured canvas. He brought in all sorts of pears for us to paint or we could do a landscape. He thought that it would be a fun exercise to paint one huge pear, hence the name of the last project, "The Big Pear".

He was right, of course. It WAS fun! After a fashion. There was a point where I didn't like how muddy it had gotten, but what looked muddy close up, turned out to be kind of bronze when you step back...and I am most amazed at how sleek and rounded the pear looks even though it's painted on quite a rough surface.

Now my kitchen still life collection is complete. You didn't know that I was just painting to decorate my kitchen and art had nothing to do with the decision to do the Big Pear. Maybe it did a little, because it's the pears that I paint that Frank loves so much, so doing a Big Pear was something fun I could do for him.

"Art By Design" '07 show

Here are some pics from my second Creative Arts Society juried show, "Art By Design" held at the Design Center of Austin.

A Couple of Paintings

As promised, here is a photo of the first still life I did in Phillip Wade's class. And here is a painting I started last fall. It originally had purple floors and walls because I was in a purple state at the time. It's been changed so much that it definitely has lots of built up layers, as Jennifer Balkan so nicely put it. I really should sign it, varnish it and stick it on a frame. Time to move on already!

I'll tell you something that I'm really looking forward to doing this coming week at Inks Lake. Last year is when I did my first plein air painting and loved the process. I can't wait to get some time to paint outdoors there again and get a few good paintings of the area. Or at least some good studies that I can finish out at home, since I'm kind of a slow painter still.

I'd like to talk about another project that I have in mind, but it might not happen, so I'll wait until I get started on a sketch at least. I will say that it involves soccer players and the reason that it might not happen is that I'll chicken out. Meaning it may be more than I am ready to take on. But, there will come a day when it will happen. This I vow!!!

Frank Calls This "The Pear Painting"

Frank loves the pear in this and that's how he refers to the painting. I find it extremely amusing that he can totally focus on what he likes and ignore the huge blue pitcher.

I love this painting and therefore will only work on the onion until it looks like an onion...seeing as I bought an onion just for that purpose today. Then, it's getting signed and varnished and a little hanger on the back to put up on the kitchen wall. My other still life (which I still have not photographed!) will go up on the wall, too. And I understand our last project, with the textured canvas, is called "The Big Pear", so will have a third still life for the kitchen walls. Yay!

But, right now I need some inspirational photos or pictures of landscapes for this coming Monday's landscape painting lesson. I'm fresh out of ideas and a little sick of seascapes. Send me your ideas pronto!