Archive for February 2012
progress 2 (a painting goes through puberty)
This painting has developed acne, greasy hair, and squeals at Twilight movies…it has officially hit puberty. Almost every painting I’ve ever done goes through a pretty ugly phase I’ve affectionately dubbed “painting puberty.” I started doing this to make myself feel better because this is also usually the point of the painting where I start thinking, “Oh lord, what have I done!? I should have just left it alone!” But usually these awkward, gangling paintings can be brought back to normalcy with a little work. This one might take a little extra work, as the color I laid down was just so dark. I almost didn’t post it, it was so…unfortunate. But hopefully posting it right now, will make it all the more impressive when it is finally a real painting again…right…right? I’ll continue to post progress shots on this one, and fingers crossed, it should be a little prettier.
In other, happy news: My “Bee Mother” painting (thank you so much for the name Emma) made it into the show I applied to last week! Hurrah!! The opening is April 15th at the San Antonio Art League and Museum and all the work will be up through May 26th. I’m so excited already, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in a show. I also put a giclee print of my Bee Mother painting up on etsy.
I’m on the etsy
Yay! Today I finally got a few prints (including the painting above) up on etsy. I’m just putting prints up for now to see how that goes. Let me know if anyone has any etsy tips, as I’m pretty new to selling stuff on etsy.
This painting was an homage to my grandmothers. I recently got married, and they were on my mind a lot. The dress in the painting is very similar to the one I wore for the wedding. The fox in the painting is a reference to my Grandmother Fox. She has 9 tails based on a Japanese myth of the 9-tailed fox being a guardian. The violets are a reference to my Grandmother Foltz, who always grew them (we called them Johnny Jump-ups) in her garden. I wanted to include this as a symbol of renewal, as these little flowers always come back year after year.
show time
So today I am dropping off my three most recent paintings to the San Antonio Art League Annual Show. This is the first art show I’ve applied to in over 3 years, and I’m nervous! I feel like art shows are a necessary evil of the art world, they are awesome because you get exposure, get to be part of an exhibition, and sometimes there are even prizes! But they are kind of evil because…well…sometimes you don’t get in.
I’ve been painting/drawing/arting since junior high, and applying to art shows this entire time, you think I’d be used to it by now. I know judges/galleries/art festivals have a theme or feel they are usually going for, and sometimes your work just isn’t right for it. But when you apply to art shows, you are putting a piece of yourself out there to be judged…harshly. When I make a painting it is a usually something I’ve been thinking over and dreaming about for a long time, then you create it with tons of care and thought, so when people say it is just not good enough for a show, it still is disappointing. But it’s just part of the whole art world, so I’ll continue applying.
For art folks out there, there is one little piece of advice to at least help a little with the turmoil of applying to shows: Before you turn in your work, make sure to have already started a new piece. This helps me a lot, because instead of focusing on whether or not you’re getting in, or being disappointed or sad, you can throw your energy into the new piece. You can even tell yourself friendly little white lies like: “Now if only I had finished THIS on in time, this would have been the winner!”
jellyfish painting-progress
Drawing, drawing, drawing today. I’ve been busy all week framing a few pieces I’m entering into a show tomorrow (eeeeek!). So I was very happy to start a new piece today, and get back to the actual art making. The lay-out part of my art is really fun for me. I get to draw and erase over and over again until I get lines exactly where I want them. My goal for this piece is to post progress shots along the way. Right now it is just some clean lines, but it will eventually be filled with value, pattern and color.
I have fingers crossed I will get into the show tomorrow! I should know early next week.
bee girl
A new painting I finished last week. I still haven’t decided what I would like to call this painting, “bee girl” is not great and the only other thing I can think of is “queen bee” which I think is a little cheesy. With this painting, I was imagining this women to be the birthplace and protector of bees. They are born from her mouth and she feed them with apple blossoms.
alice greets the flower kingdom
Like many creative types, I have always loved Alice in Wonderland. I love children’s stories, at this point I know this is something I will never out grow. But my favorite children’s stories, like the Lewis Carroll classic, seem to have a little darkness thrown in with the fantastic.
The scene where Alice meets the talking flowers is actually from Carroll’s sequel Through the Looking Glass, but it has always been a favorite. In this painting I was trying to show this combination of the fantastic and darkness. Alice is amazed and excited as she greets these talking flowers, but as they tower over her, quizzically examining this “flower that can move about” she is also terrified. Of course, Alice continues on with her adventure in spite of feeling sometimes scared because otherwise she would never get to meet all these strange creatures. Maybe my recent move to a new city explains my preoccupation with Alice lately. Hopefully the next time I get lost trying to find the art store, I will run into some talking flowers and they will help me find my way.
