Oh happy day!

My art project enigma will be incomplete no longer. I have received my final delivery of artist panels, modge podge, damar crystals, beeswax and many other necessities. It's going to be a great week! I added Dale Chihuly's website to "My Comfort Sites" list. Dale is a master at his craft of glass art. Check it out.

Geranium Sunshine

Here comes the sun! An accidental breakage of a UFO Geranium plant from last summer is my inspiration on this bitter frosty cold January morning.

Pensive eggs

Fresh eggs from a friends chickens reassures the days bliss. Too bad I'm allergic, but am happy to prepare them for everyone else. The sun allows for a pensive setting for my brain.

Art in the House: Kitchen

Is that hotrod liquor guy in my kitchen? Chalkboard paint in a patch on the kitchen wall hosts the perfect message center. In our case we use it for creating art.

Art in the House: Bathroom

We remodeled our bathroom with slate and glass tile. I added hand picked river stones and tumbled glass from the Columbia River with the glass tiles to the rough edge of the slate tile on the shower wall.

Art in the House: Mirror

Living in an all male household I have claimed three sacred spots for myself. This one being my closet. I painted it pink with black swirly detail around my mirror. NO BOYS ALLOWED!

Art in the House: window screen

I made a window screen out of vellum, artist markers and black gorilla duct tape (thanks to my 12 year old). It beautifully filters the light adding the necessary element of privacy to my tub room.

Fix

Snuck in a journal doodle before bed.

Thanks to the clouds

After waking up late and having to drive my son to school (missed the bus), I convinced myself that the low lying clouds kept me in bed this morning. There's a ubiquitous sense of contentment when the atmosphere is so stable that seems to gently apply pressure to keep you still. In the summer months this river spot is alive with every water sport you can think of, this morning the only business is the near by creek. Thanks to the clouds, for this impressive sight would of irrevocably vanished before my path would of normally crossed!

A spontaneous reward

On my way out to work I had a hankering to create in my art journal. I went with a theme of circles suggested by another blog artist I follow. Fifteen minutes later this is what happened. Spontaneity has it's rewards.

It's that easy

Greeted by the opening of tulips
at the bottom of the stairs
before the closed curtains
let the day in
as if they were saying
slow down and concede the
uncomplicated, complimentary peace

A wonderful Way

Before heading out to work I became engaged with the crows that frequent the Sycamore tree across from my home. I'm drawn to their magestic size and the way they roost within a comfortable group as well as their contrast in the snow. What a wonderful way to start the day.

Big City Day

A clip of my triptych. More yet to do but it's well on its way. Spent a couple of hours downtown at a wonderful art supply store (near Nordstroms, I refrained) and followed up my "big city" day with a stop at Trader Joes. Being that TJ's is atleast an hour away from my home town I like to stock up on my favorite comfort foods. It's a crucial part of my creaitve environment. They also have a lovely triple milled french lavendar bar of soap!

I can see it in my mind

On my very nonglamorous floor I have positioned the three 18" x 24" canvases leaving a few inches inbetween. This will be hung in an indoor staircase on a 24" wide angled neutral wall that stretches two stories high. It will be seen upon entering the home. I envision it seen from the stairway and upstairs as well, hense the height choice. I will now begin the color infusion process for the center white area. The outside charcoal boarder is painted with chalkboard paint. I have plans of inscribing in pastels within that boarder area. My 1999 classic flower power imac itunes is set (leaving out Right Said Fred's "Im Too Sexy")ready to comfort me through this process. This is my most troubled area of creating. I can see it in my mind and hope that I can translate it onto the canvas. I'm more than willing to accept the outcome being different, however, it must be worth looking at and something I can be proud of.

sketch book

In my sketch book I have many things. Clippings of art from various magazines, doodles, other peoples doodles, comps for jobs, notes on newly discovered misc art sources and products as well as spontaneous thoughts planned out ready to be layed on canvas. Here is my initial planning for a requested painting for a dear friend.

Primo Spoto

Aaahhhh...the ultimate inspiration zone! Cocooning yourself in a weightless frothy bath alleviates all stress and cleanses the mind. There's an enriching feeling about soaking in a 1915 cast iron claw foot tub. Oh the stories it could tell.

Six bucks of joy

My favorite $6 purchase. An oversized paper drink umbrella mobile which proudly hangs in my art space and brings me much unexpected joy.

Flower Power

Here it is. The classic imac. Can't give it up. It's ike a comfortable old friend. It suits my needs. Although it doesn't support the internet anymore due to the fact I haven't spent the time, energy or money to update the system software for almost a decade now. After 10 years of that kind of maintenance with my graphic design business I had enough when I entered the coffee house phase of my life. This is my general work space (besides my much used floor) in my upstairs art space.

Outdated and don't care

I spent countless agonizing hours trying to come up with the perfect way to create art. This was my first attempt. It originates on my "retro" daisy imac in the classic format of Adobe Ill. 9.0. Yep, an outdated almost 10 year old program version. It was the only way to jumpstart my creative process. Utilizing my graphic design background I chose a word in which I felt connected to. One that I could vision on an artist panel with interest. Having the freedom to adjust the composition and color palette while on screen was familiar and a luxury. Almost like cheating without realizing it. I had a plan. I executed the plan. It's not finished. It sits on my desk waiting for one last detail to be added.

Encaustic art ROCKS!

I recently took an encaustic art class. This was the first collage piece made. It is themed after the girlie 'laundry day" painting I've been working on. I have plans for this encaustic medium. Big plans.


A random grouping of textiles, melted pine resin & beeswax. What a day!! A heat gun was involved for fusing the layers of textiles and wax. String, how I love the string! Something so simple yet so perfectly swirly. I love a good swirl.

Future addiction

A wonderful gal, Leila, has a glass studio. I spent the day with her learning how to fuse a glass window for my old beat up front door. Doing only one task at a time was a well needed shift for me. I found I could get addicted to fusing glass. I thoroughly enjoyed the process and outcome.

Snowshoeing

The magestic size of the evergreens covered in snow created a silence that hugged your body. Genuinely inspiring.


Went snowshoeing and was awestruck by the intense beauty of the abundant snow fall. This creek has minerals that leave a permanent rust residue along the bed no matter the season.

Semi-recent art

These next three entries are from my sketch book. I sketched this fish of many shapes and painted it at the beach last fall. A friend asked if she could have it. I was honored. It ended up purples with golden back grounds.


I enjoy a good crazy spiral hair lady in ink.


I doodled this woman while still owning and working the coffeehouse. Hence the cafe theme.


Went to the coast of Oregon for a week in the fall with 12 other women. Rented an incredible beach house. I knew when I went on this trip that it would be a soul altering experience. I painted several things. This one being of a chair made out of red yard sticks that sat in the room.


My first of my spiral tree phase. I had left over particle board from an Ikea purchase and left over drywall mud from our renovations. Textured the board, base coated it and let it sit for 6 months. Got the nerve to paint on it and this was the outcome. I was in the zone man...in the zone. It spawned several spiral tree paintings. One not so good.


My first painting done after selling the coffeehouse. It's a 10" x 10" acrylic on an ambersand clay board box. It represents to me a path into another phase of my life. It took me forever to actually paint something. I had it in my head that I spent money on supplies and had to create something fabulous out of it as not to waste anything. I'm learning to let go of that.


Another left over construction piece. I chose a word that I could be inspired by each morning as I came down stairs. It's hung by hardware we had left over from an old Pottery Barn purchase many years ago.


After remodeling our kitchen and bathroom last year we had left over concrete board. My husband suggested using it as a platform for painting. So I did. I was inspired from an asian painting online in a furniture ad for a modern sofa. We have it hung in my art space by cable wire and eye hooks. It's heavy.

90's & 80's

Another medium I could not fit under my bed is the mural work I did in the late 1990's into the early 2000's. I've included one photo from that time, my kitchen back in Arizona. I found a talavera painted bowl from Mexico, took that concept and created it on the walls of my kitchen.




A pen and ink from the 80's in college showing movement.

Eclectic Mix from my youth

A pen & ink with colored pencils from art school in the mid 80's.




From my dark days as an 80's "mod" gal. Wearing little black boots, half shaved head with red, black and purple hair, sneaking into after hours warehouse clubs to dance all night to the mixes of The Cure and Depesche Mode under stobe lights of multi platforms. Haaaaaaaa youth.



Martin Fry. F-R-Y.



Self pencil portrait from my Jr. year in high school. Not quite in the big hair of the 80's just yet. But spent plenty of money on spiral perms workin' my way there.



Pen & Ink from art school representing texture.

Pencil, pen & ink and oil crayons were my favorite mediums. I have all these tools in my art space currently and have hopes of finding my mind space to create once again. My mind and focus seem to be my biggest challenge. Once I'm in that space it's wonderful. To have it more often is the grand master plan.

Ahhh...The Otter

Flamingo oil crayon from high school. I remember running out of energy on this one. I had plans to have the flamingo picking at a cracked china doll head. The begining of my dark stage no doubt.



Tree frogs oil crayon from high school. I also ran out of ideas and time of how to complete the image. I do like this one.



Pen and ink of asymmetrical 1980's fashion divas. This is from college. This was my first gallery piece. It now reminds me of clip art. Who knew in 1984, my freshman year of college, that macintosh computers would change the world of design??? I do have a copy of an article from How Magazine in 1986 that states the Mac won't be an influence in graphic design bacause it dosen't have the capability. Hmmmm...who knew?!?!?



A high school asignment of oil crayons and fruit. I think I had help from a guy named Tony with this at lunch one day. I remember Tony smelling like Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil and wearing checkerboard vans, surfer shorts with a pink polo shirt and spiked blonde wispy hair.


Ahhhh. The Otter done in pencil. My mother's favorite creation. This piece came rolling out of my head and onto paper with no effort at all. I surprised myself. It was my first actual art assignment in high school. This piece is THE sublime representation of where I want to be in the present. Ahhhh, The Otter.

While layers of paint are drying on a triptych I started today, I decided to dig out my past from under my bed. I have a portfolio originated in the early 80's that preserves my trail of art throughout my life. The earliest being an oil crayon I did of Thumper the rabbit in third grade. It is preserved with wax paper. From 3rd grade to high school to college and art school it's all there. It's big, dusty and should have more in it than it does of recent times. However after the introduction of the modern home computer I have many many files of graphic design art, ads, ect. than I know what to do with. Once completing my education I found a career at a marketing firm, advertising co., then a commercial print shop once the mac hit the big time, at which point I had the fearless ambition to venture out on my own into the world of graphic design with my trusty mac by my side. Through trial and error and three years of some of the most difficult soul searching I have ever done, I had built a clientele. I was earning a living on nothing but the support of my family, my husband (which had it'$ dark $ide from time to time) and my exposed raw exhausted true self, skills and talents. 10 years working from a home office. Nice. I have cd's of art from that era that are dust free sitting on a shelf in my art space at the top of the stairs. I have photographed some of the pieces from my life portfolio I felt worthy of sharing. It always stimulates memories and questions of "how the heck did I come up with that?" I admire the focus and time spend on each project when I was a teenager, even though some projects weren't completed. I admire the girl I was to dedicate the time to creating such interesting pieces.

Beatles LOVE

It was time to get a job. After selling the coffeehouse back in September I had planned to take a few months off. Those months have come and gone. What magical months they were. So thankful to have them. Having a part-time job creates flexible time for art. A Vegas trip was thrown in at the last minute. Art is alive and well in Vegas. Inspiration everywhere. Not going for the gambling and drinking but to take in all the new wonders that odd-sureal town has to offer. The Blueman Group and Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil were phenomenal. The art in our hotel room alone touched the soul. The lounge act at the Venetian was thourghouly entertaining with all their well done retro covers of Journey and Grand Master Flash. Free spiritedness was abound during the plethora of lounge paritcipants accompanying the band with Don't Stop Believin'. Can't wait to share the outcome of all that over stimuli of creativity only Vegas has to offer!!!

A Spot For Me

Thanks to my creative-muse-pal Shawn, I have been connected to www.diylounge.com. An eclectic mix of art mediums for infinite purposes. Local galleries often post their "call to artist" requests thru this site. An extrordinary resource for anyone at any stage of the art game. Thru this magical site I have discovered a somewhat local, themed, monthly art challenge for artist of all mediums and ages. For my thinking it's a perfect spot to put myself in. I better get busy!

Ain't Got No Moves

I recently read online a "call to artists" request for a local gallery. It was stated the judges were educated in all the techniques of the art medium of which they would be accepting or declining the artists work to be hung in their gallery. Is patience a technique? That's my only known move in the technique world. I'm noticing my graphic design education/career is taking forefront in my acrylic painting attempts. The description "illustration on canvas" comes to mind rather than the word painting. None the less I am plugging along with a new "IOC" with a girlie, whimsical feel with the simple title of "Laundry Day". Enclosed is a cropping from that incomplete piece.