how wrong - blossom - midnight city

how wrong it is

for a woman to

expect the man

to build the

world she wants,

rather than

to create it herself

-Anais Nin

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Two April Art Workshops

I’m sharing my passion for all things art in two workshops this month.

 Creative Collage & Layer Painting

Friday, April 27^th, 12:30 – 3:00pm

Fee: $45 includes all supplies, tea & cookies & art!

This session offers an exploration in mixed media using

collage materials, acrylic paints, inks, stencils

and some nifty sketching (be brave, nifty = no pressure).

You are invited to...

find your voice

let go

&

escape all boundaries of expectation.

 FACES

Friday, April 27^th, 6:30 – 9:00pm

Fee: $45 includes all supplies, wine & chocolate & art!

In this session you will be introduced to

highlight, shadow and everything in between.

I’ll provide an understanding of the elements of shading and

tips for exploring the proportions of the human face.

We will use acrylic paint, graphite and

our imaginations...

...with a splash of humor.

Workshops are held in Stevenson, WA

To RSVP and for more information

please email dawnsartblog@gmail.com.

Seating is limited, to reserve your space

please register and prepay by Tuesday, April, 24^th.

“Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door.”

– Emily Dickenson

Process, Texture & Self Reflection

 

My busy life has not allowed for much time to share what I've been up to via this platform. Now that the summer schedule has begun I'm hoping to get back to typing out my artful thoughts on random topics and the beauty I find in everyday happenings.

This last semester I have explored acrylic paints in a much different way than I have ever used them in the past. Above are some experiments in color and texture.

My self portrait represents what springtime weather is typically like in the Pacific Northwest on any given day. I remember pondering what I was about to accomplish with my five classes nearing the end of spring semester. It was a lot to think about but came with a calm sense of appreciation for the opportunity to be present in my life in such an astounding way.

My last entry is a collage assignment I had in a Visual Elements: 2D class. All the charcoal textures are from rubbings from various surfaces all cut or ripped to come together in a photo inspired composition. I would definitely do this again and incorporate elements and concepts from this process into other mixed media works. I did spray fix the final piece, which darkened the value but was worth the sacrifice rather than the piece get smudged entirely during transportation. Yes it took a very long time. Yes I enjoyed the process. I found I got lost in the "do one thing at a time" space it allowed me to be in. Something I do not practice often but should.

The Nuclear Middle Gray Process

So when I started posting these photos I had just come out of this "middle gray" experience, then my 14 year old had to use the computer to write an obituary for Adam West. Don't worry the Caped Crusader is still alive. It was a fictitious theme for a Washington State history project. So days later..I am left with my original photos & zero prose of my attempt at achieving middle gray.

I will now proceed to ad-lib...

...but I have to be present for his piano rehearsal right now so...

 ...here's the short of it... #6 is my best attempt at mixing titanium white and mars black acrylic paints to achieve a middle gray. The process was not a quick one. I do remember to keep my head from feeling like this [click me], I felt the need to listen to this [click me], so then I thought about this [click me].

Mermaid & Friends

Today I set aside all the projects I have started that keep me away from doing my art. I created a mermaid painting for a friend's daughter's birthday & two hand painted art postcards for my niece and a friend's young daughter. Possibly they will brighten someones day as they travel through the US Postal system. I was diligent with my acrylic paints on this hot hot summer day, breaking only to watch my youngest son demonstrate how he created his latest duck tape gun, to make a scratch batch of oatmeal-pecan-walnut-jumbo chocolate chip-peanut butter cookies and bake a homemade pizza containing three different flavors to appease all members of my family at once.

Mercurial doodle

A whimsical acrylic that flowed perfectly from my imagination to my sketch book to my canvas. I have come to recognize the ease in referencing my doodles, that can be mercurial at times, when in need of inspiration. Flipping through it's tatter-edged pages in search of a prescribed image of past emotions to affiliate my current mood, typically results in an ideal connection of which to persevere. I've given it the name of "A Good Hair Day".

Shaking My Confidence Daily

The beginning of something I call Cecilia CLICK HERE. A sketch originally started on our February road trip to Southern Cal. A canvas acrylic started in April. The goal....to get the Cecilia onto the canvas with the vision I have in my head. To be detached from the results is the mental block keeping her from getting there as well as the necessary solitude. I am consumed with the 3rd grade mosaic project. I'm in a constant ebb and flow of creating, organizing and preparing. It's a process that has fluidity even though the minutiae comes in great magnitudes.

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.