Winter in August

Posting about the campfire on Coast Guard Beach made me think of the top image here - it's a drawing that I did from memory of a winter bonfire in our backyard in Woolwich. The second image posted here is also from memory - it is of my husband asleep in bed on a moonlit night. There is the hint of what he might be dreaming about above his head...some dark woods...

Winter Bonfire, 2005

charcoal on Rives BFK, 22" x 15"

For Sale.

Winter Dream, 2005

charcoal on Rives BFK, 22" x 15"
For Sale.

Mind Body Makeover

I bought this deck of Mind Body Makeover Cards at my doctor's office, Women to Women in Yarmouth recently. I have 3 decks of Tarot Cards, too, and a deck of cards called Women Who Dare. I'm a sucker for images in multiples! (A big reason why I majored in Printmaking...)

From the back of the Guidebook that comes with the cards:

These cards were created by neuropsychiatrist/medical intuitive Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D., to help you rewire the emotional patterns that increase your chance of succumbing to physical illness, depression, and anxiety. This 70-card deck is accompanied by an instruction booklet that offers a variety of practical ways to tap in to your intuitive abilities by being aware of your emotions, thoughts, and physical symptoms.

Each card has an unhealthy thought, and on the flip side, its opposite, positive affirmation. There are ten "suits:" five different Feeling Suits, and five different Action/Health Reaction Suits.

I'm in the process of further promoting my art, especially my commissioned portraiture, and my private teaching. I'm really trying to advocate for myself and put (push) myself out there more in terms of earning more income. This is hard for me to do, for different known and unknown reasons.

So I pulled this card.

Perfect.

Campfire on Coast Guard Beach

Some pics of my daughter Kaitlyn and grandsons Brey and Wyeth last August on Coast Guard Beach, Islesford. I love the primary colors of these photos and wonder (again) how to use photos in making my art. I'm not a fan of paintings that are copies of photographs - they often look stilted, fake, and overworked. There are artists who can pull it off. It works when an artist intimately knows the subject matter - especially the three dimensionality of the subject matter. Otherwise, it is just an exercise in rendering a flat two dimensional image, which can result in a work that is stiff and lifeless looking. The photo can be a wonderful memory tool. It can also provide a jumping off place for a painting. And sometimes it is simply the two dimensional aspects of the photographic image that are the inspiration for a painting. As usual, there are no set rules. But I do struggle with using, and how to use, photographs, rather than working from life.

This Lawn is Your Lawn

Roger Doiron of Scarborough, Maine.
Sign the petition!!!
My husband and I have planted a vegetable garden every year that we've been together except for the summer we moved from southern Maine to Woolwich. That's 32 years, and 32 vegetable gardens! Oh, make that 33 - we planted a small veggie garden at a shared plot in Portland 2 summers ago as well.

http://www.kitchengardeners.org/

A Previous Studio Space

I found this picture on the MECA website. Some roving photographer took this picture of me in my studio in the Print Department during my senior year @ MECA in 06.
(Another major is happily employing the anti-stress swing that used to hang from the rafters there - I'm sad to report that the swing has since been removed...)

I had a regular salon going at that time with a schedule of daily sitters for my senior thesis portrait project. That long table was filled with all my drawing media and I am facing an easel. It looks like someone was sitting for me - their bag is on the corner of the table. Hmmm. I wonder which portrait I was working on...

Arteests

And here are the artists who produced the work in my previous post. This is about half the class. Several students couldn't make it to the final crit due to scheduled summer vacations. It was a terrific group and they were alot of fun to work with! Again, there were four high school students in this class, working on fleshing out (pun intended) their college portfolios. One of these students is on her way to RISD this fall! She took my Life Drawing class last summer and said that it made all the difference in strengthening her portfolio. That's what I like to hear!

Life Drawing Summer 08

I also teach Life Drawing through Continuing Studies at MECA. Here are some student drawings from the summer semester. We worked with pencil, charcoal, powdered charcoal, India ink, oil wash, pastels, collage, etc. Exercises included blind contour drawing, building the figure out of geometric shapes, making your absolute worst drawing (the last image posted here came from this exercise - isn't it fabulous??) drawing with a paintbrush taped to the end of a long stick and dipped in ink, etc. Mucho dynamic and exciting work came out of this class!