Getting Ready....

 The weeks before a show involve a lot of detail work!  There are labels to submit, prices to assign, wrapping, and sorting.  The biggest job is selecting the work that will be in each show.  The work should be cohesive (a body) and of course you want your best work out there.  Sometimes there is a frantic effort to finish what you are sure will be your best piece ever or in my case this time...an effort to have enough 'smalls' so that anyone can afford an original piece of my art.

Everything is in order...I think, I have everything done except the more smalls the better.  Working on those everyday.  These particular small pieces (4x6") sell at a show for $30 and are original, painted, mixed media pieces.  They are actually fun to do because the imagination can go crazy.  There is more time in them than I am monetarily rewarded for but oh wellllll'....

The show is at Broadway Studios and Gallery, Knoxville, TN for the month of June.  The opening happens to be June 1...which is my birthday, so that is kind of fun.  There are not too many places I would rather be on my birthday other that at a gallery sharing my artwork!

Catching a Fallen Star....

This was inspired by several artists I have been studying lately, but I think mainly by Sharon Harkness-Dobler, who gave the LFI2018 lesson this week.  She has a folksy style with strong colors and little reverence for proportion! I love her style.  She is on instagram and I always love seeing what she comes up with.

This is a small piece on paper, 9x12 and worked up fairly quickly.  I love the piece's quirkiness and hope you do also.

Have a good one...Di

What makes a painting real? (in my world!)

I call this a 'real' painting.  "What makes it real?", you ask. .... I will explain.  Always creating, usually daily, I do not always work on something that will go in a show or that I plan to exhibit.  My balance, as a creative, is found in play and challenges.  So therefore, I do 'real' paintings and 'play' paintings.  This painting is a 'real' painting and is part of a series about how the perception of reality is subjective and that there are so many unseen factors in life.  This belongs to my current 'body of work'.

Now, are 'real' paintings better than 'fun' paintings.  Absolutely not.  All my paintings are created to the best of my ability but I do think you hear my innermost voice strongest in the paintings for exhibit.  They are more thought out and have more of a story.  'Fun' or 'Real', they are both art and hopefully interesting and thought provoking.   So now you know....... :-)

PS this painting will be showing at Broadway Studios and Gallery, Knoxville, TN...with a body of work the month of June...opening June 1

Sometimes....

Sometimes...you paint something, somewhat intuitively, and you just love it.  It has faults, it has irregularities, but there is something in its essence that speaks to you.  This is one of those paintings for me!

I am calling it, "Over Coffee", and to me she is just absorbed in listening and understanding.  Yes, she looks like she REALLY needs some caffeine..but I find her engaged and engaging visually.

This one is 18" 24" and I used acrylic, inks, graphite, and pastels.

Not even Dry Yet!

Had to post this one as I am in love with it. I am in love with most of  my paintings when I finish them (kind of like a new boyfriend)!  Later, I will probably find something that needs to be fixed and I will fix it.

This is a result of an assignment about Frida Kahlo--yes, you are right, the is not Frida--and she is suppose to have flowers in her hair, never have been good at following directions.  I use the class as a springboard for ideas and new painting techniques.  This technique is quite a bit busier than I usually do-but I like it.
This is 18 x 24 acrylic on paper....took awhile, so tomorrow is catch up day with the chores...yuck

Having so much fun!

Just having a lot of fun making 4" x 6" pieces of original art for a guild 'pop up show'!  Because they are small and take less time than a large piece they can just be done for exploration without concern as to how they relate to the rest of my work.  As you can see, there are multiple styles and mediums used.  I think I will just do these forever...and ever, and ever (should be a chorus to a song).  We were encouraged to do 10 and I am at about 20 now....so I will just pick out the 10 I like most and the others will sell eventually...and I HAVE HAD A GREAT TIME doing them...Enjoy...

Soft Pastels

This is a 'class project' of a mixed media piece utilizing  mainly soft pastels!     I haven't used my pastels in easily 20 years but I found them, claimed them and had a lot of fun with them.    I am calling this work- The Church Ladies.  From the pictures, you can see that we started out gluing down the basic shapes and working from there.  Pastels can be soft and gentle or wild and emotive.  We were encouraged to be wild and emotive.  Leaving marks raw and exposed is something I love, love, love, to do!  This is not one of my 'series' pieces, but I had fun working on it.  It was a great exercise.

"Home and Spirit"

So...it appears that I am on a bit of a roll right now. This piece would probably be considered a 'sister' piece to the work in my last post.  It is the same size, 30 x40" and acrylic also.  The imagery of homes and spirit figures are shared, as well as the pathways.  The colors I would definitely call jewel tones and the approach is the same as far as brushwork and under painting. This roll has to slow down as I need some smaller pieces that I can sell easier for an upcoming show in June.

Painting large is so gratifying that is hard to go back and do smaller pieces.  But if I must, I must......

Taking the rest of the day off from painting and tending to the business side of the 'coin'....

Enjoy.....di

Loving the colors in this one!

"Families"

I am always drawn to intense, saturated colors, and this piece is no exception!  This piece is in respect to all the animal kingdom and their 'families'.  The father image on the left is revering the small offspring of the bird in the right corner.  Home and family is definitely a cornerstone in my work.  I think this may live in my house for a while....well, until another one takes its place  It is a strong piece.  This is acrylic and is 30"x40".

Painting the Feminine--apparently new phase!

Friends

Dreams

So, apparently I am painting from my 'feminine side' lately which is probably not a horrible thing but I have a fear that I might get stuck in this phase.  However, who knows how long it takes ideas to play out and an artist needs to 'go with their flow'.

Really enjoying using the strong, whimsical colors, and playful imagery.  Do not ask me what the images mean because I am not quite sure!  Maybe in retrospect (10 years from now) I will be able to identify where my head was at.

For now I am just enjoying the fun of seeing where my intuition takes me and hopefully the paintings carry you to a playful place. For now...Flowing on....

a departure.....

This week I have departed (temporarily) from what I have been working on for this year and have gone to the other side!  OH NO!  The pretty side....seriously I am not sure how to handle this.  I always like a beauty in the colors, and peacefulness in the subject matter but I do not usually do pretty faces, etc.

However after saying that, I do love the colors in this piece and find it wellll, 'pretty'.....mmmmm

Painting the Feminine Lately....

These are perhaps a bit sentimental but I do love them.  The upper piece is called "Home" and the lower piece is called "Lead Me".  They of course reflect the spirit and its connection to our lives and our meaning.

I use textures and marks to build up the background and then acrylic glazes, ink washes, fluid acrylic  and full body acrylic paints are applied on the surface .

It feels awkward to speak of my own work but all in all, I can tell you that I am happy with these.  Smiley face--☺☺☺

Productive week....

 Cleaning out my studio two weeks ago and found 3 gallery wrapped 12" x 12" canvases  Decided to do a little grouping for fun and ended up with these three!  Not really a grouping more like a mini series, but I decided for some insane reason to challenge myself to do all three this week.  Somehow, I think that I will move a little slower this week.  Saying that is a lie but it makes me feel good.  Have three large canvases that are calling my name.  We shall see.... ENJOY...di

An Attempt!

Soooo....had an assignment to do a piece reflecting Mary Cassatt...that in itself was intimidating!  Do not particularly like Cassatt, respect yes, adore no, and I knew I was in for a ride.  I could have done a vaguely interpretive, contemporary piece about mother and child... BUT I knew that because I really did not want to do a sweet, romantic, idealized, somewhat realistic piece, that meant I needed to attempt to do one.

I reviewed Cassatt's work and felt that the work was about a 'snapshot' of idyllic family time/life. So now I had to go get an appropriate 'sweet' photo! ARGH... BUT in the middle of the night (of course) I realized that I had many, many, photos in my photo albums (who would have thought!).  There came to mind a sweet picture of two of my granddaughters at the top of a flight of stairs when they had dug out some ballerina costumes and were ready to put on a show for us! Perfect!!!!

Now I do not profess to be a master at this type of work.  I do not profess to have mastered impressionistic brushwork.  But I do think it is cute and most of all---I conquered my fear and I did it.

Usually my posts are short and sweet but I guess angst takes longer....Sorry!

Abstraction....

Having fun with a bit of abstracting....... this is why I take classes online because I am always learning about new products, approaches, and being stretched to try new things.  I think the bottom painting is the better attempt at abstracting.  When you are a literal thinker it is hard to lose all form!!

Studies in Neutral...

Hello...My name is Diana and I am a Color Addict!  So, this week in one of my online classes the lesson was with a 'limited palette'....horror music playing in the background!!!!  But all kidding aside, I love brown tone paintings and have been thinking I might need to tone down the saturated colors I use in my paintings.  I know this will not totally happen but I did really enjoy doing these two pieces.

Usually in a class, I take the new ideas, techniques, or whatever and apply them to a piece that reflects my body of work.  The lady in the white dress is in my art journal and purely for fun.  The top artwork is titled, 'Wholeness" and is a continuation of my orb series.

It was a fun week as you can observe.  FYI...the two online classes I participate in are, Let's Face It 2018, and Painting Your Heart and Soul 2018,...there are some incredible artists participating and some very good beginning artists.  The classes keep me humble and off the streets-two very good things..looking forward to the new classes ....xxoo Di

"The Moment of Surrender"

This painting was inspired by a class that I am taking in which a landscape was presented for us to do.  The main focus was on the sky.  When I started seeing a sky in my mind, I kept envisioning the moment when the spirit leaves a body.  And that image in my head was the birth of this painting.

First painting of the year!

Won't say much about this  because I posted this am...first picture of the year continuing the spiritual orb....I was thinking of the marriage ceremony when I created this....no title at this time.....

Have to love January....

I have come to love the month of January!  The holiday season comes to a close, the calendar opens up, the weather is chilly, and it is a perfect time to get back in the studio.

Every year I try to take an extraneous class, just for fun and enrichment.  Last year I took a class on portraits.  This year the class is about learning from the masters.  In fitting style, the first projects have to do with the renaissance.  So here is my spirit orb renaissance lady.  This was so much fun to do and I am really looking forward to the future classes.  The class is a facebook class and called Let's Face It 2018 for anyone interested in participating.  It is very well coordinated!

Of course, I am continually working on my current series and will post the works as I finish them.  There are several shows and prospects in line for this year, so back to work.  (but it is not really work if you love doing it...right?).

"The Impermanency of Life"

This is a piece that deals with the transitory nature of life.  Whether by man events, disease, or aging, we all terminate at some time.

The turquoise orbs I use frequently are my spirit symbols, and the ladder is the path through life in which (hopefully) we evolve to a higher self.

In this piece the orbs have opened and the the spirit transcends.  It was against my nature to leave so much open space but I think the way I painted this piece...says what I am trying to say.

Hopefully, anyway....forgive any typos, am rushing as I have a party to go to.... smiles, di