Reaching for a compromise....

No name yet...trying to meld my 'village' characters into a more sophisticated style and it is taking me on quite a journey!  Getting there, but slowly, partly because the holiday season seems to have endless distractions.  But all is great and life/art evolves as it is suppose to.  For all of you -I wish a prosperous and content New Year...Thanks for journeying with me this year.....di

Family and commitment...

"We are the Village"

This is for a group of special friends and they are truly
'the village that raises the child'.  They are bonded together by their sisterhood, morals, and commitment to their families.

I really enjoyed painting this for them and am in awe of their inner strength and love for each other.

Faces

Hidden Secrets

Winter Maidens

I seem to be doing a lot of faces lately so I think I will do a couple animal paintings next to break up the flow.  Faces have always been something I am drawn to, for whatever reason and I suspect I will always return to them.  Enjoy....di

Three Faces

This was a class exercise and I really love it!  Yes, it is a bit strange, etc, but I love losing the forms, and the texturing of the paint.  I am currently doing another one just to see what happens and how I can incorporate it into my current work.  Wish me luck.....art has it own path of discovery...di

I LOVE to PAINT....

As a painter, I LOVE TO PAINT.  I love the color, texture, visual feel, and every little thing about painting.

This piece was last week's class from LFI2018, where we were to paint a portrait in the style of Lucien Freud.  Of course mine is not near what his work represents BUT I really loved doing a more realistic approach than I usually do.

It is always fun to experiment and get outside of a series that you are working on.

So I am sharing with you ...a passion....

Dance with the chairs....

Life is Magical

Have been prolific lately...I think it is because I was off visiting for almost two weeks with family and when I returned I just had a lot of creative energy to let out.  That is my theory anyway.

This piece is 30x30, acrylic on canvas and I am calling it, "Life is Magical".  I use to use a lot of chairs in my work.  For me, they symbolized that the ordinary can be extraordinary.  Many times, I have use chairs to express the whimsy and magic in our imaginations/spirits.

So anyway...here is my newest piece. Dance with the chairs! Enjoy....

"The Night Circus"

Sometimes you have a favorite painting and this is one of those times.  Perhaps it is because of my love affair with deep blue...maybe because I love a simple, pure image.  I do not know why but I do love this piece.  I am calling it, "Night Circus", because it reminds me of a book I once read.  The circus in the book was only black and white but still, I find the magic of that circus in this painting.

 

Frames Gifted to Me....Yay

"Diaspora"

 A good friend of mine, just gifted me with about 40 frames. She just started me on a new goal!  It is my intention to fill those frames in the upcoming year.  Some of the frames are standard sizes and some are oddball dimensions.  These two works are on paper (because I can trim the paper to fit) and will both go into gold frames.  This project is the type I like.  I have a bit of a challenge.

These two pieces are fairly large for a paper image.  The both measure 26"L x 22"H. They are acrylic and are slated for a small showing in December/January.

To be honest, I am not sure where I was going with them ...but I do like them both. :-)

"Where Do We Go From Here?"

"Sunday"

"Sunday"

This I am calling "Sunday"..it is one of those pieces that  I am not quite sure of yet but I am pretty sure that it is done.  It is fairly large, 36"x 36" and is acrylic.

My small polka dot horse is 'photo bombing' as he is my symbol for unconditional love.  The little girl in the green dress is quite in love with him! If there is anything we should treasure, especially on Sunday, it is unconditional love.  IMHO

This piece has a real folk art feel to it.  Who knew??? I see a bit of Gauguin and who knows who else in it. Maybe ME!

Enjoy...

Newest in "Village Series"

"Remembering and Waiting"

Could not decide if she was remembering or waiting.  So in order to not decide, I elected to use both in the title.  What is she waiting for?  What is she remembering?  What are we all  remembering and waiting for?   Great questions, and it is up to you, the viewer to decide.  Not me though-- I have my own theories.

This is 18x24, acrylic on paper.... enjoy!

Having fun with COLOR!!!!

Hats

Sultry

Good thing that I am not afraid of color!  What fun pieces to do.  For the top one I got to dig out my ancient oil pastels and go to town.  I am definitely going to do more of these.

I have a Renoir challenge coming up and I think I am going to do a contemporary party scene somewhat in the styles of these two pieces.  A big piece!  Now all I have to do is find a party to go to and take pictures.  In my small little town that may be a challenge...hmmmm, must throw party myself- great a picture of a bunch of old people!  Squash that idea...

"My Journey, My Way"

My Journey, My Way

This is a bit different than the usual but it was a class challenge.  I really like it.  Having the softness of an impressionistic style creates a somewhat unreal atmosphere that I like.

It is 30x36 I think, so it is a good size piece.  Think I want to hang it in my house for a while...now, to find a place, therein lies the problem...hey, there are worse problems...lol
di

The Gift of Life

The is just a 'thankful piece', rejoicing in being on this planet, with it's resources, and living our roles in this lifetime.  Somewhat sweet but I like it.

Separated Families

"With Regrets"

One would have to be very hard-hearted to not feel for the families that have been separated from their children during this immigration fiasco.  What a mess!  I know there are many sides to all issues but I can not help but empathize with the mothers and fathers that do not know where their children are.  I try not to be political but sometimes it just seeps out from my heart.

A Pat on the Back!!!

BEST OF SHOW!  This was specifically done for a themed show at the Athens Living Heritage Museum.  The show's theme was 'Rural Life Reflections", and I was awarded best of show and felt very honored.  The title of the piece is, "Rural America 2018".

Of course, this is my painting style but the genre was definitely not.  It is good to step outside of my own box and stretch a little.  Won a little cash, a ribbon, and all is good.

Meanwhile, going to the art store today and will get some new larger canvases...back to work...Blessings

All About the Accessories

"It is All About the Accessories"

This is a little more graphic in style than I usually do. This week, I was challenged to apply Egon Schiele's techniques to my own work.  His work is masterfully done but I have to say I am not wild about his subject matter.  He definitely had some issues.  He has a drawing style so I tried to incorporate his line work, angular elongated  forms, and some of his style brushwork to my own work.

The exercise was fun and I pushed myself.  Maybe baby steps but I am heading in the right direction. Learning and growing because after all...if you stop growing you start dying...and I DO NOT want that!  This will be part of my "urban girls" series...of which I have two now...(not sure that even qualifies for a series, oh well,)...

Afloat

This piece is in reference to Chagall's dreamlike paintings. It is titled, "Afloat", and is 11 x 14 inches, acrylic on paper.

 My work is narrative for the most part.  To me, there is an intrigue to narrative art...instead of just being an object to view, narrative art is an invitation to stop and create your own story.  Each viewer can relate to a piece in their own way.

Loving to read, I think I carried that over to my artwork.  A good story has  many plot twists and many possible endings.  Yes, my works can be 'weird' ...but weird makes you ponder.  I like that!

This piece is layered with potential meaning....hmmmm

"I See"

Newest piece that I am titling, "I See".

No wisdom or wit today...got to get to work...

☺☺☺

Glimpse into my day....

 I am packaging pieces to take to galleries and stores today.  I really enjoy this part because they look so crisp and pretty.  Each piece has to be photographed (for prints), backed, and wrapped.

These particular artworks are all 18"x 24" done on paper.  Love working on paper (special heavy duty kind) because the pieces are easier to store and show.  However, framing for shows is more expensive than canvas so that is definitely a negative.

Okay, back to work for me....smile!

Two small works...

"Searching for Wisdom"

"Where do we go from Here?"

I finished up these two smaller paintings (12"x 12") this past week and I am liking them....The first is pretty standard in my series of searching/trying to be better 'enlightened' beings.  I like the open cranium, in that to me, it represents the processing of information and dissimulation of knowledge.

The second piece is a response to the chaos in the world today.  The second one pretty much summarizes the way I feel at the moment...pretty helpless.  Again it is an artistic response to the world today (in my stylized imagery sort of way).

So...enough soul baring...have a great day and honor the present....di