Women in Art

This IS amazing!

Memorial Day

One of the most moving sites I've ever seen is the American Cemetery in Normandy. Row after row, grave after grave of young men and women. Visiting a few of the beaches where the American soldiers landed, looking up at the bluffs that they needed to climb, seeing the German bunkers of thick concrete. What a horrible site. Remember to thank a vet for his service, and take a moment of silence for the ones who did not return.

Fernando do Szyszlo

Again with the abstracts... I can't help myself, these are so cool. In some of his paintings he uses a monochromatic palette, in other paintings splashes of bright color. Interesting articles by him and about him.

Gosh darn knit

Very fun and funky stuff on this blog!

Kathy Taylor

I really enjoy Kathy Taylor's work. Wonderful organic shapes, rich earthly colours. I particularly like the 3-D art.

Rebecca Crowell

Very cool abstracts....lots of texture and rich colours. Very nice!!http://www.rebeccacrowell.com/
http://rebeccacrowellart.blogspot.com/

Altoid Tin Travel Palette

This is the coolio-est thing ever (I know what you're thinking....you always say that) but this is SO clever, here are the directions from Ron Ray, here are Nita Leland's directions, and here are directions from Fawzan Barrage. I have seen the empty half and full pans at Jerry's Artarama and Daniel Smith catalogs. If you have any other ideas for travel palettes feel free to post.

Luann Udell

Luann writes excellent articles about the business of art, the artist's life and etc. Very inspiring and validating. See her artwork here.

Rosemary Buczek

Rosemary's work is exquisite. The gilded and illuminated work is SO gorgeous. All I can say is WOW!

CBS Sunday Morning

CBS Sunday Morning is one of my favorite things to watch. They interview artists, writers, musicians, and actors....these are particularly encouraging to watch being an artist myself. They take you to interesting places....out into the boonies to watch prairie dog colonies, butterfly migrations, swans, flowers.....nature in all her glory. There are music and movie reviews. There's lots of humor and dry wit. Bill Geist (love him;~D) has taken us to Santa school, a brick masons competition in Las Vegas, a Scrabble tournament, out to the desert to launch cremated remains into space (Scottie was on board), to Hollywood and how you can get our own star. Definitely NOT your ordinary news show.

Frozen Dead Guy

Okay, humor me on this one. You just can't make some of this stuff up. This is NOT creepy, honest. There is a yearly "Frozen Dead Guy" festival, even......frozen dead guy t-shirts and hats! You'll read all about cryonics. I first heard of the frozen dead guy from Bill Geist of CBS Sunday Morning, he has fabulous dead-pan humor. His stories tend to lean toward--well,....slightly off kilter. (hence...frozen dead guy).......This made me laugh out loud. [Note to Jae:......I figured out how to do links....woohoo!]

Jason Fricke

These screen prints are delightful. The black line drawings are wonderfully contrasted on white paper set off in a gold frame. The drawings are so full of life! http://www.jasonfricke.com/

ATC's / ACEO's

Everything you EVER wanted to know about ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) and ACEO's (Artist Cards-Editions and Originals). Trade or Sell? hmmmm. Depends on who you ask. There are a number of links on the wikipedia link to check out. Very coolio work out there. Great size to collect, everyone can afford a piece of original art.

http://www.art-cards.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards

Claudine Hellmuth

Claudine is the author of 2 books on collage techniques as well as a couple of DVD's. The books have easy step by step instuction for many cool techniques. She teaches workshops all over the country. Her whimsical collages are a must see. http://www.collageartist.com/

Books and Music list

Jae, do you know how to make narrow columns on the sides of the blog. I was thinking about having a book and music list for each of us.....whadaya think? By the way, I like how you edited the last post!

Sherrie Lovler

Here's a link to some nice calligraphic work. http://www.inkmonkey.com I've seen the "blossom" piece in a catalog....'Signals' maybe? Look at her journal cover....the bright, bold colors are beautiful, I like the composition. If you're curious and would like to read about the process of creating an artist's book, click on Fine Art, Artist's Book 'Love Poems' there is an article that was published in "The Friends of Calligraphy" magazine. I bet Jae will fix this and make it easier ;~D

Artists help each other

I collect quotes, mostly to incorporate into a piece of art--calligraphers need words! I also have a collection of quotes for when I need validation, that encouragement when I'm in the dumpers. There are times when I question what I do. What do I have to say that hasn't already been said? Is it necessary to say something new or just say it differently? I struggle with art, not the execution per se, but what am I going to say? Right now I'm in a horrible dry spell that has been months and months long. These times are horribly scary. I believe it will pass, but I also believe that it is necessary to struggle through it. Show up and do the work. Here are a couple of quotes that I just found.... I hope they are encouraging to you too, we need to be there for each other.

In order to make truly personal work,
one has to struggle with intent and content as well as with techniques.
And technique is the easiest thing to learn in art.
Gabriella Morrison

The creative is the place where
no one else has ever been.
You have to leave the city of your comfort
and go into the wilderness of your intuition.
You can’t get there by bus,
only by hard work and risk,
and by not quite knowing what you are doing.
What you will discover will be wonderful.
What you discover will be yourself.
Alan Alda

Got Photos ??

And speaking of images....check http://www.morguefile.com/ if you need photos.

The good news and the bad news......

Okay, for the good news....I'm learning how to post pictures on the blog.....this was a scan that was uploaded. Not the clearest image, but it's a start (note to self: more tweaking needed), the bad news is that I've not yet learned how to write text with the image......baby steps.

The image is a color test using yellow ochre and cerulean blue. Those colors produce some luscious greens. I was working on an exercise that Jae gave me several months ago. She took a workshop with Peter Thornton based on the work of Adolf Bernd. Here is an example of his work. Here? Yee-ha!
He drew letters and then enhanced them with various shapes and colors. Jae said to take some watercolor, paint a square and change the color a bit, then change the color a bit again, paint another square......lather, rinse, repeat. Your painting will have very subtle changes in color that have quite an impact on the design. Beautiful work!

Jae is trying to figure out what is wrong with this link, but without success. Meanwhile, here is a link to Jae's LiveJournal post about the Adolph Bernd workshop last fall.

Color Test

chris chris chris

jae thinks this could stand to be a teensy bit higher resolution, but you knew that

Marita McDonough

Here is Marita's very nice calligraphy!
http://www.maritamcdonough.com/about_marita.phtml

Art Marketing

If you're anything like me, you'd rather stick a sharp object in your eye than deal with art marketing. Perhaps that's why I still have a day job (ya think). I admit it....I'm not brave and I don't take rejection well. Why am I an artist?.....cuz I can't not be. It's what I am. Over the years I'm learning that one needs thicker skin, but I'm not there yet. Don't know that I ever will be. When you put your art out there, it's part of who you are. How can you NOT take comments personally? Art fairs are interesting in that people say the darnedest things. ["I saw these at Penny's for $30, why are you asking $**? My granddaughter does this. How much of a discount are you offering? Do you have this is sage to match my bedspread? You know what you should do?] After doing art fairs for 10 years, you hear stuff that makes you nuts and is down right insulting. Art marketing?.....no thank you, I'd just as soon make art and let the "other stuff" take care of itself. Is it any surprise that nothing happens until you do something about it? There's an old proverb "When you pray, move your feet". Who knew? I'm just starting to read (again) "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" by Susan Jeffers. I've been lurking in blog-land reading other artist's journeys. It's validating reading other artist's struggles and victories, but I can't live in blog-land, it's time for action. Baby steps....anything to keep you moving forward. Here's a few links I find helpful.
http://www.artbizblog.com/
http://myrejectionletters.blogspot.com/
http://artistemerging.blogspot.com/

Gouache relief--Juliet Howland

This is a fabulous tutorial. How coolio is this!? Jae, my guess is that she is a fan too. The india ink gives it the look of a woodcut. Nice technique. http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/theart/julietgouache/julietgouache.html

The Writer's Almanac

I love being read to. Click here http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/ and Garrison Keillor will read just to you. I like his voice. He'll tell you about the author and read a poem....everyday if you'd like. You can listen to the archives too.

art-o-mat

These are the coolio-est things ever. If you are old enough to remember the old cigarette machines in which after you insert your coinage you pull a knob. It would make a clunk-clunk sound as you pull the knob out and push it back in. For a mere $5 American you get an original piece of art (one of an edition of 50) that is no larger than the size of a pack of cigarettes. See if there is one in your town. http://www.artomat.org/home.html

Alesha Fowlie

Here is a link to a blog of very nice paintings....watercolor, gouache, inks...mixed media. I enjoy the colors, textures. "Spirit bear" is wonderful, looks like handwriting in the background for texture. "Vancouver West End" caught me eye too. http://www.aleshafowlie.blogspot.com/

Misty Mawn

I really like Misty's art, the colors and textures are wonderful. The whimsical nature of the figures with other elements create a deeper message. Her blog is a daily check in for me, she is very thoughtful, it's encouraging to read about balancing daily life with artmaking-complete with emotional ups and downs.. This is a blog I should be writing ;D (Note to self....start an art making blog) http://mistymawn.typepad.com/

Francisco Corcuera

You know how I love abstracts.....these are heavily textured, fabulous color! http://www.praxis-art.cl/2000/corcuera/index.html

Red Poppy

Poetry is bread. Our post about Pablo Neruda brought us a new contact to the fine people who published The Essential Neruda, which as you know Chris is already on my shelf. I am still looking for the poem my Cuban mother described about the scent of lilacs in the springtime, but I digress. What I've linked here is a page that explains a bit about the various Red Poppy projects and features Neruda's last poem, "The Hour of the Garden".

But! with that you get not only poetry, documentary filmmaking and social justice in the Americas! Another item for my growing list of things to do when in San Francisco is the Current Exhibit at the associated Red Poppy Art House, or at least to take in a performance on their eclectic schedule of concerts.

If you scroll down on that Current Exhibit, you'll find a lot of paintings by their Artist In Residence, Todd Brown, who uses calligraphic marks and printed texts in his wonderfully colored paintings, that seem to me to take expressionist collage in the direction of folk tale and fairy story. Which as you know Chris is just my kinda thang.

Melissa Dinwiddie

These are quite beautiful! http://www.ketubahworks.com/index.php?pn=about

Plakatomania

I found this on the http://artistsjournal.blogspot.com/
This is so interesting and inspiring... http://www.bubble-art.com/bubble-art/aktuelle_ausstellung/Plakatomania.html --

Brody Neuenschwander

All I can say is wow.....! Fabulous http://www.bnart.be/home.html

Kandinsky

A favorite!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/kandinsky/

And speaking of coffee........

........how coolio are these! Well worth the wait!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLL4khimqrw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjvwPhN7EBs

Eva Zeisel

Not long ago, I sawEva Zeisel interviewed on the CBS News Sunday Morning. She is delightful! Her designs are so beautiful, full, round, curvy....voluptuous. If you shop at Crate and Barrel, you've probably seen her work.
Here's an interview to listen to--
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4510966
and a website to get you started--
http://www.evazeisel.org/

Just Coffee

Watch a couple of artists paint with coffee. Rich, beautiful brown tones! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpMIfdkFjuU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwEAAwAxN14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGNZMwj83hg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDK77sECsJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyJP9jcJSes
Here's their website: http://www.justcoffeeart.com/