Eight in One Day

I've signed up for yet another ATC exchange at WetCanvas...I'm starting to think it's a procrastination technique when I don't want to face painting large stuff...

But they are still fun. I've decided to do an entire series of dogs for this exchange - boxers to be more precise. They have such great faces, don't they? I'll have to try to get one of my dog, Oscar, in there, too - he's not really a boxer, just a suspected boxer mix. I think he shares enough characteristics to make up for it...

















2 1/2 x 3 1/2 acrylic ink on 140lb cold press

Art Fair!!

Today was the annual Art Fair at school. It is always so much fun to see the diversity in entries - you just never know what these kids will come up with. It's a unique art show in a lot of ways. Being a home-schooling cooperative, the kids may or may not have ever had "formal" art classes. Some go to private lessons, some work with their mom and dad and home, but very few have had an art class that you might think of in a public school or traditional private school setting. What that means is that entries range from very basic to very complex and that judging is HARD!! Just ask our own dear Linda, who graciously gave up her morning to judge the upper grades.



She and my friend Maynelle probably had the hardest of the jobs, judging 4th - 9th grade entries. But, they pressed on and did a great job of it.

Of course, the most exciting news of the day is that my little J won 1st place in his class, for his giraffe sculpture,



and D won 3rd place for his army dog sculpture.



YAY!! You can read more about how they made their sculptures on their blog, Abderian Adventures.

Thanks a lot, Linda...

Okay – Linda has thrown down the goals gauntlet of a quarterly update. C’mon, Linda – don’t you know that once you set your goals, you are supposed to ignore them completely? Geez.

1. Hang some artwork in a gallery or art space, other than my own home...or the home of my mother.

Well – I’m not sure that Linda’s bathroom counts, but at least this isn’t hanging in MY house! (or the house of my mother…)

2. Continue to draw from life, concentrating on the figure.

Uh…sure. I’ve drawn from life, but rarely has it included an actual figure. Of a person. Okay – gotta work on this one.

3. Further refine my "voice". Take stock in the things that inspire me, to which I find myself drawn, and combine them in a way that is distinctly me.

I THINK I’ve been doing this – I think that my work has become more distinctly me, but I may not be the one to determine that. Would you recognize my work? I mean – I would, but I painted the darn things.

4. Write a coherent and succinct artist statement. One DONE!!! Yippee – have I posted it before? I don’t know, but here it is, now…

I find myself continually drawn to the sensual pleasures of art – the smell of paint, the feel of the brush in my hand, the sound it makes as it glides and skips across canvas. The act of painting transports me into a place of serenity and calmness. I am fascinated by bold, clean, clear colors and how they work to transform even the most mundane subjects into sublime and fantastic creations. I like to imbue my works with a sense of energy, as if the subject is resonating in the moment, by using a limited palette of primary colors along with texture and brushwork, and the incorporation of text. I desire that people view the subjects I paint in a new way – finding beauty and energy in something that is generally considered dull, quiet and immovable.

Cheesy? I don’t know. But it is done. True? I think so, and really – isn’t that what it is all about?

WIP - Stephanie

I started this painting yesterday, as part of the WetCanvas Weekly Drawing Event. It was hosted by my dear cyber-friend Valri, and one of the images absolutely grabbed me. It is a photo of her niece, Stephanie, who recently had a baby girl. What is it about pregnant women - they just glow...it's true. I never felt like I was glowing, personally, but people always told me I did. Anyhow - for the WDE, I posted a WIP, so I thought I'd do the same here.

First, I transferred my drawing over to my 140lb cold press watercolor paper.

Then, I started adding in washes of acrylic ink. The background was done with yellow, magenta, and indigo, and unfortunately doesn't show up like it does in real life - it looks too flat in the photo. The skin tones were started with very light washes of yellow and magenta.

I continue building tone by adding light washes of color. This painting is done almost entirely with yellow, magenta and indigo - layering glazes on top of each other.

And here's the finish!

Accordian Girl

Accordian Girl, originally uploaded by diahn.

Just finished!! This may be my favorite rendition of her so far. I took the photograph back in July at the Bele Chere art festival in Asheville, NC, and I've done a postcard in acrylic ink based on it - but this one was just too much fun.

6x12" acrylic on stretched canvas

Big Bad Bass

Admit it - you were looking for a fish, weren't you? HA! I did an ATC awhile back of the headstock of a Fender Jazz Bass, and really wanted to do something a little larger on canvas. This is another of those 6x12" canvases I have stacked in my closet - it's really a nice format - they make nice groupings, even if the subject matter is different - trust me...you should buy some (of mine) :D

So - here's a little WIP - not sure if I accomplished what I wanted here, and really probably should have stopped at step three, but now it is finished and I'm moving on. I'm trying very hard to not get hung up on paintings. I'll live with it for a while, and if it needs something, I'll revisit later...but for now, here's the rest...

Not to beat a dead horse...

but COME ON, people...

From the Dogwood Arts Farcetival...link

Was I right, or was I right?? Of course, I was right.

Another Beautiful Day

I know I just keep harping on about this Spring-thing, as if there has never been Spring before, but really...it's just so freakin' nice out. The weekend is supposed to cool off somewhat, and we do need some rain, but for the meantime, I'm just continuing on my happy dance...it's been a really L O N G winter. Mercy.

I took the boys to the park before art class today. They played on the playground and I sat in the sun. Ahhhh. I walked after they went to class, and then stole a chair from the front of the art center to sit and sketch the one lone iris blossom amongst a host of buds and leaves. When i got home, I considered adding some color, but then I decided against it. I love to work in pencil - why not just let it stay that way? So there.

pencil in large Moleskine watercolor sketchbook

I painted this over the weekend - it's one of the inhabitants of the Fountain City Lake, so I thought it was appropriate to post it today...on one of our Fountain City Tuesdays. I'm not sure it's finished, but I'm done with it for now.

6x12" acrylic on canvas

Hey - if it's getting to be Spring wherever you live, go outside and enjoy it! That's right - switch off the computer, open the door and do a little happy dance for me. You'll enjoy it, you'll feel better about life and if you have a friend video tape it, you could put it on YouTube and become famous in about 15 seconds. I love technology.

Restful

Japanese garden with koi pond, originally uploaded by diahn.

Doesn't this picture look like a wonderful place to sit and meditate? It was. I didn't. It's in the Birmingham Botanical Garden's Japanese Gardens. Lovely...the cherry trees were in full bloom, along with camellias, red bud trees and the first dogwood flowers. I was here with my family and my MIL who lives nearby. What a lovely place it is - open and free to the public - beautifully maintained with paths, both paved and not. It's another one of those places that I go to and wonder why my town doesn't have one, or something like it. It's not that I don't like my town...okay...maybe I don't...but I'm confused as to it's lack of cultural activity for the everyday person (as opposed to the old money and the new money and the money money). I mean - come on - this was FREE. It was a weekday afternoon and there were scores of people there enjoying it...families and businessmen and young couples and old couples. In my town, it seems that the only activities are to shop in the giganto-upscale-PINNACLE-shopping center (it's always packed) or spend $70 per ticket to see a big name act come to town.

What is it? Is it the proximity of such a beautiful, natural, national park so near by? The lack of dedicated, passionate people to spearhead such things? The general air of unrelenting apathy there? Even I have become apathetic living there - it's rubbed off.

I know you don't care, but I'm tired and far from "home" and the only thing I miss is my DH (and my house...I like my house). I've driven around my college town for the last couple of days and noticed the improved parks and beautification activities they've undertaken - so nice. I've always like that town - it's small and quaint - a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. But, being a good university town, there was always a free concert somewhere, or an art show or a irish drinking band or something to go watch. I drove past a local, ummm, estalishment, I was once known to frequent and the sign on above the door said, "Thick Smoke, Dim Lights, Loud Music...welcome to Egan's". It made me smile. That's just like Egan's. I'm not really into bars or thick smoke anymore - but I wanted to go in and just sit and talk to the countless interesting people I used to talk to there. I didn't think it was appropriate to take the boys in, though.

I'm traveling to the town I grew up in and it is full of casinos, now. It wasn't when I grew up there. This will probably all get worse tomorrow.

We'll just go ahead and file it under "rant", and I'm sure we'll revisit it again soon when the so-called "Dogwood ARTS Festival (or farce, depending on who you ask) kicks off...

sigh...

EDM #110 Draw Something with Flames

As a nod to the car crazy men in my household...

Watercolor crayon in the 5.5x5.5" hand*book journal. Really HATED how these worked on this paper!!

Spring is in the Air

Japanese Magnolia, originally uploaded by diahn.

I can smell it...can you?

I wandered around Fountain City today while the boys were in art class. I saw this sign and for some reason it struck me as funny. "Hair Executives" Do you go to business school for that, or to cosmetology school? I don't know if I would want to be a hair executive - seems like alot of responsibility...

These two ducks seemed to be having a little conversation about the weather...

And this one has no purpose except to say OHmiGOSH I love my new camera.

C'mon - don't you love this??

Spring spring spring...I love spring...doo doo doo doo..I love spring!

Thank you. The happy Spring dance is now over. For today.

Flying

Flying, originally uploaded by diahn.

I'm SO ready for Spring. All these nice almost warmish days are tempting me to break out a pair of shorts and sit on my deck, but then I get there and the wind is a bit too brisk for that and I have to get up and go back inside to the stale air of winter.

There's a time change this weekend. I love it when we Spring Forward. The day goes on a little longer and the neighbors start to venture out into their yards and we all become friends again after a long winter's hibernation.

I know some people like Winter, but for me it's a long, dark, cold and unpleasant time of year. I love Spring, when the first buds appear on the trees and little tender shoots burst out of the ground. I love Summer, when the sun bears down on the back of your neck and the sound of the kids running through sprinklers is sweeter than honey and the the trees and bushes put on a full show of foliage. I love Fall and the smell of campfires and the sound of football games and the bright, glaring, surreal colors of the aging leaves.

But Winter? I can do without it.

And this picture? It has absolutely nothing to do with any of it.

Things to do while waiting on your kids...

I could have spent my hour and half reading the latest steamy novel or playing solitaire on my pocket pc, but instead, I broke out the hand*book journal and sketched what was around me. I promised J I would hang out in the art center while he and D had their first art class. J was nervous and wasn't real sure about the whole thing, but he calmed down after I told him I would stay in the building the whole time. It wasn't too difficult - there was a show of watercolors from the local watercolor society, and one of the local school systems had some student work showing - it was interesting to see the differences between first grade and 8th grade work - astounding what a 13 year old kid can produce, really.

Anyhow - I had some time to fill, so I sat down on one of the very comfy sofas and sketched what was in front of me. I neglect perspective, interiors and architectural elements on a profound scale, so it was a bit of challenge...but that's okay. I like a challenge! They're not the prettiest sketches I've ever done, but I'm keepin' it real here on American Blog...oh, oops - sorry - I'm watching Idol...got a little carried away...

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright...

The Tiger
William Blake. 1757–1827


TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?


In what distant deeps or skies 5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?


And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 10
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?


What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp 15
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?


When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee? 20

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Inspired

All this ATC work has inspired me to take few chances, play with brush strokes and color and kind of branch out a little with my acrylic paintings. This is 6"x12" canvas...

Can It Be???

I have only 2 ATC's remaining to do - 3 if you count the WITW one I'm supposed to send out before the end of the month. Wow - Cool. Almost there...

This is my dad when he was probably 20 years old. Freshly recruited into the US Air Force and stationed in Germany. Pretty handsome fellow, I think...

Here's a Fender Jazz Bass Headstock. Classic.
A Great Blue Heron and a really pink rose. What else is there to say? I just need 3 more things to paint...

Freaky Rooster...

...kind of like Funky Chicken, only different. Maybe it's Frenetic Poultry or Friendly Pullet - who's to say, anyway?

All I can say is it's 6"x12", acrylic on canvas.

Flamingo...

That flamingo ATC really appealed to me - if you follow along here, you may have noticed a serious quinacridone magenta addiction - I thought I could really overload on the flamingo! I got some new canvases the other day - on hyper-clearance. I thought they'd be nice sizes on which to experiment and play a little. This one is 6"x12". I really kind of like the small size more than I thought I would. It's large enought to get good movement, but small enough that a little paint goes a long way. I got some 12x12, too - maybe I'll try one of those soon, but I have a couple more of the long ones in mind...

I have a new project I'm about to start that I'm pretty excited about - I can't really talk about it, yet, but I don't think this part of the world has ever had anything like it (although the concept does exist elsewhere). Hee hee...are you intrigued yet? I promise I'll let you know as soon as I have clearance and a solid "go"...it may require a separate blog, though...it's a big thing...

6"x12" acrylic on canvas

3 colors plus white gesso...now living in an orange bathroom in quotidianville...

And another three

Okay -this ATC thing is a bit addictive - I recognize the symptoms of becoming obsessed, and I'm on the way - there's something about working in this tiny little format that gets me all right brained and time-lapsey. That's a good thing, I believe - but a little dangerous to everyday chores, etc.

Anyhow - I did 4 and don't like one, so I'm taking it back to the drawing board - not trashing it, yet...just re-thinking. These three, I like. At least one is going to serve as a color study for a slightly larger painting...

Five more...

EDM #104 Salt and Pepper Shakers

Finally I did an EDM item on the same week it was posted! I couldn't resist this one. I bought this salt and pepper shaker set when we moved into our new house, and they're just so cute! The tall one is salt, and the short one is pepper, and that's the only way we remember which is which...