Happy (belated) Blogday to Me!

I totally missed my 2 year mark. It was last Thursday. I'd write something fabulous and witty, but I'm still worn out from the conversation chronicled below.

2 years and counting...thanks to all of those who stop by on a regular basis and keep my spirits up...you're all wonderful!

Another Fine Example of Patient Parenting...

...or why mommies need a summer vacation...

NOTE: This conversation actually happened...only moments ago. I'm exhausted.

Me: "While we are here, boys, let's take a quick look at something."

D (he's 7 1/2, btw): "But Mom, I thought you said we were not going to get school supplies today."

Me: "Yes, I did say that, but I just want to see if there are some other options for the giant binders you guys try to lug around. You have smaller backpacks this year, and I want to see if I can find something that will still serve the purpose, but fit in the backpack more easily."

D: "Oh. How about this one? (He holds up a type of binder exactly like the one he has, only larger and with a zipper.)"

"No, Honey. That's the same size as the one you have, and we need something smaller. Here's one that has possibilities...What do you think of it?"

"Hmmm. I like the one with the zipper. It's green. I like green."

"I know you do, sweetie, but it's really much too large to fit into your backpack. This other type comes in green though. Maybe we should give it a try?"

(interjection by younger son - "Cool - can I have a red one?" "Sure - red - good job.")

D: "What other colors does it come in?"

Me: "Red, black, blue, dark blue and green."

"But J already has red."

"You can have red, too."

"I want black."

"Okay. Let's get these and go."

"What about the one with the zipper? Can we try it out, too?"

"No. I told you. It's too large. Put it back."

"Trace has one, and it fits in his backpack."

"I. Don't. Care. What. Trace. Has. Put. It. Back."

"How about this one - it doesn't have a zipper. Can we try it out, too?"

"AAAARRRGGGHHH. Forget it. We're not getting ANYthing today. Just like I said earlier."

"Oh. Okay. But when we come back, can I have one with a zipper?"

"whimper"

...thanks, Mom. The boys are looking forward to coming to see you and Dad...

More Life Drawing

I missed last week to go visit Mo in T-Town (and had a blast, by the way), so I was feeling quite rusty from NO drawing WHATSOEVER. I've been playing my new Ovation guitar and breaking in my fingers to new ultra light strings (I have no feeling in the tips of the fingers on my left hand...)

ANYhow...we started with 1 minute gestures with our lovely model - she was very graceful and at ease...unlike me...sigh. I used an oil cray-pas for these gestures - just trying to do something new - maybe I should have brought the bona-fide Crayolas, instead.

I think this is a 30 minute pose, again with the cray-pas. I really struggled with proportion in this drawing. The upper body, about to the elbows, is fine and I'm very satisfied with the face. The rest of it, however was torment. DANG. hands, feet, elbows, knees, fore-shortening...DANG.

Another 30 minute pose. This time in my favorite medium for these sessions - 8b pencil. Of all the drawings today, I'm happiest about this one, even though I erased and erased and erased the hands. The proportions are good, I like the composition, the pose was great and the likeness is really spot-on. Whew - this made me happy. The last, long pose should be a breeze, right?

Or maybe not...geez Louise. What a travesty. I hated everything about this one. Hated the pose - couldn't find anywhere else to go that it got any better. Hated the hat and the drapey pashmina type thing they put on her that covered up her lovely shoulders - I mean, come on - we can't do nudes - I understand that - but do we have to put even more clothing on them? Maybe they could wear clothes that skim the body MORE instead of draping them in blankets. Ha! Okay - back to what I couldn't do, instead...I had an entire hour for this one and still couldn't manage to get even one of her hands to look like a hand. What on earth is up with that? I can make her FACE look like her (and specifically her - not just any random human being) but I can't make her hands look even remotely like a human hand.

I guess I know what I'll be drawing lots of this week...any volunteers out there for hand models?

Portrait and Figure Drawing Class

My first class started today at the Fountain City Art Center. It was alot of fun. It was less intimidating than I thought it would be. Everyone was very nice and friendly. Our model didn't show up, so the instructor stepped in to model instead. It's a very open space, with a park next door, so the models are clothed...

We started off with some gestures - big and bold - 2 minutes each...in charcoal





And then moved on to longer poses - 15-30 minutes each...pencil and charcoal

Happy 4th of July!

I'm on Moleskinerie!

My WetCanvas article has been excerpted for Moleskinerie!! If you like Moleskine notebooks like I do, this is a GREAT honor! Thanks Linda, for recommending me to Armand - I was very happily surprised to get his excerption request!

Front Page News

After a long wait, an article I wrote in March was published at the WetCanvas site! Front page news, indeed...feel free to look at it (and others) on the newest acquisition of F+W Publications - publishers of North Light Books and The Artist's Magazine, to name a couple. Too bad they don't pay for published articles. I really could use a new computer...sigh.

Contrary to popular belief...

...it wasn't all beach time at the beach. I did manage a sketch or two in the evenings, sitting out by the camper. Now, I warn you - they weren't GOOD sketches...

It Was Lovely, but...

...I am glad to be home and in my own bed. At least for a few days. I'm going back on Sunday for 4 or 5 more days of beach time. Yes...I am a glutton for punishment (okay...I love it - I would move there if I thought we wouldn't starve to death.)

I would scan my sketchbook and post it, but my computer has had a nervous breakdown and shows no sign of recovery yet. I haven't had the chance to find a specialist, and Dr. Smarty Pants has been out of town, so he's not been any help either. He did leave me his computer, though, so I haven't had any serious withdrawal pangs.

Needless to say - I haven't painted anything either...sand and acrylic DO mix, but I've not found an application for that yet...

I have been here for 10 days with no access beyond gmail...there is only so much peace a girl can take...

More Art Opening Pics...

The view as you enter the gallery.


To the left...


To the right...


Around the corner...


With the third place ribbon...


Linda's Award-Winning "Other People's Stuff"

There's more up on my Flickr site...feel free to browse!

I Can't Believe It

The opening reception for the juried show was tonight. Mr. Smarty Pants and I went sans kiddoes (thanks, Cyndi!!). We met up with Linda and her DH, sister and friend at the gallery - it was really nicely done...good appetizers, lively conversation, and they had done a nice job with the hanging (except for Linda's Gossip - it needed and deserved better placement...). Neither Linda nor I remembered to bring a camera, so we had to rely on cell phones, but we're going to go back tomorrow and take pics mainly because...drum roll...dramatic pause...Linda got Honorable Mention for "Other People's Stuff" and I got 3rd place for "Contemplations #5: Fear"!!!! Woo hooo...we just couldn't be prouder of each other!

This is the best pic we could get tonight...I'll let Linda post hers...

Bolstered by her recent success...

...Diahn dropped two more paintings off at a local gallery. Does the slightly queasy, butterflies in your stomach thing go away with experience? Mercy. I sat in the car for about 10 minutes getting the courage up to go inside, and this was for a member show where I'm guaranteed one to be accepted! Sheesh.

I entered "Chicken Itza," Linda's personal favorite,

and "Fly", which I posted already here.

Now - here's the kicker. The opening for this show is Friday, June 1. I'll be out of town, so I need one of you wonderful people to go to the show and take pictures for me so I'll know which painting made it in (or if both paintings made it in!) Then you can email me the pics so I'll feel like I was there...

Come on - it's free...you'll help me, won't you??

Happy Dance...Happy Dance

Okay, in my last post, I said that Linda and I had done something that I wouldn't talk about until Tuesday. Well...It's TUESDAY! One of our mutual goals was to hang our art work in a gallery space this year. We each submitted 3 paintings to the Fountain City Art Center for their Spring juried show, and lo and behold...they were all juried in!!!! Go check out Linda's work, too - simply STUNNING!!!!

The reception is Friday night at the Art Center. Here are two of the paintings juried into the show - the other (Contemplation #1: Identity) is here.



Contemplation #5: Fear



Contemplation #6: Value

Now...what on earth will I wear???????
acrylic on 24x24 stretched canvas

A Week in the Life

Have you ever had a week like this? Everything starts out smoothly, your guys give you flowers for Mother's Day...

and then make you a steak and shrimp dinner on the grill (yes, they made shrimp ka-bobs themselves!) to eat outside on your newly finished deck and patio furniture that you also got for Mother's Day...

But somehow, despite all of that, you end up like this by Wednesday...

Thankfully, Linda and I met last night for coffee and she talked me down a little. We meet at least once a month to make sure we are making progress on our goals, and we actually realized last night that we ARE!!! Yippee. So, now we have to make some more goals...mid-year goals...which is awesome, because by mid-year last year I had forgotten that I had ever made any goals to begin with! Hey - if you're an artist and you're trying to get to the point where you are showing your art on physical walls, as opposed to cyber ones, or to progress in your journey a little...I highly recommend you find a buddy. No, strike that...regardless of who you are or what you want to accomplish in life - find someone to journey with you. Someone giving and caring, but also able to smack you upside the head and challenge you a LOT (thanks, Linda).

We did something yesterday that was a major step for both of us, that I'm not quite ready to talk about yet...I'll talk about it on Tuesday...but I can almost guarantee that neither of us would have done it if we hadn't made the other do it. Good grief, that's a rambly sentence. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is we all need a true friend - a friend who isn't afraid to tell you something is a load of well, you know, when it is and who is able to encourage and motivate you through your moments of psychosis. And we need to be that kind of friend, too.

So - here's how I'm feeling today...

Yeah...I'm chillin'...

Peace...

Linda Tagged Me...

...I've been watching this meme go around the EDM blogsphere for the last week or so, and it's been very interesting. It's also occurred to me that either I don't post on the EDM group very often, or people just don't like me, and being eternally optimistic, I guess I don't post on the EDM group often...

So, here goes my 7 interesting, but little known, things about myself...

1. By education, I am actually a geologist. I hold a Master's degree in Structural Geology from a major party school, and most of a PhD, although I declined to complete my dissertation, so that makes me Diahn, Ph.D., ABD... I did all the research, so you all can call me Dr. Diahn, anyway. I quit when I realized that art was more part of my heart than science, and have been happily drawing and painting away ever since.

2. My first name is not Diahn (that's my middle name), but that's what I've always been called. And you pronounce it "dee-on", not "die-ann". Like Warwick, Sanders, ...and the Belmonts...you get the idea.

3. I met my husband and married him 3 months later. We've been married 8 1/2 years. Best (and most) impulsive decision I ever made.

4. I arrange my closet by type, color, season and sleeve (or leg) length. I arrange my pantry by classes known only to me, with all labels facing forward and items pulled to the front of the shelf. The rest of my house is a disaster, including my art studio which can be attested to by Linda, who recently saw my shameful mess...

5. I have a GPS in my head. Hard-wired. I love to try new roads and never use a map if I can help it. I like the challenge of finding my way around new places, especially if I have no access to directions and can't speak the language. I've been "lost" on 3 continents and loved it...Europe (Germany, Italy), South America (Venezuela), and North America (backwoods Alabama - trust me - I don't speak the language there either). I LOVE to take someone that has lived somewhere a really long time a new way to get somewhere.

6. Wow. 2 more. This is harder than I thought. Uhhhh. I play piano, bass guitar and I sing. I lead the band at my church. I don't get to play the bass very often anymore, as I have to play the piano and I haven't figured out how to do both at the same time.

7. I am intensely competitive, but fair. I hate to lose, but I'm a good loser. I detest poor sports who blame a loss everything except their own performance. I am convinced that there is almost nothing I cannot do, provided I have enough time to study it and practice a little. I'm not always RIGHT about that - but I love to try.

So - that's it. The last one is a little lame, I think, but I really couldn't think of anything else right now. I'm pretty sure everyone else I e-know has been tagged already, but if you haven't, please take this is a personal plea to enlighten us about yourself, and leave me a comment so I can come read your 7...

Cheers...

What I've Been Creating Lately...

Just needs stairs, and we'll call it finished...

My Flemish Technique

Okay - just because you asked...here's how I did the apple.

I called it a Flemish technique, but really it's quite heavily modified - first the traditional technique is in oils, and I'm using acrylics, and second, I'm impatient and undisciplined...if you want to know more about the real thing, take a look here.

So, anyway - here we go...

My step 1, which is really like 3 steps - the drawing, the imprimatura (which is really just toning the canvas) and the umber layer to establish the lights and darks.

Next up is the dead layer. Now - having done this, I think I could have completely skipped the umber and gone straight to the dead layer - seems a bit redundant to me. This is really the meat of the painting - I used Payne's Gray and white gesso here - and really worked to model the form. This is also where the most time was spent - revising shape, shadow and highlight. At the end of this stage is really a nice painting - only in grayscale...

Now I started glazing color onto the painting. I used a very heavy glaze - that is a lot of glaze to a little paint. I probably could have done with less glaze, but I wanted to make sure I didn't go too thickly here...next time I'll probably use more color...

The last layer consists of the most opaque paint - mostly in highlights and areas that need re-defining after all those color layers. So, this is where I ended up...

I was inspired to try this after looking at the artwork of Mark Woodland - go check out his site!

Not my usual, but...

I was trying something new. I did a modified Flemish technique with imprimatura, dead and color glazing layers. It's a long process, but it really gives a lot of depth at the end. I'm not sure I'll do it much, but it was really a great exercise.

12x12" acrylic on canvas

Well, Crap.

Apparently...I don't exist...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?