Are you Spreading yourself too Thin?

(In honor of Martin Luther King)

If the New Year is any indication of how the next year will go, I’m in trouble. Last year was filled with illnesses, surgeries, and accidents. This year started out with a chest cold and flu in spite of the fact that I had a flu shot. Hence the title of this blog.

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and it’s all you can do to keep up with its demands. My blogs have been late more often than not. I feel I'm lagging behind and that I"ll never catch up. I haven’t felt like painting or doing anything, but I’m slowly getting back to normal.

(Shadow patterns on pavement)

One thing that's been on my mind is how much art and design is in nature. Inspiration comes naturally when you take a look around and try to recognize the intricacies of detail, contrast and color that exist all around us each day, but we're either too distracted or busy to notice.

Art usually replicates life, and nature is a big part of the equation. Even man-made objects add to the beauty of our surroundings. A brick walkway, tile roofs, sculptured or oriental rugs, baskets, wood grains, leaf patterns, light play and shadow. We are surrounded by artistic designs from our clothing to the food we put on our plates to eat.

Architecture and interior design complement our tastes and become the building blocks that highlight our personalities. Texture adds a tactile dimension and an element of fun. Our homes should reflect who we are and what we enjoy.

(I really need a hair cut!  My painting "Sandhill Cranes" behind me.)

(More beautiful shadow patterns)

You don’t have to be an expert to combine what you love with what brings you joy. Art and design are not complicated. They are simply an expression of who you are. Within your reach, note how many patterns and designs already exist in your home even without the obvious artwork. Wall art adds a third rail by accenting the colors that already exist and by providing an element of surprise or interest to an otherwise boring wall.

Wall art is like the final gilding on a non-descript room. It provides excitement and completion. Artwork ties everything together and adds a finished look to your entire scheme. Linking up with a few interior designers is a good way to get your personal artwork out there and become familiar with the local scene.

Next time you're in a slump, or you feel you've simply spread yourself too thin. Magnify your surroundings. Soak up detail. You don't have to travel or go to foreign lands for inspiration. You just have to remove the clutter from your own mind and focus on the unique that is already in front of you.

The Past is not gone Forever – “What Goes Around Comes Around”

"Americana" 16x20 acrylic on canvas

“Made in the U.S.A.” is a new mantra touted by many upstart entrepreneurs these days. They not only want to feature local artists and their skills, but to keep the money circulating in our own country. This new trend seems to be catching on as citizens watch their jobs and their dollars fly overseas to make some other country rich. 

Yes, the cost of producing products in America is more expensive, especially in light of the big push by the President and some in Congress to raise the minimum wage. This would only add fuel to the “flee America” model. When small business owners and corporations have to increase wages, absorb health care costs, new taxes and over regulation they are more apt to do business where the cost of doing it is less.

But there’s a catch. While I was searching for USA companies, I found that some of them were only assembled here. One dog food manufacturer’s product was considered unsafe because the ingredients were actually obtained in another country, hence, uninspected. So if you’re looking to buy American products, do your research first.

"Star Billing" mixed media on canvas

Still, for the good hearted people who really want to help our country and its people out, it's worthwhile to scout these companies out and take a look at their products. I can say this from experience: “Artist’s who create in America, usually sell their artwork right here in the homeland.” Of course, there may be exceptions. It is up to you to become informed.

With worries about GMO’s (genetically modified organisms), more people are growing their own food. This includes raising chickens and rabbits where zoning allows, growing a vegetable garden, planting fruit trees, strawberries and raspberries. Some brave souls have even left the urban life altogether for life in the country raising goats, llamas, or buffalo. 

I’m not that brave, but I would like to grow some of my own vegetables and fruits. In our gated community, the closest I’ll come is to growing strawberries and tomatoes in appropriate pots on my patio or in my small flower beds.

Watching wildfires burn up precious land in the West, and floods destroy huge swaths of land in the heartland makes you realize that American grown food could also become scarce if crops are either destroyed or not planted in the first place.

It’s reassuring to know that a return to the basics and a simpler way of life could relieve us of short-term famine or hunger. My last blog about painting with food products also provided a solution if your budget makes it difficult to buy art products. Even brushes can be homemade and could add a surprising twist to your finished artistic products. 

The watchword is not to succumb from fear when the going gets rough. Use your creativity to supply your needs and wants and perhaps supplement your income if necessary. The saying “Where there’s a will there’s a way” served our parents and grandparents well. Perhaps it will also save the day for you and your family.

(All artwork is for sale from the artist or at Carol's online Gallery  )

"Sunshine" 11 x 14 acrylic (Sunflowers in a garden can provide nutritious seeds for health!)

Find your voice! What are you trying to say?

One of my favorite trees is in bloom again. I don't know what it is (water oak?) Sure wish I knew!

There are scenes that almost jump out and grab you, and you know you have to paint them or write about them. At other times there may be only a vague inclination that you’d like to try something new and so you go with it. Either way you must ask yourself: “What am I trying to say? What am I trying to illustrate or express?

Every painting tells a story or expresses a feeling or impression. You are taking your viewer on the journey with you. Where will you take them and how? What is the most important thing you want to show them? How will you help them navigate through the barrage of color and detail?

These are the seed flowerettes that remain after the red seeds fall out.
They become woody and hard.

Is your message soft or loud? Do you want to jar them from complacency or coddle them into submission? What is your desired end result? Will you think big and dream large or will you softly suppress your message to a whisper? All of these questions should preferably be answered before you begin. Then again, the painting itself may be a question that only the viewer can answer.

Painting, writing, or any art form is anything but dull. The innuendo is everywhere. The subtleties should sparkle with ingenuity and the canvas or stage should reflect your skill and spontaneity. When your story becomes contrived or too controlled people will be aware of it even though they may not know what it is that bothers them.

The Poinciana trees are again in bloom. The hot weather brought their bright red blooms in earlier than usual.

Instead of holding your imagination at bay or choking it with too much control, unleash it. Your knowledge and skill will roam freely and thoughtfully allowing you to tell your story. Where will your journey end? When will your tale be finished?

Someone once said your work is finished when you can no longer find any place to improve it. I think it ends even before that. There’s a fine line between spontaneous freshness and belabored brushwork. Hard straight lines draw far more attention than a small swipe of color that goes a tad too far or is allowed to blend into the background.

Their leaves are fern-like and feathery. The flowers grow in huge clusters like grapes.

Paint is forgivable. Wipe it out if it displeases you or paint over it and smooth out the flaws. If the first layer of paint captures your vision, avoid a second. Let that part stand and embellish around it bringing depth and richness to your scene.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. If you want to try something new, do it. You can always wipe it out and paint over it. This practice will keep your nerves under control. I know when I do commissioned work I’m always more tense worrying about what the buyer will think and if they'll be pleased. When I paint for myself, the brush strokes are more fluid and unhindered. Above all, enjoy yourself. If you are not, you’re in the wrong business.

This is half of the Poinciana seed pod. The indentations are where the seeds sit and another pod just like this one
covers them until they ripen and open. They are hard, woody, and beautiful!

Enjoy Someone Else’s Wild Dreams until Yours Manifest

When my oldest son was still in college, he mailed me a book called: “Russian Lacquer, Legends and Fairy Tales, Vol. II, by Lucy Maxym. At the time, he was in Russia performing with a musical touring company from the university.

He wrote in the inside cover: “Dear Mom, I saw these Russian lacquer boxes in Sitka and couldn’t help thinking of you. Even the smallest boxes are very expensive, so I thought this book was a real deal, plus in it are over 20 fabulous fairy tales. Notice the similarity of “The Flying Ship” to the movie Baron Von Munchausen.”

I still enjoy looking at the paintings. Imagine! Each detailed masterpiece is done on the lid of a black lacquer box! That fact alone is inspirational. The breathtaking beauty and precision of these compositions makes you realize the incredible patience that is required for something as lasting and valuable as a well-thought out painting.

My son goes on: “Maybe you could put together a few favorite stories from these and I’ll illustrate them.”

At the time, he was an up and coming artist, majoring in advertising. I was not yet an artist, but was working as a freelance writer. Shows you how quickly life and the roles we play change over time.

Today he is a consultant and science teacher after being nominated Teacher of the Year by his peers. My son was right about one thing, I am lifted by these illustrations. I can literally spend an afternoon examining each scene and reflecting on the stories behind them.

I am also intimidated by their detail and the enormous energy that went into each design. It is good to aspire. We need to spend time viewing the classics and the masters-of-their-craft to see what we can learn from them, but not at the expense of our own promise.

Some of us are more detail oriented than others. We each have limitations of one kind or another. But unless we plant the seeds, the illumination will not germinate. How many dormant seeds do you have lying beneath the surface?  When was the last time you watered them with the necessary nutrients to help them grow? We need to recognize that practice, time, and a valiant effort come before success.

1. Define your dreams.
2. Note your progress no matter how small. 
3. Compare this year’s work with the last. 
4. Adjust your attitudes and eliminate negative thinking. 
5. Construct and re-structure your goals; each month if necessary. 
6. Look at the big picture. Baby steps are magnified when you see them altogether.

This blog was first published on Dec. 17, 2013. I chose to repeat it today!

Eat Your Heart Out -- This one's for me!

"Through her Eyes" 9 x 12 quick sketch of live model

I used to think my ex mother-in-law was an old fuddyduddy. She was a rock hound, of all things, who spent precious time polishing stones. She also made fragile sand paintings inside of bottles that disappeared in a heartbeat if one of them got pushed over. She spent hours in her garden. Her house was an absolute dust bowl!

On a positive note, her grandchildren adored her and gathered around in joyful anticipation when she started one of her “projects.”

I thought of her the other day as I gathered still more poinciana seed pods to add to my collection. “Have I reached that predictable time of life,” I wondered, “when simple things seem much more precious than the purchased junk we usually settle on to clutter our lives?”

Out of guilt, I did try to neaten up my seed collection; more for those who would look askance at my seldom used dining room table which is now covered with beautiful “finds” from the fields and walkways where I exercise.

"Mother and Child" 8 x 10 print

My ex mother-in-law had it right. She would rather spend her days in the garden and out in nature than cleaning a house that grows dusty each day and needs to be cleaned again and again to keep it pristine. She was part of a culture that believed frivolity and self-indulgence were sinful. Artistic endeavors were frowned upon.

In her day, she may have been a frustrated closet artist. Her stone jewelry and sand paintings were cherished by many. She emptied her heart into each piece and used her fingers to create things from nature that others may have considered useful and practical. 

There was no guilt in leaving her cleaning behind to work in the garden, to cull the weeds that needed tending to or the people at church or in her family who needed her. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” she’d been taught and so hers were busy all the day long.

I feel closer to her today than I did back then when she scrutinized my habits and frowned upon those times of relaxation as if they were sinful. Today, at long last, I understand her. I feel a kinship with her yearnings; probably many of them unfulfilled. She would never have admitted it, but she was an artist in her heart of hearts.

"Siesta" drawing with digital color

The wasted moments of our lives do go by in a heartbeat. Soon we all grow old and in the looking back we wonder what we’ve missed? In hind sight, the tender moments spent with a child are far more precious than the accolades of others that are fleeting and fickle. The ticktock of the clock sounds louder with age, and we wish we could squeeze every drop of laughter and sunshine into that place within that holds them dear.

Now I watch the dust settle and rise on the furniture and the baseboards while I capture some fleeting thought that may burgeon into a masterpiece that only I can see. I listen to the critics and hold my tongue. Imperfect, they imply, but before me I see yesterdays trail of tears melting onto canvas or paper in a colorful crescendo of joy.

Eat your heart out, I think quietly; this one’s for me!

"Release -- my Trail of Tears" 24 x 30 canvas (side panels available)

Below is the most amazing works of art you’ll ever see. It seems like a secret the artist wishes to reveal to you piece by piece.

Post 

Roll with the Punches and Live in the Moment

Work in Progress -- Black-eyed Junco  Oil on Canvas (white marks / edits)

I completed reading the book: “A Shoemaker’s Wife” by Adriana Trigiani; a delightful tale which takes place in the Alps of Italy. I was intrigued by this story having traveled to this area and experienced the beauty and the people of that region first hand.

I wrote down the advice given to the young bride, a key character in the story, because I knew it was a golden nugget of truth: “Don’t worry about bad things that haven’t happened yet. It will save you a lot of anxiety.”

We all tend to worry about the things we fear and the events that we suspect are inevitable. We waste time and effort fretting about those things that we cannot control most of which never happen. If we followed the advice of the author, and stopped worrying about “bad things that haven’t happened (or may never happen), we’d be a lot better off.

I was told this was a walnut tree, but they don't develop a real nut???

I’m reminded of an experience I had years ago when I was in charge of a Hawaiian dinner that was being held outdoors. On the ground, we had colorful cushions placed around lengths of white butcher paper that served as a table cloth. Fresh flowers adorned the paper at intervals. Barbecue grills were set up for cooking, and leis were given out to each guest.

A former resident from Hawaii provided music and dancing while the food was cooking. What could go wrong? And then a rain storm moved in quickly and forced us inside. We pulled the barbecue grills under the eaves, gathered our cushions, flowers, and table adornments indoors and improvised things from there.

Initially, I thought I might come “unglued” and fall apart the stress was so great, but I didn’t. With the help of others who pitched in to help, we ended up having a glorious time. I learned how important it is to be adaptable. When fear and a crisis threaten to shake your sanity and your coping mechanisms, go with the flow. Roll with the punches and deal with one crisis at a time. Of course, a sense of humor never hurts either.

If you can identify this tree / nut, please give me feedback!

I was amazed and grateful at how forgiving other people can be in a crisis and how willing to pitch in and help when the “going gets rough.”

This is a close up of the "pod" as it grows on the tree; notice the shape of the leaves.

Being flexible and adaptable reminds me of the principle behind a rubber band. It’s a simple tool that we use all the time to bind things together. It will stretch and adapt as needed; but only to a point. Its flexibility may be tested if pushed too far. When we press it beyond its capability, a rubber band will snap. But it will expand and grow if we ease it slowly and carefully; a simple lesson in how to adapt in a crisis.

Another "work in progress" with editing marks; 11 x 14 oil on canvas

Natural Found Materials make Artwork Zing

I’m always amazed at the ingenuity of artists. When budgets are tight, they still manage to find a way to create art. A fantastic artist by the name of Mark Powell creates meaningful portrait drawings on old envelopes and photographed legal documents free for the taking.

Dropped palm fronds are the creative backdrop for another artist who turns them into fish, mermaids, and lion heads. The dried leaves become fins, swishy fish tails, or miens in her adept hands.

Linda, fell in love with “pine straw” and creates unusual baskets, wall hangings, and sculpture by twisting and weaving natural and stained strands together. The bottoms of some baskets are lined with bean pods from the Poinciana tree. Sturdy as leather, the pods add functionality to her pieces.

Collage artists create interesting textures and shapes by using natural materials in their designs. There are two ways to creatively capture these items on canvas: the first is to apply paint to the underside of the object and then press it on canvas or paper; and the second is to lay the objects (i.e. leaves, flowers, sticks) on the background and spray paint over it. When the items are removed, the shape of the items remains in outlined form and transparent color. This treatment makes an incredible under painting for portraits or abstract pieces.

Jewelry artists sometimes use natural materials like seeds, bark, and dried peelings in their designs; threading them together with crocheted strands. I purchased one of these lovely pieces; however, the only drawback is what I call “natural deterioration.” Some of the items crumble over time and shed on my clothing. The necklace itself still looks lovely, but my shirt or blouse ends up covered with pepper-like dust.

I once purchased a homemade pen for my son’s birthday. He’s a genuine environmentalist and a dedicated recycler. I thought he would enjoy the pen which was made of recycled wood from an old fence post. The finished wood had a wonderful grain and was polished to perfection. Other woods the artist used came from old barns, railroad ties, and demolished houses.

I’ve often admired the leaves and the fruit of a tree in our neighborhood, but have yet to identify it. The leaves look like that of the water oak, but the clusters of seed pods do not fit the description in my Audubon book.

When the pods burst open, they form a flower. At the center are red berries. If any of you can identify this tree, I’d really appreciate your feedback. Although the sidewalk below ends up covered with red berries and broken pods, I managed to collect a few before they were broken. The pod forms a flower when it opens and when left to dry, the petals become hard and woody. The tree is messy, but beautiful!

If you use natural materials in your artwork, please share it with us here. The greatest thing about having a blog is the ability to share and learn from others.

Ideas are Seeds Longing for Their Turn in the Sun

So why do ideas get away so quickly never seeing the light of day? Because most of the time, we ignore them or forget to write them down. They slip away unnoticed as silently as dandelion fuzz in springtime.

(Sketch for Illustration -- on Canvas / will oil paint)

Add our own insecurity and some of our ideas seem just plain silly. We pooh pooh them before they get off the ground. We wonder if we’re off our noodle. We dismiss our ideas and give them labels like lame, stupid, or crazy. We’re afraid of using others for a sounding board for fear they’ll discourage us or make us feel foolish.

Drawing of an Idea for Abstract Scene

But one day, we take that daring leap of faith. We peel off our complexes and fears like yesterday’s banana skin. We go with the flow; enjoy our unfettered, unclothed artistic nature, and we fly! We turn ourselves inside out and expose ourselves to criticism and critique. Joy begins when our greatest fears are exposed for what they are: foolish! We step into the light and enter the ranks of “professional.”

Work-in-progress -- Acrylic under painting on canvas

I’ve been doing my share of floundering and exposing. I’ve been trying out new mediums, new subject matter and revealing my weaknesses and strengths. A blog is a public space and you are my critics and fans. If my journey has helped you, entertained you, or given you courage I’m pleased.

My blog contains works-in-progress that explore different aspects of my artistic journey. My goal is to paint from my heart and imagination more, and from photographs less. I’m not here to copy or to change, but to create. I’m taking a journey inside myself in order to be more open, more experimental, and more willing to take risks.

1st coat of oil paint -- work-in-progress

Some of my work may flop, and some of it may succeed. Discovery is a “wild child” that dances, bumps and grinds to the cranial surface from the depths of heart and soul. We as artists must “step out” and let our inner child reign free in order to achieve our dreams.