TV Stand

Ordered this tv stand from Home Decorators.com and it finally came yesterday.

Almost done putting it together. Looks great, but why does everything have to be assembled?!

Pier 1 screen update and a revelation

Made alot of progress on the screen, tho it seemed to take forever --- especially painting the bottom section. Just harder to get down on the floor and paint.

I had asked my Korean neighbor to come over and paint some Korean words on each of the screen sections the other day. She was so surprised that I was painting Korean ladies and recognized them as being so right away.


I did discover that I needed to make a few changes. For instance the shoes I was trying to depict, Zipsin, are mens shoes! Plus the all over patterning I was planning to put on the skirt of the hanbok is more Japanese (click for larger view). Also that the tie on the hanbok is much longer





The words are from left to right, innocence, virture, and modest (practical) -- all are words that my neighbor felt these ladies represented. The hair pulled back into a braid indicates that they are not married. She thought it was interesting that I chose to have each holding an animal as traditionally, Koreans did not keep pets. But she liked the idea and felt they tied into the descriptions she had given to each.

I decided that extending the tie into the skirt section eliminated the need for any patterning, Plus it was easier to just fill the very bottom with some leaves. I still need to work on the shoes.



As for the revelation --

My daughter informed us this weekend that they are going to have a baby -- due the end of January. This will be our first grandchild. It is very exciting. Interesting tho how this made me realize that while I always say I feel old, apparently I must not have thought of myself as being old all this time.

That Pier One floor screen

Some time ago I picked up a floor screen at Pier One that was on clearance with the intention of painting out the design.


It had been standing in my dining room, (along with a bunch of other things that have yet to be put away) and I decided it was time to do something about it.

Had been thinking about painting some geishas as I think they are fun to do. But one of my neighbors is Korean and while she appreciates the art, she doesnt like who they represent. I was not aware of the Japanese treatment of Koreans in history.

So I thought that I would paint some Korean ladies in traditional attire. To me it still feels oriental and when my neighbor visits, she wont feel uncomfortable.

Havent figured out the colors yet, but leaning towards some cad reds and turquoise. Will put cherry blossoms in the upper areas and planning to add a gold metallic glaze in the background.

Anastasia's Confections

Stopped at my local ShopRite grocery store this morning. Wanted some chocolate and saw these.

Anastasia's Confections Coconut Patties. 150 calories (50 from fat), 11 sugars. One is plenty. Went to their website and see that they also come in almond, pina colada, orange, key lime, and mango flavors. Thinking the almond would be good. Thankfully ShopRite only had the original ones.

Karen Hetzer Pet Portraits

Been urging my internet friend Karen Hetzer to paint some pet portraits.
I love this kitty that she painted.

It is 5x7, which fits into a standard size framed.
If you own a cat, I know you could find a spot to display one of her paintings. I dont own a cat but I am really tempted to get this one.

Contact her at karenhetzer@gmail.com

21 Czars and Counting

This morning on the news I heard that the Obama administration had created 21 czars so far.

Think this idea started to develop when he appointed a Car czar and then the Pay czar -- now isnt that one fun to say fast three times? Payczar, Payzar, Pazer! Being one who likes to play with words, I couldnt help resist helping this administration come up with even more czars. And after all, now that we even have a Great Lakes Czar, what's a few more?










If you have anything to say about this whole czar business, feel free to use my "czars" to help get your point across.

Last Day at the Museum class

Current session is over for Painting in the Loper Tradition at the Delaware Art Museum with Al Staszesky. While Al does have classes at his studio in Kennett Square this summer, I have decided to try painting in this style at home. I thought that if I could do it on my own, then I would probably continue lessons in the fall at the museum again. This summer I will discover if I actually learned anything -- or if what I learned, stuck.

I decided to stay with the dark lines I had added last week to define the figure. And even added a few more. I think that I will probably paint on a dark background or define my sketch with dark lines in the future.

I made a few extra changes in the painting. Added more of her shoulder and put her hand on her hip -- tho she did not pose that way. I felt it just made a little more sense with my painting. Also worked more on the backdrop. Instead of a swooping edge to the blue cloth, I incorporated more of the folds and tucks giving it a more interesting edge against the bare wall.

Meanwhile, the chair I ordered from Overstock.com came. It definitely is paprika. Thought it would be a little taller than it is. But will still work.

Joe Jonas, Beyonce' and Mr Bean

Video of Joe Jonas dancing to Beyonce' s "Single Ladies" . Okay, tell me he doesnt look a little bit like Mr. Bean.

New York Times article- Obama art

A few days ago, my friend Kim Senior, sent me a link to a request for Obama art that was in the New York Times.

Well, today, my friend Shawn McCann, emailed me that a thumbnail of my Obama Celebrity Gocco print was on the front page of the NY Times! (for a short time)

New York Times article. Mine is #31 in the slideshow.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Wall Street News Hour with Michael Brette on Global Talk Radio

Michael Brette from Venture Net Capital Group is going to give A Planet Named Janet's fish prints a mention on The Wall Street News Hour on GlobaltalkRadio

I responded to a post on a LinkedIn discussion group. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Thursday progress

Below are progress photos of last Thursday's class.
I still struggling with the constant changing in the colors in skin. Plus the model's position changes some each time after taking a break. When I am looking at one color to help determine the color that is next to it, that makes it a bit of a challenge.

I did go ahead and mixed in more white in the colors I painted with. I wanted to work more on the figure itself and quickly got the rest of the canvas covered. -- pretty evident in the upper left area and along the bottom.

Al did suggest that I extend the front leg further. I think it helped alot. I borrowed a piece of charcoal from a fellow student and as I drew it in, I began to like how it defined the foot more. So I added some darker lines to the rest of the painting. Probably went a bit overboard, but will work on that next week.

Floorcloth sample boards

Was unpacking some boxes today and came across some sample boards I had made for two floorcloths and a porch floor.

They were really large projects for a showcase home in Neenah several years ago.

When I was working on the porchfloor, I began to realize that detail is not that important when people would probably be at least 4-6 feet away when they were looking down at it.

I worked on the porch floor in early spring. It was a screened porch, but that didnt help much with the horizontal snow I encountered one of those work days.

Thursday Second Session

Last Thursday's progress.
Decided to try and get the background in surrounding the figure. Still not happy with the progress. I did ask Al if maybe I wasnt erring on the side of mixing in too little white and he agreed.

I do like some of the color combinations that are occurring. In particular the orangey reds and teal blues.



Have decided on some consulting with J'net Smith. I attended one of her lectures at Surtex . Decided that I needed some professional feedback and review before I proceeded further with art licensing. With the costs of exhibiting at Surtex and The National Stationary show well into the 4 figures or more, the consultation investment could save me alot of money.

New Model

Started a live model session last Thursday. Will be for 4 weeks. Working on a smaller canvas, 11x14. Also decided to go with a base color of raw sienna with a coat of metallic gold.

I was preoccupied with some other things and so didnt concentrate as much on painting the colors I saw. Plus after breaks, the model would be in a slightly different position. And on top of that, because it was live, she kept on changing colors.

Almost ready for tomorrow. Anxious to learn some more about art licensing at Surtex.

Surtex

Heading to Surtex this weekend.

Last Day of Still Life

Progress from the last day of the still life session. I dont know what setting I had the camera on, but all the photos turned out on the yellow side. Tried to do a little correcting in Photoshop.

Last week's progress for comparison.

Next week we start the live model session for 4 weeks. I am planning to do a smaller painting so I can have some class time to finish up the still life. Meanwhile, my last live model painting is on display at the Delaware Art Museum in the Bank of America Education Wing.

Al has been teaching us not to use too much white when we mix our colors. No more than 50/50 white and color. Says that too much white makes a dead color. Also does not like to use straight white as some artists like to do for instance when doing highlights. Says it looks like holes in the canvas. I found that to be an interesting observation. It really is kind of hard sometimes not to want to use straight white on a spot that you know the light is shining on. But it is the contrast of the surrounding colors that make a highlight bright. Each time I force myself to not to use white, but the light and dark contrast, once I step back from the painting and take it all in, it becomes apparent that it was the right thing to do.

An Innocent Spam Double Surprise

Yes, I read a couple of Kipling stories as a kid.


And also watched "Hee Haw".

Jon Lambert Unforgettable Art 2009 Photos

Jon Lambert has photos up from Unforgettable Art 2009

Thursday Progress -- Painting in the Loper Tradition.

Today's painting progress compared to last week.


I did take the photo shortly after wiping off some of the excess chalk. I also thought it might enhance the colors some while it was still a bit wet.

I mentioned before that I was not happy with the grape leaf from last week.

I did go in and define the edges a little more with a dark brown paint. Also made some lighter and darker changes to the leaf itself and the cloth in the background (the coffee pot is on the cloth in the background) in the area where the leaf overlapped.



There some difference, tho I still need to work it some more. But Al wants us to cover the canvas first before going back and correcting things. And as it is, he also says not to change the color, but to make it lighter or darker. It is all about painting the color you see.


Admittedly I am not always sure what color it is that I see. So I try and go with my first impression and then decide whether or not it is lighter or darker than the color next to where I plan to paint.


This is one of the advantages to starting in one spot and working your way out across the canvas. You have that reference of the color you just used. Plus you get away from painting "objects" to painting colors. I find myself looking at how well the color goes with the color I put next to it and think is this a good color combination. I particularly like how the red in the first image makes a nice color combination with the darker teal green and the spot of golden yellow in the middle of this image.

And I like the olivey green, orangey yellow and dark lavendar combination in this one.


And then you get some surprises. I knew there was this lighter color on that apple (behind the grape). But it was such a large area and I thought it would not look like it was an apple. But I went ahead and I painted it cause it was there and I thought for sure I would be changing it out next week.

Well, as soon as I stepped back from the painting, I could see that it indeed belonged there and the apple started to take shape -- which you can see better in the top photo.


Al was talking today about some things that Mr. Loper had taught him about determining if you have a good painting. If you were to take a piece of paper with a square hole in it and place it around your painting, you should have a good mini painting in those spots.

One more week working on the still lifes and then we will have a live model again.

Kim Senior Independence Mural

A bit ago I purchased a giclee canvas print from Kim Senior of her mural that she painted for the Independence Hotel in Philadelphia. It is a semi abstract contemporary interpretation of Independence Hall.



I finally got it stretched and framed the other day and have it hanging near the entryway in my house. It is 10 x 40 inches. When I stopped in to order it, I saw that she had some smaller prints that were just as wonderful. This size just happens to work perfectly in the spot it is hanging.


I love the colors and it is gold leafed in spots. -- some of which is reflected in the photo. I used a canvas floater frame . Instead of inserting the artwork from the back of a frame, the artwork is placed on top in the front and then secured with offset hangers and screws.

If you are interested in purchasing a print or canvas of this mural of your own, please contact Kim via her website.