The Steins Collection

I saw the Steins show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s on until June 3rd. I only have a few words: get there quick.

What can I say about this astounding exhibition: Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Pierre- Auguste Renoir to name a few. Not only are the paintings spectacular, the show is also an amazing story about two bohemian collectors who had tremendous foresight.

I was reminded of the movie Midnight in Paris which touches on the Gertrude Stein and her collaboration with artists of all types in Paris. I was fascinated to discover by the exhibit's virtual view of where Gertrude hosted the Saturday night salons in which the artists would come to her house and share their latest work.

I left the museum on such a high: Paris at the turn of the 20th century, walks through the Tuilliers, discovering Picasso, what romantic bliss! Je prends le champagne, darling!

A bientot.

Starlet Chorus Line Queens

I did a series of large abstract paintings in the fall 1995. Several months later, was opening night – wine, cheese, jazz and the paintings hovering over white walls like starlet chorus line queens at their first show. They looked great.  I remember after the exhibition was over, I sat in the corner of the room for a while and felt smitten. All the hard work and angst over these paintings had paid off.

In the summer of 1996, I rolled up the 5 by 7 feet paintings. Today I unearthed them for the first time. Sixteen years later, I can still hear that jazz beat, I smell that cheap wine, I sense the clatter of people's comments and me, much later, sitting on the floor looking up at my beauties.

I eventually want to do something with this collection. A piece of me wants to cut them up into little paintings and mount them on boards. Another part of me wants to trim the edges and frame them. For right now, I’ll let them simmer in my head as I produce more paintings . . .

Here I am, amongst them, really to show scale.

Here is the glorious group of beauties, "sunbathing" in the yard.

Here is a close up.

Here is an extreme close up.

Here is my foot next to an old foot print. Oh! I used to love those old shoes. They were my first pair of Simples.

A bientot.

Three Minute Watercolors

I got out my rusty stop watch (the one my husband used to time out my contractions during labor) and watercolor paper. I set up an object and gave my self three minutes. Here's one of my attempts:

Try it. You'll be surprised with what you see! A bientot.

Back from Arizona

We were on vacation last week so I wrote a little poem about coming home. I suppose I needed a little more time out west!

 Upon Return

Mesa tables drift through
the vast western desert plain.

Cactuses suspend this idle time
and promise fountains of oasis.

Catch the upward open sky
to descend this vacation high.

Abound blue goes to sheltered view
surrounded by sparse budding trees.

Settle humble cabin life- lake and woods

where violets bloom on bereft return.

Here’s a quick painting from my new sketchbook. I did this rather quickly. More entries on working with time constraints to come . . . A bientot!

Show at GWL

I had the pleasure of being part of the Art Extravaganza at the Greenwood Lake Public Library today. I was in a group of photographers and painters: Irving Fishman, Rene Fressola, Minna Harmon, Patty Kaminski and myself. This was the event for all the 2011-12 Works of Art Gallery artists to meet and mingle with local patrons. Kelly Corrado, the coordinator of the event, did a fantastic job of transforming the room and speaking about the Works of Art Gallery and its artists.

Here's a picture of my corner. I displayed my watercolors, a few abstract pieces and my portfolio. It was exhilarating to answer questions and tell the stories behind my paintings. I can't wait for the next opportunity to show my work. A bientot!

Sketcheroonies

Like countless others, I’ve been completely inspired by An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory. His website also has terrific journal samples and beautiful movies of the artists.

An Illustrated Life  has got me thinking about my own sketchbooks and what I have found useful over the years. I have several in many locations all for various purposes. A school bound note book for writing, a watercolor paper bound for painting and sketchbooks that I’ve made from my favorite heavy duty drawing paper. My tools of choice are cheap ball point pens and watercolors. And, what always seems to happen to me- I write in my painting journals and sketch in my writing journals. Most of the time, I make little “sketcheroonies” in my notebooks. Having read An Illustrated Life , I decided it is time to be more conscious of my sketchbooks and what I use. So I bought a fancy new sketchbook and made up these rules: upgrade to markers and design the page more. I am hoping my sketcheroonies will evolve!

Here is a recent sketcheroonie that elicited my EasterBreeze poem.

What about you? Any preferences about the tools you use? Have the rules you’ve imposed on yourself helped or hindered you?

A bientot,

: )

Wanna Fight? Hammering Out Conflict in a Story.

A few years ago, in Deb Lucke’s Graphic Novel and Picture Book class, I was introduced to the concept of conflict in a story. As defined, the conflict is the problem that triggers the action in a story. For example, in Sendak’s famous Where the Wild Things Are, the conflict is between Max and his Mom although we don’t actually see the argument. However, there are also stories where the conflict is literally in the story. In Potter’s Peter Rabbit, Peter disobeys his mom and almost gets caught by Mr. McGregor.

At the time, I was a little stuck on my Mama Lucia and I instantly, drew:

 I regrouped. I listed both my characters attributes and asked myself what is each character’s deepest desire:

And, after many pages through my notebook, I discovered the power struggle between the siblings for their mother’s attention.  Also, I saw how one character’s “want” got in the way of the other character’s “want”. Got any conflicts up your sleeves? I want to hear some.

And where is this story now and what have I done with it? Well, that’s another entry!

A bientot.