I should be cleaning. I could be doing laundry. I must complete some work from the day job (that has now become a 24/7 venture, thank you very much). But instead...I painted...to feed my soul. Now it's time to throw some dinner together. My poor husband.
Karen Stiehl Osborn posted the photo above on Facebook yesterday. I asked her if I could interpret it in a painting. She gave me her blessing.
So last night I picked up pastels for the first time in - like forever. I've never done an abstract with pastels. I'm not even sure how I feel about this painting but I do know that I liked visiting this medium again. All that layering and rubbing (or adult finger painting as someone I know calls it) really speaks to me.
I haven't painted in - like - forever! Last night I went to WRS and joined in on the Thurs evening pastel studio class. It felt really good to be with a bunch of other people doing what we like to do. Have I ever told you how much I love, just love, the texture you can get with pastels? Soooo luscious.
Yesterday we went to a benefit show to raise money to help maintain the arts in the Saugerties school district. Saugerties and Woodstock are sister towns and, as such, can lay claim to being the stomping ground of many fine - very fine - musicians. Besides other world class musicians Theresa Williams, Larry Campbell and Amy Helm performed an incredible set of their gospel inspired music. Larry Campbell (do a web search) is a 2 time Grammy winner who has toured and played with Bob Dylan among others. Amy is Levon's daughter and a founding member of Ollabelle whose gospel/roots music brought healing to the NYC's lower east side right after 9/11. Apparently Ollabelle's music reasonated with so many people seeking solace that every Sunday night the club they played at would be packed with a diverse crowd ranging from punk rockers to financial execs. Theresa's clear, strong and gutsy voice and her strong stage presence added a depth and dimension to the trio that made you sit up and listen.I love Ulster County and, while there are many other beautiful places, I really can't imagine living anywhere else. This morning I was inspired to create a roots type of painting. Other than the music that comes out of these hills, what evokes Ulster County more than the Catskills and a red farm building?
I have a friend who takes some great photographs. She often catches images of old, rusted antique and vintage items. Many times when I see a photograph of hers the first words out of my mouth are 'can I paint this?'. She recently emailed me the photo above wondering if I found it of interest. Yep. See the outline drawing below. We're considering creating a show that highlights her photographs and my paintings of them. Might be kind of cool.
A little mini painting I did yesterday...measures 5x6" from frame edge to frame edge. I think I'm going to post this for sale in my Etsy shop and see what happens. I haven't updated that shop for ages - time for some new merchandise!
Getting there but haven't quite arrived yet....need to work on the headlights, the front fender, tire, background and a few other places. So far I have about 7 hours of work in this with - maybe - another 2 more to go. Whoever believes that painting doesn't require dedication and work is very wrong. But it is - most definitely - a labor of love.
Beep, beep...work in progress coming through. What's better than an image of an old rusted truck? Especially a big hunkin' 24x24" image? I think I'm going to call this one Americana Baby. Two wishes....1.) I don't screw it up as I continue and 2.) I get it done in a week so I can beg the framer (and pay him way too much money, no doubt) to have it framed in time for my show.
I actually did some textile work the other night. I started free motion quilting on some surface designed silk and it seems to be coming out kind of well. I plan to finish for the gallery show in March. Meanwhile I'm on such a pastel kick. I can't put them down. Pastel dust is flying all over the sun room. Finished this bleeding heart interpretation tonight.
In the Hudson near West Point, there is a castle on what is called Bannerman's island. The Bannermans built the castle as both a summer home and a storage facility for their ammunitions buisness (!). The castle is in ruins and will cost millions to repair but holds a fascination for most people in the Hudson Valley. I did this pastel painting from a photo my multi-talented friend Canace took when she was given the honor of being allowed access to the island. There is something beautiful in the process of disintegration and I tried to capture that in this painting.
Pretty much finished, although I'll probably 'fix' an issue or two. I took a couple of artistic liberties (see the inspirtation photo is the post below). The next pastel I do is going to be small and simple. These larger pieces are killing me. 
