Tuesday, August 30, 2011

"Lean on Me"


My latest pastel piece "Lean On Me" 12x6 was a bit of a departure from my usual composition style. With this piece I wanted to render a very traditional subject matter in a way that was a bit more sleek and modern and have the fruit appear as though it is suspended in space. In reality the subject is sitting on black drapery fabric but I choose to eliminate any folds to delineate surface and allow to viewer to decide how this piece reads. I used Terry Ludwig's wonderful 'sunset ' colors for the pear's in conjunction with Conte' of Paris and Derwent for the remainder of the piece. Hope that you enjoy!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

"Ready-Set-Go"

My latest and certainly most complex endeavor as an artist is one that required me to not only compile subject matter in an intriguing way with an abundance of textures, colors,  and dynamic form interaction but also tell a story with the composition. The study that I have been involved in for the past three years with artist Anthony Waichulis, director of The Ani Art Academy Waichulis has been and continues to be one of the most transformative experiences of my life, creatively and personally.

"Ready-Set-Go" is my big piece prior to entering the painting phase of my study with Anthony and pulls together all that I have learned with the many, many, many, many, many..did I say many!!! ??? repetitive form exercises. This is a piece that tells a story of global travel and expansion through ones talent, dedication, faith, and hard work. All the objects related to methods of travel are symbols for my own dreams of allowing my gift to take me anywhere I desire. The vintage travel case and hotel labels tell of the experiences in life we go through to gain wisdom and knowledge so when we encounter something beautiful and good we recognize it as such and embrace it. The other objects such as the cards, magnifying glass, match books tell of the trinkets we pick in life as mementos of good times along the way. The silver dollar that sits on the Botanica book was found in my garden this spring while I was planting flower bulbs. It is a 1904 silver dollar, the same year our home was built,  I had to include this in my work because I knew instantly this is how The Universe communicates to us all. I paint flowers, I was digging in the dirt planting flowers when I found this treasure, flowers=treasure=keep going, you're on the right path. This is what this piece is about, to be ready at a moments notice to receive the gift of inspiration, to recognize it and to use it to my full advantage.

Thanks for taking them time to visit and feel free to leave a comment if you wish! :-)