Find Your Center

Hey look at that - two days in a row.  Five posts TOTAL for all of last year, and two so far this week.  I'm on a roll.  Mostly I'm here to point out that I did a little switcheroo with the info stuff over on the right side of this page.  I added a link to my Instagram and to my new website.  Woo hoo!  Did you know you can get a domain extension of .art?  I did, so I did.

www.paintonpurpose.art

I'm so fancy.  My website is going to be a place where I can create portfolios of different types of artwork.  It's for people who want to see purty pictures without having to weed through all the junk I write.  It does have a blog roll but I'm saving all the juicy stuff for here.  And all the non-juicy stuff, like this oddball:

Sorry for the crappy photo.  The painting is called Find Your Center.  Sometimes when I can't figure out what to paint I just pick a color and start.  I have no plan, I just start.  This canvas is 12" x 24" and it is loaded with texture.  I painted it over the course of about two weeks - adding color, waiting for it to dry, adding more color, making marks, covering up color, waiting for it to dry, making more marks.  Then one day it told me to stop.  I'm probably the only person who will like it but that's okay since I painted it for me.  Satisfied customer.

Anyway, I digress.  If you zippy-do over to my website you will see a portfolio called Through the Trees, and if we are friends on Facebook or you follow me on Instagram you will recognize this one:

Love love love.  More on this process to come, and wait until you see the piece I finished over the weekend.  I'm beside myself, it is so cool.  I will tell you all about it as soon as I attempt some Photoshop magic - the camera in my phone is pretty good but it doesn't register metallic hot pink.  And you REALLY need to see this metallic hot pink....

Out with the Old

And here we are, hurtling through a new year already.  The year 2017 ended with my best good girl squished in the couch:

my best little freak sitting still for one minute:

and a pink Christmas tree:

The new year started with BUTT FREAKIN' COLD weather, but I don't want to talk about it.  It's over, it's done, we can pretend it never happened.  I'd like to say I can't wait for spring but that would fly in the face of my theme for 2018, which is:

More on that in a minute.  At the beginning of this month I scrolled back looking for the State of the Self that I wrote last year and discovered something interesting:  I wrote it TWO years ago.  What the what?!?  Where did last year go?  Time to revisit everything in that post, which you can find right here.  Remarkably, it is all still true.  With the exception of the work drama - that's old news.  And the Miracle Whip, which has been replaced by salsa.  But the rest -- all still true.  And that is a sad state of affairs.  Or, rather, a sad state of the self.

I have a fierce dislike of New Year's resolutions but in the interest of being a BOSS and TAKING CONTROL I was all set to resolution the shit out of this year.  Until I came to my senses and admitted that "shock and awe" was a clear path to failure, so I whittled my list down from ten major resolutions to five intentions.  What's the difference, you ask?  I wasn't sure - it just sounded right.  It felt better.  And turns out, after a quick Google search, I'm not the only one who thinks so.  A search for "resolution vs intention" turned up a crap ton of results and to save myself the trouble of explaining it in my own words, I have borrowed from the September 4, 2017 blog of Matthew Trinetti:

Whereas a resolution is "a firm decision to do or not to do something," an intention is a gentle reminder to get back on track.

Where goals focus on achievement and doing, intentions promote a state of being.

That's EXACTLY what I want to do and today - on the 21st day of the month - I can honestly say I'm killin' the game.  My overall theme, or intention, for the year is to Be Present and I mean that in two ways.  First, I want to spend less time in a state of anticipation - essentially wishing my life away.  Appreciate and celebrate moments, events, achievements as they happen instead of immediately pushing them to the side in anticipation of the next one.  Example:  constantly thinking I can't wait for spring takes me out of the present, which minimizes a lot of great moments.  My dogs love playing in the snow and yesterday Roxie threw herself into the snowbank and slid down the other side on her back.  It was hilarious to watch.  The other night it looked like someone had sprinkled glitter on my lawn - the snow was actually sparkling.  And a few nights before that it was so cold the sky was ridiculously clear and you could see forever.  There's no better way to sweep the cobwebs from your mind than to breathe deeply of the cold winter air.  But when I'm wishing for spring I stop noticing the good in the now because I'm too busy anticipating the potential good in the future.

Second, I want to be more mindful.  My five intentions for January are all related to personal health and well being which, for me, includes art.  And reading - normally I'm a voracious reader (side note to Ivan - my Kindle is recharging at this very minute) but over the last year I ended up devoting a terrific amount of my free time to YouTube videos.  Mostly art related so I give myself a partial pass, but I've watched so many Buzzfeed videos I could probably name 75% of the people who work there.  That's embarrassing.  That's a whole lot of wasting my life.  That's a whole lot of NOT being mindful.  So my January intentions involve mindfulness with eating, exercise/meditation, art, reading, and spending.  The details aren't important but I love knowing it's not a matter of success vs failure.  I have my list written down and it's a good feeling to know it's just a "gentle reminder to get back on track."

Since I started this post with a December 2017 photo of Roxie squished into the couch, I thought I would end it with a December 2012 photo that I just found in my computer:

At least she's consistent.

Whoa, look at that

We interrupt this lack of programming to bring you the largest painting I've ever done:

Yeah, I know, it doesn't look that impressive, but it is SO FRICKETY COOL and IMPOSSIBLE to get a good picture.  This sucker is 36" x 48" and I painted it on a whim back in September.  The 16th, in fact - I remember it fondly.  It was sunny and warm and the pool was still open.  I had to work outside so I would have a table I could walk all the way around:

There was one moment of panic when I was finished - I somehow needed to get the damn thing back inside!  It was interesting.  Here's a photo with poodle to show scale - this was pre-varnish.

And here's the inspiration piece, which is much smaller (9" x 12") and is called "Five Minutes in the Fairy Wood."

The big piece is called "Alice Walker's Woods" because there is an Alice Walker quote written on the back:

In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect.

Trees can be contorted,

bent in weird ways,

and they're still beautiful.

Derek sent me an oh so shiny purple metal frame and last Tuesday I dropped the piece off at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe.  It will be in the members' show, which opens on December 1st.  That'll be fun....

Calla Surprise

Here's the surprise masterpiece, almost completely dry and in daylight:

There is absolutely no chance at all I can reproduce this.  I actually tried last night, and will try again tonight just for kicks.  But I have zero expectations.  Sometimes accidents have the best results.

The 78 Series

Fun fact:  I haven't run a brush through  my hair since the end of December.  Yes, it's true.  When my right arm was not working I had very limited brushing ability so it was braids and a hat every day.

Every.  Day.

Now when I get out of the shower my hair basically braids itself.  Saves some time in the morning.

Anyway, what's up out in the world?  March was a crazy good month in my painting world - my art ADD almost couldn't handle it.  I wasn't going to post pictures of any new pieces until they are totally finished, but that could take forever so here's the beginning of the 78 Series.

This wasn't the first, but it's one of my faves.  I'm painting on 78 records.  I love that you can still see the indentation where the label is, and I've left the hole exposed for a reason - that's one of the parts I haven't finished yet.  Most acrylic paint dries with a matte finish, and if you know anything about me you know I'm all about the shiny shiny shiny.  My intent is to give these a clear coat of resin, but I had some technical issues (seriously, technical issues that required replacement product from the company) with the first couple I tried and now I'm hesitant because I don't want to ruin my faves. Resin is time consuming, sometimes temperamental, and requires a totally level surface and a dust-free environment.  Got that?  Level and dust free.  I'm screwed on both counts.  So I've been procrastinating.  Soon, tho.  Soon.  Here are a few more of my faves:

That pink and green one is a hot mess, but I love it.  The pink is going to be sooooo rich when it is shiny again.

I'm naming the pieces after the song that's on the flip side of the record.  That last one is Sweet Georgia Brown.  Fitting, eh?

So here I am up to my eyeballs in 78 records, and then the art ADD kicked in again.  Look at this totally awesome piece that might be my favorite thing ever in the whole world:

It's called Alien Vortex.  Those colors are going to POP when they are shiny again.  Love love love. You may have noticed by now that I tend to work in series.  Like the Moon Flowers.  And the 78s. Now the Vortex Series.  These are 10" x 10" cradled panels.  Here's the next two:

I can't stand it.  I'm so fascinated by what paint can do.  I am telling you, this is totally my happy place.  Good music playing, a glass of good bubbly, two dogs wreaking havoc in the other room - that's the background of my happy place.  Most of the people I know don't get as excited about paint as I do (what's wrong with you people?!?) but I'm in a couple of Facebook groups that are populated by paint freaks.  It's both fun and frustrating - fun to see what other people are doing, and fun to see them get so excited about it.  It's like having a zillion cheerleaders.  Frustrating when some people get so focused on how they want their piece to look that they don't see the beauty in what they create if it doesn't match their expectations. Fluid paint is a wild animal.  You can't have expectations - it does what it wants.  In fact, here's a story about what happened to me last night:

I was done painting for the day and was fighting with my laptop so I could work on this blog post.  It was pretty quiet around the corner, which usually means there is suspicious behavior over there.  Sure enough, Rabbit had peed on the couch (mom - don't read that part).  So while she was having a time out in her crate and I was washing a load of blankets, Roxie and I went next door and I figured I would paint something while waiting for the laundry to finish.  Jack Johnson CD on, paint mixed, no idea what the end result will be, started to pour, and WHOOPS!  I dropped the cup of paint mid-pour. And here is the result:

Whoa.  That's a crappy picture - colors are off - and the paint is wet so anything could still happen, but I posted that picture in one of the Facebook groups last night.  As of right now, 430 people have reacted to the photo, and it has 52 comments.  So long story longer, it's nice to have a place where people get you, because they are paint freaks too.

In other news, the weather has been crazy and I don't want to talk about it.  But I saw this on Sunday:

It's a good sign.  Unfortunately, about eight feet away is this:

In the interest of full disclosure, that's the pile that slides off the roof at the back of my house, and it might not fully melt until June.  But still.  Bring on the warmer weather - I'm ready for new spring growth.

An Experimental Phase

I wish I didn't have art ADD.  I'm having all kinds of half baked ideas and I've got all kinds of half finished projects, which means I've got nothing to show for the last couple of weeks.  Except a bunch of new paint in yummy colors, a secondary studio set up in my other bathroom, a new digital kitchen scale, and not a damn single level surface in this house.  Which is truly a shame.  All of this shall remain one of life's great mysteries until I have a finished piece and much to my dismay, these projects require loads of drying time.  As an instant gratification person, I like to see my finished pieces NOW OR SOONER so waiting is hard.  In the meantime, I whipped up Moon Flower - Midnight.

There's a bright red one coming next.  I am mildly obsessed.

One of my experimental projects is at the I-could-wreck-it-at-any-moment phase so I'm afraid to take the next step.  I keep standing in front of my table looking at it, and that's all I can do.  Note to self: do not get attached to a piece in the early stages.

In other news, Roxie has developed a lump on her tail.  I think it's new - every day when I get home from work she meets me in the kitchen with her tail going a thousand miles a minute.  I hold on to it so she doesn't whack Rabbit in the face, and I just felt this bump on Thursday.  We are putting out positive vibes to the universe that it's nothing special but there's a doctor visit in her near future just in case.  I think Rabbit also has a weird bump on her leg.  Or maybe it's a strangely shaped muscle. She goes back in for her lyme shot booster in a week so I will ask about it then.  I have bumpy dogs. Right now Roxie is sitting on the couch next to me whining.  She's looking at me like I should know what she's saying.  My guess:  please give me that extra treat I know you have in your pocket.

...

Nope, that wasn't it.

Bite More, Bite Less

I painted something to represent the beginning of the new year:

Yep, it's a big fat mess.  That's how last year ended and this year began.  The short story is I spent a little quality time at the ER on New Year's Eve with a mysterious ailment I had self-diagnosed on December 26th as a pinched nerve.  It got bad, then it got better, then it got BAD.  Thank goodness my mom was visiting when it got BAD because she drove me to the hospital.  On my own I would have been screwed - I might have been able to coast out of my driveway in neutral but there's no way I could have gotten from 2nd to 3rd gear.  So, an arm sling and a short course of prednisone later and all is well but it was dicey for a few days.  These things only happen to me when there is a puppy around.  A couple of months after Roxie adopted me over six years ago I had a similar ailment, only that time it was my back.  This time it was my right arm.  I have been informed by the chiro that the obvious solution is no more puppies.  Doh.

Moving on to other things, once I had use of my arm again I wanted to test a couple new paint colors and we ended up with this wee 5" x 7" Mountain Moon:

Now, here's the weird thing.  This was fresh on the the table, it wasn't finished yet, I still had palette knife in hand, and the phone rang.  I answered because it was someone I wanted to talk to, and in that conversation I found out about another friend who is (hopefully) starting a new job that involves lots of night driving.  And then the next day on my way home from work, the moon looked HUGE AND MAJESTIC, just like it is trying to be in this little painting.  Mountain Moon.  I saw the future and foretold it in paint.  Heh heh.  I wish I had a better picture - all the paint is pearl or interference except the white snow.

In conclusion:

Rabbit goes to work with me most days and behaves herself to the best of her ability.  I have discovered she likes to eat cardboard.  At home we have finally turned a corner and Roxie has been spending time in the same room with the little freak.

Here are my girls with their grandmother.  They play pretty hard (the dogs, not my mom) and Roxie lets Rabbit get away with murder so I'm trying to teach them both important lessons:  Roxie needs to bite Rabbit's head off when she gets pissed, and Rabbit needs to stop biting Roxie's ankles and arm pits and ears and throat.  One needs to bite more and one needs to bite less.  Easy....