checking out the neighborhood

This evening I'm heading out to the local Badlands Gallery here in little Dinosaur-capital-of-Canada. It's a co-op of about 25-30 artists; ranging from self-taught-at-the-kitchen-table to having a FA degree and earning a living from their art; ranging from painter to sculptor to photographer, etc. They meet every third Wednesday evening. It will be my first visit to the group. I think I'll join. Fees are only $50/year (prorated to $25 this late in the year). Membership responsibilities include taking time to "man the gallery" a few times each month. I think that would be fun.

Considering the small size of this town, and the small size of the gallery, and the small size of the pieces of art, they generate quite a respectable amount of business throughout the course of the year. Apparently there is even an Art Walk in September in the arts district. Oh....I may have already missed that....but I haven't heard anything about that. I guess I'll find out tonight.

Hmmm.

Could be fun.

she knew it was easy to find

Remember that one day art fair* during the blizzard in December 2009? Well, will wonders never cease? I received an email from one of the guests that stopped by that day. Some had glanced through my portfolio and took a b'card. I don't usually expect anyone to contact me again--but she did! She wrote to say that one painting, the one with the gem stones, wouldn't leave her. She asked if she could "meet it in person." She was trying to decide if she needed to purchase He Said It Would Be Easy To Find or not. We made an appointment. She came in and was smitten. That's all I can say about her reaction. She could barely take her eyes off of the painting and wanted to know everything about it--why did I paint it, what does it all mean, is there a hidden reference, what are all the stones, etc.

Eagerly she made the purchase and took this beauty home right away.

I was astounded.

Just like that, she bought my work.

Just like that, I sold art. It's been a long time.

*See posts: Nov 28, Jan 5.

down in the dinosaur dump

So....nearly half a year since my last blog. We have settled nicely in Dinosaur-capital-of-Canada, in our new home (Well--we are still surrounded by towers of boxes, though. How could we possibly have accumulated so much?). We finally made the move here at the end of June. Our house in our City-of-1.2million hasn't sold yet, and it continues to be a concern. Life here is amazing. I wonder why everyone doesn't move to a little town? City-of-1.2million (though I've heard that it has diminished somewhat) has news headings about local shootings and torture victims. A recent front page report here was a two car pile-up to which EMS and police were sent, but it was happily reported that no one was seriously injured.

Sweetie-pie-love-of-my-life and I pruned our hedge. The top reached the eaves of our house. We felt we lived in a shrub box. Four feet (1.1m) less later, we filled the truck and headed to the dump to dispose of the branches.
Well....
Who would have expected that we would be overwhelmed with a sight of incredible beauty at the local dump yard? I had never seen such a thing! As we drove in, we passed an area of level ground FULL of hundreds of gulls squished together, all facing the same direction, as if waiting for further instruction from their master. Then we rounded a mound to the area we could dump. At the end of this lane was the wall of dirt and trash to which we headed. Gulls! Hundreds! No...a thousand or more! All were flying in a circle over the lane. As we neared the back dirt wall, hundreds of gulls flew off the wall, right over our truck, only about 4-5 feet (1.5 m) overhead.
It was stunning. All these birds flying right over us, so close, so in unison with each other. It was magic to behold. Oh, where is a camera when you need one?
I was moved by this gift of unexpected beauty in a place where most would not think to look. Indeed, next to us a mother hollered at her daughter to help unload the trash so they could hurry out.
Both of us were present at this same event, yet she was totally oblivious to the wonder that circled above us both.
I don't ever want to become so complacent or jaded or even just too busy that I fail to see the wonder and majesty that is all around us every day in even the littlest things.
P.S. The above photo was taken at a later date. I hoped for a repeat scene, but the gulls just weren't there in the same numbers. This picture only gives a taste.

left turn at the next exit

You know how sometimes, you just go through the motions of life--generally being not particularly aware of time passing, and then suddenly out of nowhere a curve ball (no...an asteroid!) hits and your life takes on a new course?

Well....so it is. I suddenly (yes, it was that quick) find that the Lord God has decided that Sweetie-pie-love-of-my-life and I should leave the city we've raised our sons in and lived in for most of our lives to move to the Dinosaur capital of Canada.

I'm soooo excited! I can't wait. We move from a community with a population of 1.2 million to one of 6,000. I called the post office there and immediately got a human being on the phone. Wow. I expected to be greeted by a recorded message  that would guide me through way-too-many options only to be frustrated because there is no 'change your address' option.
The biggest news on the town paper's front page was whether the main street should stay with diagonal parking or change to parallel parking. I can't wait.

The Lord God provided a job for Sweetie-pie-love-of-my-life, and we found a great house that has--gasp--a studio for me that is more than twice the size of my current studio! If anything will jump start my art career, it is having room to move!

The only thing is that we still have to do is sell our house here. We're trusting that that will happen too.

Soon, I hope.

let your yes be yes, and your no be no

I saw The Interpreter the other day. The main character stated that she became an interpreter because too many wars were fought based on words that were misinterpreted.

Years ago, Best-in-Laws wanted to know what I would like to receive from them for my birthday gift.

"Oh, I would love to have a wall clock in my studio," I replied. "I want one with a clear face so that it's easy to read at a glance!"

My birthday arrived, and they were very pleased to present me their gift. "We looked everywhere for this, but we finally found it!"

I was a bit confused at it being such a difficult task. Their faces beamed with delight at the success of the venture. I was so surprised when I saw the clock. The clock was transparent!

Wow....

When I asked for 'clear' I meant 'unobstructed' as in no design clutter among the numbers and hands like flowers, or fruit, or dots, or checks, or texture, or....

They heard 'transparent' when I said 'clear.'

No wonder it was difficult to find! I hadn't the heart to say 'transparent' wasn't what I meant.

The trouble with the transparency, though, is that I've had to put paper behind the clock so I could read it!

yellow and blue make pink

About 15-20 years ago I worked part time with a design company. They'd hand me swatches of fabric, and I had to copy, exactly, the color and pattern onto accessories such as picture frames or plant pots--in acrylic paint. This meant that I had to mix paint colors lighter than the actual color required and anticipate how much the acrylic would darken as it dried--and yet match precisely.

Friend-who-encourages asked how do I know what colors I need to mix the color I want? She often ended up with a muddied version of her desired hue.

I replied,"I dunno. I just look at it."
"But how do you know?"

I shrugged,"I just see it."

"But what's your method?"

"I just look at it and know." How in the world to I explain something I know so well intuitively, but have absolutely no idea how to explain in words!

Last week I discovered how. While perusing my local library, I stumbled upon this gem of a book: Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green by Michael Wilcox. This book clearly explains in words what I've intuitively known all along. Thank you Michael! Highly recommended.

what a day!

What a day the art fair was! There was a blizzard the night before. The roads were loaded with an average of 8-10 inches(25cm) of snow with drifts up to 4 feet(1-1.5m) high. And it kept on snowing. Few roads were plowed. As soon as one main road was cleared, it had to be plowed again immediately. The snow was relentless. It accumulated faster than it could be cleared. Those who did venture out inevitably came head on with an oncoming car. The problem was that there was only one set of tracks, so one car had to plow into a 2 foot snow bank to allow the other to pass through. Buses were sliding sideways down streets. Semi trucks were left stranded in drifts. The news later showed photos of people who were kneeling beside the roofs of their cars, trying to dig them out!

And we had an art fair today.

Man......

Who would go out on a day like THIS to visit an art fair?

I live quite close by, so Sweetie-pie-love-of-my-life and I loaded up the 4 wheel drive and headed out. It was a journey alright, but I made it. I tip my hat to my fellow artists who had to travel much farther and yet braved the elements to uphold their commitment. Yes, we artists are a tenacious bunch.

What truly amazed me, though, was the reasonably significant volume of people that came to this little, out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-track (literally!) fair.

It was a good day. Connections were made. I sold a few art cards. More took my b'card. I met another artist whom I had known years ago when we both were members of the FCA. This venue was fun. I may come back for a show of my own at some point.

But I think I'll plan for a warmer season!

lemonart

So the little studio show was fun. If nothing else, I updated my portfolio and met new people. A few took my card and said they may call me....later, depending on tax returns!

Now I am preparing for the little one day art fair at Chroma Colour. It will be next week, Saturday December 5, 2009; 10:00 am-5:00 pm.

There's an older song that says, "Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet, but fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat." We, in our studio show, have each had a rough year with much to grieve. Thus the title of our show. Yeah art!

great tip!

NOTICE!! Don't toss those nifty 'canning jar lidded' applesauce jars from Sunrype! I can't believe it took me so long to recognize their value. I always have a litre can of latex urethane on the go. The trouble is that it can take a couple years before I use up the can. In the meantime, the lid looks like a demolition field and won't hold a good seal after several openings. I tried to keep the can sealed in a ziptype baggie that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. I was whining about my recurring loss in dried up urethane to Sweetie-pie-love-of-my-life and wondering how I could more conveniently store this airtight. He suggested storing the urethane in a canning jar....

Well....why did I never think of such a thing? And as providence would have it, we had just emptied an applesauce jar, and he said, "What about this?"

Of course, time will be the test, but anything is better than my usual mess of crunched can in plastic.

----Tomorrow is the first day of the studio show&sale. I wish I could be confident of success, but I'm not. I know Friend-with-good-ideas has a significant network of clients; I can count mine on one hand. Regardless, I will go forth and conquer! Yeah art...I go armed with coffee, cookies and lunch. I also have several tiny stretched canvases and my box of paints. It may be a surprisingly productive day yet.

finally...baby steps

Well, here goes. I've been busy. Next week, Nov 25-27, Friend-with-good-ideas and I are hosting a studio show&sale in her studio. I have my little box full of small art pieces (framed sketches, matted pen&ink, small paintings, art cards, etc.) and am ready to trundle off to set up with her. The real fun will be spending the days painting together while we host the show. (Note to self: don't forget to bring supplies!) What I paint there, I will include in my art fair in December.

I'm looking into possibilites to connect with an art co-op. I've been out of the loop and sequestered too long. Coffee with my art friends is great, but I need to connect outside my comfort zone.

Anyway....time for my own coffee. I have a couple art theory magazines (SEEN: the Journal of CIVA) waiting to be devoured!

.....

It is better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.

--quote from Criminal Minds

so cool...

a-mor'-phism n. 1. has no determinate form; of irregular shape. 2. of no particular kind.

Amorphic art was a very popular form of entertainment during the 1500s -1600s. I think it was the precursor to CG and all those special effects that make people say, "Ooohh! How did they do that?"

I had fun trying this: to draw an image so distorted that it looks 'normal' on a reflective sphere.

Believe me!!! There was much trial and error!

all is not lost

Though the venue for the one-day show fell through, I will join my artist friend, Friend-with-good-ideas*, for a three-day in-studio show&sale at the end of November. Then we'll both participate in an art fair hosted by an art studies studio in December. (details to follow......)

I know...I know. These are hardly 'serious' art shows. But when you haven't been very active at all for a long time, you just need the right nudge to get the ol' juices flowing. These shows are a non-threatening spring-board back into business.

Now I suddenly feel the need to get busy. I need product!! This is truly the hard part for me. I have a difficult time making small-art-for-quick-sale. My most successful work has always been those with which I labor emotionally. If the act of painting is emotionally void for me, the end result lacks that 'something' and it looks only like an object with paint smeared across it. But maybe I should just try to churn out a volume of small works for no other reason than to produce plenty--not worry about 'content' or significance. I think I just need to practice painting and drawing again--simply for the love of the act of creation, for myself. If others love them enough to buy them--bonus!

*first introduced on coffeepaint.blogspot Nove 26,2008.

...and the lemon flower is sweet

The venue for our one-day show fell through. Plans are now on hold.
Hmmm. I was beginning to get excited about it.

"To Barbara From Grandma, Xmas 1943" *

I spent a profitable hour at the thrift store and came out with a 4 lb tome entitled Anyone Can Draw! c. 1939. The drawings within are amazing because the sketches are clearly influenced by the then recent art movements of art deco, cubism, the Mexican muralists of the 20s and 30s, and art produced during the important New Deal initiated by Roosevelt to make work during the depression in the Public Works of Art Projects (1933 -1934).

New books are great, but sometimes the real jewels are found among the old and discarded. Besides....nothing beats the smell of an old book, except perhaps a book case filled with old books!

*inscription inside book cover

this could be fun

Right now we are negotiating the details of the contract for the space rental for our one-day show. If both sides agree on all points, we'll have a show Nov 21, 2009.

I'm finally getting excited about my art again.

grief is a nasty and unpredictable thing

Shutdown mode is a safe and comfortable place to be. I can pretend that nothing is out of the ordinary. It is truly amazing how quickly a day can disappear when I bury myself in marvelous time wasters and distractors like my DVD player and my computer games page. I can begin each day with enthusiasm and an ambitious to-do list, but then I pour myself a coffee, grab a book, and then notice that, "Oh my!!! It's 5:30. I need to prepare dinner. Sweetie-pie-love-of-my-life will soon be home from work." Not only does the day whiz by, but the months have whizzed by.

I try to pretend that I am functioning and coping and doing 'just fine.'

Best-sister-in-the-world called me up on it the other day. "Ellen, I don't think we are grieving well." She's right. In less than a year, among too many other grievous things that happened as well, we lost both of our parents. Orphaned much too young! The pain of missing them is sooo great that it is easier to pretend that they are still safe in their condo, ready to call me to be careful in the snow or to invite me to work a jigsaw puzzle. Best-sister-in-the-world has trouble staying home for even one day. I have trouble leaving my home for even one day. We hide our tears, and we smile--we are fine!

I notice that throughout my previous Coffeepaint blog, I never once mentioned what I was going through. Safe is pretty boring. I hear of artists who grieve and can barely be pryed from their studio because they receive comfort by working through their grief in paint. So why do I hide, wrapped in blankets on the sofa, planning which coffee flavor I'll try next, watching DVDs in oblivion? Why am I avoiding painting? Perhaps the act of painting is too hard because it is too honest. I can't pretend that all is fine and whole in my world when I smear my soul on canvas for the world to see.

Enough!

It's time to stop screening myself behind excuses (Oh, my studio is too full of boxes), and now I need to decide to get to work--like my pastor once said: when things are too difficult, do the opposite of what you feel. If you feel poor, give. If you feel tired, get busy. If you feel lonely, reach out to others.

A few of us have had to deal with much grief for awhile. Is there a better reason to have an art show? We'll call it, "When Life hands you lemons, make ART!" We tentatively set it for next month. It is just a little one, but it is enough to force me to sort, find, and paint.

I hope.....

time for change

NOTE!!!! I wanted to change my blog name. Apparently, the only way to do that is to open a whole new blog. What was once Coffeepaint.blogspot is now ellenpaints.blogspot.

For continuity, I am rewriting my last coffeepaint posts here:

time for change (oct 16, 2009)

OK.....I have decided to change my blog name. What was once Coffeepaint is now shePAINTS. I wanted a name that would reflect my intentions as an artist.

After too much stress during this past year, which left me preferring to hide at home and play solitaire and read books and watch endless reruns of my favorite programs, I have been gently prodded into action by friends who love me more than I deserve.

We tentatively have a small, one-day group art show scheduled near the end of November. Details to follow....

I protested that I had no work to contribute, nor did I have anything in mind to do. But these girls are my friends for a reason, and I have been given suitable encouragement--I will set forth to participate with gusto.
Maybe I'll even paint something.

time for change--part 2 (oct 18,2009)

I thought changing a blog name was a simple task, that if I changed the name on the setting of this blog, the name was changed. But the 'coffeepaint' name remains the name on the active search. When I searched for shePAINTS I was directed to another site, not mine. So, since 'shepaints' is taken, I'll now use 'ellenpaints'.....so.....that's settled. However, this doesn't solve the problem of the search name. I have no choice but to start a new blog all over.
I invite my faithful coffeepaint readers to join me at 'ellenpaints.blogspot.com'

P.S. Please take the time to read my dozen or so Coffeepaint blogs. They'll give good background to this blog.