Works in progress

This started out as a warm up sketch from a photo,
but I kinda liked the little guy.
I plan to take this one a little further,
thus posted as Work in Process.


Progress on The Tables.
It has been a while since I created a large pastel, so I am feeling my way through, and questioning myself through the phases more than I would like.
Seeing the work on screen helps.
I see things here that are less obvious at my work table.

From my sketch journal - A Gift

This is an excerpt from an old sketch journal (1999). "A Gift".
Feeling overwhelmed, and remembering scenes from the movie "Phenomenon," I took the few minutes of a work break to absorb the view of a bird enjoying flight.
It was a rich few minutes for me - the places my imagination went.

Nature can bring
such grace.....

Work in process, The Tables at The Narrows

Last week I sorted through some of my photos of the Narrows of the Harpeth, and pulled this pic as reference for my next painting.

...and began this work late last week with a
rough color sketch to study design and color.

The work is in process now, and will be 18x24 pastel on sanded "pastelbord."

I washed in a base color using distilled turpentine and magenta pastel. Most likely, none of the magenta will show after the pastel is layered over, but from past experience this base coat will add vibrancy to the finished work. *

* "...but Irish linen does something to their walk..." - Florenz Ziegfeld

Now the fun begins!!!!!

~

A couple of years ago I uploaded a slide show of pics taken at the Narrows (includes this source pic).
The slideshow is available at :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS3RN-bHFUw

Quotes about Art - Who Said It?

Can you guess who said what?

Quotes by these 10 people will follow
(NOTE: There are 12 images - 2 of these people will have 2 quotes)

Paul Gauguin, Hippocrates, Frank Lloyd Wright


Paul Klee, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso,

Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Adolf Hitler,

John F. Kennedy, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Bill Watterson

Can you match the above 10 people
with the following 12 quotes?

1) The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.

2) Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.

3) Art does not reproduce what is visible; it makes things visible.

4) Art is either plagiarism or revolution.

5) Art is long, life is short.

6) If you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.

7) As for the degenerate artists, I forbid them to force their so-called experiences upon the public. If they do see fields blue, they are deranged, and should go to an asylum. If they only pretend to see them blue, they are criminals, and should go to prison. I will purge the nation of them.
(Please note that I in no-way relate to or agree with this particular quote. The quote is offered purely as information or reflection for the reader)

8) Art is not a mirror to reflect the world, but a hammer with which to shape it.

9) Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color.

10) It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important than the feeling for pictures.

11) As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of deep significance.

12) We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Answers:

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
~Pablo Picasso

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
~Vincent van Gogh

Art does not reproduce what is visible; it makes things visible.
~Paul Klee

Art is either plagiarism or revolution.
~Paul Gauguin

Art is long, life is short.
~Hippocrates

If you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.
~Frank Lloyd Wright

As for the degenerate artists, I forbid them to force their so-called experiences upon the public. If they do see fields blue, they are deranged, and should go to an asylum. If they only pretend to see them blue, they are criminals, and should go to prison. I will purge the nation of them.
~Adolf Hitler (Please note that I in no-way relate to or agree with this particular quote. The quote is offered purely as information or reflection for the reader)

Art is not a mirror to reflect the world,
but a hammer with which to shape it.
~Vladimir Mayakovsky

Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color.
~John F. Kennedy

It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important than the feeling for pictures.
~Vincent van Gogh

As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of deep significance.
~Calvin and Hobbes Comic strip by Bill Watterson.

We all know that art is not truth.
Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.
~Pablo Picasso

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

...said the butterfly

Just living is not enough, ...
One must have sunshine,
freedom,
and a little flower.

~Hans Christian Anderson

Graciously Shared

Like many people, I am drawn to old weathered trees. There seems to be a wisdom about them, graciously shared through their size and life-mapped bark.

One such tree caught my eye during a trip to Montgomery Bell State Park last week, the base of the tree significantly swollen and scarred.

Circling around the tree, a glint of white seemed out of place in the dirty browns of the bark.


How odd to find that the glint of white was a mushroom settled into a weathered crack,
with another mushroom higher up in the bowl shaped scar.

A natural "Relief Sculpture"

I wasn't wearing my glasses when I took these pictures, so details weren't visible to me 'till viewing on my computer screen.


My first thought was, "Darn. Those gnats sure ruined that pic."

But thinking further, the circle of life came to mind,

Tree ~ Feeding Mushrooms ~ Feeding Gnats.

From the Sketch Journal ... She said,

"My feet look kinda like that,
all buggered up from years of flood(s)."

"Fortunately, no termites or spiders live in my scars."

ARTIST - Thoughts about the title, + a couple of sketches

~-~-~-~-~-~

Thoughts on the Title of "Artist"

Sometimes I wince when the word ARTIST is attached to my name. My gut feeling about the word? There are those who would disagree, and, If I'm an artist then so are you.

Regarding the title of artist, I measure by words that came to me in a dream about my art a few years ago:
"The value is not the perfection of technique. Perfection of feeling, that is the true gift."
The words may not make sense to others, but the words were enlightening to me.

I reflect on why I am so hesitant to claim the title of artist, and I know it stems from a specific painting class with a specific art instructor during my college days.
I admired the instructor's art work, and the way he helped his students grow in skills. I took several of his classes; basics, drawing, printing, and painting, and I deeply respected his knowledge of the art world. I also drew back in fear when he would tag students with labels that indicated whether or not they would "make it" as an artist. Telling selected students during class project critiques,
"You are not an artist, you are just a draftsman,"
or,
"You are not an artist. You are a just a designer."
He just as well could have been walking through the room whacking ALL of us on the knuckles with a ruler. Any one of us could be the next student labeled.
Was he trying to save us the pain of failure?
Was he weeding out the weak ones?

My label came during a painting class.
His point that day? To emphasize "What Art Really Is."
He put my work up next to the work of a student who had missed many classes, appeared stoned when he did attend, and whose favorite subjects involved gore and disgust.
The instructor's comment's were along the lines of,
"Real art is unforgettable. Real art has impact and makes you stop and look. Real Art makes you feel something strongly."
I definitely felt something strongly looking at my fellow student's painting. White background with one simple image of pink panties, blood dripping from the crotch.
I don't recall the piece I had painted that the instructor used for comparison, which only serves to validate the teacher's point. However, this lesson was lost to me for a long time due to the instructors continued rant about what art really is, ...proclaiming how exceptional the panties were, how engaging that work was, and how he "Didn't know what drug (my fellow student) was on, but that he wanted some!!!"
Then he ended his rant with,
"___ IS AN ARTIST!!!" (My fellow student)
"Kim is just an illustrator."
Me, not an artist??? Me, JUST and Illustrator???
I was deflated. And up 'til then, I thought illustrators were artists too.

It was a path altering day for me. First questioning my skills, then questioning my talent, then questioning my career choice. My 19 year old emotions felt; "If That is what art is, if I have to prompt extreme disgust or horror, then I'm not sure I want any of it." ...Lesson lost with my new label.
I resolved the issue in my mind by accepting, "Okay. I may not be an artist, but I can be a darn good illustrator."
Today I understand the instructor's lesson in a way I couldn't as a sensitive teen, "Art touches something inside that is hard to assign words."
I would not go so far as to claim who is an artist and who is not, although I know what I like, and have my thoughts on why some art is more embraced than others.
Marketing being one of those thoughts, but I'll save this topic for another time, ... maybe.
Oh, and I do see Illustrators as artists too.

~-~-~-~-~-~

I like that the following linked program was playing on tv behind me as I wrote this days blog.

From CBS, Sunday Morning July 4, 2010 program
Lucas and Spielberg on Norman Rockwell
How One of the Most Successful Painters of Americana Influenced Two of the Most Successful American Filmmakers

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/04/sunday/main6645543.shtml

~-~-~-~-~-~

From the sketch journal ... Just sketches
Corgan...

Flight

~-~-~-~-~-~
Happy 4th of July!!!

What ya doin'? ...Bits and pieces

I made this to send to my sister.
Her last name is Koons.

~
and,
I saw this on a friends FB post. Thought it was funny.
The workers had just installed the post barriers
to keep people from parking on the sidewalk.
Notice where the van is parked.........
Oooops....

~

and,

I've been thinking of my daughter.
She lives in FL now.
Pictures from her are such a treat!

Wolfie loves watching the fish.
~

and,

After years of "other" priorities, it has been easy to let some things slide; like regular exercise, and daily drawing. I have been working to reincorporate both in my daily routine.

On exercise (that began last March):
It only took a month for my dog, Corgan to come to expect her daily walk/run. If we haven't started by 6:30 am, she begins her obnoxious bark, "I want, and I WANT IT NOW!!!"
Bless her heart, sometimes one of her legs will give out as we walk, causing her to stumble. (she's 13+ years old) ... She just lowers her head and rolls with it, as if stumbling is part of the fun.
When she first stumbled, my thoughts were to slow down. But with each stumble she showed even more determination to keep the fast/steady pace.
She keeps me accountable for an extra hour of daily exercise, now established in my routine.

The DAILY drawing is a routine I have only been working two weeks to reincorporate.
Draw/Sketch for 20 minutes every day, regardless of any art project in the works.

It's not routine yet, because conscious choice is still involved,
but I'm lowering my head and rolling with it.