Tree

My plan was going great, I even managed to finish one miniature. It's a little version of "Big Apron, Little Girl." I plan to do a big version for my show when I get home.

It was going great, my painting plan, till my dad, my sister, and I were told that we need a finished painting advertising for our "Tree of Life" show by the third week of July. The show is in October, so this is unexpected. I have a couple half-finished... at home. I decided, rather than having Gavin send me the paintings to finish, I would start something new. Here is the drawing for the painting I will start tomorrow. I'm really excited about it. And, I am geared up and ready to paint like the wind.

Tree of Life, it gives us shade
Tree of Life, we've got it made
Tree of Life, I better run fast
Tree of Life, I'm late for class

Chump, Muthahardinyourfacejack, 1996

Website

My website has finally been updated! (It's been over a year.) The Current page is all paintings from 2008. And, 2007 on the Archive page is up to date. I've tweeked about everything, but there are still a few kinks to work out. I love my website.I am working on some fun stuff here in Utah, but I miss the paintings I left at home. I had almost finished these two before we left and I'm itchin' to call something done. These are Bound and She Wore her Heart on her Apron Pocket.

Art City

I took my sweet girls to the Springville Art Museum yesterday to see the Spring Salon. Besides having to touch everything and baby running around sans shoes, dress or diaper, they were perfect angels. After a treat we took a trip down memory lane. They wanted to see all the places we lived in Provo and to see BYU campus. We had a lot of fun, but we miss daddy.

Longest day of the year, indeed

Well, we painted plein air.

We painted the exquisite water lilies on Friday, serenaded by bullfrogs and giant jumping fish.
On Saturday we worked in a grove of shady trees, avoided the worst of the heat, and got to enjoy dad's interactions with his fans.You have good days, you have off days. For me, I'll just say, you can't win them all. We sure had a lot of fun though.

Whoa Daddy

And so the adventure begins. Tomorrow is the first day of the Thanksgiving Point Plein Air Painting Festival. We call it an adventure to cover our inadequacies when we are faced with painting landscapes, from life, in two days... to display for our peers and potential buyers. In order to do all we can to be prepared, this afternoon we drove around the gardens for an hour in a golf cart, scoping out paintable vistas and vignettes. Though we had a lot of fun hanging off the back of the cart with my dad at the wheel... we came up with nothing. No idea what or where we are going to paint. I'm not nervous yet, but I am getting there. We also try to cover our shortcoming with humor, so you can expect something off the wall and out of the plein air norm. Here's to hoping we come up with something brilliant.

Craftin' Time

My list of baby presents has been growing and a few are long over due. Sounds like it's craftin' time. I saw this fun idea online, unfortunately I cannot find the link to share with you. I'll just show you how I did it.
First, I used an exacto to cut out a little picture/image/word on a piece of freezer paper.
Then I used spray adhesive to tack the stencil down to a onesie and blotted it with fabric paint.
And voila, I have some goofy, personalized baby presents.

Miniatures

In a couple of days we head off to Utah. I will get some painting time (hopefully) bumming space in my dad and my sister's studios. Deciding what to take to work on was too complicated, so I am leaving everything here - unfinished, hanging in mid air, thoughts and images hibernating in the corners of my mind (and studio) - and I am starting all new pieces. I have committed to three miniature shows (small paintings that don't make you disloyal to your galleries because they hardly count) over the next year. They all want two pieces each, so that will be six little paintings I will need to squeeze in here and there. Why not get them all done in one shot and have six less things to worry about.I want paint this one like Andrew Wyeth. I seriously doubt my capability, but with my dad's help I'll see how close I can get. Hopefully I'll learn something. If I could paint like Andrew Wyath.... sigh.
This one is a spin off of my fifteen piece apron series. It's really small, get out the magnifying glass. It has a full circle thing going on, the ends match up.
This one should be interesting... A Christmas tree ornament?

Mantra

I need a mantra. As I mentioned a few posts ago I will be featured as one of Southwest Art magazine's "21 under 31" up and coming artists this year. I have a phone interview next week and will be asked some randomly challenging questions. I did my research and have a list of questions to work on. That way I don't have to spew clever and intelligent answers on the spot. The questions are a little different every year, so I'm sure there will be a pleasant surprise for me go, "um, um... I don't know, I can't really think of anything... what would you say?... um..." One of the questions in previous years is, "What is your mantra or motto?" I only plan to blubber like that once, so help me out with some ideas! Do you have a mantra? We have a family motto: We're all in this chihuahua. It's a long story. But one that is art related? Hmm, any ideas? I also possibly need a quirkiest trait and a biggest fear. Oh, and here is the closer, "I'll know I've made it when..." Oh boy. I'll come up with something, but I'm pretty stuck on the mantra.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

You know how what doesn't kill you makes you stronger? And there is that whole tree growing in the wind thing. Well, given the trials that this painting is going through, it is destined to be really great.
It already had a rough start. I got the drawing just so and and it needed to be cropped. We took a saw to the end and it turned out pretty straight (thank goodness for frames and their eighth inch give). Once I stared painting, I lost all self control and painted all the fun parts before it was prudent. Then...My friend's son came in my studio when we weren't paying attention (rock band can do that to you) and took a crayon to the painting. Luckily the crayon was the color of vomit, so when I threw up all over the painting it blended right in. Just kidding. I'll recover, it will just take more work and more time, which I don't have enough of as it is - but it will work out in the end. Just when I had emotionally recovered from this incident and started to really get into it...I left to make dinner and my little Ezra grabbed a brush and went to town. I've fixed it, but man! I have to say, my kids are very respectful of my paintings and have never done this before. I am grateful for that. I'm trying not to overreact and lock my door. I love that this is "our" studio and my kids get to be creative and make stuff every day. I'll just have to work harder to keep paintings out of little two-year-old reach.

Tooth Fairy