TED Talk: The Art of Asking

Interesting Ted talk by Amanda Palmer (Singer-Songwriter-Writer-Provocateur) about how artists can and should be supported by fans. She also talks about what it means to be an artist.

Wordless Wednesday

Image courtesy of ny.voltashow.com

                           Kris Knight, What The MoonFlowers Told Me, 2011, Oil on Canvas

A Meeting of Creative Minds

Image courtesy of The New York Times

                                                      Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein

This morning I was invited to the house of Patricia Van Essche of PVE Design (who is a good friend and fellow artist).  She decided to host a small gathering of local artists. The other artists in attendance were Jennifer Orkin Lewis, aka August Wren and Ellen Hopkins Fountain.  It reminded me of Gertrude Stein who hosted artists salons in her house frequently. I loved that we sat and talked about everything art related i.e. our creative process, how to advertise ourselves via social media-it was truly inspiring! I am nowhere as prolific as these 3 artists so I definitely felt privileged to be there.  It would be terrific if we could organize to have these artists' salons on a regular basis.

Wordless Wednesday

Image courtesy of wikiart.org

                                        Emil Nolde, Mask Still Life III, Oil on Canvas, 1911

Artist Highlight: Claerwen James

Image courtesy of CliveJames.com

                         Claerwen James, Girl in Blue Against Yellow, Oil on Board, 2009

Claerwen James is a British painter. Her father is well-known author and critic Clive James.  She specializes in portraiture, in particular of young people. She usually paints from photographs and not from live sittings.  I like that her paintings are not overly detailed but there is enough to capture the person's essence and their expressiveness.

Monday Mantra

Monday Mantra

Currently

What I am currently trying to do is get into my studio as much as I can and do something creative -whether it be a quick sketch or work on my current paintings. Quite frankly, I am not sure where it will take me but it's much better than not doing anything at all. I keep looking at articles related to drawing because one of my biggest issues is that I don't draw nearly as much as I should because I used to believe that each drawing I produced had to be "perfect" and what a joke that is.  I just needed to tell myself to stop over thinking every little thing that I did and now I've started to draw quick sketches and not overwork them.  My usual style is that I overwork everything and I want to loosen up. I have torn out magazine images and painted over them just to get used to painting with acrylic paints and keep the style of brushwork very loose. I am enjoying the process.

Wordless Wednesday

Image courtesy of moma.org

                                             Lucien Freud, Girl With Leaves, Pastel on Gray Paper, 1948

Monday Mantra

Wordless Wednesday

Image courtesy of Joan Mitchell Foundation

                                    Joan Mitchell, Posted, Oil on Canvas (Diptych), 1977

Monday Mantra

Monday Mantra

Books I Love

                                    Vera, The Art and Life of An Icon by Susan Seid.

Vera Neumann, prolific American artist and entrepreneur, designed everything from wallpaper, bedding to dresses, blouses and her signature scarves.  She was best known for her boldly, colored linen patterns and scarves signed "Vera" and featuring a ladybug. All her merchandise were based on her original artworks which typically featured painterly florals or imagery based on her travels. She averaged 500 paintings a year -truly impressive. I loved looking through this book -it's given me inspiration and ideas on which I can work from.