Pinocchio and Friend

5"x7" oil on clayboard

A 5"x7" is so much more fun for me than large pieces.  I wanted to set up a quick composition with these two masks (souvenirs from Italy) and paint from life with no photo reference but I chose to be looking straight down on them and it was difficult to paint from that angle. Not to mention the fact that it was a dark room with one spotlight light source. So, this ended up being painted (mostly) from my photo reference.

Here's the first step, in acrylics:

And one more step after I began to apply the oils:

I'm still working on the mask I started making of my son, but I'm so happy with the way it's turning out that I think he's getting it for Christmas. Haha! I'll share the results after the holidays. 

Happy October!

My favorite month of the year!

I have skipped two weeks on my blog. (Shame on me, shame on me.) However, I have not been lazy. (Well, okay, a little lazy but not entirely, worthlessly lazy.) I switched gears for a while and concentrated on a short story idea. The first draft is done and marinating in a dark drawer for a few weeks before I get it out and edit it to shreds, then, hopefully, end up with something really cool. 

I finished my Halloween tree! I ended up covering the styrofoam cone with artificial leaves from an old garland that had seen better days. I pinned on my homemade paper flowers and then some buttons and baubles from JoAnn Fabrics. Here's what it looks like on my mantle:

I also pulled back out my manuscript for "Serenity" (a children's book idea that I've been working on little by little for quite some time) and played around some more.

I went from this - a digital piece done over a year ago:

to this - done in acrylic:

I wanted Serenity to be more of a toddler, and when I finally do this thing (putting the book together) I want the freshness and energy of real paint. I think my final composition lies somewhere between these two pieces. In the meantime, I'll keep on sketching and working it out.

By the way - the pumpkin at the top of the page is an oil painting from my Serenity file.

I'm also still working on the mask of my son, I started another 5"x7" oil painting, and I'm trying to learn the art of quilling. If you're not familiar with quilling, stay in touch. I may have something to show you before the end of the month.

See! I've been doin' stuff.

Sometimes I just get lost.

Isn't this a nice sentiment? I found it on a stamp at Hobby Lobby.

Update 2023: quote by Elsie de Wolfe

     Every once in a while, even when things are going great in my studio, I begin to doubt myself and second guess everything I've chosen to do. This problem may be why artists are sometimes a little "out there," struggling with their emotions, dealing with addictions, and cutting off their ears.

     I'm currently working on two relatively large oil paintings. Larger paintings take me forever and often become tedious and sit in my studio unfinished for years. Why am I working large? I don't know. 

     I'm also currently working on a short story that was inspired by my experience with Absinthe. (See my old Absinthe blog for that). I'm over 3,000 words in and I don't have any idea if it's any good. If I give it to the right person to read they may sing my praises and swear it's a wonderful example of fiction and they're proud to know me. Another right person might say "well . . . I think you spelled everything correctly."

     The trick is to keep enjoying what I do. I refer back to the words at the top of this page. I make something pretty. I express my self doubt to my husband and he says . . . "Tracy, I think you should just keep doing your art 'til you die. You were born to be an artist." Support like that is not easy to come by. I am blessed.

     Below are a couple of the things I'm working on to keep it all fun.

A mask, still a work in progress, that I may use as a prop for one of my large paintings. I'm still trying to work out what exactly I want it to look like.

On my son's 25th birthday this year I talked him into this. What a trooper.

Below are the supplies I used.

Here's my model all vaselined up.

Strips being applied.

Finished with the application, I began to pray that this wasn't a horrible mistake, and that I'd be able to get my son safely out from under all of this.

A few struggles around the hairline and his mustache, but (thank you, God) he made it outta there. 

Here's one more fun project in the works:

I guess I'm not done making paper flowers. I saw something like this at JoAnn Fabrics when I was shopping with a couple of girlfriends last weekend. I bought myself a styrofoam cone and some more glitter and woohoo! Look at me making everything around me beautiful.

Before I go - here's the girlfriends I was shopping with (I'm on the right). 

We've been friends since elementary school - another of my many blessings.

Where do ideas come from?

     Where do ideas come from? (Or to be grammatically correct: From where do ideas come?).

If you're me, today, they come from your awesome new idea board! This is the same board that I used to decorate the reveal party backdrop (see my post 2 weeks ago). It's an insulation panel that I purchased from Lowes. A coat of white paint killed the green color, and I then covered it with inexpensive muslin, wrapping the material around the sides and pushing short nails into it to keep it in place. That easy. The insulation material is perfect for thumbtacks, pins, and small nails. No hammers needed. 

      Where do the ideas come from that I have pinned? Some of them are pieces I've done in the past that I've always felt I could do better. Some were saved in a large, Russell Stovers candy box (chocolates gone a long time ago), a shoebox, a recipe box, sketchbooks, drawers, and old photo albums. Ideas have come from thin air when I wasn't expecting them. They've come from reading, watching movies, flipping through magazines, noticing the way sunlight catches an object. They've come from paying attention. 

     When they come to you, capture them! Write them down on a piece of paper! Do a quick sketch! Record a note to yourself on your phone! 

     Then, someday, go around collecting all those things you've saved, weed through them, and buy yourself a piece of insulation board.  

Censorship of Art at a Midwest County Fair

     I have stood in front of Michelangelo's David, unable to take my eyes off of his . . . well . . . you know. I mean, it was right there - at eye level. I was not offended. I knew, before I came into the room, that David was naked.

     I have a portfolio from college full of nude drawings. I am not offended by myself. In fact, my children at very young ages saw the pictures of naked people that Mommy drew. I'm pretty sure they were not offended.

     It is my opinion that the human body is just that - a human body - beautiful and expressive. There is no better way to learn how to draw humans than to draw them unclothed. It is important to see the skeletal form and musculature to understand how it all works.

     I support artists who want to exhibit their nudes in local art shows. There are plenty in our surrounding area throughout the year that accept works of art containing the nude form.

     Having said all that, here's where I stand (for now) on our county fair. (Deep breath). I would like it to remain a safe zone. Parents eating cotton-candy and navigating strollers through the crowd should not have to worry about covering their children's eyes. Again, I would not cover up the eyes of my own children. (They are all grown and would absolutely not allow that anyway.) Can't we, however, respect the feelings of families who do not feel like I do? Can't the county fair remain friendly to all families? 

     There's also the issue of the slippery slope. Let's say some side-boob makes it into the exhibit this year. Next year the same, or maybe a different artist comes in to display butt-cheek or nipple. Before you know it (and although unlikely (?) this could happen), the people who pushed for nudity that they considered tasteful, are being offended by a more sexual content. Where does the line get drawn? Who draws it? Does that person face threats and public persecution?

     I've weighed in. I'm not the queen of the world (in case you were thinking I might be). I could be wrong and this is an issue open to debate, voting, etc. Change of procedure and change of opinion can be a good thing. 

     I would just recommend that people attack the issue and not each other.

    The piece above is a work in progress study, in acrylic on illustration board, for a larger oil painting I want to do. I covered up the mask of Pinocchio because . . . you've probably heard the nose jokes.

The Big Reveal

Here is what the final board looked like for the gender reveal party, and 

there were plenty of flowers left over to put out for the centerpieces on the tables.

A peek into the decorations department last week:

And a look at the studio after a few hours of clean-up on Sunday:

Here's where a lot of the flowers ended up. I've never been so happy in my studio before. 

It's beautiful down here. : )

I promised last week to share links to some of the tutorials I used. The roses were super easy. 

Here is a sample of mine. (I applied glitter glue to the petals) 

Here is the link to the rose making tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCdgIxWfvaQ

And here are three more links to the tutorials I used to make the flowers you see above.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ1KQqTYktc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td2LavuZ6Yk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K59404x4D5w

And the magical moment we all waited for: 

We're expecting a . . . 

GRANDSON!!!!