Art. Dirty Stuff.

Art.  It's a deep and mysterious thing to go into.  And dirty.  Don't forget dirty.

This is me painting for Refine Arts' show. (Refineartsproductions.com)

 

Spring Growth, Part the Second

Okay, here is the other half!  For those of you just joining me, see the previous post, entitled... da da da DA!  'Sp;ring Growth, Part the First!'  Once you've read that, you'll understand what's going on here!

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Once again, when you isolate certain parts of the painting, it looks completely abstract.  I think that's one of the fascinating qualities in this pair.

There is a rich assortment of colors, which come out in particular parts of each painting.  The splatter unites the entire thing and is the perfect tie to bind the paintings together.  Love!!!

You can find these for sale individually or together at my site, colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
 

Spring Growth, Part the Second

Okay, here is the other half!  For those of you just joining me, see the previous post, entitled... da da da DA!  'Sp;ring Growth, Part the First!'  Once you've read that, you'll understand what's going on here!

 .
Once again, when you isolate certain parts of the painting, it looks completely abstract.  I think that's one of the fascinating qualities in this pair.

There is a rich assortment of colors, which come out in particular parts of each painting.  The splatter unites the entire thing and is the perfect tie to bind the paintings together.  Love!!!

You can find these for sale individually or together at my site, colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
 

Spring Growth, Part the First

Oh, my goodness, I adore these!  The painting above is half of a diptych I painted.  A diptych is two paintings, painted together to flow as one, and hung side by side.

I was inspired to paint this by a bank of new spring growth, gloriously lighted by the setting sun. It was about gloaming time, so the light was perfect.  I love the fresh look of my little new plants.

The following painting shows a cutaway of the larger one, and a good closeup of the deckled edge.  Deckled is simply the rough edge you see, showing that the paper was made piece by piece.  Very special, and it looks great when floated in a frame to show off those edges.  (Ask your framer, that's a whole 'nother story. :)

 

The abstract quality of these paintings really shouts out when you look at the closeups!

Love !!!!!

Look for my next post, which will be 'Spring Growth, Part the Second,' to see the other half of this stunner!

Peppers for Sale!

Put a little spice in your life with my peppers! Just listed them.  colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

 

A closeup...

 

Another...

 

And one last one.  I love this!

 

New Diptych, Spring Growth

A prelude to the two new #paintings I will post on my website tonight, a diptych entitled 'Spring Growth.' First, much editing! Colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

This is really visual, even though it's the unedited combination of both paintings!  It gives me ideas for new paintings, just looking at this!

 

Einstein Quote

Here's an inspiring Einstein quote on my photo.

 

Market Square Art Show

Tomorrow! Check my site and I'll bring any art you request.

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

 

An Artist's Studio

Another creative burst. Good thing I wore gloves!

 

And.... two of my favorite tools.  I use them to draw into wet acrylics.

 

Art Class Notes

This is what an art teacher's class planning notes look like.

 

Class Demo Dog

Here's a ten minute sketch I did  in class to demo the elements of art; space, line, texture, value, and a little implied line.

A little rabid, but he served his purpose. colorcatstudios101.etsy.com 

 

An Art Teacher's Desk

This is what my teacher's supplies looked like in classes today.  Yes.  Those are chocolate covered expresso beans.  Just what a desperate woman needs after a full run of six shows.

 

Ar Faire

Come on out and buy some art! Check my website at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com et me know if you want to see a piece in person and I'll bring it to the show.

 

An Artist's Hands

Casualties of paint.

 

Market Street Art Fair

Mark your calendars! If you want to see any of my art in person, check colorcatstudios101.etsy.com . Let me know and I'll bring it to this faire. Come on out and see us at my booth!

 

Chinese Lantern Painting

My #lanterns are in a show at the Woodlands Community Center, and for sale at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

 

 

Art Supplies

Oh, it will be a good year with my art students.  Prismacolors.  Nothing better.

 

Owl Painting

Here's a lovely example of how I work in layers.  Behold, Mr. Owl, whom I named Horatio.

 

As you can likely see, he was a joy to paint.  For sale at 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

And, a closeup...

 

And another...

 

Einstein Quote on Desk Clutter

Einstein #quote on a photo of my desk.  What does your desk look like?

 

King of the Jungle

Power. That's what you're buying with this big guy. I named him King. For sale at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

 

You can find description, size, price and details on my website.

The High Cost of Art, to the Artists

Wonderful People,

I do my best to refrain from comments that I am going to make here, but sometimes these things just need to be said. Here we go.

People often comment on my art and wish out loud that it didn't cost so much.  In front of me.  I believe they have no comprehension of what it takes for me to get that piece in front of them.  Let's say I invested 60 hours in a piece.  

All right, let's see... what is a living wage? $10.00/hour? Not really, but let's use it. Ten dollars times sixty = $600.00. Would you be willing to pay $600.00 for this beautiful piece of art? My guess is that most of you would not.

Now it gets personal. And honestly, I think this is the first time I've ever spoken about this among non-artists. Artists understand. Believe me.

When people look at my art, they enjoy it, take photos of it and use it that way, which is not legal, and is actually stealing from me. They also frequently comment to me that they wish it wasn't so expensive.

I'm really proud of my work, and careful to use only the best materials. I want it to last, not to fade as so many do, and be preserved archivally into the next generations. Just curious, have any of you looked at the price of art materials lately? I drop twenty bucks on a tube of paint without the blink of an eye.

So, what you are asking, in essence, is for me to invest thirty or forty hours on a piece, invest a great deal in materials, and sell it to you for a low, low price. That makes my living wage about ninety-six cents per hour.  Beyond that, it has taken me over thirty years of hard work and study to get at the place I'm at now artistically.  What is a professional paid that has this kind of education, study and work behind him?  Is there not a value attached to that?

I am a professional artist. I'm very proud of my work. But let me tell you, it can be very discouraging when the work doesn't sell. People love to support me by telling me how much they love my work, but that does not compensate for the hours I spend alone creating art when I need to be, say, taking care of my family and home or enjoying free time.

If you want to support an artist, support an artist by buying his or her work! Now THAT'S what I call encouragement! Please don't say, 'Oh, I love this - you should do a whole series on that!' The deal is, if I've created one piece that you really like, it means I really like it too, and would LOVE to do an entire series on it. But what goes unsaid is that I can't continue to create without the financial support of others.

 

Think about it this way - how many days, weeks and months could you go to work and do your job and not receive a paycheck?  You may absolutely love your job!  But you simply can't continue to invest yourself into that job without compensation. Ask any of your artists what their big wish is.  My bet is that they simply wish they could sell their art.  All we want to do is make art!  But we can't continue to do so with a public that devalues it, under-appreciates the artist and takes photos of it to use freely in their own way.

Something else that goes unsaid is that when you see a painting of mine that you like, there has been untold cerebral work, sketching, and research before I put brush to canvas. And it may possibly mean that there are a number of paintings behind that one that failed as I struggled to bring this one forth.  We try to make it look easy.  It's not.

There have been so many times I have been discouraged and wanted to quit. Trust me, being an artist is very often a difficult thing. Did you know that a successful artist's goal is supposed to be 'Paint for three months of the year, sell for nine months of the year.' I can't even IMAGINE what it would be like to have people buy my paintings at a pace where I could spend more time painting. Wow.

So please, don't balk when you see an artist's high price. See the work of art for what it is. Art. Something beautiful that was lovingly and thoughtfully created and is perfectly unique. Buy it. Encourage the artist with your wallet.  And appreciate your art for what it is.

John Steinbeck Quote

Very true! Go to bed! Then wake up and buy my paintings!

John Steinbeck quote on my painting.

 

The Continuing Saga of... The Artist's Desk!

A regular parade of continual change.  

 

Golden Days Bees

Since my first three bee paintings are gone, I'm doing more! Here is Golden Days. At a tiny 5"x7", just posted at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. I had no idea how many people like bees!

 

I like the deckled does, too.

 

And the complimentary colors, hinting at the hive.

 

Actually, I just love it.  For a better description, detailed, and to purchase, check out my website.

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

 

And iridescent wings.

 

Renoir Quote

Here's an encouraging Renoir quote for ya.

 

Quick Sketch

Here's a quick sketch I did today in a waiting room.  Seems as if that's where ALL my quick sketches come from!

 

An Artist's Desk

The ever changing artist's desk.  Plus lunch!

 

Chrysanthemum Monoprint

This is a monoprint I created with a woodblock I carved. Because I painted and printed on YUPO (an impervious, indestructible and non-absorbent artist paper) there are all kinds of cool effects.

 

 

Love the effects and textures.

 

To see the entire painting, go to 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

 

Quick Sketch

Here's a five minute sketch I did in a doctor's waiting room.  Nothing special, really, just keeping my chops up.