August 2, 2008

The Housewife
1998
acrylic on metal toy
5" x 3" x 2"

I have mentioned in prior post that my art training was in graphic design not painting. Several of my artistic neighbors wanted to start an art critique group and encouraged me to start painting so I could participate. One of my earliest sculptures was "The Housewife" which was acrylic paint on a metal toy and fimo. It was the first time I used my art to express a thought albeit a simplistic one (the classic whore vs mother images of a housewife).

August 1, 2008

H.B. Meagan
2006
acrylic on canvas
36" x 16 "

Today I spent mush of the afternoon riveted to a book by Kien Nguyen called "The Unwanted". It is a memoir of a man who grew up during the Communist takeover of Vietnam. As I was reading this book I realized that I tend to choose non fiction literature more often than not. I do read other types of literature but true stories are what appeal to me most.

This desire for "real stuff" follows suit in my music, art and podcasts interests as well. In music I am drawn to the authenticity of Laura Nyro,Todd Rundgren and John Lennon, art it's Frida Kahlo and my favorite podcast is Keith and the Girl. There's a similarity in presenting these artists' truths-not always the easiest to ingest but compelling nonetheless.

When I create I try to emulate those who put themselves out there by expressing themselves truthfully whether easy on the ears, beautiful to the eye or inspiring to the head.

July 31, 2008

Black Moshannon
Philipsburg, Pennsylvania

Yesterday I decided to take my dog Sophie to a local lake to see if the water lilies were blooming so I could take some photographs to add to my ever growing nature photo collection. We were both in luck as I found a nice secluded spot near the bank of the lake where I could easily view the lilies and my dog could swim to her hearts content.

Water lilies, if I'm not mistaken are also called lotus which has become a very popular symbol of late. The lotus flower grows in muddy waters and rises above the surface to bloom. At night the flowers will close and sink below the surface, rising again in the early hours of the following day.

On this lake in the woods of central Pennsylvania I saw two types of water lilies-white and pink. The pinks were further out in the lake requiring a boat to get to them. While sitting ashore I could hear frogs jumping off lily pads, the noise the crackling of other aquatic plant leaves and the constant buzzing of dragonflies.

It is on days such as this that I realize how lucky I am to be an artist. Part of my work day consisted of sitting on a carved bench observing nature.

Peace always

Sharon

July 30, 2008

Meanwhile Back in the Congo
2005
acrylic on canvas
22" x 22"

Today I was contacted by a gallery in Pittsburgh to do a two person show during the month of September. It seems there was a last minute cancellation and my name came up as a possible replacement. As this is one of my first gallery shows I expect to learn a bit about the process of doing these types of shows. Until now the majority of shows I have participated in were group juried shows which have their own expenses and procedures.

For this show I am required to bring to Pittsburgh 20-25 pieces of art. Immediately I searched through my works and did a body count and found around 22 pieces I consider show worthy. I then remembered having a "The Wall" in storage which is quite large and will easily equal three or more pieces.

I have three pieces that I have just framed for a local show and I am considering using one or two of these pieces for the Pittsburgh show. I generally do not to pull accepted pieces from a show however the visibility in Pittsburgh is larger than that of Altoona. However the art supporters in Altoona have been very supportive of me and my work so I will carefully consider which pieces I will pull from the show.

A quick trip this afternoon to the frame shop was needed to drop off three more pieces to be framed, "Meanwhile Back at the Congo", "Summer '07" and "Jackson's Trip to Heaven".

For the next few weeks I will be dusting off paintings. picking up framed pieces, transferring the audio track of the "Menstruation Theatre" to cd, transferring the video of "The Wall" to DVD, procuring the equipment needed to play these things, making arrangements for a truck rental and assistant to load and unload artwork, collecting publicity materials and looking for the appropriate opening outfit to wear.

Over the following few weeks I will add to my daily blog any information concerning preparing for the show.

Peace always

Sharon

July 29, 2008

Years ago I worked as an art director for a low budget feature called "Drawing Down the Moon". As with most low budget features you get a mix of people who know and don't know how to do their assigned job(s). Although I had never worked as an art director in a film before I have been around many films and I think on my feet. By the end of the film I was making less and less errors and things began working out for me.

On low budget movies an art director can actually carry the load of several titles. I was to work with the hair and makeup people, special effects (we had to kill a few people and needed to figure out how to make exit bullet wounds and bleeding), costumes, set design and props. As you may have guess the budget was minimal and I spent many of my days beg, borrowing and stealing things that were needed for the set.


Working on this film gave me a greater appreciation for the amount of work and the number of people that go into making a film. Even though on camera there may be only one or two people. Surrounding them are many: on the streets taking care of business, at the office making arrangements and "fixing" things that go awry, as well as the camera person, camera assistant, director, assistant director, make up artist, art director, continuity person, sound engineer, boom holder,grip, gaffer, script person, etc is an entire community

July 27, 2008

In my never ending search to bring in more income, I decided a few weeks ago that I would attempt selling at a few arts festivals. Every time I hit the woods I tote along my camera and take pictures of things that catch my eye. My focus is color-the purple thistle, pink poppies and the kaleidoscope of colors of the mushroom.

Pennsylvania is a fabulous place for mushrooms. The ecology of the area I live in is like a mini rain forest and has a phenomenal number of mushrooms. I am continually amazed by the variety of colors.

July 26, 2008

Today while I was painting some little pieces of furniture for my daughter who will be moving into her first apartment shortly I realized two things about my style of painting. First I'm a messy painter which is not very conducive to using oils and second I'm a messy painter which is not very conducive to smooth drip free surfaces.

Years ago, with encouragement from my departed painter friend Scott, I attempted to paint with oils. I bought small tubes of basic colors, new brushes and a few small canvases to try my oil painting skills. What a muddy brown mess! Because I tend to paint thick and fast the paint did not dry enough to prevent one color from mixing with another. With acrylics, which I use, the paint dries rather quickly. In fact unless the humidity is extremely high I can completely cover a canvas, throw in a load of laundry, hang up the previous load, return to my easel and the paint is completely dry and ready to be worked. This works for me best as I like to add layers of paint until the correct color appears which is only obtained by working the canvas. For example I may start an area with a cool red then proceed to paint orange, green, yellow, blue, etc on top then finding the original cool red color over all those other layers of paint now works. I feel the many layers of paint give the painting dimension which I often mourn the loss of when a piece of mine is photographed and the paint(ing) flattens out.