Out & About
My husband is taking a couple days off, so we are going to be out and about enjoying our mini vacation. I won’t be posting as frequently for the next few days.
Tomorrow we will spend the day in San Francisco and will be taking our sketch bags and camera. We hope to visit one of our favorite places “The Japanese Tea Garden“, in Golden Gate Park.
I plan on taking lots of photographs over the next few days, so I can share them on the blog.
Chroma Interactive Acrylics Demo
My husband and I went to a interactive acrylic and medium demonstration this afternoon and we had so much fun! We got to try out the Atelier acrylics by Chroma, they can be adjusted and blended longer than conventional acrylics, and they lose moisture gradually allowing you to control the drying process.
They also have this wonderfully, smooth, buttery consistency and I love the fact that even after your paint has dried, you can spray on some unlocking formula and it will reopen the paint layer so new paint can be blended back in. How great is that?
They also had a drawing for prizes at the end of the demo, and my husband won a starter set of these paints with extra goodies including the unlocking formula. What a perfect end to a perfect day.
Atelier Interactive Artist Starter Set
http://www.chromaonline.com/chroma/products/atelier_interactive
Wild Stormy Day
My husband and I are enjoying our weekend even though the weather has been wet and wild.
This afternoon we watched this amazing video on You Tube showing the beautiful art work of a 13 year old child prodigy named Akiane. A truly inspirational story.
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There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
— Unknown.
Busy Week
Thank goodness it’s Friday, this week has been very busy and we are looking forward to a nice quiet and relaxing weekend, a good movie , a big bowl of popcorn and my hubby beside me, sounds like a great recipe for a perfect stormy Saturday afternoon.
Today I cleaned up the studio and set out some watercolor paper, paint and brushes so we can have a creative play date at home. My husband and I enjoy artistic endeavors so we are going to have a great time.
Self Portraits
A self portrait is more than just a reflection of what a person looks like, it’s a window into how the artist interprets their inner self and the world around them.
There are also many practical reasons one might choose for making self portraits, one would be you get a model who is always available and works for free.
Painting a self portrait requires us to ask ourselves the most basic question: Who am I?
What expression, pose, colors, clothing, texture, and style best represents the real me?
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Self Portraits
500 years of male self portraits in western art
“It is paint’s organic nature that helps me to understand life. For within the act of painting there is a history, a continuum of alchemy through the Ages that lives on in paint”. – Lori Agostino
“Everything we paint is a statement about ourselves”. -Mark Davis
“In painting I want to say something comforting in the way that music is comforting”. -Vincent van Gogh
“In every painting a whole is mysteriously enclosed, a whole life of tortures, doubts, of hours of enthusiasm and inspiration”. -Wassily Kandinsky
Women In Art
Today I was reflecting on women artist’s throughout history, and how difficult if not impossible for many to receive any training or recognition as an artist prior to the 20th century.
We now have become legally as well as culturally able to receive the highest levels of artistic education, training, acknowledgment as an artist and are able to pursue our artistic dreams.
I would like to thank my mother and grandmother for giving me the gift of art, and all those wonderful summers spent learning how to sketch and paint.
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Women In Art
500 years of female portraits in western art
“The history of all times, and of today especially, teaches that… women will be forgotten if they forget to think about themselves”.
Louise Otto-Peters
“Someone, I say, will remember us in the future”.
Sappho
At Play In The Studio
It has been a wonderful day with lots of sunshine and a perfect day to finish one of the collages I have been working on. It feels good to finally be done, so I can move on to the next project.
Afterwards I took a break and started browsing on the internet and found this great video.
One Week Of Japanese Art
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“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher
Happy Valentine’s Day
I went to the eye doctor today to have my eyes checked out, and he dilated my eyes so the pupils are huge and my vision is a little blurred. Very spooky looking!
My doctor said everything looks fine, and suggested computer glasses for I have been experiencing Computer vision syndrome (CVS). I have an appointment next week with my optometrist to help resolve this problem.
My hubby and I love coffee lattes and he found this great video. Makes me want to make a latte run. Yum!
Coffee Latte Awesome Art
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Mystery
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, . . . manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty”. – Albert Einstein
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In The Creative Zone
Making collages relaxes me and is always a foolproof way to put me in the creative zone.
Today, I had so much fun playing with acrylic paints, stamps, old books and magazines that it was hard for me to stop long enough to write this blog entry.
Moments In Time (C) 2008
“Why would anyone want to wake up in the morning and do the same thing when you can try something new everyday”. – Maxine Masterfield
Ashes and Snow/ The nomadic Museum (Mexico)
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