Poppies, Poppies, Poppies!!!!

  This makes the third poppy I have painted. I am sure it won't be my last since I really LOVE painting them because they make me feel happy!
There is something about bright vibrant colors...they just make you feel good when you see them! I should know since I honestly felt like absolute garbage yesterday when I completed this beautiful gem...
Someone at work brought sickness into our little office....I suspect it was that man we call our boss!:)
Fortunately, this is the first time in roughly a year that I have have had a cold. I do have allergies but can manage those with Benedryl however that wasn't cutting this! I will say one thing about working in healthcare, your immunity tends to toughen up. My outlook on my health is this: as long as I can walk, talk and still hold a paintbrush, I am golden!

   I spent all day painting yesterday, from 9:30am until 5:00pm. It was a great day despite physically feeling like crap! That's the magical healing powers of paint!
    I just love heading to my studio in the morning. I can roll out of bed, throw on some clothes, do my chores of feeding the critters, then jump in the car and be there in 3 minutes.
My routine, once there, is this: put the coffee on, turn the lights on, put on some music, stare at my painting to size up what needs to be done, fix my coffee and get down to business!
For me, it's a perfect day. I am calm, at peace, happy in my solitude and can unwind completely from my other life...
yesterday, after completing the poppy, I sketched out 2 more canvases and have a third ready to sketch. I even started ghosting in the foundation for another fun painting...a pair of fun turquoise cowboy boots. No need to ask why I am painting cowboy boots...the answer will always be, 'because I want to! :)

   I certainly hope the Devlin's enjoy their Poppy. I know where it will be hung in their house, in their sun room.
About 6 months or so back, Jason Devlin, a fellow art friend, had seen an image of a commissioned poppy I was painting. He said he wanted me to paint one for him but not in the same composition. I happened to have a canvas that I had started and set aside because I wanted a slightly different composition at that time. So when he asked if I would be interested in an art swap, trade something sculpted for a one of a kind painting, I said yes! This is that painting! In return, he is custom sculpting an absinthe spoon for me. All I know is that I chose the theme of art deco but he added an additional theme which will make it EVEN MORE AWESOME!!!  I told him not to show it to me because I want it to be like Christmas when I see it!! I am so excited to see it!!
So our swap is near now and the excitement is palpable...I certainly hope they like their painting...I know I surely do!

   You see, that's the beauty of painting vibrant colors and beautiful subjects...it can turn an otherwise sour mood/day into something special...yesterday was proof of that. Despite feeling poorly, I still was happy and quite productive...that's the power of vibrant paint! It just makes you feel GOOD!

Have a GREAT week! See you, all 'two' of my followers, next week!

Kathy

Fall is here...seclusion, here I come!

   Saturday marked the beginning of my self imposed creative seclusion. My lines have been drawn and instructions have been given letting my friends and family(Mom) know that when I am at the studio... I am not to be disturbed, unless its emergent. I will be ignoring all calls so if you call me, leave a message...I will get back with you. To me, time spent painting is just as important as going to work. It feeds my soul just as going to work literally feeds me.
I have to do this for a couple reasons: 1) I have nothing to sell/show if I don't create it  2) I can't create it if I don't have the time to do it...

   Summer always throws a monkey wrench in my creativity because I like to do ALOT  of things such as sun by the pool, BBQ, garden...besides, there's an awful lot of house/garden upkeep in the summer. I do admit, I slack in that regard because I make time to paint so some things have become less important. I have chosen to accept a moderate amount of chaos, it just comes with the territory.
It does bother me that I cannot be Wonder Woman but I accept the reality that I am one person who needs to prioritize whats important in life...some things, really just don't matter so much in the big picture, however, being creative with paint, IS a priority for me!!

   Friday marked the end of frivolous time spent not painting but it was spent having FUN!!! Time was absolutely NOT wasted in that regard!!
I went to my first ever major league ballgame!!! What an ABSOLUTE BLAST that was!!!!
Spent the day with my best friend Rhonda and a group of people she works with. We took a chartered private bus to Chicago to go to the Cubs vs. Astros game at Wrigley field. There were many beverages involved along with non stop laughter! It was a joy to get to know some new folks (since I don't get out much),  see the game and learn a bit more about baseball (I had only ever been to minor league games and basically only to people watch). Now I know why the pitcher chooses to 'walk' certain players....makes perfect statistical sense!

I enjoyed capturing some great photo's as well...some will be turned into paintings, those I will not show yet however!  Check out the amazing shots I was able to capture: 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Watching Matt Garza throw the ball and Aramis Ramirez smack them hard made me a fan of theirs 'right off the bat'!  What a fantastic day it was!! Go Cubs!!! Oh, they won by the way....it was an exciting 12 inning game!!!

   Saturday was spent painting all day. I finished the display base for my art bra that I created for Bras Around the Bend .  I will drop my submission off at RiverBend Cancer Services this week. The charity auction is not until October 6th. Should be a fun night! I'll be there to support the event and hopefully to trump up some bids!
Worked more on my Poppy painting which is looking just AWESOME!!! I am almost done. I am at the final tweak stage now. Yesterday and the last sitting was spent doing traditionl brushwork. I may add more airbrush tweaks but I like the look of the traditional brushwork as well. I have taken to fusing both. An airbrush is incomparable for some effects just as a regular paint brush is to well chosen brush strokes. Well chosen brush strokes is an art in and of its self. Same principle applies to using an airbrush...few master it well. It's my goal in life to be one of those few however, I feel that we never truly master anything in this life, we are only merely craft practitioners at best....some are extremely GOOD ones and some, not so much! 

   On that note, time to get my busy day started....mow grass, trim weeds, work out, make dinner, tend to garden harvest....
I hope whomever reads this has a joyful day and spends part of it 'creatively'! ☺

Kathy...

Busy, busy , busy.....

  Been a busy couple weeks and have not gotten alot of painting done....which makes me ashamed in a way.
It's what I think 'should' be doing however, in the real world, life continues to revolve around my bubble of 'what I want to be doing and where I want to be'...  My art is something I am most proud of, it's like my child. It needs to be nurtured, trained, disciplined, loved and time needs to be spent with it.
Therein lies the rub because it's impossible for me to ignore my real world, the one that keeps spinning around my 'artists bubble'.

   In my real world, I am 'Martha Vila'(splice Martha Stewart with Bob Vila) and today is going to be a busy day! I have to finish the greenhouse I just built to go over my raised pepper bed in hopes that I can extend my season longer so that my Ghost Peppers (Bhut Jaloka) will actually fruit out. They are flowering now. It is up, mostly sheathed excect for the gables, I left that open for ventilation since it's still pretty warm however peppers do LOVE hot weather!
I love growing hot peppers because I make hot sauce, salsas and spice blends. I dry and grind my peppers for this. Some of my friends have become addicted to my 'Jalapeno Salt' blend which is fine by me because I intend to market that baby in the future!
  Today's 'real world' agenda: finish fixing the mower, mow the grass, clean the pool to get it ready for winter, set new sink strainer in kitchen sink, replace deadbolt and door handle at studio, clean house, work out....but, this is all going to take place after I go spend some time in my other world, my artists world, my little serene 'bubble'....

  On today's agenda at my studio: I need to replace my door locks with new ones (old ones are crappy), finish the display base for my art bra that I am donating for Riverbend Cancer Services,  'Bras Around the Bend' auction, finish up on a poppy I am painting for an art trade with an artist friend, finish final sanding the canvases I stretched and gessoed, keep looking over at at my Spanish Market painting and wishing it were done....
My Spanish Market painting is a labor of love but let me tell you, it's the ultimate time vortex...it has sucked up nearly a year of my life!! I have been working on it since last September but not consistently as I have done other projects in that time as well and let 'her' sit, waiting for me to return to 'her'. I am on the homestretch on 'her', applying oil glazes by hand and using my keen eyes to keep telling me what more needs to be done. It takes alot of time but time spent on her is time enjoyed so it's not a bad thing that this giant painting is taking so long to complete.

Spanish Market

 


  Here is where I sort of am currently on the Spanish Market piece. I have gotten some further on her before I set her aside to work on the art bra and the Devlin Poppy.



You can see there is TONS of details in this painting and still much more to do yet but I am getting much closer. I have no time frame and am NOT going to predict when i will be done because my predictions are NOT accurate! I had predicted back in March I would be done, hahaha!
That's okay though since this is not a commission and I am not on deadline. This painting is purely because I can and more of a skill polisher/honer project.

So for now, she will sit aside on one of my other easels until I can come back to her, which will be very soon.
 


                                                                                          

Devlin Poppy

Here is the 'Devlin Poppy' painting for my friend Jason Devlin as he is sculpting me something pretty cool! I am 'hopeful' that I will finish this painting this week but as my 'real world' often throws a monkey wrench into my other worlds optimistic bubble...things don't always happen that way!
At any rate, she'll be done when she is done and Jason is never  quite on time either so he does understand...
I know he certainly understands the 'real world' interfering with the 'art bubble' world you want to spend more time in...






   
   
    I have to say that I am very thankful for all I have thought. I am blessed with a good set of circumstances that allow me to have two worlds to spend time in. It does not come without some sacrifices however. Time in the real world is sacrificed to allow me to have time in my bubble..That bubble time is blissful, peaceful and a happy place to go to! (now you understand my 'Self Portrait' painting)
So on that note.....I will begin my day and spend the first portion of it blissfully in my bubble, then come back to my real world and get busy, busy, busy!!!

I am Blogging!

"Self Portrait",  acrylic on panel

Today is my first official step into the world of blogging! Why am I doing this...it's purely a selfish driven attempt to try and earn some type of income with my painting. 

I have slowly been cultivating my skills and rarely sell my work. I tend, mostly, to give it away. 

I feel that now the time has come to 'try' and generate some sort of income and 'hopefully' I'll be able to retire from nursing within the next couple of years. I believe that is a realistic workable goal.

    So far, I feel very blessed to be able to paint. I sacrifice a lot of time towards painting. I work, on average, 30 hours a week as a nurse and the remaining days, albeit Sunday's, are spent painting...unless I have something planned or appointments... It is my current focus to have as few interruptions as possible so that I can dedicate maximum time to painting. I know this alienates me from friends, family time and basically doing nothing however I have to do this. I don hope those affected under

   
    I really enjoy painting! It takes me to this blissful place when I don't have to watch the clock or answer then phone or door. Time spent in that zone is what I feel heaven might be like....just pure joy!
It takes great concentration and focus. Any distraction zaps that focus and forces you to regroup. This is what others, those who don't create', have trouble understanding.

   Currently, I have started to get my art 'out there'. I have 5 paintings and some prints at The Kingsbury House gallery in Howe, IN.   www.kingsburygallery.com

I am also planning to do some smaller one of a kind works and offer them up on Etsy in the future.

Basically, I am going to do as much as I possibly can to get out there and hopefully generate a  liveable income. I don't require much as my wants and needs are fairly limited, in other words, I am pretty 'low budget'. I am just simply want to paint, fulfill my essential needs and be happy! :)

On that note, I will end my first installment into my little world of blogging. Once I get more used to this I'll update the page and add more things. I hope to add installments on Sundays, my day to do whatever I want and relax.

...Kathy...