Abstract Art

Don't You Love Vacations?

Don't you love vacations?  Actually, I enjoy them for the first three days, and then I'm usually ready to be home and get back to work.  Maybe it's because I'm a workaholic, or that I need a regular schedule in order to control my bipolar moods, but somehow I just don't do well on long vacations.

This past week we had one of Adrian's son and his two daughters--eleven and fourteen--staying with us.  That meant every day was a vacation except that I also got to cook, drive everyone around, and plan activities for them. This group was very helpful and easy-going, so looking after them wasn't hard, but I took only one morning out to do my own work.  I sent them off with Adrian.

I could have done that more often, but I always want to be in both places at the same time.  So I struggle with the conflict, don't get enough sleep, eat and drink too much--the usual.

This morning we took our houseguests to the airport at 6 a.m.  Now we have the rest of the day to get ready for a trip we're taking tomorrow to Acadia National Park in Maine where we will stay with another one of Adrian's sons and his family for a week. 

The only thing I can say about these multiple vacations is that it's going to feel really good to get back to painting again when they end.  And I'll have a whole new set of visual stimulations to impact my art.

Art Blog Preview: The Thinking Eye

I'm writing today on my notebook computer because the hard drive on my main computer bit the dust.  The Dell technician is due to arrive any minute to replace the hard drive, and then I'll find out how well (or not) my back-up system worked.  Frightening!

But I want to preview Arthur Whitman's blog, The Thinking Eye, today.  Arthur writes insightfully about art on view locally (in Ithaca, New York) as well as nationally.  He has an undergraduate degree in studio art, and his own painting is visually exciting. 

What I like about Arthur's blog is his willingness to tackle art issues in a way that is obviously informed, yet direct and clear.  What I mean is that he can deal with theoretical issues, but his writing is not academic or abstract.  He isn't trying to impress us with jargon.

Maybe if he goes to graduate school, all that will change?  In the meantime, take a look at The Thinking Eye and enjoy.

Art Blog Preview: Karen Jacobs

There are many wonderful art blogs out there with insightful or provocative words and exciting images of art.  As I discover them, I’m going to preview them here.  First, is abstract artist Karen Jacobs at http://kajac2000.blogspot.com/.  Karen is working on a series of Bokusho paintings. Bokusho means abstract sumi-e, she says.  Sumi-e is wash painting with the black ink that is used in East Asian calligraphy.

Karen recently came back from a French art residency at Cat'Art in the south of France.  Karen’s work has always felt contemplative and zen-like to me, with a strong sense of color and composition.  Some of her work also has the feel of an abstract landscape.  You can see more of Karen’s work on her website at karenjacobs.com.