Abstract Art Blog

A Year of Making Art, Day 354: Tired of Wave Drawings

April 8, 2008 Day 354

I had enough wave drawings (see previous posts).  Today I made a red-green-blue-yellow design with calligraphy pens.  It was very soothing to work on:

  Drawing #361  14" x 11"

After that I worked on canvas #36 and #37.  Here are the two steps, with more work to follow:

  Canvas #36  44" x 44"

  Canvas #37 40" x 40"

Tonight is our bipolar support group meeting, and I'm glad I don't have to facilitate this time.  I always feel I am either two rigid or not rigid enough in enforcing timing rules.

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 353: Working Overall

April 7, 2008  Day 253

I just couldn't give up on wave drawings (see previous post), so I tried another one today.  Putting in the details took a while, and then I felt it didn't have enough focus, and added some stronger lines.  Here it is when I quit working on it:

  Drawing #360  14" x 11"

I did some more work on canvas #38 today, working overall with a brush, water, and colors straight from the tube:

  Canvas #38  44" x 44"

And that was it for the day.

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 352: The Second Time Is Harder

April 6, 2008  Day 352

I liked my wave drawing from yesterday (see previous post), and tried to do another one today.  Often, the second time I do something doesn't quite turn out as well as the first time, when it happens spontaneously.  I had to work a lot harder on this one to get it to the point where I consider it finished.

  Drawing #359   14" x 11"

Then I continued work on the backgrounds for three paintings.  Here's a sample:

  Canvas #37  40" x 40"

After that I began to hang art around the studio now that my new wall is finished.  I am not a very good curator--I have to try every combination before I can figure out which paintings work or don't work together.  In addition, since I had to limit the size in most places, I couldn't simply pick any painting I wanted to.  Most of my canvases are too large to fit in the spaces available. 

I ended my day with food shopping, a chore Adrian usually does for me.  Now that he's incapacitated, I'm beginning to appreciate just how much he did before.

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 351: Folk Art Americana at Mary Shelley's House

April 5, 2008  Day 351

Last night Adrian and I went to an open house at folk artist Mary Shelley's house/gallery in downtown Ithaca.  It was amazing to see so many of her works together, each one strengthening the effect of the others.  Mary does relief carvings in wood and then paints them with acrylics.  Her subjects are often diners, farming, and other regional subjects from upstate New York.  Mary has an impressive resume, with works at the Smithsonian, the Fennimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and the National Museum of Women and the Arts in Washington, DC.  If you haven't seen her work yet, take a look at her website:  Mary Shelley Folk Art.

Going out to see Mary's art rejuvenated me, and I got past yesterday's depression.  Today I feel great, especially since I finally got to paint again after a long pause for renovations to my studio.

I worked on the backgrounds of three paintings, but in the third one, I tried a more structured and thoughtful background than I usually make:

  Canvas #38  44" x 44"

Before that, I made my drawing for the day with blue/green and purple waves going across the horizontal plane:

  Drawing #358  14" x 11"

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 350: BOR-ING

April 4, 2008  Day 350

Sixteen more days to go in this "Year of Making Art."

Today I am depressed and lethargic.  It took me all day to get around to my drawing:

   Drawing #357  14" x 11"

In the morning I prepared two giclee prints on canvas for shipping:

  123456

  Placating Your Friends

It's unclear what else I accomplished.  I helped Adrian with the dressing for his infected leg, and putting on his boot cast.  I cleaned up odds and ends.  I did some laundry.

BOR-ING!

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 349: Shipping Two Prints

April 3, 2008  Day 349

Today was Owen's last day with us, so I made a special brunch and hung around to see him off.  Before that, I had to get two prints off to Pak-Mail for packing and shipping to clients:

  Adam Three

  Talk To me Now 

By the time Owen left, I was exhausted.  Too many houseguests and doctor's visits lately.  Adrian requires a lot more assistance now, and he is also unable to do all the things he used to do for me to help with the business, like running errands.  It looks like the food shopping will be my job now, too, since he's wearing a boot cast and is supposed to take it easy.  I'm sure that he will want to use any extra energy he has to take Roxy out.

I did my drawing late today:

  Drawing #356  11" x 14"

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 348: Winter Is Back

April 2, 2008  Day 348

This morning, winter was back with a blustery wind.  Son Owen and I took Adrian to the orthopedist at 9:15 to have a boot cast put on his left foot.  It can be removed for bathing and sleeping, but will protect his Achilles' tendon while he is walking around.  He already tried it out while taking Roxy for a walk with Owen.

I made today's drawing with three black pens:  a fine-point tip, a calligraphy pen, and a calligraphy brush pen.  Then I added some pale lavender highlights:

  Drawing #355  11" x 14"

Then I went to a "baby party" at the neighbors, and this afternoon I have to take Adrian to another doctor.  Maybe I can paint tomorrow!

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 347: Going Wild with Purple

April 1, 2008  Day 347

Rachel reminded us at breakfast that today is April Fool's Day.  The temperature is fooling us into thinking it is spring, but we know that the warmth won't last.

After I took the kids to school, Adrian was due at the hospital for an ultrasound test to make sure he didn't have a clot in his leg.  He did not, so tomorrow morning he will probably have a cast put on his left ankle and calf to protect his torn Achilles' tendon.  He took Roxy out today, but stayed nearby.

In today's drawing, I felt like going wild with purple, and did:

  Drawing #354  11" x 14"

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 346: Sleepless at Three A.M.

March 31, 2008  Day 346

Last night I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep.  At 4:45 I decided to get up since I had set the alarm for 6:15 anyway in order to get Mike and Rachel off to school this morning.

I made my drawing before anyone else got up:

  Drawing #353  11" x 14"

After that, the kids got up and had breakfast and I took them to school.  Then Owen and I took Adrian to the doctor's office.  It turns out that he has a torn Achilles' tendon in his left leg and will probably have a cast put on in a couple of days.

I just had time to have a bite of lunch and put a chicken in the oven before it was time to get the kids from school again.  Now they are playing computer games for ten more minutes before getting ready for bed.

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 345: Old Times

March 30, 2008  Day 345

The Pinter play (Old Times) we saw last night was entertaining and the acting was very good.  But because of the intended ambiguity, there was no way  to end up with an  "interpretation."  It was about a power play between a husband and wife, and possibly a third person who may or may not have been a figment of their imagination. 

This morning Blixy called and asked if she could drop off Mike and Rachel while she went to the office to fix a problem.  It is a Sunday, and she is going to a conference in Colorado for a week on Monday.  The kids will stay with us for two nights and the rest of the time at their other grandparents' house.

I made everyone lunch, then we went to check on Laura and Jim's house while they are away.  After that we played ping-pong until dinnertime.

I barely managed to get my drawing done:

  Drawing #352  11" x 14"

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)