Iris in Progress

Well, I have not really done this but thought it might be nice for everyone to see something while in progress. I have been working on this piece for about a week, of course not daily just when I can. I have been daily doing pen and ink doodle sketches that I learned of from Stefan Baumann on Youtube. He is an oil painter but has some great instructional videos that could be applied to anything, at least I think. Anyway, I did a purple iris before many years ago, but I wanted to do something a bit different and this is going to be a purple and white iris that I found at Botanical Gardens here in Tucson. Be prepared to see more Iris things from me in the days to come because the irises should be in bloom soon and my family is planning a trip to the Botanical Gardens in April. There will probably be butterfly things as well being Butterfly Magic is still running. I am doing a little bit of a different thing with this piece then my usual painting and doing some layering which I do not often do a lot of in my work. I love painting wet on wet more which I did for the background. Hope you enjoy this work in progress and the final product which should be done in the next few weeks, I hope.

Agave Plein Air Sketch

So, I have been trying my hand at Urban sketching as I said a few days ago. I have all my set up right now, but still ironing out the kinks. I found sketching this at a Bus stop here in Tucson, AZ was both fun and exciting but difficult. I need to get used to all the natural and man-made obstacles involved in this process. However, I do love the loose feel of this sketch. And I really wanted to capture the idea that this Agave had some pink in the points which I do not often see. Hope you enjoy this new adventure I am on these days.

Mugsley and Teddy Ink and wash

I guess I cannot get back to watercolor sketching without getting into ink and wash. This is our precious dog, Mugsley. He is usually a lazy dog, but even in his sleepy mode he is a mover. This was a fun little sketch I did while my daughter eat some breakfast. I did the other one of her precious toy, Teddy which is actually a monkey, shortly later and she could not resist adding some fun of her own with her little sketch of Mugsley on the same page as Teddy.

Exploring Brick

I have decided to start a watercolor sketchbook. It is often too hard with a little one to find a good chunk of time to complete a painting or larger size, but as I have been following several Urban Sketchers online I have decided that it would be fun to explore this world and get my skills back to producing art. The artist bug has really bit me these days and I have been doing lots of fun spontaneous ink and wash sketches but also got my outdoor kit going to do a watercolor sketch. It has been a while since I have been serious with watercolor as most everything I have produced in the last several years has been 4X6 in watercolor while only producing larger works with acrylic. So, here is to getting back into the world of color and expression. I did this Exploring Brick as a watercolor while my little one played in the backyard. It was great fun and I finished it later inside remembering the light and the windy day. It is a watercolor size 7.5" by 11" it is the size I have decided to make my travel sketch watercolor pad. This pad was also my first attempt at binding myself which was great fun. I hope you all enjoy.

Death and Love

This painting has two of the processes that I love to do with acrylics, sea sponging and swirly tree like patterns. I think of this as the fire and energy of death that comes with love. In every time of love with anything or anyone, there is a degree of death and dying to other things and oneself. There is so much complexity and levels to the power of that love and the continual death of other things to sacrifice for the love. This is, as said early, an acrylic painting. It is a larger painting at 24" by 18" with the the name, "Death and Love," in order to communicate the interwoven complexity of these too factors as they swirl and twist together. This was the last painting that I completed, but I have a few in the works. However, the rigors of family and a young child get in the way at times. Also reflecting in some ways this death and love. The love of my child so often brings about a death to the things I often took for granted as a single person; however, I would not trade the love and times to be with my little for anything else.

Evening Glow

"Evening Glow" (watercolor 4X6) was also painted in order to try to get the feel of art back into the bones. Sitting at a blank canvas or sheet of paper is often daunting, especially when I have really cut the creative side of my life short for so long. Whenever I seem to be in that bind, I often get loosened up by a sunset or sunrise scene. I love them so much and I have gotten to see so many beautiful sunsets in my life here in southern Arizona. We have some of the best evening skies around. If you have followed me for a while or even scan my old posts, there are several sky scenes. I do love them, so this is one to add to the rest. I am partial to this one right now because it marks the end of a hard year and the beginnings and hopes of a more creative and art filled life.

A Longing for Sedona

Well, in this time period of little art and no posts, my family has gotten a chance to spend a part of a day in Sedona. It was a very brief time after going to a wedding in Prescott. This painting and exercise from a Cathy Johnson watercolor book that I did recently. I had actually started working on this nearly a year ago, and did not finish it until just a few weeks ago. Cathy Johnson used watercolor pencils in her display and it was book on using watercolor pencils. However, I used Ink Intense pencils which I was unhappy at how they handled. Granted I had not handled them for quite some time, but I was still unhappy with the effect. But the real purpose behind longing to paint this was my earning to be back out in nature and my longing to be back in Sedona more regularly. Although, I am not sure where this painting was based from; it reminds me a great deal of an area that I took a jeep into during a trip in 2005 when I stayed for an extended time in Sedona. This is just a small postcard size rendering. It makes me want to go ahead and make a painting of the true area that I went to that year and see how that one would turn out.

Ocean Mist - A return to art

This journey of child and art has been a long one. The past year was one of great struggle and turmoil as my family had to walk through the beginnings of Epilepsy with our then not quite two year old daughter. It has been very hard to keep up with the art life with many hospitalizations and constant monitoring, medicine changes, and just trying to keep up with everyday life. This past month I have been making an attempt at getting back to my love and joy of art. This first abstract is probably just the release of trying to recapture the peace and tranquility of the ocean those many years that I went to be by its shore. "Ocean Mist" Acrylic 10X10 was just a pure release of energy and process to get back into the space of doing art again. A process of trying to get my mind centered and to calm my soul in order to create again. I hope everyone enjoys this return to art with my new painting.

Five Questions to Ask When You Are Starting an Art Collection

It is a different experience all together being an artist and thinking about an art collection. There are somethings that I look for in art and want to know about before I buy anything that many people might not ever think about. While it can be a fun and exciting journey starting an art collection, it can also be daunting and sometimes scary. However, I think there are five basic questions to really ask yourself along your journey that can help you explore, experience, and expand your art collection in new and adventurous ways.
Question One: Where to look for art?

I believe this is a too fold question of not only where to find art to buy, but where to learn and explore art to find your unique passion. People often think of museums, galleries, and art shows as places to find art, but there are also great events like art fairs, artist’s walks through studios, and great collections online. When you are looking at art, you want to see what moves you, what styles you find interesting, and what draws you to particular pieces of art in order to explore pieces that speak to you. I would suggest viewing as much art and as many possibilities to find art as you can. Don’t just rely on museums and galleries especially when you are starting off with your collection. There is a whole world of art to explore online and during fairs and street markets that sometimes never get to galleries. Many arts in today’s technological world rely on the internet to move their works of art. There are auction houses (like www.invaluable.com ), art blogs, personal artist’s websites, and even visual tours through galleries that are available online. Be sure that while you are exploring this vast world of art that you think about question two.

Question Two: How does this work of art impact me or make me feel?

This is a vital question that you should ask quickly and often of any work of art that you come across. What do I feel in my body as a response to the art? Along with, what emotions and mood does it stir or provoke in me? These are crucial questions to think about while exploring what you love and what you want to communicate in whatever setting the art work is going to be displayed. Think about what styles you love; are you intrigued by the precision of pointillism or do you like the blending, flow of a watercolor. Also, explore what topics you feel passionate about. If you are crazy about flowers, than start exploring the world of floral still lives. Maybe you want to support and preserve animals; perhaps an artist that does Sierra Club Wildlife Sketches might be something for you. An art collection that you put your finances towards should reflect not only your personal loves and passions but also reveal what you support and want to flourish forward.

Question Three: What is the artist trying to communicate?

The question about how the art impacts you goes hand in hand with question three of what is the artist trying to communicate? This is where online blogs, books on artists’ lives and history for older pieces of art, and art fairs are so wonderful to explore. While it is often amazing that an artist has created a nature sketch that moves you, it is even more thrilling to find out what the artist was doing with the sketch, where the sketch accord, and what the artist was trying to communicate with this sketch. Often collectors do not think to explore and find Artist Statements which can be vital in learning the background and underlining meaning of many of the that artist’s pieces. Artist Statements are like many bio’s on the artist around the particular collection that he/she is displaying; it communicates some of his/her use of color, topic, and genre to help the collector connect with the artist and the works of art. Along with artist’s statements, it is so amazing to go on studio walks or attend art fairs were the artist can actually tell you about the piece. We have studio walks through our art district the first Saturday of every month were collectors can meet the artist, watch him/her work, and learn the specifics about a piece of art. Think about it, how wonderful would it be to tell your guests the exact history of how a piece was created and what the artist was trying to communicate. This brings a whole new world to collecting that is often missed.

Question Four: Where is it going?

This seems to be the basic question that you ask throughout and often first: where is the piece of art going? Is it an office, a home, a room of meditation, or a room of leisure for parties and friends. This is a question that must be answered at some point because after all, you need to know what size art can go in your space. But as you think about this question, also think about whether you want a painting or a sculpture or wood carving. Many artists work in different mediums that can accommodate any space. Also, when thinking about this question don’t be afraid to ask an artist to do a commission. Say you like the abstract someone did or the still life but need another color to set the mood of your room, ask and often times artists would love to create a piece specifically for you. Recently a woman was looking through my portfolio and loved a centering meditation piece I did, but she wanted another color scheme to set more of a tranquil mood. It was fun to explore with her what she wanted and great to create a piece just for her. Also, I have done commissions of pets, family portraits, and many others.

Question Five: What do you want from your collection?

The last question seems to be an opened nightmare that everyone gets stuck on; what do you want from your collection? But with the questions above, you have almost answered it along with way. I would not recommend thinking of this question first; I would explore the other questions to find what you love and your personal style. But be sure at some point to ask what you want from this piece of art. Maybe you want to stress conservation, make a political statement, or set a particular mood in the room you have your art displayed. Perhaps you just want to cherish an art work that moves you and that you just love. Any of those reasons and many more are good ideas for having a collection. There is a great article here that talks more about not collecting for appreciation which is worth reading.

No matter what you do along your journey in Art Collecting be sure to enjoy the process and just sit with things. Spend time with your art and enjoy it; that is the most important thing to do in any journey. Please write a comment below if you have any questions.

Patagonia Lake Campground

We went camping with the baby a couple of months ago. It is pretty difficult to do art on a trip with a nine month almost ten month old, but I had lots of time with this view when she was napping in the tent. She had a great little time and is going to get this picture put in her baby book for her First Camping Trip. This is in the Patagonia Lake Campground were we stayed the weekend. It is a watercolor sketch that is 4X6.

Patagonia Lake

Keeping up with a baby and art can be a very challenging adventure. I have tried my best to keep up with the art but the baby always comes first and that is how it should be. We went to Patagonia Lake, AZ several weeks ago and while we were juggling fishing and baby; I finally got her occupied with her toys and managed to get off this little watercolor sketch. I had to finish it when we got home, but it was well worth it. My husband loves this lake and I gifted this little 4X6 to him to remember this precious family moment. We went camping there all together for the first time shortly after this and the next blog should be the little sketch that I did on that trip of the campground area.

Reflections

This was the lake reflections painting that I have been working on for a while now. It was a very interesting painting to work on as I have not done a lake scene in quite a while. I am not sure that I am as satisfied with it as I wanted to be, but I did enjoy the process of working on it. It is a 24X18 size Acrylic.

Spiral Tree Sunset Acrylic

This Spiral Tree Sunset Acrylic (18X14) was done in January 2016 at Art Awakenings Studio. My husband when I was editing the picture for this post asked how many of these tree paintings I have done. This is actually my third of this style tree. I do enjoy doing these paintings. They flow out of me and each of them are completely different, but the spiral tree look is all the same. They are extremely meditative for me and my brain. I really love to work on them when I am anxious or worried, and I have done each of them at times when I just want a break from doing more intense detailed paintings. I completed this one while working on a lake acrylic which has a lot of detail in the reflection on the water. I needed a bit of a break and relaxed into this crazy fire sunset background and meditatively worked on the tree. It was fun and got me back to the lake scene which is not complete as of yet.

Explosion of Pink

It has been a while, keeping up with art and a baby can be a difficult thing at times. However, I have some new art to put up being I finally got pictures of everything. This first one is a smaller acrylic than I usually do at only 10X10. I was having a lot of fun blending whites, reds, and pinks to make these pink flowers which I have decided to call "Explosion of Pink." I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I enjoyed the process of making them.

Poinsettia Card

I did this Poinsettia Card (4X6) watercolor one morning early after having to drop my car off at the mechanic shop. I produced it off of a picture while I was sitting outside on a bench waiting for an appointment. I have not had a lot of time to paint with a soon to be six month old little girl under foot, but each day I try as best I can. I actually made two of these paintings, and I totally did not like the first one so I destroyed it. This was the second attempt and I liked it much better. I gave it as a Christmas/thank you card.

Misty Mountains Watercolor and Life with Baby

This is my new Misty Mountains Watercolor. I actually completed it and another 4X6 watercolor postcard last month, but I have not had a chance to post either one. This was a very fun little watercolor that I actually completed while my baby was sleeping on my shoulder. She was on the left shoulder and I worked with the painting with my right hand. I was pretty amazed with myself that this came out so well while hold a three month old, but I actually have not been successful at duplicating the situation.

It is very hard keeping up with an artistic life with an infant. I tried to do my very best at it, but it does not always work as well I would have hoped. I thought life was going to get a bit easier, but then she cut two teeth early and is teething some more. I will cherish this time with her even if it cuts into art because it is the only time in her life that she will be a baby. Hope everyone enjoys the watercolor.

Worry Stones

I love these clay worry stones. I made them after the smooth rock worry stones that you can often find here around town. It is very nice that at Art Awakenings I can glaze things completely (doing both front and back) in order to make these smooth stones. You can place them in your pocket and meditate as you have your hand in your pocket while rubbing them. I made love and hope this time, but I would like to make some with faith written on them as well. These are small stones that can easily fit in the palm of your hand.

Butterfly Woman Mask

In late 2013 when I was doing pottery at the clay co-op, I made a dark mask and a butterfly woman mask as transformation masks. I liked them a lot, and I got a lot of compliments on them. However, I was very disappointed and lost a bit in 2014 when they were stolen. Along with the masks being stolen, the camera that had the pictures of the masks on them was stolen as well. I had no documentation of them except one picture of both of them in progress. Several months ago, I started working on hand building the butterfly woman mask again. The first mask did not workout, and I was not sure if this one was actually going to make it as well. Fortunately, it did, and I have the Butterfly Woman Mask again. I do miss the first one that I did, but I do enjoy this one as well. The mask is roughly 15X10 and 4-5inch. deep.

Vermont Farm in the Fall

This is my latest acrylic just finished this week. It is from a picture that I took when I went back several years ago to visit my sister. It is a 18X24 acrylic with the Autumn trees and changing leaves. It was so beautiful to see Vermont in the Fall that I have been wanting to paint this for a long time and finally completed it.This interesting thing about the last two paintings posted is that I finally changed my signature to CH instead of CR. I am still struggling to remember that I changed my name, but I hope I will get used to it soon.

Through the Window 2

This is an acrylic that I did just in the last couple of months. It is an interesting shape being 10X20. I painted this scene before, but I changed it up a bit for the second rendering of it. I am going to send this up with another I just finished today to Phoenix Art Awakenings Gallery.