A Constant Search

On the bicycle trail to the right

2011-08-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

It has been over a year since I last posted on my blog and it seems that every time I would try to paint something, it never satisfied me enough to keep working at it. For at least a week I have been playing around with colors, markings, surfaces and just about everything I can find in my studio. My idea was to abstract one of the favorite references I have taken on our ranch and it was supposed to be and abstract painting, but I've never been able to abstract a real image, I have always had to start off on a blank canvas with no image in my mind, and keep working with the process. Nevertheless, I had fun with this one because I'm not a landscape artist and I had only worked abstracts with oil and palette knife, very seldom with anything figurative.

Images of the end of the first week

2010-06-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

This workshop I have been writing about is a workshop I took several months ago, but since the teacher would come from Mexico City for one week, during a three month period, it has taken me some time to organize the work and photograph it. On the Friday the teacher left after the first week, it was announced to us that we had to do some homework that consisted of four oils using a very limited palette, plus colors and combinations we did not frequently use. He gave us the titles of the paintings, and that would be the theme. The first one was "In the middle of the Jungle", followed by a title I had forgotten but had to do with the elements of nature. The third was " A Rock in my Path" and the fourth was "A Pelican eating a Fish at Sea" They could be abstract or realistic and mostly from imagination.

A Pelican eating a Fish at Sea

A Rock in my Path

Element of Nature

In the Middle of the Jungle

More fast excercises with crayon during a recent workshop

2010-06-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

Again these exercises had to be done fast and there was no time to correct or try to make the coloring of paper smoother. These were interesting but very confusing when you tried to take advantage of the creases and design made by marking lines at random. This exercise consisted of making folds in the paper and drawing a line or curve from the crease line to whatever point we wished. As the paper was folded the previous line was covered making it imposible to know what kind of design was being created. The paper could not be unfolded until all the paper had been used up. Once it was unfolded we were supposed to color portions we found interesting, and try to create an interesting piece. Another challenge in these exercises was the fact that we were supposed to use colors and combinations that we had seldom used or that for some reason we disliked.

As the time for the second exercise started, I tried to be more careful with my choice of creases and lines but time was up, before I could finish it.

This looks like a childs drawing but the only thing that mattered was to be able to use the creases, lines and color in an expressive way without altering any of those creases or lines. The truth is I had no idea what I was going to do when I had no control over the exercise. This was the first that to me was a little bit of a nightmare and I think it was expressed in the result.

Finished charcoal and exercises from two recent workshops

2010-05-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

It has been such a long time since I last posted anything but I had been very busy taking three different workshops and my usual gesture, figure drawing. About two months ago, I finished my charcoal, Pitcher and Peach, which I enjoyed doing very much and it is now showing at the Newberry Gallery in Santa Monica CA. http://newberrygallery.com/.

The following images are exercises done in these workshops I mentioned above, and am only posting as what they are; work done in class with different approaches to spark creativity.

The first workshop I took at the Art Center was taught by Artist Saul Kaminer from Mexico City, who masters both painting and sculpture. Here is a link of his latest exhibit. http://www.conaculta.gob.mx/fotogaleria.php?id=3402. During the first week of the workshop he asked us to take just plain kraft paper and draw objects as he called out the names of them. We would close our eyes and draw anywhere on the paper trying to reach the edges of the paper and overlapping the objects over the next object called out. Here are some examples of those exercises. I have used colored paper underneath the exercise to bring out the design and colors used. In the first exercise we were allowed to use only two color, then three and ending with four in the last exercise. The paper underneath doesn't count. We were asked to use crayons and there was no time to improve or think of what the end result would look like. To finish the exercise we had to cut the paper in an asymmetrical design and cut out portions in some. The workshop consisted of four weeks everyday, from 10:00AM to 2:00PM, spaced in between by three weeks of homework.

There is more work to show, and I will in the following days hoping to keep up with my blog and start working on some Alla Prima still lifes after I close the chapter on this experience with figurative expressionism and Latin American Art.

Two unfinished pastels

2009-06-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

I worked on these Saturday afternoon but I now see that I have to go back and work on more contrast. I also made the mistake of spraying fixative over them to transport back home and it seems that quite a bit of the pastel blew away.

Gesture Drawing

2009-06-05T13:15:00.001-07:00

I have been taking a figure drawing class at our new art center, here in town. The class consists of three hours, three times a week, with live model on two days. I have taken three weeks so far, and find it very challenging but worthwhile. We are working with line drawing and fast gesture drawings without looking at the paper, in either case. My main interest in this class is to loosen up a bit and in this way help me in whatever medium I work in. While at my computer today, I got a call from a close friends that loves to talk, fortunately I had my newsprint pad and pen close to me. Before I knew it I had it on my lap and was trying to sketch the sofa in front of me, but quickly found that not thinking of what I was doing and just scribbling, was a much better way to disconnect and just enjoy gesture drawing. I'm sure this could use a lot more work but it is just and exercise, so I will leave it as it is.

Goodbye to a good friend and teacher

2009-05-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Alberto Martinez 1942-2009. Almost 20 years ago I decided to enroll in a drawing class at the Instituto Potosino de Bellas Artes. I was welcomed by an interesting individual with a mustache like that of Dali and a resemblance to him, quite tall with the elegance and the dignity of a Mexican folklore ballet dancer. This was Alberto, a very talented dancer and a prize winning, superb artist. After two weeks of drawing class he told me, that if I was interested in taking his experimental workshop at the Institute, I could draw well enough for his class. ( I realize Experimental Art and Mixed Media Art, can be executed without great skills in drawing.) He was a teacher that taught me how to lose the fear of ruining what I was working on, and to have the courage to experiment and create with the heart and soul. He also taught me to use a great array of different materials you would usually not use together, and maybe some of his teachings could be called a little unorthodox, but they brought great satisfaction when something would cause a unique effect, that would work artwise. At times I would get frustrated and he would say "turn the painting to the wall and look at it in two weeks, if you don't like it then, you cover it with gesso and start all over again." Every Wednesday morning I would still get together with him, and my friend and classmate Vivi, at her house. We would work a little, or just usually chat over a cup of coffee. One of the last things he said to me was that he would like to see and exhibition of mine, consisting of many more of the charcoal pieces I have done under the mentorship of Michael Newberry. This Wednesday Alberto didn't show up, and unfortuantely, news came today that he had passed away yesterday.

Alberto didn't have a website, like niether do many of the well known local artists here do, they sell their work by having solo exhibitions several time a year, and I don't have any work of his to show either.

I made this photo collage of some very old work I did in his class as a tribute to him today, and unfortuantely they are not of the best of many pieces I did have. Those that I don't have, all belong to someone else, and I don't even have photographs of them. Most of these pictures were taken with a 35mm camera and I scanned them today, so I apologize for the unorganized and quick work, but I didn't want this day to go by without my sharing the loss of this dear friend.

Charcoal WIP

2009-05-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have been working on this charcoal piece for about a month but I realize that it is so highly detailed in the reflexions, that it has kept me from posting other work on my blog. I think this will be the last of very detailed pieces, and I would like to do some much more simple but strong still lifes. I have this thing about finishing the work I have started before starting anything else because the set ups take up the space I need for something else, although it also might be the idea of not getting back to the piece, if I work on another piece. I am seriously going to work on changing that trait in me, and also post more WIPs if I don't finish a piece, soon. This one has quite a bit more work to be done and quite a few corrections. I know Michael Newberry is very busy with the opening of his gallery, so it probably won't be until after that, when he will be able to see this. One question I have in my mind about this charcoal still life is, if it is way to busy with the amount of detail going on in it. The peach is very small for the size of the pitcher, but it is done intentionally because of what it symbolizes next to this myriad of detail. It is also a Mexican peach that is very small, but incredibly juicy a tasteful. This will not be the final peach because I will leave it to the very last, until I find the exact peach to use for the drawing.

Cactus flowers

2009-04-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

It has been such a long time since I last posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working on art. I have several plein air paintings to edit, a pastel to repeat and I am working on a new charcoal. My intention was to do an easy charcoal so that I could finish it fast, but when I start gathering objects I always end up with something a little more elaborate that what I had in mind. So far I have almost half readable, and I soon plan to post a WIP. I keep discovering things in it that hace a lot to do with the story behind it, making this journey exciting and fun.

In the meantime I will post this picture of some cactus flowers I came across in one of my outings at the ranch. I love this season because all of these exotic plants bloom this time of year and I ask mysel how a plant that can look so vicious and maybe unattractive to some, can offer such gorgeous colors in its flowers.

Bottle and silk satin still life study

2009-03-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

When I first set this up, my idea was to paint an almost white painting but when I put the light on the set up, the satin and bottle both took up so many different colors, that it was a little overpowering and confusing. I don't know what suggestions will be made by Michael Newberry yet because this is one of several that I am getting together for our next session. I have tried to stay away from glass because it just seems so much more difficult to convey with paint than it is with graphite or charcoal. So this was a challenge that will seduce me to try painting more glass in oil.

Two unfinished weekend Plein Airs

2009-02-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have posted but as you all know I was quite busy. I want to have several other pieces done before sending these to Michael Newberry, getting advice and his opinion, so I will post them as unfinished pieces. I have noticed that if I don't continue in spite of not wanting to post until I am sure of a piece, I tend to lose interest and after being away from Art about a month, I better keep moving.:)

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Today is the 5th of January and I had not had a chance to wish all of you a happy New Year from my blog. Although I know my blog should be about art and not family and work life, but regardless of this, what surrounds the artist, always has an affect of somekind on the art we try to produce. The truth is, my famlily life has been very active in these last few weeks that I really haven't had a chance to produce any art, but I do paint with my eyes as the colors, shapes, shadows of objects come in contact with them.

Beto and I spent our New Year's Eve at the ranch with our son Juan Carlos, his wife Sofia, and our two youngest grandchildren. It was our other two sons turn to share the last day of the year with their laws. We had an early dinner of cheese fondue and cold cuts, retired early and started a normal work day at the ranch. Beto got his irrigation system running and got a good sprinkle in the process of waiting for the camera shutter to click.

I couldn't help but sharing the photo of our youngest grandson Juan Carlos because at three months, he has never tasted anything close to what is on that cracker as his only food is still formula, but you can tell by the expression, his double chin and cheeks that he would enjoy so much getting some of that into his mouth.:)

I hope everyone will have a prosperous and healthy year. In spite of my year being very busy until the middle of February, I will try to paint what time will permit, post my work and read and comment on so many of my favorite blogs. Till then!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T17:59:00.000-08:00

This post is a little late although it is still Christmas, today. Yesterday I spent all day in the kitchen preparing for our Christmas Eve dinner, that is celebrated in Mexico. This was the first time our three sons and their families were together with us on Christmas Eve, since they married. They usually take turns, one year with us and one the parents of their wives. The mother of my DIL Paola, very generously changed their celebration at noon so they could be with us at night. It will be my turn to do the same, next year.

Our menu was turkey with bread stuffing the way my mom used to make it, cranberry sauce which I can't be without at Christmas, and our Mexican Christmas Eve menu of Bacalao (cod fish) a la Viscaina, white rice and Christmas apple salad. As dessert we had natilla de almendra, turron from Spain, fruit cake and of course all of the nuts and dried fruits.

Our son Luis and his family came over from Aguascalientes where they live, so they were staying with us here at the house, but our son Juan Carlos and wife decided it would be a fun idea for them to spend the night also so that all the small grandkids could rush to our Christmas tree to see if Santa had brought them those long awaited gifts. To watch the excitement was a gift in itself for me.

I wish all of you and your families the best of the Holidays, whatever it be that you celebrate, and my best wishes for this coming year.

Cactus fencing

2008-12-13T12:50:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to have a session with Michael before posting any of the recent work I have done, but it hasn't been possible, so I'll take the risk of posting something that might need a lot of correcting.

Robin Neudorfer mentioned in her very interesting and descriptive posts in her blog about the Plein Air workshop in Mexico, the fact that many of the village people in rural Mexico, use cacti to fence in, their houses. It is very true and unfortuantely a custom that is being lost. This type of cacti is so hardy and grows so easily from a prune that they won't be easily extinct. They are a Stenocereus cacti and have branches that come straight up from the stem and can be as tall as a medium size tree. If the branches are cut at the stem this serves as a prune that helps the plant, then branches are lined up on the ground to cut them the same size. After two weeks of laying in the sun to hea the cut part, they are then planted in the ground to use as fencing. If they are close enough together they eventually close the gaps between them and not only protect from intruders, but also make a nice wind barrier.

At the ranch we have a stucco wall surrounding most of the area but we only had a barbed wire fence that did not look very nice, surrounding part of the front and one side so we decided to wall in that area with cactus fencing. We have just recently done this, so I decided I would give it a try to paint the inside of the fencing on one side in my most recent Plein Air painting.

This fencing was possible with the generosity of the people living in the village who contributed with the pruning of their fences and with expertise of one of our faithful workers, Mayo and his father.

Tangerine Season

2008-11-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

We have excellent sweet juicy tangerines in San Luis Potosi and I try to keep plenty around while the season lasts. It is one of my favorite fruits and I was lucky enough to rescue one from my husband, to try out another painting, from life. I almost finished it in one session but I was using natural light on it and partially shaded the left side but it began to get dark so I decided to try to finish it today. I'm sure this needs tweaking but after I get a few more paintings done I will send them to Michael Newberry for our next session.

A few wet on wet studies

2008-11-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

It has been such a long time since I last posted work. Life gets in the way sometimes but the desire to produce some art, is always there. I have had to find an easier way to produce my art until I decide if I'm going to have back surgery or not.

One of the things I left on my waiting list was trying some Plein Air and putting into practice what I learned from Michael Newberry during the workshop. There is one Plein Air of these three small paintings (12x9.5in.), and two attemps of wet on wet. The interior was really just a study of the white wall to learn how to mix in some colors into the white. I enjoyed doing that very much but didn't plan my composition right and the painting only includes a fourth of the wall, so I'm afraid it doesn't read very well. The onions still life started as an alla prima, but I got interrupted so many times that I was only able to work on it for a while during three days, so by then most of the paint was dry.

This has gotten me back in the swing of painting so I hope I will be posting much more often.

New Grandson

2008-10-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I last posted in my blog but life has been busy and a little hectic sometimes. Although one very happy incident in my life, was the birth of our new grandson Juan Carlos, born September 18. He is very good little baby so far, and sleeps almost all of the time as most babies do. His sister Sofìa is a sweet little protective sister but was not all that happy today when I got to carry him. She wanted my attention quickly, which is something that flattered me very much since it is usually me who can't get enough of her attention and she had been more of a granpa girl until today. :)

Artwise I have had to slow down due to a herniated disk in my spine but I am excited because Michael Newberry has suggested I use his Plein Air technique using small panels on still life set ups from life. This will be much easier because, in spite of the fact that I will do them in one session I won't be fighting with the light changes until I get enough practice to try them outside or indoors on natural lit subjects. I hope to post these soon!

Close to the final update and workshop

2008-08-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Michael Newberry

Kristin Daly painting on the ranch grounds

Plein Air group watching Michael's 2nd demo

Plein Air group at Mineral de Pozos
Left to right: Sandra Rice, Elizabeth Wepsic, Michael Newberry, Robin Neudorfer, Kristin Daly

In the meantime I also had the pleasure to host Michael Newberry's Plein Air workshop at our ranch in San Luis Potosi. It was an unforgettable experience for me and one that I will cherish dearly. We took two excursions. One to Mineral de Pozos and one to San Miguel Allende. The group painted on the way there and the rest of the time at the ranch. I learned very much from just listening and watching Michael. Unfortunately I wasn't able to finish my pieces because I was a little more worried about the hosting and also found that painting wet on wet is not as easy as Michael makes the technique look. Now I will apply what I learned watching and listening as soon as I get the feel of the wet on wet technique, without making mud.

I have really been slow at updatng my blog but life has gotten so busy for me lately. The last time Michael and I discussed my painting there was some minor tweaking needed and I hope to work on that this coming week. This is my last updated picture and I hope that when I post the last update I will finally have an appropriate title for it.

Now for the last stretch.

2008-06-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting frequently on my blog lately but I have had quite a few things that need my attention and my painting has been coming along a little faster I feel, but maybe not as fast as I would like it to. I am sure I will still need to tweak the parts I have worked on, but at least I can post the painting with the color on the peaches now, and I am ready to start what I think will be the hardest part. The tissue paper! I have no idea how I will get it to look translucent but fortunately I have an incredible mentor that shows me how to solve these problems, like magic.

I have also been quite busy getting the ranch house ready for the Michael Newberry Workshop on the 5th of August. This will be another incredible experience for me and a great pleasure to have Michael in our home, and those taking the Plein Air workshop.

A pleasant surprise came this week in an email with a link to Michael Newberry's blog. It will be fun checking frequently for his new work that always shows a variety of Oil Masterpieces, Pastels, Charcoals and Plein Air.

Update on Peaches

2008-05-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated my peaches painting on my blog, purposely because I feel that the fact that part of it is in grey scale and part is colored, can confuse the viewer a bit.

This has been a most interesting, intense task. It has been painting literally, inch by inch as Michael Newberry has taught me in the Mentor Program. Doing big studies of difficult areas in pastel or graphite, following my pastel color studies and also doing thumbnail sketches from the set up from different angles. I have to be honest and say I didn't see the sense in doing so much, but I did it and have found that these are tools a realist artist should not work without.

At the moment the Peaches and tissue paper are still in grisaille and the casted shadows on the platter might not make much sense, but once the peaches and tissue paper are colored and the light put in its place I think everything will fall into place. I plan to go a little faster now but still can't possibly know when I will finish it. I imagine there will be a tweaking stage at the end, but what is ahead of me will be done with great pleasure.

Xavier de Richemont in our city

2008-04-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Our city of San Luis Potosi has been one of the chosen cities where Xavier de Richemont has mounted one of his brillaint night light installations on the Cathedral of the city and the Church of El Carmen, both 18th century buildings. The light installation is accompanied by gorgeous classical music and all of the lights of the Historical Center are turned off except those street lamps that so beautifully illuminate our very Mexican Barroque and Neo-Classical architecture.

The light installation last 15 minutes and has constant design changes on the light stone facade of both churches. His play with color is spectacular, making the churches look like they are painted of Gold, Indian Red, and other folkloric colors of Mexico. Starting with climbing designs of plants, that look like shadows from the bottom right corner, creeping along until the whole building is decorated. On the Carmen Church, he displayes Mexican religious paintings of the 17th and 18th century, while changing the colors in all of the stone carved barroque decorations of the church. One of the most emotive moments for natives of this country, is the moment in which the image of our Lady of Guadalupe Mexico's patron, appears and the music is suddenly turned to Mariachi music.

Unfortuanetly I did not have a video camera or my camera with me but these marvelous photographs have been taken by, Jadmarin and gdiazdeleon.

I just had to show this one off!

2008-03-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

This is my 16 month old grandaughter, Sofia. She has quite a personality and at her young age has her preferences so very well established. Sofia is very feminine, dainty, delicate but at the same time has a tremendous love for nature and animals. She prefers a stuffed animal to a doll any day, and although when in a store she goes to the perfume counter to stare and examine so carefully and with much interest, all of the perfume bottles. She adores this cowgirl hat my husband bought for her almost as much as she love her baby blanket. Now it is the glasses, so this is the official costume in her house all day long, for now!

I have finished my platter on my peaches painting I think, but I would like to post a picture of the painting when it is complete. I am thoroughly enjoying the part I am working on now and next are the peaches so the color will be more intense and last will be the tissue paper. That part will probably be the toughest of the whole painting for me. I hope to post an update very soon

Plein Air Workshop in Mexico

2008-03-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to have an update on my peaches painting to be able to post on my blog . I am working on the platter and have almost finished that part except for some details but it needs supervision from Michael Newberry before I feel that, that part is finished. I hope to post something by the end of next week. This is a slow process but a very pleasureable one.

Michael Newberry will be giving a Plein Air Workshop on our ranch here in San Luis Potosì in August. I am so excited about this an looking forward to it immensly. Plein Air is a technique I have never tried so I am hoping that after that workshop I will have work to post very often. There are six people signed up and of those I have met four, so it will be so very exciting to see them again, and meet the other artists that have signed up. San Luis is a perfect place to do Plein Air and the climate is gorgeous at that time of the year.

I have no pictures of art to post so I will post a little of what goes on in our city on Good Friday, the Friday before Easter. I found a video on You Tube of our Silent Procession that is very blurry, but the essence of this procession is clearly felt in this video together with some of our beautiful architecture and colors. Although, I know it can be a little impressive to those that don't quite understand that the religious celebrations of Mexico´s indigenous communities, incorporate the European heritage and give it a special syncretism thus, making it a unique and picturesque interpretation of the Holy Week traditions.

Mexico is nearly 90 percent Catholic, so this religious holiday takes on a special meaning that the entire community shares and participates in. All of Mexico celebrates Semana Santa, but certain cities and villages are better known for celebrating the holiday. In San Luis Potosí, residents stage a silent procession on Good Friday in which local brotherhoods march, carrying giant images of Christ's last moments.

Procesion del Silencio

Rubber Tree Leaf

2008-02-29T15:00:00.000-08:00

I love the colors and shapes different plants and leaves take on when they dry. In spite of this meaning the end of their life some continue being beautiful, always. It is the case of the huge Rubber Tree leaves that when still hanging from the tree have such an exuberant green to them and their shape is completely smooth, with very little curvature to them at all. A friend of mine puts them in vases and makes lovely arrangements. She shared some of them with me and I was dying to do a pastel of one, but in my desire to use my new amber bottle I had bought for a Still Life, I picked the wrong color of paper and ended up having to put in the bright red surface so that both would show up. We never cease to learn from our mistakes, do we.

Pastel Poms

2008-02-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has taken me so long to post something on my blog. I did this one almost about a month ago but I have been working on my painting and other things that I haven't had a chance to post. My life seems to be go,go, go lately with the construction of our much smaller house than the one we sold on our ranch two years ago. It is coming along and I will post some pictures as soon as it is finished.

Peaches WIP

2008-01-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

A very happy New Year to everyone and I am sorry for taking forever to post something on my blog. I hope this year is treating you all well an that many blessing and good things will come your way.

I have very slowly been applying the color to my grisaille and I must say this is a most fascinating process. In the last update that I sent to Michael Newberry, he asked me to do a little assignment for him before we had our next session. This assignment was to go to each side of my set up and draw the still life from that angle, one on the right of it an one on the left of it. It took my brain a while to assimilate why it was he wanted me to do this but when it was explained to me, I found that it is an incredible tool. The cloth on the left side of my painting is too close to us so the assignment was for me to be able to estimate the distance from my point of view when painting that part of the piece and this is done by making a quick sketch in perspective, viewing it from each side. My next step is to correct the cloth in the painting by pushing it back.

Tangerine

2007-12-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

I had to do a little research to find the right word. It is the peak season for our small tangerines or mandarins as they are called in Spanish. I was not sure if they were the same as the clementines but I think what we have are tangerines. They grow so well in this area without any special care. So I think that most of the ones we get in the grocery store are completely organic, free from all fertilizer and pesticide. They make a wonderful thurst quencher and a great fruit as a desert.

Pastel on full sheet of burgundy Canson

A little Boasting

2007-11-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

I might be doing this too much now on my blog but I just couldn't pass this one up, it is part of the nature of being a grandmother and a very proud grandmother this time.

This is my 9 year old grandson Luis Paulo receiving a recognition and shaking hands with Governor Eduardo Bours of the state of Sonora. He was chosen to speak and lead the salute of the flag at the ceremony the Governor was going to preside at his school. The reason for the ceremony was that his school was ranked one of the highest in the country scholastically, after a new aptitude test was applied to all the students in Mexico. Two students received the recognition from the Governor, the little girl that got the highest grade and my grandson.

Mixed Media Challenge

2007-11-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

I am one of the Moderators in the Mixed Media forum at WetCanvas and recently I came across Cyndi Lavin in the forum. I nominated her for Guide of the forum and she is not only an excellent overall artist, but a very enthusiastic person. She has started some very interesting and fun challenges in the forum. As Moderator of the forum the least I can do is give the challenge a try. This is my entry for this month and the idea was to use a grid to work out the composition for your piece.

Still in the Corner

2007-11-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

I am still in the right top corner of my grisaille trying to apply the color. This has been a very difficult process that has required a tremendous amount of patience from me but I trust that with Michael Newberry's guidance I will eventually achieve something that I will be satisfied with. My problem has been, that I am working in this area that is supposed to be the darkest area of my piece but I have the two colors of my shawl and their folds have a quiet soft highlight but it cannot be contrasting or light but should have plenty of color. I had to rub out my first two tries and now I am trying to work out my third. During my last session with Michael I think it came clear to me what my problem has been so I hope that will soon be solved and since Michael has asked me to only work in areas of the size of a post card until I get it perfect, I don't have much to show, so I will post my last pastel study. I hope to be posting more often from now on.

Trusting your emotional responses

2007-10-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

About a week ago Michael Newberry asked me to do some simple tissue studies in pastel for my oil painting and he told me to keep going until I felt delighted with one. He said trust your emotional responses and just the thought made think I wasn't going to be able to. I remembered his advice about bouncing light directed to a colored piece of paper that would reflect on my tissue. I did just that with some orange paper but also had the purple and blue shawls from my peach set up behind the tissue. The colors were magical on the tissue, I had never seen so many different colors on a piece of white paper and that was enough to get me going and finally finish a study I was very satisfied with.

The pleasure of watching babies.

2007-09-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

My youngest grandaughter, Sofìa was a year old day before yesterday, so I went over to her house to hug her and give her, her birthday present. She was so inquisitive about the box and once she saw the walking stroller she was full of smiles. One of the things I love watching most in babies is there genuine expression and attitude. Sofìa had a little friend over and of course he also wanted a ride but her expression says so much in the second picture about that. I was not fast enough with my camera to capture her reaction of pushing him aside after the second picture but his reaction to that, came very fast and he new just where to aim. That was the end of her cute little pink bow. Fortunately he was offered another toy and friendship was restored.

A most pleasing experience

2007-09-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

So much anticipation and excitement about the Pastel Workshop and it went by in a blink. It was although one of the best experieinces I have had in my life. The learning was paramount and the company unmatchable. Michael Newberry was a dear and I am very grateful for his patience and expertise to head a workshop.

This was my first time painting outdoors and I have to admit I was not that satisfied with the outcome, I need very much practice but I will never let that keep me from trying again. It is just so incredible how the light changes in minutes and to find our brightest bright was very challenging because it was there one minute and gone the next. We also had limited time to do these and that was something I would foget easily and wanted to work more on perfecting it than the light, so in part I have to learn to work fast. I wasn't going to post anything but I guess sometimes it can be a learning experience to post what one had trouble with and remember the suggetions and comments of a mentor like Michael.

Now back to my pastel colors studies for my grisaille.

Ready for color

2007-09-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

I believe I said that several post before but there were quite a few details to tweak and issues with the lights and darks. Michael Newberry said it was ready so now I just need a session with him to learn how to apply color to a grisaille. It will be an incredible fantastic experience, I know.

I have really loved every minute of the long grisaille process and although I don't think I will do all of my paintings in this way I will always try to have one on an easel while doing other pastels, paintings or charcoals.

Our Pastel Workshop is just about a week and half away so you can imagine the excitement and I hope I will come back with several worthy pastels to post.

Candle on gold leaf base - pastel

2007-08-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

I am still doing pastel color studies for the cloth on my grisaille but I think I like doing cloth now. I was quite pleased with the gold look on the base of the candle.

Peaches and Cloth Study

2007-08-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting things about this pastel technique of Michael Newberry, is that it should be done on dark paper and depending the color of the paper the result of course, can be quite different. This one is on burgundy Canson paper but my goal should be to get the cloth quite dark since in my set up for my painting there is no light hitting the cloth. This one is still too light so I will try over another color next time and a different pastel color also.

Peach and Plate WIP

2007-08-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

This is not finished yes, it still has some things to correct but I'll post it as a WIP. This is such a wonderful medium to learn color theory with and although I still need more reviewing, I have learned things doing these color studies that I had never thought about before in all of the time I have been using color. Michael Newberry has an incredible sixth sense when it comes to applying the right colored pastel to another, he knows exactly how the color next ot it, will react.

Magenta or Purple

2007-07-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

Both colors are on my list of favorites and I guess one is a hot pink and the other is a deep violet. Anyway it is a joy to try to find the right one for my grisaille painting and at the same time try to learn this technique that has a new mystery everytime I have a session with Michael Newberry. It is so much more complicated to finding what color looks good next to another in pastel and how warm and cool colors will at the end either make or break your piece, depending on how you have chosen and placed them in it. I still have quite a bit to learn and I think only with practice, will the choices be made right.

My Little Corner

2007-07-21T05:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post my painting in my studio and my set up, so the size of the painting could be appreciated. What was a large studio when planning our house, turned into a smaller one because I shared half of it with my husband as a TV room, so while he watches TV in the evening, I paint. If I didn't have so many plants maybe I would have more room to move around, but they make such a nice atmosphere.

Second Grisaille Update

2007-07-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

I think this is very close to the end now and will be ready for color. This has been a very long process but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have not once felt frustrated with it, in spite of having some problems with small details and having to take steps back. I think these steps back have been a tremendous learning experience for me and as I went along I saw how my eye was learning to see things that weren't quite right and I was able to correct them. I am beginning to squint naturally now, something that at the beginning was very hard for me to remember and what an important tool it is, to really find the difference in values.

I have also been working on some pastel cloth studies as guides for the two colors that will be used in the cloth in this painting. I plan to post some of those is next few days and hope to post my color advances in this painting more often.

Gratitude

2007-06-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

I came across this thought this morning written by Maureen Di Gia and I thought it was the perfect thing to post this morning to thank all of you that so kindly comment on my blog and have in many ways shown affection through these posts.

I was hoping to have an update of my grisaille but it is taking me longer to establish my values. Yesterday I rubbed out my fringe so that was a step back but at the same time I finished the weaving on my platter. I'm sure it needs adjustments but that is a step forward. So if I finish my fringe today I will hopefully be ready for another session with Michael in the coming week and be able to post the update of my gisaille.

" 10 years from now, I will look back at the years that have past and the things that have happened. I know, today, that at least I will look back and see that I told my loved ones how dear they are to me EVERYDAY and that I loved and was loved in return…to the moon and back. I already feel… how lucky I have been… to have so much! And if I had to be gone tomorrow, I know that not one person I have in my life would wonder how I felt about them, grateful and lucky!"Written in 2007 by dm-angel aka Maureen Di Gia

Pastel cloth color study

2007-06-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to learn how to use pastels in the way Michael Newberry does his and it looks so easy but it is so terribly difficult. I think this one might not be as bad as the others I have practiced with before this one. Fortunately I will be going to his Pastel Workshop in New York in September. Something I am looking forward to tremendously.

Grisaille update

2007-06-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

This was my last update shown to Michael Newberry last week but I had not posted it here. I was hoping to have the next one ready but I have been working on the weaving of the platter and that is really taking time. This is an exciting process and one that requires quite a bit of patience. I still have to make corrections on this one as it seems I am getting this too dark and the center of the peaches is also, so I hope to have that corrected and the weaving done by the next update.

In the meantime.

2007-06-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Mixed Media on MDF board 2x2 ft.

I am working hard on the oil grisaille of my peaches painting but I would like to post the grisaille as soon as I have the weaving of the bowl finished.

I feel very flattered when people mention liking my abstracts as Philip did in one of his comments. What happens to me with abstracts is that I have never had any training in painting an abstract and they are completely instinctive. I never can plan an abstract, I have to face a blank canvas and think color first and then let the painting take me. I never know in what direction or how far and I question myself all of the time about this not being the correct way. My experience with Mixed Media helps me in knowing what material and mediums work together and which don't, but at the end I am always haunted by the same dilemma.

Any bulls around?

2007-05-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

After selling our big ranch house last summer and keeping the working land for the cattle, we have decided that we need a smll place to stay for the weekend so now we are slowly building what will be a one story small house. This will mean going out to the ranch every weekend for me again. It will also give me a chance to do some charcoal and pastel plein air that I am very much looking forward to.

I am working on the grisaille part of my painting now and as soon as I have it looking like a graphite drawing and ready to start applying color to it, I will post it.

In the meantime I just had to post the pictures of our 7 month grandaughter Sofìa. She definately inherited the ranching genes from her grandfather.

Tagged

2007-05-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Our recent trip to Sonora to see our son and family.

TAGGED

I'm not even sure what this is all about but I have been tagged by Judith Nijholt-Strong, my co-moderator at Wet Canvas. Her blog is really a joy to visit as her creative way of writing through her cats, is most enjoyable. She is also and incredible artist, potter, and wonderful person to moderate a forum with, even if she did tag me.

I have been informed by Judy that I have to tell you seven things that you may not know about me. The thing is, my memory won't help me remember what I have said around the forums and blogs and I have probably said too much, so I will give it a try.

1. I used to get up every morning at 5:20 to jog in the park and listen to the crackling of the trees while the birds awoke. Now it is not safe so I do Pilates.

2. My favorite perfume is Escada.

3. I'd give anything to hug a horse but they don't like me.

4. My husband and I were once checking out our well at the ranch and the ground underneath my husband collapsed, he landed on a branch of a huge root with his back to the side of the constructed part of the well and was able to push himself back up with just his heals and back. I could not reach for him because the earth between us had caved in.

5. My mother was forty when I was born.

6. I don't know where I really belong. I have equal amounts of French, Spanish, German and English blood, I live in Mexico and was born in the US.

7.When I was about 17 I saw this incredible good looking guy cross the street one day in this city, and was followed by him everyday for one month before he said a word to me. He has been my husband for 41 years.

Well now I believe I have to Tag some people but I'm afraid I can only Tag four and be sure they will forgive me if they don't want to play.

Robin Neudorfer- and incredible versatile artist and friend that excells and any art she tries.

Judi Lynch- our Moderator in the Drawing and Sketching forum at Wet Canvas, one of the first real friends I have had here and a superb graphite artist.

Billie Craine- my dear Billie, so much fun to chat with and a superb Pastelist and Watercolor artist.

Pilan - a great Plein Air artist and valuable friend with a huge heart who has been a little under the weather but this might perk her up a little and hope she has time to play. She recently came all the way to San Luis to meet me.

Deliverance

2007-05-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day in Mexico and I can't think of a better time to post this. I think it is finished now.

Those of you that are mothers and grandmothers know of the joy of holding a newborn baby in your arms. There is nothing you protect more and as you love and caress this child you can hardly wait for the baby to smile, sit, talk and walk. While you enjoy these stages you don't realize how fast time goes by and one day you wake to find out that your little girl has turned into to a gorgeous beautiful woman at age 14. Where did my little girl go?

I wanted to express in this drawing where I find myself now in relation to my grandughters and how I vision them at this moment, and at the same time remind myself how important it is to savor every moment of childhood in them, because before you know it, they are all grown up.

In this drawing, Sofìa 6 months would be the peach with the protective tissue paper symbolizing infancy, protection and the joy of being swadelled. Ana Paula 12, is partially veiled but anticipating all that involves being free in the sense to make her own choices and discove the exciting age of adolescence. Daniela 14, has bloomed into a beautiful young lady, ready to live exciting moments but also vulnerable to so many emotions that will be coming her way.

The rebozo in the background is a symbol of their cradle in a figurative sense, and the wicker platter symbolizes the light and sturdy nature of the support given to them by their loved ones.

Kahlil Gibran in this quote sums up a little of the feelings that I have experienced with this drawing.

Your children are not your children.They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.They come through you but not from you.And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts.For they have their own thoughts.You may house their bodies but not their souls,For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you,For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,and He bends you with His might that His arrows might go swift and far.Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;For even as He loves the arrow that flies,so He loves also the bow that is stable.

-Kahlil Gibran

Charcoal on Rives 26X17 inches

Pear Study

2007-05-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

Charcoal on Rives 6.5X10

The day has finally come when I have heard the words from Michael about starting my first oil painting in the Mentor Program. It will be my Peaches piece that only has a couple of details to solve before I post it here and I am also trying to think of a title. This process has brought so much joy to me because after the first piece, the ideas and work technique have become a real pleasure.

Day before yesterday I decided to do a small quick study with charcoal on Rives and to my surprise I was quite content with it at the end. It still needs refining also but I will post it before I finish refining my Peaches piece. BTW, I still have a lot to learn about pastel but as an early birthday present I have asked to be able to take part in Michael Newberry's 3 day pastel workshop in New York.

Pastel Color Study

2007-04-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have no experience at all doing pastels so I will do several of these until I learn to do them right. This is a color study for the painting I will start after I finish my current charcoal drawing. I have come across a problem with not being able to find the same kind of peaches. The ones in the charcoal drawing are imported and I was finding them in the grocery store everyday but this week I have not been able to find any. The peaches is the pastel sketch are our Mexican variety which is small, firm and very tasty but maybe not as pretty in form as the imported ones. The color is very pretty so I will use them as a color study in the meantime.

I have learned that if you are going to paint something that will take you quite a bit of time to finish, it is not very convenient to to do plants, flowers or any perishables of any kind, if you are painting from life and it is not Alla Prima or Plein Air.

In this study I am adding the colors that belong to the wicker platter, tissue paper and shawl besides the peaches.

The Importance of a Thumbnail

2007-04-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

I have started my new charcoal piece and was very satisfied with how easy the ideas for the thumbnails sketches flowed this time. The only thing is that when I started my piece I got carried away with my set up and forgot to use my thumbnail sketch as a guide. Half way through my piece I noticed that my plate with peaches did not show its priority in the whole drawing and that would change the whole meaning of the piece. In my thumbnail sketch the plate and size of the peaches are much larger and they are meant to be the focal point in the drawing, while in this study they take a minor place and are a little over powered by the dark shadow to the right. I am satisfied with the study as it is, so I will not change it or continue to work on it, instead I will start a new one with the same theme following my thumbnail sketch a little more closely. If all goes well with this piece it will eventually become a big painting in oil, and that is something that really has me all excited as it will call for some pastel studies of the peaches. Something new for me but something I am looking forward to immensely.

Espiritu Ascendente

2007-04-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

This piece is dedicated to my granddaughter Pao who as some of you know, left us two years ago at age five. She was born brain damaged and was deprived of verbal communication and voluntary movement but she had the capability of offering a smile with a radiance I have never seen in anyone else.

This smile, like her giggles would make me feel and understand how such a simple action could give you moments of complete happiness. No other smile has ever been the same.

The flower symbolizes her as I think she left us that day, radiant and turning to a light that only she was capable of seeing. The lace is characteristic of her fragility, beauty and her Latin heritage. The cloth is the baby sheet she spent many hours on in my house when she was brought to visit me frequently. I can feel her sweet angelic smile as I have worked on this and now that I am posting it.

I have chosen a Spanish title that translated means, Ascending Spirit. Spanish because, as the lace, reflects her Latin heritage and I think it is the title that best describes this piece. The flower, her symbol, has a slight turn upward as if it were lifting itself from the sheet to the light that guides the Spirit.

I thank Michael Newberry from the bottom of my heart for this unforgettable experience that at times was difficult, as he said it would be, but most of the time I had the pleasure of feeling her presence.

Charcoal on Rives 26X16

Patience, I am learning.

2007-03-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I last posted in my blog. I have been working on my flower piece which has been a very slow but pleasurable process. Without a doubt Michael Newberry is and excellent mentor and I have learned so much from him and this program. I had never planned my work before and now I understand the importance of doing so. When I see a tutorial of his and see all of the work he puts into one piece I understand why he is steering in that direction and no matter how long it takes me to finish a piece, I know I will be happy with the result.

This piece is still not finished but I worked on it quite a bit this week so I will post this update and I have started some thumbnails for my next piece.

Ascending Spirit WIP

2007-02-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in quite a while because I have been working hard on this project but it is a slow and very new process for me, starting with the amount of thumbanils sketches needed to finally come up with an idea I was satisfied with. Thanks to the mentorship of Michael Newberry I have learned the importance that a piece have a reason and meaning for its creation.

This piece is not even close to being half way done and it needs corrections in what is done but I think the idea of where it is heading, is pretty clear. I still have to establish my vlaues, soften my folds and extend the lace to fill in that space it is in right now. I am truly enjoying this part now since I think compositon and light is on the way to being solved.

Charcoal on Rives paper 17x26

Finally on the way to a new piece.

2007-02-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

I have not posted because I have been working hard on the inspiration stage of my mentor program with Michael Newberry. I have worked on at least 30 gestural thumbnails and have finally found an image that I would like to put on the big sheet of the Rives paper. This will be an emotional piece and I must say that working with charcoal on such a big format in a different technique is being an exciting and fantastic experience. The process of saturating you paper with charcoal and then taking some of it off, is a very fulfilling practice. I started my big piece yesterday and have put five hours into it. There is not enough to show yet, but I do hope to post an update in the following week.

In the meantime I am posting the compositional thumbnail sketch. The practice of doing these sketches is to use as a guide and a tool as with the atmospheric sketch. They are sketches that are not supposed to take more than 2 min. to do but the purpose of doing so many is to have several alternatives to choose from for the real thing. The subject of the sketch has to have some emotional meaning and the objects used should be part of that meaning. Once I have posted an update I will write a little about it.

A new year a new experience.

2007-01-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

Eloquence is not my gift so it has always been rather hard for me to express myself verbally. I wish I could find the words to express what a wonderful experience it has been for me to find such incredible giving people through the Internet and blogging. I appreciate all of the words of ecouragment and friendship I have received from you and hope that after I get on my way with Michael Newberry's Mentor Program, I will start posting maybe a WIP at first, but in the meantime I will continue enjoying the vist to your blogs.

All the best for this coming year!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I have bee slow at posting this week but it is a busy week for all of us. We will be leaving day after tomorrow for Las Hadas in the Pacific Coast of Mexico for a different Christmas this year. Two of ours sons with their families will be going also although it won't feel much like Christmas in very warm weather but it has been sometime since we have been to the beach and we do love it so it will be nice.

I'm posting something that I might have posted at the beginning of my blog since this was done last year around this time, but at the moment I think it is the most appropriate image I have to post.

I also have something very exciting to look forward to at the beginning of the year. That is a mentorship with Michael Newberry. I think this will be one of the best opportunities I will have had, art wise, and I intend to put my heart into it. It will be interesting to see if this will sustain my love for abstracts or open a new horizon for me.

Have a great holiday season!

Profiles V

2006-12-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

These last two posts have been a turn for me for something a little lighter. I like the change of colors and hope I can make a series that will keep its continuity. Newsprint, copper leaf, acrylic and oil on stretched canvas. 16X24

Profiles IV

2006-12-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

I had one of those aha moments today that very seldom come to you so I decided to get out a canvas and see what happened. To my surprise this turned out fortunately different from the last two. It was one of those fast ones and it actually pleased me when I fisnished it. Newsprint, gold leaf, acrylic and oil on stretched canvas. 16X20

Encaustic Mixed Media

2006-12-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

One of the things I find fascinating about Mixed Media and alternative materials is that you can play around with it so much. If the result is not what you wanted you can't put it back the way it was but you can alter it and change it completely. In this case there was something I did not like about my last post image and I still do not know if I am satisfied because it is something a little different from what I usually do, so sometimes I have to see it up on the screen, in a post and in my house to really know if I like it or not. So far I have just added some encaustic to the previous post image, and I am still tempted to pour some black over it but I think I will watch it for several days before I decide. This is not the best picture since it is nightime and the lights in my studio did not help the image but I will replace it for one taken tomorrow.

Mixed Media

2006-12-10T07:27:00.000-08:00

I have not decided if this is finished yet. I was playing around with it is so it is a small piece. 10X8 canvas panel. What I am not very happy with, is that the patina I used over the page to tone done the color makes it look dirty instead of old. I'm thinking of going over with dribbles or pour but am not quite sure. I would never tear a page out of an old book but this book was already very torn and had no salvation. Unfortunately it is a 19th century Theology book and I would not want to use it disrespectfully. 10x8 canvas panel and ribbon, acrylic, feather, sumi, ink and oil.

In Memory of Pao 1999-2005

2006-12-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

This is Pao, my grandaughter that came into this world in a very tragic way, as her mother's uterus scar, burst open from a previous C Section, leaving Pao without oxygen for five minutes. This left her severly brain damaged and the only thing she could do was smile radiantly and return the enormous amount of love she received from all of us and the peolpe who knew her well from the frequent visits to the Teleton Center (CRIT), for her weekly therapy and evaluation. Pao left us quietly March 13th 2005 at age five, leaving a huge vacuity in our life and heart.

Pao's happiest years were the last two of her life, when my son and daughter in law started to take her to the Teleton Center, (CRIT) in Agauscalientes, a city two hours driving distance from our city. In 1997 Televisa Foundation started annual 24 hour fundraisers on TV and with the help of a great number of companies and people around the world they built the first Center in Mexico City for Handicapped and Brain Damaged children. This has brought hope to thousands of children with special needs. Today two more centers will be inaugurated makingn a total of ten centers in the country. The goal of this foundation is to have a center for every state in the country. The economic capability of the parents of each child that is admitted as a patient of the Center, is evaluated also. Those who can pay the fees do have to, but those that cannot are treated for free. The great majority of these children are from rural remote places and it would take their parents a day or more to get the child to the center and the cost of transportation would be high, so these children are left without assistance. This is why it is so important that each state have a center and at the moment there are 15,000 children waiting to have a center near them. There is still a long road to travel to reach the Foundation's goal but hopefully with events like the 48hour TV fundraiser that will start tonight, another two centers will be built by next year.

Teletòn Page

Video

New Mixed Media

2006-12-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

This to me seems quite raw and visceral as I see it on the screen and when I saw what the result was when I finished it. My intention was to use the page of and old torn book that had no salvation to composed something appealing but I let myself go and before I knew it I had the ink spots on it and finished off with the addition of a dramatic stroke of texture. I decided to leave it because this one has taken me to another one that is not quite finished but might make me turn to something very different. I don't consider this a pretty painting but I do consider it expressive, either it be my love for earthy and old things or my frustration for not remembering the image revealed to me the night before.

Charcoal Drawing

2006-11-29T16:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in quite a few days but I have been working on several projects. This morning around 4am I woke and started thinking of a new Mixed Media painting and since I couldn't get back to sleep I decided to start my day early. Putting coffee on first and then taking my shower and getting the chores out of the way so I could go straight to my art with the new project. All of this time I had not thought of the idea I had had at that hour of the morning. What terrifying feeling when I got to my art table and could not remember what it was I had thought of and had already worked out in my mind, in the early morning. I think I must have been half asleep but fortunately as the day has gone by the idea came back to me. I am setting out to start it right now but in the meantime I will post this charcoal drawing I did for the Weekly Drawing Thread at Wet Canvas.

Profiles II

2006-11-18T11:32:00.000-08:00

I wish I could post something more often here but in my desire to learn oil painting, I have been spending time on the small daily paintings. I have been working with my abstracts also but I feel they don't work right in small sizes so I prefer to take a little more time and do something larger. I enjoyed this one! It gives me the impression of a still life with fruit and flowers but I had already titled it so, I'm sure a profile will show up in this, anyway.

Sofia's bath

2006-11-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

Hours fly by and it seems I never get all of the things I would like done in one day. I have an abstract almost ready to post and a small still life for my Daily Painters Blog that is just about ready too, but both of those had to be put aside today for other priorities such as visitng my one month old grandaughter while having her bath. After having three kids and five grandchildren that put on a good show crying while being bathed it is such a delightful experience to see the pleasure this baby finds in her night time bath. This is one of her first smiles and now we are making sounds that reach us like a little conversation expecting acknowledgement.

Profiles

2006-11-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

Titles never come to me very easy but I do see some profiles in this one so I will use them as the title. This one is a little larger that the other tissue paper ones. I love using tissue paper and this one got quite busy but a I have one prepared with a little less and I might add something else like encaustic to it. In the meantime here is this one that I enjoyed doing. Tissue paper, copper and gold leaf, oil on MDF board 16X20

Free Hugs!

2006-11-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

While I finish my latest work, please visit Paula Manning-Lewis' blog. It will make you feel good!

Free Hugs Campaign

A Possible Triptych

2006-11-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening I was preparing this board to start another one of my series with tissue paper but I didn't prime the board this time and just used some careless acrylic strokes, to have something under the tissue paper. Looking at the unprimed board reminded me that it takes ink squirts nicely, so I got out my black, red and yellow ink. Actually this was all going under the tissue paper. When I carelessly squirted the black ink, in organic forms, I realized the result was not bad so I waited until today to cover with tissue paper or not. Now I believe I will try to paint two other similar ones and make a triptych. Technorati Tags:Yellow, triptych,tissue paper,ink

Untitled

2006-10-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

This is the second small abstract I try although I do prefer to do much larger. I think I am finding what I want to do in big formats again. I just have to play around with the small one's a little more.

Oil, sand, sand and tissue paper on canvas panel. 8X10

Embrace

2006-10-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

It is funny how when you distract yourself from one style of painting it is hard to find your way back again. I have been doing a little realism in my continued search and will continue for the Daily Painter blog but I have thought of reducing the size of my abstracts until I find exactly what I am comfortable with and then try a big series of abstracts. Oil and tissue paper on 8x10 canvas panel. Technorati Tags:embrace, realism, absract, style

Working!

2006-10-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything but I got myself into several things and I am struggling to get organized. I have three abstracts in the works right now and hope to post one tomorrow.

Copper Leaf again.

2006-10-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

Close up:

It has been almost a week since my last post. My life has been so busy lately and I do paint daily but just haven't been able to get the abstracts done fast enough. I don't feel that this one is finished. There is something about the bottom left gold rectangle that I'm not sure of. Maybe I sould subdue it or do away with it all together. If anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them.

Copper leaf and metallic oils on MDF board. 24x24

Copper and Paper

2006-10-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

I came across some copper leaf that I had never used and tried to put it together with some amate paper and blue Indigo oil paint. These are colors I am not quite used to and have to look at this for several days to see if i didn't overdo it.
Technoarati Tags: copper leaf, amate paper,indigo

Getting back on schedule

2006-10-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been slow posting and visiting other blogs. These last two week have been very busy and then I started a new blog with the desire to paint a small format realsitic oil everyday but I have been having trouble with the templates on this one and that one. My mind is not technically equipped. I accidentally deleted my Art Quotes but will get them back today. My intention of having two was to have this one for the larger and abstract work and the other for the smaller oils. The new blog is on my links. A Daily Effort.

I am excited about starting a new medium today Cera Colla. Hopefuly I will do it right and be able to post something by tomorrow. I am adding a link to this interesting medium.

Red Earth

2006-10-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

This painting was done in pauses with a different idea in mind. As it rested on my easel while the week got busy for me, I lost the idea I had at the beginning and I started seeing it as a finished painting. I might decide later on that it is not finished and continue to work on it but in the meantime I'll just post it.
Acrylic, oil and gold leaf on MDF board 24X24

Reflection

2006-10-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

It has been over a week since I last posted in my blog but a million things have been in my way and also the fortunate arrival of a beautiful grandaughter. I thought I had a good picture of her last night but it is blurry. Hope for better luck tomorrow when I go over and help with the bath. It is such a precious moment to carry a baby and watch how it examines every part of your face with such interest and curiosity while it clutches it's hand to your finger.

We have had a values class at Wet Canvas in the Drawing and Sketching forum and it has taken me away from my painting this week but I do have another abstract on my easel hoping to be finished tomorrow. In the meantime I will post a partial of the drawing for the value class.

Mayan Gods

2006-09-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

The story of this painting is pretty long. It started out with a transfer of the images and then I tried to add some encaustic in the shape of tiles. The tiles looked pretty cool, but I know now, I should measure to be sure I have them straight. The color was not quite right and the gods did not show, so I decided to melt the whole thing down, start over with texture and had to draw the gods in with my brush. Anyway I think this is much more my style, so I will try encaustic tiles another time. Texture, amate paper, acrylic, oil on MDF board. 20X20
Technorati Tags:Mayan Gods, acrylic, encaustic

Habanero Peppers

2006-09-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

I have seen so many nice, painting a day blogs, with small paintings that you can't help but want to give them a try also. I have never really painted just oil and I really like the feel of it after using texture on almost all of my paintings. This is another very small one 4X6.
Yechnorati Tags:habanero peppers, oil, texture

Petroglyphs

2006-09-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

I have been short on words lately but life has been busy this week. I hope to get down to reading all of the wonderful blogs I visit tomorrow, and try another little still life.. In the meantime this is my latest piece. Encaustic, wall texturizer, acrylic, oil and gold leaf on MDF board. 20X20
Technorati tags: petroglyphs, encaustic, still life

A small still life

2006-09-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

For a change and some practice using just oil this week, I thought I would paint a still life. Life has been busy but I hope to catch up with my blog and other blogs starting tomorrow.

Vestige IV

2006-09-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

This week has been a little dry for me, art wise. I have to get back to the swing of things and try to post more often. Sometimes I work on a painting so much and the result is just not what I wanted. I have another painting drying at the moment and hope to post it tomorrow.

Farewell

2006-09-07T03:13:00.000-07:00

Twenty three years ago my husband and I bought an old run down Hacienda at a ridiculous price. Situated 40 min. to the south of our home in the city, in a beautiful mezquite valley and surrounded by rolling hills. It was so run down that I couldn't see anything pretty about it as it's grandeur was hidden by rubble and mondern day patches, here and there. Through the years, with love and constant work we were able to turn it into something truly unique. It became our weekend home, a place to socialize with friends, the home for one of our sons while he started the cattle business and the place where our youngest son was married last year. Today, I went out to pick up some things and as we left, my husband closed the gates behind him, for the last time. As beautiful and loved as the place is, it was becoming a financial and physical burden for the two of us. Our sons are all busy with their work and lives and our plans of turning it into a Bed & Breakfast, were far from becoming true, since it is in the middle of nowhere and the people we would like to cater to, might not find much to be entertained by, except maybe, hiking. Fortunately a buyer showed up at the perfect time and the whole negociation happened so quickly, I had no time to sulk about it. Mixed feelings I do have, but now I can turn the direction and do things on the weekends I have not done for twenty three years.

We have kept our cattle land and cattle that are very close to this place, so now we will see it from the distance, whenever we go out there. The people that bought it said they will not change a thing and leave it decorated as it is. There is a sort of mystery, spirituality and energy that I hope will prevail and will give it's new dwellers the serenity it gave me.

Technorati Tags: Hacienda, mezquite, spirituality, cattle

Still struggling

2006-09-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

I think this will be my last try with this. It shows I have been out of practice with encaustics. The black was too much and now it is very busy but the only thing to do to fix it, would be to melt it all down. I'll leave it for a couple of days and see if it grows on me.

Same encaustic, revisited

2006-09-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

I wasn't completely satisfied with the encaustic last night so I decided to do a little work on it.

New Encaustic

2006-09-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't done one of these for over a year and I think I went overboard with the amount of wax and pigments. I can't get the wax bars here so I buy pure beeswax from the beekeepers and mix dry pigments into the molten wax I keep in small jello cups. I have heard you are not supposed to use encaustic over acrylic but I have done it before with out any problem and it adds depth to the whole piece. In this case I didn't and I poured my pigmented wax directly over the MDF board. Unfortunately my red mixed with the black and got a little muddy. I used a hotgun to fuse everything and I will have to wait a little to be able to buff it. In the meantime I have another wall textured one, waiting to be sanded and worked on tomorrow. Technorati tags:encaustic, beeswax, acrylic, pigments

What next?

2006-08-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am still playing around with textures and colors but this will be my last piece of this size and I hope to start a bigger size with a little more serious work on it. This is another recycled piece. It started with a still life over gold leaf but I ruined it by adding some burlap to it. After taking the burlap off the only solution left, was the wall texturizer to cover with. I had covered it weeks ago and now that I decide to brush some paint over it I found those scratchy indentations but don't find them disturbing so I will leave them.

I was discussing intuitive abstract art with another abstract artist. It is so hard for me to reason with abstracts because then I freeze and connot produce anything. I know a lot of people abtract from reality but it is something I cannot do.
Technorati Tags:gold leaf, abstract, intuition

Earth Again!

2006-08-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

I have been quite absent from my blog this week but I just got back from a trip to McAllen, Texas. My husband bought me a very, far in advance, birthday present but we probably won't get up there again before the end of the year. He bought me a Nikon D50 Digital Camera. The shutter speed is so much faster than the Canon Power-Shot I have. Hope this will improve the quality of the pictures I take of my paintings. I haven't been able to do much painting either since my two grandsons are visiting from Sonora. Although, I did get a quick experimental painting in this afternoon and hope to get some larger one's done this week.

Technorati Tags: Texas, Camera, Nikon, Sonora

Two of Three

2006-08-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

This is the second painting working in the same way I did the previous one of my pour series. I feel that these are too dark but I had to continue with the color palette since I plan to group these. I will have to find a way for the ink to keep it's original bright color. After these three I wiil try with a lighter background and hope the ink reacts differently. The top image is a close up fragment.

Close up of pour 1

2006-08-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

closeup pour 1, originally uploaded by marianuch.

Group of three

2006-08-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Pour 1, originally uploaded by marianuch.

The pervious pour paintings I have posted are still not what I wanted them to be so I am still trying and covering up. I think this one is a little closer to what I want although I would like the brighter color to be more intense. This would be the ink in this one and I feel that it breaks down as it combines with the acrylic. This looks much better in real life because the there is so much going on in it that is not visible on the screen and there is an iridescent glow to it. It is acrylic, acylic ink and pigmented sand on MDF board. My idea is to group three of these in one paintng but with a box frame for each that will only hold the paintings but no decorate them.
Technorati tags:paintings, ink, sand, MDF

The Weekly Drawing thread

2006-08-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

for flicker, originally uploaded by marianuch.

The Weekly Drawing Thread

2006-08-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

Three years ago I came across Wet Canvas. I began to hang around the Mixed Media forum but my desire to learn to draw took me to the Drawing and Sketching forum. There I came across the Weekly Drawing Thread hosted by Stoy Jones at that time. I don'y know if he was the creator of the thread. I was very afraid to post my first drawing but with the excellent critique and kindness of Stoy Jones, Dee, JayD, alfredart, mcbecket and others, I soon felt welcome in the thread. I don't always have time to do the weekly drawing but it is something I am always looking forward too every Sunday evening. I believe it is an excellent way to keep the drawing practice, active.

This is this weeks drawing.

Technorati tags: drawing, sketching, critique

Mango again!

2006-08-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

Mango again!, originally uploaded by marianuch.

I think this will enter as another post because I am posting the image from Flicker since I am still having trouble with the image uploader.

Mango again!

2006-08-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today has been another one of those frustrating days where you think you have a fabulous idea, you work on it for hours, think it is finished, take a picture of it, put it up on your screen and you find that is is a total disaster. I had the brilliant idea of using my leaf and acorn drawing to collage into a geometric abstract but chose the wrong color and also realized that geometric forms are not my thing. I have painted around it in black and poured a gold and ochre oil pour over it. I hope that by morning it will dry and be decent enough for me to post.

That said I will post Mango again after having a stressful business meeting.

Technorati tage:geometric,leaf, cat

Pour Series II

2006-08-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to post anything for my blog because the image uploader has not wanted to work for me. I will try again and see if I'm lucky this time.

Now it seems the page is not found so it might be the blogger and not specifically my blog.

Pour Series

2006-08-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

I started a series yesterday titled earth series, due to the first that made me think of this but after finishing this one it really doesn't look like earth, it looks more like sky so I will just call it, Pour Series. I am a little disappointed because it doesn't like it looked before it dried and I think the secret is to let the top pour dry a little before adding the squirt of ink. The red you see in this is red acrylic ink and when I squirted it into the wet pour it was fascinating to see how the threads of red ink spread out like veins of color through the blue and black pour. I am posting two of these. In the first one I added tissue paper for texture but I believe they look better without the texture, except for the granules of sand I sprinkle in, before it dries. They are both acrylic, acrylic ink and pigmented sand on masonite board, 16X16. My intention was to group these as one whole piece, now it depends on what the outcome will be of the two remaining surfaces I have to work with.
Technorati Tags: earth, ink, masonite, red

Amate Paper

2006-08-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

I used this paper to draw the Weekly Drawing Thread, drawing at Wet Canvas but found out quickly it is not the best paper for graphite. I know people use it for pastels and it could have looked better with the colored Derwent Drawing pencils because of the natural tone the Amate paper has. It does not show up much in the photograph.

"This bark paper is boiled and soaked over night until soft enough for the fibers to pull apart. It is then pounded using a rectangular rock with finger grooves until the pulp is evenly spread out in the shape the paper-maker wants.

The sound of people pounding pulp into paper can be heard echoing off the hills around the town of San Pablito in the Sierra Norte in Puebla.

The color and grain of the paper depends on the bark used to make it. The typical coffee color comes from the Jonote tree (ficus family), white from the Xalama Limón, and the silvery beige color from the Mora (mulberry family), to name just a few varieties. Years of practice let the Otomí artisans make different sizes and thicknesses - from poster-board to crepe-paper weight.

The paper is dried in the sun on the same boards where it is pounded and shaped."

More at this link......http://home.earthlink.net/~kering/amate.html

Tchnorati Tags: Amate, paper, Otomi, Jonote+tree

Recycled Mixed Media

2006-08-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

This was another Fossil painting but I made the grave mistake of putting varnish on it and had not seen some granules of orange pigment on it. As I applied the varnish I streaked the whole painting with orange pigment so I had to cover it with wall texture and start again with something else. I am not completely happy with this one either but having nothing else to post tonight I will use this one and see if it grows on me or I dislike it more as the days go by.

The Power Behind Us
People That Support Us
Behind each of us stands at least one supporter. This was once thought to be the spouse who ran the home while leaving the other spouse free to work. While this is still one valid scenario, most of us will find that we have other kinds of supporters in our lives. In some cases, our supporters are the people whose help allows us to do the things we're best at, see to our obligations, or pursue or dreams. In other cases, our support may come from the people who are there to help us through life's challenges by offering us their strength and bolstering our spirit.

Our support may come from our families and friends or from the people we hire-nannies, assistants, gardeners, healers, therapists, and advisors. Our supporters may be the mentors who help us express ourselves by listening to us as we share our thoughts and feelings. Our supporter can be the person sitting next to us at a networking meeting or the teacher from our childhood whose words still resonate in our minds. We have always had supporters around us whether we noticed them or not. No matter where the support comes from, few of us can make it through life without assistance.

As we take the time to acknowledge everyone that has every supported us, we can't help but feel grateful. Understanding our place in our human support system helps us see that just as there are people that support us, we are a supporter to many people. By gratefully accepting the expertise and assistance of our supporters, we can consciously and more easily build a life that we love. Thanks to our staff, groups, friends, and loved ones for all their support. We all need each other's support to thrive this world. From DailyOM
Techorati Tags: texture, pigment, healers, painting

Mayan Series II

2006-08-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

There are days when I just can't seem to focus on what it is I really want to do and find it so difficult to face a blank canvas. I would really like to try abstracts with a brush and tissue paper like I have done in the past but I get inspired with something else and jump around from one thing to another. I felt that the pour in this painting needed a little more than just the pour. I worked on it trying to get some depth but being used to oil and this being acrylic, I found it hard to follow the original shapes, of the pour. I drew in the Mayan design with a quill pen that I found much easier to control than any other type of pen but still there is something missing or maybe, these are just not my colors.

Patricio

2006-08-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't quite finished this drawing with the three pencils. I seem to have a lot of trouble getting the tone even and it looks a little scratchy. The position of his head is not the way I would have liked this picture but I loved the expression when I took it. It is so true of him when he is cooking up something in his head and the dimples form around his mouth