artist – Page 111 – Almostfinnish’s Blog

Too much time is a recipe for disaster

I think being alone in your studio with a canvas, a photo and too much time is a recipe for over working your painting or adding too much detail.

Zapping the flu the European way with elderberry.

For my birthday traditionally I have a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of red wine and reflex on time past and the years to come. For me it’s a moment when time stands still and all is celebrated. This year I enjoyed a triple fudge cake with a glass of elderberry wine. The next day as I secretly revealed my wine choice a friend of mine excitedly had to pass on a tidbit she read lately about elderberries which I’d like to share as well to you. My thoughts Although I had the flu I just might go get another bottle of this elderberry wine.

Zaps viruses the European way with elderberry.

This has long been used by French, Austrian and Central European doctors to treat the flu, for good reason: Modern research shows its rich in anthocyanins, which stops the flu virus from attaching to cells, slashing your flu risk 30%. And if you do happen to catch it? Elderberry lessons the severity of symptoms and reduces your illness by four days, reports the Journal of International Medical Research.

And this is what I read.

Elderberry is a plant. The berries are used to make medicine. Do not confuse elderberry with American Elder, Elderflower, or Dwarf Elder.

Elderberry is used for the flu ” influenza”, H1N1 “swine” flu, HIV/AIDS, and boosting the immune system. It is also used for sinus pain, back and leg pain (sciatica), nerve pain (neuralgia), and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Some people use elderberry for hay fever (allergic rhinitis), cancer, as a laxative for constipation, to increase urine flow, and to cause sweating.

Elderberry fruit is also used for making wine and as a food flavoring.

http://www.webmd.com

A little creative inspiration

They who drink beer will think beer.

Washington Irving

Frozen in time.

Rome has not seen a modern building in more than half a century.
It is a city frozen in time.
– Richard Meier

My paintings are done and drying

Just trying to make it to the end

I’m just trying to finish a couple of paintings for an up coming show.

I have the frames picked out and dates set for framing.

This week will be the hardest part in order to meet the deadline.

I need to schedule in some drying time for these paintings,

they will not frame any paintings that are wet.

Silly…I’ve hung paintings in galleries…still wet.

I believe I finished one of the painting on Sunday.

Monday went okay a lot of busy work and strategizing.

Tuesday added the ropes along the rails.

Wednesday worked on the water…intense study.

Thursday have my doubts about the painting.

Friday TGIF off early plan to paint.

Saturday last day to work on painting in theory.

Sun-Mon-drying time.

tuesday drop off to be framed.

friday pick up.

saturday drop off at Art Museum to be judged.

Wait…

I engage in this quiet debate in my head.

Sometimes I want to come up with some stupid generalization

as to why my painting is not done yet.

I desperately want it to be done

but at the same time I know I need to too push it a little further.

Add a little more detail.

Sometimes ambiguitiy works sometimes it not enough.

I always dwell in the possibility that I know where I’m headed

but occasionally I have to ask for directions

A direction I may not like.

Until I experience that moment of truth I venture on.

I engage in this quiet debate in my head.

Sometimes I hope for the accidental

as my intuitive manner of painting continues.

My acual interpretation of life into art

lies on a thin line of boring right now something is lacking.

It’s kinda mind numbing.

My art needs to challenge and reaffirm my ideas.

I guess my work is always a revolution of self.

I understand that now.

It’s that unequivocal commitment to the painting surface.

As an artist I take this paint and try to create some order.

Then and only then will I be done

Summer blues

I got up early this morning feeling refreshed.

I sat outside with my coffee.

It was cool and still with a hint of fall in the air.

A faint dripping noise was in the background.

It’s damp but not wet.

I thank God for the moment and wonder what the day will bring.

Being that it is the last day of this long weekend.

The dripping persists almost like a woodpecker. The birds join in.

There’s a haze in the distance but the grass is very green and the woodchips orange.

A hummingbird buzzes a little too close.

The sun is trying to come out adding some color to the trees and then subsides.

A quiet wind has picked up and the clouds are rolling by.

The birds are surprisingly quiet again but that dripping never stops.

I get these visual revelations in my head sometimes.

As to how I should finish a painting that I’ve been struggling with or avoiding.

It’s a painting that has been sitting for quite awhile.

None of the ones I’ve been working on or even thinking about.

I found it and pulled it out of the garage.

It had some striking moments which I am pleased with but it’s in a medium I no longer work with.

But if there’s and end in sight this is a painting for me.

I can’t walk away

There are a lot of tricks you have to keep playing on yourself to keep at it because every time you hit a problem you want to walk away.

Janet Fish

Wisdom is not as complicated as people think.

This is a photo I keep coming back to from time to time. It’s a child hood memory. A time and place.

No great artist ever sees things as they really are.

If they did, they would cease to be an artist.

Oscar Wilde.

Painting has been a vigorous and emotional endeavor. It has been a constant source of anxiety and delight.

I want it to be uncomplicated and practical.

you do not say the same thing in one room as you say in another…….Louis Kahn

Where do they get this stuff?

The same people who say “I want to make beautiful living effortless.”

Now this I like…practical no…but like yes.

As artists we encounter the unexpected.

We need to use our artist instincts.

And maybe reveal our secrets of the trade.

Wisdom is not as complicated as people think.