Tag: studio art work

In the middle of nowhere 3

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In the middle of nowhere 2

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Where mistakes get fixed

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I had some time to paint this weekend. This is a close up of one of my paintings in a triptych. I enjoy the under painting process this is where all the thinking takes place and all the mistakes get fixed.

My top ten paintings a year in Review 2010

1)    The year started out with the sale of two paintings at The Dance Works art  gallery. The show started in October and ran through the beginning of January.

2)  Reworked ‘The Lilly’

   

3)   Started taking my photography to a higher level.

4)   I started preparing for my artist video. Release date will be in 2011.

5)   I scheduled to do a speaking engagement at the local elementary school on career day. It was very enlightening.

6)   Displayed art work at The Smith Brothers Coffee shop in Port Washington.

7)   Also had work on display at The Last Drop of Coffee in Shorewood.

8)   Worked on getting the Zazzle store up and running.

8)   MIAD had an Art Sale for alumni/faculty/and students.

9)   Most important completion and delivery of portrait called ‘GRANNY’.

10) Started preparing three new canvases.

Why you should frame your art.

There are two reasons why we have art frames on paintings. They can protect art, of course, but most importantly they can aid to their attractiveness on display.

Since the very early days of painting, frames have served to enhance the visual beauty of art. Pictures were hung on walls and they became furnishings. The first frames were often works of art themselves. They were large and elaborately carved and decorated wooden frames. There was a practical reason also. The frame framed the picture. In other words, it created a boundary that enclosed the image and separated it physically from the surrounding wall.

As the idea of paintings as furniture began to spread, the frame became such an essential element of the entire package that the art was not considered complete until it was framed. The frame often time was more art than the painting itself. The framer was an artist in his own right. One part of his art was the carving and decoration of the frame and another was the matching of frame and picture to create a harmonious whole.

Framing changed dramatically with the introduction of lithographs and prints. These were either original works or copies of works printed on paper rather than actual paintings on canvas. Little was understood about preservation at first and although the art prints were being framed in a similar fashion to oil paintings at first, it was soon realized that certain protection was needed. It also became common to use colored matting to frame the image inside the wooden external frame.

As the lithograph or print became more and more popular, the art of modern framing was developed. The external frame became more than just a frame for the image, but also the platform that allowed glass to cover and protect the image and matting to enhance and create an inner frame. The use of matting inside the outer frame became another art form. Colors in the mats themselves were matched to colors in the art work to create a unified visual image. The mats, the image, the glass, and even protective backing and mounting material was all held together by the frame.

Today, the major reason for the use of frames with art is still the original one. The frame isolates the art from the surrounding environment making it a unified piece. With prints, the frame still serves as a platform for the glass, backing, and matting. Of course, the major reason for a frame from a practical point of view is that we have become so used to them that no hanging picture would look natural without one.

Aazdak Alisimo writes about art framing for ArtFramingGalleries.com.

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visit my website at http://www.cedarlodgeportraitstudio.com

Boo Radley lives across the street.

 

It’s that time of the year. When my daughter who will stand at the corner of the lot peering across the street for long periods of time according to my watch shivering and whispering to her little brother who  follows her around faithfully. It reminds me every time of the book To Kill a Mockingbird you know the part where Scout and Jem would wait to see if Boo Radley would come out of the house. Not that this house looked run down, overgrown or there were any rumors circulating about the neighbors that I care to mention, but instead the haunting decorum of Halloween that they displayed in their front yard religiously ever year antagonizing my daughter as she looks to see and not see at the same time. At night it only got brighter as she peaks through the curtains. I’m sure the neighbors were amused and look forward to her curiosity every year.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was a coming-of-age novel told from the point of view of an adult looking back at her childhood something I keep wanting to do myself.  Scout was 9 years old an age I remember very well and she was, as the saying goes, ‘wise beyond her years’. Another familiar line ‘Roaming freely all day, coming home only for meals or the bathroom.’ An era we will only remember as a child and never repeat.

 

Taking photo 101 is not the same

Photo by almostfinnish

I take a lot of pictures. It’s a habit I learned not on my own. I have two sisters that insisted I take photo 101 in high school probably because they thought it was an easy credit and all you had to do was show up and then leave to go take pictures as they would laugh ‘skip class’. So it was my sibling duty to follow in their foot steps. I intern took this very seriously in learning to break open your roll of film quickly, transferring it onto a reel and then into a case of solution while being in complete darkness hoping that no one comes in and turns on the lights by mistake. More importantly the challenge was at developing a good image in the dark room under some faint light while being all consumed with these vinegar smells that filled the air and trays. You needed to know by smell which one was which because when adding more solution in the dark your sense of smell was more important than your sence of sight. There was a beginning and an end and you can not mix them up.

So once I was set up and ready I was in no hurry to go and could be there for hours. Each attempt was earnestly made a little lighter here darker there and even the pictures that didn’t turn out had some intrinsic value. I regret I don’t have them now tangible and in hand but in memory I see them a building, a pier, people I knew and pets we had. Black and white, some grainy but all from an adolescents point of view.

Now I take pictures download them into adobe where they show up in a matter of minutes. I enhance them in a matter of seconds and then upload them to another site and have them available for viewing. The images are very nice. Digital has not lessened the image. They are sharper and clearer and more dynamic than ever.

I value what I have learned and have a better appreciation for the camera and photography over all. I look forward to what the future brings.

Sometimes my sanity is more important than my art.

I like to think I eat sleep and breathe art but in reality it is like the last thing I get to do on my list. Tuesday and Thursday are my two big days if these days fall through so does the whole week.

Last Thursday I invested all my time in just cleaning brushes and my palettes. My theory in the past was to just buy new paint brushes when I ran out of clean ones. But instead of throwing brushes away I kept them and now I have a gazillion brushes and when I paint I use a gazillion brushes. So I’m trying to stand back and analyze my predicament. Clean up time should be short and sweet.
My whole way of thinking has changed. Although I am painting more and better my time to paint is less. I really don’t need a lot of time to paint. A solid one, two, three hours can be sufficient.

As for this Tuesday well everyone was out of the house which is unusual. As much as I wanted to busy myself. I stopped and got breakfast and a coffee with three creams. I just came back and enjoyed a nice solitaire breakfast for a change and caught up with some stuff. Sometimes my sanity is more important than my art.

It is late and I have been painting. The room smells of turpentine and oil paint and it is a welcoming smell. I have too many canvases in process and unfinished hence the name ‘almostfinnish’ and some that are just taking up space so I need to take serious measures to be able to differentiate from ‘has potential’ to ‘hopeless’. How many times in the past has an artist painted over their paintings???? Is there too many times?

One thing I don’t have is a shortage of supplies so if a few canvases end up in the trash I’ll be okay.

It’s spring break here for us. Ten days all together. So my quest is to try to finish up some paintings sitting in limbo.