Remember and Inspire.

I usually work smaller, but with the upcoming juried exhibit, this just begged to be bigger; just over life-sized. I still have a long way to go to finish. Thankfully the deadline was extended to allow artists time to finish fresh pieces. Whew!!

I used two photo references taken just minutes apart in the early morning. Although I like to work from life, shadows can change very quickly, giving the still-life a very different mood from one moment to the next. I love to bounce ideas off of Wes over breakfast. He becomes so animated when he loves something and kind but honest when he doesn’t.

I showed him the two best photo references over strong coffee and we immediately agreed that we liked the straight-on angle and how the fabric draped in the first photo and the bright sunlight and strong shadows in the other. I liked the diagonal shadows from the blinds. Wes, not so much at first, but after he saw the combined effect, he warmed up to it. I rarely get the perfect shot, so I often combine appealing elements like this from two or more photo references and then run it by my best friend.

I’m saving the best til last as a reward for the tedious work ahead of me in the cut-glass pedestal bowl. There will be a little baby robin sitting on the book. If you look closely, you may be able to see him penciled in.

There are other paintings in progress as I get my show entries ready. I’m almost finished with the “Jelled.” Just trying to figure out how to include a flitting bird shadow. You know there has to be a bird, right?

I still haven’t decided what the third one will be. I’m stuck between a luscious strawberry fudge sundae in a glass I just acquired for the purpose, or an antique coffee grinder a friend agreed to loan me.

In the midst of all that, I’m also working on two commissioned pieces.

I thrive on busy evidently.

Subscribers to my email newsletter will get a New Art Alert when it's finished before the rest of the world gets to see it. Let me know if you would like to be included.

Someone I had recently become acquainted with in a non-art-related setting expressed surprise to discover that I was a professional working artist. She had even bought an experimental 3D piece of resin art from me and had seen a few of my paintings. Still, she didn’t realize that I did this full time. It seemed I did not fit her mental image of a career artist. She explained what her image was, a long-haired earthy, guitar strumming flower-girl type in denim, a bandana, and no makeup. I had to laugh. She had just described exactly what I looked like in 1976. If I’d asked her for more detail she might even have mentioned a Navajo turquoise choker, braids, and smock-top.

I showed her the news clipping of me from a high school concert in which I performed. She declared, "I KNEW it!" and we both had a good laugh. I’m still chuckling as I write this.

In our youth we tend to dress and behave in ways that coincide with our dreams and aspirations. If you don’t believe me, just think of what you originally wanted to be when you grew up and then look at some of your childhood photos; the ones where you chose your own wardrobe, of course. I had wanted to be an artist as far back as I can remember. So I dressed the stereotypical part.

As we grow into adulthood, we discover that obstacles are just a natural part of life. Some of us jump right over them and keep going full speed ahead, never losing focus. Sometimes a new desire proves stronger and the original vision fades. We often find that we have to set our dreams aside for a while, maybe even forever, to take care of things that are more important to us, like people we love. Along the way, we tend to dress according to our current role. The older we get, the more eclectic our collection of hats. While we might move on from one role, it leaves us forever changed, and hopefully wiser.

Many of us accept the lie that what we want to contribute to the world is not career worthy and we go get a few 'real' jobs before we realize that what we aspired to as a 10 yr. old really IS what we were meant to do. I believe strongly that just about any job is real if it fulfills a need. All the better if we love doing it.

It took me several decades to come to the conclusion that art is a real job. It may never make me wealthy. That’s ok. I wouldn’t mind if that happened but it’s never been so important to me that I’d stick with a career I hate or abandon people I love in order to get it. What I do is vital nonetheless. I create stories in paint that recall simpler times when people stopped to listen to birds sing, sat in the park and fed them, walked down dusty dirt roads, made our own bread, and planted vegetables. I paint shared memories. I paint quiet. Not everyone needs that. But a lot do and I'm grateful that I get to wake up to it every day. 

I’ve outgrown chokers, braids, and bandanas. I still wear denim and play guitar, well sort-of. I wear make-up. Hey, if the wall is cracked, then I say spackle it! I’ve been to a lot of art openings. As I look around I play a guessing game called which ones are the artists? I see two things consistently. Young people tend to dress and behave in ways that coincide with their generation’s mental image of an artist.

People my age? It’s anybody’s guess.

What mental picture does your profession evoke? Does it bother you or do you embrace it? Leave a comment. I read all.

There’s no bird. I know. I’ll explain in a minute.

My recent acceptance into the International Guild Of Realism has energized me and ramped up the desire to improve my work. There are a few artists who I follow in order to learn their painting techniques. They usually have some free videos and some longer more in-depth paid ones. One particular artist I admire is Mark Carder of Austin, Texas. I’ve been gleaning bits and pieces from his tutorials over the last two years, and I can see that I need to take a more disciplined approach. He offers a six-day one-on-one workshop that I really REALLY want to take!

The painting here, almost finished after three short sessions yesterday, was done using some of Mark’s techniques. One DAY! Imagine what I could do if I worked alongside the artist step-by-step for a whole week! I’m telling you all this for two reasons. First, his tutorials are so useful and his artwork is so stunning that I think you would enjoy him whether you are an artist wanting to learn or a collector who loves genuine realism. Second, by sharing this desire with my readers and followers,  I increase the likelihood that I will follow through and take the workshop.

The peony and Coke glass painting is still in progress. Since birds rarely sit still for artists wanting to group them with inanimate indoor objects, I have to find just the right kind of bird and just the right photo reference. And I'm chomping on the bit to practice some of Mark Carder’s still-life techniques before I tackle adding a bird. So it’s likely that I will do another version of this painting that will include one. Or I might add one to this painting if I can do it without spoiling the composition. I don’t know. What do you think?

Until next time, check out Mark Carder on DrawMixPaint.