About the art: experimenting with unstretched canvas, which I gesso'd and taped to a piece of wood. Following the usual steps (sketching with a long brush of thinned paint, slowly adding layers) but stymied a bit because this substrate mutes the pigment quite a lot. Patience, more layers, thicker paint and the color pops began to show. Lots of nice subtleties with the many layers. And the resulting softness of the piece has me quite pleased. Hello, Muriel. Let's untangle that scaffolding.
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Well, they may not be the cause of anxiousness, but they do make you likely to jump off that diving board if the opportunity presents itself. And I've got that gene. Which I recently discovered (along with a boatload of other important things) through whole genome sequencing. Which explains a lot, and also opens an entire case of cans of worms.
At least, that's the surface, snarky description of the thing. The more vulnerable, prickly artist's intuition description is this: in the search for emotion, can it be found in the thing that has none? And even further, will a thing without emotion (the AI bot) create emotive inspiration images of those emotionless things? And are we, as humans, more than the sum of our own genetic programming and patterns? Is there free will? Or are we following a path preordained by DNA and body chemistry? I fear I've bitten off something rather large. But let's go anyway, yes?
I can hardly believe it. NO WAY! This is the last post of 2023 - where did the time go? But here we are, so let's go out with a grand finale - a series of four abstracts (a four course meal) paired with a poem that grabbed me (a deep red wine with a heady bouquet and a lingering, oaky finish). For dessert? How about some winning readers (a warmed, rich berry pie topped with ice cream). Oh, oh and OH! Now we're going to need a long winter's nap.
Thank you to everyone who participated in 2023's monthly Reader Giveaways. More than 25 parcels were delivered to lucky winners over twelve months. And the final winners of the year (selected at random by Wonder Mike) are: Dotty S. Trina T., C and Carl S. Email thewanderingsoflola@gmail.com with your shipping address, then watch your mailbox for a sweet surprise - and thanks so much for reading and commenting.
Woolf's words grabbed me and plopped me in a chair to face this: we are the thing itself. Oh. Wait. Hmmm. My own words fail me, even as the thought of this concept has my brain (and heart and spirit) on high alert because THIS IS SOMETHING BIG. The separation between everything begins to fall, and the words of Thich Nhat Hanh softly nudge me:
And there we have it. We cannot be separate from our art or those who see it. The state of the art situation here in December is: I can see how I am the thing itself. And the art is a part of that big ol' pie - it is berries and sugar and butter and flour. Not just a piece of the pie, but the pie itself. And all the things that make it - the inspiration, the paint, the brushes, the paper, the sun through the skylights, the music in the background. I inter-am with the art, and with you, dear reader - we inter-be. Lucky, lucky me!
Big thanks to everyone who rescued art from "gesso murder" (as one collector brilliantly called it) during the once-a-year save-the-art-from-the-gesso sale. My heart is full knowing all the paintings that whispered (or shouted) are heading off to the place they truly belong.
And stay tuned for the last Reader Giveaway of 2024 - the twelfth month of giving away art! Woot!
Ultimately, I hope to become queen of my own tiny kingdom. And you can bet if (when!) that happens I am gonna want a big-ass crown. :) It's the last three days of the ONCE-A-YEAR SAVE-THE-ART-FROM-THE-GESSO sale!
Two paintings have already succumbed to the lure of the gesso. Get your favorites here!
This piece is the final culmination of a roundabout kind of journey. It began with a collector's suggestion - "paint the Lola version of Leda and the Swan" (a daunting task, but I am always up for a challenge). The suggestion prompted a visual exploration of the many ways this myth has been represented. And another exploration of the myth itself, the controversy surrounding it and the ways its original meaning has often been softened and blurred from an act of assault to one of seduction. And then a lot of mulling over how to Lola-fy this tangled subject (both visual subject and story subject).
Congratulations to Michaela and Natalee! Wonder Mike chose your names at random as winners of the November Reader Giveaway! Email your mailing address to thewanderingsoflola@gmail.com and your prizes will be on the way! Woot! The once-a-year save-the-art-from-the-gesso sale is ON! Save up to 75% and get free shipping! Now through November 30th.
COMING NEXT WEEKEND! The once-a-year-save-the-paintings-from-the-gesso sale! It only happens once per year - paintings will fly the coop or be fully vandalized by the artist. Muwahaha!
Many thanks to all who have used the READERPERKS50 coupon to grab art, art cards and books! There are just two more days to use your coupon - then the shop will open for the ONCE A YEAR GET EM WHILE YOU CAN BEFORE I GO WILD WITH THE GESSO sale. Last year dozens of paintings flew the coop, and another bunch got vandalized with gesso -I can hardly wait!
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AuthorLola Jovan |