About the art: this piece is inspired by an image the AI bot created, which was a surprise interpretation of the prompt I had supplied. But I often find those random, wonky images are just exactly what I needed (but didn't know I was looking for). When I saw this one, I connected with her right away - somewhat masked (the eyes) and stern looking, but with torn tights and mismatched gloves and a tutu that was clearly falling apart. Ha ha! As usual, the Yupo allowed a pretty rapid building of the layers of color, and the ability to create texture within the paint. Keeping a nice mixture of hard and soft lines was key with this one, along with varying the reds just enough that her chair stood out but did not distract from the figure. A bit of paint thinner was added to the edges of her skirt to allow some runs and smudges. Kind of a modern version of The Thinker. The September Reader Giveaway continues! Leave a comment (or several) this month to be entered to win a piece of original art! The winner will be announced here in the blog at the end of the month.
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The ballgown bots are something I stumbled upon that delight me and seem to feel effortless under my hands. But it is a rarity, this sense of ease in the paint. As I gaze upon the pile of canvases and boards to be painted over (my share of duds) I am decidedly grateful for a wizardly moment with the paint. About the art: this is a paint-over of a very old acrylic piece on crescent board. Though I chose the underpainting because of its color and depth, ultimately none of it remains in this new painting. The focus of this piece is that small section of skin against the dark background - a wee bit of humanity within the monstrous. After a light pencil sketch, I began layering the darks, painting around the form until the shapes were just so. Resisting the desire to overly define the skin shadows, letting shapes speak instead. Layers and layers of pink and gold for the dress, wet into wet so the edges slightly blur into the dark background like gauzy silk. Mixing the darkest darks for bodice and underskirt (while avoiding actual black) and then a slightly gray-brown dark for the background. Playing one dark against the other. Allowing a small shape within the headpiece to say "eye" and a dark shape to say "ear" and leaving the rest to the viewer's eyes. This piece makes me smile. She's a badass for sure. It's the final week to enter the August Reader Giveaway! Leave a comment to be automatically entered to win a free piece of original art! The winner will be announced in next week's post.
Part of the art of the trapdoor is being present with where you are within it - are you in the terror and longing? Are you in surrender? Are you in the singing of the small voice of your soul? Not forcing, just accepting, having faith that it is, indeed, a process that you will move through and emerge from - you see, I know this, but doing it is something else entirely. Sigh. But I am learning to look at these experiences as I would a painting - some of them emerge from their "ugly" phase and become something radiant. Some are just practice pieces that are huge fails on their own, but teach me something that will make the next one easier, better, more. These small, incremental shifts in seeing challenging experiences just a little bit differently will one day pay off. Just watch - I'll be gliding my way through effortlessly and gracefully. Well, that's the goal, anyway. About the art: hello, Yupo - it is always nice to be on your playground, where layers build brilliantly and paint glides like butter. For this piece, the main focus was capturing the mottled tones of the main character's face, which came only after the 80 millionth layer. But at that moment - voila! Such satisfaction. The folds and lines in the clothing are created by using a small rubber wedge to carve back through the paint. Yupo is the only substrate I've found that this works so smoothly with. The August Reader Giveaway is in full swing! One (or more) lucky readers will win a free piece of art! Just subscribe, read and comment anytime in the month of August to enter. Already subscribed? Just comment to enter! Comment multiple times during the month and be entered as many times. WHOA! Wonder Mike LOVES sending free art each month. The winner will be announced here in the blog at the end of the month. Ready? Set? ENTER!
 "Number is Portal" - oil on gallery-wrapped canvas, 30 x 10 x 1.5 inches.
 "Understanding is Joy" - oil on cradled wood panel, 24 x 12 x .75 inches
About the art: these pieces were all painted alla prima (wet into wet), beginning with a very wet background of darks and building the layers in increasing thickness toward the lights. What I learned through many iterations is: the details get in the way with these - a hint is better than full disclosure, a clue rather than an answer. For several pieces, I fell into the mistake of overly detailed fluffy clouds, which looked, I don't know, contrived and meh. A squeegee across the wet paint immediately improved everything. After a long drying time, a final coat of varnish on the wood-based pieces added depth and deepened the darks. It's time to begin the August Reader Giveaway! Subscribe! Read! Comment! Be automatically entered to win an original artwork - FREE! The winner will be announced at the end of the month. Ready? Set? WIN!
I see you there, creative human. Yes, YOU! I see you wondering and seeking. I see you finding new ways of seeing, being, thinking and knowing. These acts of devotion are sacred, somehow. A living meditation. A prayer spoken with hands, eyes, ears and feet. A daily pilgrimage to the holy place. This space here, this tiny (teeny tiny hardly a spec on the internet) blog is where I seek your stories and share my own. A place to pause for brief moments and allow words and art to infuse us with their magic. A place where the complexities, sorrows and joys of life might be illuminated - just for a second. And most of all, a place to enjoy the connectedness of art-hearted humans and their own sacredness. In case I don't say it enough (or have not mentioned it recently), I am extraordinarily grateful to each and every one of you who visits here, who reads, who may share a story or a thought, who reaches out to me privately to share how something has touched you. It never fails to surprise and delight me that this space exists at all, let alone attracts stellar sparkle-humans to participate in it. Whoa. Wowowowowowow. Thank you. A little something that makes me smile - the podcast genius of Thea Fiore-Bloom (https://the-charmed-studio.simplecast.com/). I've been listening to these podcasts in the studio while painting and planning. And let me say this: at the end of each one, I've both learned something helpful AND feel like I've been seen and hugged. How does she DO that? Check it out!
Blogger and blog will be on an adventure for the remainder of the month, recharging and refilling the reservoir of inspiration. Look for a bevy of new work in June, the return of the monthly Reader Giveaway, and an announcement of one stellar show coming this summer!
About the art - another piece created on top of an old one, using the underpainting colors to enhance the background and to cut through some of the foreground. In using the poem as fodder for the art, I used harsh, edgy brush strokes and wedge edges for some of this piece, keeping the colors fairly stark and full of contrast. Some soft blending, but mostly allowing the piece to fill with unrefined texture. Especially important to resist perfecting this one, which feels Seaton's poem so deeply. It's the last week to enter the April Reader Giveaway! This month we're talking about poems (or lyrics or quotes) that hit you in a visceral way. What's your favorite? Leave a comment to enter - one lucky reader will receive a piece of original art FREE, just for participating. Hooray!
And that's the trick, isn't it? Shielding our spark, evolving our shimmer so we can see all the beauty and feel compassion for our small selves and our large world and each other in the soup. It isn't easy, and it's not for the faint hearted. But Seaton says of course the Earth would be dear to us if we saw her there in the blackness - and maybe, just maybe, seeing ourselves from afar, sea creature, translucent we evolve compassion for our bubble-spitting selves. About the art: another piece on artist printer paper, an absorbent and fairly smooth substrate. I learned from prior pieces on this medium to go heavy with the paint, build layers and allow tons of drying time. This figure began as an idea for another queen (I so enjoy painting them) whose crown became heavy, jester-ish, weighted. Sometimes when you follow the paint, these things reveal themselves. Rubber wedge, brushes, fingers, paper towels and chopsticks used in creating this piece. She's been given a coat of Gamvar to deepen the darks, making her even more mysterious. It's time for the April Reader Giveaway! What poem (or lyric or quote) gives you a deeply visceral response? Leave a comment and you'll have a chance to win an original piece of art - FREE - just for sharing your thoughts. Huzzah! The winner will be selected at random by Wonder Mike and announced at the end of the month.
As Harjo says so beautifully in She Had Some Horses: She had some horses she loved. / She had some horses she hated. / These were the same horse. Esme has looked herself in the eye and stared down the bully. I think liberation looks good on her. :) There is one more week to enter the March Reader Giveaway! Leave a comment - what's YOUR superpower? (see last week's blog post). One lucky commenter will win a piece of original art - free! Huzzah!
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AuthorLola Jovan 
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