My impatience makes me feel awkward, clumsy, like this character perhaps. It isn't the first time I've painted a young werewolf with a balloon. It symbolizes something to me...in this case, I think the balloons might be joy, and the werewolf doesn't want to look at them in case they may disappear. Joy can be elusive, especially since our brains are primed to look for trouble instead. Perhaps joy is yet a book written in a foreign language on some days. But I plan to sit and wait, as patiently as one can, for the words to make sense. About the art: Something new for me this week. Of course I have painted on wood panel before, but not with the objective of making the wood itself part of the art. Beginning with a high quality wood panel (this one from Jacksons), I covered it with a good coat of clear varnish. Once dry, I sketched the character on the wood, taped off the center section and added a coat of black gesso for the background. The rest was a very patient labor of love with the smaller Uni Posca Paint Pens used in the same way as Rotring Tikky pens for pen and ink drawings. Just black and white, simplicity and a bit of innocence. The wood tone comes through in parts of the garment and body, warming up what might otherwise be a bit too stark. This one makes me smile. Congratulations to Julie (aka Mighty Athena on Bluesky)! Wonder Mike drew your name at random as winner of the April Reader Giveaway! Send your mailing address to [email protected] and your prize will be in the mail!
Thank you to everyone who commented in April. Your participation means the world to me! A new contest begins today - leave a comment on any blog post in the month of May to be automatically entered.
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But I have an inkling that turning inward isn't going to help us move through this fracturing (though it is necessary for serenity and balance at times). So I will keep reaching for those ropes and hope they will not fray in pursuit of understanding and connection. I might need a fancy circus outfit, but that could be mischievously fun. About the art: this piece is painted over a murdered acrylic abstract painting. For this one, I drew the composition directly on top of the prior piece using a wet brush and big, loose strokes. The heavy texture of the original piece adds quite a bit of interest to the new piece, which might have otherwise looked too flat. There are a LOT of layers in this one, all constructed with brushes. No rubber wedges on this piece, as plywood prefers brushwork. I think this house is in the perfect location for me - high on a hill with big skies and forests and rolling hills beneath. I imagine the ocean is on the other side of the piece. Oooooooh bliss! The February Reader Giveaway continues! Leave a message on any blog post this month to be automatically entered to win a free piece of original art. And thank you so much to everyone who reads, comments and shares this blog! Also, a big welcome to all the new subscribers from Bluesky. I'm just dazzled by the friendly cyber-community!
About the art: this rabbit (the second in a series of lagomorphs) was inspired by the works of Möbius and Diebenkorn. Beginning with a rough sketch in thinned oil paint and slowly adding layers of color. The trick with this one was getting the dark side very, VERY dark so the rabbit would hop out (ha ha) in a dramatic way. Allowing the paint to slide down the Yupo toward the bottom is a nice softening of the hard edges higher up in the piece. This guy is seriously thinking about how he feels before he does anything about it. Good advice, rabbit! The January Reader Giveaway continues! Leave a comment on any blog post this month to be automatically entered. Someone is going to win an original piece of art - free!
"Weary of Captivity" - oil on cradled wood panel, 18 x 24 x 1.5 inches. This item is unframed but ready to hang. (click on the image to purchase) LISTEN to the blog by clicking the DOWNLOAD link below
I don't have the answers. Just a growing sense of unease and concern. And a willingness to be there for anyone who needs/wants to commiserate. For the past year, as I process my own experiences I've been increasingly drawn to create ballgown-bots. Largely faceless, masked cyborgian females with fancy garb. At first they were cheeky, haunting, peculiar. But now they have taken on a larger, societal meaning and a mission of their own. Are they faceless because they are afraid and unseen? Or because they are armored and shielded? And so I am wondering - what do they mean to you, dear readers? About the art: this is a paint-over (oil over oil) of an existing piece, which adds a lovely depth of color and texture. On a recent playdate with the AI bot, I wrote "pink backpack" and let it run. There were many, many delightfully cheeky monsters and odd humans with backpacks of all sizes. The whole session left me grinning! One of them was more of a mash-up of victorian schoolgirl and cyberpunk ballgown-bot, which inspired this piece. The goal here was the lovely limited palette and high contrast with loose, painterly brushstrokes. The December Reader Giveaway begins today! Leave a comment on any blog post this month to be automatically entered. One (or more) lucky commenters will receive an original piece of art in the mail - free!
 "A Formula For The Future" - oil on canvas, 30 x 10 x .75 inches. This is unframed but ready to hang. (click on the image to purchase) LISTEN to the blog by clicking the DOWNLOAD link above
About the art: this canvas has been murdered many times. Layers and layers of overly precious brush strokes, dabs and do-das. Each time I dragged the squeegee across it and said NO NO NO, that just won't do. And finally, letting the feelings direct the painting, I allowed the darkness to hover, the drama and big strokes to take over, and the tiny bit of light to emerge. And (drum roll please) - the winners of the November Reader Giveaway! Congratulations to Nance F. and Emma F. - Wonder Mike chose your names at random from the pool of this month's commenters. Send your mailing address to thewanderingsoflola!gmail.com and your original artworks will be in the mail to you! Big thanks to everyone who participated. A new contest begins next month!
About the art: beginning with a well-gesso'd linen wrapped canvas and a long brush laden with thinned paint, I made a rough sketch of the figure, leaving the wing feathers mostly undefined. To achieve a super dark background, I worked first from the outside-in, laying down a wash of darks and cutting in to the edges of the figure. Then working from the inside outward and allowing the edges to blend in places with the wet darks. A dance of back and forth between the inside to the outside and then the reverse to keep the darks building in intensity and some of the edges wispy. The requisite 80 million layers on the wings and dress. A month of drying time before coming in with a thin, wet brush to create the ball of "twine" and have it stand out from the rest of the piece. The inspiration for this one came from the psilocybin journey I took over the summer, where I could "see" a feathery presence gently protecting my heart and spirit. Perhaps we all have wings... The November Reader Giveaway continues! Leave a comment on any blog post this month to be automatically entered.
And the Once-a-Year Sale is ON NOW! Get your original art while it lasts - the artist has murderous intentions with gesso!
About the art: another inspiration image from the AI bot that launched me into another world of paint exploration. I asked for one thing, received another and then created something further afield than that. Beginning with a very old acrylic painting on arches watercolor paper, I sketched the figure and began laying in the background colors loosely, allowing one color to blend into the next for an ombre effect. Using light washes thinned with walnut oil, it takes a LOT of layers. I embraced some hard shadows on the figure - skeletal? Cyborg? Alien? Who knows? But she likes her fancy clothes and isn't afraid to wear them with a helmet. Using a small rubber wedge, I carved back into the wet paint layers in the dress to expose a bit of the underpainting. I cannot help but wonder what she's thinking... The October Reader Giveaway begins today! Leave a comment on any of this month's blog posts to be automatically entered. One (or more) lucky commenters will win a piece of original artwork - FREE! Now that's a treat for your Halloween bag. :)
About the art: Wonderland is never far from my imagination. It was just a matter of time before the Queen of Hearts made another appearance. And in this one, her voice VERY LOUD, she asks for (nay, DEMANDS) exactly what she wants. This is one of those pieces that happened easily, relatively swiftly and without much gnashing of teeth. A neutral underpainting, a quick sketch with brush and dark paint, layers of walnut-oil thinned paint on skin and clothing. A little extra care with the focal point (her open mouth) and a full RESIST RESIST RESIST when I wanted to keep fussing with it. I mean, if you get what you ask for, stop and enjoy it - don't keep fussing at it. Sheesh. Artists are troublesome. :) The September Reader Giveaway has begun! Leave a comment on a blog post this month and be automatically entered. Leave multiple comments to be entered as many times! The winner will be drawn at random at the end of the month, and will receive a piece of original art - free! Hooray!
 Dolores on Tuesday "Dolores on Tuesday" - oil on cradled wood panel, 24 x 12 x 1.25. Ready to hang. (click on the image to purchase) “I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief.”― C.S. Lewis Sometimes, when we peel back the onion of anger, we find deep sorrow, grief and mourning. Anger feels purposeful, feisty, empowered, action-oriented and (often) satisfying. Grief, on the other hand, feels all of the opposite things - weak, low-energy, motionless, heavy. It is so much easier to be mad than to be sad. And so I am learning to be with my grief. To let the feelings wash over and through me, buffeting me about a bit, seeping into all the nooks and crannies. I am learning to be uncomfortable without pushing it away. The more I practice this, the easier it gets. And somehow, it is expansive. I feel larger inside, instead of tense and tight and retracted. Dolores relaxes into her grief and oddly manages to make it look cool. Who knew?
Think of DNA, Seaton writes. Oh, I do. The things that make a person odd are odd themselves. Oddly, 50% of my DNA is mysterious, of unknown origin, vague shadows of Turkey and Italy and other unexpected lands. An unknown father. A story that died with my mother, before it was ever told. It remains her secret. It's odd to come back to life, says Seaton. And yet we do, cycling through seasons of turning within and blossoming without, coming back to life when we rediscover lost parts of ourselves and when we discover new parts we perhaps never knew existed. Seaton's words take us down into that dark valley, hinting at the irreversible and then suddenly resurrecting us with a single sentence - she came back to life. Oh! About the art: beginning with black gesso over an old acrylic painting and carving through the gesso while wet to expose some of the original colors. Once dry, a loose figure sketch in white. Working from the outside-in to further define the figure by using a rubber wedge and walnut oil thinned paint. For the figure and the moon, many layers of thinned paint with broad strokes, keeping it loose. Blending with fingers and a soft cloth. Allowing some edges to remain crisp while blurring others. Carving through the wet paint with a small rubber edge to create texture in the "fabric". Standing (or sitting) ten feet back periodically to keep from losing the gesture of the piece. I've got a small sofa at a set distance from the work in process now. Sitting there and contemplating each piece daily has helped me see better where a painting works and doesn't.
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