life goes on

Life goes on up, down, and luckily back up again. I mentioned once that I had a solo show cancelled because of budget cuts where it was planned to be hung.
Well, it finally happened, another place another time, and all is well. Boundless Arts gallery and art supply is a happy home to a number of my paintings till Jan.09
Never give up, never give in, I think it is a line from some movie but I like it.
The hardest thing about getting work together for the show was putting together a theme. My stuff tends to be all over the place on subject matter, but
“Domestic Nature” worked pulled a good mix that fell into that theme; dogs, cats, horses, and flowers. Here are a few paintings from the show:



If you are thinking of doing a solo show, plan to spend some time and money on frames.
I had a lot of help from Kelly at Jagged Edge Gallery and framing shop in Fenton MI.
A good framer can help set a painting off....matting scares the tar out of me.
You can learn a lot about your work when you have to present it as a group, hope it something that every painter gets the chance to do.

Painting a bit at a time

The sunflowers are growing great this year! And I have save several digital photos to work on when the snow falls. But I have also painted outside with acrylics and have added that painting to my website mbschiros.artspan.com
What I want to share today is a watercolor.
I love letting colors blend on paper, to get the full richness of color range that only watercolor can do. But sometimes you have to space out areas so there isn't too much blending.
Thought I would share the steps with these photos of the painting growing.
mary

stuff on my shelves

I have interesting and not interesting thing laying around, but have taken time to practice drawing and painting with these things. Add a flower or two and a even a plain pitcher can look ok on paper...( having an old coyote skull on the shelf does help add interest to a painting)...the angle, the lighting can all help make what is just hanging around the house, turn in objects for still life paintings
here are a few to share.

award winner picks

the following five blog sites are my picks to award the Arte Y Pico Award

Tilly Strauss
for: Come out and play in wax paper.
http://tillystudio.blogspot.com/
http://tillystudio.blogspot.com/2008/08/come-out-and-play-in-waxed-paper.ht

Brenda Yarborough
For: her blogs about painting on yupo.
http://www.amberridgedesert.blogspot.com/

Peter Dimmock
For his watercolors.
http://paintingsuk.blogspot.com/

Trine Meyer
For: Blue underwater abstract.
http://mtv65.blogspot.com/

Sarah’s Playing with paint
http://www.upsidedownsarah.blogspot.com

Arte y Pico award

I have been surprised with an award: the "Arte Y Pico" award, for my blog Building an abstract.

"Arte y Pico" is a blog from Uruguay whose blogger has come up with this award, arteypico.blogspot.com.

I was awarded this from Randy Carboni

"What is the meaning of the expression: And basically, ironically, it translates into a wonderful phrase in Mexico, “lo maximo.”
The blog that started the award is in Spanish. I don't know Spanish but the information above is from another blog award winner. After accepting this award I be awarding five other blogs the same award based on their creativity, design, and art.
Plan to see the sites I pick in my next post:)

A hard way to learn

August 11, 2008  the day my first "solo" show was planned to hang, ended being one of the best learning experiences I had had yet in art. The show was canceled.
I found out a week before, that the site was ending the art programs they had been supporting for the last 5 years.  Michigan is going through so tough economic times and that is being felt in a number of areas.
   Instead of hanging art the 11th, I helped other artists take down work that had been up.  The feelings that day were varied, to say the least.  But I decided to look inward, instead of letting what I could not change bring me down, go on and just plan for another.

  What I learned I thought I would share....and today is tip one: 
Take some time on a regular basis and sort you work. 
   Look at what you have old and new, spread them out and compare.
Then ask your self questions.
Has your style changed?
Do some older paintings still look compatible with newer ones?
Does your work have a theme that is consistent?
Is there work you have been saving just because, at the time you painted them they were favorites?
If so are they still that important to you now?
  Now find a location where you can hang your picks up and see how they group.
I used a stairway hall.
Let them hang together for awhile and re-evaluate the again. 

I have newer plans and ideas, and think the future will only get better...amazing for me ...a good change,
generally I am not an optimistic person.

save you drawings

I took a class to refresh and get myself back into drawing, more than painting. I was a wonderful idea because it played out 2 fold. I have filled a 50 page drawing pad in the last month and produced at least a half a dozen paintings from that work.
I do believe drawing well is a strong part of painting. Thought I would share one of the original drawings...just a rough work in 8b pencil and show what ( so far) has come from that.

building an abstract

I love doing these, they are surprisingly planned compared to other paintings we do,

the drawing.

picking colors.

moving drawing to large watercolor paper via grid.

rough color layout.

midtones.

deeper colors.

details.

collage and final details:)

that is it in a nut shell

www.mbschiros.artspan.com

time to relax

Another doodle that is a practice in washes. I was watching tv last night and a shot past by in a show that had just the best colors...nothing interesting for reference but lovely colors, the sky was blue the distant trees were violet and the grasses were shades of pinks and oranges. The think the shot wasn't planned but it caught my eye. So I just had to try it...this is the first, just a warm up..(I plan to play with that combo of colors much more).
In doing this one I pulled out an earth tone yellow...not what I wanted. But not to waste paper, I decided to practice some figures. Now a wonderful memory, of a moment in raising my son, being outside together just sharing the the sights, sounds and smell of nature.
Not every painting works as planned, but some are worth saving.

Can't wait for spring

Winter has just been way too long this year. I know I shouldn't complain there were no ice storms in my area, always the worst part of winter. But, I am need of green...green leaves, green lawns, collard greens even weeds with yellow flowers would be great.
Til I get some green I am just going to keep painting growing things!
Bulbs, flowers....hopefully this will keep me going