Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Things are Settling Down a Bit


Ok, just a little bit more about The Fine Art Department, then on to me, as promised:). There are nineteen artists up right now and I am waiting for info from several others (and you know who you are) which means it's pretty close to 25 already. So this means that if you submitted your info to me and it hasn't been posted, I have

a) decided not to include it on the site for any number of reasons, none of which reflect my opinions about quality (just want to make that point again). And

b) haven't had time to let you know personally and am not sure I will be able to, although I will try. I have to get back to my own work now that this is mostly up and running, plus I have much to do this week to prepare for Thanksgiving. I apologize.

I would like to suggest though, that perhaps someone out there who is reading this would like to set up a similar blog/site and if so, I will be happy to post about it here, link to it on The Fine Art Department, and offer any other assistance that I can. I appreciate the interest that so many artists have shown in my project and my intent still remains-encouragement, teamwork and opportunities for artists to sell their work, especially in order to get by in this slow economy. So feel free to contact me regarding that, I have a bunch of leads on artists who might like to participate!

Ok, now about me. heh. I have been busy with a bunch of stuff, art related as well as personal, mostly revolving around a backlog of laundry and house cleaning. I haven't been able to get a good chunk of time to get to the color yet on the figure underpaintings that I posted last week, but I think I might be able to get something done with them over this long holiday weekend.

Last Friday I did another larger sized underpainting (22x30) shown above. I was pretty excited about this one and was itching to do another one the next day, and even the next. However, I seem to be unable to do more than one each week or so no matter how much I'd like to do more. I think it's because these are still new to me, exciting, but intense and intimidating. Kinda like a new love affair, you know? It can take me days to gather the nerve to start a new one, once I have decided on an image. Maybe I need a mental rest in between. I imagine that will shift and change at some point and it will be interesting to see what happens.

Have a great Thanksgiving, all! I will be giving thanks for our new cutie pie president who is getting right down to business, as well as for the health and happiness of my family and friends. Plus I am totally bailing on the no sugar thing and will be enjoying my own home made pumpkin pie and cranberry bread.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if you were able to work with all the computer stuff you're doing...these pieces are really terrific, Tracy.

p said...

I will be thinking about this art thing too. Not sure what I can get going but I like the idea of more intimate things rather than the 100's of unknown artists which i've already talked about.

next, I like this work, i can understand the excitement!

also, enjoy that sugar :) if we can't splurge a little here and there what is the point????
happy thanksgiving to you and your family.

Natalya Khorover Aikens said...

have a wonderful thanksgiving Tracy! enjoy the time with your family, and i'll be indulging in the sugar thing right along withyou...Yum! that couple is awesome by the way...

p said...

okay I googled underpainting.
not being a painter, i dont understand what it is, how it is different than just painting. i've read your older posts labeled underpainting.
care to give me a quick definition?

Tracy Helgeson said...

Veronica, well, I haven't gotten much painting done in the last two days, that's for sure! I see a no computer day coming though, hopefully I'll catch up!

Thanks, Paula, well the problem with sugar is that I tend to splurge EVERY day, heck, every hour:)! So am trying not to do that anymore and will try to just enjoy the special occasion. ha

Thanks Natalya, you have a nice holiday too! Enjoy your sugar too:)

Paula, I consider the underpainting to be the bones of the painting, like a drawing (actually I think of it as a drawing), monochromatic, and in my work it is definitely where the energy comes from. I glaze color over it later, but often leave much of the underpainting quite visible.

Anonymous said...

It's a great image and you've made a fine start. I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of them in a show.

I think we can all kiss this week (and our good intentions) goodbye pretty much and just enjoy our families -- and our cutie pie president! Happy Turkey Day!

Unknown said...

This piece is a great start, but actually, I think I said this before, I have liked all of these figurative underpaintings just as they are. They seem to have real character without adding anything.

Kim Hambric said...

Tracy, thanks so much for your Fine Art Department blog and letting me be a part of it. The art world has looked a little bleak lately and this new blog is definitely a warm fuzzy place to be.

Hope your Thanksgiving is great and you are able to get some work in.

And yes, this year at the Thanksgiving table, we will have to give thanks to the President-elect.

Lisa Call said...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Thanks for all the work on FAD - much much appreciated!

Anonymous said...

Hi Tracy, I want to congratulate you on the wonderful initiative of the FAD. I am a fan of Andrea's and got to you via her blog. Will it be ok for me to link you on my blog, website and to mention you in my newsletter? I really love that you have included textile art!!

Sherri Woodard Coffey said...

I'm curious about the people in this painting--they look old-fashioned to me. Are you using some old photos as reference? Maybe you mentioned what the originals are in earlier posts...
Not being a painter, I really don't understand underpainting either, but I also like these paintings as they are.

Tracy Helgeson said...

Thanks everyone for the great comments about FAD. It's more work than I expected but also much more exciting that I had imagined!

Laura, Of course, link away!

Deborah, Sherri, I do like the underpaintings a lot too, they are my favorite part. And I will do some at some point and keep them as is. But right now I am feeling the intense need to do color. Sherri, yes I am using old photographs as reference. I have always been fascinated with them and have been on a collecting binge lately. I'll write more about it on a future post.