Friday, Day 12

Horizon Lines (Twenty Four), 2009, Oil on Birch Panel, 6x12

So the last two weeks have been very productive and I am glad I decided to do a really big push to finish the bulk of the paintings now. Instead of waiting until the very last minute which is what I usually end up doing. While that can be very exhilarating, it's a bit risky too.

As of the this morning the tally is:

17 finished paintings
4 are almost finished
4 are in progress
and I still plan to do a large panel, I will prep that this weekend and work on it next week

This morning I set all the finished work out and wow how exciting it was to do that! I never had enough space in my old studio to spread paintings out and look at everything together. I always had to cross my fingers and just hope they would all work together as a group. Anyway, Doug thinks that it's a good group of paintings. He did point out a few that he thought weren't as strong, however we both agreed after recalling his track record at guessing which pieces will sell and which won't, not to remove those paintings from the show. Heh. He's a handy filter, that guy.

I plan to get a lot of time in the studio this weekend and at least make some headway with the unfinished work. But we are expecting nice weather here for the next few days so I may end up doing a little digging in the flower gardens too. Hopefully I can get time in doing both.

Four of the paintings I worked on yesterday:

This is what I will be working on today:

I don't usually post videos, but I am listening to The Band this morning and this is one of my very favorite performances in The Last Waltz. So I high tailed it over to youtube to check out Evangeline (like I haven't already seen it a million times) and thought I'd put it up here too. Have I mentioned my love for Rick Danko before? It's true, I love him. That voice, mmmmmmmmmm. So sad he's gone.......

Heaven Help Me...

Horizon Lines (Six), 2008, Oil on Panel, 4X6

The other day I saw the video for "I Kissed a Girl" and it was the first time I had heard the song in its entirety. And because I am a visual type of girl, seeing the video clinched it-I had the song in my head for days.

So I finally broke down and bought the song from iTunes. Even my tween girls don't know what to think about that. THEY know it's a cheesy song.

PS. But I secretly think it's a good rocking tune, kind of Joan Jett-ish and I totally sing along when it comes on. Nothing wrong with some girl on girl either.

Studio Update

Sky Cover, 2008, Oil on Panel, 11x14

Unfortunately, I have hardly stepped foot into my new studio in the last two weeks. I did take painting supplies (to paint the walls) up there but that was about a week ago.

I have had to put the new studio (and all of that glorious space) out of my head so that I can focus on finishing up work for my upcoming show at the Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson NY. This weekend will be the last push and in between a few sleepovers, soccer games, work in the garden, and sleep (I hope), I will be painting cradles, putting on the picture wire, doing the paperwork and then wrapping everything up for delivery to the gallery on Monday. My new assistant (my son) will accompany me on the drive down, which means I will be listening to a lot of Beatles music and his new "discovery": Meatloaf. Like I haven't listened to Bat Out of Hell so many times that I wore out two vinyl albums, and one CD (now it's safely downloaded to my iPod and will last forever; or at least until they come up with a new format). Besides being shallow I am also very immature. Just so you know.

Anyway.

Bright and early on Tuesday morning I will be getting into my studio and will be priming and painting the walls and trim. Good times. Then the floor guy will come in to sand and finish the floors. I considered painting them for about two seconds, but they are 12 and 14 inch wide pine planks, original to the house and somehow it seems criminal to paint them. So natural wood it is!

But I will have to wait until the floor is finished before I can begin moving up there. That's ok, I have much to do in the meantime. I still have to keep painting as I will be going to the Affordable Art Fair in mid-June, with Carrie Haddad, and I also have a small solo show in July at a gallery here in Cooperstown. Plus I think that nearly every single drawer, cabinet, and room in our house needs to be cleaned out and reorganized.

Like I said, good times.

Super Duper Important Electronics Update

Deep Shadow, 2008, Oil on Panel, 24x36

As I have mentioned a few times over the last month, I have recently been having so much trouble with my electronics that it is downright comical at this point. Most of my time since getting back has been taken up with fixing and/or replacing the various items that have broken down.

1. My 2 year old iMac crashed in January, setting me off onto a rant or two or ten. I used Doug's computer and sometimes the kid's computer until we could figure out what was wrong with it. While I was in Vermont, Doug took it to the Apple store in Albany and they said the logic board was shot. Cost to fix that: $950. Cost to replace: $1199. I replaced it AND got a 20" screen, plus an external back up system. Totally tax-deductible at least. But more difficult to get up and walk away from. Heh.

2. I took Doug's old Mac laptop to Vermont, along with the antique power supply cord. People laughed when they saw the cord, it's so old. The battery in the laptop is shot and the computer is so old that they don't even make those batteries anymore, so the cord is necessary. BUT. The power cord is also messed up and you have to wiggle it and set it up just right or it won't work. And I was seldom able to get the wiggle just right. Somehow my 12 year old son is able to get it to work every time which is just typical.

3. The battery in my cell phone died on the second day in Vermont. This was extremely annoying because I rarely even use my cell phone. I am still not even a 100% sure of the number. We don't have a signal at our house and I don't have any business that is so important that I need to receive calls while I am picking up my kids in town. Luckily, Doug just got a new phone (he DOES use his phone all of the time-in fact his phone is actually attached to his left ear) and the battery in his old phone is fairly new so we can just replace mine with that one.

4. This one really breaks my heart: my iPod. Listening to my music in the studio is a big deal to me and I love my iPod. I took it along with me to Vermont and while I was there the sound stopped coming through the left headphone. I tested the headphones on a friend's iPod and they worked fine. I listened to the music in one ear for an afternoon which gave me a headache and made me feel unbalanced, then while fooling around with the connection, I found that if the headphones were only halfway plugged in, the sound comes through both headphones. The drawback with this plan is that, well, the headphones are only halfway plugged in, and the plug tended to fall out easily. But I managed to get through the month like that. Now that I am home though, the music is only playing through one stereo speaker which is driving me crazy and so Doug is going to take it in with him to the city to see if it can be fixed or if it has to be replaced. And naturally, the iPod is about two months past the end of the warranty which is also just typical.

5. And last, but in no way least, my 1998 Mazda MPV has been giving me trouble for the last year or so. Um just after we paid off the loan, of course. First the air conditioning broke and because of some crazy design issue it was incredibly expensive to fix, so we never did that. Then it was the usual stuff in a car with over 100,000 miles-new brakes, timing belt, muffler, new axels, tires, etc. I have had many worries about the car breaking down on the side of the road and with my tight kid pick up schedule and with Doug out of town half the time I have been pitching daily fits about getting a new car. We decided to wait until spring but then on the way to Vermont, I noticed that the back of the roof was impeding my rear view. I took it to a mechanic in Johnson and he said that the rear suspension system was completely shot. Doug and I debated about getting it fixed (not cheap) and then decided that it was time to get a new car. So my Mazda and I limped home, with the body of the car just a few inches higher than the rear wheels. Yesterday we traded it in for a whopping $1000 bucks and came home with a shiny new charcoal grey Honda Pilot. I am relieved to have a dependable car again and am even more tickled to have the best cup holders that I have ever had in a car. Sometimes it's the little things. Oh, but even better than the cup holders is the fact that I am paying for this car. After years of relying on Doug's income, I am very happy to be able to buy my own car. First one since the '74 VW Dasher I bought for $2000 when I was 16!

I got through all of this thinking that at least my digital camera still works, but then it turns out that I left it in the lounge at the Vermont Studio Center on my last night there. Along with the memory card containing hundreds of portraits I took of the other residents. Luckily, the infamous David Grozinsky found it exactly where I left it on that crazy late night (I can't even use alcohol as an excuse), and is sending it back to me, so I will NOT have to buy a new camera at least. Well, unless it gets lost in transit, which would be just typical.....

So there you go. Who knows what will break down on me next.

Live!

I started to write a long detailed post about what we did on Saturday night, but I deleted it and I think all I really have to say is Alex P. Suter.

Ok, well there is a bit more I can say, big surprise, I know. Doug and I were lucky enough to see Ms. Suter and her band perform a few years ago at a Midnight Ramble at Levon Helm's barn in my favorite place, Woodstock, NY. They were incredible and we have never forgotten their show. Or Ms. Suter's voice. Neither did our friend, Jeff who we went to the show with. Jeff now puts together a local concert series and when this group came up as an option, he immediately signed them up.

Doug and I knew what to expect when they took the stage and so we really enjoyed hearing the entire audience exhale in awe when Alexis Suter began to sing the blues. She was in top form and even though our town must have looked pretty uptight to her, there was a lot more grooving and dancing than I ever expected by the end of the evening! There were a lot of kids dancing up front, including many of my daughter's friends (which made me feel bad for leaving the girls at home) and it was great fun to watch them dance. We have been living here for over four years and in many ways we still feel new to the area. But every once in awhile there is an event or activity where I really feel like I belong here, and this night was one of them. I found myself a bit teary eyed a few times seeing so many people that we know having such a good time.

Anyway, Doug and I are now all worked up about going to another Midnight Ramble and I think we will try to get together a bunch of friends to go. And in the meantime, while I am way too uptight to dance in front of anyone (I used to dance, but only after much alcohol) in private I will be practicing some of Vicki Bell's back-up singer dance moves. Ms. Bell is anything but just a back-up singer, but she sure can groove.

Oh and the other back up singer, Glenn Turner (Doug thinks he looks like a shorter version of Marvin Gaye) sang "Come Together" and I am pretty sure I like his version way better than the Beatles'. Heresy, I know, but it was really awesome.

If you want to hear Alexis P. Suter live, they just released this CD and it's really good.

Retrieving Art and Music

Two Trees In Front, 2007, Oil on Panel, 16x20

Sunday I took a break from working in the garden and drove down to Roxbury. A few weeks ago I received word that the gallery would be closing at the end of November and so I wanted to retrieve my work from their inventory. I have been exhibiting there for almost two years and it was a good experience. I had a three person show and a solo show, plus my work was included in a couple of group shows. Sales were modest, but pretty good considering the gallery is located in such a small community. I found several new collectors (yes I mean you, Brian) and showing there really helped raise my profile in upstate NY. But as I move into galleries in larger cities, it becomes more difficult to continue to sell my work in the smaller areas. So losing this gallery doesn't feel like a bad thing for me, however, it's unfortunate that Roxbury is losing such a good fine arts venue.

The ride home was excellent. It was a nice, sunny day with great light and I stopped several times to take photographs to use as reference for future paintings. And holy cow, my iPod was really throwing out some good songs. At one point it played a string of seven songs, each of which break my heart in totally different ways.

"Jack and Diane" John Mellencamp back when he was John Cougar. Reminds me of high school.

"Martha" Tom Waits. Oh the pain of talking to an old lover!

"Welcome to the Jungle" Guns N'Roses. Gotta love totally raucous noise once in awhile.

"With or Without You" U2. I can't even tell you all how much I loved Bono in the 80's. He was my man, my one true love. I know he would have loved me too if we could have made eye contact, just once...

"Car Wheels on A Gravel Road" Lucinda Williams. Everything that Lucinda sings breaks my heart.

"It Ain't Over Til It's Over" Lenny Kravitz. Love the sound of this one and well, I loved Lenny too. I am very fickle, sorry Bono.

"Hallelujah" Jeff Buckley. Showcases Jeff Buckley's incredible voice and heart and makes me feel sad that he is gone.

Then I skipped a few and came to "Gimme Shelter" by Patti Smith. I had a sore throat trying to keep up with Patti (not possible) by the time I pulled into the driveway.

A very good day.

My Cover Shot

I am amazingly nonphotogenic, but this photo of me is marginally ok. On Friday I was fooling around with the photo booth feature on my computer and while most of the shots were bad (I am just old enough to be thinking about staying away from natural light, especially around a camera) there were a few that I would consider actually showing in public. If I can ever figure out how to add a photo to my blogger profile, I will use this one.

Doug thinks it looks like an album cover shot, which is comical because in addition to not being photogenic, I am also not musically talented whatsoever. However, I do confess to the occasional daydream about really being able to belt out a Janis Joplin tune on stage and now I have an image to put on the CD. Heh.

How Pollock Made Me Paint Again

Hillside Trees, 2006, Oil on Panel, 12x12

Unfortunately, I didn't get much done yesterday either. I had just gotten into the painting zone with a little help from Mary Gauthier, when it was time to clean up and go to a valentine lunch with my husband, Doug. We had a nice time and I always a enjoy a good salad, especially one that someone else has to prepare and clean up after. By the time we got home, it was time for me to run back into town to pick up the kids from their after school stuff. Hopefully, I will get more done today and tomorrow.

So I have a lot going on this year and I am still kind of in awe about it. I have an art education, I went to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia from 1985-1988. My major was illustration and with the usual youthful optimism, I was certain that I'd be a very successful illustrator. Then real life stepped in. I had to get a full time job after college and I tried for awhile to do illustration on the side. I did a few jobs here and there and then I met my husband (ok, he was my boss, so sue me!) and had less time to pursue my personal work. We started a family and I felt strongly about devoting my time to raising the babies so the art took a back seat. I did have a few creative outlets during this time, I learned how to knit and sew, I attended weekly figure drawing sessions and I became involved with a local arts organization. In 2003, our family plunked down on a farm in upstate NY after having lived in Utah for ten years. My youngest daughter began school and at the same time I was reading Pollock, An American Saga. While Pollock seemed to be a bit of a mess, (that may be an understatement) I was so inspired by their move to the Springs on Long Island and his subsequent breakthroughs. I also admired Lee Krasner's tenacity in keeping him on track and continuing to pursue her own work at the same time. So I thought that since I had more time during the days, I'd give it another shot. Despite not ever having done a landscape, I started painting landscapes. How could I not? The land surrounding us is beautiful! The first pieces I did were dark and moody and kind of depressing, but obviously I have moved into a different direction at this point. And hopefully I and my work will keep evolving.

So that's why at age 41, I am considered an emerging artist and why everything that's going on seems so surprising and, well, cool.

This is a painting I did in early 2004.



Window View#28, 2004, Oil on Panel, 12x12