Tag Archives: winter landscape

December Blues

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I guess the title of this should be “Making Peace with December”, perhaps I should carry on that theme.

But in other news, I actually spent real money promoting my page on Facebook. I was skeptical since I tried Google Adwords, and all that happened is I lost a lot of money.  But this Facebook thing really works!  And welcome to you new visitors and gratitude to my old and true followers.

Here’s the progress of “Making Peace with December”, chickadees and all.

 

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Got this darned shadow….

Anyway, I looked at this picture, and realized it also resembled a spider’s web.  Which brought to mind, along with new visitors of the interconnectivity of the internet itself.  Which echoes the interconnections of humans, and natural forces, and atoms…..and here I go off into modern physics.  Honestly, I do read about quantum physics for fun.  I was reading a biography of Einstein when it occurred to me that I was reading for fun, what was probably a textbook for some worn-out college student.

 

And here’s a chickadee…..

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My Little Chickadee…dee,dee,dee….

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I’m working on the drawing that I sketched earlier in the week.

Since wintertime is such a hard time for me, and many others, I’ve decided to make my work this season devoted to making peace and healing with this cold, dark time of year.

Another theme I’m working on, as a healing subject, is that of friendship and community.  I have an excellent idea for that for a springtime drawing…but let’s get through the winter first.

So, friendship and community in the winter.  I thought of the symbol of birds.  I love drawing birds, but never really come up with good, complete ideas for them.  An example of one that I did do; PigeonIMG_0148_thumb.jpg

And one from high school, so long ago….

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And a Christmas card:

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So, now, what winter bird do I use for this sycamore composition?  I took a bit of selection and rejection:

Cardinals are beautiful, but they look like a Christmas card…and a cliched Christmas card at that….

Crows and starlings in a group would look like an Alfred Hitchcock movie….

Sparrows would just get lost in the color scheme, looking like diseased lumps of wood on the branches…

So, I come back to my little companion, the bird that cheered me up during the dark winters before I was diagnosed and treated for Seasonal Affective Disorder

Chickadees.  Cute and colorful in their own way with their little, cheerful tune….

Chick a dee dee dee.

It’s about the process, not the product…….or something like that

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So, here’s the sketch…another with the theme of making peace with winter.  I finally did the skeleton of the sycamore’s pale branches against an bright blue sky.  Voila (sorry, I’m working for a French company, it sneaks into my vocabulary now and then).

Scan

So, now the promised topic………

Every so often, art work is done that is labeled “It’s about the process, not the product”.  Such a philosophy has ended up in some excellent abstract art….and also some really bad abstract art.  Just check out the Craigslist artist section in your local community, you’ll find plenty of examples there.

So, once when I was burned out as hell doing my usual……..I decided to do art about the process.  The result was my “Love it or hate it” Namaste series:

 

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I was very proud of myself…..until I went to the art reception of an acquaintance, a mixed media show.  There a  young woman, just barely out of high school, effused enthusiastically how the work in the show was “About the process, not the product”.  I nearly spit out my bad Chardonnay!  I had fallen into a cliche, artspeak trap.  I hung my head in shame.

So, back to representational art.  I enjoy doing it anyway, the ability to use symbolism, and the fact that people can bring their own emotions and associations to it.  But damn, it can be tiring.  Art for the process is like fingerpainting, joyous and messy.

But…I found the best of both worlds.  I found I could do representational art, with areas that just flowed with the process (another, more esoteric term for this is doodling).  It worked in, for instance, “Tiger in the Jungle”.  I just played with the leaves and had fun.

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So, I’m going to do this sycamore picture going with the flow…..and see where it takes me.

A decisive victory!

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When last you saw me, I was babbling on about a decision of what to do next with my artwork. So, I’ve made a decision, and I’ll start babbling about that now.

Like the New York City evening skyline, there’s another subject that’s been haunting me.  Again, it’s right outside my window. (Maybe I should stop looking out the window).  And again, I’ve made multiple tries at capturing it, and much to my frustration (and disappointment) fallen short of the mark.

What I’m talking about is the sycamore tree out in front of this house I live in.  Here are examples of what I’ve done in the past.

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I have yet to do a picture of it in winter against an azure blue sky….so, I’m going to do a small version of that.  If that works out, I’ll do a big version.  I can do that in bits and pieces as the bitty pieces of time allow.  That’s because : It’s not about the finished product, it’s the Process.  More on that later.

Life is a badly written soap opera

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Did I use that title before?  I think I either used it, or something similar.  Anyway, I guess repeating yourself comes with age.  So, if I did, my apologies.

The soap opera has been at my day job….yes, I’m still there, filling in while the manager takes vacation time.  Intrigues and plot twists galore….only not all that interesting.  Like a bad soap opera.

So, I’ve been away from my artwork due to lack of time.  I’m getting back into it, and as promised, I’m working on “Making Peace with Novemeber”  Here’s the sketch.

 

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Seems like it needs a color punch up of some sort.  Stay tuned for the next episode…or not.

The Grand Finale

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All my bitchin’ and moanin” has come to an end.  I’m finished with “Floral Overload”.  Honestly, I haven’t sweated so much over a drawing in years, but I like the result.  Months from now, it will be the result that means anything to me.

 

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Now that I’ce done something really cheerful and lively, I’m looking back to this one I did.  January 2.  I like the tranquility, and tranquility and soft cool colors is a healing combination.

 

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But I was also intrigued by the idea of a rock concert.  I expected to do something really lively, now I’m not so sure.  Can I pull off a tranquil rock concert?  We shall see.

Snow what else is snew?

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It’s snowing again in NYC, but the sunlight hours are getting longer.  A good day to present the finish on “January 2”.  And here it is:

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As for upbeat images, not sure if this qualifies, except for the idea of a person with an animal companion facing hardship cheerfully.  So many of my friends are animal lovers, that I’d like to dedicate this to all of them, and  all of my subscribers who are animal lovers, too.

A few technical notes…when I what looks like a flat color, it really isn’t.  It’s layers of various colors, and varied in different areas.  Flat color tends to be boring, unless you really know what you’re doing…or using it in contrast to a busy area.

As this was evolving, there was a point that I looked at it and thought “That’s it, that’s perfect”, and looked again…realized the image was too static to imply flying snow.  So, a few loose scribbles imply the blowing snow.

And on to the next.  I leave you with this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkaMN-T_HKw