Abstract # 27 Perceptions in My Head

Yesterday I reconnected with a good friend and we had good conversation and she is someone I have known for a long time. We talked about what has been going on in our lives and when you talk to someone that has similar views as your own you can share your thoughts about the world and life, your disappointments and hopes for life with out fear of judgement. I can hear her life and her ideas, her struggles and hopes without judgement. There aren't many people in my life where there is equal amounts of give and take in a conversation. Maybe as I go along I am better able to overcome my mis - perceptions of relationships, what I want, what I hope for, what feeds my heart and soul. I never know for sure what anyone else thinks in their heads and all I really know for sure is what I think in my head. That's a scary place sometimes .. inside my head haha. We talked about forgiveness and about letting go. I am grateful for this connection and for the mutual sharing that we have. I painted this painting while we were talking. This one makes me happy.

This painting is 7"x7" on a stretched gallery wrapped canvas. It is acrylic. Thanks for stopping over and if you are interested in this painting please contact me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Have a wonderful connection filled day!!!

Abstract No. 26 Framing Imagination

Abstract number 26. I have to say it was pretty fun that today while I was working on this abstract I got to a point where I just didn't like the way it was going and then I had the idea of adding the square box. Originally I was thinking of putting the white down so that I could easily put another solid color on top. But after painting the white I LOVED how it looks. I also love that you can see what lies beneath. Like a snapshot of my imagination. I was scared at first to put the box on top of it because it might have ruined what I'd already spent a good bit of time on. But it's just one more painting in all the paintings I plan to do .. and it was clearly a "what if" that I had to experience. It's good. It was the right decision.
The sadness has abated and I am grateful. And I am glad to be painting more regularly. If you are interested in this painting please contact me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Thank you for coming over and having a look .. have a wonderful rest of the day .. oh and change the clocks .. we're springing forward tonight. : ) ciao.

Abstract No. 25

No. 25. Green and blue .. sprinkled with loads of sadness today. Still hope in the midst of all that tries to fill my heart and mind with doubts and loneliness.

It's just one of those days. Thankfully, this too shall pass.

No more words.

This is also about 12" x 12" not exactly square. If you are interested in this piece email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com.

Thanks for stopping over. Ciao.

Abstract No. 24 More purple patches

Today this painting was a reminder of childhood scribbling and then filling in the shapes with color. I have always loved to play with colors and paint and drawing. I even recall taking some blocks that were probably dyed rather then painted and when I added water to them as if they were an ice cube they turned the water into this beautiful purple color. I thought this was fabulous, my mother had other ideas about it. I happily made several concoctions of these cups of colored water. Today I'd probably find some way to use the water to dye fabric. I like having the freedom to paint with wild abandon. It's kind of a combination of painting freely and then being more methodical. Light and darkness added for interest and contrast and just a little off balance. I tend to notice that I paint in a similar style when I am painting one after another and when there are days in between the color's change and the style changes. This is all an experiment and I am going to try to keep painting every day and sometimes I paint all day long. And in between I do manage to create some clothing. Maybe I'll share some of those too. I guess I could paint more paintings in one day and post them in one post. hmmmm no rules just working till my heart is content. Thanks for stopping over ..

This is painted on a piece of unstretched primed canvas. It is about 12" x 12" and it is not square but it could be stretched on stretcher bars and be squared. If you are interested in this piece contact me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Have a fabulously wonderful day!! Ciao!!

Abstract No. 23 Purple painted nine patch

It seems that I cannot get away from sewing. I'm not a quilter but I do like the nine patch and the quilts. I love and always will love the hand stitching on anything. I am totally addicted to that texture. And there is some connection to that visual reminder of the person that did the stitching. I am moved by it's presence. When I first went to spend time with my mom as she went through what would become the final stages of alzheimer's I thought that I could interest her in hand stitching. She didn't have the ability to cut a pattern and sew on the machine anymore so I hoped this would give her something to do. I brought my sewing bag, which I keep filled with a healthy supply of beautiful scrap fabrics and needles and a variety of colors of embroidery floss. I was really hoping she would love this. I gave her the idea and she was receptive and I let her look through my scraps and she settled on a blue green print that was just her style. I threaded a needle with some turquoise thread and handed it to her and she started to stitch. She only had the energy to do this for about ten minutes. Fortunately, there was some kind of an interruption and there was no conversation about the work she did. I quickly put it away and we went on to other things. I never wanted her to feel her stitching was anything but beautiful. Her stitching however, was the first real smack in the face I had with the reality of where she was and what she was capable of.  Just recently I ran across the piece that she'd stitched and I instantly was .........ohhhhhhh.........it was so lovely this piece of fabric with her hands having haphazardly stitched these long strings of blue green thread. I was surprised how much I loved this little scrap. My mother's last stitching. ever.

I guess grief comes in waves. I guess it comes in patches. Maybe the purple, blue green patches will soothe this sadness. I can paint sadness and I can paint comfort. I can paint whatever I want.

This purple piece is about 12" x 12" on cut primed canvas.  It is unstretched. It is acrylic. I cut it out of a roll of canvas that I have so it's not even perfectly square and only looks that way because I cropped out the background. It could be easily stretched on a small frame. If you are interested in this piece email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. More tomorrow. I am getting back to the regular schedule. No more in between days. Thanks for stopping over.

Sidetracked by Van Gogh in the middle of abstracts

Ok I know I am doing abstracts right now but I went to a used book store recently and found a book I needed and discovered a huge selection of art books for a very reasonable price. The book was on Impressionism. There were several plates of Van Gogh's work and I thought hmmmm wouldn't it be fun to copy one of these. I was really struck by his self portrait. I wondered if I could manage the little strokes on such a small surface. I wondered if it would make a difference if I painted with acrylic paint and not oil.

When I was in my last year of high school my mother found out about a man that taught oil painting to adults. The wife of a one of my dad's coworker's went to his sessions every Saturday. They were all day long. I had to go and be interviewed by the teacher to get into the class. He agreed I had the right reasons and skills to be in the class even at seventeen. I would get a ride to my dad's coworker's house and I would drive an hour with her to the class. I had to bring my lunch and I would be in the class all day. I was the youngest in the class. Everyone was working at various levels of painting and all of them were copying works of the masters. No one was painting an original painting. I didn't expect that and I for some reason found this shocking, it went against my grain and I was seventeen. I knew and had already formed opinions about what I thought good art was. I did know that the purpose was to learn how to mix color in oil so as not to muddy the canvas. The teacher felt that copying was a way to learn. I felt that I was committing a mortal sin by copying. I was a small, opinionated lonely fish in a big sea of happy women and men happily copying famous paintings in oil. I was grateful for the lunch breaks and the afternoons seemed to stretch out for what seemed twice the hours they were and I was always glad to leave. When I would paint I always felt like I had to wait for the teacher to come around to tell me what to do. He would work on my painting to show me how to mix and how to add highlights. I was copying still life's. Eventually I got the hang of it. I already knew how to shade and add highlights. Oils were always challenging because you were always painting with wet paint on top of wet paint. I stayed with the classes long enough to finish about one or two paintings. The ones that I have from that class are fabulous paintings. Sadly, I quit because I just didn't see the merit in it. I have no idea why I felt this way. I often find myself wishing I could go back to those classes. Thank goodness experience has a way of changing our minds. I have to say I was excited by the idea of copying Van Gogh's self portrait. As I added the strokes in swirls of color I couldn't help but think about what he may have been experiencing. I wanted to know what he was thinking to have him create these beautiful blue green swirls of light around his portrait. I imagined him dressing and sitting in front of a mirror to paint. I enjoyed thoroughly the whole painting. I enjoyed the challenge of recreating the strokes. I enjoyed mixing my own colors to match his colors. My version has a little more contrast. His had lighter colors to create the outlines of his face. Overall I am very very pleased with  this painting. It's really very small which makes me love it even more. I'm glad I loved doing it. I learned a LOT. I worked on this two day's. I'm going to keep this one. I am going to go back to the abstracts every day. I don't seem to be able to do once in a few days. I am all in or sidetracked by life .. makes me laugh.

Hope you enjoyed the painting though either way. Thanks for stopping over and have a fabulously joyfilled day. Ciao.

Abstract #22

Today is abstract 22 and I guess this one is using some design from a previous abstract that I did. This one is very colorful. There is something about color that I've really been having a blast experimenting with combinations of. I like the contrasts of colors that are complimentary. And it seems that I have a tendency to create very graphic forms. This isn't always the case but it seems to go that way. I still get the sense of sewing while I am painting these.

Yesterday I went to a watercolor show nearby and saw a great deal of beautiful work done by local artists. Lots of talent there in the space that held the show. Then they did a little contest where five artists sat at a table with watercolor paper held down with tape and also previously drawn on by the artist. There was also a photo of the image that was being used. Five different artists had this same scenario. (All images were different). At the count of three they started painting for 15 minutes in the style that suited them. When the fifteen minutes was up it was passed to the next artist and this continued until all the artists had painted on every painting. All the paintings were signed by all the artists and they were all raffled off. I was surprised by the all the buzz this created and everyone seemed to enjoy the excitement of watching the artists at work. There were so many people standing at the tables it was hard to see what they were doing. I mentioned to one of the volunteers that they should video the artists working and project it onto the big screen they had nearby .. she looked at me like I told something in a foreign language. I didn't stay to see the end result. It would have been an hour and a half later .. five artists spend their fifteen minutes on each one and then get back their original work and finish up with final details. Looked like everyone was having fun!

Today's painting is about 12"x 12" on wood panel painted with acrylic. Email me if you are interested in purchasing today's abstract. Thanks for stopping by .. : )