PUSHING IT.

I'm busy learning new things over here.
I'm learning that it's true, you should never throw a painting away.
I'm going back now and painting over anything I didn't like, saving bits I did and pushing further.
If it was already ugly and/or boring- what is there to be afraid of? That you will make it more ugly or boring?
I'm learning that if it is boring to me, it is probably very boring to anyone else.
I'm learning that I'm tired of making boring art and I want to amp it up a bit.
I'm learning that I've got to understand more about contrast, composition, blah, blah blah, but GEEZ, it's so important if I want to make exciting art. I've got to get more technical and analytical. But I'm learning that when I'm painting- LET all that go and paint intuitively, trust my instincts and just let it flow out of me.

I add things.
Take away things.
Write on it.
Darken it
Lighten it.
Sew it.
Doodle it.
Digitally screw with it.
Use every medium I have until I get what I want out of my own creation!
I listen and learn and watch and see.

and i

SHUT THE FEAR UP.

I read somewhere (I wish I could remember who to give credit) but she said the SECRET to the only difference in why she stood out was that she took a project to a great point, the point where everybody would like it, and then she pushed it further asking, "How can I make this MORE unique and BETTER than the things I've already seen." AND she DIDN't stop until she LOVED it.

She JUST PUSHED IT FURTHER.

that's the big freakin secret

I can do that. I might not be drawing or painting to the level I want- BUT BY GOD, (literally) I CAN PUSH what I'm doing FURTHER. save it. Go back. and push it further. Until one day- I say, WOW, I LOVE IT!!!

Her headdress was a flower pin that I put in my copy machine and folded in half. and by george, it looked like feathers.

Be brave. Be very very brave in your art and your life. And don't give up until you get what you want.

EVER.

i'm still convincing myself of all of this....can you tell?

Where does your FANCY come from?

Tell me where is fancy bred, 
Or in the heart or in the head? 
How begot, how nourished? 
 Reply, reply. 
It is engender’d in the eyes, 
With gazing fed; and fancy dies
In the cradle, where it lies.
Let us all ring fancy’s knell;
I’ll begin it – Ding, dong, bell. 

Ding, dong, bell.  Shakespeare "The Merchant of Venice"

Where is fancy bred? I often wonder where inspiration comes from. Of course, I give God the credit for anything created and I believe because we are made in His image that each of us was granted creative powers. It takes connecting to the First Power to enrich your own God-given, powerful, artistic character. But we have to trust and we have to invest. That's just my opinion. 

Where does your fancy come from?

Still Practicing...

Tell me you see a tiny teeny bit of Botticelli influence and I will be be happy. I'm continuing the practice with textures and colors in my journal and having so much fun. Trying to work up the courage and patience to do a large painting. I'm forcing myself to do hands and more of the body. Really, I am. But those pieces are awkward still and don't want to come out of hiding.

I"m loving some new apps (for those who got new IPADs or IPhones for Christmas) called Master Pieces and Art Museum. These are art games that you can play while educating yourself about good art. I'm also hooked on Pinterest - a virtural dream image board that can give you loads of inspiration and ideas.

I'm also trying to clean out the clutter, organize the finances for tax season, and set goals and dreams for the new year.

I see beautiful images from your blogs everyday that feed my artist's soul and spur me on. Have I thanked you lately for being my friend? Because it's no small thing to me. I love our creative molecules bouncing all around, back and forth, like a gigantic game of art basketball.

I hope I'll have more to share soon.

Winter snow brings out the art journal.

Out my front door

It's  a little cold over here in southeastern New Mexico. We've had snow on the ground
for 6 days which is unusual for us.
My Sweet Farmer is almost good as new. Thank you for your kind wishes in the comments.

"Chill Out", mixed media  on watercolor, 16 x 20 matted

I'm enjoying my journal again. Did I mention that I ♥ faces. It doesn't seem to matter whose or what face it is. I think I'm into drawing personalities, emoting feelings from their eyes, the position of their chin, etc. They seem to come alive in my journal and look back at me. In a way, I guess I'm still playing paper dolls, only with paints and pencils. It's still an imaginary world where my mind plays creatively, yet keenly. It's like a great dessert for my brain.

Which face is your fav?

notes from a sermon on Psalm 23

my idea of a Venice carnivalle costume

i loved creating this one with only a pencil, black gesso and blue paint. 

Hey guess what?? "Yellow Goat" sold from the "Gallery" in Roswell.. I will miss him but I'm glad someone liked him enough to take him home.

You just never know....

I know it's a little late and I've since taken it down to make room for Christmas, but in my heart I'm still there. My Sweet Farmer almost died over the Thanksgiving holidays. Without giving too much gory detail or reliving it, he had some veins burst in his esophagus and nearly bled to death before he was air-flighted to Lubbock where he had a terrible reaction to the anethesia, so on and on, and spent 6 days in ICU and two more in a regular room.

HE IS fine now!! But wow, what a Thanksgiving. I can't tell you how many wonderful things happened during that week in spite of the horrific beginning, and since that time that made the whole experience very sacred and God-filled, and me GRATE FULL for my many blessings.

I've been drawing as you can imagine. It really is the most calming therapy in the world.

I'm pretty sure this is what Sweet Farmer's guardian angel looked like!

St. John Resting on the Bosom of Christ by
Master Heinrich of  Constance

And this is where I'm resting...

Flight to Florence made real.

" (I felt)... delirious yet tumultuous... I felt as if I sailed with long John Silver and first gazed on Treasure Island. Here was a place where anything might happen. Here was a place where something would certainly happen... "   Winston Churchill

Ponte Vecchio from the Uffizi Gallery window

Have you ever been to a place that everywhere you turned, everything you saw was out of favorite book or picture book? This was my wardrobe in the Chronicles of Narnia, this was my looking glass in Alice and Wonderland. This was my Treasure Island.

What can I say about Florence?

I saw DAVID, all 18ft of him. one huge block of Carrara marble. He ultimately represented that Florence would slay the giant of the Medici family and Michelangelo turned his back on his first sponsors by creating it. (Great STORY)

But I loved most the unfinished marble pieces of Michelangelo's that showed his way of sculpting- where the person actually moves out of the marble. UNBELievable!

WE had a fantastic, knowledgeable guide that has studied art all his life and he has not lost his energy for it. He talked as fast as he could to tell you details about the art and I totally crushed on him. I could have taken him home and I know Sweet Farmer would have understood. 

I saw the DUOMO. The story of Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti is a fascinating one. Two creative genius' that truly sparked a Renaissance.

outside the Medici offices and Uffizi gallery. absolutely intimidating sculptures
they used outside their official palaces.

I LOVE THE history of the Medici family. I watched every documentary I could get my hands on.
They took the money they made as bankers and sponsored art for the city of Florence. They were the first to promote art that wasn't religious (on its face) but to think outside the box about creativity and new ideas and to push the boundaries of original thought! To heck with what the Pope liked.
WOW. ART BURST FORTH IN THAT PLACE!
But in the end the Medici's became violent and greedy and ultimately were thrown out of Florence. BUT the trail of art they left behind is a sight to behold.

Venus by Botticelli

I stood in FRONT of this piece. It was darker than this but so breathtakingly enchanting. I saw Primavera too!  So he created some long neck girls and let his imagination fly. I saw original Leonardo Di Vinci's! What can I say?

If you love the Renaissance, intrigue, history, and love art with a passion - and you only have one city to go to in your life-time - take Florence.

I wanted to cry because I had to leave. But I just kept remembering how blessed I was to even be there. You may think that sounds silly or over-dramatic. But my passion met it's match in Florence and it truly touched me.
I will go back someday. That's a promise I've made to myself.

Lovely Orvieto

We left Rome, Italy and headed for the north. On our way, we stopped at an hidden jewel of a city named Orvieto. I don't have any of my own photographs because I bought a book.

You can read all about it if you love old old places. This walled city dates back to the Estrucans (800 B.C. stuff!!) It sits on top of a volcanic mountain and has quaint and lovely shops where we drank Orvieto wine and had eggplant and cheese on focaccia bread for lunch. It has a beautiful cathedral based on a haunting relic.
(*my opinion only)
It seems each town needed a Saint or relic to bring others to their town for commerce and their own religious unity. They wouldn't have used secular objects because their religion was almost their nationality. These cathedrals housed objects that people came from all over to see and then subsequently pay for local lodging, food and local crafts. The locals knew that it was a boost for their town and that's one of the reasons they funded these projects so liberally. It wasn't a bad deal.... we are still going there today 2500 years later, spending our money in their lovely town, to see the history now revolved around those sacred decisions.

I could have lived like this. It had a fairy-tale, peaceful, secret garden feel to it. It was secure behind the great strong walls, beautiful old trees and winding paths through flower gardens, unbelieveable scenery from every direction, and a quiet artist mood about the place.  AND the ART ....

I saw old Byzantine frescoes by Lippo Memmi in the Cathedral. This very painting (Madonna dei Raccomandati). It's at least 9 ft. high. The gold was dazzling, and the designs and color made me want to get home and try my plaster work again.


"In our own time it has been seen... that simple children, roughly brought up in the wilderness, have begun to draw by themselves, impelled by their own natural genius, instructed solely by the example of these beautiful paintings and sculptures of Nature."  Giorgio Vasari  




I saw original frescoes that covered huge walls by Luca Signorelli. It is said that Michelangelo copied some of his ideas for the Sistine chapel. Remember common people couldn't read so paintings told stories and probably kept the fear of God in people's hearts and minds (along with Papal power and religious leveraging, and commerce).

For whatever reason, artists left their heart and skill here for millions to see and you can't help but walk away feeling visually and soulfully shakened awake.

Let the Games Begin

 Who can see Rome without seeing the Colosseum?? There were riots there the day before but we saw no sign of any problems. Americans knew much more about that news than Romans!

My photographs are a disappointment.
NO. 1- you can't set up to take photos because they don't give you time.No. 2- there are always tourists in the way of perfect shots. No. 3- it's burdensome to carry different lens. No. 4- you want to really see the things you're looking at and listen to the guides and taking pictures becomes somewhat of a distraction. Plus, I'm just not a good photographer. Sorry.

The Colosseum originally had 3 outer walls but fires and earthquakes and time have destroyed them over the years.
Emperor Vespasian (72 A.D.) began the project to placate the people of Rome after Nero's selfishness. Fifty thousand people could enter this sport's stadium pretty efficiently. Did you know nearly 9000 animals were killed in the first inaugural games? There is something horrendously sickening as you stand in the center and think about the brutality of the times and that it was all about entertainment for men, women and children.

Creeped me out when I realized I was wearing an animal print as I stood on the floor of the Colosseum!

Did you know if you leave a door open anywhere, Romans ask you "Were you born in the Colosseum?"

Vestal Garden right below the Colosseum

This is what's left of the garden and temple of the Vestal Virgins. They got front row seats at the Colosseum and other luxuries for keeping the sacred fire burning for the homes of Rome. They couldn't have sex for 30 years but they also didn't have to live under the crappy rules for Roman women under men's authority.

 Aww. And the colossal arches. Whenever an emperor won a battle some monument had to be built. And each wanted one bigger than the last one!

".... I began to regard the earth under my feet as skin draped over ancient bones." Fran Davis

All Roads lead to Rome

Pieta by Michelangelo

 Yes! I was there. My nose was right up against the glass (now protected because years ago some deranged geologist repeatedly struck it with a hammer and broke Mary's nose. They fixed her with a piece of marble from her back). It was hard to walk away. The folds of the gown fascinated me and the rib cage of Christ and skin on the face of Mary- and this was made early in Michelangelo's career.

above the entrance of the Vatican- Belini and Michelangelo on either side of the
Papal Tiara and coat of arms

tapestry in the Vatican Hall of treasures

"I am still listening to inner sounds, still divining, trying to get a hold on Italy. Instead, the hold - part poem, part dream, all enigma- is on me..... there will always remain something unknowable about Italy" - Camille Cusumano

Looks carved but it's not. It's trompe! 

I had no idea about the treasures housed in the Vatican! It would take you years to see everything.

The trip was beyond my expectations. The only regret was that I couldn't linger, couldn't grasp everything, couldn't understand all the things we walked by without explanation.

But I just tried to stay in the moment. Hear, smell, feel, touch when I could so that I could bring the image back in my head and follow whatever path it may take me from here.

I will bring you more. But it all started in Rome.

"All roads indeed lead to Rome, but theirs also is a more mystical destination, some bourne of which no traveller knows the name, some city, they all seem to hint, even more eternal"  - Richard Le Gallienne

Feeling Blessed.

It's no surprise if you visit here often that I like to paint faces and Jesus is one of my favorite faces to paint. This is actually a take on an old painting of mine but I added a collage background.
Now the photograph bothers me just a little with the two different eyes- in the actual painting, it is not that noticeable.

I'm feeling very blessed as you can imagine as I leave for Italy in 2 days. (Big thanks to Artfully Oogleboops for the article about Florence) I wish my Sweet Farmer would quit being so sweet and sad about our two weeks apart as it is bittersweet to leave him and our lovely little farm, my family, kitty-cat, Sam, the dog....etc.

posterized

"Ships are safe in harbor but that is not why ships were built"

Sweet Farmer says I was speaking Italian in my sleep the other night. I laughed and said, "how would you know?... it was Italian I mean?"

I wouldn't be surprised as I have marinated in Italian everything with my IPOD and Modern Scholar lectures.

I've learned that prior study really enhances my travel experience.

Wish me safe travel and blessings if you think of me, a little prayer. I hope to come back with lots of inspiration to share.

a copy of the painting collaged into another graffiti painting