Theresa Rankin: One More Daily Painter

The Rest Of The Story.......

2011-01-30T15:27:00.013-06:00

The previous blog dealt with the central image of a violinist for a suite of ten paintings requested by a collector.
In this blog I will put together the rest of the images. As I chose the pictures I had it in my mind that they should all face toward the center image.....as if he were the Soloist and the rest of the musicians were in the symphony. Here is were I had one problem....aside from just putting paint on canvas in a mature and direct way.
My client had requested certain instruments. So I looked through my file of what I had and traveled the internet for inspiration. I would say all of the paintings came out pretty much the way I wanted them to......except one. I had found a picture of a trumpet player. I really loved the image and could see it translated into paint immediately. There was only one thing wrong....he was facing the wrong way. What to do....I flipped the picture.....problem solved....right??? .......Nope...wrong! What happened was he ended up playing the trumpet in an impossible way because the instrument cannot be played that way....and I had completely painted it and thought it was fantastic (if I do say so myself)! As I brought it downstairs and out of the studio for Max and I to gaze upon and contemplate it's beauty.....Max, a trumpet player, noticed something. Yep....that's when I got the word....! Darn...darn...darn! What to do know? Only one thing....find another image and do it right!
I sent the image and an email to my client and explained what happened...in good conscience I couldn't let it out of the studio with it so wrong. My client emailed me back and said whatever I wanted to do was fine with him.....but he really like the painting anyway....felt it was very strong and I would have to agree. Well.....two weeks later after I had finished two more pieces for him......and what do you think happened? He still had to have the painting because he liked it so much! What's an artist to do??? Well....for me the truth never hurts, first of all. I did have another person interested in it...but explained the issue....and her son was a trumpet player also. So, of course she declined. In the long run...it all worked out. Everyone is happy!
Lesson learned......if you are going to work from photos.....check everything twice and beware.....there really is no substitute for painting from life. I have done my fair share and still do paint from life or studies from life for the most part. I just didn't think about how most musical instruments (I am aware of a few left-handed instruments...but not many) are only played one way. It won't happen again!!! I have added the rest of the images in the progression they were done below. Let me know your thoughts!

The first painting and the inspiration for the suite was sold several months ago. When I painted this I had not thought about a series.
My client was inspired to order several more paintings in a symphony series.

The second piece...a pianist.....One of my favorites.

The third....there must be a conductor! Hands....arrgh!
I need practice....so good to have someone who has faith in the fact that I will just get better!

I next decided to get the big one out of the way. This is a 16x20 the rest are all 8x10.
This makes the fourth piece.

The client was anxious for a classical guitarist....this may well be the best one!
This is number five. I believe I am getting better!!!

Before I got to this one I had to stop on the series and produce a few other pieces and some other plein air activities. I did a still life with a stuffed turkey....more on that turkey later!!
The client requested woodwinds...I chose the Bassoon...I just like the shape of it! This makes number six.

My client then asked for a trumpet player. This is the painting that was wrong.....but sold anyway! He should be reversed. Number seven.

This is the replacement for the backward trumpet...also sold. I like it!!! Learning a lot!
Number eight.

Tuning the Timpani....number nine.

One left the harpist...she is giving me fits......:)
See you later,
Theresa

Long Time No See............

2011-01-20T09:55:00.013-06:00

"The Soloist" 16x20 Oil Sold

I was beginning to think (and you may have, too) that I may never blog again. There always seem to be so much out there to do, that I feel like writing a blog can be a complete waste of time.....but I do miss communicating on some small level. So here I am...yet again....playing catching up. To all you regular bloggers I have much admiration for you!
There has been lots going on (isn't there always)...so I will try to play "catchup post" from where I left off and go on from there. I believe I mentioned a step by step portrait? This piece was part of a series of musicians for a collector....nine in all. This was to be the central painting with 8 surrounding pieces. I am as we speak on the last one.
We as artists know that commissions are a strong source of revenue and a valuable tool to our learning. They can have a downside though...don't get me wrong I am extremely grateful and could not survive without them....but they can dull you somewhat creatively. Mostly because you are painting another persons vision and not yours. Fortunately my collector is patient and gives me lots of creative room. So on the whole I have learned an awful lot! It has been a very rewarding experience!

Some of the things I learned:
The value of doing many images of a similar subject.
Planning small canvases to their maximum and how to devise a series that will hang together.
Color and paint application. A constant learning process!
Work ethic and timely response. (I don't really have a work ethic problem....but staying on top of an assignment does take planning.)
The sheer value of just working.
Not seeing the image as a face, violin, trumpet, etc. but shapes of color, value and paint application.
How much more I need to learn!

Below is the Demo for "The Soloist"

The beginning....a quick pencil sketch secured with hairspray.
I don't like to get too detailed with drawing...and many times I just begin with paint.
Because of the violin, hand and face I chose to do some drawing.

Close up of the face and beginning with thin paint and various colors.
Skin has many colors in it....look and you will see green, blue or purple among others in the flesh tones. Trying to keep edges in the face soft.

Some more work and laying in broader shapes and background.

Continuing to work on the face and the areas around it.

The hands and violin started...checking the accuracy of the perspective of the violin.
The collar is done the face is 90% done.

Almost there!.....the jacket is finished , the bow needs some fine
tuning and the neck of the violin needs to be finished. Also the hand needs refining
and a tiny bit of work on the head with glazing and paint application.

Voila! The finished piece. Details worked out on the violin such as strings, keys, frog and moldings, glazing and some more tweaking on the face and hands!

Thank you to everyone that continues to sign
to my blog, support me via Facebook and my website,
Sincerely,
Theresa

2010-08-05T15:06:00.007-05:00

I have entered a few piece in the Bold Brush Painting Contest. If you would like to vote for me...you can access in the sidebar or go here and vote for me or whoever you like! I don't think helps winning....I just like to see if there is any positive reaction.
Thank you ahead of time for your vote!!

The Best Laid Schemes O' Mice An' Men.........

2010-06-29T12:51:00.004-05:00

Theresa's Pansies 8x16 Oil Sold
I always say I am going to blog continuously like so many other bloggers...then life gets in the way...or should I say living life gets in the way. I have been plenty to say (just ask my boyfriend and friends...I am more than opinionated at times....and always have something to say. So here I am yet again...and yet again behind in blogging...I haven't even been on Facebook but momentarily.I have been more than busy living life, also.
As last mentioned I have acquired a patron who is more than generous in keeping me busy....and more than generous with emotional support. I have completed several paintings for a musically themed suite of paintings. Several other pieces have been acquired to there collection. You can see them below.
Gardening is another lifelong hobby and the vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers are rolling in. Thank goodness Max (who also has a very green thumb) likes to garden also or I could not do it all!! I have pictures and will try to get them up also.
I have also been doing a lot of studying....just trying to get better with edges and color. So I read a lot, I am especially enjoying my two new books one on Sorolla the other on Sargent. That makes five Sargent books I have now.....Oh, if I could only paint like him now...or Schmid or 100 other artists who have aspects of their work that I deeply admire!
I also attended a plein air paint out that was great fun even if rained most of the time...I still got a couple of decent paintings out....and one sold. There is no better training than painting from life!!!!
I hope everyone is enjoying there summer...we have been. There has been everything from a party on Memorial Day at our house to a sadly attended funeral of our 92 year old neighbor and dear childhood friend of Max's to toiling in the garden in unbelievable humidity and enjoying thunderstorms on our front porch.
Below find some recently sold pieces and some not sold yet.
Next up large step by step portrait and the story of a painting that I never cared if I sold...but did!
Best to Everyone and Enjoy Life,
Theresa

Rose Bower Oil Sold Plein Air

Rose Trellis Plein Air (finished at home)

A Worthy Opponent.......

2010-04-28T09:37:00.007-05:00

Abendessen (Dinner) 20x20 Oil Sold

When I was asked to paint another crab for a collector......my first thought was "oh, what fun" and it truly was! On the other hand my self-challenging and creative ideas often get the better of me. I immediately had an image that came to mind.
I grew up with this old stein and a few more...seeing them often in the house and creating little stories about the pictures represented on them. This has always been my favorite ever since I can remember. I loved the color, shape and decoration since I was a little girl. Sooo...it was the first thing to go in the setup aside from little crabby that has been stored in my fridge since last year. After all I wasn't going to eat it...just paint it....so the age of this crustacean being frozen was not an issue. Then with a little more consideration...I decided on the green glass mug...the little brass pitcher and the onions...and finally some beer to go in the mug. I had a considerable debate with myself on choosing the backdrop. I made my final decision and I was off an rolling!
I set the still life up at Cherry's Gallery and completed it there....many people stopped by and watched the this painting come to life. Then, as sometimes happens....difficulty set in. I began to over think...the stein started to give me fits. I did not realize that there was so much detail and how was I going to handle it. Well...as almost always....I soldier on...and completed it. The client loved it...and wanted periodic reports while it was in progress since he was out of town while I painted it. He has paid for it since and picked out the framing material. As an added benefit he also bought the one off the easel that I was working on at the time. I will post it next.
No one knows how grateful I am for such wonderful things happening to me.....and no one knows how hard I am on myself when I am temporarily in doubt over what I am doing.......until now...:)
I am actually very,very pleased with this piece....now that I am not looking at it anymore. As artists I think we sometimes tire of what we are working on....we become blind...and I think many of us are perfectionists....I know I am!!!
As always...I will continue striving to grow and learn and improve my technique....a little looser is what I am trying to accomplish in my still life work.
Until Next Time,
Theresa

Day One and Setup

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six (Final)

Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T09:33:00.001-05:00

By the way I still have my first Whole Earth Catalog....!

A New Work....

2010-04-21T16:08:00.008-05:00

It's Spring and we are so glad to be out and about! Working with the soil makes me feel connected on a very elementary level...which is an extremely good thing.
I have also been painting regularly at Cherry's Gallery ( and helping put together a website exclusively on art).......it has been a wonderful place to work! I still like being home but unfortunately dishes, laundry and other domestic chores continually call my name and compete for attention. So I have taken up semi-permanent residence here and am forced to get dressed (no more painting in jammies..that I rather love) , brush my hair and attend "work" on a more regular schedule! It feels good and it is a good work habit. I have just finished a commission which I will post next. I have also "cut up" another painting....and I must say it is better than ever now!!
The above piece is a plein air piece...the heron was added later in the studio...it was just missing something in my eye.
Gardening is a priority now also....peas, lettuce, spinach, onions and more. Twenty eight lilies are now planted and also nasturtiums and hollyhocks......next up English and cabbage roses.
There is also a picture box of my my baby brother and I.....:)
Until next time,
Theresa

Back From California and Arizona....

2010-04-05T09:30:00.005-05:00

Me and Max at Disneyland

I am making this real quick...and I mean really quick....I have been gone for three weeks to California and Arizona....visiting and seeing Disneyland. Upon my return I started painting at the local gallery here in Carthage, Mo, Cherry's, and spent a week painting there. It was a great deal of fun.....old students and aspiring painters stopped by, friends, supporters of the arts and collectors, also. At times there was a whole lot more talking then painting! Normally this piece would take far less time...that's okay...I had great fun catching up with everyone!! I will be back again this week. Painting another crab.....I think it is going to be great....but only time will tell!!!
Below a few pics of paintings and moments on vacation. Until more time allows have some fantastic creative days!!
Theresa

Me and my baby brother....so happy to see each other...

Setup for painting at Cherry's

First day (which was very short)...

Second day.....

Final....Oil and Onions 11x14

"Painting is so damn hard, that if it weren't for the occasional win, it would kill us."

2010-02-27T10:38:00.006-06:00

Summer Dreams...Sold

Snow On Jenkins Creek....Sold

Scaling Eggs...Sold

Approaching Storm II....Sold

Well, as usual I am constantly playing catchup! Again I find myself with less and less time for writing...but spend a lot of time thinking about it. My thought process generally run along art...I visualize constantly...painting a picture in my head, considering the effects of light....color and edges...which brings me to MY big problem for this year.
Every year I paint, I consider certain key aspects of painting...in the beginning it was drawing, composition, color, handling paint, subject matter, mass, photo or life..each subject taking a self-imposed year of consideration....then how to paint from a photo and make it look like it was from life. Then I started painting a whole lot more from life....that took care of the photo issue....pretty much. I still use photos...but I don't like to.
Then came marketing...that took up a whole lot of time! The time I spent marketing has definitely helped....In the last two months I have painted three paintings...all sold and the few remaining from last year have sold also! I still feel weak in so many areas. That really is okay....since this is a constant learning process....and I will be learning for years to come..hopefully!
This year...it's edges...more and more I find my edges unsatisfactory...sometimes I like them...most of the time I am weak in that area. So this year I am going to concentrate more on edges...any advice from people out there is more than welcome. I find lifting the brush at the end of a stroke works well....painting wet into wet and also using a paper towel to scumble the edges...also a value change at the edges also works in many cases. At any rate...I still work at getting better....constantly!
Things have also been selling well....thanks to the marketing time I guess....I actually have a collector that has a "Theresa Rankin Room"...now that is an honor!! Here are some pieces that sold recently and the step by step I promised a month ago which got waylayed while I was sick and finishing a commission!
One can never know how grateful I am to have people actually buy my work!! I will continue to work hard...through the daily "stuff"...the hard times.....the emotional ups and downs..and the dreaded blocks! In the case of blocks I highly recommend Terry Miura's post and all the replies...well worth reading....we are not alone!!!!

The Start......Approaching Storm III

Some more work

Ugh....readjusting the composition (took out the foreground shrubs)

Adjusting yet again....Took out a hay bale....What do you think?....input please!

I will be heading to Los Angeles in the next week....so I may not post until I get back!!
Thank you, everyone who has joined up and who has commented....it really tickles me..I learn much from the other bloggers...every single one of you!!
Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On,
Theresa

A New Year and New Thoughts....

2010-01-20T12:15:00.005-06:00

Coffee and Persimmons 11x14

After an exceedingly busy, cold and yet, satisfying holiday...I am finally back in the studio! Well actually three days ago. I will make a quick update of events over the holidays...
1. Removed work from the Artcentral show, two large pieces sold.
2. Accepted into the Oliviero-Block Auction, coming in April.
3.Thanksgiving..here at our house and also at relatives.
4. Max's 18 year old son's, Wyatt, visit from Christmas to January 17th....lot's of visiting!
5. Sub-zero temps for most of December and January....with a lot of snow!!
6. Two pieces sold from Cherry's gallery....and a party attended there!
7. Photographic trip in the snow...we had several inches...fairly uncommon here.
8. Various car problems.
9. Christmas and all that entails...cookies, cooking, decorating, parties, gifts, visitors.
1o. A trip to see Avatar and and eat hot wings....I had catfish...the guys had hot wings.
11. Hosting a birthday party and cooking prime rib and all the trimmings for our friend, Tom's birthday.
12 Attending a dance recital for local dance group that Max's daughter teaches and performs in and a friends, Linda Simpson and Jim Bilgere, opening in Joplin.
13. Found three large plastic bags of paper work that never got organized from when I moved....thankfully most of it got tossed!
14. Finally got the studio completely organized.
15. Gained 10 pounds....:(....lost 6 pounds....:)!
16. Started 2 paintings and finishing the commission for my Doctor.
17. All the daily junk, cleaning, washing, animals, etc.........
18. Updated website.
19. Read two books...the new Richard Schmid book and one called Fake! that a friend loaned me.
20. Back to my blog and limiting Facebook time.
21. First New work of 2010...!

So let me start with the story of a painting a did a while back. Of Saints and Sinners was originally 20x30. I had it exhibited in a few shows.....everyone loved it but it never sold. I was going through some older paintings deciding what to junk and what to save and the thought occurred to me....cut this one down. This is something I have done before by the way. Small paintings are doing very well these days. So I did. I carefully placed a frame around different sections and decided it definitely had two really good parts. The rest was somewhat extemporaneous. Then it occurred to me....Make it a diptych. So that is exactly what I did. I had Cherry frame it in the perfect framing material and it turned out beautifully! It sold immediately at a Christmas party at the gallery I am in to two local interior designers. Another small painting also sold earlier to a local Doctor who has begun to collect my work. Never let it be said that bigger is better!
Next time step by step....and more.
Here are the before and after pictures.
See you later,
Theresa

Before "Of Saints And Sinners" original 20x30

After "Of Saints And Sinners II" Diptych 25x15 Sold

"Music!" 8x10 Sold

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2009-12-21T14:35:00.003-06:00

Okra The Cat Wishes You A Merry Christmas

I am going to keep this short, at least for now....everyone is busy right now and I am among the many!
I just want to wish all the followers and the people who comment...from My blog, to my website and to Facebook a Very Merry Christmas! I am enjoying the holidays with family and friends...I wish some of my family and friends were closer...but that is life these days...nevertheless....everyone is in my thoughts and prayers and I hope you are enjoying your time with everyone as much as I am.
I will be back after New Years to post again....and continue the ongoing story of struggles, conquests and light bulb moments!
Baking cookies is my current art form...:)
Love and Kind Wishes,
Theresa

ArtCentral....

2009-12-19T09:36:00.007-06:00

"The Last Acre" On Hold 24x30 oil New Work

The show at Artcentral was also quite successful...the deadline to hang was November 16, and the show opened on the 20th.In some respects it was right down to the wire...framing materials had not arrived and we were praying daily that the molding I wanted would come in at Cherry's..I also had a painting I was working on that was taking longer than I expected (above). In the end, though, it all came together and the paintings, invitations and framing all arrived on time.
I had been working on putting all the addresses of collectors and artists on a word document...with a mailing label..that really made things easier....after the initial typing in of names and addresses...one click and there they were ready to be pressed onto invitations stamped and dropped in the mail. I highly advise keeping this up to date...don't be like me and have a mass of addresses you have to sort out after a few years of collecting them!
The opening was very well attended and pieces were sold the first night...yeah! Another piece sold the next week....and I received a lot of encouragement from fellow artists attending the show.
April Davis was my co-exhibitor....she was also a student when I was still teaching. Her fabulous ceramic work and lovely paintings helped to make this show a wonderful end to the Artcentral calendar year! Thank you, April!
There was also an auction going on at the same time...to help raise funds for a bronzing of fellow artist Bob Tommey's tiger for the Carthage High School....a painting sold through this venue also.
For those of you who don't live around here or haven't been here to Carthage or Joplin and surrounding area we have several famous artists that live in this area or who were born here...the arts in all forms are alive and well here....and there is always something going on! Below is a brief list of some of the artists and events that are most notable:
Andy Thomas
Joe Beeler
Jerry Ellis
Bob Tommey
Lowell Davis
April Davis
Jeff Legg
Doug Hall
Midwest Gathering Of The Artists
Artcentral
Spiva Center for the Arts
Red Oak II
Cherry's Gallery
The Dancers Studio
Stones Throw Dinner Theater

Coming up...commission with progression.....more sales...more new work....next event.....Christmas..
See you next time,
Theresa

Co-exhibitor April Davis with Dr. Edwards

Andy Thomas talking with Max

Arriving....

Greeting....

Dina Thomas admiring my diptych...

Host and Director of Artcentral, Sally Armstrong

The Party getting started....

Sold

sold

Sold

New work

More........

2009-12-11T11:09:00.007-06:00

Scaling Eggs 12x24 oil

As I said earlier....it has been a busy several months. After the MGA and all the thank you cards and house stuff.....it was time to get ready for my next event. A two woman show at the local art center here in Carthage. Myself and artist April Davis were to put on a show for November 20, 2009. Not a problem...except most everything I had painted in 2009 had sold.....so I was again panicky. Yikes ....I need more work...new work! So what does any artist do...back to the easel and start painting.
The still life paintings had been doing so well that I decided to do a few more....or at least try. Max's Dad had an old egg scale hanging around the house that I had taken a real liking to. It had a pleasing abstract form.....there were some fallen leaves out side the back door, rich in color, deep crimsons and warm ochers! I had visualized the setup for some time. But alas life intervenes, again....it is all good and enjoyable...I just needed to organize my time!
We had some visitors here for part of October....this was a fantastic surprise. Old friends from when I lived in Hawaii were here in the mainland and we got in touch through one of my children and planned a visit. Doug and Luana drove here and spent two weeks...we had a wonderful time!! A little Hobby Lobby shopping (material for the still life, a tube or two of paint and a frame on sale that was pretty nice) checking out some furniture and several trips eating out! Some drinks and hors d' oeuvres at our house and there travel trailer. Lots of catching up....lots of fun and good conversation. In between I worked on paintings to a small degree...and planned Max's and my costume for an upcoming Halloween Party! Medusa and Slingblade.
Everything worked out even though I got a little anxious about deadlines. I managed to complete three new paintings and cut another large one into a diptych, plus a few framed prints for the upstairs gallery at Artcentral. It was all going to be okay...thank goodness!
Here are a few pics from the good times and a few new paintings.
I will continue my update and pictures tomorrow,
Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Theresa...:)

Midnight On Clinton Street 8x10 Oil

De La Mer 18x18 Sold oil

Me( Medusa) and Max (Slingblade) and a friend ( The Cisco Kid)...Halloween 2009

Me, Max, Jim and Linda (our host)

The Rest of The Story......

2009-12-09T14:23:00.004-06:00

After The Hunt 24x30 oil Sold

As I promised yesterday...the surprising outcome of the painting "After The Hunt"....and another learning experience!!
As I worked on this painting I had many doubts...that happens often...but the fact is I try not to let them aggravate me. I have been showing at the MGA for about 5 years....I always sell and I always have a great time visiting with all the artists...some I have known for quite a few years....some I only see at the show once a year. It is always great to get together and see the new work everyone has and as always just visit and talk art. I won an award there once and was really honored...it was my first year participating in that event. It was a real treat....but I honestly never thought I would get another one. There are several extremely good artists there and...well...I just thought I was out of the running. Mind you...I am like anyone else....I wanted to win...and sometimes I thought I should have received something.....but the facts are facts...I just wasn't good enough. Well, I anticipated another no win year....sells maybe...yes...maybe?? Win, no..!
Surprise, surprise! As I watched and listened for my name to be called...it was not to be...several other fabulous artists were taking the awards....you know we are the same...everyone wants some recognition for their hard work...teehee...go ahead admit it....It's pretty natural! Well, my name did get called...the first award was for $500. Fantastic....I could sit down and relax and enjoy everyone else win. No sooner had I got back to my seat...then...my name was called again! This time for another $1o00 award...wow...my head was beginning to spin and I was feeling a little light headed! I turned to walk back to me seat and not gotten more than halfway and, yes, I heard my name again...was I hearing things???....no, I had won a $1000 award! Yikes, it can't be....OMG... How? what? who???. Reeling from the stunning news I had actually no idea at the time how much any of these awards were for....there had been no time to count or even open the envelopes....and...then....Yes, my name was called yet again! As I turned and walked back to receive the final award (4 total)....I remember saying jokingly and out of some embarrassment "Honestly, I haven't paid off any of the judges to get these awards!" On the way back to my seat I really felt like I was on air...numerous friends, artists and guests rushed to congratulate me! I was, well frankly, elated and honored and proud that I had worked so hard on that painting! As I got back to my seat...Max and a friend of mine and former student April Davis, asked me ..."So how much did you win...open the envelopes add it up!!" I did...hands shaking...the total was a grand $4500 in winnings alone. Lesson learned...you just never know...it's always a roll of the dice and always...always...do the best you can do! No one will ever know how honored I was!
The list of awards is below:
2009
Midwest Gathering of the The Artists
The Arvest Bank Award $500

Midwest Gathering of the The Artists
The Ruth I. Kolpin Award $1000

Midwest Gathering of the The Artists
The Helen S. Boylan Award $1000

Midwest Gathering of the The Artists
The Wendy Award $2000
The prize money was spent well, I think...art supplies, framing bill, scanning bill, new computer, new camera, a big screen TV for Max with Tivo and Netflix instant viewing and some other odds and ends. We had a lot of fun shopping for the TV which I had promised Max for football season if I sold well at the show. The grand total for that weekend between prizes and sales was $7,000....I still find it hard to believe and I am extremely thankful!
If that wasn't all...it wasn't but a few days after that I was told my piece for the Richard Schmid Auction had been greatly admired by artists and patrons alike and bid up way past the gallery price. So I received another nice little check...I then received an order for some prints.
September was an extremely profitable month as well as busy! It took quite a bit of time to get everything installed and hooked up...we also had the electrician out one more time.
A little update on HCG for those who remember...I have lost a total of 35 pounds...I have ten left to go...which I will do after the Holidays! That will bring me to my goal of 135 pounds...which is what I weighed in High School. Oh...I used some of the winnings to buy just a few knew clothes...after all I am a girl and I love nice things!
More later,
Theresa

The Blog That Almost Wasn't.....

2009-12-08T14:58:00.005-06:00

After The Hunt Sold 24x30

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet although it may seem like it....but I did fall into Facebook and almost didn't escape. There is a lot to be said about the instant connections and updates...but it does lack a lot of the personal appeal of blogging. So here I am...back 6 months later and as usual the past months have been extremely busy and rewarding....I guess I don't know any other way to live...the busy part!
If I go back to August...that was when I was doing a lot of canning and also getting ready for the Midwest Gathering of Artists. I did up a lot of tomatoes and peppers...dried onions and herbs. Froze spinach but mostly ate it fresh. Lots of lettuce which finally bolted and not a single raspberry...the birds got them! We still did fairly well though for the most part. The trees have been trimmed so there will ne more light next year and I would like to expand the garden some.
Now on to the painting part. I took on a project that my friend and gallery owner, Cherry, prompted me to do. I was in her shop and saw some pheasants on a wreath and mentioned I would like to paint them. She wholeheartedly allowed me to use them and we ran over different items to put with it. I finally decided on some copper and onions and a piece of oriental carpet behind the hanging pheasants. Then threw in a piece of pottery and some cobalt glass and commenced to paint! Well, it was a real learning experience....how do you balance all the textures...how do you simplify the feathers....how do you get the feeling of the different textures.....what color are the shadows and how much of them.....and on and on. About 4 weeks later I had my painting...but not without much wailing and gnashing of teeth!! The end result was satisfactory....the best I could possibly do at the time....but that's the way it always is. A continual learning process....each brush mark...each value...the temperature and all the adjustments that go into painting no matter what style you have.
The final panting is at the top..... there is also a photo of the setup but of course it was painted from life...as always.
Thank you everyone who inquired to where I was at...I really appreciate the care and concern...:)
Tomorrow I will tell you about the amazing out come of this painting!
Theresa

Food, Inc, New Studio and More Projects......

2009-07-30T10:04:00.012-05:00

For most of us who live and pay attention in this world we are well aware that the marketplace has changed drastically. My message is simple....and proven.....after growing my own food for about 20 years or better.....definitely 14 continuous years (not just a year or two)....I can honestly say...the health effects were amazing. I and my children were never sick....no not even a cold. I am 61 and so far still have no signs of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure or any other ills. I am constantly told I look 10 to 15 years younger than I am.....and have the energy to go with it. I have a firm belief that lifestyle afforded me many healthful benefits......both physical and mental. I am no longer able to grow all my own food due to living in a far smaller space than I was once accustomed to...but still attempt a small garden every year....the last two years I have been dealing with Black Walnut trees and Pecan trees...so I have a lack of sun and toxicity due to the walnuts. The wood is great for smoking meat and is very durable....but anything growing with in a 60 to 70 foot radius is fairly doomed. The black raspberries, several flowers, herbs, lettuce, onion and tomatoes do pretty well, so do the peppers, onions and beans occasionally but everything else does not and wouldn’t it just figure; poison ivy doesn’t mind juglone ( the toxic substance produced by the tree and its roots) and will thrive under a black walnut tree. If you can....grow as much of your own food as possible...of course if you have the availability and I am sorry to say the affordability of organically grown food...it is a great substitute....but no substitute for the closeness and sensitivity you get from working with the earth and animals...not to mention the satisfaction and physical exercise.
I am happy to say I am having an impact in a small way....several people quit buying bottled water after I wrote about it....if I wasn't an artist I would write a blog about good living practices ( I am still learning.... but made quite a lifestyle out of it for many, many years and I still believe we need it) and the choices we make that have an impact on the environment...but I am an artist first...and I don't write about these other things but occasionally...here is some one who does...have a look. The blog is called 365 Days of Trash.....go take a look
I want to take a moment here to thank Pam Imbeau for sending me the most beautiful stainless steel portable beverage container I have ever seen! It is made by EarthLust and it's a beauty!! Thank you Pam and we are looking forward to your visit in August!

!
Okay....so the studio is done...pictures taken with the lights off!!! Patched, painted, woodwork cleaned up and finished, curtained and practically completely moved in....thank goodness....I need to get to work! The effect of this will further lighten up some other rooms that are over crowded.....simply by moving a few things around. We hope to do the entry way next...it has a lot of wall space and makes a lovely small gallery.....but the wall plaster has seen better days and better wallpaper. So stripping, patching, cleaning up the woodwork and painting is in order here also! Fortunately none of the woodwork has been painted in this old Victorian home (except the kitchen and one bathroom...which is okay)....so I don't have to strip it! Max will take a break for awhile before tackling another project....don't know what I would do without him. I am sooo lucky to have him!There's the news for now....until next time....
best of everything to you and yours, Theresa

Studio News.....

2009-07-20T12:52:00.007-05:00

"Shadows and Sand" accepted entry

Just a quick update...Max and I have been working on my new studio. I have selected the wall color...the same color or a close variation there of that many other artists use in their respective studios. These artists are David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Dan Gerhartz, Richard Schmid, William Whitaker and many, many more. It is a warm gray green. The theory is that this color is very good for seeing flesh tones and preventing light from bouncing all around the studio and therefore getting accurate darks. I have seen this color at the Scottsdale Artists School in Arizona when I attended there on scholarship. It is a great color to work in. I searched the internet and came up with the info to get the color. Here is the link where you can see the color and read more about it and who uses it, etc. I then went to the paint chips and picked out the color closest to what I had found and had it mixed up. Keep your fingers crossed...I hope I got it right!
We had to scrape ancient wallpaper off the walls....this was also Max's room growing up. He had some psychedelic artwork on the walls (we were children of the 60's!)...on top of the paper actually. There was also a lot of writings on the wall under the paper from his big sister Mary Jo. Lots of memories...and a little teasing. There was a weight chart when Max decided to gain muscle and mass in order to play football...Which he did! Max..the dear has been working on this for a while now and we are close to done. Thank goodness!!....if I don't start painting soon...I will explode or I will have totally forgotten what I am doing!!! The first image is where I paint now (complete with studio buddies)...it is a corner of the computer/office room. It works....but I have to move things around a lot when I set up for still life's and it is difficult to leave some things out without being in the way somewhat. I also have a lot of still life items on shelves and in closets...lots of books and of course art materials!

A few other notes...I was accepted into The ANA Regional show...it is a ten state regional show. My painting "Shadows and Sand" was the piece accepted (shown above). I have two other important shows coming up and need to get to work for them also. I have not been a good blogger.....but I truly am thankful that I have all of you visiting and leaving comments. Your work and efforts do not go unnoticed.
Until the next entry,
Theresa

I'm Baaaaack........

2009-07-09T09:32:00.007-05:00

"Vecchio E Sereno" oil on panel 18x10
After a wonderful trip out of state, visiting some old friends (we partied like rock stars as the saying goes), an enjoyable and fun visit from Max's son for about three weeks, and a great 4th of July party at a fellow artists home.....the past month has flown by! It has been, as always, a whirlwind of activity and the past three days I have barely done a thing....and frankly it feels pretty good! Does anyone know why you have to come home from vacation to rest? I thought that's what vacations were for!! At any rate....it was ALL good!
The painting I began....in the last blog went to the sidelines temporarily and instead I completed a still life before I left...it is the first image on this blog. I am planning several more garlic themed pieces. Doing several paintings on one theme is not something I have done in the past but....as I have seen....most artists do this either regularly or for some time during there career. I have been painting about 8 years now...and have only done the series thing three times. Oddly enough another piece sold recently that was from a series...."Little Guys" ...a series of six little paintings based on tiny or young animals with a humorous accent....you can see them here. They are all sold now. I also plan another series of little guys.

"Hanging By A Prayer" 8x10 oil on panel
I sold the last one last week...or I should say I got the check for it. Nice surprise! I also sold the little bottle from the gallery (Cherry's) I am in and gained another new client.

"Antique Bottle In An Antique Frame" 4x5 oil on panel
I will be moving my studio to a larger space upstairs...we will see how that works...I keep trying to find a place where I can concentrate and still feel like part of the household flow....is it possible...or am I being unrealistic??? LOL! I have been known to be somewhat unrealistic...:)!
Lots of paintings in my head....and I am dying to get to work again on a steady basis. One in particular will require a lot of background work...but it is coming together....I shall not mention anything until I have a heck of a good start. I believe in saving my voice for the paint!
Well, folks and fellow bloggers that's it for now...Between my website, blog and Facebook....I am spreading myself way to thin. I will be cutting back on Facebook.
Glad to be back,
Theresa

Time Flies....

2009-06-05T08:00:00.005-05:00

Quiet Determination...posted on Every Photo Tells A Story

Time flies when you're having fun....right? Right! I haven't been doing much of anything else other than that. Playing outside in the sun and trying to keep the yard up. Entered two shows and was juried into both of them. I have also been fortunate enough to gain a mentor....his work is highly respected, in many galleries and I am honored that he would critique my work and coach me along. I am looking for a house in this market....I would like to use it as my studio and also teach there and hold workshops. Max and I have helped, Inez, his daughter move out and she is really looking forward to having her own place. We attended a ballet performance she was in....and I went backstage and took pictures. Max's son graduated high school...whew!...last one for him and he will becoming to visit soon. I will also be leaving for Phoenix later this month to visit old friends and family. Facebook is taking up a lot of time (especially Farm Town) I may have to cut back there considerably! But it is a great way to connect!
I would like to mention that I am so honored that so many people have decided to follow me here and on Facebook....I am truly in awe by this..I will try to provide interesting stimulus for those who are following along.
Last but not least....I have begun painting after a long break. Here are a few pictures of the start. Also Nancy over at Every Photo Tells A Story has used one of my paintings on her June 5, 2009 blog. She has also described my work in a beautiful way!! Thank you Nancy!
Here are the photos of the start....

The beginning...consists of a violet wash over the canvas, quick sketch, thin darks and an indication of the brushwork I am looking to achieve.

Just a close up of the area worked on from the first photo.

A considerably more amount of work....still keeping the darks thin...conscientious color choices...begin working on water and weedy area. At first my biggest concern was the perspective...looking down on the young woman in the water. I think i have managed to make that work...the color choices are a triad of various mixtures of violet, orange and green...one of my favorites...I will post the photo reference when the painting is complete. I would also like to mention...I really do not like working from photos anymore....but sometimes....I must!
We are heading into summer here and it will be so humid I will hardly be able to bear going outside....but I will try! I am really a cold weather girl...:)
Happy Spring Days To All,
Theresa

Staying Way Too Busy....

2009-05-15T13:18:00.005-05:00

I am so far behind in blogging I should start doing it once a month so it appears like I am on target when I'm really not!
It has been a wonderful, weary, exhilarating, successful, rewarding, humbling, hard, busy and most delightful three weeks or so since I last posted. I will keep this short and not to flowery and give a simple line by line knock down blow by blow account of events and turns of the past while!
Here goes:
1. The show at Spiva was successful and I sold two paintings for a good sum, gathered two new collectors and the show was held over an extra day for the directors Mothers Birthday. I was honored! We removed it the following day.
2. I have sold 6 paintings in the last two weeks....economy...shmonomy!! I sold two out of the gallery (Cherry's my cheerleader!~! Thank you!) I am in and gained a serious collector there also, two at the Spiva Show and two at St. Avips a large yearly affair that provides a silent auction, formal ball and sit down dinner to benefit the artists and art center in our community...quite fancy for our part of the world!
3. Went to Bentonville AR. and plein air painted for three days with a large bunch from down there. Among them personal friends Todd Williams, John Lasater, Vicki Ross, Jo Hall, Margie Moss, Sue Dixon and Julie Mayser to name just a few. It rained some but was nice most of the time and it was just what the doctor ordered!! Next post will have a bigger report and slide show!
4. Mailed and delivered entries to several different shows including ANA, Powers Museum and Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction.
5. Restocked the gallery I am in with new work....one of which promptly sold. (Cherry's)
6. Taking care of my seedlings and getting the yard ready for the garden.
7. Repotting houseplants...that have long since outgrown there containers.
8. Cleaning up my studio.
9. Reframing paintings. I just drop them off and pick out molding.
10. Catching up on mail and cleaning after being gone from the house for three days and unpacking.
11. Looking forward to getting to painting ...have several ideas I want to express.

There you have it...Above and below are two of the paintings done plein air.
Thank you to all who have posted and signed on....you are all appreciated and viewed although I don't always comment...my bad!
You gotta love the Universe!
Theresa

An Oops....And An Update

2009-04-25T12:10:00.003-05:00

"White Pitcher, Lemon and Grapes" 14x18 oil

As some of you know I was selected by Richard Schmid to participate in his Fine Art Auction this year. I just received an email and they told me it was the other painting "Coastal" that he picked...and here is a picture of it.

"Coastal" 11x14 oil

The artists party for St. Avips was last night and we had a great time....I commend the ladies for putting this thing together so expertly each and every year. The Silent Auction and fancy dress ball is May 1st.......I will be there to mingle that evening also.
Tomorrow is the last day of my workshop and I have a great bunch of people who are so eager to learn!!!
May 7,8,9 is a Plein Air Paint Out I have been invited to attend....that should be a challenge!!!
Above is the finished demo from Neosho...."White Pitcher With Lemons and Grapes".
Kind of busy here I have two more paintings to finish before I can get back to what I love to do....romantic figurative and portraits!!!!

Much love to all and happy painting,
Theresa

Living Artfully.......

2009-04-22T09:36:00.007-05:00

Happy Earth Day!! After almost 40 years of experiencing Earth day and trying to live as green as I can (and often laughed at in the process) which by the way does not give me pause at all....I see we have not moved too much closer to our original resolve. I would like to ask just one thing of everyone who reads this blog. Please do not buy water in plastic bottles anymore...this is one thing everyone can do to cut down on pollution and reckless waste of energy. Get a filter and attach it to your faucet....or a pitcher that drips through and makes clean water. Also if you eat less prepared food and use fresh and cook...there is less packaging required. These two things will make a tremendous difference if everyone does it. I have been living this way for a very very long time and it is really very simple and something everyone can do and feel the effects of. To those of you who are already doing so...Bravo!! You are making a huge difference. That said on to other news!!!

Thank you to every single person who comments here visits here or passes by in one way or another! I have been so busy I have not had a chance to personally reply to everyone's comments or visit everyone's blog...sadly...as it is my loss. On the other hand I have had many new and exciting experiences! The party for The Edward Jones Financial Group was a delightful success. Many of my personal clients dropped in and want commissions or have a painting they saw on my website that they want. Several people wanted prints and a few paintings are marked on hold! But........here is the best news!!!!

RICHARD SCHMID HIMSELF HAS PICKED MY PAINTING! The rules changed this year and everyone who was an automatic entry based on there quality and selling was no longer automatically invited. He decided to limit the entries to 52 this year instead of 75 as in previous years. Believe me I was really worried that I would not get juried in ( Max...the big show off never once doubted in me....the man amazes me!)....there were 100's of entries....here below is the copy of the letter I received...in part:

Dear Theresa,
The selection of art for the 2009 Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction has been made. Richard tells us that it took longer to choose than he anticipated because he agonized over trying to limit his selections to 50 works. In the end, of the hundreds of images submitted, he chose 52 pieces.

Richard chose those pieces strictly based on on his opinion of how well they might sell in the auction.
Images were identified by a number only and he did not know who the contributing artist was.

Your work, "House on Harmony Road" was chosen for the live auction this year!

Thanks for taking part in the selection process.

Thanks,
Wes
www.RichardSchmidAuction.com (last years auction list)

House On Harmony Road 16x20 oil

On other fronts...the demo and workshop went great!! I had a wonderful audience and managed to begin a lovely little still life (below)....painting in front of people has always been a little disconcerting for me (it is such a private thing for me) but as time goes on and experience and confidence grow...it starts to become fun and....thank goodness....not so traumatic!!. I might add that no one.....absolutely no one has ever recognized my shyness or nervousness in this area of being around people...but what goes on inside is like a tempest!! Hmmm....I guess I can act, too! LOL! The workshop will last one more day and then that is done...some money made at these events too. St. Avips a local invitational event is coming up...the artist's party for this event is April 24 and the silent auction is May 1. I will try to have three pieces for St. Avips....no promises though. I need to get a couple of paintings scanned for entry into some shows and deliver some new work to Cherry's Gallery and get some frames made. Things stay busy I guess I like it like that!

Neosho Demo beginning 14x18 oil

In the gardening world...it is too wet to do much and some of the seedlings I started got damping off disease from it being on the cool side. I will restart a few more and call it good. The rest can be direct seeded outside.
Back to the easel for the next few days, and here is something I said while giving the demo that tickled the ladies and gentlemen.
I was describing how art begets art...for me living in an artful and beautiful surrounding helps me create. I mentioned that I try to live artfully. I am certainly not the only one nor am I the first one to say this....but it was the first time some people had heard it. .........Now I am being quoted......ha!
Life is good no matter how you slice it,
Theresa

Canadian Morning....for Barbara

2009-04-11T12:04:00.004-05:00

Kitchen Morning 12x12 oil

Barbara Muir ....fantastic Canadian artist, famous Skype artist, fellow blogger, inspiring supporter and I am proud to say a friend of mine had a lovely photo posted on her blog a few months ago. I immediately fell in love with the color and light she had captured in that photo and she was kind enough to allow me to paint it. If you have not seen her work or read her blog...you better get over there right now!! I know Barbara personally....she is a delightful human being and I have never seen anyone accomplish so much in so little time....she is amazing!!! Three cheers for Barbara and a bless you for being so inspirational and generous!!
So, I am happy (hurray), once again, with my new piece.....I feel it is painterly ( lots of thick paint and brushwork) and romantic ( love the palette and sense of light)....and I feel ever closer to the message and voice I want my work to say. Thank you Barbara for everything you give in your work your blog and your generous spirit. I hope this piece is as pleasing to you....and everyone else....as it is to me!!
This coming week is crunch time...again! I must prepare for a client party for my show at Spiva on Friday....a 4 hour demo I am giving Saturday.....and a workshop I am giving on Sunday. The following week is shaping up to be equally busy. I have been so consumed with work ( trying to produce high quality work at the rate of two per week) that I have forgotten to enter two local shows...that's okay I have more awards than I have room for and am seriously trying to improve my work and keep the house and family humming....all a big job when you are trying to do it right!
Until later....the Universe rocks!!!,
Theresa

Looking For My Voice....

2009-04-03T09:36:00.002-05:00

Summer Dreams 16x20 oil

Here is one of the "under wraps" projects I have been working on. I am really thrilled with many of the aspects of this painting .
I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what I want to paint and the approach I want to take. When I admire other peoples work...I see many things that they do that I would like to include....but there are also things that happen when I paint that I love also...and i don't think it is so bad to have a healthy respect for your work as long as one sees the need for improvement. I believe we are all aware of that!
I love romance....can't you tell???!! So I thought there needed to be a real romantic streak in my subject matter. I have had many people tell me that there is a romance in everything I paint...from still life's to landscapes on to figuratives...that's good...cause that's me...extremely sensitive and romantic! So I was already halfway there...I love the Pre-Raphaelites but not necessarily the time period they portrayed, especially Waterhouse who may or may not be a real Pre-Raphaelite! I love Alma Tadema's subject matter and I love painting people....of all ages. The human body is beautiful and the faces of the young and old are so full of character and emotion. As for paint application I love a loose semi abstract application a la Schmid or Sargent or Pino...but I also admire the skill and challenge of a more photographic illusion such as Paul McCormack, Jeremy Lipking and Paul Oxborough to name a few. When I paint I love the look of a puzzle somewhat...little pieces of color and value next to each other creating the whole. I love color...clean rich jewel tones and transparencies and lovely subtle grays to accent the color! So after much thinking and soul searching...brainstorming and searching through my stock connections. I am trying to put together all these qualities...I really like it when realism meets impressionism...and I am trying to do what seems to have come naturally to me since I was in college....along the way I will hopefully improve my skills and find my particular voice...the voice that will be seen in everything I do.
Thanks for visiting,
Theresa

Artisticly Speaking....

2009-03-30T10:22:00.005-05:00

Barn In Soft Spring Light 18x24 oil
I have never been able to understand my artistic moods...one day I can paint so easily the brush flies across the canvas the next it is a struggle from beginning to end and then....at the end...nothing to show for it. The last two paintings went that way for me.
So since I believe in sharing my good ones (well, I think they are good....art is subjective you know!) and also sharing my failures.....here are two paintings from this past week.
The one at the top flew out of the brush in about 14 hours...pretty fast for me.. it is an 18x24 and done pretty much alla prima...which is what I like to do the most. The one below is the itty bitty failure....in all honesty I do not know what happened....except that I was not particularly excited about the subject. I do love flowers and don't even mind painting them. I used to really hate painting them...to me they were always more fun to grow, smell and admire. I had a mentor (Barbara Courtney) that absolutely loved painting them and did an excellent job too! But alas for me I had to learn to love painting them.
I picked the daffodils in the morning and thought I had an image in my head of how they would turn out...but...it was not to meant to be. On the other hand The Barn in Soft Spring Light came out almost exactly the way I had pictured it. I must say though that the image here never looks as good as the real thing! The barn is down in Pineville next to a friends (Marilyn Carnell) home...I took pictures of it a couple of years ago when I was living in Pineville and teaching my classes. She was nice enough to invite us out for a day of photos and if I remember correctly we also painted that day....my memory is vague some days!
Today I begin working on the paintings I have been keeping secret. I hope they work! They really aren't so different...it is mostly just the subject matter and some paint application. We will see....
Until another day,
Theresa

Daffodils 8x10 oil

A Passion For......

2009-03-26T10:43:00.008-05:00

What a very nice surprise I have received from another artist and recent blog follower! Thank you Ann Buckner for your thoughtfulness in awarding me this honor. You must run over and see Ann's work as soon as possible. First off the Koi that head her page will knock your socks off..she also has some lovely portraits and sketches. Also you must read her 7 things to gain insight into her generous and sweet soul.
I must now relate the seven things I am passionate about and then award this to 7 other artists. This always is so hard because everyone deserves it for one reason or another. Some because they are just learning and that struggle requires passion....some because they are so very accomplished and still remain fresh and energized...others because of the conditions and space they must work in and still produce excellent work. There are also those that give and share much of there information with us...and then there are those that I want to learn from because they are doing the things I love.
So first here are 7 things I am passionate about:
1. Fairness and generosity of spirit...the real kind...not the self-serving kind.
2. Painting or more plainly put....creating.
3. My life and my family...which goes back to creating
4. Gardening....which also goes back to creating
5. The feeling of being cherished and honored
6. Having a belief system and honoring it
7. Old stuff...anything...from furniture to advertising art to bits of metal, glass and fabric...I know odd...but it all fascinates me and I get a wonderful feeling from them all!
There is a whole lot more but I am only allowed 7.

And now the artists...they are all passionate and knowledgeable and express themselves very well...they are all...I believe genuinely nice people...they also do something for me...some know they do others have no clue. I really wanted to nominate about 50 artists:
Barbara Muir
Terry Miura
Bonnie Luria
David Lobenberg
Jennifer McChristian
Marc Hanson
Eldon Warren

I know that time is at a premium...we all have busy lives...so if you feel you cannot respond that's Okay!!
I am hard at work here coming up with some new work...but some of you have never seen some of my photography....so for a little change here are a few of my photos!
Have a picture perfect day!
Theresa

Hidden Heart

El Hombre Sale Del Sol

Waiting For The One

Peoples Car

Just a little for today...

2009-03-19T18:13:00.003-05:00

Antique Bottle in Antique Frame 4x5 oil

One of the last pieces I painted for my current show...I never did post it ! It is a 4x5....that would be the smallest framed piece I ever painted. It is framed in a little antique frame I found in the attic. The other image is a plein air I did last Spring...I am getting that feeling to get outside and paint.
Little House 8x10
Not much going on doing some drawing for my new pieces. My tomatoes and all the other herbs and vegetables are up!!! The ground is turned and has the compost added to it...just waiting for the nighttime temps to improve a bit. Boy, I love the Spring!! Also been doing Spring house cleaning...just a few Oriental carpets upstairs to get done.
Aaaannnnnd......soon it will be tornado season... Oh, joy....but I still live here!
Much love,
Theresa

Slide Show As Promised.....

2009-03-16T17:08:00.003-05:00

Here is the slide show I promised to put up. The photos were taken by me or a few other people.
I also want to say thank you to all the bloggers that have signed up and the wonderful thoughtful comments!!
I have been outside most of the day....organizing the potting shed and planting onions. The basil that I planted inside has popped up. The weather has been beautiful...so make hay while the sun shines, right?! I may get another day or two but am needing and wanting to get back to the easel. I have a few things I want to do...I do not know if they are sellers but I want to paint them. I won't go into detail as it takes the energy away from what I have planned...as Henry Moore said, " It is a mistake for a sculptor or a painter to speak or write very often about his job. It releases tension needed for his work." I believe that...I have seen it happen!
There are a few things in the works as far as some invitations for me....but until they are firmed up...I won't say much there either.
Enjoying the beauty of this pre-Spring day!!
Theresa

Returning......

2009-03-13T09:19:00.028-05:00

Let me share something with you...this is a sample (actually today's email newsletter) of what I read everyday....or something very similar.

Never underestimate, Theresa, how many friends you have, how close you are, and how much fun you're going to have

Because, as you've seen throughout your entire amazing life, one usually gets exactly what they've been estimating.

You thrill me,
The Universe

When I am tired or down or feeling overwhelmed, underwhelmed or just plain old blue....these newsletters and the words within to cheer me up...and over time give me a renewed sense of being...other things do also but for some reason this little daily dose dose it for me. I have been feeling that way for a while overwhelmed...I have a lot of work ahead of me...and had a lot of housework and yardwork to catch up on. Before the show there was an immense amount of work...selecting paintings, touching up paintings, creating new paintings, touching up frames, selecting new frames, making a permanent address data base. The addresses in and of themselves were a monumental job!! Picture, if you will, two very large leather address books the heavy duty kind with many pages. Inside of that picture numerous slips of paper..large and small..business cards..print outs from the computer, receipts from sales, address labels from postcards, letters and notices from other artists I have met out of state...all packing these two volumes to near explosion. Each and every piece of information had to be gone through and verified in the white pages online...addresses and phone numbers! This was a compilation of roughly 7 years of stuff! Please do not follow me horrible task management! If you are building a client list or mailing list...do not delay start now and get organized. If you have already done so I commend you for your organization or delegation whichever th case may be! Believe me I would rather be painting....just painting! Not advertising, not cleaning, not keeping up with STUFF, not doing anything on the computer, not bills or any of the other worries that come with running a house, business or family! Well, I can stop raving now I have most of the tough stuff behind me now. I can go back to painting and gardening....my two main loves...although I have many more interests...I just don't have the time anymore. So there is my explanation for not posting for awhile. While I am on that subject I would like to thank several of the bloggers for writing me personally to see if I was alright. You have much power in your voice...thank you. Also for those of you that have signed up while I have not been posting thank you!!! I hope you will enjoy the past blogs and the ones still to come.....and what would I do without that core group that is also on Facebook! Thank you for your good wishes and care!

The opening last weekend was very successful in my estimation. Lots of people attended and there were many wonderful comments on my work...I was especially happy to see some of my local friends and supporters...you know who you are...and I am so very thankful for you being there! The show was sponsored by the Edward Jones Financial Group...they selected to represent me over many, many other artists! I was so very honored! They took lots of photos with me and the sponsors and some awards but I have no idea where these went to or what they where for. The photos I do have were taken by friends...as I was trying to keep up with all the guests. I have heard rumors of sales....but in this economic environment..I really don't expect much. So I will be doing two workshops and a demo next month....so I must prepare for that. There are also several shows I am obliged to enter and I need work for them and Cherry's, the gallery that represents me is dangerously low on my work.

The last piece I finished for the show is shown above...I started on it some time ago and decided to do several small pieces for the show. I finished it just in time and it was still wet when it was hung in the gallery. It is a 24x36 and is shown framed below in the pictures from the show.

I also got a nice little treat from a poet on line that used a few of my paintings to inspire others....you can see the images here . I believe there may be one more but I seem to have misplaced it. The poetry site and the image prompts she provides are spectacular.While on the subject of poetry here is a piece written by Lori DeLozier.

Lori is an extremely good poet, this beautiful little piece I found out later was about watching me draw. Lori is also a painter and was also a student for some time. She was also a very strong client...joyfully she owns several of my pieces.....they have a very good home! You can visit her website here.

There are a few photos here of the show...I will put together a slide show tomorrow some time. I am still getting some of my garden in. Max put in lettuce a while ago..I put in spinach today....and I will put in onion sets tomorrow. We have been doing some general cleaning up and I also have seeds started inside. Spring is always so very busy...but so beautiful an enjoyable in so many ways.

Much Love, Theresa

P. S. There is something going on with my font, size and color...I will try to have it corrected in the next blog!

PPS I almost forgot.... I have lost 17 pounds and holding....until the next round of HCG!!!!

Trying To Keep Up.........

2009-02-15T15:11:00.007-06:00

L'Aglio 8x16 oil

It always amazes me what painting everyday can do! I see things better and can make better decisions about editing, more confident brushwork, seeing better color...everything just gets a little easier and that makes it so much more fun! This doesn't mean that I don't have a ton to learn but I can see the difference. So here is L'Aglio ( The Garlic) painted from life of course. Finished it up a couple of days ago...along with the last of the frames. I have about 30 or so more names to put in the database for labels on invitations. I do almost (Max drives me a lot of places and helps me make some decisions) all my own work (secretarial, phone, running around and which also includes running a house and keeping it clean and try to produce quality work.) I think after the show I make take a bit of a vacation (except for painting)!!
The weight program (HCG) is outstanding...so far I have lost 14 pounds. Seems so easy...and believe me it has never been that easy! Don't have far to go now....than just maintain it! Keep up an exercise program...weights seem to work best for me.
Anything else going on?....Facebook....I was invited by some people here in town at the workshop we attended. Problem? Very little time to say much more than what I may be doing at the moment.
I apologize if I have forgotten some of the tags I have received...I have been really busy. I manage to make a comment or two and that's about it!
Valentines Day was perfect....flowers, cards, candy (which I am not touching until after this weight program) and some very well chosen words.....yep, the whole shebang!!!
There is probably more but for the moment this will do!
Bright days ahead for all,
Theresa

Warning! Do Not Try This At Home Without Supervision....(Kidding)!!

2009-02-09T10:16:00.014-06:00

Grapes 11x14 oil

I have been working feverishly..because the universe has decided to bless me with plenty of art activities to keep me busy! I am now doing three demos in the month of April...I have my show opening next month, on March 6 in Joplin and have another short term showing in Neosho., Mo. beginning March 30. I will try to keep posting but I am spending a lot of time at the easel and database and not so much at creative blogging so this will be the last lengthy blog for a while. Towards the end of the month I may be able to free up my time some.
Here is a little painting I did the other day...Jeff's Grape demo inspired me!!....which I will post at a later date. I have been doing some small work...they are fun and have a lot of instant gratification to them!
I will show how the still life is set up and the lighting that goes with it....also... if you have questions ...again feel free to ask!

Still Life Setup
I use a large cardboard box with the top, bottom and one side cut out then painted with black spray paint. It is on top of some more boxes to bring the setup to eye level. I add a cover to that box of cardboard also painted black if I need more shadow. I also use some black panels that measure 20x30 if I need a taller shadow box for a still life that has a more vertical composition. Max found them for me at Hobby Lobby (dear man...always thinking!!) They are taped together to form a large box with a top. If more shadow area is required than I move the top forward to hang over a bit more. Careful here or you can have a tumbling down mess! I had to have some help stacking everything. Please see warning above..lol!

My light is on a pole that I made a few years ago when I was teaching regular classes. It is a round base with a hole cut in it the same diameter as the pole and they just fit together. The pole is 6 foot. I use a clamp on light with 100 watt Reveal light bulb and it is clamped to the very top and pointed down over the top of the setup. As you can see by the picture I have my easel to the side and paint site size most of the time. I have a table in front of the easel rather than to the side as it keeps me back from the canvas.

Please note that with this setup the light shines on my setup, palette and canvas all at once. I paint with all the other lights off except that one. Everything is ready an then I start to setup the actual objects. I have some garlic that I have started to paint and took the time to arrange them in a pleasing pattern of shapes and light and dark design that is suitable to my eye.

I also have a small wooden box which the garlic is in because I like the reflected light and the color of the wood. Some of my old students may remember this box as having little still
life's on it and having to do three in a day!
So there you have it!! I hope this will be of help to some.

I am also very happy to report that I have lost 10 lbs. as of this morning!! Yeah, me!!
Back to the easel,
Theresa

Jeff Legg In Joplin...

2009-02-07T10:44:00.011-06:00

The "Supposedly Unfinished" Canvas
By Jeff Legg 16x20

As promised here is the visual of Jeff's workshop. I will begin by explaining his basic setup and composition and then progress to the paint color and paint quality.
Several years ago Jeff and I were both invited to a show in Joplin Mo. (his hometown) He was rather surprised that I painted so well for a beginner....the paintings for the majority were painted from life. He told me later that if I would paint from life, take my time if I needed to and put miles on the brush I would become the painter I was meant to be.
Those three things are pretty much his standard for painting. He often tells his students to just stop and really look at what they are painting and figure out how to paint it. I have told my students and myself the same thing..lol!
He starts with a smooth linen panel (16x20) in the demo....toned with raw umber...sometimes mixed with Ultramarine Deep or Ivory Black. The undertone is rather dark but necessary for the drama of this style of painting. The paint is applied with a loose feel that lends itself to the atmosphere of the setup.
The composition is of itself a beautiful thing to see.....with the rhythm of music...staccato notes and adagios and passages of sotto voce and legato all translated in paint to canvas. He may take days to arrange a still life (I completely understand this myself) and the effort is well worth it as you can see be the photos.
He will then begin massing in large shapes PLUS their shadow shapes with raw umber and a little black mixed with his preferred medium. Maroger is what he has used for years but since switching part time to alkyd paints he also uses Liquin.
Here is where I get sold..haha! I never used Maroger with much success nor did I use Ivory Black or Raw Umber or Prussian Blue...all of which Jeff uses. I discovered I wasn't handling them quite right and am now quite happy to use them. Some of this color usage has to do with whether you paint like the Old Masters or the Impressionists....I am still open to anything that will work for me.....but I must say I have been getting some nice effects with using them.
After massing in the large abstract shapes into a pleasing design on the canvas....he then "Goes for the jugular" as he likes to say. Mixing up a puddle of paint the color and brilliance of the melon he applies a deft stroke in the exact shape of the small wedge to the canvas...this is the focal point. Over the next 2 hours or so we watched a painting come to life and appear to be almost done. Jeff stated that he would refine the painting a few more times before it was finished.
If you have any questions feel free to ask I will answer what I can.
Until tomorrow,
Theresa

This Could Be Called Too Much Information!!

2009-02-06T11:45:00.006-06:00

Quiet Evening 30x40 sold
Ok...I have been naughty and not even posted so much as a hello!! I will try to update over the next few days ..all the goings on artwise and personally...geesh where do I begin??
First of all I have been painting, painting, painting (I have a show coming up in one month exactly) when I paint it has to have my undivided attention.... also preparing canvases and touching up and ordering frames....I have also built a database of clients, fellow artists, friends and family, and potential clientele (people who have expressed an interest in my work and or have taken workshops and classes from me or intend to in the future). If you would like to be on the mailing list and live in this vicinity go to my website and email me your address and phone number if you feel like it...no one will know but me...promise!!
The other thing that I have done is get back on my diet and been getting all my checkups done ( cholesterol, mammogram, bone density, etc., etc., etc....I have always been a little on the curvy side...but the last year put 12 pounds on me...that I neither need nor want!!! Now you may wonder why I would even bother to mention this...but there are a few people out there that know some of my health views and what I have been doing about it for some time.
First of all I am very blessed with an extremely good constitution. Most of my family has lived into there 90's and 100's with the exception of.....my parents....what??? you say!!! Well, my Dad committed suicide when I was very young (which by the way is another very long story) and my Mom died of undiagnosed metastasized breast cancer at 65 (unbelievably she was afraid to go to the doctor!?) brought on by being an alcoholic and smoking 2 to 3 packs of cigarettes a day plus a worrisome frame of mind. For myself I have been adamant about eating healthily most of my life...whole grains, vegetables, fruit and lean meats plus the occasional dessert (sometimes too much)!! organic when possible and affordable...(which led me to grow all my own food for many years). I have smoked less in my life than I have been a smoker....about a pack a day when I was smoking and too much alcohol makes me feel miserable!
Back to the point...my checkups have been admirable...my doctor cannot believe I am 61 (on the 17th if this month), cannot believe what my tests indicate, even my bone density increased by 10% (after falling to a minus level) and my overall age is 42. She also can't believe my legs are in such good shape (no veins)..LOL!! I believe one of the reasonsfor some of this good health is the fact that I use Bio-Identical Hormones (small amount of estrogen plus testosterone and dhea). I have been doing this for about 3 years. Unfortunately, the one bad thing in my checkups was a slight rise in blood pressure...not dangerous but a rise never the less....which brings me back to the weight issue. My doctor suggested HCG. I had never heard of it....but after seeing the scales I was anxious to hear more!! By the way, I pay my doctor with framed giclees which she so kindly has agreed to and obviously she likes my work. So I am now on the HCG Protocol.....OKAY!!!! I am 100% amazed and sold!!
First of all I am Italian....seems to be a bit of a genetic thing...also both parents were over weight at times...an sometimes I get carried away with portion control...I have a slow metabolism and losing weight has always been a slow thing for me although I have done it twice in the past. I am here to tell you...especially the ladies...this is amazing stuff!!!! I have been on this protocol for 5 days and have lost 7 pounds....this has never happened in my life....and the first two days I ate what ever I wanted ...in fact you are supposed too. I am never hungry and do not feel deprived on this way of eating. You can only stay on it for a month than you must rest before you do it again. Wish me luck!!
Well, friends and folks that is some of what I have been up to. Tomorrow, I will begin explaining Jeff's demo. Promise!!!
Back to the easle,
Theresa

The Latest!!!

2009-01-28T11:58:00.004-06:00

Tangerine And Open Rose 11x14 oil

I will keep this pretty short, for today, as I am a little tired. Three days of intense study, painting, laughing and joking, meeting new friends and driving in a blinding ice and snow storm, has this gal a little worn out....but happy. I love this painting I just completed! I am thrilled I made it home both nights in a storm! And really happy to have been invited to paint with some wonderful ladies I have just met! Lots of info to tell you all....especially how Jeff works, the lessons I personally learned and some of the fun things we talked about, did, or thought of!
So for now I hope you like this piece...I need to do some work around the house, cook (since I have not done so for three days), shovel off the snow if I need to and just plain relax!!
Loving Life,
Theresa

Update.....

2009-01-23T07:26:00.005-06:00

Washday In Venice 11x14 oil sold

Just so you know...I have quit holding my breath since the inauguration! I am comfortable and happy with everything. I have been so terribly busy I have not had a chance to post...doctor visit, chiropractor, shopping, house work..arrgh...and getting things ready for Jeff's Workshop. Looking forward to being a student (and seeing some old friends and ex-students there)...come in knowing nothing and hopefully come out with some knowledge. I have had to gather up boxes and lights and tables and shop for some supplies....Jeff asked if I would help and I do get a bit of a discount for it.... I will be down there today to help setup. We are all really looking forward to this masters advice and knowledge...Please visit Jeff's work if you haven't done so yet.
As long as we are talking art I will quickly mention another artist and acquaintance from here in Carthage and a master in his own right...Andy Thomas....Andy has just released a fantastic painting of Obama standing at a podium speaking to an enthusiastic crowd (prints are available at the same gallery I am with...Cherry's).... many of the faces in the crowd are civil rights or American leaders who supported the cause of racial equality. I remember those days like they were yesterday!!
I also stopped by Cherry's Gallery...just to chit-chat and distract them from their work..LOL! Not really ...needed to talk framing about my upcoming show!!! She is in the process of finalizing there new website which is being built by Max's nephew, Bart Paden...and she is so anxious to have it up and working she could spit....frankly so am I!!!
Ok, that's the quickie.....after the workshop I will bring full details about all that's been going on!
All About Change,
Theresa
Change by Andy Thomas available at Cherry's

Holding Our Breath.......

2009-01-20T09:52:00.005-06:00

Holding my breath.....like everyone else in the world...I can't hardly wait for this show to get on the road! We have been waiting for Barack Obama to take office for what seems like forever! I won't go on much today as I am going to watch the inauguration but if you haven't read or seen or heard of USASERVICE.ORG .....go now and sign up. I have. the painting today is by the great American Impressionist Childe Hassam, it is called Fifth Avenue In The Rain". More later!
Theresa

Jefferson Memorial Times Three....

2009-01-17T07:46:00.008-06:00

Jefferson Memorial 5x7 oil

After viewing all the DSFDF images..I figured I better get hopping...so I did. Let me start by saying I would not have painted this if I was looking for something inspiring to paint......but....(and as I like to say the truth always comes after a but) this really put the test to me for several reasons and I really enjoyed doing it.
Here are a few reasons this was a good exercise. First the very reason that I would not have painted it is the best reason.....it makes me work past the basis of painting only what I know or "inspires me". Second, I never.....absolutely never paint on a small canvas like this. The smallest I have ever used was an 8x10...I may have painted on a 6x8 somewhere in the past...but never a 5x7. Well, guess what?...I liked it....I liked it a lot! I started painting and about an hour later I had a little painting!! That's pretty cool stuff in my book! Third, after reading the article on Karin Jurick in American Artist Magazine....I thought..hmmmm....black canvas, eh? She uses black latex paint to cover the canvas and I did the same...acrylic tube paint actually. So a black canvas is what I decided to paint on....again something I never, ever do! And, well, you have probably guessed it....I liked that too! It is probably something I won't do all the time....but it did make me think differently. Everything you see on the canvas that looks black is the black canvas. The rest are shapes and marks to denote the light areas in the photo. So there you have it...my DSFDF challenge this time around.

The photo we used to paint the challenge
There is something really familiar about this image... aside from the fact that it is a very famous monument. As many of you know I live in a very old house....Victorian era...old wood, old floors...... and old wallpaper, layers of it from turn of the century to maybe 1960 something! Every night while I lay in bed reading or watching a movie....there is a faint, ghostlike pattern repeated over and over the walls of the master bedroom. The colors are cool grays and pink, white and a little green. I see this pattern and on first impression wonder what in the world would possess someone to paper their room with this design. I think about the little pattern that repeats itself over and over and sometimes it makes me a little dizzy. Other times it reminds me of the Fifties and makes me think of vacation trips by car as a child on Route 66 or some other infamous highway. It also reminds me that Spring always comes....and things are born anew every year. I lay awake dreaming of a thrifty woman, in a little day number with matching hat, cat eye glasses, shopping on a budget that is tight and looking through paper swatch books of wall paper laid out like family albums. I go through the steps with her...measuring and calculating.....checking how much she can spend, what colors to use and will anyone else like it. Finally I understand...she wants a nice home...she is trying to dress things up a bit, while sticking to the hard line allowance and there at the bottom of the bin or at the back of the book is something she likes....and she can afford it. Perhaps she has the same feelings I do when I look at this design....maybe it's as simple as what she can afford......but then.... maybe....she just liked Washington D.C......

Wallpaper (Portrait of me at four years old)

A snippet of wallpaper from our home

I kind of like it actually or maybe I HAVE to like it because I
just can't afford anything else right now?...:)
Until next time,
Theresa

The Passing Of A Master.....

2009-01-16T12:21:00.007-06:00

Andrew Wyeth as he received the National Medal of Arts in 2007.

As I read the news this morning the death of Andrew Wyeth at age 91, it obscured the rest of the headlines for me. His death has marked that sadness of "one of the greats" passing.....the end of an era...as it were. His family is a long history of great artists from N.C to Jamie and N.C.'s daughters, Caroline and Henrietta. One alone has truly changed the landscape of American Painting, that would be for me, Andrew. From the simple light hitting a windowsill to the lone figure in a field or a blowing curtain.....these images give us a moment to reflect on personal memories and take an emotional path through his work that beautifully personalizes it for us. Who can deny the familiarity in our own lives of the dog patiently awaiting his master's return in "Master Bedroom" or the white washed side of a house in the sunlight surrounded by wild flowers in "Around The Corner". Yes, he will be remembered as a giant in the art world and his loving, simple, impressions of life are forever immortalized in some of the images shown below. He has been an influence in my artistic world. To see Wyeth's website please follow this link.

All paintings by Andrew Wyeth

"Master Bedroom"

"Around The Corner"

"Army Blanket"

"Trodden Weed"

Progress.....

2009-01-13T11:23:00.005-06:00

Just a quickie blog today! I want to thank all of the people who have signed up to follow my blog...it makes it really easy to just click on the picture and see what has been going on with all of you. I appreciate it so very much.
I am working on the 24 x 36 today...and here is what I accomplished yesterday. I really haven't settled on a title yet.
I am going to have to make some time to pickup a painting this week in Arkansas... although the lady that is holding it for me is enjoying it immensely my gallery needs to have it for a potential sale. Hope the sale goes through.....times are always a little tough this time of the year.
On other notes the workshop with Jeff is coming together really well. I also need to get my painting done for the Different Strokes blog.
Lots of light,
Theresa

2009-01-12T10:24:00.005-06:00

Iron Gate 16x20 oil sold

I read fairly often (when I have the time) all sorts of books. Currently I am reading a book about the writing life. The book is composed beautifully, full of nicely turned phrases that build wonderful vivid paragraphs that in turn become beautiful images in my head. This is one of the greatest things about reading for me...but before I go too far the book is called, quite simply, "The Writing Life", penned by Annie Dillard author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek among others.
The book came to me via Max, while browsing through the local library for his own tastes.....he saw it and thought it might be of interest to me in my writing escapades. He thinks of me often in this way...his small thoughtful ways are a joy in my life. Over time many people have heard bits and pieces of my life, sometimes crazy and a little wild, often exotic, seemingly sad by turn of events but always mine and always full. These same people have said often enough for me to take note..."You should, need or could write a book" and I must say I have given the thought a spin on my minds roulette a time or two or even three myself.....but that is not for today but is how this slim non-fiction came into my possession.
There are several parts of this book that I admire...one thing stood out at the very first...aside from the expert insight into writing....it was a comparison to painting and writing. As you know I am a painter, always trying to better that continuum of art that is personally mine and always thinking the next piece is "the one"....you painters know exactly what I mean. Early on in this handbook the author speaks of writing as being nothing at all like painting....and in many regards she is correct. The part that I take exception to is when she states that a painter can continuously over paint the subject until they have it right but a writer must toss the bad words in favor of the whole book not going down the tubes. Aha!! We have finally come to my point !!
The point is I started a piece (as I explained in an earlier blog) that went wrong in a hurry. The paint was being applied beautifully and the color was clean, exact and rich.....but after viewing it the next day I saw the problem. The writer explained that if a word, phrase or paragraph was wrong than subsequently the story, chapter or book that these magical words hinged on would fail....and she is 100% correct! In the painting world the composition is akin to the outline, which will eventually become the phrase, leading to the chapter and , finally, culminating in the story. Yes, friends I had ignored the composition in a mix of enthusiasm, lack of time and a hurried mindset. As I gazed upon what I thought would be my next "masterpiece" my spirits fell in a littered heap of New Years Eve streamers and confetti. There were no horns going off and no soaring of spirits to be had....it was NOT....to my surprise.....a brand new year!
So..should I continue to paint and maybe the viewer would never notice the bad composition? Should I just keep layering more paint over the previous layers in order to correct the faulty design? Should I just scrape it off and start over again with a pentimento of the previous brushstrokes distracting the eye? Like Annie Dillard at her desk throwing out the bad chapter or phrase of a book in order to build a better clearer image.....I put the sorry canvas aside to be gessoed at a later date and started fresh....again. I am glad that I have the courage to do this, even if it hurts and I also know many artists have that same courage . I also realize it will lead to more cautionary steps* in planning the next piece.......and......perhaps some better writing another day.

The Golden Mean
I have included another piece of mine...it is a 16x20 and yes, it is sold.
* Using the the golden mean is always helpful especially on a large canvas...funny how we can forget these basics in the throws of rushing to create the next piece.

At Work....

2009-01-10T11:42:00.007-06:00

Soapstone and Roses 18x24 oil sold
First off if you like my blog add your self as a follower...I just added the widget to the right. You won't be harassed, bothered or annoyed...but I would like to see all your bright beautiful faces on my blog...and in turn I am marking those blogs that have this widget that I read!
Now onto the business of painting!!
I have been away for a little while...and yes, doing just that....painting. I am working on a semi-large piece about 24 x 36. I actually did this particular subject once before....but a few things about it annoyed me personally. First of all it was done in a format that was rather square and I believe the subject needed a longer rectangular format. Second....the original was stolen! So I am starting it in the new format.
The past few paintings and the next several are all being done for a solo show at a local art center. I need to have 11 to 20 pieces and I will also be giving a workshop during the time my show will be running. The show is at Spiva Center for the Arts....it will be my first solo show there. The workshop will be during the month of April. The show runs from March 7 to May 8. Along that note my old artist friend Jeff Legg is coming to Joplin to give a workshop at the end of January...I hope I can attend...if finances allow.
Unbelievably I drew this out the other day and after I had painted on it for a whole day....I was not satisfied with the composition. Soooo....what needed to be done? but....remove everything and start all over again...ugh! How did that happen....not thinking. I was feeling rushed and hurried and only had a small time frame to paint. For me I have to have a large block of time and no distractions. So here it is...the corrected version.
Outside of that we have attended a birthday party for a friend, Tom, complete with duck dinner prepared by mutual friend, Kim, we have done a lot of mundane house chores, I had a wonderful call from a friend, Barbara, in Cananda....who always lifts my spirits, another friend recently got married...hurray....they are so good for each other and lost three of the holiday pounds I managed to put on...I am not saying what is left but it is enough!
I also have posted a little painting, at the top of the post, that I did a while back and is rather tight....I don't know why but that happens to me with a still life on occasion ...I posted it because, well, I just really like it!
See you next time and have a creative day,
Theresa

New Years And Then Some....

2009-01-04T10:09:00.006-06:00

Portrait 11x14 oil
We all know it ....we've all done it...what's that you might ask? The answer...the old get around... make a resolution......things will be different scenario.. Right? Right! Well, I am no different. I have made many resolutions in the past....some of them have stuck and some have not and many have been picked up again and again.
My basic New Year's deal, procedure, method or just plain ol' superstition, though, is this......What I do on New Year's Day is what I will be doing all year long....and...we eat black eyed peas for good luck! Sounds simple...right?... not always. I did paint on New Years Day...that was number one....the other thing was mental house cleaning which I often try to do. If I am being negative or some other awful characteristic I like to examine my life and see where it's coming from.....and try to exorcise that evil demon! So for me I spent time painting, reflecting, reading and some quality time with loved ones. If you rested on New Years Day then you probably needed it and deserved it.
The day started well enough....I put the beans on with the remains of the Christmas ham....took out my paint palette from the freezer and poured some coffee. Max woke up shortly after and we had coffee and talked about how much fun we had New Years Eve. Just a few guests, the adult kids and Inez's boyfriend and some drinks and food to nibble on. It was a great evening and we all had a great time. Wyatt came down stairs soon after and he and Max decided they needed to go to the mall. Wyatt had bought three shirts one of which they forgot to remove the anti-theft device ......and so off they went. I read for awhile and thought a lot. Mostly just thankful for all the good things in my life! Inez got up and then she was off and I had the house to myself. A little more reflecting and catching up on some mail, my calender, website etc. Then I finally painted for awhile and just about finished my piece. There was a small amount left around the eyes which I finished off this morning and now....fini! I was getting very nervous that I was not going to get to paint that day....but I did!! I will then begin another piece.....perhaps a landscape...maybe a still life...mostly waiting for the the preoccupation of the current piece on the easel to fade away.
As for resolutions.....I rarely make them at New Years. If I have a mind to do something I generally start very soon after the inception of the idea...if at all possible. Like smoking...we decided to quit....waited for the last cigarette to be smoked and then quit. Like painting everyday.....I got out of the habit and am now back to painting at least three days a week...not always a full day though...darn! Things are becoming increasingly organized and allowing me to paint more often than the last 6 months or so.
I had a good day New Years...things were going easy and working out as I had planned. max got home...and....of all things.. I had a present from him! You must know this about Max to understand. He is not a present giver on holidays birthdays or anniversaries. He told me that from the start and his kids told me the same thing. Now you must also know that I can have just about anything I want, anytime...within budget and reason....although I don't ask for much. So for him to come home with a box full of things (bath stuff and lotions) from Victoria's Secret was a very pleasant surprise. In fact it made me cry! It's not the first time he also bought me a present on my birthday and Valentine's Day.
So there is my New Years Day blah, blah......I will make an effort to paint more outdoors though and keep up the blog. I hope everybody is gonna have a wonderful year....I am!
Now...one more thing!! Here is the portrait I had to do for the Different Strokes From Different Folks Challenge. I hope the fellow can recognize himself...I gave it a real shot. We were all given a photo of someone else who had entered the challenge and then asked to paint them. We weren't supposed to labor over it...and I didn't. I probably spent 4 or 5 hours total.
Until next time,
Theresa

A Vaulted Sky and Movies.....

2008-12-30T10:24:00.008-06:00

Vaulted Sky 20x20 oil
As I promised here is the latest landscape started barely before Christmas....now finished. I put the last of it on yesterday afternoon. Took the photo this morning....downloaded it into the computer...started writing this post and uploading the photo.....only to realize I haven't signed it. I will then repost the image later. Most of what was done yesterday was the foreground but I also glazed the lower part of the clouds with a very thin wash of Permanent Rose. I noticed they were not really a color.....I believe any gray should have a name....blue gray, yellow gray....rosy gray. So rosy gray it was. I also began the portrait for Karin Jurick's Different Strokes. I believe I will have that one done today.....but one never knows!
We went to the movies Christmas Day....in the evening. We had been talking about seeing a few different movies...something we wanted to see on the big screen....here is my "A" list of what is currenntly out there:
1. Doubt
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Revolutionary Road
4. The Reader
5. Frost/Nixon
6. Milk
7. The Wrestler
Strangely enough they all made the Golden Globes.....which frankly has very little to do with my choices....but it was an odd coincidence. As we thought about it we decided that Benjamin Button would be the choice to spend $40 on for the four of us to see on the big screen. Mind you I am not a Brad Pitt fan....I like good film....really good film...great story lines and believable acting. The only thing I can say is INCREDIBLE!!!!!! This is a real saga....beautifully written and adapted for the screen (thank F. Scott Fitzgerald for the seed of the story), luxuriant settings, fascinating characters, gorgeous photography and incredible acting! I could watch it again...and yet again! It is the kind of movie that had us all crying including 17 year-old Wyatt who sobbed uncontrolllably with great passion. It is the kind of movie that makes you come away wanting to write....write anything..as long as it is perfection. It is the kind of movie that makes you come away feeling highly creative and feeling diminished in talent all at once. It makes you appreciate all the richness and diversion of life. You will be reminded to appreciate death also and the people you meet before passing. You must go see it if you have not yet.....and savor the magnitude of emotion that it encompasses.
The others on my list will be seen eventually.....I love movies! We may wait to rent them or possibly go see one or two....but it will most likely be just the two of us.
That's it for today....except...here below...is a photo of Max and I at a birthday party for his nephew. It was taken this fall and we just got it at Christmas.
By for now, Theresa

Just a little....

2008-12-29T07:19:00.005-06:00

Christmas is over and there is a little bit of sadness in my heart. It is a sweet kind of sadness though....that nostalgic feeling you get when you think of an old love or a part of your life that is only a memory now. It has been joyous, glorious, rich and emotional....filled to the brim with love and kindness, warmth and sentiment. There have been crystal mornings of frost and snow with sun so bright it almost hurt ones eyes. There have been deep midnight skies with Bethlehem stars and full moons of cheese to hang a wish on. There has been young-love-hand-holding and old love kisses under the mistletoe. Christmas decorations from a another time period....forty or better years ago....that leave a little lump in your throat when you remember making them with your children. Twinkly light displays in the Vietnamese Park and Nativity scenes at the churches. Packages and mail with photos and wishes from grandchildren and great-grandchildren and friends all over the states. Garlands, wreathes and boughs laden with red berries and pine cones....the perfumed needles taking me back to childhood. Cookies and candies from chefs young and old.....dinners with family and drinks with old friends and new. It is a beautiful season in a million different ways.....bringing out the best in people and the finest of thoughts.
The house seems a little dreary now with all the decorations put up and only the odd box of chocolate and the wreath on the door left to remind us of the Christmas season. The thing is though.....these are just a few of the standout moments of thousands of little things that happen everyday.....Summer...Fall...Winter....and Spring. I revel in these moments and savor them like those chocolates on the table or the wine in the cabinet.
Next stop New Years!!!!!
Much Love, Theresa
Below is the light display put on by the Vietnamese Monastery...Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix: the Way of Salvation...they also host the Marian Days Festival in August.

A Crisis Is Less Likely To Revise Ones Nature Than To Reveal It...

2008-12-22T15:04:00.013-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Well, friends, the holidays are in full swing and I am caught up in a round of visiting baking, cooking, painting and just plain enjoying the season! As I reflected on seasons past I thought of all the Christmases I have had so far. Some were extremely good and others not so good. It is my sincerest wish that you are all happy healthy and have all you that you need...that your friends and family surround you and have what they need too. These are tough times for many and I feel for those less fortunate. It is my prayer and wish that the coming times are bearable and do not get any worse for those less fortunate.
For myself....I cannot believe my good fortune. There have been many times in my life when I lived on as little as $400 dollars a month. This is not meant to make anyone feel sorry for me or anything as dramatic as that...far from it. What was so important about those times was I learned how to live with less, learned how to make and fix many things that perhaps I normally would not have learned.... many Christmases were spent making homemade gifts or having none at all...but the most important thing was the connection of friends and family. Two times in particular I remember two separate families in Utah, aware of my and my children's circumstances... giving us Christmas....including a tree, gifts and dinner. The lessons learned left me with much to be thankful for. My children are grown now and very successful....and yes they remember those times clearly. I am a strong believer that it is what is in ones heart and not their wallet that makes all the difference in the world. Yes it would be a dream come true to be a highly successful artist....but I would rather be a highly successful human being and that somehow, someway my life has made a difference and an impact in a positive way on someone elses.
Here are a few photos of my old house in Kansas and my old, old new house in Carthage. From me to you have a Christmas and New Year filled with peace, love, happiness and creativity...lots of hugs from children and grandchildren and greats if you are there yet...warm smiles and greetings from friends and distant relatives and a twinkle in the eye of a stranger...that you may have just put there yourself.
Much Love,
Theresa

In The Begining....

2008-12-19T10:43:00.004-06:00

I started this one day before yesterday..a landscape. It is a 20x20...sometimes I like to paint on a square format. I begin pretty much the same as always. I like a warm ground ..this is transparent oxide red with just a touch of ultramarine blue in the mix. It is mixed with a small amount of thinner and then let dry before applying the next round of thinned paint. I have a quick sketch underneath using a charcoal pencil. I then spray the sketch with hairspray so the charcoal does not smear. I like this composition because of the perspective of the hay bales and rows and the impending sky.....not to mention the colors.In the second stage I apply the darks that will be allowed to show through the later layers of paint. I begin to add many of the colors that are seen in the land in the sky...the difference is that they are muted and paled. I see the colors of the landscape reflected in the clouds. The distant hills had a peculiar blue-green color and the hay field had an almost orange cast.I start to apply more color and thicker paint delineating the different planes of the landscape. I start to model the sky and give the clouds form. Painting...for me...is largely a series of adjustments in value, color, shape and form.Here you can see some of the adjustments that have been made...it is still largely unfinished...especially the foreground and the right middleground. I have begun to work on the haybales and the rows of stubble...leaving the dark underpainting showing through for the shadow areas. Approximate time so far about 10 hours.

I will have to stop on this piece for the next day or two. I have cookies to bake...and a large dinner to prepare and a house to clean! I made a huge pot of spaghetti with meatballs and Italian sausage the other day and we have been eating that for awhile. I make everything from scratch....just a habit from how my family cooked. Max's son is coming up from Houston, Texas for the holidays...Christmas dinner will be at relatives house and I have been assigned to bake an apple pie....just as spectacular as my cheesecake if I do say so myself. Ha! The dinner will be our Christmas dinner for when Wyatt arrives.

I will try to get this one done before Christmas and then start another one sometime soon after Christmas day. I will also try to keep posting in between.
See you soon,
Theresa

Success....The Beginning and the End....or Vice Versa..

2008-12-15T10:41:00.005-06:00

Gospel Singer 11x14 oil
This painting was done on the 13th....the day I threw out the failed landscape. I really needed to prove to myself that I could still paint. It took about 3 1/2 hours to complete and my feet did not touch the ground the whole time I painted it! What I mean by that...is...I was in the zone. You know...that feeling when your left brain stays out of the way and you seem to be on automatic and the decision making process is a snap. You know exactly what the next stroke is you know exactly how to simplify when it is needed...all the color choices and values move in the right direction.....and.....you know exactly when to stop...without someone standing right next to you trying to break your arm so you don't mess it up! Now before you start thinking I know everything...I don't! I am sur there are some things that may need to be fine tuned.....but for myself and my eye....this is what I want! This is how I intended this painting to look. No tight detail in the cloth, or much of anyplace else for that matter. I believe I have gotten the strong values and confident brushwork that I so love. The color is a tad on the warm side but that seems to happen when transferring a painting to the computer...and of course there is always a certain depth that escapes ones viewing a painting on a screen in the digital world. The darks are thin and not clumsy and dead and the lights are thick and applied with a knife and then manipulated with the brush in some areas. I have tried to loose a lot of edges where I find it important and keep the stronger ones where they also need to be. So yes...I am pretty damn happy with this one. The practice is paying off and I will soon begin some larger ones for my upcoming solo show.

Here is the loose start so you can see some of how I begin. There is a quick sketch to make sure proportions are accurate and then drawn with paint using lines rather than curves. Below the painting you will see my color charts that I made some years ago.....I still use them but find that I intuitively know the colors I need more often than not...but keep them handy to check back to. The charts are from Richard Schmids book "Alla Prima; Everything I Know About Painting". By the way I am anxiously awaiting his new book, out in 2009 "The Landscape Book". His first book was somewhat expensive....but so worth it...and I expect the second one will be equally as good. There is...in my mind...no greater all around modern master than Schmid! He can paint anything!
I always start at the center of interest and move out from there...painting little pieces of color and value and making sure the shapes and temperatures are right. I paint in the background on portraits very soon in the beginning to correct any shapes in the features that might be off. The small bottle of liquid is a glazing medium and works very well for keeping the darks from being obnoxiously thick. It also keeps the paint from drying flat and dead and keeps the paint open for a longer amount of time as I try to paint Alla Prima (all in one sitting) mostly. The small box with the oriental design is a magnifying glass to look at reference material when I need a closer look.
So there you have it...let me hear what you think..!
Loving the continuing challenge,
Theresa

Can you say "Paint By Number"?....

2008-12-12T14:55:00.007-06:00

Hmmm....it took only three days to find out that I was correct..... off to a very good start only to find out that this painting began to disintegrate before my eyes the more I painted on it. Lesson learned? Do not use a canvas that has all the life sucked out of it from repeated layers of gesso....do not use reference material that does not have enough information in it...paint from life more often and most of all have a good clear picture in ones head before beginning a painting! Now remember I did mention these things in an earlier post. I just thought I could work around them! You'd think I would know these simple things by now (most times I do).....but alas...old age has set in...I have become forgetful...along with over confidant!
I include the shameful progressions here for everyone to see. On coming close to the final product....it has the peculiar resemblance of a paint by number. Thus the name of this blog. LOL!
Actually there are a few things I do like in this painting...a very few....which parts do you like if any? For me it is the transparent red oxide sketch (earlier post)....some of the shapes in the trees, some of the color and the way one tower is executed. But...wait!!! After this failure....which I chose not to hide or wipe off...I will simply take the canvas off the stretcher bars and place the old canvas in the waste bin or the burn pile....where naughty paintings and old lovers go(not Max...never Max!). Recycle the stretcher bars with a brand new canvas and begin something else that will either fail or succeed. Yesterday was a VERY successful painting to my eyes but for now you will have to wait till tomorrow to see it! One last note here.....every failed painting, every misstep with the brush, every decision in simplification or overworking, every choice of color and painterly execution or lack thereof....every mistake...is an opportunity to learn....if one chooses to see it. And as we all know...that not only applies to painting....but, indeed to the rest of life!

Loving the process......still!
Theresa

Starting Again...

2008-12-10T13:08:00.007-06:00

Here is the beginning of a new painting...well it is actually just a color study. I rarely do them...studies, that is.... but this one has some very tricky lighting aspects and color so I am inclined to do a study before hand. There is a problem....this is an old canvas and it has been gessoed twice....not a very good idea....as it is sucking up the paint like a dry sponge. Not only that but it has a lot of texture on it from gessoing it more than once. I guess I just like a challenge!!! I like the texture...most times. Well, we will see what happens as I plod along. I am painting from a photo and it is not terribly clear...but it's not horrible. The photo is of a church in Santa Fe, N.M., at sunset.

I have done a quick loose sketch with paint as my start and put in some values that I want to remember.
As far as the rest of my life we had a nice dinner/get together at a friends house Sunday evening. Steak and potato and shrimp....yum!
Our friend Jack the electrician will be here once again tomorrow to continue on rewiring this old house. Speaking of which...Everything is unpacked for the living room and there are very few boxes left in the rest of the house. What remains needs some shelving in the kitchen.....a future job.
If anyone has not seen what the room looked like before go to a back post and you will see that room was stacked high with furniture and boxes....not just in front of the door but the entire room was stacked in the same manner....daunting to say the least!! And that was the second time it was like that!! The first time was distributing Max's Ebay and personnel possessions through out the house or selling off unwanted, unneeded stuff!
Well, back to painting and have an inspired day!
Theresa

Desert Moon....

2008-12-08T14:37:00.007-06:00

Desert Moon 11x14 oil
Here is another quick study from the other day. I have admired night paintings or nocturnes from several artists here in the blogoshere and elsewhere . What I didn't know was hard the color of night is. So, as I remembered an exhibit I went to a few years back an image began to form. It was on Frederic Remington another painter from the past that I admire. I remembered the impact his work had on me when I saw it. The entire collection was nocturnes and they literally glowed when you saw them. I had to have that catalog!! Fortunatly I bought it after seeing the show before leaving the museum. I searched for it the other day, found it and pulled it out to study it. Wow....is all I can say.
So here is my first attempt at a nocturne...I did use a photograph for the design but the color is from running outside and looking at the yucca plant in the front yard and reviewing Remington's work.
Oh and I have added a new artist to my websites list that I have been watching for a couple of years...Kevin Beilfuss. Check it out!!!
See you tomorrow,
Theresa

Efforts.....

2008-12-04T15:53:00.005-06:00

Music! 8x10 oil
I have been away from the computer by design lately. There are several reasons and I will touch on a few here.
I have been studying first of all. Not painting for almost 2 months has made me a bit rusty. So in order to "get my hand back" I have been reading, looking and doing small paintings the last few days. They are OK...not fantastic....but OK. I can't express the importance of painting everyday.....to keep that flow.
So here is the first one done the day before yesterday. It took about 2 hours.
I also quit smoking....for the 5th time! I have been a nonsmoker before....for as long as ten years. I also never smoked while I was pregnant (five children) do the math. I was a nonsmoker when I met Max and a nonsmoker another time for 4 years and once for two...and then started again....fortunately Max has been wanting to quit also. Well, it's been three weeks....I'm Ok with it...but I don't spend a lot of time by the computer until I am past that part of it. It seems to be a trigger along with the phone and alcohol!
I hope everyone had a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving..I did! We had a lot of company and I also cooked a lot. Now we are gearing up for Christmas and a possible open house here since everything is finally put away! My folks always had an open house at Christmas...there were always lots of people of all walks of life coming and going, lots of food and drink and many of the guests were musically inclined. It was a lot of fun listening, visiting and watching... even as a kid.
I have just finished reading a book about Antonio Mancini. I sooo want to paint like that! I had a magnifying glass in hand while reading to study the paintings! I highly recommend taking a look at his work via the link on the list to the right.
I will be back but it will be limited for the time being until I am more comfortable painting and writing again.
All the best, Theresa

Tagged Again!!!

2008-11-19T07:11:00.006-06:00

I have just been tagged again....Thank you Barbara Muir...fantastic artist, friend and admirer!
I will get to the rest of the game in a bit...but first!!! Hold the presses....we all know who Thomas Kincade is, right? Presents himself as a devout artistic Christian, right? You gotta read this...I just found it on Jeremy Lipking's blog and if you don't know who he is you don't know nothin'!! Click here for a very informative article of "The Painter Of Light" who obviously has a very dark side.
That said on with the game....but if I get tagged again I will have to pass!

So here are the rules for being tagged.

You need to:
1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and comment
on their blogs to let them know.

1. I received two scholarships...two years in a row..which was actually every other year because that was when they were available...to Scottsdale Artist School. I studied with John Budicin and John Burton.
2. My children are all part Hawaiian....my first two husbands were Hawaiian.
3. I actually lived in a tree house when I first moved to Hawaii...it was designed by an architect. I lived there for about three months and visited often for a couple of years after that. There was also a bus that was permanently parked beneath the tree and completely livable.
4. I danced Hula professionally for two years.
5. I am a baptized Catholic. My godparents were Elizabeth Taylor's secretary and his life partner.
6.I am also a baptized Mormon....but do not practice.
7. Although I owned several horses over the years. I broke my first and only colt at age 40 while living in Utah.
8. I am going to add this one because their is a reason I don't paint every day. I had back surgery due to a truck wreck...not my fault, thank God! The other problem was they discovered I had a birth defect of some kind....no wonder my back hurt from the time I was kid!! I have a metal plate and several pins plus a bone fusion in my back. I have died twice....yes certified dead! Once when I had spinal meningitis and once from an accidental overdose. I remember everything....it's just like the stories you have heard. I also suffer from mild depression...mood swings....whatever....and arthritis but some days I am either in a lot of pain or just blue.
Here are the 7 delightful bloggers and great artists..
Michael Lynn Adams
Karin Jurick
Diane Mize
Stacey Peterson
Michael Naples
Eldon Warren
Steve Atkinson

I received an email from someone that thinks I should rename my blog semi annual rather than daily! LOL! I imagine it was a brand of humor and meant to be funny. Well, unfortunately I can't name it semi annual since I have already painted 24 pieces this year ( low by my standards) ... and most of them have sold. On the other hand I have not been painting daily for the last month and a half. This has been a difficult year for painting between moving and a new relationship/family but there are many dividends that don't come out of a tube. Without knowing someones history very, very well I don't think I would attempt this kind of humor, but thats just me. I have been painting on a daily basis for many years....except this one.....oh, and one other time when I had to move from my home of 15 years, go through a divorce, found my lost child of 23 years and the woman that was as close to me as a mother died.....on the other hand this year I have a gift of a wonderful man in my life, many new friends from my move and blogging and some wonderful new doors of opportunity in the art world and more. So when I paint...I paint....and when I don't....I don't.
Here, below, for your amusement one of the absolute worst paintings I have ever done!!! It's soooo damn pink! And the one at the top is one of the most popular as far as prints.
Much love, Theresa

Tagged!!

2008-11-15T09:08:00.004-06:00

Aspens 8x10 oil
I have just been tagged by Theresa Miller! This is a really fun way to get to know your blogger friends in art! The rules of this great game are:-
1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and comment on their blogs to let them know.

Here is the list of 7 things about me, I have been told time and time again I should write a book…

1. I have 5 children by birth, 13 grandchildren, and two great-grand children. I also considered the 3 children by relationship with my dear Max as mine.

2. I had two scholarships one in music (piano) and one in art...to Chounard in L.A. which became The California Institute of the Arts. I pursued neither scholarship.

3. I have drawn all my life and painted sporadically. It wasn't until the last 7 years that I became serious about painting.

4. I traveled Europe and Hawaii before I was 6 with my parents Reginald and Theresa Rankin.

5. I grew up in Beverly Hills, California and have lived in Illinois, Hawaii, Utah, Oregon, Kansas and now Missouri.

6. I went to school with the children of Van Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, Dean Martin, Jayne Mansfield, Jerry Lewis, Mia Farrows siblings and many more at Beverly Hills Catholic School now called Good Shepherd School for 8 years, Hawthorne School for one year (Kindergarten), Emerson Junior High and University High School. My first date was going to the movies with Burt Lancaster's son,the late Bill Lancaster.

7. I was quite a body surfer while living in California and Hawaii...drove an eighteen wheeler for almost ten years including hauling logs...grew all my own food (including animals and the butchering) and made all mine and my family's clothes for about 14 years.

And here is the list of fellow artists I am tagging:
Barbara Muir
Erika Nelson
Vicki Ross
Carol Schiff
Bonnie Luria
Elizabeth Floyd
David Lobenberg

Painting done above was a plein air done on vacation.
Until next time, Theresa

Keeping busy.....

2008-11-12T08:35:00.008-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Gee...it's been almost a week since I posted....Life does get in the way!!! A few updates about what's going on here.
I have the living room about 95% unpacked. All that is left is hang the curtains and the wall art...finish unpacking the china and stemware...vacuum and then move in my easel and taboret. There is still a file cabinet and several boxes in the hallway that need to go upstairs into the office....and then I will have to organize that room again so I can find what I need. I hate this stuff....but always like the outcome once it is done.
I am becoming obnoxious from lack of painting........looks like a a few more days before I do anything artful. Maybe less...hopefully!!
We did however have a wonderful weekend....Last Friday we went to a reception of local artist Andy Thomas.....who has done extremely well!!! His last painting sold for $180,000...yes that's right folks....right here in little old Carthage, MO. Andy is represented by Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, TX. and Cherry's here in Carthage....she is working on a new website which we are all thrilled about. Take a look at his personal site here.
We had a lot of fun visiting with Cherry and Joe, other artists, buyers and a few of my clients were there which is always nice to see. Great food and a few glasses of wine topped it all off.
Saturday we went to Kansas to visit with Verna and Jack who own draft horses. They put together a draft horse horse pull and invite people from all over the area to bring there teams and plow. Verna was my mail lady for many years while I lived in Kansas and lives just south of where I used to live. There was a lot of great food....including Verna's famous beans and peach cobbler. It was a bitterly cold and gray day but there was a great fire and lots to see.

I have been invited to come for quite a few years and take pictures. Some of the pictures have become paintings....three of which are shown here. The two old boys are lifelong friends...since grade school. and I gave them each a print for using them as models. The original sold at a show in Dallas, Texas for $1800 it was a 16x20. The draft horses and plow are Jack's and is payment for his electrical work here at the house and a print of each will pay two doctor bills. The third is a treeline there at the pasture they plow and won best of show here locally last year and is now in the possession of one of my old students who bought it for herself for a Christmas present last winter. It is a very good place to go....and I always have a great time seeing the horses work. Jack has a new one he is training so he had three pulling the plow this year. I have seen as many as 5 pulling as one team. This was Max's first year here....and he thoroughly enjoyed it also! Some of the photos are his and the others are mine.
I also included a memory album our host for the Halloween party sent us. So have fun looking at all the pictures!!
Yesterday we went to get some paintings scanned down in Arkansas. He is new to us as my previous scanning company has transferred his business to Scott's Art and Frame. He will be doing the scanning and printing for me now.....it's a long way to go....so I will only go down there when there are about 4 or 5 pieces to scan. We treated ourselves to Vietnamese food while we were down there.....it has become a ritual to have Pho and Bun!!!
That's about it for today....until next time,
Theresa

Hope and Happiness.....

2008-11-05T09:35:00.006-06:00

Renaissance Sisters 24x30
We won!...better yet the world won!.....Ok, so now what?

A generation ago, President John F. Kennedy called on Americans to serve their country and they overwhelmingly responded. If you have not paid close attention to Barack Obamas' speeches....he has also consistently talked about a New America with the same universal and charismatic vision as Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Please read the plan (through the link above) if you have not yet and I hope we can all join together to improve this country and this world. Here are just a few of the words remembered last night from Obama's speech at Grant Park. Obama talks about bottom-up solutions to the economy, to democracy. Echoing that vision, he said last night:

"Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where we work harder and look after each other . . . In this country we rise and fall as one nation, as one people."
"The new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To all those who have wondered whether America's beacon still burns bright . .tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. ."

There are hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of people who suddenly can believe that they can do anything.....anything......and I am one of them. We have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.This is fundamental to my beliefs. All my life I have believed that party politics and in most cases organized religion separates people rather than uniting them. We have before us a man who has not used the race card, the religious card or the party card to any extreme. In the next few yearsI hope to see hands across the aisle, the borders and the oceans in unity as mankind. I have lived my life and raised my children with this belief. I believe in touching one person at a time by example and the Golden Rule. I strive continuously for excellence in my life. I am far from perfect and it hurts that I am not. I hope we can all come together as Mr. Obama stated last night.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there."

"There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. "

I ask you...How can anyone let these words fall on deaf ears. I for one am more than happy to do what ever it takes....doors knocked on or steps traveled....I hope to see this country restored to it's former level of respect and grandeur. Our standards of education raised. A country where the thought of color is not even a thought...but an appreciation for cultures and lifestyles that are simply interesting and valuable to who we are. A country where we see kindness and thoughtfulness and hard work and hope at every level from the youngest to the oldest.

I am here, in the last half of my life, to do what I can do.

Sincerely, Theresa

Voting Day and My Reasons Why........

2008-11-04T09:36:00.005-06:00

I am off to vote today......when I get back I will hopefully blog....and now I am back after a few errands and a visit to Cherry's Gallery. The lines here were nothing...I was in and out in no time!
The things and events of time and space...
the stuff that's surrounding you now,
your memory of recent events,
all simply reveal where you've been,
not where you're headed.
These words reminded me of the reason I voted for Barack Obama. I have voted since I was eligible and never missed and I am 60 now. Even when I was driving a truck I still made it in to vote or got an absentee ballot. It is the right time for this nation to have someone who is as diverse as he is. We all know his background...Kansas to Hawaii to Chicago Illinois. Father from Africa who was not a part a of his life. Midwest Grandparents. Hmmm....Not so different as mine...only in reverse and with a few more stops! I like his unflappable manner and calmness in a storm evidenced by his demeanor under attack in debates and on the stump after such devastating family news. I like someone who is not afraid to say they will find the best advisors for the job to surround him in presidency rather than thinking they already have the answers. He appears to be a real thinker and above all he knows who he is. We need someone who can represent this country without the might is right theory, someone who has the appeal to sit down with members of foreign countries and truly listen to them without immediately reacting like a Texas gunslinger. Our infrastructure has run out of steam and to think we can have an economy while sending jobs overseas is implausible. Where is everyone supposed to get the money to buy these goods if they have no disposable income except for the very few. This presidential race is historical for so many reasons...yes...including race. THAT has never been an issue for me...I married two Hawaiians and my stepfather was half African-American....many of my relations and dearest friends are Japanese, Hispanic and many other races. I marched for Civil Rights and cannot believe that in this day and age it is still a problem....yet...sadly it is. I have unfortunately heard it with my own ears. We have had Conservative Ascendancy for 30 years with only a brief break. It is certainly time for Health Care Reform....other countries and yes I do know people from other countries still have an economy that serves capitalism and national healthcare. I love this country and the people in it and think they deserve some help with everything I have mentioned. And My gosh....what is anyone thinking to use up all natural resources without something to back it up.....wind and solar are free and just waiting for us to use them. We in this country have the technology and some of the best schools but sadly our standards have fallen and we now lag behind. I could go on and on...and I am sure there are those that disagree...and that's okay too...that's why we live here.....I just wanted to express how really happy I am and have been for three years since I first heard of Barack Obama and the words that still ring in my ear till today "We just need to do the right thing". Happy that we have a candidate of his caliber to choose from. Happy that we have the chance to vote.....Happy to watch the returns no matter which way they go.....I still live in a great country.
Love, Theresa

Halloween 2008...........

2008-11-03T08:03:00.005-06:00

Well, we are finally better! Max and I have recovered from the grand kids "gift" and were able to go to the Halloween party although we didn't stay very late. The next day was a Thanksgiving dinner since some of the family would be in Alaska during Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun at the Halloween party and almost everyone dressed up. It was held at the home of artist friend Linda Simpson...lots of good stuff to eat and we had a ball handy out candy to all the trick-or-treaters. As I mentioned before Max and I went as Deadwood.....he was an 1800's bartender and I was a saloon girl. The photos are not as good as they could be.....but oh well!

Dropped off my painting at the ANA art show...but forgot to take one to SPIVA our local arts council....I think I may need a secretary..LOL! The dates are confirmed for the two solo shows I will be having next year. I guess all my paperwork is in order except for a massive mail merge address list I need to input into the computer. All the info is on my website.
I am still putting away the stuff in the living room....which also has stuff that goes in the garage and upstairs and in the kitchen. In order to put something away or move a piece of furniture....something else has to be moved and then something else and so on and so on. Combining two households is very, very different from moving into an empty house!!! I am so glad that Max is the patient sort....I tend to be...hurry up and get it all done in one day type. Thank goodness for the balance!
Aside from recovering we are both consumed with the election.....I am addicted to the electoral vote maps....and CNN..as is Max. A day does not go by when we check the poll spread and listen to the latest stumping and analyzing!!! We will be sooooooo glad when this election is over! It is obvious I will not rest until tomorrow after voting. Some of the hate mongering and smear campaigning is becoming way to much for me. Then, of course, there is waiting for the results......!
Well, thats about it for today.....I will be back soon!
Love, Theresa

Under the weather..

2008-10-28T07:53:00.008-05:00

There is cotton in my head and
Tissue clouds beside my bed...
Hazed over thinking through
Overcast eyes....
Variable high pressure head storm brings in
A rainy disposition......
Hands as damp as the Fall leaves outside
Forecast turning chilly and no longer sunny.....
Lethargic movement stalling
Atmospheric activity....
A mottled nose followed by
frost tipped digits...
Three days coming...
Three days staying...
Three days going....
This is the forecast...
I'm sick....and.......
I am sick of being sick..........

LOL!

I am making light of my condition today and doing it in an attempt to be poetic....or is it prose? I am not a poet although I would love to be able to paint with words. ( My apologies Lori and all other writers for my abysmal attempt at what you are all so good at!) But I had fun trying!
Inez is home and is becoming used to her handicap of a broken wrist. Her dance studio gave her a little party for her birthday last night and she valiantly attended before promptly going to her room to rest. Poor thing, she is annoyed and I don't blame her one bit.....I have never broken anything...and pray I never do. I have had some serious events and surgeries in my life but my hands were never afflicted. I thank God for that!
Today is her birthday....so HAPPY BIRTHDAY INEZ!!!!!
I will probably putter around the house today before going to be abused at the Women's Center in Joplin. Today I have a mammogram and bone density scan. Doesn't THAT sound like fun! Which brings me to a request I have of the ladies who read my blog.
I joined the Army of Women the minute I heard about it.....a month ago. It is a website devoted to curing breast cancer by Dr. Susan Love during her lifetime.

Excerpt from their website follows:

The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation, a global leader in breast cancer research, joined forces to launch the Love/Avon Army of Women.

Our revolutionary initiative has two key goals:

To recruit one million healthy women of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all.
To challenge the scientific community to expand its current focus to include breast cancer prevention research conducted on healthy women.

I lost my Mother to untreated breast cancer and have an Aunt who had it also....fortunately she recovered. Because of my heredity it makes me what they consider a high risk. I have had exams regularly since I was 41 and hopefully all women do this regular preventative program. I urge you to join this month as it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. You may join here.

In a strange way the painting posted today seemed apropos to what was discussed in this blog. It is painted on textured canvas. I use thick gesso and make it thicker in some areas than others. I also try to give it an interesting surface texture by using a house painters brush and jabbing at the canvas to remove some of the gesso. I will also use a knife to give an almost Spanish stucco wall appearance. It was painted last year.
Love, Theresa

When it rains it poors.....

2008-10-27T10:29:00.004-05:00

Inez, Max's daughter, came home night before last and.......my gosh....she had a broken wrist. The really sad thing besides the fact this will interfere with her work, life and just about everything..... is... she is a dancer. She has been dancing for a very long time about 20 years...it is part of her life...and she is very good. She was trained in classical ballet and dances three times a week and teaches occasionally also. I feel so bad for her. She had surgery yesterday and they reset the bone and added pins and a plate. It will be six to eight weeks before she is healed. She will be allowed to come home sometime today depending on her mobility and the doctor's schedule. Max and I cleaned her room and I washed all her clothes and making cinnamon rolls for her. She had great plans to go up to Kansas City and party with her friends.....she will still go....but obviously must be very careful. It is also her birthday on the 28th....not exactly the present she was looking for. We are all hoping for a quick an easy mend.....and that it won't interfere with her dancing.
Well Halloween is almost here and Max and I are invited to a Halloween Costume party....I think we may go as Deadwood....if you never saw the series....it is a hoot. I will let everyone guess who he and I will be. Some more suggestions would be helpful, too!
I have been looking at Eldon Warrens blog which is fabulous and very descriptive. He is showing the progress of a landscape painting he is working on. Please take a look!! He has some beautiful work.
Along the same lines I subscribe to Empty Easel and who do I find that writes there....Diane Mize...another fellow blogger and fabulous artist. She has a great article on edges....my trouble spot....and her entry is fabulous!
I plan to do the same as Warren soon......put up a progression of work. I will also put up the Profiles magazine article too. But for now....I am a little overwhelmed with duties. So all I have to offer is some work that was done a while ago. One is a plein air and the other a portrait. I sold the 8x10 plein air for $2000 at the Richard Schmid Auction and the 12x16 portrait could have been sold ten times over....but as of yet I want to keep it because it has some things in it that I like how I painted them. In particular the roses, the dress and the hand. Less is more....I am still struggling with that!
That's about it for today....off to make cinnamon rolls!
Love, Theresa

Just a little more......

2008-10-25T09:46:00.005-05:00

Ardie's Villa 11x14 sold

Here are a couple of plein air paintings both sold....I have always loved the freshness and spontaneous feel of outdoor painting. They are both from local places just a few miles from me. I wish that same freshness and the chance to paint outdoors happened more frequently. I am still a bit under the weather. Max is recuperating but still coughing.
For today's post I want to respond to a comment that Erika left me yesterday because it had some interesting things that might warrant some of your attentions. Erika is an extremely versatile artist...A stunning human being....and one of the most charming people I know.
First Cut 5x12 sold

Here is Erika's comment:
Artists clean their studios? I think I was absent when they taught that lol That is one serious easel Theresa, it means business! You guys do have a lot of work to do there, but it will all be worth it since you're doing it together and the house does seem like there is new life wanting to break out of it! I know you'll breathe it into it ;)
The kiddies are cute! Awwww the barefooted princess, does she look like your mini-me? Glad you had fun with the family and you even discovered Wii! Looks like something I'd enjoy as I loooove games especially if I can engage the husband to join me.
No worries about posting frequently as long as you promise to let me peek in once in a while. Guess this means you won't be offering a fall workshop here huh? I hope to see you here next year maybe. Welcome home!

October 24, 2008 11:23 PM

Hawaiian Shack 8x10 sold

Regarding cleaning my studio....LOL!! When I am in the middle of painting it is a mess...there are reference materials, paint, paper towels, rags and glasses....brushes piled up in thinner...and numerous bottles and tubes everywhere. We have two dogs and three cats...so there is also hair...and it is something I am always on the watch for so I don't end up with "furry" paintings. Once a painting is finished and signed...framed and hung....I have already got another one in the back of my mind. Unless I am experiencing a block or there are impositions on my time. So for me....I find that I need to tidy up my space...clean sweep (mentally and physically) to make room for the next one to grow and take on its own direction. I cannot do that with an abundance of clutter everywhere. It's just me....how I am. I need things open and clear to allow a free flow of thought. Call it Feng Shui...if you like...but it does work for me. My easel is serious...I suppose...it just feels comfortable to me and I have had it for several years....since I decided to take art serious and make it my living. It didn't cost a lot only a couple of hundred dollars....I have seen some for thousands....I don't feel the need for one of those!

THE HOUSE...I must tell you when I first met Max and later came to his house I was in shock...to put it mildly! Max was a bachelor for some time...about 8 years or so...being the very cautious Missouri sort...he wanted to pick the right one. He lived like a bachelor and it was a bit of mess. He had some girlfriends of course....but lucky me! Hehe! The house was his Grandmothers and Mothers by joint ownership. She was 21 when they bought it. She passed away at 84 about 4 years ago. Max grew up here. There was an amazing amount of "stuff" stored here....Mimi (as the grand kids called her) never threw anything away. The depression era generation was like that.... my folks and my grandparents were that way and everyone I have ever known from that generation was like that. Max and I have a tendency to carry that value on....just not to the extremes of saving string, tinfoil, bottles and other items...unless they have historical, sentimental, antique or homemade value. We have a fantastic assortment of advertising art from his Dads store and Max's job. Lots of homemade quilts and crocheted rugs....hooked rugs and old oak furniture. Silver, crystal and fine china from my side. I have collected antiques since I was quite young so all of the furniture works well with the house. Several old trunks are used as end tables in the TV room. The parlor is more formal and I am still working on unpacking that. Yes, new life is being breathed into this house. I have redone several old homes in my life....and believe I have one more left in me.....and yes we are doing it together....it does make a difference!

Yes, Erika, my granddaughter Terinna, the barefoot princess from yesterdays post....is a mini me.....she loves to draw and color....and while working on a picture one time....she donned a pair of play glasses and came up to her Mom with a drawing in hand and told her "Look, Mommy, I'm Grandma Honey"! My heart just soared when I was told that story. Another time my daughter told me she looks just like me when I was very young. My daughter named her after both of us and the fact that Larry always loved the nickname Terry. Terinna is a combination of Terry short for Theresa and my daughters' name Anna. While I was growing up I was called Terry.....than as an adult I liked my full name better. My family and some very, very old friends still call me Terry till today.
I have not given up on holding another workshop....but I will have to see how it goes here. I believe I may have overextended myself this coming year.....but I always love a challenge!
Love, Theresa

Play and Work....And More to Come....

2008-10-24T08:05:00.012-05:00

I am back from a wonderful visit to Arizona! I was so happy to see my daughter, son-in-law, grand kids and old friend Jacquie! We all had a wonderful time together and I was sad in many ways to have to leave. We spent a lot of time just visiting...which is just fine by me. The grand kids got sick while Max and I were there and recovered shortly before we left. Nevertheless there was much time to play and run around with them.
We celebrated Anna's birthday and her and Larry's anniversary while we were there. I must mention this before I continue my children were raised with very little TV. We played a lot of games and puzzles and reading and running a homestead where I grew all my own food there were many chores that they all took part in. Soooo.... to celebrate Anna's birthday we ordered Olive Garden ( I didn't have to cook a lick....yeah! Even though I thought I might) and played games all day and most of the next...with a few drinks after the kids were in bed. This was the best way she said to celebrate her birthday....!

Well I am here to tell you....I have discovered Wii...! OMG...this is too much fun and what a workout when you really play at it. It appears I and my granddaughter Terinna and grandson Ryan are quite the champs at boxing, knocking everyone out including Max! I am also a super star at sitting down and bowling...which thoroughly put everyone in a tizzy as to how that was even possible. In all fairness...I absolutely suck at Baseball and lag sadly behind everyone in Tennis and standing Bowling....and Golfing....well, I didn't even try to embarrass myself. This game is a great workout and we were all sore. Jacquie came over and spent the afternoon/evening playing too and she is also sold! We all used muscles we didn't even know we had.

If you don't know the game you must create a character that looks like you (or not...your choice). Here is where Max really shines. His art degree came into play but he was also sorely surprised. He had what was an excellent version of himself...and everyone was amazed at how quickly he put it together. The sad surprise came when Larry said...Hey Max you really don't have brown hair....in shock and dismay he changed it to gray.....I must say that wasn't really accurate either. He said they did not have a mousy brown selection to choose from! In all fairness Tennis and Baseball are definitely his games which he did really well at!!!
Anna got helium filled Birthday balloons from Terinna and Ryen which they quickly reclaimed and they each pinned them to me and we played for quite awhile that Grandma Honey was floating away.

First an arm then a leg then all of me! Ryen had the brilliant idea to pile pillows on me that he said were rocks so I wouldn't float up to the ceiling. As a matter of fact I had him so convinced I was floating away that he piled pillows on himself before falling asleep on the couch while his balloon was clipped to his shirt!!!

We did go out the first night...and my daughter and I were like two girlfriends out on the town. First to the Yardhouse for dinner and Anna convincing me I had to try a Strawberry Martini. I did. They tasted like lemonade.....hmmmm good. So we had two more with dinner. Max and Larry looked on hoping we wouldn't hurt ourselves in the haunted house.....which did not compare to those we have up in Kansas City which are excellent and have been in business since 1975 and the other since 1991. I vaguely remember going up to the musician(after being goaded by Max, Larry and Anna) at one place and requesting Just Like Greta by Van Morrison and the piano player biting his finger after I gave him a peck on the cheek. I was told later that was a good thing, a sign of approval as it were. I was also told I had about 8 martinis. Thank goodness I don't do that very often but needless to say we had a blast!

So here we are a week later and after to starting to unpack the living room Max and I have gotten whatever the kids had....not serious but bad enough to feel like not doing a whole lot. I am still making headway in the last room to unpack and redistribute items around the house.
As I mentioned before this house was probably built in the very late 1800's....and it still has wallpaper from that date up till the '40s and is complete with carriage stoop in the front bearing the name Platt. The name is a very big name here in Carthage...Leggett and Platt patented the first single cone bedspring which is still being made till today in some fashion. The home is covered inside with warm woodwork even in the bathrooms and it had two stained glass windows, two living rooms or parlors and a beautiful stairway and banister. It originally had gas lamps and one room has absolutely no outlets and the others have very few. I have traded a painting to a friend to have the wiring done. They raise draft horses and have a draft horse plowing every year. The painting is of their horses and they have always wanted it but never really could afford it. It is by the way an older piece...done about 4 years ago. See every painting finds a home!!! Jack is an electrician and his wife and my friend Verna was my mail lady for years when I lived in Kansas.
There are several pictures of where I live...the house has huge potential. Yes, it is a lot of work...and it is old, dusty and in need of repair.....but for me there is something about the charm and craftsmanship that one cannot find in a new home. I have cut back on dusting..ha ha! By the pictures you can see that wallpaper has started to be removed. There are boxes from the living room in the hallway and many things need to be rearranged and/or removed. The house is filled with memories. Max's toys are still here and you can see them in the pictures if you look closely. There are brown jugs of buttons from his Mom..and the original TV set they owned serves as our dry bar. The paintings are mine that I choose not to sell or have just not sold yet....( I believe there is an owner for every painting I do.....it just takes time to find that person and connect them with their painting). Note the Communist Party Poster for the election of 1932 I believe. No, we are not Communists i is just a unique piece of history. The plants are also mine as I have always had a huge love of gardening. The sculpture on the table is a gift from Jeff Legg an artist friend of mine who is fabulous and is also a wonderful person whom we visited with this past summer. The furniture is a combination of mine and Max's...we both seem to enjoy antiques. Between the two of us we could start a library.....and we have gleaned out many of the books we once owned. There is still wiring to be done....some more insulation....and plaster and drywall work...ugh....not my favorite! Some windows have been reworked and glazed but there are more. There is a slight remodel in the kitchen which will involve large slabs of marble that Max acquired some time ago. It will take some time to finish the house between painting and everything else. That is okay....although I do get a little impatient and want it all done now!!....but I am here on earth to learn from life and enjoy my stay while I am here....and that is exactly what I am doing!! Excuse me if I don't post everyday....in fact they may become shorter for a while in the future. It will depend on how much work is involved here. I hope you enjoy a peek into my life...I have also included a picture of my studio. Cluttered and messy! Which I clean up only to mess it up all over again!
Okay enough blabbing for today..time to get busy!!
More to come...so stay tuned!
Love, Theresa

Frequent Flyer.......

2008-10-09T08:04:00.006-05:00

Catching up to speed is sometimes a real challenge. I think I need to reorganize my time or at least make it more efficient. I must say I have been pretty consumed with politics and the news of late. I also believe I would be better off not indulging in so much of it. But, alas, this is a historical and unprecedented event or events in our history and just as I was in the 60's....I am very much a part of it today, wanting to know every little detail, poll, upswing and downturn. I am not going to politicize this blog...but I do have very strong feelings for one candidate and am hoping that everyone takes it upon themselves to truly look at the facts and search out all the info and please, please vote. Enough said an now back to my little microcosm!
Max's birthday was a great success! All of the kids were there for dinner except for Wyatt (who lives in Houston but did call and gave his rendition of "Happy Birthday" over the phone to his Dad)!
Dinah his oldest was there and we had a great visit. Inez his second oldest was also there and we always have a great time! Obviously from my last blog there was plenty of food to go around and everyone thoroughly loved it...I sent some food and cake to the kids grandparents and a piece of cake to the mother of one of Max's oldest friends to enjoy....and we still had leftovers!
When Max read my blog...which he does every time I post...he discovered the painting was his birthday present. He cried and I was touched by this man's obvious heartfelt emotion. Men don't cry right? Phooey...they do and it means the world to me to see how much he was touched.
So today my friends I will be packing and taking care of a few loose ends. We will be leaving first thing in the morning for our flight out of Tulsa to Phoenix. I am looking forward to our little family visit.
I believe this will be our last trip for awhile. I have two one woman shows next year and two galleries to keep filled. That means I need to settle in for the winter and paint all of the ideas I have in my head. I am very excited about many of them and some need to sit on the backburner and stew for awhile until all the flavors come together.
Today's painting is something from another visit to Arizona ( I am generally out there 4 or 5 times a year). There is a lovely little bistro in Scottsdale....or was it Chandler?.....Darn! I can't remember but this was my take on it! It was an award winner and is also sold. It is in the possession of one of the Board Members at SPIVA Center For The Arts......our local Arts Center here in Joplin, Mo.
I will be gone for about 5 days and I am not sure if I will be posting....guess I will have to wait and see!
Love, Theresa

Bunches of Birthdays and a Trip to Arizona!

2008-10-04T18:21:00.010-05:00

Tomorrow, Sunday the 5th of October, is Max's Birthday. So, today I have been cooking and will be doing the same tomorrow morning. Because I have been on a diet for the past week and a half...I am beginning to crave some comfort food...which for me is Italian food! I have lost 5 1/2 lbs. I have about 10 to go and I will be happy (difficult for me being of Italian descent! Sweet Max thinks I am just fine.....and truthfully if I loose to much I do look a little sickly. I am making crusty Italian bread, a delicious herb/olive oil dipping sauce for the bread, Ravioli with ricotta/spinach filling, Pesto, an antipasto salad and a chocolate cake to die for! One day splurge and back to the eating plan. I was also requested to make cinnamon rolls...good grief! As I have gotten older and the kids are all grown I don't bake very often...fortunately for me.... but it is a special occasion so I will...lovingly. The spinach, pasta and ricotta, basil for the pesto, herbs for the dipping sauce and tomato's and pepper for the salad are all home grown minus chemicals. The flavors are so much better in homegrown foods! The large painting I started a while back is my gift to Max. I have called "Drunken Poets Dream" It is a song by Hayes Carll that we both like...If you look up the words they are a little wild...not to imply that we are! I am not sure what the kids are getting him....but I am sure it will be well thought out and with love....even if it is just phone call. So we will be making merry and having a few drinks this Sunday.
On the same subject of birthdays my dear friend Jacquie who lives in Arizona has her birthday tomorrow also. The painting "Bottom of the Glass" is of her and is in her possession. It was done a few years ago. Packing will begin sometime next week.
On the art front....I am having a few paintings reframed to send to Kansas City. Cherry the owner of the gallery I am in is doing the framing and does a beautiful job! I completely trust her judgment. I have been accepted into a show put on by the Artists of Northwest Arkansas. There are 11 states that enter the show and there has been some very stiff competition not to mention a ton of entries! I expect the competition to be even stiffer this year. My painting "The Golden Hour" was picked for exhibition. In the past I have won Second Place there twice and Best Oil Painting once. Maybe one day I will win Best of Show and then I won't have to enter anymore! I was also advised that the Thomas Hart Benton Show at Crowder College, which I received Best of Show two years running, has decided that if I enter and win Best of Show again they will make an award in my name and give me signature status. I can't tell you how honored I am or how lucky and grateful I am.
Here around the house we have been picking up walnuts and pecans for cracking...ugh! A nice but tedious chore to do by the fire in the evenings while watching TV or listening to music. So far there 8 sacks full. We have been harvesting and cleaning up the yard to ready it for winter. Still have a ways to go but it is looking better all the time. I still need to unpack one room since I moved in here in June. I have been busy with so many things but the holidays are coming and we intend to have party here at the house so it would probably be a good idea to finish the living room...which we have two of in this old Victorian.
That's about it for now, the bread is calling me, there is still much more to say but it will have to wait!!!

As Luck Would Have It....

2008-09-29T07:52:00.000-05:00

Gladys's Quiet Determination 22x22 sold
I have been away for a while....catching up on some business, house chores and a little visiting. Not to mention working on the huge painting which is just about done! The gallery in Kansas City wants six of my paintings and three of my photographs. To get everything ready for them entailed going back over some frames to address any issues they might have, replacing a liner and a completely new frame for two of the paintings. The photographs need to be printed and matted and then framed....that is still on hold to see if the raw image has enough megabytes for printing. There was also an issue as to whether two of the paintings could go or not.
During the Midwest Gathering two years ago I had a painting of an older lady in her garden. The woman I chose to paint was like a Mother to me and welcomed me and included me in every family celebration and holiday. Her name was Gladys Murray. She was the strongest woman I have ever met...not only physically but emotionally as well. She wrecked buildings for a living with her son and some hired men through a company she and her husband built. They built their home with mostly salvaged materials that still stands today is still a beautiful home on 40+ acres. She cooked for a large and extended family including hired hands regularly. She watched two children, a husband and grandson die. She always had a welcome mat, hug and cup of coffee out for anyone. She taught me many things about life and I still use her guidelines until today. I could say so much more about this amazing woman but there is not enough room tell all of the stories we shared.....She was 76 years old when she passed away. I was with her every moment of the 36 days she had to live once diagnosed with cancer. It was painful but well worth it. I had done the same with my natural mother whom I took care of until the end. I wrote a poem for her about having two mothers...one by birth and one by choice...and put it in her pocket when she was buried in her favorite pink suit. I may show it to you one day. She made the flower arrangements for her own funeral. I was and am proud to have been her friend and daughter by choice and I miss her every day. I did this painting of her and called it Gladys's Quiet Determination because of how she always appeared to me. The lady who saw it is Max's sisters best friend.....she came to the house a few months ago and expressed how that painting affected her and how much she would like to have it. I told her then as I had for some time to other people that selling the painting was not very important to me but if she wanted it I would let her buy it because of how it struck her emotionally. In other words the painting would have a loving home and appreciated for the spirit it was painted in. You can see that I get attached to certain ones for emotional reasons. She said she really loved it and that the message that came through really identified with her...I let her know the painting was hers when she decided to purchase it. Well as luck or fate would have it, this was one of the paintings that the gallery wanted.....and I had already told this woman that it wasn't going anywhere. I talked to Max's' sister about this complication and when these two friends went out to dinner this past Friday they discussed it and called me. She bought the painting that evening and I am very happy it is with someone that truly appreciates it!
The second painting that had a complication is entered in a competition and will be on exhibition for awhile before it can be delivered. Not a huge problem but I am hoping to win a prize on it. I also received an email this morning from someone who had seen a painting of mine at an art fair in Pineville last year...the painting is called "Of Saints and Sinners" and she expressed interest in it. If you have a website make sure they are up to date and list all pertinent information including how to get a hold of you!!! I have had great success with my website but I have also done a lot of work through art fairs, shows, auctions and exhibitions to get my name out there. I am still working hard at this part that many artists hate....me included!!
The Profiles magazine article came out and it is wonderful....makes me sound like I know what I am talking about!! More about that next time.
The big painting is close to being done and will also be posted at a later date....I already have ideas for a new one and am anxious to start on it.
So that is the brief update and I wish everyone of you reading a happy and creative week!
Love, Theresa
Of Saints and Sinners 20x30 oil

Back To The Vacation...Day Three

2008-09-25T07:34:00.001-05:00

Well it's been awhile since I talked about our vacation. Everyone knows how life can just get in the way sometimes...not always a bad thing either! As you can see from the last post, I started an extremely large painting....50x40! Many people were amazed at how fast I "finished" it....sorry darlings....I am NOT finished! On closer inspection you can see that the hands are not done, the sheets need to be finished in one or two areas, some thin glazing here and there and the dogs finished off a bit....just a bit though. I like the semi-unfinished work...to me it leaves an immediacy and spontaneity that a completely covered canvas does not have....unless it is a small piece done in one sitting. Upon looking closely at many paintings from some of the current and past masters that I thoroughly(seen in the list to the right) enjoy one can see transparent shadows, thin glazes and dry brushing that allow the canvas to show through. Then there are levels of thicker paint juxtaposed with the thin and medium layers that are so expressive I can hardly stand to look at the magnificent brushwork and color without weeping. Sargent, Zorn, and Schmid were and are masters at this as well as the names listed to the right. So to sum it up the painting is close to finished but for me now comes the hard part. I must think long and hard how the next stroke will add or detract from the painting...is the temperature and value reading correctly.....is it the right shape and where does it begin and where does it end. I have gotten past some of these issues....but, dang it, so much of it eludes me. All I can say to myself is this...more miles on the brush...paint what you see and not what you know.....and keep experimenting....you can always wipe it off until you get it right. I do a lot of that sometimes. When I was still teaching one thing I often said was....Paint the picture in your head first....that is why the first three days went so fast on such a large painting....but alas I neglected painting some of the details....so physician heal thyself...! A final word on showing this painting..I have full consent of Max to show this image...we view it as a good painting with a good composition and it means something special to both of us...irregardless of who it is I paint. It was not meant to attract viewers or bloggers...I have plenty of work to post that is better than this one or worse. I just want to make things clear in case some are put off by subject matter and this is NOT directed at anyone. Okay? 'Nough said...:)
Second day of our vacation! When we awoke I immediately started thinking...the party for the Schmid Auction was tonight I kept thinking what would it be like? Who would we meet? We drove up two Fort Collins where we had our reservations....checked in and got ready for the party....Bellevue is about 45 Minutes away. We were there early enough that we decided to drive up there and make sure we found the place. That was definitely the smart think to do!!
Stove Prairie Ranch is and astounding citadel of Morgan horses and cattle nestled in the Rocky Mountains, Rist Valley . You have to see this astonshing land to appreciate it! The ranch is huge and anyone can drive through it as long as they stay on the road. Several other ranches and homes are built on this prairie...all of them charming! We drove up the Rist Canyon road and stopped to take pictures of the Old Flowers house and the Bellevue store. Once past the Auction site we started to wonder if we were lost....I looked at our print out of the directions and it said to keep going until Old Flowers Road. Onward! We drove through the beautiful rockies and remembered that distinct light and air from my years in Utah....I thought how much I missed it and the simple living off the land life I had while I lived there. Then I remembered the work....the milking ....the feeding.....the tilling and toiling....the butchering...and all of the 1oo's of daily chores that consumed my life before painting seriously. Naw!!...I don't miss it that much!!! I am quite happy where I am in my life right this very moment....it is the right place at the right time!
We reached th top of what seemed to be a hill and over and down we went...12% grade....from my truckdriving days I remembered that this was not your average 6% to 7%( although I have seen 17%).....and I could see it was long way down.....I can't imagine it with snowpack and/or ice! Down we went at the bottom of the hill was Old Flowers Road....we drove through this stately an well planned ranch and were completely amazed at the size of it. There were many barns and out buildings....horse shelters....what seemed to be two guest homes...many more buildings....a huge covered arena with patio where they were setting things up for the party that night...and capping it all off an amazingly large house sitting up on a hill looking over the estate...everything made from wood and natural rock...stunning!!! I took many pictures some are on the slide show at the top of this page.
It was finally time to attend the party. We drove up to the first stop where my name was checked on the guest list and then we were waved ahead when it was okay. The there was a second stop...where my name was checked once again....very secure...gate crashers beware! On up to an open prairie where we were assigned parking. On to the party. We came up to a huge covered arena and walked through massive wooden carved doorway......Wow!! We were greeted by a third group checking invitations and I was given an artist name tag and Max was given a guest tag. Horse stables lined each side of the center walkway....a charming tack room, off to one side, decorated in Mission style oak and Arts and Crafts accessories. It was immaculate, the horses were gorgeous and by there friendliness and contentment one could see they were handled often and well. After visiting with the horses (which everyone did! How could anyone resist?) we came into the arena. Huge wooden beams were decorated with tiny white icicle lights....The fine sand was wetted and tamped down for the party...tables were arranged and decorated beautifully through the entire center and the whole seating area was roped off. A bar was set up in two opposing corners and the some of the food and barbeque where set up outside. We stopped and got a cocktail for me and a beer for Max and wandered out to the patio (name tag in place) where the quests were mingling. We didn't know anyone there personally but as the evening went on many interesting people came up to us and we visited and chatted amiably including Richard himself who asked me to find his "lovely wife Nancy"and send her over to him. Mr. Schmid is not only a genius of an artist but is equally well versed in many subjects...is always learning something new and a true gentleman and loving husband with a very wry sense of humor. I have very high regard for him not just as an artist but as a human being.
We were called to dinner and filled our plates and found a table. The guests greeted us and we began a wonderful conversation. Max struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to him...Tom Sutherland. Now this is amazing....he turned out to be THE Tom Sutherland who was kidnapped and held hostage in Beirut for 2354 days. We met his wife who was equally charming! Everyone at the table was gregarious and we all had a wonderful time with great food. We were called to attention that the ceremonies and introductions were to begin...and also that a special event was planned for us. Thanks were given to all who planned, participated and attended the event. Wes Rutt who pretty much is the glue of the auction was introduced. He is a great guy and remembers every artist at the auction. He works very hard to make sure the event comes off well.
After the introductions we were told that we were going to be shown there top pick horses and new colt....which is why the seating area was roped off. They stunning animals were turned out and put through there paces around the ring by their trainer Kathy! I have had a little experience with horses and these were beauties with perfectly arched necks and real high steppers....certainly to be reckoned with in the championships the owner planned to enter. We visited some more got a bite of dessert and decided it was time to go home. Big day tomorrow and we were both tired but very happy.
I will end now as I sometimes I spend a long time writing too many words. I need to get back to work and Max has taken on the job of repairing and painting the window sills and trim of this 100 and something year old home. You know he always thinks he may not get these repairs right...but he always takes his time and thinks things through before making a move....something I admire as I am rather impulsive often to my detriment! Just another reason we are good for each other.
Until tomorrow, Theresa

Filled Up and Overflowing.....

2008-09-23T10:26:00.001-05:00

I"m baaaack! I have missed a week of blogging...My brain has hatched several new ideas....Gone through the photos of our vacation....and I have had my entire mind consumed with my new painting (yes, Lori you hit the nail on the head)
To clean up some old issues I received the Brilliante Weblog Award one more time....and I will use fellow blogger David Lobenbergs' style of delivering this award. I am suppose to pass this award onto 5 other blogs that I highly admire (and I know that this award is suppose to circulate), but I humbly submit my "Fav. Links" on the right...more than 5 for sure, but they are all fantastic, and I just can't bring myself to edit. Sorry. Straight from the horses mouth!
The painting I started three days ago took a day of thought to paint it in my head first. When I had the image secured in my head I sketched it out on a 50x40 canvas. THE biggest canvas ever, to date, that I have painted on! The painting is from a photo Max took of me around my 60th birthday and it turned out so well I just had to paint it. It is not for sale unless, of course, you have around $30,000....lol!
In the first picture is the sketch and a wash of transparent oxide red with a touch of ultramarine blue to cool it down some. I work from dark to light blocking in the shadows first then the middle values. Highlights are wiped out of the paint with thinner. The next image is the work I did on the second day....mostly the bedclothes and trying to keep the shapes simple and the shadows thin. The third day I started the body and added more washes to the background. Worked on the sheets a little more and just about finished Okra Winfrey one of our cats.
This is a quick blog....there should be some new slide shows on here also.
Back to painting,
Theresa

"As a man thinketh, so is he" - Proverbs 23:7

2008-09-16T08:43:00.000-05:00

Okay...I wasn't back Monday...but better late than never as they say! It has been one heck of a weekend. Attending The Midwest Gathering For Artists is always fun, profitable and tiring in a good way! The event kicked off with midday meeting and drawing for numbers. The numbers represent the order in which the artists work is auctioned off....I picked number 24...ugh...way down the line among 31 pieces! That means, for me, lots of anticipation until my turn. I have related to you how these events are for me and Friday was no different! We then had a brief meeting and introduction of new and returning artists. Well, Lo and Behold I could not believe my eyes! My old teacher, Barbara Courtney, was among the returning artists. There was a last minute cancellation and they called her up. I was so very happy to see her there!! She is a great artist, mentor, teacher and art Mom and is extremely deserving of all this ! She is the one who set me on the right path when I started painting 7 years ago and I owe her much. Most of all, I am in debt for her great confidence in what I was capable of doing in the art world. I hope I never prove her wrong! I will always look forward to growing and do not believe that I will ever "arrive"....which I believe is death to the artists soul, creativity and continued growth towards excellence. After much hugs and kisses since many of these artists I only get to see once a year because of their living distances we adjourned and had a wonderful lunch, set up our auction pieces( one for the first auction and one for the second) chose the artist that we thought was the best and went home to prepare for the evening.
I went home and did the rest of my painting tags and took a brief nap! I had bought a lovely creamy beige confection of embroidered lace and ties and ribbons....very girlie and when I saw it I had to have it....Max said buy it you are worth it! I don't ask for much...but I do like a new piece of clothing every once in a while. Most of the money goes into the house except for the occasional book...I should say books!...art supplies and frames!
We arrived on time to a huge crowd...always good to see...a beautiful arrangement of hors d'oeuvres and wine ( provided by Max's cousins husband Jim)...all of which we enjoyed as we greeted buyers, friends, artists and clients. We sat with Cherry and her squeeze Joe...and had an absolute blast!! Cherry is the owner of Cherry's Gallery and sure knows her stuff! She has great eye for art and a real business head besides being a real sweetheart....Joe is a hoot and he and Max talked about cooking up some fish boil confection that actually sounds delicious. We watched as once piece after another was auctioned off some with great success dollar wise others with not so much success...nerve wracking!! My turn...I started to get very tense that my piece would go for a pittance like some of the others at $300 to $600.....friends to the rescue....Max, Cherry and Joe soothed my nerves.
Now...here is the crazy thing! I have been reading a book Called "The Secret" ....it contains a belief system that I have always practiced or at least tried to. Others have written about it and you have all heard of it. The first time I read this concept was in...yes...the Bible....the second time was a little book by James Allen which is a free online book...at least it was. I have tried off and on to keep this thinking in my mind....but not always successfully. This type of thinking is to positively create images of whatever in your life you want to happen. When I started this thinking on a stronger level...... I was given a house to live in when I suddenly found I didn't have one anymore (another amazing story)...Max came into my life (which is a tale in itself and WILL be recounted at one point!) Then I kind of relaxed and went into a lax posture concerning art concentrating mostly on this house and moving. A few months ago I started the thinking again and have been applying it to my self confidence and my art.
I am here to tell you.....this works!!!! I now have a much better self image and art....well it has taken off like the proverbial gangbusters!!I sold a small piece for starters. Then I sold two pieces to my local hospital for a highly respectable sum. The Richard Schmid Auction netted me exactly what I wanted and a personal introduction by Richard himself(it seems he only introduces the artists with paintings he likes). I received a cold call from a new gallery in Kansas City that would like to represent me. I pay my doctor with prints for services and had some framing done for the same. We are having electrical work done in our old house for a painting (it was once gas lights and rather difficult to rewire) I have been asked to judge a show for this weekend. A newspaper item in the Joplin Globe and 4 State Arts( they wanted to use 3 of my pieces as the pictures for the MGA ad), a Profiles Magazine article and a Carthage Press ad. The MGA first auction piece went for the price I asked the second piece which was a print went for decent amount. I sold a small painting and some cards during the weekend and got home to find a confirmation letter from the gallery in Kansas City! I will be hanging with the likes of Pino and Dan Gerhartz!!! It DOES NOT get any better than that!!! I can hardly believe it!! I can only hope and pray and positively think..:) that one day I will achieve their artistic level. I also received an invitation to paint outdoors with Todd Williams another fantastic artist!
Now, if you have not explored this type of thinking I urge you to start and watch the changes in your life!
Here is a female singer (for you Lori) that has a beautiful sound, her name is Pieta Brown and she is one of my favorites to paint by. Here are a few more...Cat Power, Lucinda Williams, The Felice Brothers, The Avett Brothers, The Be Good Tanyas and just about all Classical(great for improving your intelligence ratio, creativity and imaging.
See you tomorrow...hopefully with a slide show! I am judging a show tonight and giving the awards on Saturday.
Thinking Positively, Theresa

Exhibition Day

2008-09-12T07:57:00.000-05:00

Wow!!! Once again!!
I won't be able to blog much over the weekend...mostly just keep everyone posted on what is going on with the show....this looks to be the last big show for this year. Then I must start on my one woman exhibit for Spring. The next two days I will be sitting with my work and attending the evening auction tonight. Up at 6 tomorrow and setup and stay with my work until 6 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. It is going to rain....arrrgh....we are also keeping a close eye on the major storm Hurricane Ike. Max's son, Wyatt, lives in Houston and we are terribly concerned....but as of last night they were headed for higher ground. I sincerely pray that no one is harmed.
I have to give a great big thank you to Barbara Muir of Toronto, Canada for awarding me the Brilliante Weblog award....now I can nominate more artists that inspire me!! Barbara is real gem with a joyful and sincere spirit and great blogger.....the girl can paint and write....and teach and do it all with a broken ankle! Inspiring!!!
The chiropractor worked his magic yesterday. No pain in my shoulder and my neck....unbelievable! The numbness that I have had in my left hand is practically gone. It has been there for over two years....and to have start feeling normal is a treat! Evidently what I have happens to people who use their hands a lot. I left him two tickets for the MGA tonight...we hope he attends. Speaking of which! As you may know Max was a salesman for many years....something I rather suck at. He had the brilliant idea to drop off two free tickets to the owners of the house I painted. He said to include a picture of the painting. So being the obedient sort that I am ( Big laugh inserted here~!!) I followed said instructions with much trepidation. Well, lo and behold guess who called last night!! Yes, the owners of the home wanting to know how to procure a print. After discussing how the auction works and that they may have a chance to own the original...they decided to try and attend. A previous engagement was already in the future for them but they thought they might be able to make it. I really wanted them to see the piece in person....I don't think paintings do well over the internet at all...you can't see the texture or how the light works with oils. I am not concerned about them buying it...but it would be nice for the owners to have it. They love the photo of the painting and have it up as their screen saver....with Christmas lights because that is the only way they figure they will ever see it with lights....it is a very big house!!!! So once again Max has proven to me to be a genius!!
I will put a few more pieces that will be in the exhibit up here.
Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend. I will continue with the vacation, passing out the Weblog awards and updates of the auction on Monday. If I don't reply quickly or note everyone's new work please excuse me.....I will be back on Monday!
Love to all, Theresa

Day two!!

2008-09-11T09:15:00.000-05:00

As we awoke Friday morning, the anticipation of the Schmid Auction loomed ever closer. It was coming at me like a big train...not knowing if I was going to jump out of the way in time or

be completely run over by my ever building anxiety. I cannot explain why I get such an overwhelming resistance to social functions but I do know I would rather be painting or spending time with my family and friends. Well, I do know the reason....and it has something to do with that big house (Back further in the blog) I lived in while growing up. We had a lot of parties and there were very often Hollywood luminaries, political and social stars and plain old good folk and family! But unfortunately there was also a lot of phoniness and snobbery and way too much accent on what one has or how one looks. Please don't get me wrong...there were many advantages, happy times, love and I had an excellent education in a private school and because of that I can, if needed, socialize with every level of personality. It does seem like such a long time ago and I am not even the same person or in similar situations. I am a very simple person in a lot of ways. I like honesty, faithfulness, kindness, genuineness and good laughs. That is why I live here in the Ozarks and not where I grew up. But I do digress....I was told their was another mystery about me because of that big house....and I wanted to give the delightful blogger a little more information. There is a lot more, some good, some bad and I have been told often I should write a book.....I just never thought anyone would be interested in my life or views. Soooooo........
We hit the road and drove to Manitou Springs where Max had made reservations for us. We arrived at one of the most adorable and hospitable motels I have ever seen. This place was charming and the Europeans who ran it equally delightful! It was styled in the 1950's when much car vacationing was going on....remember those trips to National Parks or Grandmas' and Grandpas'? I do...Are we there yet??? It had THE most comfortable bed I have ever slept on in a motel. Warm honey 100% knotty pine paneled the rooms. The doors had a hand hewn look and the numbers to each apartment were carved in a wood plaque and hung above the door. Great flagstone slabs made up the stairs and walkways and reminded me of the old fashioned swimming pools from my childhood home. The bathroom was completely new but older styled fixtures had been chosen to compliment the decor. And there were flowers EVERYWHERE!! Tucked in here and there among the rocks that lined the river flowing behind the building, large planters of them set out among the BBQs and umbrellaed tables for guests and box planters built out of that same flagstone that lined the entire front of the motel. We delivered our bags and went out to drive around. We visited the Garden of the Gods, where we saw a couple of rock climbers, man and woman...the woman was stuck and hollering to the man on top but he told her he done a harder one yesterday and that this was really pretty easy. There were a few tense moments while watched hoping she didn't fall...we had sweaty palms watching this. She seemed to maneuver herself out of the trouble spot..but I was glad I didn't know him! Miramont Castle which was built by a wealthy priest(wealthy priest?) and stopped and had dinner at The Stagecoach Inn which was an old stage stop and where a woman writer spent her summers years ago penning novels . As we sat over dinner which we ate outside by what I thought was the same river we saw at the motel, Max told me he picked that motel because he knew I liked old things. He could not have done a better job and interestingly enough said motel was built in the year of my birth...1948!!! Everything was about what I wanted to do....and I felt very fortunate indeed to know him. That was our second day....Richard Schmid tomorrow...the auction....yikes! I slept well and really did not want to leave this place...some towns just feel really comfortable and the Park Row Lodge was for sale! Hmmmm.....! No, I didn't buy it....but we had a little fantasy of it for awhile.
Enjoy the links and the photos, which are mine. I am building a slide show for you to view but here are few photos to get you started. Today is going to be a little hectic. The Midwest Gathering is tomorrow and I need to get some bios and business cards printed plus I have a chiropractor appointment and a hairdresser appointment. Max picked up my prints yesterday and as always Webb City Digita l has done a magnificent job! They look stunning if I do say so myself! Until tomorrow, Theresa

The First Day

2008-09-10T06:51:00.000-05:00

My version of "Repose" by J.S. Sargent 24x30

I will recount our trip day by day...as if it were today. I hope I don't forget anything....probably will....but that's par for the course anymore! I suffer from art brain most days!
We left after much planning and packing on Thursday morning. Max had made reservations in the various places we would stay including the campground. I have spent a lot of years living alone or with someone not adept at many of life's tasks....so you cannot believe what a vacation it is to have someone that handles all the bills, plans the trips, does house work if needed, cooks if needed, is a brilliant conversationalist, funnier than heck, has a degree in art, does my canvases and frames my paintings...and hundreds of little things that just plain satisfy without going into too much more detail. As I am given to do! Before you start thinking Max is perfect....stop right there! He is not perfect....either am I (darn!)....but he is perfect for me! We repacked our clothes twice after he saw he had more than I...he was in the clothing business (Oshkosh, Big Smith and Key before he retired) so it was inevitable he would have to many clothes and I am a clotheshorse so always have more than I need. Finally we were packed and off we went.
The first day we went to Oklahoma City to see The Prix De West at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. This is a show I make a point of going to. For many years when I studied with Barbara Courtney she got the class together so we could see paintings up close and personal. When I started teaching class I encouraged the students to copy masters...I myself have painted John Singer Sargent twice (my version shown here) and also a Kevin Macpherson. Nothing is more inspiring than to see a good painting up close...and nothing is more educational, aside from actual painting, than viewing good art. A caveat must be injected here...many of the pieces are Western Art and some are very tight....beautifully executed...but not what I love. So I will mention the paintings that stuck with me...they are loose and juicy.....lots of paint with expert draftsmanship and design. I am not overly concerned with content but more the subtle expression and nuances of the brush and color....something that can only be seen viewing a painting in person! Some of the names you may know some not....but it is well worth looking at the online catalog and seeing what you like.
Here is a list of the artists in the show that incorporate most everything I admire!

Cyrus Afsary (brushwork,edges)
John Encinias (everything)
John Moyers (everything)
Matt Smith (everything)
Bill Anton (brushwork, underpainting)
Charles Fritz (everything)
Terry Kelly Moyers ( brushwork, color)
Craig Tennant (design, composition)
Harley Brown ( brushwork, color)
Daniel Gerhartz (everything)
Sherry McGraw (everything)
Tom Browning (edges)
William Kalwick (color, brushwork)
Thomas Quinn (design, texture)
Len Chmiel (design, color)
David Leffel (composition, color)
Jason Rich (brushwork)
Pino Dangelico (everything)
My version of "Lily, Lily, Carnation, Rose" Jim Morgan (everything)
by J.S. Sargent 32x38 R. S. Riddick (color, composition)
Jeffery Watts ( everything)
Morgan Weistling (color, composition, brushwork)
We thoroughly enjoyed the show...even though some of the pieces were not to our liking. We had a wonderful lunch in the museum's cafe. I had to go back and take a look at the permanent collection which has so much amazing work it would be impossible to mention here...but Remington, Wyeth and many of the great illustrators from the turn of the century are represented. They also have well represented Nicolai Fechin Exhibit, which of course I had to see once more...you cannot believe the exotic beauty of his brushwork until you see it in person!
We had a great time and laughed heartily, joked often and flirted coyly. We finally got our fill and I had to take a quick look through the gift/book store. Lots of great books, a new Pino, a Fechin....a few more...but, alas, I came away empty handed. Many were too pricey and some I already had. Back to the baking parking lot...hot enough to fry eggs it was. Little did we know what still lay ahead in the mountains. A couple of hours later we arrived in Woodward, Ok., where we spent the night....happily dreaming of art!
Oh!...I have decide not to rush this last painting I am working on.....I need to think some things through when I am not so overwhelmed with getting ready, printing bios and cards, picking up prints, making sure everything including frames and tags are accurate, going to the chiropractor and, of course, the girlie things like getting my hair done and doing my nails!!!
Until tomorrow, with joy,
Theresa

So much to do!!!

2008-09-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

The Golden Hour 24x30 $2200

I am hurriedly but carefully assimilating all the pictures and info from our trip. As always, I am a very busy person....or perhaps not as organized as I should be. I have a show this weekend and am putting together the final touches on some new pieces. You know, sometimes you turn your back on painting and don't think about it for awhile and come back with fresh eyes? Well, that is what happened to me. Mostly it is the edges...I like a loose painterly style that is still realistic but not messy. So I redid the roof on the previous house painting....I also have a painting of cows that needed some fine tuning...and I am trying to finish one more painting in time for the show! Plus I added three strokes to a Plein Air piece while I was on vacation! I am also looking down the road at a solo show that I will need 12 to 20 pieces for by March and several entries plus a workshop I am hopefully going to pull off. The show in March is at SPIVA Center for the Arts and I am feeling a little pressure. Not to mention I have still not finished unpacking since I moved to Carthage.
We had breakfast with fellow artist/sculptress Linda Simpson catching up with her and whats been going on in her world after a sympathetic visit with a mutual friend. Max is framing and wiring paintings and running to Joplin to get spray for the paintings and some foam core to make a new a still life set up box that I saw at Jeff Leggs' studio. Details later!!!
While Max and I were in Estes Park we spent time with Jeff Legg a friend and fellow artist, went to dinner....and had a few drinks, listened to live music ( he played a Guy Clark selection that Max and I love on Max's request).....and talked art! Jeff's studio is a beauty and his work is fabulous...he was very positive about my work as he has watched me grow these past 7 years and has been good at pointing out my weaknesses! There is so much to learn and the miles needed on the paintbrush are a necessity.
A few posts of the paintings I have done for the show and one done last year!
Happy to be busy!
Theresa
Cabbage Roses and Persimmons 14x14 $450

House On Harmony Road 16x20 $800

Brilliante Weblog Award

2008-09-08T10:37:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody!! I am back from a wonderful vacation and ready to paint! But.....first things first! I received an award for my blog while I was away for inspiring a particular painter. Her name is Theresa Miller and she has some wonderful paintings that inspire me also. Please check them out!! As the rules go I must pass on this award to 7 other blogs that inspire me also. Below you will find the list of painters that inspire me also and whom I view on a regular basis because of their painting ability, content, support and general information. Thank you Theresa for nominating me...I am humbled and honored!!

http://qiang-huang.blogspot.com/ whom I will be taking a workshop from because of his fabulous style!

http://barbaramuir.blogspot.com/ who is so supportive I depend on her feedback!

http://davidlobenberg.blogspot.com/ who had the nerve to diss me...LOL! It's okay really constructive criticism helps me grow!

http://jmcchristian.blogspot.com/ who is just a darn good artist...period!!

http://artbyerika.blogspot.com/ who is again so supportive and sweet....I love hearing from her.....she also took a workshop from me and I met her personally....absolutely a China Doll!

http://vickiandrandyrossart.blogspot.com/ who also took a workshop and was a student....this woman is a go-getter! I have never seen someone who can accomplish so much...all at once. I love watching her work evolve!!

http://aaronlifferth.blogspot.com/ who is another just plain fabulous painter....no ifs, ands or buts!!

Congratulations to the "7"!!!! You all rock!!

Believe me there were many more and it was hard to choose only seven....you can see in the side bar the artists I admire who are not bloggers and the ones who are....ALL of whom I respect admire and view regularly.

All awards have their rules...the "Brilliante Weblog Award" is no exception. I'm excited to pass this award on. You are all truly "Brilliant" artists and bloggers.

Rules of Acceptance:

1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link the the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.
6. Participation is entirely voluntary (of course!).
7. Have fun...honoring the bloggers who inspire you regularly.

Thank you once again to all who have inspired me,
Theresa

P.S. I am trying to setup an easier email subscribe....but seem to be having trouble...help?

Bye Bye...for now!!

2008-08-28T07:37:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody,
Leaving today .....like in 15 minutes!! Quick blog...to let everyone know how much I enjoy their blogs and comments...the artwork and everything else is a real highlight for me!! So me and Max are off to Paint and play...see you when I get back around Sept. 8th!!!
Best of everything,
Theresa

Buffalo River-Plein Air 8x10 sold

Just a House?

2008-08-24T14:23:00.000-05:00

1157 Main-The Historic Hill Home
Saturday I finished my painting for the MGA Auction. The painting had to be something from Jasper County. I painted three things from this area...this is the one I settled on. For the past 8 to 10 years I have been coming to Carthage to attend different art shows and art fairs and I have always been deeply impressed by the historic homes here. There are several different styles from the late 1800's to the early and mid-1900's. From austere and imposing mansions to layered tiers of gingerbread looking just short of an overly decorated cake. I love them all. I think about the lives that might have gone on in each one and the generations of care and love dwelling in each one. My mind pictures women attired in flowing dresses cutting flowers from their garden to display in the grand entry halls. Children racing up and down the stairs hands gliding along the silky smooth wooden banisters. Daily tasks of washing and housekeeping and cooking in the large spacious kitchens. Parties held to commemorate a birthday, baptism or graduation. Victorian Christmases and large gatherings of family and friends at Thanksgiving.
The streets are lined here with maple trees, lush and green in the hot summer and turning red and fiery in the fall. There is even a festival in the honor of the trees. Things have not changed much since those early days in Carthage. Their is still a feeling of quiet continuity and history..... a feeling of community pride and planning. No city, town or berg is perfect. Yet in so very many ways this town is. I feel very comfortable here...always have since I first read about Carthage 17 years ago.
I was looking for a place to live in the Midwest. I wanted to live in Carthage but couldn't at the time and settled on Kansas. My family has Midwest roots on my Dad's Scotch-Irish side,haling from Illinois and Missouri via Kentucky and North Carolina, my Mother's side is straight from Italy with a bit of Russian thrown in. (Yes I have also done my genealogy!!) There was a continual draw to come back here after growing up in California and living in Hawaii, Utah and Oregon. I can honestly say I have been very happy here in so many ways...largely because of the generosity and friendliness of the people and the quiet laid back lifestyle. I enjoy a good city trip...but after growing up in Beverly Hills, California...I crave the peaceful honesty I find here!
But I digress...as usual...and to finish up the story about the painting....it is a home that to me embodies the past present and future of this area. At any given moment one can drive by that house and see children playing, kittens in numbers on the front porch (Max said he saw two and I counted three but Max said he then saw six and that was just so he would not be out done..teehee). There are always flowers in bloom and people on the porch...it is a home and not just a house. That's why I painted it!!! Later I will show pictures of our little Victorian....not grand...but very homey indeed! I am also including a picture of the home I grew up in for most of my younger years.
One last note.....I am like everyone else...overwhelmed by the Olympics and the closing ceremonies....to some it up...it does instill hope and a promise for mankind....if we only play fair, do our personal best and choose the right thing!
And I am off to go start getting stuff ready for our vacation!
Living happily,
Theresa
The Home I Grew Up In

Vacation Time!!

2008-08-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Old Reddings Mill Bridge 8x16 sold
Since I was requested to to attend the Richard Schmid Pre Auction Party....and Max and I have never been on one together...we....well, he decided that we should turn this into a full blown Oklahoma City...Prix De West...Rocky Mountain National Park....camping....plein air painting...Estes Park...Richard Schmid get out and get away!! We are very excited to get going...but I must finish my auction piece for The MGA first. Then I can start packing and get into the swing of things! I will post before I am gone..but will not while I am gone. Here are a few more plein air pieces for your viewing.
Getting ready...
Theresa Harvest Sundown, Missouri 12x12 sold
Coastal 11x14