I Dream of Painting

Hi y'all. This is my promised update on the portrait of the baby.

Foraging unknown territory whilst in the throes of vertigo symptoms. This has been the struggle of trying to do creative painting when one cannot recall one’s own skill-set and/or knowledge of color mixing. You will see the pattern of wrong turns and forgotten “know-how” only to be triggered hours later after the bad paint has dried.

This is the photo I’m working from: This is the start of the portrait:

Began to apply paint here:

( Where I got lost, behind the cut... )

Feel free to make any comments or observations. I’ve made enough progress now that starting over would really not be good for my morale. Hence, I will consider any comments as more eyes to help me ward off possible oversights and disasters. Thanks. =D

So, how are your recent projects going?

Well, they named this multi-colored seaweed gown of mine "Fearless Style" and it sold in the several grand$$ category.  I'm so thrilled that it actually sold! So, many of them are still hanging downtown waiting for homes.
Wow, I almost passed it by because I couldn't see the painting until I enlarged the photo at the website...and then you can only see it around the edges. I'd love to see this gown while the dancer is spinning about in it.  Click the link to see read about it at the website. www.designsbylyn.com/store/sold_gowns/fearless_style/






 
Remember this gown without stones and fringes?
takes-a-fairy.livejournal.com/47658.html

I have to say that I really like this. It is the same basic gown as this other one I had painted with a rainbow colored geometric design. takes-a-fairy.livejournal.com/7541.html#cutid1

Due to the effects of these infernal tropical depression storm fronts coming through here of late, I was not fit to drive to the ACT Auction event on Sat.

However....Eeeeeee!

I just got word from the ACT Gallery curator that the piece of art I donated for this year's auction sold for $400. !!!!  ...in the silent auction, no less. 
*doing a happy dance*


They had priced it at $150. which is what my other piece sold for in last year's auction.  Holy cow!  I was totally NOT expecting this sale amount...at...all!

I am otherwise speechless.  *beams*

ETA: I can't recall if I mentioned it before, but the newspaper reporter did quote me in his article and he also included the title of my work. Out of a total of 55 donating artists, he quoted me and one other person and put the title of my work in the article. Kewl!

I'm happy that my work brought a decent price as a donation to the cause of abused women and kids. As my LJ friend below mentioned it's a good way to rate what I can price my work for in future with some adjustments considering it was sold at a fundraising event.  Both a big part of why I inquired on the price.

  
On the prowl...








( Finally, world peace... )

I know I needed to laugh, so I thought I'd share:

Serious Artist  by Robert Genn            June 19, 2009

I'm out here on a rocky Donegal foreland. Below, on the beach, one of those smart-looking black-and-white Irish farm dogs is running loose. With no master in sight, the dog has a tennis ball she tosses in the air, chases and sometimes catches. Hit or miss, each attempt is announced with a joyful bark. She's telling me something: "Come on, Bob, loosen up. Put joy into that stuff. Get a life. Don't take yourself so seriously."

Everyone has heard of the "serious artist." The term has a lot of different meanings. To a person who paints only on Sundays, one who paints every day might be one. An artist whose work is difficult to understand may consider those who paint understandable things "not serious." On the other hand, realistic artists sometimes consider modernists to be only wanking the public and therefore not serious. Some think serious artists are those who deal with serious subject matter--poverty, war, politics, injustice, etc. Except for a bit of irony once in a while, these folks don't generally think humour has its place in art. You may know of artists who take themselves so seriously they become significant hazards at dinner parties.

Hey, it's okay to be serious about honing technique, learning the ropes and trying to understand the muse.

( More serious reading.... )

Good morning y'all.  I have no idea what possessed me this morning, but it was a good thing.  It poured down rain last night so it was nice and cool out this morning and I wanted to be outside while it was so nice.
Not to mention that the storm front finally being outta here has made me feel better for the moment.

After being up til 2 a.m. revisiting two sci-fi movies (of the Stargate variety) I got up at 9-ish a.m. fed the two cats and then proceeded to trim the underside of our oak tree canopy's. That pile actually comes up to my hip in height. After I'd cut a few branches I'd walk them over to my established pile and then walk back to cut more. This way when I get tired the clean up is basically done. I can just walk away. I'll bag it in awhile.

Some of last night's rain was still on the leaves this morning so it was to my delight that when a branch came loose after I cut through it, the drops of rain sprinkled me. It was very refreshing. The jungle must be really amazing after a good rain. Perhaps one day I'll get to find out in real time. That would be fantabulous.

My son's cat, Ashes, kept investigating the branch pile. When the branches would shift she'd take off running in the opposite direction. Silly feline. At one point I had cut a branch that was a little longer than the others so I dragged it back to the pile. As I was dragging it  Ashes began chasing and attacking it. So, for fun I dragged it around while I cut some smaller branches one-handed and she kept on stalking, attacking and pawing at it. This cat is 7 years old in people years and she still acts like a 1 year old.

She will also 'talk' your ear off as she is doing in this picture, if you let her. She is the chattiest cat I'd ever known until I met Blackmare's kitty, Sylvie. While Mare was still living here I had two M.A.C.K.s (my annoying codependant kitty) in my life. Sylvie was an attention ho, but I've missed her.  I also miss our cat, Tiny. What a 007 type kitty he was and our lady cats loved him so much they were always having fights. It's been too quiet here at night. hee
 
Mister F not Mr. Ferris of Sense & Sensibility fame  is driving back from TN today because he'll need tomorrow and Saturday to catch up on grass cutting and other Misterly chores before going to work on Monday. He prepares his own lunches  for the week, will have his laundry from the trip to wash and so he has informed me he has a lot to do. I decided to cut the lower branches off the trees so he doesn't have to duck and dodge them while he cuts under and around them tomorrow. Like every other hot climate I've lived in, I tend to acquire heat rashes if I'm not careful, so he alone gets the lawn job. Our three locusts no longer live here. Besides, I'm not operating machinery what has cutting blades while I have this rocking condition which makes me clumsy. But I'm sure he will like not having to duck all those branches, now.

ETA: sorry if this is a bit long. I've given up trying to make LJ cuts because for some reason it screws up and doesn't take properly. It used to work fine for me. Dont' know what changed.

"It's amazing how long it takes
to finish something you're not working on."
~laugh tracks

I knew it wasn't a good idea to keep going when I really didn't have the focus!  Guess I'll work smarter on the next go around. No, photos. Too ticked off at self to bother.  Grrrrrrrrr!

I was thinking I could keep going in spite of the ol' noggin and I painted mid-range highlights too heavily widely on the boy's skin and in the wrong shade. Compliments of trailer lack of lighting at night.  It also kinda dried with the medium I used and now I have to use turps to wash the skin tone off and start over!  I really hate it when this happens because now my drawing is all cafloogie, too. A-noyd big time.  *sighs*

I hate vertigo symptoms.  *whines and sniffles*

Time to be a big girl and suck-it-up once more and try to salvage the drawing and underpainting so I don't have as much to do over.  Ya know? I was just trying to keep a consistent pace...that's all.  Too much to ask I guess.   *stomps foot in protest*

Note to self: Paint during daylight hours so you can see what in blazes you are doing.

Unfortunately, I am having to take this very slow. I am only able to spend maybe a cumulative hour focusing on this at a time. My painting breaks have to be several hours long in between.  *sighs*

So, here is the little bit of progress I've made so far. Yesterday, I had errands to run and I was not up do working on it. So today's progress is below. Posting these pics here is helping keep me accountable to getting the job done. Thanks f-list.



I am so tempted to just hang this on the wall and leave it until the storm front clears out again. But I'm going to keep sucking-it-up, as it were, and keep going. I don't want it hanging over my head anymore. It's a promise to a friend and I feel bad enough having her wait so long already...especially since she's paying me.

Got a notice just now, that the art piece I submitted for the annual fundraiser was officially juried into the silent auction again this year.  It will be previewed at two separate locations and may be chosen for the SAKS previewing also!  How cool is that?

I was struggling a bit with motivation earlier, but now, I'm more motivated to go paint. 
Back to portrait work.

I hope I'm this fun when I get old!

...I can take it. Lame icons must go. Please help me out if you would?

I need to change my icons because they are most of them lame. Now that I have a better idea of how LJ works can you all tell me, by vote, which ones you find the lamest.  I only get 15 icons cuz, well, paying for an LJ account just izzn't in da bud-jet at this time. Sometime when I have fun money to maintain a paid account, I'll go for it.

For certain the vertigo mug is getting swapped out with one of a couple of nice mug shots I have to choose from...lame pun intended.  I iz tired of the reminder. It was kinda fun at first but now it's gotten old just like the symptoms.
Thanks in advance fer da help making decisions, cuz it truly IS hard to make 'em right now.    :o)

This could actually be fun, now that I think about it.  hee

Now that the blasted phone has stopped ringing I need to scoot out the door and get some badly needed vittles for my refridgerator. She keeps complaining that she has no interesting foods in her belly and I need to restock her pronto.

Well, she can just deal with it. I can't help it if the old noggin' can't handle this stormy summer weather pattern and the ups and downs of the barometric pressure it causes. But, since I'm having a momentary reprieve I thought I'd be nice and go get stuff to make her happy and less empty. I'm nice that way.....most of the time. *snerks*

Whut?!  Ya gotta know it's been rough when one begins to assign personality to one's fridge this way and at least I haven't given her a name yet.  She is too clean to be a male refridgerator, in case you were wondering.  hee

*sighs*
She said she wanted the following items replaced today: fresh green veggies, fresh fruits, spaghetti fixins (she's craving those for some odd reason), and yoghurt, stuff to go in my coffee, eggs, whole grain bread, soup fixins, and so on. She'll get whatever it is I can fit into the ol' budget this week. She's so demanding sometimes, ya know? 

Okay, I'm done being wierd...but only for the moment. I'll be back to chat wit errybody in awhile. Be good.
(by the way-howz come the word "wierd" is pronounced 'weerd' and not 'wired'?  hmmmm....)

*shutting down the windows machine, putting on shoes and heading out the door*

Rules:
1. It’s harder than it looks! That's not a rule!
2. Copy to your own post, erase my answers, enter yours.
3. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions.
4. They have to be real; nothing made up!
5. If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers.
6. You cannot use any word twice and you can’t use your name for the boy/girl name question.

01. What is your name: TAKES_A_FAIRY
02. A four letter word: TIME
03. A boy’s name: TONY
04. A girl’s name: TINA
05. An occupation: TRUCK DRIVER
06. A color: TAN
07. Something u wear: TIGHTS
08. A food: TOAST  (the kind you can sing about)
09. Something found in the bathroom: TOILET
10. A place: TANZANIA
11. A reason for being late: TAKING A FERRY
12. Something u shout: TOUCHDOWN
13. A movie title: TO WONG FOO
14. Something u drink: TEQUILA
15. A musical group: TALKING HEADS
16. An animal: TURKEY
17. A street name: THOMPSON STR. (right down town here)
18. A type of car: THUNDERBIRD
19. Title of song: TAKE IT ON THE RUN
20. Something you use in school: TABLE
21. People I wanna tag: Whoever hasn't done the meme yet.  =D

And we all know who gave it to him…

  “Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.”  ~ Andrew Carnegie 
  
      “This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious
living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent upon him;
 and, after doing so, to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called
upon to administer, and strictly bound as a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, is
best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community /the man of wealth thus becoming the mere
trustee and agent for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience and ability to
administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves.”
 ~Andrew Carnegie  (Scottish born American Industrialist and Philanthropist. 1835-1919)

 "The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets."
~Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist

...here is a no brainer way to do it. It's the same concept many cooks use when they run cold water over hot boiled eggs. Enjoy!