Wednesday, November 12, 2008
ArtPact #73 - Beyond Sad Women
MembieK recently mentioned to me, yet again, how she and I seem to be specializing in painting sad women. Somehow, somewhy, we do that. When you step into an exhibit that has our work, it's very easy to find our paintings in it. Just look for paintings of gloomy eyed females and - bingo! You can't go wrong.
So, I have decided to go beyond that. No more sad women. Many people don't like to look at them, and we do, after all, paint for the people, no? (hell no, but that's for another post).
Time to go for greener and much happier pastures, time to go beyond.
I went for a reference photo I took of Crow, an incredible model we had in the figure class 3 (or 4?) weeks ago.
When he stepped in, I couldn't believe my eyes!He was the model every figurative painter who's after character dreams of: tall, dark and handsome, with dreadlocks and tons of personality.
He wore an outfit of Uncle Sam, with a stars'n'stripes suit and a very tall Uncle-Samish hat. He took wonderful poses, one with a guitar, one with a bongo drum; he told bar jokes and played the instruments while modeling in order to not get bored, and from time to time he pointed at someone and said "I want YOU" (did I mention Uncle Sam?) and was ecstatically happy with himself. Some people absolutely resented the fact that he moved a bit (right, Val?... :-) but I was beaming with joy!
And... and... ah, tears of gratitude flood my eyes... he announced "If any of you wanna take photos, fell free". Yup, at that moment I pretty much stopped painting and went into a frantic paparazzi mode. It's not every day that you get such an opportunity to take photos of someone who doesn't mind and doesn't try to over-pose, and looks sooooooooooooooooooooooo cool!
I haven't posted the 3 images I did of him in class (yet!), but last night, as the clock hit midnight and Suburbia was turning into a pumpkin, I decided that I just have to give it a try at home, working from one of the reference photos I took.
Now, in the photo, he was kinda falling asleep, looking apathetic, indifferent at best.
When I was done painting him, I realized that I have indeed went beyond painting sad women.
I have moved on to disappointed men!
previous ArtPact... ...next ArtPact
Monday, May 05, 2008
ArtPact #53
Time really flies in the blogosphere... I haven't published an art-related post for just over 3 weeks - and it seems like forever.
Haven't been painting recently - partly because we went on a 10-day vacation to Utah and Arizona, for some glorious views and time-out.
I still have the sights carved on the inside of my eyelids: the majestic rocks of Zion, the awesome hoodoos of Bryce against the snowy background (yup, there's still snow on the slopes), the sensual spirals of Antelope Slot Canyon and the overall sublime vastness of the desert. And all those textures, shapes, lines, colors - a true feast for the eyes, especially when the eyes belong to an artist. Mother Nature sure has an incredible exhibit out there!
I took hundreds of photos, and yes, I did take my sketching kit, but it turned out into one of these trips that were too hectic to sketch.
And yet - on the very last afternoon in Zion, while The JohnnyB took his nap, I sat in the garden of the incredible B&B (Harvest House - highly recommended!!!), thoroughly enjoying the tranquility of the sorroundings, and tried to transfer to paper the feeling of having The Watchman cliff facing me eye to eye.I reached for my sketchbook, but then saw the watercolor postcards pack that I carry with me on every trip, but never used them.
"OK then - postcard it is!", I decided. I'll make one for my sister and send it to her.
Ambitious? Of course!
And... probably not the sharpest idea to try and capture such a sight on a 4"x6" piece of paper!
I made two attempts, of which I am bravely posting the least disastrous one. It was fun - but it makes me think the world would be a better place if I stuck with painting people...
previous ArtPact ... ...next ArtPact
Labels: Art, ArtPact, Driving, Nature, Vacation
Saturday, July 07, 2007
On Pointer Duty
The JohnnyB has posted another one.
Prius owners - brace yourselves...
Labels: Damn Technology, Driving, Meta Bloggin', Ode to other blogs
Monday, April 16, 2007
Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind
Got pulled over today, by a cop!
For the very first time!!
I am here for just over 5 years, been here on several business trips before moving here, and - being the honorable truthful person that I am - I cannot quite attest that I've always kept the speed limit.
And yet - this is my very first encounter with the law.
(well, actually, it's the second.
The first time was when I called 911 by mistake, without even knowing I did, and 20 minuets later, three cops with drawn pistols and two police cars in the background were at the door... but that's another story...).
There I was, today, on a gorgeous shiny afternoon, driving back from my trip to the art store, with additional paint and brayers in the trunk.
I was speeding.
Not outrageously, mind you! Pretty much like anyone else.
I cheerfully sped along, as I caught a glimpse of a motorcycle in my rearview mirror, about 3 cars behind me. And the motorcyclist, y'know, seemed a big official.
To be on the safe side, I switched to the right lane, and slowed down, as he switched to the left lane, slowing down himself.
I kept driving at a decent speed, with the most innocent face I could dig out of my repertoire, awaiting him to start the audio visual show of lights and siren.
Nothing.
"Cool", I thought, "He was not after me, after all!".
Wrong!!!
I looked to my left, and noticed that he has slowed down even more, and was saying something, in addition to waving his hands in a weird way.
I was very tempted to cheerfully wave back, but I pulled over, rolled down my window, and looked at him curiously. Hey, these cops really do look like on TV: nice and friendly and cordial and all.
He stopped near me, almost smiled, and said "You slowed down just in a nick of time, didn't you?".
Now, in such cases, the best thing is to just surrender. No use arguing, Eh? Especially when I knew I was sinful.
Plus, he didn't even call me 'Ma'am'. I was starting to like him a lot!
I smiled a guilty smile and said, "Yes, I did. I am sorry", feeling my face lighting up in a graceful hue of vermilion.
"You were this close to getting a ticket", he pantomimed with two fingers, and added, "Slow down".
"Thank you", I said
('Thank you'!? 'THANK YOU'!??! what a dumb response!!).
"You see", he continued to mused, ignoring the fact that he is creating a serious traffic hazard with the two of us chatting like that on the shoulder of the quite narrow road, "When I see a car doing zigzags like you did, I go after it and give a ticket".
The Queen of Zigzags apologized, yet again.
"Slow down", he repeated with a lawful voice yet in a very benevolent fatherly manner.
"I will", I promised with doe eyes, and we parted as friends.
No ticket.
He took off, continuing his quest for other dangerous speed delinquents, and, after a surprisingly short while of waiting for someone to let me get back into traffic, I continued to drive.
The cop was out of sight - - -
- - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -and yet, I drove just at speed limit all the way back home.
'cause he was so nice.
Damn, it's slow to be a good law-abider!!!
Labels: Driving, Faux Pas, Major Achievements
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Days Like This...
What a day!!!
After going to sleep at 02:30 last night (because I could, that's why!), I somehow managed to get up in time, and decided to go ahead and go on a paint-out day, at the Presentation Center, way down in the Santa Cruz mountains.
It was very straightforward getting there, and took only 30 minutes.
85 South, then 17 South, and then 2.5 miles on the insanely uphill-winding Bear Creek road.
On a normal day, that would be a fun drive.
Only today, with the remains of my cold, plus my deadtiredness, that little ride did not make my dizzy head very happy.
But I made it.
The Presentation Center is - apparently - an incredible place.
Quite rustic, very unpretentious, beautiful grounds, giant trees, heartbreakingly stunning in their post-fall colors, adobe buildings scattered all over the place - a haven for painters and photographers, and actually for anyone.
Just strolling around makes you feel on vacation, to the point that puts that idiotic grin on your face.
And, it was sooooooooooo warm and sunny!
December 7th, you hear "I'm Dreaming of A White Christmas" everywhere you turn - and we got a tan!
This place is really something else!
You can have a conference, party, lunch, dinner, they have rooms, you can just come and stroll the grounds.
Next time you want something different, check it out.
Whether it's during the week or on a weekend.
Apparently, not only is this place gorgeous, it's also packed with history.
Packed, I tell ya.
- - - - - - - -
OK, now I am getting this smirk on my face...
...and that would probably expand to the faces of some of my readers from far far away.
So let me just say this:
Among other things, it took me a very long time to get used to the usage of the word "history" in the USofA.
Here, a 200 year old building becomes a historical marker, and many places proudly claim "In business since 1950", which means they wallow in history.
And, hmm, how shall I put it gently: where I come from, history goes, well, a bit further.
Just a touch, y'know.
"Hey, when it comes to Western society, we go as far as 400 years!", reprimands The JohnnyB.
Yeah, well... that's nice. How's that working for ya?
- - - - - - - -
Anyway - that presentation Center used to be a school for boys, and they used to have ladders between the different floors of the buildings and all - must have been a very fun place!
Now they have staircases and other modern niceties, but the remodeling was done so that the place still retains its character and charm.
And it has a lot of both.
At some point, I realized it's actually a catholic place (well, that explains the crosses all around), but they welcome anyone through their gates.
I mean, really welcome.
And everyone!
There is even a sign that says "Welcome" in 15 or 16 languages (with an excruciating typo in Hebrew...).
Anyway - we had a fun day, a bunch of us painting, and BlaineyC hung with us for lunch.
BlaineyC used to be the leader of our watercolor society and is now the marketing person of the center.
She gave three of us a tour of all the rooms and buildings, and brought us to the little charming chapel, where I made a highly bloggable mistake, which I cannot talk about, as it may offend some of the readers...
No, really.
Honestly, I cannot tell you.
Oh, OK, what the heck!
Better me telling you the actual version, and the whole truth, than The JohnnyB raving about his retarded wife and taking some artistic license...
So, here goes:
Y'see, in the little chapel, in a little corner, there stood a little table.
And on the little table, there was a little crystal candy-jar.
And next to it, there lived a little bottle-thingy.
I thought it contained olive oil (it looked like olive oil, OK?!?), and I was wondering (loudly, alas):
"Why would they put olive oil in such a little bottle?".
More than that - why would they have balsamic vinegar in a candy jar?
And why isn't the balsamic vinegar darker?
And why does it look like it has crumbs in it?
And then, Oh dear dear readers, as I got closer, I saw it was more like, well... kinda... very... flat... cookies... like, wafers... y'know?
Yep.
Told ya!
Well, I do have the ultimate excuse for this unforgiving ignorance.
And yet, BlaineyC and the other two took way too long a time to get over the laughter.
Good thing I was brought up to be so well-behaved, and didn't touch anything.
Bad thing I actually opened my mouth.
Silence is sometimes priceless.
Indeed.
Perhaps I should have started this post a bit differently: "A Catholic, a Unitarian, an Atheist and a Jew go into a chapel"...
A-n-y-w-a-y - look at the time...
Then it was time to head back home.
Winding road went fine.
17 North went fine.
85 North went fine. . . .
. . . but something seemed a bit weird.
And, as I saw the sign that cheerfully informed me "Oakland, 33 miles", I got somewhat uneasy, but kept on driving, sticking to my eternal optimism.
When I arrived at Mission Ave, in Fremont, I figured that perhaps I have gone a bit too far north.
And East.
And away from where I was heading.
Not that I have something against Fremont.
A lot of lovely people live there.
In fact, some of our very best friends live there.
Fremont is a very, very nice place.
Very.
But not when you need to get to Los Altos for a haircut!
Cussing with all my might, I drove back, without getting a ticket (that's the miracle of the day! perhaps all the good energy from the Presentation Center was protecting me). and made it just in time for the shearing.
My hair designer, however, could hardly do the job, as she was laughing so hard at the scenic route I took.
Yeah, VandieA, it's always funny when it happens to someone else, ain't it?
Other than that, the haircut was uneventful.
But then I got a deep cut in my thumb when I put my hand into my purse to get the wallet out (I still have no idea what caused this cut), and with a blood-dripping hand, I drove my poor-fuzzy-diddumed self (a-la ValieM) home, just to realize that I forgot my earrings at the salon.
If you happen to go there, (and I couldn't recommend it more!!!), would you please get them for me?
'cause I ain't no drivin' nowhere in the near future!
*** P.S. the photos so nonchalantly attached to this post, as if it's the most trivial thing in the world, took about 6 hours to download.
They are the very first pictures shown to the world, taken by LumiB, and I somehow managed to screw the card during the download... We almost decided to reset the card, but LexieV, who was visiting from England, has saved the day, big time, and from now on he shall be known as The God of Hacking.
But that is a whole different story, that shall hopefully be blogged by The JohnnyB.
When offered the idea, he snapped - good-tempered as always: "I will blog it if and when I feel like it".
. . .OK then.
I am going to officially put an end to this day.
It's been way too long and evenful.
Layla Tov. (means, Good Night, in the language of the land with real history).
Labels: Driving, Faux Pas, Photohgraphy
