4 Paws to the West – 8″ x 8″ Acrylic

“I have always believed that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
– Hermann Hesse

I like that!



4 Paws to the West – 8″ x 8″ Acrylic on Black Gessoed Aquaboard

This is my favorite of the three acrylics I did from my 4 Paws vacation cabin.  I literally sat out in front of the cabin and sketched it with chalk onto the black aquaboard.  I took my artistic liberties, of course, but the view was that spectacular.   They are still doing the square bales there, and everybody had huge stacks of them, stored up for winter.  I’m sure people thought I was weird, taking photos of hay.  I just loved it! 

It was such an inspiring place to have my own private painting retreat.  I can’t wait to go back there!

Here are the progress shots…




I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  Be safe. 

About Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse, the Pulitzer Prize–winning German writer, became extremely popular in the 1960′s and 1970′s for his deeply spiritual novels spiked with Eastern philosophy. He is best known for the novels Siddhartha, The Glass Bead Game, and Steppenwolf. He was born in 1877 in Germany and immigrated to Switzerland in 1912. Hesse was exposed to Eastern thought from childhood: His grandfather taught Indian studies, and his mother had been born in India. He won the Noble Prize in Literature in 1946. He died in 1962.

4 Paws Southwest – 5″ x 5″ Acrylic

“A bad habit never disappears miraculously; it’s an undo-it-yourself project.”
– Abigail Van Buren



4 Paws Southwest – 5″ x 5″ Acrylic on Black Gessoed Aquaboard

This is the view (from my brain) to the southwest of my wonderful 4 Paws vacation cabin in Driggs, Idaho.  What a wonderful place!   I haven’t worked on paintings like this for a while and I enjoy the process so much.  I used Golden Fluid Acrylics and apply many, many layers before they are done.

Here is the progress shots…



These little paintings really look better in natural light, but you kinda get the gist. 

About Abigail Van Buren

Pauline Phillips, better known as Abigail Van Buren, wrote the syndicated “Dear Abby” column for 46 years. She was born in 1918 in Iowa. She had never written professionally when she contacted the San Francisco Chronicle‘s editor and said she could do better than their current advice maven. Her version was an instant success. Her twin sister, Esther Lederer, became an advice columnist under the name Ann Landers. Phillips retired in 2002; her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, took over her column.

4 Paws East – 4″ x 4″ Acrylic

“All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail.”
– Dorothea Brande



4 Paws East – 4″ x 4″ Acrylic on Black Gessoed Aquaboard

If you lived in my head, this is the view you could see when you looked due east from the beautiful little cabin (4 Paws) I stayed in, outside of  Driggs, Idaho last week.  This cabin was the most amazing place.  It went waaaay beyond my wildest expectations.   Next time I go, I’ll try to extend my stay at 4 Paws.  It was wonderful!

Here are some of the stages this painting took, on it’s way to being what you see above.



I even had some pink and some polka dots on those far yellow trees, before I came to my senses.  It really wasn’t working for me until I filled in the little woodsy area.  This is the view I enjoyed from my deck every day, including all the colorful wildflowers.  Can you say aaaaaaahhhhhhh?  

About Dorothea Brande

Dorothea Brande wrote the quintessential how-to-write book, Becoming a Writer, which was among the first to address every writer’s core problem: How to sit down and let the words flow. Her book, published in 1934, remains in print today. She was born in 1893 in Chicago. She worked as an editor on the Chicago Tribune and The American Review and married the latter journal’s owner. She also wrote Wake Up and Live, which was adapted into a movie in 1937. She died in 1948.

School of Fish

“We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies.”
– Etty Hillesum

 

School of Fish
Two 4″ x 4″ Acrylic on Ampersand Panel

This was a fun one to paint.  If you were to relate it to the quote today, each fishie could be a little worry, nibbling away at you.  Have you ever stood in a lake or a stream and felt the fish nibbling on your legs?  It’s weird! 

About Etty Hillesum

Etty Hillesum, less famous than her contemporary, Anne Frank, lived a short life of great courage. She was born in 1914 in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and a Russian mother. She studied law, Slavic languages, and psychology. Hungry for knowledge, she cut down on food in order to buy books. She went voluntarily to the Westerbork camp to help fellow Jews interned by the Nazis. Her letters detail her experiences; her more meditative diary focuses on issues of faith. She died at Auschwitz in 1943.

Cone Flower

“We cannot swing up on a rope that is attached only to our own belt.”
– William Ernest Hocking

 

Cone Flower
5″ x 7″ Golden Fluid Acrylic on Ampersand Aqua Board panel

My favorite artist, Don Tiller, uses blue trees a lot, but I haven’t quite pulled it off.  This may get re-worked. 

I am hosting the WDE in the All Media Art Events forum on WetCanvas this weekend.    If you have never participated in the WDE (Weekend Drawing Event) you may want to try it.  We paint with a 2 hour time period in mind.  We don’t have to finish our piece in 2 hrs, but we post our progress at 2 hours if we aren’t done.  It’s fun.

The AMAE forum is actually where I learned to paint again after a 30 year absence.  I have only been painting now for 3 years and I have grown in leaps and bounds, thanks to my generous friends at WetCanvas.  They have given me so much encouragement!    Give it a try. 

About William Ernest Hocking

William Ernest Hocking, the idealist American philosopher, wrote 17 books, mostly on the philosophy of religion in modern life, and taught philosophy at Harvard for 29 years. He was born in 1873 in Cleveland to devout parents of modest means, and it took him ten years to finish college while working. In his books, he explored mysticism and the nature of God as well as the conflict in the Middle East. He died in 1966.

White Flowers

“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own instead of someone else’s.”
– Billy Wilder
 
White Flowers
9″ x 12″ Acrylic on Ampersand Aquabord Panel

I did this painting for the Plant Parade challenge over at WetCanvas, in the Florals & Botanicals forum.
White is hard!  This painting went through so I thought I’d share them with you.

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About Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder, the Austrian-American film director who gave us classic films like the farcical Some Like It Hot and the sardonic Sunset Boulevard, was a true rags-to-riches success story. Born in 1906 in the Austria-Hungarian empire, he fled the Nazi regime in 1934, arriving in Los Angeles with $11 and speaking almost no English. By the 1950’s, he had become one of Hollywood’s greatest directors, directing more than 60 films. He won six Oscars and the National Medal of Honor. He died in 2002.
(There was one more progress shot, but it wouldn’t upload.)

Lovingly Rusted

Too many activities, and people, and things.  Too many worthy activities, valuable things and interesting people.  For it is not merely the trivial which clutters our lives but the important as well.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
 
Lovingly Rusted
5″ x 7″ Golden Fluid Acrylics on Ampersand Panel

I did this one for the Acrylic forum’s monthly Different Strokes project over at WetCanvas.   I used things I learned from Don Tiller’s workshop.  Here are some of the phases….
I really enjoyed this painting.  Rust is so fun!  There are so many colors in rust.  There are the warm colors we expect, but then there’s all that blue!
1.  On a panel I had coated with black gesso, I drew lines in with chalk.  Then I painted all of the resulting shapes with Raw Sienna.
2.  I started adding colors that would end up being some kind of underpainting.  Having never taken formal art classes, I don’t know much about underpainting, so I just went with my feelings on this one.
3.  I just kept adding glazes.  When I’d find some anatomical error, I’d come back in with some black and reroute the lines, so to speak.  Then I glazed some more and glazed some more.  There are some major differences between the original and my finished painting, but that’s okay.  I had a ball! 

Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the widow of aviator and conservationist Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr., was a noted writer and aviation pioneer.
Born June 22, 1906 in Englewood, New Jersey, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was the daughter of businessman, ambassador, and U.S. Senator Dwight Morrow and poet and women’s education advocate Elizabeth Cutter Morrow. Her family spent summers at the seashore: Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod and later on the island of North Haven off the coast of Maine. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in 1928, and married Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr., on May 27, 1929.
More….

Wrap the World in Love

“Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.”
– Madeleine L’Engle
 
Wrap the World in Love
5″ x 7″ Acrylic on Aquaboard Panel

This is the second one I submitted for Embracing Our Differences.   I really hope that one of the two submissions will pull at the heartstrings of the judges. 

About Madeleine L’Engle

American author Madeleine L’Engle is best known for her young adult novels (including the Newberry Medal winner A Wrinkle in Time), which weave science and fantasy into sprightly adventure tales. She was born in New York in 1918. After her marriage to actor Hugh Franklin, they opened a general store and raised three children in a New England town. She has written more than 40 books. She spent her last years in New York as the librarian and writer-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. She died in 2007.

Agapanthus - November 27, 2009

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I'm with you kid. Let's go.'

– Maya Angelou

Ooooo.... I LOVE that! I hope you U.S. folks had a terrific Thanksgiving!

Agapanthus

5" x 7" Acrylic on Ampersand Panel

I did this little painting for the WetCanvas Plant Parade challenge. I know it doesn't look like the real thing, but it was fun anyway.

About Maya Angelou

American poet and author Maya Angelou is best known for her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She was born in St. Louis in 1928 and grew up in rural Arkansas.. Due to her activism, Martin Luther King asked her to take a leadership position in his organization. In 1993, at President Clinton's request, she wrote and performed a poem at his inauguration. She has also directed films and appeared on television. She teaches at Wake Forest University.

Licorice - November 20, 2009

"Ruin and recovering are both from within."
– Epictetus

Licorice
5" x 7" Golden Fluid Acrylic on Gessoed Aquabord

It was fun to just play with the colorful shapes of this candy. I did it for the Different Strokes challenge on WetCanvas. This is the first time I have done the monthly challenge from the acrylics forum. I'm starting to really enjoy acrylics! I just can't wait to see what flows from my brush next! ~big grin~

About Epictetus

Epictetus, the Roman-era Stoic philosopher, lived a very ascetic life, believing that happiness came from living "according to the will of nature" and that free will comes from how we respond to circumstances. He was born in 55 AD in what is now Turkey and spent most of his life in Rome. He spent his youth as a slave and became crippled due to his master's harsh treatment. He was later exiled to Greece, where he founded a school and wrote his most famed work, The Discourses. He died in 135.

For the FTC: I am not receiving anything in return for my endorsements of products or websites in this blog post.

Float my Boat - November 11, 2009

"We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."

– Carlos Castaneda

Float my Boat

5" x 7" Atelier Interactive Acrylic
on Black Gessoed Ampersand Aquabord Panel

This is my last post until the 18th. I am leaving to go to Port Townsend, Washington for Don Tiller's acrylic workshop. (I am so excited.) Then I'll take a ferry over to Whidbey Island, to spend a few days with my little sister. Have a good week and I'll see you when I get back. Happy Veteran's Day to all of our veterans!

About Carlos Castaneda

Carlos Castaneda, the Peruvian-born new age writer, is known for his book series about his apprenticeship with Don Juan Matus, the Toltec shaman, including A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan. The books are about the nature of perception and include many hallucinatory experiences. It is unknown how much of his writing was factual. He wrote the first three books as an anthropology student at UCLA, and they quickly gained cult success. He was born in 1925 and died in 1998.

For the FCC: I do not receive anything from the manufacturers or suppliers of products mentioned in today's blog post. I just tell you what I like.

Father and Daughter - November 9, 2009

Opportunity may knock only once,
But temptation leans on the doorbell.
--Anonymous

Father & Daughter
Atelier Interactive Acrylic
on 4" x 4" Ampersand Aquabord Panel



First, I gave the Aquabord 2 coats of Daniel Smith black gesso. Then I used a pastel to draw the outlines. Then I filled in the sections with gouache, to sortof plan what I was going to do.






I filled it in with Atelier Interactive Acrylics. This is only the second painting I have done with these acrylics, but I really like them! Sorry about the glare, but I was having fun, so I got a little impatient.

After it dried, I wiped off the pastel lines. It was a little tricky because it wasn't all that dry (yeah... my impatience) and these acrylics are reactivated with water. It worked out anyway, because after I wiped off the lines, I saw some things I wanted to change. If you mist these acrylics with a slight spritz of water, you reactivate them and they can be worked some more. I like the way this turned out. It was a lot of fun!