by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life, Studio |
It rained hard enough last night for the power to go out. Poured throughout the day today. Snow. Hail. Going to keep on going like that for another 24 hours.
Welcome to April.
When I came home from work tonight the first thing I did was check the studio. The new studio, Studio-Grande-under-construction. Even though the sky was opening up like some fanatical end-of-the-world-scenario, it was dry inside. DRY!!! Not a puddle in sight. No drips. No buckets. No horse shavings strewn around the floor to sop up the puddles.
It. Was. DRY.
Oh, what a difference a roof makes.
I went inside and savored it. Walked around feeling the space that for the first time did NOT include some reminder of the outdoors. A space that completely sheltered me from the elements. The air was cold but it wasn’t moving, wasn’t blowing in through cracks. The rain was on the other side of the windows. It smelled like lumber in there. And cold concrete, if there is such a smell.
Each phase of the construction has filled me with a sense of gratitude. Because this place is being created to honor my creativity. It’s my space to paint and spill and celebrate whatever it is inside me that HAS to make things.
And I’m so grateful for the love that’s gone into this place. For Mama, who left me the money to finance the construction. For Mr. Spouse, who also has the need to create and has taken this project beyond what I first envisioned.
This weekend we’ll put up the insulation. Weekend after that, the sheetrock. There’ll be cabinets to assemble, concrete countertops to pour. If all goes as planned, I’ll be in there in early June.
And I can’t wait! Got a business to get up and running. Painting. Teaching. Marketing. Letting my light shine.
It’s about time.
Speaking about business, be sure to check out my Facebook page, SLPorter, Mixed Media. I’ll be posting a little something there every day. Brief little bits of studio news, new art or something from my classes. Arty Life Lite. And if you like what you see, please do me a great big favor and click the ‘like’ button on the top of the page. I want to get more ‘likes’ than Coca-Cola. I only have 41.something million to go.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life, Parents |
Spent a lot of time in Studio Grande today. Painting. And cleaning the non-studio part of the cottage. The part where Mama lived. Amazing how art stuff can migrate from one room to another. Must do that at night when no one is looking.
And who the hell made all that mess anyway???
I’m not usually into cleaning. Not enough to interrupt a painting frenzy. But this week marks the first anniversary of Mama’s passing. ‘Passing’ being a euphemism for cashing in her one way ticket for Jesusland. I’m sure she’s quite happy there. What’s not to like? Lambies. Angels. Floating around with Daddy on a cloud, feeling no pain with all the heavenly libations.
But best of all, the millions and BILLIONS of souls who haven’t heard her stories yet. OMG, she’s in HEAVEN!
And this, the first anniversary of her passing over to the other side, falls on Passover. What a co-incidence! I mean, how fitting is that?
So I cleaned. Well, not really cleaned. I straightened things up, scooped the kitty poop out of the litter box. Fresh sheets on the bed. That sort of thing. Got some family coming in for the anniversary. We’ll talk about Mama. Have a nice dinner. Eat some chocolate.
I’ll tell you all about it on Monday. Or not.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Random Acts of Art |
Somewhere in the vast reaches of CyberLand I stumbled across Kelly Rae Roberts. Yes, THE Kelly Rae. Artist. Entrepeneaur. And this week, inadvertent contributor to RANDOM ACTS of ART WEDNESDAY.
RAAW, for those of you who are new here, is the act of leaving little bits o’art out and about in public places. Anonymous little gifts to brighten up a stranger’s day. We are making people smile in Australia. The USA. Europa. We are taking over the world with luvvvvv. One arty token at a time. And taking it one step further by sharing photographs of what we make and where we hide it.
Back up. BACK UP! What’s this about Kelly Rae Roberts? Well, check this out. (Arrow pointing down) Go ahead. Scroll down and take a good look.
Doesn’t that make you want to jump up and down and HUG somebody??? You can read all the juicy details about how she came up with this and, best of all my sweetums, the link to download the PDF so you can print them up yourself and further spread the luvvvv. You can read it here.
I taped this to the staff room door at work today. By the time I went home it was missing a few tags.
On the way home I went out and spread some luvvv. I headed for a hiking trail that runs behind where I work. Lots of foot traffic during the day.
But on the way I couldn’t resist this storm drain.
The trail was rich with opportunities. Plain sight hides that may or may not be noticed. Like the Memory Garden.
And this monument to the movers who made the trail possible.
And a little hidey-hole right in the middle of the path. What a surprise for the walker who happens to look down.
And now for a peek at some wonderful little watercolor RAAs sent to me by Betty Thompson. Wouldn’t you just love to stumble upon one of these when you’re out and about? But if you want to find one you’re going to have to search around Sacramento, California. Betty didn’t say where she hid them…but maybe she will in the comments (That’s a hint, Betty!)
Abstract Flower art card by Betty Thompson
Bridge Street Bridge art card by Betty Thompson
'Camellia' art card by Betty Thompson
'Park' art card by Betty Thompson
'Merganser' art card by Betty Thompson
So now it’s your turn. Anyone hide anything this week? Got something to share? This is a blog hop, you know the drill. Just go right down below where it says ‘You are next…click here to enter’ and follow the directions to enter the link to your RAA post. The link will stay open until midnight Saturday. California time.
And if you don’t have a blog, you can send the photos to me like Betty did. Send them to me by Tuesday. Details are good, like where you hid them. If I get too many I’ll just put them in a slideshow.
Can’t wait to see your RANDOM ACTS of ART!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
This weekend I learned a valuable lesson. I learned to paint like Matthew. He’s one of my students and you can read about him here. Go ahead. Read all about him. You need to do it to understand what I’m going to say. Do it now, I’ll wait.
CAN YOU STAND THAT SMILE??? OMG, I get PAID to hang out with him. Little emoticon hearts here. Lots if I knew how.
And by the way, that wonderful art program is a non-profit agency. Always strapped. Just sayin’…in case that smile made your give o’meter start ticking.
Now back to my weekend. I had the itch. And the only cure was STUDIO TIME. I needed to paint SO MUCH that I willingly braved rain and snow and a wind so fierce trees and birds were falling out of the sky.
I HAD to do it. There was a big canvas calling my name. And when a canvas speaks, it’s best to listen.
This one was 40×40, that’s inches for my Aussie friends. I’d done a number of layers on it a week or so ago. I didn’t have a plan, just knew it was time to add some definition. So I did.
Now, about painting like Matthew…I hooked my laptop to some speakers. Opened up the R&B folder in iTunes. Cranked up the volume ’till the walls shook.
I danced like no one was watching.
I sang like no one was listening.
And I painted like no one was home…
I. Did. NOT. Think.
The bird up above? He just evolved. As did the other shapes.
Evolved into this. Which is still a work in progress. Very much so.
My ego began kicking in around the same time the light got bad. Figured it was time to call it a day. Don’t know if I’ll be able to get back to it until next weekend. The night lighting in Studio Grande sucks. Ahhh, but the soon-to-be-new-Studio-Grande will have lighting conducive to working all through the night…if I’m ever so inclined.
So after a day of music and painting I curled up on the sofa with Mr. Spouse and a couple of dogs. Basketball. March madness. The Final Four playoff. He was very much into the game. And I was very much into the players. Umm…hmm… Sweaty young men…great shoulders…. What’s not to like?
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Random Acts of Art |
It’s RANDOM ACTS of ART Wednesday, my sweetums…and you know what that means. PAR-TAY time!!! Yes indeed. Get to see where I spread the luvvv this week, one arty token at a time.
And since this is a BLOG HOP, you can share your own RAA adventures in the link down below.
But….you have to be patient. I’m doing things a little differently today. For a couple of reasons. First I’m going to show you how EASY it is to make a little something to hide. I know a lot of you are artists and maybe you’re over-thinking the process. Like, oh man, I would LOVE to do this but I just don’t have the time. Because it would take so long to make a MASTERPIECE. And then there’s the other camp, my other most best beloved readers who swear you don’t have a creative bone in your body, WHICH I KNOW IS NOT TRUE, and you think you can’t possibly make anything good enough to join the party.
Wrong. False. Not true. ANYONE can do this. ANYONE.
I’m going to show you the process from start to finish. My process of painting rocks. You, of course, can make anything you want.
First, get some rocks. I just buy a little bag at the local craft store. They’re in the floral department. This latest batch are supposed to be river rocks from China. CHINA? Imagine that. They look like glass to me, which is fine. They’re fairly smooth and that’s what I’m looking for.
Next, make yourself comfy. Put on some music or the tube. Make a cup of tea. Better yet, pour a glass of wine. Then bring out the acrylics.
These rocks needed an initial coat of white paint as a base before the gold paint. Two coats, actually. How did I know this…well, trial and error. I tried painting the gold first and it disappeared.
Next the gold paint. After that a simple red heart. We’re talking arty rocket science here.
The last step was to highlight with a Sharpie. Simple, right? I didn’t have a Sharpie at home so I took about a dozen rocks to work. Shhhh…don’t tell. I guess I’ll find out whether my boss reads Arty Life or not.
And because I was at work, I just HAD TO give one to a little old lady I love and adore, one of my most special students. Her smile and absolute delight were enough to make my day. I work here, by the way. In case you didn’t know. The new website is still under construction but you can get the idea.
So that’s the first part of the post. The how-to part. The behind the scenes part you never see.
And now it’s time for PART TWO…Ta-Da…The devious adrenalin rush hiding-da-goods part. But like I said up above, this week I did something different. This is a difficult time for me. Feelin’ a little…off lately. Because it was a year ago this week I realized it was time to bring Hospice in for Mama. Sigh…
Pause here while I eat another chocolate bar and indulge in a few minutes of the weepies.
Okay. Much better. So with Hospice on my mind this week I decided to spread the luvvv in their direction. I pocketed the rocks I finished at work today and headed out to the offices of Hospice of the Foothills.
This was NOT easy for me.
I’ve never been there before. They always came to us. I drove through pouring rain, knowing basically where it was. I parked the car and went to the door. It was locked. Then I noticed the intercom and realized I was at the Compassionate Care Center, the place where patients come for a few days so their caregivers can have a brief respite.
What was I doing? People were dying behind those doors. I had NO business being there.
So I left. But as I was driving out of the parking lot I saw the door for the In-Home Care office. So I parked the car and went in. Approached the nice lady behind the reception counter. I told her that last year they helped me take care of my mom. I put the rocks on the counter. They were in a plastic sandwich bag, wet from the rain. I took the rocks out one by one. Told her I painted them, that they weren’t very much, really. That they were an on-going art project I usually hide around town but I wanted to give them to Hospice this week. I blathered on and on as she picked them up one by one and said they were sweet, very sweet and thanked me.
It was awkward. But I did it. I never told her my name. Or told her this wasn’t my only donation, that I gave them a lot of cash last year. I just came in off the street, wet and bedraggled and handed her a bag of painted rocks. Which she graciously received.
And I trust she will help spread the luvvv.
Now it’s your turn. Got any stories or photos to share? I’m having a little problem with Linky Tools this week but you can link the URL to your post in the comments below.
If you don’t have a blog you’re always welcome to send your photos to me and I’ll post them next week.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Holy smokin’ pointer finger!!!
Been playing with the iPad tonight. Whoo-ee. Playing, okay…because I DON’T KNOW what I’m doing. But I decided it’s time to learn.
So I checked out Magic Painter. As painting apps go, it’s pretty basic. You have a choice of brush effects, sizes, colors and background colors and textures. You can erase. And you can go back one. That’s it. Works on the iPhone too.
Oh, and it’s FREE!
Seemed like a good place to start. When it comes to all things digital, I prefer the easy learning curve. At least in the beginning.
Disclaimer: These are all quick ‘n dirties. Ten minute practice pieces. Don’t judge the app by the quality of what you see here.
Okay, so first I decided to mimic the technique I’ve been doing with acrylics lately. But the canvases I work on are MUCH larger than the iPad screen.
And the paintings are MUCH better. Then again, I’ve been painting for years. And they take longer than 10 minutes.
This is the second. After this one I decided to just go to sketch mode. Which isn’t an actual mode on the brush menue, it’s a brush called ‘rope’.
This took less than 30 seconds. Probably more like 10. Looks like it too.
The last thing I did was a combination of background ‘sculpting’ and sketching.
I like the feel of this one the best. The feel of the line. I can see doing some sketching this way, black and white. Exploring this style further. Reminds me of pen and ink.
So that’s Magic Painter.
Cons: It’s simple. Basic. Colors are limited with different brushes. Brushes are more special effects than actual brushes, which could get old real fast. No layers.
Pros: It’s simple. Basic. Easy to learn. And you can’t beat the price.
