Thirty paintings. Thirty days.
California Impressions # 7.
Yesterday BOLD. Today BIG.
California Impressions # 7
Acrylic on canvas 40 x 40 inches
2014 Susan Lobb Porter
This puppy is 40 x 40 inches. Not quite finished, I had to stop early and go to a wedding. Great time– love, friends, food . . . really, sometimes it’s good to get out of the studio.
But I’ll be back in it tomorrow, finishing this one and catching up with # 8.
Been so busy lately my head is spinning. Round and round just like a ball bearing. It’s enough to make a girl dizzy. Been finishing moving out of the old studio into the new.
But Susan, didn’t you move into the new! improved! Studio Grande six months ago?
Well, yes, I did. In a half-assed sort of way. Just the necessary stuff, you know. But stuff I had no immediate use for or didn’t know what to do with, I left behind hoping it would magically go away on it’s own.
But it didn’t. And now it’s time to rent out the cottage (ka-ching! ka-ching!) so I’ve been sorting, cleaning, donating and moving things from one place to another. Now that the old studio is nearly clean enough to rent out, the new one is TOTAL chaos. Every counter, every inch of floor is covered with S.T.U.F.F.
By this afternoon I needed a sanity break. So I stopped moving and cleaning and started stepping around and over things, poking through things, finding things… cranked up the music and began PAINTING!!!
YAY!!!
Oh, YAY!!! again.
I started with the piece I showed you last time. You can see and read about it here.
Well, the first thing I did was slap some paint on that puppy. I wanted to warm it up so I grabbed some Golden Open Acrylic in Titan Buff. I glopped it on with a palette knife and then spread it thinner using all sorts of arty tools. Brayer. Squeegie. Foam brush.
I am an equal opportunity spreader.
I began adding one of the golds. Not sure which one this is, it’s a darker one, at least straight from the bottle. Lightens up when you spread it tho.
And I continued scribbling using caran d’ache and plain old pencil. Oh, pardon me, graphite.
This is where it stands tonight. More layers still to come but I’m happy where this is headed.
Seems like EVERYWHERE I go in blogland people are talking about ‘the word’. Their word for the upcoming year. Something to focus on, to work towards incorporating into their life on a more profound basis. A word that has special meaning to them.
Well, I want on this train. I want my word. I want to doodle it on sticky notes and post them around my space. I want a journal devoted to MY WORD. One I go into with markers and fancy pens and arty making stuff.
But mostly I want to get a necklace with my word, like the ones Liz Lamoreux makes in her Etsy shop. I want one I want one I WANT ONE!!!
But first I have to have a word.
Oh.
There are approximately fifty-five gazillion words in the English language. How. Do. I. Pick. Just. ONE??? Especially one I will develop a close–no, no, not close, an intimate relationship with.
One I will write about. Dream about. Wear around my neck every day like I’m married to it.
Well, I’ve given it a lot of thought and have whittled the selection down to, umm…maybe a dozen or so worthy contenders. I’ll mull them over for awhile until one just pops out and says ME! Me me, pick ME! And when it does, I’ll let you know.
Or not. Maybe my word will be something I need to hold close as I nurture our relationship. I won’t know until I know.
Meanwhile, in reflecting on this past year, I realize my life word would have to be YES!!! Yes, followed by three exclamation points because one just isn’t enough. This was the year I said YES!!! to lots of things. In fact, I created a blog devoted to it.
And then neglected the blog for the entire month of December. I don’t know why. Taking a little break from enthusiasm, perhaps. Misplaced my YES!!! pompoms.
Whatever. I will get back to it. Soon.
But if I had to pick one word, ONE word, when it comes to art…well, that would be easy. LAYERS. I loves me my layers. Always have. But in 2012 I learned to embrace them. To flaunt them in all their juiciness. Because they take away the fear of a blank canvas. What’s to fear when you get to scribble? To make marks that aren’t going anywhere except under more paint.
And so we’ll begin the new year with a look at some layers and how they morphed into my very latest work-in-progress.
This is probably five or six layers in. Working on several canvases at a time, rocking out in Studio Grande.
This is where I left it tonight. Not quite finished but getting there. A few more details and it’s done. I’ve been dreaming about bears a lot lately. Checking over my shoulder as I’m out and about on the property, especially at night. They’re definitely on my mind. Scaring the crap out of me, actually. So I’m thinking the title of this one will be ‘She Dreams of Bears’. But maybe not. We’ll see.
Be sure to check my FaceBook page in a day or two for a photo of the finished painting.
In case you’re wondering about all the attribution on the photo, it’s because I’d like people to share and re-pin my work. And I also want people to know where it came from.
Uh-Oh, getting noisy outside. Sounds like midnight on New Year’s Eve, which it is. We sure know how to party here at the Porterosa. Mr. Spouse has been in bed since 10 and I’m sitting here writing my blog.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing you all the BEST in 2013.
Holy creative FREEEEAK-OUT, Batman! A BLANK canvas!!! Oh noooooooooooooo!
I am blinded by the whiteness. Blinded. I need to scuff it up like a new pair of sneakers. But first…
MUSIC! I need MUSIC!!! Loud and rockin’. Something to take my mind off the ARTIC artistic purity before me. Because it’s too precious. Paralyzingly so.
Must. Be…heh heh heh (rub hands together here) … defiled.
With paint! Caran d’ache! Mindless SCRIBBLES!!! Rockin’ to da Boss, dancing the colors. Making marks.
Eventually I’ve got layers. And a bare wall because I get a little…rambunctious while painting. But I think I wrote about that before.
And more layers. This is where it sits for a few weeks because it’s NOT talking to me. Not telling me where it wants to go.
Until the day it says Tone. Me. Down. So I do, with more layers and collage. And then it starts talking. I see a tree in the upper left.
So I work it. Go with the tree theme.
And then I see a bear, lower left.
This is where it’s at now. Not quite finished but almost there. Definitely influenced by where I live. The river is just a few miles down the road, the forest wraps itself around our house. And bears? Chit, I’ve written about ’em.
By the way, this puppy is 40 x 40 inches, gallery wrapped canvas.
Now all I have to do is come up with a name. Any suggestions?
I’m stretched out on the sofa after a long day in the studio. Sophie is licking my feet. And I like it. Maybe too much.
Umm…is that TMI?
Sophie is a dog, by the way. Does that make it better? Or worse…
Open Studios Tour is the next two weekends. I’ve been so busy doing other stuff, getting ready stuff, that art, painting, has been on the back burner. But today was ART. ALL. DAY.
Oh my, it was heaven. Pure heaven. I believe Jesus said that very thing. In fact, I KNOW he did. Give a girl a painting, she hangs it on the wall. Teach a girl to paint and she feeds her creative soul, if not her body, for EV-AH. He said that, really. Or he would’ve if he wasn’t so busy doing miracles and pissing off the Pharisees.
But back to MY day, here now in the 21st century. In a word or three it was LALALALALA!!! Wonderful!!! Happy happy time in Studio Grande. First, there was MUSIC. Hours and hours of uninterrupted rockin’ out with the iTunes library. Springsteen! Umm…and other guys!!! And Springsteen!!! LOUD.
The new! improved! Studio Grande has GREAT acoustics. Oh my, yes! Concrete and high ceilings, doesn’t get any better than that.
I started out with this. 40×40 inches of pure possibilities.
And ended up with this. 40×40 inches of work in progress. Layers. More possibilities.
But what else did I do? Oh, thank you for asking. Because I work on multiple canvasses at the same time. A combination of making good use of paint drying time and a short attention span.
This canvas has been hanging out for years. Literally, years. I made a trip upstairs this afternoon, the land where I rarely venture because it was and still is inhabited by offspring. Went upstairs and discovered this hiding out behind a dresser in the hall. Pretty good size, I think 36×40 inches.
I had to dust it off before painting. Imagine that. And notice the empty wall to the left? Not in the top photo now, is it? That’s because I get a little … enthusiastic while mark making. Paint flies EVERYWHERE. I decided it was prudent to remove paintings from the direct line o’fire.
This one needed more paint and dribbles. Here’s where I left it. Don’t know where it’s going but I SEE PEOPLE.
My daughter says me and no one else. She says seeing things like that is creepy.
She’s moving out soon.
And remember the journal page I flashed everywhere? Well, I decided to do it bigger on canvas. Played with it today. Still not done but almost.
So that’s why I’m sitting here letting the dog lick my feet. Those poor tootsies were dancing around on concrete all day. They worked hard and they’re tired. Good tired. Now I’m going to make some popcorn and call it dinner. I think that’s perfectly acceptable, don’t you?
Remember, if you’re remotely local, i.e., the western hemisphere, north of the equator, I hope to see you during Open Studios.
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