Diary of a Painting

 A self portrait in profile was almost the last angle I have yet to paint, and so I wanted to see what it was about.  After taking a lot of time and care in setting up two mirrors and adjusting to the odd perspective of a reflection within a reflection, I lifted my arm to paint~ only to find it obscured my face completely!  Annoyed I banged the easel, the mirror slid, and everything aligned...

I closed the eye in this painting to push the viewer even further away from the figure.  It is beginning here to feel intimate and distant at the same time.   I added layers to the hair to catch the lighting and the grey, and rounded out the flesh.

 Pushing out of what's comfortable and easy is important for an artist's growth ~ mine anyway.  Here the narrative is forming. The energy that keeps the viewer in the painting and asks them to question and think and wonder...  

"What No One See"s 2014 oil on canvas 20in x 24in ~ complete

Love Tokens

"Whenever I am sick, or feeling grey, he would bring me a cat to hug and to cuddle, and with this demonstration, he would remind me of love.
When we were young and standing under our tree, he had agreed to everything with no fear, no hesitation, and the most quiet of smiles..."

This painting is about the charm and the rings on the cord around my neck and what they mean to me.  I think many people have special tokens they carry and wear to remind them of good things and better memories.  It is part of our humanity, these little objects we put meaning into. 

Sick Day

Ugh! Not the best way to start a Monday, but I can't help enjoying the company.  Animals have such a way of communicating. They do not have words like humans, and yet ironically, they seem to speak much more clearly. 
This 6in x 6in small painting (if not yet sold) is on view, with other pet paintings, at 2nd Helpings, in Roanoke, VA. 

Also too, please visit my SALES page to see specially marked paintings from 2010 -2012. If there is a piece you are interested in, but do not see there, please contact me.  Sale ends December 31st.

Where it all Happens... a first in technical discussions

The palette.  I started using this glass plate in early Spring.  Before that I had a medium size travel palette with little scoops for about 20 different colors and a sealed lid.  Though I liked that I could close a lid on it, that palette didn't actually seal very well as I got paint on the rim very very quickly... I also didn't need all the little scoops and found myself only using the flat mixing section, which, when holding the paint choices as well, turned out to be a bit small.
So I found this 18in x 24in piece of glass and started to use it.  I really like it.  Have not scraped it yet, and maybe glass is not the best material for its fragility, but I like it.  Paint is always very smooth and there is plenty of space and its got weight enough. I do need to tape the edges.  When I am done, I cover it all up with wax paper and fold under to seal.  For me, this keeps it well enough. If I go a long time without painting, I clear the palette by working til its empty or I usually have a "left over paint" canvas kicking around for experimenting and such to make sure everything gets used up.

There is a certain chaotic order to paint placement too, but that is a story for another day.
In the meantime, from now until December 31st, there is a sale on my website.  All pieces are from 2010 - 2012. 40% OFF.  Please take a look.

Resilience

In the photo used for this portrait, I saw resilience to mean a kind of endurance. An endurance against many many realities as a vision developed in this man. Resilience made me think of stubbornness and determination, but also too, that it can be a long and difficult journey to attain the wisdom of this trait.

Checking e-mail

Monday ritual. Daily ritual. Hourly ritual... Check the e-mail. Check the social media. What did you miss? What is happening? Everyone wants to know!

have a great day!

Cranondrum

Puzzling and perplexing but so very interesting... sometimes the point isn't the answer, but the journey to get there.  None of these paintings have ended as cleanly planned as they began.  The rumination and curiosity are what have moved the paint.

Sister Crancy

This is a female Neandertal skull.  The original working idea for this painting was "Sisters Crancy, Lucy, Barbie; Eve Left Town", and I had the cranberries as a bow over the teardrop hole. It was snarky and fun and pushed some boundaries.  However, as I began to paint, this skull from the deep past became an individual, with a very puzzling if not conflicting connection, but still, she must have been somebody.  Did she speak? Did she have children? Did she love? Did she mourn? There is a number tattooed on her cheek bone which I did not include.  It seemed to me instead she needed an acknowledgement of her existence, her presence, her fate; it seemed to me she deserved a crown.

take home el Presidente

http://dpwnews.blogspot.com/2014/10/dpw-spotlight-interview-suzanne-paddock.html

What a treat to be interviewed by Daily Paint Works! it will be a link on the top of their site until next Friday.  The fun part is I am giving away "el Presidente"!  Click on the link above to read the interview and get your name in the drawing.

Happy Friday!

Ambition

If nothing else, this man was ambitious.  How else did he get from a house in the woods to The House in DC?

My photography is not on a par with my painting skills.  I have a new camera I am still trying to figure out~ my apologies. Thankfully, my next exhibit is in November and you are more than welcome to visit my paintings "for reals". Opening reception 5 - 8 PM, November 7, in the Upfront Gallery at the Academy of Fine Arts, 600 Main Street, Lynchburg, VA 24504.  The show will include some of the latest pieces from "All My Abes" as well as a selection from the cathartic "Pops" series. Hope to see you there!

St. Crancis

Craniums and Cranberries~ what is saintly? what is sacred? what is human?

Rogue

All My Abes~ this series keeps evolving.  There was something particular in the photo for "Rogue" that just caught my eye.  Most of the photos I see of Lincoln are easily identified as posed or at least with a sense that we are seeing a public face ~ not at all candid or intimate. His expressions and demeanor are deliberate for the camera.  Every now and then, however, there is an image where something intangible peeks out.  This photo called for a new kind of energy and a new kind of painting. Rogue. He was one, just a bit, wasn't he?

The painting complete is in oil sized 24" x 20"

The Sky is Empty

Caregivers need caring.  They give all ~ they seem to understand all. It is a separate reality they are living in.  Time is not measured in weekends, or deadlines, or date nights.  It is measured by medications, test appointments, episodes, and endurance.  Everything done is from hope and with no guarantee.  That is an amazing strength.  Sometimes, when the sky feels empty, I think about that kind of person.  Caregivers from animal rescuers to international health aid  workers ~ the sky for them must be full of stars.

Forever Young

First, I thank everyone who came out for the studio tour.  It was a nice day ~ I am so appreciative of the support and I loved talking about art with everyone~ all kinds of art and many aspects and opinions and ideas and points of view! It was fantastic to hear, share, and experience.  These connections and conversations are priceless.  I welcome creating a haven for artists to spend the day working, talking, sharing and learning from one another.  The more places like this we create, the better.  The creative energy that day was amazing.  I learned many new points of view to ruminate over and that's exciting.  (If you weren't able to make it August 24th, or you would like to visit again, please get in touch with me and come on out.  It's a bit of a drive, so reaching me first to make sure I am there really is essential.)
Second, I have here what I've managed to paint successfully since ensconcing myself full-time in the studio.  Many warm up paintings have led me to this.  It is from an old photo I found while moving in~ my husband was only 24 (he was serving his last year active duty in the USMC.)  A little awkward, but a good level of energy. I am debating about going back in for a second round...? This painting is 11in x 14in oil on artboard.  Constructive critiques are welcome.  We shall see where it leads in between Crantasies and Jackie Oh! and my "favoritest babe", Abe...

Blue Houses

Some days, when the sky is a perfect pale blue, you can see the moon faintly peeking through.  Day or night whether you see it or not, the moon is orbiting around us. It is a treat to find her watching at these unexpected times.  Think of someone who cares for you~ sometimes this is how it is.  Whether you can see it or not, the love is there. When you trust it is there, the sky is clear. And, every now and then, there's this delicate view of the moon...

Dog Star

  

Painting my black lab, from life as well as memory, specific to fidelity and ideas of home, I have found how we, all of us, are connected to each other.  Painting my hand as a primitive signature represents thoughts on how do we find our way through life, and how do we define who we are?  For many, it is by sharing our stories and our connections with this uniquely human ability to communicate through art.

Dog Star believes in what connects all living beings.

Please join me at the Lynchburg Art Club opening reception this Friday, August 1st, 5PM - 8PM, to view "for reals"my painting "Dog Star" chosen for inclusion in the exhibit "Concerning the Spiritual".

hope to see you there!

Open Studio Tour

In the spirit of old Studio 319, please join me for an afternoon of art and sharing, finding connections and debating differences.  Enjoy light refreshments Italian-American style, and meet the infamous Jezebel.

"And This is the Wonder..." oil sketch portrait completed

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
                                                 i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keepig the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Life is Just a Crantasy

"I have been figuring on this for months so I could paint about it, and now I need to get back to these. I find creationism interesting because I firmly believe in evolution. I am no expert, but I think on a certain level, faith and science go hand in hand. That in a very broad sense, religion and science both look to explain the meaning of life. Which camp are you in?"  

This began a very interesting commentary on Facebook with friends explaining all kinds of interesting points of view.  Most claimed to be in one camp or the other, but felt a healthy mix of both philosophies was where the answers lay.

This is the beginning of "Craniums and Cranberries" an exploration of creationism and evolution, their oppositions, connections, profoundness, and absurdities.  The Neanderthal skull, painstakingly retrieved from the earth, represents evolution, and the cranberries, symbolic of life, represent creationism.  Forty paintings are planned for exploration, explanation and sharing all these nuanced points of view.  

Would love to know which camp are you in?

Somebody's All Moved In

 At the studio, Jezebel has pretty much completed her move-in.  Comfy blankie - check.  Water bowl - check.  Favorite toy (Santa-gator) - check.

 She has also decided where the light falls best to compliment her lovely black coat, soft ears, and pretty brown eyes~ one chocolate and one honey colored.  Her work here is done! It's time to go play!  Next post will be a  new painting~ only Jezebel is out playing right now. I am painting and painting - every spare moment I have.  I will be in two local exhibits coming up at year end for which I am extremely grateful.

  Also too, an opening reception is being planned for this new work space~ I promise!  So much going on!  But no worries, Jezebel says she's got it covered...

Portrait of a Young Woman

Quick start up portrait.  This lovely young woman is the daughter of watercolor artist Perri Mason.  I worked quickly to put in essentials as we were not sure when we could meet again.  Engaging and thoughtful, Ryann clearly had modeled before.  Her visage offered me a chance to play with the sun that was coming through the window as she sat peacefully with a soft daydreamy kind of expression.  We chatted and I found out about her goals and plans for her life.  So much ahead for her to look forward to~ it has added another layer to the painting. I hope to have another sitting with her to flesh out some more details, but if not, I am still pleased with where this portrait is going.  The treasures of youth.  I have forgotten much of it.

encatsulated

These quirky moments are inspired by the naughty antics of my cat tribe.  They are all always in the mix!  What one does, the other two cannot help but investigate.  Many times I have been corraled and surrounded!  I go back to my love for illustration when I paint these vignettes using composition to move your eye through the painting and thus tell a story.  This painting is a petite 6in x 6in and now on exhibit at 2nd Helpings, in Roanoke, VA.  How many times have you been "encatsulated"?

Viewing Pleasures

 Views from the studio! The floor is being completed today.  While you can always see my work at The Electric Company Artist's Co-op, in Bedford, I will have occasional open studio tours as a member of the Bedford Artisan Trail to welcome all of you brave enough to ramble down beautiful country roads.  I will also have room for small classes and painting groups so come to an open house to chat with me about it.

 

Even the driveway looks good from here! I cannot wait to start painting in this space and share what happens.  Subtle natural light thanks to all the treetops and a wide open space.  The future awaits...

Step inside my parlor

"While depicting unique moments, I explore ideas, questions and emotions.
 I draw upon my interest in personal histories and illustration art forms to create prominent figures and dreamy skyscapes.  These subjects are my muse as each painting tells a story.  I am influenced by the spirituality in different cultures past and present.  Many ideas and beliefs about relationships, memories, irony, loss and death are found to be universal.  These connections are the stories I feel I should tell. " 

Well, I did it. Finally.  I apologize deeply for being away so long and hope to never lapse like that again.  I created a website. No more static portfolio, but instead a place for you to learn about and have better access to the art and a place for me to learn about and connect with you as well.  I hope fervently that you will enjoy~ feedback appreciated as this is the maiden launch.

www.suzannevpaddock.com

Wrapping Up & Starting New

   Sunday was a productive day.  I'm in wrap up phase on one project, then I opened a whole new can of worms, and in between I did some zen layering in a third piece.
   This latest in the "All My Abes" series is almost complete.  I felt the photo I worked from for this piece was unique as he seemed to be smirking.  Lincoln's humorous side is well known, and this is the first opportunity I found to express that about him. Almost there...
  After some great feedback on Facebook, I finally began "Life is Just a Crantasy".  Craniums and Cranberries.  There is something fun in the sounds of those words, and actually life-affirming.  You'll see. More chat will come as these smaller, intimate paintings progress...

 This last work in progress is a companion piece to "The Moon in Her Eye".  "Comes Round Full Circle~ Dog Star" is a tribute to canine fidelity and protectiveness.  This painting should be on view at TECAC by mid-summer. Perfect.

I would like to give a quick thanks to all the people, vendors and patrons alike, who came out this weekend to our Artisan Fair! It was a great day and a huge success.  The Arts are an important component of community and support was truly in high gear on Saturday!

Comfort

I am honored to have this painting included in the exhibition "Through the Photographer's Eye", curated by Jean Wibbens and Robert Miller, noted photographers in the rural Bedford community where I live.  This show opens the new Sedalia Gallery at the Sedalia Center in Big Island, VA and it all takes place during the Artisan Fair this Saturday, May 31st.   The Artisan Fair showcases the best of the region’s creative community: art, artisan craft, food, music, and agriculture.  If you are in the area, please come out and share in all the phoenix-like happenings going on at this little art center that could.

Counting Minions completed

Well here she is, completed.  This was very difficult to photograph and it is still not the best quality picture. "Counting Minions" is a small oil painting of our little girl cat, Pixie, and the title reflects how silly we can be with loving our pets.  This painting was done very slowly and each session became more deliberate than the last. This is not normally how I work so it was quite challenging.  I almost jumped the shark, here, and am concerned it is a little overworked.  I am pleased with the greys, however and have come away with a very good understanding which I will be using in future. 

It is a true skill, or obsession, to be able to successfully keep going back in and pulling out the details as if working toward infinity.  I prefer to paint more immediately and what I feel is the energy of the subject.  I enjoy drawing in the details, but painting is a different line of reasoning for me.   I know two watercolor artists in particular (who have been influencing me greatly these past couple years whether they know it or not!) who are spectacular with details.  It's interesting to see and talk about what excites different artists.  

Left Over Paint

Someone once asked me what I do with left over paint since you cannot save it.  Well, this is an example of what I do.  I normally work on two or three paintings at one time so that when I come to a place where I have to stop on one canvas, I can turn to another to keep the momentum.  I don't work by piece, instead I work by ideas.  Sometimes, however, I need to just expend the energy, and these paintings are called the left-over-paint paintings.  No real thought but an interesting place to work from because I work with whatever colors are on the palette, and the subjects are just as random.  (These boys are my nephews, the photo was already a few years old.  They are so grown up now!)  What I enjoy about left-over-paint paintings is the focus on energy and experimentation. There is a freedom in this kind of painting that opens my eye to new technique and such.  It's all about the paint...

Counting Minions

 This is my second Pixie portrait.  I think it will be called "Counting the Minions".  Pixie was such an odd little cat~ we thought she could do things like talk to aliens and transfer millions of suspicious dollars into Swiss bank accounts.  You could never really tell what she was thinking, and sometimes she just would stare off at something with great intensity.... We decided she had minions all over the world that she was secretly contacting through kitty-telepathy and they were at her bec and call.  Regardless of all the silliness, she was a beautiful little girl.  I pushed the contrast again to correct the position of her nose, and better place the whiskers.  I think one last final round will pull everything back down to the soft greys and whites in her fur and lighten the eyes just enough... This was a nice painting to make.  I think of how sweet she was, and how I never really understood her....

Tai Chi with Sifu Jesse Teasley

 This was the second tai chi class I attended at the Sedalia Center where I was permitted to sketch.  I used my big role of paper, and charcoal. I just kept unrolling as I needed more space and now there are two enormous scrolls of charcoal sketches at the art center, that speak to the grace and energy of tai chi.

Each class adds a new movement and allows for individual instruction on what they have been practicing. Each class opens up a little more about the bigger picture of what tai chi means.

At the end, one student performed on her own, accompanied by Sifu Teasley playing the flute. Though slow and deliberate, she actually moved too fast for me to sketch. Instead I tried to draw the line that showed her movements, and a painting came to me.   I can't really explain how that happened, but I will continue to show what comes from this welcomed collaboration.

Happy Mothers' Day!

 This is an older painting. It is of my Mom, Diana.  Not really how she looked, but very much how I remember seeing her, when I was a young girl always looking up at her.  This painting is about letting go and accepting that she had passed.  It is about remembering to be mindful of all the things she tried to teach me; so much of which I have only come to understand through experience in these years without her.  That is being an adult, I suppose, realizing that the bitter and the sweet do coincide and only you can balance it for yourself.

She was adorable. ~As all mothers are.

Painting Pixie

 

So this is what I have been working on at the co-op recently. Another Pixie portrait.  I am interested in understanding grey and white.  The first session sets up composition and some contrast decisions.  The second session tunes in the composition and is figuring out how grey works. (It may appear sideways and I have no idea why or how it uploaded that way. I think it is interference from Pixies' minions)

 This third session I am moving toward final placement decisions and final contrast . I painted the last part of this session with the painting and photo upside down and that corrected a lot of little details.  I still have to work in all those whiskers, soften the grey and push the sheen on her eyes so that they are as light as they appear in the photo.  Overall, I am pleased.  This is very slow going, which is unusual, but I have enjoyed painting it so far. She's almost there...