Spirit of the Crancestory

 The skull and the bones allow one to stand and to move and to hold a baby or a puppy; they protect and cradle what's most important ~ the mind and the heart and the womb; they are the literal foundation of mobility and visage. They are also a reminder of the spirit each housed.

"Craniums and Cranberries" on exhibit through Nov 21st.
 The Electric Company Artist's Co-op, 27 East Depot Street, Bedford, VA 24526 

540-491-2585 tecac207@gmail.com 

Dual Cranvolutions

There is a scientific theory that canines co-evolved with homo-sapiens and this is why dogs today are so tuned in to human behavior and training.  I thought this was very interesting.  A partner  has been offered to humanity for guidance through this world.  Perhaps there are other partners waiting for us to remember how to co-exist with them as well.  Certainly humans could use a lesson or two in peace and harmony.

"Craniums and Cranberries" on exhibit through Nov 21st.
 The Electric Company Artist's Co-op, 27 East Depot Street, Bedford, VA 24526 

540-491-2585 tecac207@gmail.com 

Silently Neslted Cran Listening

Sometimes there is a silence. A silence we need to be waiting for and looking for. A silence we need to be listening to so we can understand how we are all connected.

 

"Craniums and Cranberries" on exhibit through Nov 21st.
 The Electric Company Artist's Co-op, 27 East Depot Street, Bedford, VA 24526 

540-491-2585 tecac207@gmail.com 

And the Cran Goes On

Memory. Time. Speech. Stories. Questions.

"Craniums and Cranberries" on exhibit through Nov 21st.
 The Electric Company Artist's Co-op, 27 East Depot Street, Bedford, VA 24526 

540-491-2585 tecac207@gmail.com 

Dog Cran God

"God is Love" ~ that is Faith at it's best. "God spelled backwards is dog" ~ that really makes no sense and yet it makes all the sense in the world, if you've ever been friends with a dog.  What are the origins of love and faith and even dogs?

 

"Craniums and Cranberries" on exhibit through Nov 21st.
 The Electric Company Artist's Co-op, 27 East Depot Street, Bedford, VA 24526 

540-491-2585 tecac207@gmail.com 

 

Life is Just A Crantasy

"Life is Just a Crantasy"
I wanted to create a balance and calmness between this face out of time and a faith from humanity's soul. What makes us human?

This painting is one of forty in my newly completed series "Craniums and Cranberries" on exhibit now through November 21st, and The Electric Company Artist's Co-op, 207 E Depot St, Bedford, VA 24526.

 

 

Latest Happenings...

Latest paintings up and ready for Friday's opening reception at the Electric Company Artist's Co-op ~ 5-8PM in Bedford, VA.  "The Essence of Where Their Beauty Comes From" and "Crushed". 
Our featured artist is a great cartoonist, Bryan Skinnell, and our guest exhibit in the Dessert Gallery is a study if nudes by the 202 Gallery Artists. Come on out!

Two women show at 2nd Helpings in Roanoke, VA. So excited to show with Perri Mason, and awesome artist, and great friend.  Come out and chat with us at the Artists Reception this Saturday, 1-3PM.

Work in Progress ~ this is what's on the big easel right now

Here is another painting in progress working off of a beautiful cow skull given to me by a friend.  This is an afternoon painting when the light sits just on top of the bone, so its usually the last one to be worked on, on  any given day.  I stretched out and gessoed the canvas myself with dull and proper corners.  "Crushed" is about 34" x 34".  The easel is somewhat in the centered area of the studio and the skull is to my left way over by the window.  The crows come from my crow book. This is clipped together newsprint that I grab to sketch them quickly whenever I see them in the yard below, so I can learn their movements and shapes.  I also quick sketch from very bad (not on purpose!) cell pictures in there too sometimes so I have poses to work from.   The crow book is maybe 5 feet away propped up on my drawing table set to a particular page.  The moon is in a book on the floor. The space helps me see each thing more clearly.  This piece is about movement and travel and pushing against boundaries ~ whatever boundaries you may have...  I'll post when it is complete and to view it live ~ be on the look out at TECAC in Bedford, VA.

Lime In the Lemon Pot

The reflection was what caught my interest for this piece.  I tend to get stuck in the "still" part of still life painting and the challenge for me lies in presenting the life energy.  I only had a couple of hours mid morning on particular sunny days to get the right lighting and also too, the shelf life of a lemon... the nicest part of this piece for me is the pottery, purchased from BlueStar Pottery~ a local artisan with a beautiful organic touch in all her pieces. 

I was lucky to get one in this lovely blue glaze as she has moved on to new color glazing adventures.  Nancy Blankenship is behind the creations of BlueStar Pottery. Look for her pieces in and around Bedford, Virginia.

Dog Paintings come to life

http://youtu.be/9P5sZDXxS0U

"More Sugar Please" 16in x 22in oil painting on self prepped canvas. I really enjoy Sugar's sweet expression and little pink collar.  The youtube link above shows pretty much all the layers and another painting as well. Message me for sales inquiries.

Happy Friday!

Reclining in the Pleasure of Your Secret Delights ~ completed and sold!

Hanging at our co-op gallery, TECAC, until presentation at the silent auction Chair-ity event for youth art education, this piece began as a chair, and evolved into a hanging assemblage art piece.

 The title refers back to the original intention of this framework

but also too, to the transformation of the piece as well as a context of duality that is seen in much of my work.

I struggled with technical construction and it was holding back the concept. Finally, I accepted that I was not a carpenter, I was not a sculptor, or an upholsterer~ I am a painter.  And so that is what I did and that became the direction of my resources.

 I often incorporate the horizon at dawn in my paintings.  It represents for me a great moment of power because it is the greatest moment of potential.  All things are possible in those seconds as the sun rises and the day begins.  All things.  The money raised from the sale of this assemblage along with so many others will be used to teach local youth, through visual arts, this very lesson.  June 12th, Bedford Virginia.

Transitions

Everything changes.  She used to be so little ~ smaller than the cats, and just as curious.  So smart.  So happy.  So willing to learn something new.  Made herself comfortable in the pack. Four cats, two humans, one canine ~ she was the princess. She knows her left from her right. She knows how to back up without turning around.  She likes apples but not carrots.  She knows not to eat the cat food in the bowl, so she scoops up whatever the cats fling out of the bowl ~ she understands technicalities very well.  She flushed out pheasants and helped dig in the gardens.  When out for walks she always drank out of a thermos, never out of a bowl and we always thread flowers in her harness. She chases robins and squirrels and loves to wash the cat's ears in the morning.  She loves the snow but not the rain.  She has her own spot on the couch and can count to four.  She used to be so little and didn't even know how to catch a ball.  Now she takes a lot of naps and a lot of vitamins.  Now she needs a lift to get onto the couch.  Now things are changing again and we are not ready.  She gets queasy and tired and sometimes a little confused.  Now we walk with the snails and sometimes get up in the middle of the night.  Now we wait for the next change, the final change and then things will never be the same.  It is a heavy price worth paying.  But there is no way to stop it. Everything changes.

The Kiss

Daydreaming on a winter's day, about love, loss, and that sweetest thing of all, a first kiss. If you have ever observed two cats bond, their companionship is lovely and fun like a couple that's been married for decades. These two cuties, Mottie and Pixie, cuddled up together all the time and often seemed to be hugging and kissing and very caring.  Mottie was almost twice Pixie's size, but that little girl always got her way as he was her very own gentle giant.  Whatever it was that connected them, for me it was adorable to see and always reminded me of "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt.  A moment of closeness between two loved ones that was for them alone.

This piece is painted in oils in my expressive and watercolor-inspired "take away" style.

More Brewings

Monster Whiskers is moving along.  Petey's eyes are starting to get that appropriate crazy cat look and the whiskers are getting figured out.  There is very little actual color in this image so his eyes will really need to be strong. The composition is simple and so the features need to be just right.  As I layer the white over the darks there is a nice luminosity and volume to his fur.  I have found that white is wonderfully strong with a very dark layer underneath. How dry the dark layer is will inform how warm or cool, and how bright the white layers are.  Still more to go here, but I am pleased. Petey's rascally nature is unstoppable.  If only you could hear his constant chatter!

Stretch It Out

This has been the most difficult canvas I have ever tried to create.  This crow "configuration" is part of a larger piece slowly coming together out of little bits of this and that right here in the studio. There is so much figuring out and so much to learn; to discover ~ I really cannot wait to start painting on it.  The thought process of creating "in the round" is really out of the box thinking for me.  I felt this was appropriate for this particular piece~ the only solution really.  Taking risks is part of the creative experience.  It's compulsive.  It is a good life lesson as well.  Growing up, I was extremely lucky to have as thorough an art education as I did an academic one. I learned the basics of visual arts at the same time I learned basic math, science, and language.  This formative education led to the fluency and confidence in creating I have today.  My crow painting above may not work in the end, but the experience of creating it will certainly push me to try again and again until it does.  That is a lesson all young people need to know whether the catalyst is art, music, writing, science, etc...

When completed, my painting  will be put along side many other unique pieces in a silent auction, in early May, to raise money for children's art education in the local Bedford County, VA area.
More details forthcoming.  If you are curious to see more of what I am plotting, simply call  me for an appointment.  All sorts of things are brewing...

Monster Whiskers in progress

Session I

 

Session II

Here is my little cat, Petey, whose whiskers are quite astounding and so a painting was born. The first session made some decisions about composition, tone and proportion.  Where did I want warm and cool color to dominate?  What kind of impact was I looking for and what did it seem his naughty little expression was telling me... The second session I focused on darks.  He is white and grey and so a dark background would make those whiskers sing.  There is bright sunlight in the photo I am referencing and I really want to show that contrast.  And then there are his eyes. Sometimes green, sometimes yellow,  always full of mischief, they are one of my favorite subjects to paint...

Contest

Something a little hot for these cold cold winter days!  Here is my entry for the 2015 Jerry's Artarama Self Portrait Contest.  Thought I would give it a try.  This is an excellent example of why I need to up my game on portfolio image quality.  When it was a camera and film, it was a little easier to keep high quality images. A good photo is a good photo.  With computers and digital images and the constant flux of technology, it is difficult for me to keep up! But I am working on it.  Anyway, if you click the link below, you can vote for my painting ~ voting is from April 6th to April 21st .  Winning prizes are all various amounts of store credit at Jerry's  and of course a little pride in your pocket.  A pretty good deal for an artist.  If you enjoy creating self portraits, please submit your image! You never know unless you try. Or as my husband likes to say "that ditch isn't going to dig itself." Good Luck! Happy Creating!!!
Painting details - "Self Portrait; Left Too Long" 2013 oil on canvas 20in x 24in. Painted from looking in a mirror during one of the hottest summers I can remember... message me for sales or any other inquiries.

http://bit.ly/1E95Vr4

Know When to Stop

So I have been documenting the progression of "Imperfection" and here is the latest and final version of it.  That snail shell kicked my butt.  This painting fought me every step of the way.  I do not normally paint still lifes. I do not enjoy painting fabric.  However, this was a good lesson. I stretched my observation skills.  I worked at an unusually slower pace. I figured out new colors and color combinations and pushed my layering techniques.  This is not a good painting to sell, but it was a very good painting for me to make.  I cannot progress staying where it is safe. 

Now this has been going on at the same time as "Imperfection" and I feel all those lessons and frustrations have given  me the insight and success I feel developing here.  So all that energy was not wasted at all.  Part of the progress and discovery of my craft is using what happens in the bad paintings to create the good ones, the specials, and the keepers.

Home is Where The Pup Is

"Come and Get Me!" 

Please join me and a great group of artists from The Electric Company in Bedford, on Friday February 27th, 2015 from 6:30 to 9:30 for a fun night at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke VA.  Many artists throughout the region have contributed animal themed artwork for this one night show to raise funds for the Roanoke chapter of SPCA.  Please come out and take home your favorite! (Maybe two!!) Several of us will be there and we would love to say hello.

This painting is a sweet snapshot of my black lab, Jezebel.  The whimsical house on her nose is a light hearted way of showing that her canine spirit truly makes our house a home.

Cranswers, I Need Cranswers

Something to ponder as you struggle through the 2PM -4PM slump... Cranswers, I Need Cranswers~ what are we all made of, what are each of us made of? Your beliefs are who you are. Your reality is shaped by such beliefs.  A million different realities are all existing at once! This painting is contemplating faith and identity.  Faith is part of humanity and part of each individual. Is it as real as the brain in your head? The being that once occupied this skull ~ he lived in a community, and perhaps he loved and was loved.  The community took care of their sick and their elderly. They shred food and shelter and lessons of survival...They did not have the ability to speak as we do.

2nd Session

Here is the 2nd session of Imperfection.  I defined more color and started to detail some of the smaller objects.  Building the details is a process in patience. This kind of technical painting requires a layer building process that creates the depth and it cannot be rushed.  I also like to figure out proportions as I go because for me this gives a certain energy to the pieces and I never really feel that everything is in the right place until the painting is almost complete.  It is very important that cup is grounded and right now it still feels floating. I do not mind.  The building of layers will settle it down just as it will pull the snail shell forward.  So far I am pleased.

In the beginning

     So what's on the easel lately is a little different than the norm.  I live in an area where still lifes and landscapes are common and very much appreciated. For me, however, this is totally out in left field.  I thought it would be a good place to show some method.  This is the first day of this painting. To begin with,  I studied the light and color.  I drew in my lines and shapes in paint selecting my color based on whether the painting will be warm or cool in tone when I am finished.  I used a mix of cadmium yellow and cadmium red for the first layer of the cup, where I know in the end it will be light as this gives the brights and whites dimension and vitality. The grey shadows in it are based in a warm ultramarine blue.  The dark fabric in this painting has also been given an undertone of warm cadmium yellow to keep it lush.  I expect many more layers to come going back and forth between lights and darks.  I keep a separate brush each  for when I work with white and color, and when I work with color only.  Then I build in turns, or sessions, and leave a little drying time in between.  I feel this keeps my color crisp and not dull.  I jumped into the white on the cup as I know I want it as the focus and it actually has a lot of shadowing and reflection on it - busy not all flat white.  Also too, the painting is warm except for the light blue in the background. I kept that cool as another way to push the objects forward ~ especially the cup.    I am also going to refrain from using a straight edge on the chop sticks. It is a point of pride to get those lines straight ~ so far, not bad...
     I am in love with snail shells right now ~ so small and adorable with their infinite spiral and mobile home nature.  This painting is of items about home and identity.  The demitasse cup is from two generations ago with a chip and a crack in it. That and the flower detailing will be a good challenge, but more importantly, it belonged to my mother and though it was singular and damaged, it held some kind of importance, as she had possessed it since childhood.  The chop sticks were a gift from half way around the world.  They are a reminder of times in my own past ~ people and connections, dreams and generosity.  I will post updates as the painting progresses.  Any questions or comments are welcome. 

Nestled

I keep thinking lately "be safe".  The world is harsh; only we can be gentle.  This tiny painting of a repeating motif, is titled, "Nestled".  It has been so cold, which also has brought on comparing ideas of home and shelter. Winter colors, winter thoughts.  Painted from life, my husband had found this nest abandoned and brought it to me one day.  He is always bringing me these kinds of things as they are my favorite type of gift.  The snail shells I find and collect when I am out walking Jezebel.  But sometimes we see them occupied in the summer gliding quietly along the sidewalk, and then we just say hello...
This is a  good study of greys.  I believe this will be the year I finally find satisfaction in my grey tones. Also too, this new venue of still lifes is an excellent rediscovery in refined painting and close observations. I need to get my head out of the clouds sometimes...

By the way~ you can now find me on Twitter!! Follow me so a I can follow you, ~ as my young niece likes to say "sharing is caring"
http://www.twitter.com/Zanne13_Artist

be safe out there!

He Gave Me The Moon

And then one day, he gave me the Moon.
He called me from far away and said,
"Look at the sky. Look at the Moon. Can you see it?
It is all full and warm. We will be
looking together."

I went outside, but I could not find the Moon
all full and warm from a rare eclipse.
Then something in me surrendered. I gave in
to trust and to belief. I found we were
already together.