I have been thinking about creating a Jazz piece for a while and came across a vintage image of a Louisiana Jazz Band. I used it as a jumping off point to create this musical image. I have to say that I love the trombone player... he is the show stopper!
« April 2009 | Main | June 2009 »
May 2009
May 29, 2009
May 22, 2009
Channeling Frost
I'm officially fully recovered from Art-A-Whirl and have been hard at work on new pieces for all of the upcoming fairs. The piece above was inspired by a field of dandelions but quickly became about something else entirely... sometimes that happens. While in the throws of the creative process I started to think about a poem by Robert Frost titled "Gold." It is a bitter sweet poem about how time is fleeting. I think it is about enjoying the moment before it passes. It also made me think about the movie The Outsiders but that is beside the point. Originally this painting was going to be titled "Field of Gold" but the little girl reminded me so much of my daughter that I decided to call it just " Gold" after Frost's poem. I thought it suited the sentimentality of the painting a little more.
May 18, 2009
Harlequin Romance
When I was in high school, back in the stone ages better known as the 80's, my best friend at the time used to pour over Harlequin Romance novels like nobody's business. It was her guilty pleasure, so much so that she actually stole them from the library because she was too embarrassed to check them out.I remember her sneaking them back to the library to return them and hijack another- it was a very covert operation.
I love the idea of the over the top romance... just call me girly. I know in real life it is impossible to be spontaneous on a daily basis especially when you throw kids into the mix and the chaos better known as day to day living. But, I thought, wouldn't it be fun to draw an over the top romance? So I created a couple doing one of the steamiest most romantic dances that I know- the Tango. Surrounded in flowers with wine at the ready, what could be better?
May 10, 2009
Coming Up Roses
Oh flowers, flowers everywhere, but it's still too cool to plant. So how do I fix my need for my floral fantasy? I draw them into existence! Spring is always a long time coming in Minnesota and when the temperatures get into the 60's everyone makes a mad dash for the nursery to buy anything and everything with color. I just completed a sweet little image that was inspired by a dress made of flowers and the color in a scarf that I bought at my favorite guilty pleasure Anthropologie. I thought of how at the moment I would love to be surrounded by them and what better way then to wear them! This piece makes me think of spring... I added the dog because mine is always good company.
May 04, 2009
When one door closes...
I love the idea of creative storage solutions. When my new studio mate moved in last month we had to create new ways to hide the detritus of daily studio life. I was standing in the middle of the studio when the idea of doors hit me. I thought about looking for old doors to create walls or screens out of them to hide the junk I didn't feel like looking at all of the time. The next question was where to find something interesting on the cheap.
The solution came a couple of weeks later when I decided to take a new route home from the studio. I ended up finding an Art and Architecture warehouse right behind my studio that had piles of these old doors on their loading dock. I have to say I nearly peed my pants with excitement.
I came back a few days later with my friend and we picked through stacks of doors until we found what we were looking for. We also got a great deal at $10 a door. We spent the following Saturday washing the years of grime off with the help of my kids( I paid them in pizza). We hinged them together and voila... instant storage!
