Movies

In the mood for LOVE

Posted by FOX

I love art.  LOVE IT.  I love creating art, buying art, learning about art, talking about art, talking to artists and even reading art history.  I also love movies about art.  I’ve mentioned some “artsy” movies in previous posts.  I recently went to see The Monuments Men.  It did get some iffy reviews – but I really enjoyed the film.  It was a great reminder about why art is important and the difference it makes in our lives.  There are some pretty famous actors in the movie and some comedy mixed in.  Rolled up in all the art and drama is the sobering reality of WWII.  I’d recommend the film to anyone who also loves art and a great cast of actors.

Portraits of people are by far my favorite thing to do.  People are just beautiful.  There’s so much that can be captured about a person by the look in their eyes, the wrinkles on their face, the position of their body or the way they hold their head.  It’s captivating.  I’m fortunate to be able to capture some of this beauty in my work.  Unfortunately, sometimes our own mirrors can be irritating instead of helpful.  Next time, instead of seeing a flaw in the mirror – a line on your face, a rounder middle, a scar, a dark freckle, a gray hair – think about art.  You are art.  All the things that are imperfect about you work together to make you a perfect piece of beautiful art.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  Ephesians 2:10  (NLT)

Here’s some new work:

Hey Lady

This is a graphite portrait.  I used a 6B Woodless Graphite pencil to create very dark tones for this work.  I’m really liking the eyes on this one.  She looks like she may bat her long lashes at us at any moment.

Tootsie

Here’s another pet painting.  This is a hunter green acrylic background.  This dog – Tootsie – is a spunky Shih tzu.  You can almost see how sassy this little pooch is with her upturned nose and head and her big fluffy tail.

Zoo animals

Last – a new Mobile.  This mobile has a giraffe, elephant, hippo and some tropical leaves suspended with hemp string from spokes of aluminum.  Hopefully it’s new owner will see these dancing animals and dream of the zoo.

GO LOVE SOME ART!

Just Paint Over It

Posted by FOX

One of the great things about painting is that, if you don’t like something, you can just paint over it!  I did a painting in an abstract class a few months ago.  It was really horrible.  It was a lot of brown and the composition didn’t make any sense to me.  I was hoping that I would re-visit it and make it work but it’s just been stashed in a closet.  Viola! Now (after I finish painting those red edges) I’ve got a new, blank canvas.   I have an idea about what I want to go on this canvas, but you’ll just have to check back and see.

Yes, that’s a GALLON of Gesso.  Gesso is awesome for the purpose described above, as a surface primer and to create a texture on the surface to be covered (or not) later with paint.  This canvas has a 1.25″ edge.  I prefer to use the deep edge canvases because they still look okay if you don’t put them in a frame.  The brush I’m using is a Creative Mark Mural 50, which is a flat 1 – 15/16″.  Big, flat brushes are fun to work with because they are quick at filling up a space with paint and they force you to be loose with your movements.

On a fun note, I also love to watch movies about art and artists.  I rented The Forger the other night and really liked it.  It stars Josh Hutcherson, who was in The Hunger Games and Alfred Molina, who is in a lot of great movies – including another great art movie Frida.  Anyway, The Forger, had a good story and touched on some of the struggles artists have making a living.  It also provided some good insight on how art can be used to communicate emotion that is very difficult to express.