Look where I am!!

In my mind of course. But oh, what a lovely trip it is.

apropos of nothing

I would like to displace this gent and live in this room myself.






image borrowed from here.

Previews

Who doesn't love a preview? I not only like a movie preview, but I don't even mind a spoiler. I am so o.k. with spoilers, I've told friends to please tell me the end of movies. Yes, I still enjoy the movie too.



But would previews be suitable for everything in our lives? I have a group art show coming up on April 1 and will give you a few sneak-peak thumbnail type previews here and in the weeks ahead, but what of everything else?


How about life? What's my next car going to look like? What's happening next month? Or next year? Haven't we all experienced the feeling of watching a film or reading a book that we can barely stand not knowing how the story will end? Oh tell me?! How does it end, I say? Happy? Sad? Someone dead? Does he run away? Does she escape? or beloved Flora, throwing herself off the turret?


We can plan, strategize, organize and do our best to aim our personal intentions in the general direction of wants and needs.


Not every arrow can be pointed the way we want them. Agendas change, goals adjust themselves. Needs and wants are adjusted and battle it out. Oh, and have you heard? People change. I for one know that I have, do, and will again. Hopefully into who I am.



What I know for sure is that life is all about change. Oh...and I'm in charge of the decisions in my life. I'll work on that one.

so many...

So, so many times, I have told myself in a somewhat sheepish voice, "oh, here's the subject for my next blog!" or, "ah, yes! a title!"
Only to fizzle once sitting down at my monitor, never quite getting to the point of articulating my thoughts.

Possible titles you ask? So, so many to name a but a few:
"Liz and Bret's adventure"
"Sabotage of oneself"
"When life goes south"
"My nutalicious life"
"Why people still move to California"

I will wait whilst you ponder....

Times up.

In the last two weeks or so, ahem, since my last post, many many things. Main focus has been L, her brother passing and all the fall out that death of a brother implies. Complicated would be an understatement, but she and dear friend Bret are off to N.Y. where they are headed into the "eye" of sorts of what's being called "Snowmagedden". Funny thing is, only thing worse than Snow magedden: Family Magedden, During a funeral.


The weather here in the beautiful Napa Valley has been beyond lovely. It's been freakish. Yesterday: 80 degrees fahrenheit.
At 10am.
Even in California, although it's true that our brains are half fried from the sun, the love and the weed that that kind of temperature in early February is just plain scary.

So, my mind and my heart are all pulled this way and that. I keep painting, thinking about my dear friends L and B, hoping their trip is not only eventless but that they come back to sunny lovin' California, unharmed, unscathed and feeling groovy.

Couldn't help it, I'm a native after all.

sunny and warmer expected

Napa has been beautiful this last week. Not even the end of January and I'm seeing budding on trees, and gasp, mustard flowering under the grape vines on the many drives up and down valley.

When I first moved here three years ago, the rains fell, day after day. My bank, unfortunately enough, was located 25 minutes up valley in St. Helena, a community as yet undiscovered by me.

What I found was dirt black, gnarly vines, growing from neon yellow fields of grape vines under cool mist colored sky.

Sublime.

Thus began my vineyard paintings, sometimes "realistic" sometimes abstract. (Think vineyards at 60 mph)

Going back up valley a few days ago, the third year of my residing here, the vineyards did not let me down.

This week in the studio: Here's a look at me spackeling then brushing on a layer of gesso on a stretched canvas panel. It's like frosting a really big cake.

This week at the studio

Have logged many hours at the studio this week. In order to sell art, I have to keep a rather large inventory of art at the ready at all times, and this requires me to be painting, researching and creating new work during all of my studio time.
It is time I enjoy immensely.

If I get a call from an interested client, I have to actually have paintings to show.
If I am contacted by a group that wants to show my work at their space, in multiples, I must have available paintings that are ready to go.
If a gallery I show in sells work, I need to have possible replacements and new work available.
I must always have new work in the hopper for upcoming shows, in anticipation of selling.



Indeed, I have about sixty paintings that are farmed out, in production, showing at a gallery or hanging at the studio at any given time.

The images today are paintings in progress. Generally taking two to four weeks or more of time from stretched canvas to the final varnish coat. Two to four paintings are being worked on at various stages.

The business of art is one that like fashion looks like all glamour on the outside, but is very dirty, scruffy, hard work. Much time and energy goes into a finished painting, exhibition, catalog, gallery, installation.

Heads roll, hands wring, teeth gnash, fur flies.

I love a good metaphor.

Oh happy day

Finishing and delivering paintings is the second thing I like to do in the studio. This week was a fruitful one despite my children needing to be occupied on their third week of holiday (curse you unified school district!)



I finished two paintings and delivered each, albeit a wee "damp" shall we say? Not to worry: hang them on the wall and for God's sake, don't walk too closely as you'll brush up against the uh, "yet to fully set" paint. And get it on your clothes. Like (all of) mine.

What with february around the corner, I've been recently notified as to a gallery's upcoming show, themed around none other than "love". So this week, I will put my artists head back to the grindstone and figure out how I can make something that says "love". Birds? Frankly, I'm in more of a crow mood these days. Crows: fighting over a bloody heart?

A student of mine confessed that he found my blog somewhat autobiographical. Too much?
Why do I keep this up if not for putting shocking thoughts out to the universe? Undoubtably for laughs.