So What's With Your Messy Kitchen?

Crimson

8"x10"

I'm sure you are all wondering why in the world I'm photographing my work in my kitchen. And if I am.........why is it so messy in there? The simple answer is the lighting. No where in the house is the lighting as good as in my kitchen, on the countertop right after breakfast. When I download my photos I don't have to touch them up at all other than of course some cropping. It makes my life so much easier than running around the house trying to find the right light. I have tried taking the photos outside on an overcast day but nothing beats this. So the dishes that are hanging around are generally from breakfast......maybe next time I'll tidy before snapping my pix but knowing me I probably won't.

I've had a few emails regarding when I'm going to put the small 6"x6" paintings up for sale on the blog and all I can say is when I have some time. I'm currently working on paintings for both Ridge West and Carriage House so when that's done I will focus on some smaller works. Thanks for your interest.

Have a great day all!

Back Tomorrow

Will be back tomorrow with a full blog post. Trying to get paintings ready for both Carriage House Gallery's group show as well as Ridge West.

This & That

Infinite Grace

Work in progress

16"x16"

I never thought I would enjoy Twitter as much as I have but guiltily, I must admit it is fun. Quick and to the point it lets me know what the people I've decided to follow are up to. That, for me has been the key word........."choose to follow". I made a conscious decision to only follow those I know or those who interest me. If you don 't, you can get totally bogged down and never do anything else all day long.

I've been in the studio on a regular basis this week and feel great with what I've accomplished. CBC as been keeping me company as has my ipod........ lots of old Elton John (Mad Man Across The Water) and of course The Doobie Brothers (The Captain and Me)........some dance music which I'll discuss at a later date as it has to do with my need to dance while I work. Also been listening to the unbelievable Adele who I first heard on Q about a month ago.

The above piece is my foray into working on a larger scale which frightened me for quite some time but a good friend of mine encouraged me to make the leap. I've enjoyed it so much I've got a few bigger canvases on order. I still enjoy the 6"x6" and my next week I'll have a few ready to put up for sale on my sales blog which has been sadly neglected. They'll each be framed in a black shadowbox frame and will probably sell for anywhere from $95.00 to $125.00. The smaller pieces for galleries just don't work as once they've taken their % there isn't a whole lot left for the artist. So I'll use the 6"x6"'s for exploring new ideas for larger works.

Still raining here...........

Jumping For Joy That Summer is Finally Here

Spent part of Sunday with Kelly who is possession of a new trampoline. She seems to be quite the expert while I just got on, jumped lightly and prayed I wouldn't fall off and no, I didn't take a picture of that. Afterward I was rewarded with a great salad and a cold drink. You gotta love Sundays and friends..............

Odds and Ends

As Promised

8"x10"

Acrylic on Canas

I finally managed to get myself in gear and spent most of yesterday checking out a few new galleries that may work well to represent my work. Thankfully all but two of them accept online submissions. So much easier. I've been working on a few 6"x6" that I'm pleased with. They are wonderful formats in which to explore new ideas for larger pieces. I may end up selling them from the blog, to friends or whoever else may show up at my studio door.

John's aunt is arriving from out of town for dinner tonight so the studio is not going to see much of me today. Cleaning awaits me as well as dinner planning. We've got some rhubarb out in the garden so I think dessert will end up being a crisp.

Have a great weekend ...............see ya next week

Feels Like Summer

The Light Seekers

16"x8"

These last few days have been absolutely gorgeous weather wise which feels like such a change from the erratic temperatures and rain we've experienced through most of April and into May.

John had the girls out on Monday working in the garden and you can only imagine the looks on their faces. You would think I'd asked them to pump out the septic system. To their credit I will say they put in a solid two hours with their hoodies pulled up over their faces as the black flies were relentless. We planted some lettuce, snow peas, cucumbers and were still eating the asparagus.

I've been pretty steady in the studio, the clean studio I might add. I feel really creative right now and am trying to get as much done as possible before I hit a wall.........it always happens at some point. I've also been researching a few new galleries so I need to get my butt in gear to make that happen.

I'm also on Twitter which makes no sense whatsoever but so be it. Facebook has rather fizzled out for me and I find myself checking in maybe once a week to see what others are up to. Twitter is kind of fun as I can follow some of my favourites artists as well as my guy Jian who happens to Tweet quite frequently. I follow Kevin Nealon who was an alumni of Saturday Night Live and now is on Weeds.........he never fails to crack me up. I imagine it's kind of like stalking but with participants who are willing. Anyway, just some other mindless activity to keep me amused.

Hope your having a great day wherever you are in the world.

Purging

I think I've mentioned the fact that my studio is housed in a teeny tiny space. In reality it's a small bedroom that I've taken over as a studio. At one time a few years ago we considered a renovation above the garage, which incidently would have been a gorgeous spot for me. Our house backs onto a a park and creek so the view would have been incredible, but alas, it didn't happen. So yesterday when I walked into my studio and saw what can only be described as a bunch of crap clogging up my space, I decided I seriously needed to purge.

This bulletin board above was making me crazy as nothing was organized and it made me feel uneasy everytime I looked at it. I also had a few paintings that were either completed or in progress which were hanging around so I took a hammer and a few nails and hung them instead. Much better and I like seeing them when I walk into the studio. John would have preferred that I use these do hickey things that don't leave holes in the wall but I went to three different stores looking for them and had no luck so nails it was.

The next thing to tackle was my desk which was housing everything from bills to a half finished painting and even an old beer bottle which was empty of course(no idea how that got there). So I spent the next half hour wearing my Martha Stewart hat trying to put things in their appropriate place.

After all was said and done things just felt better and when the room has a good vibe it makes me want to spend more time in it which in turn makes me want to work more. I'll post the cleaned up version in my next post.

Have a great weekend................