Cheerful and Colorful Paintings

Cheerful and Colorful Paintings in Oil, Acrylic, Mixed Media and Collage
nancystandlee@sbcglobal.net

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Tony Saladino Critique Group ~ Art Collaboration ~ Art Journal Pages

16" x 20" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas with some collage elements

16" x 20" Acrylic on paper mounted on gallery wrapped canvas

Critique Group
These are the 2 paintings I took to a newly formed critique group hosted by Tony Saladino at his studio. He has a "whole house" for his wonderful studio and yes, it is full with paintings, computers, and framing supplies. Four members from the art collaboration group, Canvas by Canvas, were there (Betty, Barbara, Karen and Nancy).
Tony works in acrylics and he prepares his own supports and paints in a representative and abstract method. We loved going from room to room and seeing the works in progress and the finished pieces waiting to be shipped.
The Group
Tony wants to limit the group to about 10 members. We arrived at 9:00 for a get acquainted coffee and he explained the process. Each artist may bring up to 3 paintings any size for presentation and the artist is free to listen or participate in the discussion. A timer is set so each person gets equal time. Our paintings were placed in a separate room so each presentation would be a surprise to the rest of the group. These artists are serious about their work and are on different and various levels in their art journey, but we all have a desire to improve. One thing I learned and am going to try is work larger and simplify.
Encouraging words from Tony "Every painting has a buyer. Find a gallery. There will be a buyer. The closer you get to being you, the better your work will be." On the advantage of painting a still life "It's an easy way to paint from life and it doesn't "twitch or itch".
In the Group with a blog or web site, check out these:
Lesley Talty
Robert Standlee (I was so surprised as we have the same last name and no relation. The name is not found spelled this way very often.)
Karen Frances
We have a good group and the art talk continued at a local Mexican food restaurant, Miguelito's, and was joined by tango talk as Karen F and Tony both tango. Maybe later we can do a tango photo shoot!!
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More soup, this time potato and Fish City Grill trip and a great western dvd, Appaloosa, about friendship. I've been practicing some watercolor moves and reading before the soon to be, Mel Stabin workshop. This will be my third Mel workshop and the last one was in San Miguel. I did some really bad plein air paintings there and no excuses this time inside, but every where you looked there was so much beauty to distract in San Miguel. Yes, I watched Barak Hussein Obama being sworn in and the inauguration. We wish him well and will watch with interest the current propaganda of Igor Panarin. At the end of the article is a map of how he thinks the U.S. will be divided.

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Thursday was the critique and it wasn't that brutal with a thumbs up or down. I had to add a note about Lost being on Wednesday night. It is a story with many twists and turns and a review before the season started. Friday was a hair trim with Terry at Salon Purple and he has a church across the street, Sanctuary. Terry has a MySpace also. I used a gift certificate next door at Mamma Mia's Italian Restaurant for a great lasagna lunch. Then since it was 80 and sunny I decided on a drive to model home look. Maybe I'll mount the acrylic painting to a canvas before the day is over.
I got an email yesterday about LeapFish, the fastest search engine on the planet with the funny grayed out area "It's ok, you're not cheating on Google...."

I have posted a slide show of photos from Tony's critique group and Terry's photo is at the end. Enjoy.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Pear ~ SWS Extreme ~ Art Journal Page


30"x22" full watercolor sheet, Acrylic "Pear" on paper I am attempting to straighten some in my studio this week and on Thursday I found a very colorful acrylic "Pear" from a Burridge workshop and decided I needed a bright spot for my post today. It really looks big, doesn't it?


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Tuesday was a fun trip to the La Cima Club and to see the Mustangs at Las Colinas. Canvas by Canvas will have a show in the club soon and Maryann, Karen, Cindy Y, and I went to check out the hanging possibilities. Wikipedia has a short article or you can read more about the bronze statues in a Google search. The 9 wild mustangs are the largest equestrian sculptures in the world.

Then always lunch is involved and some Santa Fe style Mexican Food at Via Real.
Wednesday evening another wonderful meal at the City Cafe before the SWS meeting. Who can think of a cabbage soup diet when you're invited to sample some new American - California cuisine in a white table clothed bistro? I enjoyed and ate every bite of some Diver U10 scallops and a tomato risotto. Maybe you already know this but I didn't. The "U" stands for "under" and it means fewer than 10 of these scallops make up a pound and they are the largest ones available. The Diver means a "real diver" picked them up instead of a scoop. Don't you just love the internet where you can look up all kinds of information? And just for the record, in case you get the idea I get to eat gourmet every day....I had a can of tomato soup yesterday when left to my own devices.
The Extreme SWS Tag Team Paint Off and Throw Down
Four of our award winning signature members, Harry Shields and Jane Jones, signature members of NWS, and Nel Dorn Byrd and Priscilla Krejci, signature members of AWS, presented SWS with a delightful evening of painting demos and laughter. We arrived to find 4 demo tables set up in the center of the room with 4 sheets of full size watercolor paper with the image drawn off and placed on the tables with the rest of the artist's supplies. Joel was the time keeper and each artist was allowed 10 minutes of painting time and the paintings were rotated, without the sketch or photograph included so it became an emotional response to what had been previously applied. This rotation continued for 4 times and on the 5th round the painting came back to the original owner with a few "Oh, my" or "Where are my whites?". There was a short break between the 4th and 5th rounds for announcements, snacks, and drying time. Since an overhead mirror couldn't be used, the members and guests were encouraged to walk around and view the paintings in progress. Thanks to Joel, Maureen, and our president Herb for a great evening of fun and to 4 artists with heart.
Each artist signed their first name to all four paintings and they were auctioned off and the money will be used as a prize award at the next SWS show.
Slide Show
You are invited to see my slide show of the event but be warned about the photo quality. These were quickly snapped and some are definitely lopsided or out of focus or both and the flash washed out some of the color.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Betty Crocker ~ Art Journal Pages

7"x10" watercolor "Betty Crocker"
Why is it when you are trying to drop a few pounds for the new year, your cookbooks fall off the shelves, screaming "try me, cook me?" I stand by my goal and painted it instead.

This is Cindy and her portrait that I painted which won a SWA award. You can read about it on my blog post HERE. Cindy is a great cat painter and one of the reasons she got her cat Clementine was to have a ready model.
Not too long ago, Cindy and I made a long car trip to Little Rock to exhibit a CBC painting and we were in the car together 10 plus hours and the conversation would always turn to food. When she was a tall, willowy New York model she wanted little to do with the cooking of food, just partaking. One week before her wedding and at age 20 Cindy had a revelation that it was soon to fall her lot to be responsible for the food that would be served in her home. At that ninth hour, her dear mother came to the rescue with a plan that each night they'd cook together a new dish for dinner, including a side dish. She got down the basics of pot roast, meat loaf, smothered steak, fried pork chops, salmon croquettes, red beans with cornbread, creamed tuna on toast, and chicken fried steak. She laughs and says for the longest time she never wavered with the side dishes that went with the main course. For instance, if she served fried pork chops always expect to see gravy, rice and LeSueur peas on the plate. Cindy relates she learned well and that first pot roast was perfect and wowed her new husband; however, she forgot the left over roast stored in the oven and about a week later they began searching for this noxious odor. These days she cooks less and spends her spare time painting Clementine.

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The year began right with painting in my journal with friends at Maryann's and then dinner with a professional friend I'd lost contact with at Fish City Grill. On Sunday a steak at Hoffbrau and then parts 1-5 of John Adams and oh, my, it was wonderful. I have learned to spell Abigail and have since corrected it in my journal. This movie has given me a renewed appreciation for our country and the sacrifices made by our founders. David McCullough has done a great service to America to bring these characters alive.
Here's the day I painted my cookbook. This is one of my favorite possessions given to me in 1957, a first edition and fifth printing. The poetry I ever remember is on page 302 "Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze." I loved looking at instructions to make pineapple boats, grate my own coconut, and make sure I was serving my family from the basic 7 food groups. My mother sent me off to Tarleton Junior College, now Tarleton State University, in 1956 to major in Home Economics and Betty Crocker came along just like another text book that 2nd year. More boring medical stuff and oat bran muffins for cholesterol lowering and sometimes feeling like I'm moving in slow motion so - move it.

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Cindy and I went to the Gamut Gala opening of their new Art Couture Gallery and you can read about it on the previous post and see David Fisher in the slide show. Last night, January 13, he appeared in NCIS and fortunately he wasn't killed off. David we'll be watching for you again.
On Sunday a new dish at the Macaroni Grill and parts 6 and 7 of John Adams - winner of the 2009 Golden Globe for best mini-series/tv movie. On the credit extras on the dvd, I learned that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 50 years after signing of the Declaration of Independence. Wow. Jack is back in 24 and what a horrible drawing. I put sunglasses on him to cover him up but he still looks like a kid down the street instead of big, bad Jack.
Check out our Artist Food Network for one of Cindy's Favorite Recipes.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Art Couture Gallery ~ Gamut Control Gala

Vladimir Gorsky 1953-2008
No, this isn't my painting of Clint but one of many great paintings on display at a celebrity gala on Saturday evening presented by the Art Couture Gallery and Gamut Control.
Cindy and I were invited to visit with some international artists since I have contracted with Gamut to produce my giclees. During the evening there was a tribute to Mr. Gorsky.
We met up again with actor, writer, and painter David Dayan Fisher. He has been in Hollywood's National Treasure and you can see him Tuesday evening, January 13, on CBS NCIS. David said he usually gets killed off but on this series he has been invited back.
We met Jim Lively, Michael Kypuros, Reza Sepahdari, and Kim Klatt from Art Business News and had a lovely evening after dining at the nearby Capriccio Ristorante.

Here are some photos taken during the evening:

Saturday, January 3, 2009

It's All About Soup ~ Look There's a Chicken ~ Art Journal Pages

7" x 10" Watercolor sketch of some diet soup ingredients for the Artist Food Network Blog. There you will find the recipe if you want a low calorie soup recipe. This is not a new recipe but one that goes under many names such as the cabbage soup diet and I don't play by the rules either. I'm a diet cheater as if I get a chance to go to I Hop for pancakes or Hoffbrau for a steak, I'm outta here. I'm not recommending it but just saying this is what I'm doing and I've lost a few this week but it's more a "supplemental soup" than being very strict on the program. There has to be a goodbye to December's chocolate and pizza festival and I don't want to be this fluffy in 6 months.
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Cleaned out another spot. Family Christmas Party and there is always food. Something new in my journal as I wanted each person there to "sign my book". What fun to look back and see that Gracie was making a backward 5 and she chose to write Gracie instead of Grace. I decided to draw my gifts instead of name them.

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More gifts, more drawing and another reason I'm enjoying keeping an art journal for drawing practice and taking a closer look at objects and there is a great benefit in jogging a foggy memory. Don't you like the ornament with the woman clasping a book to her chest? It's very suitable for an ex-librarian and a lover of art books and yes, the rear view mirror chimes are hanging in my car accenting the left over Colorado french fries from our speedy trip the 14th.

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I took the advice written on a gift from the previous page, a bracelet that said " Seize the day and make the most of your life." I seized it to journal and blog and stay in my bathrobe. I made a pocket from an envelope to secure the Christmas letter and attached the card on front.


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Party time is over and time to reflect on the possibility of losing weight and limiting it to one English pea a day, doing some Google searches and looking at diet books, taking off to Walmart to buy some healthy groceries and finding a book I wanted to read, "23 Minutes in Hell", so I went to Luby's bought soup and came home and read the book and made soup on Sunday. The book is written by Bill Wiese and is a sobering book and more gripping than making soup.
Finally on Monday I got to go paint with 5 Canvas by Canvas members and it was mostly talking over each other and interrupted conversations when we began to say "Look there's a chicken" after I repeated the Bob Burridge joke from the Corpus Workshop. Bob was delivering a lecture on color in the 2nd story art center, surrounded by glass windows overlooking the bay when he blurted out, "Look at that orange barge on the blue horizon" then laughed and said, "I don't have ADD" and "They said I have ADD - they just don't understand OHHH, there's a chicken" and boy, oh, boy can I relate to this statement after not seeing girlfriends for several weeks and we're all a little ADD when we reconnect.
We decided that we needed to go check out Brad Pitt in the Benjamin Button movie but first an I Hop fix. One of my CBC friends described the movie as from "Depends to Pampers". After two days of fun, then computer problems, a grandson fix and I paid him in food and gas money. Vista and I do not have a good relationship.

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There is "Change" in store for 2009 and we will continue to reach forward to what lies ahead. No resolutions but thoughts about trying to get my house under control, taking care of buisiness, painting more and walking (just remember to carry my id!!), and listen to my dowloaded Thru the Bible series while I walk.. Just for Today.
May you have a blessed New Year.