I have been in a bit of a quandary lately over what to paint next, no not these little paintings, but bigger paintings 1/2 sheets to full size sheets or bigger.

I just finished a series. I decided I wanted to start another series or so I thought. The problem is: I cannot for the life of me get the fourth painting started. I also have been reworking the second in the series even while others tell me to leave it alone, its great. This tells me maybe I really don’t want to make it into a series.  Then again…I have to admit I struggle thru this foggy quagmire of first attempts every time I start a series. It only seems after I’ve painted four or five paintings that I have a sense of what it is that I’m trying to say. It almost like I have to take the idea of a painting from a concept into a breathing living thing. Right now I feel like these paintings need CPR and I can’t remember how to administer mouth to mouth. Until then Until I can breath life into these paintings its just paint, paper and brushes.

As you become a better painter with more skills and techniques, you start to search for your style, you crave uniqueness. Why do painters constantly advocate breaking from the traditional school of thought? Is it the case of attempting to create paintings that will owe nothing to any other piece of work or artist–something unique and original in the world of art?” It’s a wonderful philosophy, but unfortunately an unrealistic delusion, simply because no one has ever been able to demonstrate a work of art that is entirely different. Every painting I ever gazed upon, including those in any gallery and those of the great masters all echo some previous painter’s accomplishments. Painters are by nature trying to achieve something new by using parts of something old. Every work of art, consciously or unconsciously has been subjected to traditional values in one form or another. The truth is that there is nothing original and if it appears as original there are most likely some less known artist doing the same thing but not getting any credit for it.
There may be new mediums, new colors or pigments but the basic way we take paint and create has not changed.

$800.00

Its hard to believe anyone thought this was attractive but most likely our idea of beauty…that  being a women who is ultra thin and our compulsive dieting would seem ugly and odd by the standards of a hundred years ago.
In my research for geisha I found these photos and they are photos of a chinese women not Japanese but some how they came up under geisha.  I just finished reading a book about China and foot binding and in this story they bound the child’s feet at 6 years old.  They had to break the toes and to do this, each day they would  bind and rebind the child’s feet …. tightening the bandages, then require the child to walk back and forth until all the toes were neatly tucked under the foot. Some mother’s had a difficult time keeping the bandages on or tightening them enough and the child’s feet did not get bound correctly and they were basically left crippled by the ordeal. Apparently even when done correctly the person cannot walk long distances without discomfort.  This practice was outlawed by the government in 1958 but apparently in some rural areas it was not reported.  The book is called

” the Snow Flower and the secret fan”     Lisa See is the writer.

Now I’m reading “geisha” by Liza Dalby I’ll let you know how it goes….

This 8 by 10 (inch) oil painting on wood is for sale for $95.00. I love the mix of colors and the dark colors next to the lighter & brighter colors. Its part of my “Tribute to Monet” series and I find this method of painting complicated and yet simple. these paintings tend to be very heavily pigmented and usually take at least a week to dry because of the amount of paint used to achieve this look. Its done with palette knives and a special little tool I made, which looks like a spatula. the surface seems rich. I enjoy painting in this style but cannot decide how it will work with anything other than water.

This is a watercolor on 300 lb paper. 5 by 7 95.00

I was working with my apprentice, Leigh Anne today and we started a small painting of a pink rose. After she left, I decided to paint this red rose. I wanted to try a few unusual color combinations, magenta and manganese blue, and also after that glaze had dried a warm glaze of Quin red … I use these colors often but never mixed. At first the rose looked more burgundy and was very pretty but I still wanted to see the color change and how this red would look over the other cooler color. So I painted the quin red over the burgandy and I liked it. I painted three more glazes and when it started to dull down a bit, I decided to leave it alone.
I’ve got a few commissions this week so this is the reason your not seeing as many paintings on my blog as usual. I also have to develop some lessons plans for the web site, art by example. When I upload a new lesson, I’ll be sure to let you know.