Morning Thoughts....

I love the quiet morning time, being able to slip into the day slowly.

A beautiful sunrise inspires me and fills me with awe.

We live on an amazing planet, and I am glad

I can view it all with an Artist's Eye.

 

 

Mornings are filled with rich black coffee and good reading.

Sometimes the material is deep, sometimes not.

Thomas Merton is a favorite, especially when I want to think.

The above book is wonderful~~when strict Catholic Monk

meets the Asian religions, and finds we all

come from the same cloth.

What a wonderful thought!

Sometimes morning provokes a solitary mood;

being astounded at the beauty of ONE

is enough.

In a world burgeoning with MORE,

the singular sings.

I close my eyes and savor those notes.

And in the studio, my heart is like a child.

It is NOT serious here; there is fun to be found.

Let the rest of the responsibilities go and take a moment

to laugh, to play.

The day is started right.

With camera in hand, I find the still lifes of Mother Nature.

Not planned, not structured.

Left by the touch of the wind and perhaps a stray squirrel.

Arrangements better than I can create.

Earth~~the ultimate artist.

Ultimately, it all leads back to this.

Brushes, pencils, paint.

The tools, life blood, lust of every artist.

The studio a haven.

My thoughts returned to what I love so.

The day will be one of gesso and color,

light and dark,

canvas and paper.

This is a rich life.

I'd like to welcome a new follower, a dear friend from FaceBook, Todd-Michael St.Pierre. T-M is a fantastic author of both children's books and my personal downfall, Louisiana COOKBOOKS!

Please visit his web page HERE and take a look around. You need a cookbook. 

REALLY!

Trust me!

It fills the head with all sorts of GOOD Morning Thoughts!


Pax....

Relearning Painting: What Chemo Brain Does

Art from B.C.~~before chemo. Cranked out a series of these.

This is not my usual tongue-in-cheek post but a bit more serious and hopefully you'll read along. Not boring, a little more observational. I promise I will make it up with one of my off the wall posts....join me now...this is my life at the moment.
I write about returning to painting after chemo and the challenges it presents, but mostly, how I have observed what was going on and stepped into the role of  "documenting" as opposed to frustrated artist.
First off, "chemo brain" is real and differs for each person. I experienced driving home from the grocery and trying to remember what road to take, concluding that I would have to take a route I have not driven for YEARS. That was NOT a Hallmark Moment.....so the motherboard was working fine, but the RAM was seriously messed up. I knew that. I accepted it.
I just did not think it would have an affect on painting, or art. I've done this all my life, and I felt it was so deeply ingrained into my being that nothing could be lost. It was me and I was it and the chemo would just make me a little more out in left field. I had managed with the side effects of neuropathy in both fingers and toes (pain, and nominal feeling/control), had learned to hold things with what I called my *Super-Monkey-Grip* and so I surely could do the same with paint brushes.
I could slop gesso. Good.
I could use tools in place of trying to hold small objects with my fingers. Good.
I could manage abstract backgrounds for assemblage. Good.
And then I sat down to try and recreate a style of work I had done over and over.
And the brain chose not to be present.

This is what I'm trying to recreate......BUT.....

This is pretty much what the brain sees, and is NOT CO-OPERATING one bit.

It was the oddest feeling I'd had through EVERYTHING; here I was looking at my own art, and trying to figure out HOW DID I MAKE THIS???
There were two options; one being to quit and find something else to do (not an option, really)  ~~OR~~  distance myself from the confusion and look at the piece as if someone else had made it and I was trying to copy it.
I am guessing only that I was engaging the left brain now, and the right brain would have it's say later.
I mentally dissected what I *thought* would work, starting with the basics of pulling paints and gel mediums. I studied and studied, noting each wash of color and what was underneath. I began to slowly remember a few of the colors I used, but the rest were pure guessing.
Then came the issue of painting the background. I had done this all by rote without a thought previously, and now I was not even sure which BRUSH it was I normally used. Breathe deep...let the hand wander.
*It* picked the right one, and began laying down paint as I had before, but the sensation was one of being someone else watching that hand work. It took some adjusting to accept that THIS was going to be the norm for a while. This was painting after chemo; suck it up and watch away.
Honestly, it is fascinating in a bizarre way. I am aware of the thought that goes into the work, and also how the body actually has it's own memory. I just start work and let things happen.
Bit by bit, I begin to remember all the tools of the trade. I may not be sure how I used them, but I know they are important, and keep them close visually. That seems to get the neurons firing right.
I am really understanding on a different level why art therapy works so well.
As I was able, during treatment, I began my daily journaling again, faithfully, three pages longhand, sometimes five, to keep the skill of writing active and force my fingers to move, to make words, to grip the pen. 
Typing however, is still a hilarious mish-mash. The dyslexia that was a blip on the radar screen before is now an incoming 747, on a continual crash course with the keyboard. Thank heaven's for FireFox's built in spell check!
I accept this.
No fighting, just observing, making notes.
Because it is better to be HERE, facing these interesting challenges, than the other option......

And finally, some success~~the new piece at about the halfway stage; more ability to remember now and push forward.

Never take for granted what you do without thinking.
But seeing it through new eyes, well, it's pretty impressive!
Now I have to go see what my hands can get into.....


Pax....

Monday Musings....

This is what the day is like......

 It's Monday and rainy...a quiet start to a busy week. 
I'm listening to Jill Tracy, which is perfect music for a gray day. Melancholy and bittersweet, it accompanies this morning in mood and color. I highly recommend her work, if you like a pinch of dark arsenic with your sugar.
I have been in contemplative mode; the e-mail box is quiet (and that's unusual) and thankfully I have not wasted the morning on Face Book. Working to rearrange some parts of life.
My weekend was spent scribbling down ideas for working on a slight re-do of the studio. It has been in need for quite a while, and now I have the oomph to tackle it bit by bit.
I may not be Wonder Woman yet, but I still have my satin tights! LOL!
Knowing that it is *possible* to get this space the way I want it makes the stress lift. I love a good challenge and don't mind saying, this is a humdinger. I am doing it strictly for ME.
In between cleaning, moving and dumping things, I allow myself some collage time~~it sweetens the pot. I don't mind the time spent if I can grab a few minutes to add to the paper and glue.
There is still a large project rolling about in my mind. I am making notes and figuring out the details. I thought I would be into it by now, but responsibility for home and hubs and my own lack of table space have delayed it.
You know what?
I don't mind.
It will happen in the right time, and will be glorious. I am thankful for my home, my dear husband, cooking a good meal, sitting at the dinner table with him...laughing about the inane and insignificant.
Life is good.

.....but this is how I feel!!!!

It's the small things that count above all the grandiose ideas and hyperbole. Easy to get caught up in it, but in the end, like cotton candy, melted and nothing to show.
I'll take my rainy day, comfort from the studio, happiness from my life and love.


Pax....

Flitting In.....

....For a quick Hello.
I've been sidelined with allergies, and when I haven't been walking with my head in a cloud, I've held my breath and ventured out for a few photos.
Things are blooming rapidly and then quickly disappearing~~I cannot believe the speed that we've moved to Summer, with the occasional cold night still.
I *thought* I would have the project done to post here that I had started the other day, but alas, damp weather and multiple layers of medium makes for slow drying.
Today I had to give in and let it sit.
It will be an interesting story though when I get it done, because everything....well....that's for another blog post.
Hope y'all are having warm days, soft breezes and beautiful flowers to succumb to their parfum.

(I am still having issues with Blogger not loading blogs or comment boxes~~please bear with me. I try and visit and comment, but this one has me stumped!)




Pax....

....In Living Color....

It feels like a lifetime since I have been able to enjoy any amount of time in the studio, soaking in the colors and getting the feel of the brush back in my hand.
I had missed it, and I had become a bit stagnant and brain addled with how I used to do things. (well, I am a bit brain addled, but fine with it too! lol!)
Getting back in the swing was a bit testy; I decided on a background for a bright piece I had planned.

My gosh...this close up is like heaven to me. The glint of light on the glass palette, swirls of paint glowing and beckoning.
I knew I had not forgotten how to paint, just how to START.
So.....throw something new in the mix....

Had this bottle sitting around from before the Hospital Merry-Go-Round, and decided it was time to cut loose with it. Funny how a new medium takes all the pressure off~~whatever happens happens, it's experimenting and fun. (it's all the attitude when you start, nothing more)
The already translucent Fluids were taken even further in see-through quality but given more body than thinning with water.
Then let's have some fun....

Generously splattering the background with the alcohol produces wonderful water marks. This is a leap of faith; there is little control when doing this. You get what you get, but I still am enamored with watching the paint get pushed aside and the hint of tint that is left.
Amazing.
Sometimes I think I like the visual part of the process as much as the physical. I love starting with white and ending up with this:

And at the end of the day, as the layers of paint dry and the brushes have been cleaned, when I am picking up, shutting off lights and readying to leave the studio I find the most delightful of sights....

The artist's hand, covered in paint.
Proof of work.
Remnants from the day.
Carried out into the rest of life.
In living color.


Pax.... 

A Tidbit From The Studio.....

I've been busy. Probably a little *too* busy, as I am still in P.J.s and bunny slippers, getting my second wind back from a looooooong day yesterday.
But here is a bit of what's been going on at El Milagro.

This table WAS clean. It took me two minor projects to get it to this state. 
I know you remember seeing the heart collage/painting after the work was FINALLY returned from the gallery last Fall. I was so happy to get the work back, I just gave it a quick once over, then safely stashed it. 
Well, went to photograph the paintings for files, and what do I discover on this one? 
DOG CLAW MARKS.
Yes, you read that right; the art had been left where a dog could get to it.  Scarred the paper, removed color and took the varnish off. After a bout of cussing (it was a good one too) and a LOT of work, I finally got things repaired and filled with a couple of layers of heavy varnish. The two pieces in the background had to have clay pieces repaired and revarnished also.
Thank you so much Gallery Off Broadway for your PROFESSIONAL CARE of other artists work. Now pass the Excederin.....
Happier notes~~knitting.

This is from sari yarn, though not the type I've used before. It worked up into a nice piece and at the end of the day I was pleased. It's off with it's new owner, who loves it. :-)
I had promised a photo if I had something *crusty* from my new Michael DeMeng  class, and I am teasing you with a PEEK.....

That's all on it for now.....I'll need a day to put a good coherent post together! LOL!
And finally, to end a long and hard working day~~as I was ready to shut the lights down for the evening, I looked out the window, ran to the studio and grabbed my camera to capture THIS:

No color retouch, no adding; this was one of the most amazing sunsets we have had this winter. The salmon glow from the clouds was coming in the house.
I ran out with no coat or hat to try and capture a bit of the warmth.
It was grand!
So all in all, a good day.
A very very GOOD day.


Pax.... 

The Long Road Home.......

After a lot of correspondence, many levels of frustration and waiting, waiting, waiting, my art is HOME.

(yes, those are Mardi Gras beads on the door handle...it's always Mardi Gras here!)
It had been so long since I had seen the work, it was much like being reacquainted with old friends as I unwrapped the pieces.

These are some of my favorites, due to the intricacy of the work and mixed media. I know I had posted them on blog before, but I backed them with a deep canvas and it really popped the pieces to a new level of dimension.
Generally, if you look for the deep canvas on sale, or by the box, you can get good buys and really make things pop, though this photo does not show it.

 
Does my heart sing???

YES IT DOES!!!

So now art will be going up in the house, bringing color and light at a time when I can certainly use it most.
I am on the mend, though this has been much slower than I expected, plus I am having to behave which is always an unwelcome chore. Oh for a few days of good mischief.....
Soon enough. ;-)
Thanks for celebrating with me, and my heART thanks you too!


Pax....
 

Do You Know Where Your ART Is???

I have to admit I have art stuffed just about everywhere in the house.
And it's not all MINE. One of the delights of blogging is buying art from fellow bloggers. You read their blog, see their work, learn about the process and at some point you have to purchase.

La Cucina

So when I discovered Brian Sylvester at www.inkpunk.blogspot.com was selling these great mini-canvasses, I was smitten!
(okay, I admit that anything with *inkpunk* in the name immediately gets my attention; this from the woman contemplating a Sacred Heart tat....yeeeeaaah!)

I still do not know how Brian does these fine details...omg.....

I went to his blog to buy ONE....okay? One. 

But then I saw another, and they are affordable....and you know the rest. So in the top photo, his work flanks mine, and the framed piece on the counter is my Michael DeMeng piece. Hey, we have to be in good company, you know? ;-)

Anyway, I want to point you to a very nice post Brian did for all of us who had purchased his art, click HERE and then enjoy some of the myriad of beautiful geometric designs he produces with such finesse. They are amazing!

Oh.

Let me add this.

You could buy one too so that I don't feel so bad about blowing my budget.

It would make the blog-mistress very happy!

And now I am back to straightening fabric, which would not have been a good thing to blog about.....not when there is ART and COLOR!!!

Pax....

M.I.A. -- or --Missing In ART!

My apologies.....I truly have been Missing In Art. While I have had a few spare moments to pop into Face Book and say *hi*, most of my time has been feverishly spent getting the following pair of paintings, designed, created, varnished and OUT the door!

All rights reserved; 2011.

The photo is nominal~~I was (as usual) in a rush and just wanted to record them for posterity.....plus I was so tired from working nonstop in the studio for a week, I couldn't see straight!
Never the less, I was delighted in two things~~First, I got it done.
Second, I have not worked on 18"x24" canvas in a long time, and to manage to do TWO, well, happy dance time. ;-)
Sometimes it seems when we think we just don't have another ounce to give, that is when you discover how deeply you DO or DON'T want to make art. And I do, very much.
I am off on another project, which of course has a short deadline. I am not sure how many blogs I will be around; if you comment and have an e-mail addy, I'll pop you a note back. I feel bad about my lack of time to read and reply on your blogs, but I am hoping you understand.
It's always feast or famine, and right at the moment, I'm feasting away!
Until I am back on a somewhat *normal* schedule....haha.....
I bid you all,


Pax....

Good Art News!!!

Today I shipped off two boxes of art I had been frantically working on after being accepted into a delightful gallery in Missouri, and the best part is two other bloggers are there also! Silke and Cathy both will have work hanging along with mine and I couldn't be happier! (and I know they are excited too~~check their blogs to take a look-see at their work)
I know the blog has been a bit ignored of late, but I have found that I can only manage so many irons in the fire at once anymore.....LOL! And painting/mixed media always seems to come first, leaving me little oomph at the end of the day.
The piece above is paint, paper, pastel.....a lot of mixed media fun despite the short deadline. Of course, trying to get things to DRY was a bit interesting, to say the least!
So here's to those of us who rose to the occasion and put our art out there, and here is to Kathleen for giving us the opportunity to show!
BRAVA!
All of us..... ;-D


Pax....

"Reliquary Memoria"

This is one of those good/bad posts. 

I am delighted I can finally show this piece of art I labored over during the winter on a short deadline (well, short for *me*~~LOL!) but the reason I can now post it is.....it was not chosen to be included in a publication. So you, my gentle Readers, get the unveiling of "Reliquary Memoria". 

The pertinent details follow. 

Sorry for the watermarks.....

 

A little more detail....

All the little tidbits....a dry seedpod from a ground cherry, a broken brush and pencil, a shaped penny from NOLA....

Milagros, bottle caps, gold mica gel, my favorite angels.....

Live Oak acorn, split and framing the NOLA Cemetery imprinted on a penny...bone and watch parts.....

"Reliquary Memoria"
17" h. x 10" w.
Materials:

-heavily gessoed cradled wood panel and mini canvas
-metal leaf
-paper
-acrylic paints and mediums
-glass beads, glitter and small vials
-wire
-crushed bottle caps
-milagros
-bone
-pen nibs
-flattened pennies
-plant matter
-mica gels
-paper clay
-crackle medium
-shells
-watch parts
-commercial charms

"Reliquary Memoria" is a repository for many things I have collected, found sacred and held close to my heart. Blue bottles from a Southern heritage of bottle trees, nods to both traditional religion and religions much older and more visceral, the tidbits of nature I collect and hoard in the studio, items either from New Orleans or that represent the unique culture, the passage of time that none can avoid. My love of traditional icons and roadside shrines is evident in the basic shape of this piece. We are defined by simple things in complex variations; the sum of diverse parts that appear to equal nil, yet reflect the core of our soul.

And so it is......


Pax....

A Short Update

Found in an image search; cannot tell you where but kudos to who ever did this!

We did not quite get to the point of the photo above, although there were several moments I thought it might happen...I mean, six straight hours of tinkering.......well, it DID cross my mind.

Aw crap! She found me!

I was sure this little guy was appalled that his nice computer home was suddenly *de-buggified* and he was packing it down the road.
Hey, uninvited guests need to learn the ground rules.
So I am now further behind than I was....working on the paper tutorial. Realistically it could be the end of the week when I get it up. I have more photos to shoot and samples to make and Thursday I will be gone all day.
Ta-ta Mon. Bug.
Don't come back.
I don't have another day to lose to computer issues.......
Dealing with the current quirks of Blogger is enough for me.
And now, off to the art tables.

DeMeng Delivery -- DELIGHTFUL!!!

Yesterday's mail held a delightful package. As I pulled the container out of the mailbox and noticed the return address, I knew immediately what it was and hoped I did not manage to drop it from excitement before returning to the house! It was the prize from the colorwash competition held in Michael deMeng's "ArtLab #1" on line class. (ArtLab #2 is coming soon to a computer near YOU!)
I gently peeled the tape off and nestled inside was this utterly amazing piece of art.....
Let me say this; photography is a wonderful medium and you, my readers, know I love it. But to hold an actual piece of art IN HAND that you have only seen on video, from an artist whose work you have studied in books....well....it is day and night. The attention to tiny details absolutely blows me away.
This close up gives an idea:

The work is 3" x 6" but is so incredibly rich and textured, it visually reads much larger. The eye has much to consider  and soak in; the juxtaposition of delicate and industrial is perfect. That is the part that I find hard to express through photo or word.
It is balanced art in so many ways.
It is a gem in a weathered container.
Tough and delicate, dark and light, heavy and fragile.
Exceptional!
Also enclosed was one of the show announcement cards from the opening of "Strange Angels" and I have to say, I would LOVE to see this one *in the flesh*....or in the assemblage...  ;-)

"metatron: the scribe"

Today I am off to try and finish some art I have percolating, if I can get my attention away from my little shrine. And if I spend time meditating upon it, well, it's all good. I'll consider it "Assemblage Theory 101".
What a cool way to study art!
Thank you Michael!!!




Pax....

ART--vs--ARTIST--vs--ART........Blah, Blah, Blah........

The endless battle....in which no one wins....

One of the things I have always wondered about is why there are sooooo many fights in the arts community. Generally, they revolve around what *is* or *isn't* art, who *is* or *isn't* an artist, on and on, ad infinitum, ad nauseaum. Sometimes, there seems to be so much energy expended on the fighting about art that I wonder what gets it started in the first place. Is it insecurity? Is it the fact that there is a certain amount of dollars to be spent on art and everyone is fighting for the limelight? Is it from people who feel unrecognized? Is it from gallery owners who felt they need the fuss to sell?
Over all, I find it a self-strangling circle. This has to have been going on since art began; somehow I get these visions of cavemen whacking the daylights out of each other with rocks for *prime-cave-wall-space* and others critiquing their drawings there-on. I mean, you know something like this happened, unless cavemen were more civil than the current art community...  ;-)
(maybe so....oooooo.....ouch!)
While this was all going through my head on and off a few weeks ago, I was reading an article about a University that had expanded their gallery and truly, they had a broad representation of art (in all forms) in their collection. I ripped the pages from the magazine and quickly retreated to the studio.
I kept seeing the printed word *art* over and over through the article and began cutting out the tiny words, until I had enough for what I wanted to do.
And then the phrase popped out at me from the text: various forms of artwork.
That was a saver.
I wasn't in the humor for big art, so I grabbed some ATC stock, inks, etc and began tinkering. Just something small to play with this perpetual idea that any one person or style holds the TRUE meaning of ART or ARTIST.

That we might have wings to fly from repetitive controversy on art, which is a HEALER above all else....

During the work, when I was waiting for elements to dry, I grabbed an old dictionary and looked up *artist* just for the heck of it.
See below.

This covers a LOT of territory.......it is not confined to something shoved safely in a little box....

The second definition brought even more meaning, depending on how one takes it.
"Thou art" means "You are."
YOU ARE. (did the archaic definition have much more meaning and substance than the modern?)
And that says more than all the bickering and yapping and sideways remarks.
That this WORD that causes vocal wars has two meanings that are the same for an artist; WE ARE.
I AM.
YOU ARE.
THOU ART.
ARTIST.
And one other thought; art is not the chattel of the rich, nor highly educated, nor the social snob~~art is the voice of ALL.
Don't be intimidated.
Go make art!!!



Pax....

Quick Check In

No pics, no graphics......I'm getting ready for some studio time today and just wanted to let everyone know if I have not visited in a day or two, nor have a post up, I have probably glued myself to the table with some of the gel mediums....although I am thinking it would take the extra heavy to hold me in place. HA!
In the meantime, I found a great post for others who love mixed media; click HERE to read and visually walk through Susan's post about a great mixed media journal page.
Lots of fun colors....I think you'll enjoy it!
Okay, I'm off......any way you look at it........  ;-)

Pax.

"Java Love": An Artistic Splurge & Anne's Usual Humor.....

("Java Love" copyright 2008, Anne M. Huskey-Lockard,

acrylic, mixed media on canvas. All rights reserved.)

I have, for a very long time, wanted to have some professionally printed postcards made, to tuck in with gifts, to give to friends, or just to look at on a *bad-art-day*. You know those days; nothing is going right in the studio, you wonderous brain-child art project has, you discovered, sucked rocks....or worse yet, someone else has told you it sucks rocks.

We have aaaaaaaalllllll been there.

Probably once too often.

So anyway, I had done this painting as a gift a long time ago and love it and miss it and thought, "Oh, that would be a perfect postcard, due to the shape of the canvas and the intensity of the color, and frankly, almost everyone's LOVE for coffee!" I had received a promo from an on-line printing company I had used for some other items and thought, gee, that price isn't too bad (it wasn't too good either!) and I won't have to get out and see locally what I would get stabbed, errr, charged for 50 cards. Heavy stock, gloss--front and back--off I go, typing in all the details, loading the pic, filling the background, then with shipping, it's a little more than I planned, but this was a splurge....remember?

So I click the *order* button and then begin waiting impatiently, in my normal state.

Today, as I sit having an early lunch I notice UPS throws (yes, THROWS) something on the porch floor, where--quite honestly--had I not been sitting in full view of the sidelights, I would not have known the package was there. So I stagger out, trying to figure where to plant the cane, the GOOD foot and then stretch the bad leg out behind to pick up this little bugger.

I see what it is and am sooooo excited! My postcards! YES! ♥

I open them, the photo is lovely, I turn them over and yep....you guessed it. Miz Dyslexic (since that first general anesthetic!) has managed to misspell *Miracles*. The new spelling, for the Webster and Oxford English dictionaries is, ahem, *Miralces*

DAMN.

Okay, I got my name, the painting name, copyright, and especially blog addy RIGHT, and I went over and over and OVER checking for typos, because I'm not joking, since the first surgery, I transpose letters all the time! And I never found it.

It's Anne-Luck.

Well, the front is good and so what...right? (insert pleading, whiny tone here)  Right???

So there we are. 50 lovely, lovely fronts and a fouled up back. Now I think I will check the other store I ordered business cards from--which I had forgotten about due to my glassy-eyed wonder at the sale e-mail--and see what they charge and get them printed right.

I--GIVE--UP.

At any rate, the heart pieces are all proceeding fine and I hope to have some finished photos on here tomorrow and there is no spelling on them, so I'm safe!  SNARF!!! I've rolled Paperclay and stamped it so that it can be painted, cut hearts from it with cookie-cutters (no digits missing...hmmmm....let me count....yep, all fingers accounted for!) and hope the four current canvas panels will soon be done.
Now to think of backgrounds for the new pieces. And remind myself: "NO WORDS"
My last word to y'all, my gentle readers and supporters of this crazy woman is, truly....

Pax.