Back in Action - getting show ready

Feels good to get back to the drawing table, it took awhile to get the mind back into the groove of thinking out how I want something to lay out or tell. This week is finishing touches on pieces for the Springwood Art Show on 24th August to the 26th of August. I have got three pieces finished and framed, just need the wire to hook them up...but the last piece isn't finished.

First piece, "Bourbon Street Snooze", is graphite and watercolour pencil. Just subtle touches of colour in the composition to give a slower side of the fast pace of Bourbon Street. In a crowd of many this guy was resting in a doorway like no one was around. It touched me, and I hope it touches someone else with its undertones of suggestion.

Second piece, "Quilted history", is a collage of newspaper, card paper and scrapbook designed paper with oil pastel painting of the character and gold ribbon in the quilt pieces' ditches. The art of quilting is fading away, material has become to expensive, women don't have the time or patience for it and modern society finds going to a store more convenient than making your own blankets. There is more to the history of this work than just making a warm piece to your home - it is art, history, community togetherness, women bonding and making use of your resources. 

The third, "New Orleans Blues", is a collage of music paper, acrylic paint and ink. I drew this out while sitting at the hotel in New Orleans. It is a feeling that you get while hearing music there, a sort of vibration that reaches out to touch your heart beating with it. There is no face to the person playing, and his instrument is the torch between you both.









The fourth piece is a joker carrying a bag pipe through a crowd of people. The joker is the only one in colour, everyone else blends into everything else. It takes a lot of guts for a person to come strolling around a festival full of people dressed in purple tights and bag pipes. This piece will be about being your own person even when the odds are against you. I'll post a break down of it being completed (hopefully by Thursday for the show).

The other piece completed this month I am not sure if it is telling the story to another person as I feel it. This gentleman was playing his guitar busking on Beale Street with a big man playing the drums. He sat there with this cigarette hanging out of his mouth, but never did his fingers leave the strings, ashes just fell onto his legs as he played with his eyes closed and swaying with what the chords were doing with him. If I would have had the money their CD would have been bought. The emotions from this man were compelling. I stood there drinking in his features, mood and melody. To be that close with one's art makes me want to cry. I have only painted his image, I need to go deeper into what he made me feel.






For September I will be getting more work together for the Blackheath Art Prize. It runs 28th September to 1st of October. Maybe I can get my groove back for it. I have entered the Springwood Show for the past 3 years, but this will be my first for Blackheath.

Cheers!

End of USA Travel

We are finally home and trying to settle back in. The boxes have piled up of my household goods finally sent from Mom's house to here. It will take lots of time to sort where to put it all. In the midst of Daniel moving back in and suitcases built up from our 2 months away.

I did make some great discoveries while away.

In New Orleans there is inspiration for painting in every direction, but in a dark corner at the French Market my husband found an artist busking his works. He bought me an autographed print called the "Birth of Jazz" and the man's name is Donald V. Williams. I went back to watch him at work. It was amazing watching the detail he was putting to paper without so much as a reference photo.

All over New Orleans are prints of Don Davey illustrations for sale. I bought his 1976 "Royal Street: New Orleans" whose detail of the ironwork leaves me weak at the knees and "French Quarter Nights: New Orleans" 1987 whose sax player on the side street made me hear the music there all over again.

But there was also works every where in Florida to make my eyes dart with wonder. The Shady Oak Gallery in Micanopy had several graphite artists to choose from, but Marita Parish stood out about the rest. Her detail to the animals with a slight addition of colour was highlighted by the beautiful mat work to accent and embossed seal placement on the drawing. If I had room and money I would have brought every print of hers home. 

Then there was the unusual... Brooke Olson caught my mother's eyes as well as mine. She has resurrected the ancient work of silverware jewellery. We have attempted this with some old pieces and tools, it is not easy to achieve the beauty she accomplishes. There are rings, watches, bracelets, pens and more...each have a personal touch and character. Her webpage: www.etsy.com/shop/ForkingQueen. I found her work at a Russell, KS antique shop. 

I could have followed the art trails for years with the availability in each state. We visited the Hummas House in Baton Rouge that had beautiful paintings by Gougain, Degas and more. The Edgar Degas House in Creole, New Orleans is a B&B with more to offer. The building is run by Degas' nieces and apparently where he lived while painting in the USA. The Fairhope Artist Gallery in Fairhope, Alabama gave a distinct look into the local artist's flair. The House of Blues in Orlando, Florida gave a different direction for colours with music paintings. In Memphis, TN the shops along Beale Street had more to offer than booze and music. The colours of the paintings, local artists on the street busking with portraits in pastel, stain glass windows showing the history of the people of blues in that area and Memphis Music Shop has prints so colourful your aura will fill into rainbows. 

Wherever you go on your travels near home and afar look where you would not ordinarily seek art and you will be surprised with what you find. As for me.... I have two months of travels to fill my soul and hope to relieve their magic onto my own canvas. I wish I had a year off just to fill the paper with what my mind found to dance with in imagination. 

USA Art stops in Kansas and Nebraska

We are having a great time at Mom's house in Kansas. There have been so many things to see that I didn't know the state had to offer.

Keystone Gallery on US 83 in Scott City, Kansas is a little stone house on the praise. The main features of this gallery are the fossil of the area, other states and Africa. It is a very nice set up and Chuck is a great guide to understanding all the different aspects of the state's prehistoric past. The artwork consists of paintings by local artists and pieces made from rocks, crystals and fossils. My mother got some great buffalos carved from stones (the indian blanket stone was the most interesting) and the paintings were mostly acrylic of landscapes. Our amateur art critic standing - carvings and jewellery pieces were outstanding for quality, the paintings needed more work in shading and seemed flat.

Also in Scott City is the El Quartelejo Museum and Jerry Thomas Gallery. The museum is set up as a timeline of Kansas History with beautiful displays about the Pueblo house found, settlers and local characters. Jerry Thomas Gallery is the most amazing setup I have seen. It not only holds his beautiful work, it houses history pieces that he used for the paintings and artwork that he has collected. His work with birds is better than any I have ever seen and the fort scenes have great detail that leads your eyes though it all. Mom fell in love with "Monumental Journey" but felt the groundwork was too flat to accompany such intricate work of the horses, Mounument Rocks and indians. This is a must stop in art tourism! and while you are in town visit Monument Rocks. This place left me itching to set up an easel and stay all day. Flat Kansas landscape opens up into the golith rock structures that are captivating.

In McCook, Nebraska there was a little art shop in town to be visited. They hold stain glass classes monthly and the work is stunning in this area. The artwork displayed was local artists and nothing there grabbed at us as a gotta have or aspire to. It is a wonderful town with inspirational views and buildings begging to be worked up on canvas.

I didn't get a photo of this gallery in Hays, Kansas, but it is a must stop on the artist trail. The work here is thoughtful, inspirational and provoking. A mix of medias and genres, each room holds something to keep you working the mind of possibilities. It's address is 112 East 11th Street in Hays and done by the Hays Art Council. The current Smoky Hill Exhibition runs until June 7th. I wish I had a scanner on this trip to show some of the pieces from the catalog, some of the images are available at www.haysartscouncil.org. My favourite is Gordon K. Sherman from Hays called "It just don't stick" and Barbara WAterman-Peters of Topeka, KS "MWS: Two Pandoras (POP!)".

There are murals and statues in every town that are must see inspiration:

Mural in Russell, KS is intricate detailed.

another in Russell, KS.

Oakley, KS huge dedication to Buffalo Bill Cody.

and inspirational places to set up easel:

Colby, KS museum with old church, schoolhouse, largest barn in KS, sod house, standard red barn and the museum is full of local history laid out beautifully. They were holding a local art show while we were there that had some great work.

Ft. Hays, KS has some original buildings, great vistas, buffalo and surroundings that bring history to life.

One of the largest Van Gogh easels in Goodland, KS. There were 7 of them made around the world of Van Gogh's 7 sunflower paintings. Makes you want to hire a crane to make a huge painting eh?

and my last inspirational item of this blog is the Old Town Museum in Burlington, Colorado. We bought two pieces here (darn need to find the artist's name, I have already shipped mine back to Australia). There are pictures within for you to find. The watercolour work itself is detailed stunning, Mom's piece is a forest background with rocks and water flowing over them. Within this setting you can find the faces of indians in the rocks, leaves of trees, etc. So far we found 11. There is also dried buffalo bones with etchings of pioneer history, rocks painted with local scenes, etc. The shop was great! Then the museum was outstanding. The outside is buildings set up as they would have been through pioneer history: the bank, post office, saloon, blacksmith, etc. If you are looking for content of historical painting this is the place to go.

Well off for now. This weekend is Fort Dodge wild west shootouts and Arlington Steam Train. Next week we set off for Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Always have pencils and sketchbook in hand!

Study of the Human Figure (when you don't have a body)

A lot of people, like me, cannot have the pleasure of live models posing at their whim. I know it is better to have that practical experience, but they are not lining up at my door yelling "draw me". There are some apps that can help with those days no one is around:

For my iPod I downloaded the free version of Randompose. The full version is only $4.49 at the app store and is made by Art and Mobile. There are over 15000 images of nude reference poses for drawing study that were taken from posemaniac.com archives. They are the muscles of the human body and the poses are challenging. I try to pick a random one each day to study some sketch ups. The screen is really small on the iPod for my eyes...so for my pc

I downloaded Kindle and bought the "Art Models 6: The Female Figure in Shadow and Light" by Maureen and Douglas Johnson. There are several version of these type of books, but this offers shadows and a good variety of body types. This is another daily exercise of picking one figure to work out.




The more practice you get at working out how the body moves and is shaped the better you can work out your compositions and figures for paintings/drawings/whatever. One day I use pencils to work on lines, and another charcoal to develop shadows and be loose with the composition. There will be a day I can proper studies, but there are at least alternatives for us busy artists to enlist.

As I said, I am practicing - never said I was good at it.


My hubby and I are researching about becoming one of the growing numbers of grey nomads roaming the roads in a caravan working when needed. I want more time to draw and sell, he wants to be able to fish at least once a month. The more we look into buying a home the more we know it could never be paid off in our lifetime to enjoy it. We have joined the Workabout Australia Club and looking into what type of "home" would serve our needs. The hardest part is figuring out what we can and cannot have in such a smaller space when my art gear already overpowers a bedroom. This may be my opportunity to put my toe in the art market, weekend markets, etc. I will definitely have more time for developing possibilities. It will be discussed more while we are on holiday in the USA, but this seems to be more a planning time than a question of doing it.

Don't forget about my new merchandise store...new content added daily.
www.cafepress.com/shops/CroftAngleArt
Any help to get us on the road would be greatly appreciated.

The Biz of Art

There has been so much being laid out for business that I have not done as much drawing as should have been accomplished. Currently Steptoe is on the block to add to the dog works for card production (plus the husband has ordered that I finally get around to drawing my own dog). Steppy is a jack russell/shitzu cross and our rag/bone man. For my American friends "Steptoe and Son" was the original British "Stanford and Son" of the USA.  

Some items that I have learned from the Art Biz blogs:
I have gone commercial.
If you would like to purchase merchandise with my artwork or artistic photography there is now a Croft Angle Art shop at www.cafepress.com/CroftAngleArt. The journals really impress me and will get some for my own inspirational writings and jotting down sketches while on the road. This is a link to the pug pen/ink drawing journal "Play with Me" - Journal Play with Me Croft Angle Art

If you would like to purchase originals or prints there is also the Etsy Store at www.etsy.com/shop/croftangleart?ref=pr_shop_more.  The "Angel Watching" original is one of the times listed for sale.

This week has been busy at the shop and getting us ready for USA trip. We are not as far as bags having items in them, but a pile of drawings and such is gathering around them to be packed. I am very much looking forward to family time and introducing Craig to my half of the world.

Keep smiling!

Art blogs lessons

To learn the business of art (much less the creation of the art) you have to know what is going on in the market, find inspiration, get practical tips and find what is out there to build the career you dream of. I try to read as many of these sites as the search engine can pull up for me to search through. Many say the same old song and dance, but there are exceptions to every rule.

1. www.workyourart.com
This site have an artist business online course that can be taken, but the blog is a tremendous resource for tips. The latest installation is apps for artists and another talks about the business tactics of the likes of Andy Warhol that I never would have figured him to have employed.

2. www.artsyshark.com
I just found this site through another art blog and finding it quite informative. It is put together for emerging artists and lists great career advice like selling your work, studio hazards and artist insurance options.

3. http://learntoart.wordpress.com
A blog by Miranda Aschenbrenner to help learn art. There are entries for inspiration, how to do an aspect of drawing/painting or business advice. The latest entries I've read are "5 practical tips to get your first gallery show" and "solutions to Online Art Sales".

The Easter break week has been hectic. The hubby was off work so we took a trip to Dubbo, servo has been busy and my fibromyalgia is acting up again. I did manage to get one piece complete, a larger version of Miss Molly for Karen.




I have the afternoon off and if I can get my brain out of fibro fog long enough hope to finish some pieces on the drafting table. It is so cold here I may just curl up under the donner and see if I can get this fibro menace to go back into the dark hole it came from.

One more month until homeward bound!

I am loving the busy artwork of the year

Yeah, I have gotten our bedroom painted and putting back together finally. Now the train noise is softer but the highway noise is loud again, sigh...I think the hallway is a good halfway point for a bed. Two more rooms to paint and we can get everything back in order, it would be easier if Craig would quit thinking of more electrical holes he wants to put into walls after I get them painted.

New cards, framed stock photos and original 4X6 dog portraits are now setup at the shop. We will see how these are responded to. I am hoping that once the sets of pets are worked up there might be a market some of the local pet shops for sales. Pets have such beautiful expressions in their eyes and demeanour. One more dog portrait complete, I could not resist this cute close-up photo, and it was perfect for pen/ink work.

Vince picked up the two portraits done for Jill. I posted Hunter last week, this week the finished piece is her Dad. This was a fun photo to work up, there is so much expression in his face. The scanning doesn't seem to be doing well for lighter pencil shades, so I have had to tweak it a bit in photoshop. There may be a new scanner in my future that can handle all markings, gotta check the market.

Today I am working on a larger workup for Miss Molly and my little Steptoe cuddled to his teddy bear. There is also a pastel piece for Jenny to finish and what I want to have done for the Springwood Show in August to complete over the next few weeks. Only 6 weeks until we head off to the USA for family visits! We are so excited to get away and Craig to experience the new aspects of another country. I also hope to come back with lots of sketches and photos to work up for future shows and sales. It is an ambitious schedule setup, but there should be enough down time for us to figure out the next stage of our life together. Although we love some aspect of the Blue Mountains, the noise of the highway/trains and lack of secure jobs tells us that we have to move on.

Until next time....