Happier Days

  "Patron Saint of the Lost Sock"

12x16 acrylic on canvas 

   "Last Night while I Lay Dreaming"

11x14 acrylic on canvas

                                                                          

 

    

Feeling a little moody

In my moodier times i have found myself painting some crazy things. But the norm for my moodiness is iconography and strange cutesy creatures. Sweet smiles with a possible chance of being brutally slain.
Going through a rough patch , feeling cut off at the knees and helpless , praying for a miracle and trying to remember there's beauty in the world. Wishing i was in Italy looking at my favorite painting. That basically sums up this pile of paintings. But this mood didn't last

 

 

   

Progression

 

 "seacret lovers" 9x12 acrylic on canvas

 

"Something between you and I" 9x12 acrylic on canvas

 

Last night while i slept 11x14 acrylic on canvas

Love Connection

Once again I am hit with the "no uniformity" critique. I understand , I really do. Perhaps to some, there is no connection, but to me , it all comes from one place which makes it as uniform as it can be.
The question of 'why Optimus Prime?'(titled , Cherish is the word that i use to describe) in my last series, came up more often than not on opening night of the baby canvases show. I don't think I'll ever be the kind of artist that makes the series that obviously ties in together ,and to the critics, that is to my detriment. I guess I'm not built that way. I paint through stream of consciousness and with that, the audience can decide to connect the dots(fuzzy as they may be to some) and see that I'm actually wearing my heart on my sleeve and showing the sickness in my head and a love/obsession in my heart and choosing to share it OR just judge it on the surface. Love it or hate it or think nothing of it at all. I even feel not quite myself offering this explanation up. For those of you that know me and my sense of humor,  you get me and that's awesome. There is also the pile of you that know me (sorta) I make you scratch your head and I confuse with my sense of humor and that is also really awesome to me.
The whole 2x3 series for example is about love and a dark amusing place.
These all came from blots of paint spattered on boards and one after the other a picture came to mind , like watching clouds in the sky turn into people and things. If you know the 60's love song , 'Cherish is the word' you can be amused by my special imaginary relationship I have had with Optimus Prime. As we lay in our giant transformer sized bed together and he charms my pants off while that song plays in the background and  I look into his eyes and sigh,sigh,sigh."Oh Optimus... I love you"

I also have what some people call , an "interesting" fascination with amputees and ''it's what's for dinner" just showed up in the cloud of paint on a board. With her very vulnerable, naked, legless body just waiting to be taken advantage of and to be possessed by this part serpent, part man. How much more intimate could he be with her ,if not by eating her? What lies did he tell her to make her believe he loved her and were they even lies at all?

Simple pleasures- the girl with three decapitated heads for balloons. Oh what a strange place this came from. After A long trip to the A T & T store , I was thoroughly engaged in the size of my salesperson's ass. To begin with , I by no means have a tiny ass. I have quite the badonkey back there but this ass was special. It was quite possibly the biggest ass I have ever seen in my life. It was hypnotic and when she walked across the room I was riveted by the story of this ass. I thought to myself , I bet she could store at least 3 decapitated heads in that ass and who would ever know??? 3 unlucky fools that hold a special place in her heart(or the heart of her ass if you will) and within that sizable wonder of the world was born the simple pleasures of the girl with her 3 balloons.

and on and on it goes......There's your freaky love connection.

Baby Canvases Show! smaller than a business card

Every once in a while I find myself gravitating toward these tiny wooden boards ,where it becomes an obsession for days on end at a time . I wear myself out at the end of these  mini binges and round and round I go; always finding my way back to my 18/0 brushes , my magnifiers and the crazy little pictures in my mind.

Here are my images that will be displayed on Saturday at the Soundry. . They are 2inch x3inch on wooden panels. I layered different colors of gesso and aged the boards with a faux finish, cutting through the layers with wire and a mini hand saw. Then , very much like deciphering an inkblot , I looked at the pattern on the boards and just start painting what I saw. These images are what I saw through the blots.

 

Simple Pleasures, (Amputees)It's what's for dinner,Virgin/bangs, wishing-hoping-praying, Cherish is the word that i use to describe, I think i love you so what are you so afraid of, Be my little baby, and The ventriloquist  

 

 

Getting into portraits again

Here is a progression of the latest portrait I completed. Unlike most of my portraits , this was done in acrylics. Working on it has given me a nice boost and a desire to paint more portraits. It is strange to me how i seem to forget how happy painting them makes me , until i paint another one and i am in heaven.


click image to enlarge

James Marlowe of Marlowe Ink.
While i was working on it , my mom came over and was startled by him(she is a jumpy one, that mom of mine haha!)I assured her he is a stand up guy. He has a real talent for making me smile and laugh. Plus he has done some of my most complimented tattoos on me.
You can visit James at Marlowe Ink in Fairfax Va

16x20 acrylic on canvas

New work and some new inspiration~May 2010

*a little doodle from the desk of SSG Gordon at the Pentagon, from 2008 i think*

This painting is called Lemme Splain... but " It's funny because it's true" is more apropos

click on the image to see it larger.
24x30 oil on masonite.

Newest works Nov2009-Jan2010

Since I had last written here, my husband has been deployed and I am going through a bit of an adjustment not having him here. It took me a little while to want to paint but thankfully I have found some momentum again.
These are all I have done since end of Nov 09 until now.

nov 09 fat glam and little coy 8x10 acrylic on canvas



Nov 09 acrylic on board oops I did it again


Dec 09 18x18 acrylic on hardboard Hey you guise!



Dec 09 16x20 acrylic on canvas - if you threw it up in the air it would turn into sunshine



Jan 2010 from the 80's series-Caterpillar girl, never never go.(aka her shoes last twice as long) 14x18 acrylic on canvas