Tampilkan postingan dengan label Something From Nothing. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Something From Nothing. Tampilkan semua postingan

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"Daisy Buchanan", My 'Great Gatsby' Tribute for March's NFAC (Theme: FLOWERS)





It's NIBBLEFEST time...!

March's NFAC Theme: 'FLOWERS'



"Daisy Buchanan", my entry for March's Nibblefest Art Contest 'FLOWERS' theme


My own interpretation of 'FLOWERS'...?
A featured portrait in tribute to everyone's favorite literary poor-little-rich-girl, the fictional (and famously high-maintenance) 'DAISY Buchanan, of "Great Gatsby" fame. 







"Daisy Buchanan", acrylics on a 7" wooden oval plaque....


I adore flowers.  I really do.  Especially right now, knowing that Spring is just about to be sprung.  Those early daffodils and tulips, when they finally do sprout, will be such a sight for sore eyes...!  And yet as much as I love 'em, I just wasn't interested in painting actual blossoms for this month's theme.  I know perfectly well how little else bores me faster than a very literal approach such as that.... 

 



"Daisy Buchanan", side view




 Instead, I put my thinking energy into famous, flower-named protagonists of popular literary history..., and then this is what sprang into mind.  

Once I had my concept, I figured it would be a fairly straight-forward project.  I mean please, we're taking a Portrait here -- isn't that, you know, kind of like my thing...?  But no indeed.  True to her flighty, temperamental self, Miss Daisy at first didn't want to play ball.   I had to gesso her over completely TWICE before I felt I was heading in the right direction.  Talk about fickle -- two, precious time wasting false starts later (thanks for that!), it finally felt as though she was going to stick around to stay.  After the 2nd false start, I admit I came dangerously close to just blowing the whole thing off -- too frustrating!  Just chalk it up to 'practice' and sit this one out.  And yet I know the hard way that that's a slippery slope best for me to avoid (one month, turning into two, turning into three, and right on down the slide).  Rather, I gave it my best Hail Mary shot, despite the fact it meant missing the official beginning of the contest, on the 20th, and going for a 5-Day auction instead.  Oh well!  Not the end of the world, and better late than never, right...?   Besides I'm actually rather pleased with the way she turned out, so it's all good.



 The following is my auction description:


~"Daisy Buchanan"~
My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for March being 'Flowers', features a portrait painted in tribute to a protagonist of the 1925 vintage classic, "The Great Gatsby", by American novelist F. S. Fitzgerald.  Painted on all sides in acrylics upon a 7" wooden oval plaque, this original, entitled "Daisy Buchanan", is signed and ready to hang. 




As usual for Nibblefest, I thought long and hard about this month's 'Flowers' theme.  I knew painting actual blooms probably wasn't going to keep my interest for very long (too straightforward).  Instead, a women's name came into mind: "Daisy"..., as in Daisy Buchanan, everyone's favorite literary poor little rich girl.  Daisy was beautiful, charming and wealthy, so much so that when a destitute young officer from humble beginnings named Jay Gatsby happened to cross her path, he just couldn't get her off his mind (for like, years).  In fact, he went on to create a whole new identity, fortune and persona for himself, all with the soul intention of luring her high-maintenance self back.  The fact that she had impatiently gotten hitched to a powerful man within her own social circle, presented but small obstacle in his mind.  The jilted Gatsby went on to make his own way in life (never mind the legalities), and years later was able to purchase a ginormous mansion smack dab across the bay from his beloved Daisy's house (hmmm, stalker much???)  Every night he focuses upon a glowing green light that shines across the water -- it's the blinking bulb at the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock.  As it says in the book,"Gatsby believed in the Green Light....".  

Hope springs eternal, no...? 

(Included in my portrait is Daisy's green light, which features prominently in the story (plus for anyone thinking my interpretation may be too much of a stretch for 'Flowers', notice the wee roses I included in the lace overlay of her gown)...). 




F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "Gatsby believed in the green light...." (But just look where THAT got him.  No ifs, ands, nor buts about it -- she threw him under the bus, big time)....













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My Entry for EBSQ's February 'What a Doll' Show: 'Beryl Moon'






Meet 

"Beryl Moon"



"Beryl Moon", a sculpted Art Doll created from re-purposed objects



Last month, EBSQ, the online art community I've long been a member of, hosted their monthly art exhibit, with the theme for February being, "What a Doll".  This was my entry: "Beryl Moon", an Art Doll sculpted using paper mache plus a whole host of all-recycled materials 
(to see my entry in the exhibit).....



"The Moon Was But a Chin of Gold", by Emily Dickinson




I painted and finished her as inspired by the following poem, by Emily Dickinson:


The Moon was but a Chin of Gold
A Night or two ago—
And now she turns Her perfect Face
Upon the World below—

Her Forehead is of Amplest Blonde—
Her Cheek—a Beryl hewn—
Her Eye unto the Summer Dew
The likest I have known—

Her Lips of Amber never part—
But what must be the smile
Upon Her Friend she could confer
Were such Her Silver Will—

And what a privilege to be
But the remotest Star—
For Certainty She take Her Way
Beside Your Palace Door—

Her Bonnet is the Firmament—
The Universe—Her Shoe—
The Stars—the Trinkets at Her Belt—
Her Dimities—of Blue—




"Beryl Moon", a view from behind



She was actually a long time coming, my "Beryl Moon", because I initially began her many moons (ha-ha) ago, only to set her aside for some reason (ADHD mostly, I suppose), abandoned and unfinished.   Started as part of a project to rescue the dead, mangled barbies left behind after my daughter's childhood, it was my intention to breath new life into these hopelessly broken objects so as to keep them out of the waste stream, where they were surely destined.  And I did get a reasonably good and interesting start on a few of them, before I became distracted by something else and rudely shoved them all onto the back-burner (story of my life?)....


An in-progress project I call the "Dead Barbies Society" -- its mission being to turn useless broken junk into Art, people!  ART...!



However, this one in particular was the furthest along....: 





....thus she was the one I grabbed when I decided I needed something to enter into the EBSQ "Doll" show last month...:








And so I got her finished, finally....! 
The following is cut and pasted from my artist/entry statement (because I'm lazy like that):


Buried deep inside 'Beryl Moon', under Celluclay (a commercial paper clay product) and layers of paper mache, is a wee 'injured' action figure, but a few inches tall, and missing an arm. Spared from a landfill life, he now provides some inner armature for this Art Doll, though little of him is actually recognizable anymore, given that an entirely new being was sculpted over and around his original form, using re-purposed items (including but not limited to: a plastic cup, multiple plastic cup lids, and newspaper), for a complete and thorough transformation. A whole new, crescent-moon shaped head was sculpted from Celluclay and attached (the head of the original figure/doll ends somewhere deep within in the present neck/chest area), along with a newly sculpted arm, and new hands. In addition to gaining inches in height (now standing about a foot tall), "he' also became a 'she', complete with a newly sculpted bosom, as well as a big, bustled and flowing skirt of Stars -- using as my inspiration the poem, "The Moon Was But a Chin of Gold", by the wonderful and talented poet, Emily Dickinson....: 




"....now she turns Her perfect Face
Upon the World below—...."



And so there you have it, my "What a Doll" show entry.  
Which..., I'm happy to be able to report tied for "Member's Mention" (2nd Place) in the show...!  Thanks so much, EBSQ...!







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My Entry for EBSQ's January 'Winter Landscapes' Exhibit, 'Dust of Snow' (Robert Frost)





"Dust of Snow"
 

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued. 

~Robert Frost


'Dust of Snow', Acrylics on 6"x16" found wood....

Such reads the poem that helped inspire my EBSQ's January "Winter Landscapes" online art exhibit entry...(to view my entry on EBSQ, here)

For their 2015 exhibit schedule, EBSQ, (the online community of self-represting artists I've long been a member of), has reduced their monthly themes from two or three options to choose from, to one theme per month.  I do understand why -- to streamline for one thing, while helping to keep entries up by funneling them into one monthly show as opposed to spreading entries across several shows.  I get it, though I must admit I did like having options.  Nevertheless, the way things are, is the way things are.  I can certainly work with a single theme if need be..., and so we have here my entry for EBSQ's only January theme, "Winter Landscapes"....:



My "Winter Landscape"-themed entry, entitled 'Dust of Snow (Robert Frost)'.....


Anyone familiar with my artwork must surely know my ongoing fascination with people.  I adore nature, things, animals and critters of all ilk, and I'll paint that too sometimes.  And yet, almost always, my most preferred subject matter of all typically filters down to People.   Famous people, strangers, family, friends -- doesn't matter really, when it comes to my subjects, I usually find myself  defaulting to that ever familiar map of the human face.  And so, upon contemplating my entry for a "Landscape" show, I knew it would HAVE to involve a person one way or another.....

There is a wee back-story behind the planning of this painting.  In a way, this entry came to be as actually a sort of collaboration between a couple of folks.....  

A number of months ago, a FB friend posted a new picture as her profile photo, one that I found myself really taken with.  An attractive lady (with amazing bone structure) to be sure -- and yet there was more to it than that.  I was quite struck by the photo overall...the angle of the shot, the tilt of the head, the striking countenance, the classic proportions, the expressive eyes.  As a visual person, I found it all particularly arresting.  I asked my friend if she might give me permission to paint her photo -- not knowing at the time exactly how or when, only that I simply wanted to.... someday. 

And then I have another friend with whom I correspond, who has an interest in the reading and writing of poetry.  We were discussing potential themes for February's Nibblefest Art Contest theme of 'Black and White', when she mentioned her research into info regarding crows for a poem she is in the process of writing.   She brought up the universal symbolism of crows, as well as the mythology involving the colors of Black and White as representing life and death .  She sent me the following passage that she had found somewhere...:


"....In Irish mythology, crows are associated with Morrigan, the goddess of war and death.
The god Bran the Blessed – whose name means "crow" or "raven" — is associated with corvids and death; tradition holds that Bran's severed head is buried under the Tower of London, facing France — a possible genesis for the practice of keeping ravens in the Tower, said to protect the fortunes of Britain. In Cornish folklore, crows — magpiesparticularly — are associated with death and the "otherworld", and proscribes respectful greeting. The origin of "counting crows" as augury is British; however, the British version rather is to "count magpies" — their black and white pied colouring alluding to the realms of the living and dead...."



Plenty of food for thought...!  Fascinating indeed, and so I was ruminating upon all this for Nibblfest..., when it was also time to begin thinking about my 'Winter Landscapes' entry.  After a few snow storms in my neck of the woods, the views outside my window are all about "winter landscapes' right now (with it snowing yet more as I type).  Plenty of white, plenty of snow, ice, and frost.  Well, 'snow' and 'frost' got me to thinking of 'Robert Frost'..., plus 'crows', and 'black and white'.  It wasn't long before I was struck with the recollection of a few winter verses by this most esteemed poet.  Sure enough, a quick search had me finding exactly what I was looking for..., the poem, 'Dust of Snow", by Robert Frost (and really could his name be more perfect for a subject of "Winter Landscapes", lol???), and I was set.  It was then that my friend's FB pic popped into mind, and that's when it all gelled -- I knew exaclty where I was going, with the piece practically painting itself (always lovely when that happens -- very zen!).  So here's a big thanks to my fellow 'collaborators', L. and V., for providing me with such great inspiration.....

Now, not to bore anyone to death, I do have just one last little tidbit of random aside here.  As stated, my painting support for this piece is found wood. I do enjoy working with unusual canvas sizes, which this certainly is, being as that it is approximately 6" by 16".  I like how weirdo proportions can challenge me to play with compositions, while forcing me to think outside the box.  As for this chunk of found wood, let me explain exactly how I came to 'find' it.  I'd been holding onto it for some time -- ever since dumpster diving it from a neighbor's home renovation project many moons ago (shocking, no?).  It sits directly behind our lot, an old house that's probably closing in on a 100 years (if not already).  A stately, large Craftsman, it had seen insult after injury and then some over the years, thanks to the fact I live in a university town, with a high student population and the many urban planning pressures that come with trying to house them all.  The home had been subdivided and re-subdivied into who knows how many individual apartments (I think it was something like 7 by the end, including roomers in the attic and basement).  Let's face it, students don't exactly have the reputation for being the most conscientious of renters.  Then add to that a few absentee landlords and you can imagine the state of the house after a few unfriendly decades.  Ugh, so derelict and run down (like, even more so that my own, and that's saying something)...!  Happily, another neighbor, with an eye to the interests of the neighborhood, and the resources to get things done, bought the house and completely rehabbed it, into what is today a lovely vintage, American Foursquare, single family showplace.  While this work was underway, I had quietly helped myself to a few of the chunks of wood I spied sticking out of the dumpster that was parked behind my house for months (hopefully no one would have minded!).  Perhaps it from the original construction of the house (?) -- if so it would be near a century old or more.  I like thinking of the long gone tree it potentially came from.   In any case, I may be practical to a fault at times, but I knew it could come in handy on day (plus it just goes to show how 'making something from nothing' never, NEVER fails to tickle me.  To no end!).....


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"Life is Strange", My Marc Bolan/T.Rex Tribute for Jan's Nibbefest Art Contest






"Life is Strange":  Acrylics on a 7x9 chunk of found hardwood






 So, this month's Nibbefest Art Contest theme
was an interesting one...:  

"A Subject Beginning with the 3rd Letter 
of Your Given First Name"   


What a mouthful, eh?  Well, obviously for me, that's "T".  Easy enough ... or at least you might think so.  Only it wasn't!  For whatever reason I had the devil of a time coming up with my concept this month.  What could be so hard about coming up with something for "T"?   I really can't imagine why it was such a hang-up.  Guess the theme a little TOO broad...?   I pondered "T", ruminated "T", and meditated "T".  Ideas would come and go -- but nothing compelling enough to really sink my teeth into.   Time was ticking away, and I remained uninspired.  It was starting to get frustrating!  It even crossed my mind to maybe just sit this month out -- crazy, right...?  But, happily a friend came to the rescue, letting me hash out the jumbled thoughts in my head, while offering input and suggestions.   It helped, because finally at the last, I conjured up a vision of this:  a whimsical tribute to Marc Bolan, the legendary founder of the 70's era Glam British rock band, 'T.Rex'....:



70's Rock God, Marc Bolan, as a T.Rex/Human 'hybrid'


As I've written before in here previously, my earliest musical experiences were heavily impacted by what I heard my older siblings playing around the house.  The youngest of four children, by many years, I was barely in kindergarten when my teen brothers and sister would take turns commandeering the one stereo kept in the living room of our home.   The things they played made quite the impression on me at times.  They also loved blasting our car radio as well (whenever my parents would allow it, that is).  I'm certain the old, 70's era British band, 'T.Rex', and their biggest hit, "Bang a Gong", must have played often because I can remember those lyrics from WAY back.   Still, despite that song being such a classic, my own personal favorite tunes of theirs have always been "Children of the Revolution", and of course the lovely, psychedelic ballad, "Cosmic Dancer".  In fact I can recall gently teasing my professional danseur son when he was a kid and taking his early ballet classes by singing it to (at...?) him:  

"I danced myself right out the womb. 
Is it strange to dance so soon? 
I danced myself right out the womb."
 ~From 'Cosmic Dancer', by Marc Bolan



As I recall he wasn't super crazy about that, heh.....



"Life is Strange": side view showing the painted thick hardwood edges


The following is my auction/entry description...:




My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for January being 'A Subject Beginning With the 3rd Letter of Your Given Name' (which for me, means "T"), features a whimsical portrait painted in loving tribute to the 70's era British rock band, T.Rex, and its legendary founder, Marc Bolan.  Entitled "Life is Strange" (from a popular T.Rex song), and painted in acrylics upon a found, 7"x9" piece of heavy hardwood, this original is signed and ready to hang....

For my tribute to Marc Bolan, the charismatically flamboyant founder of the Glam rock band we all know and love, T.Rex, which can still be heard as a mainstay of classic rock radio stations today, I wished to portray him in a fun and unique way as befitting a pioneering rock-and-roll icon.  Tragically, Marc Bolan's life was cut short by a tragic car accident in England in 1977, just weeks shy of his 30th birthday.... 


RIP Marc Bolan (1947 - 1977).  
Life is strange indeed.




..............




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"Logical Nonsense", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for Dec's "BOOKS" theme....



 "Logical Nonsense in Wonderland"



"Logical Nonsense in Wonderland": painted on an 8x10 found wooden plaque




 Nibblefest Art Contest time rolls around once again.  December's theme is 'Books'.  Well, despite it being an especially busy month on my end (for me and EVERYONE else) I wasn't about to sit this one out.   With a theme like "BOOKS", how could I *not* partake...?  And so I managed to squeeze together an entry....

I admit at first I was ever-so-slightly stumped by the Theme, but only because "Books" felt so entirely b-r-o-a-d.  Upon refection, the plethora of potential ideas seemed limitless indeed.  Fortunately a friend came to the rescue, suggesting"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" -- all that was needed to get the neurons firing in the right direction.  Because what could be more fun to paint than a tribute to Lewis Carroll and his beloved classic....?  



"Logical Nonsense", something at which author, Lewis Carroll, was especially deft!


What I have here did end up quite different in composition from my friend's original suggestion -- but I just went with what I first envisioned when thinking about "Alice" (knowing all too well by now I usually get best results when simply going with what's in my own head).   And so we have here several characters from the story, all while fancifully incorporating the fabulous Mr. Carroll himself....


 Regular followers of my blog/art may recall a few years back, when I painted my own interpretation of The Cheshire Cat , for a past Nibblefest...:



My first in a series of "Alice in Wonderland" tribute pieces



As you can see, he makes an appearance again in this particular iteration, just for fun (or 'grins', as they say), and because I liked him and wanted to paint him again anyway....:


A view from the side, showing the painted edges




So all in all:  fun theme/fun topic -- painted upon a recycled, 8x10 found wooden plaque rescued some time ago from a landfill fate (and held onto all this time).  Here's hoping you enjoy my whimsical entry this month as much as I did painting it....!




More painted edges....




(To see all this month's lovely Nibblefest Art Contest "Books" entries this month, here...)






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My Entry, "L'Automne: Victor Hugo", Wins 'Member's Mention'/2nd Place






"L'Automne: Victor Hugo"



My 11 x 14 EBSQ "Naked Trees" entry, painted on a support I constructed myself from an old, discarded wood frame)....



EBSQ, the online art community I have been a long-time member of, hosted an online exhibit last month (November '14) with the theme of "Naked Trees" (and on this blustery December day, surrounded as I am by very barren, naked trees every which way in the views out my windows, it feels appropriate indeed to be writing about this, brrr....!).   I entered.  Voting commenced.  And..., I'm happy to say my Mr. Hugo was awarded 'Member's Mention' (2nd Place)...!  

Inspired by a memory from my youth, the following was my artist statement...:


.............

When reflecting upon this month's EBSQ "Naked Trees" exhibit theme and casting around for ideas about which to paint, one of the first things that popped into my mind was the poem "L'Automne", by the classic french author and poet, Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885).....

It is a poem for which the words have been burned into my memory ever since the 7th grade, when, as part of a class project, we students were assigned to learn a French poem, in order to recite in front of the rest of our class.  I can well remember how this struck terrible fear and dread deep into my 12-year-old heart.  Not the memorization part of the assignment so much, but the perfectly awful recitation part.   Given that I was painfully shy as a child, and absolutely despised anything that even remotely smacked of public speaking (still do in fact!), I couldn't imagine a worse thing to be forced to do.  I can still remember how uncomfortable it felt to sit in class on recitation day, anxiously awaiting my name to be called -- and then when it was my turn, trudging up to the front of the classroom (as if to the gallows) in order to recite my little French poem, my voice barely above a whisper, to all my fellow students and Madame Teacher.  Indeed, this very poem....:


L'Automne

L'aube est moins claire, l'air moins chaud, le ciel moins pur ;
Le soir brumeux ternit les astres de l'azur.
Les longs jours sont passes ; les mois charmants finissent.
Helas ! voici deja les arbres qui jaunissent !
Comme le temps s'en va d'un pas precipite !
Il semble que nos yeux, qu'eblouissait l'ete,
Ont a peine eu le temps de voir les feuilles vertes.

Pour qui vit comme moi les fenetres ouvertes,
L'automne est triste avec sa bise et son brouillard,
Et l'ete qui s'enfuit est un ami qui part.
Adieu, dit cette voix qui dans notre ame pleure,
Adieu, ciel bleu ! beau ciel qu'un souffle tiede effleure !
Voluptes du grand air, bruit d'ailes dans les bois,
Promenades, ravins pleins de lointaines voix,
Fleurs, bonheur innocent des ames apaisees,
Adieu, rayonnements ! aubes ! chansons ! rosees !

Puis tout bas on ajoute : o jours benis et doux !
Helas ! vous reviendrez ! me retrouverez-vous ?

~Victor Hugo


Well, apparently we can conclude from his writing that Mr. Hugo did not much care for the season of Autumn....!  This poem is all about how dreary the Fall season is, what with it's cold temps, biting wind, dull grey skies, and shorter days.  In it, he expresses just how much he already misses the charming months, and how summer feels like a friend who leaves him.  Because, Alas!  The trees here have already turned yellow....!  Farewell, all the lovely things of Summer....!    To Mr. Hugo, the very thought of "Naked Trees" was surely a cold and barren one (a little like I felt inside at the thought of having to recite his poem in front of my peers....!).

Sadly, I managed to lose most of my French over these ensuing decades, but I can still remember this poem.  And, looking back, I thank Madame Teacher for forcing me to get a little out of my comfort zone in her classroom all those years ago, because as agonizing as it was for me at the time, in retrospect I can appreciate how positive and character-building it was for me to have to go through all that.  I also thank Mr. Victor Hugo for all his wonderful writings that we still enjoy to this day -- not only his poetry, but also his much beloved masterpiece tales, like the "The Hunchback of Natre Dame", and "Les Miserables".  This painting/entry, "L'Automne: Victor Hugo" is my own little personal tribute... to it all.


It's Autumn, and Victor Hugo is NOT amused!

...........................



Thanks so much, EBSQ....!





.

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"Nevermore", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for Nov's '2+ Creatures in 1" Theme






Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, 
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, 
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"T'is some visitor", I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door'-
Only this, and nothing more...."

~Opening lines from the Edgar Allan Poe classic, "The Raven"






 My Nibblefest Art Contest entry and Poe tribute, painted on a 6.5 x 8.6 recycled vintage wood plaque.



FOR AUCTION LINK



What is it about Edgar Allan Poe that fascinates us so....?  


"The Raven", that famous poem written by this most venerable and mysterious of American authors, was originally published all the way back in 1845.  Yet here we are, nearly 170 years later, and still something about his works of darkly flowing, gothic-y writing continues to draw us in, with the passage of time having done little to dampen our enthusiasm for his literary genius (my personal fave of his still being "The Cask of Amontillado").....


It is Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) week,  and this is my entry.  The theme for November is "Two or More Animals Mixed Together".   I tossed around a several ideas for this theme, all of which were passable, though nothing especially....compelling  (Medusa???  Did that.  Minotaur???  Sighhhh).  Anyone reading this blog knows how much more fun it is for me when I seize upon a concept that I can REALLY sink my teeth in to (and because I'm so artistically fickle, there is never any telling what exactly that's going to be).  It wasn't until I was riding my bike home last week in the snow (yes, the snow!  Early for us) that an idea of a Poe/Raven hybrid came to mind, as a tribute to his epic poem, "The Raven".  I was so excited about the concept that I came up with two quickie sketches straight away:


Poe/Raven Hybrid: Vertical (or "Portrait') Orientation




Poe/Raven Hybrid: Horizontal (Or 'Landscape') Orientation


 I tossed around both orientations, going back and forth between the two, and even asking the opinion of some buddies (ya'll know who you are ;-) ).  In the end, as you can see I went 'landscape', because of the 2nd hand plaque I'd picked out for this project.  As we know, I hoard the old, unwanted frames and wall hanging plaques and such that I find used hither and yon, giving them new life in my art projects, and re-purposing as I see fit.  This particular wood plaque is vintage, and had been covered with a poster of a painting of waterfowl on a lake (which I scraped off and sanded and gesso-ed over).  I love its gently curving sides -- plus, it's very lightweight....:   



Side View of "Nevermore", showing off its curvaceous, painted sides



It is also good that I came upon this concept because I've had some recent requests for another Poe tribute piece (ya'll know who you are ;-) ), having done one before (and hey, the picture of it above in my masthead!).  But that was a few years back now, and so the timing felt right for another....



The following is my auction description:



My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for November being "Two or More Creatures Mixed Together", features a tribute portrait of the esteemed American author and poet, Edgar Allan Poe.  Painted in acrylics on a recycled, 6.5" x 8.5" vintage wooden plaque, this original is signed and ready to hang.  (**To note:  Due to the timing of things, all Nibblefest auctions this month will end on Thanksgiving Day (U.S.A.), so you might want to keep that in mind when bidding....!)   

----

Allow me to introduce "Ravenpoe" (kind of like "Ivanhoe", but not...).  A corvid/Edgar Allan Poe hybrid, he perches high upon a tree branch, soaking up the moonlight while contemplating the maudlin and the macabre.  Painted as loving ode to E. A. Poe's much beloved, classic poem, "The Raven", I'm hoping you enjoy this piece as much as I did painting it....!
..........................




"Nevermore"




To see all of this month's lovely Nibblefest Art Contest entries, here.....


*********

****UPDATE, UPDATE:*****

Pleased and happy to say my 'Ravenpoe' won Third Place in last month's contest!   A big thank you to all my lovely bidders...!





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"The Monster's Bath", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for Oct's 'MONSTERS Theme



~"The Monster's Bath"~



An 8x10 painted tribute to Mary Shelley, and her enduring literary masterpiece, "Frankenstein"


It's the week of the Nibblefest Art Contest.
As always, the contest began on October 20th, with the theme this month being 'MONSTERS'.


( for Auction Link)



"The Monster's Bath"....



I had oodles of fun working with this month's theme.  Reflecting upon the subject of "MONSTERS", naturally, that classic creature from the Boris Karloff 1931 "Frankenstein" movie was one of the first things to come into my mind.  As such an iconic image, plastered hither and yon (especially this time of year) and fully entrenched in popular culture, I'm sure this would probably be true for most anyone.  But of course, the actual story of 'Frankenstein' is way, waaaay older than that old vintage film -- written as it was in the early 19th century, by a brilliant and complex woman who lead a truly fascinating but highly complicated life.  I recall reading the book, "Frankenstein", back in high school, and knew I wanted to incorporate its author, Mary Shelley, into my entry's composition, along with the classic "Frankenstein's Monster" creature, as we all know it.  Yet I was stymied on exactly how to combine the two...., until yet another 'Mary' came to mind. A certain Mary Cassatt, that is.....




Mary Cassatt's beautiful painting, "The Child's Bath'


So yeah, we're getting pretty tongue-in-cheekishness here...but I promise you it was a real hoot painting my entry this month.....




The following is my auction description:



"The Monster's Bath"*
(*with apologies to Mary Cassatt...!)


My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for October being 'Monsters', features a portrait painted in loving tribute to author, Mary Shelley, her classic 1818 tome, "Frankenstein", the iconic movie character from the vintage 1931 filk of the same name, plus a certain famous work of art ('The Child's Bath") by yet another Mary, the impressionist, Mary Cassat.  Painted in acrylics on a recycled 8x10 wood plaque, this original painting is signed and ready to hang....:


----

What "monster" could be more inconic than the grotesquely, hulking figure played by Boris Karloff in the classic 1931 horror film...?  Universally recognizable, its moniker has become synonymous with the title, "Frankenstein" -- though in the film, and the book upon which it was loosely based, it's actually the name of the Creature's creator, Dr. Frankenstein.  But who was the REAL creator behind it all? -- the whole creepy concept, published first in 1818, and considered one of the earliest works of Science Fiction.... 

Author Mary Shelley lead a highly fascinating and unconventional life.  Brilliant and educated and marching to the beat of her own drummer, her life was not without its share of pain, illness, trauma and loss.  Losing her mother shortly after her birth, then facing the early deaths of three of her four children -- the first, an infant who survived only weeks in the year or so before her book's publication, it's thought there might have been a certain amount of mother/baby loss and longing in her idea of returning life to the dead.  I chose to portray Mary Shelley as the mother that she was, to children, both real and 'literary'.....







Painted upon a thin, second-hand wood plaque that originally had some ugly poster on it, which I rescued from certain landfill doom after a charity sale and gave "new life" to -- hmmm, rather appropriate use given the nature of the subject matter here, no...?






To see all of this month's Nibblefest Art entries (including mine!) HERE....


**UPDATE...!!!!**

"The Monster's Bath" wins First Place October's Nibblefest Art Contest...!  Thanks to all my bidders, commenters and Likers -- your support is much appreciated....!



"The Monster's Bath" wins First Place!

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"If I Had a Hammer....": Pete Seeger Tribute, for EBSQ's August 'Toolbox'-themed Art Exhibit


8 x 10 Portrait of the folk legend, Pete Seeger, in tribute to his classic song


"If I Had a Hammer....."




EBSQ, the internet community of self-representing artists of which I have been a long-time member, features monthly, themed online art exhibits.  One of the shows this past August had the theme "Toolbox".  This was my entry (as can be seen here).

The following was my artist statement:

 
My entry for the EBSQ 'Toolbox' exhibit features a tribute portrait of the late American folk musician, Pete Seeger (1919- 2014).   

When reflecting upon the theme 'Toolbox', the first tool to come to mind was 'hammer'.   Thinking about hammers had the classic vintage folk tune, "If I Had a Hammer", popping into my head.  Written by Pete Seeger in 1949 in support of the progressive movement, the song has endured through the decades, recorded as it has been by numerous fellow musicians, and taken up as a freedom song during the American Civil Rights Movement.  I myself have many fond recollections of "If I Had a Hammer" over the course of my life -- singing it round the campfire as a young girl with my scout troupe, and then later to my own two children when they were small.  I always appreciated the simple melody and uplifting lyrics.  For my entry, I painted a portrait of the young Pete Seeger, who was 30 at the time he wrote "If I Had a Hammer" (after a lifetime of musical achievement and acclaim, Mr. Seeger passed away just this past January at the age of 95).  A prolific composer and performer, the "tool" of Mr. Seeger's trade was his guitar, with which he was often photographed playing.  I swapped out the one tool for another in this tribute to Pete Singer and his timeless classic.... 



If I had a hammer, 
I'd hammer in the morning,
I'd hammer in the evening,
All over this land.

I'd hammer out danger.
I'd hammer out a warning.
I'd hammer out love, between
My brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.


..............


"If I Had a Hammer...",  First Place Tie.....




There were but a total of four entries in the Toolbox show, still I'm very happy to say I tied for 1st Place....!   I got to split the $100 cash award prize with my fellow winner, April Trice -- $50 for each of us, how lovely!  Thanks to any who voted for me -- and many thanks to EBSQ....!


..................


(And now...., just a side note to add here, for interest and posterity.  As we all know by now (because I harp on it constantly in here), I no longer purchase new art supplies (aside from a few notable exceptions like paint and brushes) if I can in any way avoid it.  It's my own little, personal attempt to resist adding to our society's problems with over-consumption and the dreaded Affluenza  (and yes, I realize my small actions in this regard aren't likely to save the world any time soon, but can at least sleep at night in regards to my own personal artistic pursuits).  This personal moratorium includes the purchase of canvases, or even purchasing the ingredients to stretch my own canvases (too lazy to do that anyway)....because I often come across perfectly suitable alternatives when I happen to be out and about (tag sales, thrift stores, and the like (with a big emphasis this time on "the like")).  As a result, my paintings are typically created upon found wood or wooden plaques, or even supports I make myself using 2nd-hand picture frames.  I've amassed a decent hoard of these painting supports by now -- out of which the one for this entry was fished.  It's actually just a regular, gallery stretched, 8 x 10 store-bought canvas, but how it came to be mine is the more interesting part....

Years ago, when my husband and two very small children and I first moved back here to my hometown, we chanced upon a home to rent with which we fell in love.  With so many of the features we wanted in a house, we felt we had really hit the jack-pot -- cozy and old and with loads of character, a decent location, decent size (and nice to stretch out after apartment dwelling), nice yard, near the things we liked to walk to, and, most importantly, all at a reasonable rate.  We lived there for a time, until ready to purchase a house of our own.  And so we eventually moved out -- still, I always kept a very special place in my heart for our sweet old rental....

After we resettled, our cute little rental, which we were so happy with and had such good memories of,...turned into a something more of a haunted house.  It was within several years that we noticed it looking pretty beat up.  A few more years, and it was clearly run down.  Trashed even.  Hoarders, or something, had taken over, with piles of useless junk overflowing the driveway and yard, windows broken and patched with duct tape, chunks of stucco missing and shingles falling off.  What the heck happened?  Sometimes we would walk or drive by, and just pause to take in the mess that had become what had been a big part of our lives.  Where we'd had parties and celebrations, and heck, just lived. We couldn't image who could have done this to 'our' house -- much less that our old landlord would have ever allowed such a thing....!  That mystery was never solved.

Fast forward to just over a year ago, when my daughter and I were bike riding, cruising through our old neighborhood.  Passing our old house, it was clear by now it was completely empty and utterly abandoned, trashed beyond repair, and even slated for demolition.  We parked our bikes in the alleyway behind the house, and looked and looked.  She was young when we'd moved out (4 years old maybe?), but my daughter could still conjure up lots of memories.  We climbed through the gaping holes in the fence into the yard to get a closer look, pointing out nostalgic landmarks we once used to enjoy ourselves -- the patio, the outdoor brick fireplace (or, the place where it once stood anyway), the swing set, all while taking care not to trip all over the assorted junk and crap strewn about posing a booby trap.  We got a little closer, and closer still....until we were pretty much standing right next to it, staring at the gaping back door.  I'm sure you can guess what came next of course.   "Oh no, they didn't", you might be asking.  But yes, we did.  How could we not?  Our poor old house!  *OUR* house.  I know, I know -- risky, plus it was trespassing.  But I wanted to see it one last time before she was demolished for good....

Well, suffice it to say, time had not been kind.  Not easy to see the house that I'd loved so much, and held such fond memories of just 10 years before, in such state of wreck and ruin.  Still I'm glad my daughter and I had our chance to say goodbye.  And it was in there, amidst all the shattered glass and beer bottle caps (gazillions of them) all over the floor, that I stumbled upon this little, 8 x 10 canvas.   There was paint on it, but to call it a "painting" would be way too much of an exaggeration.  Just some color splashed around, and what looked possibly like some Chinese characters, although it could have just been some sort of attempt at 'abstract' something or other.  But, I took it home with me.  And when it came time to paint my little tribute to Pete Seeger here, I sanded it a bit, gessoed it, sanded it again -- and voila, good as new.  Was it stealing?  Technically, I suppose -- though guess what?   I can't say I feel much like a thief.

The house was pushed over and hauled off to the landfill just a few weeks later.  One thing I do know though...I sang this song many times over to my two young kids during countless bath times/bedtimes/naptimes, in that old house.....)





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