ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Steam

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

NAUTILUS BLUE

I have some ideas and crows flying around but nothing concrete yet so...

I just played with some loose wet-in-wet washes of lovely blue colors today.


This is a fourth sheet (11" x 15") Fabriano Artistico 140# cold press paper, cropped down to a square.  I'll do a bit more on this to finish it up, I think - but not much more!  It can't just float like that...or can it?



The Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meeting is tomorrow 10 am - noon in Mt. Adams at the Cincinnati Art Club building.  Since it's at the CAC building, all the members who attend will get to see the Viewpoint Show. 

The guest artist/speaker tomorrow is Jean Vance.  And we are going to hold voting for President,
Program Chair,
Recording Secretary
and Treasurer. 
As far as I know, there is only ONE person willing to be President and ONE person willing to be Program Chair.  Don't think we have anyone willing to be Recording Secretary or Treasurer, but I may be wrong.

HAVE YOU EVER...

I must humbly and with much embarrassment apologize to NorthLightShop.  I just received an email from their service which pointed out to me that I DID get the 15% discount - it just wasn't noted on the invoice as such.  I got a book for $16.49 for $14.02 and a book for $21.21 for $18.03.  Yes, math has never been my strong point but I should have checked the prices instead of just seeing there was not discount listed on the invoice.  I apologize and now will fill out all those surveys and things they send without asking for anything to repent for my rush to judgment about them. 

So, if you get their notice and you fill out their forms, do go and order something and get an even deeper discount!  Perhaps time to think about books and DVDs for the holidays?

Please disregard the following rant from me. 

After a long walk, I am in a better mood and the ibuprophen is keeping the pain/achiness away for now.  I'll be fine in another day or so, I promise!


Have you ever ordered from NorthLightShop?  Have you ever filled out one of their surveys?  I just did both.  After taking time to fill out a survey, I was given a code for 15% off an order so I clicked on the link and went to the shop to look around.  Found 2 things I liked and ordered them.  I put the 15% discount code in the box as required and went to check out - and didn't get the 15% discount.  I thought I might be able to catch the problem and get my 15% discount so I emailed with the problem and got a nice thank you and a promise they'd contact me.  I just got a notice that my order (without the 15% discount) was shipped - they are quick about that!  But I've not received a reply to my email about the problem.

That's my rant for the day.  There will be more coming.  I just had another "diagnostic" mammogram - which means 6 views of one breast; which means PAIN like I'd never felt and I came home in tears, feeling like I'd been mauled.  I am sore, achy, and angry.  And I get to go back for another in 6 months after just having 7 views done 6 months ago?  I don't think so.

1.  7 + 6 + ? = how much radiation can you get on my breast before, surprise, it's cancer this time??
2.  How much pain can you take and willingly return for more?  I actually cried out at one time, it was so bad - that was the 4th view (before the tech returned to tell me the Doctor wanted 2 more views).  I told her to get the male doctor in there so I could put his balls in the thing and squeeze them down to see how it felt.  Yes, I did. 

She just laughed.  Fun for her, not so fun for me. 

SUNDAY SHARING

Sunday Sharing is all about focusing on a few new followers of my blog who have shown up on my followers block of folks.  I'm happy to share them with you and hope you'll have some time to check out their blogs and webpages.

1.  Felicity Grace has several blogs and a website so you will see many beautiful things if you follow them all today as you sip your cup of coffee or tea this morning.  I'll send you to the first one and you can go on from there - I recommend that you do!  Sketches by Fiz, her colored pencil sketching blog, had me at the first page.  Lovely, light, airy renderings of nature caught my eye and made me stay there for a while and decide I had to add her to my blogroll so I remember to return :)  This is a lady who has talent and skill and I imagine her life story would be very interesting - she currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland but has lived in Kuwait.  Perhaps she should chronicle her life story??  Whether she does, or not, there are plenty of beautiful works to see in her blogs and in her webpage.

2.  Jane Sorgetz is another new follower from Brazil.  Her blog is full of powerful color, great shapes, and much creativity.  If you like seeing art taken to it's craftiest side, visit her blog and see some things you'll want to own - or at least see some things you'll want to try your hand at making :)

3.  I am very happy to share this next blogger with you.  Lisa Le Quelenec is a wonderful artist, painting loose lovely soft watercolors and acrylics.  I discovered her from Maggie Latham's blog and the 100 Washes Challenge blog and had to add Lisa to my sidebar.  She paints the way I wish I could paint - and I'm finding there are many artists out there who have that light touch that I seem to yearn for but know isn't in me - so I get my visual pleasure from seeing paintings like Lisa creates.  If you love watercolor and what it can do when it's allowed to flow and be watercolor, you'll enjoy this trip over to her Seaside Studios blog!

I hope you enjoy all three of these artists and their creations!  Have a good Sunday.  Go create something beautiful! 

(If you're in the US, did you remember to "Fall Back" today?  I didn't, so now I have an extra hour of time I didn't think I'd have this morning! ha ha)

AFTER THE OPENING

Well, Sweetie made me attend the opening of the Viewpoint Show (see yesterday's post for info on hours); and it was wall-to-wall people.  But some I knew and others I talked to and Deb did a great job sharing the judge's comments on the winning paintings while awarding the ribbons and $.  I didn't win anything, but it doesn't matter at all.  It was a fun evening and everyone anxiously awaited the awards and visited with friends and family.  There were entries as far away as Alaska, so it's becoming more and more a national show although the locals feel it's their big local show.

It was so crowded, you couldn't get a decent photo of anything during the opening, so we returned today to walk around more leisurely and get some photos this afternoon.

Here are some of the watercolors that got into the show - you'll see some with ribbons were winners (2 were awards that were given by wives of artists who have passed on as a way to honor them; the wives get to pick the award winners so they were not chosen by the judge of the rest of the show).

Upper left:  Gaylynn Robinson's watercolor titled Locked Out.

Right:  Lorri Davis' watercolor batik titled Afternoon Shadows.  Gaylynn and Lorri were there so I got to chat a bit with them.  They are both members of our local watercolor society.

This watercolor painting, titled Lonesome Bicycle, is by Raymond Burt; it won one of the special awards.  The woman who awarded it said her husband would have loved the loose style.  I don't know Mr. Burt but he is going to coordinate the show next year.











This watercolor, titled Ready to Fish, was painted by Joan Rothel, a local artist who is a member of the Ohio Watercolor Society..

This painting won one of the special awards and the woman said it was because of the lovely loose style and the maintained whites throughout.  It's by Carolyn Ross Hibbard and called Bloomin' Beauties 2.  Carolyn is a lovely lady and a member of our local watercolor society.  She also has done artwork for the Cincinnati Zoo.

Another prize-winner (this time from the regular judge) was this watercolor on gessoed paper by Vivian Ripley and it's called Rush of Water.  Because of the position, it was hard to get a good, clean photo of it without the lights.





And I have to show you my painting in the show and what it was hung beside.  I loved it!

The painting, an oil painting, was called Bird Tribe by Gregory M. Dearth.  I loved it so much, I voted for it for Viewers Favorite (although it didn't win, it won a regular award in the show).

That's all for the watercolors.  I did take a few of my favorites from the show.  I'll share those tomorrow.  Until then, pop over to Deb Ward's blog and read more about the show and the juror's comments.

VIEWPOINT SHOW TONIGHT

The show opens tonight and I've said I'll be there, so I have to go (I just am not social enough to want to be in crowds of people, many of whom will be strangers to me).  But my friend, Deb, has coordinated this and it's her last of a 3-year stint so I should go, right?


I found out that I'm ONE of only TWELVE watercolor artists who got in, so I'm pretty pleased (but secretly wondering:  What was the judge thinking? because all of the rest are very very photo realistic painters!)


If you're local, stop by and see the show on a Saturday/Sunday so you can take your time to walk around and view all the artwork.

PLAYING WITH AUTUMN THINGS

I have had this Strathmore Visual Journal now for months.  I bought it, thinking I'd use it for an online Strathmore Journal workshop I signed up for.  I never used it although I enjoyed watching the other students create things in their journals.  So...what do you do with a 90# watercolor paper journal?  Just use it for doodling and sketching, I guess.


So I got it out of the bookshelf in my art room and set up a little autumn still life of pumpkin, leaves in a holder, and pods from a tree in my step-daughter's yard (a sweet gum, I think).

Took a few photos.

Then sat down and sketched a couple of the set-ups out before deciding to add some color to one.

Painted wet on dry paper so the 90# paper wouldn't buckle or give me problems.  The only problem was my overworking the orange of the pumpkin and not getting a good shadow shape or color under the pumpkin (ugly brown!!) or the leaves (charcoal grey, are you kidding me??).

This will have to be a practice excuse, and I'll take a bit more time with the next one.  This one, unfortunately, isn't worth finishing up although the pumpkin looks pretty anemic.

What was my intention?  To create a popping painting using the orange and turquoise teal color against each other.  Perhaps simplifying the composition with nothing but the pumpkin (larger) against the turquoise blue would have been a better idea?
Ah, the best laid plans....

I could only show my finished, successful work - but I hope my mistakes help you learn as well as my successes (plus if I only showed the successes, you'd begin to think I knew what I was doing!!!).

I still have a tendency to rush through a painting and come out with a very unsuccessful result, as you can see.  But, what the heck, it's just sketch paper, and the time was not wasted, but used for learning how the 90# Strathmore paper works (since this was the first time I'd used it.).  Am I justifying this mess?  You bet'cha!!

Now time for a do-over since I still have the little pumpkin although the leaves have been drained of color (perhaps a chlorophyll vampire came on Halloween night?).




Unfortunately, this one isn't much better than the first - a bit to heavy on the colors.  Have to remind myself:  A Sketchbook is for Watercolor SKETCHES, not so much complete paintings and leave more to the imagination.  I like the little sweetgum tree things that I picked up from the ground, though (and I should have made little scary critters from the shadow shapes :)

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Survivor

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

CAWS FOR CELEBRATION

I put the slips of paper with names in the bowl of candy on the table and asked Sweetie to draw a name.  He pulled out a KitKat bar first; I told him he had to put that back and get a slip of paper with a name.

And the name he pulled is:


Carol Blackburn


Congratulations, Carol. 


Email me your mailing address and I will get this out in the mail ASAP (with a few little extras thrown in the mailer just for fun).



Sweetie worked hard for me Monday, driving me up to the Evergreen Retirement Center to pick up my paintings from the GCWS Show; and then home.  Then after lunch, he drove me to the Cincinnati Art Club to drop off my entry into the Viewpoint Show; and then home again after a short trip to Lowes for bird seed and paint swatches (we are finally going to get up the gumption to have our livingroom/entry/hallway painted!!!).  So he did a great job as chauffeur and carrier for the day + extra duty as drawer of names.  
He got to eat the KitKat bar :)

SUNDAY SHARING + A HALLOWEEN TREAT

I have two new viewers/followers with blogs to share today:

1.  Lou Borghetti has some lovely work to share on her blog as well as tons of fun and interesting facts and information.  Go to her blog and click on the top button that says WORKS to get to her creations. 

2.  Rebecca J. Dunn's blog, Art to Art, contains lots of interesting things and beautiful photography.  Stop over and take a look and smile at the wonderful images she creates.

I never heard from any of the new followers about my give-away.  So...all you precious people out there who regularly follow my blog are going to get a Halloween treat:

I'm giving away a small crow painting.
It is a small painting, matted to 9" x 9".

I will mail it to you in the mat, if you win.

Here's what you have to do to enter the drawing...

Comment here with "Count me in" or "I want to win" or "Gimme!" and I will put all your names (email IDs) in a hat and have Sweetie pick one tomorrow evening - October 31st - Halloween - as the kids are coming to the door for treats. 


I will announce the winner of the painting on Tuesday and all you'll have to do is send me your mailing info so I can put it in the mail.

Good Luck!!

LET'S TALK

It seems there has been a bout of copyright infringement going on - again.  This stuff never ends and people don't seem to realize what is okay to post and what is not okay to post.  Here are some hints:

If I post a painting I painted that was influenced by a painting you did - and don't mention that it's influenced by your work and link to your blog - that is wrong.  It may be an oversight - if so, then fix it.  If it's not an oversight, don't do it; it's wrong.

If I post a painting that is obviously your painting but cropped and the color temperature changed - and don't mention that I have just posted your painting on my blog with your name and a link to your blog - this is creating-some-very-bad-karma wrong.

Seems like this has happened to Jane Minter.  Now, Jane has a style all her own - soft, lovely, loose, beautiful.  I don't think just anyone could take a Jane Minter painting and copy it and make it look just like the Jane Minter painting.  I think someone could take a Jane Minter painting and crop it and put it on their blog and say they painted it.  But that is wrong.

What do you think?  Here are the paintings (1) done by Jane and (2) claimed by the other blogger...

(1)
Jane's painting that I cropped from her original.

(2)
The painting claimed by the other blogger as a painting she did "from a painting."  She didn't mention Jane's name or blog.

Really?

Look at these two paintings and tell me - do you think this other blogger actually painted this painting?  Or is it a copy from Jane's blog?





You can find more information and voice your opinion at Jane's blog here.

The problem is, this is acceptable behavior, especially in the big leagues. 
You don't think so? 
Well, what about Shepard Fairey and his work on the Barack Obama Hope posters - that were photos illegally appropriated from an Associated Press photographer who took the photo during Obama's campaign.

From Wikipedia about this issue:

The HOPE poster was based on a copyrighted photograph taken in April 2006 by Mannie Garcia while on assignment for the Associated Press (AP), which wants credit and compensation for the work.[45] However, Garcia believes that he personally owns the copyright for the photo, and has said, "If you put all the legal stuff away, I’m so proud of the photograph and that Fairey did what he did artistically with it, and the effect it's had."[46] Fairey has said that his use of it falls within the legal definition of fair use.[47] Lawyers for both sides were discussing an amicable agreement.[48] In February 2009, Fairey filed a federal lawsuit against the Associated Press, seeking a declaratory judgment that his use of the AP photograph was protected by the fair use doctrine and so did not infringe their copyright.[49] In October 2009 Shepard Fairey admitted to trying to deceive the Court by destroying evidence that he had used the photograph alleged by the AP. His lawyers announced they were no longer representing him, and Laurence Pulgram, an intellectual property lawyer stated that the revelation definitely put Mr. Fairey's case "in trouble".[50][51] In May 2010, a judge urged Fairey to settle.[52] The parties settled in January of 2011.[53]

Fairey was questioned about criticism surrounding his use of images from social movements, specifically images created by artists of color, in an interview with Liam O'Donoghue for Mother Jones. O'Donoghue later posted an article, titled "Shepard Fairey’s Image Problem", on several independent media sites.^[54] The article explored Fairey's use of copyright protected images while at the same time defending his copyright protected works from being used by other artists and corporations. Fairey cited his collaboration with Public Enemy, his funding of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, and his six-figure charitable contributions for Darfur assistance as counterpoints to the charges of exploitation.


Full article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey

So... if this happens when people are talking about big bucks and big names, how is a smaller artist who isn't a household name to defend his/her work from another who claims it as their own?  I don't know the answer to the problem.  Each person has to find the answer within.  I hate that this has caused one of my favorite bloggers (Maggie Latham) to stop posting her 1,000 Washes challenge blog (because she, too, has recently been the victim of copyright infringement).

I think I'll continue to post my stuff as I create it.  In fact, I'm thinking that putting my work out there gives me a solid background to prove the work is mine, especially since I do a lot of works in progress paintings.

What's your take on this?  Have you ever had someone simply cut and paste a work of your own into their blog and claim it as their own?  If so, what did you do?  Have you ever had someone paint an exact copy of a work you put on your blog without giving you any credit for the original or stating that their painting was an homage to your painting?  

Did you know you cannot copy any living artist's work?
Did you know you can copy the work of "the masters" because they have been dead for so long?  (My local art museum says you cannot photograph works of any living artist and any artwork that was made after 1978.)

Have you ever made a mistake (like when we all begin painting from books and DVDs and teachers, etc.) and not realized it?  What did you do to fix the problem?
Do you think teachers who put out DVDs and books should allow others to copy their work and sell it, if it's in the book?  Would you want to do that?

TITLED WORKS

With all the titles being shared with "caws" added in them, it was fun to think of painting many of them :)  But I have a question for you all:  Is the title as much your creation as the painting/drawing??


The best title I've come up with was for a painting I'd tried 5 times and never got right until I painted it on Tyvek (the stuff Myrna Wacknov uses that is the construction wrapping for houses). It was a painting of cows at a feed trough with their behinds towards the viewer and I called it: Dairy Aires



Say it out loud - get it! ha ha ha ha
When I was struggling with the painting, I shared it online with a watercolor group and one of the artists in the group liked it so much she asked if she could use that title for her own painting (something different but still about cows).

But isn't a title as much the artist's own as the painting? I thought so since I'd never heard this title anywhere before and it came to me immediately so I felt it was mine.

What do you think?
Titles are okay to be used over and over?
Or are they your own as much as your painting is your own?
And what about artists who ask for titles for their paintings from blog viewers or friends?  Is that okay if the people jump in and share - or do they need permission?

I know a lot of sayings are tossed around freely and they all mean something when said so perhaps something that is commonly used - like A Stitch in Time Saves Nine or something like that - is free to use.  But what about a title you come up with that is fun, clever, or just fits that work of art so perfectly you don't want to see it used by anyone else on another piece?

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.  I don't think there is a right or wrong about this one and is probably a personal choice.


(Sorry, no painting today or tomorrow - cleaning instead - ugh!)

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Final

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

FIDDLED WITH PORTRAIT + NEW IDEAS

Rather than redo the portrait as Maggie suggested with more lights in the figure and the darks around, I fiddled with this one, adding a bit of color and softening some of the too-much-texture look.  I will still redo it, but didn't want to start another yesterday.

Instead of starting over, I was having this idea...

Due to the pain and stiffness in my neck that's been there since the last trip to the chiropractor and not getting any better, I was thinking about the cause of the pain...

which led me to


The Caws of the Pain

and some ideas drawn out on tracing paper and then copied a bit larger on the copier.

I'll bring that together, somehow, and create a painting of a crow looking or touching a woman's neck from the side/back and calling it
The Caws of the Pain.




I know, my mind works in strange ways!

What other titles could you think of to include caws? 
Caws for alarm. 
Just be-caws. 
Hmm........


After another visit to the doctor today, he sent me to get x-rays to see what's happening with my neck and shoulders - so stiff and painful, I can hardly turn my head to the right (fun driving on the interstate that way, let me tell you!).  Will find out if it's just a muscle pull that's bad or something else.  He doesn't think it's a pinched nerve even though my left thigh went numb while getting the massage last week.

What fresh hell is this?  Time to take me out to the back pasture and put me down?

SOME AUTUMN COLORS

Didn't paint this weekend.  Saturday, I sat the WACC show (final weekend) from 1-4 pm.  It was a lovely, bright, sunny, warm, golden autumn day.  People were probably outside enjoying the (possibly) last good weekend of the fall - because they weren't coming to the gallery. 

Sunday, Sweetie and I took a short drive to a little local park and walked a trail and got a bit of exercise and tried to find some fall color.  It seems the leaves have hit their peak color and are now browning and falling off the trees.  Not a very extended fall display so you grab what you can on a sunny day.

Here are some photos we both took during our walk.





AN AUTUMN POEM

Autumn Grasses

by Margaret Gibson


In fields of bush clover and hay-scent grass
the autumn moon takes refuge
The cricket's song is gold


Zeshin's loneliness taught him this


Who is coming?
What will come to pass, and pass?

Neither bruise nor sweetness nor cool air
not-knowing
knows the way

And the moon?
Who among us does not wander, and flare
and bow to the ground?


Who does not savor, and stand open
if only in secret

taking heart in the ripening of the moon?

FUNKY FIGURE

I had a photo from a workshop I took with Janet Rogers in Florida a few years ago.  She had her granddaughter and 2 other folks come in to be our models for the day and we painted from them.  This is one of the set-ups with her granddaughter wearing a floppy hat and white blouse.  The young girls loved dressing up for us.

I sketched the drawing out on tracing paper and then traced a bit of that onto my watercolor paper, spritzed the paper completely and began painting, letting the paint fizzle out at the edges.  Fun!



I'm calling this one
Old Fashioned

It's on a half sheet of Fabriano Artistico 140# cold press paper.

Just need to reiterate some of the darkest darks and get the skin color in the hands and it's done.  I kind of like the fuzzy look.




Had my first hour-long massage yesterday and it was wonderful but I was so tired yesterday, I was yawning and ready for a nap all afternoon and evening.  Even took at little 1/2 hour nap late afternoon.  I think it means she (Kristin with magic hands!) really worked those tight muscles and my body was tired from the toxins and stress released.  Have another appointment in two weeks for another.  She was gentle but firm and I already have more painless movement in my neck.

CROW KNOWS - FINISHED

Finished this one.  

Crow Knows a Toxic Heart When He Sees One
Half sheet (15" x 22") 140# coldpress watercolor paper.

In order to work on the textured background after painting in the crow and gloved hands holding the heart, I put a ring of liquid friskit around the edges of the crow and hands and then went crazy playing with texturizing - all still watercolor and splatters and spray water drops and things and miskit splattered and removed, too.  Fun - but then I had to go back and retouch up the edges of the gloves and crow when I pulled the miskit off because it pulled up a bit of the color there.  

It worked fine to just touch up a bit.  

Another one finished and one on the drawing board.

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Country

Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter

NEXT STEP TO RECUPERATION

I visited the chiropractor yesterday.  I'd had a migraine Sunday night through Monday and was feeling pretty rough when I got there.  I told him no pressing on the shoulders with his thumbs (which is like torture and makes me sore for days); so he used a metal rod that "shot" my neck over and over.  Now I can hardly turn my neck and I'm in pain.  Pain I didn't have before.  

So...time to try something else.  I'm going to go the massage therapy route for a while.  

I am down from 3-4 migraines a week in July to just 1 a week in October so that's pretty good, right?  I'm not satisfied with that, though, and no amount of donuts or exercise seems to get me over the hump of 1 per 7-9 days :(

Boo hoo! 
Poor, poor, pitiful me! 
And just like me, the sunshine and warmth of the days have gone;
it's colder and windy with rain and storms coming in!

I need my heat wrap and chocolate, stat!!

Are you watching the new season on Bravo of Work of Art/The Next Great Artist?  I've started watching (it aired on the 12th of this month), and you gotta watch!  How could you not watch the interaction between the artist who calls himself The Sucklord and Simon de Pury! ha ha  So far the women have been doing great work and I hope they keep it up.  I especially like Jazz-Minh's portraits and Sara's strange creations in watercolor and ink (I think I have seem both of these artists' work in magazines or online articles). 

Check it out if you're interested in the artwork and the personalities.  What would you create if you were in one of the challenges???

NEVERMORE - FINISHED

This long narrow painting (watercolor on Arches 140# coldpress, 7.5" x 11") is done. 
An early Halloween treat - or trick?

I did fix the eye so there are some lighter areas there - they aren't showing well in the photo so I did more after this was taken, so there is some life in the old bird!

SUNDAY SHARING

Well, I normally wait until I get 3 new viewers who have blogs before I do a Sunday Sharing but these two are such jewels in the crown of watercolor, I've got to share now!

1.
My latest viewer is Oliva Quintin.  Oliva's blog is called Atelier Petite Mer and she lives and paints in Bretagne (Brittany, northern France, to English-speaking folks).  Her work amazes me, astounds me, makes me smile, makes me envious, makes me always remember what it is about watercolor that brings me such joy.  When it's done right - and she does it right - it sings!  Olivia as a jewel would be a pearl, misty, shining, glowing, irridescently lovely.

2.
Next newest viewer comes from Spain, the region called Alicante.  His name is Luis Sala and his self-named blog shows work on par with those you see top watercolorists doing on DVDs and in art magazines.  His city scapes and landscapes and every painting in his blog is a true pleasure to view.   Luis as a jewel would be a ruby, strong, sure, deep, masculine.

If you love watercolor and want to see two of the best watercolor blogs around, do visit both Olivia's and Luis' blogs.  They paint the way I want to paint when I grow up!

WHY I'M NOT PAINTING

I've not been painting.  Not starting anything.  Not finishing anything.  Why?

I seem to be mesmerized by the fall colors; the warm weather, the sunlight through turning leaves, the brisk mornings.  Everything makes me want to be outside - or in the sunroom looking outside or reading.  Or taking the long way home along a tree-covered road.  This fall is just wonderful so far and I'm soaking up every bit of it I can instead of shutting myself away in my art room for now.  Maybe when the weather turns and the rain comes and stays and the cold is too cold, I'll get back to it.  But for now...just enjoying autumn...hope you are, too (if your part of the world is having autumn right now - could be spring you're cherishing instead?)

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Blaze

Photo by R.H. Carpenter

VERSATILITY MEANS...

An artist blogger friend, Irina (from Russia so her name spelled by her in her language is Ирина Рехвиашвили) of Irina's Painting and Stuff has graciously passed on an internet award she received.  It's called the Versatile Blogger Award. 

The rules to this award are to list 7 things about yourself others don't know.  One would think it would be easy to do this - but it's not.

1.  I was named by my father after his favorite actress, Rhonda Fleming.
2.  Yes, I had reddish hair when I was born.
3.  I never took an art class in school until I took one drawing class in college after I got my degree - just for fun.
4.  I feel a real affinity to crows and this has been going on for at least 10 years.
5.  When my weight goes over 133 lbs, I panic.
6.  I am the oldest child in a very dysfunctional family that seems to get worse as the generations grow and have children of their own.
7.  I have no children but have two grown step-daughters who are both under 5 feet tall.

So there you have it - nothing about art - except for the crows - because you all know about my art!

And now I'm to pass this award on to others.  The rules say 15 others but I think that waters the award down too much so I'll list 7 others!  (Even though I am first-born, I don't like all rules!)


But first, what does versatility mean?  According to the dictionary.com site,  
ver·sa·tile   /ˈvɜrsətl or, especially Brit., -ˌtaɪl/ Show Spelled[vur-suh-tl or, especially Brit., -tahyl] Show IPA

adjective
1. capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor, etc.: a versatile writer.
 
So let's look at some versatile artists from my sideblog and see who fits perfectly in that they are doing more than just painting in one medium or are stretching their particular medium to new lengths for those who follow.  I am going to include those artists who paint in more than one medium plus teach others and share work with others, either in a regular class or workshop situation or online.
 
1.  Barb Sailor of Barb's Daily Creations works and paints in Ohio.  She paints in watercolor, acrylic AND oil plus she teaches and studies; Barb also works behind the scenes in WatercolorWorkshop (and online Yahoo group) and shares freely with all the members.
 
2.  Carol Carter will always be one of my absolute favorites in the way she makes watercolor dance across the paper!  Carol teaches classes through a local St. Louis college, she does workshops all over the world, shows her work internationally and is often found in the pages of our favorite art magazines; she also goes off on artist retreats to study and learn and broaden her knowledge of watercolor and acrylic.
 
3.  Steve Sorrell of Steve Sorrell's Mineral Art blog does something I've never seen anyone else do.  He paints watercolor/gouache on black paper.  He is very much into minerals and gems from the earth and creates beautiful works of art by painting their many facets onto black paper.  It is very very cool and unusual.  Plus Steve is "from the land down under" so he gets extra points for that :)
 
4.  Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson has the blog, Paper Paintings.  And what are paper paintings?  Well, Elizabeth works on wooden supports with acrylic paint and then collages (using torn paper bits, not cut) over them to paint some of the most fantastic and bold peacocks, cows, flowers, etc.  It is a fascinating technique and she teaches and shares it with others in workshops all over the US.  A Florida artist, she is also a wonderful friend, as evidenced by her work to help her friend, Cheri, recuperate and get what she needs after an auto accident that left her paralyzed.  Elizabeth has created art auctions and books for sale to help raise funds for Cheri.  Oh, and did I mention, shes a triathelete??

5.  Myrna Wacknov of Creativity Journey has a heart as big as her talent - and that's saying a lot!  She is a wonderful artist who is always stretching herself, whether it's in drawing or painting.  She creates every day and when she's not creating for herself, she travels the world teaching others and sharing what she's learned along the way.  If one could bottle Myrna's enthusiasm and joy for art and then sprinkle it all around, the world would be a much better place.  She draws with everything that makes a mark; she works on watercolor paper but also on Tyvek (that plastic stuff that wraps houses in construction); she shares her work and knowledge freely and although I have never met her in person, I consider her a friend.  Plus she's going to be teaching in the spring of 2012 at the Kanuga Watermedia workshops in North Carolina and I am going to be there in the front row!!

6.  Maggie Latham is an artist that does so many things to promote watercolor and I'm so glad I discovered her many blogs.  Her main focus is on watercolor and she aims to become the best watercolor artist she can be while sharing her knowledge online and in regular classes; plus she has created a blog for a group of watercolor artists who challenge each other do to - 100 watercolor washes - in a year.  The blog is just about ending but it's going to remain up after the challenge ends and all artists have finished their 100 paintings.  For those who love watercolor and what it can do when left to its own devices and some real knowledge of the medium, do visit 100 Washes!  And after finishing her own 100 washes, Maggie's challenged herself to - 1,000 washes!!!  The woman is obsessed in the best possible way with what watercolor can and will do.

7.  I would be very remiss if I didn't put my friend, Deb Ward, in this list of 7.  Deb paints in watercolor, fluid acrylic, and casein.  She has won many awards for her work and has a strong connection to the past in the choice of her subject material.  She also just happens to join many many local art groups and take on responsibilities most members won't take on - like being membership chair, program chair, coordinating the groups' shows, and coordinating the Cincinnati Art Club's Viewpoint national juried show (3 years in a row).  When she's not doing that, she teaches in her studio in Indiana and at other venues around the Greater Cincinnati area.  She is always the first one to tell you to "enter the show because your painting is good!"  She lives in a beautiful setting in the country with a stray dog and several very fancy cows which are her husband's "hobby."   When she's not attending art club meetings, she working or attending shows and teaching - and then she has time to paint award winning paintings!  

Well, that's 7 and I could go on - it seems to be female heavy and there are 2 men I'd like to mention without bragging a lot about them - I don't have to as they both have solid backgrounds in water media and they both teach, travel and do workshops all over, and...well, you get the idea!  Their work ethic is extraordinary and they have a lot to share with other artists.  I would love to take lessons from both of these guys...

8.  David Lobenberg  

and

9.  M.E. (Mike) Bailey

Now, take some time and visit these wonderful artists - you won't be sorry!

IN THE WORKS: NEVERMORE

A long horizontal painting of an arm lying on the floor and raven deciding what to do with that information.  A bit of the macabre to get us in the mood for Halloween.

Nevermore
Watercolor on Arches 140# coldpress
7.5" x 11"


Kind of fits with the one I painted in the summer called Lives Past...

ART CLUB OUTING ON A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY

Yesterday, 25 members of the Woman's Art Club of Cincinnati met at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum for a brisk walk, or a slow stroll around to find a good spot and then some plein air painting or sketching from 9:30 - 11:30.  Then we had our meeting at noon at the Heritage Chapel and took a 1 1/2 hour tram ride around the grounds with a docent who shared the history of Spring Grove with us.  Here are some photos from the day.  It couldn't have been a more gorgeous autumn day.

A couple of members who enjoy plein air...

<--- Deborah     and     Lynn -----^

Today, Covington, KY is having their 7th Annual Street Arts Festival, Art Off Pike.  Another gorgeous day to walk around and view artworks from beading and jewelry work to painting and sculpture.  Stop over if you're in the area - it goes on from 11 am - 5 pm today only.

CROW KNOWS A TOXIC HEART...

A bit more work on this one so far...

I may have to think a while about the background and what I want there - probably just a wash of muted color.







The close-ups show the colors in the bird better.

RAIN CROW

A small painting that came easily.





1/4 sheet Arches 140# paper

Rain Crow













My little art room is slowly being filled with crows - and that is just fine with me.

MERMAID'S PLUNDER

Finished

Half sheet Arches 140# coldpress

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

Preening

Photo by R.H. Carpenter

IN THE WORKS: CROW KNOWS A TOXIC HEART WHEN HE SEES ONE

On half sheet Arches 140# cold press


Title:

Crow Knows a Toxic Heart
When He Sees One