BUG LIFE: Solitude

10x10"
oil on linen
$100

Solitude. One of the primary reasons I fell for and married himself was because I felt and still feel as comfortable with him as I do when I'm alone. I love solitude, unless of course a thunderboomer is coming. I see this wasp as an adolescent who just had a huge blow out with M&D and struck out on his own. He hasn't a clue where he's going, but being in charge of the direction his flight takes is quite the heady brew, so he's fearless. I guess, for our purposes here, we might want to ignore all that instinctive wasp-like behavior hot-wired into his DNA that keeps him tied to the nest.

Ok, now I am vexed! I'm typing in HTML. Eeeewwooo! Hate it, hate it, hate it. Takes me back to those antique machines we used to use called typewriters. Figures. Ya get to the place where you can create a painting, take a shot of it, upload it to a site and have it then available for any and all who wish to view it, and then, bam! ya can't choose the font you love! Ridiculous analogy, but I feel better.

I entered the Trampoline series into "Sanguine: The Temperament of Blood," the July exhibition at http://www.projekt30.com/main.php and was accepted! Then I decided to enter the Bug series in the August show and in doing so decided to name any and all bug paintings with the tag "BUG LIFE:" (ya know like Thug Life) — followed by the title of that particular bug painting. That felt neat, I experienced my very first "series" buzz. No pun intended.

SAGE ON BAMBOO

10X10"
oil on linen
$125

Weird! Blogger won't let me choose a type face. I'm not happy. At all. Anyway, I started and finished a painting in one day again! Oh my. Thunder boomer on its way. I hate those things. Enjoy the weekend.

THAT CUP

6x6"
oil on linen
$100

It's been quite a while since I started and finished a painting in one day. I forgot how gratifying it feels. There are a few more bugs in the works, but I began feeling like I was painting myself into a subject matter corner, so I thought I'd just dive in and paint a cup.

PENNY AND USING OIL PAINT

16x20"
oil on canvas
sold

This commission was done at least 3 years ago. I am gratefully very busy this week and wanted to post today, so meet Penny.

I remember feeling very out of control when I did this particular portrait. When I started painting pet portraits, I felt compelled to finish a portrait a week—I guess due to the insane deadlines from my previous career—and as a result the work did not turn out the way I would have liked. At that time, I hadn't a clue how to use oil paint and started my work day by squeezing out a blob of color from every tube of paint I had in the studio! I'd then thin the paint—as I worked—by dipping my brush in turp substitute and try to cajole it into a workable consistency. The result was too thin paint that would dry dull and transparent by the next morning. Some of that is evident here.

When it dawned on me that perhaps there might be a better way, I Googled and found The Carder Method. It's a great tool for beginners and professionals alike, and offers a complete course in still life painting, but I was mainly interested in the mixing, storing and using of oil paint and this was just what I was looking for.

With a few changes to suit my needs, my experience with oil paint went from weird to great virtually overnight! I now use very few colors—burnt umber, Frenchmarine blue, red, yellow and white in air-tight canning jars, thinned to a luxurious texture with Delq Oil Painting Medium for my work. I dole out generous portions of those colors with inexpensive tongue depressors, into a large, rectangular shaped, air-tight plastic container lined with a few sheets of taped, cut to size palate paper. When I work, I mix the colors from the air-tight container, onto a large serving tray with die-cut handles, also lined with taped sheets of cut to size palate paper. I then compare the color I mixed to my subject matter or reference using the patented color checker included in the Carder Method and I'm off.

This process has saved my sanity, my time and lots and lots of paint. I store the air-tight container in the fridge when I'm done and the colors stay moist and skin-free for at least two weeks. I change the mixing tray sheets as needed by just untaping the used layer, carefully peeling it up and re-taping the layer underneath. Now, if I could just get my brushes to wash themselves, I'd be set. If anyone knows how to keep brushes plush and usable for more than two weeks, please don't hold back! On his DVD, Jeffery Hein mentioned that he stores his brushes in mineral oil and rarely cleans them. I'm tryin' that next.

MAN DOWN!

36x12"
oil on linen
$450

Have you ever fallen in public? We all know, as long as nothing is irreparably damaged, our pride is more bruised than anything else. You feel yourself losing control for whatever reason, you try to correct, but it's too late...you're goin' down. Thud!

In my last year of junior high school, I was, much to my surprise, gleefully accepted into what I considered to be a very cool clique. The leader of the pack was exactly what I wanted to be. I was thrilled. We all had lunch together, traveled the hallways as a group, and enjoyed what we considered to be very witty repartee. I thought I was in heaven. They liked me...they really liked me!

Then, without warning, it happened. One day someone slipped the head honcho's little chair out from under her as she went to sit down. Thud! Her face turned crimson as arms and legs flailed to regain control. I was completely clueless and had never been in a situation like that and without even thinking, I began to laugh...uncontrollably.

As you might well imagine, I was instantly banished. It's amazing what can happen when the one in charge hands down an edict. It was as if I'd never existed not 10 minutes after the incident. One member of the group, in secret, apologized for not being able to speak to me again, but she was determined not to suffer my fate, and she too turned her back on the outcast. I was very careful, from that point on, not to ever laugh when someone fell and I guess that's a good thing.

That said, I'm having the best time with these freakin' bugs!

STUDIO LAMP

5x7"
oil on canvas
$75

I knew at some point I'd have to get back to still life and give the bugs a rest, but I have to say the excitement level isn't nearly as high. I started this months ago, right before I got bugged. I finished it today because my current bug painting is still in progress, I haven't posted in days, and I'm under strict orders from himself to do so. As usual I'm not the least bit pleased, but what else is new?

JOURNEY'S END

12X36"
oil on linen
$275

These are my favorite bugs to paint...I think. So colorful and interesting, standing still and moving at the same time.

Does the end of the canvas represent the End? Do we paint different scenes for ourselves until we finally run out of canvas? And, if so, how big is our brush and what color paint are we using? Do we use broad strokes or lots of single small ones? Does our canvas hang in a museum, a gallery, on someone's wall or does it sit, untouched on our easel?

I love this size canvas, however it is a chore to photograph! We're in talks about a new camera with more mega pixels I think they're called, which should make for higher resolution postings. The copy board is in storage. I need to find a way to make it work though, himself is not at all happy about the cobwebs that have happily taken up residence on it.