Galleries

I’M ALL MIXED UP

General Info, New Art

Not long ago I picked up some soft pastels for no other reason than I wanted to paint a ballerina in the style of Degas. I haven’t touched pastels for more than 5 years as far as I can remember. If not for this project series I am working on, it could very well have been another few years before I used my pastels.

A quick look around my studio I can easily spot a variety of art media/materials so that at any given time I can put my hands on oil paints, oil pastels, acrylic paints, inks, gouache, or watercolor paints; colored pencils, charcoal, pastels, graphite, and crayons – all at the ready, each in their own space. There is even clay waiting for me to try my hand at sculpture.

Of course, I have my standard go-tos (charcoal, oil and acrylic paints) and other media I play with, and often they will get mixed together in one piece, maybe with some collage. I would say I am a Jack of all trades, master of some. 😊

The best thing about having all these tools at my disposal is that I get to problem solve, experiment, learn and evolve and I seldom get bored. And not for nothing, I create work in a myriad of genre as well: portraits, landscapes, figures, abstracts, still life, et al. I can create a body of work in any or all of this media/genre, but I prefer to float along on whatever whim begets me. I love living in my mixed-up world. I wouldn’t have it any other way.  

2023

Event, General Info, What's going on
Figure with axe ready to tackle huge tree.

Seriously?! We have already passed the last day of the first month of the new year. It all feels so daunting to me right now. I am totally unprepared for this new year – as if one could prepare for such. The thing is, I am in a season of my life that has me baffled, bewildered, befuddled, behind the 8-ball and completely beside myself. I honestly don’t know my left from right, but I’m on this stage and the curtain is up and I’m wearing my brave face and holding my head high and reciting my lines while crying between scenes.

And I have no understudy. Chop chop.

Street Performer

General Info, New Art
the view from my studio

I have unwittingly become a street performer.

Relocation often brings about changes to more than physical space. New schedules emerge, new habits take form and new places become open to exploration. Such has it been with my relocation from the northeast to central Texas. Changes abound. For one, the housing is different. There are no (or rarely any) basements in these homes and the basement is where my former home studio was housed so, what to do? I’ve found that probably 98% of Texas garages do not shelter automobiles but rather are mainly used for storage. Of course, my studio had to be set up in the garage.

For the most part I find that I enjoy working from the garage. I have natural light and fresh air and the weather is more often than not sunny and warm. Even on hot days the garage stays fairly cool and during the spring and summer months I know I have 10-14 hours of daylight to work by.

Almost every day I pull my easel to the front of the garage, turn the music up, and paint. Eventually come the dog walkers, the joggers, people going to and from work, the school bus passing by. Delivery trucks make their rounds as does the mail carrier, and food delivery, and I paint. Before long they all wave, call out the greeting of the hour: “good morning”, “good afternoon”, “have a nice day”!  I reciprocate the greetings and I paint, or draw, or organize, or read but always with my easel sporting a work in progress and facing the street. It’s open studio on any given day.

In the past year this practice has leveraged 7 commissioned paintings, two paint parties, direct purchases from my inventory, and a new student – each customer a neighbor. Turns out they have an appreciation of seeing the paintings progress from beginning to end, to watch the transformation from blank canvas to finished product, to witness something emerge from nothing, to watch an artist practicing her craft.

I don’t have an upturned hat or jar for tips but everyday I get a smile from some passerby, or hear a horn blow as a car slows and the driver throws a hand up to wave.  And everyday I perform for an unknown audience … my public awaits.

HBD2Me

Event

So, the other day I did a thing. I celebrated my birthday. It’s obviously not the first time and I hope not the last for many, many years to come. What was different about this birthday? For beginners it was a milestone year – 62 and eligible for Social Security – officially a senior citizen.

What else was different was that I woke up feeling really blah. Anyone who knows me knows that I celebrate from the 1st of the month through the 31st.  March is my month. All hail Pisces. Everybody’s invited to the party!  But I didn’t do much of my usual fanfare this time around.

Even though my feelings had nothing to do with the number I am actually kinda feelin my age this year. I’ve gained a few Covid pounds, my knees hurt, I’m tired and I would really love a vacation from all this nothing going on. I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. I sat on the edge of the bed and cried. When my husband asked what was wrong, I had no answer for him. I could only accept his hugs and sob.

And then quite suddenly the tree just outside my window filled with a flock of mourning doves and cardinals and I felt like everyone I was missing, friends and family, came by to say hi and to tell me that all would be well. I slowly began to get dressed.

My husband left and came back home with the most beautiful Bromeliad plants, a group of three, that he said reminded him of my MOJOVE brand named for my mother and my two lifelong best friends. A remembrance of them that I can physically care for, something tangible I can look at and touch. And he chose the colors because I am an artist. I think this has been his most thoughtful gift ever.

Next the text messages and the phone calls started pouring in and when I opened FB there were already too many birthday wishes to count – 40, 68, 92 – and they kept coming.  The evening followed with a wonderful dinner at a 5-star restaurant where the food was delicious, the service was exceptional and my date most attentive.

Finally, a quick stop to my son’s house who was “uncle sitting”, to retrieve my brother who is under our care, only to be surprised with a beautiful Orchid, a cake, some serenading and the most thoughtful cards that said the most thoughtful things. I know it was my birthday but everyone really made me feel extra special, even more than I would celebrate myself, as if the universe knew I needed a little extra boost to get me through the day. Thank you all so much! I needed that pick-me-up. Happily for me the month is still young and mine to enjoy.

Happy birthday to me.

Another EOY Recap

Event, General Info, New Art

    Well, we made it! Happy? New year!!

    Like so many others around the world, I lost family members and friends due to the pandemic and I too am weary of wearing masks and social distancing from the rest of my family and friends. And in the midst of all this, my husband and I took on the job of caring for my brother. The role of caregiver is sometimes funny, oftentimes tedious, but mostly sad to see someone you love so much decline so rapidly. So, even though the new year has begun nothing yet has changed.  But we press on.

    2020 was not a total bust however, as I managed to complete 18 paintings and numerous drawings last year. That may not seem like a lot but it is a new record for me. I am pretty proud of many of the year’s art projects and hopefully this year, in 2021, they will see the light of day at some exhibit venue somewhere, anywhere, outside of the studio.

    I really enjoyed working on my series “Ode to the Old Masters” having completed 7 of my planned 12 renditions of some famous paintings. I also completed 6 commissioned paintings and a few artworks that were born of the re-birth of social unrest in America. Some of these brought me great pleasure while some hurt me to my core. But what they all have in common is the passion and fire and freedom I felt as I painted, with the need to express myself as a person of color, which is something I didn’t do often because on the most basic level as an artist I wanted to appeal to “everyone”, create art for sale and profit. 2020 made me realize that I no longer care to appeal to the masses. Discounting the few commissions, the rest of the paintings I did for myself, including my series, so that I could see myself in my work. It’s not really that I don’t care any more what others think about my art but, then again, it kinda is. I’m so much happier when I create just for me. And so much better.

    Also, in 2020 I had an unsolicited interview published by PoseSpace that I thought was pretty neat. You can read it here. Careful, site contains nudity. Finally, I received the first inventory shipment of my newly branded artist supplies, by MOJOVE. I started with a set of brushes and have plans to add other items later this year. First, I need some of you, well a lot of you, to buy up some of this inventory that can be purchased here 😉.

    My New Year’s resolution? My only goal in 2021 is to harvest every heartache, squeeze every pain, stir up all the misery that presented itself as lemons in 2020 and make a helluva sweet, refreshing lemonade to sustain me for a very long time.

    Wishing you all peace, love, prosperity, and plenty of lemonade.

    Lemons to Lemonade

    General Info, New Art

    Here we are in the throws of the last month of 2020 and what do we have to show for it? I can’t speak for you but Covid-19, quarantine, social unrest, and these past 9 months has had me up, down, and all turned around, unaware of the day or time, frustrated, enraged, depressed, and tired. lemons

     In the last 9 months, I have lost friends and family members to Covid. I could neither visit or speak with them while in the hospital nor attend their funerals. Additionally, hubby and I, in our retirement, have taken on roles of caregivers to my brother who now lives with us. By all accounts 2020 has been a pretty sucky year and it doesn’t look like 2021 will start off much better.  more lemons

    Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, any of the holidays or any given weekend that normally involves family gatherings have all been altered. A lot of family members will be sitting alone at the dinner table without the company of children, grandchildren, distant cousins, or friends; without the laughter, conversations or even the drama that occur on these occasions.  so many lemons

    But here’s the kicker: 2020 has also been a blessed year. I had immediate family and close friends either sick at home or hospitalized due to COVID-19, yet thankfully they survived. Everyone in my house has pretty decent health insurance that we have not needed to use since this all started and we are all retired so we were not subjected to loss of employment or wages, and staying home – well, that was already a thing with us.  add sugar

    Despite the challenges there are still many blessings to be counted. We’re not hungry and we have plenty of toilet paper. 😊 We have a roof over our heads and though we’ve been cooped up in the house for months on end we still like each other. We have worked long and hard enough to be able to live comfortably off of our pensions. Mileage and maintenance on the vehicles are practically non-existent. add water          

    I made some new online friends that I meet up with virtually on a regular basis. I’ve learned a few new recipes. I am especially thankful to be able to still create, and in the past 9 months I have COMPLETED a record 18 paintings, five of which were commissions and two others of which I have sold prints. And oh yeah, I realized a dream to start my own brand of art supplies by introducing my MOJOVE artist brushes in September. stir

    This year has better instilled in me renewed humility, tolerance, patience, perseverance, gratitude and hope. 2020 – the year I made lemonade.

    Safe Travels

    General Info

    Life is not a straight road. It turns and twists and sometimes circles back on itself, offers up forks for you to choose your own direction.

    Life is not a one-way street that you travel alone. You pass other people coming and going. Some are moving faster than you, slower, traveling in the same or opposite direction. Some will help you along the way, others will try to run over you.

    Life has never been “fair” and often comes with road blocks and detours but it’s up to you to push through, to find your way, to overcome the obstacles. No one owes you anything.

    Generally, in life you get what you give. Defeatist attitudes with a “woe is me” mentality will never move you forward on life’s road. Set your destination and move forward without regard to what others are doing, thinking, failing at or accomplishing. Be patient and kind and loving and it will come back to you.

    Your life is yours, and only you can make it worthwhile. Keep your head up, eyes ahead, and move step by step in the direction of your greatness.

    And if I happen to see you along my paths, I’ll try to lend a hand if you need it, give an ear to listen, pull you up if you stumble, sit and rest with you when you’re tired, cheer you on when you are discouraged.

    Just remember that I am traveling too – sometimes weary, sometimes sad, sometimes headed down a dead-end street. But I will never blame you for my misdirection nor will I fault you for the decisions that I make. Those are mine alone.

    I merely wish you safe travels.

    Forced Initiatives

    Event, General Info, New Art

    “Forced” may be too strong a word, but due to life-changing decisions it is necessary for me to pack up my studio to prepare for a move across country. I generally paint in oils and acrylics and the occasional watercolors, but since the move has me packing up all of my supplies and materials, which will remain in storage for a while, I will revert to using dry media while in transition.

    I have not completed any decent sketches, yet alone full blown, detailed drawings, in years. I barely commit to stick figures and basic geometric shapes when plotting out a painting but now to keep my creative muscles flexed I will need to travel light and tight. That means sketchpad, graphite, maybe some pastel sticks or markers.

    I hope by the time I unpack my studio at it’s new base I will have completed some strong drawings and enhanced my skills to the point of being able to produce even better paintings.

    Inktober2018

    Event, General Info, New Art

    Somewhere around day 18 I had the thought that I should have been blogging my daily drawings, but by then, well I decided to wait until the end and post them all together.

    43bf574d-68ee-47b4-bfe5-598cbb751bef

    This is my first year participating in the Inktober challenge. I rarely sketch at all let alone draw or sketch every day.  Generally when I prep for a painting I jot down a couple stick figures or some simple lines to plan my composition and then I jump right into painting. So the daily act of drawing something was quite new to me.

    37c63a63-92a5-4811-997b-0f6850bc4ab5

    Following the prompts for each day was interesting as well. I tried to stay away from the mundane or more common images for the specified word, but some days it was just easier to do something simple. I saw so many people doing full scale pen and ink paintings, and quite exquisite drawings – DAILY, even full page cartoons. I applaud them all. I was lucky to get the simplest sketch done without breaking blood vessels in my brain. Still, I think as the month waned I took a little more time to create better drawings and to give more thought to interpreting the word prompts. All in all it was a great exercise.

    Inktober

    I will try to continue to sketch daily on my own through the end of the year. Who knows, this might really turn into a very good habit.

    *Note: we are 11 days into the new month and I have only added 1 new drawing to my sketchbook. But in my defense, I have nearly completed a new painting so I’m going to call it a win. 😉

    The Power of “Thank You”

    Event, General Info

    So many people come in and go out of our lives over the years. Some stay a long while, others just pass through for a very brief moment but all have had some impact on our being. Could have been a teacher, classmate, employer or coworker, neighbor, client or pastor. Whoever they are they all leave indelible marks, some good, some bad. Most are memorable, some forgettable but their mark, however slight, remains.

    I’m aware that I have touched some people in positive ways, but I never really think about it. I’m usually just being me or simply doing my job. I’m always surprised when I hear a voice from the past, get a note in the mail, or get friend requests on social media from someone who has not been in my life in many years. This was the case recently when I was contacted by Hope Porter, who sent me an innocent request for my email address which I sent. Shortly thereafter I received an invitation to her company’s 15th Anniversary Gala. I was quite honored that someone I haven’t seen or spoken with in over 10 years thought enough of me to invite me to such a prestigious event. And I was happy to accept.

    It was a black-tie event and I haven’t been all gussied up in a while so this too added to my excitement. The evening was stunning, with about 100 or so beautiful people dressed to impress, great food and inviting friendly atmosphere. There were speeches and accolades and then the awards ceremony. Can you imagine my shock and awe when my name was called?

    It turns out that in one of my former positions as Leasing Director of commercial office space I ran a small business incubator where start-ups came to nest and Hope Porter brought her precious dream there to grow. And grow it did. Those precarious first five years of starting and running a business were tedious and frightening as much as it was adventurous and exciting. Exit Cheryl. Fast forward another 10 years and Staffing Etc. is a multi-million-dollar company employing thousands and doing spectacular and honorable work throughout the nation. And Mr. and Mrs. Porter remembered me. Thanked me. How awesome is that?

    Congratulations Staffing Etc. on your milestone and please allow me to THANK YOU! Wishing you so many more years of success and blessings.