Parts of Art

       Here’s a  couple pages from my current illustrated journal, entitled Autumn to Winter 2019.        Both pages pretty much tell the story of life in the studio.          I am full tilt in production mode in the studio. I have three shows- yes, three- in November; one in Indiana and two in Florida. Here’s my schedule . I am happy to have shows on my calendar because it keeps me in production mode. I’m also thrilled to be heading to Florida because I am going to meet my first grandchild!! And visit family and friends and do two art shows.   My workday in the studio starts with a page of the journal. I add color, then (if my cat doesn’t walk through it) come back the next day and add to it. Eventually the journal gets filled and it’s time to start another one. The collection of journals is growing, and each one is full of ideas for future paintings and mixed media pieces. It will be exciting to see what’s next.

       People often ask the artist, when seeing a painting, “How long did that take?” The simple honest answer is something like two hours and forty some years. Two hours of painting, and forty some years of work, design, research, trial and error, determination, struggle, blood sweat and tears.         Looking back at 40 years or so of making art, and what I have learned:           When I was in Design 2 in the Art program of my University, our professor gave us an assignment. It was called “I Am-This Is.” The idea was to describe who we are and then give a visual representation of it. Since I had recently gotten involved with a Christian ministry and was learning how to live according to God’s Word, I wanted my story to reflect the Word in my life. My idea was to build a house- like a doll house, where each room displayed an aspect of my life, and then somehow have one room that was full of light. In the Art Building we had access to the shop, which was a spacious