If You Can See What I See...

There would be no intolerance --
                              except for broken promises

There would be no subterfuge--
                              except to protect feelings

There would be no yelling or shouting--
                              except with glee

There would be no death and destruction--
                              except for flesh eating bacteria

There would be no worry or woe--
                              except for the choice of dessert

There would be no emotional pain--
                              except for a tear shed on a stubbed toe

There would be harmony, generosity, sincerity, nicety, 
gently, givingly, sweetly, smilingly, silly, stirringly, and emotionally-charged-positivity!

So we took a cruise to sea to see what we could see-see-see, and seize the day and this is what I created in the "Art Loft" under the gentle watch of Graham Denison.

Riviera - Something Orange This Way Comes

My Mayan Memories In Color

Riviera - Sea Saw Sun Soon Sunk

Rain in Spain Remains - Refrain 

Riviera - Tree of Seas - I See

Tree of Life

I was trying to teach my mother to let go of her feelings through abstract art. My mother, a Holocaust survivor, who has spent a lifetime keeping all her feeling and demons locked up inside, took up some art markers and drew a few strokes of colour on a sheet of paper. She then stopped. She didn't know how to go further without some guidance or structure. As we sat and just talked, I continued to draw and doodle on her paper. The picture on this page is a collaborative piece started by mom and finished by me. So mom I give you credit for the birth of me and this series of pictures.

After this tree, I went on to explore senses and feelings. In retrospect, it maybe be a little gimmicky but it worked for me. My abstract trees are the crutches and muses that I lean on when I need to express the little bits of me.

Tree of Life

Free of Strife

Sweet as Spice

Aint it Nice

Cuts Like a Knife

The Tree of Vanishing Point

So what's the point? The vanishing point? All puns aside, which is hard for me to do. I think I get it now. The homework assignment was to draw something using the values learned in the vanishing point perspective. I drew several pictures. One that might resemble an animal, another that was mostly abstract, and my current obsession or crutch the "Tree."

I poetically titled it and wrote it below the picture. But then other phrases popped in my head.

So in keeping with what sparks my inspiration:

Tree of Vanishing Point

As far as the Eye can See

I can See the Point

As long as it grows

In the image of a Tree

Tree of Vanishing Point

Perspective all askew

One point, two, and three

Take the eye to a pleasing point

And the brain knows what you see

Learning to Draw

My last blog was a tribute to a watercolor class that I took a few months ago. This entry is for my current class "Drawing I," an actual, for-credit, college course. I enrolled in this class so I could learn "fundamental principles of drawing" according to the catalogue description.

There is so much that I enjoy about this class. I enjoy the ambient chatter of the classmates as we all work on our current pieces. I enjoy the fact that the class is four hours long and that it is four days a week. I love that I can peek over someone's shoulder as they work and learn from their process.

My husband and I are very different individuals, with different approaches to art, but I love the fact that we can both take this class together.

And finally, each day I come to class I look forward to the exuberant and gentle guidance from our instructor Josie...she not only teaches us to "Draw" as is outlined in the course description, but from my point of view, she demonstrates how one can draw upon that area that is within all of us to make the images we draw on paper come alive.

Deliberate.....Decide.....Design.....Drip.....Done

Watercolor 101

I have signed up to take a watercolor class.  I chose this class because it is titled "Out of the Box Watercolor."  I like watercolor because it bleeds and cries and it helps me get my feelings on paper.  I come to this class to learn a little bit more about structure and rules.  I have learned to experiment with tissue papers and other mediums.  There is a nice camaraderie in the classroom. This is an 8-week class and I am hoping a little discipline and discussion of techniques will guide me onward.  

Now that I read the title that I gave to the piece posted below, I realize that I titled it backwards.  

I first started with a blank canvas and no idea of what I was going to do.  I thought, stared, and blinked a little.   The paper scraps available to me had a bubble and circle design. So I glued, I painted, I outlined and I let go, and had fun. 

Blast Bubbles     Blow   Blink   Blank

Cloudy Days

Monsoons are upon the Phoenix, Arizona community. The weather in July can be hot, humid, cloudy, and sometimes rainy. Clouds roll in and fill the sky. The clouds are voluminous, sometimes white and fluffy and sometimes dark and foreboding. Clouds are nature's Rorschach. What do you see? A ducky, a person's profile, or a mountain range?

Abstract art is the same. What do you see? Sometimes I don't know what I have until it's done. That's the beauty of seeing different images in your own abstract. There's a quiet satisfaction in seeing something new everyday even if it's the same old view.