back to the drawing board...

If you've been following my story, I created 4 paintings to gain entry into an art exhibit in my area. The series of 4 paintings is HERE.

Well, I didn't get in. There are a couple of things that I think definitely worked against me: 

1. My work wasn't consistent enough. I had 3 watercolor paintings and 1 acrylic painting. All of them, except for the two chicken paintings, look like they could have been created by different artists. This is definitely a no-no when trying to get into contemporary art exhibits. The body of work should look like it all goes together with a similar style and treatment. The artist's personality and originality should shine through each work and look like it all belongs together. I knew this, of course (having been an art teacher).

2. The theme wasn't developed enough, creating even more inconsistency. One of them is in the realm of fantasy (the one with the big flowers), one is more in the realm of realism and the others emphasize borders. I was just too all over the place. I believe I would have had a better chance if I had stuck to one particular way of working within the theme.   

3. I didn't give myself enough time to create a body of work. I was rushed. This year has been marred by medical crises and illnesses, whether mine or someone else's. Being distracted does not bode well for making a consistent body of work where some leisure can bring thoughtfulness and reflection. Instead I was overwhelmed with too many things on my plate to think clearly about what I was creating. I thought I had enough time to paint 4 acrylic paintings and 4 watercolor paintings (for instance) and choose between the two mediums. 

4. Not enough pieces:  the prospectus called for 4 - 10 pieces. I'm sure most artists went more for 10 which put me at a disadvantage too.   

5. politics: I think there is always a little of that in the jurying of every exhibit (especially in an area like this where most artists know each other, or at least each other's work). Some artists specialize in farm scenery and it is all they do -- full time. This is not my main focus even if it is becoming part of my palette.

In a way, I am glad I didn't get in especially as I am still dealing with #3 and still greatly overwhelmed to the point where I'm even shutting down my Etsy on-line store for awhile to get back on my feet. Assuming that brighter days are ahead, I will reapply next year. This gives me an entire year to paint and to explore what direction I want to take this work. Working in watercolors and acrylics should be possible too with so much time ahead of me assuming I can get most of my graphic work, greeting cards and music done during the day time. 

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed reading about my journey so far...

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Arrival of the Hummingbirds

Arrival of the Hummingbirds

© 2012

original watercolor and ink painting on Arches Watercolor paper

10" x 15" (size of painted surface)

I may have prints in the future; this is set aside for an art show in my area for now

This rounds out the fourth (and final painting and largest -- at least for now -- of the series). If you haven't been following along, the rest of the series is HERE. The theme is "farm animals in the garden" and the reason for focusing on this theme has to do with personal experience: I grew up in the country next to a farm. Sometimes the farm animals would break through their fencing and be in my parents flower garden eating everything in sight.

This is my favorite one out of the series and it reflects my style the most. I wish I could have taken more time to do more elaborate paintings like this one for the series (and perhaps will in the future). I like the fantasy-like aspects of this one, the big flowers, the hummingbirds coming in for a landing... it seems to tell a story (which is what I like my original paintings to do). 

I actually used the same sheep model from the previous painting, but prefer how the wool is depicted in this one over the last one. Watercolor paint just has a magical way of translating the texture of wool that I couldn't quite capture with acrylic paint. 

As for the "Rooster in the Garden"... I had to change that to "Hen in the Garden". Jim, my significant other, pointed out that roosters have a much bigger crown than hens. Unfortunately, when I submitted the art work to the art show for jurying, the old title was part of it. Now they'll know I don't know my farm animals (**wince**)!

other links:

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Sheep with Lillies

Sheep with Lillies

© 2012

acrylic on panel, 8" x 10"

If you are following along, you know that this is the third in the series of "Farm Animals in the Garden". The other paintings in the series can be seen HERE and you can read why I started the series from THIS BLOG POST.

I have been listing the present 4 paintings from least favorite to most favorite (and I have also realized that it corresponds to how long I worked on each piece: this one was worked on for a longer period of time than the last two paintings: about 3 long days total).

The originals are being juried for a show in my area, but I may have prints available at some point.

other links:

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Hen in the Garden

Hen in the Garden

© 2012

7" x 9.5" (painted surface)

watercolors and inks on Arches watercolor paper

This is part of a series featuring farm animals in the garden (to read the whole scoop as to why I am depicting farm animals in the garden, get the details from THIS BLOG POST). The rest of the series is through THIS LINK. This is the second original painting in the series even though it was the last one I painted. But for the purposes of this blog, I am listing them in terms of least favorite to favorite... which is to say that I like this one more than the first previous one I listed on this blog for the series. 

As I was explaining to Karen Anne, one of my readers (and a wonderful artist in her own right), I tried to produce 4 paintings in 2 weeks. One of the paintings took 10 days because the background needed so much work (but in the end, it is my favorite one). Then another painting took 3 days. This left only one whole day (and late into an evening) to paint 2 more paintings. This is one of the "quickie" paintings. 

This time for the border, I used a saturated blue ink instead of watercolor. The borders in both of the "quickie paintings" translates more like a solid blue color rather than the mottled blue that you see in the scans. Perhaps at some point I will take a picture so that you can see what I mean. Not sure why it doesn't scan well -- the bumpiness of the watercolor paper?  The background behind the hen is a subtle wash of turquoise with a little bit of yellow up towards the top. It was so light that it got washed out when scanned too.

I will try to list these more frequently now that I have submitted my work for a show deadline.

(please note: because of so much backlog and delay of listing my new work on this blog, my website won't be updated for awhile). 

other links:

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Rooster with Border

Rooster with Border
© 2012

mini watercolor and ink painting on Arches watercolor paper, 4" x 6" (oswoa)

This is one of 4 paintings I have been working on in almost marathon style. It is my least favorite of the 4, so as I go along, I'll eventually show you my best one (best one being the one I like the most and which reflects my personality and interests).

The self imposed assignment is to create 4 paintings in 2 weeks that have to do with farm animals. I am choosing to do farm animals with flowers and a garden theme. In this one, the garden theme is less apparent except for the yellow flowers in the border.

Some background on the assignment: I am creating these for an art show which has to depict or to be about some aspect of agriculture. I grew up in the country where the view from the back of the house was pasture land (mainly for cows). My parents were gardeners and had this lovely flower garden in the foundation of an old stone silo. Occasionally the farm animals would break through their fencing and be all over our yard and especially in my parents garden eating everything in sight. Thus, it seemed natural for me to pick the theme of farm animals and the garden.   

Just a special note to my readers: I have been missing from action for 2 reasons: I didn't have access to my blog through Internet Explorer (had to upload Google Chrome in order for it to be useful to me again) plus the painting marathon I mentioned above.

links:

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