Bob Burridge Workshop: Day Four

This was the last workshop day for me. Many participants spent an extra $150 to take the marketing workshop he and his wife Kate put on tomorrow. I opted out. Although it did sound very very interesting.

This clown was my last painting (I did several today) and I sort of liked the whimsy of it. The title is "Last Clown Standing" or "I Think I missed the Train". Despite the smile painted on his face...he is somewhat dejected to see the steam cloud from the train...but no train. It's not signed or varnished so there may be some small additions. He is based on a photo of clowns I took last February and if you look at my Feb posts you'll find the real guy. Acrylic with collage on canvas/board 11 x 14.

Bob demoed his "landscape" technique for us today. Starting with tissue paper to give it texture.

Here is the studio that we used for the workshop...studio One is also called the Tom Lynch Studio. Nice and airy and light. Boy, did we make clutter!!! Bob is way in the back on the left and Kate is in the white blouse taking photos.

Check out Bob's website in the days to come as we may all be featured one of these days!!!

We had a nice wine/champagne and snack reception at 4 pm. Very relaxing.

I met so many nice artists. You might want to check out Constance Grayson's website. She leads art tours in Italy (and cooking tours) and she lives half the year there.

Watching Art Emerge off the Page

There is something really fun watching a piece begin to almost "leap" off a page of paper.

This is about 20 x 20 watercolor on Arches cold press. I may crop it into a horizontal piece when it's time to frame.

I haven't done much shading on this yet.

It's fun to notice how randomly the clowns seem to have collected for the photo in such an interesting way. I am also suddenly very aware of their unique faces...and remember being told by a clown that each face is like a copyrighted image for that particular clown. In fact it can actually BE copyrighted.

Egg Register

When a clown joins Clowns International in England, which claims to be the oldest clown society in the world, he can register his individual make-up. An eggshell is decorated as a miniature version of the clown's head and added to the "Egg Gallery" which then acts as sort of clown copyright. There are genres of clown faces based on famous clowns of the past.

In the photo I took it is dark behind them. And I am beginning to think about background now a little. I had originally thought of large stripes behind them...sort of a circus background but I can see the foreground is so busy now with their great costumes that I will probably need a resting place for the eye back there. Another thought I had was to have some printing behind them about the history of clowns...or words that remind us about the history of clowning....words like Buster Keaton, Red Skelton, Emmett Kelley or hobo tramp, bum, mime, bouffon, jester...etc. You can read a really interesting bit about clowning on Wikepedia.

One interesting side issue in the article is a short paragraph about "fear of clowns". It even has a name: Coulrophobia. Interestingly the article points out that where and when you encounter a clown is usually the issue. In a circus or a parade or a party they can be fun. But they can be frightening, especially to younger children if encountered in surprising places. Someone once said, "there is nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight." Fascinating. That is making me think twice about putting a dark background behind these clowns!!!

ps. if you really want to see a funny clown routine and have 6 minutes to spare go here.

Thinking Clowny Thoughts

I've enlarged the clowns and got them sketched out on watercolor paper.

As I look them over and enjoy the ideas going through my head in color, style and composition. I can't help thinking that a few them or maybe just one of them would make a great paper painting. Or a series of 4 that could be hung together? Wouldn't that be fun?

The possibilities are endless.

ps..special thanks to Barb Sailor for sharing with me the Sunshine Blog Award! I love it. I figured out how to put the awards down on the right side of the blog finally. What wonderful things to share with one another!!!

Here is my next painting subject....

I took this photo Sunday afternoon in Leesburg on the CROP walk. What a gorgeous day we were gifted with...76 and sunny.

What is a CROP Hunger Walk?
Neighbors walking together to take a stand against hunger in our world. Together we raise awareness and funds for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting.

I hope we raised a TON of money. Everyone gets pledges. It's a great thing and we have done it every year for lots of years. In Wisconsin we used to walk in October! Here it's always late February.

There is always some sort of fun theme to the Leesburg walk (last year we walked with a camel...I kid you not.) This year...a clown theme. AREN'T they just the most darling bunch you ever saw!!! I can hardly wait to paint them!!!

Meet Thalia

Muse: a woman, or a force personified as a woman, who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist.

Note: the "s" in muse is pronounced like a "z".

From Greek and Roman mythology it seems that the 9 daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne presided over the the arts and sciences. The daughter named Thalia presided over comedy and light verse. I love that!

Today I found Thalia at the Christmas shop. I couldn't resist her. Her hair looks a lot like mine when I forget to color it. (I mean she really didn't have that name...but she does now.) My husband loves the garters.

She's sitting on top of my computer but she'll be in the studio soon where she can be a source of creative inspiration!

Rhonda is encouraging folks to try the 20 minute challenge. Wouldn't it be fun to try to draw or paint Thalia? I'm on!!!

Keeping Up our Spirits During a "Detour"

It'll be 24 degrees tonight in the north woods of WI! YIKES. It's definitely time to move on south!  

Right in the middle of our "count down" of packing yesterday,  we had a 15 hour power outage!  Now remember up here in the wilderness that means no water, no light, no heat, no stove!  And Monday was SO dark that even by the windows it was hard to read!  The fireplace saved us from having to go to a motel!  So..we were warm. But our furnace works on a blower so no furnace.  Our well works with a pump..so no water.  Yadda yadda yadda.

A pioneer I am not!  We have a oil lamp and flashlights. But it was a revelation to have time weigh so heavily on us when we could not read or compute or watch TV or work outside in the 50 mph winds!  In a forest, when the wind blows at 50 mph, you have Trouble with a capital T. Trees go down on power lines every time.  We played canasta and visited and visited.  We napped.  We ate cold meat loaf sandwiches and lemonade and listened to the ice cream melt in the freezer. 

 Wise is the person who finds something worthwhile in every detour.   We tried to keep our sense of humor...when we had lists of packing to do and it was too dark to see anything to pack!  I even got so I read by oil lamp for awhile in the evening.  How did Abraham Lincoln ever learn to read and write by firelight!!!  And before all the light disappeared I did do my 10 silhouette paintings (I think I did...it was pretty dark to see them!).  Donna Zagotta would be proud of me!!!  The power resumed at 5 a.m. and so I have hot coffee and a cheerful heart again!!!  Off to the shower.  I have learned to appreciate small things again!  Such is the reason for detours.  

The aprons say it best....

While visiting the Bradenton, Florida museum shop one day last winter with our friends the Holts (also of Bradenton) I came upon these aprons in the museum shop.  All these wonderful works of art for sale and I pounce on the aprons!  "Born to Paint" says one, "Almost Famous" says another.  Or "So Many Colors, So little Time" and "What Part of IT'S NOT FINISHED Don't You Understand?"  

They make you smile but also nod your head.  It reminds us not to get too self-important...that's for sure.  And that art can inspire humor and laughter for another.  Our own and others!  I keep thinking about that when I put together ideas of paintings.  What about laughter?  I'd like to paint a whole string of paintings that inspire at least a big smile or a chuckle.  (Paper Hands Flowers was one of those...and I think because the image is so small it might be hard to get the joke? Ya have to click on it and enlarge it.) 

The reason for a painting is always of importance to me.  And there can be unending reasons to paint, of course, artists LOVE to talk about their motivations which range from none (just practicing a skill) to the deepest feelings that humans can have.  I think it would all do us well to think more as we begin to sketch out a composition and begin to choose the colors, values, and mood of what it is we really want to convey in the art we are about to embark on.  I think sometimes this purpose does evolve as we paint as well.  But we need to come back to this centering over and over.