Friday, May 24, 2013

Oils on Paper and a Quick Question for YOU

Roman Thought
oil on 6 x 8 inch paper



When I am working on the WIP I shared in the last post with the seven little faces and my eyes start to cross, I have to work on something larger.  Can you tell I overcompensated on these faces?  They are HUGE.  It could be my rebellion against the teeny tiny faces, but it could also be that I worked in oils.  Not my forte', but oh they feel marvelous on paper!  These were really quick works too, so don't be surprised if they end up in one of my shops for cheap cheap once they are dry.
                  
Susan Attends Estate Sales
oil and marker on 6 x 8 inch paper

On compositions:  the first painting I used a lovely magazine ad to aid with the layout of the woman, but then went sort of crazy with the flowers and clothes.  On the second painting here, I used my imagination 100%.  I have a thing for houses right now (they are in the background) and I love painting them.  Here I just scratched them into the painting and went over it with a marker very lightly.

QUICK QUESTION (for my blogging friends):  Do you reply to comments via your blog, by email, or not at all?  And why?  I am going back and forth on this one and if you haven't noticed, I haven't been replying at all unless asked a direct question. I have preferred to spend the time visiting blogs, but I fear I am being rude by not responding on the comments on my own blog.  This is an overdue question I know since I've been blogging over a year and half now, but  I would love your feedback...tell me your thoughts.  

           Have a great weekend everyone!
                                    ♥ Lisa                                                                                                                                                                          


25 comments:

  1. I love the conversations and feedback that happens when I respond to comments on my blog. Lots of times they even continue through email. I try to respond to every comment. I think it's easier to do on WordPress than blogger.
    Love your portraits!

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  2. It takes a lot of time and effort to reply to all the comments and I do it for two reasons...
    When I started blogging I would reply to some comments with a personal email. If they had asked a question no one else could read it and the same questions could be asked again. Then as I started to get more comments I clearly remember thinking, if they can take the the time to leave a comment then I try to knowledge it. The most important reason for me is to mention what they have on "their blog" so someone reading the comment may find something which strikes a chord. And, yes, it takes time.
    I do not think it builds up a blog readership though because I never hear from lots of people when I comment on their blog. I do try to avoid blogs with the security letters which are impossible to read and I give up at the second failure.
    Your larger faces are wonderful Lisa...but I like the indistinct small ones too. I guess I find your art appealing no matter what you do. It is completely HONEST, never contrived, and I feel I step into your mind and enjoy the adventure. That, my dear, is what real art is all about. Myrna's art (Last Cup of Coffee) has the same effect on my soul.
    soul.

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  3. Lisa, these are lovely! Do you use a certain kind of paper when you work with oil?
    Regarding comments on blogs....I always try to reply to my comments, but I don't do it in the comment section of my own blog. I feel that if someone asks a particular question that I think everyone would be interested in, then I can address that on the blog, otherwise it's mostly just email back & forth and sometimes it's just chatty stuff that maybe other readers wouldn't care to read. When I ask a question on someone's blog, I rarely think to "go back" to that blog just to see if I got an answer. I like when I have a reply in my email...seems like I can keep up better that way. :-)

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  4. Great portraits, Lisa. And I love that the heads are whatever they are, that's where all your great character comes thru. Have you tried Arches Oil paper (called Huiles i think) - i found it scrumptious to paint on. At first a bit dry, maybe a tad more medium is needed, but then it's all yumminess. Have fun experimenting!

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  5. it is wonderful to see your paintings. i would not have thought that their heads are large.

    as for comments, if a person asks a question and their comment has an email, many do not, then i write them back and often will copy that message into my comment stream.

    if there is no question i usually do not respond. But i do try to visit the blogs of my visitors.. it feels like a relationship of support and inspiration in doing so.

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  6. Hi Lisa! I don't reply to each of the comments. I notice that many bloggers do...but I don't. I try to visit and comment on the blogs of people who visit/comment me. To me, that is sufficient. I'm glad you asked this question..I have never known really what I am "supposed" to be doing.
    Love these two paintings on paper. I'm surprised they are on such small papers--they seem bigger!

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  7. Hi Lisa,
    I'll get right to "the question", since you well know how much I like everything you do.
    I respond to every comment, as you know, because I like to write and I have the luxury of time to do so. Also, I never get so many comments that writing responses becomes a burden. When I write the responses, I keep in mind, other readers, too. I try really hard to make my responses interesting, personal and worth something to other visitors. But, you know all this.
    Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday and may I say how relieved I was that Wichita was spared from deadly weather, this time around.
    Sincerely,
    Gary.

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  8. Hello Lisa,

    Me, too... I don't think the faces are huge. I love all the colors you chose, too.
    As for reply comments, I usually don't enter a reply comment at my blog. I typically visit that person's blog and reply back to them at their own blog.

    Have a Great Weekend.
    Joan

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  9. Oh, I love these two flower women , beautiful and personal, not like anybody else's style...maybe I just see a bit of Picasso sometimes, but that can't be bad , can it ? :-)))
    When I started blogging I always answered every comment on my blog , then the comments became many more, and I started answered only when there were questions involved. Today I answer on the blog if there are questions, and I write a personal mail to many blogger friends. I don't think people always come back to see if you answered something, so I prefer to do something more useful. Wish you a nice weekend.

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  10. Each bit of everything-large or small-expresses what you want. So go for it!

    I reply by email to everyone who comments. My readership is small so I can do that. If there is a question to answer and I think it will help others, I do a post about it. I don't know what is expected from me but like Julie I think if the person took the time to read and comment then I can certainly write back. There ya go!

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  11. love the girls, the faces seem fine to me. when people leave comments on my blog, and I have not visited the blog already, I go to there blog and leave a comment, I tried to leave a reply on my blog, but you don't know if they come back or not.

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  12. I don't go back to a blog to see if my comment got a reply; I go back to look at the delicious art, and to find other artists via the comments. Which may be enough reward for leaving a comment? This is a kind and generous community and I think they all know how nice it is to get comments.

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  13. Your paintings are always so much fun. I love your art.

    As for comments I've been replying right on the blog but sometimes I send an email is the reply is going to be long. At the moment I'm behind on my replies!!

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  14. I think both your ladies are great! I don't think their heads are big! I use to reply on my blog and then some people said Stacy, that is a lot of time, because most people don't come back and read it. So, now if someone has a question, I put it in my post. Hugs ;o)

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  15. I just discovered your blog and love your sharing of process and why you work a certain way.
    This is what draws me to certain blogs and why I visit again. The most moving art is, to me,
    images that leave me with part of the 'story' so I can fill in the blanks or just live with
    the mystery. Your work is honest and real. The comments question...I just always answer
    them as it seems only polite if someone has gone to the trouble to post and type the secret
    word, sign in, etc etc etc. It may be that the blog photo is the artist's way of putting a little
    toe into the critical waters. Then again, when you have 30 something comments...may
    be overwhelming!

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  16. Hi Lisa! Well I'd meant to comment about the little faces. They're grand! I use a magnifying glass when I do 'little' ... it is amazing how the world of 'little' comes into it's own and takes on its' own life when you are peering through a magnifying glass. GOOD lighting is essential, as well. I love what you did.
    And I loved these words: went sort of crazy with the flowers! I love your crazy. That is your definition and I love the definition and the result. Love your work period.
    The name of the painting with the houses, the whole concept, the whole painting. FABULOUS!!!
    Well there are only so many minutes in an hour, etc. and one just cannot actually respond to each and every comment. I mean one could, but speaking for myself now, I don't because it doesn't make sense to use time that way. I sometimes respond a few days later when I do have more time, say. Like this comment here, I'd meant to respond to your post but only found the time now, days later. Sometimes I won't comment publicly, but write an email. Sometimes I use the 'reply' feature in the comments section. Gosh there is no easy answer to this. N, xo

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  17. Your paintings are always so refreshing and beautiful and we always want to come back to see what's new!

    For comments, I have so little that it is a pleasure to me to reply to everyone on my blog. But maybe I should answer by e-mail cause I doubt people come back to read the reply. If I had as much as you have, I would probably not reply, it would be too long!! ;-). This is not mandatory, and when people like what you make, they come even if they never have answers!

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  18. Hola Lisa, no paras!! me encantan estos retratos, el primero con los detalles de las flores es precioso, un abrazo!

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  19. Your faces are so engaging and full of character no matter their size. I have said before and I'll say it again, I could sit and look at them for hours. :)

    If I had as many people comment on my blog as you do, I'd have to be selective as to how many posts I responded to as well. My goodness but you are one popular lady! For now, I am responding in the blog comments on my posts when anyone posts comments. When my readership grows, I'll have to adjust accordingly. Whatever you decide to do, we know you love us and appreciate each and every comment. :)

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  20. Lovely faces! I have a hard time working small but also very large. Something I need to work on.
    I like to respond to a comment on my blog but also like to visit their blog and comment about their post. Jennifer:)

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  21. Such honesty in your paintings Lisa! I too am in a house loving phase... although they have only been showing up in my doodles. When I am loving something I get frightened to put it in my real creations...crazy I know, but just the way it is right now. I am working on it.
    As for answering comments. I feel that most comments don't need answers. I do try to visit people's blogs that leave me comments, and I often find those are the blogs I want to visit, so it is not a chore. If someone leaves me a specific question, I try to answer it in the comments of that post as well as sending the person an email with the answer. Occasionally I post about it if enough people are asking the same thing, or if it is long. If I start getting too many specific questions this may have to change as my time (like most people) is limited. But for now this works for me.
    Thanks for asking this question, as I too have been wondering about it. I don't want to be rude, but really have not felt most comments are expecting an answer.

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  22. Wow, you all have been so helpful and generous with your comments. After considering these I am going with the plan to reply to comments via email, but only to answer questions and things like that. This will hopefully free me up some so I can visit your blogs more regularly!!! I LOVE getting comments so much, I want to have the time to give them back! Thanks so much everyone!

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  23. Love the sgraffito houses. Fun, fun fun.

    I answer comments on the person's blog who asked the question on my blog. I never expect anyone to come back to my blog to learn the answer to something they have asked me. It's never fair to them. Life's simply too short!

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  24. I wonder what the reply button has been placed there for? I'm not a computer whiz, so there is a ton of things I am completely unaware of. I wonder if people who have left a comment, and get to highlight the button asking them if they want to receive emails of all follow-up comments, if they will receive via email, the reply to their comment that they left. That would be great. Norma, x

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  25. Hi Lisa!
    Ooooo, I really like these girls! So much interest!

    As for the responding....I answer every comment via email to those that have an address attached to their comment. Some only say "no-comment blogger" or something like that, so there is no email address to respond to. I try to go visit their blog, then, and comment there.....though I find this hard to do at times.

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