Ages ago a sweet woman named Patty gave me oodles and oodles of vintage photos...such a generous gift for this people painting-loving artist. I have used them many times as inspiration for my paintings and lately I have been experimenting with these small 5 x 5 inch portraits.
Picking names can be a challenge at times because most of the photos do not have the people's names on them. For the portraits in this post I have been naming them after several young ballet dancers who were listed in a ballet program for Alice in Wonderland, which took place over the summer at a nearby park. I pick a name that seems to fit best with the face in the painting. I am running out of names, so it is probably time to attend another ballet.
Grace
Julia
Caroline
Alexis
Abigail
(sold)
Emily
Nadia
Clara and Miranda
I started a new job that is keeping me pretty busy these days. Not as much time to paint as I would like, but I do make time. So until next time!
When I was out shopping for costumes and props for an earlier work in theFinding Faith Series, I found this wonderful checked dress at a second hand store. Immediately I envisioned a girl in long braids and bobby socks wearing that dress, so I purchased it and put it away for a few months until I could come up with a use for it in the series. I had no idea of what the story would be, all I knew was that I wanted to use THAT dress. After completing the last Finding Faith painting, I took the dress out and hung it in my studio, allowing it to sort of stare back at me over the course of a week or two as I studied it while trying to come up with a story. I have to say this was the most challenging work so far in the series. Coming up with a mirrored dresser alone was time-consuming. I found a pair of shoes just a couple of hours before the shoot. However, creating a cohesive meaningful story was the hardest part. I knew it would be about childhood memories, but how to tell it was the challenge. As I worked on the project, writing out thoughts and ideas for the shoot, a deeper meaning evolved. I started thinking about how important it is to remain youthful in our hearts because when we do this we are happier humans. We notice the clouds, we watch the bees, we give ourselves the freedom to play and enjoy life, and we have faith in troubled times. And this is what May The Dress Always Fit You is about.
I hope you enjoy and may YOUR dress always fit you. ♥
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May The Dress Always Fit You
video
May The Dress Always Fit You
oil on canvas 30 x 24 inch
Note: The beautiful young woman featured in this work is Katie Maher, a good friend of the original Faith in the first three works. She was wonderful to work with, and being a photographer herself gave a couple of great ideas for the shoot. She had some challenges too...it's not easy to stare at yourself in a mirror while picture after picture is being taken of you! I am happy to say she is willing to work in another project, so you will see Katie again at some point.
Kitchen
mixed media on canvas panel
20 x 16 inch available here
One of the houses I lived in while growing up had a happy yellow kitchen complete with a retro linoleum floor and a green telephone with a cord so long, you could reach to the bottom of the basement stairwell or out the back door to sit on the porch step to talk. I learned to moonwalk in that kitchen because my mother kept the floors very clean and slick with Mop & Glo. It made it easy to slide my feet.
I hope you have a beautiful weekend and that your kitchens are happy ones.
Painting interiors, especially simple ones can be so pleasing. These are mixed media works, but mostly done with acrylic paint. I used cut papers for the pillows, lamps and coffee table in the couch painting, and on the chairs in the table painting. I have another one in the works that is a kitchen scene. I feel most at home with the kitchen painting because I spend so much time in my real kitchen.
Simplicity Table mixed media on canvas 16 x 20 inch
Both of these are now at Tessera Fine Art Gallery here in Wichita. I usually take my new pieces to the gallery and the rest of my art gets listed on Etsy. Someone asked me if I wanted to do art fairs and festivals at some point. I haven't taken that avenue because of having to buy equipment like a tent and the surfaces to hang the paintings on. Plus, you have to find a way to take credit cards. And there is weather to think about also. Kansas is pretty windy, a bit risky when you are dealing with one-of-a-kind work you spent hours and hours creating. Lastly, I am too energetic to hold still for two or three days. I would be miserable sitting, sitting, sitting.
I hope you have had a great beginning of your week!
It took a while to think of a name for this painting, but then it became obvious that "Egon" should be in the title. The sunflowers were inspired by Egon Schiele's gouache and pencil drawing called "Wilted Sunflowers". I have always loved the quirk in his drawings and wanted to capture that same quirkiness in my sunflowers. You can see my sketch of the sunflowers in the photo below in my sketchbook sweetie book, which was done some time ago while studying a book I have of Schiele's watercolors and drawings. You can see the book HERE.
Hello! It's been a while! I hope this finds everyone well and I want to thank those of you who have found me on Instagram and Facebook. That is where I post regularly now, and it has been a joy to stay connected with blog friends in those places.
I found that writing blog posts used to be a joy for me, but now feels like a lot of work. I would much rather be painting...and making videos!
Which brings me to why I am posting today in the first place. I have finally completed another studio clip and this one is all behind the scenes of the last project After The Rain in my Finding Faith series.
I am in the midst of making plans for the next one! However, we have "lost our Faith" as she is now married and living away. But who knows! She might show up again! :)
I have decided to continue with the title "Finding Faith" for this series, even if the true Faith cannot be featured. As the projects have progressed in the series, it has also become about finding faith in myself as an artist as I explore this idea of combining videography, photography and painting.
Thank you as always for following this series! I enjoy sharing it with you as it grows. I am painting a lot of other art as well. I hope you come find me on Facebook or Instagram if you haven't already so we can stay connected more often. Links are above.
This is the third completed project in my Finding Faith series of works that include video, photography and painting. The idea for this one has been stirring in me since Spring, It began when I came upon a tee pee constructed of large fallen tree branches in a wooded area I often visit during my daily walks. It stood about 15 feet tall and I wanted to incorporate it into the work somehow. However, it was difficult to find the time for the shoot. Faith works full time and was very busy with her upcoming wedding (which takes place next weekend!) and preparations to move to another city. The shoot would have to wait until her schedule opened up.
In June Faith was able to commit to a date, which would take place on a Saturday morning, early enough to avoid the Kansas heat. In the meantime I walked the area several times to check out the condition of the tee pee, worried that someone would come along and tear it down before we could get there. Actually, it did start to fall little by little, but that was not my biggest problem. To my horror one day, I realized that the path leading to the tee pee along with other paths that were going to be in the shoot were covered with poison ivy! There was NO WAY I was going to risk it with Faith's wedding around the corner. Another problem I had was coming up with a story that made any sense. All I knew was I wanted to use that tee pee. I dreamt up everything from a bird doctor of some sort living in the woods, to a lost girl finding her way, to some sort of mother nature being who pranced about making the wind blow, the birds sing, and the bees buzz. (Oh brother...rolls eyes). What I am saying, is that the story did not come easily and all my ideas seemed ridiculous. But I really wanted to photograph and paint Faith in those woods!
Well, the idea came suddenly and it all started with going grocery shopping of all things. What happened was, it was pouring rain that day and I was obsessed with my project, deeply disappointed because of the poison ivy situation. I had already invested hours in testing the area out, breaking it down to where we would shoot, taking practice shots of it. I had also already shopped for and hand-stained and painted Faith's clothing. I made a practice crown out of leaves too. I just had to find a way to make it all work. I knew the tee pee was definitely out, but I could not let go of wanting to do something using the woods as the backdrop. I could have waited until another day, but I am not a patient person sometimes. Especially when it comes to a vision. I didn't have a solid story, but my vision of how Faith would look in an earthy tattered white dress among all that lush green was clear as crystal in my mind.
As I drove near the woods on the way to the grocery store, my obsession made me pull over. I grabbed an umbrella and my camera to look for a Plan B. Maybe there were areas without poison ivy. When I approached the pond (seen in the video) it looked so peaceful in the rain. I watched it for a while thinking, and then started to take video. I decided to scope out the area some more to look at other places that were supposed to be part of the shoot. I was so excited to see that one of the paths I had chosen originally, was not covered in poison ivy! It was the path with the large tree seen in the photos and video. I have always loved the look of it on the edge of the path, woods beyond it so deep and dark green. Lucky luck! It was surrounded with a lovely ground cover type of ivy. Not poison ivy! I took multiple video shots and decided I should leave since it was lightening.
The rain started to slow down. I decided to visit the river and see if there were some possibilities there to help create some sort of tangible story. It was when I saw the geese gently floating on the water, that the story hit me. I wasn't going to need the tee pee after all. I had plenty to work with. The story would simply be about nature...loving nature, being in nature, and wanting to be one with it at times. It would be about the peace that is present in it, and how it makes us ponder and think and remember. It would be about how nature soothes and calms our spirits when we are troubled. A simplistic idea, but with different and complex meanings to everyone. Who doesn't feel something when they are in it?
My next thought was that I could use the rainy video clips I had just taken if by chance Faith could do the shoot that evening. This way there would be continuity in the colors of the photo and video takes. I sent her a text asking her to call me when she got off work. I was worried she would think I was crazy to twitch gears so suddenly, but she said she could do it!
There were more storms out there, but as luck would have it again, the storms moved north. The clouds remained, giving us perfect conditions for our shoot. Faith got ready and was at my house in a blink. We had already discussed how she needed to do her makeup earlier in the week, and her hair is naturally curly, so no work required there. I made her a fresh crown with cuttings from a bush in our front yard. We grabbed some props to use and dashed away knowing our daylight was limited.
Faith looked stunning and the surroundings were magical after the rain. I always joke about the "art gods" looking after us, because on all three projects we've completed so far, it amazes us how things come together so smoothly. There was no one around for the most part which makes things easier, especially for Faith. We were also blessed with a sunset and the Canadian geese were cooperative. Well mostly...they tried to go after Faith to take her basket of crumbs. She looked quite graceful trying to run away from them. :)
It took a very long time to choose only a few photos out of the nearly 200 taken!! There were so many good ones.
When it came to the painting, all the green that would be required was intimidating. I suspected it would take a long time and it did. I took the advice of my friend Julie Ford Oliver. She said to start with a thin transparent red oxide in order to tone down the harshness of the greens. I did that and it did make the painting seem warm from start to finish. I also stayed away from sap green and other ready-made greens until the end, even then using them sparingly. I used ultramarine blue, ultramarine violet, Indian yellow and cadmium yellow light to make the greens. The palette knife came in really handy too.
I did freeze up a few times on the painting. I just get so afraid to move forward, afraid to botch it. In the end, it came together just as the photo shoot did. Happy Lisa.
I might post a making-of video and some photos soon. Would you be interested in that? I plan to continue with the Finding Faith projects, however don't be surprised if you see some new faces in the future since Faith is moving away. People have asked if the paintings are for sale. They are not as of yet. Many have suggested I do a show with these works, and that is exactly what I hope to do some day when I have enough of them completed. It would be a dream to have a exhibit including video, photos, paintings and the props used in each one. Who knows! It may be 2020 before I get around to it, but it is something to work for. :)
Thank you so much for all your comments and visits here and on my Facebook and Instagram sites. It is SO meaningful to know that people look forward to these.
Transportation Comes in Various Forms
oil on canvas
9 x 12 inch SOLD
This painting was inspired by a strange combination of ideas from my own sketchbook, the painting "A Virgin" by Abbott Handerson Thayer (google it, you will love it), and also my wild imagination and thoughts on the endangerment of bees. Not that placing the bees in helium balloons would help the situation, but in my mind it works for a painting. :)
Painted in a warm yellow palette representing the beautiful yellows found in the various species.
It is not summer yet, but it sure feels like it here. 90's-100 here in Wichita, Kansas! Yuck. I don't like the heat. Never have. I am from the east coast and I suppose I never got used to it!
Happy rest of the week to all my blog friends and readers.
The Baby Walker mixed media on cradled board 8 x 10 inch
There is a gentleman who I see frequently in my neighborhood who is always with his grandbaby. I am assuming he is a grandpa, but perhaps he is a dad or an uncle or just a friend to the sweet baby. He is either carrying her, or pushing her in a stroller and often I hear him singing to her.
My art studio windows face the front of our house and on a day not too long ago he passed by strolling the baby and singing to her. His voice was so lovely. One of these days, I will say hello and tell him that a painting inspired by him and that sweet baby girl is now hanging at Tessera Gallery. :)
As I was finishing the details of this young girl, the white lace, which is actually a cupcake wrapper, was initially intended for the neckline of her dress. I had placed it over her face as I was searching for the gel medium to glue it down and the way her eyes peered through the lace caught my attention. I liked it, so there it stayed.
I took this piece to Tessera Gallery for Final Friday tomorrow night, so hopefully she finds a home.
Fancy Chair in Brown oil on paper 4 x 6 inch available here
Many have said that chairs are like people...they have personality. I agree and that is a reason I love to paint them!
Plain Chair in Brown oil on paper 4 x 6 inch available here
I made both of these by smearing oil paint on gessoed 140 lb watercolor paper. The chair drawing is then scratched into the paint and allowed to dry. The nice thing about working in oil is that you can smear over your mistakes and redraw. And it's also easier to remain loose in the work.
After the incredible response that our first Finding Faith project received, I was really eager to get to work on the second, and we nearly pulled it off in record time. The video and photo shoot went perfectly. So perfect in fact, that it seemed the "art gods" were with us once again...a funny saying that Faith and I have started to say whenever things are going very well. But then life happened...not in a bad way, but in a busy way...and the painting came forth like a slug. I never thought I would get it done and was tempted so many times to just "call it good enough", but the perfectionist in me won't allow such an ending and I HAD to keep going until it was right. Even though I am not striving to be a realistic painter on this project, it is important to me to capture certain details and moods and emotions in the painting that are present in the short videos that we create as well as the photographs. For those of you that paint, you KNOW this does not usually come easily. We have to work for it.
A little bit about our setting...it was shot in a very teeny tiny town called Matfield Green, which is a little over an hour away from Wichita. This little place is nestled in the beautiful Flint Hills of Kansas and its population is 50. That's right...50. I did not forget any zeros! It would be easy to miss it, except for the hilarious signs they have along Highway 177 reading "Matifield Green Next 3 Exits". But they are not exits, they are just streets. The 50 people in Matfield Green have a great sense of humor. :)
We filmed at a place called Pioneer Bluffs which is a gorgeous public property with many uses. It consists of lots of tall trees, a creek, an old cabin from 1859, which you will see in the project, and many other interesting buildings and barns. We were lucky on the day of the shoot because there was not a soul there. It was early Spring and Pioneer Bluffs was operating on their Winter schedule, which means it was basically closed (thank you, art gods).
So here we go with a simple story told in film, photos and painting...
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On a Lazy Day in Matfield Green
On a Lazy Day in Matfield Green oil on canvas 24 x 30 inch
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Thank you all so much for your incredible enthusiasm for our project! It has been a joy to create these and the fact that they bring joy to others encourages me to do more. Thank you again!
When I first began painting, I painted a work called "Purple Ladies" which was a hideously executed acrylic painting about gossiping. There were three ladies...one that was talking, the other with her head up to the sky laughing and the one in the middle standing with a look of distaste on her face. I've always hated it when I hear someone being talked about. It's one thing to speak one on one to a trusted friend about things, but it's quite another to blab in front of a group that may or may not have had the chance to make their own judgments about the person being talked about. So in my opinion, it's best to just keep the mouth shut.
So anyways, I decided it was time to cover up my ugly painting and paint something more positive. Now these ladies have the right idea...compassion. That is how it should be. Don't you agree?
frame detail
I had this frame that I believe came from a thrift shop and it worked perfectly.
I took it to Tessera Gallery. Final Friday is tonight, but this piece is not on display yet because I was too late delivering it there. Life is keeping me busy...working in the yard, working on the next Finding Faithpainting, creating new pieces for the gallery and most exciting of all was our youngest son's master piano recital last weekend. We traveled to Texas to see him play and WOW. He has really grown in his music the last two years he has studied at UT Arlington. We were in tears. If you are interested in seeing video from his recital click HERE. If you are short of time, you can forward to the last minute and a half or so.
I hope to finish the second Finding Faith painting in a week or so, but until then, here is a another peek. As you can see, there was a reason for that red flannel shirt. :)
Wendy With a Watering Can
oil on panel 6 x 6 inch
(sold)
You can probably tell from my color palette that I am excited Spring has arrived. I've been very busy in the flowerbeds cleaning them out, digging and planting. Mud on my shoes makes me happy. I was outside from 10 am to 9 pm yesterday, so obviously the progress on my next Finding Faith painting is moving along VERY slowly. I did these small paintings over the last three weeks or so. I am loving oil paints right now and vibrant colors. I am working on new ways to paint flowers...always a challenge for me.
Flower Pitcher
oil on panel 5 x 7 inch
(sold)
Ella
oil on panel 5 x 7 inch
Striped Pitcher
oil on panel 5 x 7 inch
Here's a little teaser from the next Finding Faith video (the music you hear in this snippet will not be a part of it). The photos and video turned out great and the 30 x 24 inch painting is coming along. It might be another couple of weeks before I am done. If you have no idea what the Finding Faith project is click HERE.
I invite you to follow my other social media sites as that is where I spend most of my online time these days. Click on the links: Instagram Facebook
Commission painting
mixed media on 9 x 12 inch canvas
A friend of mine has this wonderful and faded photo from 1926 of her grandparents and her grandmother's two sisters jumping rope in the middle of a field in Kansas. She asked me to paint them in my style and this is how it turned out. She loved it, which is always a relief!
Bedroom in Gold and Sky Blue
mixed media on wood block 4 x 6 inch
Last week seven of my tiny paintings (4 x 6 to 6 x 8 inch sizes) sold from Tessera Gallery, so I painted several more to fill the empty spots. I really enjoyed doing the interior paintings that were inspired by some old decorating books I bought from a used bookstore last year.
Dining with Cobalt and Paisley
mixed media on wood block 4 x 6 inch
And of course my favorite subject...figures. These are all imagined or from my "sketchbook sweetie" sketchbooks.
Peggy and Patty in Pigtails
mixeed media on wood block
4 x 6 inch
Grace With a Good Luck Cat
mixed media on panel 5 x 7 inch
Liliana and the Sleepy Cat
mixed media on panel 5 x 7 inch
Bike Ride in Spring
mixed media on panel 5 x 7 inch
(SOLD)
And look what I found! A red flannel shirt for my next Finding Faith project. It cost $3.49, so does that make my project low budget? :) I am happy to tell you that things are well on the way and we are excited about how the video and photos have turned out. Time for the painting! Wish me luck!
A million thanks for all your amazing and uplifting comments on this project. I was truly overwhelmed with all the kind comments, sweet emails, and encouragement to keep at it. Faith loved reading all the comments too, and that's important because without her, there would be no Finding Faith. :)
