If you have followed my art for a while, you may remember this painting from 2015. It was painted back in the day when I was at Tessera Gallery here in Wichita. It was inspired by a visit to New York City and a cafe there in the Tribeca area. The figure sitting at the window to the left is a nod to one of my favorite Edward Hopper paintings called Chop Suey. This painting has been all over the place from the gallery here, back to my studio, then to Colorado while I lived there where it was in a show in Colorado Springs and in then in the background photo of an interview I did with Colorado Homes. We were smack dab in the middle of moving back to Kansas when that interview was done, boxes everywhere and the pandemic was in the beginnings. The painting traveled with me back to Kansas, went on a long term loan with someone I trusted to keep it, and then back to my studio to be listed once again on Etsy. I often paint over paintings this old and this one did have a retouch on the waitress at one point. Her neck and posture bothered me, so I repainted the whole head and face. Anyways this painting is finally home, purchased by a long time collector and it's back in Colorado. I am so so happy and grateful for this because it was always one of my favorites.
Festival at the Farm mixed media on paper 12 x 9 inch available here
My husband Vic and I have this saying that we say nearly every morning to each other and that is..."it's another ridiculously gorgeous day in Colorado!"
It is the truth...sunshine nearly every day. The mornings are filled with sweet mountain air. It is hard to be in a bad mood here.
Lilacs photo by Lisa Graham
We recently went to the Lilac Festival near Denver and there was this sweet family dancing barefoot in the grass to the bluegrass band that was playing. I did what many artists do and made a strong mental note of that image then went home to paint it.
The band was SO good...my second time to see them. We sat for two hours just listening to them and people watching. You can see the band's site
Along with family and friend visits, hikes, and lots of reading, I have been learning to play guitar this summer. Not an easy task for this middle age woman, but I love that I am learning something new. It is good for the mind!
In the last post I showed a picture of a small painting in progress that I was working outside on a beautiful day, and this is the finished piece. A long time ago I took photos of rabbits at the Kansas State Fair with the intention of painting them, but never did. That is until now. There are rabbits in every decor store you walk into right now and that is what prompted this painting..the fun bunny decor and the memory of all the rabbits at the fair. Hundreds of them!
We have had many beautiful days lately, which is wonderful. The downside is that I don't get a lot of painting done when the weather is nice. I find it difficult to be still. Does anyone else have that problem?
I am also experiencing some form of artist's block. To combat this, I have been revisiting old paintings as well as some old photographs. For some reason this helps me resist feeling blah about my block. I know it happens to every artist, so I am just trying to roll with it. What do you do when you need to get your creativity flowing again?
It has been great to see so many of you on Facebook and Instagram. If you are new on those sites, please come find me... search for lisagrahamart. I would love to see you there.
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.
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.
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. :)
Caterpillar
mixed media on cradled wood
4 x 6 inch
(sold)
This has been a blazing and creative week. I worked on a small commission piece for a friend and painted small works to take to the gallery for Final Friday tonight. Caterpillar and Ladybug are two of those small works.
Ladybug
mixed media on cradled wood
4 x 6 inch
(sold)
Creme Shirts One, Two, Three
and Four
(sold)
I worked a lot in my sketchbooks last week and several of my pages were simply clothing. I loved painting them so much, I decided to do a small series of shirts, which also went to the gallery. You will likely see more of these.
my space at Tessera Fine Art Gallery
Tonight is Final Friday here in Wichita and this is what my space looks like as I type this. Readings atthe Dusty Bookshelf (upper right and photo below) has a new frame. It was in a black frame, but I like this one better.
Readings at the Dusty Bookshelf in a new frame.
I painted Readings...nearly three years ago, but it stayed in our home for quite some time before I first showed it anywhere. It was inspired by a really atmospheric bookstore called The Dusty Bookshelf in Manhattan, Kansas. My only regret about this painting is that I didn't paint the store cat that lives there. Truth be told, I never even thought of it. Atmosphere was my ultimate focus at the time I painted it.
detail
I am still on a mission painting faces. I have a new project in mind which I will share more with you as things unfold. This was what actually took most of my time this week! Let's just say the words technical difficulties and leave it at that for now. :)
Happy weekend to you all and thank you tons for all your comments on Between Green Thread and Broccoli in the last post. Your positive feedback made me so happy.
Between Green Thread and Broccoli
mixed media on cradled board
16 x 20 inch
A while back I was visiting Sharmon Davidson's blog where she had posted one of her wonderful collage works, and with it there was a poem by Tony Hoagland called The Word. I was immediately drawn to the poem and looked up Tony Hoagland to read more of his work. There is a style to his writing that resonates with me and I found myself returning to read The Word a few more times which led to an idea for a painting. I jotted down a sketch and some thoughts to go with it then set it aside, not feeling sure if it was something I truly wanted to paint. But the idea and the poem stayed with me.
Below are some closeups and the words of the entire poem. You can see bits and pieces in my painting that derived from the poetry, and there were so many other elements I wanted to add. However, I worried it would be too busy and decided to keep the composition simple.
detail
detail
detail
The Word
by Tony Hoagland
Down near the bottom
of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,
between "green thread"
and "broccoli," you find
that you have penciled "sunlight."
Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. It touches you
as if you had a friend
and sunlight were a present
he had sent from someplace distant
as this morning—to cheer you up,
and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing
that also needs accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds
of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder
or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,
but today you get a telegram
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom
still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,
—to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.
_____________________________________________
I hope you enjoy the painting and especially the beautiful words of Mr. Hoagland. I don't know about you, but it inspires me to remember not to get so busy that I forget to enjoy all the pleasures that are so easy to take for granted...like sunlight.
I want to thank you all for your wonderful comments on Tahmoor's Table in the last post. I read every word and really appreciate the comments particularly about the changed face. I am trying to push myself a bit artistically without completely changing the way I normally paint things. I have had my sleeves rolled up these last two weeks painting in sketchbooks...everything from faces to clothing to table settings...and enjoying the sunshine. See you soon.
♥ Lisa
Tahmoor's Table
mixed media on cradled panel
16 x 20 inch
Last month I did a series of very small paintings inspired by Picasso. I decided to do a larger painting of the one I called "Amy" because I loved the posture or pose of her which was quite exaggerated in comparison to Picasso's "The Ascetic", where the whole concept came from.
After beginning my larger painting, the blank space behind her seemed too big and too plain. I considered many options like a window or just a simple pattern, and when I saw Carolyn Plochmann's lace cover in her painting "Something Finely Made" I knew a lace curtain was what I wanted to do. It offered the challenge of trying something new (painting lace) and also provided the background I was looking for.
I used molding paste to create the larger flowers you see in the lace and when they were just too bumpy, I sanded them down quite a bit. I used acrylic paint and colored pencils and ink washes to achieve the look and was pretty happy with the result.
detail
On the table I used some loosely-done fracturing marks I learned from Julie Ford Oliver's online tutorial and workshop. I loved how it created movement all over the tabletop.
The bird was more hallow and ghostly-looking at first. I had planned to leave it that way, but once I started to think of a name for the piece I stumbled onto some interesting knowledge. I was searching for names that begin with "T" since "T...'s Table" seemed an appropriate name for the piece. When reading about the name "Tahmoor" I read that its origin came from the Bronzewing Pigeon which are a group of pigeons native to Australia. So I added some color to the wing and changed the beak to make it look more like a Bronzewing, and now the name Tahmoor was perfect! How's that for a complicated, round about way of naming a painting? Whoever said being an artist was simple? :)
detail
The flowers were a happy turnout as well. I think painting flowers can be difficult and I am ever-searching for new ways to paint them. These were at first big blue blobs and they looked like Dr. Seuss' Truffula Trees. But after playing around with some chunky brushstrokes, the result was exactly the happy flower I had in mind. I mixed a lot of gel medium into the paint to give it a nice, buttery texture.
detail
The trickiest part was her face. I am trying to get away from hard lines and my figures tend to have them, especially around the nose, eyes and brow. There isn't anything wrong with hard lines really, I just want to learn and explore more with with how I paint faces on my characters. After conversing with Julie about my dilemma, she suggested I look at photos converted to black and white in order to discover value changes. I looked at a lot of art online this way and then put my own painted face in black and white to see the "trouble areas", then went from there. I used a lot of light skin tones to sort of smoosh out the hard lines and that did it. It transformed her face by flattening the bridge of her nose and making the eyes quite smaller, but that was okay with me.
Here's the original face in color...
close up of previous face with harder lines
And here they are side by side in black and white. You can see a lot more light and dark contrasts in the original face vs the final outcome, especially if you squint. A brilliant suggestion on Julie's part. I had heard this suggestion before, but never took the time to do it.
in black and white
Left: before Right: after
I began painting faces in my sketchbook this week and also started a new 16 x 20 inch painting. I can tell you quite honestly, that painting and drawing faces with hard lines is deeply ingrained in me. It just comes so naturally to do them that way, so I don't know if I will ever be able to change it without A LOT of practice and effort on my part. Plus, I am not 100% sure I want to change when I look at the before and after side by side. The "before" face feels a little more like "home" to me. More comfortable. More familiar. That feels silly to say, but do you know what I mean? I have been thinking a lot about this lately, on whether or not to tweak my style a bit or to just not worry about it and paint away. To me, tweaking means growing as an artist and I definitely want to grow. What do you think?
I am babbling now, so off I go to paint more faces. Who knows what will come next?
Thank you SO much for all your wonderful comments in the last post about my show at City Arts. It's still up and running until February 20 and I've had a lot of great feedback on the show. If you live in Wichita or close, I hope you will get by to see it!
Last Fall my painting They Call it Connection Cafewas accepted into the Arts Council Annual Juried Art Show at City Arts here in Wichita. Shortly after the opening night I received an invitation to show in the Main Hall Gallery for the Final Friday art crawl in January which opened last night. The new and beautifully renovated space, gorgeous weather, and four diverse art shows brought a huge crowd with a lot of fun energy.
Various Narratives from left to right: Releve',
The Backyard Bench, Reading Space,
On the Way to Afternoon Tea
These are a few of my ten paintings on display, all various in sizes and mediums. On the Way to Afternoon Tea has a new home and all the praise and kind words were enough to keep me painting for quite a while.
I want to thank those that came out last night, it was so fun visiting with you! And a HUGE thank you to the staff at City Arts for all the hard work. You all make such a great team. The show was beautifully displayed!
And blog friends...see you in a week or so...I am painting like a maniac these days and I will have some new work to show you very soon. Thank you for your wonderful comments and your supportive words as always!
Winter Feed
mixed media on paper
6 x 6 inch available here
I love a new year. Don't you? It's like a breath of refreshing winter air. A chance to make changes inside the heart and mind and even in the mundane things. We can do this any time of year, but making desired changes seems more epic if you do it at the turn of a new year.
Winter Seed
mixed media on paper
6 x 6 inch available here
I spent the last three mornings rising before the sun and hitting the studio once the coffee was brewed. It felt great to be painting again after all the holiday festivities.
Winter Sled
mixed media on paper
6 x 6 inch available here
All three of these were inspired by a series of photos I took last winter while walking around Riverside after a beautiful snow. I have found I like to work from photos, but then also add bits and pieces from my imagination to them.
