A Month of Left Handed Labor

Just a few of the January 30 paintings in 30 days results:

Thanks for sharing the journey.

P.S.  The paintings which have not yet sold will be available for the special price of $30 plus shipping on my

esty.com shop site here until February 10 when they will revert to their usual prices.

Shipping is extra.

Embrace the Struggle: Day #30

                                  "Painting is just another way of keeping a diary." Pablo Picasso

Day # 30 is here and to celebrate the end of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge I decided to channel my favorite artist of all time: Pablo Picasso.  My work over the last month is a diary of sorts, a visual journey of what it was like to paint with the non-dominant hand setting no expectations.  Of course it was a struggle. It first took hours as my hand tried to interpret the instructions my brain was sending.  My brain tired from breaking every motion into several messages. Some days I felt overwhelmed just with the notion of keeping up.  But on the whole I enjoyed the struggle: I learned, I was distracted and I was proud.

So with a nod to old man Picasso, I present the last painting of the left handed series:

"Embrace the Struggle"

7" x 5" acrylic on cradled board

$30 here til january 10

This whimsy is probably another self-portrait of sorts but I think many of us can relate to the thought as well as the experience and symbols.  Enjoy the colors, honor the journey and milk that struggle for all you can. Here's Pablo again, "Are we to paint what's on the face, what's inside the face or what is behind it?"

Good question, no?

edge detail of "Embrace the Struggle"

Thanks so much for sharing this struggle with me.  I promise not to take such liberties with your mailbox again in the near future!  Back to once a week postings...I have really appreciated your comments, encouragement and, of course, your purchases.  Many thanks.

Cindy

to see more work from the 400 other participants in this challenge go to www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

Pink Dancers after Degas (Day #29)

Thinking about the Bath Series by Degas yesterday prompted me to get out my book of his pastels. Somehow it never mattered if his dancers had legs that were too long or unfinished arms...the viewers knew exactly the feeling and the mood he was trying to capture.  It has been a long time since I copied one of the masters so I decided that for day #29 I'd choose a Degas and see where it took me.  The "Pink Dancers" ( 33" high x 22.75" wide, pastel) looks like this:  (keep in mind that every repro changes the coloration slightly depending on where and how it is printed)

I elected to do it much smaller (5" x 5") and in a square format, not the one shown.  By this stage (1889-1900) Degas was no longer concerned about detail but about blurred forms and texture rich in color.  That huge dark "thing" chopping up a third of the painting bothers me...a lot.  The book I have calls it a "compositional audacity," a vertical dark that chops up the dancers and is presumed to be a tree.  My book also notes that at this age Degas was no longer attending live performances and was painting from memory.

preparation using pastels and pastel pencils

my version of "The Pink Dancers" after Degas

5 x 5 pastel on wallis paper

matted in white to a framable size of 12 x 9 BUY HERE

detail

Copying is an age-old teaching technique (one must acknowledge the original artist) and is not as easy as it sounds.  The beautiful affect of layering cool over warm has to be understood first to be able to be reproduced.  Some of the prep techniques are not even visible but critical to the end result.  And finally, this research assured me that if a huge technical error remains the critics can always refer to it as "compositional audacity." 

To see the work of others participating in the 30 in 30 day challenge click here. 

"The Bath" Day #28

I have not done a nude in a long time, trust me, it is not like riding a bike: you do forget!  and never having done one with Mr. Lefty I was in for some frustration.  But I decided to finish it no matter what and, better later than never, here it is.

"The Bath"

10 x 5, antique music mounted on masonite

mixed media

This figure started as a sketch, got transferred to the board, began in pastel, moved to colored pencil and finished in acrylic.  I just could not get any "slip" on this mounted paper and thus the left hand would not slide properly....you had to be there I guess.  Anyway, I drug my arm through it, noted that her legs were too long (to match the photo anyway) and then wondered why I chose the pose.  All in a day's work.

Random notes:  They say every painting is a self portrait (especially figures and portraits) so since I have looong legs and small feet I decided to leave them as they were.  ALSO, I remembered the lovely renderings by Degas of women in their bath and with the quick suggestion of a tub of sorts decided to name this after the series done by Edgar de Gas.

I was hoping this detail would do a better job of showing the colors.

The lightest area is really a pink, the mid tone is closer to lavender-blue and of course, the dark shows well as violet.  Often between the camera and the computer the colors do not reproduce well.

Two more days left of the challenge!  Again, if you wish to peek in on the work of others in the 30 in 30 just go to: www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com.  And if you have a bathroom to hang this in you can let me know.

Cindy

En Pointe: Day 26 of Colorful & Original Off Hand

I really wanted to try more ballet shoes...and mix it up a bit.  So, with a little help from Mr. Righty I managed to make some boards with this old sheet music on it.  (Actually it is amazing how much you can do without the help of the dominate hand when forced to...feet, elbows and available other objects do come into play!)

En Pointe

10 x 5 mixed media on board

$30.00 - frame and shipping additional

I started to leave it at pencil and well, you know me, more is more, so I just kept adding and in the end I had used acrylic, pencil, pen, pastel and collage.  Mixed Media.  It is all sealed up nice and tight and needs no glass.  Enjoy a few more pics....hubby home and wants a play date so I am off the computer!!

Send me an email if you know someone who would enjoy this small piece...no time to link to a sale spot yet!

#25 Uncapped the Paint

I think the muse was not finished with the fountain in Eola Park yet...because when I discovered I could get some of the tops off the acrylic paints it was the park I rushed in to paint.  With palette knife!

 You may not recognize this if you are not an artist...it is a palette knife and comes in many shapes and sizes and is used in place of a brush.  Why I thought it would be easier to work with than a brush is beyond me...it is sort of like icing a cake with the paint being the frosting; only you are going to use several colors of frosting and attempt to get a recognizable subject onto the canvas.

Eola Park Part II

8" x 10" acrylic on canvas

$30.00 plus shipping

It began as a very high key painting (meaning the darkest darks were relatively light) but I kept feeling at loose ends without some grounding deep colors...I think I am discovering that I really enjoy the lower keyed work where the lush darkcolors guide you around the composition.  It was not full sun when I did the photo so I will try another and see if the colors emerge better.  This 30 in 30 challenge makes for tight deadlines and the light outside doesn't hang around to help me out.  Oh, and yes, for this month I will include the 8 x 10 canvas in my $30.00 special.  It is a standard size so it should be a cinch to find a ready-made frame for it.

Here are a couple more shots of the work in progress.  It was wonderful to be back in touch with the paint and I didn't even mind the fact that when finished I was wearing quite a bit of it!

my set up as I begin to work...I took my composition from several different photos of the park

detail of the fountain; palette knife usually results in quite a bit of texture and I even found an old toothbrush to add a few more spatters for the water spray....I want you to feel like you may get wet if you stand too close!

to purchase: contact art@cindymichaud.com or check my etsy store here

When Pigs Fly...#24

Somedays you just gotta laugh!  When what starts as a great idea fails, and fails again, and fails again... It's time to back up and take a different route.  So laugh with me here...while nothing is a guaranteed success there is much to be gained by failures, or so I am told.

Day #24 was to be a contour drawing of a cute figurine I have of a pig with wings.  Flying pigs is a current family mantra/joke and I could just see it in a small painting, framed, representing all the humor it involves. So I got ready to draw a masterpiece of cuteness.

Now, this is one mean looking pig...not acceptable at all.  (And it was the second one I attempted.)

It took four tries to get a decent looking (i.e. not mean) faced porker and about then I was losing interest in the entire thing.  I have a painting started I am itching to get to and was far more vested in seeing if I could manage a palette knife with my lefty than whether or not I could draw an imaginary swinelet.

So I gave it the ole'college try and decided to head on over to the paints.  My muse wants to play with Eola Park a bit more so stay tuned for another round of the fountain.  The pigs will have to fly another time: day #24 is done and over!

Less is More: Colorful, Creative Contour

Day #21   LESS IS MORE

I sat down to do penance for missing a couple days in the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge and thus bit off a very complex Japanese stone temple I had spotted at the Morikami Gardens.  After erasing most of it several times I decided that my brain just wasn't ready to get around geometrically proper lines and scale. I looked up and there was my buddy and fellow painter, Carmen, sitting at an angle to me...suddenly she seemed like a good subject.

I decided to tackle a "contour line drawing" which is, in essence, just drawing the outside lines of the shapes before you.  There is no need to go into detail any more than is needed for the viewer to get the idea of what is being drawn.  Had I done her face there would have been no shadows so it basically would have been flat and not very face-like at all.  So I stuck to a side view and had fun seeing how close I could come to a likeness by drawing only along the edges of what was in front of me.

I was actually pleased with the simplicity of this piece and remembered that old adage: "less is more." However I could not resist adding some color here and there to make it all a bit more interesting.  This would be a good little piece to hang near any artist who needs to remember that more (work, line, color, detail...) is not necessarily better!

"Less is More"

6" x 6" watercolor and ink on paper

contour line drawing matted to standard size of 12 x 9

special purchase via my etsy.com shop or

contact me: $30.00

you may visit some of the other work being done by participants in the challenge at: www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

Day #17 - Fun in the Sun

Day # 17 was so special that I almost did not notice that I was having to paint with my left hand.  My friend Kelly Medford from Rome, was coming over to spend the day with me (while visiting Orlando for holidays).  I could hardly wait.  Kelly makes her living painting plein air in Italy so guess what we would be doing?  Like a kid before school I got my supplies ready early ---the plein air nerves I took to Italy four months ago were gone.

We chatted, brainstormed, caught up, traded stories, and brainstormed some more.  Kelly is so fun to bounce ideas off of, she is positive, thoughtful and energetic.  I can feel the sparks fly when we start down
a path to developing a new idea.  So after a lovely lunch on the river we headed to the harbor to paint. We settled on a sunny spot along the river and assumed the easy pace of plein air painters everywhere: paint, enjoy the surroundings, chat sparingly and paint....it was a picture perfect day.

Kelly offers painting workshops and retreats in Italy

for a great video about her go here

I decided to paint the mangroves at the edge of the river where we were perched.  I took a blue ink pen with me today instead of the usual black and decided to use it to define some of the water.  I smile when I see this page of the sketch book because it was such a perfect (painting) day.  It might be hard to part with this piece.

Mangrove at Front Street

5" x 5", watercolor on paper

during the 30 in 30 off-hand challenge only $30.00

The fact that I can look at this small painting and recall the entire day is just one of the valuable powers that art holds...for someone else this piece may tell an entirely different story, maybe about a day on the river kayaking or a spot once visited....regardless, the ability of a painting to hold many truths is just another reason I am so passionate about the role of art in our lives.

Enjoy your day...whatever # it is!

Day #17 - Colorful...original?

Day # 17 

Everglades Farm

5" x 7" watercolor and ink on paper

Visiting the Everglades was almost like going to a foreign country even though I am a life-long Floridian.  The scenery was extraordinarily different and the tropical fruits were amazing...many I'd never seen or eaten before.  One night we were headed back to "civilization" for dinner when we spotted this scene in the rear view mirror. Of course we pulled over and began snapping photos.  The sun setting behind this very orderly palm farm was beautiful in its linear continuity.  My left hand is now tired of small pieces and wants a bigger challenge...this might have to reappear in a much larger format.  I am already planning some changes and additions.  Day 17 of off-hand, colorful, original art feels like a bit of an accomplishment.  Thanks for sharing.

see work of other participants at www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

Day #15 - Abstractly Original

Day 15 marks the half way point of the 30 day challenge!  Do you see me dancing with glee?  To celebrate I got a little crazy and did an abstract in acrylic.  But ah....the back story:
"Little Dream"
There once was a little house in the woods that stood empty for many years.  It was sad because once upon a time it knew the laughter of happy people and the love of a family.  It was just a little house but it dreamed of being painted yellow and sporting peacock blue shutters and maybe even an orange door!  Just a little dream.

Every year the house worked hard to keep her chin held high; she pretended that she was yellow and turquoise and mango orange.  And sometimes this helped her not to feel so neglected and abandoned. But she was all alone and very lonely.

 One day a couple got off their bikes and poked around the overgrown yard of the little house.  They could feel her smile and saw her wiggle with delight.  Hmmm, they said to one another, wouldn't she look charming painted yellow?  What about an orange door? added the man.  The house almost giggled out loud.

So the couple decided they would be happy if they could watch the sun set and the moon rise every day of the year from the porch of the little could-be-yellow house.  They saw potential and fell unconditionally in love.  They signed papers, and more papers, and more papers and waited and waited and waited.  Time passed.

Paths got blocked, papers got lost, distractions, complications, incompetence and stupidity.  No one seemed to care that the little house was losing faith, falling sadder and sadder with each passing month.  Weeds grew. Hope shrunk.  Was it really too much to dream about being loved? Didn't anyone care about her or the couple on the bikes?

The couple is still in the picture, as is the rising  moon and the setting sun. Dreams of an orange door still exist.  Yet he path  to that door is still obstructed and frustration is mounting.  The little house clings to her little dream...and until it comes true she will watch the sun set and the moon rise all by herself, hoping someday she gets to share it with love.

"Little Dream" 6" x 6" acrylic on paper

matted in white to size 12" x 9"

Cindy Michaud Art

30 days of painting with the non-dominate hand

buy this original piece here

Jetty Park Plein Air

Day #14
My painting gang, the Pieces of 8, meets on Monday and as Florida is at its prime in January, we took a "field trip" up to Jetty Park near Port Canaveral for a day of plein air painting and photography.  The birds really showed off for us and we had a delightful lunch on the river.  But we also managed to squeeze in some art!  After getting as many photos as I could take (from a compromised position, often having someone else push the shutter while I aimed the lens...) I sat down to paint the inlet area between the ocean and the port.

I decided to use just my ink pen since setting up the watercolors was going to be a bit challenging.  My 5" x 5" square was blocked off on my pad so I settled in to enjoy the sun, the water and the birds.  I wasn't totally finished when the gang declared that lunch was in order, so I snapped a photo to finish up at home.  I wanted to add some color as well since the composition was pretty much straight lines and rocks.

I got home late and went into the studio to work.  I found myself relying primarily on memory since photos never seem to capture the entire view.  Now if it were not w/c and if I was not racing a clock, I can see a few changes I would definitely make.  However, my goal was met: a gorgeous day out on the water, painting, eating, exploring and taking mental notes for a future masterpiece.  When I finished the piece at 5:00 pm the sun was down so I had to take the photograph inside which is not ideal.

Honest to Pete, that middle spit of land does not, in reality, sag so sadly into the the water...if it did I am certain the Army Corp of Engineers would be there today!  Just a loss of control on my part.  Some days you win and some days you should try again.  But I got my money's worth from the day of fun, plein air painting AND the attempt. And my left hand did not complain.

Stay tuned...Day #15 is only 24 short hours away.

To see more painters who are in on 30 in 30 go to: www.Lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

P.S.   I don't always get each painting posted into my etsy shop right away, if you are interested in a previous piece let me know and I will get it up asap.  For this month only they are $30 each + shipping, my 30 in 30 for 30$ special.

Lucky 13: Roussillon

Day #13 of 30 paintings with my non-dominate hand

The Provence area of France is chock full of tiny little towns perched high on a hill and surrounded by a wall for fortification.  One such village we explored was Roussillon.  We actually set out on a mission to find me authentic hand made pastels which come from the sands of the surrounding red-ocre mountains. ( Most of these small villages have very few sustainable businesses and are threatening to die out simply because the young flock to jobs in the city.)  As quaint as the towns are it was the approach, or the distant view, that I loved seeing the most.  So on Day #13 I decided to paint Roussillon.

5 x 5 watercolor, Roussillon

 This was my first attempt.  It was time consuming and laborious.  I was way too concerned about referencing my photo and i somehow found myself backed into corners and lost on meandering paths.  Not a lot of fun.  Just as I was thinking that day 13 was UNlucky I decided to give it one more pass...quick and dirty with more regard to how I remembered the scene feeling, as opposed to what the camera said.

I lay out my colors on gut: no pencil guides, very little planning, get in/get out.  I closed my eyes and remembered being in the car looking up towards the city.

7" x 5" watercolor Roussillon Redux

Almost a pleasant hour later here it is.  No attempt at realism...just the memory of lots of squarish buildings, all ochre and gold, tumbling down a hill til they are stopped by a wall.  There is a lot of clustered greenery in those reddish scenes as everything that is not paved is planted.  warm and cool.  done.  Day 13 to bed.

Does one appeal to you over the other?  Funny how similar they are, and no doubt because they were done on the same day with the same color palette.  Vote for your favorite in the comments section.  If you receive this by email just double click on the blog title and it will take you to the blog.  Scroll down and at the bottom you will see the word "comments."  enter your choice there....by doing it this way you can also see what others prefer.  Personally the jury is out....they will look different to me tomorrow!

Thanks for sharing the challenge.

Day #11: The Heron

Whew!  Just under the wire with this one.  It was no use trying to get an early start.  At one point today I was sketching with morning coffee (in p.j.s still) and looked up to see the Orkin man traipsing through the studio followed by my husband who was letting in the handyman who was being barked at by the dog who was inside because the lawn was being mowed!  And they all wanted to ask me a question at some point...not the ideal way to work.

So this Heron was stopped and started many times...even after I photographed him I returned to brighten his beady little eye a bit.  Oh well, I made it to day #11, over one third of the way to goal.  It is very time consuming but extremely educational learning to paint with my non-dominate hand.

I photographed this heron during a camping trip to the Florida Everglades.  He was very cooperative and let me take several shots of him in different poses.  Those tiny flowing feathers posed a challenge for me as they needed a brush about the size of an eye lash.  I also discovered the reason behind my criticism of most watercolor.  I love the depth that rich dark colors add to a painting and W/C requires layer upon layer to achieve this.  And it must completely dry between layers...so many painters quit before they ever get to that deep tone I find so lovely.  I suppose that with a few more days I could have gotten there myself.

The white is a gouche - some water-colorists refuse to use it staying pure to watercolor.  But I had no time for the alternative (nor supplies nor facility!)  This is a detail; the original piece is only 5" x 5".

 I have matted this piece to an overall size of 12" x 9" and, in keeping with the 30 in 30 theme of the month, am offering it for only $30.00 plus shipping.  You will find it on my etsy store by clicking here.

I am also learning that to complete 30 paintings in 30 days (with either hand) there can be no hesitation.  One cannot waste time looking for the perfect anything...it's burning valuable time to putz around with the brush second guessing yourself.  Be bold, be confident, don't over-think it.  And while the failures will be evident, so will, we all hope, the progress.

#8 PEDALS....

You would assume that if you (or your hand memory) had mastered 'ovals' it would be a cinch to move on to 'circles,' no?  well, the answer to that is...no!  At least not a large circle...too long a line to think through and the thinking is evident via wiggles in the line.  Again i laid down some pencil figuring it would give me lots of lines to choose from in trying to ink in a circle.  This was fun....and while you may still see some flowers here, it was a relief not to fret over them exclusively.

"Pedals"

7" x 5"- watercolor and ink on paper

Day 8 in the left handed series

cindy michaud

www.lesliesaeta.com - for more daily work by others

Punting: Ovals and more ovals....

It has occurred to me that some of what is good about hand memory (like the ability to make a W automatically) is also bad when it comes to art.  With my off hand (i.e. my left or non-dom) to make a credible W my brain literally has to say: "make a downward sweep into a curved valley and go up and circle back down again for two joined loops. stop.  that is a W."  I imagine we all worked that way when first learning to write, bigger is easier and the tongue to one side of the mouth helps!  slow and somewhat tiring.  (the reason this can be detrimental in art is that too often we fail to see the real shape of a new and different W since our hand quickly defaults to the one it previously learned.)

after addressing my holiday cards I figured I had "taught" my off hand to make ovals....all sizes, since so much of cursive script is oval configurations.  So i chose a photo of flowers that was predominately nothing but differing sizes of ovals. i made a few guideline pencil marks so I could get my placements correct and then settled in for a few hours of doodling with a black pen.  The nice thing about working small (7x5) is that i can turn the page around where i lack leftie flexibility.

using a watercolor pencil i added a few pops of color, then went back and brushed some areas with water to turn the pencil into paint.

ok, done, and a relief after previous efforts....

perhaps i could have done more but for a daily "exercise" i figured there was enough time invested!  I call this "Ovals in a Pot."
That's enough flowers for the month....I'm ready to try something different.  Maybe ovals can be applied elsewhere?
stay tuned,
Cindy
p.s. don't forget that you can see what others are doing at www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

know when to fold......

I'm waving the white flag of surrender....
I'm folding this hand....
I'm over hyacinths...

Gamely I thought another run would result in a huge improvement over my not-so-pleasing results with the hyacinths.

Soft pillows of color, suggestions of what was to come....I tried a new approach remembering that watercolor is backwards to oil in that you paint your lights first.

but darn if the finished effort doesn't look exactly like the one for day 5!  how disappointing.  I think I got too hung up in trying to "say" hyacinth....and I am not fond of their rigid shape anyway (penile, I know, but too tree-like for a flower in my opinion.)

I should be very happy never to see another hyacinth on my canvas ever again.  The saving grace is that this failure helped me weed out one item as a future subject!  On to something totally different.....

colorfully yours,
cindy

p.s.  if you joined us late I will explain that I am participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge on-line with close to 400 other artists around the world. Due to recent shoulder replacement surgery I am doing the challenge with my non-dominate hand...just to spice things up a bit!!  For thumbnails of other participants visit: www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

Pride Goeth Before a Fall...

Just as i was thinking things were progressing smoothly, just when i thought Mr. Lefty was learning to take instruction, just then

BAM !!

that's me falling on my face precipitated by a premature dose of old fashioned, field leveling pride.

In the name of fair play i will post my effort for day 5 which i have titled, "Horrible Hyacinth."

I will not humiliate myself further with a close up photo.  take it from me, it ain't purty.  As long as I am 

groveling here let me apologize for the typos and inconsistencies in the written portion of the blog.  sometimes i can reach the shift key for capitalization and sometimes not.  bear with me all will be better in due time! thanks. 

Burn, Baby, Burn & Day 3

Out with the old to make room for the new....

Canadian artist Robert Genn is also a great writer and inspiration.  When he recently discovered he had a terminal condition he began culling his work so that he could curate what was left behind.  While I am thankfully in good health, he nevertheless made me think about cluttered work spaces and cluttered minds. This prompted a clean out of closets, stacks, stashes and shelves.  His idea of a bonfire appealed to me so we planned one in conjunction with welcoming the new year.  My husband thinks I have hoarding tendencies so he was on board with set up and prep.

It was tricky slicing up canvas with my left hand but very cathartic as well.  Good riddance you nagging failures.

It was a very hot but beautiful fire.  We invited a couple over and as I fed the fire the other three played their musical instruments and we sang under a new moon as the new year rolled in.  I feel empowered and cleansed.  No regrets.

DAY THREE of 30 in 30 is "Rebellious Roses"  

  7" x 5" watercolor on paper; limited left-handed edition!

Enjoy your weekend....and yes, for me the weekends do count in the one-a-day-challenge.

click here to see work by other participants.