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

"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

Day 23 A Childhood Landmark, colorful original Eola Park

(I think today is #23 and that means only 7 more daily pieces to go!  Yippee for me and thee.  Your comments have kept me fueled and challenged and determined to stay "at it to the end." thanks.)

A Visit to Eola Park

The past two days I have been in Orlando, FL...and although I spent my entire pre-adult life in the City Beautiful I could never recognize it today for all the growth and changes in the past 40 years. My Momma is now experiencing the urban life smack downtown where the action is.  Before dinner we took a lovely pre-sunset walk around everyone's favorite landmark: Eola Park.  It was comforting to know that some things don't change.

Eola Park Fountain

6 x 6 watercolor on paper

Childhood memories came rushing back of days when my Dad took my sister and I to feed the ducks, play on the bridge and enjoy the flowers (no, no, no, don't pick, just look).  I could feel the crinolines of the "sunday dress" I wore and how he made us feel like the most beautiful ladies in the entire park. ( sigh )  Of course the skyline has changed, beautiful public art has been added, the landscaping is now magnificent and so on....but the elegant (albeit dated in style)  fountain, the anchor of so many memories, the grand dame of the city, is still spewing water and looking regal.  And that was ever so comforting!

p.s. if you "know" Eola Park you may be intrigued to know that it was a sinkhole before it became a park, and that it was established in the 1880's when a donation of land was given to the City.  The donator's sons (the Summerlin family) chose the name Eola after a lady they knew.  Read more of the fascinating history of Eola Park and its famous fountain here.

matted in white to a standard 12 x 9

This will be offered this month for only $30 as part of the 30 in 30 challenge.  Check here to purchase or contact me at art@cindymichaud.com.  Shipping charges will apply.

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

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 #10: Provence

I wanted to do this photo from Provence because I loved the cool blues against the warm orangey color of the building.  But i also saw a lot of straight lines that really needed to be .... straight!  so, i cut these strips of masking tape (scissors helped) and laid them out on my paper.  I just peeled them off and moved them around until i had painted in a few of the longest lines in the design. i would have to punt on the windows and doors.

In retrospect this was a challenging picture to choose and not just because it is composed primarily of straight lines.  As i began i realized that my limited knowledge of watercolor prevented me from making the many shadows as interesting as i imagined them.  i couldnt remember whether they go down first or last and i got rather tangled up in the layering.  But i still think it came out as a crisp reminder of a lovely scene i captured one morning while exploring a small French village in Provence.

"Provence"

7" x 5"  watercolor on paper

BUY HERE

I feel funny referring to these pieces as my left handed work as there are many left handed painters who dont see this effort as a 'big deal.'  A friend suggested calling them my southpaw creations. One elaborated on this calling it spaw or s'paw for short. Another friend suggested the "sinistra series" as sinistra is latin for left side.  I've also seen such referred to as "off hand" or non-dominant hand work.  I suppose I'll continue to use a combo of all these references.  Whatever we call it, i appreciate your comments and support.  And it tickles me that many of you want to hang these "limited edition" masterpieces!!

Day 9: "Eye on Zion"

This is the kind of subject that you can get totally lost in!  Red rocks.  I had painted some Sedona formations years back with my dominant hand but this is a new pic my husband wanted me to paint (with the right i'm sure...) from our trip to the spectacular Zion National Park.

Once you start working on all the layers of rock it becomes a game of push/pull.  You are trying to push some areas back and pull over areas forward.  Remember it is a flat piece of paper but you want to trick the eye into seeing cracks and corners and breaks in the surface.  warm colors generally come towards the viewer but when you have a predominately warm subject (oranges, yellows, and reds) it gets a bit more challenging.

I finally realized a day had passed and i was still engrossed in noodling these rocks.  Quitting time already!
I am still painting in watercolor and this piece is still in the 5 x7 format.  Soon i suppose i will need to tackle a large one for my husband, he's my #1 fan and schlepper so he deserves a perk or two i think!!

By the way, I have had several inquiries about buying these pieces....which flatters my left hand greatly.  Yesterday's "Pedals" were barely matted before it was claimed by a purchase.  So i am matting some of them and offering them for $30 plus shipping on my etsy.com store.  Just click "buy here" or contact me directly if one tickles your fancy.

"Eye on Zion" watercolor on paper

5x 7 matted to fit standard 8 x 10 frame

part of the non-dominate 30 in 30 series

Cindy Michaud Art

BUY HERE

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. 

Lefty Loosey

Day 4 is deceiving...
I am barely into the 30 day challenge and I'm thinking that I actually like this painting of opened tulips; however, it is loose, so loose you might call them azaleas or peonies.  Does that matter?

Straight lines are very difficult for me with the left hand...while it is waiting for a message from the brain it either jerks off on its on path or waivers in nervous hesitation, making blobs of ink or color instead of a line.  So the 4 "straight" lines in this piece are an accomplishment.

While wanting to keep things simple i knew it was only a matter of time before I would want more colors than my travel palette offers.  So i dug around in the closet, risking life and limb, and found my old plastic w/c palette.  Some of my favorite colors are all used up so that will be another scouting project (aren't i glad i did not toss them years ago??!)  But i made do with what was here. Ever onward!!  

Cindy

p.s. i was beginning to get worried about future paintings since my right hand fingers are still numb...at 2 a.m. an imagination can be cruel.  But after seeing the doc  i can report that all is progressing normally and i should be wielding a right handed brush in a month. 

Day 2 - tulips

It helps if everything is ready to go, no putzing around which risks putting off the exercise.  I gathered some magazine pics to work from choosing flowers and then later switching to figures...who knows if plans laid will be plans made?  Watercolor is not my medium so I have lots of experiments taking place here.  i think i shoulda coulda pushed the darks a bit more - however i have decided there is no way to fail if i get something, anything on the paper.  this might actually be fun.....

to view art by some of the other 300 participants in 30 in 30 

click here www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

Day 1: Quince

happy new year on day 1 of 30 in 30, right hand out of commission means slow, deliberate work.

i chose branches as they felt rather forgiving for a start.  try your computer mouse with your non-dominate hand to understand what i mean....well, here we go into 2014!  love the slate of possibilities....