Saints I Have Known

Anyone who knows my work knows that I enjoy working in "series."  A series is several pieces that somehow relate to one another whether it is by subject, by media or some other connection.  I love this because it keeps me focused (therefore I learn a lot!) and it makes for a cohesive collection to show or hang together.  Sooooooo

A new series..."Saints I Have Known" is in the works. With apologies to Modigliani I am painting saint-like portraits of real people I have known who have influenced me with some outstanding quality.  The humorous explanation is that being raised a Methodist I was deprived of all the benefits of the saints my Catholic friends came to rely on and I was, indeed, a bit jealous.  As I got older I realized that I had plenty of saints in my life, they just had not been cannonized.  So I decided to honor them in my own way!

But I have to laugh as some may not feel so "honored" when they see "their" painting and wonder why they look as they do......ah, the beauty of artistic license!!  Me and Modigliani...we see a reduction of detail, the nuance of line, the power of symbols and the vehicle of color....that's my story.

 

 

You will also note that the sidebars are a collection of symbols done in line.  I've never been very expressive with my doodling and figured this would be another way to get plenty of practice as well as lend itself to a subtle frame.  Working with the gold gesso has also provided a few challenges and the lettering you see on these pieces was a photoshop mock up for notecards so that is yet another task I have to tackle in paint!

 

 

These will all be 20 x 16 when the series is finished and so far I have not run out of wonderful women to honor.  Hope you enjoy viewing these as much as I have enjoyed thinking of them and painting them!

Cindy

p.s. I tried to make the 2nd and 3rd photo large enough for you to read them but the "enlarger" button refused to appear once again....probably an operator error, my apologies.



Why I like to do "series"

People often ask me how I choose what to paint.  To be honest there are about a 1000 legitimate answers to this question and I get so excited by so many wonderful things (colors, shadows, people, techniques, new media, different sizes and so on) that I often find myself bouncing all over the map trying dribs and drabs of many things.  It's like a wonderful buffet tasting where you never feel like you really ate.

Enter the "series."  I choose to paint in series as it keeps me focused on at least one aspect during several passes.  A series can be a group of 5 pieces (or more) or it may be the entire body of work done over a specific period of time.  It can be linked together by subject, media, size, color, title, or...? 

The object (for me) is to keep one thing consistent and work within that parameter hoping to gain some expertise in execution and greater depth in understanding.  I recently finished about 16 pieces on the subject of stones.  Subject matter was my only link to all of the pieces as I played with different sizes, media and techniques.  I varied the composition from realistic to fantasy.  Get the idea?  This method does not engage some folks but it is very helpful for me.  When I come across a composition now that contains a stone, I am giddy with confidence and ready to tackle it.

This does not mean that I am not "allowed" to paint anything else.  I'll never give up my "play time" doing little experiments or not accept the challenges of a group show etc.  It just gives me an outline from which to continue to learn.  It also results in a body of work that is cohesive enough for an interesting show.

I'm explaining all this as I previously mentioned that you would be seeing a lot of trees coming up.  For several years I have collected trees, photos, notes and locations, that had very human qualities to them.  I am loving every aspect of culling the photos, planning the compositions and centering in on the feelings I think these trees are expressing or experiencing.  I hope some of them appeal to you but if not I know I will enjoy the journey.

Also be on the outlook for "Places." These will be smaller pastels of places I have travelled and enjoyed...little icons of the world, or maybe just scenes that tend to capture the mood of the place.
I will be selling these on my website for only $100.00 and that includes the frame, glass and mat!  Such a deal....they will make great gifts by the way.

That's it!  Back to the studio.

Stones to Speak in Melbourne Area!

You and Yours

are cordially invited to join us on First Friday,

Nov. 4 between 6 and 8 pm for

"The Stones Speak"

a poetry and art collaboration by

Fay Picardi & Cindy Michaud

poetry reading at 6:30 pm

allaprima Styling Group

1540 Highland Avenue

Eau Gallie Arts District

This unique presentation opened in September in Linville, NC at the

Avery County Arts Council and now

makes it way to Melbourne.

A book containing the poetry as well as full color art work has

been produced in time for gift-giving season and

will be sold that evening for

$12.00.

Hope to see you there.



Crossing Into Safety

Crossing Into Safety

24 x 18 acrylic on cradled board

A part of our 'Stones Speak' project, Crossing Into Safety

is also

one of my favorite books (by Wallace Stegner),

a path at one of my favorite picnic areas,

a reminder of the day I watched several handicapped and terrified adults manuver the stones,

and

my mantra for seeing this "out-of-my-comfort zone" project to the very end.

What does "crossing into safety"

symbolize for you?

Cindy

What Is It?

I'm one of those curious types that wants to know a little about a lot of things...so I often assume that everyone has as many questions about things as I do!  To that end I've decided to run a little series on my Thursday blog addressing some usual and unusal questions that arise about art.  Lucky for me I have lots of very knowledgable friends willing to help me;  the format will include questions and answers with them as well as photos of their work.

Part of the fun of a blog is the opportunity to interact with the writer (or the guest!) and so I will encourage you to feel free to post questions and comments if you have them.  I promise to get the guest to address them all.  Those of you who "follow" are familiar with the comment section of a blog.  For those who receive the commentary on your email you will need to go to the blog directly (I will provide a link) and scroll down to the end of the writing and click on the word COMMENTS, it is little but don't hit the envelope or it will think you want to email the blog.  A box will come up for your comment or question and after you write and click, don't go away, you will be asked to duplicate some letters just to confirm that you are a person, not a spamming machine!  While you are there you can read other people's comments as well.

I'll be introducing you to collectors, plein air artists, encaustics, the art of the blog and, as they say: much, much more.  I hope you will enjoy this change of pace for a few weeks...I know I got a lot of my questions answered so maybe some of yours will be as well!  Enjoy....and feel free to get to know my guests.