Spice Market Magic

Just as "luck" is where preparation meets opportunity,

painting "magic" is where persistence meets inspiration.

Why is that old work ethic such a vital ingredient...

and why do we expect we can be the lone exception?

Back to the souks (markets) in the medina (walled city) of Marrakech: color! shadow! light! all tempt the artist in me.  With such over-the-top visuals it 'should' be easy to replicate the feeling one gets in the narrow dark labyrinth of shops displaying their wares. Right? Right?

This image was so clearly burned into my minds eye that I doubted I would need the photo for reference.  I began in watercolor....not very successfully I judged.

But I took the time to do something all my instructors have urged: evaluate. I made notes, I drew lines, I pretended to be the teacher.

I made another pass, slowly this time, taking care to refer to my notes. Watercolor is (have I said this before?) so unforgiving.  But I liked the light cast.

Now to try a different medium.  Since it dries quickly I decided to do an underpainting in acrylic paint.  This would serve as a guide for my light and shadows and let me get into the guts sooner.  Like warming up with musical scales or stretches before a run.

The Spice Trade

8x 6 oil, available framed,  $50

And I began to work with the oil.  So clearly now I can see where it needs loosening up and reigning in.  I am just now beginning to understand how I really want to execute this scene.  I don't think we

are finished with this yet.....but I feel the "magic" starting to bubble.

Back to the easel,

Cindy

Finding Inspiration

What inspires you?  Whether you paint, craft, pot, garden

or read you are constantly in front of things that have

the ability to inspire new ideas and thoughts.

If we are intentional we can often trace a "sudden" flash of inspiration

back to its original seed.....

Such as...

This photo I took in a hillside town in Umbria, Italy as the sun was going down:

I was in the courtyard of an old castle cooling my heels while waiting on friends.  I loved watching the light come through these trees and get softer and more golden by the minute.  As I noted how the limbs had grown together and gotten intertwined I began to imagine that the roots were likewise tangled up below the surface.  In reality, I thought, these trees have become one in that they support each other visually and invisibly.  The swing made me wonder about the lucky child that was playing beneath the protection of such strong support.  I took a few more photos, watched the light go nearly out and rejoined my friends.

Time passed but every now and then I would re-imagine those limbs reaching out to each other as they grew.  Much like my friends reached out to support me as I grew.

And one day I was cartooning around with pen and ink and watercolor and transformed my thoughts into a more literal drawing of what those trees meant to me.

Yes, I am certain that with more time and thought I could more proficiently depict this...but sometimes whimsy can carry its own message.  I've sold a lot of note cards with this image on it.  People always ask about it.  But the painting remains.  I'm thinking that it is waiting for the right time in the coming year to share yet another message.  Who knows?

So, the next time you are hit on the head with a "great idea" think about where it may have started...it can be a fascinating journey.

Best wishes for your journey into 2017,

Cindy

Road Trippin' in Art

My husband and I went road tripping last weekend, we knew where we wanted to end up but not exactly how we planned to get there.  Everything for the last month had been so rushed and precisely planned that we decided to defy our default mode and just take a slow jaunt.

We pulled out a map, a book of trails and settled back to see the sights.  I was amazed at what I had forgotten a map offered: byways, points of interest, parks and historical markers.  Who knew?

 Of course we had lots of decisions to make and sometimes I was positive we should stay straight and he was adamant that our exit was upon us.  But that is part of the adventure: unexpected surprises.  I got to thinking that a lot of my art is exactly the same way...an amble through new territory with no expectation of the outcome.

This is NOT to suggest we throw our GPS away (as a directionaly-challenged person I would never be seen again!)  When time is of the essence it pays to take a direct, fail-safe route with no second guessing.  And many times I approach a painting the same way:  I know exactly where it should go, I map out the way to get there, I practice the color combos and I paint with full attention AND intention.

But other times I get in the driver's seat, or in front of the easel, and I really want to take my time, smell the roses, try a new path and look for the sights along the way.  This is when happy accidents (as they are called) take place, it is when you discover a new technique or a different way of doing things.  If I had to approach every canvas in exactly the same way, I think I would pack my crayons and find a new outlet.  We need to have enough faith to allow ourselves to get lost and enough bravery to think we can find a way out.  (Ever watch someone in a class or workshop absolutely refuse to try the teachers approach?  They are in a rut in their comfort zone, gps on a loop.)

I'm easing back into the studio and was hunting a photo of the tree house I took in Italy.  As the frustration was mounting I just decided to "wing it."  Simply work from my imagination and see if I could plot a new route.  It was really quite relaxing, after all, there was no photograph showing me that I was off course ("recalculating, recalculating").  And well....it sorta looks like a tree house.

I'm not good at stopping, one more sight to see, one more dab of color to try.  I have ruined as many pieces as I have improved with that one "last addition."  Is this calling for a side trip of pink? or shall I leave it be?  I honestly don't know where it is going or if it will ever surface again.  But I do know that I have plans to engage in many more wandering ventures...both in the car and on the canvas.

Artistically yours,
Cindy

Meet Kelly Medford

Meet Kelly Medford (www.kellymedford.com) my friend, Italian hostess, teacher, critic, co-adventure-lover....oh, did I say:  ARTIST.  Before you get to know her through my eyes, go to this site and watch this professionally made,  very short video about her:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8LrX-9C8wWU. 

 

Sounds like a dedicated artist, eh? Here's Kelly (above) painting on the rooftop of our apartment in Procida.  Yep, she's just the kind that looks out the window during wine time, sees the soft yellow light of sunset, grabs her paints and runs to catch the glow.  I followed but gingerly carried my wine and camera up to catch her catching it!  Kelly came to Florence, Italy to study art about 10 years ago.  She soon realized she could learn more painting daily on the streets than copying the classical busts that were protocol at the academy.  The rest is history....

After several years she moved to Rome to live and work.  In addition to her daily plein air discipline she conducts "Sketch Rome" tours, teaches and collaborates on myriad other art projects.

We didn't paint 24/7 however, because breakfast coffee was a must no matter where we found ourselves....above is our favorite coffee setting overlooking the fisherman's harbour from a hotel we stayed at in Procida.  Of course we discussed the light.....but look at those rooftops and colors and lines and arial perspective......oh my!

Kelly loves her work and is happiest when painting but she is a fine teacher as well.  I have great appreciation that she recognizes we all have our own style and approach, "I'm not trying to teach you to paint exactly like I do," she begins, "I am here to help you apply some basic formulas to your own work." Nothing "basic" however about the depth of knowledge she shares.  Everything from mixing all the colors you"ll ever need from 3 tubes of paint to the principals of perspective. 

Kelly engaged us in a number of exercises which I greatly enjoyed.  Many of us lack the discipline to do the daily work that really advances us, so this rang my chimes. Here she is moderating a critique of our work....mine on the hot seat here!  I'm not thin skinned but I will always be grateful that she commented on how most of my work, even the timed exercises, seemed to offer a story in them....something I have tried to do since the day I picked up a brush.  Of course her noting this, unprompted, makes her brilliant in my mind!!

We later crawled around Rome sketching in the various parks and looking for new angles to paint.

Kelly has made me want to work on my watercolor sketching more, it is a different ballgame than oil but has such portability that I will enjoy honing my skills.  If I need inspiration I only need look at the photo above done in a park before we indulged in a birthday lunch and bottle of wine.  Further nudges will come from the jewel below.  A tiny little sketch I loved and then found in my card as a precious gift from a sweet friend, a valued teacher and a fine plein air painter.  Lots of grand memories!

P.S.  I would be remiss to let you think this piece is as blue as it appears....blame my camera and my lack of technology on an iPad.  You can see more of her work and sign up to get notices of new work at her website, www.kellymedford.com.  I know Kelly would love to hear from you.  If you are in love with Italy keep in mind that she does commissions and visits the U.S. in the winter.  

Ciao Italy and ciao Kelly!

Villa Poggiolame of Arte Umbria

It's nap time (Italians don't call it a siesta) so I have a few minutes to show you the villa where I am happily ensconced this week. 

This is the back side, above. You can see the studio entrance thru the glass doors. The terrace is above and the upper window on the right is my bedroom. 

Here is a little view of my space. So lovely. Every room of course is different. I have taken wrong turns many times going from my room to the dining room or salon. Lots of long halls and many turns, all distinguished by large wooden doors which are kept closed and, to me, directionally challenged as I am, all look alike. 

I took a little walk about this morning before breakfast and caught some distance views before the rain moved in. 

I didn't need to speak italian to figure out what these signs read!

This is where our eggs come from. 

Here are the trees that are responsible for all the olive oil we are consuming as well as another view of the villa. 

I found this tree house on the property and was ready to skip class in favor of dragging up a book and pretending to be a child again. The dark clouds and approaching storms, plus a body ready for coffee, squashed that idea however. 

Rain has changed some of our plans. Obviously long range views of landscapes are not too practical. Kelly is punting well however. This morning I experimented with several others on interior landscapes. We used watercolor so as not to leave our marks and that was a huge challenge for me.

Here are my first three attempts at the same scene. There is something decent about each but no one that is error free. No worries, I have it sketched for one more pass after naps... Hopefully I can take all the right parts and get them into one piece!

More later, gotta get a rest-up, dinner out tonight and these Italians dine late!

Ciao,

Cindy

Just another day in paradiso!

It's like a buffet: the sights, the sounds, and the smells...my senses are over-fed and yet constantly hungering just the same.  I'm not used to trying to get it all down on paper while still digesting and sorting it all out.  Processing will come later, at a more leisurely pace, time to sit and ponder all I am tasting for the first time.  Then, and only then will I be able to make artistic music with the notes I am trying desperately to capture quickly here.  Meanwhile, odds and ends from the road:

Cappuccino and water colors, perched on a wall over the beach...just me and the sea gulls...

The beach where scenes from "El Postino" was filmed.

My oil paints did not arrive (in my checked and thus lost luggage) so I was using my tiny travel water colors....

Can't wait to paint that sky....

Simplifying....trying to anyway, back side of the church....

Colorful waterfront at the fisherman's marina.....

Enough for one day...time for a vino!

Ciao, ciao,

Cindy

Naked Artist? Painting when the luggage goes astray.......

All packed and ready to go!  Here I am at the orlando airport ready to begin my painting trip to Italy.  Minimal clothes and painting supplies are in my backpack...take a good look and let me know if you see it anywhere....it has not yet joined me in either Naples or the island of Procida.  Depending on who I speak to it is either still in Atlanta, visiting Paris or somewhere on the island.  Who knows....burning daylight so Kelly and I decide to get with the painting!

After several days in Naples (where I picked up a few necessities) we took the ferry to the island of Procida.  Thank goodness I had thrown my travel watercolor set into my purse before leaving Florida.  It was not what I came to do but I decided If I had to draw on paper towels, darn it, I would not leave without some art making under my belt.

Procida has gorgeous scenery all over the island.  Since it it small and built on a very steep hill, we could find great views all over.  This is from an evening scouting trip before dinner down at the port.

Here's Kelly from our apartment roof top painting a scene of Mount Vesuvius.  Didn't take me long to climb up and join her for an early morning warm up session.

Really, who is worried about lost luggage with a view like this?

A few warm up sketches and I was ready for a little lunch and a new venue.  We caught a bus (it seems there are two: one up and one down) and headed down to the waterfront where the ferries come in and the fishermen still head out for work.  One story regarding the brightly colored houses on the island is that it made it easy to the fishermen to spot their own home when coming back from sea.  

And I think you could easily pick out most any home you were looking for from the shoreline.

I learned something very important here, sounds obvious but...the boats do not stay still!  Most boats I have rendered have been from photos and it makes it fairly easy to line up landmarks and get a decent drawing.  I had forgotten that the water spins these beautiful subjects around and thus every time I looked up my hull had moved or the lines had tightened....something to make it exceptionally difficult!

I was not far from a gelato stand so when kelly announced she had scouted a new view I was all too eager to get a sweet and move along!

Here's my last scene of the day.  Not having earned my stripes as a "real plein air painter," I like to think of these sketches as studies for larger work to be done in the studio.  Just drawing it several times is a wonderful way to work out the composition as well as get familiar with the shapes.

By the time we found a little outdoor cafe for wine time the sun was dropping so this is a dark photo.  There is a lot wrong with this piece....but there is also a lot right.  Both lists will be enormously helpful when it comes time to review my photos and my sketches and turn this into a larger oil painting. 

Can't wait to get out tomorrow, there is always the excitement of trying something new and making new discoveries artistically, as well as uncovering some new, breathtaking scene.  Kelly has been amazingly patient in having to translate menus etc but has also provided some memorable art discussions and laughs: all part of the sport of plein air work.  Gotta get some shut eye-- we plan to get on the road early tomorrow, and who knows maybe, just maybe, my luggage will arrive and I will have my oil paints back in hand.  Ciao, ciao!

Cindy

Let's Be Unique

You R Unique

7 x 5 watercolor on paper and matted in white

for a standard 8 x 10 sized frame

$40 buy here

I know by blog-standards it appears that I have abandoned painting!  Our travels left me with a bad cold and my right shoulder is still not 100% so progress has been a little slow lately.  But I have many interesting pieces on the easel and I look forward to sharing them....they are huge by my standards.  Meanwhile I practiced a bit of drawing using some on-line photos posted specifically for artists to use.  The giraffe was only 8 days old when he had his photo made in an Australian zoo.  I decided to outfit him a la Lilly Pulitzer and had fun doing it.  Perfect for a little girl's room as a reminder that we are wonderful because of our differences...statement art, huh?

Need your input...

We are doing a bit of remodel/redecorating right now and have walls of art that will be reconfigured.  Some of these beautiful pieces will not make the cut.  Our tastes have changed, our spaces have changed, our interests have morphed.  None of these facts take away from the beauty of these original pieces we have collected over the years (I am not talking about art by me).  When you begin to curate your collection exactly what do you do with those you no longer wish to hang in your living space?

If you look at things with a financial eye I have no problem justifying that we got way more than $xxx amount of pleasure from these pieces, afterall, you don't love the same sofa for 25 years do you?  And we never buy art hoping to make money on it, altho several pieces have definitely increased in market value.  I am happy to gift pieces if I knew who wanted them; we are happy to donate pieces if we knew where they would be best utilized; and of course we would have no problem selling them if only we knew the best way to do so.

Have you ever dealt with this dilemma personally or helped someone who has?  Furniture is easy for me to part with, I take books to the library and things in between get recycled via a thrift store but art feels more personal to me; like I am responsible for finding it a "good home" where it will continue to be loved and respected.

If you have thoughts or suggestions please feel free to share them...I am ready to roll.

Promising art next week, I remain
Colorfully yours,
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 #22: Against All Odds

Because I just can't say no to a good road trip today's post has posed some challenges!  Painting was the easy part compared to photographing it (at 6 am with very little light) and putting it up ( with an iPad that decided it was tired...). Anyway, here it is:

From Lake Oconee, Ga I had the most gorgeous sunset photos...all blues and yellows and pinks, yum!  Everything else, being backlit, was reduced to dark outlines.  Again, I am seeing this much larger with some wonderful colors in the dark areas as well.  Doing these left handed daily studies is showing me the importance of working out some important aspects of a composition before moving to a full size canvas.

I'll repost this soon with size details and a better photo.  The road trip? Yesterday and today I skipped out to Orlando, Fl: a day with Mom and a quick visit to a friend to warm her new house.  Fun, but didn't want to miss my 30/30 challenge.

Quick hand report: the right shoulder is healing very well and while there is no shoulder movement per se, my right hand is stronger and just itching to get back to work.  It is really funny seeing how it has such a mind of its own: picking up brushes subconsciously, kneading the eraser between uses and in all ways trying to get involved in this left handed challenge.  But my left hand is feeling confident now and determined not to left the dominate get involved for the duration of the challenge.  There's a story in this......

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