Wednesday, April 1, 2015

March Madness with oils, yarn and wood

      School is over, but I am cheered to be painting in oils again rather than acrylics. I changed models and Joe was the victim. Also, I worked on and added to some of the self portraits (last blog) and did a painting that only the children, their mother and I like. I wanted to paint them in front of the stage set of our house which they love, but it was too saccharine. So,  I added above the house, part of Rousseau's The War to suggest the troubled times that hover over the world. Nothing connected or was unifying, so I took fence, windows and flowers from Rousseau's other paintings, but I couldn't paint the children in his naif style. An art teacher once said that if you try to paint in another's style, it won't work the same, because you will miss some elements that unify, make it original and fresh. Click photos to enlarge.


       For a break, Joe and I headed to NYC and ended up looking at a lot of contemporary art. What variety! I won't say "anything goes," but the thought is liberating. In the car on the drive home, I crocheted a Ninja, brontosaurus or alligator scarf for David. He had asked, "Linlin, will you make me a scarf?" when he saw my knitting the girls one. He will never use it, probably, but I stitched 2 1/2 feet from NYC to Boston. It was hard to get back to crocheting, but I kept trying and now I am fast. I was interested to see the pattern the yarn made. I tried knitting it, but the crochet made a better design.

        On return home, Joe cut back panels for the 1/4 inch plywood tile squares Beth cut for and corralled the children at the elementary school to paint for a fund raiser. Joe sanded the edges and glued them on the birch panels and evened the sides with his power saw. He varnished with polyurethane and added hangers. The class offerings will be auctioned.

      At the same time,  I took up Kathryn's new beginning art class charge to use cad red, cad yellow, ultramarine blue and black and white to paint gradations of these colors. That was fun, but I realized that the turpentine from my earlier painting life seemed a bit toxic. I did some research and think that Gamblin has made some healthy offerings for painters these days. They list these at their website re "studio safety." I will use more brushes in the future and try Gamsol. I am looking forward to making 8 or 9 blocks for Katie's quilt for Project Hope, a children's book theme, all after Easter this weekend.
Spring brings new life :*) Thanks for dropping by!




10 comments:

  1. Love the painting of Joe reading the paper! Perfect! And, I love the tiles! Enjoy this Easter weekend with your family!

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  2. I love the Joe painting, too. And why do you think no one but you and the children and their mother like the one of the kids? I love it. The tiles are great as well. You have been the very productive busy artist bee lately!

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  3. I am so impressed with the way you and Joe blend. Sometime, I want to hear how you first met and everything, as you are perfect together. You two remind me of how Scott and I mesh...It's way beyond just luck. Thanks for sharing, dearest Linda. Love U

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  4. Hi Linda,
    I love your blog post. You have been so productive this snowy winter. The two paintings are awesome.
    Elana

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  5. I LOVE the painting of your house with the grands in front. It looks like the beginning of a style that suits you very well! DJ

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  6. Beautiful Linda. I love the painting of your husband Joe, and really love the grandchildren in front of your house. Brillant!

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  7. Wow! So much interesting info in this post - Joe, with avian attendants, reading the paper, grandkids in a narrative painting, their artwork too, and lots about your approach and technique, with practical link - fabulous! -Ellen

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  8. Gail S Combs This is super. Thanks for putting it on so we can enjoy your wonderful work

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  9. Larry Sullivan You continue to inspire me Linda. So much going on in this.

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  10. I love these paintings- LOVE THEM! SORRY iIDIDN'T GET TO THIS GREAT BLOG SOONER.

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