What Matters Next

Color Burst watercolor 12x9"

Last thursday was TEDxNASA at Newport News, VA which I attended- thanks to good friends who helped us get the tickets. It was  such an inspiration to hear speaker after speaker with all the wonderful ideas. I came back charged with enthusiasm and motivation.  But, having not painted for close to a month because of trips, Deepavali Celebrations, mundane catch-ups, etc.. I realized my painting muscle memory was missing! This is my third attempt at painting the same flower in one day - the flower that had graced our garden this summer and gave me so much pleasure.  I was frustrated by the difficulty I was having in moving paint. The montval paper I usually enjoy painting on was not behaving in its usual way - I found the paper tearing very easily. I am wondering if it is the temperature fluctuations in my over the garage studio or if I had purchased a bad lot.  At the end of the day I was glad to have persevered and put in a few solid hours of playing with my brushes, paint and water. In a way, the theme of the TEDxNASA - 'What matters Next'  seemed to  resonate- what matters is that I keep painting, sketching and doing art :) 

Magical Beauty

Rainbow Sendoff  Digital Photography

Flight delays were worth it when I looked out the window soon after settling in my seat - double rainbows actually - and I was able to capture at least one by the time I fished out my camera.  I love the   image with the blurry colors and shapes and the rain drops on the window pane. 

I have been home for a week now,  enjoying the trip all over again going through the hundreds of photographs. As I was looking at the pictures, I was reminded of artist and photographer Vik Muniz's words in a New York Times article Where Art Meets Trash and Transforms Life I had just read couple of days ago : "The real magical things are the ones that happen right in front of you. A lot of time you keep looking for beauty, but it is already there. And if you look with a bit more intention, you see it." Vik Muniz's exceptional creativity, art and photography are legendary. The article talked about his newest project "Pictures of Garbage" series -monumental photographic portraits made from trash, and a documentary "Waste Land" about making of the series- -a collaboration with the garbage pickers of Jardim Gramacho, a 321 acre open-air dump outside Rio that is one of the largest landfills in Latin America. I am very touched to know that he has devoted his time and money to non-profits that provide education and job training for street children and was recently honored as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. A clip of the the documentary in the NYT website shows the scale and  the unusual and surprising materials he uses to make the portraits. It was International Artists Day on Oct 25 (Picasso's B'day), and  I celebrate it by giving a shout out to artist Vik Muniz.  

Art Surprises

Partial view of Bellagio, Las Vegas  3.5"x11"

Waiting for the spectacular water fountain show in front of Bellagio I sketched the wings of the massive hotel/casino building from across the body of water.  I have a small sketch book  (3.5x5.5" )which easily fits into my purse and is handy for fast little sketches, even though, as I recently discovered, it  is difficult to photograph. Still, I love it because I tend to pull the book out more often as I find myself getting a little bolder about sketching in public. Next step is to equip myself with a small watercolor field kit and try my hand at doing small studies -until then I will happily play with my camera :) The Bellagio also has a beautiful glass ceiling installation by the artist Dale Chihuly in their lobby and a chandelier in the casino area. I also saw an exhibit  there : 'Figuratively Speaking: A survey of the human form'  showcasing about 30 paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture by artists from 1800 to present day. I enjoyed  the unexpected opportunity to see the works of Picasso, Renoir, Degas, Hockney, Lichenstein, Chuck Close, and others. 

Closer to home, I have two color pencil pieces - Hot Shadows and Reflections in the 'Small Works : Miniatures by Hampton Roads Artists' at the Charles Taylor Arts Center/The Hampton Arts Commission, Hampton, VA.  The opening yesterday was fun and the show will run through Dec. 5.    

Gambling Life

Casino sketches 

Rather than play and gamble at the casinos in Las Vegas, I sat just outside the halls and spent a little time sketching the slot machines etc and as usual clicked away merrily with my camera. May be,  if I wasn't so terribly allergic to cigarette smoke and perfumes, I might have spent more time and money inside the casinos:), but this gave me a chance to wander around the strip with my camera outdoors. It was my first visit to the amazingly surreal city where it is a fine line between what is real and make-believe; where Italy, Paris, New York and Treasure Island all are right next to each other; where Michael Jackson, Wonder Woman, Elvis and space aliens roam the streets making you wonder if you are in a dream!!!. We enjoyed a couple of  amazing and excellent shows - La Reve and  The Jersey Boys. My body being in Eastern Standard Time, woke up every morning to breathtaking view of desert sunrise and distant mountains in the background and I had to make an effort to stay past 8PM there to see the city-lights and life at night :). I could see the truth in Artie Lange's  quote: " Vegas means comedy, tragedy, happiness and sadness all at the same time."  

Determination and Perseverance

Chicago Maraton Runners  Digital photography

I remember reading a running poster that proclaimed " The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running." (google search said it is by Nike). That was true this past Sunday in Chicago, as the temperatures soared to 90F during the marathon. Once again, I am extremely proud and in awe of my son and daughter-in-law, who despite the unseasonably hot day, ran and completed their second marathon! They ran, and we cheered - cutting across to various points along the course to catch up with them - at one point even taking a cab to beat them to the 21 mile marker :) - and of course, took too many photographs! 

Shadow Ladders

Shadow ladder  digital photography

Between the idea 

And the reality

Between the motion 

And the act 

Falls the shadow 

-T. S. Eliot

Vibrations in the Soul

Vibrations in the Soul watercolor 12x9"

"Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul. " -Wassily Kandinsky

Recently I read about Kandisky and loved what he had to say about color, art and music. Kandinsky felt  "music is the ultimate teacher" and  thought of art and colors in musical terms calling his paintings "improvisations" and "compositions." He said he heard chords and tones as he painted colors - a condition known as synesthesia.  For him "color yellow was middle C on the piano or a brassy trumpet blast; black is the color of closure, end of things.." and "white acts like a deep and absolute silence full of possibilities." 

There is a fascinating article in Discover magazine from some time ago that asks "Are We all Synesthetes? - Hear a painting, taste a symphony, and smell a color - is that what we do subconciously?"  I like that :) 

During the summer, I attended a concert where the musicians were making music under a tent on a very bright beautiful day. I could only see the musicians near the edge of the tent and catch glints of sunshine on the instruments deeper inside.  "Vibrations of the soul"  was painted with memories from that day. 

Right Brain, Left Brain

watercolor on 140lb cp 9x12"

watercolor on Yupo  7x11"

I often switch between left brain and right brain ways when I plan and paint trying to find order as well as spontaneity. In that vein, I did a side by side comparison of watercolor on cold press and Yupo.  Layering paint is fun on cold press where as it is very difficult and slow process to layer on Yupo. The colors dry lighter on cold press and hues are pure and brilliant on yupo. It is very easy to take off paint from yupo since it is a non-absorbant surface. I washed the paints off three times before I settled on this Yupo version (half heartedly). On cold press, it is crucial to plan and save the whites early on.  The slick surface of Yupo requires different techniques than the regular watercolor paper. I discovered erasing on yupo paper makes it harder for the paint to adhere.  Another difference is yupo needs to be on a flat surface while painting since the paint moves freely-which also means that one can tilt the paper to get different mixes and effects. I have to use thick paint with little water to have definite detailed shapes on yupo and spraying with water mist gives it wonderful textures. For other kinds of texture I have also tried laying balled up plastic wrap or blotting paper towel on wet paint.  Removing or adding paint by using stencils, cheese cloth, gives beautiful shapes.  I can see myself continue my experiments and playing around with resists etc.  :)

Deconstructing and reconstructing art work is a preoccupation for me as I try to figure out the artistic and technical aspects to help me with creations. I happened upon this quirky TED video of Ursus Wehrli sharing his version of  cleaner, more organized 'tidier art' in a very funny unconventional way :) Enjoy a different take on creativity :) 

Each to Her Passion

Pandora Sphinx Moth digital photograph

A few mornings ago I found this beautiful moth on the our front porch wall when I went out to get the paper.  I had never seen anything like it before and watched it mesmerized. I then ran inside to grab my camera hoping it will still be there when I got back.  I loved the combination of olive green and the pink and the beautiful delicate markings.  Googling moths, I discovered its name and information. The adults feed on nectar and prefer flowers that open at night and are sometimes seen on petunias. That explained the moths presence - there was a basket of petunias by the door :).  Apparently the larvae feed on grape leaves and virginia creepers --and we do have virginia creepers in our yard. Their  coloration is  so much like camouflage military fatigues that I am sure its very easy to not 'see' these in the garden. In fact I think their shape resembles one of those military aircrafts too!  The scientific name is Eumorpha pandorus and  whatsthatbug.com  informed me  that 'eumorpha' in Greek means 'fair of form' and the species name pandorus means 'giving all' or 'given all.'  Apparently the larvae look like sphinx  -now I am really curious - I will have to look harder in the garden.  As artists, I think our obsessions, compulsions and how much time and energy we devote to art, seems to have something in common with the moths, as expressed by Helen Hunt Jackson:

Bee to blossom,

Moth to flame,

Each to his passion. 

Reflections

Reflections color pencils 4x4"

I have been planning and sketching. I discovered those sketches don't show well in photographs.  Fortunately I still have a couple more finished pieces from way back when -except they are under glass, framed and sealed :( These wooden spoons and tin mugs with reflections caught my eye in Colonial Williamsburg 'market place' many years ago and I tried them out in color pencils on tinted paper. It is a small piece framed and under glass-too well sealed- which once again I had difficulty photographing.  I welcome any suggestions, tips and tricks from fellow artists - what are your experiences and solutions for photographing issues?

I came across a very interesting story in the blog  "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin.  She calls the story a Koan on creativity and credits it to Arthur Koestler's book  "the Art of Creativity' :  " An art dealer (this story is authentic) bought a canvas signed "Picasso" and traveled all the way to Cannes to discover whether it was genuine. Picasso was working in his studio. He cast a single look at the canvas and said:"its a fake." A few months later the dealer bought another canvas signed Picasso. Again he travelled to Cannes and again Picasso, after a single glance, grunted "Its a fake"   "But cher maitre" expostulated the dealer, "it so happens that I saw you with my own eyes working on this very picture several years ago"  Picasso shrugged: "I often paint fakes"

Gretchen's comments in that blog really resonated with me. She asks- "Do you know this feeling, feeling of painting your own fake?"  I always worry about painting pieces that don't quite feel authentic or that I did not perhaps give my best.  Now I know the perfect answer for those doubts :).  Of course, that question will be included in the ones I often ask as I evaluate my finished painting.  I am also eager to  read Koestler's book "the Art of Creativity"