Coffee and Paint Drips

One Down, the Next is Coming up!

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bountiful ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
15x20 Watercolor, Canson 140lb cold press paper

This painting is finished. I may have to take another photograph as I think it could look a little better. The light seems to have washed out some color on the left side. I'll try it again another day. Right now I am thrilled it's done.

Moving along now onto the next work. Something is clicking and keeping me in it. Who knows what tomorrow will be like. For right now I have plans. I have ideas. I have supplies. I have references for work. I think I can feel a series coming on. And it feels really good.

The Blast Off class is over, but the learning continues on. This week I will be working in another class with Alyson B. Stanfield called Cultivate Collectors. I like the word "cultivate." It reminds me of things that are growing.

Things are growing alright.

Photo of Painting for Friday

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Moving right along

And we're off! I had the day, the time, the motivation, the set up, and the materials! Yay for me!

You know, sometimes you get those days that just click, things happen, mostly the right things. As the day opened up I decided to pull out my new plan and schedule from the Blast Off class and keep going.

I felt good after hearing that another artist uses their morning for house/errands and the afternoon for painting, the evenings for family/whatever. I liked that. I'm a morning person anyway, but I don't necessarily need to paint at that time. If things need doing I can comply in the A.M. and have the house neat so my brain is clear to paint in the P.M.

Perfect!

I ran my errands, visited the art supply shop and purchased the largest Arches watercolor block made, on sale! I added to my brush collection, also on sale. I picked up a tube of Holbein. You said it, on sale. I asked about oil painting mediums for the future. Then I ran home.

After lunch, on schedule, I went to the studio to keep working on this latest painting. I thought about it all night and painted it in my head. I knew what I wanted to do when I came to the studio.

Things are looking up.

Thought for Thursday

2012-02-09T09:06:00.001-05:00

"You should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is.....unless it kills you, and then you know you have gone too far." Alice Neel

On to the Next Step

2012-02-08T14:22:00.000-05:00

The next step

*Note: For some reason this entire post, including my photograph, was deleted! It wasn't me either!

And it was such a good post, too.

I was discussing how I've been fairing with the Blast Off class over, motivation high, resistance low and churning out this latest still life watercolor painting. This one is on larger paper than I was using and is going to take a little more time to finish.

Now I remember, since seeing the comments, that I was thinking about painting in oils again, but not so sure I want to inhale the fumes that turpentine, varnishes, linseed oils emit without going to all the trouble of trying to ventilate a basement studio properly.

Anyway, that's all I remember. Use your imagination.

Beginning Another Work

2012-02-07T09:23:00.000-05:00

With the Blast Off class over, affirmations in place, and a plan in hand, I began a new painting. The last thing I needed to do was listen to a phone interview by Alyson B. Stanfield with the author Eric Maisel, on his interesting book, Ten Zen Seconds.

I chose one of the last photos I took of the vegetable share haul and spent a good amount of time sketching in the subjects. The paper is one of the large sheets of Canson watercolor paper I bought a while ago. Yes, I know, it's not Arches, but it will have to do for now.

Since I wanted to get the proportions right, I made a grid with pencil lines and lightly drew in the items. I wanted to try out the new Isabey brush I purchased to see how it would work. It's a size 12, large sable hair brush and it holds alot of water, if that's a good thing.

While I painted I listened to the interview and many of the things discussed resonated with me. Maisel talked about his work with artists and the overwhelm they encounter while trying to work, getting the work out there, promoting and talking about their work. It's so interesting in that it's the truth. Where to start? How to do it?

The anxiety of it all causes some of us to freeze. I know that well. Ever hear the phrase "When in doubt, don't"? That's what happens. If we don't know what to do, we do nothing. Well, Maisel said that overwhelm can be helped by saying certain affirmations that he called incantations, together with deep breathing. Zen. He explained that after doing the exercise, artists find they can continue.

It makes plenty of sense. I think I'm need to get his book from the library after listening to this interview.

As I listened I painted. After the 30 minute interview was over, I kept on painting. I must have worked for 2 hours, slowly playing with the new brush and the paints.

Usually I'm done at 20 minutes, but this is large paper. It took some time. And I could wreck my work if I'm not careful. So when I saw the time I stopped and took this photo.

The process is still the focus. Another 100 paintings challenge is on the horizon so I have to make it count and work the time schedule. The Blast Off class and all the resources I have from it will help push my agenda.

Let's see how it goes.

Coming Down After Blasting Off

2012-02-03T16:47:00.000-05:00

The Blast Off class is finished today, but not the work. The work continues. And if there is any success at all it's because I worked the work. Yeah, working the work is where it all works.

There's something to be said for having a coach, discussing the possibilities, and getting guidance. Making my time really count was something I never really thought about. Having a schedule of the day, the week, and the year makes sense.

In the days ahead I want to revisit all the lessons and chose the ones that I need to take more from. I still have work to do.

I was tolerating an uncomfortable studio space and tweaked it until it felt cozier, but I still didn't enjoy painting there. The dining room table was much nicer, until I realized I liked it because it was at a different height than my art table. Bingo! I changed the height and it's nicer. Next up is that stupid overhead light that keeps going out. It must get fixed next week. I get glare from the table lamp on my watercolors when I paint.

Affirmations are up on the wall where I can see them. The vision board isn't ready yet. However, I have a plan. A working plan.

As a result of all this class work, the next painting is taking shape. The daily schedule will work.

It's a must. "If it is to be, it is up to me."

Thought for Thursday

2012-02-02T09:50:00.001-05:00

"Talent is so loaded a word, so full to the brim with meanings, that an artist might be wise to forget about it altogether and just keep on working.” –- Eric Maisel, creativity coach

From #1 to #56 in One Year

2012-01-31T14:00:00.000-05:00

What's Left of Fall ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

Last year I posted this watercolor still life of rocks, a favorite shell and leaves I kept in my copy of the Artist's Way as one of the tasks of abundance. They served me very well at the time. I was already painting twenty minute works. When I decided to join in the 100 Paintings Challenge this was #1.

Four Shells with Rock ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

This watercolor painting with more of my favorite broken shells and rocks is #56 in the challenge. It will seem as if these items were the only subjects I painted, but that would be the wrong assumption.

Plenty of challenges were met in between these two paintings.

This weekend I also had time to go through all 56 paintings I did this year. Some works were twenty minute pieces. Others took a couple of days to complete. How I used the medium seems to me to be tighter on this last work than the first. My handling of watercolor evolved to where I'm more at ease with it. I learned a lot and still have far to go.

The 56 works evolved into different series of pieces, mostly still life work in watercolor. When I looked at each painting I could relive the past year. I can remember my days with every work, how I felt, what I was thinking, where I was and how I got myself to paint. It was a moment in time. A lesson of life.

Feel free to drop in some comments.

The Finish Line, or Not

2012-01-30T11:46:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend in reflection. January 31 was my first post to the 100 Paintings Challenge. A year ago I found out I could paint finished work in twenty minutes and I would post my paintings to the Twenty Minute Challenge. That's where I found out about 100 Paintings.

Well, I will not make it to the required 100 pieces of art in this year. There is always next year to try my best. What else can I say? As of today I painted 56 watercolor paintings, with a few pen and ink drawings thrown in that mix to keep at it.

In my opinion, I accomplished plenty. As I said in another post, I am good for another go. See what happens this time.

Yesterday I went into the studio to survey my space. What is it that keeps me from doing better work there than at the dining room table? For one thing, the dining room table is lower than my drawing board allowing me to stand while I paint. I can move around, look at my work from a distance, keep some energy going. The drawing board is high and I can't get away from it. Need to change it.

The dining room table has great north facing light, the studio is in the basement. Can't do much about that, but make sure I have good light in the studio.

Most paintings took twenty minutes or so to complete. The larger works took a couple of days of work, and then I was a slacker some days. And I was working in the dining room because I needed to be near my granddaughter while she napped. A year later she's not napping much, so there goes that.

Then I was also battling with Mr. Resistance. It's been easier to beat the demon after all the work I've been doing since the Artist's Way, Alyson Stanfield's book and workshops, and my own lazy brain.

So I will forgive myself for not painting the requisite 100 works. It's okay. I'm not looking to excuse myself because I did agree to the challenge, just didn't pass the finish line on time.

We are all a work in progress. The Blast Off class I am taking online with Alyson is a huge help and I am working on my curriculum for the year ahead.

Painting will be regularly scheduled on the calendar of to-do list items at #1.
Reading artists bios, looking into documentaries of artists and museum visits is on the item list.

I'm already reading this great biography of Vincent van Gogh and it's been very interesting to learn how he came to paint.

And there's been knitting. Knitting socks at that. While I knit I daydream as I watch the stitches or color fly by on my needles. As I watch my brain is planning the next painting.

Not a bad start to another year of paintings. Wish me luck, again!

Friday Photos of Paintings

2012-01-27T08:25:00.000-05:00

Three Friends ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

Last year around this time I signed on to the 100 Paintings Challenge. I wanted to do a few things by trying to paint 100 paintings in one year: build a body of work, learn how to use watercolor paints better, see subjects with a keener eye, push myself to paint regularly. And maybe sell a few works.

Shells with Peach ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

The challenge has been wonderful in all of those ways, except I will not meet the deadline with 100 pieces of work. Nope. Not gonna happen. Not this year anyway.

Four Shells with Rock ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

On the plus side, I have met most of my goals, and even sold a few paintings. So I consider the year a win. I am up for round 2. As soon as my deadline arrives I am committing to another go around.

I am grateful for the opportunities I found this year and I'm looking forward to better things ahead.

Thought for Thursday

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

“Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement."
Alice Koller

Grateful Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Quick Self Portrait Can be Scary

2012-01-22T16:33:00.000-05:00

Free Outside ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor on Arches

Last week I wanted to paint something quick so I made a print of my photograph and hurriedly sketched this self portrait on a small block of Arches watercolor paper. Seeing these photos together helps me to see how squishy I drew my head, my eye isn't looking in the same direction, and it's too wide open. Scary.

On the trail at the museum visit

Drawing while sitting isn't a smart thing to do. I end up with weird perspective. Would have been better if I stood up so I could see what I was doing. I made my head too long and the angle is wrong, but hey, it's the process! This painting is an elongated me. The product was not the goal, it was to just work.

Since I figured out that my year of 100 paintings is coming to a close next week or so, I've been trying to paint more twenty minutes pieces. Each of my affirmation cards for the Blast Off class count as a painting, right? Add this one and I was up to #53. Still, not getting near 100. Why not just go ahead and paint anything? I might do this again on larger paper to get the proportions right. Hope I don't scare myself.

It's okay to take liberties in art. Does it really matter if the likeness is exact? Don't think it is. The way Picasso painted his subjects nobody could really look like any of his abstract figures. So I can make believe this is a kind of abstract. Yeah, that sounds good.

Process people! Move it. Paint. Work. Try. Try it again.

Photos for Friday

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

On my artist date at the Nassau County Museum of Art to see the Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibit, I just had to take a short walk on one of the trails. I thought I could see a body of water beyond the trees and I had to try to see it. If you look at the first photo, you can barely see Long Island Sound beyond the trees. Read the small sign at the bottom of the name of the trail. Interesting? Scary!

Thought for Thursday

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

“I can't change the fact that my paintings don't sell. But the time will come when people will recognize that they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture.”~Vincent van Gogh(Dutch Painter, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, 1853-1890)

Pinning Down Affirmations

2012-01-17T19:51:00.003-05:00

Creating a set of affirmations for the Blast Off class was a difficult task for me to start doing. Yes, in my Morning Pages I tell myself all kinds of things, not all are positive affirmations. Some times I say You Jerk, why'd you do THAT?

Trying to come up with affirmations that didn't make me feel dopey and making cards to look at daily was causing me some resistance. Since beginning this course I think the classes, the readings, and the audios are kicking in. Today I had the time (made the time) and for some reason, felt the urge to jump in and do it.

I chose these four thoughts, something simple and do-able. I decided to try out the free paper I just got at the art supply shop this weekend. (Hmmm, abundance coming my way?)

First I wrote out my phrases in pencil then I played with the watercolors, thinking up designs as I read each card. The things I painted are the things I love looking at for my still life's. I think they make sense to me.

Will reading these help me move ahead? Maybe. I'm trying my best to keep resistance at the door so I can stay in the game. One step at a time.

What? Everyone Loves Free Stuff

2012-01-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I planned to take a short break while I still was semi free and visit the nearest art supply shop. There are two in my area and both were having sales. One shop sent me a great coupon to take off 40% on a non-sale item. That is huge.

My little artist date started at the office supply store for some stuff I needed to continue working in the Blast Off class. Then I moved on to Dick Blick art supply. I purchased a nice large block of Arches watercolor paper on sale. I needed watercolor paint and chose yellow ochre from Windsor&Newton. Dick Blick didn't carry MamieriBlu which I've been using. Fine.

Afterwards I drove over to Utrecht where the Arches was also on sale, same price. Ok. I found MamieriBlu paints there and bought permanent green light. Sale! I decided I liked the brush selection at Dick Blick better, so that's for another day.

At the register the manager was fussing with some large sheets of heavy weight paper as I was paying for my paint. He turned to me and asked if I knew what the paper was, because he had no clue and no paperwork for it. What did I know? Was it bristol board? Was it watercolor paper? No idea here.

Then he said, Why don't you just take it?

Who? Me?

Yes! Happy New Year to you!

I said, Why not? Hey, I will never refuse free paper. I don't know what it is, but it's all mine now.
Now if I can only get my butt in gear and use it.

Photo on Friday

2012-01-13T16:09:00.000-05:00

Shell, Pepper, Pot ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches paper

There was just enough time to squeeze out this painting yesterday. Just enough time to throw these items together and just paint them. I want to say it took twenty minutes, but I really can't be that sure. Maybe it was a smidge more? Not positive. I didn't put the timer on.

None the less, I painted. And there just was no time in the day to do any more.

Thought for Thursday

2012-01-12T11:14:00.001-05:00

"Motivation requires motive." ~ Brian Tracy, author of Eat That Frog(I'm going to have to read this book now!)

Blasting Off

2012-01-11T13:08:00.000-05:00

You know me, I'm so last minute all the time. Well, true to form, I decided, at the last minute once again, to take a class in self promotion, process, progress, organization, all in the name of art.

Yes, I said Yes, again.

Alyson B. Standfield of the Art Biz Coach/Blog regularly holds online classes in various matters pertaining to artists and their work/business. This class is called Blast Off! and that's just what I need right now. A little guidance can go a long way. It's not hand-holding either. You have to do the work to succeed. No one can do it for you.

I'm all strapped in and ready to Blast Off. Wish me luck!

Quality Supplies Makes Quality Work

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Shells ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches paper

Sunflower Petals ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches paper

Rocks ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Strathmore paper

One day last week I was determined to keep at the painting schedule. Twenty minutes per painting and if I pushed myself I could do a few, one after another. Inspiration was running low, the shells and pebbles have been painted over and over, no new sunflowers around either. But after my artist date I had a bit of motivation so I gathered my stuff and went at it.

Shells, rocks, pebbles were thrown on my table and I just painted what I saw. Next! I decided to crop one of the sunflower photos are paint that view. Great! Then I went for an even quicker sketch of the shells and pebbles. I used paper that I had cut from larger sheets to make these smaller works, not realizing amid the Arches papers was a student grade of paper from a long while ago.

As I began sketching the last painting, as has become my style, the paint beaded up on the paper. The paper seemed to resist the watery paint. I had a hard time with that, and worked harder than I had been doing lately. Twenty minutes and I was not happy with the process of that last painting. Nope.

The moral of the story is to make sure to use quality equipment whenever possible. Taking short cuts is just not worth the trouble. I'll be careful of that at the next session.

Artist Date with Louis Comfort Tiffany

2012-01-08T16:43:00.000-05:00

Finally, I took a real Artist's Date. Between holidays I found myself with a free day and I had been waiting to visit the Tiffany exhibition of oil and watercolor paintings at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn, New York.

Not many people are aware that Louis Comfort Tiffany painted besides designing stained glass windows and lamps. It seems he traveled to the Middle East and Egypt and painted during his visits. His watercolors were my favorites.

The museum allowed photographs without flash so I took a few of the works I liked best.

I was especially struck by the way he painted highlights, paying special attention to the play of sunlight on objects. Some darker works popped with the dappled highlights, really giving his paintings life.

This watercolor painting was special to me for the beautiful color of the endless sky against the sandy foreground with the small figures as an afterthought. How evenly he applied the color to the sky area. I was impressed.

This is one of the pieces of glass work in the exhibit. The colors and design are reminiscent of Tiffany's travels from his paintings. The museum had large glass panels and paintings Tiffany did with the Hudson school of artists, which were nice, but I liked his paintings of the Orient much better.

It was inspirational, to say the least.

Thought for Thursday, on Friday Because I Forgot What Day it Was

2012-01-06T08:54:00.001-05:00

"When I'm painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It's only after a get acquainted period that I see what I've been about."~ Jackson Pollack

Working on Those Goals

2012-01-05T17:09:00.000-05:00

About those goals..yes, I am trying my best to work really hard toward them. I decided the best one I can start on is in the studio. If I make it pleasant, maybe I will enjoy working in it. Maybe is a big word.

It's a small space in my basement, but it's mine. On the other side that you can't see is a larger space we carved out for Son#1 and his musical instruments and other things. Now he has his own house and music space. So I confiscated some of it for me starting with the shelving.

I moved some posters around and hung more art I did in the past, moved my art books in and generally straightened up. That door leads to a closet I need to paint and put in flat files or shelves, but I dressed it up with a hand embroidered table covering from Cyprus I had. A bamboo folding screen I've had forever is blocking a crummy view of an unfinished area of the space. Who needs to see that?

Bead supplies, painting supplies, brushes, small sculptures and other stuff is arranged on and in the shelves. The table on the right is where I left out some bead stuff and ideas. Some things need to stay in view.

Today I treated myself to a real artist date at a museum nearby. In the afternoon I painted something small in the studio just to keep at it. The 100 Paintings Challenge is proving to be a real doozy. I figured out that I have only January to meet the challenge.

Will I make it?

Resolve to Reach Goals in the New Year

2012-01-02T14:19:00.000-05:00

The new year is well under way now. What do we think of resolutions? Do you make resolutions for the new year? Are they possible to keep anyway?

Some people love making resolutions, mostly in the form of losing weight or exercising more, things which we all should be conscious of anyway. I am not a fan of resolutions. Maybe a better word to use is "goals." Now I can get behind something that feels like I can reach for and attain it.

But don't we need to RESOLVE to find a way to reach our GOALS? Maybe that's a better suggestion. It makes me think of my process, as in HOW will I reach my goal? With what trick will I help myself move forward?

My brain hurts from all the thinking.

Last year I decided to try painting 100 paintings in the year with the goal of developing a painting habit, building a current body of work, and testing my skills in watercolor paints. I am at painting #44 in the challenge, not anywhere near 100 works. Okay, so I started the challenge a couple of months into the year. If I'm going to get there I need to step it up, pronto.

This year's goals are much the same as last year: Keep working at it. Push the process. Stay in the moment. Plan. Prepare. Paint. Cruise.

Hour by hour, day by day is the best I can hope to do. If I push myself too hard I end up backward into the wall. I want to gently guide my inner-child-artist forward. Paint almost every day, remember to take a short weekly Artist Date, keep calm and stop whining about not having enough time for everything.

There's plenty of time, and no time like the present. And time will march on without us if we let it.

Photo for Friday

2011-12-30T08:48:00.000-05:00

Thought for Thursday

2011-12-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

"I heard a definition once: Happiness is health and a short memory! I wish I'd invented it, because it is very true." ~Audrey Hepburn

Greetings of the Holiday

2011-12-23T16:59:00.001-05:00

Could it be that the shopping is finished and the cooking will begin? Beep! Time's up!

I want to thank each and every reader who has scanned my pages of thoughts through the year and I wish all of you peace, health, and happiness with family and friends during the coming holidays and the new year ahead. May it be a sweet time for all of us.

Thought for Thursday

2011-12-22T09:56:00.001-05:00

Lucy Van Pelt: I know how you feel about all this Christmas business, getting depressed and all that. It happens to me every year. I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that. Charlie Brown: What is it you want? Lucy Van Pelt: Real estate. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 Charles Schultz

Found: Some Time to Paint

2011-12-21T08:38:00.000-05:00

Winter Nest ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
10x14 Watercolor on Arches paper

With not much time to give to painting, I stole about 45 minutes from a busy day to paint this still life again. It's already out and available so it was a no brainer to just go to it. Yes, this one took a little longer to complete.

The method of painting quickly that I've managed to work out is keeping me in the game. The least amount of water possible doesn't saturate the paper allowing me to move on to another area of the work while the just painted area dries. Once dried I go back and add details. The pace moves fairly quickly.

Christmas is fast approaching and there are things that must get done. Painting is one of the things that just may not happen again for a little while. So the fact that I was able to squeeze it in is a big deal.

Photo for Friday - Time for a Small Watercolor Painting

2011-12-16T12:28:00.000-05:00

Winter Cardinal ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
8x10 Watercolor on Arches paper

No time to yap, I have shopping to do! No time to paint either, but I did find twenty minutes to paint this holiday type of still life. I was determined to get something, anything on paper this week. Next week is another story.

Do you see my little friends in this painting? I'm talking about my friends the apple and the beach shell. Just had to pop them in someplace here.

Happy shopping time now!

Thought for Thursday

2011-12-15T08:05:00.000-05:00

"Just slap anything on when you see a blank canvas staring you in the face like some imbecile. You don't know how paralyzing that is, that stare of the blank canvas, which says to the painter You can't do a thing. The canvas has an idiotic stare and mesmerizes some painters so much that they turn into idiots themselves. Many painters are afraid of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real, passionate painter who dares and who has broken the spell of "you can't" once and for all." ~ Vincent van Gogh

A Surprise Package of Christmas Pudding

2011-12-13T19:54:00.000-05:00

Last week I had a delightful surprise I wanted to share, but with the latest watercolor painting just finished I thought to wait until now. And anyway, I needed to actually have possession of the surprise so I could take photos and really share!

Today I received a package in the mail. Around this time of year lots of packages start arriving. Some are from online shopping I do, some are my kids' shopping. Usually I am not surprised by the mail. This time I was looking at an unexpected delivery. When I looked closer I noticed a stamp that read Royal Mail. It was then that I remembered!

A blogging/artist buddy from the United Kingdom, Pat Elliott Paintings, had a give-away on her blog recently. It was a small watercolor painting of Christmas pudding. Readers were encouraged to comment and one of them would be chosen to receive the pretty painting.

Her cute dog, Missy, chose my name as the winner by eating her dog treat, where underneath was a number corresponding to a name. Imagine my surprise when I learned I was the lucky winner! I never win anything. Isn't it cute that Pat's return address label has Missy's picture on it? It's adorable.

(You must visit Pat's blog to see her post with the photograph of Missy waiting for the go-ahead to eat a treat, and especially to view her paintings. Pat does wonderful work.)

Enclosed with the painting was a Christmas card. I think it's such a nice thing to receive mail. Mail that you must open and read is just a wonderful thing, warm and cozy, as long as it's happy mail. Email is not the same, but the times are what they are.

And so here is my prize. Until I get myself out there to get a frame my Christmas pudding painting will stand on my fireplace mantel with my holiday collection of St. Nicholas' and Santa's in it's place of honor.

Thank you Pat, for this bright spot in my day. I will now brag to everyone how I have a friend across the Pond who sent me holiday wishes with her lovely work. I am humbled by Christmas pudding.

Sunflower Painting is Finished, and What I Learned

2011-12-08T15:30:00.001-05:00

It's Friday and time to show you photos of the latest finished watercolor painting. I had some other fun news to share, but you will have to wait. Painting is happening and the sooner I get this one out of here the easier it will be to get the next one working and I will tell you what was so much fun.

First twenty minutes

There were a few things I learned while painting this work. Firstly, the height of my art table is too high. The dining room table is lower when I painted there, waist level while standing. This was not comfortable and I felt as if I couldn't get away from it by standing or sitting on a stool. It will need to be lowered if I'm going to paint there.

Secondly, the desk lamp is not natural even though I have a daylight bulb and an incandescent one. It's just way to bright and also too close to the work to gauge paint colors the way I wanted. I persevered.

Second twenty minutes

The third thing I learned is about the paper. After using Lanaquarelle, then Arches, I can tell the difference in quality. I bought this Canson tablet on sale, it was larger than I was using, and figured it'd come in handy when I was ready to work larger.

Also it's a pad, not a block, and if not affixed to a surface it curls and rolls when wet. The painting surface is not that great either, leaving weird brush strokes. Well, I guess it's okay if you want those brush strokes to show.

I'm using two different paint companies, MaimeriBlue and Windsor&Newton. When I painted a layer over an area previously painted, the layer beaded up. Was it the paint? Was it the paper? Or does that happen? I thought it was strange.

Blue Vase With Sunflowers ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
15x20 Watercolor on Canson paper

After I finished I took photographs while the work was still attached to the table. My problems were the same I had while painting: unnatural and too bright light, too close to get a good shot. I took the painting off the table, went to the dining room table and the nice northern exposure picture window to take a photo. See the difference? Washed out color in artificial light, more true to the paints in natural light.

The fourth thing I learned is that I'm getting comfortable using my photos to paint from. I don't want to get too cozy because then it'll take time to get back to painting from life.

I'll figure it out one of these days. In the meanwhile I'm still in the game.

Thoughts for Thursday

2011-12-08T08:10:00.001-05:00

“If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything.” ~Win Borden

Back to Painting the Sunflowers

2011-12-06T13:43:00.001-05:00

First twenty to thirty minute session

So yesterday's painting sale was fun. Now back to business. Back to the drawing table. The sunflowers await. Twenty to thirty minutes of painting time is all I allowed myself on the weekend. It was just enough to get something on the paper. Something is better than nothing. Yesterday was a bust.

On my Sunday session, while the painting dried, I played with my beads. That's always fun too. I had to get away or I would over do the work. Even if I use a timer, my brain just ignores it and I keep on going. Bad idea most times.

But then I can become distracted by so many other things that I never go back to the painting. I'm on a schedule here. I have 100 paintings to get done!

Today's twenty minute session

Today I was determined to get to it. Maybe someone can explain it to me, but while I am painting I really don't like what I see. Yeah, it's the process I keep telling myself, but shouldn't the end result be somewhat pleasing after all that? I'm not just mindlessly drawing in a coloring book, there should be real art at the end, right?

After I photograph the work for all of you to see, I am surprised by it. I don't dislike it. There are areas I need to push, but overall it looks better than I thought.

Let me know what you think.

Painting a Garden Gate

2011-12-05T10:40:00.001-05:00

Garden Gate 7x10 Watercolor on Canson paper
©2000 Dora Sislian Themelis

The post I planned for today was thrown out of the water when I awoke to find out a watercolor landscape painting in my Etsy shop sold over the weekend. Allow me to bask in my glory for a moment.

Honestly, I wasn't sure I would even get to paint on the latest work during the last few days. There was so much going on besides the usual running around. I've decided to change the color of the foyer of my house, and when is that going to happen? Why do I do these last minute things?

Anyway, I'll tell you what I did to the latest painting tomorrow. Right now I have a SALE! Yay for me!

In the beginning of my watercolor journey, after the horrible intro to watercolor class a while back, I was determined to push myself to learn. The paints I was using were student grade, and the paper wasn't much better. Besides, it was all new to me. What did I learn at that class? Nothing. Imagine my guts, taking myself to paint in watercolors en plein air? What was I thinking?

Well, I did ok. Watercolor painting is difficult enough and I had to be outside with it.

Near the end of that summer, I took my kids to Old Westbury Gardens and Mansion near my area. It's a beautiful Gold Coast of Long Island, NY mansion and formal gardens. The gardens alone are breath taking in size and variety of flowers. The house is so large I could put my house inside the living room.

The weather that day was beautiful and we really enjoyed roaming around. While my guys looked around the garden I sat in a spot by this garden wall with it's intricate wrought iron gate and tried to sketch the scene. I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked the outcome of this. At the time I really wanted to push myself to paint more, what did I know about process?

A few paintings are in the Etsy shop I have, along with the bead jewelry I make and some small knitted items. Etsy may not be the right venue for fine artwork, but until I get myself together with my own website, some items have a home there. Imagine my surprise when I saw a notice that I had a sale.

It's a small work, but it will make another someone happy. I'm already thrilled, once more.

Resistance to Painting is Ridiculous

2011-12-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

New painting

After a morning of errands, and plenty of procrastination, I kicked myself into gear after lunch to start working on a watercolor painting of the last of the sunflower photographs. I remembered I had a 15x20 pad of Canson watercolor paper and decided I didn't need to shop for paper after all. Not today.

The only thing about this paper is that it's loose sheets, not a block like I've been using. To work with sheets of watercolor paper I needed to tape it to a surface so that when it dries it lays flat.

There was no board this size to use as a surface so I taped it to my art table. You know what that means? It means I painted in my little studio. Can you tell I had the desk lamp on? It's not the best light, but it will have to do.

Today I had a plan. After a brief pencil sketch just to place the flower heads on the paper, I wanted to use only the brush strokes for the petals and leaves. I tried to use just enough water to put the paint where I wanted it to go, using color for the lights and shadows, without drawing them in pencil.

Other times when I pencil in my composition I indicate where the shadows should go. Not this time. The brush stroke was dominant and the color choices developed the shadows. Watercolor is a tricky medium. But I guess every medium has it's tricks. It's up to the artist to discover how to use them.

Twenty minutes was the allotted time, but I may have painted past that. I didn't use a timer today. When I felt I was too on top of this work, I stepped away to look over my table with jewelry supplies to distract myself. That was fun. More colors to look at, rather than ruin this painting with overwork.

When I said I kicked myself into gear, it was an understatement. There's no reason for me to put up road blocks. It's not laziness. It's not boredom. It is resistance. I dragged myself to paint, with the little inner-child-artist having a tantrum and holding her breath until she's blue.

It's so ridiculous.

Thought for Thursday

2011-12-01T09:03:00.001-05:00

"Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent." ~Ambrose Bierce

To Beat Resistance: The Timer Is My Friend

2011-11-30T08:37:00.001-05:00

Here is the last of the sunflower photographs I took during the vegetable share season. It's kind of Vincent van Gogh-ish. When I get a chance to buy larger watercolor paper I will be painting from this photo. Did you see I said "when." And "when" will that be?

I could see these sunflowers in oils, too. The oil paints have sat for so long I can't even think about getting them out and painting with them. Yeah, I know, I need a bit of time to look them over, set them up around the palette, but then there's the medium to deal with, a large enough canvas to work on. These are the distractions that stop me in my tracks.

Maybe I will do a small and quick twenty minute watercolor? Well, let's see where it goes.

These are the things I grapple with during my day. The road blocks are my own. Mr. Resistance can wreak havoc on plans.

Watercolor paints are so easy to get out, paint, clean up, and put away. The oils are out, the painting sits wet for days, the air needs to be well ventilated because of the chemicals in the paints and the medium. Unless I sketch quick with plenty of turpentine so the paints dry faster, this could take time.

Do people still use turpentine any more? That's how long I haven't painted in oils, don't tell on me.

Am I making excuses not to paint at all? Gee, let's see: no watercolor paper large enough, the oils are a pain, I might not have enough time to paint. Sound familiar? Resistance is stepping out into view here.

Now we are on the verge of December, and all that comes with the holidays. How can painting be a priority if there are so many other things to get done?

The thought running through my head right now is this: The timer is my friend. The timer is my friend.

No Thanksgiving Hype, Great

2011-11-28T09:47:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is one holiday that really doesn't get much hype. Unless, of course, you fall into that set of people who must shop. I am definitely NOT one of those people. The powers that be can't sell anything big for this particular holiday except the food items that are needed.

The focus is on Christmas, Hanukkah, maybe New Year's Eve. However, many stores opened at 9PM on Thanksgiving day this year. In the past, this was unheard of. I think it's ridiculous. Can't people go one day without shopping? It's bad enough the stores open their doors at 5AM.

What? Do people have to throw out their company because they are going shopping at 9PM? Do they say "Sorry, hurry and finish that piece of pie because I am out of here in an hour"?

I like a leisurely holiday. I enjoy the preparations, the dinner, whether in my own house or at family. Here in NY, the Macy's Parade is televised so if you're not there you can still see it.

My habit is to catch glimpses of the parade while preparing things for the dinner. It's Christmas theme makes it the precursor to the big holiday to come. If you think about it, Thanksgiving is not the focus at all. Too bad.

The end of the parade signals the big curtain call, Santa Claus on his sleigh with all the reindeer and elves. It's really a sight, and he's usually great. It's as if he's a real person, very natural.

I get misty eyed seeing the Santa at the end. Something about him catches me by surprise. Good thing I don't have a TV in my kitchen since I had it done over, or I'd be all choked up watching him.

I'm sure holidays are heavy for most people. The present is heavy, as well as the past. Is it the traditions, the anticipation, the expectations, conscious and subconscious? The things we used to do, things we still do, things that are new to do, things we must do, the people we did those things with, the stories we remember, and the people we're doing them with today.

Heavy.

There are things we do and remember a time doing these same things, but the clothes, the era, were different, are different. I'm not that nostalgic, nor do I want to go back in time. I am just aware that things are different and changing.

Am I different? I supposed I am, but in many ways, no, I am not. I am still who I always was. Santa at the end of the parade made me misty eyed as a little kid, too.

Photos for Friday

2011-11-25T16:56:00.001-05:00

Here is a small sample of items handmade by me! Visit my Etsy shop and my Facebook page for more items and contact information if you are interested in purchasing anything you fancy.

Hand Knit Baby Bonnet in Red from 6 months and up
$12

Hand Knit Baby Bonnet in Soft Yellow from 6 months and up
$12

Unisex Knotted Bracelet with various Greek Mykonos beads
$15

Women's Strung Bead Bracelet with Turquoise and Glass beads
$20

Latest bracelets for Men and Women

The Shell Has Company!

2011-11-21T10:07:00.001-05:00

Shell Has Company 7x10 Watercolor on Arches paper
©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

Isn't it nice that my beach shell has found itself in another painting with company? I don't know what it is about that shell that I seem to paint it so often.

Maybe it reminds me of the day at the beach when I found it? Maybe it's because of the little bit of seaweed that clings to the underside? Is it because it's cracked?

Then there's the apple. I'm intrigued by the different colors I find in every apple I paint. The veggie share gave me this pumpkin-type thing. I like the color of it.

Whatever pulls me, I must oblige.

I had planned to paint this still life set up larger, but guess what? No paper! The small Arches block I was saving to take with me on painting excursions was ready and waiting, so that's what I used instead. A trip to the art supply store will have to happen sooner rather than later.

Twenty minutes of painting this and I was finished. Damp brush, not a lot of water, and sketching is possible. I used two brushes, a medium large round and a small outline type brush, to paint with. We all have many different brushes, but lately it's been these two. Funny how we can pare down to get the most out of a minimum of items to work with.

It's like having a closet full of clothes, and I only wear the same ten or so items all the time.

The same thing with painting. All the colors on the palette and I keep using the same five colors, and these two brushes.

Anyway, I painted. It's a reason to cheer! Except I won't because I never know when Mr. Resistance will turn the corner. Shhhhhh.

Photo for Friday

2011-11-18T16:45:00.001-05:00

Well, at least there were some things I liked about the vegetable share I did this year. Apples being one of the good things..

Thought for Thursday

2011-11-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

‎"Everyone has talent at 25. The difficulty is to have it at 50.” ~Edgar Degas, artist

Art is Loved

2011-11-16T10:03:00.001-05:00

When I signed onto the vegetable CSA for the season I planned to receive flowers and eggs as well as the fruits and vegetables they offered. It's been interesting to see the different produce I brought home. Some things I never saw before and never want to see again, to be really honest. Let's say it's been an experience.

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the flowers. Those sunflowers had an effect on me from the start. I liked the jaunty way they sat in my vase and I just had to photograph them. The life of fresh flowers is fleeting, so to preserve their beauty I had to take photos. Did I think I would paint them? Yeah, the idea came across. Did I think I would be enamored of sunflowers? Nope.

This painting was the first of the bunch and it was memorable because I painted it in great weather in my backyard garden. It just happened to be a beautiful day with painting happening.

At the end of the summer I added it to my portfolio of work that I brought to the workshop I attended. Did I think it would be purchased during that weekend? Not at all, but that's exactly what happened, as I said in the post about the workshop. Crazy.

Me, my painting, and happy new owner Grace!

Grace, my table-mate fell in love with my painting and had to have it (her words)! Of course I sold it to her, and we took photographs of the moment. It was a lot of fun. (By the way, Grace makes beautiful pottery and owns her own pottery studio The Potter's Wheel. Visit her site and Etsy shop when you can.)

Sunflowers Outside hanging in Grace's home

Just this week Grace posted to Facebook a photograph of the newly matted, framed and hung painting in it's place of honor in her home. It was a wonderful feeling to know that painting is loved by someone other than me, it's maker. Doesn't it look happy? I think it does. And so am I.

Process Leads to Finished

2011-11-15T13:21:00.000-05:00

Four Sunflowers 14x20 Watercolor on Lanaquarelle paper
©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

You see, the process, when implemented by the twenty minute time slots, leads to finished product. It's a coincidence that I just read something to the effect that artists with a day job should fit creativity time in their day just like this. They should set a timer for twenty minutes and push headlong into painting, or whatever.

Amazing!

I finished this today. Believe me, if I don't put it away right now I will find some other spot to play with on this work. After I took this photograph I made a small area of the background darker to pop the yellow flower petals a little bit more.

That is my downfall. I tell myself I'm finished and then after I clean the brushes and my palette I spy an area I think needs a flick of the brush. Many a work has been ruined by such impulsiveness.

Forget it, I've already uploaded this photo and that's it. The little brush stuff I just did will have to be discovered by someone else, hopefully a happy art collector.

Just putting it out there into the Universe, hoping the Universe hears that little plea for a buyer to show up and give a nice painting a new home. That's all.

The Process Works, Baby

2011-11-14T19:34:00.001-05:00

As it turns out, I was extremely out of the loop for a few days. The good part of it was that I found twenty minutes to paint on this latest work each day. Imagine that? I know, I know, you're probably saying to yourself "this girl doesn't knock it off with the twenty minutes thing."

Really, if I hadn't discovered I could paint and keep the process going in short amounts of time I'd be under the table by now, completely out of the scene. But here I am. Everyday I'm shuffling, chugging away, Process, baby!

Every day I dipped the brush in the paints and scribbled a little here, threw some paint over there. I am so thankful to the inner-artist in me who decided to take a lot of photos of these sunflowers when they came with my vegetable share. To tell the truth-this was the best part of the CSA share. The veggies? Eh.

When the baby slept I painted. When I came in from errands, I painted. While I cooked dinner, I painted. Before I ran out of the house in the morning, I painted. Twenty minutes, ten minutes, whatever little iota of time I could afford, I worked on my process.

I might have to buy myself some sunflowers after these photos are all used for paintings. Either that or I may paint them all over again, but using oil paints, and painting really big. It's an idea.

Thought for Thursday

2011-11-10T14:32:00.001-05:00

“Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite -- getting something down.” – Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way

Back to Twyla

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

There hasn't been much time for reading lately. Painting during the day when I can, and knitting at night takes up my time. I really enjoy reading a good book, too. (And a "real" book at that!)

The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp is a quick read though, and I'd prefer to take my time with it to savor her thoughts of making one's art a habit. I have read ahead almost to the end, but I haven't taken notes. When I read The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron, I took plenty of notes, did the exercises and tried to be a good student. This time around I'm not being quite as good. I'm just reading.

However, I am taking away some very helpful points and ideas. There are things I already know about myself that Tharp discusses in her book, one idea is to build up a tolerance for solitude. Well, I've got that one down well. I know I need it and can do it very well, thanks.

I can imagine that there are some people to whom quietness and solitude could not be a good thing. Not for a long stretch anyway.

Tharp says: "Some people are autophobic. They're afraid to be alone. The thought of going into a room to work all by themselves pains them in a way that is, at first, paralyzing within the room, and then keeps them from entering the room altogether. It's not the solitude that slays a creative person. It's all that solitude without a purpose. You're alone, you're suffering, and you don't have a good reason for putting yourself through that misery...you need a goal."

It's impossible to me to be miserable in a room all by myself. No suffering here. I'm a person who enjoys my own company. I have many things around me that keep me busy and give me inspiration. My goal is the solitude itself within which I can then create.

Some people, for the life of them, cannot be alone for any stretch of time. There is no goal. They are lonely and sick without interaction with other individuals.

"Alone is a fact, a condition where no one else is around. Lonely is how you feel about that."

Now I am Famous, Sort of

2011-11-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

A funny thing happened on my way to my painting spot. I got side tracked by iPad. It's been happening lately. That pesky iPad makes me take detours and it's not pretty. The convenience of having computer accessibility anywhere in my house could be a good thing, but it's both good and bad.

I don't need more distractions than I already can handle.

So I found myself in a trance in front of the iPad screen looking at everything this week! Emails, facebook, twitter, the blogs I write for, just everything. Up pops a new email from someone I do not know. Should I open it? Is it spam?

To make a long story kinda short, it was from someone involved in a website called Become.com and they read my blog and wanted to feature it on their site in a monthly e-magazine section called Pocketchange "Best of the Web" with a few other neat blogs. How cool is that?

When I made sure it was legit, hey you never know, I responded with Yes! I sent them a blurb about my blog and a photo, the one posted here today.

It feels nice to be recognized for my writing and painting skills! Gee, this must be my next fifteen minutes of fame right here. Wow, I don't want to get a swelled head or anything like that. Ha ha! Right.

Painting Photo for Friday

2011-11-04T14:31:00.000-04:00

Cooper's Farm ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
14x20 Watercolor

Finished another watercolor painting! I am on a roll. Actually, I just wanted this one done with. When I am ready for something else I get antsy to finish and continue. Not like other times when I don't even touch the paints. No, I am trying to behave and keep working.

For each painting session I was still using twenty minute segments, letting the work dry in between. And here I am painting from photographs, too. There was a time I just couldn't do that. The subject had to be live. But the blue tractor was adorable, and I liked the scenery. So there you go.

Now I'm over it.

Thought for Thursday

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

"It took me forty years to find out that painting is not sculpture." ~ Paul Cezanne, artist

Wordless on Wednesday

2011-11-02T11:06:00.000-04:00

Snow on Halloween October 31, 2011

Painting is Electric Energy

2011-11-01T10:35:00.000-04:00

Another day, another painting start

What is it about painting that gets the electricity going? If I could feel like I did after starting this latest watercolor, I would bottle it and drink it every day to keep that momentum going. It is so weird.

After pulling the peach at the beach painting off the watercolor block, I hunted around for the next subject. It could take forever if I didn't start something new immediately, and then I'd be arguing with Mr. Resistance again. You know he'd win, too, right?

Remembering the vacation we took a couple of summers ago out on the east end of Long Island, and some of the great photos I took there, I hunted them up yesterday. Of course, I had a different computer then, which crashed. The photos are in it. No worries, I looked for them here on the blog and started in.

It's a nice, calm scene at Cooper's Farm. I like the tractor. Okay. Something about painting just gave me a jolt that lasted into the evening. I kept thinking about it, and planning my next session wishing I could paint again at around 11PM last night. I mean, I could, but people are around and the painting is sitting in the dining room, not the studio.

Whatever. The feeling is still with me now as I write this. Today is an outside, running around day, so painting will have to wait until I return.

Funny how I decided I needed to try to work from photos rather than life, and now that's all I'm doing. Is it like I'm on a kick or what? Also funny that I have a couple of different gourds from the vegetable share and I completely forgot about painting them. Totally out of my head.

Maybe I will have to also break with my tradition of working on one painting at a time to go ahead and paint those gourds on another block of paper? Ya think? Gee, what a concept!

Sometimes I knock myself out. Whack.

Don't Prolong the Process

2011-10-30T15:18:00.000-04:00

Peach at the Beach with Two Shells, 14x20 Watercolor
©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

If I continue painting on this work I am going to trash it! I am done, done, done! Finished! Telios! C'est Finis! This was the end of the road for the peach at the beach.

I worked on this for the allotted twenty minutes today, let it dry, then started to dig in with some details. What a mistake that was. There is just so much I could do to show these items were sitting on the sand. How do you really make sand look like sand? It isn't easy, and things could get dicey. Again.

I am done with this! Yeah!

Using a really small brush, I began to paint in some dark shadows in the sand and that's where the trouble started. I had to stop myself before ruining this painting.

Overall, the result of the process came off as I wanted it to. The peach pops, as well as the shells. Eh, the sand shadows are passable. It just had to be over. I didn't want to prolong the torture any longer.

As soon as this is completely dry I am going to free it from the watercolor block and put it away. #37 in the 100 paintings challenge is finished.

Next!

Photos for Friday

2011-10-28T16:04:00.001-04:00

The fun begins here:

...and where the fun ends, nobody knows!

Thought for Thursday

2011-10-27T08:39:00.000-04:00

"I've been doing alot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas. I just think about it." ~ Stephen Wright

Getting Over the Hump

2011-10-26T18:22:00.000-04:00

New work begins

Wednesday is hump day. As in the day in the week that gets us over the hump and into the weekend stretch. Not my favorite day. It only means the quiet will be ending and the hubbub, noisy weekend stuff begins.

My favorite day, as I've said many times already you're probably bored of it, is Monday. Sweet Monday. The day everyone returns to normal.

Anyway, don't pay any attention to me. I am just trying to distract myself from the to-do's and painting with idle chatter from my brain. It's noisy up in there.

After finishing the last painting, I had to find a subject for the next one. The 100 Paintings Challenge is waiting. There were a few more photos of my peach at the beach and I decided to just plow in with one of them. And yeah, it's Wednesday. I lost a few days fooling around with a stomach bug and I need to make up time.

And right now I don't have a lot of that. Painting #37 is waiting.

Photo for Friday and More

2011-10-21T12:27:00.000-04:00

Afternoon Sunflowers, 14x20 Watercolor
©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis

The latest watercolor painting is finished. Twenty minutes of painting time has it's merits, and it's detractions.

On the one hand, painting for twenty minutes keeps me in line. I can't get too busy in the details to end up trashing my work. It helps that I must step away from the painting to see it better and decide where to work next. And then there's the drying time. All good things so far.

On the other hand I could walk away after twenty minutes of painting and quite possibly never go back. That could last a couple days and I'll never finish the work so I could start another. I'm not the type of person to have a couple of paintings working at the same time, so that's not helpful. I turn to jewelry or knitting if I'm not painting the latest piece. Kind of not good.

All in all the time limit thing has been positive. Ok so, I'm not cranking out painting after painting on a regular basis, or enough to paint the 100 paintings in the year. I'm working toward that goal, but anything could derail that plan.

I made a commitment, and I'd like to see it through, but the larger I paint the less work that gets done. Rather than paint little paintings, which are fine, I want to open up and work larger. Packing a lot of painting on a small surface sometimes doesn't do justice to the work. Little by little I'm working it up in size.

Can twenty minutes translate on a larger surface? With the right brushes, subject, and mindset, maybe it's a Yes. Could I push myself to work every day for the twenty minutes? Or, work all day on one work twenty minutes at a time? I just don't know about that, Artist A.D.D. and all.

Thought for Thursday

2011-10-20T13:30:00.001-04:00

"A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires." ~Hedy Lamar, actress

Every Day I'm Shuffling

2011-10-18T17:12:00.000-04:00

Day #2

There's a wild song on the radio that I get a kick out of every time I hear it and one of the lines is the title of this post. I don't listen to the radio in the car, or in the house, all day either. I need my quiet. I do enjoy some Frank Sinatra and I have favorite classical pieces, but mostly my brain is too noisy for it.

Now and then I listen to the music the kids like, and some of it is hot. Some people like to listen to the old stuff they liked as a teen. I can't. Some of that was great, some horrible, but I just can't go back there. Did it, done with it. Give me the new stuff.

So I've been "shuffling" until I got it going with this new piece. Another twenty minutes of working around the composition and it's starting to feel good. When one area is wet I work on a dry area, keeping the whole painting in motion. Trying to see the piece develop as a whole and not surprise myself by not-so-happy accidents.

From what I can tell by this photo the piece is moving where I want it to go. Brush strokes, paint placement, dark and light, with details to come at the end of it. Maybe I will take one more day and finish up. So far, so good.

Twenty Minutes or What?

2011-10-16T17:54:00.001-04:00

Twenty minutes to start something new

As I was saying..yes, twenty minutes to something new on the table, easel, whatever. It's been a quiet Sunday and I had time to paint, having danced around the paints all week.

I played with beads twice, coming up with two different bracelet designs, and successfully by-passed painting. What's with that?

Today there was that split second decision to put water in the plastic bucket and just do it.

Isn't it funny, though, that I can go to my studio where the beading stuff is, sit there to come up with jewelry designs and finished products, but I ignore the watercolor paints sitting on the dining room table? I think it's funny. It's really not funny, it's annoying behavior, and it has to stop.

To be totally honest, I don't even think I worked on this new piece for twenty minutes. Maybe it was more like ten minutes. Just enough time to sketch the composition and throw down some color, that's all. You can see the paper is still rolling with water and hasn't dried when I took the photograph. Quick and done.

Tomorrow I can move this along and get a feel for where I want to go with it.

Just to let you in on a little secret, I am planning to paint bigger. Don't tell Mr. Resistance. He might throw a roadblock in my way. Just saying.

Don't Steal my Dessert Please

2011-10-14T16:52:00.000-04:00

Turquoise and Howlite bracelet
Design by Dora Sislian Themelis

The weather has changed in New York. Cloudy and rainy days are here after the great summery warmth of a few days ago. There's nothing anyone can do about it, but put on a sweater and go with the flow. Ok, so I don't go with the flow so easily. I could almost be wearing my winter coat now.

Winter weather makes me want to stay indoors. That said, I could be doing plenty, but am I? No. Visiting with Mr. Resistance again and it ain't fun I'll tell you that. Distractions abound. Luckily Gorgeous told us they were going to be at the last Greek festival of the season and if we felt like it we could meet up. We did.

It just happened that Sunday turned out to be a beautiful warm day and the evening was just as comfortable. The festival was busy with people, food, music and vendor shopping. Gorgeous showed me a bracelet she liked which I had similar beads at home. The next day I whipped it up for her, as you can see in the top photo.

Towards the end of the evening we decided to treat ourselves to some Greek pastries and frappes. Small balls of dough drenched in a honey syrup called "loukoumades" is a treat because most people don't make these at home. We found a spot to park our dessert and we all enjoyed our treat and each other's company.

Gorgeous turned to spear a honey puff and remarked that they were almost gone. Did we really eat all of those puffs so quickly? Do you see that little lady sitting across from our tray of loukoumades? She had a fork in her hand and so did her friend. Did she sneak in on our pastry and steal a couple or what?

None of us caught her in the act, but doesn't she look guilty? I mean, really? Well, we all started laughing. I remembered my camera and took a snap. I just had to do it which made us laugh more. Nothing like a good laugh on a summery night to hold off the winter blues.

Thought for Thursday

2011-10-13T08:37:00.001-04:00

"An empty canvas, apparently really empty, that says nothing and is without significance. Almost dull, in fact. In reality, however, [it's] crammed with thousands of undertone tensions and [is] full of expectancy. Slightly apprehensive lest it should be outraged ... It can contain anything but cannot sustain everything ... An empty canvas is a living wonder -- far lovelier than certain pictures."~Vassily Kandinsky, artist

Two More Sunflowers

2011-10-09T15:22:00.002-04:00

Two Sunflowers (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
14x20 Watercolor on Lanaquarelle paperr

Motivation comes in strange ways. I need to have my painting implements staring me in the face to be able to feel like working on the art. After reading everything I have, and taken the great workshop last weekend, what is it with the resistance?

I must admit making painting a daily habit is working more than not working. At least I know in the back of my mind I have painting to do. At some point in my day it will happen. There is no such thing as painting all day long. No such thing. You just have to try to go to the studio, or the dining room table, and get to work.

There are a few more sunflower photographs I have at the ready. This is another that I started painting. Here is the progression from sketch to dropping in color. I allowed myself those precious twenty minutes of time and stopped.

Twenty minutes of painting time is the best thing I ever started doing. I get to paint every day, sort of, and stop myself before I make a mess of things. Rather than get bogged down in detail, which was my hallmark, I know I don't have too much time so I am use brush strokes and color to say what I need to say.

I could have stopped at this session, but I felt that the work needed just one more go to make me feel as if the painting was finished. Each time after the paint dried I felt different about my work. Something about how the paper flattened back down, how the colors looked, gave me confidence I was on the right track.

If I had kept on going past the twenty minutes I might have had to throw it out, as I have done before. I am master of my domain! Yeah, right.

Photos for Friday

2011-10-07T17:20:00.000-04:00

New work in progress

Men's knotted bracelet with Mykonos beads

Women's knotted bracelet with Mykonos beads

Thought for Thursday

2011-10-06T16:43:00.001-04:00

“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”~ Steve Jobs, Apple Inc.

Painting, Technology, and All That

2011-10-05T16:54:00.002-04:00

A new work on the table, finally!

Technology is annoying. It's supposed to be a time saver, but guess what? It's not. Have you found that out yet. Yes, it does things we never thought we could do, or should do. Let me just say when it doesn't feel like working no amount of prodding will help it do anything. Nope.

I started a new painting today. Yesterday I was busy with The Mr. doing some things that had to be done. Afterwards he was home all day hanging around. No painting for me. I did the house stuff and found some time to finish another knotted bracelet, and begin and finish another. Kind of productive, but not painting.

Today was semi-free. Wrapped up the morning and decided to post my goings on, but my camera would not cooperate. No, the battery was dying and no matter what I did it would not just spit out my photos so I could get on with it!

While I wait for the battery to charge I will tell you about my latest painting. Trying to decide if this one should be a larger size the other day, I promptly forgot all about that and penciled in my subject. Ok, so that was dumb. Then I forgot all about measuring out a border because these watercolor blocks are weird sizes. Marking out a border helps me keep the work in line so a matte doesn't cover the edges too much.

Ok, forget it. I took photos of my start. I took photos of yesterday's bracelets. I sat down to write my post, download the photos and move ahead. Ah, not so fast! Battery is dead. Then the computer tells me I am not connected to the internet. What? I say it is!

Here we go. Battery half way charged and the photos are uploaded! Happy day at last.

Shameless Self-Promotion, Sunflowers and a Sale

2011-10-03T19:23:00.000-04:00

The workshop weekend went great. Alyson B. Stanfield conducted a two day workshop called Shameless Self-Promotion which was hosted in Bohemia, NY, on Long Island, by a group of artists called Women Sharing Art. I was on the fence about attending, but how could I miss an opportunity like this, practically in my own backyard?

Everyone was lovely, friendly, and accommodating. The information Alyson gave us was invaluable. Being part of a group of artists, each one with their own talents and experience, made me feel like I had a community, rather than me and my lonely self in my studio. After signing on, I received email from Alyson on what to bring, and expect, to the workshop which was business cards, a portfolio of work, an open mind and a willingness to work, and I did.

A few years ago I read Alyson's book I'd Rather Be In The Studio and it was a big push for me to get myself and my work "out there." There's no magic bullet. You have to work at it, and put the work into it. As Alyson says, the paintings do not speak for themselves, but the artist can and must. It was wonderful to meet the author in person! Alyson looks great, my hair is doing something funny.

All of us were pretty excited to meet our icon! I chose a chair up front, as is my habit. When I sit in the back of a room I tend to become distracted. Another artist came to sit at my table and asked if there was room. Of course, I said. When I looked at her name tag I recognized it as a casual Facebook "friend" and said "Mary? I'm Dora!" We started screaming and hugging!

About a month ago, Mary wrote on Facebook that she had decided to attend this workshop and said "Who's with me?" I answered her with "I'm just thinking about it.." Imagine our surprise when we realized who each of us was, sitting at the same table! This social media thing is amazing, as Alyson explained.

Some artists brought their postcards, others their laptop/iPad/iPhone for their portfolio. I went "old school" with my old presentation case holding some of my work from this past year. Everyone was excited to see each other's art. A table-mate looked through my watercolors and fell for one of my sunflower paintings, and I was happy to sell it to her. I hope it makes Grace happy when she looks at it!

What a wonderful experience this was. We had the chance to meet other artists, learn networking and art business skills, build relationships, move out of our comfort zone to try something new, and hopefully, cultivate collectors of our art.

Got it Together? Check!

2011-09-30T15:38:00.000-04:00

There's not enough time to do everything I have on my to-do list and the day is not over yet. The workshop weekend is here and what I need to bring is ready. Item by item, I crossed things off my list. I have not been sleeping well, waking at 4:30A.M. every morning, wide eyed and thinking. It's not the workshop, just a sleep cycle changing I guess.

I had my usual Friday of things and there is no way I can paint today. I had the fleeting thought I could play with some beads and cord, but decided there is just no time after my busy morning. After lunch I went back to review what I need for the weekend. Good thing I don't have to pack clothes and get on a plane, I'd be dizzy.

Portfolio? Check. Artist statement? Check. Directions? Check. GPS in the car? Check. My brain? Oops!

Alyson the Art Biz Coach, who is leading the workshop, commented on my post to bring only new, up to date work. That's what I thought, too. What it is that I am working on now rather than three years ago, makes sense.

Taking this workshop at this time is the next step. Everything I've been doing the last few years has led me here. I am thankful to have taken the big step to blogging, facebook and twitter, or I would have to get up to speed with it. I found the Twenty Minute Challenge, and the 100 Paintings Challenge, two great sites that help me build a new body of work and try to find an art habit. Reading the Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron, allowed me to tap into that inner child artist, try to fight off resistance, and rediscover the artist voice. Step by small step.

Friends always said I should have an art show. I always answered that I needed a body of work to show. Yes, college work was great, but people want to see today, not all those many years ago. And anyway, that's not who I am now. Even work from a couple of years back is not me today.

Yesterday I realized I have been blogging since September 16, 2009, and I could not believe it's been that long ago that I got my feet wet here. Who I was then, what kind of art I was making, if at all, compared to today, is like another person, but the same person. Just more awake, aware, in tune.

The rest of my day is not over. I have a kids dance class to teach tonight. After that let's hope I sleep.

Thought for Thursday

2011-09-29T10:28:00.001-04:00

" The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a 'What the hell?' attitude." ~Julia Child, chef

Preparing and Painting

2011-09-28T16:07:00.001-04:00

Peppers on a Platter (c)2011Dora Sislian Themelis
11x16 Watercolor

With the workshop weekend looming, I wanted to spend the day preparing myself and my stuff. We are to bring a portfolio of work. I've been throwing it around in my head which work to bring. The obvious thing would be to show recent pieces. Although I do work in other media, I guess I will bring the watercolors. And maybe my little pen and inks done while waiting at the allergist's office.

I printed out my artist's statement, such as it is. It's for my eyes only, but my eyes are pretty critical. It's a loosey goosey art language statement. In college, art majors needed to take English for Art Majors Only. They expected us to be able to discuss our work to regular people, as well as other artists. We wrote papers reviewing the masters works, museum pieces, and each other's work. It wasn't easy, but helped us to develop an art speak that normal people understood.

Every paper I wrote, my professor would ask if I wrote it. She'd say my language on paper was not the same thing that came out of my mouth. What could I say? I'm from Queens and what comes from my lips is not how I think or write. Ugh.

So yes, artist statement is ready. I also printed out the directions. Believe me, I'm not leaving home without a GPS thing.

I had a small bit of time yesterday and today, before getting involved in other things, to paint. Working from some photos I took a while ago I just went to it. Yes, I said from photos! No pencil, just paint. I didn't get a chance to take a photo at the twenty minute mark and what you see is well past that. I just wanted colors, shapes, and values. I was going to continue to add to the lower left corner, but I think it's balanced just as it is. Heavy with color on the upper right, and void of it at the lower left. Weird composition, but I'm going with it.

Besides, I'm out of time. Tomorrow is another day.

Yet Again, the Operative Word is Yes

2011-09-26T10:21:00.001-04:00

I said "Yes" again. Am I becoming braver as I go along? I don't know about brave, but I've been more agreeable to new things. I take long thinking things over though. Then I say yes. Yes to blogging. Yes to social media stuff. Yes to going to the beach alone to paint. Yes to the 100 Paintings Challenge.

The latest Yes is to a weekend workshop a short drive from my area. The Art Biz Coach, Alyson B. Stanfield is coming to Long Island, NY to help artists get their act together business-wise. The host is a group called Women Sharing Art. They are not located in my immediate area so I'm not familiar with them. But I have read Alyson's book I'd Rather Be in The Studio. It covers the business side of things they don't teach you in art school.

Maybe it was last year, I found out a workshop was happening in Pennsylvania. Although do-able driving wise, I didn't try to go. It's a couple hours and I felt uncomfortable going somewhere I'd never driven before, and alone. This time around this is happening not quite an hour from my home, but I still had trepidations.

Would I benefit? As the time came closer I decided that if I could clear my calendar I would go. I did and said Yes. Anything else that pops up now has to wait. I think reading a book for information is great. Attending a class with an instructor in an informal setting with peers is even better.

After submitting my application I received some information on what is needed for the two day workshop. Of course paper and writing implements, but Alyson asked that we bring our portfolio, business cards, and if we have it, our artist statement. Oh boy!

I wrote an artist statement a while ago when I was asked to do the possible book deal thing. I checked Alyson's book for an outline and wrote one up. It probably needs work, but okay. The portfolio is another story. What do I bring? Both old and new work?

Thinking I had Sunday to put this together I started looking through my latest paintings. Well, wouldn't you know the garden guys show up. And they have questions. And instructions. And they want to shoot the breeze. Um, yes, haha, I have stuff to do! Thanks alot, but I'd like to go back to my thing, you go do your thing, and everyone will be happy! No.

What you see is where I am up to..nothing done.

Friday's Photo on Saturday

2011-09-24T12:05:00.001-04:00

Fighting resistance with everything I have this week. Sometimes I win. Sometimes Mr. Resistance wins.
What's with that?

If you give in to it, low motivation can last longer than you would like and that just can't happen anymore. I don't have time to waste, so Mr. Resistance needs to get kicked out the door. He overs stays his not-so-welcome welcome every now and then.

Two of these shells were collected on one of the last great beach days a little while ago. The cracked smaller shell you have seen before. The watercolors were out, the shells and the paper ready, and I had the time so I pushed through the fog to paint. Twenty minutes later and I was done.

I tried to use only as much water as would allow the paints to flow so I could continue and finish without waiting for it to dry. I think I figured out how much water to keep on the brush. I also think I need better brushes. I was using synthetic brushes, but I went back to using sable. I like the way the paint flows and the point might be more pleasing. A visit to the art supply store may be in order, just to get some info.

These shells were similar in color and value so I needed to establish the ground there were sitting on by throwing on some color. I think it adds a little something and perks up the whiteness. You get the idea.

Thought for Thursday

2011-09-22T16:02:00.001-04:00

"Art hurts. Art urges voyages - and it is easier to stay at home. " ~Gwendolyn Brooks

What is your Creative Code?

2011-09-21T11:45:00.000-04:00

Seeing that I've been having a bit of resistance fun with the master, Mr. Resistance, I kicked it up a notch. How? Oh no, not by painting, mind you. By going back to reading my kick-me-in-the-butt creativity books. Well, yes, I finished Artist's Way and it helped immensely. Now it's Twyla Tharp and her book The Creative Habit.

I left it off for a while, having beat Mr. Resistance at his game. Notice I said for a while? Well, art, as life, is a roller coaster with ups and downs. So it is that I'm on the downward slope right now. Painting in fits and starts, as is my habit when it begins. Some days are freer than others and I can get to paint, but only if I'm prepared. Other days who feels like doing anything?

So it's back to the book for me right now. Need a little fire lit under me. Maybe it's the weather?

Chapter 3 is entitled Your Creative DNA. Tharp suggests we all have a "creative code", a kind of creative hard wiring, our own distinct creative personality. Some how we have to tap into that and find what works for us creatively. Are we working hard to be a photographer, but we are really a dancer deep down? It's like that.

"Rare is the painter who is equally adept at miniatures and epic series, or the writer who is at home in both historical sagas and finely observed short stores" writes Tharp. How we artists need to work is inside each of us. Some painters need to see paintings from a distance, others need to see the brush strokes a nose away. Tharp calls this focal length. Each of us "focus best at some specific spot along the spectrum."

Some artists see the big picture. Others like specificity. Tharp explains this by the ancient Greek words Zoe and Bios, both of which mean life, but not the same state of life. She says zoe "is like seeing Earth from space", bios "distinguishes one life from another."

I guess it's a matter of expansive vision or minute detail. How do we see ourselves, our art?

Getting a "handle on that creative identity" is key. Finding out who we really are in terms of our view is how we can channel our artistic drive. Why do we do things the way we do? What story are we telling? What is our weak or strong points? The answers to these questions help us to know who we are, and who we are not.

Tharp points to a lecture she gave where she invited various art students to assemble on the dais. A music student, a painting student, a writer, a dancer. She asked the art student to describe his impressions of the colors the other students expressed by their improvisation skit. He talked about feelings, himself, stories, no colors. Finally she heard him say one color. Suddenly, she stopped the student to tell him she was unconvinced he wanted to paint. He was in "DNA denial", he needed to be a writer!

Well, it's interesting isn't it? We might be really good at painting, but we're really wired to dance, or some other thing.

Sometimes I think I'm not a painter, I should really be a chef or a baker. Then I like to assemble jewelry with beads and other things, and think maybe I am a sculptor. I really like the colors of the beads, arranging them in a pleasing manner, and think I'm still a painter who just needs these other things as a distraction. It's Artist Attention Deficit Disorder. That's what my resistance is all about.

Breaking Resistance Mode in Twenty Minutes

2011-09-19T10:27:00.000-04:00

Peach at the Beach (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
7x10 Watercolor

The latest watercolor is finished. You can see how the colors change with the different lighting, but the feeling is the same. Sunny, breezy, comfortable day at the beach. Can you feel it?

The second photo was taken in the afternoon after I painted from my beach photo for twenty minutes. I took the top photo this morning which is more blue with early light, rather than the yellow of late day light. That's what Monet was seeing when he painted his water lily garden and other scenes in all times of the day. Different time of day, different shadows, different color of light, different paintings of the same scene.

I wonder if Monet painted for only twenty minutes at a time. Makes sense if he did, because if he didn't and painted on one work all day, the light would be different as the day passed and I know he has many works of the same scenes. I will have to look into it.

Anyway, I enjoy working quickly, when I do paint. Lately I've been in resistance mode and twenty minutes has been helping break that cycle quicker than usual.

As far as my subjects, I think it's interesting to mix objects that would not normally live together in real life life fruit and sea shells. These were nice shells too. Great shapes and colors to keep it fresh.

If the momentum keeps up it will be a good thing. However, the weather here has turned cooler and it's not conducive to beach going. Beach weather is on it's way out, but memories of a great beach day will have to suffice.

Photo for Friday

2011-09-16T08:10:00.000-04:00

The beach at Pt. Lookout, NY in September. Is this heaven or what?

2011-09-15T09:27:00.000-04:00

The days leading up to and following September 11 continue to be difficult. Ten years have passed and I am not completely sure that horrible feeling will ever go away. Every year I watch the memorial commemoration on television to hear the bell toll for each plane hitting the buildings, each tower falling, and to listen to the names of the lost. It's sad and it's meant to be sad. I hope the day never becomes a national holiday because people will make it a celebration, a BBQ, a vacation day, or eventually move it to make a three day weekend. No thank you.

So I've put off posting here because I wanted to avoid it, but obviously I can't.

Having the day to myself, I decided it was a beach day. I planned to paint, but I forgot to bring clean water. No problem, I took photos and sketched out my idea. I'll paint it later, maybe.

When I was ready to leave two army helicopters flew very low over the beach. One was a regular helicopter, the other was a troop transport. I was too surprised to get the camera out for a close up, and man, was it close. They hugged the shore as they flew over. By the time they were far away I jumped for the camera. What was that all about?

I drove out of the parking lot and onto the exit when I noticed a long line of American flags lining a path through the dunes. In the distance on the beach were steel replicas of the twin towers. Then I remembered there was a memorial commemoration at Pt. Lookout on September 11. Some families and first responders came here rather than go to Ground Zero. It was beautiful and sad.

Photos for Friday - an Artist's Creation is Loved

2011-09-09T16:49:00.002-04:00

Design by Dora Sislian Themelis

I was lucky enough to find and purchase these wonderful hand made lampwork beads from a fellow Etsy shop owner. Carol over at Fire in Ice Lampwork Beads makes these beads that say something to me. When I saw them I had to have them. Her work is amazing, you should visit her shop.

Not knowing what I was going to do with them, I just bought them and crossed my fingers I would think of something interesting to make. Since I've been playing with knotted cotton cord and bead bracelets, I thought the large holes would make threading them easier. Ideas were coming to me when I mixed them together with beads I already had.

I am so happy with the outcome I just might keep this piece for myself. Mixed together with iridescent ceramic Mykonos beads, they give the piece just the right glow. After I took photos of the finished piece I sent them to Carol with a message showing her how the beads look and I think she was pleased.

A while ago I sold a watercolor painting to a friend. That was exciting enough, but when she later took a photo of the painting framed and hung in it's place of honor, I was thrilled. It's a special feeling when the creator of an object can see that their piece is loved.

So, I went over to Carol's Etsy shop and bought another set of great beads. I can't wait to get them!

Oh, and by the way...

Thought for Thursday

2011-09-08T10:37:00.001-04:00

"Do not, on a rainy day, ask your child what he feels like doing, because I assure you that what he feels like doing, you won't feel like watching." ~Fran Lebowitz

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-09-05T11:24:00.000-04:00

Peach Pebble Pepper (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
Watercolor 9x12 Lanaquarelle

So you see, a little moping around can sometimes lead to good things. Write it and it will come, sort of. I was out of it, but it pulled me back in. There's only so long a slump can last. Mr. Resistance, I am rid of you for the time being.

Shhhhh. I don't want him to hear me too loudly for fear he'll show up and bother me again.

As I was saying. The veggie haul was "fruitful" and ended up being quite productive. I don't know what it was that lured me to paint. The shapes of the produce, the colors, the combinations looking very interesting? What?

I felt bad I ate my still-life subject at the beach that day of the earthquake. Maybe that was it? The peaches in the veggie haul were really pretty. I don't know, but I found myself reaching for the peach, then I grabbed an interesting looking pepper, and one of those pebbles I was painting a while ago.

After arranging these items in a way that felt good to me, I filled my water contained and started in on this. No pencil sketching, just drawing in the items in watercolor paint. I must admit that when I work this way I sometimes fail to place the painting in the center of the paper. I'll fix that with a matte when the time comes.

For now I did it. A breakthrough, and the best part is I painted for only twenty minutes. Just enough time to get it together and back on track.

"Back in the saddle again,

Out where a friend is a friend.

Where the longhorn cattle feed,

On the lowly gypsum weed,

Back in the saddle again."

by Gene Autry, songwriter

Photo for Friday

2011-09-02T12:04:00.000-04:00

Another veggie haul, another bouquet of sunflowers. Maybe another watercolor? Hmmmm....

Thought for Thursday

2011-09-01T14:29:00.001-04:00

"It takes a long time to become young." ~ Pablo Picasso, Artist

Doing Nothing with Mr. Resistance

2011-08-30T16:12:00.000-04:00

What is it about time flying by that makes some of us want to just sit back and watch it? Just having that feeling to hang out, sit back, let the clock tick on without a care to do much of anything beyond the necessary is de rigour around here lately.

The to-do list grows faster than the grass in my yard. All I can do is watch and wait. The adage that says "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"? Not around here. My say is "when the going gets tough, do nothing". Some people say "go shopping". Me? I do nothing.

You can read all the books you want about fighting down resistance to creating and sometimes that nasty guy gets the better of us anyway. I know what to do but Mr. Resistance has me by my throat, that bum. I have many ideas running through my head and none of them appeal to me at the moment. The last painting I finished is sitting there waiting for me to free it from the watercolor block. I just don't. And knitting? Blahh. Maybe jewelry? Ugh.

Something clicked on the off switch and I'm out. That beach day we had that earthquake I fully intended to paint. Just twenty minutes of work. The ball started rolling downhill after I realized I ate my still life painting subject! And it was a nice peach too. Then the hurricane happened and didn't help things move along any better.

I spent today trying to make calls to repair people who are all tied up with hurricane damages of their current customers. My roof leak will have to wait. But while I do that, the sun is out and it's still hot, the dryness of the air reminds me that August is at it's end. Bummer.

I wouldn't call it a full fledged blockage, just a minor hiccup in the creativity area. This might be the second hiccup though, so measures might have to be taken to keep Mr. Resistance busy while I sneak out the back door to hide.

Who's with me?

Fun With Hurricane Irene

2011-08-29T17:16:00.001-04:00

We survived Hurricane Irene. Without power all day, we listened to our radio and looked out the window at the crazy weather.

We watched as one neighbor couldn't wait for the hurricane to be over to start removing the small tree that fell on his front yard. A little while later an ambulance pulled up and he went inside to have his vitals monitored.

What's with men and wild weather that they can't wait to get moving and doing? Even The Mr. was itching to get out to his business to look around. They don't care what's going on outside. Men are just plain crazy.

These trees fell around the corner from our house. Thankfully, all we had to do was clean up some branches, leaves and repair our fence. The electricity came on at 9PM. Minutes later we heard an explosion and saw the street lamps go out, along with our neighbors' lights across the street.

So, earthquake and now a hurricane. All we're missing is a volcano. That'll happen next week, I'm sure.

Photo for Friday

2011-08-26T14:37:00.001-04:00

The calm before the storm...

Thought for Thursday

2011-08-25T10:13:00.000-04:00

"It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This is the essence of academicism. There is no such thing as good painting about nothing." ~ Mark Rothko, artist

What a Day at The Beach!

2011-08-24T10:20:00.000-04:00

Tuesday was a beautiful day. Gorgeous was with the Princess visiting a friend and I was going to go to the beach by myself. I don't have a problem being alone at the beach. It's family friendly, peaceful and there's usually plenty of other lone people doing their own quiet thing.

I brought my travel watercolor set, fully intending to put it to good use. I also brought along a book to read before I felt like painting. I managed to remember to take a few photos before I settled into my inert position in my sand chair.

For a beautiful sunny day, this beach was practically empty. Fine with me. Empty beach almost all to myself is a wonderful thing. The few kids on the beach just had to play football right near me though. Of course I had to tell them to move down the beach and hit other people with their football. Geez!

I had my little lunch, read my book, and ate my peach when I realized I had planned to paint that peach with a few shards of sea shells. Oops! So I just kept reading and enjoying the scenery. I answered a call from my mom and while we're talking I felt a weird movement as I sat in my chair. I thought it must be the wind pushing me funny.

My mom said her desk was shaking and she felt dizzy. I told her Wait a minute, I feel the same thing! I noticed other people began to stand up on the beach and look around, and said such to Mom. It was almost 2PM and I decided I am done here. Wait, is this an earthquake?

Texts were flying into my phone from Gorgeous, my sister, Son#2, Mom. Some of my outgoing texts would not go through. I couldn't access voice mail either. As I was leaving I asked some other women if their phones worked. They didn't. Well, everyone started talking about what was happening.

New York had a 5.9 earthquake yesterday and I was at the beach when it happened. Now that I think about it, what a jerk I was. I should have ran out of there as soon as I realized what was going on. Did I want to be in the middle of a tsunami resulting from said earthquake? Uh, no thank you.

What kind of New Yorker am I? I was lulled by the beauty and peace of the beach into thinking I was safe.

Next time, run you idiot.

Vegetable Share Haul

2011-08-22T11:13:00.000-04:00

The vegetable share has been interesting. Every time I pick up my share there's new and different items to try. Things I never saw before and things I'd heard of but had no idea what to do with.

This last pick up had more familiar fruits and vegetables: peaches, yellow zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, a couple of ears of corn, a couple of carrots, different colors of long thin peppers, a small yellow mellon, eggs and flowers.

I am not so sure it's all been top notch. Yes it's straight from the farm and I guess that's the main idea, but if I was choosing my produce I would have chosen better. One ear of corn was half eaten by some animal, the tomatoes were over ripe, as were the peaches. Tasty, but over ripe. The two carrots were huge, as if they were left in the ground a little too long, forgotten maybe.

When I had a small vegetable patch I carefully watched for ripening. I know, this is from a cooperative farm, not my own backyard garden. I get what they grow, etc.

My tomato plants were not very productive this year, neither were the cucumbers, or the peppers. The backyard garden is all shade now that the trees on the property line have ground so tall. There is a little patch of hot sun, but it fades by 1PM. The front garden however, is all sun all day. I am growing some things in pots, but it's not ideal.

Next year I may give up more front yard to vegetables rather than all flowers. Might also be interesting.

Photos for Friday-Renovation Continues

2011-08-19T08:18:00.000-04:00

You know if you dig down deep enough into the ground you can get to China? Happy weekend!

Thought for Thursday

2011-08-18T09:21:00.003-04:00

"When I work I work very fast, but preparing to work can take any length of time." ~Cy Twombly

It's Finished When My Brain Says STOP

2011-08-17T09:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, after the plumbers had left me with their bit of a mess, after I cleaned up their mess, put my things away, straightened out the areas they were in, I finished the watercolor painting I was working on.

I went back to it, but something inside me said This Is Done, STOP! So I signed it and declared it finished. So here it is. The top photo was taken yesterday at about 4PM. The bottom photo I took this morning by 9AM. The light of day seems to have changed the colors: the top is warmer, the bottom is cooler toned.

Pepper Stem (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
12x16 Watercolor on Lanaquarell

Either way I am pleased with this painting. I have been using watercolors for some time now and I don't think I am using them in the traditional way. The books I've looked at seem to manipulate the paints different than I am. Maybe we all have our own way of getting paint on the surface in a pleasing manner.

Whatever works for you, do it. Must there be only one way to paint with whatever medium? I think not.

Something New While I Wait

2011-08-16T14:21:00.001-04:00

Don't you just love those days when you have to stay home and wait for repair people? Yeah, love it. Not really, except when it's a must you need to have all your projects in order so they can have some attention. Once in a while you can peek in on the repair guy and see the progress, otherwise let them do their work.

My area of New York had ten inches of water in a couple of hours this week. People are pumping out their basements and the like. We had a leak in our living room ceiling, but that's not what the repair guy came to fix. I found a mysterious leak from one of our bathroom faucets which was causing havoc in our wall. Let me say it was not pretty.

Today was the day of the plumbers. If the weather was beautiful, which it isn't, I would not be happy, but it's not so I didn't mind being here for the repair. Perfect opportunity to work on my stuff.

I took some photos a while back of cut up peppers, if you might remember. One of the photos was calling me so I decided to paint it. I liked the mood, the darks against light, the composition, and knew I could play with color.

I had to remind myself to stop after twenty minutes so I wouldn't ruin the work. It's not easy to stop once you have momentum going. My brain goes on autopilot and I could almost not see anything, think or hear anything.

When I stopped I tried to also remember to take a snap of the work to show the progression. I have found the photographs to be helpful in slowing me down, and I can see my work better.

I'm still working on this. The last photo is not the finished piece. I added more detail, more color and blending, but it's not finished. Yet, anyway.

Sunflowers and More

2011-08-15T15:10:00.000-04:00

Six Sunflowers (c) 2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
12x16 Watercolor on Lanaquarelle

I decided to paint these sunflowers one more time and from life, before I had to throw them out. They were getting really dry and ugly. I think I'm finally done with sunflowers. I sketched out the composition and tried my best to keep the colors light before adding darks. They don't excite me anymore. Not like when I first painted them. I guess it's expected.

On the distraction front, I am doing well! Isn't that how it is?

I've become obsessed by the colors of beads and this knotting business. It's become addictive. These red beads look striking against the black of the waxed cotton cord and make me want to play with them again. I'll be putting these in my Etsy shop soon, along with the blues bracelet from last week. Yum.

The thing with this is that some beads have too small a hole to thread the cotton cord through and it becomes frustrating. I managed.

Now I'm on a mission to use leather instead of the cotton cord. I made myself dizzy searching the online shops for both leather cord and more beads. Yeah, more beads. Beads with some sparkle. Beads with a larger hole so I can play some more. Like I said, addictive.

Photos for Friday-Renovation Continues

2011-08-12T07:58:00.000-04:00

Thought for Thursday

2011-08-11T08:12:00.000-04:00

"Art is everywhere, except it has to pass through a creative mind." ~Louise Nevelson, sculptor

Veggie Haul and Something Extra

2011-08-10T07:51:00.000-04:00

The veggie haul last week was plentiful. I found a baby watermelon, 15 apricots, 3 peaches, peppers, purple basil, 2 onions, one green and one yellow zucchini, purslane, and cherry tomatoes. Very nice, and smelled great.

And another bunch of nice, big sunflowers. I have been busy with those sunflowers!

Another distraction from painting was happening too. I made this knotted bracelet of ceramic round beads, chalk turquoise, and a couple of metal beads. The knotting takes time, but it's great to get my mind on something other than the waiting painting. And I knew it was waiting for me.

I like the colors of beads that I used. They are calming blues and greens that remind me of the ocean. Like I said, it was a distraction.

Sunflowers from Underneath

2011-08-07T11:36:00.002-04:00

Under the Sunflowers (c)2011Dora Sislian Themelis
12x16 Watercolor Lanaquarelle paper

Here's a different view of the sunflowers, from the underside. I thought this was a different angle with different color scheme. Not the typical full face of flowers. I like to shake things up with composition once in a while. Not really into the ordinary or the typical.

Whether this works or not doesn't really matter. Remembering it's the process that counts, I painted this with those words in mind.

Process, baby.

Yes, in between I had my distractions. Who doesn't need a distraction now and then? I most certainly do. Otherwise I could head for the lounge chair in the garden and just gaze at the world. That would be nice, if I didn't feel guilty to do that.

Painting is work. Lounging is not, unless I call that thinking. So I paint.