Have you ever had a painting give you a toothache?

This part of the Nutcracker set is for the "Land of Sweets." It was so much fun to paint.  I couldn't wait to get back to it (after hanging work for the artist studio tour--busy me).

My design for part of the Land of Sweets.

I am figuring out how to use glaze coats  on top of base coats, for different effects, especially for translucense.  


The base coat.

I am using the original set design for my inspiration.  You can see that I am "borrowing" some elements of the design.



Original Nutcracker Set Design

I can't wait to see it all in action.  Well actually, I can wait since I still have more work to do on it and a looming deadline.  Back to work...


Santa's workshop--spoiler alert

Our basement has been transformed into a set building workshop. In this pic, I am making architectural pieces that will simulate wainscot and columns for the Nutcracker "party scene" and Megan is laying out and painting her design for the sled that will transport Clara to the Land of Sweets. I was feeling so on top of things for getting the stage painting done TWO weeks before show time. Nothing left but to kick back and build some big, fat props.  No big deal. I love power tools almost as much as I love all of my fingers.  I keep saying that it is really gratifying that they let me put art on the stage, and even pay for the materials! But who will pay for my prosthetic fingers?

I can see my house from here!

This weekend, it's that time of the year where we paint the nutcracker set.  After spending days painting the side flats (the faux curtains to the left and right of the stage) I was ready to start work on the background.  You can see that the ladder is not really for those of us fearing heights.  Sometimes you just have to suck it up and put on your game face.  This ladder is one of those times. 

Another artist mom was with me for part of the day, reworking the christmas tree.and listening to Cee Lo's "Magic Moments" Christmas CD.  Is there anything better?  (Well, actually, fudge is better.  But then again, nothing beats fudge.)

I'm bored. I think I'll go paint a wall.

In former days, I might have gotten in trouble for painting on walls.  But I have discovered that if you "volunteer" to paint it, and you call it a "mural," it's all good. Context is everything. 

Here is the "before" and "after" of a stairwell in my school.  A couple of years ago, a mural was done by gluing student paintings onto the wall.  Unfortunately, the paper began peeling off about fifteen minutes later, leaving the wall looking tattered.  For the last year, I have been on a mission to replace it with a river/stream mural, with mosaic salmon to follow.  So it turns out that the best way to get something done is to actually just do it, to just get off facebook for Pete's sake and go paint a wall!

While I was painting it I thought, "Am I incredibly stupid, painting a mural at the same time I am working on set painting?  How much can one back take?"
I also thought, "Am I incredibly unrealistic, thinking I can paint a mural in a day?"
No and no.

So to all you slackers going to your "jobs" and making dinner for your "families," I have one thing to say: Go paint a wall.

Ready, Set, Nutcracker

I now have six 13 foot flats in my basement, in various stages of painting. They will be the flats at the wings of the stage. I am painting them to look like curtains.  The trickiest thing is to paint them quickly enough to still have time for other parts of the set, but carefully enough to get the effect I'm looking for.  I think I have gotten the technique figured out, so hopefully it will go quicker from now on. The process also got slowed down by my first cold of the season, which occurred, coincidentally, the day after we were out in the rain trying to tie down the flats in the back of a pickup (thanks Stan and Crissy) to transport them from the high school stage to my house. It was kind of a "how many people can you fit in a VW bug" kind of experience, but the flats made it in one piece. Or rather, in six pieces.  

A fantasy world of imagination is so much less gloomy than "reality"

1. 
   I now have artwork hanging in the Heron's Nest on Vashon Island, just in time for holiday shoppers.  It is my "Who's Counting" series, eggs that have been painted onto a collage of medium and fabric.  The folk art reference is 100% intentional. And if you are someone who feels that oil paint is so superior to acrylic, I defy you to guess which is which.  And if I sound defensive and like I have a chip on my shoulder about how snobbery is usually ignorance in disguise, and about how arbitrary I think these distinctions are anyway, well that too is completely intentional.  Oh, and p.s., I will henceforth only refer to galleries as "consignment shops." Hey, just calling it what it is. (I thought I would throw an arbitrary rant in there to match the tenor of this election season. And now I must go shower.)  The title of each piece is written on the back.  Chicken #1, Chicken #2, and so on.  
   
   
   I like to count my chickens before they hatch. like to believe that a lottery ticket will make me a millionaire.  I like to see a dirty driveway as a good place for a wedding, given a little imagination and a whole bunch of confetti to hide the oil stains.  I like to believe that teaching kids will make a difference in the world, or at least in someone's life.  I like to believe that the Democratic candidate is going to win, every time.  It can be so disappointing when things don't quite work out, but it's like what Zora Neale Hurston wrote, "Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground." Okay people, I think now would be a good time to get off the ground.  I'll go first. Chicken #1, chicken #2, chicken #3...
   
   

Four chickens

 

I am making these little objects as part of a series I am calling "Who's Counting?"  It is a continuation of the idea of counting your chickens before they are hatched, about daring to dream and being able to see beauty and potential in unexpected places.  The eggs are oil painting, but much of the work  comes from doing this very precise collage work on the front and sides, so that the pieces become more object than painting.  My hope is for each one to be a precious little thing, kind of rich and sumptuous with the combination of fabrics.  They will eventually be hung together in a geometric pattern (more on that to come).

   

 

I love the smell of tempera paint in the morning

Just about ready for the new school year.  This will be my first year as an art teacher.  I have been teaching elementary school for 13 years, including many an art lesson.  But this will be different.  Five periods a day of art classes coming and going, kindergarten through fifth grade. I can't wait.

I put a mural at the entrance to the room, and continued it onto the back wall.  It feels like stepping into a painting.  My hope is that it will creat a slight shift in awareness as we enter the room, readying us for artmaking.

Some of My Favorite People Are Sheep

The Two-wall Gallery on Vashon Island is now the site of a September art show called “The Value and Beauty of Farm Life” which was juried by Vashon Sheepdog Classic.  So come on down and vote for your favorite piece and some lucky dog will get a $250 prize (woof!).  I will be there September 7th for the First Friday Art Walk, proselytizing for myself.

I have to say, I had such a feeling of satisfaction to have paintings selected for a show put on by a sheepdog group.  My new-found peeps!  It makes that monthly student loan payment feel worthwhile.  No joke.

I redid my sheep painting at 4 times its original size.  I thought it would take just as long but really, it took 4 times longer to paint (I believe I actually painted every hair on Zilla's face.  She is now my BFF.) Fortunately I did flip the image which tricked my brain into thinking it was a brand new painting.  The right side of my brain is so gullible!

(Not that it should make any difference, but these chickens are also nude and gay.)

The World Is My Canvas

After painting a set, I thought "I could get used to this."  It's fun to paint big.  Really big.  I have hopes of doing mural paintings with students at my school this year.  I decided to practice on the bedroom of an imaginative boy I know.  He had wanted one wall of forest, one with a pink sunset, one with a desert, and one of sealife. I got as far as the first two.  Somehow, the mood cast by these walls makes you want to whisper.  Next step is painting one of these trees at the entrance to my school's art room.

Visualize Bacon

And when pigs fly, I will realize my every dream and have a farm.  We have big plans to start flying lessons SOON.  BIG PLANS.  In the meantime, I am left to wonder what flying pig bacon tastes like.  Mmmm...

Unabashed Optimism

They say not to count your chickens before they've hatched. Well, I say you should count them and eat them before they hatch. Some people might call that foolish. I like to think of it as an omelet.