Joyful Garden – A Saga

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Joyful GardenI struggled with her. I couldn’t get the composition to sing, so I put the painting up and let it rest. Nearly a month later I took it out again and saw what it needed. I needed fresh eyes and a little boost, which inadvertently came from a fun conversation on Facebook. Note in the conversation the Star Trek tones. :-) I will simply do a cut/paste about Joyful Garden, a painting of acrylic and sawdust on canvas sheet.

Sundrip -Lets see how DRAMATIC I can make this.
Artists log: 9/2/13 Sundrip Star Station Awake
We left the station around 9am (station bed). The air was thick with heat, my tongue had dried to jerky through the night. Water, I needed water. After re-hydrating I began to calculate the day’s activities, for there is much to do. The sweeper has sat in its own dust for days, the dishes cry out for water, the plants are past watering. Yes, there is much to do today but my heart can only see the fulfillment of paint on canvas, of images beaming with color. Burnt orange will meet Chinese red and settle upon a light cream. From there a prism will burst forth into a natural symphony ringing notes that will bring the hardest of hearts to its knees. The sweeper will sit. The dishes will go undone. Art will be born.
Sundrip Star Station… Awake

Continue reading “Joyful Garden – A Saga”

Pan – An Abstract Panel Painting

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art by FMAustin - Vertical

The reason this painting is called Pan is because I hoped it would pan out.  

Not all titles are equal.

Pan is an acrylic and ink painting on heavy white board size 12 inches long by 3 and 1/4th inches wide. 

Today in therapy I was asked why I do more abstract paintings than before. My only explanation was that sometimes there are no figures, symbols, flowers or shapes to express emotion. But to push and pull colors across the page, to strike at them, stamp them here and there is a language all its own. For me its like saying, there’s so much to say I don’t know where to start. I’m so anxious, sad, confused, what have you, that I don’t even know where to begin or what symbols to draw to express how I feel.  I don’t know how to form my words but here is what I can do, I can show you in color how I feel. And so we have more abstract paintings because sometimes my ‘art words’ escape me. Sometimes I’m unable to narrow down figures and objects to express myself through expressionism, cubism and the like.

Continue reading “Pan – An Abstract Panel Painting”

Between the brush and life

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Joyful Garden - detail tease

There’s a lot of work to be done on this blog. My art has changed making it necessary to reorganize the galleries and even add a few. I’m excited about it but at the same time it feels daunting. A little at a time I suppose. And it’ll have to be fit in between painting and living, between the brush and life.

When I feel,  right now there are many reasons for strong feelings, then I paint.

I try to keep this blog updated but it doesn’t always happen because I’m being treated in home for disabilities and I’m painting to manage the emotions associated with the illnesses as well as emotional difficulties stated in my bio on the About Me page. There is so much going on that I’ve come to realize one thing: I’m like everyone else.

Time is a commodity. Heck, time is currency. 

Continue reading “Between the brush and life”

Ancient Pathway

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ancient pathwayI played. That’s how this painting came about, I played. This is a combination of handmade paper from India, a cut out, a sunflower and rubber stamps made by yours truly. I just started stamping and layering then came the elephant, the tall leaves and the sunflower.

I sat looking at the painting. I knew it needed a focal point then it hit me; light. I layered blue, white and yellow to create a beam of light that came from the sunflower to the elephant. It’s intended to appear that the elephant is drawn to it, walking steadily towards it. Continue reading “Ancient Pathway”

Present

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PresentPresent and accounted for. I am here.

Painting details: She is coming of age and realizing her value. She is made of every fine gem and precious metal hue. Her hair stands tall like that of a sunflower, her eyes look straight ahead into the now and the future.

Dripping from her ears are strikes of green meeting cobalt blue and royal purple. Her dress is orange and red with a design that puts an x right over her heart. Her very skin is shades of growing into who she is now: layers of beauty, vibrancy and strength. Around the young princess girl in her glory is a white fog or mist, or maybe just the clouds that honor her presence in a frame. Continue reading “Present”

Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl

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Sweet Anna Bell - Ugly GirlShe’s been a long time coming. I don’t know why it took so long to finish her but, here she is. I present to you, ‘Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl.’

Scribbled on the back of the paper she’s painted on dated June 10, 2013, I wrote:

She’s tall, skinny and lanky. She’s wearing second hand clothes and second hand shoes. She knows she’s ugly. She doesn’t need to be reminded, yet they do, as if somehow it’ll change things. Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl.

Verbal abuse is what that is and what this sweet child holds the bruises of. But notice this, her eyes look up, not down in shame. If you look at them closer you’ll notice hope shining. She holds her head up. She hopes. The edges of her mouth turn up in a slight smile. She hopes. Continue reading “Sweet Anna Bell – Ugly Girl”

Fire White Butterfly

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White Fire Butterfly A fire white butterfly with wings wide open spans 4 inches on rich earth tone colors. Wine, turquoise, gold, burnt umber and a touch of burnt orange makes the butterfly really pop off the 5 x 7 canvas board. The wings have been tipped with powder blue and edged with gold.
Texture. Texture is key to this piece. I handmade the stamps that created the texture. By layering stamps with acrylic paint I was able to get a blend of colors that’s not too much and not too little.

With its matching mat it has an elegant appeal. Continue reading “Fire White Butterfly”

Let Her Fly

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Let Her Fly This piece was created in one night. I took the paper that already had sawdust prepped on it and I began adding shapes and colors.  My goal was to manage some heavy Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms I was having.

I thought to myself, I want to go to sleep, but I can’t. I just kept painting. Painting what? At first I didn’t know but as I focused I knew I wanted a woman in a thick field of flowers with her hair wild in the breeze. I kept painting. Her face was divided, half gold, half multi-colored. Her eyes look up or roll up to the sky. Black birds flutter in some areas but soar in others. Their wings are out strong and high, no hesitation, no fear of flying. There are 8 black birds in all. They’re in the sky, her hair, on her white chest and in the flowers below. Continue reading “Let Her Fly”

vBlog: A Few Strokes Away

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Ah yes, another Sundrip video but this time it’s not a silent art slide show, its a full length walk through of my new home studio – with sound. Let me tell you something about making videos, make sure that when you do you’re 100% ready. From the hip is great but, I had to shoot this video twice because in the first one I wasn’t wearing pants. No one would have none that ‘cept I passed two mirrors. Yeah, not good. That’s not the type of video I was trying to make soooooo, I rearranged a few things, moved some personal items and put on pants. Imagine my shock when I went to look at the video and saw the ‘issue’. Oh crap! So, I shot it again, this time fully clad and ready to shoot an unprofessional look inside the new Sundrip studio.

I share my studio with my bedroom. Continue reading “vBlog: A Few Strokes Away”