Splendid post from Jon Morrow on Copyblogger

Just wanted to point to a wonderful post from Jon Morrow on Copyblogger today. Jon had a lot to overcome but he had a mother who wouldn't give up. Read it and be inspired!

High horizon paintings

I seem to always gravitate to high horizon abstracted paintings for some reason. So I decided to do an exercise where I make a warm up painting on a piece of 140# cold press water color paper which I tear into 8x8 pieces. I can only take 30 minutes on each one. So I've turned to my small supply of pastels to do the warm ups. Doing my usual acrylic painting would take too long to dry between coats. I do many, many layers when I paint and that's why I need at least three pieces in the works. Pastel is so quick and I love the intense colors. I don't love the dust and the need to fix them with a spray. I really don't like the need to frame them either. Some of the paintings below have some acrylic on them but it's mainly pastels.
How do you like the bunny switch plate?

I needed some sort of a color framework to start with and I had recently purchased the Goof Proof color wheel from Bob Burridge. In his mainly monthly newsletters he gives an example of how to use it. So I made a list of examples and when I'm done with the list I'll venture out into other combinations. I seldom use blue and looking at the wall where I hung the paintings I can see a lot of blue. So it's a good exercise in using different colors and finding out how much can be accomplished in 30 minutes too. And pastels are so instant!

New paintings

Here are five new paintings recently delivered to Art on the Boulevard in Vancouver WA.

They are all 16X16 inches and painted over either gold or copper gilding with acrylic paints. There just isn't anything like the glow one gets when painting over metal leaf. I started with the most transparent paints and toward the end, if needed, I used more opaque paints. These five pieces were in process for many weeks and then were on hold as I worked on a large commission. Sometimes a painting needs to be put aside for a week or two and then placed around the house in different places with different types of lighting. Once I've studied them for a time I can then proceed to the last steps and feel that it's a finished painting and no further study is needed.

I plan on doing more work on metal leaf now and am working toward a more simplified look. It remains to be seen if I can do simplified.

45 Life Lessons and five to grow on

I'm really going to get off my blog bookmarks very soon but first wanted to tell you about this list of 45 Life Lessons by Regina Brett who writes for the Plain Dealer. Many of them resonated for me and are gentle reminders to remember to be mindful and that everything changes. And if not now then when?

Advanced Style

I know I've mentioned this blog before I'm sure. It is written by a young man who lives in New York City and works in a museum. He especially admires elders he sees on the streets who make an effort to dress up before going out. He seems to like women who wear large glasses, bright lip stick and unusual and sometimes vintage outfits. The whole blog is a pick me up every time I go there. Now he's started showing videos and I enjoyed listening to Debra talking about her life and style as her responsibilities to a family are no longer at the top of her list.

A wonderful blog

Go to Rag and Bone's blog and click on the You Tube featuring Maeve Clancy on November 6th. Then come back and scroll down further to see art created inside toilet paper tubes. Just amazing. Scroll down further and see more outlandish paper art. What a great blog!

Timely book about overeating

I've found an interesting book on a blog I subscribed to before my October trip. I subscribed or bookmarked many blogs related to Paris well before leaving. Paris Breakfasts was a very good source of information and she also does watercolors of Paris related subjects. It seems a little strange to talk about overeating on a blog that mainly features desserts but it is very timely. I think the author (a medical doctor with good credentials) has focused on something very important for us to know. The book is now on my Christmas list and I'll post a review after I read it.

I'm back to painting today after some time off for Thanksgiving festivities and a superb meal prepared by my daughter and her husband. I NEED to read this book now!!