Time

After making my most recent self-portrait I decided to sit down and think about direction in art and what I have been thinking about in terms of painting.

One of  the ideas that came up while thinking about painting is time.  Painting myself was a way to literally measure how time has progressed through changes in my face. When I thought about it more I realized that I am interested in measurements of time.

How long does the average person live? How long does the average person in America live? How long does the average woman in America live?  How long does the average person in my family live?  If I have an estimated X number of years left to live what is important for me to do with that time? What is important for me to paint?

I also think of time in terms locations where I have lived. I have lived in 26 structures that I am able to count so far in life. That means I have lived in each place an average of approximately 1.3 years.  So far I estimate that I lived in each general region an average of 9 years.

One's time and places eventually run out. I feel as though I should accomplish some sort of masterpiece with my life but perhaps that is too much pressure. We can all just try our best and know that that's what we are able to do. Whether I am here, there or wherever I continue to use my time and hopefully to use it wisely.

Looking for direction and self in painting

I've been thinking that I need to make another self portrait painting for awhile now.  I think I've been considering making one since last year.  It's now the end of 2015 so I've been thinking about this for a long time.
The reason I have been wanting to make a self portrait again is that I feel like if I make one it's like I'm looking at myself and taking inventory of where I am. So here's a look at where I was and where I am now.

This is a self portrait I made I believe in the winter of 2006/2007.  I think this one has a sense of depth of thought in the area of the eyes and around the eyes.  The bright red parts make me think of a sense of vitality and feeling.  

This is the self portrait I just made (2015).  This painting looks more technical and matter-of-fact to me.  I wanted to add my braid into this portrait because I feel like it's part of how people would identify me visually.  It's normally behind me so I don't see it but other people see it.

I was more interested in the layering of the skin this time. I spent time smoothing out the layers of colors as I added them for the skin.  I think part of the reason I was focused on the skin is that skin is often a way that we convey the age of a person.  I can see that the creases by my mouth have developed more and the furrow between my eyebrows has slightly more depth.

Painting Progression

I took pictures of my latest painting as it progressed.  I enjoyed seeing how it changed at different stages in time.  This painting was done over the course of about 10 days.

After the sketch I looked at the photo I worked from and decided to put down red as an under layer to the bark of the trees.  It was an experiment in color.

Here I started to add in the dark part of the pine needles.  

I initially wanted to paint this picture because I wanted to study the bark of the tree on the left side.  However, I started to become more interested in the way the branches of the tree on the right had spaces in between them.  I liked pushing the paint around between the pine needles and the sky.

I continued painting the tree on the right side.  I started to get into looking at the individual pine needles on the branches.  I really got into it.  Then I felt like I had to move back to the tree on the left because I was neglecting the bark of the tree on the left.  I worked at it a lot because when I began to add the texture I felt it looked too scribbled and the lines I added looked too straight.  It needed a rough more broken textured look.

Here is the finished painting.  I decided to add another layer of paint to the mountains in the background but leave them without much detail so that the pine trees in the foreground remain as the focal point.  

Looking into what I need to know about getting my art out there

Dear reader,
I have been thinking a lot more about the goal of selling my paintings lately.  I have been thinking about how I can learn more about selling my art.

I am beginning to realize that there are a lot of little bits of information out there on the internet about selling one's art or handmade creations.  Whenever I see another blog post or website talking about selling one's art I feel like I am chasing rabbits through their rabbit holes.  All the information starts to feel like a random assortment all scattered around me.

I am starting to find that reading books helps me a lot more than searching the internet.  The reason why is because a book contains so much more information than a single blog post.  A book organises the important points that it wants to say into chapters and it goes into much more depth in explaining it's points.

I am thinking about this as I am currently reading a book called "Art Inc." by Lisa Congdon.  I am finding it very informative for my current place in making art.  I want to find ways to put my art out there more either by finding places to show it or ways to sell it.  I was reading another blog post recently and it was talking about how someone often asks artists how they are selling their work.  The writer said that more often than not artists were not actually selling their art.

Lisa Congdon's Blog (photo above from Lisa's blog)

 Lisa's book can be purchased on Amazon.  I am viewing a free copy thanks to a library.

I think at a certain point I am going to have to move beyond reading books and begin talking to people face to face about my art goals.  I have never considered myself an expert in the art of conversing - particularly when it comes to asking questions.  However, I think I can eventually prepare myself with some questions that I want to ask others about how to continue to develop as an artist.

Must...paint....more

Tuolomne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

9" x 12", Oil on Board, 2015

Yesterday I finished a painting of Tuolomne Meadows for a photo that was taken by my husband in 2005.  In the photo you can see small ripples in the water that make the reflection of the mountains look slightly wavy.  I was working on another painting previously that dealt with ripples in water. People seemed to be interested in the ripples so I made a point of concentrating on the ripples in this painting too.  I don't feel that I've mastered ripples but I'm working in it.

Now that I've finished my latest painting I can see it looked better than some of my other recent work that I haven't spent as much time on. However, I can also see that my skill level has dropped considerably from six years ago.  For the last five years I made very few oil paintings. I can see that I will need to practice a lot to get back to that skill level or advance from that level.

And so, I must paint more.

My goal right now is to get my work into a show in February. My work has to pass a jury to get in. Based on the type of work that is in the gallery I want to show in I'm guessing my work will be able to pass the jury and get in.  However, what I would really like to do is not just have art that will pass the jury but knock their socks off! I don't think I'll be that good but I want to strive to be as good as I can be by that time.

Signed up for an Art Association - that must mean I'm serious

So, I became a member of an art association today.  That must mean I'm serious about being an artist. Here's my serious face.  Just kidding.  This photo of me was taken a few months ago as a joke.

I already consider myself serious about making art but this is a next step for me.   I joined because they give members opportunities to put their work into art shows.  However, before being able to enter my work in a show it has to pass a jury.  I admire that because if I get in it means it's not just me thinking my work is good enough to show there - somebody else would have to think it's good enough too.  I've had my art work in several art shows before but I've never joined an art association. I've also never had a jury decide whether my art was good enough to show in their gallery.  (I was turned down by several galleries when I was a freshman in college but that's another story.)

The association owns a gallery and the next upcoming show that I would have a chance to enter my work in is in February.  That gives me some time to create work, choose something I would want to show and have it framed.

Switching to less toxic oil painting products

Cambria, California

Oil on canvas      5 x 7     2015

This is a painting done based on a photograph that my husband took while in Cambria.  The ocean there has a lot of jutting rocks that look beautiful.  Much of the rocks and landscape look grayish but there are also some areas of bright green growth on the ground.  There are also some interestingly shaped trees.  The wind from the ocean has blown them into interesting shapes.

I just recently began painting with oil paints again.  I had not painted with oils in over three years until I started back up about two weeks ago.   If you paint with oils you are likely to have used turpentine, mineral spirits or something similar that gives off harmful vapors.  I usually use these types of products to clean my paint brushes and and to thin the paints while painting.  These products have warnings on them about harmful vapors.  After about one week of being back into oil painting and using turpenoid (the product I was using) I noticed a lot of acne on my face and neck.  I have very sensitive skin.
I decided to see if there are any alternatives to thin paint and/or clean brushes that don't involve products that are bad for my health.  One product I found that doesn't say "harmful vapors" on the label is Medium W by Schmincke.  It can be used both for thinning the oil paints and to aid in cleaning the brushes.
The painting above is my first attempt at creating an oil painting without using any turpentine or mineral spirit type of product.  The Medium W handles in an oily way more similar to thinning with linseed oil than turpentine, however, with not quite as oily a brush feel as linseed oil.  Overall, I find it to be an excellent substitute for the more harmful products.  I'm not sure if it contains anything that would be harmful to handle over time but it does not contain any warnings on the label.
In the future I may try other products if I find others that do not contain harmful vapors or other ingredients that would be harmful to health.

Portrait

"Hana"

Watercolor

2003

A watercolor of one of my sisters.

"Cookie Crumb Waterfall"

Watercolor

A watercolor of a woman eating a cookie.  The writing o n the left translates as "Cookie crumb waterfall". 

"Self as a Chinese Girl"

Watercolor

This is a watercolor that is originally based on a photograph I took of myself.  It does not look so much like the photograph of myself but I was trying to capture my mood and my feelings about my cultural identity.

"Girl with a Peony"

Watercolor on Canvas

5 X 7

The inspiration for this watercolor painting on canvas came from a photo in a magazine. I love the soft wavy petals of the peony flower. 

Watercolor

This is a watercolor based on a photo a took of a traveling companion.  Her look in the photograph seemed to imply a faraway contemplation.  I tried to capture the look of being lost in thought about faraway things. 

Landscape

Still Life

Sketches