Altoids box # Two

Well here is the second round of the box that side tracked me. All the metal work is done at this point. There may be some more added if required. The colored stones are just temporary to show a little color.

The box goes to the master artist ( my wife ) for the pizzas. She has the touch to take something ordinary and bring it to the fine art category. It's always amazing to me the perfection and joyfulness of her work. Here is a recent shrine she did. It is about 3" wide and 4" tall. Her work is extremely detailed.

Any way the box goes to her for the fine work. We occasionally collaborate on a project. Quite often it is observations as to how a project is going and what to do. I am very lucky to have someone that is as enthused about art as I am.

Eventually the inside will be finished off with what or how I'm not sure. Fossils, fairy or who knows what will take up residence. At this point I'm all excited waiting to see what she does with it. It's a joyful life here in Oracle AZ. in the side of our hill.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!!!!! AND HAPPY KNEW YEAR !!!!

Side tracked

Well everything was going well and then...... WHAM!! I looked at the pile of Altoid boxes that were , I thought, sitting there innocently and the inspiration bug swiftly hit me between the ears. I have to say these boxes were from an earlier time when I had come up with an idea to make wire gears to have them open and such. Very neat idea and with great possibility. Unfortunately this got mired in technical problems. But now!!! Altoid boxes with out gears!!

I had a proto type box sitting there for quiet some time and I had just stopped at the metal crafting table to see if anything was new. The table does have a habit of acquiring odd bits and such. I picked up a box that I had previously aged and as I looked around all the parts laying about they all of a sudden started fitting together. What you see is the beginning of a " flower box". The base is part of a rusted flower that I make and sell at the Tucson Museum of Art Gift shop. The smaller flowers on the top are flowers that I make for a whimsical item called the "bullet flower". They are usually used with an old found shell casing. Other items are and will be items that we find at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show or out and about the area where we live and wander.

The first challenge was how to attach these decorations. This was a real stumper. I tried soldering, silver soldering, bought several glues but non of these were working. The quality of the work required a different approach. I had reached an impasse so to speak. Then providence decided to intervene as it so often has a want to do. I had gone over to a neighbor to look at his progress on his new work shop. As our conversation wound around building problems and solutions I realized here was the person to help in my problems with silver soldering on my flower box. After all he is a silversmith. Duuu... He told me that what I was trying to do just would not work. He then suggested rivets (picture on the left) Eureka!! I knew that was the answer. After some trial and error I found that a 14 gauge copper wire works great to make rivets. Who would have ever thought copper wire rivets! I must say I am thrilled with the results. This method combined with regular solder has opened up all sorts of possibilities and ideas.

I envision using this rivet idea in numerous applications. I am going to try smaller wire and see what else develops.

If some one wishes to know more about the rivet making procedure, that I use, I will be more than glad to give a more detailed explanation. It is very simple.

So I have become side tracked, held hostage by Flower Power! All art is just so exciting to me. Every project has elements of the new discovery. Of course with my terrible memory every day has lots of discoveries.The lesson learned here is, when a problem just does not have the right answer ask. I, for one, seem to get caught staring at the same brick in the wall and wonder why the brick does not change ( real bad metaphor!!!!) It is at these times it helps to take a moment to ask the the universe, in this case my neighbor. I can't count the times when what I am working on reaches a dead end because it no longer feels right. I have a painting called " The dance of the thunderstorm". I have been working on it for quite some time. Each part of the picture comes to me by an out side answer. Forcing the completion of the painting would just make a really bad painting. It is said that a wise man knows that he does not know. I am not wise but I do know that if I search and be patient the answer will come when I am ready to see it.

In conclusion ( official sounding :) ) Never stop and admit defeat just realize that the answer is headed your way. Keep your head up and allow yourself to be smacked with an inspiration!!!

Diane a bit more

Well I hope that this picture is a bit better than the first one of her. Still not that good but better. This is what I say about my paintings while I am working on them. This is also the period between the excitment of the early creation and the close to completed picture. Being an artist is part creative and a lot "stick with it". There are many times when a art project is in this tween stage that it takes a mental "push" to sit down and start working. I always am glad after the fact that I did sit down and work. Once I am started I then slip into the mental quiet of doing art. The mental quiet of doing art is the fasination of watching what ever part you are working on grow and blossom.

In this picture this time it was "3Ding" the gears. I had finished blocking in the picture and had started on the details but the gears were only a flat straight on veiw. I had been working on the details for quite some time and was begging to be very interested in finishing the picture quickly. ( read as taking short cuts and doing a poor job. ie lazy ) I was showing the picture to my wife and explaining the rational for not doing different parts and in her quiet manner that she uses soooooo effectively with me she said " I think I would like it a lot more if the gears had the depth". What did she know, I was the creator, I was the artist, it was my Painting!!!! ( Thoughts in my head which lasted about 1 nano second). The painting was placed to the side so that it would dry before the final details. Each time I came down to my studio my wifes words came to me and then Diane would look at me with that questioning look saying " you would do that to me?" " You are to lazy to finish this right? You do not like me enough to give me a nice place to be in?" Entities can also bagger and nag. I mean whats a person to do? I now had two of the ladies in my life slowly wearing me into submission. Long story short "This" picture in this blog shows that I as an "artist" resisted the temptaion to lower my standards and am pursuing the quality that lifts the painting to a higher level of fine art. ( What all this says is I got over the resistance created by myself and did what was needed ).

As in all things that we do, you must stick with doing it right and as best as we can at that time. This is called learning. Some times it takes a bit more effort than others but is always well worth it. Practice, practice, practice, makes better happiness with in yourself.

Thank you for stopping by.

The Mornig had not yet arrived.

The morning had not yet arrived.
Art to me is an everyday, all day experience. Much more than the skills and procedures. These are necessary to express the person that an artist is on a canvas or art creation. Similar to a banker, baker or candle stick maker. They each see the world according to who they are. It is who you are and how you see the world. With that thought in mind I am also going to put in here where the art comes from and why.
The morning had not yet arrived. I however, had arisen (how often do you get to use that word? is it a word? Is to me.) earlier than the sun and slipped down to my studio. I could feel the excitement of the day in the darkness and quiet. Today was to be a full day of painting!!!! As I stood in the quiet looking at all my artistic endeavors in their different stages I smiled. ( Artists have artistic endeavors we do not have stuff or junk! Each piece is waiting to be included as part of an artistic expression. We also do not have disorganized clutter. We have a mysterious arrangement of moving items in the process of transformation. My studio is like this. Some, who are not artists, would call it a terrible mess, with bits and pieces, of all sorts of things, piled every which way. Wait my wife is an artist and she thinks it's a mess. Well........ her creative "eye" is different from mine. yea, that's the ticket.) As I was saying, I smiled. This day needed to be engaged! Mystro! Music!
I strapped on my CD player selected the music that fit my mood and walked out into the darkness. Around the house and up the hill to the front patio. Facing East I waited. The sky was a band of bright crimson low on the horizon. A prelude of the energy and colors of the day. As the music swept along with my inner excitement I started to dance. A dance ( read this as uncoordinated movements usually associated with epilepsy) to the morning sun rise. And then came the song! Rich powerful and full of emotion matching my own energy! I sang.( our neighbors are not very close or out at this hour. A very good thing.) Complete! The day was beginning! The sun was rising and the world, as I knew it, was unbelievably fantastic!!!
With this elation I turned and wandered back to the studio. I smiled from deep inside.
The paint and brushes, today, were my friends. The entity of the picture was happy and reminded me of what needed to be done. The work was easy and the joy of the morning was there in the colors and brush strokes. All was good. This was why I am an artist.
The goal has always been the same. When I was about 18 some one asked me why I did art. My reply then and now is " I want to take all the beauty and feelings of joy that are in a rose that I see and feel and give it to another and have them experience the same thing." I'm still trying. All that I experience becomes my art. Each and everything I see enters the catalog in my mind and becomes part of the picture when required. The feelings that I have are infused in what I create again from the catalog. This is not a conscious process. It is more of a melting pot of intuitive reaction to the art being created. It is who I am. I believe that the banker, baker and candle stick maker do the same thing. Well they probable dance and sing better, but you get the idea.
This is a bit of where the art comes from. Thank-you.

ps: Pictures that may show my studio are not part of a government disaster area. There is no state of emergency in my studio. Objects that are unidentifiable and do not appear normally on earth are not a threat. This is Arizona after all we have lots of visitors :)

The other two.

I am going to try to post the other two pictures that are in process. I am still learnig to take photo's and how to make this blog thingy work. Please excuse the mistakes.

The first one is called Stacey's. This is a request by my daughter for a 36" x 48" painting. "whatever you want to do Dad" dangerous words. I do not have a "voice", which means to me paint the same subject the same way, I have a "learning curve". What ever comes into my mind and however it wants to be expressed.

This picture came to me after her request and simple said "I AM THE ONE!". As I said before these painting entities can be quite forceful. The picture came together and gelled in my mind. I usually "see" the picture before it actually starts. This in no way implies that what ends up on the canvas is what I "saw". The picture entity hasn't really become involved. Blame it on the "picture entity" if it goes bad and take all the credit if it goes right. Rrrrright. I will be the first to admit that I have only so much to do with the finished product. I learn technique and such, practice all the time but in the end I simple hold the instrument that renders the finished product. So blame it on the brush!

But anyway, this is the sketch of the picture to be. At this stage I simple move fast and work out the idea. Moving items, trying elements, taking suggestions from the developing entity. I should mention that all my art is done with music. Another blog on that!

The second picture is "Diane enters the Engineering section". 75% done. This is a result at looking at way to much Steampunk stuff. Both me and my wife have become fascinated with this whole concept and art. Most of my art is not "realism" so it was a natural step for me to delve into this. Diane was an entity at the very start. I do not always know the names at the beginning but she was present and accounted for at the beginning of the process. The elements flowed and there have been a few modifications, but the details take hours and hours. An hour a square inch is not unusual depending on all that has to happen to get to what you see. This is also why I work on more than one painting or project at a time. That's another blog.

So watch the process and ask questions and we will see where all this leads to. I love and "adventure". Old saying " the adventure is only an adventure in the telling. The living of the adventure is quite often quite a laborious undertaking."

Trying to delete this picture. Oh well. More learning curve stuff.

Vampire Girl 2

Don't you just love her!!!
Well here is the next step. I call it blocking in the background. There is no fast rule as to when this gets done. Most times I will block the face and main items in and then do the background. this time I am planning to keep the face somewhat pale and delicate. I decided that it would be best to work to a strong background to achieve this. The boldness of the strokes and the colors are meant to be a contrast to the peaceful still face. I love movement in a painting. Reflections of the world I live in.
I should define "blocking in". To me this is when I establish the color, composition and feeling of the picture. I do not have a formal education in art so the words that I have derived to express what I do may not match the text books. I have read and studied a tremendous amount. Learning is a constant process. I use to live in Norfolk Virginia not far from the Chrysler Museum. There is not a number that will encompass the times that I have visited there. Standing and studying an effect, composition or detail. Trouble with an eye? Head to the museum and study all the eyes. How did the masters and very very good artists do it? Where are the elements and effects in this style. Then of course a favorite of mine for practice and training the eye, mind and hand, is live drawing. I have hundreds of sketch pads, of all sizes, filled with these quick drawings. When I did the laundry at the laundry mat I would sit and sketch faces. People do not sit still!!! In fact they will move away if they see you looking at them and sketching. So this means that you have several seconds to see what needs to be seen and then draw it. Great fun!!
I use the five second rule. This teaches myself that I must know what the important main elements are that I am looking for. Shape, size, proportion to the whole, relation to other items and the importance to the overall feeling or expression of the subject. What are the unique details that make it stand out from the standard?
I have another rule "all sketches and paintings are practice!" I do not dally on perfecting everything I do to a "finished master piece". Got over that! Some are bad, some are good, there are always elements that are very good. Most importantly I always have developed more skills. Even mistakes lead to discoveries. There are no failures. I do not beat myself up worrying about not being good enough to show what I do. I live in the glorious feeling that I am doing and am better than the last year. Or so I think. I'm putting it on the Internet for all to see and I do not even know what it is that I am doing in the painting until it actually happens.
Coffee done got to go.

Vampire Girl 1

In this picture I wanted a vampire that wasn't all deep dark and Goth like. sweet, tender and...
yea..... we will see what happens?

I am using this blog to show what it is I do and maybe how and why. This Picture is the result of a request by my girl fiend(who is also my wife). We never got over that first love thing. However.... She, of course saw the "movie" and needless to say vampires were a must. I painted two art card sized ones that she liked. They are similar in the position of the face. I really liked what had appeared and decided to refine the idea and do it in oils. So here is the start so to speak.
Idea's come from a variety of places. Some times fast and some times they perk in the brain for a long time. In this one I just had to wait while I finished another step in a larger painting. Now I can devote the proper time to it.
The sketch, as you can see by the pencil lines, is composed using very classical methods of facial measurements. I use photos to work on muscle placement and lighting issues. I will also do clay sculptures when a problem presents itself and this is the only solution.
After the sketch I like to do a value study type of under painting. I may or may not work out all the elements of the painting.
A lot of my painting is seat of the pants. Colors are mixed at the time of their use. Elements are moved where ever they feel right and most importantly I let the painting tell me what to do.
Every painting comes with or develops a entity of it's own. This personality becomes involved in the process. Some time very forcefully. There are paintings I labor over and then there are paintings that I stop thinking and just respond to what is required next. I love these painting sessions. One side of my brain watches the picture unfold as an observer. " Wow red there? who would have ever thought that would work there? Perfect Wow" All great fun. I know that I'm well into this type of painting when I do not even look at the color of the tube. Just reach, grab, squeeze, paint. The color becomes evident as it is being applied. This is not a frequent thing.
Enough already.
I will post the other works in progress once I take a good photo of them, (face book picts very bad) and show them as they develop. I will also post some of the completed works that I and my wife enjoy.
Till then. Enjoy life's treasures.

And then there was Art

Well this is the beginning and in the beginning there was the word and the word was ART.
Like so many before me I am going to subject the world at large to the view from my much misunderstood perception of events.
It is not true, or it could be if one was to close their eye's, that I was born on a starry night. But it is true that at the first feeling there was the flow and swish of the bristles through all time into my soul. A yearning that has always been present to share that joy, beauty, feelings, thoughts, both good and bad and yes the excitement of elation beyond words that I found myself thrust into. Quite often tears were the results of all this as I became overwhelmed. Does beauty hurt? Quite often. Pain unmeasurable only sated when at last it would burst forth on to the page or canvas. Waking up and dashing RED on anything just because all the world required that at that moment. There was no waiting. Sleep then returned. Long I fought this need to express. After all society really considered this quite useless. I didn't listen.
So here I am today 59, still filled with this wonder of creating that I have had uneasy truces with, complete immersion and the most fantastic journey I could ever ask for.
My opening line to my wife to be was "I am an artist". Her response "I am to". Nine years latter, 3 married, we live in a world filled with life, love and all that art brings.
So now I step out! Hello world. Wait I have done this before in the way of shows, outside and inside, website, and stores but this is different. This time I shall present the road from my slightly different perspective.
Enjoy or not, maybe find that the atoms can exist in weird and wonderful ways.
Come on in at meet my friends.