Here comes Da Saints

There once was a person that told me "paint on anything" and me being one that always does what I am told ( translation "NEVER") and am a total conformist ( translation " NOT EVEN CLOSE") I painted on some old wooden fence slat tops. I mean why be an artist if you are going to be a follower. I guess thats unfair. There are in fact many wonderful artists that do everything by the book and I love their work. My hat is off to you. But alas I am not like that. I'm afraid I am one of "those" artists that have a tend-icy to utilize a popular perception that an artist is some what different. I have sat in some unusual places sketching and never have I been questioned as to why I am there. People look at the sketch pad and walk on by. Some one else without the sketch pad would be asked to move. I once sat on a sidewalk in a very picturest town sketching away completely mindless of the people that were about. My wife was shopping and I was passing the time sketching the buildings and such. I had kind of noticed that the people walked around me giving me a respectful berth. I had also noticed the police car cruising slowly past a time or two or more. It wasn't until my wife showed up and I got up that I noticed that I had been sitting under a NO LOITERING sign. Ah! That explained the police keeping me safe with frequent drive by's. And there was this time in Washington DC when I was sketching the inside of the this big white house, I just wandered in with my sketch pad, and I was having a problem with the light on the person sitting in the chair, in what I believe is called the oval office, and I asked if......... oh wait that was a dream. You weren't believing ANY OF THIS are you? But it could have happened! Well maybe? No? Then you won't believe the one one about sitting in a bar and a fellow walks in with a duck.... MORE COFFEE PLEASE!!!  I'M STARTING TO WANDER HERE!

 

Wo, that was weird. Wait I'm an artist. All is normal. The point is that........ Anyway. I painted these saints on some wooden slats. Simple really. First you obtain the slats, I did not cut the tops off a fence! They were given to me by my neighbor who had them. Then you "age" and "weather" them. Then I sat down with a Dremel and out lined the saints and then painted them. I used oils for the painting part. Great fun really. Kind of like the old religious paintings found out here in the southwest. They then sat around (meaning not many sold) and my beautiful wife found them. This fantastic woman added the nail heads around the outer edges and high lighted the paintings. WOW! Not that's a saint! The point is,(finally a point) by just doing art, art will take you on a journey that you could never plan. Just the experience of the doing and then the joy of the results. How would I ever be able to say no! I rarely do. Here come da Saints.
So here are the Saints. They are gone now to the market and I'm sure that they will all find happy homes.

Ain't No Saint!

I love them all, I hope you do to!

From the Kitchen

Well we have been working like crazy on "products" (translation- extraordinary art objects for the sale to exceptionally gifted people of the arts.) It is always such a joy to be working away and realize that the art object that you have been so diligently working on starts to come together and it's beauty appears. I have heard people at shows make comments like " Oh I can do that!" or " That didn't take a whole lot of time". Both true. My thoughts when I hear this is " yes you can make it, but make 100 or more, day after day" and "This one required 1 hour and countless more to get to this point" " How much is an hour of work worth?". Artists are specialists. We work constantly at improving what we are doing. As I mentioned in an earlier post I have been constantly improving my recycled metal flowers for ten years. WhOOOOOOOOO! Where was that going? We do art because we love it and the payback is that others love it. It is fun. There are some long hours and frustration but all that disappears when you are looking at joyful beauty. All people in all professions go through the same thing. We are all artists!
Back to the "products". I am placing a few more "samples" on this page to boast I mean show what we do. I am very proud of our work. As you can see I do the flowers and Cheri takes them to a new level. I love her work.

Printed Irish

Sun Flower

Rusted Irish

Sun catcher Small Flower

Sun catcher waiting for flower

So there you have it a few more special items.
It's easy to see that all these years and years and .............. we have had a whole lot of fun.
And there is more and more all different and beautiful.
I guess that is what this blog is about. Having fun. It just so happens that it is art that we have fun doing. Very convenient since this is an art blog, don't you think. Well it's back to the kitchen of creation and whip up a new "item"! I can't wait to show you the boxes and there is this one piece that Cheri has done..... I won't spoil the surprise. And speaking of surprises we have this friend, UNBELIEVABLE WORK! Wess you there? I'm really having fun with this.
"Enjoy the day!" the mouse said as he sat in the shade sipping his sweet nectar tee. The mole nodded her head in agreement and slipped under the leaves. " A good day it will be indeed "

Working at Art!

Gem shows over! 8 days of walking and buying and looking at all the beautiful stuff! We are a bit compulsive about the gem show. SOOOOOOO much to see! "Oh this is fantastic! We could use this with the..... Look at this! We have to have one of these! I think we will need way more of this item!" Such is the life of an artist. Love it! We both love the making of art and I love painting. Does it show? However there is a little thing called making a living off of our love. Now thats another thing. there are markets and customers and inventory, tools, ect. So how do we make money you ask? You do not sit and wait for the "Mood to hit you" you work. Long hours at times. My wife has been doing this for many years. Long before I came along she supported herself with a tremendous talent and a work ethic that pushes her to extremes at times. She has a saying that is " no one pays me if I take a break". You don't work you don't get paid. Simple. Jack White is a successful artist that writes articles for the magazine the Professorial Artist. In the latest issue he tells a story about inspiration. " When we receive the bills thats all the inspiration we need to work."
Where am I going with this? Well I'll tell ya. The thing that I have learned is that you do what you have to do to sell what you enjoy making. A majority of our time doing art is building products for sale. Is this "selling out"? I don't think so. You see we totally enjoy the rather twisted path and where it leads. Very exciting. One of my biggest sellers are flowers made from recycled tin cans. I have been making them for 10 years! They started out as a curiosity and have changed constantly and now sell exceptionally well. They have shown me so many amazing and beautiful experiences and I can't describe the excitement of watching a finished flower come forth in all it's beauty. And as a bonus the people that by them are smiling!!!! What more can you ask for. Building beauty joyfully and then selling that beauty and bring joy to some one else. That's what art is all about!

Barbie is a bit foot loose and hands free!

Frames? you betcha!

Love the Jewelry!

Our products are many. The ideas for improvement of the existing products and new products seems to be endless. We constantly talk about what to do and how to do it. Inspiration is every where and we get excited envisioning where the inspiration is leading us. Our secret is simple. Do not stop! Follow the path. My metal flowers were pathetic at first and now they are a popular item. Follow what ever, where ever it leads. Growth starts at the beginning and the fruits of joy only come to you as the tree grows. There would be no fun of discovery if you already knew where you were going!

Still at the Gem Show ... But.....

Well while we are negotiating with China for additional funds to buy MORE & MORE, not really, though that might not be a bad idea, hmmmmmm, here are a few of my lovely wife's creations that went to Wyoming. These are a very popular series of match box shrines. I should say the match box shrines are a popular series. Better you think? Well anyway, she has been making these for years. In fact one of these were one of the first creations I saw of hers. I looked with amazement at the detail and quality of work man ship. Not only are they completely encased on the out side when you open the inside they are also finished. She also places a charm on the inside that goes with the theme of the match box. Vincent Van go has a little silver ear on a chain!  She makes a lot of lotiria card ones, saints of all sorts,themed ones and then there are the " fancy " ones. I love them all but the fancy ones are totally exquisite!!!!!

 

Elvis of course. With all the do-dads of the music industry. Then theres Ms.Monroe with her diamonds and the Mermaid with the treasures of the deep and the icon of all girls in the whole world! The one and only ( Trade marked plastic doll ). Do not want to be sued for using the name or anything. But I believe that you can figure it out Can't you Barbie?

Theres More coming up latter. Ms. Cheri Mossie is forever creating gorgeous works of art! I will post more as time allows. I often tell people, you are people right? I guess I can tell you anyway, I live in a land of wonder where Xmas is every morning. See, she works at night and when I get up she has a beautiful new piece of art for me to see. How great is that!!! I LOVE IT !! ( by the way our Xmas tree is still up ). Till later we are again off to the show, fossils I think, for fun.It's all fun. For you artists sketch one of the above, now thats a way to spend an after noon. Now where is my Indiana Jones hat?

11 Degrees of ?

Well the Gem show has started and we are running like crazy. More on that later.

The buyer came by and loved our stuff. The store is in Jackson Hole Wyo. Beautiful art in a beautiful place! We are going up there in the spring. Big trip! First ever for us! I'm not much on vacations and things. I enjoy working. A very " you get things done if you do them " mantra leads me through life's paths. We do take Sunday afternoons off to explore the desert and fossil hunt and of course fish.

Following is a series that I did some time ago. I decided that a portrait that was composed with the angle of the head at 11 degrees of tilt was absolutely perfik' (spelling from a BBC show, Loved that show) So I made this series and I as you can see I was so totally successful. They were all done with the under painting and then layers or washes on top. Bunches and bunches of washes. Well to make a long story short ( wife waiting to go spend the national debt at the gem show ) the lady from Jackson Hole loved them and wants to put them in her gallery. So they must be framed and sent out into the big world. They are all excited about this. When I did shows they, meaning the paintings , would all clamor for the best spot in the tent. That's why I did shows. It was because the paintings wanted to get all fancied up and show off. ( loose translation not much sales but great fun ) My art has been described by a gentleman at one of these shows as " the artist has some serious mental problems". He said this to me not knowing I was the artist. He was also a shrink. You should have seen the backpedalling on that one when I said ' I'm the artist"! I grinned for days!!!! I do what I want because I want to do it. I do not paint to fulfill some unknown expectation. I have done that and was always very miserable trying to reach the constantly moving bar.  But any way I'm Off to the gem show to find treasures of wonder and joy.

Love you all and you all love life! OK? OK!

Arizona Dreams

Indian Feathers

Past, Present and Future

Loosing her marbles

Vampire # 3

About a year or so ago, before the great flood of my studio and subsequent repairs, I had started the "Vampire Girl" I posted the beginnings in several earlier posts. Well the studio is back up and running and there was this day that.... I mean well..... anyway I pulled out the old picture and she said " it's time " and so it was. The last post showed the background and the base color for her face. I used blue to model the face. This sitting I worked over that color with more blue then burnt sienna and raw sienna. The darker areas was painted with a combination black. In this picture I combined blue, burnt sienna and crimson. After modeling the face I then started over this with a series of washes that were made of various amounts of yellow, red, white and raw sierra. Presto! Face. On top of all this there is a clear coat with a very light blue tint and gold glitter. Just a hint. The last coat shows up when the light is just right. OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Coming along nicely I think.
She still has more to be done but I'm not sure when that will be. THE GEM SHOW IS COMING !!!
And this year we have a buyer that Cheri is selling to that wants to stop by and see what else we do. And that means I have to get busy putting together samples. Feel the pressure!!!! Ya right. I do a recycled tin flower ornament that people love and sells rather well and I have only once had them ready for the Christmas season. They do sell all year though. There are actually quite a few different styles and sizes of the recycled tin flowers. A big seller is a rusted series that I do. Now try getting something to rust in Arizona! There is no humidity at all. I make it work though. And then there is multitudes of other things that need to be touched up and readied. I feel really good about working on art again.
 I have a day job that pays the bills and helps us build what we need for the day art will be 24/7. I have taken off for a year or more several different times to do nothing but art. I learned a hell of a lot about the "art" business in those times. I decided that I needed to be prepared to do art full time on my terms and that I needed to become properly set up. So I work. Making a living doing art, as Cheri has done most her life, requires dedication, self discipline and a health dose of reality. Learn to love the art you do for sales! Learn to work as never before to produce those items that sell. I came to the realization that right now I was not going to be an instant, overnight world wide art sensation. Kind of like a rock star. There are very few of the rock star types but mostly there are a hole lot of garage bands. I may never be a "rock star" but I will be a damn good garage band. After all it is the small good bands that bring untold millions joy and a good time. I like that. After all to me it is all about the good times and passing it on to others. Rich is good, famous not so good, being who I am not terribly bad.
So off to the art mines to work work and laugh!

William Arrives

Arrive! William did that with a bang! Well I found " William was dressed to impress. Would she care? He thought so. " As we now know she did.( See previous post or close to it.) Some day I will tell you about William and his bride. They have a wonderful life together now.

This picture started with the eyes, as most of my faces do. Then the nose and smile. I use the a proportioning technique where the width of the eye is used to lay out the face. One eye width between the eyes. 3/4 or one eye width to the outside of the head from the out side corner of the eye. 1 1/2 from the center of the eyes to the end of the nose and so forth. I'm sure that a visual diagram would work better. The Internet probable has it. It has allot of good stuff and a lot that I really do not want. The point is that things work because they are done right. Which means that you learn and practice. William is a sketch that is the result, more or less, maybe, of literally thousands of sketches. I have books and books of sketches. I have always sketched. It does not matter what you use. Trust me on this. Any thing that will put a mark on something else or create a loose idea of a picture will work. I lived near an ocean once and would go to a section of beach, find a stick, and sketch 50' tall pictures. Now that is fun!!! The dirt, sidewalks, twigs, leaves, stones, old boards. It all works. It is about getting the pieces that you are trying to bring together into a semblance of order that conveys the idea or emotion that you are trying to express. I obviously have a broad definition of Sketching. Oh well. It's all practice to me. I have never completed a master piece. I have completed a large bunch of practice pieces. All of them lead me to the next adventure. All the parts of William are probably somewhere in the sketches that I have done.

Which brings me to the sketch that I really like because its so happy. I just had to bring her here.

"The Cap and Coveralls". Country folk again. Whats with that? But she is loving the fun in life!!

Ink, pencil, water colors and maybe other stuff. If you look closely the pencil is loose and fast. Then the rest was applied. She always makes me smile. Thank you lady of smiling days.

What have you seen to day? Did you sketch it? Remember the 5 second rule from a previous post? ( Nov. 27/09 Vampire Girl #2)Picasso used light to sketch. A wet finger on a desk or table. So tell me what did you sketch today?

"Once you start to sketch then you will start to "see" what you are looking at and it will be the beginning of beauty in your world". I'm sure that this was said by a very famous important artist, Or me. Still good and very true.

Zebinezer and stuff

These are old but ... wait a minute! I was slipping into "accept me Please". Kiss my paint brush!

These are friends that I am not embarrassed of. Rule- never have doubt its all good. Right? Soooooo right!

Way to much coffee.

This is a fellow that came out one day. Laid back and country. Got to wonder though. There was a lot going on with this gentle man of the chair. Well it seems that smile was telling because a bit latter, Alice, his wife appeared. They are a couple. I like them. Makes me wonder about those country folk. Think they know a secret about living life. Thats a good thing.

This one is called the bride. A bit of steam punk. Not sure who she is marrying? Wait a minute yea I do. Unreal! I will find the sketch. "William is dressed to impress" I believe is the name. I did it sitting in a parking lot this year waiting on a Dr. appointment. Seems William impressed! Three years and I have the answer. I have always felt some what sad that she was alone and going through the motions of a marriage but there really was no one. Not no more. Now wheres William!

Last one for today is a piece that I did playing with chalk. Also used ink and acrylics. I actually saw the wings many years ago (30+) on an angle in a grave yard. they must have impressed me. The lady is a development from a picture I did about 15 years ago called "all angles aren't always nice". That one was about the ravages of AIDS. Very loose and impressionistic. so here she is proud and strong. Now if your going to have a guardian angle one that can kick but would be nice.

I'm off to find William and some others. Oh and that vampire.

Keep on smiling she said its all good.

One year latter! WOW!

How time flies!!! It has been a year since my last post. A very busy year I might add. Priorities and all that.

I know that every one has been holding their breath waiting for the next post and pictures. Well Breath Now!

Weird that once I stopped the harder it was to restart. My son shamed me into starting again. Tell me how does that work?

I digress. The year has been about work. Lots of work but not art. Sad but true. I have not stopped the art in fact I will be posting some new stuff. Most of what I have done is small quick and done in the rare time where I am able to stop for a moment. Sketches and such. Ms. Mossie though has been working and selling like a mad woman. One of my work projects is a light box to take pictures of her work. The box works great and her art really shows very well now. I will be posting a bunch of her stuff to. And another bonus of wandering around the world is the unbelievable art I have seen. So much that has inspired me. So much to do.

Metal Clay! Took a class and am looking for a Kiln! Waaaaaaaaay coooooooooool ! Ideas are and have been running rampant.

Production will still be some what slow, a bit more to do on the house, but then......

To the artists: Practice practice practice and learn learn learn. Thats what I have been doing and hopefully it will show.

I will be posting on a regular basis, somewhat, maybe, some times, more or less.

I do want to share what I have been experiencing in the world of wonder that is called "ART"

Now where is that vampire?