Collaborating with fellow artists

Last month i had the distinct pleasure of being asked by my good friend Jeanne Schnupp, of "Jeannie's Designs" to corraborate with her on a magnificent wood floor she was commisioned to finish. I had done a similar floor about a year ago, and was happy to share my experience on that job to help her project run smoothly. The floor was stripped by a pro floor finisher and Jeanne and her partner set out on the arduous task of marking off all the boxes. Next I came to help her hand taping, and scoring each box that was to be stained. We scored each box with a straight razor to ensure minimal bleed in the stain, bare wood, that has no conditioner, or sealers on it is highly susceptable to stain, so we took this extra pre caution. Next we off loaded of chip brushes and stained away for a full day. The last step was a light stain to be doneby the floor guy, and a coat of poly. The results are a spectacular dramatic diamond pattern that really enhances the area of this sprawling ranch in the North Shore of Long Island.

Inspiration in our daily day to day tasks....

Mural painting is something that feeds my family, through diligent efforts and smart planning. I find fun, challenging and interesting projects. Lately I have been finding inspiration for my murals and fine art painting in my daily routines. Last Sunday I spent a lovely day at the local dog park, located just east of the Robert Moses Causeway, I went armed with my camera, and a bottle of water. 87 photos later I had found inspiration for shadow, sky, sea and landscapes. Just the beauty of walking through dense trees, and looking up, gave me wonderful photos of the sky surrounded by leaves. Inspiration is only a short walk and a sunny day away!

Avon Walk for a Cure

This week I have signed up for this charitable and worthy cause. Because of the inspiration from my good friend Jeanne, who does this walk every year, i have decided to join her. The walk it self is 39 miles through New york City and the proceeds go to Breast Cancer Research. I am hoping to reach my goal of 1800. I have begun training this week which can't be a bad thing, getting out , walking in the beautiful spring weather is good for mind, body and soul. Plus my dog is not complaining about the extra time out! To find out more about the walk, to donate or to join hit the link above.

Westbury Gardens: an artists delight

A recent trip to Westbury Gardens on mother's Day with my family was met with ture awe and delight. This beautifully manicured oasis in the heart of Old Westbury is a rrare jewel on the island's north shore. We started our tour in the sprawling mansion, the handpainted wallpapers, and ornamental plasters greeting us in every room. The exotis marbles on table tops and surrounding fireplaces made me itch to break the "no photographs" rule. The most impressive 2 inch slab of solid lapis in the main foyer begged me to touch it despite the many "do not touch" signs. Yes the mansion is a decorative artist's paradise, every room had something to make me stop and stare! The outdoor gardens were just lovely my favorite being the reflecting pool surrounded by the wisteria trellis'. We packed a picnic lunch, brought a football and had a relaxing day on the great lawn. There was quite a few artists with easels propped up in various little corners of the grounds. If you are an artist or just appreciate an abundance of beauty , why not plan a day here and bring your easel.

Art in the Park

The Amityville Artists Circle is sponsoring it's annual Art in the Park event on May 16, at the Nautical Park on Ocean Ave. and Merrick Rd. The event promises to be a fun and inspriring day full of art, demonstrations, and entertainment. I will have a booth this year and plan on showcasing some of my newer paintings as well as doing a few demos myself. I will be dmonstrating fresco techniques, as well as japanese marbling. for info call 516 541 8782 see you there!

Japanese Marbling

This Easter I wanted to try something a bit different with my eggs. My friend Theresa Cheeck, from Texas sent me this lovely pear paperweight she made for Christmas. The pear had a paint technique that i had seen before but never had a clue how to do it. Theresa was generous enough to "walk me through " the process as if it were " Marbling for dummies" and gave me a link which is connected to the title of this post where I could buy all my supplies. I was set to try this wonderfully fun technique. I invited a few of my artist friends over and we marbled wooden eggs, trays, scarves and paper. The technique call "Sumingashi" is created by floating paint on water that has carageenan added to it. This bath now has a slickness to it that allows the paint to float on top. We then used a stylus to create patterns and designs in the paint colors. Our objects to marble were soaked in allum and then we dipped away. Our egges and scarves were really fun, the kids enjoyed watching the process. The fun thing about this is , the element of surprise, you really do not know what you will wind up with, but almost garanteed it will be beautiful! Thank you again Theresa!

From trash to treasure

Scouring garage sales is one of the highlights of the warmer months for me. Whenever I see a sign or a driveway full of "stuff" I slow the car down, it drives the kids nuts. Some of my best finds have been from garage and tag sales. The items I am always looking for are classically shaped wood furniture, glassware and large paintings in frames. I like finding pieces of furniture because sometimes they are really good as new, when they need a make over its an opportunity for me try "play" with a fun piece and I usually wind up donating that to my church. Glassware is some what of a hobby of mine, I like odd shapes, mismatched chrystal and stemware, decanters and vases. The paintings are always good finds in my opinion because if the canvas is usable, I can paint over the existing painting, if not I toss the painting and keep the frame. Frame can be expensive and having nice frames are important when I display my artwork. Someone's trash might be your treasure, and it really never hurts to look right?

Spring Cleaning

Well Finally Spring feels like it might be around the corner. I spent today cleaning my home, office and studio spaces. Many bags of garbage were disposed of! Today was a good day for me. I got alot accomplished here. I went through old sample boards, I tossed the ones that just don't sell. Like an old pair of shoes, if I have not worn them in over 2 years I toss them. With my sample boards if I have not sold it ever I tossed it. I recycled a few that I think might make interesting backgrounds for fine art type paintings. I organized my "inspiration" photo albums, and stacked my books and papers. The studio needed some tidying and the house was cleaned top to bottom including the cars! Taking inventory, and cleaning your work space helps keep you feeling in control and organized. For me it helps remind me of projects I found interesting a few months ago, and then unfortunately they may have been buried under the next "great project" added to my plate!For spring, its a good time to go through your ares, and re- establish your priorities. Plus it frees up time for gardening!

Learned Lessons in Reproducing Old Masters Paintings

As an artist I have many favorite painters, sculptors, and artists that I look up to, derive inspration from, and sometimes emulate. John William Godward is someone whose work moves me and inspires me. For many reason, I love his saturation of color his use of fabrics to convey form, and his incorporation of the often lovely female as the centerpiece of the painting. I had been wanting to incorporate my daughter into one of my favorite Godwards for a while. Over the last few months I gave it a go. I use these excersises as just that, an excersise in discapline, painting like someone else, as a challenge, and of course for my own pleasuer. My painting has a few lessons foe me. The lessons are positive and negative, I am very pleased with my renderings of the fabrics, shadows, marbles and girl. My dissappointment is that I have learned that not all paintings can be "morphed" successfully, my major failure in this painting is that my daughters face is not age appropriate to the original woman in the painting and that is why the painting looks a bit awkward. As artists we must learn from all endeavors, success is in everything because any lesson learned is of value, and all paintings serve as practice for your next Magnun Opus!

March 2009 Artist of the Month

The Faux Forum is my cyber home away from home. This is an online community where I have met and collaborated with artist friends from around the world. The Faux Forum is a place where I go for critique and help with my paintings while in progress, it's a place where I can ask questions when experiencing proffessional, or technical difficulties on a project. Faux Forum is a place where I can find out about upcoming events or plan to meet my friends at planned events. I have been honored with the Artist Of the Month recognition and I am in tremendous company. The artists recognized previosly is a long and impressive list, being added to this list is very special to me , being amongst such gifted talents, humbling. Take a moment to explore this wonderful online community, you will find some inspiring how to demo;s, some useful information on products and some interesting techniques. http://www.fauxforum.com