the painterly hummingbird

a beautiful spring friday!

2011-04-15T07:47:00.000-05:00

yay friday!!!
just found this amazing work via brainpicker -check his work out- AWESOME!
have a great friday!

slee

one more thing......

2011-04-08T09:24:00.000-05:00

OH OH OH! check this out- and have a GREAT WEEKEND!

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/04/08/five-manifestos-for-life/

tgif!!

2011-04-08T09:07:00.000-05:00

cup o' joe and twitter and this lovely was posted by brainpickings - FANTASTIC SITE!!!!!
so pumped and it's not even 9 a.m.! enjoy!

slee

Mick Ebeling: The invention that unlocked a locked-in artist | Video on TED.com

check this out!!

2011-03-31T07:41:00.000-05:00

was researching a project last night and found this site!!!! SO COOL!

hope your thursday is glorious!!

slee

sunday morning

2011-03-27T14:27:00.000-05:00

blueberry pancakes

planting tomatoes, peppers and a hummingbird mix

a hungry caterpillar

(saturday night) trees

hope your sunday is awesome!!!

peace,
slee

before i go....

2011-03-21T06:03:00.000-05:00

just found this- SOOOO GOOOD! 99%

hope your week is super!!
peace,
slee

ride the tide

2011-03-20T14:43:00.001-05:00

well....it is the last day of spring break.
back to work tomorrow.

it went by fast.

it was good to get to the easel- although i will say that getting back has this weird ... monologue (?)- for the first day it's YEAH! and then you're in and it's Yeah! and then you are really in and it's... um...yeah.

it is a process that-for me right now- also sounds like this "AWESOME! i will get this done, i will start this, i will sketch that, no, i will just focus on this and then -wait- should this come first, i mean-wait no- but that is not really "it" so maybe i better go back to that other- BUT MAN I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS! oh my word- JUST DO SOMETHING!!! you don't have much time- WAIT no WAIT!!!! OH! this is it, oh man.... that's not it"

so. what did i get done- i was all over the place- hence the expression "ride the tide".

sketching-
focused on some ideas that have roots-

the above-from that idea that bird's pull the night sky over- like a blanket
the house's are the little blue house and my grandparents house

the above left- returning to this work with trees- interested in what clothes in the trees would look like hanging in the trees- then the right- remembered this barbra streisand album my dad had-superman.

came to a cross roads with an old work and a new idea (that never happens -for some reason I have some hang up about going back to old work- 'must keep moving forward'-yes, weird, i know- must have that chip removed).

the above left, again- working with these different perspectives from trees- so i climbed one in my backyard with camera in tow- it's been YEARS since i have climbed a tree!

turned some small sketches to big sketches-

got so fed up with this one (below)-so overworked- i took it outside and took the garden hose to it- nice......

i really overworked it- got me thinking on what i tell my students not to do- and there i was DOING IT!!!

and then returned to some wip's and had some fun.

and now- to go back to my students and report what i learned in some hope that it will help them on their final projects.

(not seen- the impromptu drawings that came everytime i had an image-we'll save those for later!)

whew! i need another few days of break!

well- it was so good to be here for a short while- i look forward to being back soon!

hope your sunday is beyond!!!!

thanks for reading!
peace,
slee

under some construction

2011-03-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

or maybe reconstruction

thursday, march 17th here in austin- happy st. patti's day ( or maybe that is patty's day?)
i forgot the green. i paid attention to the orange...

and the nativity.

lots to report for the two days i have been on break- catching up on things all around. sending prayers to japan.

went by the sxsw fest today- visited the aol 'studio' and signed up for an about.me profile- really cool! they take your pic there- some great pics! and then you create your profile- an online business card.

that did not end my social net-working adventure- signed up for twitter, updated my linkedin, and here i am making some renovations, spring cleaning if you will.

good ideas are coming- the challenge for while i am off is to sketch an image for every image i think of- kind of 'free-association' business to keep everything hoping upstairs.

where did this come from- here- a MUST see! fantastic- did not really know anything about the artist or his work and this documentary is FANTASTIC!

also- for you colin firth fans- oh. my. word. 'the king's speech' is amazing- the director of photography OUT DID himself- every shot is a painting and not just any painting but a painting that is SO reminiscent of lucian freud's paintings. just a feast for the eyes! and the story is wonderful- inspired to read about the the king and his family now.

well- that about does it for today! so exciting to be here! thank you for reading!

peace,
slee

First day of Spring Break TODAY!

2011-03-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

I worked this morning-on the platforms for As You Like It

they are like a gigantic watercolor.

Drove back to Austin and had amazing blueberry pie and a cup-a-jo with my friend Katie O.

Then I came home and sat down and watched these videos- So good. So inspiring. And so what I needed.

This will be the first thing that we do as a class next Tuesday for SURE!!

There are 10 of them, they vary in length and they ARE SO WORTH WATCHING!!!!!

thanx for reading and enjoy!!!

peace,
slee

wahoo!

2011-03-06T11:34:00.000-06:00

Happy Sunday to everyone! it's beautiful here in Austin- a crisp, sunny morning.
A great weekend- spent working, went to see Austin Shakespeare's production of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman with friends and family.

I finished these drawings for this deadline-

truth

convention

It feels SO great to finish some work!

A challenge with my job is when I can find the time to get my own work done. When I found this juried show I committed to working early in the morning- getting up around five and getting an hour or two done before I leave for work. It's a great time! and working on these has paralleled the work I have been doing with my drawing class- so while working I find myself talking through what I talk through in class- attention to value, light, line quality, mass, space and a whole host of other stuff- "driving all the horses at once!" It is exciting to have finished two drawings- and-to have put my teaching concepts into practice. They are both graphite on paper- 41" x 39".

Why 'truth' and 'convention'?

Titles are funny things-they come in a lot of different ways-for myself they come right before I have completed the work and it relates to an event or experience in my life or it could be the concept that drove the work into production in the first place.

We have begun the anatomy portion of the class and I introduced the canons of proportion-
-7 and 1/2 head figure- a more 'normal' proportion of the human figure- truth
-8 head figure- an 'ideal' figure- agreed upon by artists -Mannerist- style of Italian art preceding Baroque- characterized by a lengthened figure, considered to be a 'more graceful' look-convention

I LOVE ANATOMY! however teaching/lecturing on anatomy- is a challenge! I have been reviewing all of my notes in preparation for these lectures- drawing and talking for me is crazed multitasking! Since reviewing for that first lecture the words truth/convention have been rolling around in my head: what is truth/convention? and how does the viewpoint affect that?

At home, in my studio, I would ask myself what are the truths/conventions these drawings illustrate- myself on the ground, being grounded, wanting to be at bird's level, able to fly vs. myself off the ground- at a bird's level- perhaps the ability to fly? could my convention be my truth?

'truth'- is from a more researched study of myself from the viewpoint of a bird in the tree and 'convention'- is from my head, a younger version of myself that exists in the now. They (both drawings and contemplation of truth/convention) have opened up the flood gates for all of kinds of imagery

Brain gymnastics! Just stuff I ponder while working it all out- more ideas pouring forth from these thoughts!

I hope that your Sunday is sunny and splendiforous!!!

thanks for reading!!!

Man and Superman

2011-02-18T23:17:00.000-06:00

While working on getting the production of Noises Off up- we power housed double-sided flats for Austin Shakespeare's production of 'Man and Superman'.
There are those times where your just not sure about how it will all turn out -and you just ignore those feelings and keep moving forward!

'wallpaper', latex acrylic on canvas , 10' x 15'

'oriental screen', latex acrylic on canvas, 10' x 15'

hope all is well in your world,
slee

SNOW DAY!

2011-02-04T16:58:00.000-06:00

I realize it is a snow world for my friends up north- this title was not meant to annoy!

It is beautiful here- and melting fast!

So, the new Creative Everyday theme for February is Passion.
Earlier this week in my drawing class a student commented on the passion I have for my work. Today is officially a snow day- and I have been up creating my students homework assignments for the next week and some extra work/instruction for a few students so they could better grasp some of the concepts covered in class this week. Where am I headed with this? I figured I would post my extra work/instruction for the CED challenge today! Hope that works!!

The following drills are to help the students with the measuring/ sighting angles of objects in a still life and the relationship between objects in a still life. We begin with a cube: rotating it at eye level, right then left, up then down. They use their drawing instrument or an extra pencil to measure distance and sight angles. More explained on that here.

Then we had a cup to the picture, again eye level-measuring distance between, height of objects, angles- to give us the structure of our drawing.

Changing the composition by overlapping the cube and the cup

Well I think that's a good start to passion! We will see what the rest of the weekend brings.

Hope everyone is staying warm- thanks for reading-

peace,
slee

and the weekend is gone....

2011-01-31T07:04:00.000-06:00

And boy did it go by fast!
I had an informal paint call on Saturday where we worked on the set. Pics to come.
Readied myself for my drawing class today- Chiaroscuro and rendering in charcoal. Worked a bit this a.m. on this drawing. Taking a great cue from Johanna Wright and setting a timer! using little bits of time here and there.

I wish you a great week and thanks for reading!

peace,
slee

underway

2011-01-23T18:35:00.000-06:00

Well, the semester is underway- and here I am blogging! (I am so excited to be here- jumping up and down, jumping up and down!!)

Worked on my class demos, assignments and resource material this weekend and had a wee bit-o-time time for a little Creative Every Day- YAY!!!

Gouache, pencil and ink.
Continuing to work with some of the ideas that I came up with in the Sketchbook Project and the theme of 'the cosmos'.

It was a busy first week, two classes and production on our first show of the semester- Noises Off.

I must say that teaching painting and drawing again is like riding a crazy/fun roller-coaster. I love being in class with my students, demo-ing, letting them experiment, trying to give them all of what I have in my head and all in the short time we have as a class! The time goes by SO quickly and I have SO much to turn them on to!!

In the drawing course we have begun with line- all that a line is and all that a line can do. We worked with contour drawing- trying to develop eye-hand communication. The contour drawing is WAY more than just an outline- the line itself -the varied line can allude to weight, light, curves, to name just a few things- on the form you are drawing. You develop ability to trust, focus and draw what you SEE and not what you think you know you SEE. You see!?

Going over the very basic techniques in the painting class- drills really-beginning with basic washes. The objective being- to fill a 'bag' of techniques that they can pull from at will.

I hope that your weekend was GREAT! and I hope to see you here next weekend!!

peace,
slee

wow....

2011-01-14T01:43:00.000-06:00

my break is drawing to a close. I realize that I have not been here - oh.... on any consistent basis. This week I have concentrated on finishing two big projects- both of which have had me in a creative mode- YAY!!!
I am mailing off my Sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project tomorrow. It has been a great project- in that I have a lot of new ideas for work, I have been able to re-visit some old techniques that I will be teaching AND the first little peek below is a brainstorm between my sketchbook theme-'jackets, blankets and sheets and this month's theme for Creative Every Day- The Cosmos.

This weekend I will finish up my syllabi for the new classes -along with figuring out demos for the painting class. I am eager to teach the drawing and painting course this semester. So far I have two FABULOUS books for the courses that I am to teach.

The Watercolor Book, David Dewey
Classical Drawing Atelier, Juliette Aristides

I was back at work in the paint shop this week and classes begin Tuesday. I don't want to lose the momentum that I have had for the past couple of weeks! My goal for this semester is to keep one creative thing going and posting here- in some form or fashion.

For Creative Every Day-and an entry in the SBP

I often think of the night sky as a blanket being pulled over the earth as the sun sets.

a wintry scene with a sheet on the line

yellow jackets

a super-blanket-cape made of letters and memories

Here are a few new things/ places that I have been checking out- good stuff!!

a great blog-
99%

a great book-
Making Ideas Happen

great food-
food52

an amazing artist!
johanna wright

Thanks for reading!

peace,
slee

good stuff

2011-01-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

Well hello there on the 4th day of 2011.
So far so good!
Found a figure drawing group in Austin

It took me a lot of croakies to get back in the groove!

Signed up for Creative Every Day

Working on the Sketchbook Project

and enjoying!

I hope that your new year is getting off to a great start too!

peace,
slee

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T15:42:00.000-06:00

Happy 2011 to everyone! I hope that everyone had a good new year's eve. We had a great celebration last night in the little blue house- we celebrated a birthday, an anniversary and the New Year. I have to say, I don't think I ever contemplated the year 2011. WOW. 2011. A BRAND NEW YEAR, it holds such wonderful possibility. Kind of makes me giddy!

I wish you, your friends and family a wonderful year.

Thank you so much for reading!
peace,
slee

Merry Holidays and a Happy New Year!

2010-12-29T18:05:00.000-06:00

WOW! I have been gone for some time. I believe my last post was the day before classes started. Whew! What a ride it has been! A very intense semester with lots of learning on my part and my students. We produced two great shows-'Electra' and 'All Shook Up', lots of painting, cartooning, basing, texturing, working with a lot of new products to help paint adhere- you name it-we painted it! I learned a lot of new information concerning scenic work and how to teach- sometimes, how not to teach! I also gained an enormous amount of knowledge and inspiration from my fellow colleagues. Next semester I will be teaching two classes, twice a week- Drawing for the Theatre Designer and Painting techniques for the Theatre Designer.

And now... for a bit of a rest and relaxation.

Christmas was spent with my brother and his family. My nephew Billy is very in to face painting and I sat very still as he composed the 'Four Seasons'.

With such a busy semester the chances for my own work and to keep up the blog went awry!
The week before Christmas I was able to arrange a cozy work space and return to lino cutting for some Christmas cards- YAY!!!! this was so much fun!

And then....I thought I would make some stocking stuffer treats out of matchboxes!! Whoohooo!!

I am looking forward to catching up with all of the blogs that I follow, getting some creative time in and posting here! I hope that you are all well and on your way to a fabulous 2011! It is GREAT to be back!!!

Thank you for reading!

peace,
slee

process continued

2010-08-24T05:46:00.000-05:00

I hope you enjoyed the small video my friend Johnny Stranger made!
It has been a while since the last post! I up-ed the deadline for the drop to be finished so that I could get ready for the semester- lots of meetings, organizing, planning and the like- I am SO excited to be teaching! I am hoping that this site can be a resource for my students. In prep for teaching Scene Painting I have realized that there are not a ton of sites on the subject, with how-to's and such. I came across a terrific one here only to find out that they have stopped publishing. :(

I believe that I left off with MK and I starching the drop. It dried GREAT! No buckling, no scalloping, meaning that we did not get it too tight. Next step cartooning.

I placed the prints I had made on cardboard and covered them in acetate. These are the paint elevations- what a designer hands over to the scenic in order to produce the work. Using a sharpie and a ruler/t-square, MK drew a one inch grid over top of the elevation. This grid corresponds with the 1 foot grid we laid on the starched drops using a snap line. Once the grid is complete on both we begin cartooning- transferring the design from the paint elevation to the drops one box at a time.

To cartoon you use a bamboo stick with hard vine charcoal placed in the end of the stick. Traditionally you would go back over the lines in something more permanent like Sharpie or a water based paint- although when using permanent marker you don't want it to show through the paint of the design. The stick is able to hold the vine charcoal if you split the stick a few times and then put a rubber band around the end. Clearly, I need to get a picture of this!

The tricky part - when cartooning a drawing/ design one is tempted to draw a line that corresponds with the one on the paint el - in this design, which was a linocut to begin with - the lines are thick and one line, the width of your vine charcoal is not going to convey the thickness of the line. So you you need to draw "both sides of the line". This is where you begin to understand that when you scale something up, you must take into consideration - proportion- of the whole design-when cartooning. Rule of thumb- don't begin to paint until the whole drop is cartooned.

There was a lot of cartooning to do!

I left the faces until the end. In the original drawing I had an interaction between everyone - it got a bit distorted with the print- because I lost some of the detail in the cutting. I swept from left to right while painting the faces on the center drop-making sure that everyone had a "focus" and that the relationships displayed in the poem/lyrics surfaced visually in the drop. For example-Queenie is facing away from Burrs, it is she who is looking for something "new".Queenie's gaze is to Mr. Black-"new mysterious man" (man in tux in foreground)- , Burrs gaze is to Mr. Black-"who the heck is he?" and Mr. Black's gaze is to Queenie "wow! who is that!". A great art historical reference to this is Paul Cadmus' painting "A Night in Bologna" , Cadmus guides your eye through the gaze of his subjects.

Oh! and I left hands until the end too. I have a really hard time with hands unless I have a model in front of me. I can get the basic shape as a whole - as soon as I break it down to capture the fingers and thumb I have a tendency to get lost. There is a huge distortion in proportion (LOL!) throughout the design and since it is consistent it holds together.

The completed drops- moving left to right-

So that was roughly the process for this project-
I begin teaching Scenic Painting this Friday- first class-VERY EXCITED AM I!!!!
I will be posting more about the class and the projects we will be working on.
If you have any questions, suggestions I would love to hear them!
Thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

The Painterly Hummingbird paints The WILD PARTY for Texas State University

2010-08-21T12:03:00.000-05:00

Enjoy!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cTBPvyoQGw

"we are having a wild, wild party!" Andrew Lippa, lyrics from The Wild Party

2010-08-05T06:04:00.000-05:00

Full time in the paint shop now! Let the fun begin!

Finished versions of 'The Wild Party" print.

Clearing the deck and marking the space in order to lay out the muslin. The drops were prepared by Texas Scenic- all finished edges and ready to hang. This helps out immensely with our time frame.

MK cooking up the starch to size the drops. Much like paintings, the drops must be stretched and sized. The old school method of sizing drops is using laundry starch- ARGO laundry starch.

The recipe is one box dissolved in a half a gallon of cold water to two and a half gallons of boiling water. Our water did not quite reach boiling- we added the starch mixture when the water was HOT to the touch and continued to stir/ cook it for about 15/20 minutes. (stirring is KEY!) The water never reached a boil - it was a GREAT consistency though.

The drops are stapled to the floor. We had to account for shrinkage and we did not want the edges to "scallop" as the drop's edges will be seen when hung. This is a crazy calculation and I have gained experience in how much muslin will shrink with each project- as each amount is different. For this project we measured and taped out the size of the finished drops then stapled the muslin on the inside of the measured/ taped mark. We did not pull the muslin taught and it worked out GREAT!!!! Sometime pulling the muslin too tight can cause problems once it is starched - like scalloped edges and the staples pulling out.

The starch is then brushed on with "street" brooms- the heads are rectangular with the bristles short instead of a kitchen broom where it looks more like a brush- with bristles splayed out. The reason for the broom is to make sure the starch gets into the muslin, creating a surface/barrier for the paint- much like gesso. The starch can also be sprayed on with a hudson garden sprayer and then brushed in.

Once the drops are starched pull a section of staples out of the drop and place a "bridge" (a two by four will work as a bridge) between the fabric and the floor then turn on a fan (industrial is ideal!!) and place it so that the air will "float" the drop off of the floor. This will prevent your drop adhering to the floor after starching.

Next post- cartooning!

Thank you for reading!

peace,
slee

working upright again!!

2010-07-21T18:19:00.001-05:00

Well, the printing is done and I am on to the painting of designs for the drops.

Printing began early yesterday morning - up, out of bed, coffee in hand and still in my pj's!!

Inking the big plate

I used a hard brayer for rolling out the ink. After doing the sample I realized a soft brayer pushed the ink into the very tiny cuts. A hard brayer worked out great - I was able to ink the whole plate without "gobbing" up the detailed areas like the faces, and cross-hatched shading.

Laying down the papaer

I used Stonehenge paper for this project. I LOVE this paper, always have. It is heavier than a traditional relief printing paper, such a rice paper. I knew that I was going to print and paint - so the paper needed to hold up.

The ink is Speedball's water based block printing ink. A lot was learned in the sample- the ink will re-activate at the drop of a hat when hit with water- so my first thought was to make a copy of the print and work on that-totally worked for the sample but, I wasn't sold on trying to have copies made of the real prints- because of their size they would be a little more that what I had budgeted and I needed to keep the final work on the 1" equals a 1' scale.

I thought I would give acrylics a try-the sample was painted with watercolors. As I layered the watercolors the ink would get mixed in with my color and everything became a muddy grey. On the actual prints I was careful in laying down the acrylic- diluted for the first round of color- then I had a base to work off of!! as acrylic is essentially plastic and when dry, will NOT re-activate as you layer more paint- YAY!!!!

Final print

Final print with beginning paint- the walls

Beginning to lay the paint in on the legs

Full steam ahead with the painting!

For this project I have been working on my fold out table- for cutting it was great. Now I have put it away and am back, standing, at the easel- Wahoooo!

While painting these "thumbnails" - for lack of a better word- I am constantly thinking how this will translate into the larger works. For instance, I made two prints and will "grid" one to use for cartooning the drops. I have made color notations at the bottom of each work- for when the mixing of color- in this case the range of greys- begins. And most importantly how I will lay down each color; what goes first, second, third, etc. this is all part of evaluating a drop before it's painted- so that you can budget your work time, drying time, etc.

Well,
that's all for today- thank you for reading. If you ever have any questions-send them my way!!!

I hope everybody has a great rest of their week- I am off to help my nephews earn their Boy Scout Art Merit Badges- YES!!!!!!

peace,
slee

half way there!!

2010-07-20T00:14:00.000-05:00

The lino-cuts are done!!!

Here is the center lino-cut completed- whew!

Printing will begin tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!

peace,
slee

crazy legs! the lino- cut continues

2010-07-18T20:26:00.002-05:00

Progress on the side "legs" for the drops- I have been cutting CONSTANTLY with breaks for meals and for yoga!

In the upper left hand corner you can see my sample piece. I cut a small version first for the initial design meeting, giving the director a "taste" of what the larger work would look like. If the director had not thought that this would be in service of the show then I could start over easily, without having invested a ton of time. I made notes on all that needed to be corrected and applied the changes to the new lino- cuts.

There is a lot of pattern going on in all three pieces- more floral in Queenie's panel (left) and a more linear pattern in Burr's panel (right) and in the center drop I am "marrying" all three drops by repeating the patterns used in these panels, seen above.

When cutting I have to think a lot about a) the negative space, b) what is next to what (so that there will appear to be some depth), and c) that I am working "backwards"- when these print they will face in the opposite direction. Queenie and Burrs are the main characters of this work - they are lovers and have a very passionate relationship. When we enter the work they are at odds with one another so when this is printed Queenie's back will be towards Burrs and he will be facing her behind the table.

Well, back to the "cutting board"!
I hope that everyone had a great weekend and I will be back with more soon.

Thank you for reading-

peace,
slee

A quote from Art Spiegelman-"Several years after falling in love with the poem (The Wild Party), I met William Burroughs. The conversation didn't catch fire until, somehow, I asked if he'd ever heard of "The Wild Party". Burroughs had first read the book in 1938, when he was a graduate student at Harvard. He hadn't seen it in over thirty years. " The Wild Party?" he mused. "...It's the book that made me want to be a writer." Excerpt from Art Spiegelman's introduction to John Moncure March's epic poem, "The Wild Party"

2010-07-15T22:59:00.002-05:00

It is now the middle of July and the days are going fast! I have been working on the design of drops for the Concert version of "The Wild Party".

There are two "legs" , the drops that hang on either side of the proscenium and one large drop that hangs upstage of the legs. I have been researching everything "20's" from flapper girls to furniture. The legs will measure 8' high by 21' tall and the main drop- which you can see one of the drafts above- will be 22' in height and 24' in width.

I was really inspired by Art Spiegelman's illustrations for the 1994 edition of the poem. The original copy (published in 1928) was illustrated by Reginald Marsh.

I began with a drawing and the final draft for the design will be a lino-cut-which I am working on now.

This measures 22" x 24" so I am working on a one inch scale- this will be pretty crazy when it is realized at 22' x24'!!

I have begun to clean up the paint shop at Texas State and I am almost finished with reading the texts I have chosen for my first class!!! About to embark on my syllabus.

I hope that everyone is having a super summer!

On the yoga front- I have begun taking classes at Dharma Yoga- and if you are in Austin and looking for some GREAT classes-with wonderful teachers and an open hearted community- I highly recommend this studio!! and check this out!!! Sadie Nardini is headed to Austin!!

thank you so much for reading!

peace,
slee

"Out beyond all wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there." Rumi

2010-06-22T09:27:00.000-05:00

42 for almost a month now- pretty cool and at the same time unbelievable. My body has definitely been around for 42 years! More snap, crackle and pop than a bowl of cereal! I was trying to do some arm stretch recently - I have been able to do it since childhood- and now..... I can't ! My arm no longer reaches that high!! It's crazy- I have added it my list of "eventually- would- really -like- to- do- yoga poses".

I have been busy with an illustration project and designing scenic drops for a concert version of the musical The Wild Party. My "desert" project has been reading, collecting, and sorting through all of my notes in preparation for classes in the fall. I am so excited to teach! And I am working hard on trying to bring what I learn on the mat in yoga- into my teaching.

I have found a great blog here. April is super at bringing her yoga off the mat and into the world. Be sure and check out her recent posts on the Yamas and the Niyamas, Yogic ethics, these posts were really great.

My birthday was awesome- relaxing, spent with friends, good food (yum!) and calls and emails of good wishes- Face book is really great for that-being able to connect with friends on their birthdays-it is an aspect of fb that I really appreciate as I have friends all over the place and being able to reach them on THEIR DAY is important to me- as I am very slow in the production of birthday cards.

It was so good to hear from friends that I had not heard from in some time. Everyone is busy- I love it when you can just pick up where you left off- I really value that in a friendship. I got a call late in the day that brought great birthday wishes and some tragic news too. A horrific crime took place in my old neighborhood in Philly, in the lot/building where I used to live. It has been unbelievable to watch footage of my old neighborhood, building, and friends - where I used to live and I have such good memories from- and it be connected to such an awful crime - and to be so far away from my friends who are dealing with this tragedy. I have been keeping them in my prayers and sending them love.    This event has had me thinking so much about my friendships that are so far away and how our lives change, how we stay in touch and how we fall out of touch.

I am one for change. If given the option to do the same ol' same ol' or something new, I will usually choose the new. I learned at an early age that it is the one constant and although it has taken years of practice I am a fan of embracing change. That does not mean that I have always taken well to it- some change I have leaped at and there have been countless times that I have drug my feet until I was like- well! okay! FINE!!! UNCLE!!! As I have grown older I am aware that life is so short and the path of least resistance is a good one!

Moving is change. I feel like I have moved a lot in my life- not a ton- but I have lived in several different places -Philly being one of the BEST!! I lived in Philly for about 13- 14 years. I made some of THE most amazing friendships while living there- particularly in the later years. A time came when it was time to move to a new place and have a new adventure. I remember leaving and thinking that everyone would stay close and we would continue to be apart of one another's lives.

More life change, more moves.

I moved out of a marriage and into a life where I stepped into a truer form of my self. Again- still trying to remain in touch with everyone that I was physically distant from. Discovering myself all over again was an adventure and sometimes I flew "below the radar". I realized how hard it is to keep up- knowing that myself and everyone is so busy with life, work, home, marriage, kids, stuff, etc.   I saw the Philly family less- however- when I returned for a visit we would pick up - right where we left off. :) I did not always see everyone but I gave hugs and love to whom I did see with specific instructions to pass it around!!

And then after a few years I made HUGE move- I picked up and moved back to Texas- where I said I would never move back to! ( Ha! never say never- cause' here I am!!) Closer to my family after years away- and now having re-kindled friendships from 20 years ago. The return has been way more wonderful, auspicious than I could have EVER imagined. I am also farther from some of the dearest friends I have ever known.

I often feel guilty that I have not made a better effort to stay in touch with so many that mean so much to me- and yet reality tells me that we are all busy so when we do make contact-it has been /it is/ it will be awesome.   Do they know that I think of them so often? I pass something in the little blue house, a piece of artwork, a picture on the fridge, a note in a sketchbook, see a facebook post and I am thinking of them. I am so far away and yet they are close in my heart.

I realize this post does not have anything to do with painting-the tragedy in my old neighborhood has really made me think non-stop- about all of the amazing friends that are in my life- close by and far away and how I can better my effort to stay connected to them. Life is always changing and you have to learn to "ride the tide".

To my friends in Philly, I keep you so close in my heart and prayers.

To all of my friends, I send love and heartfelt gratitude- thank you for making my life so full and I look forward to when we will speak , email, or hug!! next.

thank you for listening-
peace,
slee

the hair is in the mail

2010-05-20T12:44:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday morning I looked liked this

I visited here yesterday afternoon.....

and now I am sporting this

and this is where my hair went.

Oh boy!!!

Thank you Callie at Frenchy's!!!!

Hope your day is filled with good things-
peace,
slee

navigate with grace

2010-05-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been awhile, again.
I am not sure if this is true for other bloggers but, I have found it difficult to return, to find a way to "re-enter" this world. I have been busy observing my path, trying to be with what ever is in the moment.

The most recent painting project, a donation for the Austin Children's Art Museum, provided the best opportunity to be in the moment with my work. I don't know about other artists but when I am working on a project I can get caught up in what/where that project will lead to ie; more work, a little publicity, all this stuff I associate with ego ( I have really been sitting in a batch of 'self observance' lately trying to rid myself of some tired, old habits). So I approached this work with the mind set I could only think about what I am doing in the moment or what kind of fun kids might have while sitting/playing in/on/around the furniture.

I have also been busy in the garden- first time ever actually to plant vegetables- LOVE working with the earth and all the green- so happy that it is all alive AND growing. If we bear fruit I will explode with excitement!!

The big news I am so excited to share is that I have been offered a full time teaching position in the Theatre Dept. at Texas State University.

Whew- I have now gone 'live' with it!!

I am beyond excited about the idea of teaching, sharing all that I have learned thus far with students and in turn, to learn from them. I will be teaching scenic painting and another art class geared for Theatre Design Majors and I would be the scenic artist for departmental productions.

I have been unable to control my jumping up and down!!! and if that is not enough wonderfulness- I have been asked to design and paint a drop for their Musical Theatre Dept. WOHOOOOOO!!!

I know that so many of you are artists and you know that it is hard to eek out a living, make the sacrifices, remain true to yourself and do what you love- BUT it is SO WORTH IT!!! and then when something comes along to help you on that path-to provide some stability- AHHHHH! It is SO AWESOME!!

For some time I have asked the Universe to please guide me in the direction that I can give back through doing what I love- to help me find a crossroads in my work with theatre and art and here we are. I am so grateful and so excited!

I do apologize for being so sporadic with posts- I thank you all for stopping by and reading. More to come as we make our way into summer.

I leave you with some other great stuff that I have found lately
a great free yoga class here.

Elsie has revamped her blog here.

Wonderful inspiration/wisdom here.

Have a great week!!
peace,
slee

dusting off the cobwebs.....

2010-04-30T16:43:00.000-05:00

Well it has been almost a whole month since I last posted!

I hope this finds everyone enjoying a beautiful Spring. It has been glorious here, in Austin.

I have been busy with Spring cleaning- of the mind, the physical and a bit around the little blue house-oh! and the yard!! a lot of thinking, reading and writing. I realize that I have gotten far from the painterly hummingbird's original goal- reporting on all things painted- I am slowly returning to that and have some changes in mind and look forward to being around more as we head into the month of May!

Here are some photos from the run of Servant of Two Master's- please enjoy and thank you for reading!

peace,
slee

Harlequino outside of Brighalla's Inn

Silvio and Pantalone on the canal- you can see how the other drapes were drawn up as they were finished with those scenes- "balloon shades".

The waiters, inside Brighalla's Inn

Pantalone in his courtyard

Pantalone, Dr. Lombardi, Clarice, Smeraldina and Silvio in Pantalone's Hall

more progress...

2010-04-06T07:20:00.000-05:00

A quick update on the drops - and a CHECK THIS OUT! I was so excited to be posted on Elsie's Yoga Kula!! She has begun to review Yoga gear and clothing. If you have a fav or have been disenchanted with something- she gives you the opportunity to review it! I think this is such a great thing- as I am always eager to learn about new things that will nurture my practice- PLUS she has Episode 78 -The Embodied Elements-out- an amazing level 1.5 that is very intense and meditative- providing a great understanding of the elements in Anusara yoga.

Head to the mat! and have a great day!
thank you for stopping by-
peace,
slee

exterior of Brighella's

interior of Brighella's

the courtyard

Pantalone's

the canal

progress

2010-03-29T07:30:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post on the progress of the drops for "Servant of Two Masters".

All five drops are progressing together.
It's very much like working on really large watercolors. I will have more soon!
Thank you so much for taking a gander and have a great Monday!
peace,
slee

scenic drops for "Servant of Two Masters"

2010-03-19T07:39:00.000-05:00

Here are Michelle Ney's beautiful designs for "Servant"- pardon the plastic wrap- I wrap them to protect them while working with them.

the courtyard

Brighella's Inn- exterior

Brighella's Inn- interior

the hall ( I might have the name of this wrong :)

and my fav- the canal

these are all gouache on watercolor paper- very interesting thing I learned from Michelle while she was working on them- she sprays the back of the watercolor paper with a spray adhesive (non-permanent type) so the paper won't buckle as she is working on it- LUV THAT!

I hope everyone has a super-Spring weekend!!
thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

the next adventure, guest scenic artist

2010-03-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I have been away from the computer- for what seems like a really long time! A quick post to catch up!
This is where I have been and where I will spend the next couple of weeks-

Texas State University's paintshop! I will be working as their guest scenic on the Theatre Dept. production of "Servant of Two Master's"- a Commedia dell'arte play.

The show opens mid- April. There are five drops in all and like with "Bat Boy, the Musical" the design's are awesome! The play is set in Venice. I will post progress and how to's on the drops as I go.

I have missed being here and I hope this finds all of you on your way to a sunshine filled Monday.
As always- thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

sunny in austin

2010-03-04T08:37:00.001-06:00

a blue jay is building their nest outside our bedroom window

it's a beautiful day here in Austin- I hope the sun is shining where ever you are :)

thanks for stopping by!
peace,
slee

what i saw on wednesday....

2010-03-03T18:07:00.000-06:00

I had a meeting this morning and on the way there AND on the way home I saw the most curious things and I did not have my camera with me. Isn't that the way!?!

So, I decided to draw them.

On the way home, there was this

And on the way to the meeting, there was this

I swear- a chihuahua was running down the southbound lane on south 1st. All traffic stopped and watched him/her run down the street until he/she turned the corner and then we all went on our way.

What did you see on Wednesday??

peace,
slee

camera stuff

2010-02-27T09:37:00.002-06:00

I am constantly trying to learn how to take better pictures for my blog and my website. I don't always understand the technical stuff about a camera- although I probably should as so many of my friends are great photographers and camera savvy. I have had them explain things over and over to me and I don't always catch on. Lately I have been experimenting with my camera in 'manual' mode and I have played with scanning my images/artwork.

This morning I read the great blog How About Orange (check it out! such a great space!) and the article posted 'How to take better pictures" (thank you Jessica!) She posts two super links- one a DIY for a light box(thank you Amy at Drawings in Motion ) and the other- some great notes on basic camera info, composition, light, product shots, etc. (thank you Andrea from feathers, freesia and fishing tackle)

Really good info and two new great blog finds! Let Saturday begin!

Enjoy!!!

thanks for reading!
peace,
slee

Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark. Agnes de Mille (1908 - )

2010-02-26T23:42:00.003-06:00

Wahoo- I am back in the studio! Actually I never left - I have been able to focus on my own work for a couple of days, while other projects are 'cooking'.

It's very exciting right now as all of the projects I have going are over- lapping and 'feeding' one another. This has encouraged my jump from very traditional oil painting to working in a variety of mediums: acrylic, paper, watercolor, gouache and fabric.

So I am excited to share my "WIPS" -( "works in progress" woohoo! catchin' on to 'blog lingo'!!)

redbirds- acrylic, tissue paper and ink on birch panel, 8" x 6"

This process is so different from the still life's in that I get so far and I am not sure what to do next and I let it 'cook' and then it comes to me, "oh!" it needs this or I dreamt of that or I saw these colors out- while running around town. I am sure there is a word for this- but I am at a loss for it right now. That makes it convenient to work on several at a time!

red bird- fabric, acrylic, tissue paper and ink on birch panel, 6" x6"

I am still working out what needs to happen to the sides of the two paintings and some other details. All will be revealed!

Some drawings-

coffe and cupcakes- watercolor, gouache and ink on 140 lb watercolor paper, 6" x 6"

into the woods- watercolor, and ink on bristol 6" x 6"

Into the woods was fun because it references the large oil painting I have been working on- only here I leave the wagon to go explore.

Both of these were first worked up in my sketch book. I liked these drawings so I decided to trace them and use graphite paper to transfer them to a better paper. I have always just drawn onto whatever paper I was using at the time (one of my favorite drawing/printmaking/watercolor papers is Stonehenge), so this was a nice change and a great method for getting the drawing that I liked instead of trying to 're- draw' a drawing.

The watercolor paper used in coffee and cupcakes is a 140 lb cold press paper. It gives a much better result in the end. I had not used watercolors or gouache in some time so I began on Bristol -Vellum and it's nice- but there is no size in it like there is with watercolor paper. It tends to buckle and cannot hold up under a heavy wash.

I also have been drawing with some new pens that I highly recommend - Prismacolor Fine Line Marker. OH!! my favorite is the 005 and if anyone out there knows where I can find a permanent ink pen that will write on painted surfaces, metal and plastic AND has the super fine point of 005 (.20mm- YEAH!) or the equivalent I would be so happy to know where I could find one! I purchased a NIKO ITOYA permanent ink pen - the 0.1mm is the smallest I have found-yet not small enough. :)

New inspiration- check this blog out- her drawings are beautiful!

Back to work!
Thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

i can't believe it's friday!!!

2010-02-26T15:25:00.001-06:00

WOW! Friday. Well it has been a great week here in Austin- a lot of meetings, gatherings, researching, brainstorming, snowing, raining, visiting, eating.....

Here is a recap....

Ana experienced her first snow- and then came inside to sleep for the rest of the day :)

We had family over and prepared an awesome Thai meal- that included these yummy eggplants.

I ordered these ....

and some of these....

from here, j caroline creative . They are having an amazing sale-they are (sadly) having to downsize- and have wonderful fabrics, ribbons, notions, etc.- check it out!!

Then while working in my studio I realized I needed research and checked out these ...

from the library.

I visited with my best friend and his mom, who were in from out of town.

And now I am headed into my studio! Yay!
I hope that all of you have had a great week and wish you a wonderful weekend!

Thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

fantastic friday

2010-02-19T22:39:00.000-06:00

Today was such a great day- full of super surprises!
I received a comment from a friend in Philly, that I have not talked to in forever- an amazing artist with such a kind, beautiful heart- you can find her work here.
I was so excited to see 'Bond Street, 1945' featured alongside some really beautiful artwork based on the 'home' theme, posted on Creative Every Day .

And if that were not enough- I took my walk to the post box and look what I found....

Yay! Mother Henna's heART Swap cards!!!!

Thank you to Robin- this is awesome- I love the marbled heart paper and the feathers.

Thank you to Christine- I want to know what all these cool, ribbon like textures are!?

and Thank you to Brittani- just beautiful- so many wonderful textures composed within such a tiny space.

They are lovely and now they hold a special place in the little blue house. Thank you all and especially to Mother Henna for the swap!

I hope that your Friday was super too!
Thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

"I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!" Alice ( Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll)

2010-02-18T15:43:00.002-06:00

I have been thinking about the 'painterly' in the 'painterly hummingbird' - I have not posted on 'painting' in a while. I mean in my 'about' spot- I said " I am a painter!" I didn't say anything about crafting or printmaking....hmmm.

I find it very interesting- and wonderful- that since beginning this blog and the discovery of the craft/artisan online community I have stepped out - no JUMPED out- of what I would consider my 'comfort zone'- (well- kind of 'jumped out' of my comfort zone as you read further wrestled out is more accurate!) Actually I think it is time to re-enter my work from a different way. Perhaps a window, instead of a door! This has happened throughout my life- a re-entry into my work, my approach, my medium, etc. I remember when I applied to Pratt for graduate school - back in 2004- I was looking for a way to 'dismantle' my work and then put it back together again. I found a documentary film class and a friend loaned me her Super 8 camera- the dismantling began!!

Well- I have definitely dismantled this time! I put the oils away for awhile and brought out the acrylics, some new drawing pens, a little gloss varnish, a bit of matte medium, some fabric and it's "all on the stove cooking" right now. This 'switching gears' - has me excited and unsettled. I am eager to try new stuff and I have a lot to bring to the table in terms of what I know- it is finding a balance between letting yourself try and experiment and fail-and having your editor turned off so that you CAN try and experiment and fail AND succeed. Recently, a project has had me delving into journals and sketchbooks from years ago- here, let me repeat that- YEARS ago. I look at the sketchbooks from when I was first in college and I think to myself "MAN! was I 'FREE'"

I just drew what came to me- was not concerned with what was right, wrong or indifferent about it, didn't think about anatomy, how any of it related to art history, I had not yet had any classes or critiques with professor's or other students-I 'tinkered' with all kinds of mediums and methods-I wasn't worried about what others would think or if it would get into a show or sell or whatever.

Yesterday I rearranged my work space- (an AWESOME game of TETRUS!!)- to accommodate the acrylics, the fabric and some other old/new crafty items ( I am soon to borrow a sewing machine from my gentleman friend's mom-very exciting!!) I get everything just so and sit and begin to paint- from a drawing - from a photo- both tucked away so I would be 'free' to paint -whatever and however!

It went something like this-
"Right on- drawing looks cool-"
"Got some paint down- cool-"
"OH! WHO AM I KIDDING! You can see the blobby brush strokes, you aren't thinking about your light source and what's with your generic tree branches?
All of your leaves look alike- they are all the same color of green!
Tree branches are not all the same width- dumb small brush!
THIS is never gonna work."
"Be quiet!"
"just do it!"
"Anyhow-sandpaper is the almighty ERASER- KEEP GOING!"
Well, sandpaper it was- I sanded it down, re-gessoed and started over again.
I slowed down, tried in earnest to turn the editor "OFF" and just went along for the journey. I now have something that I am not so sure about - but I had fun, took care in doing it and I broke some 'rules'- dude!
And what I had to look at before I went to bed at some crazy hour was - well, kind of cool- maybe, we'll see. I will post pics soon- I have some more trying and experimenting and failing to do!!!
Wahoo!
Thank you for reading- it was a long one!
peace,
slee

Mother Henna's heART swap

2010-02-16T02:40:00.003-06:00

Below are the cards I made for Mother Henna's heART swap- this was so much fun! I have never done a swap before and look forward to more! A BIG THANK YOU and much love to Mother Henna for her time in organizing this swap. And warm wishes and love to all those who participated!
peace,
slee

Embroidery on paper

Embroidery, lino -cut and colored pencil

Water color and colored pencil

monday catch up

2010-02-15T15:29:00.003-06:00

Happy Chinese New Year -belated!

My gentleman friend and I made a really tasty meal last night to celebrate Valentine's and the Chinese New Year. We made these 'crispy crab wontons'- soooo tasty. This one posed for a photo :)

This past week was a busy one. One of my close friends flew in from NYC for a family emergency. It was so wonderful to see her and help her around Austin. At the end of the week we were able to get together for an awesome evening at the Austin Museum of Art for the Hatch Show Print exhibit.

This was AMAZING!!!! and so inspiring! An amazing part of American Printing/ Letterpress history for sure. I really enjoyed it and I recommend it to anyone in the Austin/surrounding area- particularly if you are a printmaker or enjoy printmaking and the letterpress. It is up until May well worth the visit.

I enjoyed it so much I purchased this great print for my gentleman friend- a nice treat for Valentine's Day-

and then if that was not exciting enough my friend who was visiting picked up a beautiful Valentine's surprise for me- created by a local Austin artist-

This awesome bird pendent is by Creative Chick Designs. Thank you Zully!! I LOVE it and have only taken it off once- in order to take this picture!!

On the painting forefront I am prepping the new panels- sanding, gesso, sanding, gesso....

I am excited about these because I am going to try out some new ideas using acrylic. I am prone to use acrylic in the larger murals that I do but I have been thinking on what I can do with a small surface. All will be revealed!

Oh! Some new sites to check out- here , here and here lots of good tips/advice for artists on marketing, the web, Etsy and handmade wonderfulness!

Enjoy!
and thank you for reading-
peace,
slee

happy valentine's day!

2010-02-14T10:45:00.000-06:00

birch panels at the ready....

2010-02-12T12:15:00.003-06:00

The package from DickBlick just arrived- cradled birch panels!!

The panels are LOVELY! Each one is cradled on the back and the surface is smooth and the edge is slightly beveled.

The squares are 6" x 6" - 1 5/8" deep and the oval (so fun!) 6" x 8" -7/8" deep.

Here is where you can find them!
Thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

rain, rain, go away.......

2010-02-11T20:29:00.005-06:00

Rainy, cold and grey here in Austin.
No new projects this week- just finished up the 'house' from last week and my Valentine's day - little - bits - o - love.

So, here is the house completed. The address was Bond Street and my grandparents moved there in 1945. I like it- I also think it lacks that **PUNCH**!!! thing- the stitches follow the same direction mostly and well- according to my 'drawing education' it is 'floating' so... with all that in mind- I am eager to start another BECAUSE it reminds me of the polaroids my grandfather used to take. Yes.... another idea is born- I will get back to you on that- for sure!

This is a card I made for my friend Jon to give to his Valentine. I realize now that a frame of color would have helped this 'pop!' and now I know, for the next time!

When I began the thread was really too thick. I separated it and did the stitching with three threads. I changed the direction of the hummingbird too.

This is a Valentine for one of my friends- (they just don't know it yet!)

After 'Bond Street' I began thinking of how important it is for the composition that I vary the stitching direction. I am stitching on card stock and as you can see in the next photo...

I pre- punch the holes using an awl. This makes it a lot easier to stitch through. Now the draw back is that the paper is not as flexible as fabric so I have found that 'straight' stitches work for right now (until I figure out another method :) )
**very exciting trip to the craft store this weekend and a purchase of fabric and an embroidery hoop!! oooo, aaaahhh!!!!

And last but not least- remember the heart lino-cut well it received some stitching too!

And I guess that is it for now- I have some new ideas that I am working out AND I have some cradeled panels arriving soon so I can get back to painting. The drawing commission is coming along- will post soon and as always I am blown away by the most amazing, creative people and their wonderful blogs- check this out- thank you Kirsty!
So much wonderful inspiration and goodness is out there!!!

Thank you for reading and I wish all of you a very happy Valentine's day and a happy Chinese New Year- the year of the Tiger.
peace,
slee
ps- I have a new 'feature'- a comment moderator (i think that is what it is called) so if you leave a comment I will be sure to get back to you- when commenting I believe that there is an option to leave your email as well and I can email a reply too!
pss- I am armed and dangerous with info on tags/ labels and will be tagging and labeling soon! Thank you Ines and Angie!!!

randomness on sunday

2010-02-07T13:22:00.003-06:00

Good morning/afternoon. It is a grey day here in Austin. Makes me REALLY appreciate that sun from yesterday.

The sun was so wonderful yesterday! A little warmer- still chilly enough for a jacket. I say all of this and I know just how grateful we were- as so many of my friends up north have been covered in snow.

So, random thing #1- does anyone have a great recommendation for a craft glue- I have been an 'elmer's' girl for some time now and feel that I need to 'step it up'.
#2- what exactly are tags for on your blog- forgive my ignorance but I am not sure about this one and feel that it is a necessary thing now (after looking at so many great blogs!)
#3- thank you Angie for your post of eggs and bacon- I have spent the last couple of days making my favorite foods from the different places I have lived- heuvos rancheros inspired by the American Diner in Philly, homemade white pizza (with extra 'stuff') inspired by the pizza at Sam's in Brooklyn (238 Court St.). I have no idea what today will bring- but I am now hankerin' for a Philly cheesesteak!!

**note- did you know that in America pizza cannot be called pizza if it does not have a 'red sauce' on it- who knew?

Well- that's it for now! on to the next project!
May the Force be with YOU!!
thank you for reading-
peace,
slee

a little blue house, a little brown house

2010-02-03T22:27:00.003-06:00

Two posts today! Crazy! check out the one previous for how to transfer a photo image to a drawing using a grid.

I have been busy returning to older sketch books for another project and decided to use the drawings I have of my grandparent's first home in Fairfield, TX. I had developed the sketch of the house from letters and conversations with my Nan.

I began by trying to embroider a sketch on brown paper- this failed. I understand why you turn to fabric - it is way more flexible than paper. I am interested in trying an embroidery hoop too- but I realize that paper has a natural tendency to rip when pulled tight. I just had that 'gut' feeling that this was not right, so I stopped and changed gears.

I cut a smaller square out and began to embroider that. So far so good. I will post the final outcome later this week.

I have this idea to create a really big piece of embroidery- like the size of one of my larger paintings. I am still brain storming that idea- it needs to 'cook' for a little longer.

I returned to the lino- cut prints too! I have such a good time working on this teeny tiny scale!! Here is the lino - cut with a proof from the first cutting. I didn't like how it was so busy so I cleaned it up by cutting out the yard.

Here is the second version- a little less busy

Well, that is it for home on a 2-D level. I was busy this past weekend reading up on Feng Shui (fascinating!) tips and did a little re- arranging so the chi flows better in the little blue house.

Thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

home is where the art is. jonny stranger

2010-02-03T22:25:00.002-06:00

This was a comment left by my friend Jonny- Thank you Jon!!
I began this post yesterday and had to put it on hold -returning to it tonight- enjoy!

It's chilly, rainy and grey here in Austin today. I have a meeting in San Marcos and thought I would post a little before I go.
I am busy thinking on the theme 'home' for the CED and I have begun a series of portrait commissions for a wonderful woman in Sugarland, TX- thank you Christine!!

I thought that I would use this post to share my process from photo to paper.

I received the photo via email and it was 300 dpi which gave me a good start- the closer that your original is to 300 the better resolution/print quality you will have. I do not know a lot about digital photos (clearly I have a lot to learn about taking them for the web!!) but I have learned about what you need in order to have a good quality print.

The photo is black and white and that really works to my advantage since the work is to be completed in graphite- the values are easy to distinguish.

I dragged the photo into photoshop and enlarged it to 8" x 10" or approximately that. (It is more narrow than 8" x 10"). I printed that out at full scale and then drew on top of the photo a 1" x1" grid.

I made a corresponding grid using thread sandwiched between two pieces of cardstock (each thread layed out/taped to make a 1" x1"). I can lay the grid over the paper and 'draw through' it- looking at each box on the photo and transferring that shape to the corresponding box on my paper. The most important step here is to keep your drawing VERY LIGHT. The photo is made up of values and not lines- I keep the beginning lines very light - using them for placement, then as the drawing comes together (making sure everything is in correct proportion, etc.) I begin to layer in value.

When you begin really heavy- it is sometimes difficult to pull back your darks or you leave an impression on the paper that you can't get rid of. However, this can part of the aesthetic! Check out Jim Dine's work.

I start with a number 2 pencil and then I begin to incorporate graphite pencils and/ or ebony pencil.

The pencil on the far left is awesome!! a piece of graphite that resembles a deer antler! The other pencils are woodless graphite pencils by Faber-Castell , Derwent and an ebony pencil by Design.

As I add in more darks I am always making slight corrections to the drawing, working the drawing all over- so as not to get bogged down in one area.

My natural tendency is to make the eyes larger and I can get 'stuck' in that area. It can get over worked so I keep "bouncing around". Another great tip to help you "see" where you might be off- is to look at the drawing (or painting) backwards- using a mirror.

(this was a fun photo to take!!)
Here, you can see - the eyes are a little large and the gaze is more upward than that of the photo. Everything is still light enough that to erase and build back up won't be problematic (or at least I hope- no problems!! :)

I will continue to post my progress. Back to the easel!

Hope this has been helpful!
Thank you for reading!
peace,
slee

new theme for CED: home

2010-01-26T22:58:00.001-06:00

Creative Every Day's theme for February- home. I am very excited about this theme- got started this evening in my sketch book.

enjoy-
peace,
slee

sweet stuff

2010-01-25T11:41:00.000-06:00

A quick post on the heART swap Valentine's cards- two down and one to go. Having lots of fun with this project! Enjoy!

stuff

2010-01-24T19:54:00.005-06:00

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a super Sunday. It has been a beautiful day here in Austin. Lots of sunshine, made for a great day of painting.

After the last post I thought I would be a little more specific in explaining the tools/ materials for my still life painting. Hope this helps!

Above is a photo of the pvc box. The pipe is sold in 2 ' lengths and 10 ' lengths. The pipes here are 12" x 16". I cut them with a coping saw- very easy. The 'elbows' and the threaded caps add about 2-4 inches so my finished box measures about 18" x 20". I have an extra set of pipes 24" long - to accommodate a larger still life. I love the mobility I have with it- I can put it at eye level-on top of stacking drawers or I can put it at waist level and have a bird's eye view- my favorite pov as of late.

A detail of the corner with elbow and a threaded cap/extension. You will need 8 pieces of pipe for depth and 4 for your height or vice versa, 4 elbows and 8 threaded caps/ extensions. I am not sure of what their formal name is but they were not hard to find on the plumbing/pipe aisle.

A close up of the parts.

For my painting surfaces I have a friend cut down a 4' x 8' sheet of Birch ply into the various sizes I need (thank you Mark H.!!). These are the 6" x 6" - I love a square- it makes for a tight composition. I also like 5" x 7" and 9" x 7". I spend about a week in prepping the panels. I work outside because there is a lot of sanding and painting and the sun usually cuts down the drying time.

First, I choose the side I will paint. Front, back and sides are then sanded down and I begin with a layer of tinted gesso on the side I have chosen to paint on- (grey acrylic, gesso and a bit of water-the consistency of butternut squash soup- a little thicker that tomato sauce). I sand between each layer (150-180 grade fine sandpaper-I like a very smooth surface to paint on) and there are usually three to four layers of gesso. I recently began sealing the backs of the larger panels (9" x 7" and up) with a clear polyurythane so that the surface won't tork under temperature change. I recommend a "cradle" for panels 12" x 12" and larger.

A "cradle" is simply a frame put on the back of the work that is cut from "one by". The corners are 'mitered', cut at 45 degree angles, then glued to the panel. I use clamps and a set of hand weights to weight the cradle to the panel after gluing. I glue two sides first and then the other two sides, making sure that they are flush to the side of the panel. I use Elmer's wood glue and always keep a wet paper towel handy to mop up drips as they are difficult to sand off.

The cradle above was made from scrap. The corners are straight (not sure about that technical name) as I did not have enough wood to miter my corners. I always play it safe- not knowing where my work will go - I would hate to get a call- "Sara Lee, my painting is torking- or bowing- or doing weird things!"

Various fabrics that I drape the box with and use as background. I don't always pay attention to pattern in the fabric- sometimes I use it purely for it's color. Most pieces are purchased, there are a few that used to be skirts or shirts :)

An assortment of props- my Nan's Blue Willow and her other awesome china, cigar box, thread, light bulb. The Salvation Army and Good Will stores here in Austin are FABULOUS for props and clothes and jewelry and bags and dishes and suitcases and..........you name it!

White objects for when I teach -great way to understand how light works on a shape AND understanding shade, shadow and highlight.

I hope this was helpful and if you ever have any questions or comments - I will be so excited to answer and read them!
Thank you for reading.
peace,
slee

the zone

2010-01-22T20:36:00.004-06:00

Let me begin today's post by saying I am not always in the "zone" when I am behind the easel. You would think I lived in the zone for all the times I post on facebook " back to the easel" but no, I am not always lost to the point of having 3 or more paint brushes in hand and working from piles of color that do not resemble palette vomit- but today- OH TODAY!!!!! It was like driving a stick shift car through crazy New York traffic- Canal street/Chinatown in the a.m. on the weekend with tourists!!!! Instinct takes over!!
I have had such a good time in the last few hours- they zoomed by!

The above shot was taken after working for awhile and then I left research behind and the pic below is where I am now.

The photos of this work are a little wonky in color and lighting- working on the photography!
( I owe a big thank you to floresita at things I've made and feeling stitchy- for their tips/tutorials for photos.) This painting is rather large in my small space- so photos at this time are a challenge- thanks for being patient!!

So, I know that in past posts I have blogged about how I love to paint large over small. Actually I enjoy doing both, it is when they get out of balance- for instance painting loads of small works for a show - that I get cranky about painting small. The truth of the matter is that one helps with work on the other- constantly learning!

My painting is split into two parts- that is the works for the public- small tiny, still lifes and 'my work'- an ongoing visual narrative of my life and experience. The works are vastly different in application.

The still lifes are set up -

The 'box' is made from PVC pipe and I have several sizes so that I can make the box wider or taller. The light is a clip lamp from Bed Bath and Beyond. The fabric is from Hobby Lobby- one yard pieces.

For the 'Citrus' painting I went through the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby and found that great turquoise-y blue fabric. The client wanted lots of color and citrus fruit. So my first thoughts were about oranges, lemons and limes and what colors would serve well as background. I often gravitate to opposites- thinking of oranges I went with its compliment - blue. I LOVE the color orange and what better back ground than a turquoise to make it pop! The red provides a great contrast for the lemons and works well with the blue.

This still life is roughly 6" x 6" and as I posted earlier- simple is better when it comes to composition for such a small surface area. I do like options however, so while thinking on what to do with my citrus I ventured to the Salvation Army in hopes to find some small plate or bowl to use in the composition. I found some great stuff- but in the end decided on just the red and turquoise blue fabric. Keep it simple- it just works better!

So- that briefly explains the small work. The large work is a whole other ball of wax- which I think I might have tackled in an earlier post (What ever you can do...). In the case of the 'wagon' painting- (btw I don't know if that is the title- it's just easy reference for right now)- I have research on everything- on radio flyer wagons

photos from east Texas-where my grandparents are from

I have photos of myself in the shirt and shorts standing in the same pose, outside.
What is tricky when referencing photos- when there are many of them- is your source of light and making sure that your subject/s don't 'flatten' out. So I tend to work out all of these issues in a drawing first.

I rely on what I know and not on what I see- the very opposite idea when you paint from life- traditionally. I think that is where there is a 'crossroads' of the smaller work and the larger work- for myself. The one teaches me all about light on the surface, shade, shadow and highlight and then I take that bit of knowledge and translate it to these more narrative works- or at least I try!

Back to the easel!
Thank you for reading.
peace,
slee

I do not want to die until I have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig has grown.--Kathe Kollwitz

2010-01-19T23:48:00.004-06:00

While looking for a quote by Martin Luther King, I found the above by Kathe Kollwitz, one of my very favorite artists. Such a beautiful image.

Years ago I was visiting the Art Institute in Chicago and at that time they had a large collection of her work- prints and some drawings, if I remember correctly- and I made a reservation to see them. It was an amazing experience! When traveling- check out the museum in your destination city and see what they have in their permanent drawing and print collections- most museums will let you arrange an appointment to see the works- Your own personal show!!!!

Well, speaking of traveling that is where I have been. I took a little trip to see relatives in the east part of Texas and to see my most fabulous nephews in the north part of Texas and now I am back home, in Austin where it was BEAUTIFUL and sunny today, with a high of 70 degrees!

I am a bit behind on my CED projects but, I have been busy none the less and thought I would put up a few things.

I used the lino cut prints for Valentine's cards.

I recently was given a beautiful table cloth that was hand embroidered by a friend's grandmother. The table cloth and some amazing embroidery blogs have really inspired me!

I like thinking of embroidery as a form of drawing, using thread and fabric as your pencil and paper. I got this idea to work on paper and decided to make a birthday card for the friend who gave me the tablecloth. I think it worked out pretty well- I backed/ framed it with colored card stock and the paper is a piece of a brown paper grocery bag. I love brown paper- I tend to wrap all gifts in it and then draw or paint on it. A great way to recycle!! I am eager to try this again and in a fashion that is more like a drawing.

Last night I began a small still life commission. This is a 6" x 6" birch ply panel. The ground is a tinted gesso- a mixture of gesso and grey acrylic (the photograph is taken at an angle because of the glare). I usually begin with a drawing in a mixture of burnt sienna and raw umber and this time I tried something a little different.

In looking at the composition I identified all of the basic shapes, mixed those colors first and then laid them in. A very general start and 'drawing' with the mass of color as opposed to all line. I do love it when the drawing shows through and sometimes it adds to the work.

I have found that with these small still lifes- simple is better- a simple composition and taking my time in mixing the 'general color'. This lends itself to a great foundation on which I can layer detail, shade, shadow, etc. with an economy of brushstrokes- did I just say that? By that I mean less "futzy" brushstrokes. I will continuously look at the LIGHT on each object and -with well mixed color- I will lay the brush down so that one stroke can create- the white 'flesh' of the lemon/orange , the shade side of the orange peel, the outer edge of the lemon peel, etc. I will post the final work as soon as it is completed.

Well, enough for tonight. Feel free to ask questions and comment- I believe I have the comment/
response thing down now :) (i hope!)
I thank you for reading.
peace,
slee

i "heart" sunday

2010-01-10T15:28:00.000-06:00

Today's CED- the heart- a tiny linocut
Enjoy!
slee

winter time

2010-01-09T16:11:00.001-06:00

Saturday, January 9th- the first week of 2010 coming to a close. What a great week! The Universe granted me LOTS OF TIME this week- I recognized it and took advantage immediately. Painting, cooking, drawing, sleeping, Yoga, planting some seeds for future projects and catching up with old friends! A good recipe for a wintery, cold week here in Austin, Texas.

I have not been out to run- too cold! So I have turned up the heat with my favorite yoga podcast- Elsie's Yoga Class Live and Unplugged You can find her here and on Itunes. It is a great podcast and I have been following it for some time. You will benefit in both mind and body- Guaranteed!!

I have been pouring over other great blogs and I highly recommend this AWESOME blog for those of you who are into Artist/Design blogs- Stephanie Levy is super with her selection of and interviews with artists/designers - I find it very difficult to tear myself away! Artists Who Blog CHECK IT OUT!!!

Progress on the 'wagon' work is coming along. I am at the stage where I love the most- kind of a search and find and then re-do stage- where everything is kind of messy and I draw back into A LOT.

I was at the easel all day yesterday. This morning while working out / staring at the painting and it's sister drawing- I spotted what was off and wiped it all out. ( the placement of the wagon wheels- where you see the wheels now is kind of a 'ghost' of what was there -oh! and then there are my legs and feet- a whole other ball of wax! )
Long ago, in the Costume Shop of 'SWT' was a wonderful cutter/draper who would say out loud- when you came to her with your work and it was incorrect- "RIP AND RE-DO!!" There is something very liberating about wiping it out and starting over again. I consider this stage to be very 'loose' - it's when it begins to come together and become more 'tight' that I am more cautious about my approach. I have begun to layer color over the under-painting in the rest of my figure. Next attack is on the ground, as it is the farthest behind in development. You want to 'drive all the horses at once' - move around the painting and bring everything 'up' together. When you focus on one area for too long it tends to become your problem and sometimes it takes a while to see that.

My breaks have me thinking about Hummingbirds.

I am having a hard time getting really good photos of the works on paper/sketchbook for the blog. I know that good pics are a must. If anyone out there has any suggestions I am all ears. These were taken in daylight- yay shadows!! The painting is taken inside with a combination of daylight and overheads. Most things -in past posts- come out so 'orangey'. I would love to not have that be my outcome as it really establishes a 'stuffy' kind of mood about the work.

Tonight, an opening at Wally Workman Gallery. Looking forward to seeing this group show with friends!

Hope your weekend is relaxing and full of smiles!
peace,
slee

january - body

2010-01-06T19:49:00.002-06:00

The theme for January CED is body and I have been thinking a lot on this- the body and its parts- how they work individually and as a unit and the different ways I could translate that.

My first thought was hands - mine - and then my Nan's and my father's- how my hands look like theirs. I thought of what hands can do- how they hold, they give, they take and then I made it to my sketch book Monday night. (YAY!!) I love this project already as I had ideas for something BIG and GRAND on HANDS and what did I do- I had a great time drawing my left hand- something I have not done in some time. I headed to bed thinking on the drawing- just one hand. I mean, you can do a lot with one hand but we have two - why didn't I draw both of them- what does one hand say?

Tuesday was spent in an impromptu meeting on a future project and I left it thinking about eyes. In this meeting I presented a story and one question that came up was "what makes this story so different from others like it?" and the answer was seeing it through my eyes, my interpretation of it. THEN I began thinking on how if we saw through others eyes more often- or at least tried- what a difference that would make! so I 'invented' a 'Perspective Booth' - much like a photo booth- that you could step into and see life from someone else's point of view. Hmmmm........

And that is where I am! Hope you enjoy! The work on my ' wagon painting' pushes on and I will post an update soon.

thank you ced for a great week!!

and away we go......again!!!

2010-01-03T20:22:00.001-06:00

Welcome to 2010 everyone! I am just, well.... really excited about this year. We are only three days into it and I feel like it is going to hold a lot of great things. I have no specifics and no reason as to why I feel a little lighter than this time last year, but I do!! New Year's Eve was spent with good friends, good food and a beautiful blue moon. A GREAT start!

Yesterday I returned to the easel. YAY! and to a work that has been on vacation for a while.

The end of the year was busy with small works so the two large paintings, last seen when I started this blog in September, were pulled out yesterday. I am eager to get them finished and to try and find a gallery. BAM! Big step- yes- and I have had my eye on one in particular here in Austin. We will see- I look forward to the process and posting about it. I remember when I was in school, all of the rules and regs about trying to find representation, a little overwhelming. Well- like the new year- I feel really good about the prospects of finding representation. I know there is protocol to follow and something tells me to jump in with both feet. I don't feel like I have anything to lose as I will gain some kind of knowledge while jumping in and then I will pass it on to you!

In the mean time I have spent the last 24 hours giving 'the painterly hummingbird' a face lift. For a while I have felt that she was a little dark and a little heavy. Like an old apt that needed light, air and a fresh coat of paint! So I hope everyone enjoys the new look. In trying to decide what/ how I should make changes I have been looking at all kinds of blogs out there! MAN! I can't tell you how inspiring it is to see so many creative people doing so many amazing things and then posting it all in killer blogs!! 2010- it's about learning better design!!

In my adventures I found the Creative Every Day challenge- (thank you Angie!) - And... I signed up!! It is a great site started by Leah Piken Kolidas to "...infuse her life and the lives of others with daily creativity". Now one might think- " Wait- sara lee- you paint everyday ( uh- well, almost everyday:)) will that be creative overload, perhaps?" and I would say- "Yeah, uh.... no." I learned a long time ago that you have to "fill your well" and fun, small things- not necessarily "art" things do just that AND they are not the "HAVE -TO- DO- things" that we all have in our lives. I really like the "DON'T-HAVE- to -do -things".

Making the block-print stamps for the stationary Christmas gifts was a blast! (check out older post) and I realized while creating them- that something daily- not neccessarily making a stationary kit - just a block print/collage/mixed media - could keep my ideas/ approach "fresh" and it would keep me from over-thinking! 2010- it's about experiencing more creativity-in any medium!!

I have a great tendancey to over-think things. Particularly my artwork. I will think about a painting from its inception, exhibition, and reception without touching paint to canvas. (LOL!) The most challenging thing to overcome after school was leaving behind all of the things that art, specifically painting, should be or needed to be. Everything that professors said, all of the critiques, etc. It is hard to create from the heart when you have a "monkey mind". I have a ton of ideas and have always believed that I have something to say with my work but I can be my own worst enemy by thinking of everything at once and not getting anything accomplished. Creating a little something everyday fosters a freedom of letting yourself work without an editor-PLUS! I love how one project- no matter how large or small will influence another. 2010- it's about release and taking creative risk.

The painting for "Bat Boy the Musical" - all of the text used in the main drops, the size and using acrylic-has really had me thinking on how I can apply text to my own work and how I might be able to work REALLY large and in a water based medium ( that's a lot to think about). Well- it's only the 3rd day January!! As my friend Stephen says "All will be revealed".

I hope that everyone's year has gotten off to a great start!
2010- it's about wonderful, creative adventures!
thanks for reading.
peace,
slee

Happy New Year's Eve!

2009-12-31T09:30:00.000-06:00

Well here we are!! The last day of 2009!! It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day here in Austin, Texas.
2009 was a good year and as I prepare today for a whole new adventure in 2010 I plan to take the following things with me:

(from Miguel Ruiz' The Four Agreements)

And I choose to leave behind:
Worrying about what others think.
The need to try and control what I do not have any control over.

I got the idea to choose a word for the upcoming year- from this awesome blog Gypsy Girl's Guide . At first thinking the word Embrace kept coming to mind, but I woke up this morning to the word

to release: set free; liberate; unfasten; allow to move from a fixed position.

I wrote a post yesterday afternoon/ last night and it didn't come together-perhaps later! Instead I have posted some pics from 2009-enjoy!!

January- the little blue house

April- decorating Easter eggs

June- a trip to Rockport

July- the sky in our neighborhood

September- on the way to Tyler

October- Pumpkins around the corner

December- Snow in Sugarland

Christmas lights in San Marcos

After Christmas-Ana on top of 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'- with her fake mouse

I am very excited about 2010 and I feel that it holds so many good things for everyone.
I wish you, your family and friends the very best New Year's and a wonderful adventure in 2010.
Thank you for reading!!

Much love and peace,
Sara Lee

These are a few of my favorite things......

2009-12-29T23:09:00.000-06:00

Okay- I have looked forward to posting all day. I am sitting here at the computer with some hot tea and some awesome chocolate that my friend Stephen sent me from NYC. Yum!
During the Christmas season I am usually involved in a crazy roller coaster of emotions-I can cry at the drop of a hat over anything and everything- there used to be this Maxwell House Coffee commercial where "Peter" came home from college and he made coffee and the smell woke the whole house and his mom ( I am guessing it was Peter's mom) sits up in bed and says "Peter's home!" and I burst into tears!!

The Christmas/New Year's holiday season mark's the time of year when I am overly aware of myself- where I am, what I have accomplished, what I have not gotten accomplished, yadda- yadda- yadda - not just in the last year but in the last forty one and a half years. I know that this is not just specific to me- I feel that this time of year is a time of self analyzing/review for everyone- why it has to be tied into the biggest holiday season - where expectation is already sky high- I don't know.

In the later part of my 30's I decided to find those small things that made this season special and meaningful for me- not crazy big things- but the kind of things that did not come with any expectation - christmas music, lights in my space, holiday cards, baking cookies and cooking yummy winter food.

There is nothing like old school Christmas music for me- year's ago my friend Stephen gave me an all- girl christmas tape that he made from his FABULOUS collection of 50's and 60's all girl groups- I have since replaced the tape (worn out) with my Itunes Christmas playlist headlining with the Ronnettes- and U2's version of 'Baby Please Come Home'. I cannot do without the Waitresses 'Christmas Wrapping'- where the girl plans on spending X mas alone and then bumps into a special gentleman friend while purchasing the forgotten Cranberry sauce. And last - but so not least-loads of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.- crooning away about a 'Marshmallow World in the Winter". Ahh- the sparkly-ness of it all!! These songs and more have been playing on a loop since I returned from a trip to Sugarland TX and a visit to Inman Gallery to see the work of Dario Robleto. This exhibit was AMAZING and he is an AMAZING artist from San Antonio.
Yep! That is snow!! in Houston Texas!

So, music in the back ground, lights hanging in the little blue house and my favorite Christmas cookies made-Mexican wedding cookies ( three double batches over the course of this holiday season) I was primed to make my Christmas cards.

I love Christmas and New Year's cards- I love making them, sending them and receiving them. They hang with honor in the little blue house- a constant reminder of the wonderful friends and family I have. When I moved from the east coast I was worried about keeping up with everyone- Facebook has been really great helping with that- but sending cards during X mas and New Year's is for me -like sending a hug to each of my friends and their families- a "hello! I miss you and there is really not a day that goes by that I don't think about you or you don't come up in conversation, down here in the Lone Star State!!"

Anyhow- so I made relief prints this year and got this idea to make cards for a few Christmas gifts- thank you cards and monogrammed cards and then they kind of turned into a whole stationary kit which I thought I would share with you - the how- to's of block printing!

You begin with a lino block , lino cut tool , a design drawn on tracing paper with a pencil or graphite.

Tracing paper works really well because you will flip it over- drawing side down onto the lino block and rub the tracing paper- transferring the pencil drawing onto the lino block. When you lift the tracing paper the design will be a faint image and it will be in reverse- this is very important when working with words- your word on the lino block will be in reverse so that when you print it - it will read from left to right. Oh what fun it is to re- cut a lino block after printing "thank you" backwards!!!
Re- draw your design on the block- so that you can see it in order to cut. Choose what you want your positive and negative to be- where you want ink and where you want the white of the paper.

A variety of blades come with a lino cut tool set or you can buy the blades separately if you already have a handle (the orange part in this pic) I usually begin with the smallest blade and cut an outline around the design, then taking a larger blade- in this case the larger "V" blade, I go back over the first cut making it deep- kind of like creating a "valley" next to the letter's/design's edge so that when I cross- cut or cut away more of my "negative" space I won't cut into the letter/design.

Since I wanted to make this a whole "kit" for person I was giving it to- I chose pigment ink pads from Hobby Lobby- the ink is easy to clean up after use. You have to stamp the block with the ink several times to be sure and get complete coverage. Then place you block on the blank note, flip the note and block over together and rub the note with your fingers to insure a good print. Be sure to store your ink pads up-side down- it really helps!! I selected a white stationary and a cream one- again from Hobby Lobby- they came 50 to a package and included envelopes. I printed 18 monogrammed notes and 18 thank you's.

And then I packaged the printed notes, extra blank notes, the lino- blocks, ink, and a pen in a great box- purchased at....Hobby Lobby!! The final touch was to duplicate the design and colors on the front and top of the box.

And there you have it! A stationary kit! I was so excited!! It is so nice to mix my painting up with projects like this- kind of thinking outside of the canvas! And it was so fun- no expectation and when I created a "thank you" block with a backwards 'a' and then in correcting it made it "thonk you" (which by the way is what we say here in the little blue house- "thonk you! thonk you very much!!")
Well- I just started a new one- no harm done- practice makes a better relief print!
Well, that is today's post. Hope you enjoy!! If you have any questions be sure to ask and I will be so excited to answer!! I look forward to tomorrow!!
peace,
slee

Here I am!!!

2009-12-28T23:36:00.000-06:00

Wow! I have not posted in over a month and a half!! ( this is what I feared! when starting this blog-that I would get busy and not have time to post and then feel guilty for not posting which would be cause for procrastination for posting and then.... not posting :)) and yet I have written hundreds of posts- or at least written hundreds of posts in my head!! while driving, running, painting, cooking, and making holiday cards. Here we are, days before the dawn of a new year and I have a lot of catching up to do!! I will begin with Thanksgiving and work my way forward as 2010 approaches. Thank you for being so patient!!

Thanksgiving was spent with my brother's family in Denton and the weekend following turkey day my mom hosted her annual Holiday Sale in Dallas. My mother designs and creates earrings, necklaces, bracelets, handbags and scarves- all beautifully handmade. She has had this sale for several years now. Last year was the first year I was around to help and it was a lot of fun.

This year she invited her friend Joy and myself to join her in the holiday bazaar. Joy makes these wonderful felted wool hats...

So GREAT! I had to get one!!

I brought up my easel and lots of little paintings...

After the half marathon in mid-November I worked on some small still life's of fruit and flowers and a few small landscapes. The still life's were fun - I took some new approaches-a bird's eye view, closely cropped the subject matter and I wrote the title on the work.

The sale was very successful. The three of us had a great time- a super kick-off for the holidays.

Well, one post down and three days to go- stay tuned for more!
peace,
slee

Final Pics of Bat Boy!

2009-11-13T22:20:00.000-06:00

These pics were taken at Monday's dress rehearsal-Enjoy!!

http://www.txstate.edu/news/news_releases/news_archive/2009/10/Batboy102809.html

Bat Boy has flown the coop!!-well, almost!

2009-11-04T21:36:00.000-06:00

More pics! Here I am cartooning the drop/show curtain on main stage. The painting in the forefront of the picture is part of the portal, that now surrounds the proscenium. The curtain was too large to lay out as one piece, so we completed one side at a time. The other pics show the curtain in progress and then finished ( I took the pic standing on a scaffolding -hence the cross bars). We hung it today! Wahoo! A few technical things to work out with the curtain and some stenciling on the portal and the Bat Boy is ready to fly!! The show will open a week from today.

This has been such a good job/learning experience for the fact that I worked with so many different people in order to get the work accomplished. As a studio artist I usually work alone-occasionally working closely with another person-in the case of a commission and on a scale that I can manage by myself. As guest scenic artist I was working with a lot of people in order to accomplish Michelle's design. Theatre is such a collaborative art form and the designs- whether set, lighting, props or costumes go through a lot of phases and pass through a lot of different hands while reaching their "realized" state.

With this main curtain Michelle gave me her
original sketch and I worked on scaling it up,
matching her color and technique. The crew
helped with stretching the muslin, starching it and
snapping the grid- then I began the cartoon. Michelle's research was crucial in scaling up the girl, Bat Boy's head and the cars.

The lettering posed an interesting challenge - there is lettering on the portal and the main drop- some is italicized and there is a lot of it- too much to cartoon in the time alotted. We ordered adhesive stencils to ensure consistency and cut down on time. Lesson learned: when ordering adhesive lettering be sure you include the width of the space the letters will fill along with the height and particular font.

When the curtain was completed-painting and stenciling-the crew sewed the webbing and grommetted the top of the curtain and then sewed the chain pocket in the bottom. Then it was attached by many hands to the "traveler" tracks - hope I got that right- in order to move with the main curtain on stage. Still some more work to do- ironing out the "kinks": proper alignment on the track, sight-lines, etc.

Well- enough technical talk. I hope you have enjoyed my adventure through the painting of Bat Boy. I will post final production pics when I have them. Until then, stayed tuned for the next adventure and feel free to comment, question and contribute!!
peace,
slee

Bat Boy central

2009-10-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

I actually wrote this post sometime last week - have been working 'round the clock!! The first tech is Monday, so we are in our big push to get things done.This drop is now finished and was hung this morning. I have been busy with the portal ( an exterior surround for the outer part of the stage) and the main drape- pics to come!

Enjoy! and thanks for reading.
peace,
slee

Well the "Scary Forest" side of the translucent drop is completed. On the right are pics of progress.

When we pulled it up - hoping to flip it and begin the other side- we held it up to a stage light and realized it needed more layers. The layers are sprayed on using a Hudson/garden sprayer .
Each layer has to dry before the next application.

The other side-AKA-the Disney Forest as we call it. This side of the drop will be front lit. Again, painted in washes, allowing each layer to dry.

Michelle painted this design with gouache- opaque water color. My goal is to reproduce her work, in a larger scale, as accurately as possible. I studied both of her designs made up a "game plan" for each- according to how she painted it and the palette she used.

You can see the washes being layed in below. I work from general to specific and find that if I turn the design upside down I can lay it out easier. Seeing it upside down facilitates
my drawing what I actually see and not drawing what I know-dig?

My palette for the Disney Forest.
Everything (for both drops) is Rosco - Super Saturated Rosco paint. It is a crazy paint, very brilliant and great in trying to recreate the look of water color. For the Scary Forest drop I used diluted versions with a bit of Rosco's clear Acrylic in the Hudson/garden sprayers. The pigment does tend to "settle" ( like sediment) so I suggest a constant stirring.

In the above pic you can kind of make out the layer of color sprayed, and then the loose washes on top. It took me a while to figure the best technique. 1-Starting with one brush laying in color and then brushing it out with a water brush
2-Laying a wash of water and then painting into it
3- the ringer!! lay a wash of color and then diffuse the edges by spraying with a small garden sprayer!!! Love the garden sprayer!!

Finished drop- upside down-the best view was from the theatre's prop loft.

2009-10-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

The first side of the translucent drop!

The muslin was laid down, stretched and then starched. All the research that I have read thus far states that to create a translucent drop you starch one side with regular mix of Argo starch, dry and then flip the drop and starch the opposite side with a more concentrated batch of starch. This is supposed to create a barrier so that you can paint on one side and your work will not bleed through.

Well- when I set out with my test samples- that theory failed- the paint bled through to the other side. I mixed a batch of a flat, clear acrylic and we brushed that into the drop- creating the barrier that we needed!

Then the tree.

I have a crew of students who are a mix of scenic painters/designers - they cartooned the tree, in scale, on brown paper (with a grid) and then using a pounce wheel, they "punched" the cartoon. When they finished I pounced the tree onto the drop using a small muslin bag filled with loose charcoal. WHEW!!
I then removed the cartoon and base coated the tree with an opaque latex paint, tinted to blend with the muslin. When that dried we repainted it with an opaque mid-tone grey.

Now when back lit- the tree will appear in silhouette. Wait until you see what happens next!!
I seem to have a problem with loading photos- and their placement on the page- a technical difficulty that I am trying to work out!!

This job is proving to be interesting for so many reasons-aside from painting. I am working in the theatre building that I spent so much of my time in- 20 years ago!! Some things are like de ja vous- and some things I cannot remember - for the life of me!!

There have been tons of renovations- the entire building now belongs to the Theatre dept. It is super great to see my old professors!!

I am used to working by myself- whether in my studio or on a job- it's just me. As I mentioned earlier, I have a crew and then there is a whole scenic painting class! I am working on communicating what I want done- the day to day goals that we need to accomplish , delegating work, and making parallels between this job- in a university atmosphere- and what working in a commercial scenic shop is like. I miss Oliphant!!! For those of you who might not know- Oliphant Studios is where I worked in New York- for the very brilliant, Sarah Oliphant. Not a day goes by that I don't reference something I learned while under her wing!! Thank you Sarah and Adelaide!! and to Sarah's awesome crew-Sandia and Rachel.

Well- please feel free to comment or ask questions! and if anyone might have an idea as to why the starch failed us - let me know!! ( my guess is concentration of the mix?)

More to come- must go to bed now!!

2009-10-14T00:23:00.000-05:00

So, I just returned from a great trip to New Orleans and Destin Florida. It was a blast!!- lots of really good food, the beach, clear water and some wonderful paintings by Bo Bartlett at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Now I am back and working hard as the guest scenic artist for BAT BOY! the Musical. It is being produced by Texas State University -formerly known as....Southwest Texas State! My alma mater! I was honored to get the job!

It's very exciting- and VERY BIG! Very different from the Texas Tiny's (the small works on panel from the summer) SO much to talk about!! and I just got home from a long days work-mixing color for the first drop- a translucent drop that will be front lit with one look and then it will be back lit- with another look!

This post is short but I will post more in the days to come! And I will take my camera and get pics of progress.

There is a main curtain- 24' x 40' -roughly (as seen above- sorry about the split- the scan is in two parts), two drops- 24' x 16', a portal and some relief "fly ins". I am very excited about the work- did I already say that? The scenic designer is Michelle Ney- she did an awesome job and I am eager to bring her design to life.

Will write more in the next post- must get to sleep and get back to work-woohoo! working in the theatre again!!!

Thanks for reading!
peace,
slee

2009-10-02T06:55:00.000-05:00

This week went by so fast! I look so forward now to Friday and to posting!! It was a great week with a wonderful connection made- a friend that I have not spoken with in years! YEARS! and it was such a great thing to hear my friend's voice and to hear about her journey over the past 8 years. This is twice, since I have moved back to Texas, that I have re- connected with someone after a long period of time. I am so grateful for these re-connections as they are very special.

Update on "Miss Lucy"- I have to finish her this weekend and deliver her on Tuesday. A lot more detail/layers added since the last post.
Weather has played a big roll in drying time on this work. I don't use a ton of medium (medium of choice is usually a one to one mixture of turp (turpenoid) to linseed oil) in my paint, but I do tend to use a little as it helps with drying time and the color tends not to "sink" or "matte" as paint can when there is no medium used.

"Miss Lucy" was from a photograph and I tend to work in layers when painting from a photo, beginning with a detailed under-painting, then glazing up some areas and directly painting others. I scrap back into my work also (they definitely aren't "precious"- my paintings). When I work from life- the quality of the painting is often more "painterly". I believe this is due to the immediacy of working with natural light, it is forever changing. I am working to catch it's effect on what ever object it is that I am painting. This usually happens in the form of a "dance"-You look and mix and place (color) and look and mix and place and ...you get the idea.
I always begin with the hopes that I will find the crossroads- where "not -so -painterly" meets "painterly" !

Next week I am headed to New Orleans to see Bo Bartlett's work at the Ogden Museum. I am SO excited!! He is one of my favorite American painters and I have not seen a show of his since his retrospective at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, several years ago. I had the good fortune of having him as an instructor for a semester, while living in Philly and I learned SO MUCH!!!! His paintings have what I would call "reverb"- I figure all of my close friends know what I mean when I say this because they know that I enjoy his work immensely. They have a "heartbeat" beneath them. And they follow the course of a narative- not only in that they invoke a story of some kind (for me they do) but there seems to be a story with the paint itself- some things are painted in detail and others not so much- so this makes for this kind of guiding the eye to what is the main story and then to the "sub-story" and so on. A lot like theatre.
Well, thank you for reading and have a super duper weekend. Please feel free to leave comments, add knowledge or ask questions!! Love that!!
peace,
slee

Pics!

2009-09-25T09:11:00.002-05:00

Here is the first start. This is combined imagery from TX HWY 79 headed north (an area of Texas where my father's parents and family are from), a friends red wagon and myself . The suitcases, a friend's and my grandmother's, are from memory.

Here is the start from the second drawing. I had an older painting that was not working so I turned it upside down, sanded it down and began again.
This work is called "Layers"- in my original drawing there are "mounds" of blouses and t-shirts on the floor and I am wearing several tops- all of different patterns and fabrics. The idea worked itself out when I was trying to figure how to "represent my many different selves"- so to speak.

Here is an updated pic on the "Miss Lucy".
Another layer to the sky and to the water and more detail- and lots more to come.

Thanks for looking!
peace,
slee

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Goethe

2009-09-24T22:50:00.001-05:00

Okay! The third post! How exciting! I have been writing this post and re-writing this post in my head for three days- or at least since my last post. What am I going to say? I want it to be poignant! inspirational! fantastic! Oh my gosh!!! and most importantly I want it to have a POINT!!! ( sometimes, I tell pointless stories....)
wow. That's a tall order and I have been unsure where to begin....and then......where will it go?

So I waited- and my latest paintings are the inspiration for this post.

The quote above is one of my favorites. The words "begin it" are what resonate most. I taught elementary for awhile and so many of my students would be up in there heads before being able to put pencil to paper, paint to canvas, glue to object. I kept this quote up in the classroom - year round and would refer to it- "JUST BEGIN! and then see where it takes you."

Beginning a painting can be difficult- for all different reasons. For some, the white of the canvas is daunting. For me, it usually has to do with WHAT to paint and it boils down to two things- Do I paint from life or some actual experience that I have documented with my camera that I can reference OR do I paint from my head- and by this I mean from my drawings.

With the former I usually have some type of tangible thing to work from: a photo, a model, a tea cup and some fruit or this past summer- a Shiner beer bottle and plenty of yellow roses. The latter of the two GROWS out of drawings and writings from my sketch book- a combination of actual events, dreams, feelings, memories, letters, old photos and the list goes on. This work tends to be more personal and easier to hold off on because - oh -say- I don't have a model or a swimming pool, access to my grandparents first house- and maybe my experience painting from life has not brought me face to face with a trailer bed in my great grandmother's bedroom. The biggest reason is that I don't always trust myself to be able to make things up. There is something inside that says- "you need these actual things to work from, you can't just make it up!"

Or can I?

Over the years I have begun to pay even closer attention to what is around me, what I choose to document with my camera and to commit to memory - people, places, objects . ( I write a lot too!) I have not always been able to compose real life scenes for my paintings but I have learned to research and document what I can, trust what I have committed to memory and to collage these efforts in order to create my work. OH! That doesn't mean I have kept myself out of my head. I have and will continue to spend lots of time up there- maybe just not as much-for I have lots of sketchbooks filled with "seeds" ready to grow into paintings. I just have to begin.

You won't know until you begin and you can't keep going unless you trust yourself. Reads like a bumper sticker! "Where is all of this coming from Sara Lee?" The drawings posted here are my reference for next two paintings. Started Wednesday and Thursday and they are LARGE!!!! Yeah for large works- something I REALLY enjoy!!! (Houston Rodeo painting- still working on it and will post more soon!) They are the first works that are in response to my moving back to Texas after having lived on the East coast. They are very different from the "Texas Tiny" paintings and to me, much more meaningful. Where they hold a special place for me and the reason I share all of this - is that they are a start!! I am going to enjoy wherever they might take me- where ever that may be....
Just like this blog.
(I hope this wasn't pointless.)

and away we go.......

2009-09-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

Well, I have begun. So where exactly do I begin- I summed a lot of stuff up in that side bar (crazy!) I have attached the websites of friends and of artists that I have found since I have been in Austin. GREAT WORK! It has been so exciting to see what is going on here.

I have become a big fan of the Wally Workman Gallery. Saw two shows- the works of Carol Marine and those of Angie Refro. Both very different- Marine's were still lifes - just beyond! I looked at them and was like "this person loves what they are doing!" Renfro's work- kind of urban landscape- factory-scape with this colorful twist. In the review of her work she stated that she "tweaked" the work until it was right. I liked that. I love to paint from life and that is not always an option so I work from photos too. The photos don't always convey what I felt at that moment. It takes some "tweaking" to bring that around. It so often happens though that a battle occurs "upstairs" - is that the truth? is that what it is? what it was?- I hear the ' rules and regulations' of painting, whisperings from school- it's a lot to sort out and it takes time to come around to the "OHHHH!!! I don't have to do it that way! I can tweak it if I want to!" and then hopefully this unlocks the door where you begin to lose sight of everything else and just begin to PAINT.

So what am I working on? Well, a couple of things-some things that I hope this blog will coax me into quicker! Right now- I have a painting in progress that will be up for auction at a fundraiser supporting the Houston Rodeo. (Went to the rodeo for the first time in maybe 30 years- earlier this year!!!! HAD A BLAST!!!!) A "waterscape" (?) from the Fullerton/Rockport area- the coast, near Corpus Christi (yet another visit that had not happened since my very young days!)
It's in the beginning stages.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day!
peace,
slee

beginnings

2009-09-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

Just getting started on the blog adventure. So much to learn and so much to share! There will be more in the days ahead on who I am, what I do and why I am here. Thank you for checking this blog out and I look forward to your return.
slee