I have had a blast making Frida Kahlo inspired art.
Can ya tell?
:)
Can ya tell?
:)
 Over on Facebook - Gritty Jane threw down a Frida Kahlo Challenge. OK. I was up for that. But then, it just went and took a new and unexpected direction and isn't that just the funnest thing??  I carved out a piece of non-recycleable styrofoam and started printing.  Here is the painted styrofoam. I have smooshed it down on the canvas and start peeling it off..... There she is. Four of them! Four more. You get the idea... I have these end pieces of canvas from my canvas roll and they are not quite big enough for some paintings - but they seen to be a great size for my printing project.   I like the ambiguous nature of these. Then I decided to get a BIG piece of canvas and start printing with my recycled styrofoam that I carved.  This was eye candy to me. Then, I overlaid print-on-print and then and then and then!     I have to go do more of this today. Have to. Must go now..... A pal told me about simple way to make prints using the styrofoam from takeaway food containers. I used some of those and then some of the foam that is used in packaging meat. I washed them all carefully and cut out the flat parts to use. What fun I had today! I printed on paper towels - I printed on canvas - I printed on toilet paper. These are variations on Frida Kahlo.             Then I got tired of Frida and moved on to robot-spaceman-petroglyph guy.        Then some abstract randomness....     I was busy today. I sold a painting yesterday to a nice young woman. She got one with an abstract-ish background and birch trees in the foreground. She was a smart woman. She wanted one that she would not get tired of over the years. She thought about what she wanted. I was happy to know this painting will have a good home. So... I celebrated and took a day off from my other 2 jobs and just painted today. 
Yesterday I was painting some Frida Kahlo faces and I got too much paint on one and used a paper towel to blot the excess paint. When I peeled the paper towel off - I LOVED the image on the paper towel. I know that you may not know me - but I will tell you - that once I get my mind on something - I just GO! So I "printed" about 10 paper towels yesterday. Then I realized that it would get expensive to keep using paper towels like that. So this morning I decided to try printing on something WAY more affordable.... 
Yes. I "printed" these on sheets of toilet paper. I know. I know.... 
Then I framed one of the paper towel (Frida Towel-o) prints from yesterday. This was just my first attempt - I glued it to cardboard and used a pop-top for the hanger. I will perfect this later this week. 
Then I clear coated a painting from last week. 
Then I finished a painting that is the first of a series I am starting. 
Then I had to paint over this painting as it looked much duller in person than in this photo. Bye bye painting... 
Still not sure about this one. It has some good parts: 
Might chop it up into little pieces and use the best parts. The filet mignon of the painting. Or for vegans - the heart of the artichoke. 
Then I worked on the second in the series. 
Then I did an experiment.... 
Then I did another experiment... 
Then I worked on this one.... 
Here is a photo of the painting that sold. To finish my day - I took the kid to the orthodontist. Money in - money out.... It was a lovely day off. I have found my passion in life and it is painting. Many people do not find a deep obsessive overwhelming passion in their lifetime, so I feel very very fortunate. Because, ya know what? It feels good. Really really really good. "So, now helvismith, whatcha gonna do with that passion?" Well, I have to make a sort of soup for my future using that passion as the stock or base for that soup/future. What other ingredients are needed?
The "speed-networking" event sponsored by Iheartartpdx.com was so well organized and truly quite fun! It was a little disconcerting to give a "pitch" 18 times in a row and not talk too fast and make important points in that brief time. But I did. Not every gallery/venue was going to be the right one for me. I got several who wanted to know if I had prints made of my art. No. But I can take a hint. Or three. I will be getting prints made ASAP. 
Art is everywhere. Had a lovely road trip to take paintings the Popupartworld Gallery in Salem, Oregon yesterday. Went to a great art supply store in Salem, called The Art Department - and I met a very nice woman there who was very helpful and she had some of her art displayed there. I liked her work! Then we meandered over to a gallery that I have looked at online and I recently saw a segment on Oregon Art Beat on my local public TV station about the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery. This art gallery really appealed to me. I did not see one thing in there that I would not be pleased to own. That says a lot! The woman (Tina?) working there was personable and we had a great chat. I must mention meeting Janet Ogdahl, who owns a quaint and fun filled clothing and accessory store called Ma Valise, right down the block from the Zeek Gallery. The building that Janet owns that houses her store is quite an architectural oddity for Oregon. I asked her about it and she was very gracious and told me the history of her building. I am a fan of Oregon architecture and it was nice to talk to another fan! Then off to another art gallery at the Bush Barn Gallery! I had no idea that Salem had such a lively art scene! A stop in Newberg was next! 
Newberg Friends Cemetery
Coffee Cat window...My friend and I both like cemeteries. Did a little walk-through of this one in Newberg. Then time for a cup of coffee. Stopped at the Coffee Cat Coffehouse in Newberg. I will have art displayed there in August, and I had not been there before and I will say with no bias - I had a great Americano there! Strong and not bitter. I parked in the back parking lot and there was a dumpster for cardboard there. Oh, my heart sang when I saw that dumpster! Here is why: 
I fell in love with a dumpster. | helvismith
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