New Year's Eve 2010

The Childrens Moon, New Year's Eve morning

It's looking like this is my last painting of 2010, it's just a wee bit, 4 x 4 inches, part of the blue sky/children's moon series that I've been working with lately. I was noticing the moon in the morning sky for the last couple of mornings (we've been fortunate to see the sun for the first time in awhile), and I had this little painting in limbo for several weeks, only the background pleased me, not so much the moon until I made it into a crescent moon yesterday morning after I saw the little pale crescent riding high in the morning sky. I loved it immediately, but waited until today to see if I still liked it, and I do, so I signed it. and it's done. (YAY!) There are still unfinished paintings on my work table left to do, but they are going to wait for another time.

I've been a busy girl this year, painting, drawing, making photographs, publishing another book, and opening a gallery with our friends...(much of this I mused over at my other blog Upstate Girl http://upstategirl-laurajwryan.blogspot.com/ I posted a few of my favorite photos there)...it's been a good year along with the usual ups and downs of life, I can't complain...it's all good.

I will post my most favorite paintings of 2010 here...

Full Moon, 2010 (The one I'm glad didn't sell.)

If Not, Winter, 2010

Nocturne, Winter New Moon, 2010

Bones of the Earth, 2010

Ancient Mechanism, 2010

A part of the "shared painting" project with Ken Nichols at Moonlighting Gallery

 There is more than just blue going on in that sky...2010

The Childrens Moon, November 7, 2010

Winter Moon, November 7, 2010

Has anyone noticed the overwhelming color...blue? I guess it's my favorite.

Defining art moments of 2010 (at least the ones I could find pictures of!):

Our Wall at The Delavan Gallery, April 2010

June, 2010

A full house with me in the middle of it

The Sign is UP!

Happy New Year!

A painting for the Solstice...

Winter Solstice Time, December 19, 2010, acrylic wash, with monotype, sumi paper on canvas  40 x 16 inches

Starting point on November 6, 2010

Stage 2, 11/28/2010

Detail from 11/28/2010

Stage 3 on 12/11/2010

 

Detail from 12/11/2010

If anything, I'm persistent...in spite of FMS flare-ups that have been troublesome for several weeks now, I've pulled it together enough to keep painting even when I have disasters like today when I spilled my water jar full of blue water and it soaked poor Max while he was napping! (He's already forgiven me, we took a long walk around the acre after he dried off for a good sniff around.) My hands are not cooperating as well lately. There are lots of layers, and lots of doubts about where I was going with this (did I really want to cover all that up?) Well, it's done what I've wanted to do, I kept it simple and pale like the slice of the sky that is turquoise in the late afternoon on a winter day. I love the subtle details that are happening, the glow of the warm tones underneath showing through. Pretty stuff.

Some very small drawings

A very small drawing, #3, 12/5/2010, graphite pencil on Stonehenge paper, 2 1/2 x 2 inches

A very small drawing, #1, 11/6/2010, graphite pencil on Stonehenge paper, 2 1/2 x 2 inches

A very small drawing, #2, 11/26/2010, graphite pencil on Stonehenge paper, 2 1/2 x 2 inches

I've been making some tiny drawings lately...because they're portable, I can work on them anywhere, anytime...there have been some days that just making these bitty doodles were just right, at the right time...keeping the hands busy, the mind occupied. I love making these little guys! I haven't done any this small in a long time, it felt good getting back to this intimate size. I want to keep making more, and probably will for a while, I have plenty of paper!

Painting, painting, painting...

Detail of work in progress in the Blue Sky series...layers of color...

Work in progress, from the Blue Sky series 16 x 8 inches

The big one...

Work in progress in the Ancient Mechanism painting 16 x 8 inches

A night sky in progress 12 x 12 inches

Lots of work in progress, nothing finished, yet progress is a good thing, and I'm feeling satisfied with the way things are going...it feels good.

Moonlighting Gallery, 137 First Street, Liverpool New York

Our sign was installed on the store front today (at last)...now people will know who we are...it's so pretty!

November...

Winter, Moon 11/7/2010 acrylic wash, monotype, sumi paper on canvas 16 x 8 inches

 (Nocturne series)

The Children's Moon, 11 7/2010, acrylic wash, monotype, sumi paper on canvas, 10 x 10 inches (Blue Sky series)

A little more progress on my Evening Sky, not done yet...

I've had a touch of a cold for this weekend, stayed home and slept the day away on Friday, ate hot n' sour soup and babied myself...feeling a bit better, been busy painting today, very productive!  Lots of new work in progress, one is a red one, and more in the Blue Sky series on deck...and I really love my new Nocturne piece, it turned out just as I had envisioned it (I love when that happens!)

New work in progress and it's Snowing on Halloween Night...

New painting in progress (24 x 18)  I am loving this one!

Detail

Detail

Detail

Almost done (9 x 9) I'm still "living with it"

Oooo...I made some pretty paper for future collages

They're just so PRETTY!

Snow on my dog.

Snow on my sage.

It's not that unusual to have snow up here on the hilltop for Halloween...there's always the chance of snow any time in October...it rarely sticks around long...

I've been sort of busy, resting mostly, having back-to-back Halloween Party and reception at Moonlighting was a little bit too much for me to handle during a FMS flare-up...I've working on Ebooks instead of painting...but the bits of work I have in progress are looking good...and I was dying to photograph that lovely roll of colored paper that I've been staining with acrylic washes for a couple of weeks, the roll keeps getting bigger...I just love looking at them...I'll eventually start cutting them down to my favorite shapes and possibly tearing some in random strips with raw edges just for something different to off-set the squares and circles that I'll make...it's going to give me something else to think about anyway...

Now it's done... I signed it this time.

 Gotta love it...I said it was done, but then one more thing begged for my attention, and I pondered it for another week and then two...and this weekend I started to play with it...it was that bottom part, it just looked not quite right...so I went at it with more blue...then amber...then turquoise...a circle and then another...and then a delicate touch of white...

I'm pretty happy with it now...but who knows, tomorrow I might look at it again and decide NOPE...well, you know, that's just part of the fun!

It's such a strong blue, it's hard to photograph and have it look true (true blue) but these are pretty close, I had to take the photos outside on the porch to have them look right...the indoor shots were too yellow/green.

Lots of lady bugs out there today, it's warm out, a little rainy and gray...but I don't mind, any warm days are welcome at this point...and of course, lady bugs...this little one stood still long enough for a portrait...the others were busy, trundling along on their little buggy missions...

We're holding another reception at Moonlighting this week, Friday, October 29th, starting around 6PM to whenever, lovely art, good company, fun will be had by all...Halloween costumes are welcome, but not required!

Finished it (finally!)

I added the children's moon at the top...I had to cut one out of paper for the size I wanted, and it went on perfect the first time~

Blue Sky Series, "There's more than blue going on in that sky..."

A detail, in the middle left, canvas and sumi paper visible

detail, lower right edge

detail of the middle, lots of yellow showing through

my latest pencil drawing in my sketchbook, I really love this one a lot!

A found painting... a pallet with some spray paint...I couldn't resist photographing it!

There are times I begin to become afraid that I've run out of steam and worry...What if I can't paint anymore? Usually, when I feel that way, I go back to my sketchbooks and draw those stream of consciousness drawings, cranking them out one after another...and then I feel better about everything again...so I've been going through this uncertainty... kind of rough few weeks, mostly because I haven't been feeling all that well, and I've been focusing on writing more since that's quieter...so it's a combination of things...


I've spent time on the porch today, sunning myself, storing up sunshine for the winter... staring up at that pristine blue sky and thinking about what I'm going to paint next... I painted over a group of canvases that were not working for me, and laid down some colors to work with for the Blue Sky series... and I have taken some scrap paper and scumbled acrylic washes on them for future collages... it's been a creatively busy weekend, and I'm quite content...