Photos Woodpecker Holes

My art for today was cleaning on my studio and arranging things. I have paintings we have purchased that were everywhere. We have zero wall space left. :) I made room to get some of my paintings off the floor. When I get the mess cleaned I will post some photos. I had to put some above the windows in my studio. Our whole house is a growing museum. Artifacts from South America, hand me down antiques, knick knacks, family photos, etc.

We have golfed the last few days. We walk nine holes and sometimes don't even keep score. Our golf. We have to take advantage of the good weather while we can. It was supposed to rain today and cool off, but it seems to have waited for tomorrow. We don't golf on weekends anyway. Too many people. During the week there are times that we are the only ones around. Seems like a private course. Today was one of those days, there were a couple of guys a hole or so behind us, but we weren't having to rush. On number 9, Gene spotted these holes in a tree. That bird had been very busy, don't you think? It is a dead tree about 15-20 or so feet tall.

Framing Pastels Against the Glass or Not??

Rabbit Brush and Sage
Pastel on board,18 x 24 inches

Nancy Moskovitz asked in a comment about my framing of pastels against the glass. The largest painting I have done that way is 16 x 20 inches on board. Most are smaller. We (Gene and I) have been doing it for about three years I think. I have heard of several artists that do it and have not heard them say anything bad that happened. Some information I found online against it say that the artwork may stick to the glass and become moldy. I think that could happen with mats and spacers as well. The artwork could stick to the backing or mats. If it is going to happen, won't it just happen? If the glass breaks, the pastel is likely to be damaged in either case. We tape the boards, Pastelbord or mounted paper to the glass with clear artists tape.

Here are some pros:

• If the pastel is taped to the glass, no pastel dust is going to fall or be attracted to the glass to cause cloudiness.
• We put a foamcore backing, sealed with artists tape on the back. I use standard size frames so if the purchaser wants to change frames, they can heat the tape on the back, remove the backing, take out the sealed painting and glass and put it in another frame.
• Framing is easier, no pastel falling on the mat.
• No paintings coming loose from the mat and sliding down and damaging the painting.
• Less warping with no space in between the painting and glass.

I hope that some of you that have tried the painting against the glass post a comment on your experiences. I would not have tried it if I hadn't seen another experienced artist do it that had already been doing it for years.

We have not used this system with paper that isn't mounted. If I use paper, Gene cuts it to fit the frame and I mark the mat size on it and then the painting does not have to hang on the mat or backing. I think with a good backing this would work and not wrinkle anymore than a hanging piece. I still put a spacer at the bottom part of the mat to catch the pastel dust. I'm sure this is another no-no, but I had several paintings come loose from the mats in this hot weather in Texas that had to be framed again.

So lets hear from you and see if these methods are more accepted "these days" or if we should be doing it the way it has always been done.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I wanted to share with you my surprise this morning. This Mushabelly Horse was sitting on my keyboard. He is about as wide as the keyboard and about 9 inches high. You squeeze his tummy and you hear, clop, clop, clopity clop and then a neigh or whinny. He is very soft and has a mane and tail. On his ID tag it says he was born on January 31, 2006, and his name is Faris. He likes to eat honey and oatmeal. He made me laugh out loud! So, there you are then.




I hope you have a nice Valentine's Day and it includes a surprise as well.

Watercolor Under Painting w/Richard McKinley

I don't know how many of you have been reading the American Artist page/blog. I have it on my reader, Net News Wire, and it is so full of information. I can't even keep up with it. I recommend the American Artist blog.

One of the posts has an almost seven minute video of a Richard McKinley demo. I saw a demo last year and posted about it.

Pastel Class Review

The pastel class is over. There were six artists there, a full class plus one. There is a little let down after the worry and preparation. It seemed to me to go well, the artists/students came back for the second day. :) That is a good sign, right? The Guild had a five day class for teenagers several years ago. The class grew smaller every day. Ha. I do think that adults want to learn and want to be there. Most likely some of the teens were sent to class by their parents.

I supplied samples of several surfaces and pastels. Gallery and Rembrandt pastels. Art Spectrum Colourfix paper in quarters, Art Spectrum Colourfix card, Canson, Kitty Wallis, and Ampersand Pastelbord. I did a short 15 - 20 minute demo to show how pastels are used on the first day. They were not beginners in art, so they could just jump in and try out the pastels and the different surfaces. The second day we did an under painting with pastels and water. Everyone enjoyed seeing each other's different styles. There were many questions and ideas. The short time in a class/workshop is never enough.

Here are some shots of the first day. As usual, I did not remember to take photos. The artists were up and packing when I remembered the photos.

The second day I didn't take photos either. Too much to think about, I suppose. I did this little 10-15 minute demo to show how they can be framed against the glass with no mat. Not a great painting, hence the small photo.

I would like to do more teaching, it refreshes my memory and makes me think about how and why I do things and how far I have come in my own education and experiences. I love sharing information and the inspiration of being with fellow artists.

The thing is,I like other things as well, and do not want to be tied into a schedule. So, I do what I can, as best I can, when I can, with my art. I do enjoy being an artist!