New Possibilities

 I have a new obsession. Thank God. I was feeling very stuck in my painting. Thus, many collages were produced. (Not that that's a bad thing...) Collage was much less confrontational than the painting. And I love the images that were created.

Then came the Golden Workshop with it's brain-bursting curriculum of possibilities. They even sent me home with a goody bag full of product I never would have bought.

The instructor spoke of how the gel mediums can act as
protective barriers. I still had a roll of roofing paper collecting
dust and cat hair in the studio. I wondered what would happen if I sealed the tar paper with the gel medium. It was awesome. I got a textured surface to paint on without losing the rough canvas-like surface of the paper.  Oh, my goodness. You can scratch into it. You can sandpaper it.
You can cover mistakes in a heartbeat. I am in love.

This is my first painting - "This Is Your Brain on Art".
It makes me so happy to look at. It's everything I was trying for - on wood or board.
 Looser, more nuanced color and a sense of whimsy.
The image at the top is the last one I finished. Love it.


And now the challenge is presentation. I cannot figure out how they look best.
 Nailed onto painted plywood panels?
In a frame, mounted on matboard with a plexi cover?

Presentation has never been an issue for me and right now that's what I'm wrestling with.
I will figure it out.
Maybe an online contest for best look would be a
good idea.

Right now I am just in love with roofing paper and it's possibilities.

Cutting and Pasting

The studio  has been cleaned and rearranged for maximum

creative output. I hope. It sure looks better and I can walk

around without getting bruised by something. More shelves

are up and it's easier to access all my collections (junk).

Pictures will be posted when it looks like I want it to look.

I did make great curtains out of old linens that I love.

My painting style is changing and making me uncomfortable.

I don't even want to talk about that until I can figure out where

 me, my paintbrushes, gel mediums and graphite are going.

Right now the combination just makes me unhappy.

The junk collections never fail to inspire me. I got a pile of new

frames from the ever-inventive Philip. They begged to

have some paper and pictures laid down on them to tell a story.

The stories pour out with no fuss. I love how they

pass thru me onto the surface.

This is " All You Need Is Love" - above and detail below.

 A yummy vintage lime green bookcover, map,

 printer's type and a picture to warm or break your heart.

 Not sure.

I'm signed up for two workshops this week. I am

so excited. I've wanted to learn about encaustic for

years. And a Golden Artists Colors Workshop on

using their different mediums. This will either open

the gates of painting again or make me crazy.

I'll let you know.

At the very least, I think the workshops will be perfect

for some inspiring Instagram moments.

The Honey Bunny

Mr. Honey Bunny. Man of my dreams.

I brought two new collage pieces to one of

my mentors. She was in love with them, much

to my surprise ( as always.... questioning

the work in my head ).

 She encouraged me to make more, make them bigger.

 Just to fly with it.

 Which, of course, is kind of paralyzing for me.

So Mr. Honey Bunny is small and took forever

to finish. I like him, though.

Trying to think and imagine BIG. It's like

running a 5K after spending months in a

gym lifting weights. The 5K muscles are

really sore and you thought you were

in good shape....

My BIG collage muscles are just puny.



I believe that artists are extremely susceptible to new toys and media.

For sure this artist is.

Not the information kind of media - the kind that you can play with.

Gel medium, modelling paste,glazes and some awesome soft squishy stuff

that can substitute for a hard linoleum block. I found these neat

rectangles at my favorite place to browse - Dick Blick.

 ( How lucky am I to have a Dick Blick in my town?)

 I know they must have a name but I don't know it.

 They're gray, pliable and only $1.69 for a 4" x 6".

I love the look of block printing - the primitive and handmade

qualities. I tried carving a couple of traditional blocks. My hand hurt

and they didn't print very well. These gray babies are easy, fast

and print like a dream.

I've started with words. That's where I always start - whatever the

project. I have 6 images that I'll be posting on Etsy. This was my first

one. It's for Ella, who fervently believes in the existence of fairies.



Violet the Cat



Just another day in the studio. I bet you all think that

I get to determine how my day and my painting goes.
Ya know, since it's just me down there. The person who

bought all that paint, that easel, those canvases. You'd

think that person would get to be the boss of that space.

And you would be wrong

. Because Violet is the CEO  of Kathleen Taylor Studio. 

She lives there and I just visit - for 8 to 10 hours at a clip - 

 but still not a full time resident.

 Apparently that makes Vi the Tony Soprano of

my little work space.

This is a picture of us today. The background is the

painting I'm trying to finish. The red is my sweatshirt/stomach

 which Violet has decided is the perfect spot

for some bonding time. Her tail swishes and flicks over the palette,

picking up blobs of paint that she deposits on the

painting.  Have you ever tried to tell a cat

what to do? Cats wouldn't listen to the

voice of God if it was accompanied by thunder and lightening.

I never thought I'd say this, but dogs are easier.

Occasionally they listen to me.

Good Music

My little Italian mother played the mandolin.
Beautifully.
My little Italian grandmother had all her daughters play instruments.
Together they formed "The Arcidiacono Sisters", a trio with a 15 minute
radio show in White Plains, NY in the 1930's.

Mom could play all the traditional Italian songs on her mandolin. My
brother and I grew up thinking that " The Tarantella" was a nursery
rhyme.

She tried to teach us both to play. My brother (overachiever that he
is) learned quickly. I had absolutely no ear or interest. But I still
love the sound of a mandolin. Oh, the memories.

After my Mom passed I inherited the instrument we grew up with.
It hangs on my dining room wall. My granddaughters think it is a
cool guitar.

In reality, the world's coolest guitar shares space with the vintage mandolin.

In 1969 I began a life long love affair with James Taylor.
I walked into the bookstore at SUNY Oneonta and saw his album.
( Vinyl and record player ready..)
How could I not fall? He had the same name as my charming
Irish father and he was CUTE. Once I heard his music, I was done for.
I went to as many concerts as possible over the years.
He became the soundtrack of my life.

For my birthday The Overachiever gave me the most amazing present ever.

He was at a fundraiser with an autographed James Taylor guitar up for bid.
He was determined to get it for me and he did.
It took me weeks to actually take it out of the box. I felt like Julia Roberts in
"Pretty Woman" when Richard Gere gives her the jewelry.

I still can't believe I have a fancy guitar that James signed.

I love that he and my Mom are sharing
the same space. Good music is universal.

They both played the soundtracks of my life.

Thanks, Brian. I got the best brother. Ever.

Working B-I-G !

I feel like I've got it now! Painting on bigger surfaces is

not an insurmountable challenge.

The first big painting was a real struggle. Hated it -

 maybe not hate, but definitely not loving the finished work.

 I carted it to my local gallery. It was in the

gallery for less than a week when a couple came in and fell in love.

 I'd like to say they bought it and happily took it home.

 But really, they loved it, went home, measured for it and then

called the gallery and made a very lowball offer. It's not a garage

sale, folks..... So it's still in it's gallery home.

Determined to try it again, I got another panel out and

started a new one. This went so quickly and easily that

I am now a B-I-G painting convert. This is my latest -

titled "The Rescuer" in homage to all the good people

who take time to find homes for homeless animals.

She is 30 x 40 on a wrapped gallery canvas.

Here she is. I am happy with the finished work.

Whoa... something must be wrong. I'm never satisfied.
I'll wait and see if I'm still in love with her in the morning.