An Injection of Confidence!

Today was a day that felt as good as getting a shot of vitamins in the arm.  A full day long with my art group just energizes me to face the week, and for that matter the world!

When you angst over a thing you are working on, whether it is a paper you are trying to write, a project you are trying to complete, or a painting you are trying to paint, it is good to meet with peers and get their input to help you make it over that hurdle.  Today was that kind of day for me.  It is fun catching up with them and checking out what they are working on.  Seeing their technique and listening to the instruction given to them by our teacher is helpful for me too.  You can learn a lot that way.

I started two new paintings, one of turkeys.  Guess I confess I might have been hungry for turkey, but thought it would be interesting to paint.  Yoda thought so too.  He pointed out there are hundreds of paintings of chickens but rarely any of turkeys.  That made me laugh, but actually I was thinking of decor for Thanksgiving.  A painting for me is an easy way to spruce up the decorations before the holiday company arrives.

With the same thought process, I started one of pumpkins.  Fall is in the air and I am feeling it.  Stay tuned later for photos of these paintings and maybe you will give me your critique of them.

Coffee and Critiques...

Today the Van Go Go Girls met for coffee and a bit of Art talk on a drizzly dreary fall Tulsa day.  As we sipped on good coffee served in pink Willow Ware cups and enjoyed fresh muffins from Queenie's, I learned so many things.

                                             

Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a real artist.  So much study, trial and error go in to creating a true work of art.  The home we met in had so many beautiful paintings and sculptures, and the yard looked like that of a park.  It was just a testament to gracious living as well as thought out subjects to paint and paintings to collect.

For my part, I took the two painting above for critique and faired better than I probably deserved.  There is much improvement in my technique of painting metals and I had such a good time with it, now I am looking for new shiny items to paint.  

Looking forward to more critique sessions, as that is where one learns and one has the chance to improve.

                                                        

I'm A Little Teapot...Well Maybe Not So Little?

"My only worry is the painting I'm doing. Nothing else."

David Hockney

Not necessarily true for me, but it is the place I go to for escape.  When things are overwhelming and I hate to admit they ever are, but it is true.  I paint.  This fall has there has been a lot of overwhelming things that took me to the studio more than ever.  Looking forward to winter and then maybe spring?

This piece was started at a workshop months ago and never completed.  Today, I needed something to work on and everything in the studio is too wet to manipulate, so out came this unfinished painting.  Still unsure if I like it or not, and still unsure if I am ready to say finished or not.  

A fellow artist recently told me how you know when a painting is finished....you hear the word "SOLD." That's when you know.  Smile.

It's All In The Eye Of The Beholder.

How do you judge a painting, as a work of art or as a complete disaster? For an artist that is the million dollar question. Someone once said that the following was the true definition of painting.

Painting, n: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather, and exposing them to the critic.

Pretty funny, huh? I thought so. Profound words if I do say so myself. Some days I look at various paintings and wonder what could have ever been the inspiration behind them? Some of them are even famous works of art!

Me, viewing

Salvador Dali at the Metropolitan Art Museum 

Chicago, Illinois

One of my sweet dear painting friends calls a group of us the Van Go Go Girls.

Vincent Van Gogh said, "I dream of painting, then I paint my dream." Well said Buddy, but we all know how you ended up!

Self Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh

Sometimes you even look like you belong in the art!

My Sweet Husband James who took me to Chicago to see the great works of art.

At the end of the day you might just say that any behavior that is not what we call the status quo could be called insanity, when maybe the real facts are it is it might just be a form of art.  Insanity like art is sorta in the eye of the beholder.

Announcing The Prize for the Best Photo!

Don't know about everyone else, but I really love winning a prize.  Just finished the newest painting and was ready to put it up for auction when I decided, "Hey, let this one be my prize for the winning photo contest."

This is a painting that I would love to keep myself.  It is an 8X10 inch landscape titled, "The Fall Wheat Harvest."  I could sell this painting, but I want to make it worth your while to enter my photo contest.  This is the nicest prize I have offered yet.  To make the deal even sweeter...I am having it framed and will ship it to the winner.

Thick fresh paint in vivid colors.  This one will look good on any wall in any room.

Now, we need entries to make this a fun contest.  So please share this on your Facebook page.
An impartial art person will be chosen to do the judging

The rules are:

One photo submission per day by email or by Facebook.

Submit your favorite photos that showcase something you think would make a beautiful painting.

Finalist will be selected based on creativity, clarity, color and how well the photo can become art.

Send photos to artzyone@cox.net  or post on https://www.facebook.com/Lindadunbarfineart  or https://www.facebook.com/linda.h.dunbar

All rights to publish or display the photos are given at the time of submission to LindaDunbarArt.

And here is the prize...

Wordless Wednesday

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood....

Today was a really cool day for an old girl learning new tricks.  Maybe you CAN teach an old dog new ones after all?  Well, maybe not new ones, but learning how to get better at my skill and promote my art to others.  This is a journey and I am happy to share it.

The day started out with dealing with the Oklahoma Tax Commission about the collection of taxes on my paintings.  Not fun, but good to have to deal with since I have had sales.  Then on to an art class I always look forward to.  This class is with Yoda, my instructor who now tells me he does not want me referring to him as Yoda anymore.  He prefers to be called, "The Dos Equis Man."  (The Real one is in this photo.)  He is some commercial character supposed to be the world's most perfect man.  By the way Yoda has a real sense of humor!

Okay, whatever....Dos Equis (formerly known as Yoda,) was able to help me solve some issues I was having with a painting that had been driving me crazy for days. So worth the 18 miles I drive to this class!  His critique of my work helped me instantly see where I was falling short and get on with it.  For his help I was very grateful and makes me realize how much more there is to learn.

                                  

Yoda

After class, I had my first meeting with the representative of a downtown artzy type restaurant that will showcasing my work for the next few months.  It was nerve wracking to follow up with this meeting, because my confidence is not there yet.  However, she really loved my work and took more paintings than she normally does.  More to come later on that story.

Then to cap off the day, I sold another painting on DailyPaintWorks.com.

So as I told Yoda, I mean Dos Equis, my family is the true cause of all this attention.  My husband is the best Agent you could have.  He worked out this meeting with the restaurant, made them known of my work, helped me for two hours prepare the paintings, frame the paintings and load the car, and took off work to go with me to the meeting.   My son helped me set up my studio this summer, work out details of where things would go, find the best lighting, figure out how to make my blog and website work.  My daughter is the best IT department any business ever had.  She has created the LindaDunbarFineArt Facebook page, set me up an Etsy online store and set me up a gallery with DailyPaintWorks.  Plus, she is researching other venues to sell my art in licensing projects.  Hours of reading and research that frees me up to actually do what I feel called to do....Paint!