Back to Business

I can't believe it has been so long since I updated this site. Between teaching summer classes, packing up and relocating (oh do I hate unpacking boxes!), and the school year starting up again, time just got away from me. This does not mean that I don't have new pieces waiting to be up loaded because I certainly do. Pictures will be up soon, because I am getting back to business.

Finished Pieces

Worked on putting finishing touches on several pieces previously uploaded, here are a couple.
Enjoy!

Update!

Same piece, further developed. I think it better conveys my message of the over the top elaborate walls people assemble around themselves, hiding the true beauty within their true self. She shines through even amongst the chaos.

Working on the title!

Moving right along

Have put the finishing touches on many of the pieces I started this year. Almost ready to take pictures of them.

Chained, continued

I put the background on my Chained piece, and added her hair and second arm. She still lacks detail in her corset, her necklaces, and finishing touches to her face. She still has a ways to go, before she is finished.

Another in progress piece

This is what I have been working on lately. Not sure where to take it next, so I figured I would post what I have. I am very happy with how her face turned out.

Getting back into the swing of things...

Between trips to El Paso, Brenham, and Austin over the last two weeks, I have not been able to spend much time creating. However, I was able to visit two different art museums, which inspired new ideas and maybe new directions. I find that after a long break it is hard for me to jump right back into a piece that I had been working on, so this piece helped me bridge the gap. Enjoy!

Bound in Chains

I have been bouncing between two projects lately. The first being an oil painting that I am not ready to put up pictures of, and the second being a collage (the largest that I have created so far) which I have uploaded the in progress image. It is my version relaying the essence of the character Jacob Marley from Charles Dickens' novel, A Christmas Carol.

The story:
My character is bound and weighed down with the chains that she has subconsciously built herself. The burdens she wears range in all sizes and shapes, showing the different events that she holds herself accountable for. She wears a corset, further emphasizing the constraints she places upon herself, over a black dress, tattered and worn. She mindlessly tugs at the ropes of pearls that wrap around her neck, and peers down lost in thoughts of the past. Her hair is bound tightly, covered by a decorative flower, another worldly possession masking her inner beauty. Lost amongst the other necklaces, is one small chain holding a key. A key that will unlock her burdens, loosen her chains, and set her free.

Finished!- False Persona

After being around our high school kids in and out of the classroom setting, I realized many juggle different personas around different people. Each person has their own walls they build to protect or hide behind. I started to think about how well you really know anybody, and this theme continues through my current pieces. What truly lays beneath the layers one wears? What false persona masks the person underneath?

This figure is part of that series. She hides behind her layered 'mask', drawing attention away from what lays beneath .

By the way, the color is way more accurate this time!

Mother Earth and Father Time

Once again, another older piece that I am just getting around to putting up on the site. This one actually has a clever title, however I don't remember where I wrote it down at. I will look for that at a later date.

I rarely edge toward a political statement with my work, but lean more toward personal or emotional works. I took inspiration from Surrealist landscapes and themes. It shows Mother Earth turning her back on today's society. She holds the fetus out from her body, showing her detachment from what would normally be carried naturally and lovingly in her womb. Father Time consoles her, though death is immanent. She looks off to a sunset of a desolate world of all that's been ruined, barren of all that she used to conceive and nurture. The key to life remains, entwined with the sands of time and tree of life.

The Key to Life

My first small swirl study, 'The Key to Life', started me down the path that I currently walk. It is good to look at where you started to better put into perspective where you are headed. It shows my beginning fasination with hidden meanings, and the deeper history of symbols.

Birthday Butterflies

When I first moved down to Freeport after college, I started a series on very small birthday butterflies/moths that I never did anything with. Since it is currently my birthday month, it is appropriate to revisit the amethyst butterfly that I jazzed up a little with some swirls. I am also adding a miscellaneous piece that belongs to the butterfly set, however never felt like it belonged.

First Oil Painting of the Year

Yesterday while with Nick in his class, I worked on this painting. It is not done, but I will put up the in progress pictures anyway. To me she represents the way people hide behind their false persona without truly showing the type of person they are. I will explain more when she is finished. Let me know what you think!

Undiscovered Forest

Hello to all and Happy 2010! I can't believe how time flies, or at least how long it takes to get back into the rhythm of things. I am proud to say that I now have a 'studio' space (a wonderful makeshift area created by my wonderful husband). I have several pieces in the works, however not far enough along to take pictures. Tonight I am posting a small piece that I created from a scrap paper thrown away by a student. (It had a stick figure with big eyes and mouth right in the middle.) The reclaimed paper was later used as a watercolor demo by Nick and then by me, without erasing the pencil lines. Today I started layering on prismacolor details to prove a point to a student. You can make a complete, wonderful art piece out of something you thought was ruined. I think I proved my point! Other post will follow shortly.

(The picture doesn't show the finer detail)