Saturday, December 30, 2006
Georgia O'Keefe
I just returned from a visit to my mom's place in New Mexico. The artistic highlight of the trip was a visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum in Santa Fe. The museum is a true retrospective of the artist's life from her childhood in Wisconsin to her later days in New Mexico. My favorite pieces on display were her early watercolors. She painted oils later in her career and these are more famous. The watercolors were painted in the 1916-1917 era mostly. She was very modern and loose in her watercolor technique in her early days. I plan to paint some of her early watercolors next semester. I also liked an oil painting titled The Cottonwood Tree very much. It reminded me of the horse trail ride that I took with my daugher's along the Rio Grande on December 27.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Venus Two
The sphere is more round in this version. I used black opaque gouache paint for the background which was easier, but the effect in real life is not as nice as Jupiter. The background on this piece looks flat and dead when seen up close - unlike Jupiter which was done with four layers of ivory black watercolor.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Sunday, December 10, 2006
My Grandmother's Funeral
An Essay on the Funeral
By Linda Saslow
It was the 7th day after my Grandmother died when the automated e-mail arrived; Reminder: Send Holiday Flowers to Edna. The benign automated message made me feel empty.
I had just returned two days before from the funeral half a nation away in rural Wisconsin. It was cold, as December always is in the Midwest. I spent three nights in hotel rooms in Milwaukee and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin with my mother. I was happy to be there. I don’t imagine she was. She hadn’t spoken to her sisters for several years. This is bad blood I do not share.
I had tried to fly out the Friday before the Sunday viewing, but a Midwestern blizzard shut down Mitchell Field and all flights out of LAX to Wisconsin were cancelled. I was sad not to get the extra day with my family prior to my Grandmother’s viewing and funeral.
I’ve always felt a bit odd about viewings. I’ve been to several and they say that the more you attend, the less they freak you out. The funeral home had made up my grandmother so she looked so much younger than her 94 years. Beautiful, but a bit eerie. Maybe I was prepared because I’ve seen every episode of the HBO show Six Feet Under.
Despite the fact that we were gathered together expressly to mourn a great woman, it was a nice time. My grandmother was a Lutheran Dairy Farmer’s wife who had borne six daughters. I was happy to see my five aunts and two cousins their families. These were adults I had not seen in years and children I had never met. If there had not been a corpse in the room it would have been quite a party.
After the Sunday night viewing we all went to my aunt’s house in Plymouth, Wisconsin to reminisce. My mother went back to the hotel. I joined the group at the home where my Grandmother and two aunts who cared for her had lived for the past several years. We looked at photos of my grandmother from babyhood to her confirmation to her wedding to her older years. We ate home-baked cookies. We ate a simple dinner. We joked. We laughed. We talked about what a fine woman she had been.
Monday was the church funeral. Some previous occupant of my room had set the alarm for 3:30 a.m. So, I took a bath and went to the lobby of the small rural motel looking for coffee. I woke up the night desk clerk who was asleep on the lobby couch. I asked for caffeine. She was happy to oblige. She put out the stale baked goods in the breakfast room and I sat there glancing over a free copy of Newsweek. It all seemed so banal.
At six my mother woke up. She wanted cough drops. Since I was dressed, I said I would walk out into the small village in search of some. I walked two blocks over icy sidewalks until I found a gas station mini mart open. I purchased my mom some cherry flavored cough drops and bought myself a truck-stop variety hot chocolate from the machine. I put on a second pair of long underwear after I returned from my walk. Fifteen months back in California after nearly a decade in the Midwest has made my blood thin.
A few hours later, my mother and I headed out over icy roads in snow flurries to find the small town where she had been raised. We headed over hills and through the forests. We slowly drove past a half frozen small body of water called Crystal Lake. Too early in the season for ice fishing.
When we entered my mother’s home town I read the population sign. It was now 385. The last time I was here -- probably five years before -- slightly more than 400 people lived in the town.
We parked next to a snow bank in front of the small Lutheran Church. My mother used a walking stick to make sure she did not slip on the ice. She really isn’t old enough for a cane. Yet, she has a bionic ankle from a bad break on a previous trip to Wisconsin about ten years before. I was along for that trip too. That was a much happier occasion – we were taking my then three-year-old daughter to visit her still lucid Great Grandmother.
On Monday morning, in the church most of the family was already assembled. My grandmother in her casket lay in the foyer. In the sanctuary I glanced at the stained glass windows that my great grandparents had paid for. I’m always a sucker for good antique stained glass.
I stood in the receiving line as second cousins, great aunts, neighbors and assorted members of the congregation streamed in. I saw my grandmother’s younger sister Lillian for the second time in two days and probably the fourth time in my life. She looked just like Edna and at 92 was not one bit senile. Not like my Grandmother Edna who had been plagued by intermittent and creeping Alzheimer’s for the past five years or so.
One relation or neighbor told me he had hunted deer in the forest that edged my grandparent’s fields of corn and alfalfa. I told him I liked venison. He told me he had shot a deer last night. I probably hadn’t seen the man since I was ten, if ever. But, he was close to my grandmother.
In the funeral service the pastor mentioned how my grandmother was born about the same time that the Titanic sank. He mentioned that she was a great cook, particularly of donuts. I have many fond childhood memories of these donuts. He emphasized that she was a hardworking dairy farm wife and mother of six daughters. He mentioned her factory work at Sargento Cheese after her children were grown. Of course, he mentioned her love of Jesus Christ.
Since I’m now a Jew and my voice is not so great, I did not sing the hymns – but I did read along. I said the Lord’s Prayer which I’ve had memorized since I was about eight. I looked at the antique stained glass windows a lot.
After the service my mother and I drove to the cemetery with the funeral director and the pastor. The funeral director was about my mother’s age and they were old friends from high school Christian youth group. The pastor mentioned his new horse that he had purchased in addition to his older pony. Having four children in farm country, two horses are in order. I mentioned my own 13-year-old’s equestrian volunteer work with special needs individuals and horses. He said that those horses must have very special personalities. I agreed.
We got to the snowy cemetery where they had somehow managed to dig a hole in the frozen ground. I got out and walked though the snow drifts. My mother stayed in the car due to the bionic ankle. My aunt told me that this cemetery is where my great grandparents on both sides of my mother’s family are buried.
More kind words were said by the pastor. We recited the Lord’s Prayer again. Then one of my aunts took the roses from the arrangement on the casket and gave me one.
Back in the church basement we sat and shared a meal for which my grandmother had written the menu when she was still lucid. There was hot German potato salad, a variety of cheeses, fancy fresh fruit, cold cuts and good bakery bread. My grandmother apparently had specified that grocery store bread not be served.
The church members had made a variety of cakes and bars to end the meal. The coffee, unfortunately, was decaf. This is a world far removed culturally, geographically and economically from the Starbucks yuppie lifestyle that I routinely live.
By Linda Saslow
It was the 7th day after my Grandmother died when the automated e-mail arrived; Reminder: Send Holiday Flowers to Edna. The benign automated message made me feel empty.
I had just returned two days before from the funeral half a nation away in rural Wisconsin. It was cold, as December always is in the Midwest. I spent three nights in hotel rooms in Milwaukee and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin with my mother. I was happy to be there. I don’t imagine she was. She hadn’t spoken to her sisters for several years. This is bad blood I do not share.
I had tried to fly out the Friday before the Sunday viewing, but a Midwestern blizzard shut down Mitchell Field and all flights out of LAX to Wisconsin were cancelled. I was sad not to get the extra day with my family prior to my Grandmother’s viewing and funeral.
I’ve always felt a bit odd about viewings. I’ve been to several and they say that the more you attend, the less they freak you out. The funeral home had made up my grandmother so she looked so much younger than her 94 years. Beautiful, but a bit eerie. Maybe I was prepared because I’ve seen every episode of the HBO show Six Feet Under.
Despite the fact that we were gathered together expressly to mourn a great woman, it was a nice time. My grandmother was a Lutheran Dairy Farmer’s wife who had borne six daughters. I was happy to see my five aunts and two cousins their families. These were adults I had not seen in years and children I had never met. If there had not been a corpse in the room it would have been quite a party.
After the Sunday night viewing we all went to my aunt’s house in Plymouth, Wisconsin to reminisce. My mother went back to the hotel. I joined the group at the home where my Grandmother and two aunts who cared for her had lived for the past several years. We looked at photos of my grandmother from babyhood to her confirmation to her wedding to her older years. We ate home-baked cookies. We ate a simple dinner. We joked. We laughed. We talked about what a fine woman she had been.
Monday was the church funeral. Some previous occupant of my room had set the alarm for 3:30 a.m. So, I took a bath and went to the lobby of the small rural motel looking for coffee. I woke up the night desk clerk who was asleep on the lobby couch. I asked for caffeine. She was happy to oblige. She put out the stale baked goods in the breakfast room and I sat there glancing over a free copy of Newsweek. It all seemed so banal.
At six my mother woke up. She wanted cough drops. Since I was dressed, I said I would walk out into the small village in search of some. I walked two blocks over icy sidewalks until I found a gas station mini mart open. I purchased my mom some cherry flavored cough drops and bought myself a truck-stop variety hot chocolate from the machine. I put on a second pair of long underwear after I returned from my walk. Fifteen months back in California after nearly a decade in the Midwest has made my blood thin.
A few hours later, my mother and I headed out over icy roads in snow flurries to find the small town where she had been raised. We headed over hills and through the forests. We slowly drove past a half frozen small body of water called Crystal Lake. Too early in the season for ice fishing.
When we entered my mother’s home town I read the population sign. It was now 385. The last time I was here -- probably five years before -- slightly more than 400 people lived in the town.
We parked next to a snow bank in front of the small Lutheran Church. My mother used a walking stick to make sure she did not slip on the ice. She really isn’t old enough for a cane. Yet, she has a bionic ankle from a bad break on a previous trip to Wisconsin about ten years before. I was along for that trip too. That was a much happier occasion – we were taking my then three-year-old daughter to visit her still lucid Great Grandmother.
On Monday morning, in the church most of the family was already assembled. My grandmother in her casket lay in the foyer. In the sanctuary I glanced at the stained glass windows that my great grandparents had paid for. I’m always a sucker for good antique stained glass.
I stood in the receiving line as second cousins, great aunts, neighbors and assorted members of the congregation streamed in. I saw my grandmother’s younger sister Lillian for the second time in two days and probably the fourth time in my life. She looked just like Edna and at 92 was not one bit senile. Not like my Grandmother Edna who had been plagued by intermittent and creeping Alzheimer’s for the past five years or so.
One relation or neighbor told me he had hunted deer in the forest that edged my grandparent’s fields of corn and alfalfa. I told him I liked venison. He told me he had shot a deer last night. I probably hadn’t seen the man since I was ten, if ever. But, he was close to my grandmother.
In the funeral service the pastor mentioned how my grandmother was born about the same time that the Titanic sank. He mentioned that she was a great cook, particularly of donuts. I have many fond childhood memories of these donuts. He emphasized that she was a hardworking dairy farm wife and mother of six daughters. He mentioned her factory work at Sargento Cheese after her children were grown. Of course, he mentioned her love of Jesus Christ.
Since I’m now a Jew and my voice is not so great, I did not sing the hymns – but I did read along. I said the Lord’s Prayer which I’ve had memorized since I was about eight. I looked at the antique stained glass windows a lot.
After the service my mother and I drove to the cemetery with the funeral director and the pastor. The funeral director was about my mother’s age and they were old friends from high school Christian youth group. The pastor mentioned his new horse that he had purchased in addition to his older pony. Having four children in farm country, two horses are in order. I mentioned my own 13-year-old’s equestrian volunteer work with special needs individuals and horses. He said that those horses must have very special personalities. I agreed.
We got to the snowy cemetery where they had somehow managed to dig a hole in the frozen ground. I got out and walked though the snow drifts. My mother stayed in the car due to the bionic ankle. My aunt told me that this cemetery is where my great grandparents on both sides of my mother’s family are buried.
More kind words were said by the pastor. We recited the Lord’s Prayer again. Then one of my aunts took the roses from the arrangement on the casket and gave me one.
Back in the church basement we sat and shared a meal for which my grandmother had written the menu when she was still lucid. There was hot German potato salad, a variety of cheeses, fancy fresh fruit, cold cuts and good bakery bread. My grandmother apparently had specified that grocery store bread not be served.
The church members had made a variety of cakes and bars to end the meal. The coffee, unfortunately, was decaf. This is a world far removed culturally, geographically and economically from the Starbucks yuppie lifestyle that I routinely live.
Blessing over the Wine
Blessed are You, Lord, Our God, King of the universe who creates the fruit of the vine.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Mermaid
Here is a kosher salted seascape with a mermaid painted on top. This is very Chagall-like. I'm into this piece.
Orb
I painted this watercolor in the past few weeks in watercolor class. It is based on a James Daugherty painting - but I changed most of the colors. This is not purely watercolor. I used white to mix some of the pastel shades. I also ran it through the crystalize filter in photoshop
Blue Chagall Floral
I painted this during the past two weeks in watercolor class. It is based on a Blue Chagall Floral - probably a lithograph - found on the internet.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Field of Flowers
This is a copy of a black and white out of a decorative painting book I picked up for a dollar at Barnes and Noble.
Daisies in Vase
This is the first thing I painted this semester at Fullerton College. I've painted six or more other paintings in the six weeks of class, but I have not been blogging. This is a rare night of true insomnia and here I am blogging at an early hour. I'll post more of what I painted in September and October soon. My fans have been asking for updates. My psych condition is very stable and I have been somewhat uncreative due to my consistant stability.
There is an excellent Watercolor exhibit at the Brea Community Center Museum that my class took a field trip to last week. If you live in Orange County, I really recommend going to the show.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Yelp!
http://lindas.yelp.com
Because I need to write more...and no one is paying me to do so at this very moment...I discovered Yelp.com (thanks to the L.A. Times) and have spent the last week yelping nearly 70 places in Fullerton and in the greater U.S.A. This site is a good way to find that hole in the wall restaurant you have been hoping for right in your zip code.
It is such a good site...the reviews are so HONEST. No one is getting paid to write. They don't censor negative viewpoints. This is such a wonderful tool if you live in a city that yelp covers...alas for my friends in Cleveland you are not in yelp land yet...but they tell me it may happen in a few months...e-mail them about how urgent it is that Cleveland be yelped.
Because I need to write more...and no one is paying me to do so at this very moment...I discovered Yelp.com (thanks to the L.A. Times) and have spent the last week yelping nearly 70 places in Fullerton and in the greater U.S.A. This site is a good way to find that hole in the wall restaurant you have been hoping for right in your zip code.
It is such a good site...the reviews are so HONEST. No one is getting paid to write. They don't censor negative viewpoints. This is such a wonderful tool if you live in a city that yelp covers...alas for my friends in Cleveland you are not in yelp land yet...but they tell me it may happen in a few months...e-mail them about how urgent it is that Cleveland be yelped.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Filtered Floral
I was unhappy with the result of my early AM painting and decided to run the piece through some photoshop filters. I like it better now.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Tropical Flower on Black
This flower took me several days to paint. I put the Payne's Grey Backgroundin last. The flower is mostly wet on wet, but the background was done dry.
Pink Lemonade
My 9-year-old painted this photo at the end of a very hot Southern California Day. It looks really good to me too...
Friday, July 21, 2006
9-year-old's Clouds
My daughter who will be in 4th grade in the fall has really taken to painting. She really likes everything I did last semester at Fullerton College. This is her version of Clouds...mine was posted months ago. Hers is done in Crayola Washable Paint - a birthday gift from me.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Tropical Flower
I went out yesterday and bought new tubes of permanent magenta and permanent rose and needed to paint something with them. This tropical inspried flower is all that I could think of late last night.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Kosher Salt Tree Leaves
I've always had a problem with making trees look like trees. This seems to help: Kosher salt the leaves. This is just a little post card size painting I was experimenting with. The colors of gree in the leaves are Hooker's Green and Sap Green. The Trunk is Van Dyke Brown and Lamp Black. The background is Cobalt.
I like how this turned out. I may have to do some Kosher Salted Forests in larger scale.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Good words to live by for writers and artists
The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996.
QUOTATION:
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
ATTRIBUTION:
Samuel Beckett (1906–1989), Irish dramatist, novelist. Worstward Ho (1984).
BIOGRAPHY:
Columbia Encyclopedia
QUOTATION:
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
ATTRIBUTION:
Samuel Beckett (1906–1989), Irish dramatist, novelist. Worstward Ho (1984).
BIOGRAPHY:
Columbia Encyclopedia
Rousseau
On NYTimes.com you can find a good article on a great artist - it is published today then will likely be in archives:
Art Review
Henri Rousseau: In Imaginary Jungles, a Terrible Beauty Lurks
By ROBERTA SMITH
Published: July 14, 2006
Art Review
Henri Rousseau: In Imaginary Jungles, a Terrible Beauty Lurks
By ROBERTA SMITH
Published: July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Crystalized Flowers
Here are some flowers I painted at 2 a.m. They were Kosher Salted as usual. Once I scanned them I decided to apply the crystalize filter in Photoshop.
Not my favorite painting, but I decided to post it anyway.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Kosher Salt Sunset
I think I mentioned before that orange is currently my favorite color. Here is a sunset done wet on wet with kosher salt. Several shades of orange are involved, a couple pinks, and scarlet. I painted this just after midnight.Monday, July 10, 2006
Simple Floral
I painted this just an hour or so ago --- mid-afternoon. I rarely paint at this time of day unless I'm in class. I painted A LOT of florals like this for two years in Shaker Heights art class. I have unfinished dining room chairs I keep meaning to paint in this style....hmmm...
I did paint something at 5 a.m. but the cat sat on it at 6:15 and ruined it. Humorous for some members of my family but NOT FOR ME!!
We had to chase the cat down and get the watercolor paint off his rear.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Kosher Salt Floral
This is another kosher salt wet on wet piece I did in the wee hours of the A.M. today. It is sort of an abstract arrangement of lilies and some yellow/orange flower.
Purple Kosher Salt Cubism
This cubist piece was Kosher Salted on after it was done in a wet on wet style. A really different take on my other cubism. I did stretch the piece to fit the horizontal dimensions that I wanted. It was painted about 3:30 a.m. this morning.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Magenta Sunflower
This is not wet-on-wet. I decided to paint differently at 5 a.m. This flower is somewhat like the flower at Monet's Garden's in Giverny - but not really the same color in the center. The petals are the same color - almost. I just felt like taking a break from the ultra abstract.Saturday, July 01, 2006
Laguna Beach
Another early morning painting - same deal wet on wet cotton paper watercolor with kosher salt...This one is inspired by the water as seen from the cliffs inLaguna Beach yesterday.
Kosher Salt Roses
Here is a early morning wet on wet all cotton abstract piece...I had red roses in mind. The painting is liberally kosher salted. I actually changed the dimensions of the origninal a bit in publisher.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Fire
My favorite color of late is Orange. I paint a lot of wet on wet watercolors on the Arches paper in several shades of orange and scarlet with some yellow mixed in. This is painted wet on wet and kosher salted.
Ocean
I painted this on Wednesday morning - very, very early - it is an exaple of bathtub soaked wet on wet watercolor on the Arches French 100 percent cotton paper. I went to Laguna Beach with my children for two hours today and this reminds me of the clear blue Pacific ocean there.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Bathtub Soaking Cotton Paper
For those of us who like to paint wet-on-wet I've discovered that briefly bathtub soaking of the Arches French all Cotton Paper works well. The paper stays very, very damp. This is what I want. I ordered six packs of the stuff in the mail..I can't wait for it to arrive. I ordered the all cotton post card sizes too for Silvie to paint on...I'll probably use them too.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Medication Zone
This is supposed to be a blog about my mental health in addition to my art, so I feel compelled to tell the world that I increaed from 2.5 to 5 of Abilify yesterday. It messed up my sleep in the opposite direction...I was up late and up with my husband's alarm at 6...Maybe I got 5 hours of sleep with a lot of meds.
I want to ultimately be getting up at 6 and going to bed at 11...so I want this increase to work for me. I just have been living in some alternate time zone for months and need to be on Pacific Standard Time.
I want to ultimately be getting up at 6 and going to bed at 11...so I want this increase to work for me. I just have been living in some alternate time zone for months and need to be on Pacific Standard Time.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
13-year-old Art
Today was the first day off of school for my 8th grade daughter...Her sister had arcrylic paints out and this is what she decided to paint. I like it. I really wish I could post some of her better work...but I doubt she would let me. 13-year-olds are very sensitive and embarass easily. I find this very happy and cheerful...
Purple Kosher Salt Flowers
I'm very tired and very unhappy right now and I figured I would make more Kosher Salt Flowers...but these purple ones are not nearly as good as the more random ones at 5 a.m. when I was fresh.
These are also on expensive Arches All Cotton Paper...I'm all out of the cheap Strathmore Aquarius Paper...but it does do wet on wet well...sometimes...
Kosher Salt Sunflowers
More insomnia art...at 5 a.m. today I decided to paint some flowers and Kosher Salt them prior to drying the painting. I finished the drying with a blow dryer. There is some watercolor pencil in this piece. My 13-year-old art skeptic likes this piece a lot. She does not like everything that I do.
I'm making cards out of this one.
At least the insomnia gives me some free time to be creative...
Blazing Red Sunflowers
I think I need to get seeds for these paticular sunflowers so I can plant them in my yard. They match my home perfectly. I grew sunflowers in Pasadena...not far from here...and they were fabulous...I really like the color of these sunflowers.Thursday, June 15, 2006
Sunflowers
I discovered today that my 9-year-old Siamese mix cat does not eat Sunflowers...but he eats all other flowers and gets so SICK it is so disgusting I can't even blog about it...
However, the impulse purchase $6.99 sunflowers from the Health Food Store are not being eaten...perhaps they don't taste good!? At least not to Silas...
So, for everyone I have ever told - "DON'T BUY ME FLOWERS, THE CAT EATS THEM" - You now have an option that I like and is pretty inexpensive - Sunflowers with very little greenery. So my anniversary is July 2...if anyone was wondering...My birthday is Oct. 20 if anyone was wondering... Sunflowers http://www.proflowers.com/sunflowers-sun
If you are looking for Sunflowers from afar ProFlowers is a good site...I buy roses and tulips from them all the time. The Blazing Red Sunflowers on the site look brilliant.
I like to paint Sunflowers...you can see them in the Blog Archives...I'm actually quite excited about a fact that has taken me nine or so years to discover a fresh Flower that I LIKE and the CAT HATES. If you want to see Silas, he is in the archives too...I need to frame the painting I did of him this Spring semester...
However, the impulse purchase $6.99 sunflowers from the Health Food Store are not being eaten...perhaps they don't taste good!? At least not to Silas...
So, for everyone I have ever told - "DON'T BUY ME FLOWERS, THE CAT EATS THEM" - You now have an option that I like and is pretty inexpensive - Sunflowers with very little greenery. So my anniversary is July 2...if anyone was wondering...My birthday is Oct. 20 if anyone was wondering... Sunflowers http://www.proflowers.com/sunflowers-sun
If you are looking for Sunflowers from afar ProFlowers is a good site...I buy roses and tulips from them all the time. The Blazing Red Sunflowers on the site look brilliant.
I like to paint Sunflowers...you can see them in the Blog Archives...I'm actually quite excited about a fact that has taken me nine or so years to discover a fresh Flower that I LIKE and the CAT HATES. If you want to see Silas, he is in the archives too...I need to frame the painting I did of him this Spring semester...
Sunday, June 11, 2006
8-year-old's Modern Art
My 8-year-old decided to paint again today...all the materials were sitting out on the dining room table from my early morning painting session. She just calls this Modern Art. She says she was posessed by the paintbrush. Interesting thought. I like the painting quite a lot.
Insomnia Floral
Here is a piece I did in the wee hours of the morning today when I truly could not sleep...I did get back to sleep after the painting...It is no great masterpiece. I'll probably cut it and make it into greeting card covers.
Middle of the night waking is my big problem now...I actually slept for 6 or more hours and woke at 6:40 a.m. - but I was up so much during the early morning. It is an odd sleep pattern...The painting is a bit odd too.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Great Quotation by wonderful person
"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin (1939~) American Actor, Comedienne
If you know, me you know I've had a Lily Tomlin T-Shirt for about 15 years....Her portrayal of the School Guidance Counselor in the movie OC was really on the money.
If you know, me you know I've had a Lily Tomlin T-Shirt for about 15 years....Her portrayal of the School Guidance Counselor in the movie OC was really on the money.
Cezanne Slide Show: Today's NY Times
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/travel/11cezanne.html?th&emc=th
Those who know me...know I love my Internet NY Times...there is a fabulous Cezanne side show today that you will want to check out if you like this artist as much as I do.
Enjoy!!
Those who know me...know I love my Internet NY Times...there is a fabulous Cezanne side show today that you will want to check out if you like this artist as much as I do.
Enjoy!!
Art Auction
Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton tonight at 7 ish is having an Art Auction...tickets are still available. Smoggy Sunset No. 1 is for auction tonight. I framed it in a wodden frame with a rose colored mat. If it does not sell from the temple tonight, I will know Monday and friends can start bidding on the blog...If it does not sell for $50 minimum it is a holiday gift for Family.
I'm actually glad I'm too busy to go to the auction, so that I can't see if no one wants my piece.
Take care, Linda Saslow
I'm actually glad I'm too busy to go to the auction, so that I can't see if no one wants my piece.
Take care, Linda Saslow
Friday, June 09, 2006
More Writing Tips
From Merriam-Webster.com (0ne of my favorite web pages)
The Word of the Day for June 9 is:
spiel • \SPEEL\ • noun : a voluble line of often extravagant talk : pitch
Example sentence:We let the time-share salesman give us his opening spiel, but when he got to the high-pressure sales tactics, we cut him short and made it clear that we were not interested.
Did you know?There's more than one "spiel." Today's featured noun sense is well-known, and many of our readers may also be aware that "spiel" can be used as a verb for the act of talking extravagantly. But did you know that the verb can also mean "to play music"? That, in fact, was the word's original meaning—one it shares with its German root, "spielen." In Scottish English, "spiel" is also sometimes used as a shortened form of "bonspiel," a name for a match or tournament of the icy game of curling.
http://www.m-w.com/
It is interesting to me that Speil is the word of the day because it is a word that is unusual and that I use a lot...but I've been pronouncing it incorrectly for years. Odd. I never spell it...I just say the word. Such as in reference to my work as a docent at the Fullerton Museum Center...
I actually had to tell my daughter's Jr. High School Principal about this web page when she used an incorrect synonym in a letter of appology to me (the details will be provided if you know me and call me).
This is a marvelous web page. Much better than a paper dictionary. I'm really sorry if I make spelling errors on this blog because I can't figure out how to spell check in Blogger...Does anyone know the secret??
The Word of the Day for June 9 is:
spiel • \SPEEL\ • noun : a voluble line of often extravagant talk : pitch
Example sentence:We let the time-share salesman give us his opening spiel, but when he got to the high-pressure sales tactics, we cut him short and made it clear that we were not interested.
Did you know?There's more than one "spiel." Today's featured noun sense is well-known, and many of our readers may also be aware that "spiel" can be used as a verb for the act of talking extravagantly. But did you know that the verb can also mean "to play music"? That, in fact, was the word's original meaning—one it shares with its German root, "spielen." In Scottish English, "spiel" is also sometimes used as a shortened form of "bonspiel," a name for a match or tournament of the icy game of curling.
http://www.m-w.com/
It is interesting to me that Speil is the word of the day because it is a word that is unusual and that I use a lot...but I've been pronouncing it incorrectly for years. Odd. I never spell it...I just say the word. Such as in reference to my work as a docent at the Fullerton Museum Center...
I actually had to tell my daughter's Jr. High School Principal about this web page when she used an incorrect synonym in a letter of appology to me (the details will be provided if you know me and call me).
This is a marvelous web page. Much better than a paper dictionary. I'm really sorry if I make spelling errors on this blog because I can't figure out how to spell check in Blogger...Does anyone know the secret??
Reference Information...
O.K. ...This has little to do with art and more with my life as a writer. My psych MD who knows I'm a wordsmith and scrabble addict turned me on to this web page:
http://refdesk.com/
I think you could use this page to find out information on just about anything. The word of the day and Quote of the day are fun too.
I think this page will be very useful to my 13-year-old honor student.
I know most of my friends will like this page.
http://refdesk.com/
I think you could use this page to find out information on just about anything. The word of the day and Quote of the day are fun too.
I think this page will be very useful to my 13-year-old honor student.
I know most of my friends will like this page.
8-year-old's Watercolor Creation
Here we have another carefully planned watercolor masterpiece by my 8-year-old daughter...I really just set her up last night to get her away from the TV and into something else. I gave her no guidelines. She asked for a ruler. She asked if she could use the fine line sharpies first - prior to the watercolor and I told her that was fine. Her creative process is really amazing.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
My Favorite Music: Hiromi
This Japanese Jazz piano wizard has become the soundtrack to my art making and life in general. I joke about becoming the President of her fan club...but she is an artist on my husband's company, so it would be a bit of a conflict of interest...if you like classical and jazz, you will like her. She is good on CD, but even better live...so check the web page for her tour schedule. http://www.hiromimusic.com/
Monday, June 05, 2006
Finished Child's Stained Glass
This is the finished version of my 3rd grader's Stained Glass Project. She insisted on doing Sharpie Black Lines just like I had on all of mine. It is so cool I just can't stand it. I'm making greeting cards out of this....
3rd Grade Stained Glass
My 8-year-old daughter apparently had been inpsired to do a stained glass...like I did early in the semester...inspired as she was I set her up to work...
All I did here was cut out some paper, bring her water, brushes, a ruler and the paint...she did the rest....I'm very impressed.
My friends and family probably will be too.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Kosher Salt
I made some more cards today - a bit of AM insomnia - with the Strathmore Aquarius Paper which I wet with a sponge, used a big brush on to make big color patterns and then while it was still wet, I dusted the whole thing with Kosher Salt and let it dry for a while. Kosher Salt (rather than regular salt) really does the coolest effect to wet on wet watercolor. I guess if there is a Jewish element to my art of late it is the use of Kosher Salt...
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Art Therapy Coaster
This is a tile mosaic coaster I made in the UCLA Occupational/Art Therapy program that psych patients there are allowed to participate in - when I was an inpatient there for 6 days in April. This is an excellent program run by an Occupational Therapist named Wendy...if you know UCLA psych you probably know the woman...she is the best hospital art therapist I have ever worked with. She taught me how to do tile mosaic - never done that before - always wanted to. This is my first effort. The second effort was sent to my mother as a mother's day present. I'm so into the tile mosaic thing now that I want to do a small table for my living room. This piece was organized on my first day prior to psych med withdrawl symtoms...the quality of my art organizational skills deteriorated significantly once withdrawl symptoms kicked in.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Another Art Therapy Artist
A therapist from Missouri happened upon my web page and e-mailed me a comment - He turned me on to this woman who cured her depression via being an artist. Here is a web page on her: http://www.ethicsofchoice.com/GaEL.html
I have to say it makes me feel great when people who don't know me at all happen upon the blog and like it. I know my friends like it...but I would expect that. Still, the more comments the better - I love comments on my art and my general blogging on my mental health.
My problem of late is lack of good solid sleep. I've been on Abilify for a month now and the insomnia side effect has really kicked in hard. I sometimes only get four hours of sleep...I'm lucky if I get a solid six. Never more than that in about a month. I feel like I'm very irritable due to the lack of sleep - not really due to mania, depression or psychosis. I took Lunesta for the first time last night...but still did not get a really great night of sleep. My psych MD is adding some Lamictal to my cocktail...that is the first anti-seizure mood stabilizing med I was ever on in 1998. Really, anything to make me sleep at this point!!
I have to say it makes me feel great when people who don't know me at all happen upon the blog and like it. I know my friends like it...but I would expect that. Still, the more comments the better - I love comments on my art and my general blogging on my mental health.
My problem of late is lack of good solid sleep. I've been on Abilify for a month now and the insomnia side effect has really kicked in hard. I sometimes only get four hours of sleep...I'm lucky if I get a solid six. Never more than that in about a month. I feel like I'm very irritable due to the lack of sleep - not really due to mania, depression or psychosis. I took Lunesta for the first time last night...but still did not get a really great night of sleep. My psych MD is adding some Lamictal to my cocktail...that is the first anti-seizure mood stabilizing med I was ever on in 1998. Really, anything to make me sleep at this point!!
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Blotchy Cards
These are a couple examples of the blotchy cards I've been making with the Strathmore Aquarius Paper in a Wet on Wet Style....They are simple. A child could make them. Some color combos are better than others. Just A FYI...
This and That...
I sent my friend Meg in Ohio one of the Chagall homework assignments today as a birthday gift. I don't think I should sell the Chagall/Daughterty copies since they are just that - copies. But if any friends or family really like one of the master copies, let me know - I'm willing to part with some of them.
I got a B for the semester at Fullerton College. I am fine with that. I put out the right amout of effort for a B in my opinion...I did miss some classes and composition studies and those were an important part of the grade. I will take the class in the Fall again and maybe I'll earn an A. Anything is possible.
I painted some greeting cards today that are splotchy wet on wet cut out and glued on the colored Target cards that come in a 12 pack...I really recommend those packs of blank cards...there are a million ways young and old can decorate them and they are not too expensive. They come in about a dozen blank colors. Next time that I make some, I'll post them so the public can see them...I'm using up my Strathmore Aquarius paper to make them since I'm not too fond of that paper....but it does make nice blotchy colorful cards.
I got a B for the semester at Fullerton College. I am fine with that. I put out the right amout of effort for a B in my opinion...I did miss some classes and composition studies and those were an important part of the grade. I will take the class in the Fall again and maybe I'll earn an A. Anything is possible.
I painted some greeting cards today that are splotchy wet on wet cut out and glued on the colored Target cards that come in a 12 pack...I really recommend those packs of blank cards...there are a million ways young and old can decorate them and they are not too expensive. They come in about a dozen blank colors. Next time that I make some, I'll post them so the public can see them...I'm using up my Strathmore Aquarius paper to make them since I'm not too fond of that paper....but it does make nice blotchy colorful cards.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Selling Paintings
I just sold "Smoggy Sunset #2" to my friends Lynne and Rob in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
After some discussion with my friend Dan Joyce who sells watercolors I've decided that the standard price for 8x10 paintings is $30. Prints off the computer are $15....This is what my friend charges. Cards are $10 a dozen, postcards are $10 for 24.
My goal here is just to pay for art supplies, not to make a killing on my art...yet...It makes me feel good that my friends and family will hang my paintings in their homes.
After some discussion with my friend Dan Joyce who sells watercolors I've decided that the standard price for 8x10 paintings is $30. Prints off the computer are $15....This is what my friend charges. Cards are $10 a dozen, postcards are $10 for 24.
My goal here is just to pay for art supplies, not to make a killing on my art...yet...It makes me feel good that my friends and family will hang my paintings in their homes.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Oedipus Ascending, 1968
This excerpt on my most recent painting is from John Solum of the James Daugherty Archive: "The Daugherty work which you have copied is a pastel on paper, called Oedipus Ascending, 1968. It is currently in the inventory of a New York art dealer, Jane St. Lifer Art, Inc., and you may see this information first-hand by logging on to www.artnet.com and going to James Daugherty. There it is!"
Thanks John!!
Thanks John!!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Finished Daugherty Copy
Here is my final piece of Spring Semester 2006 at Fullerton College. It is a fairly good rendition of the James Daugherty abstraction. I'm glad class is over for the semester. I can't decide if I will take a summer class or take the summer off and go back in the fall. I bought the summer catalog and my registration time is next Tuesday and I really can't decide what to do. I really feel like it might be a mistake to slack off on the painting when I'm on a roll. Being in a class forces me to paint which is good for me.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
James Daugherty Abstraction
Many of you know of my arts grant writing experience at Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland, Ohio...some of you do not. One of my big projects during the three years I worked at that Center (really a huge theater complex in the heart of the old part of Cleveland) was raising more than $200,000 from Federal and Private sources to restore "The Four Continents" murals by the great American artist James Daugherty. The murals I helped to restore were one of the artist's great works from the 1920s. James Daugherty went on to become an abstract painter working on smaller canvases later in his career. I decided for my final project in my Fullerton College art class to paint one of his late abstractions. I found this one on the internet and and do not know the exact title of the work, who owns it or what year it was painted. I am working on an 8x10 of the piece in the flat wash watercolor style. I'm fairly certain that the original is an oil...just knowing what I know about Daugherty. If anyone knows a bit more about this painting - the year painted, the title, the owner, etc. I would love to know. I really know so much about this artist at this point in my life that I have a bit of a love affair with his work and think if I was to pursue a PhD in Art History...which I do not plan to do...this is the artist who I would make the focus of my dissertation. He is a very popular artist on the East Coast...especially in Manhattan...but is less well-known on the West Coast.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Moses in the ER
This is a portion of a Chagall copy that I did in the UCLA ER last week while I was waiting to be admited to have my psych medication adusted. It bears little resemblance to the original...other than composition. It was just a way to keep my mind occupied while I was spending more than 12 hours camping in the UCLA ER - which is not a horrible place. I was experiencing some sort of Bipolar Mixed-Episode....a new experience for me. I've had manic episodes, depressive episodes, but this is my first true mixed-episode experience. Something I'd rather not repeat. UCLA spent days taking me off of 3 old medications and my outside Dr. finally settled on one new med - Abilify - that should do the job of all three with fewer side effects. It is specifically for Bipolar patients who suffer from Mania and Mixed-Episodes - it is a fairly new FDA approved med. We will see. I don't think I'm turning this in for homework...I just posted it as a springboard for discussion of mental states and art.
This is a Chagall-inspired painting that I did today in Watercolor class. It is quite different from the original...it is highly simplified when compared to the original lithograph. I really concentrated just on the floral core of the painting. That was about all I had the energy for today. The lithograph that this is based on is owned by my friend Kim who lives in Boston. I may post the digital photo...but this is really a different painting. This was my first attempt at using White Gouache - which is opaque watercolor. I like it - it is a very forgiving paint and allows the mixing of pastel shades...like the yellow in this painting.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Sign near front door
My husband gave me a holiday gift of a $35 gift certificate to Color Me Mine in Brea. I had actually asked for this gift because I love paint your own ceramics shops. I started out making this as a serving plate that would match my kitchen tile - it ended up as a sign to hang over the mailbox. I really like it. Since I had shots to kill on the roll of film last week, I decided to take a photo of it for the blog. If I ever live somewhere that I don't need a mail box sign, I will serve cookies and cheese and crakers on this rectangular plate. I painted this in January 2006.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Peach Roses
These Peach Roses are in my front yard in Fullerton right now. The plant is from the previous owner and I take no credit for it. I don't even care for it well. I was using up the roll of Fuji 400 Professional yesterday and decided to take a photo of the roses. They actually look BETTER in the photo than in real life. My 12-year-old says this is an impossible statement. But it is true. The Fuji film makes the colors brighter and more vivid. This is very special film. It is $8.99 a roll locally - unlike the regular Fuji 400 which you can buy for $5.99 a three pack. I was turned on to it by my nephew Max who is in Photograpy school at NYU. I'm not convinced I need it all the time - but it is amazing film.
These Peacocks were at the large botanical garden on Fisler street in Freno at the end of March. They were standing at the entrance of the Japanese Garden and it was pure luck that I was able to get these photos. They were shot with Fuji 400 professional 35 mm film. Peacocks are a very auspicious bird in Asian folklore.
Monday, April 03, 2006
"The Birthday" by Marc Chagall
The top painting is my copy of a Marc Chagall early watercolor - 1915 - Titled "The Birthday" - I had to copy this twice to get a halfway decent copy. I still feel like it is more a composition study than a creative watercolor. I painted the windows light cobalt blue instead of trying to copy the detail...I was working quite small here. The original painting at the Pompidou in Paris is probably much larger. There were many good Chagalls at that museum when I was there in Oct. 2004. I copied the size from the version in the Marc Chagall art book I purchased off Amazon.com. It is a beautiful book. I wish I could just jet off to the Pompidou and sketch one of the Chagalls in their collection. I'm going to the Norton Simon in Pasadena as a class field trip on Sunday. I can't recall if they own any Chagalls.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
New Copy of the Chagall Lithograph
Here is another version of Chagall's lithograph of the Vase of Flowers by the Window. This is much more my style than the previous effort. I used a lot of watercolor pencil (wet) and black sharpie in addition to real paint. I like this much better. It was very much worth re-doing the piece.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Med Changes
Since this blog is both about my art and my psychiatric condition, I feel compelled to tell the world about my medication changes. As of Friday (with medical advice) I increased my Geodon to 80 mg (I've been on this dose before) and changed my anti-anxiety medication from Lorazapam to Klonapin. I feel much better. I actually take LESS Klonopin than I did Lorazapam. It works better. I may be switching from a low dose of Lexapro (antidepressant) to a low dose of Wellubtrin (a different class of antidepressant). I do think I'm not getting much benefit from Lexapro since I've been on it since Sept 04. I'm actually eager to make this change, but it will take weaning off the Lexapro. I feel fantastic now, so I'm actually not moaning about my mental state. I just want to keep the public notified. Any one who knows about these psych meds can feel free to comment.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Chagall and Copy
Clearly the real Chagall is better than my first effort to ape the piece. I really think this is a good composition exercise, but it is not very creative. I'm just trying to mock someone else's work. And my first effort is not a totally competent forgery. Not that I'm looking to create a good forgery. This is fun, but it is not what I really want to do with my art. I want to create totally unique pieces of art...but I guess this is the assignment.
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