A Pet Portrait: "Pierre", and other Art News

Happy New Year to one and all....!

 

8 x 10 Pet Portrait:  "Pierre"

 Here was one of my last pieces of 2012, a little pet portrait of a cockatiel (my own little guy actually), named "Pierre", taking a wee snooze as he so often likes to do,  while perched above the kitchen door..... 

In other art news, I was happy to learn my 
 "Mushrooms" entry for December's Nibblefest Art Contest 
tied for 2nd Place this round -- a big Thank You, to Nibblefest and to my bidders....!

"'Mushrooms', by Emily Dickinson" ties for 2nd Place in Dec's Nibblefest

 


 May 2013 bring good luck, health and happiness to everyone....!




 

My December Nibblefest Art Contest Entry: 'The Mushroom...', by Emily Dickinson

It's the 20th of the month today!  And so, the Nibblefest Art Contest is upon us once again, with  the theme this month being 'Mushrooms'....:

My December Nibblefest entry entitled, 'The Mushroom", a tribute to Emily Dickinson

To view my Nibblefest entry auction, click here...

I do believe this "Mushrooms" theme was actually my own idea, from back in the Spring when the Nibblefest mods were requesting up and coming monthly theme suggestions for voting.  'Mushrooms' ended up winning the popular vote for December '12 in an online poll -- pretty cool.  So, it might have been reasonable to  assume, that with my suggestion of such a thing, I likely had at least SOME concept in my head at the time how I might want to approach it.  But you would be wrong, because I ended up JUST as stumped as usual this month, scratching my head with what had originally been my own suggestion in the first place....!  And so, as I've blogged about before, I reverted to my most favorite of all defaults in such situations: the looking to Music and Literature for my personal artistic inspiration (with Literature winning out this time around -- because really, just how many songs about mushrooms do you know, lol...?).

Contemplating 'mushrooms' in Literature, the first thing to pop into my head was, naturally, "Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland".  And indeed I was all set to go for that, maybe even as a little companion piece to my 'Cheshire Cat' from several months ago -- except a second idea 'sprang up' (pun intended) that I really couldn't resist.  A little poem, by that most prolific of writers of 19th century American verse, the venerable Emily Dickinson (with the fact that it was actually even her birthday a mere 10 days ago, her 182nd, seeming an especially good omen....): 

 A portrait of Emily Dickinson, 5" x 8.5"

The mushroom is the elf of plants,
At evening it is not;
At morning in a truffled hut
It stops upon a spot

As if it tarried always;
And yet its whole career
Is shorter than a snake’s delay,
And fleeter than a tare.

‘Tis vegetation’s juggler,
The germ of alibi;
Doth like a bubble antedate,
And like a bubble hie.

I feel as if the grass were pleased
To have it intermit;
The surreptitious scion
Of summer’s circumspect.

Had nature any outcast face,
Could she a son contemn,
Had nature an Iscariot,
That mushroom, 

– it is him.

 

--By Emily Dickinson

............

I love this playful little poem by Miss Emily D.  It's wonderful to recite aloud (try it!), with its rhythm and cadence, and tongue-twisty wording -- all of which she was such a master of.  And no, I'm not going to pretend that I understand completely every word of it (I mean, please: "Tare"...?  "Hie"...?), but I surely get the gist.  A nature lover, it's her own wee ode to Nature's little 'elf', the mushroom -- with its sneaky and surprising way of popping up right up out of the ground, like it owns the place, seemingly from nowhere, and seemingly overnight.....

 

 My auction description: 

Miss Dickinson was herself as much an enigma as the mushroom she so poetically describes.  An expressive composer of over 1700 poems, she never actually received wide recognition within her lifetime.  An intensely private person, she instead became known more for her reclusiveness and penchant for wearing all white than she ever did for her writing.  It was only after her death, when her secret stash of poetry was discovered by a relative that the astonishing scope of her work was finally revealed.

Emily Dickinson never married nor had children, but she gave birth to a legacy of another kind:  an incredible body of poetic verse, that continues to speak to us today nearly two centuries later.  Thus I portray Miss Dickinson in this, my tribute portrait, in a dress of white, and cradling a mushroom, my own symbol for her vast poetic talent and productivity, as one might hold a child (with the first several lines of her lovely untitled 'Mushroom' poem handwritten above).....

............

To see ALL the great 'Mushroom'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
just click here....

A Belated 'Fall' Update....

A gorgeous Fall in the Midwest this year (the view down my street a few short months ago)

Time for an 'Art of Patience' Fall update (never mind that it's actually winter now, ahem) -- as usual I'm a little overdue for an update of any kind, but, no time like the present, as they say.  And so, because it's the most easy, if not the most fun (and probably the most interesting besides) let me do so by way of a few select random photographs.....

But first, just to get a little business out of the way....our next round of the The Nibblefest Art Contest begins in less than two days....!  The theme for December is 'Mushrooms', and I'm pleased to say I already have my entry all set and ready to go, w00t.  None of that last minute crunch time for me this go round.  Plus I'll be blogging about it too of course (and in a very calm and relaxed way, ahhh), so be sure to check back here on the 20th.  In the meantime, I put together and curated a fun little entry for the Nibblefest Blog introducing this month's 'Mushrooms' theme, featuring a number of pieces by Nibblefest Artists (including a wee something of mine), which can be read by clicking this.....

 

In any case, despite our terrible drought this past summer (or maybe because of it....?) I just found our Fall colors this year to be exceptionally gorgeous -- such a delight to step out my door to scenes like this:

Canopy of fall colors on my street

And this:

Striking red and green

So while it's all looong gone by now of course, it was lovely while it lasted (though once the fall color party was over, naturally we did have to RAKE it all)....

Halloween this year was pleasant and fun, and, since it has long been my tradition to make goofy, spooky-themed food in honor of the event, even though my kids are well into their teens by now (with one even out of the house), I can't resist sharing my 'ghostly' Shepherd's Pie (whereby the whipped potatoes were molded into little 'ghosts' (complete with carrot eyes and green pea mouths) rather than spread evenly in a layer over the top) -- tee hee....:

Happy Halloween!

It was a hit.... :-)


In other foodie news, this fall I made my first ever batch of this....:

This photo doesn't really do justice to the great quantity of Kraut here -- but trust me it's a lot! (3 large heads worth)

Homemade sauerkraut, people....!   

Heck, it turned out to be so darn easy (and yummy) to make I can't imagine whatever took so long to finally build up the courage to give it a whirl (and this despite my past successful experimental forays into making homemade Kim-Chi).  Well, needless to say it was (and is -- we are still eating on this batch) quite delicious, and, as a naturally fermented food, chock-full of super healthy pro-biotics and nutritious enzymes.  Good stuff...!

Other happenings going on lately Chez Patience include the private art classes I'm teaching, which have been going really well this semester.  Really enjoying my wonderful young students, and they've been producing some truly lovely work....

Including more Still Life....:

Still-Life Paintings of Pears

A Pretty Painted Green Pear

....some fun with Jackson Pollock style 'Splatter-and-Drip' paintings...,

'Splatter and Drip' Paintings

A slightly somewhat messy, but otherwise very fun, technique....

.....as well as Self Portraits, our current ongoing student painting project:

Sketching the portraits....

....with mirrors for self-reference.

The sketching completed, they are now currently painting them.  Don't they look terrific so far....?

My art students' Self Portraits-in-Progress

In regards to my own children and their art, this update finds my son (of whom I've written about before here) continuing his studies at his ballet school, all the way across the country....:

My son in Arabesque

He's been working hard this semester and learning lots (and we're looking forward to a visit from him soon for his (all too brief) winter break)....

And because I can't very well post a picture one child without also posting a picture of the other, here's a snapshot of my daughter from a fun family kayaking excursion earlier this fall...:

Beautiful day/beautiful setting.  And as you can see we had the lake practically to ourselves!

Speaking of my daughter, she had a birthday this fall, which was celebrated by going to our favorite Mexican restaurant in town, during which she was forced to wear the requisite Birthday Sombrero, all while being serenaded by the wait staff (AS WELL AS enduring the smearing of a bit of her free birthday dessert onto her face).  Fun tradition, no...?  (can't say she was thrilled exactly, but happily she's a pretty good sport overall, lol)....

Birthday Girl

In still other kid news, we had the chance this fall to finally meet my adorable three-year-old niece, for the first time ever, when she came all the way over to the States with her folks for a visit from Hong Kong, where she and her parents live...:

Meet JunJun...!

 What a charmer!  Such a pleasure spending time with and getting to know her -- far too short a stay to be sure, but very sweet indeed (and we're still waiting for the chance to meet her one year old brother one day, who stayed behind for this trip (being such a long plane ride and all) -- hopefully next time!)....

Now, just a mention, since this IS an art blog, that my Nibblefest Art Contest entry from last month, "Mother Nature's Son" (the theme for Nov being 'Nature') received 2nd Place:

Yay!  A Big Thanks to all my bidders!

Plus, lastly, for fun I'll share here one of my latest ongoing art-related projects that I've been enjoying lately.   It's a horse head of all things, and of papier mache no less, though not actually one of my own.....:

An antique Papier Mache Horse Head -- how cool is that...?

No indeed.  Rather, I was contacted online by the owner of this gorgeous antique, which had unfortunately sustained some pretty serious damage over the years, including large cracks and even chunks of it falling off.....

Like, for instance, its ears....:

Both ears were completely off by the time it arrived to me

Plus plenty of cracks, as well as damage about its mouth and its base....

Neigh! 

 'Would I be willing to restore it?', I was asked...

But of course.....!

Here his right ear is once more completely and securely reattached (with the left ear soon to follow)

 She sent it off to me, and I got to work....:

Stabilizing the loose, damaged areas, and filling in the many cracks....

I've been working on and off on it for several weeks now -- the days on end of overcast mist and rain that we've been getting here intermittently making for slow going at times (when the papier mache I'm applying to fix his damaged bits just simply will not dry).  Besides, no reason to do a rush job of it -- best to approach it with thought and care, and I have.  In any case, as soon as I have his damaged base all addressed (which should be soon), and all his various patches repainted and touched up to match his handsome patina, I'll take  'after' pictures.....

So that's my update for now -- check back here in a few days to see and read my Nibblefest Art Contest concept for 'Mushrooms'.....!

My NIbblefest Art Contest Entry: November's 'Nature' Theme:

"Mother Nature's Son" (5" x 10.5")

Click for Auction Link

 

Nibblefest Art Contest time rolls around, once again.  This month's contest began on the 20th, as usual -- and as usual I did come up with an original entry, though with the Thanksgiving hubbub tucked in there I am only now getting around to blogging about it.  Better late than never right? 

I did find this month's "Nature" theme, nature lover that I am, pretty irresistible.  I adore nature, revering it in all its forms.  It never fails to be an endless source of wonder and fascination for me, as it has my whole life long.  I often incorporate elements of the natural in my artwork as a matter of course anyway -- so why should it have been any sort of challenge coming up with my entry concept this month?  I guess because as a theme it may have been a little TOO broad perhaps....?   Too many ideas, crowding my thoughts and conflicting with each other.  And so I turned to my two trusty inspirational defaults so handy in such situations:  Music, and Literature.  Music trumped this month, when the vintage Beatles tune "Mother Nature's Son" popped into my head (my older siblings played the heck out of the 'White Album' in my early years, spinning it as they did via the one family stereo system we all shared in our living room -- the result of which being those songs forever etched into my brain, lol)....

The following is my auction description:

"...Mother Nature's Son..."

   My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFC) (~the theme for November being 'Nature') is an original acrylic painting on vellum mounted permanently onto a thin, 5"x10.5" section of old, found wood.  'Mother Nature's Son' is signed on the front, and ready to hang...

...........

The art I make often incorporates natural subject matter, so it might be 'natural' to assume my entry for this month's contest, with its 'Nature' theme,  was a no-brainer.  It's wasn't, but only because of my fetish of always trying to capture personal meaning in whatever I decide to tackle.  It really must speak to me.  This month was no exception, as I found myself turning to music for my inspiration -- when an old Beatles song popped into my head as I ruminated upon "Nature".   I well remember my older brothers and sister playing the Beatles' "White Album" around the house as I was growing up.  I so loved the song, "Mother Nature's Son", with its simple lyrics and sweet, understated melody (plus I  also recall my enthusiastic joining in of the "Doo doo doooooo" chorus!).  But how best to interpret this old song...?
 

Born a poor young country boy,
Mother Nature's son.
All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone.

Sit beside a mountain stream.  See her waters rise.
Listen to the pretty sound of music
as she flies.

Find me in my field of grass,
Mother Nature's son.
Swaying daisies sing a lazy song beneath the sun,

Mother Nature's son....
 

I finally decided to paint my very own version of a Mother Nature's Son, a true product of his environment, soaking up the sun and fresh air as he entertains an audience of assorted wild critters (noting of course that I *had* to include a Blackbird in the assemble -- a nod to yet another  favorite tune off the same album). 

.............

To see ALL the great 'Fantasy'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
click here....

 

My October '12 Nibblefest Entry: "Titania and Bottom".....

"Titania and Bottom" (8 x 10), as inspired by Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'......

With a theme like 'Fantasy', how could I resist?  It had to be Shakespeare.  HAD to be (because anyone reading this who knows me, knows how MUCH I adore my literary influences....!).  And so I painted a tribute portrait inspired by what must surely be one of literature's most (in)famous and entertaining of odd couples, the lovely and proud Titania, Queen of the Fairies..., and Bottom, the hapless mortal wage-slave caught between the cross-fire of the magical forest folks' tricksy antics.

(Click for auction link)

I really enjoyed painting this one, once I got my act together and firmly decided exactly which direction I was going in.  And for once it's painted on a regular gallery-wrapped canvas (8 x 10) that I've been hoarding forever -- as opposed to my usual reclaimed wood or second hand frame finds (since I am still practicing my personal moratorium against purchasing unnecessary new art supplies)....

Love At First Sight.  Bottoms Up!

The following is my auction description:

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for October being 'Fantasy') is an original acrylic painting on an 8 x 10 gallery wrapped canvas, featuring a tribute portrait of the characters 'Titania' and 'Bottom' from the classic Shakespeare comedy, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream".  'Titania and Bottom' is signed on the front, with painted sides so it's ready to hang with no framing necessary.....

...........

"Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand,
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover's fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

~As quoted by Puck, in Will Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

I adore the Bard and often find myself looking toward his works for inspiration, therefore I saw this month's theme as the perfect excuse to indulge my Shakespeare fetish.  His comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", is for me ultimate Fantasy -- set in a mysterious woods at night, complete with fairy spirits and forest sprites, it is a hilarious tale of madcap mix-ups, miscalculations and mischievous mayhem.   One example is when the sweetly foolish character named "Bottom", a laborer from the nearby town, has the misfortune of having his head magically turned into that of a donkey's, thanks to the sprite, Puck, after Puck surreptitiously overhears Bottom pontificating pompously to a group of friends.  Another example is when the Fairy King, 'Oberon', seeking revenge after quarreling with his Queen, 'Titania', applies magical drops to her eyes while she sleeps, casting a spell on her.  The first living thing she is to lay her eyes on upon waking will become her romantic obsession.  And who it is that the proud and beautiful Fairy Queen's eye first spies...?  The hapless, donkey-headed "Bottom" but of course!   So now Titania has fallen hopelessly head-over-heels in love with the buffoon, Bottom, while much hilarity ensues....

______________

To see ALL the great 'Fantasy'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(and each starting at just .99 cents!),
click here....

Nibblefest Art Contest: October's Theme: 'FANTASY'....

"Harvest Moon", by Art of Patience

“I like nonsense,  it wakes up the brain cells.  Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” 

~Dr. Seuss 

For fun, just sharing here the link to a post I guest wrote for the Nibblefest Art Contest blog, introducing this month's "Fantasy" theme:

Nibblefest Art Contest: October's Nibblefest Theme: 'FANTASY'....(click to read)

(Hard to believe Nibblefest already starts in less than two weeks...!)

My September Nibblefest Art Contest Entry: "The Cheshire Cat"

"The Cheshire Cat", a painted 8" x 9" oval wood plaque......

It's Nibblefest Art Contest Week....!    And as per each and every month, it began on the 20th, with the theme this month being 'Cats'....


(Click to see my 'Cheshire Cat' auction link)

I'd been anticipating this particular theme for a while now.  Though sadly, not because I can call myself a Cat Lover.  Or at least to say, not a practicing one.  On the contrary, I grew up with cats in the house, having always adored my pet felines.  Yet despite being raised with cats, I suffered an adult-onset allergy to them by my early 20's, when I realized I'd mysteriously become highly allergic to my own kitty.  Tragedy!  At the time it felt like a cruel joke indeed.  Still, what could I do but accept it?   Consequently I've spent the many long years since fastidiously avoiding their company, like the PLAGUE, lest I suffer (and badly!)......

The closest to a cat I can ever get...!

No, the real reason I was looking forward to this month's 'Cat' theme, is because I've been hoarding this unusual, 2-piece, cat-shaped wooden plaque for several years now.  Regular readers will recall that these days I use almost exclusively as my painting canvases the old wooden  frames, plaques and such like that I find in second hand shops, or rummage sales, etc (as written about here, and also here).  Years ago, I picked up this particular plaque at the tail-end (pun!) of a community garage sale.  I recall at the time almost leaving it behind myself, because standing there inspecting it, painted as it was in an extremely simplistic, amateur manner, in pastel hues no less, I just couldn't wrap my head around how I would ever go about using it for my own purposes.  Dated in appearance and not my style at all, for once my imagination was not over-riding my doubts.  But heck, free for the taking because the sale was over, and being unable to ever pass up a deal, I schlepped it home with me anyway (only to have it sit around here for an age, gathering dust (which I am ALSO allergic to -- fun times!)....).

And so it was a light bulb moment when I realized the 'Cat' Nibblefest theme was soon coming  and I had the perfect (purr-fect?) excuse to dig out and dust off my funny little, second-hand, cat-shaped plaque.....:

 

Side View showing off his 2-pieces, for a sort of 3-D effect (which I enhanced with painted sides)....

So now I had my painting support -- all good.  But what kind of cat to paint....?  Happily it didn't take long for the ever-grinning 'Cheshire Cat', from Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', to come to mind.  Of course my followers will know I *love* my classic literary inspirations -- besides, I've always wanted to do an Alice-themed piece, and here was my chance!

Another View to the Side.....

My auction description as follows:


"The Cheshire Cat"  

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for September being 'Cats', is an original acrylic painting on a 2-piece, 8 x 9 wooden cat-shaped plaque (with the separate 'cat head' glued firmly in place).  'Cheshire Cat' is signed on the front, has painted sides, and is ready to hang.

...........

"....I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat,  "We're all mad here.  I'm mad.  You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" asked Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here...."

...So says the infamous and much beloved character, The Cheshire Cat, via what must be one of his best known quotes from the treasured classic, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".   The Cheshire Cat, known for his mischievousness, often vexes Alice with his confusing conversation.  He both entertains and befuddles her, all while continuously flashing his highly distinctive, "ear-to-ear" smile.  Who can resist that tricksy, unnerving little grin....? :-D

..................

(And finally, my usual little blurb about my use of old frames and plaques:

I have recently begun painting almost exclusively on supports I create myself utilizing the old, salvaged, wooden picture frames and plaques that cross my path from time to time (usually for free). I feel good about giving these unwanted homeless items a second life, not only because trees were cut down at some point to produce them, but also because by the time I get my hands on them they are usually destined for the landfil....)