award-winning fine art
OK, so I haven’t really been completely unproductive. After doing a few dogs, I always need to go back to a human face. So, when a friend posted this selfie on facebook and said that she was feeling angry, I was intrigued. It didn’t look angry. Where is the anger?
Anyway, I have a couple of dog commissions to do, so this is going to sit on the sidelines for a couple of months, but at least the colors and lines are mapped out. I’m eager to paint it.
…or, unfinished. But undone sounds so much more interesting, like a 40-something woman sitting in the kitchen with disheveled hair, one leg up on the table, with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
No, this Molly is just back behind the door, removed from the easel where she has sat for the past month, waiting patiently to be completed. Just the muzzle and tags, really. Surely that wouldn’t take long.
In talking with other Somerville artists, I found that I am not alone in this practice of stepping away from the easel after Open Studios weekend. I suppose it’s like allowing yourself to exhale.
For me, the other part of my life kicks in just as SOS ends. Meetings are held, data collected, artwork is retrieved from the various exhibits, and then class notes for Herbstalk need to be completed and submitted. Herbstalk, which happens a month after SOS every year, is to the canine herbalist in me what SOS is to the artist in me.
And so I thought that my little reprieve from the easel was due to my herbalist self stepping up. But no; I am not alone in this practice of stepping away from the easel after SOS.
And if others do it, it must be OK.
This is what I was working on during Open Studios, last weekend. Just need to finish her nose/muzzle and her tags.
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who stopped by during Somerville Open Studios this past weekend.
This was my third year participating, and it was a much different experience for me than my first year. This year (and last), I was located in the community space at Arts at the Armory and, because there were multiple artists exhibiting there, I was really looking forward to experiencing SOS within the community of other artists, and I knew that there would be a pretty good flow of visitors. I’m an introvert, and I know that sometimes it can be somewhat uncomfortable for either the artist who doesn’t know what to say beyond a meek “How are you, today?” or the visitor who may prefer to view the work without being glanced at frequently by an artist unsure of when to say something, or what to say. I brought a small painting to work on, thinking that would provide either a distraction or a focal point, and I could be productive during the lulls in foot traffic. It turned out that it prompted a lot of conversation, so thanks for approaching me to ask about the subject or my process or if I always paint upside-down, or any of the other great questions. One of the great things about visitors asking questions is that it prompts us to rethink aspects of our work in new ways, and sometimes we’re surprised.
Thanks to the ones who burst out laughing upon seeing Catch or Oops! or Imp. Thanks to the woman who asked if they were paintings or photos. Thanks for suggesting that I submit my work to a particular gallery or television personality. Thanks for showing me pictures of your pets. Thanks to friends, family, and clients who stopped by just to support me. Thanks to the man who recognized Dennie, even though it’s not a detailed painting! Thanks to those who told me that my work is worth more than I’m asking. Thanks for Irish whispers to each other while pointing at paintings. Thanks for sending your friends in. Thank you so much to those who told me that I captured a certain essence of the person or animal. Thanks to those who viewed shyly but then came up and quietly told me how much you enjoyed my work.
Because my area was loaded with big dog faces, it seemed to attract visitors of the tiny variety! Parents would be reaching out to grab a runaway child running toward a big tongue or wet nose, and it was all good. I heard so many parents saying “Don’t touch!” and I appreciate your respect and the respect for the work which you are instilling in your children; but it was fine, really. Thank you for bringing children to look at Somerville’s art.
And dogs! Quite a few dogs stopped by my setup, and of course I was happy to see moist noses navigating the space.
I am not much of a self-promoter, so I wasn’t out there flagging people down and handing out business cards and booking photo shoots. Still, I was surprised at the number of visitors I had, the amount of interest in commissioning work, and the number of business cards taken. Feel free to share them! And, if you have any questions at all, please just ask.
I am looking forward to SOS again next year, but I will be here in the time between now and then, making tea and painting away. Please stop by again.
Almost there! no whiskers yet, and some other minor details to be added or corrected, but it’s almost done.
I had been meaning to split a painting into a diptych (two canvases), but was waiting for the right one. Let’s see if I can finish this in time for Somerville Open Studios next weekend…
Usually, it’s the outtakes from the photo shoot that make the best paintings.
The word “velocity” is from the late Middle English: from French vélocité or Latinvelocitas, from velox, veloc- ‘swift’. Defined, it means 1. the speed of something in a particular direction; 2. high speed. I think it a fine name for a painting of a Jack Russell Terrier. Or, a failed attempt at capturing the entire dog.
I was having a hard time deciding on the background – whether to blend it all perfectly (as my somewhat neurotic painting habits would normally demand) or allow it to remain messy, with lots of visible brushstrokes (which is what I was aiming for, but can never quite do). So, somewhere in between is where it is.
Still have to blend shading and do belly and add detail on the front paws…
This has been on my to-do list for quite some time, but as I was finishing up a commission, there was a call for art for TEDxSomerville with the theme of movement. So, here goes!
Finally, Betty is done.
One of the first things that I tell people when inquiring about commissions is that I don’t do the standard head & shoulders portrait. There is nothing more uninteresting to me than the same old dime-a-dozen paintings of dogs just sitting there, looking at the viewer. [yawn]
I can’t explain why Betty is portrayed in this way, except that the royal portrait style was how she presented, and is apt in contrast to how Addie presents.
I do assume, however, that this will be the only portrait that I paint in this way!
Nancy Anderson