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| Spiderbelle? pastel on Wallis sanded paper, 16x10 |
A germ of an idea from last month. When I was clearing my workshop of spiderwebs I realized I always open my mouth when I look up. My mother called this posture "catching flies." I thought of painting it but there are many paintings of people looking up screaming--scrap that one. From that idea to this painting:
1: A woman looking up, open-mouthed, holding a broom. 2: Add the fan and a spider web. 3: Which fan? We have 3-blade fans w/lights, 5-blade w/o lights, and 4-blade w/o lights--make one up. 4: Draw it with pastels on Wallis sanded paper (a new experience). 5. Decide that one of the fan blades should mirror the angle of the lifted arm. Erase the whole drawing with triangular sponge makeup thingys. 6. Find a lifted arm--found one in a 1946 book, The Dance--right arm of Isadora Duncan. Close the book and imagine the arm. 8. Remember the beginning of the TV show "Zorro." Can I get a "Z" in here--from the fan blade/broom/arm? 8. Tape the paper to a foam board, find some rubbing alcohol, get the Holbein pastels out of the workshop and go to the YMCA for Thursday (today) art. 9. Use the Holbein pastels for wall and ceiling; realize they're OIL pastels--retrieve the soft pastels from the car. Carry on with alcohol and pastels.
I like it. Now I'm deciding--
Add clothes? Facial features? Hands? Spider webs hanging from fan? Or, just work on the broom handle and call it finished?
FYI: I paint like I sculpt--build a nude, then add clothes. No, this is definitely not a self-portrait--it's not even my arm.
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You're a hoot! I hope you had as much fun painting this as I did reading it. P.S. Isn't Wallis paper wonderful? I love it. It can take as much abuse as you can give it, which sounds like a lot.
ReplyDeleteok...I get to name drop here...every week I have breakfast with the founder/inventor of Wallis paper...Kitty Wallis. She's a gem. Your painting is sooooo intriguing. You never disappoint in the intrigue department. I don't feel it would be improved by an open mouth...but that's just me. haha.
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to know your thoughts as you worked through this one from idea to paper. I'd bring her facial features out a bit more (I don't get a feeling that she's looking up with her mouth open just yet). I like the idea and creation a lot.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness! Isadora Duncan has nice arms! I'd call that finished. Heck, if I'd done it, I'd probably collapse in ecstasy and say 'Art! At last!' Hoping for the lights to dim and the drama to end on this dramatic moment.
ReplyDeleteHi SamArtDog. Yes, I have fun--especially with drawings. When I don't have a "chunk" of time for painting, I draw a bit, then think a bit--never sure where I'm going. I had not tried this Wallis paper--it was on top of a pile in the workshop (bought last year).;
ReplyDeleteHi Celeste. I've looked at Kitty Wallis' blog--followed it from your sidebar. I wondered if you might know her; your area seems to be an ideal "art world."
Hi Rhonda. I enjoy the puzzle part of painting; sometimes it's hard to know when to stop. Friends always ask about the origin of my ideas--usually, they start with a tiny observation.
Hello MM. Yes, she had a nice arm--I couldn't get mine straight up like that (and today's models have too-skinny arms). This pastel reminds me of Tinkerbelle, the Statue of Liberty, and Mary Poppins.
Hi Hallie, this is another one of your original and fun posts, a naked woman cleaning the ceiling from spiders web. Great painting. I am always looking forward to see what you are going to come up with next! By the way, I looked up to see if I would open my mouth...and I did! It's not at all comfortable to keep it shut!! Now I will google Kitty Wallis, I am ashamed to say i never heard about her before.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane. Maybe I should conduct a poll about open mouths while looking up--I think of it only when something (like a spider) might fall into it. The Wallis paper was very interesting (rough to the touch) and can be used for oils and acrylics, too. I must have read an article or blog; then ordered a pad--I love art supplies. (p.s. There are lots of things I've never heard of--that's why I like reading blogs.)
ReplyDeleteI just tried it... I open my mouth too.
ReplyDeleteFascinating hearing how you come up with your compositional elements and that has to be the sculptor in you! I see the "Z". And I hear the ZZZZZ of flies buzzing.
You build connections in the most interesting way. You always surprise and delight me with your art!
This a very neat cool. I love reading about how other artit's get their ideas/inspirations for their work, and seeing it from the beginning form to it's finished prodcut. I'm trying to do more that in my own art blog
ReplyDeleteHi, Hallie. As always, your work is so unique and I love learning your thought and experience process.
ReplyDeleteI say it's perfect the way it is!
Hi Hallie, I'll be trying the Wallis paper, based on what I'm reading about it. Sounds like a sturdy support.
ReplyDeleteYour post made me laugh, as always, comedic relief. I think clothes, mostly because I want to see what you come up with!
I love reading your posts Hallie. I'd like a day inside your head! I've never used Wallis paper but after this post I will always connect it with this work.
ReplyDeleteSTOP!!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting dizzy......
after all that, it's a great work, the composition is near perfect, nothing centered, nothing too off set. and still make one ask the question
OK, I've seen your process - now I know you're crazy! ;) All women should clean in the nude I think.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have pastels at home - have done some good things with them, and some very bad. An artist at a show who was very good, recommended the kind of paper you are using, I think. I think it is interesting that you start nude and work everything else in, like a sculptor (as you are). I am working on an acrylic portrait, and though I have not done all that way, am doing some like that. I find it interesting, that opaque layering, which I cannot do in watercolor. I love your unique subjects. Everything I think of has been done before. Such an interesting composition too! Bravo. Post it please if you decide to make changes.
Hi Pam--I guess you're a fly-catcher, too. You're hearing the flies and I'm hearing the "whick-whick-whick" of Zorro's sword--a TV show long before your time. I guess I see lots of connections that aren't really there--hmmm.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah-Anne and Welcome. I always find the back story of art interesting.
Thank you Mary. Okay, you cover the exciting adventures in life; I'll cover the boring ones.
Indigomar--hello. So, if the Wallis paper survived me, it must the tough? I liked it. As for clothes--there was a book published during the 60s/70's--an idiotic guide for wives that suggested wearing saran wrap (I didn't buy it or read it). Maybe a tiny apron? (ha,ha) My uniform is tee shirt and denim workshirt.
Hi Mary. I've seen some really beautiful paintings done on Wallis paper. I hope you remember the blue women from the Pottery Barn catalogue when you prepare your interior decorating portfolios. Have fun.
jbkrost, hello. When I finished this work I thought of your paintings. I need to look through your blog again.
Hi Dan. Crazy, huh? Does that move me up in the triangle? Just in case my neighbors read this, I want to say that there are no nudes in my workshop. I spent a lot of time sculpting and we had nude models--even males (my kids were shocked). I think you have to know what's under the clothes. And, sometimes, clothes are distracting (they might be in this piece). I look forward to seeing your acrylic portrait and your pastels, Dan.
ReplyDeleteHi Hallie, You can have your own triangle, I think! Your description of you process is funny, but maybe "true" art isn't linear anyway! I remember seeing black and white Zorro movies at the local university when I was in high school; they're fun. Back to the painting; it looks great as it is!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the glimpse into your process. I like seeing how you can take seemingly incongruous elements and turn them into a work of art that causes me to pause and wonder. I'm not sure what it is, but I actually had a momentary flash of Mary Poppins when I first saw the browse image of this. Maybe it's the whimsical nature of the whole piece. Hmmmm.... maybe since her breasts are exposed I should have been thinking about the movie S.O.B. instead or Mary Poppins...
ReplyDeleteAnyhoooo....
Your process has me thinking about the folder full of notes and ideas I've jotted down over the years. Maybe I should get them out and randomly grab a few and create a composition from them. That could be a fun exercise...
-Don
Great concept and I love reading about your thought process. Building your painting like a sculpture is so YOU!! Great. Keep going...
ReplyDeleteMargaret. Sorry, I called you Mary above. (I was using the laptop last night, hit the wrong button, and lost my responses to comments several times.)
ReplyDeleteHi Peggy. Maybe the Bermuda Triagle? Sometimes I know exactly what I want to paint; other times, it's more of an adventure.
ReplyDeleteHi Don. To you these are incongrous elements --I was actually there trying to reach the ceiling with a broom. Getting it onto paper in an interesting way was the fun part. (The "Z" popped up after I'd decided on the fan, the broom, and the arm.) I'm impressed that you have your ideas and notes in ONE folder--your idea to grab a few and compose sounds great.
I don't know the movie S.O.B.--I'm not even sure I ever watched Mary Poppins but I remember the ad for the movie.
Thank you Kathy. There are so many ways to approach painting; I have trouble picking just one.
I wasn't sure if my silly reference would make sense. Here's what I meant...
ReplyDeleteS.O.B. was a movie written and directed by Blake Edwards which starred his real-life wife Julie Andrews. It is a spoof about cashing in by sexually exploiting an actress with an international squeeky-clean reputation. Julie Andrews even agrees to (in her own words), "show my boobies". It is a raucous movie that had me rolling around the whole time.
That "one folder" of ideas is in existence only because of last year when I sorted through all 3+ decades of my work. Prior to that it was all over the place.
-Don
Enjoyed your post. Whether it's good or bad, I enjoy reading all the comments just as much.
ReplyDeletePS- you should see all of my spider webs. If I leave the glasses off, everything looks nice & clean.
Hi Don. I'm slow in the morning; I think S.O.B. was mentioned in Edwards' recent obit. Sounds like a movie I'd enjoy. Ah, yes--I remember when you sorted through your work; I won a piece that's hanging on my wall!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Sue. The comments are the best part of the blog. I actually appreciate the spiders; they eliminate the bugs that fly in. When I vacuum the house, I try to vacuum around them. Quinton Crisp said spiderwebs soften the corners; the webs in the workshop were several feet long.
I love the dimensional elements, sculptural qualities of your figures. I love the way you share your creative processes even more. I wish I knew how to sculpt.
ReplyDeleteIt's done. Finished. The golden broom head hits the spot. Rubbing alcohol with pastels? I've never heard of the technique, but will give it a try today. I love your connections, your humor. I'll be stopping by more often.
ReplyDeleteHi Robin. I think you could sculpt. In a way, it might be easier than painting--no concerns about colors or lights and darks; just cut away what you don't need. I liked being knee-deep in wood chips or covered with clay.
ReplyDeleteLWRoth (Linda) Hello and thank you. As I get older and have more memories, I find connections easily. I read about using alcohol with Wallis paper on someone's blog. There was no "follow" gadget so I've been unable to find it again. (He wore a cowboy hat.)
Dang I had to scroll for a day to get down to this box so I could tell you how I grinned ear to ear reading through your entire post and, since you're asking, I don't feel a single addition is required ...this is a painting and she can tell her story...
ReplyDeletedon't fuss with her...
move on to the next...which I cannot wait to see...
I need a little bell to ring when you post so I don't get lost in the shuffle of life and end up over here three days and 27 comments later.
Hi Donna. I'm glad I made you grin--your blog always somehow lifts and makes me feel that I'm almost on track and, even if not, it's okay. I can't imagine your being lost for long--you'd just find a better route.
ReplyDeleteMary Poppins? Wasn't she the one who invented the ceiling fan right after escaping the Nazis and ran away to England to learn manners from Yule Brenner? You know, Kojak. Not bad looking in a tux either. Great work as usual. Wm
ReplyDeleteHi William. Yes--Mary Poppins. And it's not a broom--it's Kojak's lollipop! Thanks.
ReplyDelete