OOOOooohh NNnnoooOO!!!

i just re-read the amsterdam whitney invitation:

holy crap!
it does suggest to wear all three: colors, red, white and blue!!!!
that's the worse thing to have happen..... i will have to turn up in frickin' uncle sam's pants!
totally totally uncool.

totally uncool.


way uncool.

maybe i can get away with wearing, say, just white........... and donning an uncle sam hat! waddya think?

so we went ot the animal fair......

the birds and bees were there......

yeah, i took some time off from my usual cleaning, laundry, vacuuming, dusting at home (ahem, cough, choke) and took the girls (rosie and ashley) to the san diego county fair. yes, there were animals there, as a matter of fact. we first watched piggy races. dang, they are cute. little potbellies. there was a swimming little piglet there too. i forget his name, something catchy...anyway, little piggy for one reason or another didn't feel like doing the swim stunt today. he had a number of warmups and drumrolls and the radio-voiced narrator build up with tension for at least 4 times in anticipation while the little porkchop bulked at the water's edge, shivering. this spectacle scathed my daughter's sensibilities. she felt it was inhumane to have a tiny piglet do swimming as a stunt when he just didn't want to, not even for the oreo cookie they used as bait at the far end of the trough.
hmmmmm, i'm thinking, hmmm, she's a competitive swimmer, and many times it must seem to her that it is for show, at least she has our attention when she races....i wonder if she feels that when she races and we leave an oreo cookie at the finish line, that it is sorta wrong, somehow.
hmmmm.

nah!
damn pig. he finally did this really great racing start and swam across the trough for his oreo. it was spectacular. i recommend you see it.

i think i might have to paint a swimming pig.


another lesson learned. ashley's mom gave her $20 to use for her entertainment. but i told her to keep her money and i bought food and $20 of tix for the rides and then left them for a time while i visited the art show. when i came back ashley had won a small stuffed penguin. so cute. but she looked unhappy.
"what's wrong? did you already use up the ride tix?"...yes.... "that's a cute stuff animal, ashley where did you get it?" then a sour story poured out of her about a shifty carnie encouraging her to gamble on her talent at ball tossing into a small hoop. he offered double or nothing when she was in it $10 deep. she tried a little more, then finally with the carnie's most outrageous offer of $5.00 more, all she had to do was get one ball in one hoop, not only would she get the biggest stuffed animal he had, but on top of that, her whole $20 back. she ended up broke and with the small penguin. and the long face.

later, as we were relaxing with a cold lemonade and a funnel cake each, i asked her if she learned a life lesson. she thought and then said "yeah, never let a carnie see your money." ok, i thought, good enough.

that was about it, except we each had our palms read by an authentic psychic gypsy. palm reading was $10 per hand. i couldn't see the point of having the other hand read, i felt just one each was enough.
MOMS get this:
she was good....she told the girls that their future was to please their mothers and do chores for good luck. to never lie to their parents and not to go near boys until they were through college.

that was the best $20 i have ever spent. as for what she told me.....ah, i will have to tell you another time, because for now i need my sleep. night. ...she did tell me to look after my spleen.


kidding.

there she goes again

looks like little rosie was in the bathroom with the camera again.

come to my studio - open studio invitation

please come for food and wine and perhaps a small demo...
open studio invitation
july 14, saturday (2nd saturday of the month)
5:30 - 8:30 p .m.

i'm at joan irving studios:
415 east valley parkway
escondido, ca 92025
(760) 735-8890

my cell is (619) 916-9040

website for joan is
www.irvingglass.com
my website is :
www.lisabebiart.com

HOPE to SEE you.

home away from home

i spent the day painting in escondido. it was nice.

today's email

Dear Lisa,

I am writing to express how beautiful your exhibition is and what a visual delight your art is radiating. We are thrilled with your glorious exhibit and look forward to greeting you at AMSTERDAM WHITNEY Gala and Glamorous Champagne Opening Reception and "America Hurrah!" Party on Thursday, July 12, 2007, 6:00 – 8:00 pm.

Guests are cordially invited to dress in “Red, White & Blue” Attire or Cocktail Attire. Gentlemen are kindly requested to wear Suits/Jackets and Ties.

Excitement is mounting.

Affectionately,

Ruthie Tucker
Amsterdam Whitney Gallery
511 West 25th Street,
ChelseaNew York, NY 10001
ph: 212.255.9050f: 212.255.9020
AmsterdamWhitney@aol.com
www.AmsterdamWhitneyGallery.com

update on my "doin's"

my "doin's". that's what my mom would have called updates. she would say, "now, tell me your doin's"...or, "i don't know what are her doin's these days ". she was from the south.
her name was Ruby. her images appear constantly in my work. the piece my cousin fred was talking about (see comments) is posted at amsterdam whitney gallery website. it is of my mom and brother. another modanna and child 1950's piece. see, www.amsterdamwhitneygallery.com. click "artists", then "lisa bebi"...in case you forgot my name.

so my doin's:
the day before yesterday my daughter rosie and i went up to stampington and company in laguna hills, home of the publications (68 of them yearly) and my favorite, Somerset Studio. we met with jenny doh and jana holstein, editors - what great women they are. anyway, we firmed up our commitments to one another. i am so pleased to be partnering with the various art magazines. lots and lots of very cool stuff is coming down the pike.
if you don't have a clue what i am talking about check out: www.stampington.com, click magazines and publications. i am a constant contributor, an "artist on call" and now i will be having a stamp line through them - hopefully coming out in time for xmas.
the big bonus surprise was this: rosie has a gig with them too!!!! my 12 year old decided to alter her little jacket and shoes. she is always doing that; marking up her stuff to make it look more "personal". when jenny saw them, she liked them, so off came her jacket and shoes right then and there - left for a photo shoot. luckily she had an extra pair of flip-flops in the car. and more luckily than that she didn't alter up her pants and shirt.
she is also going to do an "little apprentice" article (3 page spread) involving her lovely paintings. amd another article, for another publication regarding her anime work. what a lucky, lucky girl.

and lucky me.....i am really happy about this development because, dang, i was really wondering what to do with her for summer. also she needs to earn some money for her trip to washington, d.c. next year. she has been making bracelets and necklaces and selling them to her friends (custom colors) and small paintings of mostly swimming images to sell at swim meets. but enough about her.

back to my doin's.....yesterday i met with toni torgerson and the owners of Memories in the Making, scrapbook store in la mesa. we shook hands on a deal....toni and i are moving our studios into their side room july 2nd.
what? you say, but you already have a nice studio in escondido. (maybe that wasn't you who said that, maybe that was my poor enduring husband)
well, i know that, and i am keeping that studio and working up there most weekdays i will do my large paintings there, but memories is literally down the street from me. i will do my smaller works and magazine work at the store. also there is a showcase area that we will manage as a gallery. toni and i are very excited about this new partnership and venture. we will have an opening soon.

this saturday i am showing work at the eureka springs event in escondido. come by if you are in the area. there will be food and music and activities.

sunday i will be in east county at "master of the moment" conducting art pick up from our regional show - congrats again to all who got in to this highly competetive event.

oh one last thing, since rosie will be reading this: she won the highest honor at her swim team banquet tuesday night, the lion award for being the top placer on the team, (meaning she had accrued the most points for placing in meets throughout the year). we are very proud of her.
brooke's hearing is back (see post on her temporary hearing loss due to mob scene LA) and i still haven't heard from my son. he is probably very busy getting a job....
ok back to bed now.

beatnik poets: bob dylan, mcclure and ginsberg

for cousin fred who is more closely aligned to me genetically than we thought: a bob dylan piece

speaking of grainy....sorry about this poor image, i had to drag it in from my website. this is a piece of mine entitled "joker and thief" there are lyrics at the top that say "all around the watchtower...." , etc.

this sold to the highest bidder ($800) at last year's (2006) panache fundraiser for escondido arts. it was an exciting live auction, lots of buzz about the piece and hot bidding with the losing bidder breathless, excited and determined, turning to me and asking for another piece of mine she had seen (see, "sushi bar", previous post) and instantly buying that one for $500 (smaller piece). someone also bought "manic excitement" the same night. i haven't posted that one yet. funny, the title matched the evening.

anyway, about this dylan piece, when i started to paint this, i had to redo dylan a couple of times because i couldn't believe that his "hair- nose-glasses" were that comic looking. i thought i had sunk into cartoon drawing mode.

he so stood out from the other 2 guys, that finally to counter-balance the obvious clown look in the middle of the painting, i felt compelled to put a cone hat on michael mcclure and an indian headdress on allen ginsberg......all i can say is.....sometimes cone-hats just happen. (i hope to quoted on that one day as a classic quote).

i can see the future........someone will ask as a trivia question .....who was it to first say ..."and sometimes cone hats just happen"........?
oh, yes it was that artist who was trying to paint dylan.


oh, just so you know, i am up at 5 a.m. because of another menopause moment. i couldn't sleep, too many hotflashes.

fisher of men

this is a complex piece i did awhile back entitled "fisher of men". it is partly about humanity. the populace is represented by the fish and fish eggs or row, seen as men in cramped quarters and the baby. the men being "fished up" (on the left) is my dad, repeated.

- a lone woman in the upper right is my mom, the "fisher". both of my parents are gone now, together in heaven, lifted above the natural world, as i hope i communicated in this piece.

speaking of babies and swings

this is my daughter, brooke - no, no, no, she didn't join the circus, she reported on it.

silly.

i guess it is kinda cool to be a reporter.

although, i have always worried she would join a circus.

about sweet children...and xmas

here is another painting i did for publication for xmas 2007. this is called "baby ornament". get it?

this baby is my brother, 1951. see what a good and happy baby he was. he is a good guy still and happy most the time, but he was not always so good to me. sometimes he was a brat. i, on the other hand, was always (and still am) the perfect angel. i always made sure my folks remembered that about me or else i threw a big nasty fit. sometimes i had to "tell" on danny too.....just so they always knew he was the one who was bad.

other news...i forgot to mention i didn't really like evan almighty the other day...i liked bruce almighty much better.

also the update on the swim meet, my daughter had a bad meet....her times were all off and the officials disqualified her in two events. oh man, i was glad to be at the other end of the pool both times that happened. although, i still heard her siren blaring at the officials.

the first DQ was bogas...they said she false started. i was watching her carefully and she didn't do that. but the second one, i didn't see - at the far end of the pool on a breast turn, they said she had a non-simultaneous touch. in other words, one hand touched a nano second before the other. i hate to defend her on everything, but i'm beginning to think maybe one arm is longer than the other. what do you do then? if i mention the one long arm theory to her, though, it might not go down so well.....thank goodness for coaches and others to tell your child there is something wrong with them. i don't think coaches nor officials get paid enough. its sometimes kinda like paying a hit man.

my other daughter, brooke, had a bad weekend too. she was doing her job, reporting for KNX in east mid LA - reporting on some riot or other....when she got into it with a few of them off-record. seems they didn't really have proper respect for the "press". she had to remind them that they should respect the "press" because they were nothing but a bunch of ignorant $^%%@#!@% suckers, that should leave the press alone to do their work..... or something like that. seems they still didn't understand her or "get it". in the end, someone threw a cherry bomb at her and caused her temporary hearing loss. she had to go to the doctor. i said, "well, brooke, maybe its time to find a new line of work. this is too dangerous". she said, "ha, are you kidding? this is just getting good!"

i didn't hear from my son, jamie this weekend. i'm thinking it's a good thing.

blue twist

once in awhile, i enjoy painting very loosely with collage bits. this one is called "blue". (to cousin fred: this is one that has been shipped to in new york about to be "handled" by the pros at amsterdam whitney).

this painting is the result of instant decisions and selections and a little bit of "color" education.

this is how i work:

i collect images and magazines and junk off the ground, things people throw away, etc. and amass a huge nest of favorites. then i sit in the middle of it all and put a color down on the canvas without much thought. right after this point, however, i start to make educated color selections. i spend time looking through my paints and find colors that i think work well together. i learned a long time ago, that if i simply "play" at this step, i usually end up in the mud. muddy colors, not delightful ones. the colors need to be thought out. if i feel stuck, as in a writers block, about which colors to work with, i have a few places that i go to unstick. one of my favorite places is the paint store. i collect color swatches. i set them out on my work table and think. my decision is not just a decision as to what colors look well together or what colors are compatible, but also how much of one color should i use to make another color dance. once i feel i have a good color combination, or one that suits me...then i begin to act spontaneously scrambling through my nest, testing one image verses another. i choose the collage-y bits by color, texture and finally for the story it tells.

one of my favorite themes is to show how things that seemingly don't look related can be related. i have a huge series of this theme on my website...www.lisabebiart.com in the smaller works section. if you look, you will see, for example, that the letter "y" reminds me of an artichoke.

anyway, this painting, "blue", shows a birdcage type shape in black paint. inside the birdcage is a delicate red bird shape. atop the birdcage is a bird-shaped blob (in black). the black blob bird is "blue" over his lover red bird who is stuck in the cage. i found the image of the 2 kids in the right top corner of the painting. they are sitting close together, like lovers, each wearing fasten-on wings. to me they all relate.

i hope you enjoy this piece.

by the way, many people are emailing me about this blog, asking me questions, making comments....... but afraid, for some reason, to leave a comment here....i hope that you will un-shy yourselves and leave a comment or two, so that i can answer back. i hate seeing a big fat 0 for comments.

friday's email

Dear Lisa,

I am pleased to inform you that your two boxes of art have arrived today via UPS. It will be opened next week when our professional art handlers are here to install your exhibition.

Excitement is mounting!

Affectionately,
Ruthie Tucker
Amsterdam Whitney Gallery
511 West 25th Street, Chelsea
New York, NY 10001
ph: (212) 255-9050
f: (212) 255-9020
AmsterdamWhitney@aol.com
www.AmsterdamWhitneyGallery.com

another version of ruby in a convertible

i love the photo of my mom in the passenger seat of my parents convertible in about 1950. i have painted it a few times. each time i change the elements a little bit and i change the energy. this one is my favorite. it's called ruby's night flight. the one on my mast head of this blog is called ruby in the sky, or ruby's winter ride. that is the one that i used as my christmas card a few years back. it sold earlier this year and i am still a feeling the vacuum and am a little sad about it. but happy at the same time that she found a home that loves her.

sometimes people ask me how i feel about selling paintings of my family. i know it seems weird. i retain the original photo and its attendive memories , of course. but the paintings to me are more of an exercise in describing a more universal person - anyone's mom or a person who we can all relate to or is doing something we can all relate to. i am not trying to recreate the actual image of my folks.

this is a subject i touched on in my post about the "farm boys" painting a few days ago...i like the contrast of a wholesome time (meaning the 1950's) juxtaposed against elements that slightly contradict, like a lone woman sitting in a car finds herself speeding across the night sky, as though she is likely to speed past santa and some startled reindeer. i do this for interest (something you wouldn't expect, but could possibly understand---i mean why wouldn't there be more traffic christmas night?) and a bit of humor.

tonight's xmas assignment

since i am an Artist on Call for Inspirations magazine, i get some fun stuff for free to play with and create to share with readers of the magazine and i guess i get to share it with the readers of this blog as well.

so, i got this cool dye (ink) in a spray bottle called "memories mist" this color is called "plum sake". it is a delicious color. i am still exploring unusual color combinations and unconventional xmas colors.

for this vintage look, i first coated a portion of the chip board with gesso. once dried, i sprayed the board with "plum sake". it soaked in; in a deeper hue where there was no gesso. next i gessoed a stamp of a wreath (stampington) and stamped it onto the card. once this dried, i painted in the leaves with olive green.

this is not done, i will add a small amount of green glitter here and there on the leaves and possibly write in a greeting with a gel pen. also, i will probably put a nice cloth ribbon in the top hole.

this is a magnetic tag that i used as a support. a magnetic tag is made of chipboard and folds in half. the fold is clasped together with a hidden magnets. it is very fun and neat-o.

what do you think?

the "tazzers" collage

here is the mixed media piece i did of "tazzers" lately. i love that dog.

but to be fair, i have to admit, although it kinda looked bad - the previous post of him in a superman sweater and a backpack and, yeah, the nasty looking collar, my daughter, brooke, is very, very good with her dog, er, gracie.

when gracie was living with us (as "tazzers") he had no discipline. in fact, he terrorized the neighborhood, our doberman and "pretty kitty". our mail carrier threatened to stop delivering the mail. the dog catcher was here routinely. and our gardeners turned off our sprinkler system because the tazzers liked to dig them up. he chewed holes in our sofa, ate out of the trash can and once in a while would smoke a hard dried cat turd. but apart for that, he was a well behaved dog. he is grandma's dog!

my only grandchild

this is gracie...he is my only grandchild. when he is with me his name is tazzers (nickname for tasmanian devil) because i think that name is more masculine.....(yeah, i know) ...more masculine than gracie. i understand they named him gracie because he

is not very graceful. i can see the humor in it....but i worry that he might have issues later........from his name and , of course, the fact that he is a slave dog. and putting him in a superman colored sweater is only going to confuse him more. see what he is doing here? he is try to smell his way to grandma's house. because of my cooking, of course.

come to grannie, tazzers, you can run free and naked as god intended you to be.

i did a mixed media painting of him for a dog art show last month in university heights. let me see if i can upload it. look out, dan adams,....there is more than one dog in this town.

(dan adams is known in san diego, for his oil paintings of his little dog , a pug, i think).

madonna and child, 1951

this is another christmas painting for the magazine. (www.stampington.com) see, somerset studio. it is of my mom and my brother. this photo was taken before it was finished. i added a few elements, the baby got a sewn halo, for instance and i believe i added a lone star in the upper left and deepened the green behind her. these piece have already been submitted to the magazine.

sometimes people ask me how i get the dreamy effect with my paint. i use acrylic paints, they dry fast, so i create the look by blending the paint colors on the support, letting it dry and then pooling watered down color on top. this works best if you have a gesso support.

my daughter will be out of school shortly - so off to see "evan almighty" we go. she has a swim meet this weekend. it will be grueling....not so much for her, but for us old folks.

for cousin fred who wanted to know......

my cousin fred from washington d.c. wanted to know what i have been

painting.

so for you, fred, here on the (right) is one of the paintings that i have shipped off to show at the amsterdam whitney museum, NEW YORK...this is entitled "farm boys". i don't know why, but i like to paint wholesome looking kids in a kind of roughed up background as contrast. this piece started out as an experiment in using the color violet/purple. i often challenge myself by limiting my palette or by setting out to struggle with an unusual palette... in this case it was violet. now that it is finished, i believe that the painting held up well with this color; the extra fun feature turned out to be the boys' copper-colored hair.

i will add the other paintings that i sent off to new york one by one..... i want to create the suspense.

today i worked and worked on 14 pieces to send off to stampington & co. --- i am an Artist on Call for them, which means i am given art assignments. currently i have 10 pieces due by the end of this month regarding xmas imagery. there are also other magazines within stampington that i submit to as well. one is altered couture. there is a very interesting challenge that just came out for that one that is due end of july --- plenty of time. i don't know if i am allowed to say what the challenge is. i will ask and get back to you on that.

meanwhile, i have also been drafting graphics for a line of stamps. its exciting. i hope to complete all the xmas creations by monday.

here, on the LEFT, is a small preview of one of my mixed media pieces for somerset studios...i took a pic of this before i completed it.... since i have photoed of this, i added details like sewing and sparkle....and... now there is a stitched star up in the right and corner and the baby has hair.

oh, by the way, this morning, before my daughter brought back my car, my husband stepped outside to pick up the morning paper. he came back in the house totally panicked...he thought our car was stolen....i kinda forgot to tell him brooke needed to drive me home last night. in others words, i was busted!

but hey, i found my cellphone...it was under the seat of my car! (lost 2 days and no phone messages on it)!!!!

oh-no this is how i find out i'm unpopluar. boohoo

ok, thanks for caring. night.

OOOOoooomyheadhurts

sure, i just woke up...i think i have a sinus headache, er, or would you believe......(maxwell smart)....i need lots of water.....i think it is too early for a hangover, it's not even morning yet................has anyone seen my cellphone? has anyone seen my car?

stomach is not spelled stomack!!!! hahahhaha, i can't believe i spelled it that way! ah, hahahha-hic*. i better go back to bed.
my son was sure good last night. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

love my kids

ok, ok, this is my oldest child, brooke, (30) she is a sweetie pie. for example i was out tonight at the san diego museum of the living artist to see my son (jamie godley) featured as a poet....but somehow, some way, i managed to drink 6 (six) glasses of wine (small ones)on an empty stomack...brooke here, drove me home, making sure i had something to eat first (a burrito)...she seemed to think i was not capable of driving myself home. she is such a good girl. i think she still has my prius. i really love my kids....
anyway, jamie's poems were very very heart wrenching for me. good thing i was drunk. they were about his birth and his dad's death, and also about his dad's life as a scientist. sometimes i think my son has passed this way before. he seems so much older than 23.
brooke is a very caring person...you can't tell by looking at her here that at one time she beat up a man in paris (a frenchy) because he was rude to her. i say - go on brooke, beat up more frenchies!!!!! she also outwitted monkeys in gibraltar.......i will have to get back to that story in the morning. hic****
night.

studio organized

ain't she sweet

here is a painting i did of rosie when she was small and , er, quiet...she is asleep in an oversized jacket. i gave this one to her grandparents who live in italy. which means that the entire village of gubbio has seen it. my in-laws spend a lot of time circling their village with photos of their granddaughter. i have found out that photos of rosie are in huge demand there. my husband and i regularly get a ration for not sending enough photos.

be careful what you wish for.....

so my youngest daughter, rosie, saw my blog and wanted to know why jamie gets to have his picture in it and not her. i told her the truth; i am afraid to post her picture because i am afraid of perverts looking at her and wanting to contact her. she, like most girls her age, thought i was being an over-reactive, paranoid, overprotective, "backwards in time" parent. also, she informed me that she has her own blog and that no one other than her friends talk to her. i knew that---except i didn't realize it was a blog...i thought she was sharing anime pictures somehow. while considering this new info i got the heebee geebees and i began to think....summer vacation for her is about to start...she is already on the internet......hmmmm, she will have more time on her hands......maybe i ought to be a proactive parent and tell the world (of perverts and/or normal people) what it is really like having a young daughter (see photo at right). so i decided to post her photo. but first let me say this....rosie's dad is deep into the mafia and i carry a shotgun with a hair trigger, rosie herself knows how to disable a man (or woman as the case may be) within a split second.
futhermore she has the loudest siren mouth i have ever heard. again, see picture at right.

OK to save myself from hearing her running her foghorn off at me for tossing in her kindergarden picture (she is special), i added the recent picture from our vacation last march in washington state (while i attended artfest 2007). notice she looks totally capable of kicking someone in the balls.

tomorrow night at SDAI

this is a picture of my son, jamie. his head is shaved here because sadly a friend of his had to have her head shaved because she was undergoing brain surgery. i think her surgery was a success, thats good - i know jamie has grown his hair out again. anyway, the reason i am showing his picture here is to tell you that his will be reciting his famous poetry at san diego art institute tomorrow night - at the poetry and art happening. he is a featured artist (poet). his friend, zuri is also going to be there as a featured artist, he paints, plays sax and reads too, i think. they do it together sometimes too. i will be there as proud momma...also my daughter brooke will be there too. being proud, like me, not performing. notice jamie is standing beside gertrude stein's gravestone? i raised him right, didn't i? not only is he a pure artist, he completely understands and appreciates an artist benefactor......

a short rest at the sushi bar

i found out how to post this painting i did (sold) entitled "sushi bar"...it reminds me of kathy and i (although i'm not japanese, but i am fat and fond of sitting in a sauna) hanging out after a hard day "organizing".

one funny thing about kathy i recently found out....she hates fish (this includes sushi) ..hahahhahaha. that just busts me up! she also hates tomatoes which is even funnier - why? because her parents/family had a large tomato farm near hilltop high school when she grew up..... i guess you have to know kathy to know this is funny...she can be contrary! and proud of it.

ok, i am going back to work now. i have an art rubber stamp line that i hope to get out before xmas through stampington. the deadline for xmas stuff is before the end of this month.

also today i managed to get over to "distinctions" in grossmont center (la mesa). my favorite place to buy clothes that are artsy, silkyor linen-y. i told valerie, the one who dresses me, to pick out something for me to wear to new york...it needs to be red, white or blue..but hopefully not all three. i need them before the end of the month.

that done, i paid postal annex for shipping off my art to new york...it was cheaper than i thought it would be - $250!!! yay, that includes the return shipping too! i thought it would be more like $1,000. i love janell at the postal annex near me. (vons shopping center, la mesa). she did it all.

more on "pimp"

so someone asked me...why "pimp" my spleen?

well, i thought it was sorta catchy ...you know what i'm saying...?

if i have to have an alleged swollen spleen, why not sex-say it up?

sortof like this painting i did of this old grannie bringing home her dinner. she's being bold and also looking after her diet. so i thought i should sex-say her up... she deserves it. the picture of this painting was taken before i finished it (the painting)completely, i added highrises in a new york sort of way to counter her down-home, backwards style. i believe by adding a cityscape behind her, she became more interesting. and you guessed it, more sex-say. i'll post the finished piece - i need to get my camera guy over to the studio again soon.

Today, i got great news in the mail!!!! i'm so excited to have been chosen to teach at artfest 2008!!!! it's such an honor to have been chosen since i know i was competing against tons and tons of great artists across the county for a slot. i will teach a fun painting class called "family paint over". it is a technique i developed over this last year. i got great exposure through somerset magazine last september (2006) with a wonderful interview by jana holstein.

also today, my assistant kathy and i went up to my studio in escondido to get "organized". kathy is a total mastermind at organization. i helped by driving us up there. i painted while she wielded a labeler like a machinegun. she is japanese and goes through and organizes stuff like a fast-paced sushi chef with frighteningly large knives. i could have sworn i saw my art elements glinting like light on a stainless steel blade. i asked her at one point if she would like to listen to music while she worked....she said without looking up...."i don't care, either way, once i'm focused, i just push ahead." boy, i'll say.

we had a lunch break, once refreshed she said that she would like to push for the finish line in a very intense hour before going home.

well, she pushed hard, but didn't get to finish...i thought she might be depressed, but she wasn't, she said she had it all figured out and that it would take one more session to get my studio completely organized. i am beyond impressed. she showed me the drawers that are now labeled containing different things.

one for glues, one for scissors, one for chipboard, one for ribbons, etc.....then my paints in color coded bins. blues separated out in warm and cool colors, pinks separated from reds, etc. wow.

i think i will get my camera guy to take a picture of the studio too. i might charge admission!

that reminds me, i have a painting called "sushi bar"....let me see if i can get it posted.

why a spleen?

i know you people must be thinking, why "pimp my spleen". my assistant kathy warned me that people might go to my blog looking for enlarged spleen disorders and rememdies...to those people..i'm sorry, but maybe i can help. take two glasses of red wine and drink it before bedtime and listen to soothing sinatra music.

well, it is not easy coming up with a title for a blog, and so at the time of learning how to post a blog, i had weird symptoms - i went to the doctor and he crypically told me my spleen felt enlarged - so he ordered some tests. that was on a friday - never go to a doctor on a friday.....all weekend i told my husband i couldn't move from the bed and to not touch me because i had an enlarged spleen...there was lots of drama. i even called my grown kids and told then....oh i have an enlarged spleen - "don't worry about me....but just i case, i have set up a trust." i called the art association, "i'm sorry i can't make this board meeting, i have an enlarged spleen." i had no idea what this meant, but knew it had to be serious because no one i ever knew had a case of a swollen spleen.

after tons of test, of course, no one seems to know a thing about any enlarged spleen.

by the way, the doctor who informed that my spleen felt enlarged, was no dr. hot (see future posts, "oh my poor feet", etc.). dr. hot does everything the right way...

so thats what i say in reply -

pimp my spleen.

this painting of mine called "pepperfish". these guys remind me of spleens.

so does my car...a prius.

and so does my dog when he sleeps in a round donut shape, since he is a red doberman.......oh, hold on...thats a kidney!

father's day

so for father's day, my dear husband invited some clients of his (ex clients as he resolved their case years ago (in a positive way)..... still they are very cool people) for over for dinner. they are vacationing here from atlanta...they also brought their 2 grand daughters, 10 and 8, i think.


my daughter, rosie, was in charge of entertaining them.....i think they were a bit much for her. luckily we have a swimming pool. i looked in on them at one point and noticed they were playing dodgeball in the water with my daughter's head as the target. she can be longsuffering some times.


anyway, antonia (grandpa) is from cuba orginially, and so my husband prepared a meal that took on the pace of an italian or cuban sunday family gathering...it started with shrimp newburg at 2 in the afternoon, and finished finally with a bit of ice cream at 9! we had crackers and cheese, fetticini alfredo (homemade)and roasted pork and salad and fruit - all in steps. i don't remember how many bottles of wine. at the end we had espresso - 2 cups.





so he was totally pooped by the end of teh evening, which was good because i don't think he noticed we forgot to get him a present. poor baby.


we cleaned the house all weekend, which is a huge accomplishment.....

but our guests said what every guest says....we like your house because it looks very "lived-in". not a museum, we don't feel uncomfortable here. which must be kinda true, because everyone stays a long time. of course i noticed that they eyes jump from one counter to the next looking for a resting spot that never materializes. i think, perhaps, they stay out of mental exhaustion.

this painting is called "miss wanda" - but i am thinking my rosie deserves this picture for being an angel. and a dodgeball target.

time for bed, sweet dreams.

hmmmm, wonder what my husband would want for father's day.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

typos

dang i have a lot of them...fat fingers and trying to speed type.

oh yeah and typing after a few swigs of wine.

in the future i will try not to have so many typos......

saturday - not in the park

looks like the blog post worked. yay. now i need to learn how to put up my paintings and photos....i asked my daugghter brooke how to put up photos since swhe has had a livejournal for years and years with tons of photos on her. (i will ask her permission to put her link on this one).
brooke told me to first get a free thing like flickr.com and then she would step me through it.
i haven't done that yet.
instead i spent the day trying to dig out my art corner in the eating area of our house because we are expecting people over for dinner tomorrow night. i suggested that we all go to the argentinian restaurant in little italy that is soooo good, but no, my husband's friends (actually ex-clients) want to come over. i think their reasoning is that , well they know my husband's cooking is top rate (italian) but also there will be drinking to excess..... and cigar smoking is another priority. yeah, i don't know what the men will be doing........hahahahha, only kidding, i don't smoke cigars..........anymore!!!!
the ex-clients are from cuba and my husband is italian but was raised in new york city, he says that the cuban spanish is very refreshing to him , he understands it better than mexican spanish......

anyway, as i was putting away my art stuff and actually throwing out "stuff" (can't breath) deep breath, yes, i was able to throw away stuff. i got an overwhelming desire to sit down and create...i literally had to fight off this urge so that i could get to a finishing point. sooo, i never did finish --- because there is never going to be a finish....it is an ongoing cycle.
instead, at dinner i drank my wine and watched a movie. man, jude law is hot.
tomorrow the people won't come until 2...i think i can finish up in he morning, well, if i wake up.

having people over really crimps my style.....i do like the folks...only man, i have a big hankering for making a large painting.

my first post

i am new to blogging. in fact, this is my first attempt.
i have created this blog in order to communicate or share my ideas and experiements regarding the creation of my artwork, mostly. plenty of people ask me questions, so instead of writing each person back, i thought i would attempt to broadcast some of my techniques this way.

also, i would like to share some family stuff so that my relations can read it.

Todays news:
so, today, in the mail i received my business cards and tshirt from stampington that say i am an AOC, or artist on call. this means that i am hired to create works of art for the magazines. there is a certain quota of artpieces a year, that are due in a timely fashion and certain themes explored. i am very eager to get going.

right now, although it is beginning summer, it is time to do xmas stuff. it is hard to find xmas papers or cards or anything right now that would be fun to alter. luckily, i'm a pack rat. so in the next week i will be rummaging around in the depths of my hall closet to see what i can see. i will let you know how that develops.

today i shipped some of my art off to new york to the amsterdam whitney gallery/museum in chelsea, new york - the epicenter of the artworld. i'm so excited to have a show there next month. i was scouted out for this, i am proud to say, and was accepted after the curatorial committee reviewed my portfolio. the champagne reception for my shohw will be july 12. too exciting.

today i also palled around with my assistant kathy o. i have a studio in escondido california, which i truly love, but it is a 35 minute drive. that studio is primarily where i do my painting - canvas, large scale paintings. at home is where i do my magazine work..... so, we were busy busy busy looking for a space for me to create other than my dinner table over the summer months while the kids are home from school. i say kids, i have only one child left at home...i have two other grown ones that come home sometimes too, but my daughter, 12, has a best friend that is always here, so i say kids. anyway, kathy and i have been working on strategy - getting maximum work out of me while being with the girls. kathy is very good at keeping me on task. i tend to forget important stuff - like, oh yeah, school will be out next week. what to do what to do. i can't drive up to escondido everyday with the girls.
if anyone has any great ideas here, please do tell.
kathy thought i should have a portable work shed put into my back yard so that the kids could swim while i worked and that way the eating table in the dining room would be freed up. pleasant idea, but this is southern california - i think a shed might get a bit hot.
still pondering this problem. i presented the shed brouchers that i collected today from home depot to my husband. he was not as excited as i was about the idea of having it on our property. he thinks shed do not add value to the house. hmmm, i thought it would.
i'm going to hate this, but i think i might have to tell kathy that the shed idea is out ---- i think i better clean out the garage.

so i have finished my first post.......tomorrow i will write another one......see if i have got this posting business figured out.