Hubble Profile

Hubble Profile, a photo by poppapomp on Flickr.

this is what influences my backgrounds, soon whole ideas and series

March 28,2011

I have some ideas to go larger than the little paintings I show here. I like the backgrounds, they remind me of the photos of our universe sent back to us by Hubble. Some of those photos are so beautiful it makes me ache! I am hoping I can go bigger and create the gorgeous color and mystery I feel when I see those photos.

March 26, 2011

Today was the last day of our spring open studio at Poor Yorick studios. The only bad thing about participating is that there is no time to go looking at the other 39 studios and almost 50 artists! I was having some drawings for a watercolor painting framed and a small one matted and have 104 entries! Friday night is the big party. hundreds come many dressed in their oddest clothing to come and have some wine and be seen. The first wave..at 6pm were the eaters..the one's who go from studio to studio eating the goodies we put out. They don;t even look at the art!!! Then the families with kids come and that is fun. I give away things to all the kids..this year was bookmarks. Then the real art people show up and close us down always after 10pm. My poor back gave out around 9pm and I had to slack off and sit on a stool while the crowds ebbed and flowed. I did sell. Not large pieces but many of the smaller ones. I had a lot of food..corn chips, salsa w/ cream cheese, whole grain selection of crackers, 3 different cheeses. Merlot, Spanish red wine, strawberries, clementine tangerines, snow peas, celery, carrots, pickles, and fancy olives, 4 kinds of cookies, iced green tea and some cane sugar sodas. My friend from school, Dave hung some of his little impressionistic paintings and then sat and read a book on his Ipod!!! He is a great guy..but I feel like I have to greet and talk about my art. I am trying to sell after all! I was invited to enter a mini artworks show by a local gallery owner. And some jurors from the local art festival showed up and told me they wanted me to enter for next years fest. I was able to really connect..I guess practice is helpful. This is my third open studio. I am jazzed to start a few new series to enter in upcoming events. Guess my self imposed exile from submissions is over..that is the good news and the other good news that the fun I had doing all my little paintings really evoked responses from many people. I heard a lot of your work makes me smile, I love your use of color, this is the most fun art here..needless to say I enjoyed that!!! So it was a great time but it wears me out!!! Saturday is slower but still busy. and I sold more things. Dave was late and then left early but it is stressful and he has never participated in something like this before. More kids on Saturday. Anyway..posting some pics and tomorrow my son will be drawing for possibly 4 drawings.My Son Shane and his sweet girl Alyssa posed for a picture too. Have a great rest of the weekend

March 22, 2011

I am posting some sketches today. The sun is shining for the moment! I will be making some little art journals today to give to patrons at the open studio. I was trying to come up with a mural idea for the commuter train station opening soon nearby but my ideas all fizzled..too many things to do before the open studio and I think I need to concentrate on that! Have a great day everyone.

tinas art adventure: My first GIVE-AWAY!!!!!

tinas art adventure: My first GIVE-AWAY!!!!!: "Hi,  I'm doing my first give-away- all you have to do is mention the give-away on your blog along with my blog info.  I will rando..."
This is a great site and such a fun giveaway!! see my other post today to hear some fun Gypsy Jazz music!

Red Rock Hot Club "This is gypsy jazz, people--google it!" OFOAM 2010

This is the band that will be playing at our Open Studio next weekend..

March 18,2011

This was a very large Triptych called Midwest Reunion. It was the first time I had worked so large and the boards warped but now it is screwed together and acting as a "5th wall" screen in my studio. People always came in during open studio and liked the one they could see because they were stacked against a wall. So now they will be able to see them together as they were meant to be. 2 people in this work are now dead. My Dad and my 2nd cousin Betty Lou.

This was a small series I did for a 3D class. As you can see I am not a 3D artist but these were fun.The kitty is a zen garden with a tiny rake and stone and sand. The Beastie Box #1 (the one with the gorilla figure in the top) was juried into a big student show and was a bit of a hit! I did feel a bit crazy when I cut up the gorilla baby and glued it up. I did the same for my totem which I am posting as a header. Poor old Moosie got his legs chopped off!!! Yikes!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day. (added a few detail shots of the totem)

March 15,2011

So today is our 32 yr. anniversary. Hubby had to work graves and I haven't even said happy adversary day to him yet as he is in bed. I went to the Doc today and had my antidepressant changed. More of it I should say. Trying to get back to focusing and remembering and not falling into the funks. I hate having to use a drug but it is a chemical depression and I must deal with it instead of going along.
I am finding some momentum to get things done because I have a deadline for the open studio.
I am looking for the photo of Hubby and me...there it is..Hubby is sporting a walrus mustache these days..after shaving off his very white beard he had over the winter!!
I will have to get an updated pic of him!

March 14,2011 Planning a giveaway

I managed to get over 50 small, tiny paintings matted this weekend. I got over 50 bookmarks finished. Mind you..these are all small!
After my open studio and getting some paintings done for a library show entry I will be offering a few small things in a giveaway..April. When I am ready to post..all you have to do is comment and I will pick the winner out of one of my awesome hats..well maybe I will have someone help on that. I am also planning to roll out an Etsy site in April also. And I might be doing an auction on Facebook..so stay tuned.
So I seem to be coming out of my funk and I owe it all to the sun which graced us with its presence for a few days.
Plus I got tired of trying to figure out why I was in a funk and just decided to get out of it!
I posted 3 of the little paintings here. I was having fun choosing mat colors and sizes. The other day I went to the local art store where they sell bags of leftover mat material from their framing store. For $2.00 each I picked up 2 bags..heavy! ..and they were full of scrap material in many colors. Harder to come up with uniform framing sizes so each will be in a clear bag and the option for a buyer to remat and frame. I could have spent $10.00 and got uniform 8x10 inch mat scraps...but I couldn't resist the color options of the cheaper bags.
Then I stamped some of the mats to continue themes from the paintings. The suede mat surfaces turned out awesome. Anyway..today I get to spend time at the studio and then help with the postcards for the open studio. Have a great day.
I apologize if the title of this post gets you here prematurely!!! I was just excited about getting some fun going..giveaways are fun..no more premature announcements until I have a set date!

Volkswagen Commercial: The Force

My favorite Super Bowl Commercial

March 11,2011

this is a pastel on paper ACEO. I am finally getting to the mats for all my little paintings.

March 10,2011

well the sun appeared and it is a lovely day. Went on a job interview and they want me to pay for the background check and drug test for mediocre pay, lousy job and too long of a drive! I think not. Beggars can't be choosers you say! well this beggar chooses not to submit to things that have nothing to do with the job and pay for it!!! Yikes.
So I am trying not to be angry. I haven't been offered the job but they did call for 3 references! Geez...I assume they assume I am a liar until proven otherwise! I hate the punitive way employees and prospective employees are treated. Oh well..I keep looking.
I am going to go to the grocery store and enjoy the sun. I haven't felt like doing art this last week..been in a funk. I really need to get my game on with open studio on the 25th and 26th. I need to mat the little paintings and move the studio stuff around. I need a swift kick in the pants!
posting a little ACEO I did with pastel..it is called Two Rock Deer

March 8,2011

It rained buckets yesterday then it turned to snow that fell heavily from the sky almost like the rain!!! Today it is cold and sunny. The weatherman says it will warm up to the 50's tomorrow and I look forward to that!Does it appear that I always talk about the weather? It is true that I am really sensitive to the changes not only physically but emotionally and mentally too. I have known for years that too many gloomy days and I am on the brink of depression..so full spectrum lights in the winter help a bit. Thankfully I live in Utah where the sun shines more than 80% of the time. As I get older the old injuries act up when there is a change and again Utah is a high desert and although it can get wet here it is not the norm. We had a 7 year drought here a while back and although we were glad to see the snow pack come back..I was secretly enjoying the non winters and hot dry sunny summers.
I love the snow but it doesn't really love me! One way I decided over the past few years to combat the blues was to get out in the weather and take lots of photos.
I made a 3d project for a 3d foundations class back in 2007. I called it the Wedding Nest. It was made of a wedding dress I found in a thrift shop, bird feathers, lengths of beads and branches with berries. I constructed a crow out of paper and set it all up in the bushes outside the art building for a day. I got an A..but it is what I have done with it since that is more interesting.
I brought the nest home and wondered if birds would ever consider using it..so I placed it in a tree out back by the property line. It is like a little jungle there in the spring. Then I began to take photos of it every once in a while. Over the years it has deteriorated and I have gotten hundreds of photos of it in it's various states. No birds ever nested in it..but it has become the reason I get outdoors on bad days! My digital camera has video capabilities and I have recently taken short videos of the wind blowing the material. That is what quiet Sunday mornings have helped with.
So in addition to a detail of a color pencil drawing of goldfish (due to the depth of puddles yesterday..our driveway could have supported a few fish!) I will add some photos of the wedding nest.
I am hoping to come up with some more art that I can put on my property and see how it fares!
So here is hoping that the weather is good where you are and that you find reasons to get outside and enjoy it!

March 7,2011

Yikes rain! oh well befits the mood I am in. I got a job interview a few seconds ago. Of course the good jobs I apply for I never hear from..this one is a cashier at a gas station..oh well..it is something I have done for years. I just worry because these are the jobs that seem to deteriorate with time. Once they find out how you work they change up the schedule and and make it crazy. Then some teenager or family member of the owner wants your job and you are shuffled to the back of the line so to speak or out of the job all the way! I managed to stay at one little job for 7 years. The boss/owner and I had it worked out pretty well but when her finances took a nose dive...my hours were cut and soon she quit the place and so did I because the owner of the property wanted me to open, close and work 12 hours days and didn't care that I was in school and a human with needs!!!!!! No wonder my boss quit with a nervous break down! Then the next little gas station job turned out to be a slave camp in disguise!!! The oil company hired a young man as our manager and he began to deride us and accuse us all of stealing. Then he cut my hours. He was rude and nasty..even the customers called him a nazi!!! I quit in Jan. of last year.I had had enough from that pipsqueak! And I told him so! Then 2 weeks later the corporation came in and fired everyone including pipsqueak! They all qualified for unemployment benefits because it came out of the blue with no warning. I of course had quit under duress mind you but that disqualified me for any unemployment benefits! And of course a year + later and my dry cleaner job was sabotaged by a teen and I am looking again!! I went ahead and applied for benefits but they have yet to let me know if I qualify.
I do suppose that you think I should aspire to a better job..but really a little job I can leave at work would suit me fine so I can think about my art! I am really not looking for a career job..I am looking for a modest paycheck. If I was single and didn't have Hubby's income..it would be very different. So I am lucky that I don't necessarily need to make a living wage. But I am not looking for drama. I don't need that! If I could get a decent job I would take it..but it seems that my qualifications are never quite what they are looking for.
Well never mind my bad mood. Let me try to find a happy photo to post.
Oh an Amy is working out ok. She has been very confused poor girl.
Have a good day!
this was something just for fun...enjoy

March 5,2011..Amy

Went to get Amy today. The people who had her were very nice but so overwhelmed. Too many dogs, dirt and useless adult children mooching and sitting in front of the TV. The husband is disabled and elderly..the Mom bless her heart had no money and no time..So I think it is good that I was able to take the girl. She is very sweet and well behaved..probably because she is confused. But she seems fine with the cats who spit at her then went away and the pugs who greeted her like a long lost friend. She went to the Petsmart and got outfitted with a new collar (pink with dog bones motif)..and some food. Tried to interest her in a toy but she was more interested in the kids shopping with their parents. So another day for that.
She is much larger than my poor Raven and not as feminine in the head but with a super pedigree and body and movement. I am a bit of a snob..having bred and shown GSDs for over 30 years. So I see the looks and pedigree and then I toss that aside because she is in need and so sweet. I see no reason it won't work out..and I certainly would not want to take her back to the chaotic household she was in.I wonder how some people live!!I came home and looked at my little old place that needs paint and cosmetic work and I was so glad it was shabby but clean!
So now it is all done and I have the rest of the weekend to create and hang out. I think she likes the quiet and calmness..I know I do!!! Have a great weekend everyone.

A beautiful day

The Rooster I Call Bob and one of his harem, The old cottonwood, Frankie and Jesse James.
A lovely day of sun and puffy clouds against a very blue sky. Collected 6 eggs, bought 2 huge bags of mat board pieces for $2.00 each!, Had great views of the mountains east of Provo as I drove to the art supply store there. Got the matte board and gold and silver ink. Stopped at the bookstore and bought 4 magazines! Guess I need to renew subscriptions..I got the annual poultry edition of Hobby Farms, Art Calendar,American Artist, and a special edition of Mother Earth News-Guide to Organic Gardening. And picked up my fave alternative newspaper at the grocery store (City Weekly)while stopping to buy whole grain bread and a little chocolate for later.
Now I am watching the news while making pasta salad to cool in the fridge for tomorrow.
So no art today but many ideas for a mural presentation that I hope to enter for the Commuter train stations just west of us. And I am going to enter the Springville spring salon..nothing like a bit of sun is just what I needed!
Hope you all are having a great day too.

March 3rd, 2011

Funny morning..sun then clouds and wait more sun coming!! I have gone through being angry, not angry, resigned, accepting and just plain happy that I have time to do my art and mess around!!! I am going to workforce services today. To get a better more accurate form of my resume on their website so I can apply for jobs online, to reset my ability to get online..since I entered the wrong password and they shut me out!! and to see if I might be eligible for unemployment. I am certain I am not eligible but I do want to get it official that I was laid off. Then it will be an art day today because I need it to be. I am hoping to get some work on Etsy. Plus I have wanted to do a newsletter for the longest time. Something arty that will have interviews, book reviews, art reviews, and just plain fun for me to do. I figured I could do a quarterly and see how it goes. There is one ezine in Utah on the arts and it is really good and extensive. I just want to do something a bit more personal and fun.
And there is the countdown to Saturday to go meet Amy. I bet she does not realize that there is someone who is excited to meet her and have her come home. I didn't realize how much I would miss having a German Shepherd by my side.

March 2, 2011..back again!!!

Maybe dreams of earthquakes and flowers were somehow an omen for today!!! I was having a nice morning, I had talked to my Mom. I took a nice leisurely shower and went to work a little early. Did I tell you how I have been enjoying my little dry cleaning job? I have been training and have made a few mistakes but nothing difficult. Everyone nice as could be. When I go to work and am happy to do so then things are all ok..right??? So a week and 1/2 into the job and I was let go today!!! The nice manager came to me as soon as I clocked in and asked to speak to me..uh oh..did I pull a bonehead maneuver? Well no. One of the owners had hired 2 teenagers and didn't need me. Was it ageism? economics? or the fact that the 18 yr. old sulky teen that was training me wanted her friends there instead of me? Since my mistakes were minor, not repeated and no one knew about them unless she told someone. Poor manager was angry. He wanted to keep me and he did not have a say in the hiring of the youngsters. In this economy he couldn't fight the decision too hard..after all he has a family to support. Of course the teens don't have mortgages or bills to pay and they sit on the counters and refuse to be trained on something out of their comfort zone. Still..this is my cynic nasty self..maybe the owners wanted nubile surly teens helping the customers instead of the AARP member. What ever the reason..poor manager asked if he could call me back if the teens flaked out. I was honest..yes..I like to work, want to work and am dependable i told him. But I told him there would be some stipulations if it comes to being asked to return. Left on a friendly note and applied at the new craft store opening in town. Best laid plans..I was planning my bill paying and ability to contribute and then the paycheck is gone. So I get to do more art and hopefully spend more time with Amy the German Shepherd when I get her. Hubby who is feeling really good now took me to a nice lunch.
We were just outside smelling the wet that the bit of rain left..you know that smell..the pines, the earthy musk, a hole in the clouds with the stars sparkling through.
No worries..

March 2nd,2011 Sunshine!!!!!

Today the birds are chirping, the cats are lounging in the sun and it is actually 50 degrees! I have been dreaming of flowers and earthquakes!
The flowers part I get because I am planning a new vegie garden in an area that gets full sunlight and I can fence it off to keep out the critters. I would like to grow some gourds and corn along with the tomatoes and lettuce. My other garden which I have used for years has become too shady because our neighbors have left Russian Olive to flourish along the fence line shading too much of our garden. I could have asked them to cut them down but they probably would have reacted badly..never been too neighborly!
So then they moved their sheep pen up and the sheep have been eating the trees so eventually the sun will be back! They moved the pen within 3o feet of our house and it might stink this summer so I will have to talk to them..but not until it happens. It has been interesting..but they are a subject for another day!. So the little garden plot became a burial ground for my last 2 German Shepherds because the ground was frozen elsewhere and there they lay in the soft dirt of the shady garden corner. So my plan is to plant lots of marigolds, asters, zinnias, bachelor buttons and let them just go wild. More inspiration for paintings.
The earthquake dreams are something else entirely! Maybe because of the terrible New Zealand quake and the Haiti quake and the dire warnings we get constantly of the big one coming here..I dreamed I was trying to get out of a valley behind a dammed lake before the quake destroyed the dam. I had my Dad and Mom and all of my family and somehow I was the one who was in charge of herding them up and up and away from danger. I haven't dreamed of my Dad since he died..I didn't want it to be this scary!!! Still somehow..I managed to keep a hold of my parents and it seems we were safe but so many others were not. Maybe because I watched a PBS documentary last night about the Triangle fire in New York City at the turn of the century. It was a factory full of women garment makers and tragically 200 died and it changed the way US industry treated it's workers. Yikes no more tragic stories before bedtime!
The good news is Hubby will survive..he had pneumonia and it turned to bronchitis but is on its way out.
The other news is I will be rescuing a German Shepherd on Saturday. Her name is Amy and I saw her as a baby. She is actually a great grand daughter of my old Champion Tino. She is 4 yrs. old and housebroken..which is great. She was taken home by one family who divorced and put her with another family who has too many dogs and their female is fighting with poor Amy. So here I am..the woman without a German Shepherd and now will try her out! I am sure she will fit in nicely with our family. I hear she is very sweet. I really do want a male puppy someday but I can help this girl have a better safer life..hopefully she gets along with cats!!! I know the pugs will like her.
It will be nice to have her..I miss having a large dog, the puggies are darling but they are definitely Hubby's dogs and I want a companion who can go to the studio with me and hang out. So I will take pics and post the news on Amy when I get her.
I hope you all had sweet dreams last night and have a great day..
I am posting a watercolor I did a while ago. I am sure I have posted it before..but I like Pelicans and I love the Opus Pink watercolor paint I got from Da Vinci watercolors!