Even Big Dogs Can Be "All That"

This beautiful mastiff was in Austin at the Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival.
My son, brother, mom and I went to check out the fare while we were in the city for my sister's wedding.


The sky was as brilliant and clear as a fall day should be in Texas. Therefore thousands of folks turned out for the event. The food was delicious, the music was loud, and the dogs were plentiful. This was, after all, Austin. If you are outside you must have your dog with you, because they love this kind of thing. Really? I can only speak for the dogs we have had.

Back to glitter.

While in Austin we saw so many dogs not only at this food truck festival, but at the Pit Bull Parade on Sunday. Photos of glittered pit bulls are still to come.

Stay tuned.

Coming Home and Visiting Kirby

The glitter addiction is continuing in the studio.

This is our friend Kirby. Honorable pug and all around nice guy. We visited yesterday so he could model for me. He is a good boy. He smiled, he posed, he napped and best of all he didn't chase the UPS truck when he had the chance.

I have just returned from a trip to Atlanta to survey neighborhoods we would like to settle in. We are moving to the area once we sell our home in Florida.

Looking at the very cute bungalows (translate small) and ranch style homes (translate, we have lived in ranch homes and know we will need to do a lot of updating) I realize what a great house we have.

Several years ago we added a large studio and patio so I could enjoy the tropical garden filled with hummingbirds and butterflies and the woods that give me total privacy in my hidden art world. How will I find that again?

Sigh...I may have to muster the strength to create another, but there will never be another like this. The fountain has provided water for squirrels, birds, and lizards and soothed a ragged soul plenty of times. The patio has hosted numerous coffees and glasses of wine. This space is my safe harbor, my artist studio, my retreat, my sanctuary. I will miss it very much.

But the art comes from within so will be with me wherever I go.

Pretty Little Ladies

Just a note to honor so many great women in my life. From my daughter and other women in my family to my beautiful friends who are my adopted family.
Love you all.

You gotta get up. You gotta get out. You gotta get up, get out and live it.

Sometimes you need a little push to get back on track. I was reading an article in "O" magazine by Dr. Phil about harnessing your personal power when I found it.

"Live Passionately," Dr. Phil writes," Figuring out what nourishes you and then being disciplined about doing it- that's real power."

This is where I am in this new week. Identifying what gets me up in the morning, scheduling the time and keeping to the plan.

Glitter is part of the mix, part of the magic.
Being busy, having a lot to do helps me immensely.
Getting sleep, interesting concept considering I was up at 3:30 to make a trip to the airport, but it makes me joyful to be rested.
Doing things for somebody else, friends, family, always good incentive. It makes me happy too.
And doing what I said I would do. The expression,"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Illustrates my psyche. If I can't/won't/don't do what I said the guilt is hellish.
SO get up get busy and enjoy. All with a sprinkle of glitter.

See my fresh for the holidays website. There is more information for ordering your own glitter portraits and Christmas cards. http://www.niftyartgirl.com

All That Glitters

Making art and making myself happy is what happens when I put these Glitter Portraits together. From taking the photos, doing a little digital magic to them, then applying glitter, ink and paint to the new "canvas" all is a new pleasure to me.

Taking photos of the wondrous Frankie started this whole new line. Thank you to his "mom", Jeanine, who allowed me to feed him treats and take pictures till I had the perfect shot.

Experimenting with different digital effects to get the intended look was the next step.

Then the next wave of fun began with the magic and mess that is glitter. The magic and mess that is paint. And the magic and mess that is glue. The glitter was everywhere. The work tables, the glue, the floor, and upon glancing in the mirror, me.

Working on the underside of a canvas where I could corral the glitter was a help in subsequent glitter missions.



The results really appeal to the black velvet painter in me. I am the person who wants to wear faux leopard daily, sequins nightly and mirabou before breakfast. But doesn't. I am only sorry there wasn't pink hair dye when I was in college haunting the art buildings.

If you are interested in ordering your own personal glitter portrait contact me at niftyartgirl@yahoo.com.

Mayhem is a popular word these days.

I have been searching for a subject to write about. I prefer to blog when I have a graphic to illustrate what has been going on in my studio. For the last few months there has not been a lot of activity of that sort.

Most of you know I am moving to Georgia when our house sells.

Chaos, turmoil, mayhem are good ways to describe the house right now. I have had painters in and outside the house for a few weeks putting on a fresh coat of paint, making little repairs while I depersonalize (as the real estate profession likes to call it). All of it is to make it appear that no humans with personality live in what is still my home.


To ease this distress I have been taking photos of my house. These vignettes confirm who the family is that lives here. I need these.


I have assembled some very simple collages of the interior and exterior. Clearly the inside reflects our individual personalities and the love we have for each other. The outside reflects the passion we have had in planting and nurturing our green children. Each plant photo is of somebody we brought into our garden. Each poster, painting, and souvenir inside is a part of something that has made us who we are.

There are good memories in every home. And there will be good memories in the next one too.

It was Gorey

Tuesday morning we went to the Orlando Museum of Art to see the Edward Gorey show.

Loving illustration I knew it would be fun. It was a treat. Gorey's humor, his incredible skill with pen and ink and wit was inspiring.

I am including a little drawing I did after seeing that show.

Check out Artistree Co-op to see some new work.

Katrina is Complete

Katrina has been completed. It is purely coincidence that this is the hurricane's 5th anniversary.

This is the final version of the storm in my hurricane series. Several months ago I was working on her and posted a snippet on this blog. I looked at her as the months passed and finally knew what I had to do...paint over the collage background. The resulting texture has given the piece a depth she didn't previously have.

The water bird in the foreground is another character in southern tragedies. They appear so fragile with their long legs and necks. Their vulnerability is shared with the woman and baby. However the drive to survive is shared by both mankind and nature.

In the end, as depicted in this painting, both New Orleans, as portrayed by the woman, and the city's future, as depicted by the baby, and the surrounding nature, as represented by the water bird are still standing. A little shaken, but nevertheless back on their feet. If you have lived in or visited the city you understand that feeling.

2129 Miles: Coal Trains, Sunflowers, Buttes, and Miles of Miles of Texas

The end of the summer spirit has arrived. The youngest child has returned to college so the nest is empty again.

Said child and I drove 2129 miles from Oviedo, Florida to Golden, Colorado. We had impromptu stops in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Colleyville, Texas to see old friends.

These visits put my life in perspective. The friendships I have been fortunate enough to have have been wonderful gifts. I miss my friends and am so grateful N.W. is a patient son and was willing to indulge my whims to drop by the homes of these great people. The welcomes and smiles were invaluable. Thank you Liz, Laura, and Patty for this.

The time N.W. and I spent driving, reading, listening to Garrison Keillor, listening to music (my intensive lesson in new music, I gained some new favorites) and plotting our next food stop was a lot of fun.

There were laughs along the way: Buc-ees, Kevin Greene in a song, the La Quinta in Amarillo, squeezing the sign in to the backseat of the car, and the hurricane that didn't.

There was so much great food in Baton Rouge at Acme Oyster Bar, beignets in the morning, the Flying Biscuit breakfast in Gainesville, Au Petit Paris in Houston, breakfast in a roadside diner in New Mexico and finally Pei Wei and Jimmy Johns in Golden. We decided to pass on the camo caramel popcorn at Buc-ees between Houston and Dallas.

Works by N.W. Rommel

The summer is drawing to a close. A return to school is forefront in our minds. Next week my son and I begin the almost two thousand mile drive to Colorado so N.W. can have his car on campus. We researched shipping the car, but all in all decided, "why not?" I have the time and precious time it will be. How often do you have your almost twenty year old to yourself for 4 days? Not often. I am posting some of his artwork. We share this art-thing. He has spent some time in my studio this summer working on a variety of projects, experimenting with different techniques and materials. I am very proud of his accomplishments.

What is my stomach saying?

The latest Lascaux Society assignment is an interesting one. Apparently one of our members, as a child, used to wonder what her stomach would say if it could describe what it was eating.

I am trying to translate that to a painting. With balsa wood box primed in gray gesso I was set, or so I thought.

The meal I was reflecting on was from a Turkish restaurant in Sanford, Efes. Wonderful food and a wonderful view of Lake Monroe and the St. John's River.

Buddy, MK and I shared a hot appetizer platter. We began to muse on what we were going to create for our next Lascaux Society meeting. The detritus from our lunch sat before us...it was too obvious. Lemons, tomatoes, spinach stuffed pie, and a few lettuce leaves were all that was left.

The feeling of satiety, the reds and yellows are all part of what went into this work in progress. I will confess that the first time around the people looked disturbingly like South Park characters.

Stay tuned for the finished product.

By the way here are the portraits MK and I did of each other for a past assignment for Lascaux. On the left my portrait of Mk. On the right the painting and collage of me by MK Shaw. I love it.

Checking in with friends from the past.

As the summer heat bakes Florida I thought it was a good time to get away. Of course if I had my druthers I would find cooler climes, but instead opted for a family and friend kind of trip. To Austin and Houston I did go.

One of the highlights of my trip was to see the opening of my college roommate's show in Houston at the Jack Meier Gallery. Honora and I were roommates at University of Texas in the glory days when Austin was really still weird. We shared her sister's wonderful house, studied art history, and did what college kids did.

Fast forward to seeing her show. Honora's art is beautiful. Feminine images tell stories all women can relate to at some point in their lives. I wanted to pack each one up and carry them home. To be surrounded by these paintings on a daily basis would give me such joy. Do yourself a favor and click here on this link and tour Honora Jacob's website.

I have returned to Florida and begun a graphic design project for another dear friend. In going through logo designs I came up with this idea. The heart is created with the masa paper I painted several weeks ago. Something light and spontaneous and memorable for a logo.

Masa Paper Tutorial

Several members of the Lascaux Society met at my home a few weeks ago for a workshop on the use of Masa paper. Our teachers are artists who use this inexpensive paper in collages and as paintings alone. Each 21.5" x 31" sheet costs less than a dollar. One side is smooth the reverse has a little bit of "tooth".

Step 1. Crumple paper then smooth it out on a flat surface.
Step 2. Spray with water to moisten surface.
Step 3. Paint loosely with diluted watercolor or acrylic paint.
Step 4. Blot, wrinkle again, fold again...flatten again.
Step 5. Repeat painting and wrinkling until you have the desired effect.
Paper dries in about 20 minutes, either start over, add ink, use as desired. You may also use a mask to protect some unpainted areas. This is fun and freeing.

I used some of the paper to fill in areas on the bird. I tore it and applied it with acrylic medium.

I Miss Those Shrunken Heads

The title caught my eye,"Where Shrunken Heads Are a Big Attraction." Page D6 of the this morning's Wall Street Journal brought back memories of my childhood.

What kind of childhood did you have? Actually it was a great one, a sister who was a built-in playmate, two loving parents, a big brother, dogs, cats, horses, cows, and friends.

Several years ago I was commenting to my children that one of their toys, a squishy, disgusting heart/brain/liver like thing was beyond the pale as far as grossness went. They reminded me of my penchant for shrunken heads.

Said heads were black rubber with streaming nasty black hair all hanging from elastic cords so they could bounce and flail (like the real thing, right?). We were ecstatic when we played with them, putting them in each others faces, chasing each other with them, just plain being kids with them.

I suppose like many toys they were eventually put in a drawer or box and disposed of with the troll dolls and my sister's Little Kiddles.

And by the way if you want to see the real thing "head", haha, to the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford.

Face Lift

Okay, if a title like that gets your attention there is too much guilty pleasure television in your life.

Today I did a face lift on the blog, a new banner, a new template from the good folks at blogspot and some new colors. A little lift for a distraction from summer.

If you are a regular reader you know my distaste for summer in Florida, it is here. Almost 100 degrees today. The vegetable garden has already met its demise, the weeds are proliferating and it is too hot to pull them out by their little feet.

I have posted two paintings which are works in progress. They have been looking at me for several weeks. The great inspiration of the moment passed so I have been dragging myself to them to put more paint on the canvas. A tribute to the arts. There is a lady violinist also, she will appear at a later time.

Some fun

Pictured here is a little something I made for a birthday gift. This bracelet is on an endless series of connected loops of silver. Anybody who makes jewelry will not be impressed. I imagine this has been around for a long time, but I was wowed by the perfect design of concentric connected circles. Each end I finished with small spirals made with pliers. This was fun. What a great concept...fun.

Back to etsy

I just decided to reopen my etsy shop.

Check it out for some beach ladies and gentlemen. All are matted and sealed for easy shipping which is free within the United States. I will be posting more each day so stay tuned. These are original paintings, not prints.

Click here
http://www.etsy.com/shop/niftyartgirl

Hannah Strikes a balance in Davis, CA

I recently met Hannah Klaus Hunter through Alyson Stanfield's Blast Off on-line class. Hannah is an art therapist who works with children and families at the University of California in Davis Children's Hospital.

Her stories are of bravery, heartache and incredible strength and character. Hannah has become my touchstone in this sea upon which I am sailing.

Balance, harmony, unity with variety are all principles of art Hannah expresses in her work. Looking at these pieces to the left your eye moves in a rhythm to see everything.

This doesn't happen by accident. It is a skill that artists develop. You should see it all and watch it unfold.

Richness of color is focused with the use of carefully chosen shapes and textures. Individually these elements are important, together they are powerful. Strong lines and forms hold it in place.

The heartfelt choices are reflections of Hannah's patients and their stories. The feelings unfold in the details. They are lovely and make you want to touch and hug them. How one is affected when they view these pieces says a lot about the balance Hannah offers her friends, family and patients.

To see more of her work visit the USE Credit Union in Davis, CA this Friday for her opening from 5:30-7:30. The show will be open from June 7 to June 19.

Hurricane Camille

An update on the hurricane series.

Here is a section of the painting, The Wind was Whistling Under the Door. It is in progress. Acrylic paint and collage, 28" x 22"

When Hurricane Camille was blowing through Mississippi, east of our home in New Orleans, I remember hearing the wind whistling through the weather strip under the front door.

It was August 19, 1969. The winds reached over 200 m.p.h. The fierceness of the storm was trying to reach from under that blue door. This house would later stand 5 feet under water after Katrina.

My friend Mary

A week ago my art group, The Lascaux Society, met. We had an assignment to do a portrait of a friend. There were no restrictions as far as size or medium. Agonizing over who to paint I turned to my friend, Mary who was in the same boat. We decided on each other. Some of you may understand how difficult it is to work when there are no deadlines and no restrictions. This assignment gave me a purpose and a focus. It was so much fun. Fun is not a big enough word to describe the portrait of me that Mary has begun. It is wonderful and colorful. Her use of materials is genius. I will photograph it when she has completed her mission.
I hope you enjoy this portrait of Mary, aka MK. I wanted to portray her cheerful disposition and her creativity. She has artistic expression in her dress, her writing, and her art. This is part of what makes her a renaissance woman in my eyes.

Milton

Milton's daylilies are presenting their last blooms today. I have looked at them every morning for the last two weeks. I realized if I didn't take a portrait of them today it would be too late. Thirty years ago, June 28, my husband and I celebrated our honeymoon in New Orleans. As I showed him the city we drove around the lakefront to see one of my childhood homes. Across the street, our neighbors were tending their garden. This was a massive undertaking unto itself. They had also added the grass filled circle at the end of the cul de sac and filled it with daylilies. Milton would go to the new beds and hand pollinate the flowers. Mixing and painting the pollens to achieve an incredible combination of colors.
Years later we moved to Colleyville, Texas, a half hour from Dallas where Milton's daughter and my childhood best friend lived. She arrived one afternoon with a box of daylilies. Her parents had driven up from New Orleans for a visit. Knowing she shared their love of gardening they were bringing her treasure. She was kind enough to share them with us. They grew in front of our house in the baking sun. The colors were amazing.
When we moved from Texas to Florida eleven years ago we had to bring along some of Milton's daylilies. They were our friends.
Every year as a little girl I watched my best friend drive off to visit her grandmother in Florida. They would pack up their station wagon, fill it with girls and aunts and cousins and drive off for weeks at a time. I was always so envious of their adventures and envious of the huge family community. Finally living in Florida I asked where did she go? Must have been Fort Lauderdale or Sanibel or another exotic sounding beach. No, it was Sanford. Sanford. Twenty minutes away. I had a studio in Sanford.
A gardener's soul is filled with patience and optimism. You must wait to see the results from what you plant and you wouldn't plant if you didn't have hope. What man can do when he patiently plays with God's creation. Those are Milton's daylilies.

Blackberries, Folsom, and sisters

The garden is growing and producing. The first tomatoes, the midlife in blackberry brambles, and the beginning of Gardenias. All of these blessings remind me of childhood weekends on the ranch in Folsom, LA. We picked baskets of blackberries in muddy bottoms sharing borders with fences or rivers populated with water moccassins. The tomatoes ripened like a choir singing "Onward Christian Soldiers", all together with red cheeks and much Protestant fervor. Delicious in their statement of victory over our appetites. The gardenias simmering in the heat, letting passers-by know they were there as their fragrance filled the air. In my walks I can smell them as I travel by, their perfume reaching my nose before their glare touches my eyes. There are several scents to be had in gardenia bouquets. One of the plants we have shares its nose with that of a Camino Ranch gardenia from years past. It is unmistakeable in its spiciness. My sister and I can weep at the scent, the memories of horseback rides, herds of cats and dogs that found their way to the ranch house door and became part of the family. The hunts for strawberries and the infamous jeep rides. And little girls in the big bedrooms talking till they fell asleep exhausted. Still holding hands after a day of fresh air, fresh food, and sunshine. Best friends and sisters.

Meeting Spring with St Anthony and St Paul

Several weeks ago I had a collage afternoon with some willing friends. Our theme was spring. It is interesting what spring means. To some it is a personal awakening, a new way of looking at things and going forward with images of fresh flowers and members of the animal kingdom. Others look at spring as nature starting anew with colors and flight of birds. Flipping through found images I pulled anything that made an impact on me at a glance. These hugging figures, by Sienese Sassetta (1423-50)are cut from the Quiet Eye. This book was first published in 1954 by Sylvia Judson. In her words,"to communicate a sense of affirmation, of wonder, of trust. This is a spirit alien to much of the art of our insecure time, but one which I am confident will some day return." This quote is taken directly from the front flap of the copy I purchased at a YMCA book swap. The words of this Quaker sculptress are even more accurate now. Looking at photos of artwork chosen for recent international exhibitions I think how true Sylvia's words still are. I think we are so far from sharing the positive and so near cynicism it is a sad commentary on the direction we have grown.
My chosen images are a personal depiction of what spring means to me. The loss of my dear father at Easter, the comfort from my loved ones, and my faith. In the corner the bright hope of one of God's most imaginative creatures, the Goldfinch. He is too bright, too funny, and too perfect for man to have designed. The copy is from an Easter card from my mother. It expresses so much.

the view from here and there

Posting from a hotel room in beautiful Golden, Colorado. The spring blooming trees, lilacs, tulips, wildflowers, and the soft western grass have welcomed us to this beautiful and majestic part of the country. On our first evening we celebrated Mother's Day in Evergreen at a restaurant overlooking a lake. A fox walked by the window, a little boy with a net fished the shallows with his mom, and the Canada Geese swam and flew in the dusk. The inspiration is everywhere to fresh eyes. The heat and humidity of Florida create a different atmosphere. There the air is tinted with warm hues until the white hot heat of the summer bleaches the sky of color. The moisture in the vegetation mists in green hues with hot yellow and orange flowers accenting the dark of the growth. Man plants pinks and blues to cool the view.
...and so it is, a contrast in temperature to feel and to see.

Bright colors and a lonely kitty.

Last weekend on May Day I spent several hours at Artistree Co-op. Two beautiful tents shaded me with several other designers as we monitored the Mother's Day sale. I painted for those hours beginning a project of 9 panels that will be hung together to form a mosaic of canvases. The bright colors are layered on a base of purple giving them depth. The birds are making a comeback on these canvases as they perch on branches interspersed with flowers.
I have been away from the computer for several weeks while our lovely daughter visited then while on a trip to see family in Texas. In all of the activity we lost our little Scratch. She had had a good long life approaching twenty years with our family. She moved in with us in San Antonio New Year's Day after our son was born. She moved to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area then retired to Florida where she could enjoy time by the pool, chasing furry things in the woods, and curling up on the laps of family and friends. One of my last posts included a photo of her in her swimwear cover-up. Her portrait is also on this blog. She was a good girl. We are contemplating an addition to our feline family to keep Harold company. Any advice on adding another cat to a family that already has a seven year old hairy male monster in residence would be helpful.