This is the artwork I am entering into the “Dreams” show at the Launchpad Gallery, located at 534 SE Oak Street, in Portland. The opening is this Friday, October 3, from 6-10 pm. There’s expected to be over 60 artists showing work in the “dreams theme”.
It’s been a while since I’ve created an artwork that was strictly related to the interpretation of a dream, but since I almost always begin and end a painting without knowing my next step (preferring to start with one image and free associate til the painting completes itself), I think of the painting process as one which is very similar to a dreaming process, anyway. In this particular case, I began with the image of the bird, then added the plants. The semi-transparent woman and swirls decided to materialize at around 2 am the night before the deadline to get this painting into the gallery. Deadlines sometimes help to get the painting from dreaming into actualization… and off the easel.
I’ve started a few new paintings but am not at the point of sharing them yet. In addition to my fine art, I’ve been working on a new series of necklaces to sell at the fairs (and wholesale to a few local stores). Here’s a sample of some new designs that use gold and silver leaf within the design. I’ve now updated my online store with the new pendants, which can be purchased through my secure paypal shopping cart. I’m working on uploading these to my etsy shop.
Summer is a busy time for me. Between creating websites, creating art, and doing art shows, I manage to keep myself pretty busy. The summer weather is extending through September, for which I am especially thankful. I recall that last year around this time I was already lamenting summer’s end. Fall is gorgeous in Portland also, but I don’t pretend to absolutely love the amount of rain we get in the winters. I’m hoping to hold onto summer for as long as I can. The only really good thing I can say about foul weather is that it might make it a bit easier to get more painting done, with less distractions.
The painting above, “Summer Parade”, was completed about a month ago. It’s a rather small, sweet painting, which was inspired by a photo I took of a child some months back, snapped during a walk through my neighborhood (the original photo is this earlier post). In the original photo, the child bends down a large flower in order to smell it, so I exaggerated the size of flowers to give it more of a fantasy effect. I never figured out whether the child was a boy or a girl, but I like the ambiguity in the painting. It’s a rather smallish piece (8×10 image size), in a recycled frame that I painted.