The Aschbacher Children

IMG_4592, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

My amazing co-teacher, Resa, has a gift for capturing children on film. Not only that, but she has been patient with me as I've navigated the new waters of early childhood education. In thanks, I wanted to merge our talents into paintings of her four children from photos she had taken. She provided me with some wonderful, informal shots from a summer years ago when her children all received a small amount of Skittles as a special treat. I sketched out the composition for her, and we talked about color one afternoon.

My intention was for these four canvases to be able to be displayed as a square grouping, or as a long line of four. I was pleased with how they turned out, but a few adjustments still need to be made. 

See below for some close-ups.
Dean:

Greta:

Sadie:

Andrew:

I'd love to know what you think.

Work in Progress: MGK and SPK

IMG_4603, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

I love everything about this portrait. Stephanie (right) has come together easily. Margaret has been quite contrary, but she's coming around. There's still some work to be done, but it's getting close.

Here's a progression for you:

(This is quite the lazy underpainting, by the way.)

Thoughts? I really am anxious to hear what you think about this. I have a fear (irrational, I know, but real) that what I see varies greatly from what everyone else sees. Plus, I know these girls. I see their personalities because I know them. Do they shine through to you?

Here is a link to my post with the original photograph. It was taken very informally, as the girls were getting into their van after Margaret's preschool graduation ceremony. 

(Her dress, by the way, was worn by Stephanie in our wedding. It is probably the most awesome flower girl dress ever, and has been well-loved and well-worn.)

Progression

IMG_3692, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

I love the Third Style of painting from Pompeii. It struck me as soon as I saw it, face-to-face. Since that time, I've been attracted to small pictures centered within a wide expanse of color. In my senior show at Centre, I had a few panels drifting on top of a darkly-painted background. Now, I've been drawn to squares, especially these great 12" x 12" pieces of gessoed masonite.

In addition, I've gathered a number of photos I've taken that I think are simple and bold enough to stand on their own against the stark white.

I love how quickly these paintings come together. Here is how I do it:

I traced around a picture and then put painter's tape on the outside edges to keep them crisp.

Next I filled in the background color.

Then I painted my image.

This shows the color variation in the black parts of the bird.

Remove the tape and voilà!

I like that I can do this in an hour or less. Since I'm starting back to school and am giving up my studio space (*bawl*), I need to find little nuggets like these that can be done in a small area and in a space of an evening. It's somewhat mindless, since I'm copying a picture exactly. I don't know how I feel about that. I hope that the time I took to compose the shot and then pick it out makes up for the simple copy-and-paste element of converting it to paint. I see this as more of a study, but I could see these be more popular than something intricate like a portrait. Lastly, I am really trying to pare down which images work in oil, versus watercolor or pencil or pastel. That is a really tricky decision to make. I hope it gets easier.

What do you think?

Mask

IMG_2524, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

I love this photo. I am not crazy about the unfinished, alien-looking pseudo-painting of my niece, but my other niece, Kate, holding it creates an interesting image. We were having a blast dancing around the studio, and she picked up this piece of attempt-on-masonite. This is what I captured.

Light and Motion

IMG_2070, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

Again, I'm getting more and more obsessed with a focused face (or foot), and the surrounding scene more blurry. One of my favorite portraits of Sargent's (Lady Agnew of Lochnaw) had this same feel to it, with her facial features immaculately captured, and the rest of the painting a little more loose. Below is another shot that I think captures the effect I'm attempting. Notice how dark her eyes and mouth are, compared to the background. I would assume that if she were still, the shadows under the railing, her hair and the woods behind would be much darker and therefore compete with her features.

IMG_1532, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

Whitley

IMG_0975, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

Well, since I gave some space to a pup, I figured I should be PC and throw this out for all the cat lovers.

This kitty belongs to my sister, her husband and their seven kiddos. The cat has not aged in ten years. I swear. He works together with the family dog to trap chipmunks, and we will often find a tail or some entrails near the front door. Ugh.

Sweet cat, though.

VSA Side by Side

DSC02518, originally uploaded by aunt.meeb.

This is the second year in a row that I've participated in the VSA Side by Side program. I worked with two girls, one was a teenager and the other was about 8. With the teenager, we went out, took a bunch of pictures (shown in this set), and then picked out the ones we both liked. I then arranged them in a 3x3 grouping that was displayed with the student's other work. With the younger artist, we worked together on a couple watercolor paintings of trees. We experimented with my Chinese calligraphy set, and also studied a tree from life. I only had a total of about two hours with each girl, so we really had to be efficient with our time.

I was pleased with what we were able to accomplish, and I was thrilled that my nieces got a chance to see my art in a studio. Hopefully it will be the first of many shows? *fingers crossed*

I look forward to participating in the Side by Side exhibit in the future. It is a really great way to practice teaching techniques and get to know some pretty cool kids.

Art!

From February 2009

I finally got to go to the Indianapolis Museum of Art this past weekend. I love it. I get lost in art museums. They're never quiet for me; the variety of works call out to me an pull me into so many different worlds. I'm grateful I got to enjoy it with Stessi, Kate and Sophie.

From February 2009

Etsy-ness!

From Blogger Pictures

We'll see what happens, buuut...



I'm on Etsy now! Check it out and let me know what you think. Too pricey? Not good enough? Just right?

What else can I sell? I want to go to France this year!

Puppy Progression

I've been meaning to post these images of the painting I did of Xavier's best friend, Arthur. Here they are!

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

I decided against painting the letter "A" on it - it looked fine without.

I was happy at how this turned out, and thrilled that Xavier liked it too. Maybe I should do pet portraits instead of people.

30

From Open House 2008

Today is Eric's birthday. I feel like it was yesterday that I painted this picture, but the reality is that almost eight years have passed. It reminds me constantly of why I cherish him - he waits for me to finish some project (like, say, a senior show) and dutifully acts as a model, a gopher, and a confidant. He is patient and regards me with such esteem. Here, he looks at me - can he tell that it is I who is doing the admiring?

I love this man, and I am so glad his parents chose to have him 30 years ago.

Portrait Inspiration

The following is something my mom sent me. I love it! So many inspiring portraits.

What I've Been Up To

Have I mentioned how much I love summer? My ten-page to-do list probably consolidates down to only about three pages now. I have time to pursue so many different ideas, chasing them like Alice chasing the White Rabbit. Hopefully, I'll have a colorful array of completed projects in my pocket before the fairy tale ends. So, here are a few of the characters in this summertime story:

Our Hallway

My wonderful mother-in-law, Kathleen, and I are experimenting with Pompeii-inspired murals in our hallway. It is coming together nicely. It will be so different, but I love this style, the colors, and a vision of what it will look like is slowly revealing itself. Which brings me to...

Louisville Faux website
Do you love the look of Venetian plaster? Do you have a ceiling or accent wall that you want to stand out? Look no further than Louisville Faux for samples and ideas for your next redecorating project. :) (We're only a day old, so check back often for updates!)

Louisville Love

With all the love for Louisville I've seen, I want to exploit it as much as possible. :) I do love this city, especially living downtown. I want to my fondness with other "lovers" through the pictures I've taken. Here's a mock-up of what I have in mind. I'm experimenting with details, like whether or not to "seal" the bottom, to write "Louisville" on it, etc. Another idea, for notecards:

The seals are made from hot glue gun glue. I tried many, many ideas that incorporated reusing stuff I had (crayons, candle wax, etc.), but this seems to be the most consistent.

Organization

I don't know about you, but I hate looking for things. I want to be able to have the super power of knowing where any one thing is at any one time. It helps to have purged so much stuff over the years. I finally feel like I have just the right amount of things; enough to make me able to do certain projects, but not too much to be unusable or unmanageable. I've organized all the closets, the pantry, and now my art/craft supplies.

I've managed to also spend some time in the garden and trying out a few other crafty projects, not to mention catching up on reading, visiting with friends and family, being outside, painting portraits, and researching all sorts of ideas.

Next up:
> figure out Etsy and CafePress
> delve into more portraits and painting
> test the vast waters of sewing and upholstery (!)
> try more new recipes
> make more areas of our life more sustainable - rain barrels, anyone?
> ride bikes further and more frequently to prep for a long anniversary trip in late August (any thoughts on destinations within about 30-45 miles of downtown Louisville?)

What have you been up to this summer, or what future plans are you anticipating?

Painting and Other Things

While I was hard at work on a portrait, my cat, Melville, was toiling away at this lovely little composition. Why is it that cats always seem to sleep on something that color-coordinates with their fur?

I did paint today! I'll post pictures soon, after I get approval from my client. Here's some evidence, though:

I also have been doing calligraphy for a friend's wedding invitations:

All in all, a good summer so far! What have you been doing?

Hooray!

We have been searching for a table for our kitchen for the last few years, and today we find it. It was sitting there so unassuming at Target. I would've loved to have bought something used or at least built in the U.S., but it was there and it fits so perfectly. we may have to stain it black to match the cabinets. We've had two meals on it already!

This weekend has been so perfect. I tried out my oil pastels (I'll need to keep trying; I'm not crazy about them), and I started seven different paintings. Six of them are portraits, and the last is based on the picture posted below. Here's that work in progress...

I also searched through all my digital pictures to find some artistic ones that I can use as practice. I ended up printing 115. We'll see what happens!

Trumpeting

Here's a recent painting I've done, again donated. I've still got a half-dozen of donated portraits in the queue, but I'm feeling energized and inspired in this new year. I've uploaded some shots documenting the process as well, though the underpainting is a little pathetic. More to come....

Feelin' Set-sy

I've recently been commissioned to touch up the sets for [BIG] Photo, one of the premier photography studios in Louisville. Here is a link to some of the finished products; I hope to post some samples of their professional-quality photos later on in the summer.