Freedom II
Freedom
Tangerine Dream
Crack In The Earth
The Egg
Hover
A Day At A Beach
I've enjoyed my morning, basking in the bright sun that is bouncing off of the fresh coat of pure white snow outside. I had to put my boots on and go out to take some pictures. This is my backyard. The out of control forsythia is in the foreground. That is one mammoth bush, untamed in years. There's a joke in there somewhere but I'm going to leave it be. haha
Puzzle
The above painting is called Mystic Garden II. It is a custom made watercolor painting created for a fellow Etsy member, creativesparkle. I traded this for a gorgeous story box she made. If you'd like a custom made painting (materials, colors, style, size of your choice), or would like to trade, please contact me at jtorrant@aol.com.I have been painting so much and focusing on listing on Etsy that I've left my blog in the dark. Just go to www.livefunky.etsy.com to know what I've been up to lately. This painting was made in the wee hours the other night in this spell of a few days that I have been focusing on nothing but painting. Rob was sleeping on the couch beside me as I was still working well after 3 and he was clearly deep in a REM sleep. I was so in the zone creating, I felt like I was picking up his dream vibes. Right now I am overloaded by it all and listening to music from friends. There is some dancing in the dark going on, I won't lie.
I also want to take this opportunity to say that I love you Rob, Sharon, Alan, Emily, Jessica, Mel, Janet, Johane, BRUCE - all of you that have supported me through these years, I love you.
This is a brand new ink and watercolor painting that I've just listed in my Etsy store.
I see this woman as being torn between two worlds - the one she's in, and the one that is weighing on her. This piece is really about choices and how confusing making them can be sometimes.
This is one of a few new paintings in acrylic. I've been working on pieces of cardboard and I think I'm going to try and keep working small on cardboard rather than buying 8x10 canvas boards and other smaller surfaces. These can be the reference for larger paintings on canvas (as much as I want to go Green in my life, I can't give up big, juicey canvases - at least not yet).
These works on cardboard will, for now, be only $20 with free shipping to the US, UK and Canda. Check www.livefunky.etsy.com for availability.
While creating this I kept thinking it was too busy, but I just couldn't help but go further. Now I love it's sense of controlled chaos, and the color grouping ended up being something a little out of the ordinary for me - which is a good thing. I think I need to get to the studio and work a lot bigger, but the slippery snow outside makes me want to be a homebody and paint on any surface I can find. Which leads me to some paintings on cardboard I'm going to sell for a sweet deal on etsy... Check out www.livefunky.etsy.com for more.
This is a brand new painting I just finished. It is acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas and I've just listed it in my Etsy store. I'm pretty happy with this piece, and I think I'm going to play with this style a little more this evening.
This is my painting that will be in the Florida WWAO exhibit, A Woman's Work Is Never Done. The next post has information about the show.
Location: Progress Energy Art GalleryI just listed this painting on Etsy. It's one of the 7 pieces I created last year for the London Raw Arts Festival in May 2005. I've taken it with me to shows in Boston, and I've shown it at my studio at the mills, and people always gravitate to it, but it's not something they want to own. It's the one I always get the most compliments from, though... I think it's because people can relate to it, but it's the sort of self realization you don't neccesarily want to see every day. "This is me falling apart". Meanwhile, I know some cool cats that love art/music/passion like this and they aren't afraid of it, or to be surrounded by it. I have a feeling someone with that sort of personality will eventually be the owner of this painting.
How am I feeling today? Well, there's a reason I listed this one - that should say something. Ha! No, but seriously, today I am thankful for best friends and loved ones, wise words and loving touches, doggy tails wagging and the kindness of strangers on a grey day like today when I feel kinda blue.
Ah, but this isn't any pity party! Oh no it is not! I'm taking in all that goodness and I'm transforming it into something positive and productive in myself. That's why I'm giving my thanks to YOU too. Yes, you. You reading this you, that's who.
Now, back to the easel I go...
Today I got some painting done, and this is the only piece that I feel is complete. I am calling this Warm Blanket because of the layers of warm tones. I just feel comfy when I look at this. Like the layers of color are tucking me in.
It must be the change in the weather around here. This winter in New England has been a record breaking warm one so far. I am a lover of sun and Summer, but I must admit I've felt more offput than thankful for the freaky temps. Now at last, real winter is approaching, and all I want to do is make stew, find a warm blanket, and huddle inside. I am such a seasonal person. I am aware of my cycles more than ever right now. Everything in my life revolves around cycles, as life is in itself. Paula Manning-Lewis's paintings just came to mind...
It's all good.
Acrylic on 8" x 10" gallery wrapped canvas, 2006.
Circles on Red is now available at my Etsy store. Click HERE for details.
It's funny how some time away from my blog makes me all bashful and stuff. (blush) Like I don't know where to begin. So tonight I'll just do some free writing, and I'll appologize in advance for typos or randomness.
I have been a focused Etsy woman. I'm going through old works I've never shown before and listing everything I have available. We've had a series of mishaps surrounding automobiles, and every penny counts right now. We got through the holidays, and it's as if our cars waited until after Christmas to act up, like "hey, I won't bother you with this right now, but as soon as you're free, I'll break down." It's just life, I know, these things happen. But these are the times that I start to feel a little desparate and I have to hold myself back from totally selling out. That would be NO GOOD and I know it, but ideas pop into my head about "everything must go!" sales or something. Yeah, no good at all.
So the best I can do is plug along and list as much as I've got and hope for the best. I have had some sales lately and that's been great. It's encouraging me to be listing as often as possible but I think I'm slowly entering the obsessed zone. What I'm doing currently is what so many part timers would be thrilled with, but I am full time. It's been the wild leap of faith I've followed through with since the turn of 2005, and it's up to me to keep the faith and not lose hope (though I must say, my friends and family have been a great support system). I am SO not losing faith, it's just the moment. And this moment will pass.
I am reminded of my parents living in Boston as a young married couple. Living off of brown rice and veggies bought fresh from street vendors. It was all they could afford, but it was also a golden time of their life. This is my golden time. Living frugal was part of my plan for this year, so it seems appropriate that life has brought these challenges to me/us that force me to act on my intentions. I can live on a budget, and I can also work towards a time when I'm not worried about money. I am finally in a place of actualizing this dream to the fullest of it's potential, so there is no way I can crash now.
Well, I thank you, oh community of bloggers that have become my late night therapists for free. And here's to a new day of inspiration, creativity and success for ALL of us!
This is the year of the artist and I'm sticking to it!
Peace and sweet dreams,
Jessica
Etsy is having a Upcycling Contest right now, and this piece is one of my entries. Here's a bit of info on Upcycling from Etsy...
"The word Upcycling was coined by William McDonaugh and Michael Braugart in their book on ecologically intelligent design, Cradle to Cradle. In the simplest terms, upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value. In this contest we challenge all Etsy users to create an object to sell on Etsy that is comprised of materials that would have otherwise ended up in the trash heap."
I have never heard of "upcycling" until now, but I have been very familiar with both recycled and found object art, and I'm a fan of both. I love the sustainability aspect of recycled art, and often feel a little guity for all of the new painting products I purchase, and the packaging that comes with it all.
In this piece, I started by cutting up pieces of junk mail and layering them on top of each other with acrylic medium as a binding agent, until I got to the thickness of a heavy weight watercolor paper (or even a little thicker than that). Then I did the ink drawing, and came in with acrylic washes of paint. It's fun to reveal certain parts of the paper underneath and obscure others with the paint. I'm excited to keep thinking of ways to revamp used or throw away items and happy to know there is a market for these creations!
There are some really amazing, funky creations people have made on Etsy for this contest. Just search this tag "upcycleBB" to find all of the entries.
We've had the kids since Sunday (as we do every week) so I've been having some fun family time for the last few days, and now it's back to work. Having them around, filling the house with their enthusiasm, giggles, and adorableness lifts my spirits and inspires me.
Next week I'd like to make some home made ornaments with them and I just found a thread on the Artwanted discussion board with lots of ideas. One of them was the "recipe" for flour dough ornaments, and it sent me back to doing that as a kid. What fun to sculpt the clay, watch it bake, then paint and bedazzle the finished product. Are there any crafty things you like to do during the holiday season?
This oil pastel and acrylic painting is my 100th listing on Etsy, and in celebration, I am having a Buy One Get One sale on all of my $50 paintings! The sale will run through this Sunday 12/10 - if you'd like to indulge, just purchase the two pieces you like at or under $50, and wait for me to send a combined, discounted invoice. If you have any questions, just contact me. Thanks!
www.livefunky.etsy.com
I just had to share this painting, one of MANY that are currently blowing my mind over on flickr. I searched "abstract painting" and found this artist, Mary Ann Wakeley, who is now my newest fav painter! I see a connection in her work to Meghan Henley and Andrea Kostyal, two other painters I greatly admire.
My thanks to Mary Ann for brightening my day today with her outstanding art!
Today I've been playing with a few unfinished paintings by adding oil pastels. This piece reminds me of some of my older work, with the bold, black lines.
Click HERE to see this painting on Etsy
This is cool! I just figured out how to blog my pictures from flickr! (Ok, if someone doesn't know about computers they will think I just spoke jibberish). I feel a little behind in discovering both Etsy and now flickr, but I'm eager to continue using this system. It's much easier and I can load clearer, larger images here (blogger times out on me when loading big files).
For artists unfamiliar with flickr, go check it out at www.flickr.com - you get a large amount of space for free every month to store your images, and there are a lot of other artists on there sharing their work, including links to their sites and on-line stores.
It's amazing to me that this whole world of art online has changed so much in the last 7 years (when I took my first steps in the "world wide web"), and it's still evolving, and will continue to - you can really feel the flow of change around you. New sites emerge, new techniques, new codes and programs, etc. that can dramatically alter how an artist not only does business, but perhaps CREATES his or her art! I was talking about this with Paula Manning-Lewis and it's thrilling that she and I and so many others can do most of our business from our homes, located anywhere one can get internet access. Paula and I seem very similar in our desires for "the little cabin in the woods" fantasy vs. the city life. One hundred years ago, we wouldn't be able to make a living selling our art living anywhere BUT a creative center/city. On another note, it is unlikely that we would have the option as women to pursue our passion for painting. For these reasons and so many more, I feel very lucky to be alive right now, making art, and sharing it, right now.
Sincere
