Playtime in the Studio

I have been playing with watercolors the last couple of days, and today I decided to try my hand with Yupo paper.  It is definitely a challenge--especially since I haven't painted with watercolors in a long time.  And Yupo paper is not even paper--it's plastic. Not one tree died to make Yupo!  But, this means that the watercolors actually sit on top of the paper, rather than being absorbed into it.  You can get some great effects though, by rolling your paper around and letting the colors drip and slide into each other.  And fixing mistakes is a lot easier, because you can just wipe the area with a tissue or Q-tip, and paint over it without losing the tooth of the paper. 

It will be interesting to see how this holds up.  The photo above shows my very first painting on Yupo.  Since the paper lends itself to loose painting, I decided to just go with that and not worry so much about getting tight and detailed.  The expression on the dog's face, I think, fits perfectly with the looseness of the whole piece.  I may go back in later and darken up the background some. And I need to decide whether or not to use a fixative once the paint is dried.  I'm not sure how well Yupo holds up over time, especially under glass.  Since the paint doesn't really sink into the paper, I imagine exposure to moisture would cause problems.  Still, I'm having fun and plan to continue playing with it.
I've also been painting some ATC's--again, just for fun. It's a good way for me to get back to watercolors without getting frustrated -- I don't feel guilty tossing out a teeny piece of paper!  To the left and right are a couple I've completed.  I'm all about having fun this week!



I am still working on a couple of commissions, but sometimes you just have to take a break.  Thus the watercolors....
Don't forget May is National Pet Month. I'm still offering a 10% discount on any commissioned pet portrait, so be sure to contact me if you're interested. 

Pet Portrait Special!!!

May is National Pet Month in the US, and in honor of that, I am running a special on Pet Portraits. Commission a portrait of your pet, any size, through the month of May and receive a 10% discount.  In addition, I will donate 10% of the proceeds from the commission to the Shelby County No-Kill Mission.  I hope you'll take advantage of this special and let me create a beautiful, lasting memory of your beloved pet.  Contact me at sallison@insightbb.com for more information.

Above is the finished portrait I started last week. This is an 8x10 acrylic painting, framed, and is available for purchase through my website (www.stephanieallison.com).  I managed to complete another painting this weekend, as well--one that I have been working on for quite awhile.  It's a cottage in Bunratty Village, Ireland.  This is a 16 x 20 acrylic, also available through my website.

Started another pet portrait commission yesterday, this one of a cat named Samson.  This is the first pass of color. I'll be adding more details and fine-tuning it this week, so check back later to see the progress. 

I have lots of plans in the works for my pet portraits, including a calendar. I'll be posting the details later. I'm really excited and I hope you all will be too!

Now...on to my mini-poems and photos-a-day:  Obviously, I have been way, way behind on both of these endeavors, but I'm working my way back into it. I did manage to write a little micro-poem last night. Here it is: 

Like the slow and steady turtle

Thunder lumbers east

unphased by Lightning's razzle-dazzle.

Tonight's goal:  a personal best.

So that's it for tonight! Be kind to your pets--their love for you is unconditional!  Paws up!

                           

Portraits, Portraits, Portraits!

Puppy...work in progress

Mom & Pop

Can't believe it's been over 2 months since I updated this blog. It's not that I've had nothing to blog about...but don't worry, I'm not going to bore you all by trying to catch up.  I've been painting, painting, painting, and loving every minute of it. I finally finished the portrait of "Mom & Pop"(right) and the client is very happy, which makes me happy. So now I'm moving on to my next project:  another pet portrait, this time a cat. I'll post photos of that soon. Meanwhile, above left, is a painting I'm working on for fun.  I'm nearly finished, just need to add a few little details.  I'm also back to work on a portrait of my Cavalier, Charlie--a larger piece that I set aside for awhile so I could work on commissions. 

And speaking of commissions, check back in a week or so as I will be running a special on Pet Portraits!This will be your chance to get a custom-painted portrait of your favorite furry friend! I have several other ideas brewing for pet portraits that I'm really excited about--so keep an eye out for details.

As for the daily photos and mini-poems, I'm so far behind, I decided to not even attempt to post them. I'll just add a few here and there in the next week or so. Spring came early this year, which means lots and lots of yard work in between my day job and painting--and that has left little time for anything else. But I'm not giving up!

Have a good evening!

Sometimes It's Good to Stay in Your Jammies

Sooner or later it happens to all artists:  you just can't seem to come up with anything new.  Nothing to write about, nothing to paint.  Just blank pages, a blank canvas.  I can't say I'm suffering from writer's block, or painter's block:  I've just run out of energy.  Been working on several commissions, and I have more coming up.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I guess I'm EXplaining.  The idea of taking a photo a day, and writing a mini-poem a day, seemed easy enough in the beginning.  But a month into this project, I hit a wall.  The view from the back porch looked the same, every day.  Even the drive to and from work:  the same.  I'd write a few lines, snap a few pictures, but nothing really clicked for me. And then I thought, well, isn't that the way life is?  You can't expect every word to be worthy of a Pulitzer, or take  a National Geographic photo, or paint a masterpiece.  The whole point of this project was to record, for myself, a photographic and written journal of a year in my life. And sometimes my life is pretty darn boring.  And sometimes I am not very creative, and just want to stay in my jammies!

So I took a little time and did just that.  I watched TV (specifically Whitney Houston's funeral), which made me realize how precious life is, and not to take for granted the special gifts we're all given.  I slept late. I ate junk food and spent an entire day in pajamas.   And then I woke up this morning and said, SNAP OUT OF IT! Grabbed my camera, and my notebook, and got busy. 

I'm not going to post all the pictures I took because most are pretty crappy.  And I didn't write anything at all until today.  I took the photo above from my back porch--and yes, I was in my pj's.  I don't know if this is the same blue jay, but last summer there was a blue jay who decided the yard was his--and he would follow me from birdfeeder to birdfeeder, squawking at me or scolding me for slacking on the peanuts.

And here's the mini-poem, or micro-thought for the day:

High in the oak, wrens chatter greetings
as Morning elbows past Night.
Cow silhouettes trudge single file 
toward breakfast and another day
of grazing.

Moonlighting

I love moonlight. No matter what time of year, if there's a full moon, you can usually find me staring up at it.  I even braved near-zero temps and a couple of feet of snow once in upstate New York, just to photograph a winter moon.  Yeah, that was back when I was young and didn't worry about things like catching a cold, stray dogs, coyotes...or neighbors calling the cops about the crazy lady outside in the middle of the night, in her jammies, dragging a tripod and a camera all over the place. Tonight I was lazy--skipped the tripod, so this photo is not very sharp, but it does capture the general mood.  Too bad I had to work this morning because the moon was right over our pond and I would have loved to spend some quality time photographing it. Ah well.

Here's the poem for today: 

The moon casts her pale light
across the pond, spotlights
the heron and the wood duck
who exit
stage left.

Here's another work in progress:  a commissioned portrait.  Very early stages--I've just blocked in basic colors and am working on composition.  Will post more photos soon. 
 

Yep, I Only Watch the Super Bowl for the Commercials

I'm not particularly interested in football, but I do enjoy the commercials during Super Bowl. And being from New York, I am sort of in favor of the Giants....but mostly, I'm interested in painting, and today I actually got back into the studio and managed to work on a painting I started months ago.  This is Woody, one of the many beautiful animals housed at the Shelby County Animal Shelter. Thanks to Sheila Collins for use of her photo--this painting, when it is finished, will be donated to the Shelby County Animal Shelter.  This is part of an on-going project of mine. The paintings can either be given to the person who adopts the animal from the shelter, or used in advertising, or auctioned off at one of the many fundraisers held to benefit the shelter.  I also have a couple of paintings of cats that I will be delivering to the shelter soon.  This is one way I can put my talent to good use. By the way, if you live in the area, buy a ticket to the Monarchs, Mutts and Meows event on February 11.  There will be a silent auction  with a lot of great items (including a pet portrait painted by me!), as well as a wonderful dinner at Claudia Sanders and fantastic music featuring the Monarchs.   

And here's the mini-poem for today:

A pair of geese signal their approach,

circle low, then skid in for a splash

landing.



It's Not That Easy!

When I first came up with the idea of writing a poem a day and taking a photo a day, I thought: how hard can that be?  Well, I didn't take into consideration the fact that life gets in the way.  A lot! Hard to believe another week has passed and once again I am posting more than one photo and poem in order to catch up. And that's just online.  I haven't printed any photos since mid-January, so the actual scrapbook I've been making is on the couch, gathering dust for the moment.  But since it's raining today, and tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, I am taking advantage of both so I can get back into the studio, write and organize photos!  But, as someone once said (maybe John Lennon?):  If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!
     The photos today were taken in my gardens this past week.  I am not a great gardener, but I love getting my hands dirty, digging around in the soil, and hoping that something beautiful will grow from my efforts. Doesn't always happen, but the little successes I have had make it worth the trouble.  Even better, the wildlife that hang out in the gardens don't seem to mind whether or not I've kept up with the weeding and trimming! 

And on to the mini-poems:

January 31
Daffodils stretch
toward the sun.  
Wrecklessness?
Or blind faith?

February 1
A garbage truck rudely awakens
slumbering sparrows, sends the geese skyward,
and the old heron catches his breath
high on a tree limb.

February 2
Someone left a light on
in my neighbor's house. 
She's not there.
Gone for good.
But the light reminds me--
we promised to look out
for each other. 
One of us failed.

February 3
Morning echoes Pollard
spilling alizarin and aquamarine
across her canvas.

February 4
When I grow tired of humans
I step out to the pond 
where the geese sail quietly,
disturbed only by their leader
as he circles, pushing them
into flight formation.