Primed

Introversion   5 X 5 ft  oil on canvas

The definition of introversion that works best for me is this: despite the fact that I love people, the energy I expend in talking to and being with them is limited and does not get refilled until I am alone and pursuing other goals. Usually all that is necessary to recharge my battery is a quick nap or an hour in the garden.  But recently I feel like I've been zapped, drained, depleted.  It's as if I need to "prime the pump," pull out the choke and flood my engine.... something to push me over the red line.  Nothing is wrong in my life.... nothing. In fact, seeking to find a "reason" is self-indulgent and narcissistic and doesn't help one little bit. Have you ever tried to water a houseplant when its soil has gotten completely dry?  The water runs right through the soil into the saucer.  It seems contradictory, but to get dry soil to absorb water you have to moisten the soil first.   I feel just like that.... my soil has gone too dry and all the good things in my life seem to flow right through me without being absorbed.  And I don't know what is needed to do that pre-moisturizing of my soul.  This painting is an exercise in pure expressionism, a stream of consciousness that reflects some of the subjects I have painted over the last year.   It is a dark story told in passionate calligraphic strokes, intensely personal and mysterious, even to me.  I do not feel primed.  Yet.  I will continue to search through all means, including paint.  I hope you enjoy it.

Too Little

Kendra 8X10 in oil on canvas panel

I am trying to find something to paint for my daily challenges and I keep reverting to the figure.  It's one thing to paint them well on a larger scale but to bring life to a tiny figure is a tremendous challenge for me.  I am not a master of the delicate brush nor of brevity. My inspiration is Stephen Early (http://www.stephenearly.com). I researched one of his tiny nudes, zoomed in to discern his brilliance of draftsmanship, delicacy, detail and tried to translate it into what I was painting. I started with a bad iPad, photo, fuzzy, poorly lit and I struggled just like every other time I've worked on this scale... I don't know... we'll see.  I might hide it in a day or a week or month. Hope you enjoy it.

Figurative Works

Two of my recent pieces, The Dancer and Eric were chosen for Figurative Works, a juried competition at the Foundry Art Centre in Saint Charles, Missouri.  I was absoLUTELY blown away at the honor of being included in this showing.  There were over two hundred applications and only 46 artists' work was chosen. And the quality was amazing, diverse, and fantastic.  They will be hanging for 5 1/2 more weeks.

My Right Arm

I painted this in response to a call for art that I have chosen to interpret through my own aging. This arm and hand shows just a bit of the wrinkles and arthritis that is beginning to take it's toll. I painted using the grissaille technique and then washed in some layers of color. Hope you enjoy it!

Is it Done Yet?

What do you think?  I love the grissaille underpainting and fully intended to glaze in the skin tones but my sister said I should just leave it as it is.  Soooooo, I'm just putting it out for a day or two to see what ya'll think.  Hope you enjoy it.

I am happy to announce that two of my pieces have been selected for a local show at the Foundry Art Centre in Saint Charles, Missouri.  The show is called Figurative Works and opens this weekend, the reception Friday night.  The two paintings are 'The Dancer' and 'Eric.'  It's such an honor to have anything selected so I am doubly pleased.  If you are in the area, please drop by for this free event from 6-8 PM on Jan. 24, have a glass of wine and some nibblies and check out this great space.

My Hand

I've been in a painting slump.  I started this a couple of weeks ago and was close enough to finishing to sign it but today I did make the final corrections and finished it. It's a tough time of year to be finding inspiration with all of the holiday busy-ness going on. 

This one almost got the better of me.  I did the under painting in grey tones and didn't know where I was going to go with it.  I glazed some of the colors in but wasn't satisfied and ended up painting over the under painting anyway.  But I think it turned out just delightfully.  I hope you enjoy it!

Eye to Eye

I can't get over the sense that using the iPad is cheating.  Not that artists haven't always used aids to help them achieve the desired accuracy or to simplify the process, as we all know. The camera was developed as a tool for artists.  Lately I've had a much harder time painting from life.  Maybe because I can't get the result I'm seeking, now that I've begun to rely on the aid of my retinal display iPad. But I think it's a two-fold problem: my eyes are weakening and so is my brain.  It's harder to decipher visual elements than it used to be.  In an almost overwhelming task processing the immensity of visual information, my poor ole brain fights it... gets tired quicker.  I just love painting with the display up close to my work, being able to zoom in for the detail that I need.  Maybe I'll just learn to love what I'm doing and leave the purity question for someone else!

Today's POD is my own eye.  Hope you enjoy it!

8 X 10" oil on panel
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/christy-sawyer/eye-to-eye/153350

Beauty is in the Eye

Today's work is Sarina, the sister of my subject yesterday.  Their eyes are very similar.  This is the first time in this series I've painted an eye with make-up.  I found it challenging.  I'm not entirely pleased with some of the color but not unhappy over all.  I do miss painting wrinkles, though, and I will paint some next.  I don't want to over paint but young skin has to be so much smoother and transparent so I tend to blend more. With wrinkles I can hatch and splotch and dab to my heart's content. I guess I need that to stay fresh and original in this series.  I hope you enjoy it.

Into the Light

Today's painting is of my model/friend, Kendra. The source photo was taken by her daughter, Zinnia.  I tried to keep the lightest lights pure and bright. I worked from a light mauve-tinted panel and I think that helped me keep my vision adjusted to the high values.  I hope you enjoy it!

What Matters Most

I am so taken by these eyes that I wonder if I'll ever get tired of them.  Of course I will, but think what they have to offer: lots of color, reflections, subtleties, and drama.  Today I started from a darkly stained panel.  I thought I might have really set myself up for failure.  I usually start with a mid-toned canvas or panel so this was intimidating.  What this did was set the tone for the finished painting.  Although this really wasn't a terribly dark photo source, the outcome is very Rembrandt-like, dark and moody.  I hope you enjoy it.

Two Days of Scrapings

Well, congratulations to me for accomplishing nothing for the last two days.  This is what a scraped down panel looks like.  I was playing around with the pose from last week's modeling session and nothing I did worked.  It was as if my brain said, "what, you did this already!"  I thought I could trick myself into doing it again in a different style but, nope, not happenin'.  I'm going to clean up and go wash the dogs.  I'll try again tomorrow.  I have to realize it's never wasted time, even if I don't know what I've gained.  Something good will come out of this.

Between Two Worlds

I live in many spheres... I am torn between them all!  When I am gardening, I'm feeling guilty for not being in the studio.  When I'm fixing up River Road Studios where I have my figure drawing group, I feel like I should be at my home studio.  I guess the healthy artist is the one who balances her tasks and plays with the tension between them all.  I am so grateful, profoundly grateful, to have this time of my life to focus upon my art.  So much has transpired to make it possible, but here I am with NOTHING but good things to distract me.  It is up to me to decide which path I'll take each day.

One thing I know, though, and that is there is not enough life left for me to do all the things I need to do to become the painter I want to be!  It's okay to be wooed away on occasion but I MUST be about the business of painting.  Here's the completion of the teeny little figure painting.  Hope you enjoy it!

Some is Better than None

I worked on lighting in the River Road Studio today.  Rearranged and erected my lighting boom.  After lunch I took a little reboot and then came down to the home studio to do something, anything, hopefully beneficial on my little painting from yesterday.  I'm sorta kinda maybe a little bit pleased (almost afraid to say it?)  This is tiny tiny tiny, folks.  I'm not used to painting figures with 2's and 4's.  Well, just a smidge of progress but here it is.  Hope you enjoy it.

Speak to ME!

Tim said, "Funny how the things you expect to turn out great, don't.  And the things you really dread turn out okay."  This was one of those times. We had a call from the hospital to pick up a former neighbor who was being discharged from the psych ward and drive him home.  Our biggest fear, that he had slipped back into his sad and reclusive ways, did not materialize. It turned into as a blessing to see how he is living and that, honestly, he's doing alright.

 A couple of times during the drawing of this pretty young woman I thought I saw her move!  I felt like Michelangelo who spoke to his marble and demanded that it speak to him!  Unfortunately, I did what I usually do: pushed the drawing too far, too specific for the painterly effect I wanted (but not nearly refined enough to be a finished piece of drawing) and lost the tenderness and immediacy that I was going for. But at least I finished something.  Have a nice day!