sandy sandy January 29th, 2007 ~ Simplicity
/ Night Heron Dear Friends ~
II'm always trying to improve my paintings
by eliminating unnecessary details. By keeping
things simple, I've found that a strong center of interest, supported
by just a few key elements,
usually produces a successful piece. I find that people generally
prefer loose paintings where
things are stated simply. Without getting caught up in nitty
gritty details, the viewer is then
free to use imagination and add their own personal interpretation.
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Today I'm posting some quotes on Simplicity:
"By painting a thing as simply
as possible, you can get to the spirit of it. And then subject
and
artist reveal themselves to each other." (Charles Movalli)
"The ability to simplify means
to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."
(Hans Hofmann)
"How difficult it is to be simple."
(Vincent Van Gogh)
"Art, it seems to me, should
simplify. It is very near the whole of the higher artistic process;
finding what conventions of form and what detail one can do without
and yet preserve the spirit
of the whole." (Willa Cather)
"I like to have a thing suggested
rather than told in full. When every detail is given the mind
rests satisfied and the imagination loses the desire to use its
own wings." (Thomas Bailey Aldrich)
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Old Fishing Shack ~ "Night Fishing
# 3" ~ *Sold
sandy
sandy sandy January 25th, 2007 ~ Illusion
/ Fox Dear Friends ~
First I shot this painting
with my digital camera. Then I messed around with it in Photoshop.
No good. It just didn't do the piece justice. Then I scanned
it in two sections on my little scanner.
Better, but when I brought it down to a reasonable size, all
the character and charm of the piece
seemed to vanish. The essence was eluding me, just as the wily
fox mystifies its predators.
My efforts symbolically remind me of fox's spiritual embodiment.
This creature is truly the
master of secrecy, concealment and illusion!
====<<>>====
Some quotes on "Illusion":
"The painting
is not on a surface, but on a plane which is imagined. It moves
in a mind.
It is not there physically at all. It is an illusion, a piece
of magic, so that what you see is not what
you see." (Philip Guston)
"I've looked
at life from both sides now. From win and lose and still somehow;
it's life's
illusions I recall, I really don't know life at all." (Joni
Mitchell)
"Art is not imitation,
but illusion." (Charles Reade)
"Don't part with
your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you
have
ceased to live." (Mark Twain)
"It's all illusion;
the illusion of space, the illusion of mass, the illusion of
light. The illusions go on
and on; there is no limit to the number of illusions you can
come up with." (Joseph P. Blodgett)
====<<>>====
Today's image is a
close up of the red fox that evaded me. It's from "Night
Shift".
sandy
sandy sandy January 22nd, 2007 ~ Contentment
/ Fishing Boat Dear Friends ~
I often hear a person
talk longingly about wanting something different in their life.
They set
themselves up for disappointment by thinking that acquiring some
change; material object, skill, or
relationship will be the key to make them happier. I've found
that contentment must come from within.
Only I, myself, can make each day more fulfilling and pleasant.
By being truly thankful for the gifts
I have received and making the most of each day, I embrace and
experience my life as only I can.
Find something to become passionate about and explore that path.
Discard envy
and apathy and enjoy your own life, without comparing it to that
of another.
====<<>>====
Some quotes on "Contentment":
"It is the artist
who realizes that there is a supreme force above him and works
gladly away as a small
apprentice under God's heaven." (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)
"All is lovely
outside my house and inside my house and myself." (Winslow
Homer)
"Though I have
considerable interest in Europe and in traveling, I am most content
with simply working
and allowing the world that I'm creating to unfold before my
eyes." (Nathan Oliveira)
"True contentment
is a real, even an active virtue, not only affirmative but creative.
It is the power of
getting out of any situation all there is in it." (G. K.
Chesterton)
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Old Clam Boat ~ "Good
Catch" ~ *Sold
sandy
sandy sandy January 18th ~ Production / Fishing Dear Friends ~
Presently, I'm working
on a series of six commissions for one of my collectors. Repainting
some of my Sold Earthscapes in a small size, I am doing two versions
of each and a larger variation
to make the task more rewarding. Painting full time for over
a decade and often working in sets,
one painting usually leads me to the next. This allows me to
explore various possibilities and
streamlines my efficiency and production.
====<<>>====
Some quotes on "Production":
"The production
of work is cumulative; nothing is produced in isolation and everything
contributes
something to the next piece." (Henry Ptasiewicz)
"The important
thing is to keep producing. All artists have that quality.
You have to be tenacious." (Mary Frank)
"The object of
all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these
ends there must be
forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose,
as well as perspiration." (Thomas Edison)
"I remember going
to the Matisse show and seeing how Matisse had taken one of his
own paintings,
worked from it and transformed, it, and that had led on to the
next one and the next." (Anthony Caro)
"A simple equation
for the production of successful art work is lots of reference
material plus lots
of art supplies equals lots of painting happiness." (Robert
Genn)
====<<>>====
Old Fishing Boat ~
"Bringin' Er In" ~ *Sold
sandysandy
sandy sandy January 15th, 2007 ~ Encouragement
/ Contest Dear Friends ~
In October I ran an art
contest centered around the Jersey Devil. Contestants could either
color my rendition from the cover of the Cranberry Festival yearbook
or they could do their
own version. The Winner, nine year old Matthew Ryan Richards,
pictured below, did both quite well.
On Saturday, he and his family came to my studio for a photo
shoot and to collected his prizes.
It really made me feel good to encourage this humble, polite
and gracious budding artist. I know my
efforts to make him feel special will be remembered and will
influence him for many years to come.
I've learned that encouragement not only benefits the recipient,
but the provider as well.
====<<>>====
Some quotes on Encouragement:
"To say, "well
done" to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers
which have made
the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge." (Phillip
Brooks)
"Come on you
raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you
prisoner, and
shine!" (Pink Floyd)
"Correction does
much, but encouragement does more." (Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe)
"There are high
spots in all of our lives and most of them have come about through
encouragement from someone else. I don't care how great, how
famous or successful
a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause."
(George Matthew Adams)
"Associate with
positive, goal-oriented people who encourage and inspire you."
(Brian Tracy)
====<<>>====
The New Jersey Devil Art Contest
sandy
sandy sandy January 11th ~ Color DearDear Friends ~
I haven't painted all
week as I've been putting together a presentation folder with
all my
credentials and an image CD for The Noyes Museum Signature Artist
Membership application.
It's been a struggle and very time consuming, however I believe
I've solidified my views and learned
something about myself in the process. Today I'd like to share
part of what I wrote in my new
Artist's Statement on "color".
====<<>>====
From my Artist's Statement
on "Color":
"My feeling about
color is "less is more". I usually work with a limited
palette. Ultramarine Blue and
Burnt Sienna are my two favorite staring hues. This combination
creates a wide variety of sophisticated
grays which sets the stage for an exciting interplay of analogous
and complimentary pigments. Prussian
Blue, Alizarin Crimson and Yellow Ochre are also often used.
Secondary to these are all the other colors
of the rainbow which are usually used only in moderation. "
(Sandy Sandy)
White Tail Deer ~
"Winter Watch" ~ *Sold
sandy
sandy sandy January 8th, 2007 ~ Potential Dear Friends ~
"We spend January
1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list
of work to
be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the
list, we ought to walk through the
rooms of our lives; not looking for flaws, but for potential."
This quote by Ellen Goodman got me
thinking about New Year's resolutions in a different way. We
need to recognize that each day
holds great possibilities if we refuse to let our insecurities
hold us back. The future
possesses unlimited potential for those of us who believe and
act as if it does.
====<<>>====
Some quotes on "Potential":
"This day, like
all days, holds great potential." (Jeff Davidson)
"Don't let that
feeling of not being good enough hold you back and keep you from
reaching
your potential." (Sandy Sandy)
"Face new challenges,
seize new opportunities, test your resources against the unknown
and
in the process, discover your own unique potential." (John
Amatt)
====<<>>====
Coastal Building ~
"Back Bay Shack" ~ *Sold
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Featured Reply:
"Like attracts
like or positive thoughts & feelings will attract the same
positive thoughts and feelings.
If you have negative feelings about yourself, you will only attract
more negative feelings.
Guaranteed." ~ Bob Crouse
sandyndy
sandy sandy January 4th, 2007 ~ Resolutions Dear Friends ~
As we start the New Year,
many of us make plans and set goals for the future. Even if we
don't say them
out loud or write down our resolutions, this is a time of reevaluation
and reflection. It's a time to consider the
changes we want or need to make and resolve to follow through
with those changes.
Did your New Year
resolutions make this top ten list?
1) Spend More Time
w/ Family & Friends ........2) Fit in Fitness........ 3)
Tame the bulge
4) Quit Smoking........5) Enjoy Life More........ 6) Quit Drinking
7) Get Out of Debt ........8) Learn Something New
9) Help Others........10) Get Organized
====<<>>====
Ann Landers on the
"The New Year":
"Let this coming
year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things
you've always
wanted to do but couldn't find the time. ... Call up a forgotten
friend. Drop an old grudge and
replace it with some pleasant memories. ... Vow not to make a
promise you don't think you can keep. ...
Walk tall, and smile more. You'll look and feel ten years younger.
Don't be afraid to say, "I love you".
Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world."
====<<>>====
Old Shack ~ "Forgotten
Summer Home" ~ 15" x 22" original watercolor, $499.00
sandysandy
sandy sandy January 1st, 2007 ~ New Year "Happy New Year!
"Happy New Year!"
I found wilstar.com looking for quotes on New Years' Resolutions.
Wilstar's "Happy New Year" page says, "The celebration
of the new year is the oldest of all holidays
and was not always January 1, which is purely arbitrary. Observed
in ancient Babylon about 4000 years
go, the New Year began with the first New Moon after the Vernal
Equinox
(first day of spring), a more logical time to begin a new year."
====<<>>====
Some quotations on
the "The New Year":
"I made no resolutions
for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing,
sanctioning
and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me."
~ Anaïs Nin
"New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular
use to anybody save as a scapegoat for
promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions."
~ Mark Twain
"People are so
worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year,
but they really
should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and
Christmas." ~ Author Unknown
"We will open
the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put
words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's
Day." ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce
Albino Deer ~ "Divine
Messengers" ~ 15" x 11" original watercolor, $349.00
