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Finishing a Painting

4/28/2016

"Wow...it has been longer than I thought since I have written my blog. I promised to post the finished painting and so here it is, finally finished.....I think!

I had a friend give me one more critique last night. So, now it is signed and almost dry. I plan to show it in The Artists Gallery's "Palette of Spring" Exhibition , opening on Friday, May 6th.

It often takes me a long time to really know if a painting is finished. I like to keep it around for several months to just look at it and evaluate it before putting it in an exhibition. And even when a painting does go into an exhibition, I evaluate it again because paintings can look very different out of the studio and in a new setting.

Is a painting ever really finished? Da Vinci carried his around for years.

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Beginnings

3/10/2016

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My favorite part of the painting process is not the finished artwork, but the very beginning sketch. A simple line drawing can create a beautiful and sensitive feeling of form and structure. This all important sketch is the very rudimentary beginnings of a great painting. Sketchbooks belonging to Picasso, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, and many contemporary artists are filled with simple line drawings.

My paintings begin with a tinted canvas, usually orange or pink. I then divide the canvas into four sections and transfer my sketch onto the canvas using a brush and thinned oil paint. Using a brush instead of a pencil creates a more expressive and spontaneous quality in the drawing.

Line does not just define the image but it divides the picture plane into interesting positive and negative space and leads the viewer's eye in and around the composition. It is the most basic of elements, yet, it can convey feeling, create rhythm and movement, and express visual and verbal concepts. I can only hope that the lines in my beginning drawing will do all of that! The finished painting will come next. I am sure that there will be many changes along the way.

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Homage to Georgia O'Keeffe

2/20/2016

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Georgia O'Keeffe is an artist that I admire and am often influenced by her imagery and techniques. I fondly think about a trip that my husband and I took in 2001 to visit Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. It is a beautiful, serene, and awe inspiring place. After Georgia O'Keeffe's visit to New Mexico in 1929, she was so inspired by the landscape and the mountainous forms of the region that she bought a house at Ghost Ranch in 1940 and a home in Abiquiu, New Mexico in 1945. She moved permanently to New Mexico in 1949 after her husband's death.
The seemingly infinite space of the plains and the dazzling colors of the sunlit mountains inspired her large scale, colorful paintings of the natural landscape. Georgia O'Keeffe was always looking and what she saw and how she saw it, was the driving force for her paintings. She was expressing and communicating in the form of her paintings, wanting them to be seen and appreciated.
Every year, The Artists Gallery, my local co-op gallery has an exhibit called "Fabulous Forgeries". For the exhibit, artists are to copy or be inspired by the work of a famous artist. I usually enter this exhibit with my interpretation of a chosen artist. My favorite painting for this exhibit, done several years ago, is entitled, "Georgia On My Mind". It is a copulation of five works of art. One, a photograph of Georgia O'Keeffe, and then O'Keeffe's paintings, Red Amaryllis, Sky Above Clouds, Grey Cross, and New Mexico Landscape make up the finished work . This painting expresses my feelings about O'Keeffe. She said, "To see takes time, like to have a friend takes time." Through the days of the coming year, take time to see the beauty not only in O'Keeffe's work but in the world around you. It will be time well spent.
If you would like more information about Georgia O'Keeffe, visit this Artsy website. There are examples of her paintings and more information about her life on this site.

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Paint Like a Child

2/2/2016

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My granddaughter, Charlotte, loves to paint. In fact, I can put out paint for her (she loves pink and purple) and she will just "paint her heart out". I love to watch her, knowing that she has no inhibitions. She is not worried about the success or lack of for the finished painting. She doesn't worry about getting just the right shape or composition, or if the colors get muddy. She just loves to move those colors around and around. Of course, I know that it is a wonderful activity for her to express her creativity and to just have fun.

All of this brings me to my point. It is too bad that we, as adults, loose that sense of freedom of expression. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could continue to create with that kind of confidence, spontaneity, and imagination, not worrying about the right or wrong way to do something. Children don't think about critiquing their work. They paint freely and with confidence and pleasure. Spontaneity, imagination, play, experimentation, and a lack of inhibitions are all desirable components for creating artwork. That is true for anyone, adult or child.

As artists, we don't want to go back to childhood, but it would be nice to create with "wild abandon" like a child. Enjoy the process. Be spontaneous and confident and have fun!

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Doodling

1/18/2016

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According to Wikipedia, a doodle is defined as "a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied." Webster's dictionary defines doodling as "an aimless or casual scribble, design, or sketch" or "to scribble, sketch, or make designs on paper often while thinking about something else". The word first appeared in the early part of the 17th century and meant "fool" or "simpleton". Leonardo da Vinci is known to have filled the margins of his sketchbooks with doodles and he certainly was no fool or simpleton. Not agreeing with these definitions, doodles or doodling to me satisfies a creative urge like no other. It is a way of drawing beautiful images, maybe birthed in the unconscious mind, but brought to fruition with lots of thought and attention to detail. Intuitive impulses do play a part in the expressive process, but doodling can also involve very complicated and repetitive patterns, as in Zentangle, that require a great deal of concentration and attention to detail. Many believe, as I do, that doodling is a stress relieving activity that has a calming effect. As one becomes completely engrossed in the process, all cares are lifted from thought and all attention is on the drawing. And the satisfaction in the completed design is very fulfilling.
The wonderful thing is that everyone can doodle. There is no special training or artistic talent necessary. Just let your intuitive mind and your pen or pencil lead the way. For examples or more information, just log on to Pinterest or check out the numerous YouTube videos. Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. One just needs to look around. Try it for yourself.

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Bridal Bouquet

1/6/2016

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Several years ago, I was thinking about what to give a very dear friend's daughter as a very special present to express my sincere appreciation of her friendship. It was her daughter's wedding and the present needed to be a lasting and beautiful reminder of her special day. For her gift, I decided to do a painting of her wedding bouquet. The actual bouquet would not last, but the painting would always be a reminder of the beauty of that day. I have since painted many bouquets. Sometimes, they are gifts for friends and sometimes, a commission for a client to give to a relative or friend as a gift. What better way to express your thoughtfulness and to commemorate the bride's big day than with this unique gift. I have designed a gift certificate to give to the bride before the wedding day in anticipation of the gift. My most recent painting is pictured below and was painted for my daughter-in-law's cousin. What beautiful flowers they were and what a joy to paint!

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A Little NudgeI

12/20/2015

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A friend and I visited A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment) a couple of weeks ago. The A.R.E. was founded by Edgar Cayce in 1931 to explore spirituality, holistic health, and to be a resource for mind-body-spirit materials for daily living. Located near the ocean in Virginia Beach, it is a beautiful, serene, and inspiring place. While visiting the Research Library, I noticed a table of books on sale for $5.00. As I perused the collection, a book entitled The Daily Book of Art caught my eye. What a great find! As artists, we are always looking for a book that will give us the little nudge that we need to "keep going". This little book has a year's worth of daily lessons and readings, including aesthetics, art history, philosophy, and short hands-on exercises. Just enough to remind artists of all the things that art encompasses and inspire us to keep pursuing our passion.

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Confidence

11/28/2015

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Last week, the sermon at my church was about "Confidence". Not the kind of bravado or grand-standing confidence, but the kind of confidence that comes when we live "in the moment", not worrying about what tomorrow may bring. Enjoy and appreciate life at that moment and tomorrow will take care of itself. For artists, I think that means to keep doing what you love. There is not better way to find fulfillment and renewal.

Secondly, I listened to a webinar by Alyson Stanfield in which she was giving advice to artists for growing their business. And, you guessed it, one of "The 8 C's for Getting Your Art Seen" was Confidence. Artists need to have the confidence to continuously improve. Don't be complacent, but consistently have the confidence to take action, renewing and reviewing your artist's statement, website, and marketing strategy. It is so easy to say, "I don't know how", "I can't", "I don't have time", etc. That's called procrastinating.

I had also subscribed to Oprah and Deepak's 21 day meditation series. Day 12 last week was entitled "Healing Self Judgement". It was all about self acceptance and the fact that to gain confidence, we have to develop strength of self and put aside blame and self judgement. .

The last thing happened when I was watching the American Music Awards and Demi Lovato sang, "Confident". Part of the song goes like this, "What's wrong with being, what's wrong with being, what's wrong with being confident?"

I was getting the message by then!

Included is a painting entitled, Double BLT. When I started it, I don't think I could do it, but..........

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Painting as a Profession

11/5/2015

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I was in the UPS store the other day, mailing a large painting to a client, when a lady noticed what I was doing. When she realized that I was the artist, she said to me, "That is a wonderful hobby". I would loved to have explained to her that painting for me is not just a hobby, but it is my profession and business. As I read in a recent blog post from gallery owner, Jason Horejs, most people do not realize that an artist is a small business owner and has much work to do to keep the business afloat. There is making art, of course, but also, keeping inventory, participating in exhibitions and shows, keeping up with taxes, framing, packaging and mailing, writing a blog, posting on social media, pursuing gallery space and/or clients, emailing information about shows, and often much more. It is truly a business that takes much more time than the actual making of the art. Most artists do all of that themselves, because most artists do not have the funds to hire help. Attached to this blog post is the painting I was mailing to Julie Ann Segal, Metro Interiors, Minneapolis, MN.

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Kay Hofler

I am a retired art teacher and now a full time professional artist who loves to paint and share my paintings with family, friends art lovers and patrons.

Finishing a Painting

Beginnings

Homage to Georgia O'Keeffe

Paint Like a Child

Doodling

Bridal Bouquet

A Little NudgeI

Confidence

Painting as a Profession

Kay Hofler

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