Another piece from the past

Dragonheart, 2002
Original mixed media
15" x 15"
SOLD

Although I worked in the studio this weekend, everything is too wet to put on the scanner. So, once again I'm posting an artwork I did a several years ago.

In November 2000, I went to China for a 10 day tour. It was quite wonderful and mindboggling, too. For the next couple of years, I did several paintings, prints, and mixed media artworks that incorporated imagery and references to Chinese culture.

This piece is composed with a lot of red, black yellow, and gold coloring, sort of a Chinese palette. The text on the left comes from a booklet of ancient Chinese writings. The dragon in the upper right hand corner is a hand done cut-out made from tissue paper...incredible! I bought a packet of these at the Shanghai Museum for about a dollar. The heart and the rose (another image theme that I favored at the time) and the rest of the piece were painted by me.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. And Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! See you Thursday.

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Text and image @2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Painting from Travel Photos

"Shanghai Goldfish" 2005
Oil, alkyd on canvas
Original: 30" x 36"

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While I do enjoy working "live" in the studio, I am quite aware of the limitations of painting only from direct observation. Things change, even indoors: flowers die, fruit rots, the light varies from day to day. Painting outdoors is even more challenging, with shifts in light and shadow, wind, cloud drifting, and weather moving in. So having a camera to capture the way something looks "right now" is very useful for completing paintings.

One of those times when having a camera handy is when one is traveling.

Shanghai Goldfish was developed from a photograph I took in 2000 at at tea house in China. We were on our way out the door when the goldfish in the Chinese porcelain bowl caught my eye. A quick snapshot made this painting a possibility. Without the photo, the idea for the painting would have vaporized into a forgotten memory from the trip. It still took 5 years for the idea to crystalize in my mind as an image to paint. I was glad that I had the photo to keep the idea alive.

The original painting is for sale, along with a giclée on stretch canvas (various sizes) in limited edition, and an open edition art print. Email me for additional purchase information.

Thanks for coming along and looking at my painting.

Have a great day. See you Friday.
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Text, image, and painting ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

GOOD NEWS...Follow up

Heads or Tails, 2008
Oil on canvas panel
8" x 10" unframed

Contact Artist to purchase.

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As you may recall from my May 21 post, I had two flower paintings accepted for the Orlando Museum 's "1st Thursdays" event. The third entry (which was "rejected") was Heads or Tails, shown here.

Ironically, when I went to check in the paintings at the Museum yesterday morning, the receiving staff asked for Morning Tulips and Heads or Tails! Apparently, there was a mix up, but they took the two flower pieces for the showing.

So, I thought I would show my blog readers what the Museum goers missed last night. Heads or Tails was based on a photograph I snapped in Shanghai on my trip to China in November 2000. Even though, on one hand, Shanghai is a modern mega-tropolis that makes New York City look like a small town, there are still many open air markets and and street vendors that sell "fresh"...really fresh...consumables.

My interest in doing this image was the challenge of painting the exquisite range of reds in the picture. I also enjoyed figuring out how to create the visual texture of fish scales. (I used a piece of plastic mesh.)

Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate your interest, support, encouragement, and comments.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday!
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Images and artwork copyright ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.