"TOO MUCH ART" Sale: Day 4

Good morning! Thank you for letting me share these paintings and my thoughts with you. Have a good Saturday.

SOLD  “House of God”, oil on gessoed panel, 12” x 13” (approx), framed. Price $100.

I painted this when I was searching for meaning in my life, for something greater than my human self, something most people call “God”, “Spirit”, “Higher Power”, or some other moniker. The name doesn’t really matter. Finding it is.

SOLD  “July Flag”, oil on Italian canvas panel, 10” x 8”, framed. Price $100

 

While living in Florida, I painted with a nice group of local plein air painters that met weekly in various locations around Orlando. We were out working just before July 4, in an Orlando neighborhood that reminded me of the Chicago suburb where I grew up.

Perhaps what is captured most in this painting I did that day is the quality of “Americana”, the one that all people in our country dream of achieving, desire living, and deserve the opportunity to have. Let’s hope it is still possible.

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Text and Images ©2021 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

TOO MUCH ART: Day 3

Today’s sale paintings reflect my living in New Mexico, home to 23 different Native American tribes. And the color for the day is RED!

“Pueblo Pictoral”, oil on gessoed panel, 12” x 8”, unframed.  Price $45.

Off and on over the past several years, I’ve developed various traditional pottery sherd designs into paintings. Folks often think of Native American designs being primarily geometric. However, there are many motifs based on natural forms, such as deer, bears, birds, plants, and leaves. This imagery is found on pottery, weavings, jewelry, and other items created by Native American artisans and referred to as “pictorals.”

SOLD “Indian Things”, oil on stretched canvas, 10” x 8”, framed. Price $100

A friend of mine has a Southwest style home decorated with Native American items which she and her parents collected over the years. While house sitting for her several years ago, I enjoyed looking at the various objects on display and was inspired to create this still life painting composed of some of her treasures. 

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Text and Images ©2021 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

"TOO MUCH ART" Sale: Day 2

Thanks so much to all of you who are following my TOO MUCH ART sale. I appreciate you taking a look at my artwork and hope you are enjoying see the different paintings I’ve done over the years. As I go through the process of wrapping and packing, I am rediscovering some work that I had forgotten about. So it’s fun to do this “show and tell" with you all. And I really appreciate the very nice comments you have sent me. Thank you!

Today I have two small paintings to share: a sweet backyard landscape I did in Florida, and a fun colorful "pour painting". Enjoy!

SOLD  “Backyard Blooms”, oil on cradled panel, 8” x 6”, unframed.  Price $25.

While living in Florida, I took up plein air painting—which is setting up your easel in the great outdoors and creating a painting from the scenery that surrounds you. (This is one of the things the French Impressionists became famous for doing.)

The challenge of plein air painting is capturing the color, light, and shadow of the scene before you within a 2—3 hour window. After that, the shift in light, shadow, and color that you began with is gone. So often plein air paintings have a tendency to be done on a smaller sized panel—You either get the painting done or forget it.

“Backyard Blooms” is a painting I did in 2010 during a plein air “Art in the Gardens” tour in Leesburg, FL. It was a lovely event hosted by generous homeowners who made their gardens available to a select group of artists. I was pleased to be one of them.

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“Bird & Leaf”, acrylic on stretched canvas, 6” x 6”, unframed.  Price $20.

A few years ago, a new painting technique became all the rage. Called “poured painting”, the most basic technique involved layering acrylic paint colors in a cup that was then poured over a stretched canvas.

I did a few of these to try it out. It was fun, easy, messy, and the outcome was an unpredictable swirl of colors—which was the best surprise. However, other than the color variations, all the paintings looked pretty much the same. (Several pouring variations have evolved since then with far more distinctive results.)

Wanting to create a more interesting image, I glued the black cut out elements over the poured painting surface, added some metallic gold edges, and Voila! Bird and Leaf came into being. Can you see it?

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Images and text ©2021 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

"TOO MUCH ART" Sale: Day 1

Here are the first two paintings offered to those who signed up for my "TOO MUCH ART" sale.

 
SOLD "Moon and Morada"   Original painting, oil on art board, 16.5 x 17.5” framed.  Price: $100

      

Moon and Morada was completed in 1995. I had just moved to New Mexico the year before and began the challenge of painting Southwest landscape imagery while becoming acquainted with the culture of my new home state. 

Traveling down random roads on weekend drives, I came across small, rustic adobe churches in outlying villages scattered across the State. These little churches had been hand built by the Penitentes, a lay Catholic brotherhood of local religious believers, and had survived hundreds of years in the dry New Mexico climate.

I found these structures to be fascinating, even mysterious, especially depicted nestled in a surrounding mountain scape, bathed in moonlight.

       Silk Seeds, original painting, oil on cradled panel, 

                7” x 5”, unframed.  Price $20.

                                            

I did this painting while living in Florida for a few years.

Unlike the Southwest landscape, Florida has a plethora of green vegetation—a good place for an artist to develop one’s skill in mixing a variety of green hues. These seed pods are from the mimosa tree also called the silk tree, which is native to the Middle East and Asia.

I love the mimosa’s fern-like leaves and the bright pink flowers; and the seed pods I painted here in oil on a cradled panel.

Thank goodness for Spring…

Carol L. Adamec: "Nature's Spring Kimono", 2021. Acrylic gouache, gold metallics, 12"x12" / 13"x13" framed.

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted on this blog…

We lost our little Mother last November, just before the holidays. She was 97 and weighed less than 90 pounds. It wasn’t from COVID, thank goodness; and she passed peacefully, without pain. 

Since then I have been dealing with her estate—quite a learning curve for me over the past six months, dealing with lawyers, accountants, IRS, banks, stock companies. Everything has taken longer to process due to coronavirus limitations, quarantine regulations, and a couple of trips to and from Florida. 

In April I finally got my vaccinations. (I hope you have, too.) Things are becoming more relaxed, less contentious. I have been walking my little dog in the evening, leaving my mask at home, although I still wear it in public places where I expect to encounter people. Lately I have been feeling more energized and have been working in the studio more often, too. 

We are having a lovely spring in New Mexico, brought on by divine rain showers in April, turning everything green. Tulips, irises, and lilacs have bloomed and gone. Now it’s May. Roses of every color are abundant all over the neighborhood, with Spanish Broom providing splashes of bright yellow, and hollyhocks in pink and crimson springing up around my yard. I especially missed calling Mom on Mother’s Day this year. We always talked about what was blooming in Florida.

The painting featured on today’s post—"Nature’s Spring Kimono"— is one I recently finished and just framed. I love the spiral on the kimono capturing the energy of Springtime, filled in with the colors of blue skies and fluffy white clouds, green leaves and white flowers, amidst a swirl of golden sunshine. The kimono is then set on a background of deep pink and a plethora of greenery. For me, the painting is about Beauty and Hope, the same beauty and hope Spring brings. 

Mom’s favorite season was Spring. I think she would have liked this painting, too.

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Text & Image ©2021 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Now showing...

Like so many facets of life, the coronavirus has drastically altered gallery openings and exhibits, too. The alternative has become online exhibits.

I was very pleased to be selected by the Placitas (NM) Art Series as one of 4 artists featured in their online exhibit for the month of September, for which the Placitas Art Series produced a video of the exhibit and composed music to accompany each artist’s work. I was very impressed with the quality of the production. 

And I look forward to the return of in-person opening receptions.

 
 

Finished: "Kimono for Modern Girl"

"Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil, collage on stretched canvas, 36" x 36"

While the Jazz Age was flourishing in America during the 1920’s, the “moga” (short for modan gaaru) or “modern girl” emerged in the urban areas of Japan. 

Inspired by the American Flapper, the modern girl cast off her traditional kimono and morés, adopting Western-style fashions, makeup, and hairstyles, while indulging in a social nightlife of dancing, smoking, drinking sake, and riding in cars with “mobos” (modern boys), much to horror of her traditional Japanese parents.

In this painting, I've relaxed the rigidity of the traditional kimono, and "fleshed" it out with a sense of the female form. The Japanese writing in the upper left hand corner is the title of a popular novel of the day,  "Naomi (A Fool's Love)", about a man's obsession to marry a "modern girl"and encourage her Westernized ways. 

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Text and Image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

In the meantime....

Original: "Red Kimono" 2020, Acrylic gouache, gold, 16"x12"

I'm still working on my large painting, "Kimono for Modern Girl." In the meantime, I finished up this smaller painting, "Red Kimono." It's similar to "White Lily Kimono" I did a few years ago. 

If you'd like to leave a comment, please do so. I am always pleased to hear what viewers think of my work.

Have a great day!

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Text and Image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Happy 4th of July!

"July Flag", 2008, oil on panel, 10x8". Plein Air painting done in Orlando, FL.

Enjoy your holiday!

Finding My Joy

WIP "Kimono for Modern Girl" oil on canvas, 36x36"

Three weeks ago I thought I was nearly finished with this painting. But I HATED where it was going. I had lost my "mojo" and enthusiasm to work on it. I was stuck and unhappy.

About the same time, I came across a free 10-day, online workshop called "Find Your Joy", offered by Louise Fletcher, a contemporary English abstract painter. 

To distract myself from the stuck painting on my easel, I enrolled in her workshop, which included live conversations on Facebook and assignments she sent via email. I did them all, which made me try out different media, tools, colors, and concepts. 

It was a lot of work. And I ended up using art supplies I bought but never had used, painted with acrylics, did collage, tried out colors I would never choose, and fearlessly "played" in the studio instead of working to be "productive." 

Although I didn't experience any breakthroughs about becoming an abstract artist, Louise did drop several pearls of wisdom during her talks that got my attention:

"When you're painting, notice what you like and do more of that. 

And what you don't like, paint over it.

"When you think you've gone too far,

you may not have gone far enough."

Her free workshop wrapped up this past Monday, and I went to the studio on Tuesday, armed with her good advice, and painted over what I didn't like about "Kimono for Modern Girl" and once again reworked the drawing. The painting is not finished yet, but I am once again excited to work on it.

To Louise Fletcher: Thank you for your generosity and wisdom. You have helped me get back on track and to once again find my joy in the studio.

You can check out Louise's website and subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.louisefletcherart.com

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway...(Part 6)

WIP: Kimono for Modern Girl, 2020, oil on canvas, 36x36"

The painting is still on my easel. I keep thinking, "I'm going to finish this painting today." And then I paint on it some more. Hopefully, after just a few more sessions, it will be done. Stay tuned!

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway...(Part 5)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", oil on canvas, 36x36"

I reworked some of the drawing on this painting over the last few days. Usually, if I am dissatisfied with how a painting is shaping up, the reason is the drawing. Now I'm ready to go forward with the painting. 

Stay tuned!
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Text and image ©2020 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway... (part 4)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil on canvas, 36 x 36"

Here's the latest progress on my newest painting on the easel, after another day of work. Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and Image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway ... (part 3)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil on canvas, 36x36"

After another day of painting, here's how my new kimono painting looks now. Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New Painting Underway (part 2)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil on canvas, 36"x36"

Here's the first round of putting some color on the painting. The drawing is still rough and will need further refinement.  There's much more to come. 

Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway...

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, O/C, 36"x36"

The idea for this painting has been simmering for several months and has finally made it to the canvas.

Today's post shows the first stages of the painting: 

     1) Gray underpainting

     2) Drawing in dark blue color pencil
     3) White gesso applied to areas that will be very light in color.

Why start with a gray underpainting, you may be wondering? A lot of this painting will be done in reds and blues, colors that are similar in value (tone) to the gray underpainting. It is easier to get good color coverage if the underpainting is similar in tone, rather than trying to cover a white canvas with darker colors. Likewise, I've kept the white areas where very light colors will be applied, so those colors will not be altered by the darker underpainting. (Things I learned in art school.)

There's more to come and I'll keep you posted. Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Irises in the Buddha garden

PHOTO: Carol L Adamec

Just outside my door: such a delightful gift from Nature!

"Art in the Time of Coronavirus" ... food for thought

Original: Tribal Kimono, 2020. 24"x36", mixed media on panel.

How is it that being under New Mexico's "stay-at-home" mandate provides so much "free time" at home, yet the days seem to fly by during the current Covid19 crisis? I know I could be/should be in the studio painting away for hours on end, since there are no places to go or things to do to distract me. But that is not happening, and I am flummoxed by it all. 

I do try to resist the newsfeed and emails on my cellphone, computer, and iPad. I have avoided watching daylong media reports on the TV as well. I even put my cellphone in another room while I am working in the studio. 

Yet, the notification ding on my electronic devices is seductive and being "informed" is addictive: Is it good news or bad? Is the curve flattening? Are the number of infections rising? The death rate increasing? Is there a test yet that is truly reliable? Any progress on a vaccine so this can be over? When will my stimulus check arrive? Will our country go broke for working people? Or will working people die if they go back to work? Whom to believe: Wall Street? or Scientists, Doctors, Healthcare Professionals? 

How will I know if I don't at least look at the headlines to know what is going on in the world at large? And then I am hooked for hours on end, reading every incoming scrap of news and related story. And day after day, another day has slipped by.

Back in my small, personal world of home and studio is Tribal Kimono, a painting I finished last month just as Coronavirus was replacing our "Normal Lives" and cancelling my April exhibit at LRoss Gallery in Memphis. It's quite different from many of my other kimono paintings which are based on organic, harmonious, nature-based forms. 

Tribal Kimono is geometric, map-like, with strong opposing arrow shapes, rendered in  black white, grey, red and gold. There is chaos and order, light and dark, pattern and randomness.  

As I look at this painting today, I ask myself: Did Covid19 seep into my subconscious as I worked on this kimono painting during January, February, and March? Are the horizontals and verticals the charts and graphs of coronavirus spreads, deaths, recoveries? Are the dotted areas hotspots of outbreaks? Are the curves rising or flattening? Which beliefs, opinions, and facts are right--in the blacks, whites, or  greys?  Which "authorities"--government, scientific, healthcare, corporate, political, religious--should we follow? Which arrow is the direction our country should take? Are the red areas warnings and dangers? The gold ones, truths and solutions? 

Since "We're all in this together", does this painting somehow represent the current "tribal" kimono that America is collectively wearing?

What do you think? And how are these days in the Time of Coronavirus going for you?

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©2020 Carol L. Adamec, text and image. All rights reserved.

"Art in the Time of CoronaVirus"....

Kimono Swing 2, 2020, oil, gold on canvas, 36" x 48"

It's been several weeks since I last posted. Since Christmas, I have been working 6-8 hours a day, almost every day, painting new work for a solo exhibit “In a Japanese Garden” that was scheduled for the month of April at LRoss Gallery in Memphis, TN. Last week the show was (mutually) cancelled, hopefully postponed until later this year, or rescheduled for next spring.

I am feeling part disappointment; and part relief to not have a 1,000 mile drive from Albuquerque to Memphis ahead of me and being away from home during this turbulent, unpredictable time.

However, I thought I’d use this blog to share a sneak preview of some of the new work that I completed for the show. Enjoy!

The painting posted today is “Kimono Swing 2”, oil on stretched canvas, 36” x 48” (yeah, it’s a big one for me!)

The work "kimono" means "something to wear" so there are many styles of kimono for different occasions. This painting is based on the furisode, a woman's kimono, and the fanciest Japanese kimono worn for various special events. Traditionally the furisode kimono was worn by young, unmarried women and was made with the finest fabrics, the most lavish designs, and embellished with metallic threads. The word "furisode" means "swinging sleeves" which can vary in length from 15 inches to three feet. If a young woman wanted to attract a certain young man's attention, she would gently swing the long sleeves of her furisode kimono to signal her interest.

Inspired by these factors, I composed this painting to portray the layering of materials and colorful patterning with gold accents of a furisode, along with the excitement of youthful romantic attraction on a lighthearted, breezy spring day.

Thank you for taking a look at my work. Please stay safe and be careful during this time.
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©2020 Carol L. Adamec,Text and image,  All rights reserved.

Happy Valentine's Day...

Carol L Adamec: "Hearts & Flowers" mixed media on rice paper.

...with Hearts & Flowers for you!