Krispy Creme Donuts Anyone?

What makes some artists hotter than a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts fresh from the oven, spread all over the magazines, New York shows, 150 comments on their Facebook or Blog posts about what they had for dinner, yet alone on their artwork, and others, not quite getting the huge kudos they so deserve?

You will be relieved to hear I am not being personally bitter.

I was blown away yesterday by the work of artist Meredith Brooks Abbott and her sizzling show Nature's Palette at the fabulous new Museum of Ventura County. http://www.venturamuseum.org/

Abbott and I speak the same art language, value painters, painters who like to observe from life, record what we see directy - we both even studied at The Arts Students' League of New York. Abbott in my humble opinion is a LIVING MASTER.

I know she has been in the magazines, is well-known and highly respected as an artist for sure with a well-deserved museum show but I would like to see her name SPLASHED far louder in BRIGHT RED around and abouts the world.

She deserves it. Don't mean to be sexist here, but as a female artist, I look for role models like her. They are few and far between. Living female Master Artist. Living masters of both sexes have always been in short supply. Shame about that.

Abbott paints everything extremely well, her focus mainly the countryside that surrounds her home in Santa Barbara be it a dappled field, rusty truck in it, or fruit on the tree. On rainy days a glorious still life off her home table.

BUT I was particularly taken with the paintings of her daughter which spanned many years. They kept me transfixed. THEY were amazing in technique and feel. They gave me a swift kick in the Krispy Kreme derriere.

I thought to myself, now the mother of two grown-up daughters, Jess and Rosie, what a good idea. Why the hell didn't I do that? YES, there was that one of Rosie that was featured in The New York Times, WAHOO, but not much else surely?

Then I realized at 3 a.m. this morning that I had done just that. But not really realized I was doing it. Thought my art wasn't that good of them, so stuffed it away in storage, kinda forgetting about it, not really caring if they ever saw the light of day or got damaged.

Fast forward....by 9 a.m. this morning I was tearing up my garage finding everything in storage that I have either drawn or painted of my two girls. Unfortunately, I had a few stabs at my heart knowing in my recent home move, I threw a few away thinking them below the art par. However, it was truly a wonderful moment stacking them up, especially seeing how far I had come in my own art through painting them. My girls were among my VERY first portraits. Those portraits helped me get real commissions. At the time I thought I had done an o.k. job on them. But now I know different, my skill set having improved. I still have a soft spot for them tho' faults aside. The wonder of even a bad "honest" portrait is that it does record a moment in time. Abbott's, however, were good from the get-go of her daughter. DRATS.

Regardless, what a treasure to look back and see your kids young once again, your art journey through their eyes and yours. I emailed both my daughters today, telling them to get ready for MORE. They won't know what hit them.

I post my garage stash for you and my two favorite paintings and drawing of each child. Thanks GIRLS! You really have been with me every step of the art way. I will now STORE this collection with due care.

So special thanks to Meredith Brooks Abbott for reminding me to do that and more. To re-connect with the scattered stash in the garage, knowing it has value despite the place you were at on the early art journey. And KNOW to consciously paint then more.

All you artists out there, record the daily life around you now as Abbott reminded me to do. Paint your kids, grandkids, parents, pets, goldfish, fruit on the tree...

Heck..even .a KRISPY CREME! Why not?

To read more about Meredith Brooks Abbott...go here...http://www.sullivangoss.com/meredithbrooks_Abbott/

WHATTA PORTRAIT SCORCHER!

Heard today a painting of Manchester City famous footballer Emmanuel Adebayor had a very strange odor to it, especially within the frame!

Hard to believe, but according to a UK Border Agency which sniffs around these kind of things, drug smugglers tried to transport a kilo of cannabis within a wooden frame around a painting of him. Wonder who painted it? It was sent from Togo, supposedly to Tottenham, North London but ended up somehow in a postal depot in Coventry. I used to live near Coventry! That's about where my connection with this story begins and ends.

Painters are famous for spending elaborate time and money on their portrait frames, gilding the lily so to speak.

My favorite crush Phillip de Laszlo was so obsessed about his frames that he painted the portraits actually in the frames to see the overall effect. See the picture here of his bald spot painting in front of a frame. Smart man. That mahlstick of his looks pretty peachy too.

Anyho, I might be looking at frames a bit more carefully from now on. This drug seize was revealed as one of the more unusual places Border Agency officers found drugs in 2010. No kid!

I will stick to getting my frames from Graphix Dimensionshttp://www.pictureframes.com/scripts/WebObjects/PictureFrames.woa/wa/Home?gclid=CMPiwqDLtaYCFRNSgwodSjUWIA for now.

To read about other whacky concealment hauls go here:http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/drug-smugglers-used-footballer-s-portrait-3993330

WHAT KATY DID?...The Daily Kate Blog

The Daily Kate blog featured my portrait of Kate Middleton . How cool is that, the avid royal watcher that I am?

http://www.thedailykate.org/

Seems like she had good week including a 28th birthday. Should I send her this as a gift? Think I have her address in somewhere.

Some like it hot...Philip De Laszlo

Who doesn't like to paint a sassy red-head? I sure do. This was my class demo yesterday at TheCalifornia Art Institute.

I like wot I got. Tried to make as much use as I could of the red hot dried toned canvas leaving things as transparent as chiffon in places. I have recently been painting a lot on this warmer ground. For years I painted on a cool greenish or blue greyed ground and my eye got very used to it.

Some like it hot? Master portraitist Philip De Laszlo http://www.delaszloarchivetrust.com/certainly did and used this technique to great effect through most of his illustrious career. He is one of my to-die-for favorite portrait painters of all time.

The current Queen of England described him recently as a somewhat irritating little man recalling her memories of being painted by him from life at around seven years old. How I would have liked to be irritated by him. His portrait skintones were LUSH!!!

Now you can be irritated by me. LISTEN TO MY RADIO INTERVIEW this week WIH RON TUNICK'S THE BUSINESS OF LIFE SHOW HERE. Thanks Ron!

http://coachrontunick.podomatic.com/entry/2011-01-05T08_33_47-08_00

CHITTER CHATTER, with Ron Tunick, KKZZ 1400AM

THANKS TO radio host Ron Tunick, KKZZ 1400AM, and his BUSINESS OF LIFE radio show letting me chit chat about my FACE OF VENTURA project. What a gracious guy.

you can hear it hear

http://coachrontunick.podomatic.com/entry/2011-01-05T08_33_47-08_00

A New Year "Thank You' DARLINGS!

THANK YOU darlings all so much for supporting my intense drawing challenge to draw daily through 2010. I could not have done it without your support. The frequent public posts, private emails, the phone calls (really from all corners of the world) meant, well, the world and most certainly helped me complete 365 Days of Drawing. Congratulatory flowers were even sent to me yesterday in a darling english china tea cup (gosh, I am itching to draw it) by a lovely artist who followed the challenge from afar. Wow.

An overview of what I learned from the challenge is coming First I need to decide how darn honest I want to be!

For now, here is my next challenge which I am excited about. AND I DON'T HAVE TO DRAW TODAY!! But maybe I want to? Ha.

Read about The Face of Ventura Project, 2011 here:

http://www.venturabreeze.com/12.29.10.pdf

It was a year in my art like no other, never to be repeated. Special thanks to my husband Paddy who put up with it all, deserving perhaps not a medal but a day without me drawing. Here we celebrate the last night of the year at a very swish glamorous Malibu party, as only deal pals Nick and Mary can throw. A hot ticket in town, complete with Mary's show-stopper Nancy Sinatra-esque boots, made for more than walking let me tell you!

More Verve Cliquot champers flowed than the Hudson has water - I held back of course with only one more drawing to go. And yes, I did wear those shoes, above. Forget about drawing challenges. Who knew I could do THAT? Unlike my drawing challenge, I quit them after an hour of agony. Some things just aren't worth sticking with.

Happy New Year to you all.

THE FINALE...365 DAYS OF DRAWING

I did it...wow! 365 days of unbroken line. So happy it is done. HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and many kisses.

The FIRST post

January 2nd, 2010...

I got this idea following on from my previous blog entry, and the great response I got from the drawing I posted, long distance phone calls even, that I should follow through on my New Year's resolution to draw more. I say this every year.

I also just saw the wonderful movie "Julie and Julia" about a young female chef-fan of Julia Childs, Julie Powell,who, looking to spice up her fairly ho-hum life, committed to 365 days of re-creating a recipe, one each day, from Child's famous bible cookbook about The Art of French Cooking.

It got me thinking yesterday, the first day of the year when I was feeling really lazy after a late night party and the inevitable New Year 'toasting-in' champagne. I didn't draw. I broke my resolution on the very first day. I did eat cake though.

What would happen I pondered in severe couch potato mode, what would I learn if I committed to a year of drawing EACH day, using the same medium, no matter what just like the girl in the movie did with her cooking? She cooked after a long day at work come hell or high boiling point water.

So I have decided to set myself a challenge. I will draw, no matter what. Even if I have to get up with the birds. And post it each day. The good, the bad and the ugly. And there will be ugly, especially if I try birds! For 365 days starting today. Even if I have painted all day (drawing and painting are separate disciplines to my mind that hugely compliment each other), even if I have taught a long class, even if I have...

I don't think it is going to be easy.

Here is my first drawing done this afternoon of a favorite model of mine, Holly Rose. I have set my self no rules apart from it has to be at least 30 minutes a day, no less, whether it be an apple or airport sketch. It can be a copy of a Master, it can be from life or it can be from a photo. So long as I draw. If I get serious flu, I will just sketch the Kleenex.

Want to do it with me?