AROUND THE WORLD BLOG HOP

Rhonda Carpenter invited me to be part of this Around the World Blog Hop - which appears to be a way to connect with other blogger friends.

Rhonda and I met several years ago and got to be friends through our attendance at the Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meetings.  Over the years we have painted together and taken some day trips.  She's funny (sometimes when she doesn't think she is!) and quirky - and I do like my friends quirky!  She is also very serious about her art work and is constantly learning and pushing herself to grow as an artist.

Over the past few years I've found it so interesting to meet people who have read my blog!  Some post comments, most do not.  But so many people say "oh, I read your blog the other day . . . ", "loved your last blog post about . . . "  And I've personally met several people directly through my blog who I would never have met otherwise.  This big old world really isn't all that big sometimes!

I've found blogging to be rewarding and challenging, and lots of fun!

I'm supposed to answer a few questions, so here goes:

1.  What am I working on?
Right now I'm working on a tuba!  Yep, that musical instrument!  Sometimes a friend and I take an object or a subject and we both paint it, putting our own slant on it.  So this was one of those joint venture paintings.

2.  How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I'm more known for my lace and patterned paintings, which I consider simple still lifes.  There are many other artists out there who do much the same, even sometimes the same topic or object.  We all learn from one another and are influenced by others, whether we acknowledge that fact or not.
However, I've been told on several occasions that people immediately know my paintings without looking at the gallery label.  I guess I'm able to put my personal spin on a subject, no matter how mundane, to create "my" look - whatever that is!!!

3.  Why do I create what I do?
Hmmmmm . . . gotta think about this for a minute.
Something will just catch my eye and I think it would make an interesting painting.  I'm distracted by bright and shiny objects!  Also colorful objects.  Also old, rusty stuff.  Also shiny cars and motorcycles . . . . (get the drift!!!!)
I've been collecting fabric, particularly that with an oriental motif, for years, and finally decided to create paintings using it as the backdrop.  I've also been collecting interesting vases and boxes and just "stuff" - if I see something that looks interesting and it's not too costly, I buy it and tuck it away somewhere, waiting for the right time to pull it out and create a still life set up.
I love history and old things, so going to an antique fair or the local tractor show give me great photo ops.  I have many photos of possible paintings gleaned from these resources.
I'm not particularly interested in landscapes or figures.  Guess I just like "stuff" instead!

4.  How does my creative process work?
I usually paint in a series, which makes it easier to decide what to paint!
I have an idea of what I want to paint, and I'll pore over my photos until something looks interesting.  Then I may crop it and move on.  After I have a few photos that look like possibilities, I may print them 4-6 on a sheet of paper and look at them more carefully.  I might possibly take some of this one and some of that one until I come up with a good composition.  Sometimes I luck out and have a really good composition right off the bat.  I do try to compose when I take the photo, but sometimes that's not really possible if I'm out in public.  When I do my set ups at home I'll take a number of photos from all angles.
Once my photo is selected I enlarge and trace - yep, I'm not a great draw-er.  And since I like doing intricate things I would spend most of my life just working to get the drawing done, and by then I wouldn't even want to work on the paintings!  I must say, though, that even with tracing, there is sometimes a LOT of drawing still to be done to refine those shapes.
Then I decide on how I'll be painting (technique) and the colors I'll use and the methods (plan).

I invited several bloggers to participate in this, but all but one said they were too busy right now but thanked me for the opportunity.  I can certainly appreciate that!  There are times I simply don't have time to do what needs to be done, let alone add something more to my plate!  Now I'll introduce a blogger who agreed to participate.  

Christiane Kingsley.  Christiane lives in Canada, Eh!!!  As I have followed her blog she has evolved from strictly watercolor to include acrylics and mixed media.  I particularly love her watercolors of statues and stone carvings.  I also like her paintings using acrylic and gel mediums.  She is definitely taking her art career to new levels.  I applaud her and wish her the best of luck!