The Fun In Reflections.....I love reflections! In water puddles, on lakes, glassware, storefronts, and my mirror! Ha! I am not the only artist who feels this way...art shows and magazines will display many beautiful paintings of reflections. Why the love affair? Speaking for myself, the dual images are not exactly alike and small distortions are present, which make them fun to paint. I have two I want to show you. Both are storefronts and I just happened on them, but my eyes immediately knew I'd paint those scenes! Found this window front in a tiny town of Lafayette, here in Oregon. Everything is backwards and a bit darker. THIS is the type of painting I get lost in! A joy! And here's a beauty of a storefront I found in another little village community near where I live. The shopkeeper is a delightful woman who created this wonderful woman's home boutique store. Again, the fascination of shapes and backward images. I purposefully chose cooler blue tones for this painting and I like the feel. I like painting repeat subjects. I went through a two year period painting fur, feathers, and wood. Those three subjects were foreign to me and I wanted a realistic appearance. By the end of that time I was quite good... but changed my style as I created my new technique.
Often I find myself interested in a theme, or I want to perfect a technique and will paint several of the same subjects. These are the only two storefronts...so far...I've got my eyes opened for more! Patrice Ladypatrice5@gmail.com www.patricecameronfineart.com
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View this email in your browser Basics of Understanding Art...There certainly is much art to consider as people express themselves in a variety of ways. I've come up with some basic art modalities hoping to shed some clarity. CONTEMPORARY ART... The art you see created by today's artists who are globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advanced. The contemporary art forms include painting, sculpture, drawing, dance, music, performance, photography, conceptual, animation, internet, interactive, print making, to name a few. FINE ART...refers to an art form created for it's aesthetic value and beauty instead of functionality. Art for Art's Sake. It has it's historical beginnings in drawing and design such as painting, sculpture, photography, and print making, APPLIED ARTS... are functional with both aesthetics and function in mind. These include machine made items and craft items from artisans. ABSTRACT ART...uses the visual language of shape, form, color and line to create art that does not attempt to represent reality. This art is open to interpretation... so the viewer has the freedom to assign its meaning. Understanding abstract art requires an open mind, and imagination. FIGURATIVE ART...describes artwork that represents real objects, and is therefore called representational. Figurative art does not only refer to the human figure or animals, however they are frequent subjects. DECORATIVE ART...concerned with the design and ornamentation of functional items such as furniture, jewelry, ceramics, stained glass, and the such. VISUAL ARTS... including paintings, sculpture, photography, and essentially anything you can look at. PERFORMING ARTS...an art form that combines visual art with dramatic performance. LITERARY ART..relates to the written word and includes writing, editing, critiquing, and other activities related to written communication. My earlier paintings were figurative and representational. (Above). This is a figurative painting...highly representational, no one would have a hard time identifying the subject. My newer technique is taking me more into the abstracted realism with the focus on form, shape, and color. The abstraction and a representational quality is provided by my distinct Values. Let's take a look..... Now here's one of my latest paintings...it's an exploratory experiment. It's small, 11"x11". Turned out lovely with those strong values and at first glance, it's abstracted! Color and shapes carry this piece. Does that give you a bit more clarity?
For many...Art is Art....they like what they like, and that's alright too. Next week's topic will be a surprise. (A surprise for me too...no idea yet). Oh...I almost forgot to mention: My artwork has been featured in the new, first issue of the Pacific Northwest SUBJECTIV Literary and Visual Arts Journal Read more here: http://www.subjectivjournal.com/issues/ Patrice Ladypatrice5@gmail.com www.patricecameronfineart.com Who can look at this whimsical painting and not think of Gelett Burgess' poem: I never saw a purple cow I never hope to see one; But I can tell you, anyhow, I'd rather see than be one! Art As A Form of Nourishment... As an artist I create, explore, investigate, and trial my paintings. I show you the ones that appear successful. The less successful ones are also interesting and give me ideas. I am also a writer with a morning writing practice which kick starts the creative juices. Many times I start a free flow of words that come out on the page which lead to other concepts and I'm off and running. Other times I'll write a topic on the top of the next page, in my writing journal, and use that to jump off my next morning's practice . Today's blog is taken from those writing pages about 'Art as a form of Nourishment'. "Give me the abbreviated version", my husband would say...here I go: 'Life enhances goodness through focused awareness. I'll focus on art. It's affect is abrupt... as color, shapes, and form fills the view and slowly a story emerges and begets the meaning of value. Some art is meant to touch us for a moment and can nourish us long after the viewing. Other works demand repeated doses of beauty, visual excitement, or provocation to stir within. Willingness to feel and appreciate then nourishes, creating that goodness. Take away... Art portrays life and stirs notions of recognition. This actually builds on last week's inspiration of nature. Such a large topic. Certain there will be more art and nature to show and tell in the future. And here's another sweet poem that pairs well this this painting: Dance with the waves, move with the sea. Let the rhythm of the water set your soul free. ~Christy Ann Martine Well, this has been an interesting process of writing this week. I've learned free flow thinking needs a gentle guidance to relay a connected concept. Thanks for your patience with the experiment.
Next week 'll be going back into my art history archives to discuss different types of art. Thank you for all your support, Patrice Ladypatrice5@gmail.com www.patricecameronfineart.com Nature Whispers Inspiration... Walk a sunny weekend in the country, or immerse yourself in the garden. Stand next to the ocean, my favorite, and see how quickly cares release. In everyday life, a break outside to take deep breaths is sometimes all you need. We live indoors but crave nature, the out of doors. Artists paint the feelings you experience. We are inspired to do so through that creative pull that whispers to us. We all experience nature uniquely and feel the healing goodness. Perhaps this is why nature is portrayed so beautifully in many art forms . Viewing nature can make one feel better. Pictures are sometimes better than words. Let me show you my attempts to connect through nature: A scene each of us has probably come across in the country. Painted softly to encourage the serene. This big guy frequents all the waterfronts. They hang out by the water all day but actually sleep in the trees! There is something so respectable about a bird this big! Rocky, coarse, and unavailable! The ocean controls this area so beware. A different feeling nature portrays. The beaches are easy but I'm drawn to this more. Ideas are always swirling in my head and sometimes they find themselves here. Every morning I pick a topic and spend the next 15 minutes writing about it. Interesting concepts arise. Tomorrow's writing will be about: Art as a form of nourishment. Let's see what comes up for next week"s offering.. Ladypatrice5@gmail.com...contact me if you are interested in my original paintings www.patricecameronfineart.com...if you are interested in PRINTS Thank you for your referrals and support. Patrice Clarity of What's Important....Hello again! I've had some wonderful feedback on my new pandemic series of watercolor landscapes! Thank you all who took the time to comment and share. Behind my painting table and computer, I sometimes wonder if my paintings and thoughts are read and viewed. Obviously so. Today I'm offering a painting of an upper lake in the high desert of Bend, Oregon area. Again, I was alone and able to enjoy my thoughts and nature, in my own time. When I came upon this scene, the water was crystal clear and a rich, brilliant green...like I had never seen water before! Frozen in place, I allowed it's unique beauty to fill me. I still remember the feeling. Clarity. Have you also experienced nature in this way? I want more of those types of experiences in my life. I've contemplated that experience, relationships, and other events, that have given me great joy. They didn't cost anything, and required little from me...other than being present to enjoy. I have time now and am pursuing more of these opportunities. They're everywhere! "CLARITY IN THE MOMENT"
Ahhh.... Patrice www.patricecameronfineart.com Ladypatrice5@gmail.com We All Need Connection... Creators often do so alone...following their ideas and testing them out in private. There is unlimited freedom to succeed or not succeed (artists don't use the word 'fail'). During these process times, the energy can be all consuming. I think everyone has experienced this. And then a point occurs where socialization calls to fill another need. A different energy to fill you up. "We don't accomplish anything in this world alone...and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something." ~Sandra Day O'Connor I create my own happiness (and misery) and knew I needed other like minded creatives around me. I chose to seek them out by joining organizations and volunteering. Word got out about the volunteer thing and I now have a very large social life! My best decision was to join the Watercolor Society of Oregon and get involved. Not only am I meeting my most favorite people, I am learning activities, building confidence, helping so many, and making a difference through leadership. I get my fill, then go back to my studio. During this stay at home time, it's become pretty interesting and creative, on how to keep in touch with loved ones. Zoom, Marco Polo, FaceTime, Skype... our digital world is a blessing! Connection...it's healthy, fulfilling, and expands my happiness ...just be careful with the volunteering thing! I belong to the Lake Area Artists, a group of 38 artists. We have gathered monthly to discuss and plan our yearly Spring Shows. We all know and like each other and gather for potluck lunches and support each other's wins and challenges. Part of every Show & Sale, we donate a 10"x10" painting in the 6 spectrum colors of the rainbow. This year I chose blue. All donations are given as scholarship monies to help two local high school artists with art school. I love that connection to community, and with each other. Our Spring show will be moved to the Fall this year...will keep you informed. It's the end of winter and a bit rainy.
Nature always inspires the best in me. Let's spend some time in Nature next week. Please contact me if you, or someone you know, is interested in uplifting art. I appreciate your business and referrals. www.patricecameronfineart.com Ladypatrice5@gmail.com Patrice Calm during uncertainty........I think this is what most people are looking for these days. I am. I've never experienced a pandemic before. Culturally, many of us remember the Mt. St Helene's eruption in the 1980's, and 9-11 is still aching in all our hearts. People came together to help people. It's what humans do. This current "event" has affected us in ways discouraging physical helping of others, with distancing...but that hasn't stopped the creative ways we reach out to each other to support and connect. I desire to offer my talent in ways to help. I offer my Art for your temporary relief and distraction. Ease and appreciation. I've decided to change things up a bit during this time. Am focusing on 'calm paintings'. I've been playing with less intense pigment values to produce a softer and more gentle effect. Part of my stress relief is to hike in less traveled areas and photograph serene nature scenes. I paint them for me... but I want to offer them to you, for your viewing also. Studies indicate Art decreases stress. (I don't have specific journal articles, for all my science friends but can easily come up with some for you. Ha.) Color alters mood. Landscapes transport and elicit feelings. It is my hope to gift you a moment or two of calm. Here's my first pandemic painting: "LETTING GO"
Ventured into the Columbia Gorge after our last snowfall in Portland, as expected... hardly anybody at Multnomah Falls... peaceful time there. Appreciative. Patrice www.patricecameronart.com Ladypatrice5@gmail.com Criticism of the Old Masters and Contemporary Critique...Art is an expression. Where there is Art there will be people who appreciate and hold the artwork in wonder...and also be those who not only do not like the creation, but feel the need to 'squash the artist'. Perhaps standards dictate the sway from the norm, but artists don't create on demand, the good ones follow their inner fire and tend to the embers that need to take flame! (Dang, that was a good sentence.) So you probably won't be surprised to read that Claude Monet was told by an art critic of the time that his paintings looked incomplete and that as a painter he had poor technique. This person wrote a scathing review in a French magazine stating that a "Preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more finished than his seascape". Ouch. Vincent Van Gogh's paintings were dismissed as amateur. Pablo Picasso introduced a new technique and had a profound understanding of the human form. His work was called schizophrenic and the paintings did not belong in galleries. These artists are a small sample of the times. They weren't feeling' the love. But... in spite of bad reviews and criticism they each continued to create because they believed in themselves! They believed in their art! Now these two paintings are my works...not to be mistaken for the Old Masters! (Ha!) Let's come back to contemporary times. Artists realize that making art is a solo practice and much of our time is spent in the studio. It is with the greatest of appreciation for critique, discussion, socialization, and education that we gather in small groups to discuss each other's art. I value these opinions and bring my most challenging pieces and those strong enough for competition. Critiques are done respectfully, usually addressing an area the artist requests help with. It's supportive and helpful. Art critics??? I'm still a small fish in a very big pond. They just haven't found me yet! I thought that was interesting...did you? It's fun to go back into my art history days. Let's do that again sometime.
Next week it's all about CONNECTIONS! Yep...we all need them. I never would have thought I'd be hanging around with these types of people! :-o Am so very grateful for all your comments and recommendations. Interested in a specific area of art? Ask me! I know everything!!! (Ha!) www.patricecameronart.com Ladypatrice5@gmail.com Patrice A Complex Painting Progression...As many of you know, my technique is fairly new and still evolving. I am continually looking at subject matter that somehow is increasingly more complex. I have had good success with complex paintings if I paint them large...22" x 30"...but lately I have been interested in providing "Small Space Art" for my upcoming Spring Show. Decided I would paint a bunch of busy dahlias...because I could. (I have always had more guts than brains). My paper size is 10" x 15" and I sketch in the entire paper. My experience tells me this could be really really cool, or a disaster. I throw caution to the wind, with my 'Laisez-Faire' attitude, and eagerly jump in. There's my black and white photo and my sketch. See that yellow on the paper?...that's a special substance I paint on the areas I want to keep absolutely white. I'm a quick and sloppy painter at times and protect this white value. I peel it off when the painting is done. It helps to make my paintings successful. OK...so far so good. Painting in my dark values helps me to make sense of all the shapes. Am starting to lay in some light value color. It's pretty wild. If my values are right on I may just pull this one off! I like it!!!! As with most of my paintings in this style...looking at it close up appears quite abstracted but when you look at it a few feet away, your eyes see the images...that is the work of distinct values...lights, mid tones, and darks. Matted with a 3" white mat will give some resting area for the viewer. I think it's an exciting painting, how about you? I came up with a really cool title for this one: "FLORAL EXPLOSION" Next week let's explore how the old Masters created and critiqued their art. Critique groups are valuable in one's art career but there's something much, much more important...and the Masters perfected this!
I've had questions about how to obtain Prints of my work. That's easy...I have an online store at: www.patricecameronart.com Ladypatrice5@gmail.com Patrice A Glimpse into My Painting Season... The holidays are over and this is my busy painting season! I have submissions for competitions and the Lake Area Artists group show in April, to prepare for. There is a slight difference in preparing for these events. Competition paintings are judged on the elements of art: composition, line, shape, space, color, value, texture, plus uniqueness of subject with masterful execution. I spend quite a bit of time preparing and painting these pieces. They also are the paintings I will take to my critique group to have other artistic eyes view, and comment. Being 'juried into' a show or exhibition, validates the skill and creativity of the artist. But...even though jurors are well known and excellent artists, they are as objective, within a subjective arena, as they can be. I am delighted when my paintings are chosen and understand when they are not. That's pretty grown up of me, don't you think? Here is an example of a recent submission into the National Watercolor Society. There is a lot of strength in this painting with values, shapes, depth, and visual interest. I paid special attention to the face of this ship's figurehead, my focal point of the painting. Wish me luck! Art shows are fun and exciting for me as I have much more freedom with what I choose to paint! Viewers tend to appreciate art differently with attention to emotional impact of subject matter, memory, color display, and uniqueness. It is not uncommon to overhear viewers say to their friend, "I love that one!" Viewers know what they like and enjoy wandering through large exhibitions, taking their time. During the past summer I accumulated lots of fun photos references to paint. I've been pouring over these and choosing which ones to paint for the show & sale. My selection process?...land or seascapes, and interesting, everyday life subjects. If I find it interesting and valuable, I'll paint my pleasure and delight into each painting. And therein lies the meaning to my art; an offer of beauty and good feelings to viewers...my visual gift to all. Here's a lovely I painted for the April show. A soothing subject reminiscent of hours of enjoyment in my Spring and Summer garden. What I would have you know about this one is I painted it during a very long, rainy grey stretch, and I found myself enjoying the sunshine and shadows, hearing my wind chimes, and contemplating which annuals I'd plant this coming season. I think my joy transfers onto the paper. I'll keep you all posted if my paintings are accepted into exhibition and also when the Lake Area Artists will be having their Spring Show. Stay tuned.
Next week I will show you a new painting I started from beginning to end. This one was particularly interesting, and I'll share why. Thank you for your continued support and great comments. If you know of someone in searching for the perfect artwork for home or office, please consider giving them my website or contact information. I appreciate your referrals. www.patricecameronart.com Ladypatrice5@gmail.com Patrice |
AuthorHi...I'm Patrice... an oil and acrylic painter who writes, and enjoys sharing how I create and think. Archives
March 2024
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