by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Dogs, Process, Work in Progress |
“I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy painter.
I see by your outfit that you’re a cowboy painter too.
We see by our outfits that we are both cowboys painters.
If you get an outfit you can be a cowboy painter too!”
Smothers Brothers with a little ad libbing by moi.
Today I wore my paintin’ pants. And shirt. And sweatshirt. And because I was dressed for the occasion I painted. Or maybe I dressed for the occasion so I could paint. It’s one of those universal mysteries like the chicken and egg thing.
This is a most flattering selfie, don’t you think? It’s the real deal, complete with pockets stuffed with tissues. A boatload of tissues. No, no, more than that–a shitload of tissues, which is A LOT. Because I have a cold and I draw the line (cliche AND arty pun in one sentence, 2 points!) I draw the line at wiping my nose on my sleeve. Unless I have to.
Eeweeeee.
God bless me, I’m sneezing as I type this.
By the way, that’s Bean up there. He wants you to admire his Mom haircut. I relieved him of a good three inches of curly poodle fluff last night, proof I should not be left alone with scissors. DearDaughter says he now looks like one of those shivering waifs-in-a-cage in a 90 second Humane Society guilt-a-thon. I do believe she’s right.
I took Bean to the studio with me, along with his sister Sophie. They lasted about five minutes before I realized that was NOT a good idea. I could either paint or I could keep dogs out of trouble but I couldn’t do both. So I took them back home where they still got in trouble but I didn’t have to witness it…just clean it after the fact.
I decided to work on the piece I started last week. I wrote about it at the time and you can see the earlier work-in-progress photos here.
CONFESSION: I did NOT want to paint. I wanted to draw on the iPad. I LOVES me my iPad!
REVELATION: But once I actually began painting I remembered WHY I do this. Simple, really . . . because I can’t NOT do this. This. Is. Who. I. Am.
And this is the painting where I left it last time. FYI: It’s acrylic on canvas, 24 by 24 inches.
This is where I left it today. It’s still far from done but the open medium slows the drying time and I needed things to set up before I could do more layers. The light was changing, the painting was in the awkward middle stage and I had a cold.
It was definitely time to wash the brushes and close up shop for the day.
So I did.
We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Or maybe next week. This puppy needs to sit for a little while, till I stop whining and sneezing and get my paint mojo back.
Da Muse is telling me this might be a landscape. Who am I to argue….
What do you think? I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments below. And if you say something somewhat profound, like hello, I might even come over and chop your dog’s hair off groom your dog. (Rubs hands together with a maniacal cackle)
Or I might just sit here and type a reply and eat chocolate in your honor.
xoxo
by Susan Lobb Porter | Clutter challenge, Life |
He was supposed to swoon.
He was supposed to walk through the door, drop his flight bag and positively swoon at the sight of the house. The (newly) clutter free house. The one he’s lived in, along with the clutter, going on 20 years.
And then he was supposed to lovingly run his long fingers over the bare clutter free freshly oiled soapstone countertops and say, in a Cary Grant-ish sort of way, “Dah-ling, (Thirty-two years of marriage and he’s never called me Dah-ling, never, not once, but he would for this because it’s THAT special) Dah-ling, WHAT have you done to the house??? It’s simply mah-valous!”
That’s what he was supposed to do. That was the scene I envisioned.
Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!! Silly me. Because this is how it went down:
He walks through the door after being gone nearly two weeks, the first two weeks of my self-imposed Clearing Space Challenge, the one I didn’t tell him about other than to warn him not to bring more crap home. He walks through the door and is attacked by two yappy little dogs who adore their dad. They throw themselves on him, then just as quickly run into the kitchen where I’m dismembering a rotisserie chicken. Because as much as they love their dad, MOM HAS CHICKEN!!!
I wasn’t expecting him for dinner so I’m just standing there at the counter going all primal on crispy bird parts right out of the carton, no plate or utensils involved. But unlike the dogs I know where my priorities are. So I dash into the hall, drumstick still in hand, and greet him with a nice greasy chicken lips kiss.
Mmmmmmmmmm….
I ask if he wants dinner and he says that would be nice but first he’s got to pee. He bolts off to the the potty, the one in the bedroom and I’m so excited because I’m figuring he may not have noticed that the living room, dining room and kitchen are all nice and tidy but he’s bound to notice the bedroom. And when he hits the bathroom, the one I actually scrubbed down today with the all natural grapefruit-lemongrass cleanser that smells so good, he will discover that we have white sinks–WHITE, not beige like they’ve been forever. And when he realizes he can actually SEE his reflection in the mirror (imagine that!!!) he will fall on his knees in appreciation.
He will swoon.
So I’m thinking this as I’m tossing a salad together. Humming a little ditty to myself because I’m feeling a bit like I did when the kids were little and I knew what Santa brought them for Christmas. Anticipatory glee, the best kind.
And then he comes out and he’s standing in front of the TOTALLY CLEAR breakfast bar. Well, totally clear except for two dinosaurs, a heart rock and the phone. He’s just standing there watching me make the salad. Making small talk.
But I don’t want no stinkin’ small talk . . . I want recognition!
So I ask casually (with my shiny chicken grease lips) “Notice anything?”
He gets that look on his face that tells me he’s thinking. It’s the same look babies have when they’re pooping their pants. And then he says, “I notice it smells like you’ve been cleaning?” He says this with a question mark at the end, hoping it’s the right answer.
SMELLS like??? Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!! Silly me. Because. This. Is. How. He. Is.
He doesn’t notice the ABSENCE of clutter because he doesn’t SEE the clutter to begin with.
Which only goes to show. . . I’m doing this project for ME. For MYSELF.
Maybe in time he’ll grow to appreciate it. Eventually perhaps it will become his new normal. The new normal. I have hope. More than hope.
Because sometime during the evening, between starting to write this post and getting up for a cup of tea, I couldn’t help but notice the papers that had been in a messy scatter around his computer were in a neat and tidy pile, the corners lined up just so. Or almost just so.
And I had nothing to do with it.
Ahhhhh . . . Exhale.
Okay, so now I KNOW I’m doing this project for myself. And I’m loving my clear space, I surely am. But I could still use some kudos for cleaning in the comments below. Or whatever else that’s on your mind.
xoxo
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Work in Progress |
Today I painted. With paint. First time in nearly 6 weeks. I didn’t realize it’s been that long because I’ve been creating digital art nearly every day since the first of the year, painting with pixels.
I used the digital piece I showed yesterday as my inspiration. Except I forgot to bring it to the studio so I had to remember what it looked like.
Oops.
First thing I did was find a sacrificial canvas. I changed the orientation and globbed some yellow in the corner.
Then I added white and dragged the colors together using a palette knife.
I blocked in other colors using black, white and blue.
The chunky look from the palette knife wasn’t doing it for me so I began brushwork using open glazing medium. This is where I had to leave it for now. It’s maybe half way there but it has to dry before I can introduce more color and layers. I’m using Golden open medium so it has a longer drying time than regular acrylics.
I doubt if I can get back in the studio before Friday, little matter of the day job, y’know. This puppy still has a lot of work and whether it ends up looking like the digital inspiration is anyone’s guess. Da Muse may move me in a different direction. Really, who knows? I’ll post more photos as the piece progresses.
Clearing Space: Did a little more in the kitchen today. Mostly I did some proactive conversation with Mr. Spouse, as in you are NOT bringing that crap into the house, dear. I’ll let you know how that works out later in the week.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Clutter challenge, Digital Art |
Art Alert: Yes, there IS art on this post. Scroll down if words are not your thing. I won’t be offended. Honest.
A long time ago, like last week or something, I declared to the WORLD (or at least the readers of this blog…but then again you guys are the world to me) I declared that I would devote 15 minutes every day (no more, no less) to getting rid of the crap clutter in my life.
And I would blog about it every day. With pictures. Proof and accountability. Really, some people will do anything to get a clean house. Like broadcast their slovenliness on the interwebs for everyone to see.
And thus began the Clearing Space Challenge.
But you know what? Writing those tidy-girl posts every day was a stretch. I mean, how many ways can you list piles of crap and make it sound interesting?
So now I’m switching things up and changing da rulz. I can do that, it’s my game. The 15 minute daily de-clutter practice will continue because the difference it’s made in my house in just 10 days is amazing. I mean you could drop in unannounced (please don’t) and I wouldn’t be embarrassed about the mess…because there is NO MESS, at least in the living room, dining room, kitchen. But bedrooms, closets, drawers…(shrug) well, that’s another story, one I’ll share with you as it unfolds but I won’t blog about it every day…cause I gots me some art to do!
Drumroll–now to the art!
I was watching an interview on a DVD when I was struck by the colors of the set and the clothing. There was a bright yellow sofa involved. Turquoise clothing. Dark walls. Colorful flowers.
So I did a quick little sketch, some arty shorthand to imprint the image on my mind. Then I pulled out the iPad because it was too dark and cold and rainy to work in the studio, not when I had a lovely fire in the woodstove and a couple dogs who wanted to snuggle. I hadn’t gotten far when da Muse popped in and added her two cents.
She didn’t like the dark walls. So I changed them.
River City 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
As usual, she was right.
This is the piece as it stands now. I’ll be offering it as prints soon. I’m also considering it a study for a larger piece. In fact I’m heading out to the studio to work on it right now. Because today is bright and sunny, a perfect day for all those studio skylights and windows.
I’ll take photos of the process. Come back tomorrow and check them out. And take a minute to say hi in the comments below. I’ll eat some chocolate for you if you do. And maybe some cheese. Happy face emoticon here.
xoxo
by Susan Lobb Porter | Clutter challenge, Life |
Clearing Space,Day 5
Tonight I came home from work, built a fire, took the dogs out, fed the horses, worked out and thought damn, I want to bail on Clearing Space tonight.
Then a voice inside my head (one of many, I might add) said, ‘Really? You can’t find 15 minutes??? Puh-leeze….’
And she was right. So I cleared the breakfast bar, which we’ve never ever once eaten breakfast at. Cleared it of stuff that belonged in the bathroom, stuff that belonged in a drawer. Stuff that belonged in the garbage. Cleared it of everything except for the phone, a couple of pens, a notepad and those fellas up there. They came from Photojojo by the way. Everything I buy from them comes with a dinosaur. They’re special that way.
And since the dinos are way more interesting than a 5 foot long slab of nothing-on-it-cherry I figure they deserve to be the star of today’s Clearing Space photo.
Any guesses what they’re fighting over? Or are they fighting at all? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
xo
