What's The Point?

I mean, what do I focus on when I paint something?  I've been zeroing in on two things, shadows and reflections.  I love doing cityscapes.  I began doing cityscapes about six months ago, and I'm hooked.  I love going outdoors to shoot the photos - a lot more fun than setting up a still life in my basement.  I see people running around, going about their day, and I like to speculate about what they're doing.  I love looking for shadows among the buildings or reflections in windows.  Here's one I recently completed of a street in St. Charles, MO.  It's across from one of the galleries I'm in, Missouri Artists On Main Gallery.

                                                      Memories On Main, 11 x 14, $230

St. Charles, MO has a charming main street filled with interesting shops and restaurants.  Throughout the 19th Century, German settlers developed it as a wine region and it became a booming pioneer town. During the 20th Century, residents worked to preserve homes, stores and streets from every period.

                                                     Restaurant On Main, 5 x 7, $150

When you see cityscapes or landscapes, do you like to know where they are located - or not?

Cityscapes

Here's a new one I'm working on, a scene from a small town near St. Louis.  I'm changing the photo a bit to create more light coming through the trees.  Right now I'm blocking in the main objects with one layer of color.  After I finish that, I'll be ready to work on details and add more color.  This is on Mylar, a frosted drafting film.  I've used this material on my last four paintings and I love it!

This new painting is in my Etsy Shop  It's 8" x 10", titled, "Kevin's Place".  I took a lot of photos on a sunny, snowy morning and had my husband pose in front of this darling cafe.  Using artistic license, I took out the snow and changed some of the back ground.  I love the shadows and window reflections!  Next month, I'll post more cityscapes.

New Series, New Paper

I've started a new series which I've been thinking about for a year...cityscapes.  I live near some eclectic urban areas in St. Louis and I want to paint some of them.  I love to find bright, dramatic light on buildings and streets.  I enjoy seeing people moving about doing their daily activities.  So, I recently took a photo day with my husband, driving around the city in search of special shots.  Here's one that caught my eye:

I love the puddle with the reflection of that building.  The orange and blue color combo, plus the three people really works.  So, here's what I've done so far:

I'm trying out acetate (drafting film), which is brand new for me.  I love it!  It takes colored pencil great, with less layers.  I can apply the color to both sides for a rich, saturated look.  I've already done half the piece (it's 11" x 14") in only 3 days.  I usually work 3 weeks on Stonehenge paper.  I'll post the finished piece soon!

The Best Of Craigslist

I took a break from working on my new painting to post a couple of things on Craigslist.  I have two formal dresses that I wore to my children's weddings that I decided to try to sell.  I only wore them once and they've been hanging in the closet, so I figured why not?  I tried to come up with catchy ad titles to attract attention.

                                           Prom, MOB, Formal, Strapless Dress, Size 8

Strapless Formal Dress, Lavender, Size 6 

Boring, right?  So I was looking at Craigslist for ad ideas, when I happened to see (on the left side of the page) something that says Best Of Craigslist  These ads are seriously funny!  Some are crazy, sexy, or stupid.  My favorite so far is:

To the person who has my Ikea dresser...

I'm sorry to have to post this, but a horrible mistake was made. When you picked up the dresser I was not at home. My roommate was supposed to make sure that my ferrets were put away, but...
Bottom line, my two ferrets are in separate drawers of the dresser. They should be okay, but I wanted to warn you not to take them both out at the same time.
They were rescues... and I was never able to socialize them.
They not only fight, but actively plot each other's demise.
Otherwise - they're perfectly fine!
Please call or email when you read this.
*sorry for the inconvenience 

Anyway, I spent a long time reading these, way too long.  Here's my new wip:

Words On Paintings

I see cute little works of art everywhere, usually mixed media, with words on them.  Usually they're inspirational words or phrases.  Very popular.  So, for an upcoming art fair I decided to join the trend.

This is a little 6" x 6" painting I did awhile ago.  I added the words with photo shop.  I had it printed, cut it out and adhered it to a hardboard panel.  I varnished it, about three coats.

Here's another one - it turned out cute!  I'm going to sell them with little easels.  I thought this would be a good way to use the work I've already done - in a new way.  I've see other artists create magnets, book marks, journal covers, etc. with their work.  Have you done this?

What's In A Name?

I'm excited to have been invited to join a wonderful group of artists at a new gallery in St. Charles, MO, Missouri Artists On Main Gallery.  This is a great name for a gallery - celebrating local artists at a space at 321 Main Street in St. Charles, MO.  There are lots of mediums represented and I'm thrilled to be part of it!  St. Charles is a charming city, located on the Missouri River. Come visit if you're in the area!

I'm continuing to work on landscapes, pushing the values and incorporating deep shadows.  Here's my latest  painting, On The Dock (named once again by the woman who does my printing - thanks, Bridget!)

                                             Buy this painting on Etsy - On The Dock 5 x 7 $90

I love taking my paintings over to Bridget without a name & letting her do her magic!  What's in a name?  A bit of description?  Setting the mood?  How do you name your work?

Nature Vs. Man-Made

I finished my painting of the St. Louis Gateway Arch and it got me to thinking:  do man-made structures enhance or detract from their natural surroundings in a painting?  Except for the top ten ugliest buildings in the world, I guess it depends.  If the structure detracts from the scene, but is essential, it's a moot point. In this painting, I wanted the Arch to be the focal point, but I could certainly have just painted the trees and pond.  I think buildings, interesting structures or people can bring life into an otherwise boring landscape painting. Unless the landscape has something going on like mood - dark stormy skies, crashing ocean waves, huge mountain rocks.

                                             Stand Tall (St. Louis Arch) 8 x 10 Buy This On Etsy

What's your point of view?

Are You Working Hard?

I'm working hard creating lots of drawings, but yesterday I dropped everything and played golf with my husband.  We both did very well considering we haven't played in several weeks.  I used to be a golf fanatic - not so much anymore.  I'm much more mellow about my game.  I never threw clubs, mind you, but I'd get very upset if my shots were bad or my score was low.  Now I'm more interested in how my paintings look. This past week, for example, I stopped working on a landscape painting.  The ripples in the water!  The distant trees!  Nothing was working for me.  I did finish a quick ACEO, though.

Eye Candy miniature aceo $12 on Etsy

I also just started a new painting, another landscape.  A photo I took during my recent visit to Seattle has amazing shadows and a cute Mallard duck.  It's good to work hard, but good to play, too.  Glad I did both yesterday!

When Creating Art Sometimes You Have To Just Walk Away

I learned this from golf:  when you're in the middle of a swing and it just doesn't feel right, stop and start over.  It's hard to do.  Recently I posted a painting with two ducks and some fish  that I spent three weeks working on.  Last week, though, I stepped back from my drafting board to check the tonal values and I knew it was time to quit. One of the ducks looked stiff to me.  The water wasn't showing any movement.  I couldn't get the fish to disappear underneath the water.  I realized I'd used the more textured side of the Stonehenge paper. So, even though I invested three weeks of my precious art life in this painting, I'm glad I quit.  I learned I love the smooth side of Stonehenge because of the way it takes color.  I was trying to change the photo too much and it just didn't work for me. I just finished a new painting and I love the reflection of the grapes in the silver bowl.

Grape Reflection by Susie Tenzer, 8" x 10" colored pencil (all rights reserved)  Buy this painting

I'm participating in a blog hop this week.  What's that?  It's a fun activity where you can visit a lot of wonderful blogs.  Click on the Blog Love Therapy below & start hopping!  See you in a couple of weeks, I'll be out of town visiting my adorable grandkids.

Art Galleries Are More Than A Place To Sell Art

My colored pencil art is sold at Wood Icing Gallery.  Hard to believe I've been there a year!  I remember when I first went in to show my work to the gallery owner, Heather Haymart.  I threw about 15 pieces into a folder, headed out to the gallery.  I spread them out on a table, not sure whether or not they were good enough.  The art around me in the gallery was high caliber - many of the artists are juried members of various organizations.  Happily, Heather liked my paintings and I began my lovely association with her gallery.  I work every Wednesday and it's a pleasure.  I get to draw all day and talk to nice folks who come in to look at art.

The gallery also sells wood refinishing products, including Wood Icing and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I love the camaraderie among the artists.  We sometimes come together as a group for discussions about art and art marketing.  Every one is supportive and friendly.  I've heard about artist egos, but none of that here!  If you're in St. Louis, come visit me at the gallery.  I'll be drawing and we can chat!

The Secret To Staying Young

Be honest, the title grabbed you, right?  I do have a secret to staying young - try new things.  For example, I love to move my furniture around.  (My husband is always looking for something that I've put in a new, better place.)  I love to try new art techniques.  Right now I'm using a lot of gray/neutral tones with pops of color in my colored pencil pieces.  I'm getting further along on my painting with ducks and fish.

                                                                 Any title ideas?

 I've been trying new cooking ideas.  My daughter sent me a Tajine, a middle eastern cooking pot.  It's ceramic, so I had to season it before I could cook anything.  The directions said to soak the bottom and the lid in water for 24 hours.

 

Now I'm ready to try chicken tajine.  Some recipes look a bit complicated, but I'm cooking chicken legs with onions and garlic.  I bought a stove top heat diffuser so the ceramic pot doesn't crack.

Hey, not bad!  Have you tried anything new lately?  Anyone else have a tajine?

Do You Have Cyber Friends?

I have different kinds of friends.  Friends that are acquaintances, like my book club friends.  Friends that are work related, like my artist friends.  Hinda is a friend that I've had forever, who would do anything for me.  We're so close we don't even remember how we met.  Now I have a new category, "cyber" friend.  Last week I was looking at my Etsy shop and I popped in on a discussion thread of a promotional team that I'm on.  I was shocked to see everyone was talking about a team member whose husband had just died.  I don't know any of these people but it was very sad.  One lady proposed we collect money to send her a food gift.  She created a gift account in PayPal and after a couple of days there was almost $200!  The woman whose husband died was so appreciative.  Janice has become my cyber friend.  We've actually been friends for 48 years!  I got her name when I was 12 as a pen pal in elementary school and we've been corresponding ever since.  She lives in England.  We just started emailing and she checks my FaceBook page to see what's new.  I sent her a photo of my latest work-in-progress:

 
This one is fun!  I love to do glass.  I set up the props and took the photo (a lot of photos).  Hopefully I'll finish it in a week or so.  I plan to enter this one in a competition.  To all my friends, cyber or not, have a very happy healthy New Year!

Top Five Food Blogs

I have a new found love of food.  I didn't always love food.  For many years, due to a chronic illness, I had to limit salt.  My cooking was bland, my food life was blah.  Now that I'm able to eat normally, I'm becoming a bit adventurous.  Have you noticed that I paint a lot of food?  I love the colors, shapes and textures of food.

Here's one of my food photos, a set up for a new painting.

Here's the painting, "Two Scoops".  I'll be posting this painting and more small works on Etsy

 I recently discovered the world of food blogs.  Some of these blogs have the most amazing photos of food you'll ever see!  Here are my top five favorite food blogs:
1.  Smitten Kitchen  Written in an easy, breezy style by Deb Perelman, this food blog is about classic comfort food.  No fancy food ingredients, here!  Just good food & amazing photos.
2.  101 Cookbooks  This one is by Heidi Swenson.  She features wholesome, vegetarian recipes along with fabulous photos.  The food reflects her world travels.  I want to try the Baked Quinoa Patties.
3.  Seven Spoons  This blog has lovely photos and great writing by Tara O'Grady.  She makes each recipe look and sound delicious!
4. TasteSpotting  Talk about beautiful photos!  Folks submit food photos, you click on the photo and are taken to the recipe.  You can search by various categories.
5.  Foodgawker  This is the same idea as TasteSpotting.  I could spend hours looking at these photos and I've tried several of the recipes.  There's a "gawkerverse": dwellinggawker, weddinggawker and  craftgawker.

Do you look at food blogs?  Any favorites?

Custom House Portrait

I'm working on a lovely custom house portrait for a client that came in to Wood Icing Gallery a couple of weeks ago.  She gave me several close-up photos of her parent's home, a big sprawling white house in New York.  It's challenging, because there are so many angles and roof lines!  A perspective nightmare.  We talked at length about what she wants and her main objective is to include the Christmas decorations in the front yard.  I prefer drawing a house at an angle, which is usually more interesting, but this meant a straight-on view.  I sent her my initial sketch for approval and then forged ahead.  It's a white house and she wants snow, so I decided to put in a clear blue sky for a pop of color.  I'm aiming for a cold snowy day, not too sunny, but enough shadows to show off the drama of the house.  Here's my project so far:

This is my initial sketch, done from several reference photos.  I drew this on tracing paper, then transferred it to an 11" X 14" sheet of Stonehenge archival paper, using Saral transfer paper.

At this point, I'm about 1/3 done.  I got her approval and now I'm finishing the piece, which I'll post next time.