Stars ...dakinis...and the youthful glow of experimenting....

My two girls came in for their painting in my studio as I demonstrated the larger canvas I have been building layers on with colors of spring mornings dripping with dew!!! One of the young artist was working on an inspiration from a home decorating magazine employing the colors in her bedroom. She already has plans to hang her work in her blue bedroom in the near future. This stylized flower composition had some troubling moments but as I assured her we all have to work through the process and there are no real mistakes. We all began with colored pencil sketches while our gesso primed canvas was in the process of drying. Then we moved to a discovery investigation on how to obtain the colors each of us wanted in the composition.... mixing small amounts and then experimenting with a variety of brushes. My second young lady is serious in acquiring the skills to improve her painting of wildlife using acrylic paints. I began a discussion about an intuitive approach to making art and to know what does and does not work will ....that when you asked how long did a work take you??? ...You should answer with the truth and tell them it takes a lifetime. I am 61 years old and I am still looking for avenues to widen my lenses to see the real world around me. We shared some chocolate chip cookies and giggled...that I think they turn the furnace down on the weekend in our building...next time we unite to play I will make a pot of tea ...and yes still have some great snacks. When the mother came to pick them up ...well they did not want to leave. I was thrilled that they felt a thirst ...to paint more but maybe the next time they will come back with a renewed vigor. I gave them...well I allowed them to select some student portraits to practice sketching ....take one part of the image or tackle the whole composition. I need to remember to take the Betty Edwards book "Drawing from the Left Side of the Brain". I love playing with young adults...they bring a new appreciation for making my life as an artist.

Tonight I volunteered for our beloved Midland Theater as we embraced the vitality and lust for living ...Lorna Luft. At the age of 59 she has an incredible voice powerful enough to move into the bones of my body as she belted out many of the songs her mother Liza Minelli performed in her short but dynamic life as a performer. She grew up in a very theatrical neighborhood with the members of the Rat Pack living very close by and Frank Sinatra was her God Father. after her performance she came back onto the stage to tell us that Whitney Houston had been found dead at the age of 48 in her hotel room in California just hours before she was scheduled to perform at a pre-Grammy party. I think it will be much later when we as the public receive the actual cause of her premature demise. She was such a talented performer who is gone too soon. The temperatures are falling into the single digits ...but it is winter. I need to wash the beginning fabrics for my big project ...but unfortunately we did not have enough real snowfall to experiment with snow dyeing. Have a warm and comfortable night with those you love!!!!