Wanderer, 5x7 Abstract Collage on Paper, Matted to 8x10

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This abstract is made of watercolor paint and torn textured paper, affixed to watercolor paper. It is matted in an 8x10 mat, below.

My abstracts are few and far between, but, like Zentangles, they are very relaxing and fun to do. Right now I am working on a seascape that has some problems to be worked out. Sometimes the emotional side of art gets in the way of the technical side and I have to step away, analyze, and think for a while. In nature, the sky may be beautiful, the waves impressive, and the water a brilliant color, but if I can't make it all hang together in harmony, I haven't got a painting. So...back to my thinking.

Carmen   

Laid Back, 8x4 Oil on Canvas

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I just read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, and I am trying to apply some of its principles in my own home. The author says to tidy by category, not by room. I began with all things art-related (I can feel all you artists shuddering), and it took me four days. I found a few copies of past paintings, and the above image is one of them. I tossed several paintings that might have qualified for the MOBA (Museum of Bad Art). That is a very real, and hilarious, thing, by the way. 

I am also trying a new approach to my blog posts by not posting as frequently. This way I am decluttering the inboxes of my subscribers and taking a little pressure off myself.

Check out MOBA at http://www.museumofbadart.org/ and don't miss the comments of "Interpretators."

Carmen

Portrait, 16x20 Pencil Drawing, Graphite on Paper

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Yes, it did take a long time to do the hair, but I enjoyed every stroke. It's very different from the way I work in paint. 

I have discovered another New Zealand artist to admire--John Crump. Plein air at its best. 

Carmen

Honeycrisp, 2x2 Original Oil on Canvas, Still Life Apple Painting

So I guess we'll be having Waldorf Salad this weekend. I have also discovered that a sandwich made of sliced apple, cream cheese and walnuts is quite good. The 905 Cafe in Melbourne, Florida has a delicious Walnut Brie Apple Melt, which gave me the idea.

I'm going to take a break from painting for a bit and start decluttering my house based on some of the principles in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I'm starting with my art supplies. I must learn to be ruthless, and know that I don't need that many magazines for my collages, or those old worn brushes or those plastic containers or those paintings I should have scraped...I know you artists can relate. After all, when I need some odd thing I can't find it anyway among the other odd things. Ms Kondo says to only keep things that spark joy, and that's what I'm going for.

Carmen

Everglades Grass, 8x8 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, Florida Everglades Scene

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This is a grassy plain in the Everglades, and those clumps of trees are called hammocks. They are little ecosystems that look like islands. The Everglades has wetlands, mangrove jungles, ponds, pine woods, gumbo-limbo trees, and swamps. It is a fascinating place.

Carmen

Koru, 2x2 Original Oil on Canvas, Still Life Apple Painting

This is a Koru apple. I never heard of this one before, but it sounds Japanese to me.

I found a new artist I like, Richard Robinson from New Zealand. He generously offers free short videos with great tips on painting, and he does luscious landscapes of the beautiful place where he lives. Check him out.

Carmen

Dragonflower, 20x20 Oil on Canvas, Floral Painting

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I'm so pleased that I have a painting on the cover of Where Art Lives magazine, as well as an interview starting on page 38. See the online version here.

Carmen

Red Delicious, 2x2 Original Oil on Canvas Daily Painting, Still Life of Apple

This is my third tiny little apple painting. I have decided I will stop after five.

Stay me with flagons, comfort me with love; for I am sick of apples (Song of Solomon 2:5--sort of).

Carmen