A question and a winner.......

This is the question - to prep my working surface with wax and bits of flotsam and jets om and then paint OR paint (cleaning brushes and brayer)  and then add wax and mysterious particles - not an earth shaking question or one that will change my life in one of those epiphany ways, but one I am working on - I reversed my process this weekend by prepping the surfaces with the ever changing wax potion and then painting - hmmmmmm, I'm thinking I prefer working on a surface that I've cleaned my brushes on first - I still have a panel left to work on with the waxing on done first, so I will give it a fare chance.  The photo below has the wax underneath, brush and brayer cleaning on top and I'll start from there today - I love working with the randomness that is left after cleaning my tools on the surface - absolutely no thinking getting in the way.

Below is the piece I finished this weekend.......

oil and wax on panel, 18x24, 'The Butterfly Ballarina' 

  And I used one of those random number pickers for the drawing - It was so easy - a few minutes and we have a winner!  Robyn Gordon! from the fabulous 'Art Propelled' which I'm sure everyone on the planet follows!  Hey Robyn, send me your snail mail and this wee little demo piece is yours!

Thank you to everyone who dropped by and left a comment - I so appreciate your support!

The week is in full gear, I have my list of a thousand things to do (art at the top of the list) and will check back in with all of you at the end of this week!  Make art!

give away

Hello - just a short post to offer a give away. This little piece, did I say little?, was a demo I did Wednesday on my broadcast. I have posted a picture of both the wee pieces so you can see how they came out in the end. If you leave a comment here before my next post, I will do a drawing and send this 5x7 out into the world. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend - sunny weather here and we are eating every bit of it up because we know it is only fleeting.

Make some art! See you next week!

got one!!

After months of painting I had that experience where you sit down to work and the painting just comes! I know you know how that feels. It was done in a matter of an hour. I stood back and looked and immediately put my tools down!! There was nothing else to do. That's the reward of putting in the hours of work. I counted back the finished paintings to get this one - 18 paintings and that doesn't count the work that didn't make it!! It's already found a home and that makes the experience full.

oil, wax on panel, 'Strawberry Martinis at 2am' 

I have finished another one and am now changing gears for awhile to clear my head a bit!

Tomorrow, Wed., May 23rd at 1pm, I will be broadcasting from the shed!  Just me and whoever can stop by to chat - will be sharing one of my passions that I will be working on to incorporate into my work with the oil and wax.  I'm very excited about this and the time feels right to start the exploration.  To tune in, click here or click on my sidebar image!  Hope to talk with some of you tomorrow.  Oh ya, I'm going to try and do a bit of a painting demo - that is still pretty sketchy, but working on setting up today.

See you all later in the week!

MAY 23rd After Live Broadcast:
Thank you to those who were able to come by and chat!! It was so wonderful to have you participate in the conversation - For those of you who have blogs, I wanted to make sure people can go and check you out!
Carole at Zendot Studio -  http://zendotstudio.blogspot.com
Chris at Wits End Studio - http://christinemeissner.blogspot.com
Annie at Inkhaven - http://inkhaven.blogspot.com

and Mary Ann at Blue Sky Dreaming - http://blueskydreaming-sc.blogspot.com
who rushed home from the dentist to join us! thank you - didn't see your comment until I shut down!

back in two weeks!



 

little rewards

I am continually surprised at how progression into new territory pushes me through doors I didn't even know were there. I'm such a firm believer in the idea of how hard work eventually gives up little rewards. I'm not talking about the 'knock you on your ass' kind of reward, but the simple ones that can go unnoticed as we reach for the jumbo gigantic ones!

 Today as I was working I realized I was not at odds with the wax, but feeling like I have learned my way around it a bit. Very satisfying. I now know I can manipulate it to a workable surface, and that it will accept my method of painting. A wonderful little reward. Each time out, I try something new with it. I open another door and walk through to find new ground and another opportunity to explore.

My morning photos are becoming an unconscious influence on this new body of work. The photos are addictive and get me warmed up before I go into my workspace. They are teaching me to really look with my eyes and then look again. No new epiphany  to report, just working and trying to be aware of the little rewards.

This is the painting I finished this afternoon

oil and bees wax on panel, 'Hopscotch On Sundays' 

See you all at the end of the week.

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live broadcast from my shed

Well that was fun - a bit sketchy, me talking to myself in my shed, but definitely interesting! For those of you that asked if there is a recording, alas, no, I didn't click on the record button - next time - since this was a test, I didn't know what to expect, so I was delighted when several people showed up to watch/chat - mostly I yammered on and tried to answer the questions Carole and Ann sent me - First times are always a bit iffy, but I am going to do it again and use what I learned on my maiden voyage to get better - I think this has potential for so many things, so I will go at it like I do my art, well actually my life, and just mold it as I go. Thank you to those that sent followup emails, I so appreciate your input - It was fun having you in my shed and my next broadcast will be a demo. Enjoy the rest of the week!

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ZOOM.........

My week in four letters - ZOOM! - A week crammed with days fully loaded and still miles to go!

Some quick things I wanted to mention before next week begins it's fast forward cycle - tomorrow I will have the pleasure of going to Seth Apter's book signing in Bellevue. I'm so looking forward to seeing Seth again - I met him the last time I was in NY and we had a wonderful breakfast together. I haven't seen the book yet, so it will be a wonderful surprise. I'll be posting on twitter so if you want to see pics fresh from the signing check me on twitter.

Also, I'm going to do my first test live broadcast from my studio next Wednesday, May 9th at 1pm. This will be a test for a couple of things. First to see if there is any interest in visiting me in my studio and second, to see if I can get the technical stuff worked out. So, if you plan on dropping by for a live chat, you can drop me a question (myersjeane17@gmail.com) between now and next Wed., and hopefully I will have an answer.  You can see the broadcast by clicking here (you will have a few short commercials but that is the way, no?). You can sign in with your fb or twitter account so you don't have to sign up for anything.


I have been in the studio working at odd times this week and finished this painting this afternoon. Still working with the wax and continuing to workout this new process.

oil & bees wax on panel, 24x24, 'Wrong Move Times Ten' 

Hope to see some of you next Wednesday afternoon.  Until then!

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