...tonight I worked on the pieces for the Art Nouveau show that is fast approaching.  I feel like I have got a good start but still a long way to go.  I have little wooden plaques, some 8x10 canvases...all with some scrap of paint on them, even if it just the background color.  Hey....gotta start somewhere, right?  Still working with the Hedwig/owl inspiration…really having some fun with this theme…

About an hour or so into painting I picked up one of the plaques that I had painted with a coat of blue and quickly painted the simplified owl shape...but then quickly put down my brush to pick up a pencil….seemed only fitting that I elaborate on the branch…before I knew it, one of my trees had creeped into this small work…and then I started to think, yeah, that makes sense. Owls live in trees…yep.

So I unwrapped my new blank canvas and just started sketching…owl shape, check.  Crazy, curvilinear lines…check.  After going over the pencil lines quickly with black paint…ready.  This will be the canvas that I paint at the live-art event.

So that is where I am as of this evening.  Several plaques and small canvases in progress…three trays of ornaments not even opened and two packs of square canvases that need to be addressed. 

I am an early riser.  I really do have a hard time sleeping in, regardless of how late I stay up.  8am this morning- I am up.  Per usual, I get up and start my day…but the mix of the early start and the blah weather brought spurts of productivity.  (Right...randomness at casa de Gironda....Mackie thinks he can fit in this box.  I didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. It doesn't have much to do with art, but it was pretty cute.)  ...uh, I digress...this is what my morning was like...easily distracted...

I don’t know where the time goes…all of a sudden its 12pm and the new canvas is set up on the easel.   I must say, it felt like Christmas morning taking the wrapping off of the canvas, it is a bit of a chore since it is larger than I have been working…30x40 to be exact.  Grabbed my pencil and my Sharpie marker and just started drawing…pretty soon I had the beginnings of a tree.  And somewhere along the way the word LOVE appeared on my tree. Then I stopped around 1pm…at some point I sketched out a few designs on some small canvases (posted farther down) ...and now here it is 8pm and that canvas is still in the sketch phase…not a scrap of paint on the surface.

But I did do some art-related things today, the usual trip to Michael’s (I insist that I do NOT need a reason to go there…) and…oh yeah, WE LAUNCHED TIPSY ART TODAY!  Yes!  Now that is where some of the day went.  It feels great to have set out a little over a month ago and today make that idea and reality.  The website is live, the Facebook page is ready….sure, we will add some things to both, but it’s really there.  Don’t believe me?  Go to www.tipsyart.com. It is for real.  We did it!

(Right) A few little things I quickly sketched out...will be examples for the T'Art site at a later date....

Preparing for the week…Halloween tomorrow, my favorite holiday…gotta get ready for FAEA conference in St. Petersburg, I can’t wait to see the new Salvador Dali Museum…but I know my mind if going to be on this new painting…my eyes living in each shape, wondering what colors will live there…and where this work will take me.  I love this feeling…inspiration.

My friend, fellow artist, and muse Jessie posted this on our new web and the truth in the statement haunts me, so I will share it;

 "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."-Vincent Van Gogh


Yep, it’s kind of like that.

ummmm.....so we did it.  We held our first T’Art (Tipsy Art) event.  What we came up with a little over a month ago actually happened- we taught folks how to paint in a small party setting.  I couldn't sleep last night I was so excited about it.  What started out as just a passing observation after Sofia had a bad experience at a local paint/wine event (not naming names, but she paid a good amount to attend)…’you guys could do that’…she said to myself and Jessie during our art making madness…we glance up and say ‘yes, we could'…'WAIT, YES WE COULD DO THAT'…fast forward to staying up all night building the beginnings of the web site (launching tomorrow), discussions on our business model, our roles in the business, msc. discussions on the how-to of making this thing work…talk of brand identity (thanks to my husband’s PhD articles that I have been checking out)…random texts and phone calls to stay on track, a short apron painting session at my place, lot’s of visits to Michaels…and at 5:30 last night we were doing it- setting up for our first T’Art event. Tables set up in a U-formation, black table cloths ready for whatever mishaps might come, water cups, extra napkins, brushes, palettes of paint, two easels up front and we were ready. 

Now, if you know me, you know I am not a fan of landscapes, I mean- where am I going to put the cheetah print and rhinestones, you know? So when we got Sofia’s text with the picture the client was wanting…gulp…a landscape…a pretty tough one…I thought to myself, no worries, surely Jessie’s thing is landscapes, we’re all good.  (Meanwhile, across town, she is getting the same text, making the same gulp and thinking that I must be able to handle a landscape…oooh, no way girl) But you know what?  We totally made it happen.  Jessie started a painting at school, started the water, land and background sky and I was able to jump on that painting while she started another one from scratch so everyone could see the process.  Sofia is taking pictures, making sure everyone has paint, trouble shooting…and at the end of the night everyone seemed happy, their paintings were great, the three of us worked as a team…and it was pretty awesome to get paid to paint.  (…and a landscape at that!)...and hang out with good people, YES.

So, it’s still early but we came up with this idea the weekend of September 18th, made plans and last night we had our first event.  The web is going live tomorrow now that we have pictures of what we do, and I will be up tonight painting some additional samples of what T’Art has to offer.  Feels pretty good.  My concept of syntax is shot at this point and I know I am going crazy with the ellipses and my comma use is out of control…but I am just really happy with the way things worked out, fell into place...all of it.  

Woke up this morning, early.  Too. Early.  It amazes me how I cannot sleep in.  I was up til 2am painting last night and still woke up at 7:30.  Now I didn’t say I woke up completely motivated and ready to start the day, but awake nonetheless.  Sigh.  Awaiting me in the kitchen, last night’s projects.  One oval canvas, one round canvas and four rectangular canvases all white and ready to be painted upon.  Six surfaces, waiting for some sort of resolution.

One thing that I struggle with is maximizing productivity on my days off.  If I don’t watch out, hours will pass by and leaving me wondering, ‘hey, where did my day go? And, more importantly, what did I accomplish?’ It is a constant battle to make time for art, to clean and organize around home, and to get things done for school. (Notice I didn’t include spending time with John in this list because he always supersedes any item on any list, awwwwww) One thing that I have started to do is to work in ‘rounds’, rotating my activities in timed increments.  I even set the timer on my phone.  I will work on my art for x-amount of time.  The alarm rings.  I will move to cleaning up for x-amount of time, etc, etc.  I know that this seems very regimented, and it is.  But when I can be disciplined in this way, it works for me, and I don’t re-awaken from zoning out on the couch and find that I was wasting my time watching a Real Housewives marathon.  (Yes, guilty.) 

So far so good.  I really like to document my progress.  This helps me reflect on how I work, and make assessments on my productivity.  As for today, off to a good start.  I have six pieces in-progress.  Still working with the face going off the bottom of the picture plane, still exploring specific words layered and intertwined to form hair structures.  Love. Life. Truth. Self.  Laughter. Inspiration.  Just some things on my mind.  Started to experiment with exaggerating my favorite facial feature, the eyes.  Definitely inspired by the artwork of my friend, Jessie, who is an amazing artist and a big motivator for me right now.

Now, a trip to Michaels (of course) and trip to pick up my work from the PBSC show could derail me, but I am hoping I will be able to get back on track, so to speak, once I return from these errands.

Here I was thinking I would get all this work done today…not so much.  After a late start I got busy doing….well, nothing.  I did attempt to go to Michaels…totally forgot that it was a holiday weekend.  Fail.  By around 7:30pm I mustered some motivation to at least paint over some old canvases, prepping them to become the next…not sure.  While waiting on my friend to stop by, and for the canvases to dry I reached for one of the round canvases that I picked up and found my idea, somewhere mingled, mangled and mixed up in all of the images that I file away in my head (and sometimes literally file away).  I decided to continue with the theme of the face and my Mucha-inspired hair and love for text in the piece that I am still working on, inspired by all of the images that you see above.  

In true fashion, I didn’t start just one, I also started an oval-shaped canvas and of course I have intentions of buying several more to start all at once, will probably aim for at least five canvases in each shape for a total of ten dedicated to this theme/imagery.  So far, faces are sketched on both canvases and only the round canvas has been developed further.  I am working with the text ‘love’ to create the hair, pushing the face to the bottom of the picture plane.  I started thinking about how it is easy to get preoccupied with one word, one thought to the point that it fills your head.  Love it is, then.  I am going to step away for tonight, look at the work with fresh eyes tomorrow and with some daylight!

I have been keeping busy this weekend with trying to find support for my fibers…that is to say, to help me either put away this paint brush and pick up my sewing needle again or reach for both.  I think in some ways I am hesitant to delve back into my embellished pieces, even though I know that somewhere in those beads, the hand-dyed fabrics and the marks I make with pencil and paint lives some resolution for what I want to create.  The beading can be intense, very laborious, with results that are not immediate.  One thing that I have done this weekend is seek out groups that maybe I could join.  I enjoy painting and drawing and admittedly prefer to do both alone with my music to keep me company, but there is a more social aspect for me when I work with fibers.  Makes me think of folks sitting around weaving together, stitching together, of quilting circles, of my own grandmother crocheting while everyone was talking and eating around her, never missing a beat.  Once I dye the fabrics and fuse them together, the actual stitch by stitch, bead by bead manner in which I embellish does well with some company.  Not sure anyone in the area is doing this specific work, but I was hoping to find a knitting or quilt group at least.  I have also been working on networking with the local community of artists, trying to find support and opportunities to exhibit my various drawings and paintings.

Tomorrow, more painting.  Maybe I will fuse some scraps together and just start a little beadwork, see where it takes me…

So after a pretty productive day/night of drawing, I am taking some time today to look for more images/organize and to write a little about my process.  

On ORGANIZATION….I have created a visual filing process, which helps me when I am trying to draw my figurative elements and also gives me inspiration.  When I am reading magazines and I am always looking for faces and bodies.  I never really have anything in mind, just whatever catches my attention.  Sometimes it is a particular pose, sometimes the angle of the head of the gaze of the eyes.  I rip the images sorting them according to face vs. full body.  Then I sub categorize the images into full-on view, three-quarter view, profile, looking up vs. looking down, seated figures, etc.  I even have another category for patterns, which I sometimes find in textiles, jewelry design and other fashion-based sources.  I have another category for hair, when I pictures that showcase hair, usually really wavy or wind-swept.  (LEFT: just some pics of the mess I created this morning as I was pulling and sorting images.  Notice I do have a studio assistant, he isn't very helpful though)  Funny thing is, no tree pictures on file.  Just thought of that.  I guess I am not as concerned with the tree; it is more of a vessel for the figure and patterns.  

Side note… I have had formal training in drawing from life.  Did the whole standing for three hours, looking at the nude figure and trying to recreate it in conte crayon or charcoal.  Loved it.  I have done self portraits, set up mirrors in different settings to learn my own face and how to articulate it in paint and other media.  I love drawing from life.  But sometimes you want to start and stop a drawing, or you can’t get the model to stand still so my go-to source for ‘models’ for my work is the images I see in magazines. So for the tree series I am working mostly from photos, however that could be a whole other series…something to keep in mind.  That would definitely be more gestural drawing, perhaps with charcoal or India ink and a long handled brush…

Now on to PROCESS….When it’s time to draw, at least for this series, I have started one of three ways.  The first way of working on this series is to start with the tree outline first, then fill the shape with pattern and figurative work if it ‘fits’ with the image.  Sometimes I will draw the face(s) first and then add the tree later; there really is no set formula I just decide when I sit down.  I sometimes start by tracing a large circle on the page in pencil; I like the idea of the circle as a metaphor for showing something that is sacred…mandalas, halos, Byzantine iconography… the circle is just something that is aesthetically appealing to me. 

In the first half of the series I sat down and just started to draw with a Sharpie.  No pre-drawing.  Somewhere around tree fifteen…I started doing more pre-drawing in pencil and not just sitting down and going straight for the pen, which allows me to make changes as I draw.  For the most part each drawing have been completed in one sitting (the 18x24 drawings); time spent on each drawing ranges from twenty minutes to two hours.  And I am not sure how other artists feel on this, but I just about always listen to music when I work.

So that is how I organize and my explanation of my process for this specific series.  After finishing the twentieth drawing last night, working on the slide show and then organizing some of my images this morning I just felt like taking a minute to record and to reflect.  That is really the whole reason I started this blog, to write what I am doing, how, why… and to really keep myself motivated to keep working.

Now, back to work!  Gotta try to finish these trees so I can treat myself to some canvases tomorrow!

Hello!  My name is Jennifer Love Gironda, known to some as Mrs. G, Coach, JLove, Jenny, ‘da muse… it’s all the same.   My intention is to use this blog to stay motivated and to write about my work, or works in progress...or any other creative thing I am working on.  Let me say that I am trying to start this blog with somewhat of a grammatical structure…but I do love some e.e. cummings so it might be inevitable that as the blog grows my attention to syntax may fall to the wayside.  Also, there probably won’t be a continuous flow; I am just going to write what I know about my art, the act of making art and all of the happenings that impact these two things.  So…here goes.

 I just got back from an amazing trip to Minneapolis, where I attended the Surface Design Association Confluence.  One word- inspired.  But I get inspired often, and I get excited and start something…alas, life gets in the way, or that’s my excuse at least.  One of my struggles as an artist has been deciding what to do, figuring out what it is that I need to get out…will I paint it, draw it, bead it?  All of the above. 

I attended a workshop with Anna Carlson focused on moving past just the first piece, hence the title of the workshop, ‘Beyond One of a Kind: Creating Collections and Signature Style.’  I feel more confident in my work after the experience; I do have some reoccurring elements and concepts in my work, so I just need to delve into them more.  We participated in activities ranging from evaluating our own work and influence to presenting to the group and getting feedback.  Perfect start to my summer break, I needed this.

I am going to start small, just start with this weekend.  My goal for today was to get this here art blog up and running- check.  (Insert pat on back, celebratory jig, etc here) Now my focus for the weekend is just to get some drawing done.  I had not drawn in a while prior to the workshop…forgot how much I love to draw…how much I need to sketch.  When I sit down with that blank piece of paper I have so many questions, occasionally I can work these out through the act of sketching.  I wore out my trusty ink pen from the El Inn in Kyoto (best pen EVER)… I dulled my new drawing pencils…I made marks. 

So…gonna sketch.  The pic posted here is one of the sketches from the plane trip back to FL.  Gustav Klimt is such an inspiration to me…so I looked at one his pieces, pulled out the largest shapes and then put the print away and just let my hands travel across the page.  I really became aware of my love for spirals while drawing this piece.  Working on a Mucha-inspired sketch tonight… let the journey begin.