Just a couple of words about March Madness

Art lovers, this one's about basketball.  It's the religion of the South this time of year.

My daughter Laura was born at UNC and now goes to school at the University of Washington.  They (University of North Carolina and Udub) had an amazing game today.  UNC won 86-83 in the last minutes of the game.  Talk about divided loyalties. She was sad about Washington's loss but now she knows who to root for!

I'm not sure anyone outside of the ACC can understand just how sacred March Madness is but my friend Jackie MacHardy, a native North Carolinian, says it much better than I ever could. She's a classic Southern story-teller.  Enjoy.

http://daughterofsouth.blogspot.com/2011/03/bring-back-state-vs-unc-rivalry-sorry.html?showComment=1300676482687#c5748162248288146565

Looking for Synonyms

LOVE   I know I just posted last night but I have a problem.  I've gone back to read my older posts and discovered an annoying habit.  I say "love" all the time.  I love soup.  I love eating soup.  I'm so happy you love eating soup.

Do you see the pattern?  I need a thesaurus and here's a good one:   http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

The site uses a visual mapping technique to navigate which makes it easy to use.  

I'm also ordering a new copy of  Strunk and White's Elements of Style.  I've long since misplaced the one I used in English 101.  http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/dp/020530902X

I'm not sure, but I think the world of blogging could make Mr. Strunk roll over in his grave.

Now I can enjoy my soup.  Happy rainy Saturday!

Friday Nights

Can't paint my way out of a paper bag:)

This photo is here because I  can't stand to do a post without one.  I'm sitting with a scraped out oil painting of, yes, a paper bag.   My good friend and award-winning photographer,  Carol Henry, took the photo.  I like it.  I look a little... mischievous.  hmm,  I must be thinking of some new dance moves.  

As a young girl I had two friends who were amazing dancers, Barb Seery and Patty Behm.  Barb teaches dance forty years (yikes!) later.  I didn't  take dance lessons.  With four kids in my family it just wasn't in the budget.  So, while Patty and Barb showed me the step ball change and we made up routines to Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Candy Man" I didn't think of myself as a dancer.  It was one of those things that seemed to belong to someone else.  I didn't claim dance as my own until my yoga studio (yes) decided to sponsor dance classes.  I gave it a whirl and loved it.  It's good to go back and live those childhood dreams.

Now I go dancing on Friday nights.  You wouldn't know it to see my moves, but I've taken lessons for the last three or four years.  My favorites are the East Coast Swing, the Foxtrot and the Texas Two Step.  I also love Salsa but just can't get that hip action goin'!  With a partner who (I'm sorry guys) knows what he's doing I'm actually pretty good once I loosen up.  

I wish I had pictures of our Christmas party performance.  It was so much fun and very special.  We had a routine that rotated the extra women on  and off  the dance floor.  We practiced for weeks and the time we spent right before our performance in the dress rehearsal was magical.  We practiced on the sidewalk in a little alcove of the strip mall where the yoga center is.  It was dark and the music was piped in on an ipod; we were amazing.  I just swirled in my big swishy pantsuit living inside of the music completely in the moment.  Perfection.

It Takes a Lot of Stuff to Get to Now

MG King Designs Studio Entry

When I moved into Studio Channel Islands Art Center as an Artist in Residence last summer I was coming out of a long sabbatical.  I am finishing a divorce and moving to the studios was the first step into a life on my own. 

The last five years or so were very hard for me.  I was sad a lot.  At a certain point I cried every time I talked.  I'm sure it got awkward to be around me for a while.

I did develop some coping skills that will help me out the rest of my life though.  I learned how to breathe with yoga and how to practice meditation.  I drove around in my car a lot finding new places to explore. I call that running away from home and I highly recommend it.

I went to the California wine country; "off the grid" in the high Sierras where I lived in luxury with a bunch of painters; Montana to stay on a dude ranch and literally fatten up when I couldn't stop loosing weight (more painting); Carlsbad where I learned about primordial sound meditation and ayervedic healing and  Santa Barbara over and over again because it's there and it's beautiful.  I didn't stress myself out about accomplishing anything.  I just kept moving forward learning how to be satisfied with being in the now.  Life sends lessons we'd better learn.  Mine was actually to enjoy my life and be grateful.  

I painted throughout all of this even though I felt unsuccessful.  I felt like I'd lost my ability to paint.  I wasn't satisfied with anything I did.  My painting friends told me to paint through it to become a better painter.  Numerous others encouraged me to paint through it to heal myself.  Both scared me to death. What if I never became a better painter and worse yet, doesn't healing mean you have to let go of the past?  What if I couldn't do that?

During this same time frame my children were growing up and moving away from home.  It was apparent to me that I needed to consider a full-time job rather than work as a painter part-time.  I tried a number of things.  I wrote some freelance news articles, did some event planning, tried being in a fashion show, etc, etc. In doing all of this I discovered painting was the one constant in all of this "stuff."  Maybe it was time to take that seriously.  Gulp.

So I got my portfolio together and brushed off my (actually very current and solid) resume and applied to Studio Channel Islands Art Center.  I was thrilled to be accepted as an Artist in Residence.  This was the beginning of whatever comes next.

All I know is I have to keep painting.  That's how I managed to get here.

Moving forward

Phalaenopsis, Fushia 11x14, oil

 I've been working hard for the last six months or so.  Beginning in the fall of last year my life shifted.  As an artist that usually means that you're due for a significant change in your work.  This is the result.  This piece shows an exponential leap forward in my understanding of painting in oil. It makes me so happy!  In my work I focus on design, color and texture.  This painting is strong in all three areas and is very compatible with the body of work I've created in water based media.  Sweet!