Time of Rejuvenation?

After completing the painting I went through a period of feeling very worn out.  Then the holidays came with all the business associated with that.  I am now feeling the need to clean and organize, get a few things taken care of, taxes, artwork resized digitally for art submissions, marketing and art show planning, etc.  Most importantly prepare myself emotionally/spiritually such as listening to lots of music and technically (i.e. drawing to keep skills up) for projects that will come up. These are all different things that I do in-between projects.  Is is a time of rejuvenation?  Short answer is yes.  I take time to clean physical space as well as emotional space in order to be ready for the next project.   

Restoring/Repairing 1980s Beveled Glass Panels

I have been working on 9 beveled glass panels that go into coffee table and a couple of end tables.  These were made in the early 1980s and solder joints have been cracking and the came separating on different panels, no glass was broken thankfully.  The came is zinc so is pretty durable, one thing the fabricator did not do was apply stained glass cement/putty which would have made the panels more durable.  

 I was able to re solder all cracked and separated solder joints as well as apply the putty.  The above image shows 3 panels that go into an end table, the center one is all cleaned up, the other 2 in process of cleaning.    The coffee table panels were larger and have been completed, one of which was separating which I was able to repair.  

Nice to be able to repair older panels and allow them to last many more years.  

My Journey with Synesthesia

 I was having a discussion with a friend about my experience with Synesthesia and she had never heard of it before. The conversation was a lot of fun so I thought I would have a link here that tells the story of how I started verbalizing what I was seeing when listening to music and how much it influences my artwork.  The link is http://isaacdsmith.com/synesthesia.php                 

Enjoy the journey!

The More I Observe "Spiritual Tuning" the More I See of Myself

 

I have really been enjoying looking at this painting daily, seeing how much of myself is in this piece.  So much of what I have been healing from spiritually and learning the last couple of years spilled over into the depth, color, flow.  I feel like my soul is laid bare on this canvas.  The process was amazing, painting the colors/flowing images I have from listening to different styles of music.  I am sorry that the images don't show the depth and real emotion, the texture as looking at the actual painting.  

Completed Oil Painting! "Spiritual Tuning"

 Took quite awhile and I have finally completed the oil painting!

Since the paint is not dry there is quite a bit of sheen to it and taking a good picture with a camera phone is nearly impossible.  Here are a few images at different angles to capture some of the background details.

I have been thinking about different titles and the one that fits is "Spiritual Tuning"

I have been in process on this painting for 2 yrs and during that time there has been a lot of healing spiritually, as a person, and being in tune with the images/colors in my head while listening to music.  The yin/yang implied feel to the background represents a lot of what I have been learning in regards to so many aspects in life.  

There is so much of my emotion on this canvas!

Figure is Completed on Oil Painting!

 I finally was able to complete the figure portion of the oil painting! Painted the hand yesterday.  I am very excited about this piece!

There is still a sheen in sections due to the paint being wet.  Next up is the background!

Oil Painting- Moving Along

 My family had different emergencies that pulled us away for awhile. I have been able to paint in-between different things and here is the progress so far.

A couple sections in bottom hand and then start on background.

Update on Oil Painting

 Here is the latest on the painting progress.

The further I get on this the more the fluid movement of what I see when listening to is becoming more prominent. 

Wonderful Client Comment of Entryway

 The client sent this lovely comment of their entryway:

Entryway Stained Glass Install

 Here is the process of the glass installation. The first pic is the "before" image.

This next 3 images show the trim work I placed in where the glass panels will set against. I did this to allow the maximum amount of light to penetrate the panel. 

1 panel in place with rounded trim holding it in place.

Both panels now in place.

The next 2 are details, interesting how the colors change depending on what is behind them! 

New Entryway Glass Project!

 I have been working on a new sidelight project for an entryway.  2 sidelights with clear textured glass and blue colored glass hand beveled and will be bonded on top of the clear bevels.

Images show fabrication, soldered, puttying and hand beveling of color pieces.

Oil Painting- Upper torso completed

 I have been able to get more time in to work on this painting.  The colors are flowing nicely! I feel like I am capturing the movement of what I am seeing when listening to different music instead of just focusing on the technicality of painting- composition, repetition, balance, etc.

Very much enjoying this painting!

Freeing Up My Mind!

I was able to spend a little more time painting and am really enjoying what is sections are coming together. When I was painting the foot, my mind let go of trying to paint sections just right, i.e. where the tendons are flexed, raised veins creating shadows, etc and it became more about the music and how it flows and what colors appear in my mind as well as the shapes. I was very freeing and I was the raised tendons, veins ended up in certain areas after all.

Remembering Who I Am

 I woke up at 12:30 this morning and could not get back to sleep.  I have been thinking about the painting quite a bit so I got up and began painting.  Part way through my body relaxed and I had this feeling that my spirit/soul was remembering who I am through painting.  It was an amazing feeling! 

I have a job working 12 hour nights which I have been doing for the last 10 years. Working this schedule along with being busy with family and being an artist has taken its toll physically as well as emotionally and spiritually.  I lose sight of who I am quite often and am reminded when painting or emersed in an art project or when lost in music and the imagery that comes with it. 

Really is good for me to have those moments.

Here is the painting so far:

Revisiting Alanis Morissette

 As I had discussed in a previous posting, when listening to music I "see" images of different colors and shapes.  I also tend to have physical sensations of the movements of these colors and shapes.  

With this in mind I have been revisiting Alanis Morissette's music which I had not really listened to in several years.  I hear snippets here and there but not really gone through and listened to whole songs in quite a while.  I had enjoyed hearing her music in the 90s but now that I am understanding more of what I experience it is fun to really listen and enjoy the sensations and visuals.

The one that is really in tune with my spirit is Uninvited.  The harmonies and the instruments used in the song are really producing wonderful imagery.

I find that these colors and fluid images are reflected in my artwork.

Here are a couple images of where I am at currently on the painting I have been working on.

Finally- Time to Continue Painting!

I have had a very busy 4 months with taking care of children, household and other obligations. I am now able to continue on with the painting which feels good!

One Section of Painting Completed

 The head portion of the painting is completed.  It is taking awhile in progression, but I am enjoying how it is turning out.

Difficult to see some of the details in the dark areas due to the sheen of the paint at this time.  Later on it will be better.

Continuation of Painting

 Here is a little more of the process on the painting.  Lots of things going on in life so I have not been able to paint as much as I would like.  I love the movement, depth and detail so far.

Dynamic, Flowing New Painting!

Working on a new painting that is turning out to be very bold, full of color, and is representing a lot of images that I am seeing when I listen to different types of music.  I was really captured by this image from a photograph and am having fun with the flow and rhythm of the piece.  I hope you will enjoy the process as I will be posting the progress. The size of this is 3ft by 3 ft to give some perspective of scale. 

 

Stained Glass Yard Banner Completed

 Following are images of the completed Stained Glass Yard Banner.  I really like how it turned out!

Stained Glass Yard Banner - bonding glass bevels

 

This process was involving bonding the color bevels onto the clear bevels.  Next step is to drill holes in outside came, secure glass onto banner frame.