Off until 11/6 getting some inspiration

I will be away from my computer until Tuesday 11/6, so I’m going to leave with a site from my favorite NOLA artist.  Someone turned me on to him a few years ago but I never completely felt the magic until I entered his gallery and smelt the Wet Paint!  http://www.michalopoulos.com/

James Michalopoulos is a celebrated New Orleans based artist. He is a contemporary of Julian Schnabel, David Salle, Eric Fischl and a school of painters that prevailed in the 1980s who glorified the representational image. He is an artist who refreshes the familiar with colors that dance vividly in and out of the canvas; he pushes and pulls the dimensions of the pigment in the same way that people move and breathe. Michalopoulos is best known for his distinctive architectural renderings. Kevin Allman writes of his architecture, “They slope, soar and sway. Some of them rear back on their foundations, or lurch drunkenly over cracked sidewalks; others dip their balconies over the street curiously.” His representations seem to have a life of their own. There is a palpable energy and mystery in these highly original and much copied works. Also, Michalopoulos has earned a reputation for the unique musicality of his paintings. They are at once a mystical abstraction and a powerful evocation of the subjects’ spirit. Michalopoulos shows his work in France, England, Germany and Holland, as well as New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, Atlanta and Dallas in the United States. He exhibits oil paintings exclusively, but maintains a printmaking studio in New Orleans which publishes four to five print editions a year. Michalopoulos released his second book in 2003, published by Cattywompus Press. He has studios and galleries in Burgundy France and New Orleans US. He is the favorite artist of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation and has been commissioned four times to create the official Jazz Fest poster: 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2006. Collectors of his work span the globe and include Jackson Browne, Chrysler Corporation, John Goodman, Linda Hamilton, Northwestern Airlines, Bonnie Raitt, Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis. Michalopoulos’ other notable projects include being the former Art Director for House of Blues Productions; former Art Director of ABC in Concert; creator of Old New Orleans Louisiana sugarcane rum, (the oldest rum distillery in the United States with a gold medal for the best aged rum in America); and proprietor of restaurant Etoile and wine shop Louisiana Star in Covington Louisiana. Michalopoulos studied art at the University of New Orleans, New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts and Bowdoin College. He graduated from Bowdoin with a Bachelor of Arts in 1974. In his spare time he makes abstract sculpture and is known as an avid, if poor dancer.

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snowman.jpg Check out my latest original artwork reproductions now available in a Note Card!  Great for Thank Yous and Blank Inside.  Includes Envelope.

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Red Hat Society Red Hat Purple Dress Note Cards Art $1.50 Red Hat Purple Dress Red Hat Society Note Cards Art $1.50 Snowman Note Cards Blank Thank You Cards Holiday Card $1.50

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Inspiration for Dreamer Painting

Dreamer is different in the resepect that he is the first cat that I have painted with shut eyes.  This may be slightly inspired from the 20 hours a day that my kitty Jasmine rests.  OH, she wakes up and hangs out with us after work while we make dinner.  Sometimes I try to wonder what her mind is thinking, she has somehow turned into Garfield, sleeping but wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as soon as she hears the soft squeak of the Fridge or god forbid the oven door.  I think she even comes when the Micro-wave beeps. The after dinner she hangs out with us just to make sure she isn’t going to miss anything.  That’s my little old lady kitty.  I love her tons, even when she is getting her beauty rest I’m sure to make visits to her Lair (to be sure I was using the correct word, I actually googled it) - 

A lair is a place that animals use to hide themselves, while at sleep, hibernation or when they take part in reproduction. Whew’ – it WAS the right word!  anyways, I visit her “lair” and give her pets a pep talk on using the box & just general attention. I say “rests” because I don’t believe she is asleep the whole time.  So Dreamer is my lose representation of a very peaceful relaxed cat done in an autumn palette to celebrate the colors of fall.  Using my favorite acrylic paint, this was a fun project which I enjoyed. Thanks for checking out my blog – for a picture of Dreamer, check out yesterdays blog.

dreamer

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Cat Painting Acrylic Canvas Cats Painting Maine Artist $65.00

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patience & smelly things that make me sneeze

Patience is a great thing to have – I have limited amounts of Patience naturally and then I pull from the depth of my core to find the rest. It’s a good thing that my husband realized this prior to marrying me.  Bad smells, well, when my throat gets tight – my voice gets hoarse, my head starts pounding and I sneeze non stop – thats when I know I have come up against smelly things that make me sneeze.  My Natural “Filters” somehow don’t defend me against the latest and hotest selling item at the Perfume counter.  I only bring this up because I am in a situation where this just happend.  I need my inhaler & it’s in Chuckie (my truck.)  So I’m being patient about a job I interviewed for that I will not know the result of for maybe the next two weeks.  Good thing I’m of to NOLA to check out some wonderful art, music and food – So I don’t think about it too much.  I am also practicing patience with artwork sales – holiday prep – etc etc. On a positive note, I’m feeling good about everything – for now.

thanks for reading my babble today-NO blog from NOLA, as my laptop is four years old and weighs a ton to carry, lot’s of inspiration when I return.

Broadening your horizons

It’s good to diversify, if you are able to do so in your own comfort level. I have been thinking about this coming year 2008 and how I will do things different to widen my inventory up again.  In the past I have painted all sorts of things, only recently streamlining a bit more on cats and cars.  Only I think about the other series that I have done in the past that have sold well.  I guess I have to start seeing what calls to me and then move forward.  I will still continue cats, but may have to add some new content to my site!  This is both something I have thought about and also some great advice from some good friends!

Little old lady kitties – it’s hard watching them get old

I’ve been having a struggle with knowing that my cat may not be in the best of health, but doing what I can to pro-long her sixteen year old life. It’s not that she has a disease (besides hypo-thyroid) or anything (that I know of) it’s just she isn’t seeing as well & she’s frail…she’s having problems finding her box & digesting normally. I’ve been doing the dance of food/litter changes (talks with the vet) – samples to the vet…. to see if I can get her back to a normal state, but I think the fact is that she is just old. She doesn’t have the control she once had. I noticed that she is spending more time sleeping, but seems to have human food radar when I am in the kitchen (magically appearing, in what I would have to say would be maybe a slight spring to her step.) Funny, the rest of the time she moves a bit slow! This week she sat outside the shower curtain while I was inside, just waiting – sat on my lap while I used my computer and layed beside me on the floor while I worked form home. This may be normal behavior for your cat, but for mine “Miss Independence” it is a bit more clingly. Not that I mind. The last trip to the vet I was told to start preparing myself for the end, but I don’t know when that will be. In the meantime I do what I can to give her all the love and attention/food/water and whatever else makes her happy. She has been with me since she was born so it’s hard to think about her in kitty heaven.

Latest Auction on Ebay

OK, so it came to me in a dream, a very angular looking cat with a captivating steer. I thought Orange, the brightest orange I could fine, so bright that I couldn’t even mix it with the colors that I have on hand.  I had to take out my stash of on-sale craft colors just to get it to the vibrant hue that I did. Just a note – I did mix the craft paint in with my Interactive Acrylics which I find superior.  When it came to choosing a background I found a straight hue Cerulean Blue, mixed with a bit of white in spots.  The result, something that is more of a folk-art piece than something that a cat lover would exclaim “that looks just like my cat!”  It was what I was going for, a different design that is less natural and more fantastic. I had fun creating this painting using an orange sheen over golden eyes.

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A new buggy for my artwork

I have to say that the last time I had a “new” car, it was 1989.  My truck “Chuckie” (not the new car I bought in 89, but a 92 which I took possession of in 95 is more than halfway to becoming vintage and has the rust to show it.)  Now that I’m married (something new as well) – It was tough to have two older cars in the family and since one of ours (not Chuckie) went to car heaven this week – we bought new.  It’s amazing the deals you get when you purchase a 2007 at the end of the year.  We ended up with a perfect Art Car a Chevy HHR. Although I will still drive Chuckie most of the time due to my short commute, the new car (not yet named but will be) will eventually be mine full time. I’m pretty excited about this new buggy and look forward to traveling in a reliable car to far away shows next year (cat shows of course.)

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Folk art on Ebay – Egyptian Cat

A few of my eBay items - qsell

Folk Art Cat Painting Maine Artist Acrylic Canvas 8×8 $50.00

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