Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Latest Painting and Exhibition!

My latest painting consisted of many firsts. Despite my close proximity to the ocean, this was my first and only time painting it. This was also my first time trying to paint with a palette knife. Lastly, it was my first time entering and being accepted into a professional exhibition. I have participated in school/alumni based shows in the past, but somehow this one felt more 'official' since I didn't know any of the judges or participants.

The theme of this exhibition was simply "Landscapes 2012".  As the gallery was specifically looking for Florida based landscapes this sort of narrowed things down for me a bit. I realized that I would have to paint something specifically for this show as I don't really have any Florida based landscapes that I've already painted. (Yes I do recognize the irony in this since I've lived here most of my life.) I just tend to find inspiration more easily in other locations, specifically North Carolina, but also Oregon, England, France, etc. As I began to peruse local artist hangouts for inspiration I inevitably came to the ocean and began to take lots of photographs. I took some pictures of the beaches, and the people and the vegetation and it wasn't really until I took everything home that I realized that I had taken more pictures of the people than anything else. Clearly, Florida landscapes (by themselves) weren't as interesting to me as the Florida landscape used as a background to the people who enjoy them.  Once I came to this realization, creating the painting itself came much easier.



                           My Florida "backdrop" in it's early stages.

                         Making waves with a palette knife.

                       Adding in some of the 'main characters'

12" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas
 
 
My painting "Conversations" is on exhibit at the Lighthouse Art Gallery in Tequesta, FL from now through Jan. 4th, 2013.
 
I'm working on many new things right now and will be sharing them with you very soon! Have a wonderful week!!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Laws of Attraction

Move over James Bond, you're blocking my view of Q! That's right. That intelligent, quick-witted, earl grey drinking, art loving, computer geek makes my heart race.
    Just to be clear, I'm talking about this Q (played by Ben Whishaw)

  Not this Q (played by Desmond Llewelyn, who was BRILLIANT. Just not hot...)

One of my dearest friends often uses expressions like "He can leave his boots under my bed anyday" and "I wouldn't kick him out of my bed for eating crackers". All of those pertain to Q, while Bond would be promptly turned out on his ear.

               Get out of my bed you cracker eating slob!

Many of you are probably staring at the computer screen with a marked look of bewilderment. Is she nuts?!! How could she NOT throw herself into James Bond's arms? Or Daniel Craig's, for that matter? Well, he just doesn't do anything for me. Perhaps in real life things would be different as I have heard that Daniel Craig is a very kind and charming man, but James Bond just doesn't make the cut. This creates a slight problem for me when  I am watching these movies as I can never understand what all of these women see in him!

In the midst of my drooling over Q, I began to wonder about attraction. What causes us to be attracted to others? We obviously aren't seeing movie stars or the characters that they portray in person so pheromones can't always be the cause.

They say that Helen of Troy had the face that launched 1,000 ships, but for all of those that found her attractive there were probably quite a few people who couldn't figure out what all of the fuss was about. Some people may have even found her to be downright unattractive.

           Helen of Troy by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

As a society, we have our stereotypes of beauty (thin, big lips, eyes a certain width apart, etc), but the reality is that beauty really and truly IS in the eye of the beholder. I think that this is a pretty important revelation. (especially for our teenagers) For every person that finds you unattractive or plain, there will be someone out there who thinks that you're perfect.

I have read quite a few studies on why we are attracted to certain types of people. While there are many different theories, it seems to me that basically no one really knows why we are attracted to certain types of people and not to others. For some it's based on looks while others it's based more on  personality. For some people attraction is instantaneous and for others it comes after knowing the person for awhile.

If any of you enjoy science like I do, you are welcome to check out some of the studies that I have read.
http://www.livereal.com/relationship_arena/attraction.htm
http://aimtobe.co.uk/personal/what-attracts-us-to-certain-people/
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200704/the-laws-chemistry

So what odd crushes have you had? Is there anyone that society has deemed to be the epitome of good looks that has you baffled?