Category: Art

Tomorrow is Another Day

So, back to the dreaded apple, sharp shells and fearsome pebble. Just kidding! Nothing scary a out my still-life set-up except the paint colors. Yes, I’m not feeling it with these paints. It’s becoming a problem. An issue. I feel as if I’d rather not paint, but I’m fighting it with all I’ve got.


If I give in it could spell trouble with a capital T. Let’s just say it could happen, but I’m planning on it not happening. Besides, I have a challenge to complete! 100 paintings in a year are not going to materialize just like that.I have a goal, a plan, and by golly, I’m going to win!

Ahem. So here it is, the next work. Twenty minutes in and I wanted to trash it. I hate the reds of this watercolor brand.Ugh. Ok, I will try to lived with it. The more I use it the closer I get to buying new paint. That’s how I’m looking at it.

I turned the still- life around once again, to view another side and different shadows. I stood on the opposite side of the table too. I tried to let the magic flow, but it wasn’t easy. My brain sees different colors than I have here. I shrugged that off and kept at it. I have more to do, but this is where I stopped for the day.

Let’s see how it turns out tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.

Beware the Ides of March

“Beware the ides of March” Julius Caesar,  Act I Scene II, William Shakespeare

In olden times the ides of March meant nothing more than the middle of the month. No omens of evil, nothing bad, just mid-month. For some reason the ides took on this spooky quality after Shakespeare has the Soothsayer mention it in the play about Julius Caesar, on the day he meets his end.

The ides fall on the 15th of March, May, June and October. Check out the Wikipedia link. The other months’ ides fall on the 13th. So what? What’s the big deal? Everyone always says that line as if some big thing will befall them on this date like Caesar. Shakespeare made the ides have some weird and eerie feeling. I think I’ll stay away from painting today.  Why play with fire?

Although, something interesting might come of it if I do paint. Who knows? Maybe some strange, ethereal quality will emerge from the dreaded apple and fearsome shell bits?

Can you picture it? The apple- dark, mysterious with red foreboding. The shell bits-pasty white with pointy and sharp edges. The fearful pebble! What will it mean? What is the evil omen they suggest? Is it possible to paint a lonely apple and broken bits of seashells with an quality of doom? How about the beach pebble?

I have an idea! I think I will paint!

On to the Other Side

Determined to keep myself in a mode of allowing good things to come my way, I painted. Yes, I did. I took the time while my granddaughter napped this morning and ran to the paints. I cannot let another day like that get the better of me. My mind is set. I must paint daily. At least I’ll try to paint daily. Fingers crossed!

Let me remind you, I’m still not happy with the colors I’m using. I don’t mind mixing colors to get what I’m looking for, but this is ridiculous. I just can’t make the colors I need with these paints. MamieriBlu is lovely and creamy, blends nicely on the paper, but my brain is looking for colors that are just not there! What else can I say? Maybe I didn’t buy all the colors I needed? My palette is full, but I am still lost without some of my favorite colors.

I like using a palette with minimal, but essential colors. Here I have more than I really need except they don’t look like the colors I’m accustomed to using. I know I keep harping on it. It’s a problem for me.

Other Side of the Dark Apple (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themeli
8×12 Watercolor on Arches paper

I turned the still life set-up around once again, to get a different perspective. I also moved around the table to get the shadows going in the opposite direction. The reds are not what I wanted, but somehow it works. I’m not sure if the apple looks like it’s laying down. I think it’s floating. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t care. I signed it and it’s finished. Questions? Comments? Criticisms?

The Intention was Good, but..

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” 

It seems there is a question as to who first made this statement. I really don’t care who said it. It reminds me of something my father would say though, so I kind of like it. I think it makes a weird sort of sense. Just imagine what it means. People thinking they’re doing good things, but they are actually digging themselves into a hole. That’s how it comes off to me.

Well, it was running through my head between Sunday and today, Monday. By the way, today is the first day of the 40 day fast of Lent, also known as Clean Monday. Yesterday, the last Sunday before Lent begins was the Sunday of Forgiveness in the Orthodox calendar. The Orthodox calendar coincides with the Roman Catholic calendar for Easter this year. Every now and then it happens to be celebrated the same weeks. Just makes the days more difficult and heavy with stuff. I’m busy as it is and now Lent?

But back to good intentions, of which I had many for Sunday. I had the day to myself and planned to paint again. Quiet house, rain and cold outside, and me with my paints. Did it happen? No. Not even for twenty minutes. See? I said I had intention, and it was a good one, except I shot it all to hell by doing nothing. It happens.

A while back, maybe around this time last year, Son#1 had it out with someone whose intentions may have seemed good to them. I said, may have, because the ranting that this person aimed at my son didn’t end up well. All this time later that individual found themselves in a position where they had to apologize for their terrible behavior and awful display. Next time shut up, and don’t shoot yourself in the foot by flipping out. People are strange. Okay, whatever.

I didn’t flip out. I just didn’t do what I had intended to do. I blew it for Sunday, and today too. It’s too late to salvage the rest of today. By the time I post this the sun will have gone down and my reserves are depleted. No painting will happen today.

But I meant well.

Painting Time

I made it here at the blog today! I didn’t sleep well, knowing I had to rise earlier than usual to take Sons #1 and #2 to the airport for a weekend thing the oldest is doing in California. The weather is mild here in New York and I hope it’s comfortable there, but I hear it’s raining.  Anyway, I’m tired.

After my amazing day with the Princess I had painting time. Oh, and for the record, every day with the Princess is amazing. Back to painting.

With apples in the house I decided to set up two of them with some bits of broken shells from my last time at the beach. I knew I would want to use them so I put them in my travel paint kit. Great light, pleasing subjects, and time. This time I planned to use the whole paper and paint just a little larger than I have lately. And I penciled in my shapes and shadows. Would you believe I need to replace the half pans of color in this travel set? When am I going to get myself together and use the large palette? Sometimes I think I’m lazy, but is it that or is it I’m just so impulsive that way? Either it’s readily available or painting doesn’t happen. What a whack job.

I worked over the twenty minute mark this time around, but tried to keep the colors, lights, and darks, true. Didn’t want to over work this one, again. Oh and just so you know, I decided to move on from the last piece. I was over it. New day, new work. Done.

Wet paint needed some drying time so I left it alone to do some other things and look at it as I passed by. I knew I needed to clear up some areas and when I could, I did.

Apples with Shell Bits (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
Watercolor on Arches paper

This is it. I am finished with it. I have a question for you more experienced watercolorists out there though. Does watercolor paper need to be sized before using? As in wetting the paper thoroughly and leaving it to dry for use later? I’ve been using a block of Arches 140lb cold press paper and have not been going over it with water first. When I want to paint a fine line of color it seems to resist. It’s not beading up, just not flowing over the paper smoothly, sort of like skipping. Large blotches of color gets absorbed easy and it seems I don’t have much control. Is it me? Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this.

I’m finished with this one too. I signed it and I’m done. Let’s see where I go next session.

Some Time in the Morning

While my granddaughter was fast asleep after her bottle this morning, I headed to my watercolor paints at the dining room table. Like I have mentioned before, the light from the window at this spot is great. Even thought it’s a rainy, windy morning the light is still good, north facing light.  The basement studio hasn’t seen any action in a while because it’s easier to keep an eye on my charge if I paint nearby.  I set up the usual suspects and painted for twenty minutes.

I haven’t had the chance to get a smaller block of paper for these quick works so, as suggested by a fellow artist and blogger friend Pat, I cut larger paper down to the size I need. The way I paint, the bigger the paper, the bigger I go so I have to pencil in a dot to limit the area.

The paper I am using is Arches. The small notebook was Canson, and I’m noticing a difference. The Arches paper block stays wet longer, not so the Canson notebook pages.  I’m also finding that I can’t paint as fast with the Arches because it’s still wet when I want to add color and then it gets muddy.  I have to pay attention.  Learning how to use the tools is part of the process, so it’s all good.

This is how the painting looks after twenty minutes. It’s not exactly how I’d like it to be so later on, if I get the chance, I will go back to clean it up.

Mid-Morning (c)2010 DST  8×10 Watercolor

On impulse yesterday, I purchased a 10 pack of small stretched canvas for almost no money at, gasp, Michael’s Crafts.  I do hope there will be some oil painting in my future, meaning this winter.  How does twenty minutes of oil painting sound? Can it be done with any success?  Can I do it with a modicum of success?  I guess I will have to try it and see.

Back to the Future

When I was in college studying for my BFA in painting, my professor threw it out there that women very rarely become full time artists because they end up getting married and having children.  Oh great, thanks alot.  But really, when the time came that’s what happened to me.

In the field of study I chose, I was able to do studio art, commercial art and art education.  I had worked for a studio doing paste-up work on fashion catalogs and electronics magazines, so I had that knowledge.  I liked the idea of art education, but hated the high school kids I did student teaching for.  Real cocky kids, not my cup of tea.  After I graduated I landed a full time position as a paste-up/layout artist where I stayed for a few years up until I had my first son.

Those days most women were still at home with the children and that’s what I did.  Even if I had the idea to keep working there was no one I could trust to leave my son with, every family member I had was working.  Let me say I was thrilled to be at home with him.  No more jealous bosses, crazy co-workers and wild fashion magazine overtime.  No thanks!  I’ll take my chances being at home raising my kid.  I marveled at how he grew and changed every day.  We played, sang, took walks, drew pictures and it was all fun for me.  When he slept I painted or did pastels, knit, sewed little outfits, cooked, cleaned, and did the things to keep the house.  I ran the roost.  I was the boss.  My son was my side-kick, my little helper.

Art had to take a back seat like my professor said.  Over the years I made my art in fits and starts, while my babies slept and later, when they were at school.   And as the time passed the field of commercial art changed so much that I couldn’t go back.  The paste-up artists’ bull pen had been reduced to one artist and the computer.  I missed that boat.  So it was back to painting.

Now I’m home having a ball watching my granddaughter.  Thank goodness I’m an artist at home or I wouldn’t have this precious opportunity.  I am back to the beginning, painting while baby sleeps!  This time around I have more experience under my belt and I know how to get more art in.  That great idea of twenty minutes of painting was unheard of in my college days, but now it’s how I roll.  Twenty minutes is working.  Even though I hit the brick wall of resistance a little bit ago, I’m back in it.

I am back to the future.  Life is amazing.

Maple Leaf (c)2010 Dora Sislian Themelis  7×10 Watercolor

Knock Knock! Who’s There? Oh, it’s You..Again

Where have I been this past week?  Right here, at home, visiting with Resistance.  Yeah, it hit me again, that lousy Resistance, with a capital R.  Sometimes things go a little off track and lands me smack in the blahs of creativity.  Meaning no creativity.  Meaning resistance mode.

What’s an artist to do?  Well, first I decided to lay off bugging and nagging my inner artist.  I gave in to resistance and took a nap.  Maybe it was well deserved.  Feeling off is not going to help anything, but dropping out of it can.  So I did.  That’s all I could do on Day 1 visit with Resistance.

To back up a bit: I ran out of paper in the travel watercolor pad I was using.  Bad move #1- I didn’t shop for another pad.  I still have paper, but it’s larger.  So, I decided to just use the larger paper for the next work.  I set up a small still life of the usual items and added some interesting agate stones I have for my jewelry making.  Maybe they were too interesting?  Make that Bad move #2.

As I was free from babysitting one day this week, which is another story I will have to tell another day, I sat down to paint this set up.  Remember, bigger paper.  I began to sketch in the objects with paint, no pencil drawing.  I had hoped to do twenty minutes.  Bad move #3-20 minutes on big paper with interesting items that had detail, lots of detail.

How did it come out?  Disaster.  Knock-knock, Resistance at the door!  Hi, how have you been?  Come on in!  It’s been such a long time!

The next day I took that nap.  The day after that I pushed myself outside to take some photos of the Japanese maple tree with it’s bright red leaves.  I wanted to post them, but Resistance wouldn’t let me saying we should have a coffee together.  So I had coffee in my ‘dream corner’ of the living room and looked out the window at the back garden.  Resistance told me to just leave that horrible painting on the dining room table where I started it.  Sure, look at it every time I pass through to the kitchen, why not?

The following day I ran my errands and totally ignored the painting and anything to do with it.

Do you know how hard it is to fight the soothing call of Resistance?  I must say I’ve been lucky these last few months.  Keeping resistance at bay was a breeze.  It was smooth sailing for a while, plugging into creativity, staying in the mode with 20 minutes at a time, happy with the process and feeling good about the outcome of it.  Nice work.  I guess a visit with Resistance was inevitable sooner or later.

What did I do after all that?  I knit.  After I knit, I am going to ditch that painting.

A Quiet Sunday

It’s a quiet Sunday.  I usually wait for inspiration and post to the blog on Monday.  As I have said before, Monday is a favorite day.  Unlike other people, I love Monday.  I know, we won’t go there.
Today was kind of like a Monday because everyone was out of the house for a few hours.  To me that is bliss.  Since I’ve been having alot of fun painting for just 20 minutes I decided to get my little things done around here and then paint!   After all, what’s 20 minutes? 
The great thing about this little travel set is that it’s right in my path, along with these things I keep painting.  I never get tired of the rocks and the shells!  I guess they remind me of the summer and the beach.  I painted this at around 3PM with plenty of north light from the dining room window.  
The teeny travel brush in this photo is my favorite brush!  It holds just enough water and has a great point, but it’s not an expensive brush.  I might have to investigate some regular size brushes that match the way this one works.  And I’m going to need another one of these spiral watercolor pads.  For now it does the trick, but I have only two pages left of this one.  
I can’t wait to shop for art supplies!  With 20 minutes of painting so often I might need more supplies than I plan to get.  Fun!
Shell with Seaweed  (c)DST  7×10 Watercolor