Coffee And Paint Drips Blog - Page 45 of 79

Photo for Friday

These are traditional Easter bread called Tsoureki in Greek, or Choreg in Armenian, which are sweet like brioche and decorated with red dyed eggs. I baked some twists, rounds, and a couple in a Byzantine cross design my grandmother used to make.

This year Orthodox Easter coincides with the Catholic calendar. For the Orthodox to celebrate the holiday it must be the same time as Passover because the Bible says Jesus was also celebrating that week.

We greet each other in church with Kali Anastasi, which means: anticipate a good resurrection.

After midnight services Holy Saturday in the Greek Orthodox church we exclaim Christos Anesti! Which translated means Christ is Risen. In Armenian we say Kristos harryev ee merrolotz!

I hope everyone enjoys a blessed Easter and sweet Passover.

Thought for Thursday

“I like to pretend that my art has nothing to do with me.” ~Roy Lichtenstein, artist

Keeping On

I’m still working on painting those 100 paintings. Thank goodness I joined the challenge otherwise I would find excuses not to paint. So, the idea to be accountable to someone or something else works.

It’s like when you are in school and expected to come to class prepared. The possibility of failure is up close and personal. Not so when you’re working on your own. Who’s going to grade me? No one, but myself. And I could give myself a pass instead of a fail.

Independent study might not be my forte. In my last year in college I had a painting class at which the professor did not hold regular hours. You had to paint on your own and attend one class a month. You can just imagine how that went. I was wasting time until I received the notice when class would meet and then Bam! I had to get on it.

I pulled out my 5ft roll of canvas, kicked it out on my basement floor and where it stopped I cut it and painted. At the time I was working in oils doing color studies using a limited palette of three colors. Abstract work, mixing the amounts of colors to see how many I could get from those three in a cloudy-like design.

Working all day and into the late night, I painted until I filled eight feet of canvas. Needless to say, my professor was impressed. After all, he told me to paint bigger! I knew I could do that, I just needed the time frame.

Pebble and Bits (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor on Arches paper

All these years later I’m still the same person I was back then. I need to be accountable and have a time frame. I guess that’s why twenty minutes does the trick along with this challenge.

Progress in the Process

I have a busy Monday ahead of me today. And an even busier week to come, this being the lead up to Easter. I just can’t believe a year has passed and here I am in the middle of another Holy Week. Didn’t I just do this? Didn’t I just blog about this? Time just flies by.

The big question is this: Will I have any time for myself and painting? I seriously doubt it, but I will try to squeeze some work in. This time last year I don’t think I was using twenty minute increments of time to paint. I think I remember working on one piece for a while.

There’s nothing wrong with that either. However, since I found how productive I can be using twenty minutes to paint I’m not sure how/if I can go back. Maybe if I find something interesting to paint I may have to work on one piece twenty minutes at a time. That could work.

But this week is rough for me. Fasting, baking, cooking, evenings in church take up alot of time. I’m pooped already. Can I skip any of it? I don’t know if I can. I’m so used to going to church almost every night of this week. I’ll see how I feel.

Shell Bits and Pebble

I painted these shells once again, but this time I added that pebble. Moving the set-up around to see the other side this time, made the still life look different once more. It’s working for me so I’m not going to change it up and chance a bout with Mr. Resistance.

Then I happened to get a flash of motivation and quickly sketched the objects again before we headed out for dinner Saturday night. I moved the items around again, found a pleasing arrangement and dropped in some color before we had to leave. Done.

I am definitely making progress with the process!

Photo for Friday

Here’s a peek at my little mushy! Just a teeny peek, okay?

Thought for Thursday

“I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” -Pearl S. Buck, author

I’m Still Here

Hello! I didn’t forget you! Did you forget me? I could almost forget me! I have been busy this week with my little munchkin and having plenty of fun.

Babies are amazing animals. I’m really enjoying watching her grow and change. In fact, I’ve been enjoying watching myself grow and change. We’re on similar paths. She: physically. Me: artistically.

With the kick in the knees at the 100 Paintings challenge, to just put away a painting once it’s finished, I’ve been easily moving on to the next work. Progress! Growth! My kind of “change”!

It’s amazing what a difference a small suggestion can make. It feels like freedom. Free to move to the next stage. Okay, I’m still painting still life items, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Painting the same items over and over affords a certain affection with said items. Yeah, it sounds weird, but these things are out and that’s it. Don’t think about it too long.

So. I painted this yesterday and today I painted another one. I am on a roll! “Change” is good!

Quantity over Quality, Process is Progress

Shell With Bits (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
8×12 Watercolor on Arches paper

Adding to the latest mantra, which for some time was: It’s the Process! Now I’m saying to myself: Quantity over Quality. Yes, don’t worry over what the outcome is, just keep moving. It’s a good idea.

Over at the 100 Paintings Challenge, of which this is #12, the host Laure Ferlita, sent out an email recently. It seems some of us in the challenge have begun to discuss the good and the bad of our work in our blurbs. In other words, we are judging individual paintings rather than critiquing a good number of them as a whole.

Instead of pointing out the faults of each piece, just paint and forget about it. Finish one work, put it away, and begin the next.

That made sense to me, as I always prop up my work and look at it as I walk by during my day. Since Laure’s message, I have put my challenge paintings in a pile. I will take them out and look at them when I hit twenty five. Will I see changes by then? Maybe.

Really, the idea of quantity over quality is similar to process. The point is to paint, and keep painting. Progress comes in degrees and over time. For me, the progress is I’m painting regularly. Even if it means twenty minutes at a time. This painting was done in twenty minutes. Progress means I have my tools out and available to use when I find the time.

If I can use those twenty minutes this wisely every day, I am way ahead.

Raspberry Agates are Delicious

Have you ever needed a gift for someone and couldn’t get it together what to get, where to get it, how much to spend? It’s not easy shopping for a co-worker’s birthday. How personal should the gift be? It depends on how friendly you are with that person.

Along with painting I have been designing and making beaded jewelry pieces. Some of them have really come out beautifully. I’ve even worn some of my pieces and received plenty of compliments. That’s always a nice feeling.

I have an Etsy shop with my jewelry for sale, along with some of my paintings, small handknit items like spa cloths and baby socks. The spa cloths and jewelry saw sales, the art not so much. Etsy doesn’t really support the fine arts with appropriate categories. I’ve hunted for watercolor paintings and found wood lemon reamers among the reproduction art.

Nice site, not nice for art. Plenty of craft items though as well as very talented artists. It’s too bad. I would add more paintings to the shop, but why bother if shoppers can’t find them? I’ll think about that one for a while.

Having sold the necklace from this set, I was asked to make another one to match the bracelet. I decided to throw in a pair of earrings for fun. These are freeform raspberry agates and they are delicious. What great color! Nice sparkle, too.

Well, they are off to a new home as the gift for someone’s birthday. I hope they are as loved much as I enjoyed making these pieces.

Thought for Thursday

“The thing about creativity is, people are going to laugh at it. Get over it.” ~Twyla Tharp, dancer choreographer