Life is a Great Big Canvas

Many years ago, there was a man named Judah, and he had three sons. The eldest, named Er, married a woman named Tamar. Er was a wicked man, and the God of Israel struck him dead because of his evil ways. This left Tamar childless, which meant two things: her late husband would have no heir, and Tamar might be left to survive on her own, which was very difficult, if not close to impossible, for single women and widows in those days. Judah told his second son, Onan, to take Tamar as his wife. If she conceived, that firstborn son would become Er's heir. Onan agreed to marry her, but used means to keep her from becoming pregnant. God saw this, that he was undermining the plan Judah had for Tamar and Er's heritage, and so God struck him down dead. Judah had one son left, Shelah. He was but a child. It would be many years before he would be old enough to have a wife, so Judah took in Tamar as part of his household, to wait for that day. Tamar, however, had doubts. This so...

Vashti, Queen of Persia, wife of the mighty Xerxes. Some believed that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. King Xerxes certainly did. Once, during a great feast, he ordered his queen to reveal her beauty to all the men in attendance. This did not mean just unveiling her face, but unveiling everything. He wanted her to dance before them, so they could receive pleasure at her sight. It was unheard of for anyone to say no to a king's order and live. Perhaps Vashti hated being treated like a piece of meat. Perhaps, being the queen and mother of Xerxes' heir, she felt that she should receive more honor and respect. For whatever reason, she stood up to her husband, the king, and said NO. Vashti, charcoal, 2014, SOLD Xerxes consulted with the wise men on what to do with her. He must have loved her somewhat, because she would not be put to death for this crime. But he had to do something. If he just let it pass, then the other women of the kingdom might rise up ...

Today is the day that I graduate from college. It is a major milestone for me. It is one of those things that I never believed would happen, yet here I am. I married young, and we started our family soon after getting married. We both agreed that I would be a stay at home Mom, to personally raise our children. And I did. I put aside any possibility of working or going to college, and even put aside my paintbrush to focus on the kids. I had no regrets in staying home with them, and I believe my kids turned out great because I invested my life to make sure that I was always there for them. However, the desire to create art and become a better artist always gnawed away at me. I taught myself to do quite a bit, but I always felt my art was missing some quality to make it better. I had talent, but not professionalism, and definitely had no confidence in my art or ability. My sister, Cathy, decided to go to college in her late 30's, to become a pharmacist. She worked really hard, ...

For a time this year, my nudes were placed in a very tasteful lingerie shop, Lilly's Lingerie. Unfortunately, she just closed her shop this week, so this nude was never displayed there. I call it Nude in Reverie. The idea of nudity in art is a controversial one---some love it, some are uncomfortable with it. So I am working on coming up with figures that celebrate the human form in a tasteful way, that more sensitive viewers can enjoy.

 I used to joke that I had the shape of a fertility goddess. Sometimes people would understand and laugh, sometimes people would give me a funny look and scratch their head in confusion. They had no idea what I meant. If you are one who doesn't know what this means, that's okay; let me introduce you to the Venus of Willendorf, a very early piece of art. The Venus of Willendorf is a small nude sculpture of a very ample woman with exaggerated sexuality. She is 4.4” high and made of limestone. She was discovered in 1908 during an archaeological dig near Willendorf, Austria, and now resides at the Naturohistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. This statue is believed to be one of the earliest pieces of art, and one of the earliest nude women in art. Scientists date her at 28,000 BC to 25,000 BC, during the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age, through a study of the stratigraphic sequence of the area. The oolitic limestone used for her carving is not local to the area w...

I am excited to share with you my first show (outside of my own gallery) where I am a featured artist! For the month of February, I am sharing the spot of featured artist with the wonderful Maja Shaw of Richland Washington (also her first time as featured artist), at Crossroads Carnegie Arts Center here in Baker City, Oregon. I am showing figures and still lifes in oil and charcoal, and Maja is showing her florals and landscapes in watercolor. I am debuting "Hadassah" at this show, another figure/portrait in my series of exotic women, along with Delilah (seen in the poster) and Tamar. I plan on doing a few more in this series. Maja's watercolors are very vivid. Her florals are not soft, but lively and intense, as though viewed at mid-day with the sun shining down on them. They are very fresh, and well-executed. Drop by Crossroads any time this month to see our show. Who says oil and water can't mix? For more of Maja Shaw's work, visit her websit...

This is my project for this week, a semi-realistic male figure. I haven't named him yet, as someone suggested, because after another week or so, he will be recycled back into the clay bucket. It amazes me that I can do this. As I mentioned in the last entry, I did not think I was capable of doing this, yet every week, I find out that YES I CAN! I was wrong! I can sculpt! I am really enjoying this, and thinking that I may want to pursue sculpture further, once this class is over with. You know, sometimes I like finding out I am wrong.

I am taking a sculpture class this semester. Three weeks into it and I am able to sculpt a foot that looks realistic. I am so proud of myself, because I didn't think I was capable of sculpting anything to look good. So this is my foot. I sculpted this while watching an instructional video and while examining my own foot. Something interesting that I learned, is that the great sculptor Rodin mentored another sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic. Mestrovic in turn, mentored Kenneth Glen, who mentored a number of artists, many of which are professors at Academy of Art University, including the writer of the curriculum for the sculpting class I am taking. So artistically speaking, this makes me the great-great-granddaughter of Rodin.

This was an exercise I did for my second semester, in Sketching for Communication. I was happy with the way she turned out. Pencil, 2010.

This nude is an exercise in foreshortening. Hopefully we will be done with nudes soon!

I did this one for Analysis of Form. The drape in the back is my favorite ballet dress. The point shoes are also mine to use, as is the violin. I was really happy with how this piece turned out. It was a lot of work. The pearls alone took three hours to render. Charcoal, 18x24", 2009

This one cracks me up, no pun intended. This is a nude I drew for Figure Drawing. It looks like he is playing Twister naked. I am really temped to put the Twister game underneath him. It looks like a really uncomfortable pose....I wonder if he had to stay like that for very long? 2009, charcoal.

I just finished this nude for week 5 of Figure drawing. Can you see the improvement compared to the other two I did? I am pretty happy with the way this one turned out. I think her right foot could use a little more work which I probably will do later.

My kids named this pen and ink drawing "Shelly", because she is holding a shell up to her ear. This was one I sketched when I first began creating art again. I donated this to the 2009 Annual Benefit Dinner and Auction for Harvest Christian Academy.

I hardly created any art from the beginning of my marriage. Rearing children became my life,and I did not have the energy or any block of time to concentrate on painting or creating fine art. I made crafts...painted rocks, wooden items, made jewelry, did counted cross stitch and silk ribbon embroidery, but no fine art. Then one day, almost out of the blue, it felt like God had released me to begin pursuing fine art again. So I told everyone I wanted oil painting supplies for Christmas. I got them for Christmas, my inlaws found art supplies at yard sales, and before I knew it I had everything I needed to start creating. So this if my first oil painting created as a married adult. It is my daughter, Elizabeth, contemplating whether to get in the pool at her grandparents' house.

Here is my other nude sketch that I just now finished. I am really happy with the way that these turned out.

Three weeks into my college classes at The Academy of Art University and I am loving every minute of it! Currently I am taking Analysis of Form, and Figure Drawing. This piece is one that I just finished a few minutes ago and I am very happy with the way it turned out. It is on 18x24" newsprint and was done in charcoal.