Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, cape cod, drawing, New York City, pirate booty
So, yet again, I have done NO new artwork. I did, however, eat two bowls of Pirate’s Booty just a minute ago…does that count for anything? Seeing as my latest body of work involves drawing food, I’m just going to chalk up this indulgence to professional R&D.
Sound convincing? Should I run for Congress? Perhaps…but only if I could attend all sessions wearing my fuzzy, mint green bathrobe carrying my half-eaten bag of Pirate’s Booty under my arm. I’ll be representin’ the moms out there…I MAY even brush my hair…
I did attend the reception for the National Prize Show at the Cambridge Art Association.
I ran into some friends unexpectedly, which was great. My cousin and his friend also came, which was wonderful as well, AND greatly added to the evening. My work ended up in a corner of the room:
There it is! Actually, there’s my husband! Poor guy. Little does he realize his portrait is hanging up in Cambridge. He may not be able to handle the fame of people coming up to him on the T saying…”Hey! You’re the guy in the drawing who mysteriously has no hand! What’s up with that???” He can just nod and mumble something about his crazy wife as he tries to hide under his Kindle.
Sometimes, my posts aspire to be “marginally intellectual,” or at least NOT ridiculous. But…as a result of my son’s continued absence from preschool…any remaining braincells that I might have had to create a “marginally intellectual” thought have shriveled up and are now forgotten…much like the errant Cheerio that rolls itself off the dining room table from my son’s cereal bowl and ends up underneath the radiator. (Just wondering…do I need a third bowl of Pirate’s Booty? Thoughts????)
I was digging that pen and pencil drawing of a grasshopper on the right, in spite of my bug phobia.
During this past week, as well as getting nothing done, I stumbled upon the work of Joan Linder online. Check it out:
She recently had a show at Mixed Greens in NYC. I WISH that I had seen it. Her show was titled, “Sink.” She has numerous drawings of her kitchen sink/countertop that are mesmerizing to me. Some of the drawings are realistic, and they almost have a “family portrait” feel to them. They are long, colorful and detailed…and they make me feel as if the viewer has interrupted a private party amongst the artist’s kitchen items and food. The black and white drawings look gorgeous. I love the look of the drawing and the entire theme. The multicolored line drawings have a very frenetic feel. I almost relate to the faucet in the center…it’s trapped and trying to deal with the culinary fracas. Amazing! Did anyone out there see the show? If so, let me know what you think. I would love to see her work in person.
It makes me wish that I could make something amazing from my lowly kitchen sink. (Yes, I’ve heard of Bon Ami…thankyouverymuch.) I’m going to hold off on posting a photo of my own kitchen sink …lest I get arrested by the housefrau police. They have spies everywhere. I think that I can pretty convincingly plead ignorance.
I’m just like that, except that my dress is red, not blue. I’m also right handed.
This past weekend, we went to the Cape…
AAAAHHHHHH. Now, I know it’s not the Caribbean (unless we took a wrong turn after Albuquerque), but it still has a zen effect on my psyche. I am lulled by the sparkling waves…the noisy seagulls…and my son asking repeatedly when we can see his friend who lives nearby.
Have you noticed that eating soft serve ice cream seems to have a zen effect similar to being at the beach? I have. Or, perhaps it’s just the beach and ice cream combo that work together so well? Beach + ice cream = zen. As opposed to: 5 year old boy + 5 year old boy = NOT zen.
I find that sprinkles are helpful too…especially when applied topically to my temples during one of my son’s raucous playdates…
(FYI…they’re also easier to pick off the floor than shriveled Cheerios…)
Filed under: Drawing, painting, travel | Tags: art, artist, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, Robert Rauschenberg, still life, Willem de Kooning, Wyeth
The birthday planning for my son’s 4th birthday party has given me several more gray hairs. Today, during his bathtime, he was mad at me and told me that I was NOT to come to the party. I was to stay home and feel awful. Sheesh. Who taught him such nasty mind games? Do I say stuff like that? I hope not…I might have been more subtle and not stipulated that the other person “feel bad”. He’ll learn such subtlety in time…
I am attempting to keep this a fairly DIY party. No, I’m not hand-making artisanal balloons or anything. BUT, I’m making the cake, have baked cookies to go with the favors, and have scribbled together the decor. The theme: construction site. A week after deciding this theme, my son decided it should be pirates. Too bad, I said. That brought on another barrage of vitrol from him.
So, here is one of my scribbly signs for the party:
Isn’t it cute? Just say it is to humor me. Actually, you’re probably wondering when I’m going to stop blabbering about this party, and talk about de Kooning instead. All in good time…
This is probably the last year that I can do anything DIY for a party. Next year, he’ll want lazer tag with spiderman and Doc Octopus. Ummm…yeah, I can’t do that with cardboard and markers. I’d have to be some kind of hybrid between Martha Stewart and Stan Lee. Hmm…disturbing.
The ornament situation in our house has gotten worse:
I have completely given up.
Okay, enough about my preschool-centric universe. So, this past Saturday…I had the WHOLE day to myself. No, I don’t just mean from around 11 am when my husband is done with his marathon bike ride, until 5 pm, when I’m needed to relieve him from being “on duty” with our son. I mean the ENTIRE day. What did I do? I went to NYC for several hours! Okay…for my friends who are in NY…PLEASE DON’T BE MAD. I had to do a tactical strike. I was on a mission to go to MOMA and see the de Kooning exhibit, which is only open until January 9. I can do a social visit another time.
It was AMAZING. So brilliant. That man just oozes talent. Or, I guess that would be oozed. Seriously. I loved his lines, his enormous swaths of color, his manipulation of the human form…
and this:
de Kooning, Untitled – 1961
and this:
Sigh. You must see this show, if possible. You won’t believe the scale of some of these pieces…their textures…their energy…so amazing.
When I was rushing through the rest of MOMA, I saw a crowd gathered around something. Naturally…I was curious. WHAT was it?
Really! So interesting. I am not a fan of Dali, but it was really fascinating to see what was a “celebrity”. I just like other stuff…I nearly plowed through several people when my eyes locked with THIS from across the room:
Rauschenberg, Bed – 1955
Yes, I nearly became a linebacker in order to look at this old quilt with paint on it. LOVE IT. As the old adage goes…it was smaller in real life. (no, not that it tastes like chicken…pay attention). Really. If I hadn’t spent so much time mooning over de Kooning (!), I may have had more time to see everything else. One other piece struck me:
Wyeth, Christina’s World – 1948
Okay. This is a VERY familiar painting. Right? I’m not savvy in the least, but this has to be one of Wyeth’s most famous paintings. Anyway…it always seemed to me a very “romantic” picture…I mean the romance of the agrarian. WELL. I had a VERY different feeling when I was actually looking at the painting firsthand (which, by the way, was stuck in a corner next to an elevator vestible and a cafe). First of all…her hair is not the lustrous brunette of youth…but actually a harried mix of grey and brown. This is not a young woman at all! She’s probably in her late 30s / early 40s…you know…way over the hill, like me. In addition…her body is neither youthful, nor supple. She actually appears frail…weak…half-starved. If you look more carefully, her bent arm in the foreground is very thin…(and not in a Marie Claire sort of way). She seems to be struggling to raise herself. In addtion, her dress and shoes are not fresh and new…her shoes in particular struck me as very worn and old. So ultimately, this painting had a desperate, bleak air to it. WELL, if my art history class in college had covered anything within the past 300 years, then I MIGHT have known that:
Okay..am I the only person in the world who had an entirely different impression of this painting than is actually the case??? This long-winded story is basically remarking on how important it is to actually SEE artwork in person…not on a screen…not in a magazine…not on some crazy person’s blog…(are you still reading? amazing!)
As a result of all of this art viewing / party planning…I have not gotten much work done. Sigh. I have one drawing to show:
closer:
No, I’m not done with this “line of exploration” yet. If you get tired of my subject matter, please bear with me. I’m trying to focus and stay on a path, and not flit around from project to project.
Wish me luck with the party extravaganza on Saturday! I’m sure that I’ll be crying with frustration and relief at the end of it, and will be sent home in order to have a nap.
slightly wonky 