daily paint, October 31, 2007

Good morning!

and a crisp, sunny, lovely colored one it is! It's one of those days that almost makes me wish I painted landscapes:)

I brought a small bit of landscape in recently. There was a mum sitting in my backyard that was having lateness issues, wherein I knew it would not make it to completion. Yes, I am well aware that mums are some of the toughest little buggers out there, but I also remember driving in ugly snow exactly one year ago Friday, so there! I plopped the aforementioned mum into a pot and it came into the kitchen, where it proceeded to bloom with so much effort that I decided to paint it. So, 'Summer Leftovers", 40 x 20 inches, acrylic painting on canvas.

Have a lovely day! Cooper

October 29, 2007, and 'An Artistic Affair'---Cedar Valley Friends Of The Family

Good morning!

And what a beeyoootiful one we've got going here in northwest Iowa. The maple trees across the street from me, wow! Sights like that must be what make me slather lots of yellow and red paint all over my paintings!

No, I haven't started painting yet today, but I'm almost there. First I wanted to mention a couple of events.

1. Cedar Valley Friends Of The Family is an organization committed to helping hurting families and individuals throughout northeast Iowa and beyond. They are hosting 'An Artistic Affair' this coming weekend, November 3rd. I have sent this painting to them, and it will be one of the many pieces of art they will auction at this event to help with their upcoming budget needs.

2. The very same weekend, November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th is Two Rivers Art Market, hosted by Des Moines Metro Arts. This will be at the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Des Moines, and I will have an exhibit space there. If you are in town, stop by!

Later, Cooper

wishful thinking

Hey, remember the other day when I said just click on the painting to enlarge it? Murphy's law started there---I now have two images that were there yesterday that won't come in today. BUT if you click the red x on the one, it comes in supersized. Sheesh. I guess that explains everything!
Cooper

Yea! I just found it wasn't me screwing up, it was the 'blogger'. Although it did make me feel small--when I went to 'blogger help', I found out I am one of many hundreds who have been having the same problem. They said it's all better now:)

booth shot AGAIN

Hello,

So my advisor said my booth shot was too cramped---------aarghhhh! But all viewer's opinions are valid thoughts, right? So happy day this morning, up the basement steps with the canopy and sidewalls, also up the basement steps with the bags of propanels. All those paintings that I had just carried back into the house, oh---was that only about 20 hours ago? Sheesh. Back outside with all of them too. AHEM: booth shot #2 for your viewing pleasure-

Later, Cooper

daily paint, October 24, 2007

Hey,

So today I found the face again, and this time I kept it. Today's daily paint, 30 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas, 'So Thoughts Are Private'

Later, Cooper

*****yeah, click on the image so it will enlarge, it's a whole lot better that way. Some day I will be a great photographer and make it look just like the real painting, but not today.

*****You know I was wondering why blogger wanted a great big space under this post, know I guess I know: I guess I was imagining things when I said click on it to enlarge it---that doesn't seem to work either. But you know, I'm sure it did at one time. eh, go to my website: http://www.karencooperpaintings.com/ I know it will enlarge there:)

daily paint, October 24. 2007

Howdy,

Today's painting time was spent on the studio painting that I unearthed yesterday. I 'found' her face three times and lost her face three times. That translates to three steps forward, three steps back. Heavy sigh.

My friend Mary Connealy has a group of author friends, and yesterday they were sharing thoughts on rhino hide at their blog, http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/ Other than the three step portion of my day, I spent my time toughening up my 'rhino hide'. Comes the season for sending away jpgs to see what shows might actually let me hang up a painting. But not just any jpg, today I was working on that special commmodity called the booth shot. A booth shot is a lovely little invention that supposedly gives a vision of the layout of your potential exhibit, while simultaneously answering the question 'can this person really paint enough to fill a whole exhibit space by herself?' To anyone who really wants to know, YES, I CAN! Here, LOOK:

Yes, I know, it's very colorful. :) Later, Cooper

Random blog entry: Boulder Acoustic Society @ Spencer House Concert

Hello again,

I just got back from a great event. There is a gathering in our town called the 'house concert'. (yeah, who'da thunk it, Spencer, Iowa) Anyway, our genial host, Martin Arthur introduced us to the 'Boulder Acoustic Society'. If you were not there, you are sorry. It was amazing music, live and wonderful. I'm saying that and they had an accordian! But what a cool sound that musician made! You've heard the phrase said of a musician that they 'were one with their instrument'? That would be true of all five of this group. I contend that live music is like an original painting: the real is prime, the reproduction (or recording) is just a make-do copy. Oh, that we could have the real thing all the time! By the way, if you are within driving range of a performance by the 'Boulder Acoustic Society' you 'd best be going!

Later, Cooper

daily paint, October 23, 2007

Hello!

So, what, you are asking did I paint today? Well, first of all, I gessoed (primed) a bunch of sheets of paper. Borrrrrring. Then it got better. A few tweaks, and wa-lah: A Paperback Novel Kind Of Day (2)And yes, it is signed, thank you very much. Then I found a canvas that I'd started at a Lakes studio session, that had been hiding in the corner. I started playing with it and like the direction it's taken off to, so I decided to post that as well. Yes, she will get a face eventually. These things DO take time you know. Maybe tomorrow. Later, Cooper

Inspiration for daily paint!

Do all artists have a penchant for books? You know, that oversized variety full of great big, perfectly clear, succinctly focused works of art? Those who come under the heading ‘not compelled to create art’ probably call them coffee table books. I know a lot of artists who refer to them as inspiration, study guides, or just plain old sustenance. I've spent more than just a few hours reading about books, let alone when I actually get my hands on one and open it up. Being a rural environs-inhabitant probably affects all of this syndrome---maybe it would not be so severe if I lived four blocks from the Art Institute instead of four hundred miles. But those of us out in the wildwoods need our great paintings fix too, and on a more regular basis than the occasional trip to the city. So we turn to books.

Right here is the time to give a big thanks to all those folks who supply us with crisp, clean, sometimes still in the protective sleeve, brand spanking new copies of books that we desperately long for and seriously need on our personal library shelves. There are times when they are essential and oh so appropriate.

But because there are just a few of us who have NOT YET sold our first million dollars worth of paintings, and we still have to ration our ‘book dollars’, I’m offering up an additional solution. Type ‘used books’ right into that old google search line. I have fallen in love with Abebooks.com., and there are others. They are my new literary heroes (well, other than my author friend Mary Connealy) At first I was quite skeptical of what condition the books would actually be in as many seem to be former library books. But their library must handle books more gently than mine, as my purchases so far are of very acceptable quality.

I have had some trouble with their book descriptions regarding content. That all important ‘number of color plates’, size of ‘color plates’, pages of drawings, etc. is seldom included in the book listing. I stumbled across a solution for that issue at a library, and it would probably translate to your location as well. Buena Vista University is a college about forty miles from my home, who houses a huge collection of art books in their library. Yes, they do allow ‘community people’ to check out their books, but there’s always that 2 week time limit that’s just never really long enough. Previewing them at the library helps me make the decision of (1) this is a book I need for two weeks, or (2) this is a book that will inspire, sustain and further educate me in my artistic endeavors---a book I need to own.

Later, Cooper

daily paint, October 19th, 2007

Hey,

So I painted all day, and here it is, but I'm telling you right now, it's not signed. We all know what that means, there might be room for one slight change. We'll see.

Later, Cooper

daily paint, October 17th, 2007

Hello everybody!

Today's post is of the 'getting there' sort. Yeah, it's not done yet. But I'm pleased with the way it's progressing, so I thought I'd show it to you. I am playing hookey tomorrow, to the city with some friends :) I will come back so eager to paint that I'll undoubtedly have a completed painting to show you by the weekend.

Later, Cooper

daily paint, simplified, October 16, 2007

I'm back, I'm back! Yeah, that took awhile, didn't it?! My excuse is (was) A.R.T., northwest Iowa Artisans Road Trip. It took awhile to set up and then it took some time to put it away, and it meant that I was 'at work' Sunday afternoon, so I pretended that Monday was Sunday afternoon and therefore my day of rest:) I feel much better now, thank you. And because A.R.T. is a studio tour, I really was painting while people came through, so there, daily paint. I started a large canvas right away on Saturday morning, the first day of the tour. When I paint the smaller 'color sketches' that I put on heavy gessoed paper, my intention has always been to expand on those ideas and turn them into larger canvases. After doing pretty much a bazillion of these color sketches, 'A Paperback Novel Kind Of Day' is reappearing on a 40 x 40 inch canvas. The first version is owned by a mother-daughter team, the Juley's, from La Grange, Illinois, purchased at the West End Art Festival. The larger version is looking pretty fine at this point, but as it is 1600 square inches (sounds huge like that!) I took a time out from that and plopped a pair of pears on my table, smooshed around some pear-kind-of-paint, and wha-la! Today's completed daily paint, Two Pears And A Shadow.

And after all that, it now appears to be an ideal time to go make some popcorn!

Later, Cooper

daily paint, October 11th, 2007

Greetings!

So it's a seasonal kind of atmospheric grey day in northwest Iowa, but seasons are good for us, and the yellow leaves hanging on the trees outside my window are just lovely. My only problem is a vehicle that needs picked up at the mechanic's shop about an easy one mile bike ride north of here, and trying to decide if I need to wear one sweatshirt or two:)

Daily paint for today: 'Zoned Out', an acrylic painting on heavy gessoed paper, finished up from a LakesArtCenter studio session.

It's about 15 x 15 inches. I will zip over to my website and put an image of the painting there as well. Thanks for looking!

Later, Cooper

October 9th, 2007

Happy Tuesday to you!

Wow, the Artisans Road Trip weekend is looming ever closer. Yeah, like this Saturday and Sunday, as in October 13th and 14th. Which is also my excuse for posting a painting that a few of you, but definitely not all of you have, have seen. Painted earlier this summer: 'Call Me Yellow'

It's an acrylic painting on a gallery wrapped canvas, of everybody's favorite flower, the sunflower. It measures 16 x 24 inches, and I'll post it on my website as well (paypal friendly)

Yes, as you might have guessed, I spent more time yesterday getting organized for this weekend than I did painting. BUT I did paint! Our studio group met, and we worked for 2 hours, and then when I got home I decided to work on one of them a little more, which ended up being just after midnight! (Does that mean Ollie did not get his run this morning? Correct!) I am not ready to post the results of the burnt midnight oil yet---still trying to decide what I think of them :)

Time to go organize some more!

Later, Cooper

daily paint, October 5th, 2007

Greetings!

Today's paint slinging episode:) resulted in the completion of the latest in the book reader series! 'Reading In A Red Dress' is an acrylic painting on a gallery wrapped canvas, measuring a lovely 20 x 24 inches.

Actually, the word completion puts me in the liar category---I have yet to give the painting it's protective varnish topcoat---eh, details. We'll get that done one of these days soon.

We will get this uploaded to my web site (paypal friendly) as well. Thanks for visiting!

Later, Cooper

A.R.T.; Artisans Road Trip; (inquiring minds want to know:)

Good morning!

What a beeyoutiful day! A few weeks ago I whined about the office makeover, but today I am really reaping the benefits. Overhauling the office made it possible to turn the desk that the computer sits on, and I am currently alternately typing and looking out the windows at lovely colored trees tossing in the breeze. Sounds like the subject of a poem, eh?

A.R.T., northwest Iowa artisans road trip, coming up next weekend, so how about I just give you a copy of the press release? [Sheesh, I knew being on the publicity committee was a great (?) job, but this is a true bonus.]

For Immediate Release
August 23, 2007

CONTACT:
http://www.artisansroadtrip.com/

Indulge Yourself: Be Touched By Art

Once a year the private studios of the best artists in northwest Iowa are open to you. Working in a multitude of mediums the professional artists welcome you to their unique studio spaces. Be entranced by works in progress. Purchase finished art to take home and enjoy.

A.R.T., Artisans Road Trip, is a collaboration of artists from 8 northwest Iowa counties, welcoming you to this self-guided tour of their work environs. From its inception in 2004, the group has grown to include 41 art professionals. Plan to experience painting, drawings, pottery, sculpture, jewelry, photography, kaleidoscopes, hand blown glass, stained glass, neon glass, wood turning, mosaics, weaving, fibers, and furniture.

Nothing can compare with meeting the artists in person at their studios, and talking with them about their creative processes. Begin your weekend adventure at http://www.artisansroadtrip.com/ where you will find maps of the 31 artist locations for your self-guided tour, as well as amenities for your stay. Plan now for your northwest Iowa art adventure!

Saturday October 13th, 9am thru 5 pm
Sunday October 14th 12pm thru 5 pm

daily paint, October 4th, 2007

Hey,

I painted all day long today, some of it was SherwinWilliams:) Considering the ArtisansRoadTrip is next weekend, I felt compelled to paint the entry way to our house. A person can only live with ugly so long, and this was a good excuse. It has been tranformed from metallic silvery blue wallpaper to nice rich 'cavern clay' paint. It looks LOVELY.

And, the rest of the daily paint: actually I spent quite a bit of time on the latest of the library book series---almost done.

But then I went to my studio group gathering, and guess what? The model was reading too. This one is a little rough yet, but sometimes it's better to stop earlier than later? His book was called 'delta force' something, so that's what we'll call the painting. 'Reading Delta Force', 16 x 16 inches, acrylic on canvas.

Later, Cooper

daily paint, October 2, 2007

Greetings!

Another painting for you to look at: 'Studio With Sunflowers', it's an acrylic on canvas, 16 x 16 inches. Thanks for looking!

Later, Karen

daily paint, October 1, 2007

Hello,

I am committing the unthinkable and posting an UNFINISHED daily painting. Heaven help us. Our studio group met last night and this is as far as I got. It was a tough pose for the model to hold, so we had a little shift, and that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I am working on another from the library book series in my studio right now, so we'll see which one gets finished first. At any rate, today's daily paint: 'Studio Model', 20 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas, finished one of these days soon!

Later, Cooper