Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Daily Painting At The Cooper Studio

Greetings,

I love days like this one! The sun is shining and I found a ten dollar bill laying on the sidewalk. Yay for me! It happened because I needed storefronts.

Let me explain: the next Boulder musicians painting is on the easel. It's a street scene, but the focus is the people, not the stores. However. I am having a hard time deciding if those stores should look like stores, or if they should be vague. I realized I needed to look at some stores, so trusty HP camera in one hand, and the blond one's (yes, that would be Olliver, aka golden retriever) leash in the other, we set off for downtown Spencer. We had a grand old time taking pictures, with our last photo opportunity being the hotel. One good hotel picture, the camera batteries died, and I found the $10 laying right there on the sidewalk. Perfect!

Now, if I could just decide about those storefronts in this painting. Maybe tomorrow.


Later, Cooper

Friday, September 26, 2008

Daily Painting, Ice Cream And Salad

Greetings,
It's a beautiful Friday morning right after an interesting Thursday! Thursday started at 5:37am with a rafter-rattling lightning strike, the kind that almost knocks you out of bed :) Coupled with the fact that said lightning/thunder caused the dog to come unglued and try to climb into bed, well, we were all set up for unusual!

So as I was stumbling about the kitchen trying to make coffee, with a dog (remember, this is an oversized golden retriever) cowering about my feet, I happened to glance at some grapes sitting in a bowl, and it suddenly occurred to me that I really ought to paint them. And so I did :)

And I kept right on going! A little more paint slinging on the ice cream stand painting, and two new canvases blocked in as well. There is a new Boulder musicians painting coming, and a painting of a playground with children reading and playing.

And tonight is the artist's reception/opening for the A.R.T. exhibit at Arts On Grand. It appears to be another busy day in the making.

Later, Cooper

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

What Makes Artists Paint The Way They Do?

Greetings!

What makes artists paint the way they do? Here's a top ten answer for you: when you get the post card in the mail announcing the show you're going to be in and everything is not quite ready yet----!


I believe the follow-up phrase is fasterFASTER.

Later, Cooper

acrylic painting and sketch books

Greetings! And happy Monday, um, I mean Wednesday to you!

Yeah, I threw out the calendar page for this week, it's all messed up in my head anyway, and today really does feel like Monday! I have been out to Longmont (Colorado) to help with a new grandbaby! Arridian James Cooper, and a handsome young'n he is. (duh, of course!) We will get that picture posted pronto!

And because it's time to get back to some semblance of work now, I was reading work related emails and found this rather interesting bit: Empty Easel has an article about using your blog as a sketch book. Seems to me I have been doing that already, but sometimes feeling a bit guilty about it. I am of the vein that sketch books are for ideas and not needing to look like perfection-honed works of art (read: my sketch books are scribble-y) At any rate, now somebody has gone and given me guilt-freedom in posting any messy sketch book page I want. whoody-ha. On that note, sketch book pages from a recent studio session:



Later, Cooper

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Acrylic Painting, Studio Model

Howdy,

Welcome to Spencer, Iowa, where the sky is a smidgen bit gray and probably causing concern at the Clay County Fair, also known as the nation's largest and best county fair. Sunny skies just generally work better for fair goers. Tommorrow I will be one of those. Arts On Grand plays host at the Art Barn at the Clay County Fair, and I will be an able volunteer there on both Thursday and Friday of this week. Stop by if you're in town :)

On the easel: (wow, look, I need to number them!)

1. An ice cream stand painting. It's got no name yet, but the scenario runs with a crowd of people standing in front of a streetside ice cream stand, all waiting their turn. That alone was enough to encourage the painter in me to get to work. The clincher will be if I can manage to get at least one of the giant inflatable ice cream cones that were swinging in the breeze included in the composition. This painting is blocked in in very messy fashion, but I can feel their attitudes when I look at these vaguely rendered folks, so I am pretty sure I am on the right trail. That image will go on my daily painting blog, where I show stages of paintings. But here's a quick peek of where I was:

2. Then, as promised to the many people who saw and enjoyed 'Wild Street Music' at Artsplash in Sioux City, Labor Day weekend, there's another one coming. The next painting inspired by those Boulder, Colorado musicians is still in the drawing stages, but it's going to be fun. At first I thought the stars of the painting were going to be two slightly ragtag musicians, but they just might be getting upstaged. Enter the hound dog and a guy with long blond dreds, who are apparently ardent fans.

3. Last night was spent at the studio at the Pearson Lakes Art Center, where our group of artists meet to paint with a model. I always say I love books that end with the heroes living 'happily ever after' :) I am beginning to wonder if that's a glitch, or maybe (hopefully) a key structual point of my personality. I am beginning to feel like I am painting happily ever after into my paintings lately. Our model last night was perfectly cheerful and always great to work with, but for this pose was not smiling. No matter, because look at that light and airy spring green that ended up around her. (The blue is another painting hanging on the wall) In reality the wall is that awful greybeige that people put on their walls to hide the fact that (1) they are scared of color or (2)they have been told that greybeige is a lovely statement for their environs. Give me a break. But I digress. On this specific studio painting, you have to ignore the fact that I succumbed to that terrible artist disease, where you get home from studio, it's late, you look at the canvas, it's late, but you suddenly see something that needs fixed, and it's late but you go ahead and get a brush out anyway. THAT is what is wrong with her hands. But I think I can fix it :) yet.


Later, Cooper

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Shut The Windows! And It's Time For Pumpkin Paintings

Good morning,

and happy Wednesday to you! Welcome to Spencer, Iowa where we had a balmy 44 degrees when the alarm went off this morning. No big deal, EXCEPT every window in the house was open! By my calculations, 44 degrees is a mere dozen from frost. We shut all the windows on the first floor, the weather guy promised we'd like them open this afternoon.

And with that, I am coloring up this post with two pumpkin paintings. Yes, they are last fall's pumpkins. I have been by my favorite pumpkin patch and noted they are ready, but haven't had a minute to stop in. Note to self: must make that happen soon :) With no further ado, two pumpkin paintings:
Still Life With Two Pumpkins, 24 x 30 inches, acrylic on canvas http://karencooperpaintings.com/
Pie and Coffee, 20 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas, http://karencooperpaintings.com/
Thanks for stopping by.
Later, Cooper