Childhood toys all grown up

I am starting a series of paintings that take my favorite childhood toys and I bring them into adulthood. When I think of these toys I have very pure feelings of childhood bliss. A time when I was unaware of all the bad things that existed in the world. When I try hard I can get my brain to go back in time and remember what it felt like to be that care free and happy...but not for long. So here I have collided the two worlds: the innocent world of a child and the harsh reality of what world appears when you grow up.

Jim's Grand Children

finally complete

Ani DiFranco - You Had Time (Lost and Delirious)

I love this...

Yellow Traveler

www.ktpaintstudio.com



This is another painting to be added to my "Flow" series. While my portrait series seem to be more in demand, I most love doing these weird swirly paintings. I can not really explain why... but I will try. While painting a good portrait provides a sense of accomplishment (for portraits are a true testament of my patience as an artist), the flow series just pours out onto the canvas with ease. Portraits take tedious hours of observation, calmness in execution, and extreme attention to detail. While these traits are to be valued, and are ones I am constantly striving to become more masterful at, sometimes it is nice to relax and just melt with the paint. The flow series (unlike my other work) depicts the more hedonistic side of my art, the part that just spills out. There is no restraint, the lines just flow into one another with an easy rhythm. In fact in writing the word "rhythm" I wonder if this series has also been inspired by music? Because it is only with this series of paintings do I listen to my favorite songs. The use of feminine curves and organic circles provides a sense of harmony and peace like a melody. In the Flow series a more quiet emotion is expressed, a subtle comment on the a relationship between the paint, the world, and oneself in it. These I paint regardless of who else likes them.

Phil Nesmith

I am posting this artist because I want to remember his work. His images contain some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen. I think its the simplicity of his pictures mixed together with their trancperant qualities that I find so endearing. This combo captures the subtle delicacy of life.
http://www.ferrotypes.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=11669&Akey=YA679CKP

http://philnesmith.wordpress.com/

Gerber God and his Famous Mother

I painted this contemporary take on a 12th century Romanesque sculpture of the Virgin and Child for an Art History paper. Basically asking the question, "Who is behind the images we see today?"...you can draw your own conclusions.

Little Ruca Butt on the Trail

Ruca did the 12 mile hike!

light

The light passing through the trees. Perfect moment.

Banana Slug Love

Last weekend we went to Big Sur. We saw this in a small nook between the rocks. Who knew slugs could be so beautiful.

Pompeii Plasters

Pompeii was a Roman city that was lost for thousands of years under the volcanic ash of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. While uncovering the lost city they discovered pockets of space left by the decomposed bodies that were buried. Through a plastering process they were able to fill these air pockets and thus give form to these forgotten lives. How interesting is that?

What struck me was this plaster of a dog they uncovered. It's anguish is apparent and its detail is amazing. The dynamic positioning of its legs just make me feel the ash that is covering him. Sad,eerie, and beautiful all at once.

Baby Shirley

So my manager at work has this super cute baby named Shirley. He asked me to paint her and in my head I was doubting my abilities to do a human painting. Dogs seem easier. I decided to take on the challenge and it was not easy...but I think in the end this was a successful painting that taught me a lot.

Here is Shirley in her first Halloween outfit as a duck. I set her in the sky for both fun and contrast to the yellow outfit...

Today a thought

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home."

This was a quote that struck a chord with me today. In my moments of introverted hibernation (which have become more frequent lately), I find myself painting as a way to travel. Being I can not afford to roam the world aimlessnessly as I would LOVE I paint to find reprieve from life. To live inside my own creation, by the meditation of the paint going onto a blank canvas.

Dog Quotes

I'm a sucker for quotes. I found these on dogs...thought some of these were great.

1.)My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet. ~Edith Wharton

2.)I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive. ~Gilda Radner

3.)I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better. They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvelous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying. ~George Bird Evans, Troubles with Bird Dogs

4.)One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why. ~Author Unknown

5.)My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. ~Author Unknown

6.)The more I see of man, the more I like dogs. ~Mme. de Staël

7.)I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. ~Rita Rudner

Dog Series

So I have been busy painting dogs lately. Here is my work so far, mostly finished...a few pieces need a little more love but I like how they are coming so far.

Shadow of a heart

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. ~Maori Proverb




I just thought this was pretty in my room so I took a picture of it. I found the above quote and found it fitting.

The rose in the rain

I woke up to the wind this morning and looked outside my window to see yet another dreary day, but alas there something different, something beautifully unexpected ...a rose. This rose had been blown from the side of my window( where it could not be seen) into full view. For some reason I felt an ache in my heart, I know a rose is only a plant but I guess it seemed symbolic to me. I felt like this struggling rose represented the constant tension between life's delicate beauty and its wild rage. This dichotomy always seems to interact with each other and it's always sad to watch. Who knows maybe this is how Mother Nature has decided to create some sort of sick balance? Maybe I am putting a lot of meaning behind this rose, but to me my window seemed to be crying, the wind was angry, and the rain was throwing a temper tantrum... I found myself rooting for the underdog.

in the eye of the RUCA

If you look close you can see my reflection in Ruca's eye. I love this picture because its so full of detail. This is how Ruca's life is like with me constantly hugging her and in her face all the time. I love that dog what can I say!

Quotes for 2010

My Friend Teri had a question on her facebook page about finding a motto for 2010. So I went on an inspirational quote hunt. These are my favorites. I love how one simple sentence can hold so much meaning.

1.) Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

2.) In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.-Theodore Roosevelt

3.)Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.-Roy Goodman

4.) Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts...- Albert Einstein

5.)Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. – Gandhiji

6.) All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it.-- Samuel Butler

7.) Life isn't worth living unless you're willing to take some big chances and go for broke.-- Eliot Wiggington

8.) Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyways. – Anonymous


This one is my favorite "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." Helen Keller

Ruca and her paint

Ruca also helped stamp her mark on the rocks. Little green paw print.

Graffiti Fairy

From the chalk birds in leaves that I did on the sidewalk I got this idea to drop my little creations around the world and leave them behind. My friend Eileen thought of the name, "graffiti fairy" and I think that is a perfect name...just sprinkling my little bits of pretty graffiti everywhere for people to find.

This weekend I made a fish on a rock and took it to the sea. I took some pictures and left it hidden for someone to find as a treasure. Then my friend Laura and I went to the cliffs where we drew some chalk drawings and left them to slowly disappear through time.