Politics & Art

I'm so glad these national elections only come around every 4 years!  Both of the candidates for president of the United States totally suck and the latest mud-slinging is totally scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as I'm concerned.

I don't usually post about politics; after all, what do politics have to do with art? 

Well, it seems that many things are not deemed 'politically correct' these days and while there's not overt censorship, public pressure has begun to shape our lives.  How soon before it will be against the law to say anything against any person, policy or law that the establishment doesn't think is appropriate?  You know that will also apply to any art that isn't in current vogue with those in power.

I have to say, I don't like either Donald Trump nor Hilary Clinton for president of our country.  But I'm really angry at the vitriol that's being spewed against Trump right now.  Sure, he sounds like an anti-feminist asshole, but I think the majority of the populace has forgotten about the Democratic Don Juan's and how both JFK and Bill Clinton were almost celebrated for their extra-marital affairs.  And what about Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick scandal where a young woman lost her life in a clandestine affair with the senator?

I'm not condoning Trump's chauvinistic actions by any stretch of the imagination - I yearn for a moral president probably more than most.  But I am saying that I will not vote for Hillary because of Trump's actions 15 years ago.  To me, to bring this up is just a diversionary tactic by the Democrats.  Perhaps the Republicans should bring up Hillary turning a blind eye to her husband's indiscretions.  Isn't allowing something just as bad as doing it yourself?

While I don't like either of the candidates, they are what we have to choose from.  So, not only will I look closely at both candidates, I'll also look at the party platforms of both.

Hilary's tv ads say she's always been an advocate of children - well, her party supports abortion;  what does that say about her?

It really ticks me off that abortion is touted as a right but is really just a legal murder of an unborn child.  That women use abortion as a method of birth control just says to me that they're too lazy or too stupid to use other means and it's tragic that an innocent baby pays the price.  Where are the rights of those children?

That is not the only problem with a Democratic president but the platforms of both parties are too much to get into here.  I will say that the United States has not improved with Democratic leadership in spite of the party saying for years and years that it will. In this day and age, our US Constitution has been violated by the Democrats more times than I care to remember and that has only brought our country down..

But, the right to free speech has been squelched more than just about any other constitutional right and there's where the threat to our art is concerned.  If things go on as they have been, it may be that I won't be able to paint angels, or Christian religious icons if I want or satirist cartoonists won't be able to publish work making fun of our politicians (Democratic, Republican, Independent or Socialist!) and only 'politically correct' art will be allowed to be viewed.  Is that what we really want?

North Carolina Wildlife Artist Society

I received word yesterday that I have been juried into the North Carolina Wildlife Artist Society and I'm very excited about it.

Many of you know I was once a pet portrait artist and also know how much I like painting animals.  You also know that we live in a very rural area where we see wildlife of some kind every day.  You may not know that I'm not much of a joiner - most of the time I prefer to be painting instead of just talking about it!  To be honest, I checked out some local chapters of various art media societies and felt totally out of place not to mention that I don't like being confined to just one art medium.

But when I discovered NCWAS, it just felt like a match made in heaven.  Artists lead a somewhat solitary life anyway and rural artists are really isolated!  Normally that doesn't bother me a bit but recently I've felt that being around other artists and participating in art events would help me to stretch as an artist.

NCWAS is perfect for me as it's not media-specific, I can use any medium I want. I think they only have one meeting per year which leaves time for actually painting!  The subject requirements aren't overly strict and are what I'd be painting anyway.   They offer participation in various shows or exhibitions but I don't think the participation is mandatory which is a real plus for someone who paints as slowly as I do!

Is there any wonder I submitted an application for joining?

So, in light of this new membership, stay tuned for more wildlife and wildflower paintings!  You can check out NCWAS by clicking on the links for their website and Facebook page listed at the top right.

Definite Final

I took Sue's (Pencilpix blog) advice and added some distant "somethings" to the right side of the horizon line.  I figure it's a stand of trees or maybe a jumble of rock - I'm not sure what it is but I do think it helps the painting.

I hope so as I varnished it and we went to Michael's and Hobby Lobby today to look for frames.

We bought two frames, one at each store, and we both like both of them equally!  I joked and said that since the painting is varnished and not behind glass, we could easily exchange frames every 6 months so both of them could be used!

Not only did we find frames we liked, but both were on sale.  Of course, both stores regularly have "sales" on their frames but Michael's sale was 60% off, plus, our son had given me a gift card for there so the one frame only cost me a dollar and 12 cents.  Can't beat that!

I was also looking for some small (6") square frames but they didn't have any.  Or at least Michael's didn't have any - I forgot to look at Hobby Lobby!  Oh, well, guess that means another road trip!

In the meantime, I need a title for this and for the other cowboy (pastel on black shown below).  While the other cowboy won't be framed, I did enough to it to get a decent scan so I can offer prints at FAA.  I'll offer prints of both of these as soon as I can title them.

One of my BIL's suggested Campfire Thoughts for the cowboy on black and I've gotten quite a few suggestions for naming this painting but none really click.  Any ideas out there?

Pastel Play

Pastel 8"x10"

This is a somewhat quick play with pastel on Colour Fix Suede.  I was beginning to think that I would have to spend a lot of time relearning to paint with pastel also but this wasn't too bad.

Of course, I wasn't 100% happy with it and will need to re-do it anyway as I sprayed it with fixative which really made it dark and grainy looking.  I lightened it in my graphics software but that just pointed up the shortcomings of the painting!

One of these days!

Adult Portrait WIP 2

I worked on the portrait of my western dressed husband yesterday afternoon and this morning and am very pleased with the quality and handling of the Schminke gouache so far.

I had already made a start on the denim jacket (back and sleeve) before the new paints arrived and had had trouble making the fabric look like denim.  When I repainted some areas, the bottom layer re-wet and mingled with the new paint layer.  That's a quality of gouache that can either work for or against the artist.  In this case, it is working somewhat against me as the new color is mixing with the old and it becomes a color I don't really want.  But, I'll be able to solve that eventually.

What is concerning me right now is the value of the different sections of the jacket.  Some of the highlights are very bright while others read as white but are very subdued.  With other paint media, I would use a wash to control the values but, as I've said, gouache lifts any previous layer which then mixes with the new layer.  This creates a new color and a new value and it's kind of tricky to get it right.  Also, gouache will either dry lighter or darker than the applied color and that also throws another problem into the mix.

Since I've not used this new paint color before, I'm just having to try one thing or another to try to get the look I need.  So, while I'd hoped to be finished with this painting by now, it's going to take a while longer.  I'll try to post updates along the way but I may just get into the "zone" and finish it all quickly.  I hope that happens but I'm not holding my breath!

Oh, I also played with the new color, Titanium Gold Ochre, in the background and I think I'll want to re-paint the background, at least partially.  We'll see how that goes when we get there.  Funny how one small change affects the whole painting!  This may turn into a totally different and unexpected painting!

Fine Art America

I finally took the plunge and joined Fine Art America.  My gallery there is still a work in progress but I thought I'd give you the link so you can bookmark it.

FAA offers high quality prints on a variety of supports - canvas, art papers, metal, and acrylic and they also offer cards and phone covers.  These are all offered at very reasonable prices and are perfect for decorating both home and business.

I hope you find something you love at my page but, if not, look around the site as there are many wonderful artists with thousands of pieces of art - you're sure to find the perfect piece of art for your home or business.

Here's a link to my page:  http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jan-gibson.html.  Stop by for a visit any time then come by again as I plan to add lots of art in the future.