Well, Hello!

Hello? Anyone still around? 

Why would you be? We've been MIA for over 3 years now!

If you are, wow! And thank you so much!

So much has happened since the last time a blog was published here:

House readied for sale, house sold, move to apartment (yuck) while seeking new home, find house, buy house, ready new house, move into new house.  

To say it's been whirlwind is to be generous. Oh, and, we've revamped (or returned to) the concept of what we wanted to create under the Bronson Hill Arts banner.

We've solidified the services to unique, personalized gifts including fun pet portraits & couples' silhouettes. Visit us at bronsonhillarts.com for more info.

 The art & photography will continue, but under separate covers, BEDeuel Art & Deuel Images. All these tendrils are still sprouting, so stay tuned!

And, by the way, here are the completed pieces from our last blog post of the 6x6" flower pieces:

Just finished about 2 months ago, by the way! Hope you still enjoy them!

First Day of Spring & Indulging in Art

Rose-O-Shannon Progression
Acrylic & Water Soluble Wax Pastel
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2015

With our part of the world being kept in an almost perpetual deep freeze this season, it's easy to let time get away from us. Dark days & cold, miserable temperatures can make one feel depressed, despite our not necessarily suffering from depression. 

It feels as if we've spent months just waiting. Waiting to be inspired, waiting to feel free. Free of layers of clothes & the subsequent piles of laundry. Free of the tedium of clearing & manuevering endless acres of snow. Free of the doldrums and hopeless feeling that spring may never arrive. 

And, while, in theory, this should be the perfect time to hibernate in the studio, it is difficult to do so. The thought of going beyond the radius of the fireplace was more taxing than joyful. 

But, today is astronomically the first day of spring. Over the last week, the snow pack has melted to show saturated greens & browns. Bunnies & deer have emerged, hungry. The birds have started to sing again. Flocks of geese have begun to return to the neighborhood, honking their way across the skyways. Yes, it is still snowing. Lightly & briefly, if the meteorologists are remotely correct. Soon it will stop.

Hibiscus, Rose-O-Shannon & Stella Doro Daylily Progression
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2015

The attempted arrival of spring has helped me to get some hustle going. I've been in the studio. I've taken account of the seemingly gazillion pieces & projects that have lain as dormant as the trees these last 4-5 months. It's overwhelming, in a good way. 

Base Acrylic Painting for Stella Doro Daylily
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2015

This particular project I'm sharing today is for a specific show. The details of the show preclude my sharing the purpose of the exhibit, but I still would like to share the experience with you.

There are 4 pieces started, each with acrylic paint to create a random pattern of greens & sunshine. From there, I sketched the flowers that I'm looking to paint as the subjects. I was excited to be working with acrylics again!

Tiger Lily Progression: Acrylics
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2015

BUT, as soon as I tried to paint the flowers with the acrylics, I remembered why I don't like using acrylics. I'm an alla prima painter which works wonderfully with oils & even watercolors. Not so much with acrylics! I know that you can mix some oil retardant with the acrylics, but, I need the pieces to be ready in a few weeks & that would defeat the purpose of using the actrylics!

Rose-O-Shannon Progression: Acrylic & Water Soluble Wax Pastels
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2015

So what to use? A-ha! Water soluble wax pastels! Great for blending & quick to dry, these beauties are just perfect for this project. I'll keep posting the progress as I go along.

What projects have you rediscovered lately?

And, mostly, Happy Spring, everyone!

Flowers & Five Senses

Bountiful Blooms
8x10" Watercolor & Water Soluble Pencil on 140# Strathmore 300 Paper
©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts

For so many years, I have gardened without gloves. My hands have been scratched, scraped, gouged, & bruised. Repeatedly.

With time, my skin also continues to get more and more sensitive to saps, sticky leaves and ant nibbles. So, this year, I've been trying to wear gloves to keep some of the "damage" under control.

I can't do it. It's too unnatural.

Just in the tedious task of weeding, it is much easier to "feel" where to grip the stem and how to twist and pull the noxious plant without gloves.

Then I started thinking about how tactile gardening can be: the silky sensation of a petal, the waxy smoothness of the pocket of a deep bloom. The strength that supports a multitude of colored crowns and the delicate curliques of a climbing vine can be sensed through naked fingertips.

Reaching deeper into the thought, it became obvious how the flowers in our gardens and in nature's fields envelop all of our five senses.

The visual beauty can be overwhelming in the flow of colors and textures. Either spread sparsely, elegantly amid grasses and trees or clustered like happy children, blending into a mosiac of life, the sight can be stunning.

Of course, inhaling the sweetness and freshness of blossoms is a treat beyond description. Memories and dreams are triggered with the slightest whiff on the breeze. Spring and summer become eternal, following a trail of scents that only flowers can create.

What do you hear in the garden? Whispers of the air sharing a laugh with you. The joyful hum of the bumblebees and the honey bees getting high on nectar. The swooping of swallow's wings, the hovering of the hummingbird.

How do you taste a garden? The berries, the grapes, yes. But just plucking a spike of chive and savoring the spontaneous zing can be delightful. Harvesting sunflower seeds, brewing chickweed tea. There are so many little surprises waiting to be sampled.

The next time you're feeling dull and uninspired, find a garden. Then let your senses run free!

Poppies: Just In Time for Spring!

Poppies
8x8 Water Soluble Oils on Stretched Canvas
©2014 BEDeuel

Okay, so this presentation is a little bit reversed... but we are very ready for spring to come and stay!!

Normally, vanity would stop me from posting all the steps that it took to get to the final painting, but I wanted to share some of the problems that were encountered while creating the painting.

A nice start...

   

Composition is working, so far...

Something is starting to take over... 

Uh-oh! Need an outline to find the flowers...

Finally! The painting emerges!

White paint to the rescue!

Sometimes, I feel like I just want to chuck a canvas, but, with determination, the painting will evolve. That's the beauty of creating!

Poppies A-Startin'

While the beginning process for this painting is not as involved as the process needed for the Bird Squares, I thought it would still be fun to document the start of Poppies!

This is being done on an 8x8" stretched canvas so laying down a charcoal sketch is much easier than on 3x3" squares.

The first image is the base: a mix of titanium white and sap green water soluble oils, blended and criss-crossed for texture. 

The second photograph is the laying-in of the basic reds and greens of the poppies, stems and leaves, over the charcoal sketch. You can still see some "extra" lines under the paint.

Will be jumping between the Bird Squares and Poppies, between everything else, of course! Stay tuned!

Our Yard

 

Some of the reasons it gets harder and harder to leave home.... Hope you enjoy the show as much as we do!