A New Twist!

Several weeks ago, I was showing a co-worker this blog. In scrolling through it, the Flights of Life Butterfly Note Cards  caught her attention.

Her daughter is getting married in October this year and her shower is in September. My co-worker had been searching for the “right” card for the invitations. Her daughter loves butterflies which hold a special meaning for her and her father. The moment brought the two ideas together for my co-worker.

She and her husband looked over the Flights of Life Collection and selected one particular design. Coincidentally, they picked my favorite design.

She gave me the wording she wanted as well as the font and color that fit the theme of the wedding. I worked up a sample and the result fit her conception perfectly! I think there was a tear involved, but that has to be credited to a mother's moment of sentiment.

Below is a modified image of the resulting invitation. The names and location have been altered for the privacy of the parties involved.


Bridal Shower Invitation Personalized on
A Flights of Life Collection Note Card
©2010 BEDeuel

It was a wonderful experience putting the two ideas together. I would love to do it again! And to top it all off, a donation was created to be sent to the Lungs for Life Foundation, for transplant awareness!


Sometimes it's difficult to find a new way to approach an existing situation. Other times that new idea is just given to you. Hopefully, we’re always open to the possibilities presented.

IF Stay(s)

Stays
6x6 Permanent Ink on Smooth Bristol
©2011 BEDeuel

Just a bit of whimsy inspired by Illustration Friday topic, "Stay".

Of course, I thought about obedient dogs, Jackson Browne's "Stay", and stop signs and signals.

For some odd reason, though, the forerunner of the women's corset grabbed me. The curves of the undergarment brought ribbons and curls to life in my mind.

Sometimes it's just fun to play with a sketch and an idea. Hope you enjoy it! I did!

Having technical difficulties posting to IF. Will keep trying! Thanks for your patience!

Helping Hands and Hearts

Last week, I blogged about the first art show I’ve entered as a working adult. The show opened on Friday. I wish I could say, “Wow! It was everything I’d hoped it’d be!”. It wasn’t at all.

Enjoying a moment...

The display of the artwork was done very nicely, I will say. I suppose I was expecting some greeters who would introduce some of the artists and viewers to the art and to each other. But, being a volunteer organization the manpower may not have been available (though I was available that day…). The real heartbreaker was personal, though. My name and pieces were completely left out of the program. And, from what we could determine, it was only me. Plus my middle initial changed to "A" from "E". As I was upset, I missed out on what I’d be anticipating to be the best part of the whole experience: connecting with other art lovers. It had been a wonderful week in that regard up till then.

Not surprisingly, I heard such encouragement from our fellow bloggers and blogging artisans. That was the start. Friends and family, always there, always positive. 

Picnic In the Park 2011
Photo by Howard Owens

 I’d received an invitation to show at Batavia’s Picnic in the Park on July 4^th. I had passed simply because I am still building a portfolio and inventory off of those items. I wouldn’t have enough to show yet. But I went to see what it was about to see if it’s something I want to do next year. (And, yes, I do. Hopefully I’ll get another invitation!)

While I was there I ran into another artist I’d met in a completely different setting about a year ago, Sharon Jenke Long, who does amazing portrait work. Chatting with her for a bit, she encouraged me to “just keep drawing” and it’ll happen.

At another booth, I met an artist who’s work I’d never seen, nor had I seen anything like it, Bridgette Paddock of http://www.briduvielsworld.com/ gave me information on merchandising and printing I doubt I ever would’ve found on my own. It was a wonderful experience and a wonderful day.

An Artist at Work: Sharon at Picnic In the Park
Photo by Howard Owens

After Friday's art show reception, we wandered out to the Geneseo Rotary Summer Festival and came across more artisans. The connections were easy, the help flowing. It brought my mood around, made the day bright again.

Oddly, for a field with so many potential competitors, most artists are remarkably helpful and appreciative of each others endeavors.

And this is what needs to be held close. Not the administrative glitches, not the oversights. The people sharing themselves with others. Maybe the disappointment gave me a very important reminder of that priority.



Geneseo Rotary Summer Festival 2011 Craft Booths
Photo by Dick Gallivan

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Speaking of sharing:


This past autumn at my friend Stephanie’s annual wine party, I found that her brother-in-law, Rick, has a very talented artist for a sister. Her name is Debbie Bender, and she is an incredibly talented portrait artist. She also does landscapes and other things that strike your fancy.


Debbie’s attention to both detail and spirit brings it all to life. Check out her website at 
http://www.dldrawings.com/ and enjoy! Drop her a line, too, if you like her work as much as I do!
 　

A Face You Can't Resist
©Debbie Bender

 　

An Accomplishment

This Friday, July 8th, the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts is opening it's Member Exhibit. And, it's my first "show" since college, 30-odd years ago.

Obviously being a member's exhibit, it's not juried. But, it's a first step. For me, it was the accomplishment of starting the works, learning about framing (& both pieces do look so much better framed), and just following through.

I've always been held back by an unfortunate case of anxiety. The fear of failure has stopped me in my tracks more times than I could ever recall.

I used to constantly get choked up about whether anyone would like what I did or if it was good enough. Would people just laugh at me behind my back? Or, worse, to my face? Stage fright and anxiety attacks were not a rare occurance.


Ice Fog
5x7 Water Soluble Paint on Canvas
©BEDeuel 2011

 A good part of my life has been spent almost paralyzed by this condition. And, that includes pursuing the idea of showing my work. A lot of times, it even prevented me from finishing an artpiece. What if I didn't know how to finish it? Wouldn't it just be easier to stop and say that I ran out of time to finish it?

Now, I won't lie: I'm still concerned about what people think. I have to be concerned if I'm to function in the real world. I have to perform in my job and work with clients as well as other workers. But, I've been doing the job so long that it's second nature that comes so easily, I don't have the need to overthink it and panic. Some details and procedures may still trip me up, but those setbacks pass quickly.

The opportunity to show a couple of pieces along with a variety of other artists is wonderful. I get to see the differences in both the works and the reactions that people may have to the works. I am prepared that my pieces may not generate any interest. But, it's the first step to seeing where I may need to aim the next time with my work.

I'll try to do a few more non-juried presentations, but, the goal is to try to be accepted into a juried exhibition. The goal is to overcome the fear of rejection and failure.

I have to say "thank you" to all of you who have been so encouraging and supportive over these last several months. I'm not sure I would've screwed up the needed courage to do this otherwise.


Silhouette in Field
6x8 Acrylic Paint on Canvas Panel
©BEDeuel 2010

I'm so excited to be starting on the path of this newest journey!

Enjoy your holiday weekend and any journeys you decide to take now or in the future!

Launch! Illustration Friday

Summer Launch
5x5 Permanent Marker
©2011 BEDeuel

We've had a short, slightly volatile, but beautiful spring since the rain stopped about 4 weeks ago here in Western New York.

As a result, the windows have been ajar on a regular basis. And, no matter the presence of screens, there are always flying visitors in the house. For the most part, as long as they don't bite, get into food or dart around our faces, we don't make a big deal about them.

What the moths and gnats don't realize is that by entering the home of the ever-entertaining Mickey, they are likely to become toys.


Mickey on Watch

They're actually fairly safe. He is not a very successful hunter, which makes him all the more fortunate that I fell in love with him at first glance. We are convinced that he would starve on his own. But, he does like to play at being a Great and Mighty Hunter.

He'll leap and bat at anything that buzzes him. The first couple of years were a bit unnerving: I wasn't sure my home furnishings were going to survive this guy. I do know that the insects survive him just fine, though!

So, of course, he is the inspiration for this week's Illustration Friday topic of "Launch". He is constantly launching off of anything he can manage.

In honor of this moment of inspiration, I dedicate this IF sketch to my Great and Mighty Hunter, Mickey and the coming of a long, and buggy, summer for his unending entertainment. And mine.

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What Your Cat Really Thinks of You...Well, Only at Dinnertime. Maybe.

IF Shadows: Stepping Out

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Dancing in the Shadows (B&W)
8x10 Permanent Marker
©BEDeuel 2010

A few years back, the middle daughter discovered the art of the Sharpie. She took any image that she liked, copied it and colored it in Sharpie, or permanent marker. She would (and still will) illustrate anything, including canvas shoes.

It was not, per se, something that I thought I'd enjoy doing myself. Until I saw an intriguing magazine cover.

The motion and colors of the dancers in the heavy shadows drew me into the scene. The intensity was there to be captured again, in a different medium.

So, I tried: Sharpies!



Dancers In the Shadows (Original)
©BEDeuel 2010

The uneven application of color detracts from the effect I was attempting to recreate. It was done on a mediocre paper and it shows.  I also, at that time, had a limited palette to work from so some of the coloring had to be improvised to a degree.

When the topic of "Shadow" was presented this week for Illo Friday, I had half-a-dozen different ideas, but stumbled across this picture in it's original form and decided to try it in a B&W effect.

And, I like it. Almost better than the original. Funny how that can happen at times, isn't it?

Since I did this sketch, I've done a great deal more with permanent markers. I've decided I like those, too. And, in working with markers, I started expanding into several different mediums I'd never thought I'd be interested in trying.

It's a series of links, like so many things in life. You're introduced to something different from the rest of your everyday world. You decide you like it, you decide to pursue it. It can lead to other new and interesting things. Some of those things you might like, others, not so much. Usually the positives outweigh the negatives, though, so the flow of new things into your world can be so exciting and energizing.

Embrace it, follow the flow wherever it goes and enjoy the results! Some of the most beautiful, yet unexpected, things can emerge from the shadows if you let them.

Love That Face!



Intrigued

About a week ago, a woman at work was commenting that a stranger had unexpectedly started up a long, and, perhaps, a little-too-intimate conversation with her in line at the grocery store. Knowing the woman, I had said that I wasn’t surprised. She has one of “those” faces. I don’t think she wanted to acknowledge that statement, as she is a naturally modest person.


Paula


By saying that she has one of “those” faces, I was saying that her innate kindness and inclination to care about others actually shows on her face. It might be an acquired side effect from years of working with people, but that Face doesn’t happen to everyone who does so.

I grew up with a dad who has that magnetic Face. He made friends with everyone he with whom he made contact. Sometimes I think it would drive the rest of us up the proverbial wall. There was no anonymity anywhere we went. As a chronically sulky teenager, it could be frustrating.

But what I eventually realized with the passing of time is that Dad is someone who truly does care about other people. And, very simply, other kind people sensed it and responded in like. Obviously, I came to appreciate this trait, because I married Mike, who is, well, the same type of Soul and Face.


Just Closing His Eyes

I also noticed that I was developing that Face as well. Oh, there were days when the Aura was so dark, no one would come near me. But, there were more days when the connection was made. And, while I know that a short encounter with a stranger will not shake the world as we know it, I do also know that both of us will walk away happier for having had that time.

 So, to the lovely lady I had met the next day at the car dealership, and the waiter who sat down to enjoy a cup of coffee with my friend and me this week, I’m glad we’ve met and shared a few minutes of friendship.

 It seems that you also have one of “those” faces. And, that’s good to know because the world needs a whole lot more hearts with that Face.



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