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Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, on location in Lipetsk.

The city parks people here in Lipetsk do an admirable job.  Especially with studious, and attentive concern for trees.  I was hoping it would follow through to the regular folks - specifically those shop owners with a little patch of soil alongside their front entrance.  Early in the season it would have appeared to be that such was the case.  The early birds must be the ones that know what they are doing.  But we're getting on towards summer here in Lipetsk - 77 (F) degrees, as we speak.

And here they come, the marigold killers.  Maybe they just now realized that patch of soil will look pretty scruffy midsummer if they don't do something/anything with it now.  Who knows their thought process?

But they are out there.  In Lipetsk, Russia, just as well as in Spencer, Iowa.  Marigold killers!

Maybe you have one of these people for a neighbor?  Their patch of front-door-soil is full shade.  Do they read the tag that comes with those little plants?  The one that says "plant in full sun"?  If you read a marigold tag  it will not have one word about shade on the tag (unless it's preceded by a нет).  Not one word remotely like "tolerates morning shade".  Nothing at all about "partial shade".   Marigolds are sunshine plants.  Plant 'em in the sun.  Your planting plan should allow for that:  full sun.

Note I said the PLAN word?

Yes, time to turn this toward art.  And every last artist among us should know the value of the PLAN word.

Because an artist that picks up a paint brush, and grabs the paint WITHOUT a PLAN, is kind of like those people, without a plan, that end up with their marigolds in the shade, and one month later, wonder why nothing is working out like they'd hoped.

Hey, a value sketch, a little thumbnail drawing of that glimmer in your thought process.  At least a minute or two moving that photo reference around in photoshop?  Something to keep you from wondering what the heck went wrong, after the canvas is all covered with paint?  

You've never thought of it like that before???  Yeah, you know who you are, you marigold killer, you!

Now go have some fun painting something lovely, with a PLAN!

Later, Karen [who always plants marigolds in the sunshine :)   ]

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, assignment, Lipetsk.

Art Or Product?

Ah.  Tis the season of the great American ‘Art in the Park”.  Art Fair.  Art Festival.   Art on the Square. Spring Festival of the Arts.  Fall Festival of the Arts.  Botanical Garden Festival of the Arts.  Downtown Art Fair.  Uptown Art Fair.

I was thinking about this during the morning run.

A bit of background may be helpful.  I started running at the ripe old age of 43.  Yup, forty three.  Crazy, I know.  I made an agreement with myself that I’d quit when I turned sixty.  Hunh.  Then a famed (infamous?) Iowa senator had his photo in the paper jogging around our nation’s capitol at age 76.  Seventy six.  Really, Chuck?  I guess I can’t quit.

And the other thing is, I enjoy it in a weird self-competative sort of way.  And it seems to be the only regular form of exercise I can stick with.  Isn’t commitment a grand thing.

But this is an art blog.  Back on subject, please.  Roll back up to the title & first paragraph, and let’s stir in a little artist.  A little painter.  A little creator-kind-of-person.

Art Fair Insider is a great source for exhibiting artists.  I love it.  But every now and then,  someone types in the word “product” when they converse about their exhibiting.  May I state it annoys the heck out of me?  Because then I feel compelled to read between the lines. 

Are they an artist?  Or are they using the art fair venue to make an extra buck?  Are they creating art?  Or are they making product to sell, under the guise of art, at said art fair venue?  Are they an artist?  Or are they just in it for the money?

Ha.  As I ran this morning, I realized there is another question that answers that question.  (good grief)  And that question is (tahdah, drum roll, please)  when are you going to retire?  When will you quit?  When will you toss out the running shoes?  (wait, I think I mean when will you toss out your paint brushes?)  Are you looking forward to a day when you don’t have to do it anymore?  When you don’t HAVE to “make art”?

Folks love to play with that age old question "what is art?"  

Wait, did I just discover the answer?  

If you can retire from doing it, is it art?  If you don't need it to make your week complete, is what you're doing art?  If you can circle a date on the calendar, say December 31st, and say that's it, I'm done, have you been creating art?  Or something to sell?  Is your head & heart in it or just you bank account?

Art.  Product.  Commitment.  Retirement.  What is art?  Hunh.  Maybe the answer has been right in front of us all this time....

Now go paint something lovely, and don't worry about whether it will sell or not.

Later, Karen

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, location, Lipetsk.

I have mentioned before, that our flat here in Lipetsk, is in a building that has a wonderful park right outside the backdoor.  In our flat, our kitchen has windows and a balcony that offer up a second floor birds eye view of the west pathway of said park.  Same said window has a wide ledge built out over the top of a radiator.  Need I say more?  PERFECT place to sit with the morning cup of coffee.

There are a couple of huge apartment buildings just north of us, and a bus stop a few blocks south of us, and so that park path is part of the morning commute for a whole bunch of folk.

This morning as I was perched, enjoying the view and the кофе, my eye was drawn especially to one figure hustling down the walk.  I immediately noted some sort of figure deformation, a terrible back problem that in my eyes elevated her to the status of that famed bell ringer from Notre Dame fiction.

My mind/thoughts ramped forward as I wondered how she had so much hustle with that kind of a problem, how she got on in life, how it came to be that she had the problem, had anything been done to help her, on and on with my perceptions.  Surely you've done this type of thinking as well?

About that time, she got to the place on the path where the light changed on her figure, and I realized (oops) that she had on a backpack that EXACTLY matched her coat.

Yup, no terrible (whew! for her) deformity.

At that point I was ruefully remembering Betty Edward's book Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain.  Every artist has read that one, right?  Should!

All that left brain/right brain stuff contained therein can be a little taxing for those of us who want two out of every three pages they turn, to be slathered with colored images, but it's pretty important stuff contained therein, if you truly desire artistic skills.  Let me append that:  if you are just putting color on canvas, maybe not as essential.  If you want those color shapes to look like something, then you've got to know.  And that book'll tell you.  

Your mind is pretty darn good at playing tricks on you.  It wants to be smarter than your eyes.  It wants to access the scene, win the race to the conclusion, and move on, with a "don't buck me on this one" attitude.  It's likely the number one reason why there are so many really lousy attempts at drawing the figure, out there in the world.

Yes, we need to blame it on perception.  That perception of "I have seen this before, I know what it is, and it goes exactly like this".

It's time to summarize, right?  And I suppose in all fairness, I should share that the first part of this post was written a couple weeks ago, and now I need to pull it to a close.  Yikes.

Let's back up to the P word, and see if it's the key to summary.  PERCEPTION.

As painters, we are taught that the bold, confident brush stroke is the best one.  (hey, and I'm the one who just wrote the article with "hesitation" in the title line!)  As you read the phrase bold, confident brush stroke, don't you just feel compelled to jump right into that painting?  Full speed ahead?  Zoomzoomzoom?   Living under the banner of "hey, the great ones do it fast!"  

May I say that I guess you'll be painting hunchbacks occasionally?

And may I also say that the phrase bold, confident brush stroke is not worth much unless you add PERCEPTION to the front of the process?  Perception is just another form of that wonderful word that soaks up so much of our time:  STUDY.   

So call it perception, call it study, whatever.  There's no skipping the prep work.  You've got to know what you're looking at, how to deal with it, the course of action required on that canvas, before you can get to that final step.  The crowning touch of the bold, confident brush stroke.  Ha.  Who told you this gig was quick and easy?!

Enjoy your painting adventures today!

Later, Karen

PS:  Wow.  Good timing.  Immediately after posting this, I opened and read Judy Ballance's excellent article on the same subject.  Don't miss reading it!  Here's the link.

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, back in Lipetsk, yet again.

So, that gap in time (blog writing time) is being attributed to a whirlwind trip to Iowa.  And hence, the title of THIS post.  Delivery.  Yes-siree-bob, a couple of locations in Iowa are hosting a whole new fleet of paintings.  Delivery mission accomplished.

And it was with bated breath, may I add.  Just before Christmas (2013) I traveled back to Iowa as well, but with just a few small paintings.  Easily fit into a flat travel bag.  This time, yowza - multiple 70 x 80 cm canvases, and one of them was already sold - no room for delivery error!  

How to fly your paintings from one country to another, well, that's coming in the next post.

This post needs to focus on the recently delivered.

 Read To Me, Kharkiv, safe and secure in it's new home in Spencer, Iowa.

  Oh.  You Noticed.  A fun new painting ready and waiting for the season opening of the Wine Bar Art Gallery, Arnolds Park/Okoboji, Iowa.  And that opening, you ask?  Friday, May 16th, 6:30 PM   Oh.  You Noticed. is an acrylic painting on a nicely sized 31 x 2, 2 inch canvas.  Here's a zoom-able look.

And surely you've heard that Okoboji is one of the overnight towns for RAGBRAI this summer, right?  Definitely cause for a bicycle painting or two to hang out at the Wine Bar Art Gallery.  

Last Full Week In July, a substantial 40 x 40 inch canvas.  A link to the zoom-able view provided here for your viewing pleasure.

Here's a complete list of the paintings ready to show - feel free to call Deidre at the Wine Bar Gallery, 712-332-7111, if you just can't wait for May 16th to roll around!

Festival Keys

Balloons.  Ageless.

So, I Heard That...

Crosswalk On Gagarina.  With A Yellow Balloon.

Hottest Ride Ever

Sack Lunch

He Loves Me

Seriously.  You Should Get One Just Like Mine

Beach Buddy

Please note that each title is hyperlinked.  Clicking any one will take you immediately to my website image of the painting.

And then, on to the next location!  Jefferson, Iowa's favorite coffee shop, Greene Bean Coffee.  Great coffee, of course, roasted on site, but I have to tell you, LOTS of fun stuff happens at Greene Bean, including a spiffy group of my paintings.

  Music From The Park Bench, a well sized 31 x 27 inch canvas, focusing on a couple of musicians I found in a park in Kharkiv.  They had some friends playing with them, and that might just have to be a painting happening down the road a ways...  But for now, here's a link to a zoom-able view of the canvas with these two gentlemen.

We Should Do That When We Get Big, an acrylic painting on an impressively sized 38 x 68 inch canvas, linked here for that ever helpful zoom view.

And yes, always in a sharing mood, here's the rest of the group hanging out at Greene Bean Coffee, hyperlinked of course, for your viewing pleasure.

They Ordered Tiramisu With Their Coffee

Sunny Morning. PedBridge.

Fine Dining

Walking To Europa In A Great Summer Skirt

After School IceCream

Crosswalk On Gagarina.  I Got My Favorite Color.

Parked

Beach Cafe

Healthy Alternatives

And of course, you need the address for Greene Bean Coffee:

202 N Wilson St, Jefferson, Iowa

That's just off the northwest corner of the courthouse square in  downtown Jefferson.

Rich or Reagan would be happy to take your phone call as well, at:
(515) 386-3776

At this point I feel compelled to tell you that the very best coffee they roast at Greene Bean would be their Peru.  There is always a bag or two with me when I travel back to Lipetsk.  And with summer coming, you should probably know that they make the world's finest iced mocha.  Important information, eh?

Thanks for stopping by!

Later, Karen