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Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Lipetsk, where I have a story to tell.  (Don't I always?!)

I have been attempting to get a stellar photo of a recently finished painting.  It's been a little balky about that.  Cafe scene, backlighting, shadowy subject, inyourface foreground.  You know, balky photo encouraging stuff.

But I managed it, an all righty, okay photo image of said painting.  If you happened to have been on the website for a few brief moments on Wednesday, maybe you saw it.  Just before I yanked it back off.  Grrr.

I had been pleased as punch with myself over the photo coup, just as a skype call came in - daughter-1 and Alex and Josh :)

We were busy sharing updates, mine included the painting.  THAT was the point where it was pointed out to me, that a very obvious part of the scene on the canvas WAS NOT there.

If you've been to this page before (thank you!) you already know that I paint somewhere in between abstract and photo realism.  Do I paint every eyelash?  No.  Son-1 once caught me with a painting where the main subject ended up, before (ahem) adjustments, with one leg.  Yes, things happen (says the person with 9.5 toes) and sometimes folks just don't have two legs or ten toes, but when that's not part of the story being told on the canvas, then the artist needs to count up once in a while.

Do I have mind boggling advice with this bit of narrative?  Mind boggling advice so you avoid this, my dilemma?  No.  It's a ridiculous dilemma and DOES NOT NEED rules and regulations.

The most important words I offer today are:  paint the story.  Say what needs to be said.  Sometimes we determine/discover parts that need to be left out, because they don't really contribute anything.  That's okay.  Go for it.

Daughter and her four year old sang "I'm A Little Teapot, Short And Stout" for me.  Said, "yes, Mom, you really should fix that part".  Afterall, the name of the painting is "Tea On Giusto's Veranda".  I guess that darn thing is needed for the story.  So, check:  spout added.  

Thank you very much.  We'll see about the next photo session.  Hopefully, a painting WITH THE FULL STORY on the canvas, will be ready for your viewing pleasure, soon.

Later, Karen

Greetings,  

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Lipetsk.

I believe I have mentioned before that our adventure here in Lipetsk, includes language lessons.  Да.  Language lessons.  So on a recent Saturday morning, ensconced in spouse's office with our trusty teacher Galina, we were working on (maligning?!) the Russian language.  These lessons are always 1.5 hours long.  There comes a point in the lesson, usually about 10-15 minutes before finish time, when our brain gears start slipping.  We have absorbed as much as is humanly possible, given the circumstances of the prior week - did we have to travel большой distances, sleep in a strange hotel, have multiple conversations/meetings with folks whose words are a bit different than ours????  See, lots of possible reasons for brain gear slippage.

Anyway, on this specific Saturday morning, I am sorry to tell you that the brain gears slipping, were mine.  Да.  мой.

Except I'd almost made it to the close of the lesson!  But there it was, a word I could not get past.  Galina starts in with patient instruction, and I believe I actually started disagreeing.  Dios mio!!!  Galina is Russian!  She has spoken the language since she was a toddler.  She has taught it for most of her life, and she's not a twenty year old!  I have now been in Russia a whopping two years, studying the language for a little more than half that.  But I'm disagreeing with the pro???!!!  Back and forth, back and forth, I couldn't get the word to do what Galina seemed to want me to make it do, back and forth.  Finally spouse (who by this time is laughing out loud!) jumps into the verbal fray and says "Karen, just say in Moscow, в Москве".   Aah, the answer to the question, but I still didn't understand the question.  

Turns out Galina was instructing me to form the last sentence of the lesson, and the word she was using was one letter different from the word I had been previously struggling with.  And of course the two words had nothing in common, not even the remotest likeness or similarity of meaning.  

"Now when does the blog post get back to painting?  Surely it's  supposed to do that, right?",  I hear someone in the crowd ask.  Yup.  Right now.  And here we go:  I was reading yet another article on composition of the perfect painting.  Seriously, who could pass up an article like that, eh?  

Now, I know it's bad form to put in a statement without attributing it to the proper person, but does that hold true when you are going to disagree with them?  Disagree with the pro?  Heck, this author has written books and made videos and knows everything about painting.  And I'm getting ready to disagree with him.  Here's the statement:  

"If you want to paint something from your last trip to, for example, Jamaica, know that viewers don’t share any of your experiences or memories, and those can’t be put into paint. The design itself has to carry the painting."  

Wait!  Hold your horses!  Стоп!  Did that just say experiences or memories can't be put into paint?  I must be reading this wrong.  Isn't it what the artist brings to the painting that makes it great?  Sure, bolster it up with good design, but I'm in an arguing mood, and I'm saying we need to be painting our experiences.  As artists, we see, and therefore we share, and in my experience, that should include the experiences.  And if we can't do it with the paint, then maybe we aren't getting enough of us on the canvas.  

Dang.  Aren't opposing views engaging?  Thanks for stopping by!

Later, Karen

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Lipetsk.

Apologiesapologies! For you who read the FASO Daily Art Show, and are wondering what the heck is going on:  I have a painting ready to photo, and thought I'd get the rest of the page ready, so that all I had to do was insert the correct photo image of said painting when it was ready.  NOPE!  Did. Not. Work.  Random photo of event went into the spot that was supposedly painting ready...  

Dios mio,  all well laid plans, and that kind of stuff.

I will survey the photo-ing opportunities of this afternoon, and hopefully this misfire can be corrected yet today.

Thanks for your patience  :)

Karen

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, off duty in Lipetsk.  Yup, it's Sunday.  We did a great little adventure involving the  gallery  (a click will take you there!) I hang out at here in Lipetsk, (Липецкий Областной Выставочный Зал!) Lipetsk Oblast Exhibit Hall.  I'll add some photos to this to show you what we found, but in a nutshell, "National Festival of Masters of Folk Toys"

First, we need to talk about about that title up there.  Yes, I added an event to my schedule page.  Here's your handydandy link.

Maybe I should preface with a bit of description.  This was a Russia wide festival, from 32 regions, 150 artists.  Yes, in the name, it says 'toys', and there were a few that were obviously for kids to play with.  But the vast majority of the work was folk toys taken all the way up to exquisite art form.  Amazing works of art.  It was an incredible exhibit, absolutely.  Now, for those photos:

a pic of the opening, and lots of traditional festival costumes 

several of the 'masters' gave master classes - here is one small, but intent student

dressing in the historical festival costume of the crafts person's oblast was popular

Yup.  A good time was had by all.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Lipetsk.  

Oh, wait, I need to qualify - it's one of THOSE days again.   Where I say I'm in the studio,  but I'm actually in the inspiration studio.  "What on earth are you talking about?" I hear you ask. (!!)  "Inspiration studio???!!!"

Let's begin at the beginning, or as close as is possible, and logical, this morning.

You see, spouse and I have traveled from Lipetsk to Moscow.  We came for the Golden Autumn Expo, but I am going to sneak off in  the direction of the Pushkin Museum.  [  :) wink, wink ]

That said, we are booked for two nights at the Hotel Budapest, Moscow.  Отель Будапеште, Москве (!!!)  Our room is on the fifth floor, the breakfast room is on the third.  Let's be honest, five floors and a bunch of stuff, yes, we took the lift up.  But down two floors to the breakfast room this morning, we took the stairs.  That's when it struck me.

I know the photos I plan to show you won't do it justice, but I'm giving them to you anyway.  And I'll check on the dates later, but I am assuming this building is older than Christopher Columbus.  It reeks of history.  The marble tiles on the  wrap-around. stair case - who wouldn't take the stairs when something that beautiful is what you get to look at?  Open the window, look out with the camera.  It's everywhere.  The stuff that inspires us.  Amazing architecture.  The bustle of the city on the sidewalks below.  The light reflecting off the details of the building across the street.

Am I planning on painting these architectural details soon?  Not likely.  The light leaning off the building across the street?  Nuh-uh.

But part of our phrase du jour is inspiration studio.  That place where we go to work at creating, AND where we let that creation process work on us.  Where upon we give it back to the canvas.  And the canvas talks back to us.  And so on, and so forth.  You know how the process works, right?!

Bottom line:  am I feeling guilty because I don't have a paint brush in my hand this morning?  No.  Today is obviously for the other part of being an artist:  soaking it in.  Because even when I don't plan on putting all these amazing things I see this morning on a canvas, I know they are at this very moment rejuvenating me.  My mental load is becoming lighter, as we speak.  Once again, I know it's possible that whatever I do paint next, yup, it just might be beautiful.  

Inspiration.  Isn't it wonderful??

Thanks for stopping by!

Later, Karen

Across the street, Петровские Линии, from the hotel

A longer view of the same building

Down the fifth floor hallway - old, but immaculate and oh so elegant

The marble stairway where I knew my camera/available lighting would not do justice 

Again, across the  street, Петровские Линии

The breakfast room, where the really well trained staff (like this guy) think it's fine if you linger over your morning coffee, but you absolutely do not get to do it with spent plates & utensils on the table.  :)

I am fairly certain I have seen jewelry designed after the styling of this fixture, also from the breakfast room

Original art in the hallways  

A view to the north & west of the hotel.  And yes, despite telling everyone that winter in western Russia is much easier than winter in Iowa, we woke to a skiff of snow on this Friday morning!  Sun is back in the forecast for Monday :)