DRESS REHEARSAL, sold

DRESS REHEARSAL is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.










I received this email from a fellow artist, and I felt she expressed what we all go through so well, I thought I'd share it (with her permission, of course).

FROM A READER:
I love seeing your work. It is so inspiring! I don't know if you will remember me from a recent workshop. I'm recently in quite a funk with my work....Hard to get to the easel . What I finally imagine is getting to me is I want so much to paint like you and I feel so inadequate!!! It's doing me in!! In the last few days it has occurred to me that this is the problem...I keep telling myself I'm expecting too much...too soon.....my head gets it ...but my heart is pained. I want to leap up to your level just by shear desire and appreciation. It doesn't work like that....I know. So I seem to have moved away from my style and caught somewhere in between ..... which is a nasty place. I hate what I'm doing!!!! I stopped going to my class because I feel like I want to work alone...and then I avoid the studio.....I would appreciate any suggestions you might offer.....


MY RESPONSE:
Boy, do I know how you feel.
I'm serious. You expressed it beautifully. When I feel that way (and I do often, regularly, in fact) I go back to what I'm comfortable with. Like going back to the simple figure, not dealing with concept, composition, anything, just going back to doing something I know and am good at. Then that 'feel-good' feeling returns and I'm eventually out of that horrible dark space. Again. Then once I'm feeling better about things, I'm able to explore again. It's become a pattern, I've realized. I don't know what triggers that awful space, but I know I'll never get out of it if I don't get back to the easel, either alone, or in a group, or in a class. You've got to work it out and not give up.

Don't stop taking classes. Find another class if you think it might help push you a little. I'm looking for a class to take right now as well. I just feel the need to push myself into new areas.

Let me know how it goes for you.

PROFILE IN ORANGE, PURPLE AND GREENS, sold

LITTLE DANCER IN YELLOW, sold

LITTLE DANCER IN YELLOW is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

REHEARSAL, sold

REHEARSAL is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.











Jeri asked on my previous post, how I manage to be so prolific. I thought I'd answer here.

Many years ago, in an effort to loosen up my work, I started working small, 5"x5", and limiting my time on each piece to 30 minutes. At the end of the 30 minutes, I'd start a new piece. I did that for months. It was an excellent lesson, which not only made a big difference in my work, it also got me into the habit of working quickly.

Another reason may be that on the days I work in the studio, I spend all day there, from 9-6. It's my full-time job. I kind of get into a frenzy working.

And then the last reason may be that many many years ago, if I didn't sell my work, my kids wouldn't eat. It was survival. Being hungry makes a big difference in one's determination to produce.

One more thing, which has absolutely nothing to do with the above. My daughter, Meg, wants to win a trip to New York. If you care to, vote for her here: http://www.bodybyvictoria.com/#/Gallery/64

SAND CASTLE WITH MOM

PATTERNS, sold

HOTEL LOBBY

HOTEL LOBBY is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord.













I'd love to say that I've been so quiet here because of my broken arm. Truth is, it's only a radial (?) fracture, and I don't have to wear the cast all the time. And it's improving daily. I just sometimes have a difficult time focusing. When I do focus, though, I do. I can get into the studio and finish 5 little studies in a day. It drives my husband wild that I'm not in the studio all the time. I usually feel at a loss when I'm not working in the studio. But some days it's a lot more productive to avoid sitting on my stool wondering what to do. A day or two or three helps me get the desire to draw back.

This man in the hotel lobby was a stanger. I just had to capture him.

DAYTONA BEACH

DAYTONA BEACH is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

See my interview in the Times Daily newspaper, Florence, AL

Thank goodness I had the foresight to give myself a pedicure the night before.

GIRL WITH A FAN

GIRL WITH A FAN is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord.











This GIRL WITH A FAN was a model in a class I taught. The fan--one of my middle of the night ebay purchases. I can get in trouble on ebay. I've bought used cameras, a used imac, pottery, antique lamps, garments for my models to pose in, a breadmaker, umbrella hats (don't ask), vintage children's books. I'm currently waiting for a replacement Fiesta ware butter dish. Ebay is a very dangerous place.

If you're near Florence, Alabama...(click to go to Kennedy Douglass site)

BIKES IN THE SNOW is a 24x36 pastel on display at the Kennedy Douglass Center in Florence, Alabama, through September 18. I will also be teaching a workshop there during September.

ON BROADWAY, click to go to gallery

If any of you are in the Asheville, NC area, I've just dropped off about 12 new pieces at the 16 Patton Gallery. Stop in and take a look. The Gallery is located in historic downtown Asheville, North Carolina on the corner of Lexington Avenue and Patton Avenue.

16 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 236-2889
Business Hours:
Tuesday through Saturday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

AT THE BEACH WITH AUNTIE, sold

AT THE BEACH WITH AUNTIE is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.












Auntie is my youngest daughter, Meg. The baby is my grandson, Victor. This was a few years ago; it was the first time we had taken Victor to the water. He was slathered with sunscreen, and when wet, was dangerously slippery. A very trying time for Auntie.

LATE BATH, sold

LATE BATH is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.











When I teach my workshops, I usually give a slide presentation showing my work. Inevitably, the room laughs when I mention that one particular model is a friend, and if she's ever in need of a few extra bucks, we'll go through a bottle of wine, and she'll pose for me. This is from one of those sessions quite a few years ago. I painted it this week from those old photo references.

BLUE ROBE, sold

BLUE ROBE is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.00.










This is another piece from an older photo reference. Sometimes, when I can't get inspired, I'll go through my files (which is actually a huge heap of papers on the floor) and look for something that triggers the "ooh..I'd like to draw that" feeling. This was one of those.

AFTER THE BATH, sold

AFTER THE BATH is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.00.











Some people may think they've seen this before. I created it today from an old photo reference. Sometimes I just see things differently and want to try to do it again. They're never the same. And M__, if you think she looks familiar, yes, it's you.

AND THE WINNER IS...

This was fun. I had a few chuckles and would have loved to award 3, in fact, I'm forcing myself to stick to one. But I may very well do this again. It's given me a chance to see who reads my blog, and I've never had so many comments and good wishes.

Oh yeah........Lori Newman wins, if for nothing other than hitting every possible idea that might appeal to me. Here's her comment:

Top 10 possible reasons why Margaret Dyer broke her arm:

#10 Her new heavy-handed approach to painting was a little too heavy.
#9 Fighting off the paparazzi.
#8 Is thinking about switching to pigments that do not contain heavy metals.
#7 Trying to do the moon walk during a Michael Jackson tribute.
#6 Arm wrestling Hillary Clinton.
(she recently broke her elbow!)
#5 A twister game gone awry!
#4 Training for the next space shuttle mission,
"Painting: From white space to outer space."
#3 She wanted to get it over with before ObamaCare kicks in.
#2 Trying to calm frenzied fans at a recent art show.
and the #1 reason:
#1 Margaret was hit by a shoe while traveling in Iraq!