Thursday, June 21, 2012

Hippie Chicks Summer Art 11

My friend, Barb of the Painted Ladies, has recently been to Hawaii to visit her daughter who is living off the land on a flower farm. And I do mean living off the land - as in a tent with dirt floors, no running water or electricity, etc. From her trip, Barb had lots of photos of flowers, beaches, etc.  Yesterday, we spent a lot of time looking at her photos and choosing one to paint, but we spent more time visiting and catching up on our lives.  Barb was a Southern California girl who lived in Hawaii for a year after graduating from high school.  So her recent visit to her daughter was deja vu for her. For me, her daughter's way of life in Hawaii seemed much like the hippies of the 60's who moved to Taos, NM, started communes and lived off the land.  The big difference being that it is easier to live off the land where you have a longer growing season.  And if you are going to live in a tent, Hawaii would be a much wiser choice.  It gets dang cold in NM during the winters.  I was never a NM hippie, but as a farm girl, I understand the feelings of getting back to simple life, growing food, living off the land.  I do refuse to live in a tent. Ya gotta draw the line somewhere.

Anyway, we picked a flower to paint.  My painting was not pleasing to me and could use some more work.  Chances are, I will not work on it 'cause I don't like it much, but it was brush time, and that was good.  Barb and I plan on doing more brush time this summer.  Next time, I will take my camera to show you Barb's painting too.  We have very different styles and techniques in painting, and yet we have similar attitudes towards our art. I'm not sure I can explain that, but I do enjoy painting and visiting with her. We actually talked about having an art supply store/ gallery/ coffee shop/etc. Of course it was all talk at this point.  But if we did open an art store, I think we should call it "Hippie Chicks" or "Hippie Chic."

Speaking of chicks, here is a painting Jesse has been working on.  It is oil pastel on black paper - nice!

9 comments:

Buck said...

I like either variation on Hippie Chic(k). Does Duncan have an art store? I'm thinkin' not, since you talk about goin' to Hobby Lobby in WF a lot.

I viewed both paintings in full scale and I'm wondering how Jesse gets that textured effect in her work (i.e., like small dots everywhere... in the lines and on the shells). Is it a function of the paper she's using?

Bag Blog said...

Pastel paper usually has some sort of "tooth" to it. I like a sanded paper, but the paper Jesse is using is textured with little bumps to hold the pastels. Some people will use more pastel and smear it with finger or something to cover the paper or maybe even use water or turpentine stuff to paint over and cover the paper. Jesse's painting professor likes the look of the texture peeking through the pastel. I have to admit that it works well for Jes.

Becky G said...

I would refuse to live in a tent, too. I had enough of that when Cody was in Cub Scouts.

Bag Blog said...

I don't do well with spiders and other tent critters. Hotels are the way to go.

Buck said...

Thanks for that. I figgered it prolly was the paper, but I wasn't sure.

Deb said...

I kinda like a shower and porcelain toilet my self. Not much of a camper here. :)

Jo Castillo said...

We are not campers either. My cousin has a family reunion every summer in Colorado, they camp about 15 miles from home in the mountains. If we go, we drive to their home at night. Ha. I do like the way food tastes cooked out and in Dutch ovens. Yummmm.

Great paintings. I like yours, too. It is a bit abstract and very nice. Wow, on Jesse's!

Bag Blog said...

Running water - out of a faucet - is always necessary.

Bag Blog said...

Toby talks about doing the Free Wheeling OK - a bike ride from the TX border to the KS border. I told Toby I was not sleeping on the ground after riding a bike all day and then getting up to do it all over again for a week. No camping for me.