my misery and joy

The Singer Swan
original oil on canvas 4x5' $3000 

The Loon Song
original oil on canvas, 4x5' $3000

Precisely one month, two heavy five foot canvas frames handmade by my husband's contractor friend, a large roll of cotton canvas that barely fit in my car, a dozen tubes of Winton oil paint, five brushes, countless hours, several audio books, at least 3 seasons of Grey's Anatomy, many late nights, several quick trips for more supplies, a crap-load of pins and pictures and youtube videos, about a dozen instagram pics, and one exhausted me half high on paint fumes and lack of sleep later and what do you have (besides a run-on sentence)?  Two life-sized paintings for the gallery that were "effortless, really.  I mean, I could whip those up in my sleep."

Well, here's the truth.  There's a reason I don't typically paint this large.  It's exhausting and thrilling and intimidating and peppered with bouts of frustration and anxiety and sleeplessness and soreness.  I haven't painted this big in...well ever.  Perhaps the reason I wanted to try it might be because I don't ever want my work to be overly predictable.  I tend to fall back into the paintings "I know will work," the sizes I'm comfortable with, the colors I've already determined.

I guess what trying to say is that if you don't occasionally break out of the mold you've created for yourself, launching yourself into the "unknown" where it's scary and cold and new, you just simply won't grow as much.  If there's anything I hate more than doing something that frightens and intimidates me, it's the feeling of complacency, like I'm not challenging myself beyond my capabilities.

So, I tried something I didn't think I could do.  And the very best part about it all is knowing that I can do it and that all the sweat and worry produced confidence and joy and satisfaction that definitely makes it all worth it.  Paul was right after all.

You can read the stories for each piece here and here.

Gallery Preview

The Singer Swan
oil & fabric on canvas, 4'x5'  $3000

Loon Song
oil & fabric on canvas, 4'x5'  $3000

Henrietta
oil on canvas, 18x24"  $600

Tag & the 88
oil on canvas, 22x28"  $750

Under Her Watchful Eye
oil on canvas, 18x24"  $600

Sewing a Luna
oil on canvas, 16x20"  $525

Tea Time
oil on canvas, 16x20"  $525

 These new oil paintings (along with all the watercolor work in my Etsy shop) will be featured this month at the David Strawn Art Gallery in Jacksonville, IL.  You are all invited to attend the opening reception tomorrow evening October 6th from 6-8pm with my gallery talk at 6:30pm.  Normal gallery hours (for those unable to attend the opening) are listed here.

Next week I'll feature each piece individually on the blog with detail shots and descriptions.  If available they'll all be listed for sale in the shop at that time, but if you'd like to reserve a specific piece now, please email me at Michelle@TheArtofMichelle.com or Kelly Gross (the gallery director) at strawnartgallery@frontier.com.

Happy Friday to you!  I'm so happy to finally have a day off!  :)

painting swans

It's gone a little something like this the past few weeks...

7:30 a.m.- stumble out of bed, literally running into things on my way to the bathroom
8:00 a.m.- chug coffee or hot tea with caffeine to wake up, say a little something to Seth (if he's still home) who always seems WAY too happy in the morning. pretend to laugh at his jokes.
8:30 a.m. - wake up a second time out of the trance of reading the Bible or writing in my journal or scribbling a note to not forget to buy new candles next time I'm at the store
9:00 a.m. - do the dishes, take out the trash, sweep the floors, switch the laundry
10:00 a.m. - answer emails, start painting swans and trees and houses and portraits, momentarily freak out at the long list of things to do, say a little prayer of thankfulness for having so many things to do
1:00 p.m.- lunch and maybe an afternoon walk, then back to work
5:00 p.m. - is it seriously dinner time?  I just ate 10 minutes ago. this clock must be wrong.
9:00 p.m. - talk on the phone to Seth, who is now at least 100 miles away.  say a prayer asking God to keep him safe and bring him back home to me soon
1:00 a.m. - is it really one o'clock in the morning?  geez, where does the time go?  Seth is going to shake his head at me when he finds out I'd up late again to paint.
2:00 a.m. - maybe I should stop.  The swans won't mind if I stop, will they?  Oh no.  I'm talking to the swans.  time for bed
2:15 a.m. - shower and fall into bed, completely exhausted and satisfied

Ok, it's not always like that- just lately because of all these deadlines.  Sometimes I get to take long walks and coffee breaks and sit-on-the-couch-and-read breaks.  Sometimes I stop painting at 5:00 and make a nice dinner.  Sometimes I sit on the porch for long hours and stare at the birds and squirrels in my front yard and day dream about planting another tree so we can attract more birds and squirrels.

All that to say that work is work- no matter how much I love to paint (and I do), it's still a lot of work.  It's happy work, to be certain, and I wouldn't trade it for any other job.  But it seems that the more you love something, the harder and longer you work at it to make it perfect, you know?  It's completely exhausting and wonderful in the same moment.

The swan painting (above) is a little "teaser" of my larger body of oil paintings to be announced in just a few weeks.  Most of the watercolor work you've already seen, but the oil paintings will be a surprise!  I'm so looking forward to my October show at the gallery and to sharing these new works with you right here, on my blog.  Until then, happy working to you, my friend!

studio days

 In between cups of hot apple cider and steaming pots of beef and cabbage, I've been redesigning my studio to accommodate these larger canvases I think I've been mentioning a time or two.  The oil painting area is set up now, and I've been taking large chunks out of my days to paints swans and trees the sage green grass.  All the things I tend to day dream about.  Then there are those large chunks of time I spend painting houses and children for custom portrait buyers.  Honestly though, a girl can only sit for so long before she needs to get up and go for a long walk with her incredibly handsome husband, whom she misses during his week-long-work-trips across the country.  I love those walks.  They give us a chance to talk about our future, our present, our longing for a family (someday), and what's for dinner.  We talk about our days and what the week ahead holds.  Do you have a time for this kind of chatter with your spouse?  It's so important.  I don't know what I'd do without someone like him to talk to all time.

Oh and speaking of hot cider, can you believe it's almost October?  I can't even tell you how excited that makes me- not just for the perfect weather and Autumn smell in the air, but for a much needed break!  I can't exactly call it a vacation, but I think once October hits my painting life will slow down a bit.  Maybe I'll even take some time off!  Just sit around and drink hot cider and read my new "Shapes and Shadows" book of poetry.  It's older than the hills with crackly yellow pages that smell musty when you lean your nose over it to read.  Copyright, 1898.  I feel like I'm stepping back in time just to hold it in my hands.  Here's the first stanza of a poem in the book called "Dreams":

My thoughts have borne me far away,
To Beauties of an older day,
Where, crowned with roses, stands the Dawn,
Striking her seven-stringed barbiton
Of flame, whose chords give being to
The seven colours, hue for hue;
The music of the colour-dream
She builds the day from, beam to beam.

Do share some of your favorite poets!  I'd love to hear.  Oh, and those are pictures from Picasso's studio and his dog.  Aren't they fantastic?  I'll show you more soon.  Now go and build your day, beam to beam.  :)