Carpe Diem!

There is some truth to getting up early and "siezing the day". That's what I did yesterday morning. As soon as my husband left for work at 5:00 am, I decided to leave the comfort of my bed and start the day.

I don't know if you have a routine that you are compelled to do every morning. I do, and unfortunately it really eats up a lot of my time. I like to have my coffee, read the newspaper and do all three cross-word puzzles before I start my day. It's a good thing I'm not working outside of the house or I'd never get to work on time. I managed to get all these "preliminaries" finished before the sun came up. Once I got to my studio, I read my emails, checked my Ebay auctions and did the daily picture puzzle on http://www.jigzone.com/. Finally, I was ready to paint!

I decided to do a collage painting. After searching for a few moments for materials, I applied corrogated cardboard, rice paper, metallic leaf and gloss gel to my canvas. When all this was dry, I started painting. Everything fell in place without a problem and by 9:30 am, I had the finished product..."The Messenger".

This morning, I contemplated repeating yesterday's schedule but fell back into my old routine. They say it takes two weeks to break an old habit. I guess I'd better start working on that one of these days.

You can check my other auctions on ebay at http://stores.ebay.com/BOOTH-Modern-Art-Abstract-Painting_W0QQsspagenameZMEQ3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm

Go to my website http://www.filomenabooth.com to see my entire portfolio.

Southlake Stampede!

Well, my longhorn has finally joined the rest of the herd at Southlake Town Square. Check out all the great submissions by other area artists:

http://www.southlakehistory.org/stampedeartists.shtml

My longhorn is sponsored by Newland Communities, the developer of the proposed new arts league, APEX, to be built in Southlake, Texas. To learn more about APEX, check out: http://www.apexartsleague.org/Center.aspx

It took a while to come up with an appropriate name for my longhorn but after a bit of thought, I came up with "Steerway to the Arts". He's located right in front of Corner Bakery and can be seen from Southlake Blvd. If you're in the area, stop by to see the herd!

A Whole Lotta Bull!

I know I've been talking a lot of "bull" lately. What I mean is that I finally finished the longhorn for the Southlake Stampede - http://www.southlakehistory.org/stampede.shtml. These "longhorns" are part of a public art project celebrating the 50th anniversary of the city of Southlake, Texas. A call to artists went out last year and sponsors were rounded up to choose from the many designs submitted.

My particular longhorn, Steerway to the Arts, celebrates music, dance, theater and the visual arts. I created it specifically for the developers of the new arts center that will be built in Southlake and will serve the entire north Tarrant county area. The proposed arts center, APEX Arts League, will be built by Newland Communities http://http://www.newlandcommunities.com/profile_aventerra.php/. For more information on APEX - http://www.apexartsleague.org/

My longhorn is still in my garage but will soon join the colorful herd that can be seen grazing around the fountain at Southlake Town Square - http://www.southlaketownsquare.com/ and other locations throughout this lovely city.

Now, I can finally get back to my regular painting!

Daily Paintings

There is a trend among many artists to paint every day. As they say, "practice makes perfect". Not that every painting is "perfect", but working at one's craft every day certainly increases the artist's proficiency with the chosen medium. I have noticed that the more often I paint, the easier it is to come up with new ideas. I rarely start a painting with a preconcieved idea in mind but as I paint, new possibilities begin to emerge. If several days have passed by without picking up a brush, I find that I have a harder time dealing with the blank canvas. I suppose that every artist faces the same dilemma.

Lately I have been trying to break certain bad habits that prevent me from tackling a new painting. I guess I tend to procrastinate when it comes to placing that first brush stroke on a clean, white canvas. Sometimes I'll spend hours responding to emails, browsing the web or catching up on paperwork that could well be done in the evening. By the time I get all those unnecessary chores done, my good light is gone and it's time to start thinking about dinner.

Just wondering how many other artists face the same situation and what "tricks" they have to get themselves painting regularly.

I completed the above painting, "Circle of Life", yesterday. It measures 24"x30" and is listed on Ebay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140091667200&rd=1&rd=1

Waiting on the Bull!

Pueblo

24"x30"

Acrylic painting on Canvas

Well, I'm still waiting to have the longhorn delivered. I suppose one of these days I'll find it "grazing" on the front lawn.

I did make good use of my time today. I wrote my newsletter and sent it out to all my subscribers. It took a bit of time to compose but wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Constant Contact has updated it's system so that it's much easier to use now.

I completed Pueblo yesterday. It has a definite southwestern flavor. It reminds me of a woven, indian blanket. It was fun to paint on the heavily textured canvas that I had prepared.

My goal is to paint every day. Sometimes it's hard to make the time but I truly believe that painting is like a muscle that needs to be exercised daily.

February 2007

I know I promised to post regularly but, as usual, life has gotten in the way. I think I now have things resolved and am able to get myself back into a normal routine.

I recently submitted a design for the Southlake Stampede http://www.southlakehistory.org/stampede.shtml public art project. Southlake, Texas is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. A "herd" of longhorn replicas have been purchased by the city and local artists have been asked to submit designs. Each of the chosen proposed designs are sponsored by local businesses and the completed longhorns are starting to appear all over the beautiful city. Many of them are currently on display at Southlake Town Square http://www.southlaketownsquare.com/, the lovely upscale centerpiece of the city. Proceeds from the auction of the longhorns will be directed to the public schools in Southlake.

I am proud to announce that my design was chosen by the developers of the new Apex Arts Center. This new center is still in the planning stages but is destined to become one of the finest arts centers in the area.

When I was first asked to come up with an idea for my longhorn, I was a bit reluctant to submit one of my abstract designs because I knew I'd have to tie in a musical and fine art theme into one, unified design. After a lot of thought, I came up with a colorful, free-flowing design that will adorn the longhorn. I'm sure you'll agree that it's a lot different from my usual work. Rather than create the design on the tiny paper pattern that was included in the proposal, I decided to paint a large, full size painting. I'm glad I did too. Once the longhorn is delivered to my garage, I'll have a better reference to use as I paint. I'm expecting to "have a cow" next week. You can be sure that I'll take lots of pictures as I proceed with this unusual project.