Persuasion

Persuasion...that's the title of my latest painting. And, I guess it's appropriate.

Sometime last week I started to work on this particular canvas. I poured on the paints, scrubbed some areas out, added metallics and iridescents - anything that I thought would add the spark of life to the rather bland, dull canvas. Finally, tired of working on it, I moved on to another painting and just set the canvas in the corner.

Walking into my studio this morning, I saw the painting in an entirely new light. Rather than gessoing the poor thing, I decided to continue adding to it until it started coming to life. I guess that in some way the painting persuaded me to continue to work on it. As I added new elements and refined others, suddenly I realized that it was going to be a success.

I guess every artist has those "ah-ha"moments. They say a painting can speak to you...and I think this one did!

Dragon Street Art Walk

I am a member of a local group of artists in the north Tarrant County area of Texas. The group was formed nearly two years ago with the intent of bringing together some of the professional artists in the area and of presenting our works to the public. After some debate, we decided to call ourselves A.R.T.S., an acronym that stands for "Association of Regional Texas Artists".

We have had several successful shows in the area and have had quite a bit of interest from other artists seeking membership in our group. One of our challenges is to try to locate suitable venues for our upcoming shows. One of our members, Bryan Wetzel, has made connections with the members of the design district in Dallas. He himself is a talented furniture maker and painter. Thanks to his efforts, we are looking forward to taking part in an artwalk that is scheduled for Friday, November 2. This event is destined to attract large crowds of interested art collectors and interior designers.

Our group will be displaying our works at the Pettit Co. http://www.pittet.com/ at 1215 Slocum St. Pettit carries an extensive inventory of unique European furnishings and accessories. They are also know for massive carved fireplaces and other fine home accessories.

I will update this blog with further information about this event.

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.