Moving On

I am abandoning this blog because of the lack of copyright protection from Google. Basically, Google has the legal right to use any of my images in any way that they choose. That is not ok with me. So, I will move on and create a web page that is all mine and protected. Anyone curious is welcome to look through this site. The older posts are missing and it is a real mess. My first Google counter offensive was to try to remove my images. I don't think that worked as the images persisted somewhere else on Google other than the blog. Oh well. It was time to grow up anyway. I won't make the web page until I have more work completed so it is worth viewing. Thank you to everyone who has followed my art blog here. Phyllis

Sian

This is the last post for 2013. The photo shows a bit of reflection on the left side of her hair which is not there in life.

This portrait was started in class and then finished in my studio from a photo. Sian is the second human head that I have painted. She has had two rounds of glazes, one by me and one by Edward Povey. I learned from him that I should be more aggressive in my glazing. Sian's portrait is part of my ongoing learning and practice creating form with warm and cool colors. Good bye Sian and sleep peacefully.

Painting for passion, love or money

We make art for lots of reasons. Some of us are driven to a paint from our passions. With passion we seek beauty, an accomplishment, or an idea of something new that we are sure we cannot achieve. Some of us are driven to paint for money. Sometimes this is a necessity or it might be a form of validation or ego. Some of us are driven to paint for love. We want to express our love through painting or give our love to someone that way. Or it might be self love because we simply love to express our selves in paint.

My mother-in-law, Martha W, Murray, made this painting on the left in 1934 when she was a student at TCU. The Perdue family treasures it. Unfortunately this little painting has not fared well through time. My sister-in-law asked me to make a copy for her before it dissolved. In this case I suppose we have to say this painting was motivated by different kinds of love and by the love of several people for various people.

A toast to you Martha as we end 2013, nearly 80 years after you signed your painting. I hope this makes you smile in heaven.

Doing the Work

This is not a painting just an exercise using color temperatures to create the illusion of solid forms. Look at what can be done with a piece of folded paper and a Styrofoam ball!

Jump

An image of standing on the brink, ready to jump unprepared into oblivion, has been with me for some time. I made this painting just for me. I am now ready as I have never been before. So "Jump" is NFS.

The colors in this painting are yummy. Mike took the reference photo at Laguna Gloria. It must be a photogenic spot because later I saw a slightly different version of it printed in The Austin Statesman.

Hometown Series Limited Edition Prints

My Hometown Series sold too quickly. The Series capture scenes that I see every day in our little town of Driftwood, Texas. I'm not complaining but rather missing the little paintings. So I made a very limited edition of 30 high quality giclee prints. Each one is a true facsimile like the gallery wrap originals with images on 5 sides (face and 4 sides). The size is 8x8 inches and priced at $100 each.

If you want to have your own, send me email at driftwoodtxartist@gmail.com.

"La Ventana Light"

"Back in the Day"

 

"The Salt Lick"

Light Play

My newest painting is all about the light and shadow. We can only see color when there is light. That's just the way the human eye works.

The first image is the painting in its completed state. I have drawn the image and applied opaque paint. The second image is the completed painting after applying a permanent mauve and raw umber light glaze over all, and then pulling out the lights and highlights. Both versions are appealing in different ways, but the second painting is stronger overall.