july 29
"All That Glitters" and "The Honeymooners" have both been selected as finalists in the Portraits / Figures category of The Artist”s Magazine 32nd Annual Art competition.
july 24
.I'VE BEEN THINKING LATELY HOW IT'S WEIRD THAT, EVEN AFTER 60 years i still "don't know my own mind" ; atleast half (or in my case 90%)of my brain seems to reside in a very dark room with a closed door; I see things go in, and i see the same things come out, but they are transformed. what takes place in that "dark room" is the mystery..THE WORKSHOP I'M TEACHING END OF AUGUST( http://emandal.com/artstays-i-2015/ ) asks you to see painting not as an end in itself but as A WAY TO BETTER KNOW YOURSELF...STILL a few openings...hope to see you there.
july 22
"Kill your darlings", darling...that area of the painting that you've loved almost from the beginning is the "darling"; you cherish it , it's perfect... you can see flaws in your painting sure, but not in that one little perfect part...so you carefully preserve it...love it just as it is...the rest of the painting grows and changes as you grapple with whatever issues are to be resolved , but that one little spot remains embryonic, forever stunted by your unwillingness to let it grow...so kill your darlings, darling...
july 18
Here we go again..WIP "TV Mom" cynda valle fastmatte on spraypaint. monochromatic underpainting finished ( i think) time for glazes. Used conventional neon spraypaint for initial glazes here
july 12
Everyday, when I am done painting I bring the current painting home and spend hours looking at it. My family has often teased me about my “infatuation” with my paintings, not realizing how important it is to spend time looking rather than actively painting, …. Ideally this “slow looking” evolves into a painting that tells me something about myself that I didn’t already know and moves me in directions much more interesting then where I THOUGHT I was going... When this starts to happen I experience the most wonderful sensation of becoming the medium, rather than the author of the work. The painting starts to direct me, rather than the other way around. This is a truly heady sensation, one that, more than any other, feeds my soul and gives me the reason to paint. In order to be willing to spend the time “just looking” I have had to develop faith that the process will work, and that faith gives me the tenacity and patience I need to sit and simply look, no matter how long it takes for the “Muse” to speak.
The process reminds me of those old lava lamps from the 60’s; The subliminal (unconscious) mind bubbles at the base of the lamp. Given time and a quiet mind, (“unhindered,by preconceptions or mind sets”) and influenced only by the colors, shapes, textures, and images in the painting in front of me, a bubble of an idea will detach from the base of the lamp (subliminal mind) and slowly rise through the viscous liquid to pop into the conscious mind (top of the lamp) complete and fully formed and presenting such an obvious and simple direction for the painting to move that I am always surprised that it took so much time looking to discover it. I get that magical sensation that I didn’t think it up myself, merely grabbed it when it popped into my consciousness.
The Quakers too, understand this phenomenon. “The still small voice within” requires the quieting of your conscious mind and sufficient time to focus in and hear the voice. Even so we often try to deny the voice, it is so subtle, and we can easily drown it out… But over time it will bubble up again and again, quietly burst ing into our consciousness until we “see.”
june 29
WIP;"DRAWING WITH OIL PAINT"'; One color, wet into wet, direct painting method; 1. wash of transparent red earth and gamsol over oil primed linen (worth the extra $) 2. remove paint from wash for light areas; add higher concentration of trans red earth for shadows.
june 24
necessary equipment set up for oil painting;
painting, check. maul stick, check. palette, check. digital reference, check. studio pal , double check!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
june 22
regarding "sunday best"; I wanted to point out that the inclusion of the modern earpieces in an otherwise vintage vibe is sort of my version of Magritte's didactic painting "this is not a pipe" ; a hundred (?) years later, viewers are still mixing up painting and reality....if painting WERE reality i would find it much less interesting because of all it's inherent limitations and my own lack of any control over it. DETAIL; SUNDAY BEST CYNDA VALLE
jun 5
new town means new "sets", new props and (best of all !) new models (i LOVE my old ones too, just sayin") for me and my paintings ...here's an amazing bathroom i've just had the pleasure to meet and a pair of pink patent leather boots; (thankyou Vaike Alexandra Koiv) and an amazing new model and "mod" chair ( thanks mindy and studiomate steve !)..all will figure prominently in future paintings
june 2
i've been hanging out with a very special art teacher who instructs her students to always include in their paintings the "Necessary Tragedy " they have experienced in their lives...that two word phrase really comforted me...it turned my personal issues not into a disaster particular to my own lousy luck...but into something that's a necessary step to self realization...thank you "very special art teacher"!!!
june 1
my best advice to young painters;"fail often, succeed sooner" It seems those who do not have alot of experience with failure are quite afraid of it; to the point where they won't attempt something if they don't know ahead of time if they will succeed. Those that have failed often realize it is survivable, and are more likely to attempt something risky and new, in spite of the possibility of failure. Rollo May said; "creative courage is continuing despite your doubts, not quitting because of them"
may 30
even though it'll cost you around 6$ bucks to see these digital magazines, they are both chock full of juicy painting and both address issues near and dear to representational painters; I loved alot that i saw and was honored to be included. the F Scott Hess issue came out a few months ago and the John Seed one recently http://www.poetsandartists.com/…/heightened-perceptions-col… Check it out
may 29
CMSA notes from los angeles; THE RED SHOES; i like to paint this certain pair of red plastic high heels...they even survived several photo shoots in a swimming pool...indestructible...magical
May 24
WIP a couple colored oil glazes over the "re-white"..."sunday best", detail
may 20
WIP. underpainting complete; fastmatte white on transparent red earth ground. A few prilimenary oil glazes on hand and face "Sunday Best"
May 1
I had the pleasure of painting kacee from the age of 10 to 15...and boy did she change! here she is posing with the painting of her at 15
April 17
Found this nugget at the end of an article by my birthday twin's husband; "In life, as it is on the road, we need to find what fits us, and then it's our willingness to give our hearts to that thing that matters—the rest is far less significant. At least that's my conclusion." Eric Green with Amanda Green
April 16, 2015
CMSA, NOTES FROM LOS ANGELES; Come visit me next weekend at the brewery artwalk; #14, the atrium...SEE YOU THERE!!!!!
April 15, 2015
CMSA; Notes from Los Angeles; I love freeways...what can i say? I like to ride with the windows down and the radio way up; I pretend the radio is the sound track and i'm in the opening b-roll of a movie about los angeles....I (of course), am angelina jolie at about 21, playing the young artist, taking LA by storm.....
