Hot, hot baby!

Summer is here.  Last weekend it was HOT, well Alaska hot.  The sun was big and bright and Alaskans were in a great mood.  The tourist are here enjoying our world.  Festivals and fairs are popping up every weekend.

What does the paragraph above mean to artists?  Get your buns in GEAR!  This is the season where your bank account gets in the black and you get inspired with new ideas.  With so many new eyes seeing your work, there are many opportunities to listen to customer feedback.  This helps the old grey cells spark to life with new ideas.

The above painting is 12" x 12" on a wood frame.  The background is done with a paper collage.  Inside the frame is a MDF board placed on mat board.  When all that is done I place Greve and Celli with oil paint.  This allows an affordable and suitcase friendly piece of art.  I hope to sell the pieces for $125.  Hope being a key phrase.

Come by the Girdwood Forest Fair July 6-8th and see all three designs plus two new original canvas paintings.  I will be working the Girdwood Center for Visual Arts booth on Friday afternoon.  It is an art, food and music filled weekend. 

Thanks for listening and checking out my new work.  If you'll excuse me my buns clearly need to get in gear!

Sharing a Brain

This is a painting I just completed for a family.  This is the third Greve they have bought, creating one for each of their kid's rooms.  I am quite honored really.  I love the idea of their boys drifting off to sleep gazing at Signore Greve and Celli enjoying an adventure.

Getting into someone else's head to create a painting can be challenging.  Some clients are easy like the above family.  I once had a woman who asked me to paint her a tiger....PERIOD.  No color requirement, positions, size, sketches, nothing.  Just, " Gina, will you paint me a tiger?"

This is the painting I delivered.  Tigers love water which is something few people think about.  I wanted it to be a peaceful painting since it was going in her bedroom.  The client was very flowy, airy and creative so I like the water adding that softness.  Here is the incredible part.

I met her at her home to deliver the painting.  She had no idea what it might look like.  As she looked at it she gasped and her eyes got wide.  She grabbed my hand and lend me to the wall that the painting would hang.  The colors were EXACTLY like the colors in her comforter.  The painting fit the rooms style perfectly.  She teared up thanking me and some cosmic force.  I was a bit blown away myself.

Many artist won't take on the challenges of commissions.  Getting someone else's brain isnt'easy,it's true, but the payoff when it all comes together is awesome!

It's very popular in Europe and all over the Midwest.  It was one of my childhood chores that I actually enjoyed.  But here in Alaska it is unheard of.  The simple joy of hanging your clothes out to dry.

When I was working for Alaska Magazine years back I saw the sunny start to the day had turned into rain showers. "Oh no!" I groaned. "I have clothes on the line!"  My co-workers looked at me with puzzled faces. " Clothes on the line?" one repeated back to me.  "You know, I hung my clothes on the line this morning." Seeing that didn't dispel their confusion I added "to dry".  ( were these people born under rocks?) There was a long pause and then someone replied  "Wow, I didn't know anyone actually did that."

With all the efforts to be green and love the earth this is the most simple and easiest was to save money and our planet.  My sketch pads state they are created on recycled paper.  One I have says it was created using 100% wind power.  My watercolors are environmentally friendly and recently I saw new oil paints without all the 'bad' stuff.  Being an artist isn't always terribly green.  I wash my brushes in mineral spirits and have to dispose of my dirty paint filled water.  I do try to pay attention to ways to improve my impact.  No one loves the great outdoors more than me.

When I crawl into bed and the intoxicating smell of the great outdoors wafts off my sheets I know I have done the earth proud.  And I feel a bit of a kinship with all those other women out there in the world who are right now clipping their husband's shirts on the line.  It's simple, it's an ancient practice and it makes the earth smile wide.

Gina Edwards Super Model

Okay, I laughed a little when I typed the subject line.  I can honestly say I never had dreams or aspirations of becoming a super model.  But recently I had the priviledge of attending the Denver Art Museum's show YVES SAINT LAURENT- THE RETROSPECTIVE. This was the only place in the United States that it is being shown.  I was thrilled to be able to attend.  Yves was a fantastic designer and had a huge role in the women's libration movement.  The show included over 200 high fashion selections, drawings, a sample of his studio and an eye popping/jaw dropping fabric display.  There were film clips......MMmmmmm it was fantastic.

So, here I stand on a sample runway that was installed as part of the show.  Sporting my Royal Robbins skirt, Targer t-shirt and Ann Taylor jacket ( not exactly high fashion) I struted my stuff, awkwardly.  This room was dedicated to those would be designers.  There were bolts of fabric, manniquins and drawing tables complete with templates and light boxes.  You know I couldn't resist.

Here Steve puts down his editor/marketing hat and steps into my world.  Each desk had everything you would need to create your own clothing design.  To Steve's left was a huge cork board where you could put your finished creation.  It was just plain fun!

Steve's design is to the left.  No bad uh?  Notice the flirty angle of the hem line?  He even did a color check in the lower right hand corner.   Who knew he had that in him.  My design is to the right.  I wish someone would make this dress for me because I REALLY love it.  It was inspired by Saint Laurents Cocktail dress which was a tribute to Piet Mondrian.  (You should Google it, it is fantastic.)

Art and fashion really are married.  The perfect color combination, the interesting flow, the textute.  I am glad I was able to be in the right place at the right time for this wonderful show.  And if Steve ever decides to head into the creative world I know right where to direct him.

Inspiration from newsprint

I laughed so hard.  Of course the bear is fine.  I would not have been entertained if the bear was hurt.  In Boulder Colorado a bear wandered onto the campus at the University of Colorado.  Tsk, tsk.  After he was darted he did a free fall onto the mat and was transferred into a remote Rocky Mountain area with lots of oak brush and chokecherry, bear heaven.

I cut it out to send to my mom who lives in Colorado.  But I couldn't quit looking at it.  Why?  There is art in this photo. After rolling it around in my head and talking it over with my brillant manager/husband I had an idea.  I even sent out an email to a venue to see if they might have me present a show. What is the idea?  Well, I can't give it all away!

It's true, this bear had a bad day.  Although I am sure he woke up in the perfect bear spot relieved that humans weren't milling about ruining his foraging.  I am grateful for the photographer who hit the shutter at the perfect moment.  Now, if you'll excuse me I have some sketching to do!

Me and my Best Friend

This is a portrait of me and my best friend of old, Beezil, done several years ago. I loved painting that dog and really still do every time I paint Celli in Signore Greve's basket.  She was my inspiration.  Her unflinching expression made her a great subject that proved to be irresistible to me and those that saw her in art. This print and note card continue to be good sellers. 

 This simple style concept brought on commissions.

This commission was placed by a woman who also wanted her and her best friend sealed in time.  I loved the pink trench coat and striped boots.  Her dog seems unconcerned with her fabulous fashion sense, just poised and ready for his portrait.  His bandanna is accepted as his contribution to the style of the scene.

Recently I got my first cat to take the stage.  Peanut Kane, also known as Leo the Lion, posed in this kingly stance with his owner.  She wanted to be sure we got the attitude that has been part of Peanut for the last 16 years.  She teared a little when she said his age.  I understood completely.  I too have a 16 year old cat.  It blows my mind to think how many chapters in my life she has been with me. I get a lump in my throat whenever I think of her not being with me.  I was happy Brenda will always have Peanut with her, even if it is only in his royal painting.

Here is to our furry friends.  They don't realize how much they make us laugh, drive us crazy, comfort us when no one else can and cost us untold amounts of money.  It's is worth it to have such a great best friend.

Bless the Cell Phone

"Exotic Drink" is currently hanging on the wall at the Huffman Kaladi. Seeing they were without an artist for the month I offered my services and they accepted.

This morning my first phone call of the day was from a stranger. No, that's not right. It was an admirer. She was sitting having her coffee at Kaladi while gazing at the art. She decided she loved "Exotic Drink". She didn't have the wall space or the money for it but she sure liked it. So what did she do she took 2 minutes out of her morning coffee to call me and tell me so. Wow.

I love my ipad. I regularly take advantage of texting and today's technology makes being a profitable artist much easier. But most of the time it drives me crazy. Sitting in the passenger seat of the car and counting how many people pass us texting terrorizes me. Having many conversations with my friends while staring at the top of their heads while they are texting makes me want to strangle them. But today was different.

Having her cell phone handy she decided to call me and tell me, " good job". Before she hung up she said, " Keep painting". Thank you stranger, you made my day brighter.