Smallmouth Grunt

Odd name...but cute fish.
Having created dozens of fish over the last few years, mostly koi and goldfish, I decided to break out some of my books on tropical fish to find a bit of inspiration for a new one.

This is not exact to the little grunt...but is most certainly based on him.
Some of the areas where there is a bit of iridescence in the paper, don't really show up so well in the pic...but you get the idea.
Nice to have another little fish join my vast group of swimmers!
Hopefully the warm summer beach months will inspire a few more.

Where inspiration comes from...

I am often asked where I get my inspiration. Now may be a great time to answer this, especially in light of ongoing comments made by a fellow artist, Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Nelson recently at an art gallery where she had a show near my hometown. I was excited to see her work and when I did it was confirmed that she is a fine artist. For those of you who are not familiar with her work, here is a link.
I was happy to see Elizabeth’s work up close and personal because it allowed me to have first hand knowledge that our style of artistry is very different. While her work has more of an oil painting look and feel to it, mine on the other hand has a lighter, softer feel, much like watercolors. She has not seen mine personally and therefore is unaware of the differences that actually exist in techniques.

Other links of inspiring artists that are doing amazing torn paper art can be found by visiting this website. It is simply the most impressive work by an artist in France named Anastassia Elias. Another inspiration to me is Bob Kilvert whose work you can see here.
In addition, take a look at the book called "creative collage techniques" by another inspiring artist doing her variation, Nita Leland. You'll see a beautiful rooster on the cover done in the torn paper style. This book came out in 2000 and is well worth a look.
Eileen Downes is another amazing artist who has done fruits, florals, and even shoes.
Even earlier is children's book illustrator Eric Carle. You may remember the book the hungry caterpillar? That was done in torn paper style as well.
There are other blogs, one called "torn paper art" where a beautiful beach scene is posted.

I wonder if Elizabeth looks to these great artists for inspiration too? I see her work has similar themes running through them.
I am not sure why Elizabeth is posting comments of accusations that I am copying "her" work. As you can see, there is a long history of many artists doing this style of art proving that she has not invented this technique nor does she have ownership of the subject matter of cupcakes, animals, beach scenes, etc. These are simply favorite subject matters of many talented artists. I have not only used these subjects but also many others.

I know I gain endless motivation and inspiration from my vast collection of art books and artists' dvds I have purchased over the years. I find, as anyone can attest to, there is nothing "new", just simply a different spin. I love seeing how there are so many amazing and talented artists out there doing this torn paper art. It reaches so far back that it's doubtful anyone can say where it really started. I believe that this technique may have roots in mosaics. I know mosaics are typically done with bits of glass or tile, etc...torn paper paintings are simply done with bits of paper.
I enjoy seeing what other artists create and I hope you do as well. I guess the short answer is that there is no one moment or thing to answer the question, "what inspires you" because I think the answer is "everything" throughout my life.
Please visit the links I have provided to find inspiration, too.

Paper prep

It was such a beautiful warm sunny day on Sunday that I decided to build up my stash of painted papers for future Torn Paper Painting pieces.

I took out rolls of rice paper and several old books as well. Sometimes I like to use text or music pages and it's always great if I've got some painted in just the color I need.

I spent the afternoon painting these papers and book pages in watercolors...twinkling H2O's...and acrylics!

As you can see....I've got lots of new pieces to use and didn't have to muck up my art room this time!

Art Video

I discovered that I had a software available that I didn't realize I had....so I spent all afternoon on Mother's Day creating a video of my Torn Paper Paintings.
I've included music as well as some of my pieces in progress so that you can see how they come to life.
I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!!

Adding another

another "gallery" that is!!

Yes, my trip to the Cape last week was quite worthwhile. I now am represented by a gallery in Hyannis.... The Little Beach Gallery. Their entire gallery is beach themed as you might imagine. Quite a nice fit I think, since I do sooo many beachscapes!
I can only hope that they do really well with the busy season just ahead.
Sadly, you'll see in the link that I haven't been added to the online list...yet...but it is coming I'm told.

I still have several other good places in the Cape to follow up on...so maybe I'll get another. I do want to keep them with a good distance between, so even just one more further into the Cape would be good! I'll certainly keep you posted!!

A New Article

I know...I've been missing from posting recently...but I had been very busy trying go prepare for a trip of several days in Cape Cod to try to find a new gallery to make my art a part of.

I'm a bit determined to get it out there and be seen!!

Well....in my next post I'll tell you how the Cape trip went...but for now...I'll share the article I found in another of our local papers when I returned home late Saturday!

The article was in our Standard Times (South Coast Today). It had originally been timed to come out around the time of the previous article a couple of weeks ago. Delays happened, as they do, and it finally arrived on May 1st. ....very nice way to start the month!

In this article as with the last, there are a few minor mistakes and some wrong timelines and such...but certainly, for the most part....a very well written article! This reporter writes with a bit more color and whimsy, painting a picture for the reader.

In the hard copy, as opposed to the online link above, the page where the article starts has a nice header and my photo. What took my breath away though was the next page that the article continued on! The photos of my work were just beautiful....large and colorful and I loved the way she put the insert pic of the "before" of the goldfish in with the finished "after" shot! Nicely done.

Sooo...although I added the above link, and yes, you can click on the pics in the article for more, I just had to take a photo of the actual paper to give you a feel for what I saw upon my coming home! Thanks Lauren!!