Celebrating 50 Years

In Another Corner of the Universe...
9" x 12"
acrylic on paper

No big party, no fuss, but the calendar says it’s official—I’m 50 years old today. When we were very young, that seemed like such an ancient age, didn't it? Was it perhaps because people that age were always dressed in suits and dresses with oh-so-old-fashioned attitudes?

Leading up to this half-century mark, I had a very productive week playing with paint. Whether it was because I switched to hot-press watercolor paper or sobered by my approaching ancientness, I noticed mystical and soulful images emerging from my brayer.

Star Nursery

9" x 12"

acrylic on paper

Curious to see if techniques I discovered would translate from paper to stretched canvas, I tried duplicating this piece below.

Exploding Universe
9" x 12"
acrylic on paper

As you can see below, I could not get the same results, at least on my first try. Paper has such versatile qualities canvas cannot duplicate. If only it wasn’t such a pain to cut mats, mount, and frame…hmmm…maybe I’ll start mounting paper works on wood panels or canvases.

Exploding Universe 2
8" x 10"
acrylic on canvas

Thinking about the next 50 years (if I'm so lucky!), I am planning to open an Etsy site. Since January, I've been cleaning my studio, getting organized, culling works to sell, setting aside others for collage, and thinking about what kind of art to sell and materials to order. So far, I'm considering offering paintings on paper (with or without a pre-cut mat and bag), cards and calendars of my paintings, Dream Boxes (see: http://mymindisinablog.blogspot.com/2008/05/dream-boxes.html), and original gelatin prints. If you have any ideas or have an Etsy account yourself, I would love hearing your advice or comments.

Mountain Mirages

9" x 12"

acrylic on paper