"Tea Rose Tea Cup"

"Tea Rose Tea Cup"  8" x 8"  Oil on Hardboard

I'm painting a few tea cups while the paint dries on a few of the larger paintings I'm working on.  I borrowed some fabulous tea cups from my sister-in-law.  I think they're family heirlooms.  They are delicate and of the finest china.  Just beautiful!  I love tea.  All different kinds.  These tea cups just enhance the tea time experience.

"Peachi"

"Peachi"    5" x 5"   Oil on Wood

At this time of year, the fruits at Costco are fantastic!  

Last week I bought peaches and they were outstanding. 

Today I went back and bought organic strawberries. If 

they don't get eaten immediately, I'm going to paint one. 

Next trip, I'm buying plums!

"Who You Lookin' At?"

"Who You Lookin' At?"  12" x 12"   Oil on Hardboard

Having a bit of portrait fun. Full of thick paint, this fast 

sketch conveys a question. Can't you just hear it now, 

"What?"  Capturing an attitude with a quick brush stroke was my objective.  His posture and temperament of the moment speaks to me.  I might tweak a few edges here or there, but overall, I like it. 

Waiting for Paint to Dry

Rooftops - Houses of Ann Arbor  22" x 28"  Oil on Canvas

Yesterday, while waiting for paint to dry, I went to Ann Arbor. 
I have one painting in the WORK Gallery on 306 S. State Street 
in downtown Ann Arbor. It's a really nice gallery and I'm happy 
to be included in this show. See my post of June 13th for more 
details of the show. There's another event going on in A2, the 
Art Fair. In walking around the fair, I observed one thing that 
stood out to me, frames. The way some artwork was framed, 
well, it was fantastic. This one person had carved frames like 
I haven't seen since visiting the Duomos of Italy. Highly ornate 
and works of art in themselves. Other frames were like shadow 
boxes, some were industrial looking with nuts and bolts, and 
some had very wide frames surrounding a very small painting. 
They were impressive and as we all know, a frame can make 
or break a painting. I make my own frames. I always thought 
a plain wooden frame complemented the artwork. I may have 
to re-think this stance. 

"Bird's Nest with Feather" In Progress

I have many works in progress. Ashamed as I am to
say  so, I have many works unfinished. I'm working
steadily, but of course, everything worthwhile takes
time. The above 'In Progress' painting is #7 of the
Bird's Nest Series that I'm trying to complete. I hope
to finish it within a day or two.

"Bird's Nest with Bird Names in Black & White"

"Bird's Nest with Bird Names in Black & White"  12" x 12"  
Oil on Hardboard, #5 in the Series of Bird's Nests

Yesterday I studied and stared at this unfinished painting, 
then I jumped in and finished it. That was my goal for the 
day; complete this painting. I used a deep, rich blue-black 
in it's many degrees of gray, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  
When I finished, I asked myself, "What part of me is in this 
painting?" That was easy to answer, the names of the birds 
that surround and form the nest speaks of my interest in 
words and categorizing letters, fonts, etymology, groupings 
of words and collections of names. The nest rests on pine 
branches that demonstrates where the nest was found. 
I love the outcome, hope you do too. 

What part of you is in this work?

I've been watching a new TV show on Bravo, called Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.  It's a reality show competition/game that pits visual artists against each other to create winning works of art. The artist's works are okay, but they have such a short time to produce anything worthwhile that I'm finding the end products are not the 'Wow' factor I was hoping to see. What I am interested in, are the judges comments. One judge asked a contestant, "What part of you is in this work?"  That question really got me thinking about my work and what part of my personality is in my work. What do I reveal about myself to those who view my work and do they see my message? Does art have to inspire and ignite the viewer or just delight and gratify them as they bask on it's presence?  Is the image they see more important than the way the image is portrayed?  What's my point of view?  How can I grow as an artist now that I've pondered these questions. Here's my conclusion, I've decided that the context of my images need to say more than they are presently. Development of the subject matter before it hits the canvas is my new strategy.  Say something, tell a story, speak from that creative side with a visual language.  I'm reminded of Thomas A. Edison who said, "What you are will show in what you do."  Good words to remember and put into practice.  Where's my next fresh canvas?

"Lady at the Lake"

"Lady at the Lake"  Mixed Media Collage  20" x 26"

Today I'm sharing an older work that I'm very partial to. 

I remember the day I worked on it and the pleasure it 

gave me to create it. Some of my early works, albeit 

unpolished in terms of skill, are my favorites. I don't 

want to ever part with them. This mixed media collage 

of fractured shapes is one of those special pieces. I 

liked this image so much that I've created it in a bunch 

of different mediums including, oil, acrylic, fabric, 

mixed media and watercolor. It's good to remember 

your beginnings. Reflection helps you to see where 

you're going and why. 

"Seed Pod"

Today's photo was painted last year. It's a 4" x 4" painting in

 acrylic on hardwood in shades of gray. It's called, Seed Pod.  

In sharing this older work, I hope to delay the reveal of my 

current efforts that aren't quite ready. You see, I've been 

examining my work with "critical eyes" lately and I believe 

it's time for some change. Real change. So, I'm giving it a 

whirl. A serious whirl. I hope to see some improvement. 

(I'm my own worst critic.)  I've gone to the extreme of 

painting the same painting several times just to try a few 

new approaches with color, brush stroke and texture 

application. They may be ready to share soon, unless 

they finish up horribly. In that case, you won't see them 

at all.  Sorry.  In the meantime, I'll continue to post 

older paintings I think you'll enjoy seeing.

"Waves at Moonlight"

"Waves at Moonlight"  11" x  14"  Oil on Hardboard

I loved my vacation and I loved the water. Sunset wasn't until 10 PM. It was great. The waves at night were very dramatic. The painting above is my 3rd attempt at trying to paint waves. I'm enjoying the process, but I still have far to go. I wanted to capture the texture of the waves in this photo and in doing so, the sky's a bit on the pale side. It's still very close to the painting's colors.


If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please contact Dawn Sgriccia at dsgric@sbcglobal.net for more information.

Vacations are Great!

Our 4th of July get-away was great!  Plenty of sun and waves. We had everything... all our family together, great food, great weather and lots of laughs. This was the highlight of my summer!  Well, back to painting mode and finishing up those pieces in progress. Good-by sand and gulls till next time!