Black Chair

OKAY, WHAT HAPPENED?

I was writing away about my art shows, getting ready for some new ones, wanting to enter into some competitions and trying to get my house ready for the summer, when I took a little rest to read what I had written and I noticed this Monetize a the top of the page. I got curious and clicked on it, just to see what it was, and everything I had just written disappeared. So now there is a half finished blog floating around the internet somewhere.
Like I was saying, it's been a while since my last blog because I have been so busy with art, everyday stuff, fixing up my house and of course helping to take care of our beautiful puppies, Bella and Leo, King Leonidas and Queen Bella that is. Let me tell you, they both think they are royalty for sure. Bella walks into a room and expects all to bow to her and pet her head immediately. Leo comes into a room as if he were just shot out of a cannon. He wants everyone to notice him right away. One thing I can say is we are a fun household and Leo and Bella make it a very playful place.
Last night I had my grandson's family over for dinner. He has two darling little boys who are a lot of fun. I went to Costco and they had fresh Alaskan Halibut. I just put some lemon pepper and garlic on it and grilled it on the BBQ. I can't tell you how good it was. Even all the children ate it without turning up their noses. There wasn't a crumb left over. Well I have lots to do today as usual so I better get started. Here's another piece of art work.
Have a wonderful day!

PHEW! I'M FINALLY DONE!

Yesterday I finished and delivered all the paintings for my art show at the Silk Purse Gallery in Redding, CA. I have 20 paintings that will be hung in the gallery along with my colleague and artist friend, she also has 20 paintings. We will be featured together and our show will open April 3 and close in June but I forgot the date. What's great about this show is our styles are totally different. There will be a lot to see. My friend is more of a realistic artist, she does pastels, and oils and a little watercolor. Her paintings are of landscapes, seascapes, mountains, etc. Her work is absolutely beautiful. My work on the other hand is so far from hers. It is big and bold and I use lots of bright colors. I use acrylics and oils for my paintings, I work in watercolor sometimes too but I really prefer acrylics and oils. My trees are hot pink or turquoise, sometimes purple, I love shapes and lots of thick paint and some splattering. I'm very abstract and I love it. I do realism sometimes, however, sometimes I cry because it take so long, because everything has to be so perfect and I'm not the most patient person. I like to see results right away. I really like things that are slightly off center too, kind of like Henri Matisse. I dearly love Matisses' paintings. I also love Wolf Khan, Van Gogh, Kandinsky to name a few. Hopefully we'll sell a lot of paintings and I can go on a vacation, maybe to Italy, just kidding! I'll post one of my paintings from my show. Hopefully I can remember how to do it.
Have a wonderful day!

DAD IS HERE, AND HE'S NINETY!

My dear daddy arrived late yesterday and he is looking good and feeling good. He absolutely amazes his doctors. He weighs the same as he did when he was forty, his blood pressure is perfect, I wish my were, his heart is good and he doesn't have anything wrong with his prostrate and absolutely no dementia, life is good for my dad and this man is ninety. He loves seeing all the kids. He has seven grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, and seven great great grandchildren. The kids all love their grandpa and he loves seeing them. They like taking him for walks and playing games with him. Grandpa is still hard to beat at Fish and Rummy. He has always taken good care of himself. He eats about six to eight tiny meals a day, this is something he has always done his entire life, he never overeats, he eats more fruits and veggies than anything else. It is just the way he has always been.
When it comes to artwork my dad knows what he likes. He always thinks whatever picture he looks at it must represent something whether it is a hill, building, teapot, person, whatever, it has to look like it. Whenever he looks at my work he is so funny, he always says oh that's beautiful honey, then he turns to whoever is nearby and asks, what is it, or he says, I thought it was supposed to be a park, the title says, A Walk in the Park. I love my little daddy he is a great and wonderful man.
Tonight the entire family is taking him to the Outback for dinner and I know Dad will have the Alaskian King Crab legs because he loves shellfish and the Outback has the best crab legs anywhere.
Have a wonderful day!

THE BAND I

I HAVE COLORFUL PLANS THIS AFTERNOON

I have great plans this afternoon. After my doctor appointment I'm coming right home, making a crab filling to stuff pasta shells, Giganti Artigianali, then I'll make the sauce and let that simmer on the stove, wash my lettuces for my green salad and I'm ready for dinner tonight. Then, I will have the entire afternoon to paint in my studio. Using bright and bold colors always makes me happy and I should just about finish the commission painting I'm working on too, which certainly has a lot of bright and bold colors in it, and in a few days I will be able to ship it off to it's new owners. After paintings leave my studio I stress over them until I hear from the owners. I'm always afraid that they won't like the painting and I will have to refund their monies and/or do it all over. That has never happened before and every commission I have ever done the owners have been very happy but I still stress, silly I know. I should just learn to put it out of my mind until I hear that they received their beautiful painting and love it more than anything. I also posted a new painting today. It is one of my favorites I painted from a larger painting I did some time ago. My musical instrument paintings are usually pretty popular and sell well.

Have a wonderful day!

WHAT'S THAT ON BELLA'S BUTT?

While working in my studio I was splattering paint everywhere, I had mentioned a couple of days ago that I had splattered paint all over things in my studio like other paintings, my garbage can, the window, etc. Well I had an oil painting sitting across the room and low and behold when I went to move it I noticed paint splattered all over that too. Needless to say panic set in so I grabbed my oil paints and proceeded to cover up the splattered paint. The splattered paint was acrylic so I could cover it up with oil paint, however, acrylic cannot be used over the top of oil . Oil takes a long long time to cure and could cause the acrylic that's over the top to crack and look really yucky, anyway I brought the oil painting into my house and set it on a towel and leaned it up against my big plant in my bedroom. It wasn't touching anything so I thought it would be safe until it set up a little, well not so. Little miss Bella, one of our new puppies, came along and plopped her hind quarters right next to the painting, she was practically sitting on it. Well, she got green oil paint on her butt and then proceeded to sit all over the house and get green oil paint on several of our household items. Things like the carpet, towels, kitchen floor and a few other places. What a mess we had to clean up, but I did learn what takes paint out of fabrics. Very expensive Vodka. The more potent the better. It means Kettle One or Gray Goose or some other very expensive Vodka must be used. The cheap stuff just doesn't cut it. We even washed Bella's butt with the Vodka then of course soap and water. We didn't want her licking herself and perhaps getting tipsy.
Have a wonderful day.

HELP! THERE'S PAINT EVERYWHERE!!

Oh my Gosh! I was painting away yesterday afternoon, having fun, watching the Gilmore Girls on my little portable DVD player, and thinking nothing about what I was doing. I was using a big palette knife and laying lots of paint and color down on a very large canvas then I started splattering more paint over the top when something caught my attention. It was the spotty screen on my DVD player. Rory and Lorelei had suddenly come down with a bad case of the multi-colored measles. Not only was I splattering my canvas but I was splattering everything else in my studio. I was getting wild with the splatter brush, I guess you could say I went berserk splattering. I had splattered a new painting that I had just completed, I splattered my window and my DVD player, I even splattered my garbage can. The garbage can looks cool, but the other things that I splattered were a mess. I was using acrylic so I had to work fast and wipe everything off before the paint dried. I prioritized taking the most important things first, I cleaned the painting , then the DVD player, then the window. By the time I got to the garbage can the paint was too dry to get off. So now I have a multi-colored splattered garbage can. I'll bet someone will come to my studio and ask where I bought my garbage can.
Have a wonderful day.

It's Party Time

PINK, ORANGE AND PURPLE LANDSCAPES

Today I think I'm going to paint a big landscape. I have just finished reading a book on the artist Wolf Khan. I love his work. I especially love his landscapes, even though I am not a landscape artist his are unique and very different from other artists. His use of color is magnificent, and I think he is the only artist I have seen that uses such bright colors like purples, oranges, hot pinks and reds for his trees. His backgrounds are slightly muted, light violets, blues, yellows, then he lays down the very bright colors for his bushes and trees. He has one I especially love. The foreground is turquoise blue, hot pink and purple then he painted fabulous orange trees. Behind the orange trees is some yellow and blue sky peeking through. It might sound crazy, but his painting are really beautiful and so colorful. I'm going try very hard to paint a wonderful colorful landscape that will impress Mr. Khan, wishful thinking, and if it comes out good I will post it on my blog. In the meantime go on the Internet and look up Wolf Khan and look at his beautiful art work. He is so abstract which is what I love and of course color the brighter the better for me. I can't tell you how much I love color.
Have a wonderful day.

GOOD GRIEF WHAT A MESS!

Today is a work day in my studio. I don't mean I get to paint and listen to a good story or blast my favorite music, it means I have to clean up the unbelievable, incredible, huge mess that I myself have created. No one else, just me! I have such a huge mess in there that I cannot work, there is no more room to set down a tube of paint or a brush. It's amazing how one little old lady, that's me, can be so messy. So... I have hired a young friend to come today and help me clean. Hopefully we will get to see the light of day by this afternoon because I really do need to get back to my painting. I have 3 shows to paint for and one commission piece to finish. Gee, I really dislike myself when I let things get so messy. I can't even find things like my xacto knives, my ruler, pencils, pens, gosh!

Well my friend is here so I better go. I'll get the big garbage bags and meet her at my studio door!
Have a wonderful day!

COLLAGES ARE SO MUCH FUN

The new collage I just posted is entitled Jersey Bounce. This was a fun one to make. I put just about everything in it. Images from photos, I had some handmade papers sitting around and I even used copies from my own art work for the background. I copied a couple of my other paintings from photos on archival papers tore it up and used it in my collage. I might only use a small portion of my art work that I copy then save the rest for another piece of work. I also like using materials in my collages such as burlap, pieces of netting, I have even used tiny pieces of leather, bird feathers, whatever I find.

I have been known to look around the ground for things to put in my collages. My kids always get embarrassed when they see me searching around the ground or fishing stuff out of gutters. One time I found this wonderful piece of paper all wadded up sitting in the gutter. I grabbed it up, before anyone else did, and stuffed it in my pocket. When I got home I unfolded the paper and there was a partial note to someone named Fred telling him he should not have left the birthday party so soon. It said, you missed some really good cake and ice cream. The note was on very pretty purple paper and some of it was missing. So I put it in one of my collages and called it "No cake and ice cream for Fred." I painted a picture of a birthday cake with gummy worms and flies on it, and the frosting was bluish green. Yum! It was a fun collage and someone bought it to hang in their kids room.
Have a wonderful day!

Jersey Bounce

I'M HUNGRY MOTHER, I'M HUNGRY!

This morning I got up, put out the puppies to go potty and hopped back in bed for a little while. Well, I usually never sleep in and the puppies were beginning to panic. They always have their breakfast right after doing their early morning potty run. Well, I heard whining and thumping (that would be Leo with his big paws slapping at the door). Bella is quiet she just whines a little, hangs her head and looks sad. Leo on the other hand wants everyone in the world to know that he is hungry. Boy I wouldn't want to be stranded with him, he'd eat my leg off after the first 30 minutes. Well needless to say I jumped out of bed and made a mad dash for their food, grabbing up their bowls as I sped by. Wow, I was only a few minutes late and Leo looked at me as if I stuck him with a red hot poker or something. I guess I'll never do that again, gee.

Today I'm going to paint for a little while then I'm going to my gallery for our monthly Art Hop. We have a great Art Hop every second Saturday of the month. Lots of people come by our gallery to peruse the art, eat food, drink a little wine and punch and visit with people they don't see on a regular basis. It's all very nice and we always seem to make a few good sales. So I better get busy and get some painting done.

Have a wonderful day.

RING RING, SORRY I'M NOT HOME!

Today is one of those days that seem like I have a million things to do. I have book work for my business, I have other things to do for other people, my phone is ringing off the hook and I don't know what to do first.

Early this morning I went to my gallery to let another artist in to hang her artwork for a show and the phone started ringing there with people wanting my attention for one thing and another. My cell phone rang all the way home. I stopped to get a coffee and my cell phone was ringing and when I walked in the house my cell phone and my house phone was ringing. Helllllllllllllllllllllllp!

Well, I have made up my mind what I am going to do first. I am going to go somewhere and hide out for a couple of hours. I'm going to take a tablet with me and draw some designs to possibly paint, have some coffee and maybe a scone, very fattening but I don't care today, maybe read some magazines, of course leave my cell phone at home so I don't hear ring, ring, ring, for a while. I'm going to just relax and gather some energy to face all the things that need doing today, I don't have to worry about any of it, it will all be right where I left it when I return.

Have a wonderful day!

The Piano

GOOD DAY FOR A HANGING

Today is a busy day at our studio, The Studio Experience. We are taking down art work from two featured artists and hanging another artist. Every month we have a new featured artist, that way we always keep new and different art flowing through our gallery. For the month of February we had two young women one was a watercolor artist and the other was a photographer. The young woman who did the watercolors were all portraits and of children. Watercolor is hard enough, a very unforgiving medium, but to do portraits and have them look identical to the subjects is quite a feat. The photographer was also excellent in her own right. She also did people and I must say she certainly captured their personalities and she also photographed animals, mostly her little dog. This month we will feature a veteran artist and photographer. It promises to be an interesting show.

In the meantime I'm still trying to put the finishing touches on my commission painting and get new work done for my up coming three art shows this year. Hmmm, I think I'm getting just a little overwhelmed. Oh, well, I guess it will all come out in the wash, as my dear darling Grandma used to say.

Its cold but very sunny today. Have a wonderful day.

HOT AND WILD, chili and paint that is!

Today my friend Linda is in a Chili contest. Her husband and I are going to support her and of course eat Chili. Linda is an awesome cook so I know that her chili will be right up there with the best of them. I love Chili, the hotter the better. I love very spicy foods, I don't mind burning my tongue at all. The Chili contest doesn't start until 2:00 so that gives me plenty of time to paint on my 30/30 tiles for the show. I better just have something light for breakfast so I can eat a lot of hot chili. Yum!

This morning I will be using lots of reds, pinks and oranges. Wild, wild, wild, is what I will be painting today. I will also post some of the 30/30 tiles later on. This is the fun part of painting that I love so much, you can get crazy on the canvas but no one really thinks your crazy. Love it!
Have a wonderful day and eat some chili if you can!

Frogs and Frogs!

Frogs! On sale right now at Etsy.

These are fantastic in a kid's room or play room!

Each piece is 6" x 6" acrylic on board, unframed. These are the last two in a series. Please let me know if you would like to purchase custom-made frogs. I always have a so much fun painting and creating them. How about a frog playing a violin? Or a trumpet?! The possibilities are endless!

Still Rainy and Gray

Today is still a blustery day...rainy and gray outside. Another good day to work in my studio, play a few games on the computer and catch up on my blog. I just posted a new picture entitled Bella Colore. It's acrylic on canvas and a pretty good size: 36" x 36". I especially like this one because it is large, bold and very bright. I also put some small 6"x6" collages and a couple of acrylic paintings on my Etsy. I must say I am having lots of fun with my blog and Etsy. I don't know how to do everything yet but I am learning. I'll eventually get the hang of it.

Have a nice day everyone.

Hear the Music

Hear the Music; 2003; Mixed Media Collage and Acrylic Paint; 300 lb watercolor paper; 12"x12" framed.

Sold; this painting won 2nd place in a small painting show.

Bit of the Grape

Bit of the Grape; 2006; Acrylic on Gallery Canvas; 30" x 30" - Unframed
Hanging at the Studio Experience; $595.

Tropical Collage; Mixed Media

Tropical Collage - Mixed Media on Framed Board; Papers, paint, strings, bark. 12" x 14"

Currently hangs at the Studio Experience; $210

Fire Pot

Fire Pot, 2005. Acrylic on canvas; 24" x 24" framed. Sold.

A Walk in the Park - Non-Objective

Acrylic on gallery canvas; 30x36, non-objective; $1250 ~ Second Place winner in the Abstract/Professional Division at Shasta District Fair ~ It currently hangs at a private office in Redding, CA.

About SA Barone

Shirley Barone Craddock
Redding, CA
530-223-2584
E-Mail: tigerknot@charter.net
Website: thestudioexperience.com

The Studio Experience
3400 Bechelli Lane, Ste. E
Redding, CA 96002
530-226-8301



Professional:

• Children's Author, 1972 to present - Current publishing credits include, Highlights for Children, Humpty Dumpty, Turtle, Chicken Soup, Children's Playmate
• Art/Creative Writing Teacher - Redding School of the Arts - 2000 to 2007
  
• Fine Art: Partner in The Studio Experience, 3400 Bechelli Lane, Suite E, Redding, California (530) 223-8601
  
• Regular participant in Turtle Bay's Annual Studio Tour and Cultural Cruise
  
• Art shown in various juried shows in Redding and throughout California
  
• Exhibited work at 20th. St. Gallery, Sacramento, Redding Museum of Art, Shasta County Arts Council, Redding City Hall, Riverfront Playhouse, Main Street Gallery, Weaverville, The Studio Experience, Old City Hall, and other locations in and around northern California

Writing Awards:

The Distinguished Meritorious Service Award - California School Boards Association


Art Awards:
Up dating
Memberships:

• Shasta County Arts Council
  
• National Writers Association
  
• Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
  
• Highland Art Gallery
• Trinity County Art Council
• Sacramento Art Council
• Tahoe Art Council
  

Community Service:

• Shasta County Substance Abuse Program
  
• Arts Arena Member of Art Focus - Shasta County Office of Education
  
• City of Redding Summer Recreation Program - Arts and Crafts