A Learning Curve

Posted on March 11, 2015 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

Mardi Gras has come and gone (sigh). I signed up to dance with the Pussyfooters at the House of Blues for Friday. I feel pretty lucky.

GV_NOLA115_StPatricksDay_WG-1000x500 — xx

Saturday is the St. Patrick’s parade and the St. Joseph’s parade. The parades are very different from each other. The St. Patrick’s parade is in the Irish Channel in the afternoon. Friends who live near the parade route will open their house before and after the parade to offer drinks, snacks, and a bathroom. The floats throw vegetables along with the beads and toys.

The St. Joseph’s parade is in the evening in the French Quarter. My sweet darlin’ is in the Italian American Marching Club. I don’t have a photo to show you, because last time I saw the parade all the Italian men in tuxedos looked the same. I couldn’t find him.

Super Sunday is when the Mardi Gras Indians parade. This is one of those amazing things that is truly New Orleans.

So there you go. A quiet weekend after Mardi Gras.

In my art world… the original Joan of Arc was purchased for the new hospital. I am so excited to have her in a public place.

My friend just bought the original Garden Fairy aka City Park Fairy.

I am thinking that They didn’t know they were seeds is a learning painting. Learning how I feel about writing on the painting. I have liked words occasionally… in script along the side of the image, bananagrams, Pairs in Pears, a little piece of ripped paper with handwriting…

I made two more attempts to like the painting and call it done.

I printed on organza. The words shifted slightly.

I decided that I do like my handwriting, but I didn’t like the square shape. To be continued…

Raffi had an art show at his pre-school. His teacher is fabulous. When he painted part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, he laid on his back under a table.

I hope all y’all are having a nice end of winter, almost spring.

With and open and loving heart,

Gator Girl

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They didn’t know.

Posted on February 12, 2015 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all,

Today, I am combining my blog and Mardi Gras celebrations. Don’t you think one of the hardest things is to balance? Like balancing work and play, me-time and family, king cake and exercise. From the minute I wake up it is a puzzle to see what I can fit into my day. Give and take.

My recent painting has been fun and frustration. It started like this…

Indecision. I added colors that I liked. I was leaning towards an alligator among lily pads. Then I added Jesus on the cross that Maggie drew, a peace symbol, a note from my sweet darlin’, advice from mini Mags, a movie stub, a fortune, cute little deer. My collage items were all based on love.

My friend, Rene, posted on Facebook, “They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.” I Googled it and found out it was an old saying attributed to nobody in particular. It fit perfectly into my strong women theme.

I kept very little from the beginning. The colors are still mostly blue and orange. There is a little bird and most of the fortune. I was going to paint a lot of flowers, but the trees looked so strong.

This is what it looks like on the parade route near our house. Only, it will be more crowded tonight.

My daughter, Angie, sets this all up for us every day. This year I decided to cook dinner and bring it down to the parade. Tonight is red beans and rice.

This is me as a Pussyfooter.

Gator Girl Mardi Gras '15 — Gator Girl Mardi Gras ’15

Happy Mardi Gras y’all!

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Fleshing Out

Posted on January 15, 2015 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I am almost done with Songbird. Just a couple of touch-ups left. The bird and song are sealed in varnish. I am going to seal the rest in wax. I want the song to look bright in comparison.

It has sort of a graffiti feel. I think that is why I wanted her looking a little bit tough.

I like how the oranges and blues are working off of each other.

Until next time,

Gator Girl

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Songbird

Posted on January 6, 2015January 7, 2015 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I thought I would welcome the New Year in with a little songbird. I had a plan to paint an alligator swimming among lily pads. I prepped a large canvas for this painting before Christmas.

When I got back into the studio, I felt like playing with art. I painted a few layers of abstract strokes and my favorite symbols. The key to playing with paint like this is to stick with the same temperature of colors in each layer and let the layer dry before the next layer.

I started with yellow, orange and red.

Then blues and greens.

Back to warm colors.

The fun part really begins when I added white.

Then black. I think white and black look great side by side.

I used a BIG canvas to let the New Year know that I am allowed to use materials however I want.

I wanted a woman. So I painted a face shape with white gesso over the part of the painting that I liked least.

The rest was going to be hair, but the hair was just too big. I liked the rainbow colors in what is now the tail feathers of the bird as well as the breast area.

It was hard to paint out areas I still liked. I was happy to paint over areas that looked like big blotches.

I kind of want to keep her blue, but I might give her flesh tones. Leaning towards a natural skin tone.

I smoothed over the gesso with a plastic hotel key card.

The Blush Ball is this Friday. If you want to come, contact me. The tickets are $40 and $60 dollars. We are raising money for women with children who need to get to a safe place and start over.

You can also buy raffle tickets.

If you can’t attend, I will deliver your winnings.

All for a good cause.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you the best.

Gator Girl

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Distraction

Posted on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

Welcome to super busy December.

Jingle Parade 2014, photo by Karen Ocker

The Jingle Parade is super fun. You can tell by how many Pussyfooter’s wanted to do it. Mr. Bingle is the snowman in the middle.

Mr. Bingle is famous in New Orleans.

Among many distractions, I finished “Distraction”, my first duo painting. The women are in a coffee shop at different tables. One woman is distracted by the humming-bird hovering over the flowers in the second woman’s hair.

Distracted

I just entered them in a mixed media competition.

I used a ton of mixed media… acrylic paint, Silks Acrylic Paint, foil, paper, lace, thread, gesso, matte gel, Gilders Paste, charcoal pencil, varnish on reclaimed cabinet doors. The competition is to tell a story with your painting. Click on the logo if you want to enter.

Here are close-ups of my favorite parts. I had this lace collar since I was maybe 12. It has been in my sewing basket for more than 40 years. I trimmed it and inserted it into her sweater using matte gel.

I painted embossed paper. Then I top-stitched it on my sewing machine. Sewing on paper is one of my all time favorite activities.

It is also a great way to mount children’s art on construction paper to make a quick frame.

The hummingbird has pieces of gold and blue foil applied with matte gel. I painted over the foil about 50% to push the foil back and make it seem more part of the bird. I painted several coats of Acrylic Silks over the humming-bird.

Now, the picture of the day. I think this would be a great cover for a coffee table book.

Pussyfooter eating cereal the morning after. Clearly not ready for the party to be over — Pussyfooter the next morning eating cereal. Clearly not ready for the party to be over.

My goal in Spark this month is to paint. The other two things I am balancing December with are getting out and enjoying New Orleans and celebrating a bit of Christmas in our house every day. Balance is sometimes difficult and Spark helps.

Spreading Christmas Joy,

Gator Girl

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Spark!

Posted on November 20, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all ya’ll!

Today, I am giving you a link to Spark. Click anywhere on the picture below. Don’t worry, clicking on the picture is not a commitment. It is a window into the wonderful world of getting’ er done.

Spark is an online community.

To participate, you need 15 to 30 minutes a day to give [insert desire here] the energy it needs to get it accomplished. Last month, my focus was power tools. Empowering power tools.

There is a new Spark nearly every month of the year. The next class starts December 1st. It costs $30.

Is there something you would like to work towards? Are you feeling at loose ends? Do you need some focus?

The class is led by Jenafer Joy. Sometimes I take the class just to hang out with her. She is that cool.

So, if this interests you, click on the picture and get more information.

Feeling the love,

Gator Girl

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Some paintings paint themselves. Some don’t.

Posted on November 14, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I am starting with a painting that is not painting herself. Maybe I am a bad listener. Like maybe I have something in mind and it is not Magnolia and we go round and round.

Sometimes my sweet darlin’ asks me what I have been working on and for weeks I have answered, “Magnolia”. My idea for Sweet Magnolia is simple. I wanted her encompassed by the Magnolia flowers. She needed to have the same coloring as the flowers and leaves.

I love this version of Magnolia, but look at her left eye.

Magnolia's eyes spaced incorrectly — Magnolia’s eyes spaced incorrectly

I fixed the left eye making her eyes too close together.

Here is Magnolia today. I wonder if she just wanted big, Southern hair. I made her earrings by photocopying the two magnolia flowers on the left, shrinking them and applying with gel medium. Her crown is made from glossy, green tissue paper.

I have a frame cut for this painting. It is dark green, made from a screen door. I need to cut a piece of wood to go on the back. This is held up by not having a table to cut on at the moment. The back yard is in limbo.

Is something in retrograde?

My new painting goes with another painting. A duo.

I took the handle off and threw it away. The hinges I soaked in vinegar, salt and dish soap for two days. They came out sparkly clean.

She will be looking at the woman on the other cabinet door. They are in a coffee shop at different tables. I was going to put a chicken on the woman’s head. Maggie thought of hummingbird drinking from the flowers on her hat. Go Maggie.

So far, this one is painting herself. I love her already. I am doing something cool with her shirt. I am painting textured paper then stitching the collar and sleeve together with my sewing machine.

I went back to the salvage store for more cabinet doors. I waited too long.

I hope you are having a great Friday.

With abundance and joy,

Gator Girl

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Pet Parade

Posted on October 22, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

Raffi finished his BIG painting. It is 30 by 40 inches.

This is his sequel to “Family”. It is Pet Parade because when he finished painting all of his pets he noticed they were facing the same direction.

Pet Parade

“What is special about this painting is that all of my pets are going the same direction. Kenobi, Lacy, John Jones Nixon Pokorn. They all have Pokorn in their name. Albert Pokorn.” -Raffi Pokorn

Snails — The snails have one goggly eye on the tentacle

“The snails are Shelly Pokorn, Shirley Pokorn, Killer Snail Pokorn and also Kriller Snail Pokorn. One snail’s name is Crush Pokorn.”- Raffi

Feeling the love,

Gator Girl

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Whimmsey Shoppe

Posted on October 16, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I met Kathy at Pinchapalooza in April. Recently she called me and said that she would like to have Gator Girl Art in her shop. The Whimmsey Shoppe is having a Grand Opening October 30th, but will be open this Saturday as a preview during Covington’s Fall for Art event.

I hope to see you there. 🙂

Art Walk — **For a schedule of events, map and merchant listing CLICK HERE.**

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Amy, Rene, a sheep, a goat and Justice for All!

Posted on October 14, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

This crazy cool thing happened this week.

Let me back track.

In February 2013 I painted Justice in honor of marriage equality. I felt strongly that these two women existed out in the world. I put it out there over and over, “Does anyone know a couple that looks like this painting?” I offered a print in exchange for a photo.

Here they are.

I saw this photo and thought, “Wow! Except for the blonde hair this is them!”.

Rene (short for Irene) said, “How did you know Amy’s original hair color is red?”.

Seriously, how cool is this?

For an added bonus…

The quote that I have on my painting is, “The moral arc of the universe bends towards justice”- Theodore Parker. We see this is true when we watch state after state passing marriage equality laws. The full title of the painting is And Justice for All. Kind of gives me chills.

Loving the world,

Gator Girl