Posted in Uncategorized

Billie Holiday didn’t have a sister.

Hi all y’all!

Billie Holiday didn’t have a sister, but if she had one, it would have made her life easier in my opinion. She had a tough time. If being born a black woman in America in 1915 wasn’t hard enough. Her parents were 13 and 15 years old. She worked as a prostitute before she was 14 and died at 44.

I found this out when I was looking to see what Billie Holiday’s sister looked like. No sister.

However, Shotgun Angel does have a sister.

I am painting Shotgun Angel’s Sister for someone who wanted the already in a private collection, Shotgun Angel.

I emailed the owners of Shotgun Angel and asked if they would mind if I painted sequel painting. They were very nice and said congratulations on the commission and please name it something else and change it up a little. I felt free to go ahead and am totally enjoying the sister idea.

Shotgun Angel's Sister
Shotgun Angel’s Sister

My commission guarantee is… if you like it when I’m done, you can buy it at our agreed on price. (I hope they like it.) I painted this for 7 days straight. “Honey, can you make dinner?” I wanted to get it into the group of paintings that were photographed yesterday.

Shotgun Angel's Sister frame wood
Shotgun Angel’s Sister frame wood

From now on I am going to pre-soak the wood for all frames. This wood seemed especially dirty, so I put it in the bathtub with Charlie’s Soap and Oxyclean for about 20 minutes before I scrubbed it. The wood came out looking beautiful.

I bought old skeleton keys on Etsy. I need to take a handle off of something else and add it to this frame.

She is almost complete.

Rabbit being blocked out.
Rabbit being blocked out.

This Easter bunny has a message for all  y’all. Stay tuned and you will know what his important message is. He is standing to the side, so I can add the words.

We are between seasons now. Mardi Gras is over. And HANSEN’S SNO BLIZ OPENS TUESDAY! I don’t know anyone who is more excited about this than my sweet darlin’. “Pleeease, I know. Hansen’s opens Tuesday”.

My best regards to every one of you.

With light and love,

Gator Girl

This is young gator girl, before life rung her out and she ultimately reinvented herself.

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Too good not to share!

Hi all y’all!

I just heard some great news when dropped off Shotgun Angel at the gallery for White Linen Night.

White light

 

#1 It is a beautiful gallery in a great location. #2 Shotgun Angel gets to stay there for 6 weeks or until it sells, whichever comes first. #3 The Where Y’Art miracle women have it set up so that you can scan something by my painting and see my entire body of work on your phone… connecting the gallery to our on-line presence.

I am super excited. The energy in the gallery is amazing.

835 Julia St.
835 Julia St. (Baronne and Julia)

With buckets of love,

Gator Girl

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Some New Art

Hi all y’all,

I am happy to be home, but if I had more money I would jet-set around. It was fun going more places this summer. It will be quiet here for a while. The kiddos are on a train to California, my sweet darlin’ starts school next week and there are no visitors on the horizon.

Shotgun Angel  will be at the M Gallery on Julia and Baronne for White Linen Night this Saturday. 

 

Shotgun Angel
Shotgun Angel

I have been working on two paintings.

Christine
Christine

This is painted from a photo of my friend, Christine, of 2 Chicks Walking Tours. She is dressed up like her mother back in the day. I just love this picture and I love a cigarette.

I am not quite done with Magnolia.

Magnolia
Magnolia

I like how the girl is the same colors as the Magnolia flowers. I think she needs something more, like a crown so the middle flower doesn’t look like it is growing out of her head. Her eyes are a little deep-set.

My grand babies are on their way to visit their great-grandparents.

Train to California
Train to California

 

Until next time,

With unwavering love,

Gator Girl

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Shotgun Angel framed!

Hi all y’all,

Thanks to my daughter, Katy, Shotgun Angel is framed  in the wood that I want for her. I cut one side too short and we replaced it with another piece of screen door. I thought I had wrecked the frame, but no.

I am still looking for 2 skeleton keys to hang from the door handle.

Shotgun Angel framed
Shotgun Angel framed

I think I might lighten the sky a little in the darker parts… sitting with that idea for a while.

In the last 2 weeks, 2 women told me that they wanted to paint, but don’t. I would like to tell anyone that wants to paint:

Show up.

Start anywhere.

Keep painting.

I have taken classes on and off through the years. I got serious about painting when I took a class from Shiloh Sophia of the Cosmic Cowgirls. She empowers women and teaches a spiritual side of painting.

I learned how to draw proportional bodies from Jane Davenport.

If I am having a problem, I sometimes watch a YouTube tutorial.

A drawing class at the local junior college helps teach you how to see objects by their lines and curves. Wherever you see your next place to grow, go there.

For inspiration, I take a class called Lifebook from Tam Laporte. It is only $99 a year and you get weekly on-line tutorials from different artists.

If you want to paint, paint.

It can save your soul.

It can save the world.

With ever-loving gratitude,

Gator Girl

P.S. It is OK to spend money on paint.

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Shotgun Angel

Good Morning all y’all!

I feel like I am finally back after the holidays and the flu. It might seem like a crazy thing to say, but being ill and sleeping 12 hours a day, does give a person time to reflect.

My word for 2013 is VISIBILITY. This word by itself might have thrown me back in bed for a few days. I plan on making my art visible to the public. I am thinking restaurants and a gallery. On the first of January, I was totally freaked out by this word until I realized 2013 is a whole year.  I am currently making myself visible in my fish nets and corset. Pussyfooters is turning out to be a fun way to give back to the community. We make events sparkly and pink.

Orpheus 13th Night
Orpheus 13th Night

I found out at this event that the  Pussyfooter women are totally nice. After this picture Miss Camille and Miss Becky tightened my corset until I looked like Miss Scarlet (in my mind). I was grateful. I had no idea you weren’t suppose to breathe.

I am nearly finished with Shotgun Angel.

The first thing I did was spray the canvas with Ink Spray Dylusions London Blue. If you want to try this, it gives a nice continuity to the painting, but be forewarned, the blue bleeds through as many layers of paint that you put on. At some point you might want to stop the bleed by painting some parts in clear gesso. Otherwise, your yellow house will keep turning green.

Next, I dropped paint on the background, straight from the bottle: white, yellow and purple. Then I sprayed alcohol on the paint drops and walked away.

I put layers of paint, drops of paint, sprayed more alcohol until I liked the background.

I drew the wings on the painting with white chalk. Then I laid the cellophane on top of the chalk outline. I drew the wings on the cellophane with a black sharpie a little bit bigger than what I wanted.

I painted her wings by spraying a mixture of glue, Pearl Ex violet powder, and alcohol on the underside for sparkle. I learned this from Bonnie Rose Bryan on Lifebook 2012. On the front of the wings, I painted featherish stuff with Golden Acrylic Titanium White. As an added bonus, the cellophane glows in the dark. Cellophane adds just the right amount of transparency for wings and lays totally flat.

I cut the wings out mostly inside the black lines. They are adhered with Golden Gel Medium.

When I look at the photo of my painting, I don’t like her dress outlined in white.

I do love how the stoops turned out.

I had to resist adding tiny details like birds and cats.

I am planning to frame this in old wood from an old shotgun house.

If there is anything that I left out, that you would like to know… just ask.

Shotgun Angel
Shotgun Angel

I was listening to Billie Holliday Pandora when I painted this. The angel must have been listening, too.

I have my next painting in mind. It is a political statement.

Thanks for checking out my blog. It makes me feel grounded and happy to connect with you.

With abundant love and gratitude,

Gator Girl