Showing posts with label oil on artists' board. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oil on artists' board. Show all posts

Friday, November 16, 2012

Tucson Artist, Melinda, Thanks Everyone Who Stopped By!

Here it is Friday, and I'm just now feeling like I've recovered from last weekend's open studio tour. It was a blast.

We had a music jam, lots of laughter and chatting, and some treats. But most of all, we had intelligent, witty, kindhearted visitors. It was so very wonderful to see everyone. Oh, yeah, and I did this quick painting on Saturday. It's not done, but Mr. Arty Fice made a time lapse of the process:



Thank you!

I did sell four paintings!

Winter Dark

Winter Dark © Melinda Esparza

New Mexico Hill and Junipers

New Mexico Hill and Junipers © Melinda Esparza

 Sun Fell, Sky Followed

Sky Fell, Sun Followed © Melinda Esparza
 Redwall Canyon

Redwall Canyon © Melinda Esparza

Thank you, dear artist bloggers who keep me committed to the work. Wish you all could stop in sometime! More soon...

Friday, April 6, 2012

Tucson Artists' Open Studios Tour Apr 14 & 15 2012: Melinda Makes Ready!

Sky Fell, Sun Followed 8" x 8" Oil on artists' board © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

The big run-up to next week's Tucson Artists' Open Studios tour is ON. I'm getting excited to see all of the kindhearted, funny, extremely intelligent people who'll be stopping by. I'm going to be giving a painting demo one or both of the days, in preparation for my Grand Canyon Artist-in-Residency. Whoo-hoo!

There's something else, too. If you would like to, please go to Melinda Esparza Artists Wanted and click 'Collect Me.' If there are enough people who do, I might just get some of my art flashing in Times Square. Wouldn't that be fun?

Here are some of the paintings you'll see at my studio during the Tucson Artists' Open Studios tour next week:

Abiquiu Ancestors 30" x 30," oil on canvas © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

Ghost Ranch Cliff #1 8" x 8," oil on artists' board © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

Ghost Ranch Mesa 30" x 30," oil on canvas © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

Sabino Canyon Snowy Day (9" x 12," oil on artists' board) © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

Blue Pedernal 10" x 10," oil on artists' board © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

Rain Dance Shamans (16" x 20," oil on artists' board) © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

Monks' Quarters Tumacacori 12" x 12," oil on artists' board © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

Rincon Peak Winter Snow (18" x 18," oil on cradled board) © 2012 Melinda S. Esparza

The weather is fantastic here. Perfect for wandering around Tucson and visiting artists' studios.

I'll be looking for you!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

2011 Fall Tucson Open Studio Tour: Tucson Artist Melinda Esparza Offers an Invitation and A Preview

We're on the run up to next week's 2011 Tucson Open Studios Tour. So, of course, I'm all over the place: cleaning, raking, looking at images, hoping to paint more. work in progress Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza There is this work in progress, 'no name' painting, 8" x 8," on artists' board, that may get done before next week--prolly not. There is this one that I really, really want to throw paint at, 'almost named' on 30" x 30" canvas. Whew! I might just start it and work on it while people perambulate (Howz that for building one's vocabulary while stressed?) Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza I received several postcards yesterday, highlighting the 5x5 Invitational at Westmont Museum of Art. I sent in my piece, Peak Red on Paper, just before deadline, so my name is not included, but check out the site as the auction draws nearer the date, November 20th through December 16th. I'm hoping that you'll be able to see my work in with the rest. Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza However, of interest are quite a few artists I admire. You may also want to visit their sites too. Squeak Carnwarth Mary Lee Bendolph Mary Ince Helen Garber Carol Burnett (that Carol Burnett?!), and a few guys too! Oh, yeah...And, me, Melinda, Oh, MY! There are works by: Ed Moses John Baldessari Robert Mangold. Have a look! For a smidgeon of context (turned around), a summary for now, may your approach follow the dictum "ut pictura poesis"--"as is painting, so is poetry"--Horace, Ars Poetica (c. 13 BC)

Friday, October 28, 2011

2011 Tucson Open Studio Tour: Tucson Artist Melinda Esparza Waters the Plants, Dreams of Snow

Rincon Peak Winter Snow October 2011 Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza What is it about deadlines that can freeze all artistic activity? It feels like the psychological equivalent of '...caught in the headlights.' On the other hand, it has energized me to submit a donation of art to the Westmont Museum of Art in Santa Barbara, CA. The deadline is the first of November, so I just made that. And, the 2011 Open Studio Tour got me to deliver this new work to the JCC art gallery for the upcoming preview exhibit. Heck, it even got me to do a little gardening...(This means I watered some plants and bought a young okra plant at Whole Foods.) Ha. Have you ever had fresh okra, by the way? It is very good with cornmeal and mesquite flour and very easy to grow. The flowers are spectacular too. This painting, Rincon Peak Winter Snow (18" x 18," oil on cradled artists' board) is a reminder that winter is coming and perhaps a little snow will show up on the mountains around town. Wishing you all could show up for the Open Studio Tour. Here's an image of the postcard that is being mailed out by Tucson Pima Arts Council. While I think there could be some refinement with the graphic design (I know. Having a graphic designer in the house can cause one to be very fussy), it does have my artwork in the lower right hand section!

Friday, July 1, 2011

The Sun Stings My Skin, While Watching Los Alamos Nearly Burn

TA-54 Los Alamos Red Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza Thinking About Area G-8 Los Alamos (glass front)

Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza Thinking About Area G-8 Los Alamos (glass reverse)

Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza It was scorching hot here this week. That's what it takes to bring up the monsoon rains to our region. 112 degrees, 110 degrees, 107 degrees. Yeah, it was dry, so our coolers worked wondrous well. And, night before last, we received significant rain. But, there is something that happens with the density of the air, and I usually can tell how hot it is because I get a headache---and when I walk outside to get the mail, my skin hurts. Even one of our mesquite trees was starting to die back. Yet, what really got me was: My eyes were full of images of smoke, fire, mountains and comments full of worry this week. 

Guess you know about the largest fire in New Mexico's history--Las Conchas fire. My cousin lives in Los Alamos. He decided not to evacuate. It was hard to sleep each night after listening to the Live Updates from KAOT 7 News. The images of the fire were mind boggling and all I could think about was the air quality in the town as the monster huffed and puffed around the canyons and edges of the Valles Caldera and headed north, sweeping by Los Alamos and attacking sacred ground in Santa Clara Pueblo. To see how boston.com documented the fire, check out these great photos. 

I painted these two images influenced by the watching. The first one is on an 8" x 8" artists' board. The second painting is on a 5" x 7" piece of glass, with the reverse side too. Today, there is some good news for Los Alamos. Perhaps, it is too soon to say all danger has past, but there is more hope for the region. 

So, let me end with a few quotes I found today. I was looking for Julia Cameron quotes from her book, The Vein of Gold, and found this at Good Reads: "As you move toward a dream, the dream moves toward you." — Julia Cameron "Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite--getting something down." — Julia Cameron "Serious art is born from serious play." — Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way: A Spihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifritual Path to Higher Creativity) 

And, while I was searching I found an old favorite, humorous quote from...Jack Handey: "Happiness is not a circus clown rolling around in a big tractor tire so that his arms and legs form 'spokes.' Happiness is when he stops." - Jack Handey Looking for some happiness...