Artist Melinda Goes on An Adventure: Part One

I haven't gone far. In fact, this adventure I'm about to share is from right here in little ole Tucson, the Old Pueblo as it's often called. About a month ago, Mr. Artyfice and I visited a local gallery to see their current exhibit. There we saw a Jim Waid painting that we admired very much. It was small. It was affordable. When I say affordable, I mean in a Tucson kind of way. The gallery has offered its patrons purchase plans in the past which meant that the lowly middle class collector could pay any amount over time (yes, even $10 per month, without interest) until the artwork was paid in full. A great deal, indeed. We liked the painting so much that we spoke to one of the gallery owners who dropped us like hot potatoes when a photographer for a publication arrived, but we left one of my business cards saying how much we liked it and we requested a call back. Soon, one of the owners called, left a message, and referred to my "small" card. Later, the other gallery owner called and left a message too. This time referring to my "little carte de visite." It occurred to me that if I were a well known artist, or perhaps a male artist or reviewer with a newspaper, neither of these adjectives would have accompanied the reference to my card--with such deliberation. It put me off the whole idea of purchasing...and we've bought from this gallery before! I went home and looked at my old catalog of Waid's work and decided to experiment. This is the result.

  (18" x 24," oil on cradled art board) I figured that, dang it, I could paint something for myself in a similar fashion. Hmmm. It started something. It's pretty difficult to get art into a gallery. Now I'm seeing that it's almost as difficult to get the artwork out. Galleries can't afford to be too snobbish, especially when they can't even remember a previous customer or recognize an eager, present buyer. Gee, and aren't galleries struggling in this economy?! More soon...

Artist Melinda Reflects on Secret Ingredients

How about a little play with color, a little play with paint, a momentary suspension of the hierarchy of the left brain critic? Oh, I know, it's in there watching: as you push paint around, visualize your influences, as you consider elements of composition along with value and construct. But you, the artist you, can be the alpha dog of your own paint world. Speaking of influences. I painted this painting today and saw some of my favorite artist mentors. I swear, they live in my head! Previous to painting, I'd been out grocery shopping. I didn't see any painters then... I see the influence if not the mastery of Helen Frankenthaler, Fritz Scholder and Jim Waid. And, as always, my left brain sat in the corner offering a gentle word or two--mostly, thinking of Anne Taintor's, "The Secret Ingredient is Resentment." Anne is my kind of woman. Was this because of my chores today? Left brain response: That's a really ugly painting! Don't let your left brain drive the painting. Your heart knows the paint a lot better. 

Palm #57 Tucson (oil on canvas, 16" x 20").

Flying Cloud on a Gray Day in Tucson

Okay, everybody, back to work I am. I can't top my musical intermission, but I do have some links to share: From Zocalo Tucson Magazine--A cool black and white photo of downtown Tucson looking northeast to the Catalina mountains. The menu at the top provides the entire magazine online. In their book review section, there is a recommended book titled, "Revenge of the Saguaro." It sounds good. Yes, there really was a guy who shot at a saguaro and was killed when one of the heavy arms fell on him. 

On a happier note: Tucson Botanical Garden's Summer Saguaro Celebration presented by Etherton Gallery and an older video of Tohono Chul's Laughing Matters exhibit. For those of you on Staycations: San Xavier Mission on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, Saguaro Harvest, Mt. Lemmon in the Catalinas, Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women Old Town Artisans really good blues guitar in Tucson, 2nd Saturdays downtown Tucson (we were there last Sat.), and one of my favorite bands playing in a shop entryway--Tammy West and the Culprits. This painting (8" x 8," oil on artists' board) reminds me of the cloud covered sky under which Tucson awoke this morning. What a relief! It was a blistering 106 degrees ( 41.1 Celsius) yesterday, with humidity. We had about twenty guests last night...I don't know what the body heat index was. We had a great time, though. Lots of people wearing "No Papers" buttons. Aren't we half way through summer yet? Aren't we?!

Shamans Came to Speak-My Hands Paint & Play the Song

Rain Dance, (16" x 20," oil on artists' board) Intermission: Our family friend, Ruben, is a very talented musician. He has been helping me with my newbie blues playing. Because it's summer and I'm thinking of a walking beat as well as experimental painting, I've included my song with this post (be kind, please, it's my first and I was improvising rhythm and lead). Ruben is the music producer and artist who recorded, mixed and made this possible, 'cuz I don't know nothin' 'bout no music recording. I am so grateful. Maybe he'll share some of his incredible talent with the world someday soon.

MailArt: Melinda Hands Over A Power Deck

Speaking of family, my son, Ell, reached a landmark age this year which, of course, got me thinking and planning another mailart piece. And, as Count Rugen said (Princess Bride): "Get some rest. If you haven't got your health, then you haven't got anything." The idea came to me as I considered that we are dealt life cards in which we have no say. Yet, when we go out into the world, we take them with us and can shuffle them to our choosing. If we're lucky, we have time to choose from several career options. We all have to watch out for the joker. And, our spiritual beliefs are our ace up the sleeve during tough times. If we've had good guidance and if the deck has been stacked in our favor, life could go easily. Or, if not, there can be confusing misfortune. We can also choose to throw the best cards out, not realizing how important it is to shuffle wisely. This mailart piece is about the size of an Uno card deck: card stock, pencil and ink, solarplate images, glue, clippings from the NYTimes, and one deck of cards.

All the World's a Stage...

And the best dads are in the same play...sharing the stage. Happy Father's Day to my two favorite actors: Bug and Philostrate And all the men and women merely players; "They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts..."

There is a Way to Mystery While Seeking Answers

Louise Bourgeois said it to all who can listen, "The purpose of art is to express emotions. My emotions are inappropriate for my size." Painting the mystery while seeking your own answers is to converse with emotions larger than yourself. Can you give yourself permission to push beyond your size? I see that Kathryn Law is having just such a conversation with her paints, and I hope you'll take a look at her work. She mentioned Bourgeois the other day and I found the youtube link of the trailer for the documentary. These emotions are worthy of expression, even if no one listens. The work is everything. I was also inspired to fix a painting that had been bothering me. This painting can be seen at Artist Melinda: Off into the Weeds, Back with Saddle Burrs. This painting is 12" x 12," oil on artists' board, of a door leading somewhere at the mission of Tumacacori, near the Mexican border with Arizona. Verfhond's Half a Thousand Living Painterly Painters #94 and working my way up the sanctuary steps.

Arizona Artist and Diagonals of Tumacacori

This painting went through a number of transitions and the scratching away, wiping off and the additional layers turned out much better than the beginning image. It is 9" x 12," on artists' board. Due to the consensus of my fellow artists' thoughtful comments, I've added some background images. Thank you SamArtDog, Donald Diddams, and Jeane of ARTIT. Update: I was surfing around and found that I am included in Verfhond's Half a Thousand Living Painterly Painters. That's kind of nice. I had to search for my name, but there I was, #94--from my post Paint, Painter, Painted--Art, Artist, Alive. This is the image I used for the scratching, wiping away business. The result, of course, is above.

  First painting of Tumacacori bell tower. I thought this was alright, but a bit boring.

 

O, for the Love of Dog, Plus Artist Incognito

You see, I have these oily rags in my studio and they remind me every day how risky this is. And this thought reminds me of a video I saw on youtube about a man who had some oily rags lying in the corner of his workshop. O, Dogs! They are wonderful: Shepherd Leads State Trooper to Fire: Still somewhat incognito in Arizona. This painting is a reworked one from last year: Self Portrait Like Hybrid Flowers. I like this one for right now. Be safe in your studio, even if you have a rescue dog...

A Different Kind of Cloud Bank

I thought it might be nice to paint a study of abstracted clouds and space. This painting is 8" x 8," oil on artists' board.

"Who Does She Think She Is?" Art, Painting of Clouds on a Good Day

Days are always better with a look up--- This is for Linny--From a photo: Looking West One Day, 8" x 8," oil on artists' board. She and Jeffrey J. Boron are well known inspirations! And, here's a link to an interview with Maye Torres talking about life as a woman artist. I recently watched the film, "Who Does She Think She Is?" and found it to be excellent.

Color Returns: Tucson, Art and Things Heating Up

I'm pleased to report that the city of Tucson, along with Flagstaff, AZ, are suing the state over the recent immigration law signed by Governor Jan Brewer. The temperature today: 92 degrees, or 33.3333 C. As some of you know, one of my blog posts was plagiarized recently. But, what you didn't know was that I also dropped my cellphone...in the...you know. (!) Nobody wants to use it now. Sheesh. And, our dear KayDee dog has tick fever. She's gonna be fine with meds. The phone?...not so much. I'm also pleased to report that I am still here (relatively cheerful!), still working, hopeful that we will continue to converse on subjects aesthetic, political, personal and global. I will, however, be thinking about these issues as they relate to being online. If you want more information about blogging and plagiarism, which I didn't know was so pervasive, here is a link to a wonderful blogger, Velveteen Mind, who did something about it, and a link to Mr. Artyfice's rant. Feel free to weigh in. This painting is worked from the photo I took for the solarplate image you see from the previous post. It is 9" x 12", oil on linen panel artists' board. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Melinda: My Papers Are Not in Order

It's true. When I wake up in the morning, I am aware that I get up with 15,000 years of connection to this land, but when I think of leaving the house, I wonder what incident I might witness or experience. And, I'm not even Hispanic, except as a Native American cousin. And, I'm half English. And, I'm only a first generation American because of the British mother who came here after marrying a mixed heritage man from the southwest. Go figure. I'm a mutt. I still don't have my papers in order. The studio is a mess--papers everywhere, canvas and paint splatters abound, and solarplates littering my walkway. This solarplate image is about 3" x 4 1/2," on Somerset paper. But, la fortaleza es segura. For awhile, I'd like to suggest that you consider avoiding Arizona until we resolve the turmoil here. btw: Thanks to all who have so generously commented and occasionally linked back to my blog. Your friendship and art support are u-wo-du-hi, you are buena gente, and if I do say so myself, quite brill. I saw this and thought a lighter view is also in order* (whoops). From the Daily Show

Melinda and the Magical Mechanical Pentel Pencil

Is anything sacred anymore? I mean, what is sacred? This being Earth Day and all, it would be a good idea to take a moment to reaffirm that the earth is sacred. How many of you out there remember how wacky people were thought to be on the first celebration of Earth Day in 1970?! We've come a long way, in some ways, good, others devastatingly worrisome. I'm a saver. We artists hang on to things, don't we, knowing that we might need them for a future project? Sometime in the last century, a really long time ago, a friend gave me a Pentel Mechanical Pencil as a gift. At the time, it was very expensive and I thought pencils were pencils. They are not. Some of them are sacred, like many of the things you hold dear over the years. Waxing nostalgic isn't always a bad thing. I went looking for my sacred pencil and did not find it. I bought a surrogate because, while I know my old friend will show up one day to surprise me, I'm missing what a good pencil can do. Maybe it can't compete with this drawing and subsequent stained glass commission I worked on in the 1980s, but I can hope. When I see this window, I remember the day I was commissioned to build stained glass to fill a space. I sat staring at a very bright, very blank piece of white paper, with a deadline over my head. Then, I picked up the mechanical pencil and made a small mark. A woman's head and shoulders began to appear and the pencil carried the line all the way around the edges of her skirt. My eyes followed the line and I was stunned and grateful to see the image. Today, with this newer pencil, I am drawing differently, but with the same purpose as before. This image is of a Norfolk pine branch that I've manipulated slightly in Photoshop. As soon as the clouds travel east, I'll make a solarplate of the image and finish the mailart piece. No matter how enlightened we are about our mythology, I'll bet we can all agree that on this Earth Day, she (earth) is sacred and worthy of honor. So is your talent and the work you do.

Mail Art Experiment, Solarplate Marking a Day in Tucson

It was a warm and quiet day. The sky was clear, the quail, the grackles, the rabbits and the desert finches owned the yard at Fuerte y Claro. I'm good with that. I've had an idea for a mailart piece again. This time it included solarplate prints. Guess I'm approaching this thing backwards because I've got photos to share of today's work, even though I'm only just beginning the project. This next one is the first small cactus image on white paper. This second one is of a landscape I've never actually visited, but the image was a public one and I manipulated it enough to use it in my work. Each image is approximately 3" x 4." You can see that I was thrifty with the paper and, I'm happy to report, the solarplates that have been sitting in the dark for a couple of years (at least!), actually produced images. Mirabile dictu: I took some photos. Manipulated the images in Photoshop. Visited the local office supply store and had transparencies printed of my images. Dug out the old solarplates and cut them to size. Put them altogether in the glass sandwich and exposed them to the sun for 2 minutes, 34 seconds. Washed the plates in cool water for 5 minutes. Found scraps of BFK Rives paper and dampened them in the bathtub. Inked the plates with black relief ink. Printed the images in the Ettan press (how I've missed the dear press and how lovely she prints. Et voilà! I'm seeing that I've been away for way too long. Goodness, guess that Life in Hell cartoon I found the other day hit me a bit harder than I'd thought...And gee, after such a fun time with the last post. Sheesh. Hey, we can laugh and cry about this. Hope you're all feeling energized with spring and happily working on meaningful art. UPDATE Here are photos of two of the solarplates I used. You can see how thin the plates are and the polymer side with faint image:

 

Famous Women Artists: They are Everywhere!

A few years ago I had the privilege of visiting the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Everyone knows Georgia O'Keeffe. The architecture of the building was particularly impressive. Some of Ms. O'Keeffe's works were quite good. Thing is, I realized that a lot of her work was so innovative in approach that the more naive works added to her oeuvre rather than detracted from it. So, today I painted one of my very own daturas from a photo I took last year while they were in bloom. Melinda Esparza: Datura in the Night of Yearning-Lost to the Darkness Swallowing up and Crunching Down Upon My Dream of You. Oil on panel. 8" x 8." I think I'll have to update this photo in the daylight to get a better photo of it. What if...you are as good as the women artists listed below? What if, from now on, you lived your life with such conviction of this that your level of discipline and your audience reflected the knowledge you hold within your own hands? Let's have a roll call, shall we? Grace Hartigan Deb Schmit Peggi Nicol Linny D. Vine Donna Schuster Yoko Ono Euphemia Charlton Fortune Jean De Muzio Marion Wachtel SamArtDog Jane Freilicher Bonnie Luria Joan Mitchell Jeane Myers Women artists of the 20th century in a bunch, Art Cyclopedia. Louise Bourgeois Karen Phipps Eva Hesse Marcia LaBelle Frida Kahlo Barbara Muir There. Let this be a codification of who is who and how the world really does work. We move in and out of each others' lives, woven into the history that we are writing with our colors and words. This gives me joy. I look at the list of famous artists and I see a group of dedicated, scary smart women, who, out of gracious mercy choose not to join together in any geographical location wishing to avoid a cataclysmic event that may cause disruption in the Force--the Artistic Force, which may cause weather events with colors and light never seen before. We wouldn't want to frighten the citizenry. See yourself recognized and appreciated. See yourself and your work loved and supported. That's a good life.

Artist Melinda: Off into the Weeds, Back with Saddle Burrs

Update: I finally fixed this painting and might even like it!

  Yes, it's true. The open studio tour left me dazed and confused. I spent several days staring at mud, a few days asking what kind of weed is a actually a weed, and where are the hidden treasures in all of the brush. I came back with some stickery but healing aloe, something shiny I still can't figure out, and two paintings. Wished I'd had a saddle. Here's the thing, the stickery thing. If women artists are the most prevalent artists in any generation since 1850 (okay, kinda guessing on the year, but I'm close), why aren't we studying them more, quoting them more, experimenting more with their processes? Even male artists are quoting and emulating male artists of the 1800s instead of artists more recent than that. And, the ones who are mentioned most often shouldn't necessarily hog all of the notoriety. Even if one wanted to stick with the 1800s, there are: Julia Margaret Cameron, Elizabeth Adela Armstrong Forbes, Lilla Cabot Perry, Suzanne Valadon and Berthe Morisot. These artists are worthy of more looking! Then, there is the 20th century, and, oh yes, the last decade of the 21st century. You'd think we didn't have access to more sources. That's the bur. Well, at least one of them. Grace Hartigan's, The Persian Jacket, 1952.

Grace Hartigan (included in the New York School of Abstract Expressionists): "Well, what we get down to finally is the ultimate point. What in the world is the reason for painting? Life is complete in itself. What can the painter add to it aside from presenting formal problems of my trade--space, projection, surface, contour and all those things. Rather, I think art comes out of an inability to understand the life that you are living and the hopeful desire that out of the chaos that is given to you, you try for a brief period of time to make some sense and order." Couldn't have said it better. One of the paintings I've sold recently is quite abstracted. This got me to thinking how right it felt to paint that way--and that someone responded positively to it. Here are two more experiments. The first is a landscape in which paint is for paint and image is a close second (oil on panel 5" x 7").

  The second one might be a bit of channeling Grace as I think about our better angels of art or more graces (oil on artist's board, 12" x 12"). I'm gonna keep asking you, kindly and with gentle prodding (sans burrs), to seek out women artists, support them, talk about them, examine their process and dig a bit into the weeds once in awhile. And, those guys? Gotta love 'em. Gotta make 'em share the canvas...

Tucson Artist's Open Studio---Lovely Spring Day

Thanks guys! I felt your support and presence throughout the weekend. And, when I grew tired, I'd take a moment to remember your comments, your fantastic artwork and I was energized. I felt part of a solid community. An extra bonus: We even have snow lingering on the mountains! There was a good turn out and I was surprised. Tucson is really busy with art gallery openings, book festivals, sports events and a plethora of other fun things to do before it gets gawd-awful hot around here. So, it was great to see so many enthusiastic art tourists visit my studio, carefully and thoughtfully considering the work. We met some interesting, intelligent and artsy folk. I hope they'll come back again.

  Here are some photos of the day. Again, I didn't want to blow anyone's cover (Sometimes I think a lot of Tucsonans are in the witness protection program and don't want to be photographed.) Just kidding. I don't even ask visitors because I feel it would be intrusive. Maybe I can talk the next group into allowing me to photograph their backs as they look at the paintings!

Hope you all had a good weekend full of paint, good friends and family.

Tucson Artists' Open Studios Tour--Let the Visits Begin

The news around town is that there is a real "buzz" as the Tucson Artists' Open Studios Tour gears up for this Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM until 5 PM. I think that it's the increase in the collective heart rate of all the artists who are participating this weekend. Dear artist bloggers: I sense your kind support, knowing that you will be here in spirit. Wouldn't it be great if we could have a group show?! I would love that. Let's dream together on this and see what comes. I'm pretty excited about all of this because next week my college boy is coming home and he's having a birthday, too. So, I've got a mailart to share and a quick sketch I made from a screen capture as we webcam'd recently.

  This mailart piece is a bit out of character (more sculptural, really). But, here's why. This Plexiglass, paper with grommet and 'o' rings enshrine a story I made up one day while Ell and I were resting after I had set up camp in the forest. Ell was six years old. I was old. So, I told him we had to rest in the tent until Daddy got there from work. I began to stare at the clouds as they rolled by over our tent. They seemed to be speaking. I told him the story of Little Proud Thundercloud (M. S. Esparza ©). It stuck as a family story and now it is in plexiglass. Of course, at the time we didn't know anything about Iceland, but I think that painting the cloud to resemble the country pleased my world traveler today. It's approximately 8" x 4," plexi over paper, with tarp grommet, washers and 'o' rings and glue. And to all my visitors from far, far away (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom)--- Peace to you all and thank you for visiting. I am honored when you visit. I hope you'll always feel welcomed here. I hope you'll feel comfortable to comment any time you want to. In my dreams you all are here and we are laughing, sharing green tea, and talking about life, art, good things to make a better world. I'll try to take photos to share next week. Everyone, stay well, don't give up.

Tucson Artists' Open Studios Tour

Sunset Ridgeline, 2010. 8x8 Oil on linen panel. Sold

The Tucson Artists Open Studios Tour is just a mere and frantic eight days away. There are two beautiful, gorgeous, exquisitely constructed canvases built by Deadwood Framing that invite me to paint large. They will have to wait until next week. But, until then... I've got this 8" x 8," oil on artists' board, abstracted painting for today that is a bit of an extension of the kinds of landscapes I've been painting lately. Until the next post, I hope you are living well, painting often, dreaming and walking with all beauty and excellence! I also wish all of you could stop by for some mesquite flour chocolate chip cookies and decaf green tea with prickly pear syrup and a nice chat. Some funnies (to offset the seriousness of the last post): Math joke Signs you are an artist: #14. "You chose to buy that new Russian Sable Number Six Round instead of a Big Mac, a Large Fry, a Milkshake, Dessert, and five gallons of gas." #17. "When viewing a sunset, you think in terms of cadmium yellow (light hue), salmon and gold, a tinted teal mixed with gold for the water...." #26. "You explain your deplorably bad housekeeping by saying, "It's a work-in-progress..." And, one from me--True Story: Instead of fixing our leaky roof years ago, we bought an Ettan Press and set mixing bowls out to catch the rain.