Tucson Open Studio: Poem, Painting, Monotype

Thinking about the moon a lot. And, the night sky: 

Ease of Night Light 

O Luna, nightlight for the worried insomniac, 

Your golden shape floating like a banana boat gliding across 

The darkened sea above. 

Why do you sneak out so late? 

To whisper lovely, impossible secrets in the ear of the weary? 

To soothe a restless heart with a thousand questions? 

I think I hear one of your poems in a language of color 

And mist-- The values, a softened gray, layering the plane. 

My head is bowed, but my eyes swim in your neon glow. '

Waking is the dream," you speak,' 

'Fall up into my orbit and let go.' 

'And I, decorated for travel, will melt unruly monsters, like a dollop of honey on a warm, indigo plate.' Poem © 2010 Melinda S. Esparza Image © 2010 Melinda S. Esparza In a way, this 8" x 8," oil on artists' board painting, reminds me of some of the recent night skies. This monotype is one that I worked on a year ago, but never uploaded here. I thought those of you who've been following my blog would want to see something new as I go through the works for the Tucson Artists' Open Studios Tour. Is she a nighthawk? Image © 2010 Melinda S. Esparza Now, for a bit of shameless self-promotion: One of my favorites! The painting that made it into the Tucson Museum of Art's Arizona Biennial '09 Sabino Hill on a Snowy Day Image © 2010 Melinda S. Esparza Wrangling the warm clothing this week. More soon. Have a great week!

Tucson Artists' Open Studios: Paintings, Drawings, Visiting

Thanks to SamArtDog, I walked myself, with soup pan and tongs in hand, right on over to the San Gabriel "Prak" (okay, they fixed the sign years ago, but that's what it said for the first six months!) on Sunday morning and collected a pan full of juicy, ripe, lovely prickly pear tunas. Sure, the quail were annoyed and the rabbits skittered defensively away from the park, but there are plenty more tunas for them to nibble on. They'll just have to share. Besides, it's a bountiful year. I was in such a hurry that I didn't even wear gloves. I wore jeans and a solid shirt, though, and came home with one side filled with little stickers. Cool. You saw me, didn't you Bonnie?! This is a Caran D'ache (Neocolour) drawing of some that I harvested last year. I haven't worked with these water soluble colors in quite sometime. I don't know why. They really work best, in my humble opinion, on Moleskine paper. Update: It is because of Kathyrn Law's selling of her Neocolours to me in 2008, and her encouragement to try blogging, that started it all for me. I'd say these crayons and one artist's kindness can change a life. Go see her work...and be dazzled. Last year at the Tucson Artists' Open Studios Tour, I had a couple of paintings that were nearly fought over. What a concept!

  Out of curiosity (so typically artist, eh?), I wondered if I could reprise the image. I painted this one about a week ago. Guess I can. It's Two Clouds Over Patagonia II, oil on artists' board, 8" x 8." Are you harvesting in your area, both artistically and gastronomically? Sure hope so.

Tucson Open Studio Tour: More to Share

Even though the Tucson Open Studios Tour is about a month away, I'm pulling out work that has not been on display in the studio for awhile, and thinking about the future guests who'll show up that day. I don't know if I can do as well as Jala Pfaff has done documenting her recent open studio, but I'm inspired to try. Check hers out. This first painting is one of my favorites (Mighty Vole Hunts Ubiquitous Cactus Fruit, 16" x 20," oil on artists' board). It's how I feel when harvesting prickly pear fruit. There are still a few plump, and juicy tunas tempting me to do more harvesting, but I've been told to give it a rest...! But, my anxious heart says, will I have enough to get through the winter??!

  This next image is of a monotype that is another favorite. I did some mark making with oil bar on top of the first pull. It is a Mystery Landscape, monotype, 11" x 15," on BFK Rives paper.

  Hope you're all having a great week and working in the studio!

Tucson Artists' Open Studio Tour: Getting Ready for Showtime!

It's official. Tucson Pima Arts Council's website link to the upcoming Tucson Open Studio Tour is up and clickable. Of course, I'm right there with over two hundred other Tucson artists preparing their studios, looking over work, thinking about the success of last year's event and getting excited to meet people who love art and support the artist community here. It's gonna be a blast. I'll have new work and my favorites from this past year and beyond. It would be great if I could see you all here November 13th and 14th. You'll be welcomed with decaf green tea with my harvest of prickly pear juice and some homemade (okay, a mix from the store, but baked by me!) gluten free chocolate chip cookies that will have some locally harvested mesquite flour tossed as a treat. Yum. I'll do taste tests in the next week or so... For the run up, I'm thinking about some works that I'm happy with, that haven't been seen for awhile.

Ah--Ree-Zoe--Na Ski (8" x 8," oil on artists' board)

Daydream Sabino (8" x 8," oil on artists' board)

  Catalina Palimpsest (5" x 7," oil on artists' board) Hope you are all having a great weekend, painting away, dreaming of beautiful fall days.

Perhaps a Mirage--

Sometimes a mirage helps us break the "thousand mile stare" (or attitude) and offers a landscape of ideas and possibilities. And, sometimes, it just freezes us in our tracks. That's where I am right now. Makes me think of nights of full moons with wispy clouds and twinkling stars. Or, I think of those stunning nights when the moon is just a sliver of light--offering us hope and beauty. "When the moon of a hundred equal faces comes out, the silver coins weep in the pocket." --from Federico García Lorca's The Moon Rises (Translation--Diana Guillermo) Struggling with words, struggling with paint, struggling with the guitar...Must mean a breakthrough is coming. This is a re-worked painting that had been bothering me for quite sometime. I posted this last year and felt that the first version was the one I wished I'd kept. Anyway, here is another experiment, oil on 9" x 12," on artists' board. A mirage, I suppose, like the landscape of a night full of moon, buildings of dark clouds racing to crumble overhead, spilling their contents, while twinkling lights fade out.

Update: Kate--A Few Bright Spots

It's been very comforting to have such support from all of you. I wanted to let you know that we continue to be cautiously optimistic about our Miz Katers. She has such a good and strong spirit. We think if any dog has a chance of beating this awful disease, tick fever, she can. It's been a week now since we thought we would put her down, but have since decided that the few bright moments we observe suggest that we should wait and see. I took this photo in 2008, but doesn't it look like a dog's head--seems eerily relevant, don't you think? Until then, we'll all be taking care of Kate--even Loki (the GSD on the left, the one who looks tough, but is a huge baby and a 'city dawg'), has joined in.

  I've been going through old work again and found this Katchina Study (6" x 8," oil on panel), thinking it's a good thing to consider all kinds of spiritual help right now. It is in the style of T. C. Cannon, who has been another inspiration over the years.

  Thank you again, everyone. Wishing you healthy pets!

Artist Melinda: Où elle est ? ¿Cómo está ella? lle mae hi'n? hvar er hún?

I've wondered where I am, too. Here are a couple of paintings I've been working on after crashing a few weeks ago. A virus turned into a bacterial infection and spread through the family. We've also got a very sick dog we're trying to save this week. But, I want the blog to be a positive place and am really hoping things will turn around and improve. I hope you're all painting up a storm and having a wonderful summer. For some of you, I think summer is winding down. For us, it's been stormy, unseasonably cool for a few days and going by way too quickly. The photo above is from the monsoon storm that blew through Tucson on Saturday. Wow, eh?! This first painting is titled: Fields in Green, 8" x 8," oil on artists' board. The second painting is titled: Motorcoach Moticos, 8" x 8," oil on artists' board.

  This one I painted while our college boy was riding a Greyhound Bus home from visiting a friend in northern Arizona this past weekend. Be well everyone! I'll be back soon.

Artist Melinda: Adventure Part Deux and the Drive By Shamans

..........So, where were we? Oh, yes. First, let me say--THANK YOU--for your encouraging and supportive comments. It is really awful to think that artists are not being well served and that the art world is suffering because of ineptness or inappropriate business attitudes. I believe there are many good galleries who love artists and their work out there. We just need to find them! After the experience, I cogitated about the new painting and how natural if felt. A week later, I couldn't sleep. At 2 AM I gave up and decided to work on a painting whose ground I had set down when making a short video for the Life in a Day project. Painting completely automatically until 4:30 AM, without reference, without anything but a total immersion into right brain, free form expression, these creatures showed up. It was like an overnight, drive by visitation. Totally a-Musing.

  Close up of right side shaman: Close up of hands: This painting is 36" x 36," oil on canvas. Maybe we artists should host more open studios and be our own representatives.

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.