Lilacs on the Sill
©A.K.SIMON ARt - Lilacs on the Sill - 8"x8" OIl on Linen $85
A good friend and fellow artist lost his mother last year at the age of 99. A week ago when we were in his studio - which is the place where the "upstairs painters" meet every Tuesday to paint - we placed a vase that had belonged to his mother in the window with the first blooming lilacs of the season. Here is my interpretation of the "lilacs on the sill".
I was just thinking as I posted this that Robert's studio is just a "treasure trove" of still life objects and how fortunate I am to live in a community full of artists! Makes you kind of believe you're right where you should be, right?
PS: The pollen is really high this year and the lilac bushes are loaded with blossoms!
ART STROLL IN CANAL WINCHESTER TODAY 2 - 8 PM
I've been really busy finishing and framing things and making jewelry for our 2nd annual Art Stroll in Canal Winchester, OH so postings have been very "slim" lately. Here are a few pics of my wall spaces for the art stroll today. Please stop in if you live in the area - we will have live music, plenty of food and artwork of all media and style! If you can't make it today, we have open hours on Wed. - Sat. from 10:30 till 2:00 PM. Weather is gloomy right now - hope it clears up soon!
I'll let you know how it goes.
Fresh From The Greenhouse
©A.K.SIMON - 8"x8" oil on linen - $100
One of the showiest flowers I know is the pansy. They can get kind of "leggy" if left too long in their "training pot" but wow do they say, "look at me". Their vibrant colors are irrisistable to me. In Ohio they are being planted right now because they can withstand the cooler weather until May when all the other more tender flowers can be set. Some people don't know that pansies will bloom in winter in Ohio. There is nothing more lovely than seeing a pansy against a backdrop of snow. Dead of summer though - they will be toast! Here's some info on pansies just for the heck of it. Those are some yellow gerbera daisies peeking in from behind.
Back to the art: Still using my favorite fine linen canvas and have begun experimenting more with my "spatula" brush. I have also added a Rembrandt aqua to my palette to kind of "mess around" with green. Green is my nemesis and I am determined to someday master it - until then - charting the experience!
Just a little editorial to vent:Each spring I tell my husband, "as long as we see the flowers blooming there is still hope." In light of this past week's dismal outlook of "man's inhumanity to man" in Boston, hope may be buried deep. But, it's my belief that man's humanity to man will arise out of the depths of despair and shine far brighter than any evil that can attempt to break his spirit! Check out this quote from Robert Henri's The Art Sprit on the landing page of my website http://aksimonart.weebly.com/ . I have it there to remind me that something far greater than our petty differences and barbaric tendencies is always happening under the radar. What is the ultimate goal as an artist in perpetuating a life beyond atrocities! (Guard the good and beauty with your heart and very soul!)
Only The Best For You
©A.K.SIMON - 8"x8" oil on linen - $100
Sometimes you just have to treat yourself. When you're gonna have the best juice you just have to bring out the pretty glasses and make a big deal of the experience. Why is it that we only bring out the nice glassware when we are serving someone else - as if we don't deserve it for ourselves? My husband drinks his juice from a wine glass - which is really funny when considering how humbly we both were raised!
I picked this section out of a larger still life because I am always looking for relationships of objects and how we combine them in our everyday lives. I almost threw this in the "closet dump of could-have-beens" when I decided there is something about the simplicity that I like.
On The Rocks at Peggy's Cove, NS
© On The Rocks at Peggy's Cove, NS - 11"x14" oil on linen - $175
This past summer we visited Nova Scotia for the first time and ended up at Peggy's Cove one day. I have to say that Nova Scotia has some of the nicest, laid back people I have ever met in my travels. Peggy's Cove was so quaint and filled with history that we had a hard time leaving. Though I didn't get to paint on location, I took a "bazillion" pictures and will use them for reference. I just loved all of the multi-colored lobster trap buoys everywhere!
This is one of those new "soft core" linen panels (sorry I forget who made it at the moment). I wanted to get that right at sea level look so this is the "on my knees" view.
If you haven't been to Nova Scotia, you have to go. There are just some beautiful coastal views that can't be compared. Here's a link to the Legend of Peggy's Cove and how it got it's name - romantic of course! Peggy of the Cove
Radish Rendezvous
© A.K.SIMON - Radish Rendezvous - oil on linen - $100
click to bid in auction
Wow, radish leaves wilt really fast! This is a section of a larger still life set up. The radishes just seemed to be congregated around the cup like a group of people gossiping (notice I didn't say only ladies!) around a water cooler. Or, it looks a little bit like cup worship. I can't decide whether this is about the cup or the radishes.
Not much to say tonight. We just got back from a Good Friday service at church and no matter how many times I listen to the story of the crucifixion, it still tears my heart out. I just want to shout, "NO, can't we change the ending this time!" Man's inhumanity to man is unfathomable! We've seen the darkness, now we must look forward to the Light, Easter!
Peony In Its Element
©A.K.Simon - Peony In Its Element - oil on linen - $75
click to bid in auction
Although I have painted this same peony before, I wanted to try out my new "handy-dandy" spatula tool that I just purchased from Dick Blick. Here's a link to the Princeton Wedge and Blade Tools they really work well for application and scraping. I want to start a series of landscapes and thought this would come in handy. I'm not sure how long they have been available but they're new to me.
Here's a funny story about the day I got the tool. Dick Blick is about a 45 minute drive from our home so we made it a little Sunday afternoon jaunt combining lunch and the art store. Well, if any of you are like me, the art store is like "cocaine to a coke addict". I could spend hours and think it's minutes. So, my husband suggested we eat first then go to the art store. When we finally made it to the Dick's he says, (and I knew it was coming) "mind if I wait in the car?" So he did (I hoped he would). When I was done (1.5) hours later (you have to look at everything, right?) I came out to the car - the seat was back, he was sound asleep sounding like the Baltimore & Ohio going through the station! He turns and looks at me and says, "wow, that was quick, I was just resting my eyes. (My grandma always said that too.)" And here I was worried about keeping him waiting - I should have known Men from Mars always sleep while their vehicle is resting! He never did look at the clock.
