Cyrosurgery and Cabin Fever

Cassie was one happy dog when she found her way out from under the tablecloth at Christmas dinner! What you can't see in the photo, thanks to PhotoShop, is the large Meibomian gland tumor under her eye - not malignant, but a real nuisance! I've spent so much time in research on the best solution for this problem that not much art is getting made, but boy have I learned a lot! Best finds along the way: Preparation H facials, Visine for red spots, tincture of cannabis for tumors (debatable, but my vet and I had a good laugh over that one). Best solution: freezing it off with a cryogenic probe. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to find a hospital close enough that has the equipment. Still working on it.

Life has to go on, in spite of distractions. My friend David Sandum in Norway is doing another Twitter Art Exhibit this year (read more about it at David Sandum Art ) , so I am working on a postcard-sized painting to be included in the show. It's PiCassieO-inspired, of course, and is a tiny piece of Cabin Fever, which is a print from last February. Seems appropriate - lately it's either rainy and damp or cold and damp, or just DAMP; cabin fever is really getting to me! Cassie is quite happy to spend the day feet-in-the-air on the couch, but I need a little more outdoor time.

Cabin Fever © Beth Stafford 2011

"What - me worry?"

"Singin' in the Rain"

Singin' in the Rain © Beth Stafford 2011

Cassie is now off her meds and getting her hair back after getting a few bald spots from the months on prednisone, but her joints are too creaky to let her jump in her chairs to paint the windows, so the front storm door is her only "canvas" now. When I got ready to photograph her latest work, there were a bunch of parallel wavy lines that didn't look like my dog's usual style. Upon closer inspection, I realized that they were on the outside of the door. We've had a lot of rain lately, and Cassie has a "raincoat" made out of a large trash bag (she hates to get wet!). When we get back to the porch, I take it off, shake it, and hang it on the door handle. The bag must have blown around a little and created lines that look like music bars. Cassie had added her own wild notes and lines, so I used the stylus to "write" Singin' in the Rain - a symphony in primary colors. Fun!

Thank goodness we finally got some sunshine - Cassie likes to lie at the door during the brief time it comes in, this time of year. She's either contemplating her next stroke of genius, or thinking about a nap!

"Captive"

Captive , Version 2 ©Beth Stafford 2011

These are color trials for the latest PiCassieO. I titled it "Captive" because it came from a larger print in which the linear forms resembled a bird or butterfly caught between two vertical strips of color. My pictures loaded out of sequence (whatever can go wrong, usually does!). Version 1 has lots of cool color with my favorite black lines; in the second one I decided to switch over to a much warmer version that is a little more subdued than other recent work. Version 3 is totally changed: I inverted the image, changed the palette, and then used a filter to "paint" it. Looks like summer to me! Got a favorite? Let me know - I welcome your feedback!

Captive, Version 1 ©Beth Stafford 2011

Captive, Version 3 © Beth Stafford 2011

Of course, there's always the possibility that one or more of these will show up on Keds and other cool stuff at our Zazzle store, so drop by and have a look! Prints are always available on request if they aren't yet listed in my Etsy store or website- contact me.

"Line Dance"

Line Dance © Beth Stafford 2011

Line Dance is my latest PiCassieO - to me it looked like a pair of dancers floating against a rainbow of colors. I like it so much that I reformatted it to use in my shoe designs on Zazzle .
Below is a sneak preview of my first Keds for kids featuring Line Dance. There are four other styles available for adults: Pro Keds Royal Hi, Pro Keds Royal Lo, Lace Up, and Mini Slip On.

The art was fun to make, and the shoes are fun to wear! Interested? Go to PiCassieO and check 'em out!

Are you creative? Zazzle is a fun place to use your photos or art on lots of things besides shoes. See for yourself:

's Not Bad!

's Not Bad © Beth Stafford 2011

Don't know why, but these web images always seem to be darker that the original jpeg. I couldn't resist playing with words on the title, since if you've read how these images originate, you know what "medium" Cassie uses. Anyway, the more dignified title is Enigma Variation, since the two central marks are something of an enigma (and I like the music with the same name). The colors of the original are brilliant - not nearly as dark as they appear here.

I think I know what happened just before the marks were made on the door. Cassie and I have both been sneezing a lot lately. Last week she had a really explosive fit, right at the door, and somehow managed to leave a perfect print of her nostrils on it, with a little embellishment...I got a good laugh when I saw it. The background of mats and shadows was perfect for those two dramatic marks. So now you know.

Cabin Fever!

Cabin Fever © Beth Stafford 2011

The title pretty well describes the mood around here - lots of gray, damp weather, and mud everywhere, which limits where Cassie and I can walk (when weather permits). Yesterday I tried to soak up the few hours of sunshine we had, to store it for the week ahead. Feels like the supply is already running out...but at least there is plenty of COLOR in my art to brighten the day! Cabin Fever is the result of Cassie's markings on the storm door during January. I drew over them with the stylus and then used several filters before applying a custom gradient for the color. I've used the gradient before, but the results were a total surprise - I really love the purple and orange and black combo. No subtlety here, for sure!

"Pink Lady"

Pink Lady ©Beth Stafford 2011

To me the diaphanous pink form in this one resembles a woman (sort of an ink-blot form to be sure) - hence the title Pink Lady. This is another second-generation PiCassieO, seen and photographed through my favorite toy (my glass brick). I thought it looked familiar, and finally realized that it was the original file for my Floral Fantasia shoe in my Zazzle store. The colors are soft and subtle and the overall effect is one of tranquility. Print Number One is available - I will post it on Etsy soon, or you can contact me here.


Cassie hasn't come out of retirement yet - the cold weather isn't helping her creaky joints, so the storm door is the only place she can still work. We were iced in for almost a week - not much activity on the road or in the yard for her to comment on, since most animals (and vehicles) don't enjoy ice-skating. Our cats tried it and decided to hang out on the porch until it melted! I think the last time I photographed her marks on the door it was a collaborative effort - the cats had been pawing on the outside with their wet little feet, wanting to come in! That would definitely revive Cassie's enthusiasm, which is why they're staying outside. :)

Keds by PiCassieO!

Just wanted to give you a peek at our super-colorful Keds shoes that are in our new store PiCassieO! These tiny pics don't do 'em justice, so click on over - there are lots more, including some outrageous hi tops! Treat your feet to some artsy fun!

Happy Holidays from Cassie and Beth!

Drifting

Drifting © Beth Stafford 2010

Drifting is yet another composition from the work with the glass brick and Jacob's Weaving. I have had so much fun with the colors and shapes in this one! For LOST fans, the print I started with was called Lost: Jacob's Weaving, because one of Cassie's scribbles looked like an Egyptian hieroglyph similar to those on the tapestry Jacob was working on when MIB disposed of him. Of course it's unrecognizable after being distorted by the wavy glass brick, but it led to a totally different world of work (seems appropriate, after all!)

Another new world for PiCassieO : Custom-made shoes - art for the feet with PiCassieO all over! See them at PiCassieO! These Keds Slip Ons and Lace Ups will stand out in any crowd - outrageously colorful, true to our art. Each pair is custom-made and takes 3-4 weeks. FYI: good idea to try on the style at your favorite shoe store which carries the brand to make sure of your size!

Back in the Doldrums (Not a Bad Place to Be!)

I thought I was working over a new photo of Cassie's marks over the milk can (shows how short my memory is!). When I finished the draw-over and posterization (next photo), it still didn't hit me.

Then I started applying filters and gradients, and it finally did register - this is a continuation of "Midsummer Doldrums": slightly different stroke interpretations and wildly different colors! When I get them proofed and printed the numbers will be in progressive order. This was so much fun, tweaking and changing from one to another! Color is my favorite intoxicant; if they print true, these will have a "wow" factor for sure!

Got a favorite? Let me know - I'd really welcome feedback. Want to subscribe to new blog posts? There's a button in the upper right for that.

After weeks of relative inactivity, due to illness, injury, and the extreme heat, Cassie had a roaring good time at the window today - two deer were moseying across the road to the woods! In spite of the heat, she took off running when we left the porch, all the way down the property to the road. Probably neither of us will be walking well by tonight! It was great to see her enthused again, anyway. And now I have new art to photograph!

Remember to visit our store - a lot of these prints and some gorgeous pendants are for sale there! Our art looks equally great on the wall or on your neck!

Midsummer Doldrums

Don't know how it is where you are, but here on the homestead it has been a really miserable summer. The wildlife is hiding from the heat, grass is growing like gangbusters, and the humidity is horrible. Cassie is not a hot-weather dog, so her favorite activity is sleeping, which means the art production is lagging. Nevertheless, she has short bursts of inspiration and I managed to capture some of her recent storm door activity.

This one was tentatively titled Milk Can With Black Strokes (really catchy); in keeping with my post title, I think I like Summer Doldrums #1 better.

Of course, if there was a #1, there is a #2: I applied a different gradient and filter to the original stylus-enhanced photo and this was the result:

And then there's #3: same gradient, different filter.

Looks more like I should title the series Color Riot in the Doldrums!. The next job is getting them to print true, and then they'll be for sale in our store. I had another really nice color variation of #1, but somehow managed to delete it - that never happened with "real" paint. No medium is perfect, I guess - but cyber-color just blows me away!

Got any comments or questions about the work? I'd be glad to hear from you! You can subscribe to our blog in the upper right if you want to be notified of new posts.

Really Getting Into My Art!

Singer and Door is one of my favorite PiCassieOs - I have pulled out many tiny abstracts from the original to use in our pendants (at our store). Sometimes when I start the abstraction process, it just keeps going because new compositions are constantly appearing - it's very exciting! One pendant square came from the upper right corner; the bright orange spot reminded me of a sun in a far-out alien landscape. I had intended to do one of those Painting-A-Day projects with some 5" x 7" panels and thought it would be fun to paint some of my "jewels" in a larger format. That project has become more like A-Painting-Once-In-A-While, but at least there are now two PiCassieO paintings! No. 1 is below.

When it was finished, I did some random photos up close (similar to what happens on the computer with cropping) and found PiCassieO Painting No. 2 (below).

During the painting process, I also started playing with design possibilities from the pendant square, and that resulted in Orange Spots and Green Xs (below) which I hope to eventually have printed on fabric at Spoonflower, where there are two other PiCassieO designs already!

Next time you hear "abstract art", just remember that it all starts somewhere! Have you found my source yet? Look again!

PS. A bit of irony - Spoonflower is located in Mebane, NC - which is where Cassie and I found each other!

Matisse Landscape a la PiCassieO

This "landscape" is an abstract from a larger print that reminded me so much of Matisse, with the bright colors and simple shapes of his collages. I am having a lot of fun with it - the large work didn't turn out to be one I'd print, but there are some beautiful colors and shapes to zero in on for abstracts. When I added the watercolor filter, the colors were amazing. There were also a bunch of pendant squares hiding here and there - hope to have them in our store before long!

Cassie has been having trouble with her hips lately, which is hindering her work at the window, but she's still keeping the door full of marks. A neighbor kid committed two acts which incite total insanity in my dog - he rang the doorbell, and had TWO dogs with him on the porch! I thought Cassie was going to go straight through the glass. There should be an interesting title to go with the results - need to work on that.

One More Time!

"Storm Door April #1" is so bright and colorful - it's one of my favorites. Imagine my dismay when I printed it perfectly and then wrote the WRONG title at the bottom! One thing about that velvety matte paper I love - it is totally unforgiving, especially where pencil marks are concerned. Attempts at erasing only make it smudge worse. Rather than throw away a beautiful print, I decided to offer it as the first Dirt Cheap Deal in our Etsy store. Most of the titles are labels of where and when I did the original photos - as I previously said, I need to work on those titles- and aren't terribly important. I'm offering it for $15 plus $5 S & H - a great deal, especially since it's really one of a kind ( I sincerely hope I don't do that again!).

Comments are welcomed. If you like, you can easily subscribe to our posts by clicking the "Update" button in the upper right. I promise not to flood your inbox!

PS. This post title refers to the fact that the print was posted last year, which I tried to explain in the first paragraph as an afterthought, but was stymied by a pesky period that would not disappear! I could backspace right up to it but it wouldn't be deleted. That's the kind of week it's been - my Face Book page became invisible, and my email was stopped for three days , which in turn created havoc elsewhere. Another week like this and I'm blasting OUT of cyberspace!

March Madness

One of these days I really need to go to a site that generates titles for abstract art - obviously I'm running out of good ideas! This work continues the previous exploration of isolating lines and using pure colors in the background. I also signed it, which is something new. The main reason I added a signature was compositional - it needed the element (IMO) for balance. "Bold and simple" was what I was going for here. Comments welcomed as to whether I made it happen.

Couldn't resist playing a little more with this one - I decided to crop the first one, add more yellow, and see if it still needed that signature. Yep. Vote for your favorite!

I welcome comments (the good, the bad, but please not ugly!) and questions, as long as they relate to content (have been getting some really strange stuff occasionally). You can subscribe to this blog by clicking the button at top right.

And if you're in a shopping mood, check out our store - currently we have 10 prints and some really gorgeous pendants that are tiny abstracts from the art. Don't miss our first "Dirt Cheap Deal" - I goofed when I signed one of the prints and put the wrong title on it. Can't erase on that paper - it's a beautiful print, too good to waste!

Spring, Where Art Thou?

This is definitely the coldest, longest February in my lifetime. Guess that's why this quirky little drawing with a warm weather feel appeals to me so much. I used the stylus to outline Cassie's marks and the background on the original photo, then lifted them out with the "Magic Wand" and copied only the marks to a new file. A gradient was then applied to get some color into it. I added a little more here and there, but left it sketchy(very difficult for someone like me, who likes to fill every space and finish every edge). You can see evidence of my neurosis at my other blog.

Cassie is still working on the windows, but things are getting really smudgy - the sun's angle is just now hitting the marks which I haven't yet photographed. Hate to lose all that art!

Next week I'll be displaying our PiCassieO art at the ArtWalk in downtown Concord, NC, on Friday evening from 6 - 9 PM. Anybody local - come on down and walk around (and remember to buy some art!). Maybe the weather will improve by then, but if not, it'll be a fun evening anyway!

There's plenty of PiCassieO at our store, too! We have prints, pendants, and ACEOs, with more art in the works.

We welcome your comments. If you would like to subscribe to this blog, just click the button at the top right. I promise not to stuff your inbox!

December Door

The storm door has taken a real "licking" this month (or maybe "nosing" is more accurate), and the sun is finally angling enough for me to photograph Cassie's energetic efforts. December Door has a very different palette than our previous prints - much more subdued, and softer. It's probably the total absence of black, which may be added later. It almost looks like Cassie has been studying Chinese in her spare time! Any translators out there?

Working Really Small!

Am having tech trouble as usual - but here are two of
the tiny abstracts from larger PiCassieOs that I'm turning into pendants. I've always thought of the works as "little jewels", but now they really are! These small pendants are $15 and may be bought at our store.

Got to get back to work on some more - these have been really popular with friends and neighbors! I work, Cassie sleeps - what a life. Would like to trade places once in a while.

"Storm Door September", & Other Dogs Making Art

Summer has been a slack time for us, artistically. The weather has been so strange that I think it's affecting the wildlife, and they're evidently hanging out somewhere else. Either that or the predator population (coyotes and hawks) is increasing and scaring the bunnies and deer off! Whatever it is, Cassie's main thrill these days is barking at my brother-in-law's old hound "Miss Red" when she moseys into the yard, so we don't have a lot of fresh "nose art" to work with. It has given me time to look back at former efforts (we've come a long way from Creature From the Green Lagoon, for sure!) and play with some of them. This one is a new color version of the first Storm Door. Never being one to write down steps, I'm not sure what filters were used in the first one, so I haven't figured out yet why the image is so obviously "pixelated" - got to work on that. The temptation to translate some of these images into paintings is growing, especially when the colors are so appealing. Then pixels will be no problem at all!

Now, about other dogs making art: I just read an article about a dog in Texas "making art" to sell for the humane society. It really disturbed me, because the dog wasn't a willing participant. His paws were dipped in paint and more or less used as "brushes" while he tried to get away, and his tail was also painted so he'd wag it against the canvas. That's certainly not the way we do things around here! There is no forcing or coaching or anything else, other than Cassie's uninhibited reaction to life, that starts every "PiCassieO". We wouldn't have it any other way!

Too many people think of "abstract" art as just a bunch of paint thrown randomly at a canvas and labeled "art". It can be done that way (by animals or humans) but it's not necessarily good art! Composition and color sense are prerequisites for any kind of art in order for it to work. There - enough pontificating for one day!

West Window September

Cassie made a really wild swoosh on the left window facing west - not her usual spot for viewing, since she prefers sitting on the other end of the couch top. I haven't been able to do much with it until now - just decided to go with dense black strokes and experiment with a new gradient background. Maybe still needs work, but I LIKE the black. It goes back to my student days, when using black paint straight from the tube was frowned upon (my instructors were still hung in NeoImpressionism). Well, I love its absoluteness and strength, and have used it in everything I've done since then - my rebellious streak showing through. I can see some interesting pendant material in this one, too! Be watching at Close Encounters - I'm working on new ones now.