New Pendants, Rehab, Etc.

Wow - get a little behind on this, and everything changes! I've been so busy trying to catch up on everything I got behind in while my hand wasn't working, there's been no time for updating here. Since I still am pretty stiff when it comes to handling a brush or stylus, jewelry a la PiCassieO has been the only art coming out of the studio - found a different way of mounting the glass which makes it a lot easier on me. The results look like framed art for the neck! Photo is of the collection so far. I plan to list them at our Etsy store soon.

Cassie has been having a lot of trouble with her hips lately - we even went to a rehab center for an evaluation, which wound up giving her more problems due to their attempts to force her to lie down and roll over. Those ninnies should have known, you don't force an Airedale to do anything! We did get a list of exercises to strengthen her legs, most of which we were already doing. Don't want to go into how much it cost for that experience, but at least Cassie is doing somewhat better after recovering from the visit, with help from another round of prednisone. The only exercise she really likes is her cavaletti (parallel poles on the ground - helps her pick up her feet), mainly because she gets a Cheerio every time she makes it from one end to the other! That's how you motivate this Airedale!

"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.

Out the Window

How's this for a little fall preview? I almost forgot about Out the Window, September - it's way past time to clean up my files. "Cyber-hoarding" is a big problem here; afraid my auxillary hard drive won't really work and I might lose my art, so it's backed up, burned, and STILL on the computer, which slows everything down and makes life difficult. Anyway, back to the art!

Cassie's hips have been a big problem since her illness in July; arthritis seems to be the issue, maybe a leftover from the infection. Jumping up on her favorite perch (back of the couch) at the west window is not something she does much anymore. It makes me sad, since that's where "PiCassieO" started. She has managed to make it up there a few times, though, because there are new marks on the glass. I photographed everything in detail in September, which is where the photo for this print came from. Was reluctant to clean the window, thinking it might be the last time, but she's been up there twice in the last week! So, I'm going to be optimistic and wipe it off for a clean "canvas" and see what happens. The bright colors and flower-like forms of Out the Window are so cheerful - yeah, I'm optimistic!

I welcome your comments about the art! All standard prints are $50 + S & H - you may order them here or at my store or through my web site.

Laughing Lion!

Okay, we're a little silly here today (and those titles are still hard to come by), so I give you Laughing Lion, and its relative Laughing Lion 2. These two were almost forgotten, since I have over 1000 photos on my computer (got an auxillary hard drive but am still reluctant to delete anything). After I cleaned the front door last time, Cassie did some serious marks about something out there. On the clean glass they really stood out against the porch background (including the famous milkcan). I love the bright colors in the first one! Couldn't resist calling it Laughing Lion; the marks remind me of something out of Chinese theater. Beats Milk Can August, anyway.

Of course I had to keep experimenting with it; it's amazing how a new color scheme can totally alter the feel of the work. This one is more subdued and dramatic, even though I can still see that happy "lion". I have a backlog of proofing to do, but sooner or later these prints will be available, either here or at our store (or maybe both).

Comments (in English, please, and relevant to the ART) are welcomed! You can subscribe to this blog in the upper right to get the latest posts (once every week or so - I promise not to flood your inbox).

Orange Spot Rides Again!

Orange Spot, the painting
Acrylic on panel, 7" x 5", by Beth Stafford (aka PiCassieO)

Remember Orange Spot from a while back? Probably not - but it is one of three paintings that came from the print I call Singer & Door. That orange spot area is fascinating to me for some reason; I keep going back for more. I really liked the pendant that resulted from it, too. Then I stumbled on yet another technique for making those mini works of art - Orange Spot is spectacular as a foil-backed pendant with the new handmade glass I'm using!

Orange Spot, the OOAK pendant
(.875" x .875", digital art & handmade glass pendant, by PiCassieO)

FYI: OOAK = One Of A Kind. No two of these foil pendants turn out the same! This pendant will be listed soon on Etsy at our store for $30 plus S & H. There are more there right now if you'd like to browse! As for the painting, it's part of a project that I'm calling 50 / 50 - fifty 5" x 7" paintings for $50 each (plus S & H). Not for sale anywhere but here at the moment - contact me if interested!

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.

Jacob's Weaving (Still "Lost"!)

OK, I admit it - I'm still hung up on "Lost", and probably will be for some time to come. It's the little "dog god" figure on the right that reminded me of the weaving that Jacob was working on when Ben terminated him. Didn't even notice it when I was working on the print, but when I saw it last night it hit me! Funny how things like that get overlooked sometimes. The original title was "Green Post" - descriptive and boring. This may start a new series, with all the titles having a reference to "Lost". That would be totally fun and really easy, too, because of the incredible and super-abundant details in each episode. LOVE this idea!

My art partner Cassie has been injuring and reinjuring herself for the past three weeks, which is somewhat hampering her ability to "work." She thinks she's still four years old sometimes, and then acts more like fifteen when it catches up with her joints. Neither of us is prone to act our age! Play now, pay later...

Just a reminder: our prints are available in our store or by request. We also have some gorgeous pendants and ACEOs!

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.

Looking Backwards, Moving Forward

Most of my art lately has been focused on the PiCassieO Pendants; there is nothing quite as much fun as digging into older work and coming up with these little jewel-like abstracts! The source for the three above is in the archives somewhere; for a real challenge, see if you can find it! Hint: one of the three is taken directly from the original and the other two have been altered. The resulting pendants are turning out beautifully and will be listed shortly at our store.

The sun's vacation from our piece of the world is hampering my development of new art, so I'm glad I have such a wealth of material to fall back on! Cassie is semi-hibernating; when it's so gray and cold out, I feel like following her example and just sleeping until the sun comes back. Can't do that - I have to keep working to buy dog food!

Winter Solstice

Yaay - we're celebrating the winter solstice here today!! These short dark days are not to our liking - even a few more minutes of light are wonderful! In honor of the day, I am offering the print Winter Solstice for the unheard-of price of $15 (plus shipping and handling) - for one day only (Dec. 21) at PiCassieO. Don't miss this chance to own one of our loveliest works - dark and mysterious like winter, with subtle colors and a flash of brilliance when the sun made a brief appearance while I was photographing Cassie's marks 2 years ago today. It's also featured in our video, PiCassieO at Work. Wherever you are, I hope the sun is shining today!

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.

Summer Porch

Found a little time to play (work) and Summer Porch was the result. I think the original photo represented a couple of months work at the storm door by Cassie. The colors in this one are incredible! Even though I use a lot of black (traditionally associated with gloom and doom), this is a joyful, energetic work. The black makes the colored areas even more vibrant. It's very hard to judge how anyone sees these on the web - the only way to get the full impact is to actually see the print (done my way!). That means "do not attempt this at home", if you get my drift. Summer Porch will be listed on Etsy by tonight - have a look at PiCassieO . I will offer it as a full-size print and a slightly different version as an ACEO (Artist Card, Edition, or Original) - art to fit all budgets (even mine)! Come visit!

Walking In the Air

The title Walking In The Air came from a song on a Christmas CD. I liked the way Cassie's marks sort of march across the window in this one, although the colors and feel of it speak more of fall than winter. Right now in NC, it feels more like winter than fall! Wet and nasty for several days now - but Cassie is happy because there was finally a deer in the yard this morning. Now I have some new material to work with at last - we've been having a dry spell artistically (but not weather-wise), due to lack of wildlife. Our quince tree is presently dropping its sour fruit on the ground, so there should be a little more traffic out there soon. How anything can eat that stuff, I don't know. They smell good, but have the effect of green persimmons! Ugh.

Big Announcement: Our Etsy store is up and running! We have a dozen prints for sale, and I'm adding pendants and ACEOs ASAP. In case ACEO doesn't ring a bell, it stands for "Artist Cards, Editions, & Originals". You collect them like trading cards and can house your collection in an album. Really affordable art! Visit PiCassieO often and see what we're offering!