Completed Wonder Woman Painting to Donate

I finished my Wonder Woman painting!  It is titled "Strength and Beauty" and is an 8"x10" acrylic painting on canvas panel.  There's an in progress shot of her a few posts down.  This is my first Super Hero, but I knew I had to make the attempt when I saw what the cause was.  All proceeds from the show will go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Association to fund treatment and research.

The show information is:
TRUE HEROES - ART BENEFIT SHOW
Public Event · By Jim Lujan, Annie Ortega and Leann Lujan

Saturday, September 8, 2012
5:00pm until 10:00pm
EVE Gallery 280 W. Second St., CA 91766 (909) 638-1058
September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness month...these kids are the TRUE HEROES!

To see the events page, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/475576692452562/

I'm joining in this week with Paint Party Friday.  To see more participants, please visit:
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Adorable Napping Hedgehog...

I meant to post some print auctions today, but time flew away from me. Now I'm considering a new possible project, so auctions will wait... I saw this cutey on a friend's page though and thought I would share:

Wordless Wednesday: Shinto Lantern

I love to visit the Japanese section of Descanso Gardens.  I have on more than one occasion photographed stone shinto lanterns, but it was only today that I learned what they are called...

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit: 

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/ 

http://blog.aquariann.com/

http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Lessons of the Cherry Blossom: Japanese Woodblock Prints I at the Norton Simon

I went to the Norton Simon Art Museum in Pasadena, CA a while ago and they had an exhibit of some Japanese woodblock ukiyo-e prints.  It's a small exhibit, but very good.  It will run until September 3rd.  It is in celebration of the 100th anniversary gift of 3,000 cherry trees by Tokyo, Japan to Washington, D.C..  The cherry blossom (sakura) has been an important symbol in Japan, it blooms for a week, a brief and transitory beauty.

This is one of the walls of the exhibit.  I will try to post different walls on different weeks.  This wall is dedicated to the seasons.  Artists would show the seasons by showing trees, herbs, and flowers that would be prevalent at different times of years.  For example, cherry blossoms were a symbol for spring and red maple leaves were a predicator of autumn.

Utagawa Hiroshige I "Koganei, Musashi Province" from the Thirty-six Views of Fuji series

In "Koganei" while the cherry blossom is not the main subject, it is a strong component of the composition.  The summit of Mount Fuji is framed through a blooming ancient cherry tree.

Utagawa Hiroshige I "Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine" from the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series 

The "Kameido Tenjin Shrine" piece shows wisteria blooming near a drum bridge at the Tenjin Shrine.  Wisteria blooms at the start of summer in Japan.  The bridge shape and colors had an allure for a number of European Impressionist artists amongst whom was Claude Monet who had a similar bridge built at his home in Giverny.

Utagawa Hiroshige I "Yuhigaoka Hill at Meguro, Edo" from the Thirty-six Views of Fuji series

In "Yuhigaoka Hill" the autumnal maple leaves are in full view, a mix of red and brown leaves indicate late autumn as they fall into the stream.  In Japan, viewing maple leaves in the fall is akin to viewing cherry blossoms in the spring. 

Kawase Hasui "Zōjō Temple, Shiba"

"Zōjō Temple" has a tree laden with snow as a symbol of winter.  It was not considered creative enough by the artist's peers, but it was quite a success with the public.  I think it is quite beautiful.

This concludes the wall dedicated to the seasons in the exhibit.  Sorry about my reflections in the photos, they were under glass!

I am linking this post with Inspire Me Monday:

http://www.create-with-joy.com/  

Additionally, I have been working on my painting to donate.  Here is a work in progress view of my Wonder Woman piece:

Early Stages Wonder Woman Painting...

This isn't my usual subject matter, but I'm painting it to donate to a show to benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation for their research to find a cure.  The theme is True Heroes and the subject matter is Super Heroes.  I've never painted a Super Hero before, but I'm giving it a try with Wonder Woman.

Lately I seem to be posting very early progress shots and then jumping to the final piece...  I think that when I'm working on a deadline and get into it, I tend to forget to take additional shots.  If I remember to, I may post another in progress shot on this one.

I know quite a few artists who don't use line art, but for me, line art is essential.  I sometimes deviate somewhat from the path as I go, but I need the foundation of line art, and my early stages progress shots show the bones of the piece.

I did finish the painting I was working on last Friday on time for NFAC, she's on eBay here if you'd like to take a look at my finished piece.

Also, I'm joining in this week with Paint Party Friday.  To see more participants, please visit:
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Abstract Heart and an Assortment of Listings...

My featured print auction for the week is on eBay here.  I think this is the first time I've listed one of my abstract prints on eBay.  I painted and sold the original "Flying Heart" a while back, but when I was looking through my files, it caught my attention.  I haven't been painting many abstracts lately, but I do enjoy them.  This one is an abstract expressionist flying heart and I think it has a feeling of love and hope.

This week I also have up prints of "Apple of My Eye" my Pomona Goddess, "Snowy Bunny" a white winter rabbit, "Drowning" my self portrait, and "More Than One Way to Fly" a fairy and her fox squirrel companion who are temporarily delayed on their hot air balloon flight.  They're all here starting today and ending next Thursday.  I also have an original fairy painting up that will end on Monday here, it's a no reserve auction!

Except for images that I have yet to upload (which is a project that I think I'm avoiding currently), my art is also available on my website at http://www.lisarusso.com, however I like to sometimes offer some images on eBay at a lower promotional rate for the duration of the auctions!

Wordless Wednesday: Incarcerated Kitty

This is my friend's cat RJ, he is trapped!  Okay he's not actually trapped, he loves to nap there.  It's one of his favorite spots...

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit: 

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/ 

http://blog.aquariann.com/

http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Remedios Varo from In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists at LACMA & My Nibblefest

 Remedios Varo, Recuerdo de la Walkyria (Memory of the Valkyrie)

I went to the LACMA show In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States.  Today I am sharing some images of art that moved me by Remedios Varo.  This is part one of two posts I will make with images by this artist.

 Remedios Varo, Papilla estelar (Celestial Pablum)

Remedios was born in Spain, but fled to Paris during the Spanish Civil War.  She moved to Mexico due to the Nazi occupation of France.  Mexico is were she spent the remainder of her life.

Remedios Varo, Gato hombre (Cat Man)

She generally worked in oils on masonite panels that she prepared herself.  I hadn't seen the artwork of this surrealist artist before this exhibit, I found myself very drawn to her works.

I am linking this post with Inspire Me Monday
http://www.create-with-joy.com/

I did manage to complete my painting for Nibblefest, she is shown below and is on eBay here.

She is titled "Café au Lait" and is a 5"x7" original acrylic painting on canvas.

Another Early Stages Painting Work in Progress...

This painting is still very much in the early stages...  I am hoping to get her done for Nibblefest on Monday the 20th, but we'll see.  The theme is "coffee."  Although I've seen some truly lovely still life paintings with a focus on coffee, I couldn't really find inspiration in it for myself to paint.  So, I hemmed and I hawed, and hemmed some more...  And thought of a beautiful fairy girl with skin the color of coffee...

And decided to give it a go.  I'm not sure if I'll finish on time or not, but I will make the attempt...

I'm joining in this week with Paint Party Friday.  To see more participants, please visit:
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

A Deep Red Rose In Close and Other Listings...

I'm a bit sentimental about some of my paintings, so much so that some of the originals never come up for sale.  My deep red rose painting "Corazon" is one of those paintings.  This week I have two versions of "Corazon" up for sale as prints, one is the in close view here and the other is the full version here.  The colors are quite different in the two, it is the difference between my scanner and my camera, but I think they both work.

This week is the print debut of "Azure Haired Beauty" a blue gothic fairy, based on my original that I painted for Nibblefest.  Prints additionally listed this week are "Turning" a gray horse amidst some yellow flowers and "Soft Light" an Asian gothic mermaid fairy basking in the light.  They're all here starting today and ending next Tuesday.

Except for images that I have yet to upload (which is getting to be quite a project that I really do mean to undertake soon), my art is also available on my website at http://www.lisarusso.com, however I like to sometimes offer some images on eBay at a lower promotional rate for the duration of the auctions!