Loads of Fun

Art From The Heart Opening Reception

Hello Beautiful Art Friends,

Had so much fun at the opening reception of Art From The Heart. It was good to see good friends and to make new friends. People seemed to enjoy themselves and the artwork. I love hearing feedback from people on my art and asking them which piece was their favorite and why. See video of event here: http://gladsart.com/videos.php.

I noticed that for my abstract featured artist reception last year, it was a younger crowd between 22 and 32 and for my realistic artwork, it was people more my age or older.  While both receptions were fun and I sold artwork in both, I found it fascinating to see such difference in the group. Even in the amount of wine and food consumed and how they connected to my work.

I'm currently in L.A. but can't wait to go back home and finish my current painting of Torrey Pines and begin one based on La Jolla for an upcoming show by the La Jolla Library. Excited to participate in that show so I have to do some photo shooting of La Jolla because I want my painting to be creative.

I hope your Valentine's day was lovely.

Until next time...

With Love,
Glad


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Back to the Basics

Blender, 16"x20" oil on canvas

Hello Friends,

September came by so fast, and so close to the end of the year.

I have been having fun working on my own paintings.  Due to scheduling of my photography gig, I had to drop the oil painting 2 class, but no worries, I continue to paint the creative ideas I had wanted to do for a long time..

Above is a sample of "Blender", first in a series which I intend to do, called "Reflections".

It has been fun to do something different :)

I haven't participated in any art shows lately. It's my intention to work on new works of art and build a new portfolio for my fans.  Perhaps next summer I can do my own show with all the new paintings that have not sold in the meantime.

I've been having a great summer, a bit too hot lately, but nevertheless, we have been having awesome skies with beautiful fluffy clouds, and the clouds that spread all across the sky like cotton balls, reflecting the sunlight. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets!

Enjoy September.

Love,
Glad

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Our Beloved Cat Chance

Our Cat Chance

Dear Friends,

Chance, our cat, passed away today, April 6, 2013. She was with us for a bit over 10 years as well. She walked into our home one thanksgiving morning in 2003, while we were cooking bacon and we had to open the door to let the smoke out. We gave her some bacon and she never left. Even when we took her outside that night, the following day she was still there by our door.

We posted flyers and no one claimed her. We took her to the vet and we found out she had Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and the vet said she should be kept indoors. She was about seven years old per vet. She was not like other cats I had in the past. She was her own self and if you petted her for more then a few strokes she would bite you, or sometimes you would just be passing by and she would scratch you. People who visited knew this and tended to stay away from her. 

A year after she lived with us, we found out that she belonged to our neighbors next door that had recently moved back then into our neighborhood. The owner came over one day and recognized her, but she didn't want her back as she confessed she never really liked her. She was shocked that Chance was living under the same roof with a dog (Buddy). Yeah, Chance gave our dogs a hard time too. They too stayed away from her.

Two years ago my son also went away to college (my daughter had left in Fall of 2009). Chance and I developed a different relationship. Chance seemed to wait to demand petting from me when I was the most tired or when I was concentrating on a painting. If I ignored her, as sometimes I did, she would do her business in the area I painted. At first I thought it was strange, since cats usually go to their litter box and don't have accidents like that, but I read that cats behave like that when they are angry at you. Well, she made me angry too by her actions, but with time, I learned to pet her even when I didn't feel like it. 

One time while my daughter was visiting from college I told her that Chance was sent by God to remind me how to love. After all, it was so easy to love Buddy, he loved you unconditionally, behaved well, and always happy and content with you. But it was much harder to love someone who would bite you, scratch you and pooped on your art supplies for no reason. Someone who demanded love at the most inconvenient times. But it happened. Over the last two years we developed a bond. I could now pet her for a long time, carry her (as Chance hated her tummy touched), trim her hair and even give her a bath without a scratch! And while it had become a habit to complaint about her grouchyness, deep inside I somehow saw myself in her, and loved her.

It all happened rather quickly. Thursday night she awoke me at 3 am. She was in the living room rolling from side to side trying to get up. I picked her up and it quickly became clear that she was paralyzed from her left side. I placed her on the couch and I thought she was seeing something I couldn't see by the way she was moving her eyes, but I soon realized that she was not able to see. I had to help her when she needed to use the litter box and hand fed her. I wanted to make her feel better by giving her her favorite food (tuna fish) but it was apparent that her sense of smell was gone too. Although she started to walk again slowly within a day of her stroke, her heart started to give out, pumping really fast and making it hard for her to breath. The vet said it was due to the FIV decease she had, which tends to cause clots, and things would only get worse. 

I was with her till the end. She didn't do any of the things the vet said cats tend to do when they go. She was at peace, even her heart slowed down a bit when she heard my daughter 's voice on the phone, talking to her. 

The vet said I was her angel because cats don't live as long as Chance did with FIV and with the quality of life she had up to the last two days of her life. The vet didn't know that Chance was my best teacher yet. Wherever Chance is now, she is only taking a break from teaching humans how to love. I'm sure we will meet again.

With Love,

Glad

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Why Do I Bother to Create

Bottle, 12"x12" oil on canvas

Dear Friends,


A friend who is very analytical and not creative at all, once asked me what was the use of creating so much artwork, as I have been creating. I had to respond with my reasons for creating art.

I create because it feeds my soul...I am following my soul's desire and it's not something I can stop doing without feeling I'm starving my soul, and possibly depression of not being able to express myself (I have experienced a dark night of the soul after I took a period of two years of not creating)..., quite simply, it is my destiny.

An artist never paints for just money, that would be in insult to the creator that gave us this gift, and the artist that only creates for money even if their skills are perfect, the artwork lacks feeling and energy. I am not saying you should not commercialize your artwork, yes, we must sell our artwork as we artist also have bills to pay, food to buy and a mortgage to pay...but I am saying if it's just something you do for money, as any other career that you can do just for money, then you are missing out on living your call.  When you do what you love, it doesn't feel like work at all.

To an artist, painting or creating is as essential as food if not more. We are willing to sacrifice everything for our art, including financial gains, relationships (as our art takes most of our time), anything that will get in the way of us creating.  We are a strange breed, but I know of no other activity that makes me feel so grateful and thankful to be alive than when I am painting.  I enter the BLISS zone when I paint and am just so lucky to be able to do so on a regular basis.

With Love,
Gladys

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Art Galleries

Lady in Red, 16"x20" oil on canvas


Dear Friends,

First week of the new year I picked up my painting "Lady in Red" from the art gallery.  I was thrilled to hear great feedback from the art gallery staff.  This was the annual Summation 2012 event where poets write poems about the artwork they like.  I hear my artwork made it into the publication again this year...sweet :)

I spent sometime visiting my friend, Darren McPhearson's art gallery. His work and the work of other artists are in display here.  Some beautiful pieces here.

I asked every gallery I visit, if they are open to answering, about art sales. They all tell me that the economy changed and so did their sales. Not as many as there were in the past. Makes me wonder if art galleries in other large cities are having the same experience.  Don't know...have you seen any red dots on the art galleries you have visited recently? Usually art galleries put a red dot by artwork that has sold.

Good thing we artist make art because of our passion and love for it, it's like eating, something we need to do regardless of how much the food cost.  On the other side, it would be great to sell more art :)

I completed two new pieces, Red Barn and Christmas Tree.  Looking forward to exhibiting them in a gallery because in the end, art galleries help you share your love of art with the world around you.

May this new year bring you health, contentment, peace and love.

With Love,
Glad

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School is Over for Now

Dark Night, 40"x60" Mix Media on Canvas

Dear Friends,

School is over now. I loved taking art classes and feel grateful to have been able to meet art professors, art students, and other people in the field of art.  I got to create amazing art projects and will miss the art assignments. My first drawing 2 project done in pencil, Yosemite, was on exhibit at the Escondido Municipal Art Gallery last month.

I did my very first oil abstract painting this month. It's huge, the biggest size I've used this far.  It's 48" x 60". I was not sure how the piece would look like when I started. I started using colors I liked, trying to implement some of the color theory concepts I learned but in the end I was not happy with it, so covered it all up and painted as I did before, from my own intuition, regardless if it conformed to any color theory concept or not, and I was happy with the result.  This artwork is now available for sale at my website. 

I attended Tom Tiedeman's annual BBQ last month. I took a few watercolor lessons from him years back but really couldn't get into that medium...what can I say...I'm in love with oils.  It was nice to see him again, his lovely wife, Marty, and gather among other creative minds.  I see artist like him with great success and smile, knowing that I will someday be there as an artist.

Art is so revealing. As an artist I pour all of me into my work and display it for all others to see and critique it. I am learning much about me as I paint. I say this because I also finished my acrylic "Dark Night" painting last month. I didn't realized how much anger I had during that time, but happy to see it express itself though art.  I put that painting next to my "Bliss" painting and realized that in life, it's all one....the sad and happy, the up and down, just one side of the same, like a nickle that has heads and tails.  Why do we insist on having a one sided nickle? I am learning to embrace both sides equally and with thanksgiving.

I hope all is well with you.

Love,
Glad

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Back to School

Black and White, 16"x20" on canvas panel

Hi Friends,

This year I went back to school. Being a self-taught artist, I always wanted to have all those wonderful art classes I didn't take in college, so this year I went back. I am loving every single art class I have.

I must admit that learning the fundamentals is hard work. I've never worked so hard on doing black and white oil paintings as I am right now with Painting 1.  But it's so much fun too.  

I love my Color and Theory class as well.  It amazes me that nothing has color, that an object is simply absorbing from the spectrum a particular hue, thus the lighting can change the color of an object.  

I've also been working on graphite drawings for my Drawing 2 class. I forgot how rewarding it is to create just using a pencil!

This month my artwork "Chance" will be on exhibit at the Escondido Municipal Art Gallery.  I hope to meet some of you during the Artist Reception.

Love,
Glad

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