Pop Art Self Portrait - Amy

Oil Paint on Canvas. I took a self portrait image with my Mac set on the "pop art" effects and then set out to do a painting using only the 3 colors. Overall, I am happy with the results. I wanted to take a stab  at the oil paints again. Working on a larger surface helps! They are still messy. Got a nice splotch of yellow on my jeans. Why didn't I wear my apron? I'll hold back on my critique - other then to say "Measure three times, cut once." That's all I will say.

Morning Sketch~ Woman

Morning sketch of a model from a magazine. I tried to distort the features and head shape and still make it work, which Dickson tried to teach us and I never quite got. I think it's appropriate to alter models features, because high fashion models often do look distorted. We just don't see that many perfectly shaped features and towering tall thin women, so when we see them it seems like an oddity and for me makes me look even more. I made her very curvy and voluptuous. By distorting this sketch it forces you the viewer to keep looking because our brains tell us something is wrong. Some how I posted by accident a floral bouquet I made for a bride, but thought it went well with this very flowery female, so I left it in for you to view.
Lori Singer

polka dot girl~

Morning sketch book. A mix media illustration portrait of polka dot girl in the rain. The source of inspiration are photos and outfits that my darling daughter has worn throughout her life. While they are in no way intended to be realistic portraits of her and I am just playing with portrait illustration that is made up, the inspiration comes from her and photos taken of her and the crazy sense of fashion she has. She had always had an eye for color, detail and fashion from a very, very early age, it's very cool. Her desire to make outfits is just one thing I had to surrender to having a very independent little girl who has had her own mind almost since birth. I love how children express themselves in their dress, it just makes me smile. I always bought these cute outfits and never knew how they'd manifest as an outfit on her, early on I would fight it and then just realized it was her and really important to her . My dream is to illustrate a few children's books...hmmm? Dream..., but it doesn't hurt to dream!
Lori Singer

Ranuncula Girl~

Playing in my notebook. mixed media sketch
Ranuncula Girl

Summoning Hestia~ Watercolor

Summoning Hestia~ Watercolor card Goddesses

Hestia was the virgin goddess of the hearth (both private and municipal) and the home. As the goddess of the family hearth she also presided over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. Hestia was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods. The cooking of the communal feast of sacrificial meat was naturally a part of her domain.

Getting ready to watch our modern day Hestia do her thing and cook with the freshest ingredients and pour her love into a pot for over 200 this weekend and calling all her muses and goddess friends to help and celebrate. All in the name of public education!

Note book Artichoke study~ Watercolor

Note book artichoke study
Watercolor
Lori Singer

Art~

I leave you with the question, What is Art? This week was so busy and one day when my daughter came home she saw my make shift paper pallets on the table and said you made art today mom. Feeling frustrated and blocked for the last weeks, I had to stop and ask myself once again..."What is Art?" So, I leave you with color and it is art.

Thank you ladies for inviting me, it has been a wonderful experience. I have not felt as productive as I would have thought, but I am very happy that I am at least showing up and thinking about art daily on some level. I now see clearly, that Virgina Wolf was right on, but I need a studio of my own, or at least and art area. It's hard to take yourself serious without have a real space, so this is my biggest lesson I am taking away from this and also the just showing up and playing or working.

I would love to continue with you ladies if you are up for it? I think it would be amazing to see were we would end up in a year!

Thanks again and I look forward to meeting and playing with you all
Lori Singer

Bubbles in a Sea Bowl

Lori, my darling Muse,

I forgot about these "Bubbles". This is my vision of bubbles that have collected in a sea bowl. It is still a work in progress, but I think you can see where it is going.

Who ya callin a weed?

When my son was very little, one of his favorite things to do on our daily walks around the block was to pick mom a bouquet of flowers. His favorites were mine and most gardeners disdain. Any brightly yellow colored weeds would due and just thrilled him to gather them up and take them home and put them in a vase for mom.

When we moved to our current home we inherited a hillside and more beautiful yellow flowers than I could ever imagine. Now every spring both children can hardly wait to gather hundreds of flowers for mom.

This is my first real attempt at oils, that I did last spring and embarrassed to say, that I have hardly picked them up again until "Sophie Bell" which was just recently and that was a very quick day attempt which hardly counts. But here it is a moment in time captured with my then old boy still loving to pick flowers for his mom. The photo does not due the paintings colors justice. I must have a better photo somewhere, but for now here it is. This is oil and a compulaiton of two special moments in my childrens life that I wanted to capture. It really defines who they are as little souls and people.

I really enjoy capturing moments in time with children and hope to do more of such.




May all your weeds be wildflowers. ~Author Unknown

This is another of my underwater dream series. if you look closely, you can see a mermaid smoked in pale lavender. She is floating in the center and looks like she just turned and her hair is still in front of her face flowing outward.

When Sirens Dream

This is a work in progress. If you look closely you can see her in the middle and other smaller sirens swimming around.

Bird of Paradise

This is my inner vision of a Bird of Paradise. I use natural elements to inspire me along with music to make my colors move.

Just Playing~ Acrylic ~ Lori Singer

Still feeling very blocked, so just playing with color. I love lines, dots and swirls, perhaps if I do enough of them I will be motivated to do something great or challenging. I am thinking about art a lot, but having a hard time performing, perhaps I just have too much going on. I know just showing up and working will take me somewhere eventually. Tomorrow will be another day.

Conch

This is a piece I did a while back. I loved the way the colors worked together on it. It reminded me of a conch shell that was alive and playing with bubbles in the water.

Acrylic ~ Lori Singer

This is inspired by a bedroom quilt and sheets I had as a child, we had lots of color in our home...it was the 70's. Feeling a bit creatively stuck, and in need of a new book , muse or teacher. I tend to revert back to what I know and I really want to grow...urrr, frustration. At least this post is sunny and bright, it makes me feel a bit better.

Wild for Textiles~ Acrylic ~ Lori Singer

Just Playing~ Acrylic ~ Lori Singer

Doodler takes it to the canvas ~ Acrylic ~ Lori Singer

Doodler takes it to the canvas. I am a doodler and always have been. I used to spend ours doodling on the side of my school work as a child and believe it saved me in many ways. Maybe my next painting will be dedicated to the flower on the side of my school work that protected my spirit. One of my other loves and obsessions is about wild vibrant colors. I long for the day when I can fully master color and get it to work the way I see it in my head and the world. This canvas is a merging of two things I love and it's a piece of who I am and have always been. It's been fun to see the merging of line and color. When I finally manage to master color, I think this quote will have come true for me and I will finally feel like a painter. For now I fumble along trying to manage dirt and minerals.

"Color has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it. I know that it has hold of me forever... Color and I are one. I am a painter." Paul Klee


Lori Singer

Inspired by jackson - Amy

Felt like painting but did not want to use a brush. I got out a squirt bottle and made a mess. On the second one, I used a straw and blew some of the paint together. There's also some adhered dried paint from the top of some tubes. When I pealed them off, they looked really cool and I kinda felt like they were the cherry on top of the sundae.

Abstract ~ Lori Singer

Lori Singer