A boring title...

But my show, "Recent Paintings: Jolie Guillebeau" is up on the second floor hallway in the St. Nicholas building at Gage Academy in Seattle. For those of you too far away to see it in person, I'll post pictures sometime this week.

I've been in Alabama this week for my sister's wedding, but I'm finally back in my studio today. It's nice to have a paintbrush in my hand again. The wedding was amazing--it was fun and silly and meaningful and a great celebration of Tera and Wes and their new life together. They really made the wedding their own. It was clear that they are in love and really committed to building a life of fun together.

But I must say, the best part of the trip to Alabama was on Thursday night, when Chris arrived. He flew from India, by way of Tokyo, Los Angeles, Chicago and Nashville. I was so happy to see him!

Darkest before the dawn?

Ok, so last Wednesday's post was a bit bleak.

Since then, however, the curator here at Gage contacted me and we hung my first show this morning. AND-- I am looking at a check! That someone paid me!! FOR A PAINTING!!!!!!
That I painted!

It was a bit of a confidence booster.

Welcome to the roller coaster that is my life!

Crisis of Confidence

When I was in first grade, I had the most wonderful teacher. Her name was Lucy Cotton. She was all softness and sweetness just like her name implies. When I was stressed, or worried, she took me in her lap or put her arm around me and reassured me in quiet soothing tones. Even when I'd done something wrong, she still used a soft voice to correct me. She was wonderful.

Then I moved to second grade. My teacher was Pinna Gattis. She was also all that her name implies. She should have retired long before I arrived in her class. I clearly remember her saying to me on the first day of school, "You'll never be able to write well, because you're left-handed." And in second grade, handwriting was everything. All my report cards that year said, "Jolie's handwriting needs work." At some point in the year, I started writing with my right hand, but only when Mrs. Gattis was looking. When she was on the other side of the room, I'd switch back to writing with my left hand. If she caught me, she'd slap my hand with a ruler. Needless to say, I entered third grade with little self-confidence and terrible handwriting.

It took a few years, but I eventually developed neat handwriting. I worked at it so much that when I was in college, my education professor used my handwriting as an example of "what a teacher's blackboard handwriting should look like." It was one of my proudest moments. (So there, Mrs. Gattis!)

I've been trying to remember this lately. For some reason, I can't seem to make a straight line. All my edges on this painting are supposed to be sharp and crisp, but instead they are wobbly and fuzzy. I keep piling on the paint, but just can't get it to come together. There have been a few afternoons this week where I've looked at my painting and thought, "Maybe Mrs. Gattis was right."

I know that part of this feeling is because my main cheerleader is in India right now, but I feel a bit like a second grader today.

I still don't have a camera...

and I've spent a bit too much time goofing off on the computer today, so instead of painting progress, you get my attempt at Cubism .

Look at my baby sister...

Ok, so Chris is gone and I have no one to share my joy with, so I will publish it on my blog! Yay--I solved my own problem without feeling sorry for myself! (sigh-- I feel a bit sorry for myself that I have to share my sister's pictures with the internet. Pathetic, I know.)

Ok, moving on... so these are photos of my sister, Tera and her fiance, Wes. They're getting married in 2 weeks and 3 days and we're really excited! These pics really capture that excitement and also who they are. I've never seen photos that show so clearly the spark of personality that makes me love them so!

http://authenticphotograph.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/tera-wes

Shameless older sister plug: Tera and Wes have really good taste in photographers, because they are such great photographers themselves. You can see their work here:

www.terakaylen.com

Adding details...

Well, I don't have a camera here today, so I can't show you what I've done. My camera is in India with Chris-- I'm looking forward to having both of them back in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, I'll catch up on details in life. Around the 22nd of February I went to bed and when I got up it was March 11. It's taken a week to get myself back to almost normal, though if you've emailed me lately then just be patient-- I'll respond eventually. Last week when I emerged from my house I discovered that it was Spring! Things are blooming and trees are budding--though all that pollen isn't really helping me recover.

I'm now back at the studio on a regular basis and I've even been back to the gym. With Chris gone, I have a lot of alone time (both a good and a bad thing) and it's giving me an opportunity to take inventory. For example, last night I made a list of all the things that are on my knitting needles or things I want to knit. It's extensive. I need to finish Chris's sweater, and his socks, and my socks, and a hat, and a dishcloth, and then I want to start my sweater, and another pair of socks, and a scarf for a friend, and... um, maybe I should stop typing and start knitting.

This is the problem with taking inventory!

The Twilight Zone...

Which one is my reality?

Obviously, I'm having fun with this. Though I am starting to wonder how many times I'm going to paint that sunset. It was originally a sketch based on a photo from the ship. I painted it last summer to commemorate a year of life on land. (You can see the sketch on the wall behind the easel.) Then, I thought it would be the perfect background for this still life painting-- I just added the sand to make it a beach scene. Now, I'm painting a painting of the same painting. Oy.

A stack of small paintings

A stack of paintings that I did while I was sick-- it was too much effort to start a big new project.

Each of these are 5x5 inches square and they are small landscapes from memory. Each is the view from my bedroom window in various houses that I lived in as a kid.

This is the view (as I remember it) from my window at 508 Owens Drive. I lived there from 1984-1985.

This is from 5620 Jackson Trail (1985-1988)


And this is 450 Frank Patterson Road. I switched bedrooms with my sisters, so the view changed, but this is the one I remember most. (1988-1992)


And finally an exaggerated view from my window at 1107 Mulberry Road. (1992-1995)



I decided not to paint any buildings in these paintings, but otherwise this is what it looked like to me. I made a list and I've lived in 17 houses in my 30 years, so this series might take awhile!

A new painting

So this is my studio today...

and this is my painting of my studio. I love beginnings!

I'm not dead...

Though I wasn't sure there for a while. No, I'm finally back in my studio after a nasty battle with the flu, and a sinus infection and an upper respiratory infection. The combination of the three was a bit overwhelming, but I have triumphed!

I have lots of things to update you on--a new painting, Chris's adventuring, and the final days of my thirtieth year (there are only 30 days left to finish my 30 things while 30). However, I'm working under a deadline today, so you must be patient while I catch up on other things in my life.

Sick

I'm not painting this week, because I'm not at the studio, because I can't leave the bed without coughing my lungs out. Therefore, no posts this week.

Any and all sympathy is much appreciated. Also, gifts of ice cream.

Another oops...

Today the only painting I did was on my clothes. Thursdays I go to my studio first and then in the afternoon head to the Frye, so I have to dress up a bit more than normal. Today I had been in the studio for all of 45 seconds when I discovered that somehow I had gotten paint all over my new dressy clothes. All. Over. Like from my ankles to my neck.

It seemed like a bad way to start the day, so after our studio discussion I just went to lunch with a friend.

A lovely day...

The past couple of days I've had a bit of a studio "holiday." Because I was here last Friday and again on Sunday, then I've taken half days yesterday and I'm going to again today. The weather is nice and it's just too pretty to be inside painting.

A view of my studio at the moment:


You'll notice the sunset has moved to the wall-- I want to just look at it for a few days. So I switched gears a bit and decided to paint something more neutral. Janette was giving these away at 20 Things last week, and I thought they were beautiful. My camera has gone fuzzy again, but so far I'm happy with this.

Today's progress.

Meet Cousin It.



Creepy, eh? On Friday, we spent several hours making plaster casts of our hands and face. (We also made an enormous mess.) Here's a particularly unattractive picture of my face. Chris calls it "Dead Jolie".




I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to use them, but I had fun making them nonetheless.

As for painting, more details and fiddling with the sky. I don't feel finished with this painting yet, but I also feel by continuing to paint I'm smothering all the small things that made me so happy with it... a dilemma.

Beauty

What is it? How do you define it? More importantly, how do you capture it with a paint brush?

A couple of weeks ago, Julia, my studio mate, wrote a saying on our studio wall. Just above our coat closet written in charcoal and large letters, it says, "le laid peut être beau, le joli jamais-- Paul Gauguin". Roughly translated, it means "the ugly can be beautiful, but the cute can never be."

This (and listening to Bo Bartlett last week) has me thinking. I don't want to paint cute. I know that. But to be honest, I'm worried I can't paint what matters. And if I can't paint what matters, why paint?

I know I'll figure it out (maybe), but meanwhile I'm a bit flummoxed. Any ideas?

A visit with Bo Bartlett...

Since Thursday is the day I talk about artists, I thought it appropriate that I went to an Art talk today. Gage Academy has Art talks about once a month, but generally I find that it's more productive if I stay in my studio and paint. The few artists that I've heard there have been wacky and a bit pretentious. They also create things using silly string and old toasters-- not my kind of thing. If it's your kind of thing, I'm not judging you, I just won't go listen to your Art talks.

Anyway, Bo Bartlett was the guest for the Art talk today. He's neither wacky, nor pretentious and his work is beautiful. One of the big walls that I keep hitting with my work is figuring out what I want to say with my Art. It's easy to just paint pretty pictures, but is that real life? I've seen too much to know that I have more to say than just, "oh, here's a pretty bunch of fruit." Yet, I don't really know how to communicate the big ideas in my head. I can barely use words effectively, much less tubes of paint.

So not only is Bo's work wonderful, he really conveys the big ideas effectively. I took a workshop he taught last spring and learned more in that two days than I had in two quarters at Gage. It was called "Finding Your Voice as a Painter" and it was definitely a defining moment in my art making process. Listening to Bo again today challenged me and reminded me of the things about this process that matter. That what I have to say is worth the effort it takes to figure out how to say it.

Go look at Bo's work and be inspired.

Oops.

My palette-- a mess today, but that's not the "oops".



I forgot to post pictures yesterday as promised. It's a busy week here in the studio, so please forgive my forgetfulness. Here are pictures of yesterday's work and today's as well. I think I'll be done this week.

Yesterday I continued fiddling with the wine bottle and glass. I know, they don't look much different, but I feel better about them.





and today I gave the sunglasses my full attention and I turned the water blue.

See? They're much smaller now.


Tomorrow-- a bit of work on the sky and a first coat of varnish!

Weekend recap...

My weekend consisted mostly of working on Saturday, then off to church and hanging out with friends. Sleeping late on Sunday morning, finally rescuing Princess Peach in Super Mario Galaxy and then going to the gym with Chris.

After that, we walked over and had a late lunch and went home. I made a cake (it wasn't terrible, but could've been better) and gathered my stuff together for "20 things" at Hysteria. What's "20 things"? It's our own version of recycling. Once per quarter, we each bring 20 things that we no longer need or want to our Sunday night group and we swap. Maybe I have a coat that I never wear anymore or a toaster that take up too much space. I bring it along and find that Meghan or Kelli or Jennifer really needed a toaster or a hot pink rain coat. And I discover that Kelli's black turtleneck sweater looks better on me than it did on her. It's a way to reuse old things or get new things without spending money. For example, last night I got: a pair of khaki pants (new with tags), a black turtleneck sweater, a reading light, a bathroom scale and some really pretty things for still life paintings. (You'll see some of them in paintings soon.) Finally, anything that doesn't get claimed goes to Goodwill at the end of the night.


And speaking of paintings, today I straightened edges and cleaned up a few wonky places. I'll post a picture tomorrow--just to keep you in suspense! (It really didn't change that much.)

Off to the museum.

Just a quick update before I leave the studio for the week.

It's a good day. Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, I had a really wonderful piroshki for lunch and I made much progress on my painting.

Look, a glass!

And here's the whole painting-- I think it's coming together.

So today in the studio we talked about books rather than Art History and therefore, I'm going to do the same thing. First, another influential artist--Thomas Buechner. His book, How I Paint, is out of print now, but I still use it constantly. He approaches landscape, still life and portraits with common sense and without pretention. It's one of those books that I learn from every time I open it. Honestly, I know very little about him as a person. But his work really speaks to me. If you can get a copy of his book, it's well worth the read.

More details.

Today was all about details. I worked on the shells on the left side of the painting

and on the sunglasses in the center

and on small things all over that attracted my attention-- like a rough spot in the glass of the wine bottle. I also painted the sides of the canvas, so that it could be displayed without a frame, if necessary.

Here's the progress:



Now I have to get back to work-- I just received the dates for my first show. It's just a small show here in the hallway at Gage, but I have to have everything ready in two weeks! I'll let you know how things go and post the dates here once they are finalized.

And for those of you who are curious, here's my view of the things I'm painting-- obviously the view from the window is a bit different.


That line of lights in the background is the traffic on I-5 this afternoon, and it makes me glad I'm riding the bus home!