Dress Threats

Every first Friday of the month, all the galleries on Santa Fe art district and RINO open for the public. It's called first Friday art walk and it's craaaaazzzzy. There are masses of people, food trucks, lines and yet, for one big reason, I decided to bring the little goldfish with me this past month. Now, this is not a venue I'd usually take her to because she is a crazy chicken who ramps it up a notch with any form of chaos. But The Colorado Ballet is located in the art district and they were performing 30 minute samples of their upcoming Nutcracker....and... well, I wanted to do a trial run before I bought tickets to the real thing.

We started off by taking the lightrail down to the art district and walking up 5 blocks to the ballet. When we got there, the line was long & we waited for about 45 minutes to get in. She did very good with the wait only climbing on one thing, laying on the ground kicking her feet for only about 5 minutes and running around the lobby just twice.

We finally took our seats successfully passing the snacks and gifts with only a few "pleeeese Mom I reeeeallllly need a snack"...."I'll be reeeallllly good with my snack" and sat down next to another Mother / Daughter pairing.

When the lights went down and the dancers came on....the look on my daughter's face lit up with pure delight and excitement and this moment will forever be burned into my memory.
...and that's where it ends, because after that, she noticed the little girl next to her bouncing back and forth in her theater seat. Up and down, in & out of the seat. You name it, this kid was doing it...flips, spins, jumps, leaps...ok, maybe not leaps, but still...it was chaos, so interest was perked in my little one to show off her own theater chair moves. This musical chairs routine got me mad, it got me frustrated! Thirty minutes!!! Thirty frickin minutes! "You sit down right now, or I'm taking away ALL your dresses!" (it should be noted, that my little one LOVES dresses more than air or candy or a theater chair, so this is how she knows we mean business...it's our go to threat...it usually doesn't work).

This is an abstract created with the feelings from this night with my little one. Tutus, chaos, toe shoes and theater seats.

Delight and Excitement (2016)
[OR Sit down before you lose all your dresses]
Mixed Media: Acrylic, ink, oil pastel and graphite on canvas paper
Not sure if this is the final version, I'm still deciding. 

And because I'm an optimist, addicted to the ballet, I bought 2 tickets to The Nutcracker & I'm planning to bring both my dress threats & some duct tape to insure success.
-Cheree

Break the Ground

The past few days, I, like many others have been completely obsessively engulfed in the election results.
For me, it did not go the way I wanted.

What do I do now? Where do I go now? How do I make sense of it?

I could go underground and deny to accept reality, but I fight forward and live from my heart, advocate for those who can't, create with courage, express with compassion. Turn fear & anger into beauty and action.

Not too long ago, The Denver Art Museum had an exhibit: Women of Abstract Expressionism. This exhibit was one of the best I've ever been able to view. These women were painting abstract in a time when it was somewhat taboo for them to be doing so. They were expressing the world through their art, putting their feelings, their anger, their joy, fear, and the uncertainty in the world on canvas. I went to the exhibit a few times because it was truely inspirinig. I can't even imagine the struggles these women went through for their voice in the art world to be heard. Ground breakers.

The past couple weeks I have been taking one of my weekly art classes, this time a class about Exploring the Language of Abstract. It's taught by a wonderful abstract artist, Karen Roehl. Right now we are doing a master study. I've done these before and I find them incredibly helpful. A master study is when you take a painting you love and you basically copy it exactly. It's sounds easy, but it's not. In fact, it's really quite difficult, especially to capture the feeling of someone else's abstract. The goal is to try to understand how the painting was made and you basically spend the time frequently asking yourself...

What do I do now? Where do I go now?  How do I make sense of it?

Below is my master study of Perle Fine's painting "Summer"

This is mine

This is Perle's     

 

I don't feel you ever really know all the time what to do, where to go, and how to make sense of it. You really just keep painting, dancing, writing, acting, laughing, singing, sculpting the world around you with the fire in your heart and the grace in your soul...all while the ground is breaking.

-Cheree

Write, Rot, Read, Repeat. (and some painting too)

It's been a little while since I wrote a blog. My go to of an excuse is that, "well, I have children and they are busy and want my time." While this is true, the cut-the-crap, reality is that I have been TV bingeing on Transparent, Stranger Things, Mozart in the Jungle, Raiders of the Lost Art and American Pickers...Not to mention I have writer's block (since July) and more so, a major lack of motivation towards writing (also since July, because TV is rotting my brain...kind of...I should mention that I have been counteracting the rot by reading several good books as well, this includes: A Marriage of Opposites, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, Fat Artist, The Miniaturist & one other one I can't remember right now, but it was good). Despite all this bingeing and rot counteracting, I have continued to paint my little still lives and a few other new projects (which I really do plan to blog about, as soon as I finish bingeing on Good Girls & reading In The Not Quite Dark). 

I'm hoping that just by getting back on to the computer tonight and posting some of the little still lives; it will get the rot out of my brain & the writing ideas going again.

So without further ado, I present some more exciting little still (creative) life (savers).

Ready for the Cut (2016)
Oil on Gesso board 6x6
Buy

Peppers (2016)
Oil on Clay board 6x6
Buy

And now, it's time for me to get back to rotting.....

-Cheree

My thought process of PoorTraits

I have a backlog going right now (some paintings done & no blog). It was a quick, busy summer and then school started for my children, so blogging and painting went a little by the wayside. I often will overstretch myself with things I do (except exercise...which I need to get better at including). I have an addiction to volunteering and "signing up" for lots of activities with the thought of "that's way in the future, I have plenty of time to figure out the details of making it all work"....and then I procrastinate, panic, and ultimately get anxiety and then stress out the angry peacock, making him super angry frustrated...(who by the way is an engineer by training & therefore uses logic and planning in his thought process, so you can imagine his frustration with my lack of foresight & planning) I ultimately am a master at creating a perfect storm.

Not too long ago I "signed up" for a portrait class several months before it was set to begin, therefore leaving plenty of time to get ready for this class. Plenty.
My thought process went a little something like this:
1. This class looks awesome, I should sign up. (Overstretching)
2. Crap it's on a Tuesday night & the peacock won't like that (but it's only 4 weeks, that's not too long) Plus, I have 2 months to figure out the details. (Anticipated procrastinating)
3. So I call the peacock and let him know my desire to take this awesome art class (Frustration begins)
4. I mention that it's on a Tuesday night for 3 hours (The perfect storm is now in full formation)
I should mention here that Tuesday nights are sacred work nights where the peacock continues his work until late, in order to get things done and be ahead..It's still the start of the work week!.....I have known this for years! YEARS!
5. I explain to the peacock that I will talk with our troop of nannies & work out the Tuesday nights.
6. Mention that it's only 4 weeks and then it's done and stress the awesomeness again!
7. Then, this one was key...State that I WILL NOT take another Tuesday night class until the children are self sufficient! (Frustration somewhat averted, but there are still some far off storm clouds)
8. Therefore, it was a Yes....reluctantly.

So, I took the 4 week portrait class. The goal of the class was to paint 3-4 portraits, small 6x6 size, one each week...

...And I completed one, yep only one. My goal was to paint 3 total; one of each kid and then the peacock. Once again my lofty goals, poortrait procrastination, & complete lack of logic playing their parts to the fullest. The first week we sketched the first portrait to be done. The second week I missed class, as the peacock got home late with a deadline at work (I should mention here, that he had agreed to take Tuesday nights and watch the kids himself, while I went to class). Third class I played catch up and was technically suppose to finish the portrait by the next class, but instead I ended up only staring at it for a week trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with it and why it looked "creepy". So the fourth week of class I came in and finished my portrait. I guess part of my process is embracing my inner creepy. Interestingly, I was not the only one who was still painting the same first portrait, a class of either procrastinators or perfectionists.

Lilah (2016)

6x6 Oil on canvas board 

 

As I write this, those far off storm clouds seem to be creeping in....I am looking into once again taking this Tuesday night class, because I at least need to get the other child painted.

I'm wondering if the fact that my 8 & 3 year old know where the snacks, water and bathroom are qualifies them as self sufficient.

-Cheree

Stragglers

I have continued to paint the little still lives. I can't help myself. They are bright and cute and bring me much joy, especially in the fact that they can be completed in one paint session (and as my Dad would say, "It's good, I can tell what it is.") These are the last of the fruits that I completed last week....the stragglers.

Straggling is something I know too, too well, it goes along with procrastination. Straggling to arrive, straggling to get up, straggling to get done. It's all straggling and it's not bad.
Straggling is seen by many as a negative personality trait, like procrastination. However, I tend to see it as a more relaxed, slower way of living. When you straggle, you slow down, you see things, you dream things and you are most likely late for everything. Hey, it's the nature of the beast, it's not perfect.

So here are my stragglers. I am starting a couple bigger pieces and changing up the still lives, but I'm sure to still throw in a little fruity joy here and there.

Apricot Carnival (2016)
Oil on Clay board 6x6
Click to Bid

Cannon Ball (2016)
Oil on Clay board 6x6
Click to Bid

Pick of the litter (2016)
Oil on clay board 6x6
Click to Bid

We can fit some more (2016)
Oil on Clay board 6x6
Click to Bid

To all my straggly, procrastinating, kindred souls out there (you know who you are)
Go ahead, take your time, hit snooze one more time, have another cup of tea, Life is fast.
And you can always shower tomorrow.
-Cheree

Still searching for words

It's called writers block, and I'm having a terrible case of it right now. I have been painting several little still life's, some portraits & some other commissioned works, but no words come....None.

Absolutely NONE!

I've sat down to blog for a few weeks and the only product is a blaring white computer screen.

I am starting a new series of paintings that I'm very excited about and I'm hopeful the words will come to accompany these when they are complete.

In the meantime, here are a few little still life's that I have done in the last couple weeks, with more to come. (Pardon the glare with these).

A Pear of Three (2016)

Oil on Gesso 6x6

Click to Buy

Mule need some more (2016)

Oil on Gesso 6x6

Click to Buy

Limes vs. Lemons  (2016)

Oil on Gesso 6x6

Click to Buy

Until next time....
-Cheree

Beeing on Sabbatical

For the past month I've been on a sabbatical with lots of weekend filled baseball tournaments that have dominated our life for the past 2 months and have been quite exhausting. Watching young energetic children run around on a field 10 degrees hotter than Hells volcanos motivates you to take on the world with passion and enthusiasm....until you get home and realize that even dinner is not gonna happen; let alone blogging, painting, bathing, and sometimes even blinking. These are the days that my children eat 3 granola bars before dinner...opportunists they are. 

 

The things we do for those little ones that we love.

 

It's been at these events that has made me take a step back and truly appreciate the joys of a child's world. And how important  it is to always connect with your inner child (mine happens to be my 5 year old self, complete with nonsense songs, crazy stories, and my squirt gun...of course). The joys of a child are simple really. Joys consists of fun, games, fun, activity, fun, creativity, forts, crayons, water, and most important, FUN.

 

To honor this for the summer. I'm going to paint with the intention of childish Fun, run through fountains, play catch & soccer with my son & dolls/girls/dress-up/super heros with my daughter.

The below painting was inspired by a painting my son did last year where he used a bottle cap to create a water color abstract. My son is super type A & the A does not stand for art or abstract! He's mathematically oriented & things are either right or wrong. You win or you lose.  So creating art with a perfect circle and then painting it in...that makes sense to him. So I tried one his way. And I enjoyed those perfect circles mixed in. 

Wild Bumble Bees (2016)
Acrylic on canvas 10x10
 

It made me Bee happy, bee free, & Hive fun! 

-Cheree 

 

 

 

 

 

Time for a hobby

My last few painting sessions I have been working on the below painting out my balcony window and have been fairly obsessed with my squirt gun. Squirting it all over the place, making a big enjoyable mess on the easel, the floor, myself. This is really not unusual for most adults my age....nearing 40. It's a crazy thing getting to 40 how you become more like a child with your "me" time. I've told the peacock that I feel to be having a somewhat practice midlife crisis, a small study you may say, with my squirt gun leading the way.

He seems to ignore these comments going back to focusing his attention on the latest road bike he has bought or is buying. One to match the weather or his mood or the road...(if that means anything) or because "trigger" (the name of one bike) needs a friend. Which coincidentally is how I agreed to have a second child. Anyways.... 

What has become this business of 40? 

Hobbies! 

Hobbies of yesteryear or "always wanted to do it but didn't" dreams to prepare for the looming crisis of the slide down the mountain of life.

Some take up residence in adult soccer leagues or flag football or half marathons or they start a rock band. Obstacle course races and sip & paints and adult gymnastics, voice lessons, repelling down rocks, road biking, starting a blog....painting. Bucket list items. Forgotten dreams. True ambitions.

Whatever it is, embrace it with the passion and grandios delusion of your 5 or 9 or 11 or 17 year old self (any age before 25 when that hindering frontal lobe kicks on and starts to parent your brain). 

Clock Tower 2016
(balcony squirt gun painting plein air)
Acrylic 15x30 museum wrap canvas with 1inch profile
 

Me, my paints, my squirt gun. Reckless, childish, frontal lobectomy abandon. 

Taking care of the canvas & the crisis. 

-Cheree 

Slow to progress

It's been a while since I blogged. I was knocked down with a nasty head cold that really shouldn't have wiped me out like it did.....but, it did. I have been messing with a few "projects" over the past week. 

This is a little progress shot of one I started. It looks very different now, this is my style of underpainting. It's getting close to done.....maybe?.....kind of? 

I'm having my typical problem where I start a few things & dabble in each one a bit, depending on how I feel. I have 2 different series of paintings I want to do & 2 more panels to go with this one. So you can imagine the inconvience of a head cold. 

But...I'll get there...eventually....

Slowly...slowly...slowly. 

-Cheree 

Where's the knife

I really wanted to paint these white onions to work on "more color with in white". I set up a cute little still life that included a knife. When I went to paint the knife (which I saved for last) it was a total disaster. I spent waaaaay too much time trying to paint the knife. I let my brain trick me and I got very impatient. In the end I scrapped it out & set it for a different time to paint. 

Where is the knife?  (2016)
Oil on gesso board 6x6

For now, these onions are safe, but soon, they will be getting the knife.     

-Cheree

April 31st...as promised

As I mentioned, during my 30 in 30, I received this picture of the Wynkoop bridge from my magnificent artist friend, Connie Mobley Medina. (if you remember, I did not get it done) I met Connie through our nanny, Anastasia "Anna", who happens to be Connie's daughter. I do not believe in coincidence and the fact that we found a nanny that not only loved our children, but is a HUGE Colorado Rockies fan and has an artist mom....I know it was meant to be. Anna and Connie came into our life when I was going back to work full time after having the goldfish and I was just starting to paint again. To say I was rusty is not even the word, I was terrible, but I really wanted to paint! I needed to paint. I asked Connie if she could come over to the 900 square feet one day and look over some of my art and give me some feedback....She was very nice, in a honest & encouraging way. I knew I was terrible, but I didn't care because I knew I could only get better. She gave me some great tips and her encouragement meant the world to me during this time.

Anyway, I begged Connie to be a live artist for my son's fundraiser at school. I knew she was amazing and would make something so incredible. We had gone to her show, Portrait of a Woman, last year during the Santa Fe art walk and the peacock and I were blown away.
For the fundraiser, she recreated a version of this:

14th & Wynkoop, 2013, acrylic paint/oil pastels/wood, 40″x 49″
Connie Mobley Johns

She honestly knocked it out of the park and I wish I had a picture of the finished painting (however, I had 3 glasses of wine); But, more so, I wish the peacock wouldn't have put the foot down on my bidding on her painting. Apparently, we had an agreed upon budget, so some other Lucky person got it.

And speaking of Lucky, that brings me to another of my favorite paintings of Connie's (to date) this guy:

Lucky, 2014, oil on canvas, 4 panels, 8″ x 8″ each
Connie Mobley Johns

Please, Please, Please check out Connie  HERE
I cannot say enough, you need to see for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

Lastly, here is my own version of the Wynkoop Bridge, as promised, on April 31st.


Peeking at the City (2016)
Oil on board 8x10


 

Everyday we come across people in our lives, uncoincidentally.
I will forever be grateful to Connie for her encouragement and forever in awe of her art.
-Cheree

30 in 30...day 30!!!!

I did it! I survived & I must say:  wow did I learn a lot with these 30 days. As difficult as it was to paint every day, I do feel that it is very valuable. As I am still trying to figure out my style, I feel that painting everyday (or every other/ or every 2 days) is a sure way to figure out where I want to be.

 

The below is an abstract of these magnificent purple/fuchsia trees that I like to walk by in the Baker neighborhood. I still need to  figure out how to get the fuchsia color I know I'm seeing....but for now...I will continue to paint frequently...even when I figure it out.

 

Purple Trees (2016)
Oil on canvas 12x12

Oh, and I did get the bridge done....just in time for April 31st. 

-Cheree

30 in 30...day 29

This is another painting done via the view from 900 square feet. It's out of our bedroom window that faces north. It was rushed; done at 5:30 this morning, when I was still a little asleep. Ok, I was a lot asleep. I have been back to painting in the early morning (as of this past week), as it is not too dark and cold these days...until today, when winter came back and with this gloomy, rainy, cold day, I really just wanted to sleep in. Honestly, if I wasn't so close to getting my 30 in 30 done, I would've skipped painting today and called it good. While I don't totally hate this painting, I do wish I would've done it on a bigger surface. 5x7 is just not big enough for these and it really makes getting the proportions done right, difficult for me. I will most likely scrape this one off and use it as a future practice board.

 

Untitled : getting scraped & recycled
Oil on gesso board
 

As much as I enjoy painting small....sometimes it's good to go big when you paint home.
-Cheree

 

30 in 30...day 28

Yesterday was such a nice, warm, sunny day. A friend & I took a long walk during lunch to soak up the beautiful day. We chose our route based on where the most flowers & trees were blooming.

The lilacs have just started to really get their bloom on. It's hard to pass by a lilac tree and not stop and smell them. They are the most lovely fragrance in nature. The smell of lilacs makes me happy.



Lilac Spring (2016)
Oil on clay board 8x8
 

We all need to stop & smell the lilacs.

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 27

I tried a couple new things with today's painting & neither of them involved eating a tomatoe. I hate, hate, hate raw tomatoes. 

What I did do was paint from a top down view & I sketched the initial painting out trying to get value accomplished in the drawing first. This was much harder than I thought it would be. 

I see you three (2016)
Oil on board 6x6

But there is nothing harder than eating a raw tomatoe....except maybe eating pickles. 

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 26

I originally bought these purple artichokes to eat but then realized I don't know how to cook artichokes. I'm fairly sure that these pretty purple ladies, swayed me into thinking I could cook anything. However, the fact is, I'm not really good at cooking anything unless I can throw all the ingredients into one pot and leave it to cook all on it's own. I don't enjoy cooking because there are better things for me to do instead, like engaging with all the pretty dolls and Legos who have been waiting all day for me to get home and play.



Artichoke Friends (2016)
Oil on board 6x6

 

Not to mention a few episodes of Big Bang Theory and Hollywood Medium waiting to be watched.

-Cheree



 

 





30 in 30...day 25

I going back to the little still lives for the next few paintings. These are my go tos when I'm working on figuring out color relations & how to have relations....with color, of course. Right now I'm working on greens & whites because for some reason I have difficulty with green shades & especially temperature. Contrariwise, finding color in white is just fun for the brain. You can get really playful with it. 

               A lily & an apple (2016)

                    Oil on board 6x6 

Green & white is basically how I balance work & play. 

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 24

I have 6 days left to complete my 30 paintings in 30 days and well...while I have painted each day...I'm already behind. The most important thing I've learned so far with completing 30 paintings in 30 days is that: This is NOT how I work. It's a good challenge & there have been some great benefits for me. However, what I've found with this journey thus far is that my prior process worked quite well for me. I painted about every 2-3 days (more or less), often completing the painting, but also taking a few sessions to work on one painting. I also took days off to "miss" it, play with my family, read some books, & then get to it again. An important part of painting for me is taking the time that is needed (hours, days, weeks) to just stare at my work without finishing it & just thinking about it, taking in how I feel. Not getting rushed, finishing when the time is right. Some call this process procrastination and it is, but I like to work like this. So that is why the below painting is not done. I had to stop painting on it this morning & make a cup of tea, cook some eggs, pack up the day bag, go to the acupuncturist, return books to the library, see the Samurai exhibit at the art museum, weed the garden plot, drink tea and read some comics at the comic shop, pick up a toy kitchen, have a cup of tea, then I thought about working on it tonight....and then instead, I watched some Big Bang Theory. I will most likely finish this one on April 30th, because I work best under pressure.

(The picture for this painting was given to me by my good friend, Connie. She has painted this amazing site....And when I get this one done I will blog to it & give you the 411 on her & her amazing talents....so hold your horses) 

Untitled : in procrastination process
Oil on Clay board 8x10



             

 

Or I may get it done on April 31st.

-Cheree

30 in 30... Day 23

Same board, same concept, same color scheme, but a bit different. I am getting my ideas to start my bigger clock tower & I'm messing with some things with how I want to make it happen, at least that's what I'm doing now. Who knows when it will actually happen. 

         Clock tower in abstract (2016)

                Oil on clay board 5x7

Don't hold your breath on this one, I always have a "project" going on. 

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 22

I wasn't up too much for making a painting today. I have been feeling under the weather. So I decided to use one of my small boards & practice with making oil paint drip. I used my small clock tower painting as my inspiration & created it with abstract dripping. It's fairly a mess, and may not ever dry, but today was for ideas & getting unstuck. Today was for playing. 

               Untitled (dripping practice)

                       Oil on board 5x7

"All work & no play makes Jack a dull boy."

-Cheree 

30 in 30...the day Prince died

I loved Prince as a young girl. I felt rebellion listening to his music. I loved everything about his music & the way he went about his art. He pushed boundaries & created amazing music. My senior year of high school I choreographed a group dance for our troupe to his song "Thunder" off the Diamonds & Pearls album. I loved the bold of this song & the beginning of it was what inspired the theatrical choreography that made it all come together. I was so proud of that dance and I do believe it performed well at the show. 

I wish I would've done this on 8x10, as the facial features & proportions were very difficult. 

                     Prince 4-21-2016 

               Acrylic on canvas board 7x9

The man is gone, but music lasts forever

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 20

This past week I walked to & from work. I take various routes, for both variety & to be unpredictable; but mostly to avoid ridged behaviors. I don't often walk down the busy streets, but there are so many blooming trees down Speer Blvd, I couldn't help myself. That's where I discovered this beautiful quiet in the middle of the busy. 

             Quiet in the busy (2016)

            Acrylic on clay board 8x8 

Unpredictably unexpected. 

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 19

I seem to be on a city painting spree. This is another painting done out the balcony window. It's not plein air, as I was making pancakes when I saw this fantastic sunrise. So it was done from a photo & memory. There are a few things to fix, but I'm honestly already in bed for the night, vegging. It's been a long day. 

             City view sunrise (2016)                  

       Acrylic on board 6x8 (1/4 profile)

Here's to greeting the sun tomorrow with pancakes. 

-Cheree

30 in 30...day 18

First of all, Happy Birthday to my mom! What can I say about my mom. My mom did so much for me when I was young & hyper. She enrolled me in all kinds of activities to wear me out each day. She limited my sugar & food dye intake. She drove me to and from dance classes, gymnastics, 5am basketball, softball, sleepovers...She was always there to shuffle me around.

Best.mom.ever! Mother of the year!!

On the flip side, My children are still awake eating Rice Krispie treats at 8:30pm & I took a picture of the city, while driving home tonight in the car. 

(Pardon the glare. This picture will be taken again tomorrow in better light). 



South on Speer (2016) small study
Acrylic on Gesso 5x7
 

Clearly, I still require some parental guidance. 

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 17

This one is not done. I painted for a few hours today, a productive day. However....

I need to be away from this painting for a little bit or possibly a while (not sure). It needs a look with fresh, rested eyes. The colors & proportions & upper deck are off & really getting to me.  It requires some rework in a day or 112. It has my brain all tricked. 

   Eiffel Tower carousel (2016) unfinished

           Acrylic on canvas 9x12

Sometimes these paintings don't all get done in a day....or ever. 

-Cheree  

   

 

It's my view and it's perfect

30 in 30....day 16

Everyday, this is my view. 

Year after year we fight off the reality that we will need to move. We have 2 bedrooms; a boy & a girl, 5 years apart. They keep eating...so they keep getting bigger. Filing up our empty spaces. Adding more words to their vocabulary. Kicking eachother out of "their" room (of which they currently share). Bigger Fights & bigger forts. 

But, everyday, this is my view. 

Our 900 square feet does not include a yard. There are balls thrown in my house daily, against walls & windows. Cracked picture frames, broken nude statues, overturned house plants, spilled juice. The midcentury hanging hoop lamp shade is the location for epic basketball games between grandpa & grandson. And hallway soccer (which I'm sure our neighbors just love). 

But, everyday, this is my view. 

My kitchen is only big enough for 1 adult and it still contains the original late 60's/70's stove (because it still works!). When my family of four all tries to use the galley kitchen at the same time, we rival the old days to see how many people fit in a telephone booth. However, for us, our kitchen cramming elicits stress & frustration that involves loud voices, till there is only one person left. Alone. The winner!!!! 

We live amongst the buildings all close together, reaching for the sky, in a close and lively space, full of life & art & joy & sometimes sadness. Full of all things memories.

Tower View (2016)
acrylic on canvas 15x30

                                                                                             

Every. Single. Day....this is my home. 

-Cheree 

And yes, the water soaked computer is still in the shop. 

30 in 30...day 15

So I had to revert back to the oils & my fruit, as I needed to use up the oil paint left over on my palette from last Thursday's class....I also had a bunch of green to use too.

                    Two Oranges (2016)

                       Oil on board 6x6

It's always best to be green.

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 14

The last 3 paintings I've done have been with my acrylics. I have missed my acrylics so much. They are my favorite painting medium. They dry so fast & layer so well. It's such a perfect medium for all those who are too busy to wait & who run out of drying space on the art shelves. 

Today I did an abstract of some pink flowers that were beginning to bloom at the botanic gardens. This painting did not start out abstract, but turned that way when I screwed up the first planned painting & got frustrated & then literally threw paint on the board (I am quite dramatic) & said "FU 30 in 30." Then continued to forge through my designated paint time, with the below result. 

Springing Pink (2016)
Acrylic on board 8x10

               

Throwing paint, swearing, over-dramatics...that how production gets done. 

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 13

Tonight I really didn't want to paint. I just wanted to lay around, eat crackers, & watch The Rockies play (& hopefully beat) the Giants. But, I rallied and ended up having a pretty relaxing time painting with the Rockies game on in the background, which may be why I was painting purple.

Purple Pansies (2016)
Acrylic on canvas board 6x8
 

 

Sometimes you just need more purple & a bit of a rally to get things done. 

-Cheree

30 in 30...day 12

There are times living downtown that I absolutely hate....but then there is a quite, beautiful moment...during the rain or snow that just gets me & I can't imagine living anywhere else.

Peace & Quiet (2016)
Acrylic on canvas 12x12

.........silence. 

-cheree

 

30 in 30...day 11

Clearly, I am continuing my tree hugging & Wolf Kahn inspired ways. I spotted these wonderful white tree trunks on a walk with reddish buds getting ready to bloom. The light behind them was a city street, but if you squint & day dream a bit, it's a different place. I added a few extra trees, as there was only 4 & really there is not a forest on 6th & Broadway; and then played up the background. 

 

               I need more trees (2016)

                Oil on clay board 8x8 

Because really what we need is more play time & day dreaming & a lot less asphalt. 

-Cheree 

Ps this one will need a few details added once it's dry. 

30 in 30...day 10

Woke up this morning with a wee bit of a headache, admittedly from too much wine....but for a good cause. My son's school does an annual Art Brew fundraiser, which is a fantastic event. Needless to say, we were out late & drank wine. So this morning I had to revert back to my fruits. Between my frustration with color from yesterday's painting & today's headache, fruit was necessary. 

              Conversing pears (2016)

                Oil on clay board 6x6 

Also necessary is going to be a nap 

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 9

I must say this one was done some what quickly, as our Saturday is fully packed with activity. I snapped this picture a couple nights ago out my children's bed room window. While the sky was fantastic, this painting is not my favorite & I seemed to have forgetten everything I learned in class on Thursday night. I will most likely rework it a little when I get more time. 

I may even revert it to an abstract....

Window Skying (2016)
Oil on clay board 8x8

                                           

Who knows...the sky's the limit

-Cheree 

30 in 30...day 8

Yesterday I took the goldfish to the Denver Botanic Gardens. There is a wonderful children's garden with lots of fun paths & toys to play with. There is very little in bloom right now, so this painting is derived a bit from my imagination...it comes from the same place where I day dream that the goldfish sits still & never climbs anything...

Dancing Botanic Tree (2016)
Oil on canvas board 8x8
 

          

...my far fetched daily imagination. 

-Cheree

30 in 30...day 7

Tonight I painted in my drop in class at Student Art League of Denver with professional artist, Don Sahli. I really like this class, as Don really has helped me to see the relationship between colors & how to see color correctly. I'm fairly convinced that he could teach my color blind husband how to see color.  I must say, that this painting is only about 90% mine. Don painted on it a bit to help teach me some techniques. While I have a couple of artist friends who don't like that; for me, as a visual learner, it helps me tremendously just to watch someone paint. That's how I learn best.

                                                                   Still life #5 (2016)

                                                           Oil on canvas board 24x28

Coincidentally, it's also best for me to watch someone else cook my food & clean my house.

-Cheree 

       

Kahn artist

A few weeks back we had a big blizzard. Most everything was shut down, schools, offices....but not Starbucks or my computer training class for work, those were still a go. So, I informed the peacock that he would need to take a snow day & parent the children. He assured me all was good & that he'll just take the day off so they can play and such. So off I go walking to work. Enroute I became mesmerized by this group of trees & the city lights illuminating behind them. Honestly, the scene looked like a painting from the great artist, Wolf Kahn. The colors & contrast were just stunning. I snapped a few shots & continued to my not rescheduled computer class. 

A few hours into the class we were informed that all non-essential staff & classes were canceled & we were told to go home......Because there's an F-ing blizzard outside!!! So, off I trot back to the house. 

Entering the house I quickly realize that there's more going on than just a blizzard outside. The peacock is sitting in his "work" chair, on his computer, working. "Where are the kids?" 

"They're in the back watching a movie. I had to get some things done for work. This snow day is really inconvenient." Yaaaaa.......next time I'll schedule it on the weekend so it's easier for you???......

I enter our bedroom & there is a 3 course meal going on in our bed, straight up with chocolate milk cocktails. Princess dresses are all over the floor, as if  there has been a costume change every hour. What the hell? I look at my desk and my laptop is sitting in a puddle of water! "What is going on in here?" "It wasn't me, it was her." my son says out of practiced reaction.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......(Hence, why the blog has been composed on the iPad for the past week). "Ya, I agree, this snow day is super inconvenient..."

       

                Civic Center Trees (2016)

                Oil on canvas board 6x12

Never trust a peacock when there's a blizzard on a work day, they are all Kahn artists. 

-Cheree 

30 in 30....day 6

When I walk, I try to block out the forest and see only the trees. Trees in the city can often be easy to overlook. We all know they're there lurking about and guiding us along sidewalks. Tall blooming bits of jewelry for your yard or city building. But do we really "see" them? Today on my walk I found a row of sidewalk jewelry that I never noticed. I have walked by this row of trees so many times. How did I miss their orange trunks....too busy engaging with the road rage of the forest, I suppose. 

Bloom (2016)
Oil on canvas board 8x8

                  

I have no idea what these trees are called, but they look really good outside of the forest.

-Cheree