Grief Paintings

I've finally had some time in the studio to paint my emotions and work thru some of the feelings I've had surrounding my dad's passing. Working thru my emotions and pain has been very helpful. I have finished 3 out of the 4 grief paintings that I plan to paint. I doubt these will ever be for sale, but I wanted to share them. Dealing with my dad's death has been the hardest thing I've ever gone thru. I still wake up every morning and think for a minute that it must have been a bad dream. Then I'll realize that it's very real. Tomorrow it will be one month since he left us and life is finally getting back to the regular routine. Normal is different now. I can't even remember the last time I've gone this long without talking to him on the phone or seeing him in person. Even though he lived 4 hours away from us, we almost always saw him on a monthly, if not more frequent, basis. I still miss him like crazy! There may end up being more than 4 of these, but for now, here they are;

Denial, 8 inch square oil on canvas

Pain, Sadness, Grief, 8 inch square oil on canvas

Anger, Heartache, 8 inch square oil on canvas

Painting Frenzy

I've been busy painting everyday, finally getting into a rhythm, feels great!!! I have finished a couple of larger canvases as well as a daily journal painting and a new needlepoint design. Life, in general, is great these days, even with the colder weather!

Also, finally got around to updating my blog with a new header, a subscription sign up box and links to the other artists with studios here at the Factory on 5th(on the right hand sidebar). I also updated my blogroll list, wow, it's about time!

I now have my larger paintings up for sale on: http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/m/manlewis/

Deconstruction, 24 x 20" watermixable oils on canvas

Meditation, 20 x 20" Watermixable Oils on canvas

As usual, the smaller daily journal painting is up at Etsy.

Star Spiral, 8 x 8" watermixable oils on canvas board

Albuquerque Sun needlepoint design

Featured Etsy Shop: Colorado Art Studio

This week's featured shop is Colorado Art Studio. She is currently remodeling her shop, so you can see more of her work on her blog. I own a painting by Cynthia and love her work! She is a lot like me in that she works in many different mediums. Her main focus however, is her ceramics.

What made you take the leap into being a full time artist?

Good question! I ask myself that everyday. The truth is that being an artist is hard work. To the outside world, people may think that an artist is living their dreams creating wonderful art work. However, I have found that marketing and business go hand in hand with being an artist. So back to your original question, I lept without thinking about what was involved in being a full time artist.

No, seriously, I worked for a major airline as a flight attendant for 17 years and after 9-11 I knew that I had to do something else. It wasn't that I was afraid to fly or anything like that, but, I realized that I had stayed at my job too long and the position had lost its luster. We used to call it the job with the golden handcuffs. The longer you spent there, the better your seniority and perks. It was hard to leave it all behind.

I decided to return to school after I finally returned to my home 6 long days after the events of that day. I had previously been a fine art major and continued in that vein since I was fairly close to graduating. Truly, I can't imagine doing anything else now because being an artist is very fulfilling. I believe everyone should do what makes them happy in life!

This is the painting I own!

What was the first thing you remember making/painting/crafting?

I used to draw all the time as a child. My mom still has the pictures that I drew for my dad while he was in Vietnam for a year when I was three years old. I must have been facsinated with spiders, because she has reams and reams of spider drawings that I drew for him that year.

As I got older, I also made my own paper dolls and little paper clothes for them. I could play for hours and hours, lost in my own imagination.



Are there other artists in your family?

That's funny you should ask. There is no one in my family who trained or went to school in the arts, but my mom is quite the creative herself. She makes all her own greeting cards and is very into "altered books" and other paper crafts.

I also found some drawings that my father did while he was in college. He was quite good. He must have taken a drawing class at one time...maybe a pre-requisite for graduation, I'm not entirely sure. He was studying theology; so needless to say he didn't do anything with art after that class though he did appreciate art.


Who influenced you the most as an artist?

There are so many people who I have known who have influenced me as an artist from fellow artists to professors, and even my friends. Who is/are your favorite artists?
I have so many favorite artists. I like 19th C art like Turner, Cassat, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir to name a few. I also really dig feminist art from the '70s-some of it must have been so controversial when it came out. Now-a-days, I look at a lot of contemporary ceramic work, fiber art and craft. I can't name just one person, let alone 10.

My daughter just asked "what about me?" when she read this. I might have to agree with her here. I love her drawings--they're so free and uninhibited. Sometimes, I even incorporate some of her sketches into my own work.

Tell us something you would like people to know about you.

I wear a lot of hats, and being an artist is just one of them. I am a mother, wife, friend, daughter, sister, artist, volunteer and a host of other titles. I try to find balance in everything and am finding that I am really hitting my stride now that I'm in my 40's!