Shari Beaubien

TGIF!

Isn't it great when Friday gets here?  I just love the feeling of freedom and anticipation that this day seems to hold.  It honestly doesn't even matter to me that our weekend chore to do list is about a mile long...  I just love Fridays.

Yesterday was a good day as well.  I got a LOT of painting done and managed to stay in that zone nearly all day.  That's exhilarating.  I even worked for a while in my art journal, which I don't get to do as often as I'd like.

I guess I don't have a lot of news to report today... just felt like blogging nonetheless.  Oh, speaking of "news" I thought I could tell you a bit more about my plans for the newsletter.  I signed up for a quarterly gig, so there will only be four newsletters per year, at most.  Rest assured, you won't be bombarded with a crazy amount of mailings.  And I won't share your information with anyone.  Period.

If you already read my blog, you're probably fairly up to date with the latest haps.  But this will be a nice, condensed reminder of everything on the horizon.  The same newsletter will also be going to clients of mine who have purchased my artwork at art fairs and gallery shows.  Whenever I'm doing a new show, I send out a postcard mailing to those folks to let them know where they can find me.  This is not only getting costly in dollars, but it costs the environment as well.  The goal is for the newsletter to replace the snail mailings I do.  I'm also considering including something that would make it worth anyone's while to subscribe - over and above just reading my blog or visiting my website.  I have a few different ideas right now, one of which is to possibly include a coupon in the newsletter.  We'll see...

I know that last paragraph sounds like one big jumble.  I guess it was as much for me as it was for you.  At any rate, thank you for subscribing.  (The button is on my blog's sidebar to the right and I'm hoping to have it on my website shortly.)

Have a great weekend, everyone... full of well-mannered frivolity!  (One of my all-time favorite lines from "Harry Potter".)

Soul Sketches, Newsletter, and Bio... Oh My!

Here's a close-up of my latest progress.  As you can see, my girl is now opaque and I'm finished with the painting stage.  She's begun to speak to me and tell me about her attitude.  I like this point in the progression because it's now that possible titles begin to float in and out of my head.  I think this one wants to be called "Reverie".

The next step will be to add detail with my Pigma Micron pen.  In my opinion, that's when she truly comes to life.  I'll post photos of that soon.

Incidentally, I figured out how to add the newsletter button to my blog!  If you're interested, go ahead and sign up by clicking the "Subscribe" icon in my right sidebar.  A big thank you to those alert blog readers who already saw it and signed up yesterday.  That's pretty impressive!

Also, if you just can't get enough of reading about me... I've completely re-written my "Bio" page on my website.  It has been so long overdue!  Literally, "re-write bio text" has been at the top of my to do list for a year and a half now.  That old bio was from my very first website when I wasn't even working professionally yet.  How sad is that?!?  So with great enthusiasm, I just have to tell you about the new, improved version.  I've tried to give folks a more intimate look at me and my life as it relates to art.

You might also notice I've written artist statements for my three series... Those can be found at the end of my Bio.  Remember "Wishes of Grandeur"?  (Shown here at right.)  Well, I've finally decided it will be the start of a new series entitled "Carnival of Dreams".  I'm really excited to develop this body of work and see where it takes me.  I hope you'll enjoy it, too!

More Progress

Here's a shot of my latest efforts.  As you can see, I've drawn and painted in more detail.  My girl's skin and dress are more solid and her hair is more defined.  Working in semi-transparent layers and building up the colors allows me to have more control over the final rendering.  I usually start with a soft white, like what you see in here, in her hair, as well as what you see in this post.  Then I keep adding layers of paint until I've reached a satisfactory opacity.

When not painting, I've been working hard at figuring out the world of newsletters.  I almost have everything set up so that I can insert the code into my website and blog.  You should be able to sign up soon!

I also found out that I got accepted into the Calabasas Fine Arts Festival in May.  Woo hoo!  I did this show last year and it was one of my favorites.  I'm already excited...

My Secret to Painting

On this Monday morning, I'd like to share with you all the most important thing I could ever hope to tell you about my painting.  I guess you could call it a "secret", although I've never felt the knowledge was mine alone.  It's powerful and it's poignant, yet some of you might shrug it off as insignificant.  I urge you to give it another look if you're in that group.  I swear to you, this one thing has helped me with my artwork more than all of the other tricks and techniques combined.

My secret is this...
I   p a i n t   e v e r y   d a y .
It's that simple.

We all have within us everything we need to produce great artwork.  We are, by nature, creative beings.  And what's even better is the undeniable fact that your creativity is unique unto you.  You can ONLY make the type of artwork that flows from a place deep inside and no one else will ever be able to duplicate that.  It's your style.  It's a product of who you are and everything that brought you to this place.  It should be revered and celebrated.

I think classes and sharing with friends and books and magazines are wonderful.  They inspire us and push us in new directions.  However, even the greatest techniques are nothing without your hand.  It won't be until you get your fingers dirty, so to speak, that you make those approaches your own.  YOU HAVE TO DO THE WORK.  There's no way around it.  Every day.  Even if it's only for a few minutes here and there between fixing dinner and getting the kids to bed.  You have to find the time.

I know this is a commitment and I realize it's not always easy.  But the rewards will come back to you a million times over.  Before your very eyes, you will see your own signature style develop.  You'll teach YOURSELF what your materials will do and how YOU best utilize them.  You'll realize that no one on this planet can help you more than the wisdom which already lives within you.  Trust in that.  Celebrate your higher self.  Then go forth and paint...

Trunkt!

Woo hoo!!  I've been accepted into Trunkt!

For those of you who might be thinking, "What the heck is she talking about?", Trunkt is an online community of professional artists.  One of Trunkt's primary goals is to help their artists reach art lovers and merchandising professionals.  From what I've been reading, it can be pretty tough to get past the Trunkt jury, so I feel really blessed to have been selected.

You can see my portfolio by clicking here or at any time by clicking the link in my right sidebar...

By the way, remember I told you I'm getting ready to release some of my Soul Sketches series for sale?  Well, you can get a sneak peek at them on the Trunkt site.  It's not ecommerce, however.  You'll have to go through either me or my Etsy when I make it official.  That's coming soon... in just about a month or two!  Prints and possibly greeting cards will be available as well.

Stay tuned for Monday when I reveal my one and only painting secret...

Movin' Right Along

Here's my latest progress on those five canvases I've been painting.  I made some sketches in my sketchbook and now I've transferred those to my backgrounds.  Here you see I've started to block in the central figure.  This stage always cracks me up because it looks like I'm trying to paint some kind of weird ghost women.

Incidentally, I've written an article about my Soul Sketches series which will be coming out in the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.  The article details not only the birth of this series but also provides an in-depth description of precisely how I create each one.  If you like what I've posted here so far, I think you'll really enjoy the article.  Be sure to look for it!

Many of you have written to ask me whether I'd be willing to share various of my "secrets".  Well, I'm certainly happy to tell you anything I can.  Moreover, I feel as though I've responded to each of you openly and honestly.  As always, I welcome your questions.  But rest assured:  there really is nothing I'm holding back here.  I've tried to write about each stage in my process and illustrate that with pictures.  Perhaps one day this will be a class and you'll be able progress along with me...  Wouldn't that be fun?  In the meantime, I so appreciate your interest in and your enthusiasm for my work.  It means a lot to me.

Oh yeah, now that I think of it, there is just one secret I have that a haven't written about yet.  And it's a BIGGIE.  I'll post it on Monday...

Sparkletopia Interview

First and foremost, I'm thrilled and honored to have been been asked for an interview by the illustrious Christine Mason Miller and her inspiring blog Sparkletopia.  Click here to read about my thoughts on my artwork and life.  Incidentally, Christine is an amazing artist in her own right and you might enjoy a romp around her personal blog as well.  Click here for that.

I've spent the better part of the day getting an application together and submitted for an upcoming art fair this summer.  It doesn't sound like much, but believe me, it is.  Each organization requires such precise yet equally unique information.  Some want slides.  Others photographs.  Still others want digital images.  And of the techno-crowd, the specifications and sizing for each image are always different.  They all ask different questions on their applications and want various forms of information - artist statements, resumes, bios, press releases...  And there's always a form of some sort.  Ugh.  I'm not complaining about the process.  Really, I'm not... just wishing I could somehow do it faster.

I also set myself up to be able to produce a quarterly newsletter today!  Woo hoo and yea!!!  Paying for the service is about as far as I got though.  Give me time to figure out how to get the code into my blog and website, and soon you'll be able to subscribe.  (And I use the word "soon" in the slow-as-molasses-Shari-Beaubien sense.)

The Latest Progression

Here's one of my 9" x 12" canvases after painting the earth...

I painted all five, but thought you might enjoy a closer shot of just one.  Now I need to turn my attention to my sketchbook so that I can work through some focal point ideas.  I make loose drawings in pencil and when I've achieved something I like, then I begin to transfer that effort onto the canvas.  This is the stage where things slow down a bit, so do bear with me!

Precarious

Remember this post about my latest "Soul Sketches" piece in progress?
Well, here it is completed...

It's called "Precarious", as the title of this entry indicates.  It measures 10" x 20".  I've never worked on such a long canvas before, but I have to confess I really enjoyed it.  What do you think?  I'm planning a companion "long" piece to this one which, incidentally, will be in a horizontal format. 

In related news, I'm tremendously excited to announce that I've decided to release several of my Soul Sketches for sale in the near future.  You'll be able to find them in my Etsy Shop in approximately two month's time.  "Precarious" will be one of the pieces I'll be listing there.  I'll be sure to make a blog post to notify you of their release for sale.  These artworks are so personal to me, I'm really looking forward to finding them good homes.

My Little Jewels

As promised, here are those canvases from last week...

They look just like little jewels, don't they?  I think I've gotten so much pleasure from just looking at them all in a row like this that I'm reluctant to move forward!  Each canvas was colored using Golden's Fluid Acrylic paint.  I work with thin translucent layers, allowing each to dry before adding the next.  I would estimate that each canvas has approximately 12-15 coats of paint to achieve this result.

Here's another angle.  Can I say it again?...  I am SO pleased with the progress on these canvases!  "Tickled pink" might be more accurate.  This whole experience just goes to show you that there's no harm in starting over when things aren't going as planned.  Looking back, I don't think there's ever been a time when I've thought to myself, "Man, I should have just left it alone!"  I'm always glad I went the extra mile to bring my execution in line with my vision.

Here are my five little jewels after adding collage to the bottom.  Eventually, this will become the earth.

And this is a closer shot of the collage as well as the painting. 

Incidentally, these five canvases will be a sort of "subset" to my Soul Sketches series.  You can see the entire series to date here.  These 9"x12" canvases will feature the same girl you see there and will be equally as heartfelt and meaningful.   And yes, they will be available for purchase!

Cyberspace Benefits

One of the best things about the internet age is that we're able to befriend people we would never have met otherwise.  A perfect example of this is my friend Laura Jones.

She reached out to me across the miles, and I'm so happy to have had the chance to come to know her.  The other day she sent me these wonderful pieces of art...

Thank you, Laura.  The way in which you have shared your spirit and your artwork with me means so much.  I'm lucky to call you a friend.

And I know this is a TERRIBLE picture.  (The camera was zoomed in as far as it would allow me to go...)  Forgive me, but I just had to post it anyway.  That's a Road Runner sitting there in the center!  How cool is that?!?!  One of the things I do love about living in the high dessert...

And last but not least... in case you're wondering, I made some great strides on those re-gessoed canvases that I posted about on Friday.  They're SOOOO much better now!  I'll post some photos of those tomorrow.

Uh Oh...

Here are those five canvases yesterday, around lunchtime...

This is after approximately five layers of paint.  My preferred paints are Golden Fluid Acrylics.  I love their transparency as well as the way in which they spread.  What's more, they allow me to develop my paintings using multiple layers (sometimes as many as twenty!) in order to achieve a nice degree of depth.

Here's a shot of my worktable and palette.  I thought it was pretty...  Those brushes are just 50 cent chip brushes from Home Depot.  They are my all-time favorites for doing loose background work.  The rattier they get, the more I love them.

Now here are those same canvases at the end of the day...

Yup, that's right, folks... I gessoed completely over everything!  (Hence, the title of this post.)  These pieces just weren't working for me.  When I first applied the gesso earlier this week, I went wild with the texture, which is nice in and of itself.  However, once I added collage elements on top, anywhere there was paper it was smooth and anywhere there wasn't it was completely rough.  The more layers of paint I added, the more this awful transition revealed itself and I just couldn't live with it any longer.

Now I've re-gessoed using a lighter touch with a little less texture.  I'm going to wait to add the collage elements until after completing a few layers of paint.  The collage, in essence, won't be buried as deep with my new plan.

Incidentally, when I first decided to start over I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh!  What am I going to post on my blog!?!?"  But then I stopped myself.  This is just how it goes sometimes.  I'm not perfect by any means, and I promise I'll always write honestly.  Thank goodness we have re-do's.  And I'll tell you something else:  I learn FAR more from my mistakes than from anything I did right the first time, and that's the truth.

The moral of the story is this:  if you feel like you've created a giant mess, don't despair!  It happens to the best of us.  Get right back in the saddle and figure out a way to make it better.  If that means gesso, then so be it.

More Progress

I thought you might enjoy seeing the progression of my latest canvases, from start to finish.  So in that spirit, here's what I did yesterday...

As you can see, I've collaged the surface of each piece and then set them out in the sun to dry.  (Notice the ferocious Bentley keeping watch for me.)

If you recall, yesterday I sang the praises of my Utrecht gesso.  It's thick and luscious and oh-so-creamy.

Well, my second favorite gesso is made by Golden.  I prefer this brand when doing gesso washes because it has a much thinner consistency.  I mix the gesso with some water on my palette and then wipe it over the surface using a paper towel.  It's a nice way to tone elements down without completely covering them up.

Here are the results after the gesso wash...

 

Although I have a bunch of errands to tend to today, I do hope to get some color on these later this afternoon.  Stay tuned...

Workin' Late...

Yesterday was a loooong day...  I even worked late last night, yes I did!  Can you see the darkness outside the window?  (Lisa, you have to be proud of me!)  Anyway, here are my new babies - gessoed and happily drying.  Apparently I've been lucky because no one decided to tiptoe across the table last night, thank goodness!

While I am a "Golden" girl in many ways, my all-time favorite gesso is made by Utrecht.  It's thick and creamy like frosting, and you can achieve the most amazing texture as a result.  You might be able to see some of the bumps and ridges on the canvases in this photo.  If you've never tried this wonderful product, you might appreciate treating yourself one day...

One of THOSE Weekends...

Do you ever have one of those weekends that seems even more exhausting than the work week?  Goodness, this was one of those for me!

It started innocently enough... Steve worked on Saturday and I got a LOT of computer stuff done... You know, the kind of tasks that get pushed to the bottom of the pile over and over again because they're just going to take too darned long?  Well, I got a huge amount of that type of work finished and it felt good.

Saturday night we went to a gala hosted by Women Painter's West.  WPW is a local art group to which artists are juried for membership.  They only review applicants once a year and I'm planning to apply (fingers crossed) this Spring.  Anyway, WPW opened up their gala to their sister organization (Collage Artists of America), of which I am a member, so Steve and I got to attend.  It was a lot of fun - dinner and dancing, raffles, silent auction.  What a great party with great people!  And how often do you get to say you spent the evening at a "gala" for Pete's sake?

We got home just before midnight to find Audrey had other plans for the rest of our evening.  I swear sometimes I think cats strategically plan where they're going to barf.  She must have contemplated this maneuver for quite some time and then crept into position on top of our headboard.  When she let it fly, her precision aim ensured maximum coverage.  Let's just say we needed to remove the sheets, the mattress pad, the mattress, the box spring cover, the box springs and the curtains.  Picture, if you will, moving day with the bed (frame and all) completely torn apart.  We didn't get to sleep until well after 2:30 am.

It was an early Sunday though because we had promised to attend a nature walk hosted by the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles.  Getting out of bed was tough but once we got there, it was such a fun time.  The kids and families were so warm and inviting and the weather was picture perfect.  It was a nice way to spend the day.

A few quick stops for lunch, Dick Blick and Sprinkles (the BEST cupcake store EVER) and we were on our way home.  Phew!  I'm tired just thinking about it.  All that fun just about killed me.  Never got to the laundry and the grocery shopping, but I guess it's not going anywhere.  Thank goodness for Mondays, huh?  Don't get to say that too often!