NEW IS THE NEW WORD

While 2013 certainly wasn't one of my best or worst years, I was still kinda mumbling "Good Riddins" under my breath as we were all welcoming in 2014.  However, as much as I dislike the underlying feeling that in January I'm supposed to make promises resolutions (so I can break them in February, then beat myself up for the rest of the year), I'm surprisingly much more upbeat about starting off the year with a clean slate.  The thing is, not setting any goals definitely didn't work for me!  So this year I'm in a good place and actually WANTING to achieve some goals.  There.  I said it.  Don't judge me. 

So the first thing I did was get a daily planner that was so stinkin "me" that I would actually want to use it.  I chose Whitney English's Day Designer.  I love it!  And, btw, if anyone ever doubted my long time affair with black and white stripes, here's the proof.

Speaking of love, my other long time love is all things Kate Spade.  Jennifer just got me this Things We Love book for Christmas and I hate to say I may have drooled on it a little.  These two books and my bible are what's getting me pumped to take on this New Year with a bit of vim and vigor!  My desire is to be able to add the word NEW to my vocabulary and use it frequently; as in NEW ARTWORK, NEW WEBSITE, NEW FRIENDS, NEW NUMBERS (as in dress size, cholesterol levels, income, you got it…)  This year I want to accept all those Happy New Year's wishes as blessings so that by the end of the year I can finally say, this was a happy year.  With that said, may you all have an amazingly HAPPY NEW YEAR.  I mean it!!

REFLECTION

REFLECTION by PAULA PRASS  6x6 oil on board

I've been on a bit of a painting roll this week, haven't I?  I think I'm done until after the holidays.  I rather like how this one turned out more than most though.  What do you think?  

Speaking of REFLECTION, I sure have been doing that quite a bit lately.  This has been another roller coaster year, wrought with many ups and downs, losses and tremendous blessings.  The holidays provide a break from the daily grind and time to ponder this crazy 2013 and anticipate what we can do to improve, conquer, and how to add more color and laughter to 2014.   Do I have an amen???

MAJESTIC

MAJESTIC 12x12 OIL ON CANVAS

Awhile back I was kicking around (or procrastinating; whatever) on the web and found a couple cool sites that offer painting lessons, some for free.  One guy that I loved listening to is Will Kemp from the UK.  He kinda reminds me of Hugh Grant.  Anyway, I found a photo and free video tutorial that screamed paint me!  I couldn't resist and whilst (thats what Will says) I did my own thing and painted in oils instead of acrylics, I did enjoy listening to his British accent and how he calls paper towels kitchen rolls.  Anyway, go check Will out here and maybe try your hand at painting one of these!  

Have a great weekend!

LASTING LIGHT

LASTING LIGHT  6X6 OIL ON BOARD

This photo is a tad bit blurry.  Don't feel like setting up and retaking the photo, sorry about that.  Pretend you are on a brisk walk on the beach and then it will look fine.  I sure haven't been painting as much as I'd like, but have a few "almost" done.  I often let things ruminate on the easel and most likely add or subtract a tad before giving the nod.

On the other hand, we have completed the collages for our grandson and here are the rest of the pieces:

I can't wait to see our grandson's reaction and have them all finally hanging above his new bed (as opposed to on our family room floor).

MAKING LASTING MEMORIES

Oh, you know how I've been telling you about all the old photos and ephemera of Tim's family?  Well, our grandson has been into vintage airplanes.  He saw my blog post and photo of Tim's dad with his fighter plane called Queen Jack and thought it was so cool.  So we are surprising him this Christmas with a grouping/collage of images from his great grandpa's flying days.  Here's what we've completed so far.  Lots of staining, sanding, printing, glueing and sealing.     Some grandma's knit sweaters, what can I say?  Just hope he likes it and I remember to get a good photo of the whole shebang once it's hung.  

SHOW OFF

SHOW OFF by PAULA PRASS 

Between the normal busy of life and the unexpected things that fall in my lap I am always a few steps behind, usually by a month or so.  All to say, I went to a week long plein air workshop with Robert Burridge back in October on Maui.  It was crazy awesome and tough at the same time, as Tim's mom passed away.  

The workshop focused on painting abstract, fast and free.  Just between you and me I was stretched until it hurt my brain, but that's what I wanted.  I came back home with several pieces I planned to paint over, some I'm still pondering  and out of about a dozen or so, this one above was my favorite.  Not exactly "abstract" as it was nearly impossible for me to stand in front of the incredible views and not paint that what I see and love so much.  I aptly named it Show Off.   

STILL WATERS by PAULA PRASS

Here's another piece I was pretty happy with.  I thought at the time I'd race back to crank out more like these.  Has yet to happen. 

One hallelujah is that after several months and $4500 later all the "lost" files from the studio flood have been retrieved.  Yeah, OUCH is right.  What a relief to be reunited with the bazillion folders of images, artwork and photos.  I was starting to doubt I'd ever see them again.  

THE EPHEMERA OF OUR LIVES

CHARLOTTE JACKSON PRASS 1925-2013

Tim's mom has lost her long battle with Alzheimer's.  We were so thankful to be able to visit her one last time in Michigan recently.  I chose this photo of her back when she was Charlotte Jackson, the Snow Queen in college.

PAUL N PRASS, JR WWII

And here is a photo of her then "future" husband, Paul Prass, who named his P-38 QUEEN JACK.  Not that I want a fighter plane named after me, but that is so cool, don't you think?

I have been swept away as I sort through, organize and scan the boxes of family photos, albums and letters that Tim has inherited.  The wealth of his family history compared to the half filled manila folder that contains my entire past leaves me breathless. 

So I got this idea to turn some of these photos into collage artwork.  I started with Char, but was not pleased with my initial experiments.  So I changed gears and played with a photo from Paul's childhood that really makes me smile, especially knowing him as an adult. That rifle has to be twice as tall as Paul.  I'm guessing he's only about three years old here, living on a farm in Texas.  No siblings, his friends are the animals.  He had two cows Pete and Repeat.  So I made copies and applied the notes from the backs of photos, maps, paper rifle targets, pages from his children's books and any ephemera relating to his life on the farm in the 1920's to a 12"x30" canvas as the foundation.

Then I began painting over top of the foundation, letting some of the background peek through.  I'm still painting and adding layers to this piece that portrays my father-in-laws early years but something really hit me about the process.  I began thinking about the ephemera of our lives; those things that were meant to have no lasting significance, but in fact, became the foundation of who we have become.  It's those words scribbled on the back of a childhood photo that instantly transport us to that time or place.  Or how about the invisible cruel words that still impact us years later; they all become part of our underlayment, our foundation.  We can't choose the background, but we have the ability to design what our self-portrait will look like.  So it's true when someone says, "You are a piece of work".

ephemera:

things that are important or useful for only a short time  : items that were not meant to have lasting value

1  : something of no lasting significance

2  : ephmera plural : paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles.

On a side note: I took this into my abstract class to work on (it's as close as I have been able to get to abstract) and one lady told me she found it disturbing on several levels.  Tried to explain this was Texas in the early 1920's, no other kids around, etc.  Then she said, "You're not going to try and sell this, are you?"  This is the same class that encourages creating what pleases you and not others.  I'll just add that comment to my self-portrait background.  Sigh.  

REFLECTIONS

REFLECTIONS by PAULA PRASS  6x6 oil on board

I haven't been able to paint as much lately because life keeps getting in the way.  It started when the air conditioner quit draining outdoors and decided to drain into my studio instead.  We had to pull everything out, throw some furniture, fabrics and books out, deal with mold, etc.  That happened at the same time we were stripping and resealing the saltillo tile on our back patio so the whole house was turned upside down.  When we put things back together in the studio Tim unplugged our modem and router to move them and when he plugged them back in the router was dead!!!!!!!   I mean DEAD.  I store almost everything on the "share drive" so I can work from different computers.  I have been crippled.  I had been working on a new website and business cards.  All my photos, artwork are locked up and even my MacGuyver can't fix it.  On top of that it seems other things decided to kick the bucket.  Let's see; both cars have been in the shop.  I was ironing brand new curtains for the back patio and as I walked over to the sink I thought I heard a popping sound.  I came back and the moment I placed the iron on the curtain it instantly melted a hole through my outdoor curtain.  What's even funnier is Tim hung the curtain anyway. 

The modum died last week, the grill went kapoot this week.  I'm telling myself, "This is a test.  This is only a test".   I know these are all just inconveniences in the scheme of life and this curtain is a reminder to not take things so seriously.

PAPYRUS FALL 2013 BABY COLLECTION

PAULA PRASS for PAPYRUS

It was almost a year ago in October that I was cleaning out emails and seriously had my finger on delete when my eye caught the words Art Director and Papyrus.  I read the email a couple times before I realized it wasn't spam.   One year later we walked into a Papyrus store over the weekend and there it all was.  The sales people were so excited to show it off which was fun.  Looks so much more glamorous in person than all those flat digital files I stared at for way too long (which, by the way, were so large they crashed my computer!)  I bought a gift bag and gift enclosure, then took Tim out to dinner to make up for us sitting at the computer last Thanksgiving all by ourselves; no turkey, no mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie.  In fact, on Thanksgiving night I literally laid my head down on the computer desk while Tim was trying to figure out CS6 and fell asleep without any dinner at all.  I'm sure other licensing artists find themselves under huge time crunches and just like childbirth...it takes about a year to know it was so worth it.  Here's a few proud shots:

 The collection is embellished with tags, ribbons, glitter, rhinestones, layers and includes 3 different size bags, a gift enclosure, thank you notes,  counter card and tissue paper.  Will you let me know if you see them and where?  

BE STILL

BE STILL by PAULA PRASS 6x6 on board

It's been a very busy week so I'm happy to be able to fit another study in.  BE STILL is something I don't do much;  when I try my mind revolts.   But lately after a tough workout we are asked to empty our minds and just be still.  Maybe it's that I'm thrilled that it's over and I can hardly move, but it's the one time it works for me.  It feels surprisingly good and freeing to stop and calm my mind even when everything around me is screaming for attention.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.  We will be be stripping and resealing saltillo tiles in the heat, just as we've been sentenced to for the last few weekends.  Keeping our eyes on the goal set before us...can't wait to reveal the before and after.