bussed disowns naiveness

What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art.  Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Dropped TY off at the airport at O:ungodly o'clock this morning, was home by 6:30 and that included a long detour going south on I-95 when I was trying to go north.  When I got back, coffee was hot, internet was intermittent, and the sun still hadn't come up, but here I am on my own for a bit.  I am hoping to get some loose ends tied up as well as make headway into the two quilts I have on the wall.  Also I gessoed a bunch of cards I got in the mail over the past two days (36 cards, two coats each side with a day to dry in-between each pass) with the plan to actually work on a book with words this time, and possibly adding wax.  But there's no deadline on that so I can be thinking about it as I work on the other things.  

Ruminating.  OK, so it's navel gazing.  Get over it.

Lots to show you today so maybe I'll take a day off tomorrow and not be in your face...

Texas-based Artist Xochi Solis refers to herself as “a nonrepresentational abstract painter.” Her influences run the gamut from Dada movement artists (who inspired her to ditch her art school framing habit) to metallic Home Depot paint samples and Band-Aid-colored vintage vinyl.  Her process goes something like this: Layer paint over paper, then add another layer (maybe vinyl), throw in some thread or paper bits, and then sit back. Maybe paint over that. Then start over for a few more layers until it feels done. She describes the overall effect as “a stacked paint feeling with some found art textures mixed in.”

Jennifer Collier's  works of paper:  "My practice focuses on creating work from paper; by bonding, waxing, trapping and stitching I produce unusual paper ‘fabrics’, which are used to explore the ‘remaking’ of household objects. The papers are treated as if cloth, with the main technique employed being stitch; a contemporary twist on traditional textiles. The papers themselves serve as both the inspiration and the media for my work, with the narrative of the books and papers suggesting the forms. I tend to find items then investigate a way in which they can be reused and transformed; giving new life to things that would otherwise go unloved or be thrown away."

 Artist Ramon Bruin recently drew this fun anamorphic illusion that appears to be a 3D ship but is actually a skewed drawing on three sheets of flat paper.

Chinese artist Chua Chin Leng:  'Paintings' by camera, of light refractions and reflections. "The paintings are done by a special technique that I have developed called the Art of RAR, or Reflection and Refraction. Every painting originated as a photograph of water and nothing else. Through lightroom processing, the photo image transformed into a great variety of contemporary paintings. Each painting is in a way a little miracle."

Elizabeth Patterson - color pencil & graphite drawings :    "Whether I am studying a large body of water shot through with sunlight or rain on a car windshield reflecting the glimmer of adjacent neon signs, I am always looking to catch the mystery of these completely real distortions. My most recent series “rainscapes” was born of my attempts to watch the patterns created by water and nightlight on my windshield during a rainstorm.  A few drops turned into rivulets, blurring my vision.  Then the wipers would completely change the image.  It was a mesmerizing display of all the elements that stimulate my imagination:  an emotional quality suggested by water, a solitary vantage point for the artist and constantly shifting colors and distances in the landscapes. "  Colored pencil and solvent on strathmore bristol vellum

These amazing photos of multicolored, creatively groomed dogs were taken by photographer Ren Netherland at creative dog grooming competitions across the United States. The dogs have been dyed and carefully sheared to depict cartoon characters, wild animals, and even mythical creatures in a very unique art form. More photos of the outlandishly groomed animals can be found at Netherland’s website