HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

Today is my dear mother's birthday.  Emily (Germain) Mueller left this world in 1984 at age 72.   Mother of ten, she never drove a car, widowed in '61;  she cooked for the nuns across the street to help put us through parochial school. {St Gertrude, St Clair Shores}  Dear Mom,  you will ever live on in my memory and in my heart.   See you some day in Heaven.   love,  Karen

Mom in my Oil "Sunday Afternoon"

Mom's cake I made around 1971

postcard mom got from an aunt in 1924

Tony van Hasselt: Creative Realism In Watercolor (DVD)

FRAMES & TEXTURES

MOST of the ART 

on my website are framed pieces.  The watercolor paintings and all drawings all have professional mats.  The ones in this group having frames contain glass. 

All the Oil and Acrylic paintings that have frames do not have glass.  Those painted on wraparound canvas do not require a frame.   Other  materials I paint on range from stretched canvas to gessoed hardboard in 1/8" to 1/4" depth.   Quite a few of these I textured specifically for the subject or left smooth for thin glazes.
One way of using texture is to trowel on thick gesso or modeling paste right over your rough sketch.  There are many sizes & shapes of palette knives available for this.  Once dry it can be painted, emphasizing the relief efforts for an impasto look.

A frame much like the final brushstroke of the artwork can make it or break it.  Paintings that had a lousy cheap frame on looked so much better once I got them reframed by a professional.  Much can be said about the choice of colors, depth and width that finish off artwork that you have labored over.  

To LEAF Or Not To LEAF

...that is the Question.  I have longed to use gilt for quite awhile in my paintings,  probably after studying Klimt's work.  Before I even began on this picture, I planned to gold leaf the halo parts. 

The outer circle was formed by adding a semi-dry string of Tacky Glue onto which I carefully pressed pieces of the delicate leaf.  I had to exercise extreme self control while working with this near-weightless material;  the slightest exhaling just from normal breathing propels the stuff like you would not believe. 

Never having done this before, I was somewhat nervous about this 'new' to me procedure; yet fascinated at the same time.  This one of Jesus is titled:  "I Will Never Leave You".  Another icon I have, "Heavenly Peace" of baby Jesus & mother Mary,  is getting a similar treatment; both of which I will show in a later post once finished.

ARRANGING those PAINTINGs

It's one thing to buy a painting you like; and quite another to know how to integrate works of art into your personal space otherwise known as your home.   Personal home decorating is something we all do; and there are endless ways to attractively display your collection as opposed to simply hanging it over the couch.

A current decorator trend:
Stack-leaning against the wall
on a high shelf or mantle with
 coordinating or enhancing 3D
accessories [props] as
pictured here.

Conventionally hung on wall
in a grouping with similar
subject matter or colors is
undeniably a successful choice.

Finally, letting your imagination run
wild  together with your favorite 3D
 objects allows the art to
be a focal point of the room, which
can be such fun.

p.s. photos taken in my daughters' 

homes; decorating credits go to them.

CAPTAIN LEO

It was no coincidence that the property our family moved to was lake frontage back in 1952.  [ I was about 6] Our house on Jefferson Ave was situated on Lake St Clair in St Clair Shores, MI. http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ref/stclfact.html 

My dad, Leo Mueller, was by instinct a boater in many degrees.. he sailed, motor boated, ice-boated, raced, even winning a couple trophy cups.  He made boats in his garage & at his job.  I remember him layering itchy fiberglass and potent-smelling resin on the bottoms of overturned boats to make them waterproof. 

Years after he died [at age 49 in 1961], I used this method to mend holes in our leaky rowboat.  Dad wore a nautical cap most of the time.  He had a white one and a navy one, as in this photo tinted by me during my photocolorist days. [mid 70's]  You will notice the resemblance in my ID photo.  

MOMENTOS of My Dad

 

  ~  pencil, pastels, acrylics on board  ~  Titled:  "Dad's Things"  1970. 
         [more about him in next post: "Captain" Leo]

Pictured are some belongings of my father  [Leo Mueller]  rendered by me some ten years after his death.  My collection of this memorabilia provided subject matter for a still-life which I set up right in the very room he finished in knotty pine, as seen in background.  An heirloom octagonal table seemed appropriate to hold most of the items. Handcrafted by him in wood was the chessboard and ship. the chess pieces [some broken by one of us 10 kids] were cast by him in resin. Above the Indian axehead is a siren from WW2. In front of his rifle is an old magnifying glass in leather slideout case. Behind curtain is antique Argus in leather case, and a trophy he won sailboat racing. Lastly, his boat whistle next to what was left of his telescope. [so many kids, you know..!]

California, Here I Come

That's where 3 of my paintings were sent to be digitally scanned for Giclee prints. The French word 'giclee' itself means 'sprayed ink.

This type of art reproduction results in a high quality image.

The proofs I received were amazing as far as accuracy of color & detail. These 3 works will soon be available in 18" by 24" signed prints

the NEW Artists on the Block

Saturday-at-Gramma's...grandaughter #1 brings her own art supplies and much to my surprise painted as long as I did at my easel...more than half of the day until 10:00 pm~! grandaughter #2 not quite as devoted, but still, a painter in her own right; she eventually broke away to read a favorite storybook.

Not sure if I may have started a trend; these homeschooled girlies prefer their own techniques, and I must say:

We actually inspire one another.

PAINTLADY'S ART LESSONS

While preparing for an auction, I stumbled upon my Art studies of 1965 in a box with Speedball inks. While still in high school, this correspondence course introduced me to the very basics of composition, drawing & painting.

From these pages I distinctly remember to this day the paint blending techniques, as shown here along with excellent instruction. If not for the severely mildewed condition of the 3 binders, I'd like to keep them; however, they have served their purpose.