No, I'm Not Crazy: The Beginning Thoughts and Inspiration

Today, I wanted to share with you a little of what's inspiring the September Issue painting series.



Sources of Ideas and Inspiration in my studio

 

Maybe it stems from going with my Dad to The Newstand, a store in Angola, Indiana, as a kid.  It was filled with racks of magazines, newspapers, candy, and cigars.  The aroma of the sweetest cigar tabacco and fresh ink was a heavy perfume for this place, and if I could have I would have bottled it.  Anyway, I have always enjoyed magazines.  The colors, the images, the landscapes and the models unknowingly taught me a lot about two-dimensional composition while I was growing up.

 

There is something ridiculous about fashion magazines that I've only began to understand as an adult.  I will probably never dress like that.  Some of the attire is ridiculous, other ensembles are ugly, and some are absolutely beautiful but completely non-functional for everyday life.  For instance, a typical day of riding my bike to the train and working at my part-time job mixing paint, followed by a session of oil painting or drawing screams to me, "You simply MUST wear Valentino today!", doesn't it? haha

 

While I would love to wear outlandish clothes and feminine delicate fabrics everyday, it's simply not my life, nor is it my budget.  These are for the wealthy or at the very least, the very financially comfortable populations who do have the lifestyle suited for these clothes with formal dinner parties, events, and all that is luxurious and leisurely.  (I daydream about what all that might be, but all I can come up with something that looks like the television show, Revenge.  I clearly haven't a clue.) haha

 

These clothes do not make an appearance in my everyday surroundings, but what if they did?  This mixture of the models I see in the magazines with my neighborhood in Portland is entertaining.  What if I saw her waiting for the bus?  What if she was a gas station attendant?  What if I saw them at Subway?  Everyone gets hungry.  Why not? Hahaha! 
 

So I began taking photos around my neighborhood.

 

Bus stop at the corner of the Tualatin Valley Highway & 170th., Beaverton

 

 

The Shell Station at Orenco on Cornell Road, Hillsboro

 

My hope with this series is that it gives people a laugh with the awkward narrative, and inspires some thought about how our world differs with the world created within the pages of a glossy fashion magazine.  Who and what are they marketing when we look below the surface of things?  I get the impression that I'm probably not the only woman who looks at these and feels a bit inferior when the pages close and I realize that my hair looks drab, my face looks tired, and I'm wearing yoga pants with holes in them.  More questions and observations arise as I think more about some of these images, and as the series progresses, I'm hoping that still more come to the surface.

 

 

  

Work #2 for 2013: Arboretum

Hello!  Just thought that I'd share this with you before posting it on Etsy tonight.  It is a graphite drawing based on a photo taken during a venture to the Portland Arboretum.

Arboretum, 2013, Krystal Booth

Graphite on watercolor paper, 11x8.5"

 

 

If you live in the Portland, Oregon area, I hope that you have visited this place.  It's spectacular with great walking paths and a great way to spend a couple of hours.  Being midwesterners, the height of the redwoods and others blew our minds.  We felt extremely humbled in their presence.

 

Now I'm off to my part-time job and tonight will be another painting session...hopefully more fruitful than last night's struggle session. haha

Enjoy your day!

Here's the link for purchase:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/121992580/arboretum-original-drawing-2013



First of 100 Works

Finally, was given the opportunity to photograph the newest painting - the first of the New Year and the first of the one hundred works goal.

The Attendant, 2013, Krystal Booth

Oil and paper on canvas, 18x24"

 

 

 

 

Detail of The Attendant, 2013, Krystal Booth

Oil and paper on canvas, 18x24"

 



Work Session #2054 or so...

The smell of afternoon coffee brewing and work is about to get underway.  Today will be about transferring the image onto the canvas.  It's not exactly the most exciting part of the process, but it can be fun as long as I have some good tunes going.  This painting has been a long time coming, but I had to work out the kinks in the composition for quite awhile and then get materials.  I'm excited to finally be putting it on the canvas.  It's of my coworkers and for my coworkers at my part-time job.  The four of us have formed this little fun family and it's on days like today that I really am aware of how awesome they are.  Not to mention that they're fun people to be around.  I'm really looking forward to making this for them.

The canvas is 18x24" - it seems to be my favorite size to work with lately.  It's big enough to get some good details and brushwork, and small enough to still seem manageable by being able to see the entire composition without having to step back too much.

There is also a nature drawing that I'd like to possibly finish tonight.  It's a small work - 8x10" or so - on paper.  It's been waiting on me for a few weeks now...maybe close to a few months!  It's amazing how fast the time can go by, but now that this one hundred works challenge has begun, time will be seized anyway it can.

The coffee is ready now - no more sounds of steam or the stream of coffee filling the carafe.  Time to pour a cup and be off to start today's session with a cat sleeping nearby.

I hope that you enjoy a productive day as well - love to all of you!


 

Ivan, the Not-So Terrible

A Daily Sketch for you of sweet little Ivan.

Ivan, Krystal Booth, Daily Sketch, 2013

Ink on 8x6" paper.

100 Works

The painting felt like a cruel teacher from the early 1900s that hovered over my back with a ruler ready to snap my knuckles the minute I made an incorrect mark. 

Of course, it wasn't the painting.  It was me, and I was being much more vicious by strangling the work.  If it squirmed, I tightened my grasp.  The paint strokes and forms were lifeless with no intensity whatsoever.  I was working too tight for the composition and it was stunting the entire process.

I had to let go. 

Now the painting is almost finished.  It has been a good teacher no matter how it turns out. 

I have a goal that I would like to make public on this blog.  I am aiming to create 100 works this year.  It was arrived at a couple of days ago, and it will be a good exercise.  By having a more prolific studio practice with a measurable goal, my skills will have no choice but to improve.  It will also help me overcome the tendancy of tightening up so much on the canvas or drawing that the joy is lost.  I will not have the time to be overly critical - my inner critic will be hushed a bit, so that more rapid progress can be made.

Too some this may be a foolish goal with such a focus on quantity.  Maybe it is, but my curiousities are too strong.  Can I do it?  What kind of work will be created within those 100 works?  What kind of evolutions will occur?  Will I have a crazy meltdown and create stick figures by the end of the year? Haha!

Well, let's see, shall we?  I'll keep you updated on the progress.  Maybe I can find some sort of tracker application to put on here.  If any of you know of one that would work, please let me know.

Thank you for reading and for your support!  Love to all!
 

It's Just a Ride

Finally, this is what I was to find today to share with you.  It is a clip of Bill Hicks posted by Bakkland on YouTube.

 

 

I have become fascinated with the lectures of Alan Watts found on YouTube.  Over the past couple of hours, he has blown my mind and rearranged the furniture in my head a bit.  Some of the viewers' comments on his "The Joker" short lecture made mention of Bill Hicks.  My curiousity led me to this clip, which seems fitting for today.


 

The Hunting Cat

I have enjoyed watching this cat for the past year.  His/her trusting parents (guardians, owners, maids, butlers) live a few doors down from us in the apartment complex.

Anticipator of Breakfast, 2012, K Booth

Daily Sketch - Ink on 8x6" paper.

 

 

When the weather was warm, I enjoyed a majority of my mornings on the small patio writing and planning out the day with a cup of coffee.  It was quiet in the morning with ample chances to witness the squirrels traveling from tree to tree, and the birds pecking around in the soil like a little worm patrol.  Our two cats would be chirping and doing their hunting noises from croutched postures on the other side of the screen door.

 

We have never allowed or trusted our cats enough to just roam about outside alone.  Like an overly protective mother with anxiety issues, I would be a mess if they ever went out into the world alone.  Luckily, they honestly have no desire to go out - they have had so many opportunities to make a speedy dash, but have never cared...except for maybe when the birds come around.

 

The cat above definitely has a very trusting guardian and spent most of it's days outside lurking around the property investigating everything day after day.  It too became a great admirer of the small squirrels, but luckily they were too fast for his/her stealthy attack methods.  It was somewhat of the coyote and roadrunner type of situation until finally, one morning the cat just simply sat there.  I don't know if it was just doing a zen exercise on patience, or if it was the cat equivalent of holding up a white flag.  Maybe it was the final stand, but after that day, I didn't see the cat bother with going to that tree anymore.

 

On cold days like today, I look forward to spring and wonder what I'll be observing this time around.  Hopefully, there will be acme contraptions involved.

The Nudge

This lesson is one that I have learned throughout the years.  You will recieve a nudge when you need it, you just have to be open, to listen, and be alert.  The message will be right there when you really need it.

Over the years, I have found answers to my questions by means of a song coming on over the radio, by a mysterious message on a computer screen at work, and through the dialogue of my friends.  Some people would think that I was completely crazy for reading into things and bringing meaning to things where there is no meaning.  Maybe I'm a bit off my rocker on some things, but if it works to move me in the right direction, to give a push, or a moment of revelation, what harm does it do?  It's exciting to feel this connection through unexpected avenues that motivate and inspire.

My last post was the question and here is the answer that I saw today.  I know that it will reach others who are seeking answers or nudges, and I'm just needing to be another messenger for you too.

It was posted on facebook by Ruprecht Studios and is titled "a must see for every artist...well everyone!" created by "Tragedy and Hope".  Enjoy the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151397745507577&set=vb.150082065062250&type=2&theater

 

The Artist Cycle of Satisfaction and Disappointment: What is this?

What will it take to be any good?

Sketch of Matthew (Daily Quick Study/Exercise)

 Krystal Booth, Ink on 8x6" paper

 

 

It will take diligence, persistance, patience, and several other words ending with -ence or -ance, which I often can't remember which word is spelled with which.

 

It's a bit depressing at times when I look back at works and think, "That's crap."  Several of these are shoved away in my closet.  Some are recent, and some are from college, and still some are from high school.  It gets to feeling a little defeating.

 

But then I'll decide, well this time I'll paint my heart out, and I won't give in until it's just the way I want it.  I get it done.  I'm satisfied for the time being.  Then a few months later, I again think, "That's crap."

 

Is this normal?  Is this progress?  Or is it just a defeating point of view?  I'm just not sure what it is, but I definitely experience it often.  If it's not normal, how can I think differently?  Do I need to?  Or is this what other artists go through too.  Will this ever end?

 

Someday will a reach a level of skill that suddenly defeats this "That's crap" mentality?  Is that possible?  Or will it forever be this wicked cycle of love and hate for what one puts out into the world and that's just part of being an artist?

The Mastery of a Horse

Last night I had the pleasure of re-watching Secretariat win all three races to win the Triple Crown on YouTube.  The original film quality itself is so haunting - the grains of the images are unpolished, the colors take on this palette that we now refer to as vintage or retro, and the audio is fuzzy with the announcers' microphones picking up the spectators' excitement with a touch of white noise.

The ESPN Sports Centry Special of Secretariat found on YouTube.

 



To witness the greatness of these races is so powerful, even though it's on a screen.  I'm sure that I'm not the only one who tears up when viewing this footage.  The word that keeps coming to mind is 'pure'.  It's just a pure performance of greatness and making the unimaginable appear right before our eyes.  It is mastery and it is pure joy.  It is a miracle.

I'm not even into horse racing. 

I think perhaps that's what greatness and mastery can do.  It transcends limitations of the viewer and allows all to appreciate the astounding level of skill and meaning.  This is why crowds flock to see Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, why people cry at the sight of Michelangelo's work inside the Sistine Chapel, and why Bernini's Ecstacy of Saint Teresa makes jaws drop.  The meaning and skill wrap together to form this overwhelming sense of awe, inspiration, and achievement.  A promise that this astounding greatness can be accomplished with dedication and a relentless hunger for reaching beyond what we know is capable.  A letting go of limitations and just going for it without fear of failure.

Much can be learned and inspired.  I'm thinking that a photo of Secretariat is the perfect addition to the studio space for 2013.

Love to all!

Everyday

Inside the apartment with little scribbles of ink...

Daily Sketch (K Booth)

Right now, it doesn't look like this.  Matthew is at work and the cats have found other ways to entertain themselves besides laying on my lap or in the middle of the floor.  For now, I'm left to myself with a little chunk of time to make count for something.  It's my day off to spend smartly.

Sometimes there are so many projects, and things to get done that I easily get overwhelmed, and end up spending the whole day avoiding everything.  I hide in my corner...meaning I get on facebook, watch youtube music videos, call loved ones, and make weird cleaning decisions such as instead of doing the pile of dishes, a cupboard that we haven't opened in a month will get cleaned, sorted, and organized.  I'll clean what no one will notice, but will give me a little satisfaction that I didn't waste the whole day - afterall, I called my parents, a best friend, and I cleaned a cupboard. 

Today is a different day, and I've been making some drastic changes over the course of the last month.  I keep taking it one day at a time, and finally I'm feeling and seeing some results that are worthwhile.  We are the sum of our everyday.  Every single day develops us into the people we are and the people we are becoming whether or not we show up to do our projects, or tackle our lists.  This is finally being absorbed into my brain!  Good grief, what took it so long? 

New Year, Same Goals

Some things just take time. 

Supposedly anything worth a damn will test one's endurance and patience.  Persistance is the key, and it isn't easy.  The New Year brings renewed hope that we will conquer our goals and have the diligence to follow them through to the end.

So many of my goals have been the same as last year and the year before that.  I failed to do most of them.  It's easy to understand the jaded view points of some of my friends when it comes to the act of making resolutions.  I understand.  What is the point if it will only become a weapon that we will use in December to club ourselves with for not acheiving what we set out to accomplish? 

I have kept a journal for most of my life, and every December I usually look forward to writing a year end reflection.  It helps me think about the events, the high points, the low points, and ultimately about progress and what to strive for in the coming year.  This year I find myself rebelling and only wanting to look ahead. 

I have decided to allow this rebellion.  The trained teacher inside of me cringes at this.  "Can there be progress without taking inventory of progress?" it pleads. 

Yes, of course there can.  I was there and lived it.  I accomplished.  I failed.  I loved, laughed, cried, and yelled in anger.  I cussed like a sailor, spoke sweetly like a saint, and used cliches.  I ran from a crazy lady in NW Portland who I thought was going to kill me as she whispered in quick words about Native Americans and the Mayans.  Come to think of it, I was also told by another angered stranger that I didn't "have the balls"...it's still a mystery what exactly he was talking about...again in downtown Portland.  Evidently, I make anyone who is a little off kilter mentally a bit peeved just by my existence.

So all in all, a great year! Hahaha

I'm looking ahead to making some major changes this year, and without the baggage of unfulfilled hopes of 2012.  I left them with the year, and am moving on.  I am pretending that when I wrote them down this year it was the first time I had seen them.  How's that for trick psychology? 
Lose weight?  GREAT!  (It totally works.)

Except perhaps I should at least learn that ignoring strangers in downtown Portland isn't always a bad idea (unless I need to run from them).

Happy New Year, everyone, and I hope that you are feeling renewed and dreaming big this year!
Love to all of you!