I have been answering a lot of acrylic questions lately, so I have decided to post my secrets...

1.) Acrylic mediums can harden quickly around bottles and become very difficult to open after this happens. But, if you rub some petroleum jelly around the lid of the bottle when it's new, you'll find it opens much easier the next time you use it.

2.) If you use a cup of water to rinse your brushes and leave the brushes in it  for the next time around (like I always do) the water of course will evaporate and harden the brushes, or even ruin them! So, I always pour a bit of wine in with my water, it cleans the brushes better than soap and keeps the brushes moist. Try it! ( FYI- from experience I learned that fermented paint and wine tends to stink when you leave it out over a week, so try to change it out)

3.) When I start a new painting, I first paint it with acrylics, which as we all know dries quickly. Then I fill it out using oil paints, particularly for light and shadow, and glazing. I let it dry for about three weeks. Then I take a charcoal pencil and add my details that my brush couldn't. I then use hair spray or a clear coat that sticks so that the charcoal details will not smear. I let it dry overnight and later the next day I varnish it!

4.) Since everyone has their own style in frames, I leave the framing option for the buyer. Acrylic paintings for myself, always stay unframed. I paint the sides of the canvas to make it look 3D.

Today's Quote: "Strengthen me by sympathizing with my strength, not my weakness."-Amos Bronson Alcott

so here's my funny... Enjoy!

Today's Quote: "You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."-Erma Bombeck

I'm not sure how to feel about this. Initially I felt confused, I tried to recall when/how I had posted this piece, who bought it...when I had orginally sold it... (The whole reason I started this blog was to finally keep record of my work  since most of them are custom and are quickly sold)
I had a solo show at a gallery at SOSU in 2001 and it was one of the paintings that sold. I never met the buyer. Sadly his interests have evolved beyond my little painting and now lie in his kitchen renovation project on Ebay. Maybe I should be flattered that he thinks this sale could bring him a nice chunk of cash. Whatever it is, I guess this is just part of selling your art. He owns it and has every right to turn around and sell it. But, for whatever reason, it does hurt a little bit. I remember painting it and I even used it as my old myspace image. Oh well, I guess I need to just let it go, this is something that happens all the time and I've just never experienced it before.

Today's Quote: "Nobody can hurt me without my permission."- Gandhi

Here you go mom...

I figured out a way to hang out with my brother and his friends and "be cool, like gangsta style!!!" haha!!!

Check out my aluminum-foil grill!!

what? I'm a tight wad! fo shizzle!

Today's Quote: "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

No matter how much we try to plan something, the outcome has a life of it's own. Just as the infleuence of a random, casual encounter can alter our mood, conversation, or even our prespective on life or love, so it is when paint colors mixed together on canvas in front of me. Although the fluidity of the pictures may appear to be random- At closer inspection, one is able to see and feel the complex and emotional intensity that each stroke reveals.

I bought a book yesterday to help learn more different types of painting. Watercolor, sponge, oil, using different objects and shapes, collages, pastels, charcoal, using nature, and mixture. I am always trying to find more ways to improve or  try different things. I love that about my paintings, they are all different styles... I try to be multitasky and more openminded, heh.

Today's Quote: "God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant, and the cat. He has no real style. He just keeps on trying other things." -Pablo Picasso

Our anniversary is coming up... and we have been fighting about everything lately.

Like always, I leave the house and stay all night at the studio to relieve tension.

When I returned home yesterday... I had a rose and a letter on my pillow.

"She's crazy, I can't take her anywhere. Most days I hate her, but not all day! She climbs into bed with dirt on her feet and paint all over her. She never shows affection. She can sit next to me and be so far away. She always eats tuna with crackers and it stinks up the whole house. She wears that shirt, I swear, almost every evening! She can go 2 days with out showering, and still look as gorgeous as ever. She does what she wants, she has no conscious. She has a million different personalities. She never gets embarrassed. I hate that she can make a friend with a complete stranger almost anywhere we go. She drinks beer out of a wine glass. She listens to that old whinny country music, that crawls under my skin. She can carry on a better conversation with my own friends than I can. I swear sometimes she’s one of us dudes. She never cleans out her truck. She shows no emotion. She doesn’t pick up after herself. She can’t ever be still for just 10 minutes. She never wants to watch golf with me. She leaves her 100-pair of shoes all over the house. She piles up her laundry. She has that annoying laugh that is louder than everyone else’s. She thinks that just because she has a 4x4, she can drive through anything. I hardly get to spend time with her. She pee’s with the door wide open. She has paint stains on every piece of clothing she owns and even on my favorite bedspread. She can't get the noodles right when she cooks spaghetti, and her store bought sauce is disgusting. And she walks outside in the morning wearing her robe and boots to smoke a cigarette. But really, I truly love every annoying thing about her and sometimes I wish I could be more like her!”

Today's Quote: "Some emotions don't make a lot of noise. It's hard to hear pride. Caring is real faint - like a heartbeat. And pure love - why, some days it's so quiet, you don't even know it's there.”-Unknown

I had one of those days where I hated everyone and everything around me. A day where a huge depressing cloud hung over me. Truth is… I was fed up and couldn't take anymore. I got up from my chair, walked out my studio door, and started a walk. I didn't know where I was going and I didn't even care. Call me crazy, you are probably right! I just needed the fresh air to clear my head, I needed the wind blowing on my face, and the view of the world around me. I didn't think once to turn back, I just kept walking.

I passed by a dad teaching his son how to ride a bike. I passed by two couples sitting in a car kissing. I passed by a lady on her phone telling a loved one she wanted them to come home. I passed by 3 teenage boys skateboarding around the church parking lot. I passed by two elder couples eating lunch and holding hands.

I then realized I walked a long ways wearing the wrong kind of shoes. They didn't fit at all.  

I wondered how I could describe that feeling of the comfort from those people's lives around me. Their happiness and their love shared for one another. It made me feel so good about myself, it was indescribable. I began to feel worries disappear. I thought how shitty it was of me to worry about something so pathetic.

People honked at me walking on the side of the road and they starred, but hell I didn't care, I just kept walking. I walked further and realized I made a complete circle and ended right back to my studio door. I opened the door and looked around. I knew then I needed to start appreciating what was in front of me, and quit sweating all the small shit. Let it go!

Today's Quote: "Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions.  Life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am a little behind in the news, as I noticed by reading the Arts - New York Times yesterday morning.  I try to stay as far away from the other news sections right now. And if I am really curious, I just take a peak at JFZ'sblog- he pretty much keeps me up to date on everything I  would be interested in reading anyway. (And as you notice I am a little behind reading his news too.) I just think there is too much negativity going on in the US today for my intellegent and positive mind (haha) to read anything other. Well, until I find this in the Arts section- My favorite comedian George Carlin died sunday 6/22/08 at the age of 71. I am in agh right now...yes, we all have to go sometime... but he was truly the master of words.  Well, my opinion that is.

Today's Quote: "Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity."- George Carlin

George Carlin video on the 10 Commandments:

Title: "Raegan"

Product Details: 24" X 36" Watercolor

My Message: This is a custom portrait painting for Raegan McGowan. She gave me a picture of herself and a picture of a painting that she wanted the texture and image to look similar to, and for me to go by. She looked at me and smiled, and the look in her eyes told me everything. It is one of my first attempts at watercolor painting. This project took several months for me to finally complete. We are both amazed with the outcome!

Today's Quote: "Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm."- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Today's Quote:      

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely...”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson