Starr

This will be brief because in member's gallery one there is so much great art of different styles and types that I'd be here all day writing about it if I went to each gallery! So I'm going to condense this mini-blog forum to my impressions of just 3 galleries. In the future I'd like to do the same with the other galleries. But for now to start, smb's new "flower in a vase in a window" is very fine. I don't know whether it's an oil painting or a pastel, because I know he likes to work in pastels, but it's a really good piece. I would buy it in an optional universe where I wasn't a poor artist! I also very much like what looks like rice paddies in a clearing storm, with beautiful colors in the sky and reflections in the water in the fields. Very appealling, misty beautiful! In another gallery of his I especially like his "Palms, Yellow Sunset" very much. The 2nd gallery to write on today is Corinnemc's (sp?) "my art variety pieces". Clean lines. Less is better? After all the great cave paintings of 30,000 years ago are line drawings. I don't think western civilization has ever supassed what they did artistically. The 3rd gallery that knocks me dead is Millie King's "Wilflife Paintings". She's really gifted. Makes you feel kind of daunted to see how good she is. I want to thank the administrator of this site, and the owner, for giving artists like ourselves a chance to display our art, and for giving us forums where we can discuss art, among other subjects. Success and happiness to everyone. Starr.

Vic: I think this painting is really fine! Being a student of art history (my favorite century and art is 17th century Dutch) I really know quite a lot about art (not bragging, just true). Your painting reminds me of a good Matisse. The only thing I don't like about it is the overuse of script. To me, a simple "Vic" signature in the lower right corner would be much superior. But that's your choice and some artist's do that. Maybe it's just modern and I'm out of touch, although I'm pretty young. Congranulations on your fine picture, Starr (Friday 6:15 pacfic time, California)-good going!!

Hi: I'm a new member. Being new I don't quite understand the overtones and the undertones of the introduction protocols: I'm just going to write it short and straight. Of course I'm an artist. I paint only in oils. I often lay in a painting (avergage size about 30"X40") with a broad construction type pencial, holding it with only 2 fingers, my thumb and my forefinger. After roughly laying it in, I continue to work it up with usually oil pastels. I like Senelier's but can't always afford it, so use what I have. Beside Senelier's is for finish work, it's too precious to use at the beginning. After that I'll start working in oils, but I'll still use oil pastels as part of my workup medium. After I start, if I like the way the picture is going, I work fairly intensely for at least 8 hours a day, drinking mostly coffee, maybe with a little Napa Valley Red. I work from about 2 in the afternoon until about 10 at night. If I work intensely I usually finish a new picture in about a week. I can do about 50 pictures a year, if the financies are right and I can buy paints and brushes and other materials. To get away from the art and to refresh myself, I like physical outdoor participant sports-climbing, tennis, skiing, I have a mountain and a road bike, and I usually start my day by running on the street at least 30 minutes each morning. It's not a lot of fun but you feel better afterwords. I've spent the last 6 months working on building an art website, with a large photogallery. It was very hard for me because I am no webmaster, that's why it took me so long. I finally finished and got it up about a month ago. I hope to be able to get used to this website and to be able to visit the galleries of the very creative and gifted artists who display and blog here. Starr