Donuts

Donuts
acrylic on canvas 2011

Thursday, December 29, 2011

I had an Art Attack

"Promises"  Acrylic on Canvas  24" x 24"  (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill
I had an Art Attack in December.  For my first art show, I had to re-examine my work as an artist and create several new pieces.  Here's what Janet Kruskamp's (my artist neighbor, mentor, and friend) little push into an Art Show taught me: I love painting all the time.  Please read this correctly--I am not saying I love to paint any time I pick up the brush (which is also true); I am saying I love painting all day, every day, every minute of every day--all the time.

Not only that but it makes me more creative.  When I am painting every minute, the paintings are flying into my head, mostly finished, faster than I can jot them down for later.  So my truth is that I must paint al the time, and since I have 3 children in or currently holding student loans (Ashleigh Hill, you know who you are!), I must paint for a living.  This is my life's purpose.

And the crashing sound you just heard was my guardian angel fainting from exhaustion and relief that I finally figured out what to do with my life.

Of course, I am not independently wealthy (yet) which means there must be an element of income in what I do.  So my new plan is simple: crash head-long into mass market production of art, make a million bucks, pay off the student loans, develop a following, and teach kids that art and creativity are as important as technology, science, and math.

Where do I start?  How do I start?  Hmmmm...well I am starting with a series of 5 paintings depicting that major areas that publishers are interested in for, well, the masses--teddy bears, coffee, wine, cats, and Christmas.  I have sketches in my new sketch book (courtesy of my daughters, Ashleigh and Chelcie) and photos of some cats, so I am good to go.  I'll let you know how this goes....

PS, for those of you who are interested in the status of the Theatreworks project, the paintings are on my website at www.sabrinahill.com.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Remembering that Christmas is an art...

"Dreaming Matilda"  Acrylic on Canvas  16"x16" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill
"A Cat and Some Canaries" Acrylic on Canvas  16"x16" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill


Many years ago, when my children were smaller and Christmas comings and going were more secretive, I spent the days and weeks before the holidays in frantic hoarding mode. I felt I simply had to get each child the same number of gifts, with the same total value or I would be labeled an unfit mother by the gift police or who ever monitors a mother's Christmas comings and goings. One year, I was particularly frantic over a general lack of money and a growing list of kid-wants and general needs (underwear, socks, pajamas). I really felt the joy of Christmas slip away, replaced by bitchiness, anger, and worry. 

This particular holiday, I had decided that I would paint each person in my family a canvas, a picture with great meaning to each one. Of course, this would be in addition to the same amount of shopping that I had always done, so the stress levels were through the roof! And I cracked under the strain of unpainted canvases, lined up like blank-faced reminders of imminent failure and lists of unpurchased gifts which I probably couldn't afford. I boo-hoo'd to my husband (secretly hoping to inspire hi, to work harder, do more crowns and provide more cash-o-la). Instead he said in his simple, forthright way. "Paint because you love it, and forget the rest. Your paintings are the gifts." Sometimes he is brilliant(which is why he married me)! 

So I painted and painted and painted...I did 8 paintings that year in time for the holidays. I was excited as hell for Christmas morning. I couldn't wait for everyone to see what I had done, praise my talent, blah, blah, blah... At the appointed gift-giving hour, the wrapping came off, there were some enthusiastic ooohs and ahhs, but mostly there was a tepid response to the gifts of my soul on canvas. It was a one of my favorite Christmases...no, I did not get the responses I wanted, thought I would get, or SHOULD have gotten, but....I had thoroughly enjoyed the painting process. I loved making the art. So, if nobody liked my gifts, so what, I liked them because I liked the process of thinking about the family member's likes and interests and coming up with a way to represent those thoughts on canvas. 

This year, at the encouragement of my dear neighbor and friend, artist Janet Kruskamp, I held my first art show. It was a blast, and I didn't sell one painting (yet!). What I did do was paint. I looked at the life around me--kids, dogs, cats, donuts, and I painted it. So as I travel through this Christmas season, I am remembering to look at the art of life, the delicate balances that remind us of family, home, and the hearths we return to. Above are two paintings from the art show....Merry Christmas

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Art for Theatreworks

Hello to both followers. The Chief Glitter Thrower is back! I am embarking on a delightful adventure in art...set paintings. Here's the assignment: Create an art installation that can function as backdrops in a theatre classroom.

I'm so excited!

So the staff at Theatreworks has come up with the following backdrop ideas--Under the Sea, an English Garden, Space, The Sixties, a Prehistoric Forest, a Medieval Castle Castle, the Beach, a Superhero Cityscape, and an Urban Oasis.

I have purchased the supplies and this weekend I begin...first up The Sixties and the Superheroes. Watch here to see how the work progresses.

December 29, 2011 *****UPDATE*****
Here are the paintings done for Theatreworks:

"Out of Africa..." Acrylic on Canvas  54"x54" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill

"Under the Sea..." Acrylic on Canvas  54"x54" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill

"Love Child" Acrylic on Canvas  54"x54" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill

"Out of this World" Acrylic on Canvas  54"x54" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill

"Superheroes" Acrylic on Canvas  54"x54" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill

"Primordial Forest" Acrylic on Canvas  54"x54" (c)2011 by Sabrina Hill

Monday, June 28, 2010

Glitter in the Air

My new favorite song is Pink's "Glitter in the Air." I like the words, the melody, her spell-binding performance of it at the Grammys--everything. So inspired was I that I decided to use it as a metaphor for the art in everyday.

Everyday, we need to remember to throw glitter in the air--to act with some abandon and create something sparkly, beautiful , and yes, fleeting. So this short post is step one in an exercise in glitter-throwing. I am on a mission to not only see the art that is everywhere around us, but to feel it, in the moment, to feel that spark of creativity that is so very universal.

Please join me in discovery....