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Art and Art Deadlines.com

Category: Artist of the Day

AOTD: Kellee Mayfield

No 7 completed in residence at Chateau d'Orquevaux by Kellee Mayfield!
No 7 (oil on canvas) completed in residence at Chateau d’Orquevaux by Kellee Mayfield

“What are you doing this weekend?” Kellee Mayfield

I am having a tough day, not horrible, not life-altering, just tough.  My mind is elsewhere, and I’m kinda wishing my body were too.  Because it is a quiet day in the studio (code for I’m too tired & unmotivated to work), I decided to do a little paperwork, jot down some notes about some ideas that I can’t shake & scroll through Instagram hoping not to lose a half a day.  

I came across today’s Artist of the Day, Kellee Mayfield‘s Insta feed, and almost every post that I clicked said, “What are you doing this weekend?”.  I found somewhere else to be, Chateau d’Orquevaux, a French artist residency, to be precise.  Mayfield spent some time there in the Fall and completed this series of work that transported me.  There’s a food to her Insta feed with which many AAAD will appreciate as well.  So, consider this my invitation to share… what are YOU doing this week?

While I always want to visit an artist’s website, I am sending you to her Insta feed @deltamoxie to give you the same glimpse that gave me the boost my weekend needed. 

Thanks to AAAD Artist of the Day, Kellee Mayfield for the trip to Chateau d’Orquevaux!

ARTIST of the DAY: Sophia Gunkel

"Breathe" (mixed media on canvas) by AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Sophia Gunkel
“Breathe” (mixed media on canvas) by AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Sophia Gunkel

“Freedom, that’s what I feel when I paint…
the freedom to explore the unknown parts of myself & our perplexing world as I see & experience it.”
Sophia Gunkel

Why do you create?  Do you have a physical response, or is the reaction solely an emotional or cerebal experience?  I have the tendency to drag my feet when I should be in the studio –somedays for a lack of purpose or an unclear direction or fear of failure.  But, I have learned how to put on foot in front of the other and get to IN the studio.  I resoundingly feel the same way every time I get there and paint.  Freedom.  Every time. The work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Sophia Gunkel, speaks to me and it seems we share that same sense of freedom.  Please explore more of Sophia’s work.  (And check out her Facebook feed for time lapse video!)

Find a sense of freedom with the work of today’s
AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Sophia Gunkel!

CHANGES for the NEW YEAR!

2019 Changes for artandartdeadlines.com!

CHEERS to change

I seem to always anticipate being done with the year, exhausted & ready for the idea of a fresh start do-over.  This year I feel a subtle, but significant change.  I am excited for the new year.  2018 has been hard and uncomfortable and has brought anxiety and fear and embarrassment AND GROWTH.  My work has grown by leaps and bounds.  Where are you?  I fell into a rut and found my work technically more proficient, but I was creating without joy.

I languished.  I talked with my friends & peers.  Everyone had a story, but no one had a solution.  I finally realized that it was fear that was holding me back.  There is safety in the clear, known action.  After 20 years, I changed media.  I’ve coached a lot of artists on how to do it.  Easy, right?  Yeah, not.  It feels like artistic, metaphorical puberty. Painful.  The difference is that I now know there is something on the other side puberty. And, I can’t wait.

So, cheers to the new year.  Raise a glass of whatever you crave, my current obsession is Prosecco, and let’s celebrate possibility.  I’m scared but willing to gamble.  How about you?  That isn’t a rhetorical question.  AAAD is about to change…

Have you noticed the lack of posts?  I am busy.  You are too. And, I’m not trying to sell the cult of busy.  I am creating and screwing up and scheduling and dreaming.  There hasn’t been use value in my posts FOR ME, so I have been avoiding them doing them at all, despite knowing that they ARE useful to some of you.  Self-absorbed, but honest.  How do we resolve this problem?  My solution is to make these posts a part of my practice and process.  Change is necessary but still scary.

So… food segues remain, calls remain, subscriptions remain free.  Content will be less formal, more personal.  Visuals will be simpler, colors softer.   Some sharing of my own work (oh, the scandal) and some of yours too. ♥ I want to weigh the pros & cons of calls and opportunities for me, personally, in the hopes that my painful transparency makes you think about some portion of your own journey differently.  We can’t all be on the same journey, but we all have the same issues with different food and geography and destination.

I don’t know exactly how all of this is going to look; be prepared for some trial and error.  Tell me what works and what doesn’t.  Tell me your stories and how your experience applies.  Want to help?  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Insta, wherever you are.  Give us a thumbs up, like or re-post.  Interact.  We don’t need the social media boost, just YOU.

I want community.

ARTIST of the DAY: Gabrielle Shannon

"Copper Storm 1" (acrylic on canvas) by AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Gabrielle Shannon
“Copper Storm 1” (acrylic on canvas) by AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Gabrielle Shannon

“. . . the brain mirrors the expanse of the entire cosmos… and beyond. Each moment is unique. Each moment is identical.” Gabrielle Shannon

For most of my life I felt I had a good handle on people as a species –essentially good & well-intentioned but deeply flawed.  But the past few years have opened my eyes to my own bias & rocked my faith in good intentions.  The work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Gabrielle Shannon, reminds me that the world is bigger than ourselves, bigger than our experience.  Check our her full statement!

Investigate the patterns of change with
AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Gabrielle Shannon!

ARTIST of the DAY: Jenn Ashton

"Distraction" (acrylic on paper) by Jenn Ashton
“Distraction” (acrylic on paper) by Jenn Ashton

“I want my paintings to find the naive child & deep down belly laugh that lives inside every person . . .” Jenn Ashton

I have picked up the paintbrush again for the first time in many years in preparation for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I had forgotten how physically taxing & the nature of focus that it requires of me. As a result, my work tends to be very serious. I have such respect for artists that bring forth joy on canvas and paper.  Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Jenn Ashton aspires to find the belly laugh.  Today, on this day, in this week, month & year, in this decade, I find painting with joy & laughter is among the most noble of pursuits. Thanks, Jenn.

Put a smile on your face & a swell in your heart
with the work of
AAAD Artist of the Day Jenn Ashton!

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ARTIST of the DAY: Soteris Sam Roussi

"We All Had Lightening Rods" & "Nero Could Turn on a Dime" by Soteris Sam Roussi
“We All Had Lightening Rods” & “Nero Could Turn on a Dime” by Soteris Sam Roussi

“I have limitless problems to resolve and discoveries unimagined to uncover.” Soteris Sam Roussi

Inspiration is a stranger to the one not its own.  For some it’s divine.  For some it’s academic.  For some it’s nagging & persistent.  For me, it is fleeting, absent sometimes, for months.  Then, inspiration comes bounding back in multiples faster than I can create.  But today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Soteris Sam Roussi, has limitless problems to resolve.  Someone once told me to use my anxiety as fuel; that isn’t unlike inspiration as a problem to be solved.  I like it.

 

Discover more of AAAD Artist of the Day Soteris Sam Roussi‘s work!

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ARTIST of the DAY: Sarah Quick

"Struggle" (detail) by Sarah Quick
“Struggle” (detail) by Sarah Quick

” . . . my pieces tend to be epic in scope, using all three modes of communication to create my narrative.” Sarah Quick

My days are full.  I am less busy, but more active.  I want to do everything, try everything, create everything, experience everything.  I feel like a constantly churning, epic state of movement.  It is good.  It is where I want to be, in the middle of chaos, both good & bad.  It is an experiential life.  It is shiny and new. Again. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Sarah Quick, conveys struggle on an epic scale.  We are never alone.

Explore more work from AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Sarah Quick!

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ARTIST of the DAY: Jasper Finn Behrends

"Pansy" (digital art) by Jasper Finn Behrends
“Pansy” (digital art) by Jasper Finn Behrends

“bullying has left marks on my life”Jasper Finn Behrends

Ever had something you needed to let loose into the world, but fear has held you back?  Me too.  I’m trying to take a deep breath and be brave and know that someone else in the world has the same secret; someone else is afraid or confused or feeling alone.  Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Jasper Finn Behrends, is brave in a way most of us will never have to endure.  I am proud to feature his work & hope you’ll carry it with you in your heart today.

Discover more work from AAAD Artist of the Day, Jasper Finn Behrends!

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ARTIST of the DAY: Susan Grace

"Here Kitty Kitty" (oil & charcoal on paper) by Susan Grace
“Here Kitty Kitty” (oil & charcoal on paper) by Susan Grace

“I find that I am an obsessive observer of signs but am increasingly skeptical that I perceive them in the ways intended by those who produced them.” Susan Grace

I am moving my home and downsizing again.  This is the last step on the way to making my family more mobile.   I have temporarily returned to goal-specific formal secondary education, and have just met the end of residential parenting.  My world is shifting.  I look around me for comfort in the familiar, in signs and symbols that the sun will appear once again in the morning.  And, while the sun has yet to disappoint me, it is hard not to feel isolated when you interpret all the signs differently than those around you.  I feel as a stranger in a strange land, like the title of that famous sci-fi novel.  When I read the statement of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Susan Grace, I new I’d found a kindred spirit.  Read the statement, browse the work.  Maybe we aren’t strangers after all.

Share the narrative, investigate AAAD Artist of the Day, painter Susan Grace!

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ARTIST of the DAY: Victoria Veedell

"Morning Garden" (oil on canvas) 20" x 20" by Victoria Veedell
“Morning Garden” (oil on canvas) 20″ x 20″ by Victoria Veedell

“Travel has become an important component in my work as it allows me to observe and compare gradients of color, light & atmosphere in different geographic locations.” Victoria Veedell

I have my eye on a prize, of sorts, and I am able to keep focused on the prize by finding inspiration anywhere I can.  The work of today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Victoria Veedell, suggests that inspiration can be found both around the world or in your own backyard.  Or, you could adopt Veedell’s work as your inspiration.  I am taking a trip to Shanghai via oil on canvas.  Join me…

Find your inspiration on a canvas of AAAD Artist of the Day , painter Victoria Veedell!