Monday, June 29, 2009

Diogenes the Flute Player

My interperation of the mysterous Fayum portraits: The Fayum Portraits: Greek and Roman painting style, encaustic on wood, part of the Egyptian culture (funeral portraits).They show the faces of the inhabitants of ancient Egypt at a period influenced by Greeks and Romans. The Fayum portraits are the best preserved paintings of Antiquity. Some of these produced by Greeks who worked in Egypt, part of the Greek population that settled in cities like Alexandria, when Egypt was ruled by Greek kings after the peaceful conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great.
The first one I painted was so gorgeous that I gave him a kiss when on one was looking. Saturday at Art on Fire a teacher from Japan fell in love and took him home.
So I made Diogenes #2. Peter came home and said he looks like a gay guy at a Greek party. Wow, that's soooooo funny I forgot to laugh.
So I ask you dear readers become a critic and tell me which one do you prefer and why, dead Greek guy #1 or dead Greek guy #2? Please respond in my comments and let me know. Diogenes the Flute Player #1 or #2?


Diogenes the Flute Player #1


Diogenes the Flute Player #2

Monday, June 22, 2009

Enigmas for my 500th post.

Enigmas
I walked around as you do, investigating the endless star and in my net during the night I woke up naked, the only thing caught, a fish trapped inside the wind. Pablo Neruda
by
Judy Vars
Encaustic Wax
12 X 12

Sunday, June 21, 2009

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT

My blogger friend Patti from Woodstock tagged me to answer personal questions
Well OK I'll play.

The rules:1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.2. Tag eight other people.


  1. What is your current obsession? My encaustic wax pieces. I have created 9 12 x 12" pieces and am going to make at least 18 to 20 more in 6 weeks.
  2. What is your weirdest obsession? The first thing that comes to mind in my thing about pillows, I need feather pillows but they must be tripple cased and during the night I trade off for the cooler one that I keep against the cold wall. I think its menopause.
  3. What are you wearing today? Black valor pants, black tee shirt, and a black zippered hoodie with red skeletons. Its kind of nippily in Alaska today.
  4. What’s for dinner? Cassaba comes from Costa Rica its fried plantain, pasta dish, meat, rice and beans, salad.
  5. What would you eat for your last meal? Whatever is for dinner.
  6. What’s the last thing you bought? A 19" flat screed LCD Emmerson TV $228.00 yesterday for Fathers Day at Wall Mart.
  7. What are you listening to right now? The U.S. Open Golf it's just background noise, I used to not be able to stand the boring sound of golf on tv but its gotten more interesting since Tiger came along
  8. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? I would love to be transported to the high mountain top with a view of forever and just sit for an hour with God
  9. Which language do you want to learn? Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.
  10. What do you love most about where you currently live? My home is too close to a lake but has been grandfathered in so I can keep it, sometimes it feels like I live in a houseboat there is an abundance of wildlife in my backyard. Sometimes I ask myself how I ever got so fortunate.
  11. What style is your current home decorated in? I'll call it Alaskan Eclectic.
  12. If you were a time traveler what era would you live in? The Golden Age.
  13. What is your favorite color? Black because its all the colors.
  14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? It's my Harley Davidson tattoo shirt i bought off my sister Patty.
  15. What were you doing ten years ago? This is an all time first for me because I have been married to the same man for 10 years in August! Ten years ago I was going hot and heavy with my fiance and planning my wedding.
  16. Describe your personal style? I choose to ignore this question.
  17. If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on? Getting my carpets cleaned!!!!
  18. What are you going to do after this? Check out the progress on my encaustic painting boards.
  19. What are your favorite films?Owl and Pussycat, Leaving Normal, Twin Peaks, My Familia, Dune, Batman, Jonny Depp films, I like most things.
  20. What inspires you? Passionate people
  21. What doesn't? Rush Limbaugh
  22. Your favourite books? I don't read alot but I loved The Fountain Head, I read it over to understand it better when I was a teen.
  23. Do you collect anything? and everything.
  24. What makes me follow a blog? Its people I like and would like to know better we have things in common and learn from each other.
  25. What was the most enjoyable thing you did today? Let me give you a hint it's something we should do more of.
  26. And my question? When is the last time you wrote a letter to a loved one?

tagged: Annie, Nicole, Charmaine, Angela, Rose, Yoby,

Sunday, June 14, 2009

St Jude Thaddeus - Hope for the Hopeless


Jude Thaddeus
Saint Jude, Hope of the Hopeless, Pray for me
Oil
20" X 16"
Judy Vars
$500.00
 
This is St Jude the patron saint of lost causes and also of artists. Saint Jude reminds us to stay optimistic in difficult times.
 
NOVENA TO ST. JUDE
 
O Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return, I will make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Say three Our Fathers, three Hail Mary's and Glories. Publication must be promised. St. Jude, pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen. This Novena has never been known to fail. This Novena must be said for 9 consecutive days..

Friday, June 12, 2009

Girdwood is my second home

Yesterday I got up early and drove 2 hours to Girdwood http://www.girdwoodchamber.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi and guess what? I was not scheduled to work! So I drove around looking for a place to pitch my tent instead. Girdwood now has No Camping signs all over town because of the partyiers from the last Forest Fair. Rumor is they found a lady floating in the river 2 days after the festival.
I drove to Hope, Alaska which was a 45 minute drive. Buddy and I went for a 5 mile hike on a beautiful trail in Hope on the other side of the Cook inlet. There was a sweet little campground for $14.00 a night, but I hate to pay to pitch a tent. It seemed safe with a camp manager but that was a long drive back so after searching I decided to sleep at the gallery in the mini gallery room off to the side. With an air mattress, sleeping bag and a pillow I'm right at home. Problem is there was a big controversey about my sleeping at the gallery last year. Some said; whats the big deal, and others said; it's inappropriate and not covered under their insurance. So I snuck in after 10:00p.m. and got up at 6:00a.m. packed up my gear and went for a walk until opening time. Still I will probably hear about it. While on my walk to the coffee shop I spied a big black bear about 150 yards from me in a residentual neighborhood. Finally after all my walks I finally saw a bear.
I am at the laundormat this computer and internet access is costing me .15 per minute and some register sign keeps popping up and robbing me of time because I cannot type when it is on and guess what there is no one to complain to, gurrrr.

In the gallery there are people from everywhere, Buddy the schnauzer is my greeter, he puts everyone in a good mood. I wanted to talk a little about selling art. In the past I sold cars and I was good at it always the number 1 or 2 salesman, I made a good living for many years. I came to Alaska to live my dream and become the artist I always wanted to be. I am fortunate to have realized that dream. Problem is when it comes to selling my own art, I am not that aggressive sales person that I used to be. It's perhaps so much of my self is tied up in what I create, which is just silly, yes I created it but it isn't me.

There are 4 steps to the sale; the greeting, the permission phase, the objection phase, this is where it gets dicey, they say things like; it costs too much, I don't have anymore room for stuff, there is no room in my luggage are common objections. This is where I fall down I assume they are just lookey lews and do not really want to buy. My job tomorrow is to get to the bottom of their objections try to answer their concerns. The final step is to ask for the sale! Hey whats the worst that can happen? If I have done the first three steps the ABCs then asking how would you like to pay for this, or so would you like to take this home today, or it would make a wonderful gift for your mother-in-law, do you need a box, or how would you like this shipped? It should be a no brainer.
Oh look .47 cents or 3 minutes left and I'm all done.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Loon Today Saint Tomorrow



Loon Magic
Original Oil Painting
16" x 20"
by
Judy Vars
It is finished and signed, this one turned out nice. I won't show you the failed attempts to paint animals just the ones that good ones.
Lately I have given myself a strict schedule and am driving myself to get er done. In the morning I take a five mile walk to work. When I get back to my studio I set my stopwatch and do nothing else but paint for at least 4 hours. It's very interesting how much painting gets done, the last three days I've done a painting a day. Encaustics go rather quickly and I get some amazing paintings. I have two shows coming up, a mini show at The Girdwood Center for The Visual Arts in July 16th to 31st and the show at the Madd Matters in Palmer in August. It would be great if I had all new work. I do not have a name for this show yet. I am creating encaustic paintings, some assemblage, oils and icons all the things I love to do. I hope from that eclectic soup will come a theme or idea.
Tomorrow I will post St Jude, patron saint of hopeless cases.