Cocktails 1961, 24x24, Amy Dixon

Inspired by the private wine cellar of a friend in Beaune, France.

WINE DREAMS, 30X24

Donated to the Vintner's Reception and Live Auction

HIGH MUSEUM ATLANTA WINE AUCTION

Saturday, March 26th

Artist will be present!

                    
Blue Grass Cow, 36x36, Amy Dixon                              White Grass, Blue Cow, 30x30, Amy Dixon


Why cows? Form, structure, texture, something to say about color and freedom from form. Inspiration is all around, right in front of our eyes....just look!

WWW.AMYDIXONFINEART.COM

                                                      Angels in the Aspens No. 2, 60x48, Amy Dixon

In the eyes of a 5 year old….

Well, art critiques, line up! Mollie, age five, has summed it all up in a recent comment to her mom.

“Mom, Amy Dixon is the best artist in the neighborhood. She can color inside the lines without going around the outside first. And she can draw perfect circles. And really good s’s”

Thanks Mollie! It made my day and makes me want to shine even more on the canvas for ALL ages who are taking note!

I am still painting, but WISH to stop!

The paintings are hung on the walls with care,

And just as we hoped, the buyers were there.

Kirklyn taps away on the computer all day,

Then schleps a painting and whisks it away.

Kelly turned 50 and wouldn’t ya know,

It’s down hill now, I told her so!

When out on the block arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the easel to see what was the matter.

Away to the window only to find,

John Harrell as Santa, he’s one of a kind!

The moon on the breast of absolutely NO snow,

The Washington Park Grille is all aglow.

Kit and Anita still have brushes in hand,

We need inspiration, strike up the band!

The chaos won’t stop, the shopping’s not done,

Where are the elves? Son of a gun!

I need them right now, there’s stuff left to do,

3 last paintings, then buy a gift or 2?

Not one thing is wrapped, cuz nothing is bought

Power shopping ahead, before I’m distraught.

Meditation, they say, will calm us all down,

Not cuss in traffic all over town?

Nothing a little glass of cheer won’t cure,

Pace is the key, that’s for sure…

Enough of this poem, but you DID read this far….

What can I say, calling Onstar.

Happy Holidays to all & toast the New Year!

Thanks for reading my poem, silly and queer.

11.10.10  Traveling Moments

 

Still, 42x54…Fields  are vast.  Sky is blue, pink, mango, maze.  Squalls move in and cloud visions, but in the mist  is confusion followed by clarity.

                                
Alerts a place of time that exists in the                           On the Horizon, 6x6 . . . A passing moment on the
now and draws from the past.                                           road that inspires.

                        

Flowers linger in visceral palettes of nature.   God’s grace uncovers what’s been there all along, yearning to be recognized and told.

Movements of my brush.                      Amy Dixon, 11.10.10

Does anyone know of a better combination? I am a foodie for sure, and in my element when the food, wine and friends involve ART.

Recently, a commissioned painting combined all of the above. Oysters on the half shell, French champagne, new friends and voila, the makings of ART to tell the story! The main venue in Boulder was Jax, known for oysters and a lively bar. My storyboard for the painting combined photographs that I took of  my clients at the bar, adding a suggestion of both of their dad’s in the crowd, a few existing elements ( the wire fish sculpture) as well as a few added elements that had special meaning & memories for them. Commissions of this nature are sometimes challenging, but the end result is worth the problem solving!

   Champagne, Oysters, & Family  36x36                                                                              Winescapes Detail

Often, when working on a painting that is more representational, detailed in subject, tighter, I find it beneficial to work on a very loose piece at the same time. Something about the right brain, left brain, or perhaps I land somewhere in the middle. Winemaker’s Dozen (refer to my website) made me crazy, making sure one could tell which glass was on first, which was on second. This painting is part of the permanent collection of art in Grill 23 Restaurant, Boston. My new diptych, Winescapes I & II, is a different take on wine glasses, pushing to more abstraction. I like both and enjoyed painting both, but the approach is totally different. While working on the commissioned painting of the busy bar scene mentioned above, I worked on 2 panels, 48x36” each, as a diptych.  Loose, drippy, scraping away paint, layers of glazing, abstracted wine glasses that go beyond just painting an object. 

The subject is obvious, but the process is not. Layers of paint inspire me.  Breaking the rules…what rules? Leaning towards greater abstraction and a direction I plan to continue exploring. Perhaps the viewing jury can decide the success. At the very least, I achieved an overall floating quality of a singular object rendered in a random &repetitive manner…which is what I set out to do. Construct & deconstruct.

Dolby Chadwick Gallery (www.dolbychadwickgallery.com) in San Francisco just opened an exquisite exhibition of works by Alex Kanevsky, whose paintings I have admired for years, but never had the opportunity to see in person. What a treat! Well worth the trip to San Francisco! ART that moved my soul. He is a master painter and creates his own language with transparent layers and building up of these brilliant layers on the surface. Pure abstraction, yet he paints a representational subject, often seeming to be a collage of many observations. Brilliant in my eyes! Check it out on their website. He’s a painters’ painter and that is to say INSPIRING! We, as painters, seek inspiration from old masters and often from contemporary painters too. On some level for me, Kanevsky’s work addressed both. The underlying draftsmanship is masterful, the surface: modern.

Time….always reconfiguring TIME for the vast ideas I have relative to creating art and expanding my career. Time…is a blank canvas, awaiting artistic truths. What do I really want to say with my art? How can I approach subjects that have interested me for years, and say it in a bold, new manner.  Is it just that simple? Am I challenging myself enough?  The little voice inside that whispers what if you venture off in another direction and it’s awful…..OR, what if it’s spectacular and launches art that reveals a new voice, a new level. I have to listen to that voice as it is mine and have the energy, courage & guts to not only carve out the time, but let my intuitive nudges move that paint on the canvas in new ways. It’s not a drastic leap of faith, rather a continuation of growing as an artist and not settling for just “ what works, what sells”, but further developing  my own “lingo”, language of paint.

Lift your glass at Ya Ya’s ( Belleview in the Denver Tech Center) to the new triptych that I recently installed over the bar. The bottle is the managing partners’ choice, a Barolo, La Spinetta.  www.yayasbistro.com  YUM! The wine glasses are giclees on canvas and are a split version of the aforementioned Winemaker’s Dozen.

Stay tuned. My next blog may simply be musings of finding my language in a pile of paint, glaze, brushes, palette knifes.  What I already do, just pushing in new directions.

The summer has evaporated. Tis trite to say, but true.  We all experience the slipping away of days on different levels and mine has been a roller coaster of highs and lows.  Thankfully, it is mostly highs, but first the lows. My dad passed away July 10^th at the age of 86. I could write an entire blog celebrating the life of a skilled surgeon, a dad who was a “hero” to not only his family, but to many… The life of the party…” never let the truth stand in the way of a good story”!!! His ability to delve into creativity on any level is a gift that is a part of me and always will be. Salute to my dad, JT, Jack Tom, Daddy Jack and simply “Daddy”.

Just when you think you are hitting a stride…ahhhh…BALANCE…a boulder of emotions hit.  Lucky me that I am able to channel the layers of life & all of its complexities into painting.

I was the artist in residence in the gallery at Santa Fe Fine Art …a week after losing my dad …ok…well, pull up those boot straps and get to work. Once again, confirmed, that there is a spiritual, artful connection with me and Santa Fe. Some stories are too bizarre to tell, even if I could manage to put them into words. Time & time again it never fails me. Inspiring AND…YEAH… art sales were great. Café Pasquales never disappoints a foodie like me, connecting with an old college roommate, making new friends & the amazing energy of the crew at Santa Fe Fine Art all contributed to the adventure. An old postcard from Becky says “ they came, they sold, they ate well…they were the obese artists”. Well, maybe an abbreviation of that humor, but makes me giggle…and know that the vibrations in Santa Fe rock on!

Painting live for 2 charity events in Denver requires a lot of schlepping but is always rewarding. THE standard question when painting live, on site is “how long does it take you to paint that?”…and my standard sassy answer is “a life time”. One event was at Denver Botanic Gardens for the French Summer Soiree. The gardens are alive with color& texture….not to mention the unbelievable front and center tangible dynamics the Henry Moore sculpture exhibition adds to this nature. If you live in Denver, don’t miss it. Go on a hot day in flip flops, dip your toes into the ponds & hang out for sunset. The bronzes of this exhibition at sunset are stunning. Fresh air, nature grows drowsy.

The second event raised money for the Anchor Center for the Blind, something I did not know a lot about but was WOWED  by  the end of the evening. Rain did not diminish the enthusiasm of supporters on the grounds of the Shanahan’s property.  Stunning.  Great $$ raised and great testimonials to the value of not only this center for the blind but our OWN sight!! Often taken for granted??? I painted 30x15” singular bottle of Chateau Margaux 1961 Grand Cru. What’s not to like about that? Someone send a case soon..please! Ha!

Eric Maisel, Ph, D. (www.ericmaisel.com) writes for ART CALENDER publication. Have never met him in person, but have gained intuitive knowledge and supportive insight into the creative process of artists from his monthly articles for years. Many that I cannot absorb in one reading, thus I save them in some scattered files and somehow the right saved messages always resurface at the right time. Recently, the message was “exhaust yourself”.  I cannot do justice to paraphrasing his message www.artcalender.com Jan 2009. Go read it! He says that a pilgrim who goes on the journey with obstacles in mind is bound to wear out. This pilgrim who “crosses the desert because he has a vital message to deliver, a lost love to find or a pledge to keep, he will go further and perhaps arrive at his destination. He is not guaranteed success, the desert may still win. But his motivation will make all the difference”.  Dig deep.

Life, death, hurdles, busy….I am blessed…..exhausting myself? YUP! Sometimes on canvas, other times in tears, but with passion. A high and a low, grounded in a firm foundation. Much due to my dad, my mom and my stepmother…and did I mention 5 brothers and sisters? Inspiration and appreciation of so much from so many people demand to not settle…ever. Admit to being frustrated at times if needed and remember that frustration builds character (remind me, please!)

I am not a proud person in the snobbery sense, but a person who takes pride in who I am, what I do, how I treat people and what my roots are. My dad treated many a patient with no resources, just a soul who needed a little surgery…at no charge! Grateful patients would bring homegrown veggies, jams, whatever they could offer as THANKS DOC!! Classic southern style! My dad probably “exhausted himself” in taking the oath to take care of others….beyond the 6 kids, God love him! Confidence is passed on. Confidence in itself is a gift. To brag was never his style, just to be was enough.  My challenge is to be this person with my art. Give. Don’t settle. Keep the child in me. Laissez le bon temps roule!

“This is your time on earth, this is your chance to create worthy things, this is your opportunity to conceive a startling idea when, an instant before, nothing existed, and this is your MOMENT to represent yourself in ways that makes you PROUD.” Eric Maisel, ART CALENDER, 1/2009.

To Be Blue, 48x48....allowing myself "to be blue".

To say the pace is busy is a joke! An understatement and I am not complaining. Lucky me! Every day is fresh start and filled with new ideas & it is a gift.  Education and observations from visitors to the gallery are beyond valuable and lend validation to my art, while sparking new ideas and directions.  No grass growing under these feet!  I have more ideas and directions I wish to go than time allows…but all in good time.

Friends at Brushstrokes Gallery were taking an encaustic workshop and invited me to come along. Wax is an interesting medium.  When studying in Italy….ahem…way back when…I worked a lot in batik. Encaustic is similar in that the main medium is wax, but almost a reversal of process.  I loved the workshop and left with a greater appreciation for encaustic painting, especially a Canadian artist, Tony Scherman, I have admired for a long time.  His works are large format and absolutely incredible!  What patience and talent!  For my own process of loving to layer with glazes, thick paint, thin paint, drips, palette knife scrapes…encaustic was a good exercise, if you wish, in further exploring the energy and interest that transpires with building of color in layers and texture.

I’ve always been drawn to painting interiors. I photograph interiors everywhere I travel, whether it’s an antique store, a friend’s home, or a restaurant. These reference materials allow me to be a designer, of sorts, on the canvas. Our June feature is INTERIORS: The Spirit of an Empty Room.  Italian Salon (24x24”) combines classical elements characteristic of many European spaces with a touch of contemporary.  My thoughts were to paint with loose broad strokes, drips and charcoal drawings as a part of rendering the space so that it had interest and tells the story, but not so literally. The eye can finish much of the details without my needing to fuss over the minutia. One stroke, one line, can express lines of a settee, a chandelier or something as simple as a book.  This approach will be even more fun when painting some of the many open air busy market scenes from photos taken in France, Italy and Finland. Stay tuned!

How many times have we read that all art is abstraction.  True.  Intuition and experimenting with different techniques keeps my creative juices flowing.   Searching for a balance between realism and abstraction and seeing where it takes me.  Sometimes an artistic diversion is a success and other times it is a complete mess!  The important thing is to keep playing with the vast ideas that I have and following my intuition.  One of these ideas has always been collage.  I was in Miami for Art Basel in December and saw some amazing collage works.  I’ve played around with billboard paper for several years and will continue to do so.  There are stacks of it in my basement from a billboard contractor!  Recently in New Orleans, I was drawn to a stack of old New Yorker magazine covers, so bought about 100 of them! Admittedly, ideas are all over the board, but somewhere in the jumble of my creative brain, there will be balance and with trial and error, success and failure, I’ll make sense of it all.  Taking risks with good faith and no expectations other than to enjoy the process, learn from it, keep the good, throw out the bad and keep on going. Gosh knows “boredom” is not in my vocabulary!

If I knew where I had read this quote, I would properly acknowledge the writer, but honestly, I have no clue who/what/where…but will share it anyhow.

IMAGINATION GIVES MAN THE ABILITY TO PROJECT HIMSELF THROUGH TIME AND SPACE AND RISE ABOVE ALL LIMITATIONS.