
Summer Update

art
This is an historic moment in the world where everything has been turned upside down. I have lost several uncles this year and one to Coronavirus. We have been in Shelter in Place for 38 days. I look forward to daily walks and trail excursions to catch those signs of spring I had been looking forward to all winter. What mattered most to me then, matters even more now.
I decided to make some cards to cheer some people up. If you are stuck inside, get out some paints and have fun, share things.
Things are moving along and the creative projects keep flowing! I have a new studio mate who will be helping me with arts and crafts: Fred the Cockatiel!
He likes to cut paper and we will be collaborating on projects to bring art to the people for your everyday life. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!
I am now taking pet portrait commissions. Contact for pricing!
I just updated the portfolio with a couple of oil paintings, watercolors, and some sketches.
I discovered the joys of embossing powder, and went about decorating all my sketchbooks with it. My latest obsession is with water soluble wax based paint. I enjoy the vibrancy and transparency of it but they are also easy to rework with water and add more layers of paint. I’m experimenting with small pieces, cards and shareable art. It’s been raining alot but I did manage to get out and do some plein air painting. We are going to have an exhibit of life drawing at the Mission Cultural Center soon, subscribe to my mailing list for details!
This has been a great year for my art so here are a few things that helped me find my way back to my art process and what keeps me going in the studio:
I hope this helps bring more art into your life. I look at art as a way to grow as a person and express and connect with others in a deeper more meaningful way. It’s a way to be more human in our increasingly digital and consumerized society.
What’s happening in the studio this fall/winter? Still life and portraits! I still have some watercolor prints and postcards for sale in my shop in case you are looking for those hard to find gifts. Follow me on instagram @renerodzart.
.
I haven’t painted in oils in a long time and wanted to try it again. I took a 10-week online class in Octobver & November with Art Mentors called Narrative Long Pose Figure Painting with Joseph Todorovitch.
It is not for beginners, but it was really informative and helped me with the methodical process of building a painting. Oil painting is fun but it is a process and a time investment. He is really great and talks you through the paint process in real time.
This painting took about 30 hours. I may add a little more paint to round her out a bit more and breathe more life into her. Though we used Salome as our theme, I wanted to make it more of a memento mori, since that is where my head is at right now. I am moving on to other still life and portraits to get more practice in first. After painting for a while I started to remember the way I used to paint but I also learned some new things from taking his class. It is so great to be able to paint for hours at a time and have something to show for it!
I had learned a lot about materials, building stretchers, stretching and prepping canvas, mixing colors and subject matter, etc. from art school. Now there are so many instructional videos online anyone can take advantage of this knowledge. I recommend working with an instructor if you can and get feedback. I will be posting up some old work, I just need to get some of my slides digitized. Remember slides?
As a freelancer with an arts background, what did I do for a living? I have designed logos, worked at startups, worked at a high volume print shop downtown, worked with creative directors, restaurant and club owners, interior designers, event managers, and small business owners. I’ve painted on ceramics for minimum wage and was an occasional Peachy’s Puffs cigarette girl. I’ve worked on vlogs, music videos, independent films, social media and have designed several websites and advertising materials. In art school I worked in Student Services doing administrative tasks and sorting the mail. When I graduated from art school, everything went digital. I had to teach myself the tools. I learned a lot from working with a graphic artist at a print shop in the financial district. It is difficult to survive as an artist in San Francisco. Over the years, rents have skyrocketed and many artists were evicted. Freelancing was not enough to get by, and I had to pay my student loans. I spent several years moving around doing odd jobs and trying to find a place to live and work. I did unrelated jobs in bars and retail. You can learn a lot about starting your own business by working for other small businesses in any capacity. I finally found work in the environmental industry, and it was a relief to have a steady paycheck and health insurance. I have been working for over a decade doing that. My student loans were finally paid off. We are all dancing on a tightrope! As long as I can incorporate my passion somewhere into my life, then it feels right. I’ve been drawing since I was a little girl. I’ve invested so much of my time and money into my art education, it only makes sense to keep going.
July was World Watercolor Month, to raise awareness and funds for art education. The idea is to paint everyday and share on instagram with #WorldWatercolorMonth. It was fun yet challenging. There were prompts of what you could paint but I didn’t follow them. It does help to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. I tried painting fur, feathers and other textures, which was delightful. Instead of doing a theme, I went all over the place with landscapes, cityscapes, still life, nature, pet portraits, & abstract. I filled up two sketchbooks and also tried new materials, such as the liquid watercolor and painting with absorbent ground on canvas. There are a lot of artists on instagram and I enjoy browsing through art there. It has helped me with my motivation. A great use of social media!
Here are some highlights:
I’ve added some fun timelapse videos!