Monday art (dial-up warning)

[Heidi]

My apologies for the poor photo quality. I grabbed the wrong digital camera to shoot these. Enjoy! :hi:

A long-time friend commissioned these two small paintings: one for his brother and sister-in-law, and one for his sister and brother-in-law. This was a collaborative project; the client suggested the overall theme of "balance" as symbolized by the floating length of bamboo. I know the client personally and have met his family, so I could, accordingly, incorporate some personal touches related to the recipients' lives.

My writing in the background of both paintings is from the Metta Sutta, the Buddhist Hymn of Universal Love.



Left: "Balance I"
Oil painting over collage,
on 20 x 20 cm (7.8 x 7.8 inches) gallery-wrapped canvas
Materials: Red Tibetan prayer flag, Chinese calligraphy, vine charcoal (fixed), oil-painted bamboo and oil-painted depiction of cellophane-wrapped fortune cookie.

Left: "Balance II"
Oil painting over collage,
on 20 x 20 cm (7.8 x 7.8 inches) gallery-wrapped canvas
Materials: Blue Tibetan prayer flag, gessoed copy of illuminated Gutenberg Bible, vine charcoal (fixed), oil-painted depiction of bamboo and Eagle feather.

[billyskank]

1. Heidi!!!!!

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:


:loveya: I love the picture! :hi:

[Heidi]

2. Thank you so much, my friend.

It's two separate paintings, though, and not just one.

I'd like to do a couple along Hindu themes; alas, I've no knowledge of what collage elements and painted symbols might be meaningful to these faith paths. :cry:

:* So good to see you, darling. :loveya:

[billyskank]

9. Oh, yes, I can see that now

:blush: :dunce:

There is so much imagery to choose from in Hindu culture. You are spoiled for choice. But I would humbly suggest that no such collage would be complete without the AUM symbol:



For other ideas, just google images for "Krishna," "Radha," "Vishnu," "Narayana," "Lakshmi," "Ramachandra," "Jagganatha," and that's just God Himself, then there are all the demigods: "Brahma," "Siva," "Indra," "Ganesh," "Durga," and you can also search for elements from the great Indian classics, "Ramayana" and "Mahabharat": "Ravana," "Lakshman," "Hanuman," "Kamsa," "Putana," "Pandavas," "Dvaraka," "Vrindavana." You could search for days!

It is so good to see you too! :* :hug: :loveya:

[Heidi]

13. Hey, I have a woodcut stamp

of the Om/AUM symbol that I use in correspondence! I've some relatively new friends from India, both Hindu and Buddhist, who come here a couple of times a year, and they're going to be a wonderful reservoir of knowledge for me. (Call Me Wesley benefitted greatly from them last March: they sold me 108, 8-cm tigereye beads for his mala, as well as several sacred objects for our alatar.) :blessed:

:loveya: I've missed you. :*

[billyskank]

14. Likewise

> I've missed you.

:hug:

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

3. wow, much needed beauty!

thanks for posting these wonderful works Heidi! you are so amazingly talented. :hug::loveya:

[Heidi]

5. There's my equal opportunity flirt!

I've missed you, MAHNY! :loveya:

:*SMOOCH:*

I always worry a little when I follow my inner "vibe" and do these spirit-related commissions. It's nice when folks "get it." :hug:

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

6. I love the balance in both, and how both can go together or be

stand alone. I am awlays impressed by your skill and talent, so please please please keep posting more more more art :loveya:

and your inner vibe was spot on for these paintings!

many smoochies for you :*:*:*:*:*

[wildhorses]

4. nicely done, Heidi

do you like doing commissioned work?
:hi:

[Heidi]

7. I love it under special circumstances.

When it's a true collaboration between the client and me, allowing me to do the work with a pure heart, _then_ I love it. When I loathe it: when a client says, "Make it match my carpet." I once had a client actually bring me a paint sample from his living room. By the time the paint sample arrived, I was so far into the work that I couldn't say, "Um, no. Go to IKEA and see whether they have a print that matches." I'm not an interior decorator, and don't take commissions under those circumstances. Most of the time, though, it's totally OK, because the clients have seen my work in other people's homes or at exhibition, and they trust my intuition, and all is OK. :hi:

(Thank you for your kind words, warrior woman. :hug:)

[wildhorses]

8. you might be intersted in this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x4944465

[Heidi]

20. Thank you!

I'm koo-koo-for-cocoa-puffs crazy for _all_ kinds of art! :bounce:

[wildhorses]

21. me too...

It was a fun trip...


glad you enjoyed it



:hug:

[miss_american_pie]

10. Those are lovely

and that's a really thoughtful gift. :hi:

[Heidi]

19. It's a generous gift,

for sure. Until I got this commission, I thought Call Me Wesley and I were the only people who commissioned art as gifts for our loved ones. :) Thank you for your kind words, gf. :pals:

[2bfree]

11. Those are lovely!

I am a huge fan of mixed media collage and yours are wonderful the oil painting on top of the collage elevates the pieces to another level!

[Heidi]

12. Thank you, 2bfree!

My painting roots (as regards materials and their use) are pretty traditional, so it's important to me that all of my work be archival, including the collage materials. All of my supports are traditionally prepared, either professionally stretched and grounded canvases, or gessoed and sanded wood. For me, it's like building a solid foundation, and for what people pay, I believe it's essential that the work be archival. Thank you for your kind words. :hi:

[RevCheesehead]

15. I really like those, Heidi

I also love the idea that they're for two different family members, both similar, but also unique. Seems like a perfectly balanced gift to me. :)

[Heidi]

17. Thank you, Ginger's-Aunt-Ruth!

I've only met the recipients a couple of times. One family is Catholic and lives in a beautiful rural place where American eagles feed along open portions of the Platte River (hence the eagle feather); the other family is blended Catholic and Buddhist, and (with many mouths to feed) has had a long commitment to intellectual and spiritual growth at great personal sacrifice, hence the cellophane-wrapped fortune cookie. Like all of us, these two families have struggled for balance, as symbolized by the floating length of bamboo. I feel fortunate to have the love of this particular client and the friendship of his family, across the gulf of time, oceans, mountains and physical distance. :loveya:

[ghostsofgiants]

16. Beautiful.

Amazing as always, Heidi. :)

[Heidi]

18. It helps

that I have smart and brave young artists in my life, you know. :hi: