Step One

Stop talking. Stop talking to the person beside you. Put your wine glass down, stop chopping on the little cracker with the cheese and olive on it. Stop talking to yourself.

Quiet yourself.

Find a place of silence for yourself … THEN … look and feel the painting.

This type of art interpretation is a verb, an act of surrender. It is not about finding a collection of words that make you feel smart or perceptive. It is not about “ism” labels – impressionism, expressionism, realism …

I can guarantee that what you feel, regardless of the human word tag you assign it, will be unique to you.

Feelings created just for you. Feelings created just for this moment. Feelings linking your soul with the soul of the artist. A unique, authentic link that exists only between you and the painting.

I hate explaining my paintings.

I hate writing about them so you can read about it on this blog. I hate writing about them for PR postcards, or articles to entice folks to come to my exhibit. I hate the word game.

If only I could arrive in a place of freedom. A place that no longer requires me to explain anything about my paintings. I want to scream out, “Take them as they are. Stop asking me for explanations. Stop seeking interpretations.”

What you see and I what I see are different things. If we see the same thing, then neither of us are looking through honest lens. When I see a cabin in the woods. You see a peacock. (Yes, that is a true story.)

Is is time for you to grow up?

See for yourself. Stop relying on me to explain it with words. I painted it for you. I painted for me. But I didn’t necessary paint it for both of us together.

Look through your personal love lens when you look at my art. Don’t bother trying to look through my lens. It just waters everything down. You won’t feel much if you use my lens.

We humans already have a beautiful art form called poetry. This medium uses words. It is magnificent.

My medium is paint. It too is magnificent.

Less words, more paintings.

Guess it’s time to officially announce that our family is relocating this summer to Mt. Home, Arkansas.

This summer has been packed with traveling, house hunting, and numerous other details involved in our move.  I haven’t painted ALL summer.  Thank goodness for my sketchbook. They are helping me remain sane.

What about my art?

My large exhibit, The Girlie Show, continues in Atlanta until November.  Please stop by the Defoor Center if you are in the area.  Over 70 paintings by little ol’ me.  After the exhibit/sale ends, I will journey back to Georgia in November to pick what is left with the van.

Until then, I probably will be a little quiet about my blogging and posting new pieces.  I have finally wised up and realized that I am not super-woman.  So I will focus on my family and the relocation for the next few months.  I hang  mostly on facebook these days, so be sure to  “like” my fanpage if you are curious about me.

More Details

We rented a cute house in Mt. Home complete with a mini-studio in the back yard.  I will post some pics of it after we get moved sometime in August.  A teenage girl previously hung out in this art abode, it has some cool graffiti art already inside  — not sure if I will keep that or paint over parts of it.  I prefer a bare, white studio.

AND the studio comes with a stay cat too!  I will probably keep that too unless Patches scares it off.

In limbo all Summer

Saying Goodbye while anticipaition a New Adventure leaves me and my family in limbo most of the summer.  When I am able to get a moment to myself, I like to contemplate about the surroundings and inspirations that await me in Arkansas.  I wonder how it will affect my art?

As you know, my art style is subject to flucation and I fully plan to keep it that way!

Why the move?

Hubby’s Job.

Saying Goodbye is difficult.

I will miss Albany a great deal, especially the people.  Moving is hard and full of fear of the unknown. Saying good-bye to friends is absolutely the most difficult part of the transition.

Over the next couple of months, I will be phasing out the open-edition prints that I offer through Imagekind, Fine Art America, and a few other smaller websites.  I also am considering discontinuing my gift line through cafepress as well.

It is all about balance.

For me, that means returning to what I love to do.  Paint.

Original artwork on real canvas.

Despite the recent advances in giclee technology, nothing can rival the freshness and texture of a real painting on canvas.  Prints are reproductions.  A mere image of an image.

I just have no passion for marketing them anymore.  I prefer to stick with originals.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through all my artistic growing pains.  I have always held the belief that it never hurts to try something new.  I don’t spend a lot of time planning strategy for my art business.  What fun is THAT?  The only one constant factor that doesn’t seem to change over the years is my continued passion for paint.  I am grateful for this and for the folks who put up with me and my artist meanderings.

If you are interested in purchasing a print, please do so quickly, as I will be taking them off the net a little at a time whenever I find time to work on it.

Looking forward to ORIGINALS only!  –  Cindy

Page Update for my Newest Series: City Walks

City Walks is a series of painting based on random inspirations that I take home with me after visiting different places.  Usually these memories mix together with childhood images or sometimes two or three cities mix together in my imagination and come out on the canvas in hobbled heap of fantasy.

With a touch of child-like whimsy, these works are complicated with skylines and trees from my travels.  Flowers show up frequently in this series.  Flowers make me happy.  I like to paint them.

Purchase these Original Paintings from my ArtFire Shop.

Click to Enlarge and View the Slide Show.

Click to Enlarge and View the Slide Show.

Purchase these Original Paintings from my ArtFire Shop.

I think it is time to let the cat out of the bag and reveal a little project I began back in November of last year.  It’s called AcrylicPaintReview.com.

It is website specifically designed to help fine art painter with the acrylic paint materials. I had a blast developing and launching this new site.  We are growing fast and thus experiencing growing pains.  New topics are added frequently, but as of today here are the main topics for the site:

• Brands: Reviews different acrylic paint brands and products.
• Acrylics 101: Tips and Tutorials about acrylic paint, mediums, materials for beginners.
• Acrylic Painting Book Reviews
• News: be the first to hear about new acrylic paint products.
• Techniques: In-depth tutorials and quick reads on specific painting techniques.

AcrylicPaintReview.com

Subscribe Three Ways

Keep up with us by using our RSS feed, signing up for monthly e-newsletters, or adding your email to our Feedburner list in order to receive an email each time we post a new article.  Read our Subscribe Page.

I am still looking for more guest bloggers.

Keeping up with this site is daunting and some weeks I do a better job than others.  I am always looking for guest bloggers willing to write about their own experience with acrylic paint.

Several paint manufacturers have sent me boxes with sample of their products.  Since I have been painting like a crazy woman to get ready for a large solo show opening in June, I haven’t had a chance to use and review them all yet.

If you are interested in helping me, please send me an email.  I will make arrangement to mail you some samples to review.  See our Write for Us page.

Cut the Crap: Submit your Reader Review Today

By far the easiest way to participate with Acrylic Paint Review is to submit your reply / comments about the brands and products you love or hate the most.  We would love to hear from you.

Our goal is to cut through the marketing crap and tell the truth about acrylic paint products.

We want open, honest reviews from working painters as well as hobby artists who use these paints in their own studios.  We are tired of glossy, fluffy endorsements from artists featured in supply catalogues who get paid for their loyalty to one specific manufacturer.

I mean really, how many times can you hear paint described as “buttery” before you want to throw-up?

Coming Soon: More Eco Tips and Products for Acrylic Painters

We have started a mini-section about eco-friendly paints and painting tips for fine artists.  This category is growing in popularity and I imagine these topics will be enhanced in the near future.

AcrylicPaintReview.com

Flowing, twirling skirts with spinning dancer figures and angels with and without wings….   these paintings depict a recurring theme for me ….   See all my Dancer and Angel Paintings   ….

Dancers, Brides, Angels, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters

They all seem to make their way into my paintings.  These figurative works are pieces that I paint, “when I am in the mood”.  I learned long ago not to fight the mood.  Therefore, these paintings come and go with rather random, unplanned frequency.

I call the collection Dancers and Angels, it seems to sum things up nicely.

See all my figurative paintings available for purchase in my Artfire shop.

Click to Enlarge and see the Slide Show.

Click to Enlarge and see the Slide Show.

See all my figurative paintings available for purchase in my Artfire shop.

Visit my Solo Exhibit in the Forum at  The Defoor Centre in Atlanta.  Show runs June 13, 2010  – November 2010.

The space is grand, with huge amounts of white walls! With over 70 pieces, I have been busy this spring painting a series of new works to highlight at this show.  As is my usual custom, I will probably post some sneak peaks at the work on my blog.  But the majority of it will not show up on the Internet until the show opens in Atlanta.

A special thank you to my Twitter Friend Jill Kettles, for helping make this exhibit possible.

Solo Show at The Defoor Centre

June 2010 – November 2010

I am tickled to be able to have largest exhibit to date.

Read an article about this show from the Albany Herald newspaper.

Locaton:

The Defoor Centre
1710 Defoor Avenue Northwest
Atlanta, GA 30318-7530
(404) 591-3599

2 Person Show:  Fitzgerald Georgia

Southern Landscape Paintings with a Abstract Twist.  Artwork by Cindy Davis

Opening Date: April 23rd
Closing Date: May 27th
Hours: Monday through Thursday 12:00pm-4:00pm, Fridays 12:00pm-7:00pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday

Reception: May 6th,  from  6pm-8pm.  (The musical  performance will  start at 7pm, refreshments will  be served)

The Carnegie Center
120 South Lee Street
Fitzgerald, GA 31750

229-426-5090

I am happy to announce that I am exhibiting in this show with a wonderful 3-D artist, Dr. Delano Braziel.

Dr. Delano Braziel, recently retired Valdosta State University Professor, is owner and resident potter of Delano Braziel POTTERY. The pottery studio opened in October, 2004, sparking the rebirth of downtown Pitts, GA. Dr. Braziel began making pottery in 1975 as a hobby. He has studied with master potters including Don Penny (Valdosta), the late Charles Counts (Rising Fawn, GA), Rick Berman (Atlanta), Kent McLaughlin (NC), Obie Clark (MS) and Wayne Cruz (Native American potter, NM). He is frequently a student at the John C. Campbell School in Brasstown, NC, and Ghost Ranch in Abiqui, NM, where he enhances his skills and techniques in pottery-making.

“Dr. B” uses a variety of techniques to create unique stoneware pieces that are microwave and dishwasher safe. He often combines handbuilding with wheel-throwing while making Raku and Salku pieces.

He has exhibited at area Arts and Crafts Shows, mostly during the heyday of Arts and Crafts of the 1970s, and was awarded the “Best of Show” at the 1975 Flatlander’s Art and Crafts Show , Lakeland, GA. In addition to demonstrations and lectures about pottery-making, he taught Continuing Education classes in pottery at the Rural Development Center in Tifton from 1975-1980. His work is on display and sale at Delano Braziel POTTERY.

Since retirement he spends much of his time traveling and on his farm at Pitts, GA. You may catch him in his pottery studio during the summer when he is working on some pottery or firing the killn. Call 229.648.6150 or cell phone 229.947.0121 for an appointment.

email: drdbraz@vwave.net

I read a lot about art, paintings, and artists. I can’t tell you how many times I run across the term “fiery colors“.  The term is overused and typically refers to paintings containing a lot of red.

Yet I can think of no other label for this body of work which betters suits it.

These paintings are fire.

One way or another, each of them contains one of earth’s most basic ingredients.

Whether with color, flame, movement, or spirit, it seems much of my artwork finds it way to fire before it is finished.  As with my other paintings, I try to simply accept this for what it is and not over-think it.

Purchase these Original Paintings from my ArtFire Shop.

Click to Enlarge and View the Slide Show.

Purchase these Original Paintings from my ArtFire Shop.

Click to Enlarge and View the Slide Show.

Bainbridge, Georgia

The reception this week for our 3 person show was wonderful.  If you aren’t from the South, it is hard to explain pure and honest Southern hospitality with words alone.  The members of the Bainbridge-Decatur County Council for the Arts went out of their way to provide a warm reception for us.

• Painter Janice Rentz, born and raised in Bainbridge but living in Albany, Ga, is a painter and a close friend of mine.  Her work is bright and carries a lot of symbolism. Her recent Southwest Georgia landscapes turn traditional landscapes on their head but still carry the SWGA flavor.
• Bainbridge native Kim Jetter is a woodcarver.  Over the years she has painted and sculpted as well but says she always comes back to her true passion – woodcarving.  Her work is fabulously detailed with local animals and hunting scenes.  She makes mostly commission pieces, but also has duck calls and rifle handles.  It was wonderful getting to know her a bit and learn about her work.

It’s not too late to visit the show, the firehouse Gallery is open THIS weekend and next weekend as well.

The exhibit remains open for the next two weekends, April 9-11 and April 16-18.  Hours are Friday and Sundays from 1-4pm.  Saturdays from 10am -2pm.  Stop by if you can.

Fitzgerald, Georgia

Southern Do – Over:  Southern Paintings with an Abstract Twist by Cindy Davis

Just a reminder that I also have a solo exhibit approaching later this month in Fitzgerald, Georgia.  This one person show will be a tad bit larger, filling the Carnegie Center.

Reception: May 6th,  from  6pm-8pm.  (The musical  performance will  start at 7pm, refreshments will  be served)

Opening Date: April 23rd
Closing Date: May 27th
Hours: Monday through Thursday 12:00pm-4:00pm, Fridays 12:00pm-7:00pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday

Summer Show in Atlanta, Georgia

I also wanted to mention that I have a large solo exhibit will open with my work in June at the Defoor Centre in Atlanta.  It is my largest show so far and I am continuing to paint for it now.  I have several new pieces to take with me for this one. The exhibit will hang until November 2010.

***

It has been a busy Spring and will be a busy Summer but I wouldn’t want it any other way! Many thanks for the continued support of my friends and family.  Your encouragement has enabled me to keep painting during times when I felt like giving it up.  It means a lot to me!