SOMEONE LIKE YOU

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CAN'T GET THAT SONG OUT OF MY HEAD

The business of art can be a real distraction.  I love dealing with clients that know exactly what they like.  It makes my job as a creative person so much more fun.  When someone has seen my website loisbajor.com  
and gives me some well thought out feedback, it opens  new paths in my creative process.

People that collect art are many times not who you  expect them to be.  I am often surprised at what someone sees in a painting.  They are as creative and imaginative as the artist.

After the picture is painted it no longer is what the artist intended.  It becomes what the collector desires.  Art exists more in the perception than the reality.  Who am I to tell someone like you what is right in front of your eyes?

9/11 MEMORIAL SERVICE HIGHLANDS N.J.

One week ago today I was dreading the 9/11 Memorial Service that was to be held in our town park.  We were to view two beautiful marble statues and stones with the names of all the deceased carved into 4 stones large half boulders.  This was created by the artist Steven Shaheen and the Memoria Project.  There was also displayed a a twisted steel artifact given to the town by the World Trade Center Museum.

Being reminded of this tragic day and the part our town played in the recovery  was not something I looked forward to.

I went anyway, and it was a beautiful ceremony.  The town really rose to the occasion.

As an artist I am keenly aware of the affect visual reminders have on people.  I needed to create my own tribute painting to resolve this matter in my heart.  Above is my watercolor pictorial of the day.  After 9/11 itself I created an oil on canvas painting that is now displayed in the gallery of the
National September 11th Memorial Museum online  at

http://registry.national911memorial.org/view_artist.php?aid=254

Two Boys Seabright Evening of 9/11

WHAT I FOUND IN THE MESS

While cleaning up after hurricane Irene I came upon a soggy plastic bag containing  crocheted doillys.   In the work of rescuing and  washing  I had time to consider them more fully.

Those doillys  were part of the creative legacy passed on to me from my grandmother, Jennifer Citarella.
As I  lay them in the sun to dry, blocking and arranging them I could picture her hands doing the very same thing.  Those hands that spent their evenings crocheting while watching professional wrestling on her 14 inch TV.  I remember she created table clothes and bedspreads and many delicate and intricate things of beauty.

How did those items get relegated to a plastic bag?

Clearly there was much joy in their creation, all unique and beautifully thought out.  Hand made gifts for her progeny.  Doillys may be out of fashion, but her gift of creativity has been passed on.

Thanks Grandma.

TRYING TO GET BACK IN SWING

                                                            Sunflower House                                             Watercolor 16x20
So, my studio made it through the storm in tatters.  Before we evacuated I removed all my work and almost everything of value.  I am fortunate in that respect.
Everything else needs to be reorganized and rearranged.  Two and half feet of flooding makes for a little bit of a mess.  I feel confused and sad when I try to make some headway.  Baby steps are the only way to move forward.

I am working on a fun little painting.  I passed a house in Long Branch yesterday.  The owner had planted giant sunflowers around the perimeter of the front yard.  It looked like it belonged in a storybook.  I just had to get out and take a picture.  Guess what!  The actual photo was no match for what I had in my head.  I just know I can improve on mother nature for this little picture.

THE CONFESSION

THE CONFESSION

Some days we docked and my view was a tropical paradise, other days I had a vision of commerce and industry.  Life's like that.  Some days are all about the creative possibilities and immersion in a time free zone.  The others are about the business and marketing.

A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession.
                                                                 Albert Camus

How to co-ordinate and balance my days is the real challange.  The truth is I can stand to improve all around. All work and no play makes Lois a dull artist.

The above watercolor is of a pilot boat on blocks in a container port in Barbados.  I enjoyed the geometric aspect aspect of the view and a kind of abstract quality in the arrangement.

PAINTING HOLIDAY

I'm back from a cruise in the Caribbean with all my grandchildren and as usual, I've learned a great deal.  I brought each of them a watercolor set up and after beautiful leisurely days on island beaches we would relax painting on the balconies of our shipboard rooms.

I use the word "relax" to describe some wild painting sessions (fortunately watercolor pigment scrubs nicely off teak decking and shipboard hand towels).  Children are wildly expressive artists and never seem to be at a loss of what to paint next.  I envy them in that respect.


Above is a portrait my grandson requested I paint of him. The main subject is the carved wooden turtle he is holding in his hand (or so he believes).  We had several great discussions
while he sat for this picture and I really felt fortunate to be able to bond with him in this way.  Just another plus in my creative life.


My eldest granddaughter and I painted each others portraits.  I really loved her stylized portrayal of me.  You rarely know what young eyes are perceiving.  How flattering to have someone paint my portrait for a change.  Unfortunately I can't share that with you as she kept both pictures.  Memories of vacations past.  What could be sweeter!

NEWS FROM THE GARDEN

As I paint from the Highlands Community Garden I am being reminded of the power of a painting as opposed to a photo.  Every time I enter the garden things are different.  The plants grow and produce vegetables and flowers.  The light is a little different depending on weather and time of day.  But some days I am working on the same painting I started few days before.  As an artist I am afforded the luxury of having both the tomatoes and the flowers blooming at the very same moment in my painting even though they may not totally synchronize time wise in reality.  The photographer knows there is a season for everything.  The painter can take a few liberties. Viva la difference!