so today i was outside waiting for my partner to return from home from his job as a math teacher at a local high school...twenty minutes after he was supposed to appear in the driveway, i was beginning to wonder where he was...i went back in the house and found that there was a message on my answering machine....'hi, we are under a lock-down...i don't know what's going on...i'll call you later'...i quickly turned on the news to discover that there was a shooting at his school...a fourteen year old boy was shot...and so the worry begins...i can't call the school as it's under lock down and no one is around to answer the phone...so i wait...i watch the news...i talk with my mother who tells me not to go to there and wait for him...his mother calls and we manage to discuss what's going on (she's deaf so the conversation has to be repeated and spoken slowly)...speaking the words slowly 'there's been in a shooting' really sinks in, hard...i can't believe that a high school in my town is under attack by someone...who?...a thug more than likely...but what if he goes on a shoots others??...although i sort of figure this is a vendetta against the dead boy, but why?....who cares i think, just let everyone go and get on with things....it's amazing to think what goes on in you mind when you are faced with what used to be an 'american' problem...not any more...high school violence is on the rise everywhere, so why not here in toronto?...five hours after the lock-down, i'm still waiting for joel to return home...he called and we've spoken, he's ok...but i seem to be not...i'm pacing the lawn looking like julian from trailer park boys, a glass of scotch on the rocks in one hand and the other is cursing the sky...why is the world such a wicked, wicked place???...
this blog entry was written while under the influence of stress and jb scotch...let me head clear a bit and i'll write more...
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
tuesday...
i know that lately i've been a little sporadic in my posting here but things have been nuts here in the studio...i've been working hard to finish up all the commissions on my spring painting schedule...a few paintings have been putting me through the wringer emotionally while others i've seemed to breeze through...the latest difficult painting is the horse painting i've mentioned in a previous post...it's looking good but just taking a long time to complete...
a list of what i have to accomplish before the second week in july is as follows (for those of you who are playing the 'lisa g. home game):
10 commissions
5 large landscape pieces for a show in july
continue working on 4"x6" paintings for the upcoming '100 for $100 studio show/sale'
as well as the above i've been spending my down time working on small sketches that i'll be framing for sale at some point...
tonight i'm leaving the studio early to head downtown to go to a concert...gillian welch in is town and i've never seen her perform so i'm excited about going!...
off to clean up and head out....
a list of what i have to accomplish before the second week in july is as follows (for those of you who are playing the 'lisa g. home game):
10 commissions
5 large landscape pieces for a show in july
continue working on 4"x6" paintings for the upcoming '100 for $100 studio show/sale'
as well as the above i've been spending my down time working on small sketches that i'll be framing for sale at some point...
tonight i'm leaving the studio early to head downtown to go to a concert...gillian welch in is town and i've never seen her perform so i'm excited about going!...
off to clean up and head out....
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
monday...
i've accidently deleted my links and have been trying all day to upload it again...it doesn't WORK!....so apologies to those who have me on their links list, i'll fix the problem as soon as i can....
other than that, i'm working away on the horse....
other than that, i'm working away on the horse....
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
friday...
so it's friday...
i took the day off from work yesterday to go outside to play...i really needed to get away from working as i feel myself slowly getting 'studio fever'...the current painting i'm working on is going so slowly that i'm getting antsy to see the finished piece!...this painting is more complex than the others (although not as intense as the 19th century dogs in costume) but still it's involved...the composition is of a woman on horseback performing a jump...so far, it's lovely...i suppose that i'm worried that i'm taking a bit longer than i estimated for the client but i can't let that thought interfere or i'd be crippled with worry!...well, tomorrow is another day...one brush stroke at time...
here is a couple of photos i took yesterday...
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
the bio and statement...
my bio and artist's statement....
the statement:
LISA GRAZIOTTO, ARTIST STATEMENT-2007
I am a painter. My work is derived from the snapshot images I see out the passenger side of the car window while travelling. I spend part of the year working intensely on commissioned animal portraits and so while travelling, I’m caught up in the scenery that surrounds me. The things that attract me seem to have an empty, lonely feel to them. I sense that although the human presence has disappeared, their soul remains in the buildings and fields that once provided them with life. The idea to paint in a small format was something that started as an exercise to clear my head from painting medium to large scale work for most of the year. Transforming ‘life’ into a small format brings the viewer into an intimate conversation with each painting that is before them, creating an illusion of a ‘separate reality’. Instead of just watching the world go by they are asked to step forward and contemplate what they are looking at.
My goal is to continue to work in the small format, painting several pieces a week until I have painted the entire continent.
the bio:
I was born in a one room school house.Electricity and water were all but a dream. My parents were circus performers who immigrated from a country that no longer exists. The childhood that followed my birth was average for a Canadian girl growing up in the early seventies. bell bottoms, a six million dollar man shirt, a dorothy hamil hairstyle and a banana seat bicycle were some of the things that I had, along with a box of crayons with a built-in pencil sharpener. I carried my crayons everywhere and drew all the time on almost everything. Years later after puberty took its’ hold on me and changed my outlook on life permanently, I found myself leavIng that small town for the bright lights of the big smoke where I enrolled in a fine arts programme at a university. I stayed on as a student for a while then found myself disillusioned with the lack of inspiration that came from the faculty. So I left to find a mentor, someone who would inspire me, teach me, guide my creativity to find it’s own voice. That mentor was found in the many books I’ve acquired over the years. I’ve found my inspiration through my travels and spendIng time following the footsteps of some of my ‘heroes’ of the art world. The journey I'm on is one that will never end thus my education will go on as long as I continue to study my mentors and remain true to myself.
the statement:
LISA GRAZIOTTO, ARTIST STATEMENT-2007
I am a painter. My work is derived from the snapshot images I see out the passenger side of the car window while travelling. I spend part of the year working intensely on commissioned animal portraits and so while travelling, I’m caught up in the scenery that surrounds me. The things that attract me seem to have an empty, lonely feel to them. I sense that although the human presence has disappeared, their soul remains in the buildings and fields that once provided them with life. The idea to paint in a small format was something that started as an exercise to clear my head from painting medium to large scale work for most of the year. Transforming ‘life’ into a small format brings the viewer into an intimate conversation with each painting that is before them, creating an illusion of a ‘separate reality’. Instead of just watching the world go by they are asked to step forward and contemplate what they are looking at.
My goal is to continue to work in the small format, painting several pieces a week until I have painted the entire continent.
the bio:
I was born in a one room school house.Electricity and water were all but a dream. My parents were circus performers who immigrated from a country that no longer exists. The childhood that followed my birth was average for a Canadian girl growing up in the early seventies. bell bottoms, a six million dollar man shirt, a dorothy hamil hairstyle and a banana seat bicycle were some of the things that I had, along with a box of crayons with a built-in pencil sharpener. I carried my crayons everywhere and drew all the time on almost everything. Years later after puberty took its’ hold on me and changed my outlook on life permanently, I found myself leavIng that small town for the bright lights of the big smoke where I enrolled in a fine arts programme at a university. I stayed on as a student for a while then found myself disillusioned with the lack of inspiration that came from the faculty. So I left to find a mentor, someone who would inspire me, teach me, guide my creativity to find it’s own voice. That mentor was found in the many books I’ve acquired over the years. I’ve found my inspiration through my travels and spendIng time following the footsteps of some of my ‘heroes’ of the art world. The journey I'm on is one that will never end thus my education will go on as long as I continue to study my mentors and remain true to myself.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
tuesday...again
ok, i started work on a horse painting a week or so ago, was having trouble with that so i switched back to the canine clients...managed to finish two small commissions in four days...am i mad?...probably but these small pieces were painted without consequences suppose after struggling with the horse, my muse wanted to show me that i wasn't a complete dud...
today i'll continue working on my artist's statement and bio for two applications who's deadlines are fast approaching...one is for a big show held in trinity park in september and the other is for a book about canadian artists...i just have so much trouble with the entire concept of writing a bio and statement...i mean does anyone really care where i went to public school or whether or not i've won any awards for my work?...or who my instructors were or influences are?...
the neighbour is driving me nuts now that he is outside all day most everyday...he has been using his lawn mower ever third day for two weeks now, yes you read right....he bangs sticks and stuff everyday and is constantly walking up and down his driveway tossing stray sticks or leaves or whatever onto the street...oy!
off to drink my coffee and perhaps tackle the horse painting once more...
today i'll continue working on my artist's statement and bio for two applications who's deadlines are fast approaching...one is for a big show held in trinity park in september and the other is for a book about canadian artists...i just have so much trouble with the entire concept of writing a bio and statement...i mean does anyone really care where i went to public school or whether or not i've won any awards for my work?...or who my instructors were or influences are?...
the neighbour is driving me nuts now that he is outside all day most everyday...he has been using his lawn mower ever third day for two weeks now, yes you read right....he bangs sticks and stuff everyday and is constantly walking up and down his driveway tossing stray sticks or leaves or whatever onto the street...oy!
off to drink my coffee and perhaps tackle the horse painting once more...
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