It helps me to see photos of those who have made work I find inspirational. I find it... inspiring.

So without further ado...

Betty MacDonald, creator of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, signing books for fans

(note the kitty cat. she would!)

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh

Roald Dahl with his wife, Patricia Neal

Inspiration

Outcome

11 x 14"
acrylic and colored pencil on black paper

I've asked friends to donate their used and unwanted magazines to me. I have a mountain to look through and it feels like Christmas.

I've been collecting images from magazines for a while, and now I'm sifting through them to see if I can make something of them.

Something I want to do more in my studio is quick drawings and paintings to loosen my mind and hand. When I paint on larger canvases, it's easy for me to tighten up and forget the intrinsic energy of painting.

Some of these drawing will be terrible, but that's part of the fun. Hopefully as I share them, it will be entertaining at the very least.

Above is the first stop on this journey, based on a photograph in Vogue. I was drawn to the image initially because, while the woman's outfit is minimalistic, there are lots of sheens and textures to the fabrics. The intermingling of simplicity and complexity, if you will- a juxtaposition for which I have an affinity.

The cream paper is 11x15" and I used black textile paint, colored pencil, charcoal, and acrylic. I'll be using a lot of leftover paint from other paintings for these and inexpensive surfaces I have lying around or find.

If you're reading this and have some magazines or materials you'd like to share, bring them to my studio (or I can pick them up). We can make some drawings together or I can make one for y-o-u.

I had a great time in Nashville at the RAW Art Show last Thursday. A large contingent of my college friends now live there, so the fact that I was able to celebrate my birthday the day before with them and have them at this show was more than I could ask for.

My work at the top left and bottom

The set-up and preparation for the show was pretty intense. I showed up at Mercy Lounge around 4pm to hang my work. I met those coordinating the show and we worked out where my pieces would fit best. There were about seven other artists to accommodate, and there had to be adequate space for each of us.

Three of my paintings on the left

I can't overstate this. I'm extremely thankful my friend Cody was there to help me with the hanging system, a series of chains hanging from a horizontal chain. He stood on the ladder and moved the chains no less than 100 times as we painstakingly made it look as straight and well-balanced as possible.

I had to have a few mason jar paintings

In the midst of hanging, I had to change clothes, have photos of me taken outside and inside with my work, and was also interviewed on camera for promotional purposes.

With my friend Laura

This may not seem like a big deal, but I'm extremely camera shy, and moments before a show, you can multiply that quality exponentially.

On top of this, they also broke the news that they wanted me to stand in front of the crowd during the show with a painting in hand and answer a few questions. When they saw the look on my face, they told me I didn't have to. I took a deep breath and told them I'd hold a painting up there for them as long as I didn't have to say anything. Perfect they said.

Robert and Micah

Thankfully, none of the other artists that went up there with me wanted to speak either. So we held up our work for a solid ten seconds, smiled, and went back to being our introverted selves. Ahhhh.

With Robert

Even though I was being pushed out of my comfort zone, most everything went smoothly. Several friends of mine showed up which made me feel at ease. The show started at 8pm, there was music, drinks, and lots of people filtering through. I had a great time.

With friends Rachel and her husband Buddy

I also wore a new dress, courtesy of my mom for my birthday, which was greatly appreciated. I mention this only because I gave up clothes buying this year (Remember?), but since my mother offered to purchase, and I was desperate for something that fit and was pretty, I obliged. Thanks, mama (even though I'm pretty sure you don't read my blog)!

Good friends sorority pose when you ask them to. With Audrey and Andrea

Ben makes sense of my work for a crowd

It was fun to be a part of this show, to share my work alongside multiple artists, designers, musicians, and even a comedian. The show definitely spoiled me, to see so many people show up, to pay for a ticket and not even be offered free wine and food... sigh... I love so much about Knoxville, but the art scene is becoming one of those things less and less.

With fellow Knoxvillian, artist, and now model, Steph Untz

I feel more motivated to show in other cities and am excited to all ready have a show lined up at Fido's in Nashville in October. I'm entering pseudo-hibernation mode to make some new work I've been mulling over for a few months.

If you have any thoughts on places I could exhibit, please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Here are some more detailed shots of the Letter-Writing Boxes I made for the Salvage Show (see post below).

It's been a while since the Salvage Show, but I never shared my final pieces.

Last year for the same exhibition, I had wanted to make a bunch of boxes out of salvaged wood, paint parts of them, and display them in a big heap on the floor.

Then I realized how time consuming making one box is (and how I like the idea of building, but not the reality of it); I only made one for last year's show.

This year, I wanted to veer from the same idea. I still wanted to make boxes, but I wanted them to have more significance.

I've been writing letters lately and aspire to write more, so I decided to make my boxes about that very thing.

I made five boxes out of old bead board. I painted them different color schemes I enjoy- gold and black, maroon and red, red and black, etc. I sanded one and didn't paint it at all. I didn't add lids or covers to them. I like how the bead board has slits in the edges to that you can place papers in them. I wanted the contents of the boxes to be exposed, to remind the owner not to neglect its contents. They are boxes made for pencils, envelopes, stationery, letters from friends and family...

Here is my artist statement from the show:

“Sometimes when I put things in drawers and boxes in an effort to be more organized, I tend to forget all about them (until I move). I designed these boxes out of salvaged beadboard to display stationery I’ve been collecting and (my long lost friends) No. 2 pencils. My motive is to entice myself (& you) to write a faraway friend a letter. I want to honor this lost but magical form of communication, just as I wanted to give this wood a new beginning.”

Everything I made in 2011 (except for the 70+ mason jar paintings and the 50+ dilapidated building prints) is up on my website. Please check it out here.

If you are ever interested in purchasing a painting, my original work is always for sale. I also have the ability to make prints for a more affordable option.

Also, you can contact me through my blog (or just email beth@bethmeadows.com) if you ever have questions, comments, or just want to send me some good vibes. I am always appreciative.

Thanks for your support- verbal, written, and monetary!

I made It Don't Come Easy last fall for my show at the Birdhouse in November 2011.

I put a lot of things I had been thinking about in this piece. It references my business endeavors that fall under the moniker With Bear Hands, the 100 (well, 99) mason jar paintings I made last year, and also the inclinations I was having at the time to start making abstract paintings.

I wanted to make a painting about the things I've been working toward, the things I've wanted for so long, all the hours spent in my studio and devoted to art, where I want to go from here. I wanted to talk about how chasing a dream (that you can't even see) can feel terribly unnatural, like domesticating a wild animal. And even when things seem to be shaping up around you, how you still might feel the inclination to run off into the wilderness- naked, with no possessions- and never come back.

But making this painting was really enjoyable, and that's the curious thing about art (or maybe any dream). It can feel like it's going to kill you, and at the same time, the act of doing it can ease all amount of frustration.

***

It Don't Come Easy
acrylic on canvas
2011
36" x 30"
$1500

8 x 10 prints of this painting are for sale here.