My Etsy shop turned two years old this month, and to celebrate, I'm taking 20% off all items listed there. All you have to do is add items to your cart and then, upon checking out, click the link on the right that says something about adding a coupon code. Then you'll type in HAPPYBDAYWBH.

This is quite the discount for higher priced paintings but also great if you're in the market for smaller mason jar paintings. Just in time for the holiday season. This will only last through Monday, November 26, so make your purchases swiftly. Thank you!

At the beginning of the year, I was inspired to begin a series of drawings called Cat Ladies. The idea was to mix images I saw in fashion magazines with portraits of female friends who love their cats in an effort to modify the stereotype.

I made two and then stopped.


Cat Lady I acrylic, india ink, marker, and charcoal on chip board 32 x 40"

I had ideas for more, but while the first one was inspired directly from a magazine photograph, the second was more concocted. I realized if I kept making them, my natural aversion to photorealistic painting would take over and I'd begin fabricating the scene and situation more and more- straying from sleek, moving toward crude.

This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. I really like the outcome of the second (below). I liked making it more than the first, but it didn't fall in line with my original intent which sparked a small and nagging thought.



Cat Lady II acrylic, india ink, and marker on chipboard 40 x 32"

If I wanted to create gorgeous and sleek scenes, I needed to photograph them. So I wondered: How could I instantly become a talented fashion photographer and have access to elaborate interiors and gowns and dresses worth thousands of dollars? Hmmm.

While I pondered this, other ideas and projects took over, and the short-lived Cat Lady Series moved to the backburner.

Maybe I'll pick it back up again someday. I can envision being a fashion photographer in my 50s. By then I'll have a multitude of cats to use in my photos! Purrrfect.


Sidenote: Cat Lady I was inspired by a photograph in Vogue. Cat Lady II was inspired by a photograph by Luke Wilkins.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me to make a drawing of a home that he and some others are renovating in my neighborhood.

He wanted me to base it off of the series I did where I imagined what old dilapidated buildings might be thinking.

Cal Johnson Building Talking

He was also inspired by this sign that he saw in a historic building's window once.

Here are the final two results, the first drawn free-hand with graphite and the second traced/free-hand in ink with trees and shrubs added. They are going to use the drawings for promotional purposes- flyers and hopefully a t-shirt (fingers crossed!).

Let me know if you want one done of your home or historic building. I want to make more.

I've been looking for a location to sell my mason jar paintings permanently in Knoxville and just found out last week it will be the Knoxville Visitor Center!

I dropped some off last week and they're all ready on display. I'm happy that these paintings finally have a physical home and that this home happens to be visited by thousands of tourists monthly. It's also the location of WDVX and the Blue Plate Special, so there's a lot to be excited about. 

Below are the most recent ones I've painted which I dropped off last week. They're a steal at $35 a piece.

Also, the Visitor Center asked me to be their First Friday artist this Friday. I'll be there from 5-8pm so please come see me.

The Mason Jar Series

by Beth Meadows

Friday, November 2, 2012

5-8pm

at the Knoxville Visitor Center

301 South Gay Street

Downtown Knoxville, TN 37902

As always, you can purchase paintings from this series on my Etsy Shop, too, and in case you want to know more about them...

The Mason Jar Series features acrylic paintings on salvaged slate roof tile by Knoxville artist Beth Meadows. The tiles are from the Architectural Salvage Program Beth manages for Knox Heritage, a non-profit that advocates for historic preservation in East Tennessee. The Salvage Program accepts donated historic building materials and, in turn, raises money by selling these items to people renovating historic properties or those with a vision to create something new.
The Mason Jar Series functions on two main levels: to recycle salvaged building materials and to promote historic preservation through its subject matter. The slate roof tiles used are from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in South Knoxville, designed in 1961 by architects Barber and McMurray. A portion of proceeds goes to Knox Heritage as well as Gloria Dei.

I've listed a ton of mason jar paintings on Etsy. Please take a gander and make sure you pick out your favorite before it's gone!

Paintings by Beth Meadows

at Fido

1812 21st Ave S

Nashville, Tennessee 37212 

 

Oct 3- Nov 20, 2012

 

 Below are the last two of the six new pool paintings.

 

Pool V by Beth Meadows acrylic on canvas 2012 16 x 20" Purchase here

Pool VI by Beth Meadows acrylic on canvas 2012 16 x 20" Purchase here

 

And here are photos of the show. If you're in Nashville over the next few weeks, please stop by.

 



Beth Meadows Pool IV acrylic on canvas 16x20" 2012

I feel like this painting was an accident, but that may not be accurate. 

I guess what I mean is that I didn't have a vision of this at all when I began painting it. I'm happy with the outcome because it's rare that I wander far from representational work. This painting goes in a direction I've been fantasizing about going in (toward abstraction), but it's going to have to be an accident if it's going to happen at all. I don't think I could do this on purpose and it be successful, at least right now. 

Beth Meadows Pool III acrylic and varnish on canvas 18x24" 2012

I've written before about my love of swimming. Almost a year ago now, I was reunited with swimming consistently in a pool when I joined the YWCA in downtown Knoxville.

Something I haven't mentioned about these paintings is that I'm not looking at anything when I'm making them, which is not typical of most of my paintings. I usually look at photos, but these are based on memory. As I made Pool III, I thought about the pool I know best right now- the one at the YWCA.

At first, the canvas was mostly gold. When I added black on the left side, I really liked it, so after a week or so, I added more all over and scratched into it under the lights, letting the gold come back through.

My painting professor in art school, Michael Brakke, always said that the removal of paint from a canvas is just as important as the addition of it. Everytime I scrape, scratch, or wipe away paint from a canvas, I think of him.

Painting a series gives you boundaries in the art-making process, a thing I'm not used. I typically paint on all types of materials and everything's a different size. While it's been nice to be confined to certain rules I've set up for these paintings, those boundaries also became somewhat irritating. Sticking with it, however, pushed me in certain directions I may not have gone in and it became a challenge I appreciated.

Looking at this series as a whole, I'm happy with the outcome of this painting.

Sidenote: Do you recognize the light fixtures? Here's a hint.