Monday, Monday

The start of a brand new week. All of the possibilities, the plans, the good intentions are looming before me like a giant hot air balloon. I have received the go-ahead for the 24x48 inch commission and I'm anxious to begin laying it out on the canvas; it's going to be a complex piece, so I want to be sure I have all the bugs worked out before I actually begin painting. It's exciting to start a new piece, I always wonder if it will be a struggle or a breeze. We'll see!



The weather for the party on Saturday was picture perfect. I think everyone had a good time. The last guests left somewhere around 11 pm, and I started to clean up but didn't quite get everything done before I fell into bed!! Hubby was pleased and I think everyone had a good time. I know I did!



The responses about the rose painting have been good. I think I'm going to paint the pale rose.

You can see the other choices on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Jean-LeBaron-Art/110162672364467

The canvas is a circular 46 inch convex edge, and I don't even think Tara (Fredrix) makes them anymore. I've been saving it for over 15 years. I think it's time to use it! I'll post Work-in-Progress photos as the journey begins. I have to start working on the commission first, though. Good business practices and all that.

I sold a giclee over the weekend to my brother and sister-in-law. Thank you guys!! I really appreciate the support. I am blessed with a fantastic family and an awesome circle of friends, and they surround me with a huge blanket of love. I can only hope to keep sending the same love and positive energy right back to them!

Start your Monday off with good vibes and happy thoughts, and it will follow you all week. I'm going out to the studio now to pay homage to my Muse and give thanks to God, the Universe and my guardian angel for allowing me to do what I love. Peace and love to all of you, too!

Roses, roses, roses!

Wednesday was the 32nd anniversary of our first date. I recieved 32 roses, one for each year. Each Sept 8, I get a rose for every year we've been together. Yeah, I know. He is one in a million. :) Anyway, they are absolutely gorgeous, all different hues, and HUGE! I took a few pictures, (after my middle daughter saw them and took pictures first) and I have been saving a very large (46 inch diameter) canvas for years, waiting for the perfect painting for it. Well, I have my reference shots. It would be perfect, it doesn't need to be framed, because it's the Convexo line (tapered edges) and besides, where the hell am I going to find a 46 inch circular frame? But, I digress.

The problem now is which color rose to paint. The coral peach with golden edges? The deep red one that looks like velvet? The lavender one with traces of blue in the shadows? Oh, wait, the cream one with deep yellow towards the center? Or the pale yellow with golden orange streaks? There is a pink one that changed my mind about the color pink; I always thought pink was a wishy-washy color. Well, not on this rose! It sings, it blushes, it pulsates with energy. So, now you see. I have a dilemma about color again. With a 46 inch painting, you gotta be REEEEEALLY careful about which color you choose, considering the rose will be taking up the entire canvas. And that's a lot of color on the wall. So, if you're out there and you have an opinion, I'd really like to hear it, cuz I'm stumped!

Ask not what art can do for you....

What are you doing to support the arts? I mean, not just creating your own work and marketing it, but what are you doing to promote art in general? Do you belong to a local art group? Do you attend Artist Receptions at galleries? Do you volunteer at a guild, a museum, at your local school? How many people a day do you meet that don't know you're an artist? Do you always carry business cards and at least photos of your work? Are you doing everything in your power to make friends, relatives, co-workers, and even complete strangers realize how precious art is? Take an informal survey among people you know. How many of them own even one piece of original art? A signed print? A sculpture? In times of economic difficulties, art has always been a refuge, a protest, a way to raise public morale, and an indicator of political involvement, either for good or bad.
Make a statement. Make a stand. Make a difference. Make Art!!

Images and Blessings

The images running around my head are getting desperate to be let out! I think that I will have to spend some time prepping a few canvases so I can start smearing some paint. I still have a few days until Spouse's birthday party, but things are coming along nicely in that department, so maybe (are you listening, Universe??) I can get in there tonight and put to rest the insistent images that prevent me from falling asleep at a decent hour!

I have some frames taking up valuable space in the studio; seems like I should put them to use, so I think I'll stretch some canvases to fit them. Nothing like putting the cart before the horse, huh?

I'm going to be very busy this next year, and not just creating and marketing art. My daughter just started a very intense concentrated study nursing course, and she'll be working full-time at night, to boot. I'll have our granddaughter pretty much all day, with the exception of 2 1/2 hours of Kindergarten, so I'm back to painting in small batches, or at night. But I wouldn't trade places for anything, my lovely little lady is a blessing in my life, and I'm privileged to be able to spend so much time with her. I really love my life, and the varied, unforeseen circumstances that have put me here are an amazing testimony to the premise of God putting you where you need to be, when you need to be there. Life is soooooooo good. :)

Goodbye Summer, Hello Studio

Summer is officially over, and I'm feeling a little melancholy. It's time for moving indoors, looking inward and creating a new body of work. I'm going to try and integrate both my styles of painting in a new series, not exactly sure where this is going, but it should be interesting. I'd really like to start on this immediately, but this week I'll be concentrating on the upcoming milestone birthday party for my bestest honey. So, in the meantime, I'll have to settle for creating a spectacular birthday celebration for him!

I could cheerfully spend all my time flitting from one art reception to another, attending shows and scoping out galleries. I always get so inspired from seeing all the great art that is being made. I love that all my artist friends are so generous with advice, and the conversations are always lively and funny and interesting. Since creating art in the studio is such a solitary business, I am grateful that we can get together and discuss our creative blocks and breakthroughs, and how to ignore the voices that threaten our commitment to keep on going. I love what I do, most of the time, and I especially love the all wonderful people in my life who, in one way or another, drive me to continue on this crazy, beautiful and scary ride called Life.

New Shows; New Art

The last couple of months have been crazy busy. I am now unemployed, no day job, and trying to make a go of the art gig. This is much harder than a 9-to-5. I am happily exhausted! Check out the neat slide show at the top of the page. You can now order prints of several of my paintings directly from RedBubble, and they start as low as $2.00. Yes, $2.00!!
Also, if you are involved on Facebook (and who isn't?) you can visit my page there : Jean LeBaron Art : and enter to win an ORIGINAL oil painting titled "Sunflower, Turning". Look for it on the slide show.
I just wrapped up a Solo Show at Idiosyncrazies Gallery in Point Pleasant Beach, I was Miss August, and their first solo exhibitor. What great fun that was. Sharon is a terrific person and her gallery is brimming with unique art and gifts for everyone.
Shows for the month of September include a month long exhibit at the Ocean County Library, Toms River Branch, and a one-day show on September 4 at the Ocean County Historical Society's Annual Antiques Faire, from 9-4. Stop by and say "hey". And support your artists.

back with a vengeance

and painting the aforementioned series. I'm off on a whole new tangent, a real departure for me and my style of painting. It's exhilarating, and so much harder than I thought. BUT...you'll all have to wait for the unveiling when I debut this series at The Cookie Cab in May. There will be a show there, invitation-only artists, and lots of publicity and hoopla, not to mention the best damned cookies in all of Ocean County, and probably farther, but I don't get out much, so suffice it to say, that the cookies are best I've had, and the selection is crazy. They even make gluten-free, so you have no excuses. Anyway, the time is getting close for the Art Show and Sale on May 15th. Have you gotten your application in? Better hurry, there are only so many spaces available, and its first-come, first-served. Call me for more info @ 732-674-2486.