Sasha Williams

finding a balance

2008-12-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

After year and a half of practically neglecting practice of art for the sake of learning practice of law, I hope to come back

Painting-A-Day: October 24, 2006 - Tatiana's ballet slippers - SOLD

2006-12-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

This is not a new painting and it actually is not for sale, but I finally got whatever my children had for the past two weeks, so I am not sure I am willing to approach daily paintings under the influence of NyQuil. I have done some "long-term" painting, which I have been putting off. This daily discipline is incredible in terms of work ethic and the true joy of the experience itself - as they say in Russian "appetite comes during the meal". I can't understand how I could have NOT painted every day!

Painting A Day: October 29, 2006 Utrecht Red

2006-12-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

Ahhh... cleaned my studio today. Well, "studio" is a big word for a small room, but it is a luxury as it is - a place to work and think. It is separated from the rest of the house by a door, yet it is separated from client files, grocery lists, diapers, office clothes, parenting strategies, morning oatmeal and laundry baskets by ions. Up until an hour ago it was cluttered with everything imaginable - it gets that way during the times of particularly heavy social involvement: in-laws are coming for Thanksgiving - let's hide the remains of the last remodeling project in the studio! Friends are dropping by - the unfolded laundry pile joins the box of tiles and odd pieces of pipe. By the time all of your kids' playdates have visited, you only have a narrow zig-zag path from the door to the easel. You get the idea. Well, it is back to a state of relative organization (trully a herculean undertaking), but no new painting for the day - this one is from October 29. It is new to this blog and to e-Bay though, so may the gods of daily painting be lenient to me.

Click here to bid on e-Bay.

Painting A Day: December 14, 2006 Glass and Rhinestone Christmas Ornament

2006-12-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

Painting a Day - completed on December 14, 2006. Oil on canvas board. 5"x7".

I really can't come up with a more exciting title for this one. This is not one of my treasured ornaments I've been painting this week, nor it is one of my favourites. But it happens to present a challenge of transparency, reflection and geometry, so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I unwrapped this ornament last week and kept avoiding it because of finding other beautiful and sentimentally meaningful ornaments I wanted to paint (and, secretly, because I knew painting it would be a challenge). Then yesterday I had a particularly horrid day at the office, the kids were sick (three out of four!), I was operating on 3 hours of sleep and my general mood was that I would much rather scrub toilets than paint. And then I glanced at the table clutter and there it was - cheap glittery ball sitting there, mocking my inability to face the challenge. That's it, I had to show it who's boss. Sounds silly (idiotic really), but unfortunatelly, it is true - no angels' voices, no divine inspiration, no beauty of the creative moment... Hey, at least I have a painting.

Click here to bid on e-Bay.

Painting A Day: December 13, 2006 Vintage Glass Pinecone Christmas Ornament

2006-12-14T07:04:00.000-08:00

And ... another ornament - another painting! This one is 5X7, oil on canvas, just like the others. I don't think I'll run out of the ornament subject matter any time soon. As I continue to unwrap these splendid treasures, I am endlessly fascinated by their beauty. This is another of vintage "soviet" glass ornament from late 40s. The glaze has aged to an absolutely gorgeous irridescent finish which I tried to capture and, in my humble opinion, came pretty close. But, of course, it is up to you to judge that. As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments and critique. Please take time to write a few words as to what you thought of the painting, what, in your opinion needs improvement or anything else you may think of.

Click here to bid on e-Bay.

Painting A Day: December 10, 2006 "Three sisters" red Christmas ornaments

2006-12-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

Yet another ornament for the week. These are not particularly special in any way (as a matter of fact they came from Wal-Mart, I think). However, I was exploring textural variations with these Christmas balls - glitter, full shine and frosted glass and their relationship. The thought came after looking at Susan Martin Spar's December 8 painting. I also thought of my daughters while painting - they are the same in form and substance (figuratively speaking, of course) by the virtue of coming from the same family, yet totally different.

Unfortunatelly, the true color of the painting still escapes me after an hour of Photoshop adjustments - it is deeper and a lot less vulgar, but alas, I am a painter, not a photographer. Click here to bid on e-Bay.

I have also just been accepted into a fine company of phenomenal "daily" artists by which I am very much honored and humbled (their talent and skill are far beyond my own)!

Painting-A-Day: December 8, 2006

2006-12-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

Yet another ornament for the week - a childhood favourite. We had several of these on the tree, some were from the time when my Mom was little. I think this one is from the early 1950s. I almost recreated that same feeling of excitement about decorating the tree I had, well... 25 years ago, while painting this thing.

Special thanks to M Collier for beautiful artwork that inspires (especially treatment of reflective objects) and for generous advise to push values and pay attention to the composition - I am trying to follow it. I would appreciate any feedback anyone can give me - this is what I miss and need the most: mentorship, critique and guidance from fellow artists and/or art enthusiasts.

Click here to bid on e-Bay.

Painting-A-Day: December 6, 2006 - SOLD

2006-12-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

As you can tell, I am continuing with the ornament theme this week as I am unpacking Christmas decorations and discovering many forgotten treasures carefully wrapped last year. Some carry childhood memories, some are just simply beautiful, some mark my children's milestones or my own excursions, some have some kind of other meaning - all attached to small objects with no practical function. What's even more odd is that they have a specific time once a year when they briefly emerge. So here is the pickle. And what Christmas tree would be complete without it? In fine German tradition this ornament is hidden somewhere on the tree and whoever discovers it first gets an extra present. And this one would be dedicated to Neil Hollingsworth, whose absolutely beautiful reflective work I discovered a few days ago. SOLD

Painting-A-Day: December 4, 2006 - SOLD

2006-12-05T10:01:00.000-08:00

"Unwrapping Christmas" is another homage to the holidays, "daily painters" (Duane Keiser, Sadie Valeri and Jeff Hayes) and to myself (miniature self-portrait). Oil on canvas board, 3.5"x3.5". This is a little study along the lines of "birth of Venus" - a visual remark on annual emergence of hidden decorative objects during the time specifically designated to their use. I am going to continue with the holiday theme for a while - I am enjoying the reflective surfaces and various designs found in the ornaments and the associative feelings they bring. SOLD

Painting-A-Day: December 3, 2006 - SOLD

2006-12-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

"Givenchy Indecence" Painting a Day - completed on December 3, 2006. 7"x2.5". Unfortunatelly my lack of photographic skills does not do this miniature justice, but I am very happy with the painting. This was somewhat of a challenge and well wortht he effort - I had a great time. This is one of my favorite perfumes and I tried to capture its thick, heavy and decadently sweet scent with carmine and vermillion warmth and golden glow. The whole experience was a special treat - today is my 31st Birthday! SOLD

Painting-A-Day: December 2, 2006 - Resuming the work

2006-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

The "Painting-A-Day" exhibit organization, publicity and related activity took was exhausting. To commemorate its finale, I am resuming the daily paintings with this miniature symbolic of the coming festivities. I enjoy painting metallic objects and this one was a quick and fun study. It is the first one to be listed for sale as well (outside of the exhibit, where everyone did fairly well considering the local art market or, rather, lack thereof). I am setting silly prices on these to break into the e-market. SOLD.

Painting-A-Day: Artist Reception - November 11, 2006

2006-11-11T11:01:00.000-08:00

Today all participating artists met for two hours at the Jumpin Java to paint and talk. From Rigt to left: Dollie Hendrix, Suzanne Breitweiser, Gail Skaggs, Stella Choe and myself.

"Painting-A-Day": the Show

2006-11-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

On November 1, 2006, several of my students, Gail Skaggs, Dollie Hendrix, Stella Choe, Suzanne Breitweiser and myself hung a "Painting-A-Day" show at the local cafe "Jumpin Java". It is not Whitney Biannual, of course, but in our small town it is a big deal. I am pleasantly surprised at how much interest and attention we are receiving with this. I have also made a determination sometime on my ...oh... um-teenth painting that I am going to buy a "Painting-A-Day" for every "Painting-A-Day" I sell. I'll start with my students, of course, and will move on to e-bay and fellow "bloggers".

Painting-A-Day: October 29, 2006

2006-11-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

I should really start scanning these (which, perhaps, I will do once they are out of the show and up for sale on e-bay). This particular one is significant, because today I was feeling rather depressed about having THE DAY JOB (which we all know we should not quit). This is a depiction of our namesake pen (every law firm decides it MUST have one) and, I suppose, I'll add "CAMPBELL MILLER ZIMMERMAN" later. What will the note say? "Don't quit your day job"? I am open for suggestions.

Painting-A-Day: October 24, 2006 - SOLD

2006-11-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is more of a painted diary entry than an abstract "Painting-A-Day" product. Tatiana, my oldest daughter (just turned 6) has ballet every Tuesday. She just left her slippers after class and they proved to be a great study subject - little planes, shapes, reflection and complex form provide for a wonderful exercise for disengaging your mind from what you are painting and focusing on the mechanics of the process.

Painting-A-Day: October 16, 2006 - WON

2006-11-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

I am going to skip ahead some on this project and post only images that are valuable to me as milestones. With this particular one I decided to introduce this idea to my students in the "Intermediate Oil" and see how many of them would be interested to support this "AA for Artists" or the "Painting-A-Day" and do a show (ultimately) together. It would be a nice exposure for them and something that would keep me accountable.

Painting-A-Day: October 13, 2006

2006-11-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

Tribute to Friday the 13th - a very disturbing-looking gourd accompanied by the date itself and the movie "Aliens". Well, I did not actually watch it, but I listened to it, which qualified as "watching a movie with my husband Friday night". At this point I am still not thinking about selling these, but I am starting to feel that I need someone to do this with - like a buddy to keep me accountable. Someone in my class said "it's like AA for artists".

Painting-A-Day: October 12, 2006

2006-11-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

I first painted this (actually, this was a portion of a larger "white-on-white" still-life I set up for my students in the "Intermediate Oil") and then discovered that almost every "Painting-A-Day" artist painted a broken egg as a subject. At first I felt like a lemming (which I suppose is better than plain plagerist), but then I got this really odd sense of belonging to an artistic community that even thinks alike. Plus I saw what I could improve in terms of technique and colours.

Painting-A-Day: October 11, 2006

2006-11-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

The most important benefit of this practice for me is the ability to find something to paint without having to search for the ingredients to a larger still-life. Actually, considering that I do not even paint still-lifes on a regular basis , this is definitely rewarding. What I am starting to realize at this point though, is that I still can't get rid of my ever-present conflicting issue of trying to record what I see (as I was taught) and trying to express a concept beyond mere reality (what I was also taught, but by a different school of thought)

Painting-A-Day: October 10, 2006

2006-11-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

This is the result of the second day of the "Painting-A-Day" project. For this one I was not looking as much for details as for the general effect. It is about 5X7, and is a study for my "belly dance" project which is just barely starting to shape up.

Painting-A-Day: October 9, 2006

2006-11-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

My very first "Painting-A-Day" painting. Inspired and intrigued by the "Artist Calendar" article I decided to go ahead and start my own "Painting-A-Day" project. This is the very first product of this decision and upon completion, I discovered that I am very happy with this practice for the following reasons: it takes much less time and concentration than a "formal" painting, it gives an opportunity to focus on details, it provides great practice without commitment ot a bigger piece and it looks great in a very large frame!

Just starting...

2006-10-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

...and uncertain as to what I am doing. I am an artist, not a virtual virtuoso, but I am forever interested in any artistic community, whether cyber- or reality-based.