Art Blog - Mary Lawler

I have been grabbing a few hours now and then to practice my oil painting. Ta Da! I'm Watching You is finished. The subject is my cat, Shadow who often pretends to be sleeping but still has one eye open. He used to have one white whisker that looked pretty funny but now he has a few on each side, making his portrait more balanced. The painting is 3 _ 4 so I had to cut and fit my own frame… Continue reading… 1 comment

I have been reading a lot lately about what artists need to do, should do, must do, but right now I'm more interested in what artists want to do; the skills or accomplishments you want to attempt or master before you" kick the bucket". If you ask someone about their bucket list and they tell you that they have done everything they ever wanted and they are perfectly content, they are either James Bond or very boring. If you don't have a bucket list, now is a good time to start, think, there must be something.… Continue reading… 7 comments

Many creative people experience a lull in their work. Writer's block, painter's block, whatever name you give it, the feeling of being uninspired is disturbing especially when it continues for an uncomfortable amount of time. I hear many artists sheepishly admit, "I haven't done a thing since I saw you last." or "I used to paint but raising a family, a house and a job just doesn't leave me any time." It's OK. Our creative life is a well. Full sometimes and low another. A great outpouring of creativity will sometimes leave the well dry. What a gift! Now is the time to fill up your well. Fill your brain with images and color combinations, compositions and concepts. The more frustrated we become, the more we block that which can inspire us… Continue reading… 5 comments

I am asked quite often how I find the time to do so much work. It's a constant balancing act that I will never master, but I to try find ways to use my busy life to my advantage. I have tried to schedule creative time but some pressing matter always gets in the way, that's when flexiblity is helpful. I start out the day with a plan and a schedule and I invariably end up doing something completely different. I generally have more than one project going at a time and I have learned to dovetail them as much as possible. The catch phrase is "multi tasking" but I like to think of it as efficient use of time. Focus has always been an issue, there are a million and one things in my head and before I know it I am off one thing and on to another. Discipline has been very valuable… Continue reading… 0 comments

It's mid October in New England and the leaves are about to peak in all their splendor. I had the pleasure of teaching a week-long Calligraphy class at Snow Farm in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. We all long for those moments of being "otherwhere",it's almost as if the work was coming from somewhere else and flowing out of our hands without thinking or control. Those times are all too rare given the pace and demands of daily life. I love my "real work" the work I do to make a living. I am very fortunate to live an artful life and be self-sustaining. Still I long for quiet and the kind of dark that only comes to the woods at night, complete with stars seldom seen. Snow Farm features full immersion art programs where participants spend five days in the study of their choice… Continue reading… 0 comments