Saturday, August 28, 2010

HEY, GET IN LINE LIKE THE REST OF US

acrylic 12"x16"
cecelialyden.com
I did this painting for a CALC chocolate theme art show. The word "chocolate" immediately got my "juices flowing". I took my camera to The PA Bakery in Camp Hill, explained my mission and took several pictures of various chocolate baked goods. I bought some to have the real thing in front of me while I painted [my excuse]. I decided to paint the tray of cookies. My inspiration was that they looked like they were moving, jostling for position on that tray. I try to create the feeling of motion in my still life paintings, a little excitement, so as not to appear staid or dead. I titled this painting, "Hey, Get In Line Like the Rest of Us".
PS. I finished eating the cookies way before I finished the painting and, in fact, remained hungry the entire time I worked on it.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

WASH DAY ON GEARY AVENUE By Cecelia Lyden

acrylic
11x14
It's so rare that you see wash hanging on a line to dry. For me this scene brought back memories of my childhood. We had a washing machine, but no dryer. There were four families, all related, living in the apartment house my grandfather built. Each family had a window facing one telephone pole with four clotheslines hooked up-two for the ist floor apartments, two for the top floor apartments. The lines were on pulleys attached out of each of the windows to the pole. Hanging out the wash in the wintertime was a challenge-wet clothes, cold hands. Pulling it back in was hysterical. Every article of clothing --stiff as boards.
I will be exhibiting this in the New Cumberland Art exhibit at the Third Street Gallery in November.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

YESTERDAY'S NEWS and DESPAIR By Cecelia Lyden


Lithographs
on Arches Cold Press Paper
I was rummaging around in some portfolios and found several of these lithograph prints I did over 25 years ago. At that time, I was attending classes at Millersville University working for my art instructor certification for grades k-12. I am amazed at how fresh and clean these prints still are. The black ink on white paper really help convey the mood I was inthen--frustrated, tired travelling to classes, homework, housework, three children, up late and early, reading old news.
The tree in Despair, I drew from a huge, dying, old mulberry tree in our back yard with a gaping hole in its side. It was limb heavy to one side and we had the limbs wired in a way to support each other, but a huge thunderstorm with heavy winds began to topple it. It was so close to the house, we had to have it removed. My final drawing left out its leaves and branches, forshadowing its final demise.
The art professor, Dr. Nelson[if I remember correctly] had us printing the "old fashioned way". We inked our drawings on massive, flat Bavarian stones, lifted them on to the bed, laid the paper on them and pushed these thick slabs through the press . Of course, at 42 or so, I was the oldest in the class. Never had any advanced art classes--so I was happy to get an A in Lithography--the only one I received for the art classes.