Self Taught Leo Artist Spotlight on Robin Rizzi

Leo New Moon August 9, 2010 8:08 pm pdt

Spotlight on Robin Rizzi Aliso Viejo, California Etsy Shop: http://www.rrizzart.etsy.com

I am a self-taught artist/artisan working mostly in mixed media jewelry and collage. Although I have only recently considered myself a professional artist, art has always been a significant part of my life. True to the sign of Leo, I am an independent spirit and confident with who I am. I believe this is why so many of my early artistic endeavors involved making altered clothes and other types of wearable art for myself, as well as personal art for my home. Perhaps the Leonine qualities of ambition and pride led me to eventually share my work with the world although I prefer to think the impetus for creating art for others had more to do with my innate generosity and a warm sharing spirit, typical of Leos.

My artwork is clearly reflective of the Leo spirit: most of my pieces are bright and richly colored, and heavily embellished. Some may see my work as gaudy but I revel in its extravagance! There can never be too much color or too much glitter and sparkle! I am a firm believer in the concept that ideas and feelings worth expressing should be delivered with drama and flair. I believe it was Emil Zola who said, "I am an artist. I live my life out loud." This is my mantra. As artists we are forced to examine and reveal our feelings; we cannot be shy about that and stay true to ourselves. This generosity of spirit, so typical of Leos, is also evident in the inspirational nature of much of my work. Many of my collage pieces are in the form of a cross, but I view them more as an expression of hope and spirituality, rather than representations of a specific faith. I like my work to provide positive energy to the viewer, to encourage others to expand their hearts and minds; thus, many pieces simply dictate "Dream" or "Inspire".

I find it uncanny how my work is influenced by my astrological sign and the more I think about it, the more I believe that I may in fact be a zodiacal late-bloomer. The more my work has evolved (I will be 51 this month), the more evident my Leo qualities have become and now that I am running my own business and selling my work, I get to be my own boss and tap into that delicious independent, controlling streak. I have no idea where my art will take me, but wherever it is, I will go roaring all the way!

Gillian & the Faery Folk – New Moon Wisdom

New Moon in Cancer July 11, 2010 12:40 pm pdt

Cancerian Artist Gillian

"With the Moon in Cancer our feelings take the lead. Cancer encourages the wisdom rising out of our oceanic unconscious through moods and feelings. Ground in the magic of our home as a temple. Ask what needs protecting and feeding. Plant, fertilize and water your garden." ~ Excerpted from the We'Moon Datebook

Spotlight on Cancerian Artist - Gillian Guelph, Ontario, Canada Shop: Miss Quite Contrary

I am a self taught photographer and art history student from Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Since I first held a toy camera in my little toddler hands, I've been taking photographs, but it has only been in the past couple of years that I thought I might be able to pursue this love professionally.

Since those very early years with a little baby camera, it was my Cancer sensitivity and emotion that were my main drive to take photos - to try to capture my feelings about a time or place and preserve them and express them to others in a way I couldn't otherwise - to help others see the world the way I see it.

Gillian, Bertha's Window. Photographic print, 8 x 10 inches. © 2010

This is an altered version of my 'Rochester's Window' photograph. This photo was inspired by Bertha Mason, the 'madwoman in the attic' of Charlotte Bronte's Victorian Gothic novel, Jane Eyre. It was created with a vintage camera and found antique photographs.

I think my work is instantly recognizable as the work of a Cancer. My shyness and tendency to remain 'in my shell' come through in my chosen locations - often abandoned, isolated or forgotten corners of the world, and in the dusk like lighting I love so much - the approach of evening and rise of the moon are my favourite time of day. I'm inspired by ideas of things hidden, decaying, dusty and ethereal, and am particularly interested in nature, animals, fairy and folk tales and Gothic novels.

I think my attraction to the past, and interest in history, is the Cancerian trait most visible in my work. I attempt to capture a glimpse of otherworldly beauty in the everyday, as well as incorporate elements of the past by using antique, vintage and toy cameras, printing photographs onto the dusty pages of old books and tattered ephemera, and occasionally integrating hand embroidery, scraps of antique textiles, found antique photographs and other found objects into mixed media and wearable pieces.

Gillian comments on her post: Thank you so much for featuring me - it was a fun thing to do and I like how it made me think about my work in a really different way!

You can find more New Moon Artist features here.

The DragonLady Speaks – Taurus Style

New Moon in TaurusMay 13, 2010 6:04 pm PDT

Taurus Inspiration: - ground your energy in Mother Earth - be cautious and reserved about money - continue or finish projects - stay at home with your family - appreciate the bounty and beauty of Mother Earth

Spotlight on Taurus Artist: The DragonLady Wickenburg, Arizona, USA

I'm a Taurean, and a watercolor artist - those two things are almost mutually exclusive as watercolor requires a lot of artistic gambling, but Taurus isn't a gambling type. We don't take big risks in any part of our lives, and art is no exception. We marry the nice guy next door that we've known forever, rather than take a chance with some dashing stranger. We start a career with one company, and stay there 'till they kick us out. We buy a house made of real bricks and real hardwoods that will stand forever, no matter how the climate may change. We love our creature comforts and surround ourselves with things we think are beautiful or important, but we don't trade stability and rock-solid performance for flash, glitter or the latest fads.

Only a water-colorist can turn a $5.00 sheet of paper into trash in less than two minutes. Watercolor pigments are often very staining, and a mistake can only be removed by scraping away the upper layer of paper. Every step of every painting has to be planned in advance. Hues used for big washes have to be pre-mixed because there's no time to mix more before the paper starts to dry and waiting too long will make streaks. Once a wash has been applied it can't be touched again until it is completely dry or it will make streaks. An accidental splash of a staining pigment like permanent magenta will ruin a beautiful expanse of ochre beach or a delicate butter-colored blossom.

Many watercolorists love the exciting, unpredictable, wild and wacky things watercolor paints do. The "happy accident" is a major element of their techniques and looked forward to. Not this Taurus! I want total control! I want precise lines, areas of flat color with no back washes or streaks and delicate transitions of color. I want a huge value range - the lightest lights, the darkest darks, and I want the highlights to be right where I put them. I won't settle for unintended splotches or scribbles.

Geologist's Breakfast - Watercolor - 9 x 12 in.

"Geologist's Breakfast" was inspired by a group of geologists who used to meet every morning in a cafe I worked at. They usually didn't eat, just drank coffee that looked like mud. Each of them carried a case filled with specimens and samples and they would share them around the table like plates of cookies. © The Dragon Lady

For me, just picking up a brush is a gamble. I spend days on my drawings, working out every detail of my composition. I draw in every detail from the largest shapes to the smallest highlights and because I won't gamble a drawing I've worked on all those hours, I trace every single line before I transfer it to my watercolor paper. If my painting is ruined, I still have a "backup copy" so I can start over.

Sometimes, I make several smaller drawings to test colors and values. I'll try these out with cheap paints or watercolor pencils to make sure my composition is going to turn out the way I want...I leave nothing to chance. I've done a lot of the work in my imagination long before I ever pick up the brush and sometimes I start losing interest in the whole project before I really get started.

After the drawing is done and the local colors have been chosen I choose my palette - usually only three or four pigments and test the color mixes I can make. Sometimes that takes a few hours while I decide whether I can make a large enough value range or mix enough variations of a color to make the painting work. A garden scene might need twenty shades of green, and I want to be sure I can mix those with my chosen palette before I start painting. So I'll make mixtures of all the pigments in different rations and paint small test swatches. Once they're dry I can compare and make changes.

But once I've begun I'm usually able to let go of all the fears and anxieties. I know that if I do make a serious mistake I can start over. So with that in mind I reach a place where I'm comfortable enough to begin. By that time most of my decisions have been made and nothing is left except the physical act of putting the paint on the paper.

When I'm finally done with the work, I'm really done. I'm able to look at it and decide if I like it or not. Either way, I'm able to let it go and move on to the next thing, and that is where my risk-taking and sense of adventure begin to show. I'm willing to take risks with my subjects. I'm willing to tackle a huge range of ideas and I know almost no boundaries or limits on what I'm willing to portray. I'm equally comfortable with very pretty pictures that everyone likes to see or dark, erotic, esoteric and troubling images that no one likes to see. My next painting may portray a pretty vase of flowers on an elderly woman's porch or a pair of dead birds being devoured by flesh-eating butterflies, or something so erotic and passionate the finished work will never leave my workspace.

My unlimited artistic freedom keeps me sane, allows me to soar, shows me new ideas and inspires me to push every boundary. It gives me the means to examine every preconception and to purge myself of outmoded or untenable opinions. I am always changing, evolving, spiraling toward a destiny I do not yet know. It doesn't bother me in the least that I'll arrive there in the same car I was driving ten years ago or wearing a sweater I bought for my honeymoon.

You can read more New Moon Artist posts by clicking on the link.

PS What I'm curious to know is how the 'DragonLady' got her name!

Sweet Gypsy Promise New Moon in Aries

Aries New MoonApril 14, 2010 5:29 am PDT

The Moon in Aries reminds us to be true to our path, we have to be true to our inner fire. This month's New Moon artist is Melissa of Sweet Gypsy Promise who brings her divine feminine spark of inspiration and movement to us in the form of dance and art, a topic not usually covered in this blog, but something I love to do - how 'bout you?

Melissa Sweet Gypsy Promise Shop: SweetGypsyPromise.etsy.com Blog: SweetGypsyPromise.blogspot.com

As an Aries, I often find myself overfilled with passion looking for an available, creative outlet to express it. True to my astrological nature I will try anything once, especially on an impulse. That is how I ended up in dance class again.

Although I had danced as a child and on and off through my adolescent years, when I came back to it as an adult, it felt like an entirely new adventure altogether. I definitely did not expect to find a sense of the divine in dance, but somehow I did.

Aries is the first sun sign, and we literally have a fierce fireball of energy whirling around in us all the time, nonstop. It is relentless really. And as you can imagine, I have never found it easy to sit still and silence my thoughts, yet I yearned for the peace of mind, body and soul that meditation might bring.

Golden Dancer

For me, dance is the solution to this. Once the music starts, my mind stops and my body takes over and easily loses itself in the movements while the rest of the world stands still so that I can actually exist just as I am, letting go and complete.

Knowing that I am an Aries you might expect my dance inspired artwork to be well, WILD... full of bold colors and big brushstrokes. I will be the first to admit that it most definitely is not. Instead what you see is something uniquely feminine. I paint what I feel when I dance. I do this because it is a feeling that is simultaneously powerful and serene and it is something that so many of us have been searching for.

You can find more New Moon Artists by clicking on the link.

Aries New Moon Rainbow Revolution!

Aries New Moon April 14, 2010 5:29 am PDT

This Aries New Moon get ready to wake up, make a fresh start, move fast and speak up. I discovered this month's Australian Aries artist (with a Libra Moon) in the Etsy Forums and I'm sure her vibrant, colorful, fun approach will help wake you up in a delightfully wild way!

Leanne Lonergan Sydney, Australia Shop: rainbowrevolution.etsy.com Blog: rainbowrevolution.blogspot.com My name is Leanne Lonergan and I am a fabric artist, colour therapist, colour consultant and teacher. Colour is the basis and motivating force in everything I enjoy doing! Aries Sun, Libra Moon and Rainbow Revolution ~ Lift your spirits with colour!

My Sun is in my fourth house and my Moon in the eleventh, so life for me is all about striking a balance between being ‘out there’ and being at home. I work from home which is ideal for me because I'm at my creative best there.

hand dyed cotton rainbow bed wrap

Well, the first thing you might imagine about someone with an Aries Sun would be a pioneering, initiating kind of personality and I guess in a way my creativity is like that. I am a fearless experimenter and I don’t really make plans before I do something. I usually just jump straight in and assess my work when I am finished. I tend to plunge fearlessly into whatever takes my fancy often with no thought of the consequences until they have shown themselves.

This shows up in my work in the form of bright, bold splashes of wild colours side by side. I work with a sense of freedom and abandon and have no fear of trying any combination. Sometimes it is pleasing and sometimes it isn’t, but I always ask myself, “What is the worst thing that can happen?” Although the Ram inside me does sometimes go bolting off across the field running helter skelter until I hit the fence!

rainbow striped hand dyed cotton stretch leggings

I will get an idea in my head and I have to drop everything I am doing to pursue it then suddenly I look up and hours have passed and the family is starving. Feeling rather dazed I emerge from my workshop, spent but content. I do like to see results quite quickly and am certainly not the type to take up anything that requires small fiddly detail. My craft and art cupboards are a testament to this and are absolutely full of all different kinds of mediums and supplies. I don’t know of anyone who has more coloured pencils, coloured threads, wool, fleece, paints, inks etc than I do!

rainbow hand dyed cotton fabric head scarf

Then there is my Libra Moon, the direct opposite to my Sun sign. My Moon helps me find balance in what I do both aesthetically and emotionally. I know when my Moon is shining because this is when I am attracted to harmonious colour schemes and gentle tones and I often use a lot of pinks and greens, but always with my Sun in charge of the action. My Moon comes into play when I am doing colour consultations, always striving to find the balance, that point on the scales that is neither one nor the other, but is however, quite complete.

You can find more New Moon Artist features by clicking on the link.