My blog has moved!

While the full site is still in process, my blog has just moved to www.marylizingramart.com! be sure to subscribe and join my new site!

A PAINTING!?

Savannah Summer, 20x24 Oil on Canvas...There was a day awhile back when I didn't feel like getting my fingers dirty with pastels. The kids were squirrelly, the baby wasn't "self-entertained," shall we say, but I wanted to do some art. I like working in most art media...except for oil paints. I steer clear of the slow drying, "have to wait" kind of stuff, and jump right to "I can finish fast if I want to" type of stuff (i.e. pastels!!!) But on this particular day, I thought, "What the heck, let's paint!" I sat on the floor with my canvas propped up, and started painting one of the beautiful trees near my sister's home in Savannah, using my pretty much unopened tubes of oil paint. Given the nature of that day, I ended up completing the piece more quickly than intended, with a baby on my lap (angled AWAY from wet paint!) and my son busily creating his own art on the floor next to me (a little too close to the painting for my comfort!). So it may not have been the most reflective, or the most tranquil painting experience, but hey, I PAINTED! IN OILS! This painting will be at the BAA Juried Show this weekend! Join us tonight for the reception, 5:00-8:00, at Christopher House Antiques near Pepper Place, downtown Birmingham.

Ready to go...

All set up and ready to go for the Annual Mountain Brook Art Association Holiday Show. Join me this Friday, 4:00-8:00 for the opening reception at Brookwood Mall, hosted by Cocina! There are 80 artists with a huge variety of art for sale. My panels are towards the back next to the work of my great friend and awesome artist, Cecily Hill Lowe!

Upcoming Events

There are two great art events this week!

Join me at Christopher House Antiques this Thursday, Nov. 15th, 5:00-8:00 for the opening reception of the Birmingham Art Association 2012 Juried Show (3205 2nd Ave South, Birmingham, AL 35233) Christopher House will be open Friday and Sat. 10-5. There is plenty of parking across the street from Christopher House

This Friday opens the Annual Mountain Brook Art Association Holiday Show at Brookwood Village. November 16th come join us for the Opening Reception 4:00-8:00pm hosted my Cocina Superior. November 30th join us for our Grand Finale Party 5:00 - 8:00 pm hosted by Brio. The show will be open for the rest of November, and is a great place to shop for some unique Christmas gifts! I will have 2 panels with large and small pastel paintings.

My current website www.marylizingramart.com is still on the fritz! I am building a brand new site that will also include my blog, so stay tuned. Also, join my Facebook page for news and updates at Mary Liz Ingram Art !

Layers of Life

Ah, the complexities of life. We all have a story, layered with triumphs, tears, mistakes, redemption, tragedies, success, joy and pain. Most of our stories are hidden behind our personas, whether they be smiling faces or bitter scowls; woven so tightly together that the layers are unseen, making up one image. These thoughts were on my mind as I created my newest piece, a 16x20 cotton boll in soft pastel. I begin my pieces with under layers of dark black followed by bright colors: turquoise, fuchsia, purple, bright green, gold:

I finish the piece with a unifying neutral, in this case white, bringing the layers together into a single image; no longer separate pieces of the story, but a complex whole...very much like the layers of life.

We cannot separate our stories into separate pieces, discarding some and clinging to others. All of our experiences unite to make us who we are, individuals with layers of story. To me, this is a good and beautiful part of living life; also, something to remember when we daily encounter our fellow human beings, with our myriad of emotions and reactions. We are all living a story. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

MaryLizIngramArt.com

So...my website is still not functioning due to a server change. I am in process of building a brand new website centering on my new "POV" (see my earlier post!), "Pieces of the South." It should be up and running soon! It will include my blog on the homepage, so it will be nice and tidy, all in one place! Ah, technology...