Free S.P.I.R.I.T…

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10 speed, babies, baby, beach, beach cruiser, bicycle, bicycles, bicycling, bicyclist, bike, bike wheels, bikes, biking, child, Children, colorful, Colorful Art, colorful bike, cruiser, cute, cycle, cycling, cyclist, de, france, free spirit, fun, handle bars, happy, hobby, kid, kids, leisure, mountain bike, mountain biking, nostalgia, nursery, outdoors, play, playing, primary colors, rainbow, rainbow art, road, sharon cummings, spokes, sports, tour, tour de france, toy, Toys, trails

“Free Spirit”

New Art Mixed Media Painting on Fabric Fused Digitally.

Sharon Cummings

2014

I’ve always been a bit of a free spirit since the time I could walk, but today I am not talking about that personality trait.  When I was a little girl, I loved riding my bike. Being the younger of two girls, I always got the “hand me downs” from my sister.  So it was her old beat up economy cycle that I learned to ride on.

My older brother had a beautiful bike.  It was sleek and colorful and oh so enviable.  It was way too big for me and every time I tried to sit on it, that painful bar would get me right between the legs!  His was a “Free Spirit”.  It was red, white and blue.  I wanted one so badly.  Every Christmas it was all I would ask for.  One season went by and I got a play stove set and the next I got some barbies.  I just wasn’t into all of that girly stuff, but was thankful for the gifts anyway.

Then the day came!  It was the Christmas of my 7th year.  My parents had wrapped a few small gifts for me and placed them under the tree.  There was no huge wrapped gift, so I assumed that the bike wouldn’t come yet again.  We all opened our gifts and everyone was happy….well mostly happy.  I am sure I looked more than a little disappointed. Then my Mom and Dad started laughing and asked me what was wrong. I shrugged. My Dad then left for a few minutes and came wheeling in my new bike….oh boy!   She was a beauty.  I jumped on that long bright yellow banana seat and I rarely got off it!

Here is a picture of the bike I loved so much.  Time for a ride down memory lane!

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French Panties?

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arc de triomphe, art, art prints, artwork, canvas, eiffel tower, europe, european, france, french, french alps, french maps, french riviera, les plus beaux villages de france, louvre museum, map of france, mont saint-michel, painting, palace of versailles, paris, paris france, parisian, posters, print, sharon cummings, travel, wall art, wall decor

All the ladies in France,

Don’t believe in underpants.

So they walk around town,

With their hineys hanging down.

As a kid we used to sing this little song that ended with all of us giggling at the thought.  I have no idea where this ditty came from, but I had the impression for many years that French ladies never wore panties!  Funny.

It is interesting what you “think” you know about a country that you have never visited or studied. I grew up on a horse ranch in Myakka City, Florida and we were not cultured or exposed to much outside of our little town.  It wasn’t until I moved away at 18 that I started to learn more about the real World.

As a youngster the French brought us french toast, ballet, french fries, armoires, croissants, brassieres and pie a la mode.  But they did not bring us panties!

Some interesting facts about France:

* There is a Victor Hugo street in every town in France.

* France produces over 400 types of cheese!

* Crayola is a French word that means “oily chalk”

* The number of times the French kiss each other as a form of greeting varies depending on region. In Corsica, the number of kisses can be as many as 5!

* Coco Chanel’s real name was Gabrielle Bonheur.

* The French had an early version of the internet called Minitel, where as long as 1984, they could pay bills and shop at home using the Minitel service.

* Paris nicknamed “city of lights,” lights actually refers to the number of intellectuals who live there

Creativity vs. Skill

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aromatherapy, botanical, botanical prints, bud, buds, calm, calming, cottage, essential oil, essential oils, field, fields, flora, floral, flower, flower garden, flowers, fragrant, france, french, french lavender, garden, health, herb, herb garden, herbs, homeopathy, lavender, lavender oil, macro, macro flower, macro photo, macro photography, micro, micro photography, natural healing, oils, peaceful, plant, plants, purple, relax, relaxation, relaxing, selby gardens, sleep, sleeping, traditional

 

As I continue my photographic journey I am realizing that a good picture has more to do with creativity than skill.  Skills can be learned, but imaginative expression cannot.  Having shifted my focus recently from my paint table to my camera, I am viewing the world a lot differently.  I am not looking to simply copy what other photographers are doing.  These days with the advent of virtually full-proof cameras, anyone can take a picture of a pretty flower and have it look really good.  I am looking for things that are slightly different.  Perfect flowers can be boring and I am anything but that.  I seek out the slightly edgy or spent.  I want flowers missing from the spray.  I look for torn edges and unpopular subject matter.  Sure, I will capture a perfectly beautiful rose when it happen to be in my visual path, but I am not looking for them.  

This piece titled “Lavender Dance” was a single shoot with missing flowers in a patch of perfectly lovely lavender sprigs.  I liked that nature had taken some of it’s beauty, yet left some for me to capture still….

My skill will improve over time and I hope my imagination will too!

Stand Tall!!

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abstract, art, beautiful, bold, buy art, contemporary, dramatic, field, fields, flower, flowers, france, french, friends, friendship, fun, garden, gardener, gift, happy, horizon, modern, mosaic, mosaics, orange, painting, paintings, patch, pebbles, petal, petals, print, prints, purple, rocks, sale, sharon cummings, sky, stained glass, still life, stones, sun, sunflower, sunflower field, sunflower fields, sunflower garden, sunflower patch, sunflowers, sunset, whimsical, whimsy, yellow, yellow sunflower, yellow sunflowers

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/standing-tall-sunflower-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

 

I am creating new original paintings for my upcoming show.  I do a lot more digital work these days, so it is a nice change to go back to more visceral creativity.  I am recreating some of my pieces from 9 years ago, but with a different twist.  Unfortunately the camera I had back then didn’t capture my work well enough for large prints.  But these can go as large as 48×60!  Now that is big and definitely “Standing Tall”!  Happy Sunday all…..

Traveling in my Studio…

Tags

art, Artist, eiffel, eiffel tower, europe, european, france, french, painting, paris, paris france, prints, the eiffel tower, travel, vacation

 

It is said that reading takes you to far away places in your mind and let’s you experience a place without moving from your chair.  I feel the same way about painting and creating.  I can choose to go to Paris, France for instance.  I can immerse myself in colors and shapes from any time and place.  Looking at this view of the Eiffel Tower “takes me there” in a way.  It is such a magnificent structure that I feel I have enhanced in my art.  This piece is a composite painting using a vintage post card and layers of other imagery.  My choice of nebula brings to mind a timelessness and connectivity of all.  I can see this place…and if I close my eyes, I can feel it too….

To learn more about this piece, click here:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-eiffel-tower-paris-france-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html