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Abstract Art by Sharon Cummings

~ An artist with an irresistible urge to create!

Tag Archives: mixed media

The Wonder Years….

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by sharoncummings in Uncategorized

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

aging, anxiety, art, bathroom, bedroom, botanical, botanical prints, bug, bugs, butterflies, butterfly, butterfly garden, butterfly wings, buy, career, change, ecology, face lifts, Family, feminine, for her, for sale, fun, garden, gardens, gift, gifts, growth, happy, healing, insect, insects, joy, joyful, letting go, living room, marriage, mixed media, mom, mother, mother's day, online, paintings, pentas, personal growth, powder room, prints, season, seasons, sharon cummings, skin, spring, summer, uncertainty, wing, wings

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Are you trying to hold on to your youth?  Your children?  A dysfunctional family?  A job that isn’t right for you?  A marriage that doesn’t work?  That D you got in trigonometry in high school?

So many of us cling tightly to what is familiar or comfortable.  Others bind themselves to the past and allow it to punish them for their entire lives. Change is scary.  Some just cannot picture a life different than the one they currently have.  I have learned that the harder you grasp something, the more it hurts when it slips away from you.  The secret to life is “letting go”.  Also known as acceptance.  This has nothing to do with giving up and everything to do with knowing when it is time to move on.

I had a few years of uncertainty and fear as I moved into middle age.  I was panicked at the thought of my little girl out in the big mean World all by herself. My marriage had a major hiccup one Summer and I was not sure we would make it.  I noticed that I was starting to lose the interest of men when I walked into a room.  My body and face were aging and I did not know how to handle it. I was also very confused about what I wanted to do with my business.  I considered shutting it down and taking a different path by getting back into Holistic Medicine.  I call those years “the worry years”.

Slowly I started to realize that I could not hold onto all of those things that I wanted to remain the same.  More importantly, I did not want to. I discovered it was safe to let go and just celebrate where I was headed.  I was not only physically different, I was also mentally and emotionally transformed.  At 45 I am now excited to watch my daughter leave for college and blossom into her own life.  I will not be keeping her bedroom as a shrine where I can focus on the past.  Instead it will be converted into a sanctuary for yoga and thinking. She will be welcome to visit anytime, but I will use that space for mediation.  I have learned to work “with” my partner instead of “against” him as we weather life’s bumps.  I am less selfish.  I have also decided that I will not be artificially preserving my youthful face.  It’s gone and no amount of face lifting, injecting or sand blasting is going to bring it back.  It’s o.k. to have wrinkles and fine lines.  In fact, if you allow yourself to let go of what society dictates is beautiful, you can actually admire them for what they really are: signs of a life that has endured numerous storms and celebrated many triumphs.

As for my career that is still being pondered.  I have a few new ideas about what direction I would like to move in. But whatever I decide, the process leading up to it will not be fraught with anxiety.  No, these are truly “the wonder years” for me.  The dictionary tells us that “wonder” means:  a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.  And that is exactly where I am.  Bring it on life!
Butterfly Art Prints For Sale Botanical Paintings

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Is Digital Art Real Art?

24 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by sharoncummings in Uncategorized

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Tags

abstract art, abstract art for sale, abstract paintings, art, art for sale, art mediums, butterfly wings, buy abstract art, buy art, buying prints, canvas, canvas prints, christmas gifts, computer, computer art, computer generated art, computer paintings, computers, contemporary art, digital art, digital artist, mixed media, mixed media art, modern art, modern paintings, paintings, peacock feather, prints, selling prints, sharon cummings, tampa artist

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I had a conversation with a friend the other day about Digital Art.  He wanted to know if I was going to be taking a mix of all my work (i.e. acrylic paintings) or more of my computer art to my upcoming show.  Throughout the chat the words were never said, but the implication was there.  The acrylic paintings were “real art” and the digital stuff…well….not so much.  I myself was resistant to computer generated artwork for years.  I did not think it belonged in the same category as paintings or drawings.  To me it looked “different” and as a traditional painter, I was having trouble with that.  I also did not understand how much hard work it was!  There is also the argument that states that you cannot get a “one of a kind” piece with digitally produced media.  This is true!  But you also cannot get a one of a kind photograph either unless you have the negative or file yourself and then you can only enjoy it as a small inverse image or on your computer.  To fully enjoy photography you must have a print made of it so you can hang it on your wall.  It is the same with digital art.

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I do not create ANYTHING entirely with my computer.  I do not do fractal work.  I always start with one of my original paintings or a photograph.  I copy my own hand painted patterns from original works.  I draw designs.  Every piece I create on my computer starts with something I did with my hands away from the black box.  My mandalas start from my paintings on Yupo.  My Stone Rock’d Art starts with patterns from my Labor of Love pieces which I painted by hand.

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I am sure that the charcoal and fruit ink painters were incredulous when oil painters came along.  It was something new and untested. How could something so radically different from charcoal ever become popular?  To me “real art” has nothing to do with the mediums used.  If you lock a creative person into a room without anything, they will make art from dust particles.  Art is the expression or application of creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. But is it “real art”? Is it collectible?  In the last year I have sold over 1000 prints that I produced with the aid of my computer.  Now to me that is beautiful and oh so powerful……and undeniable real!

Digital artists….rock on!

Enjoy all of my work here…both traditional and contemporary:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries

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Is Digital Art Real Art?

07 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by sharoncummings in Uncategorized

≈ 31 Comments

Tags

abstract art, abstract art for sale, abstract paintings, art, art for sale, art mediums, butterfly wings, buy abstract art, buy art, buying prints, canvas, canvas prints, christmas gifts, computer, computer art, computer generated art, computer paintings, computers, contemporary art, digital art, digital artist, mixed media, mixed media art, modern art, modern paintings, paintings, peacock feather, prints, selling prints, sharon cummings, tampa artist

Image

 

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about Digital Art.  He wanted to know if I was going to be taking a mix of all my work (i.e. acrylic paintings) or more of my computer art to my upcoming show.  Throughout the chat the words were never said, but the implication was there.  The acrylic paintings were “real art” and the digital stuff…well….not so much.  I myself was resistant to computer generated artwork for years.  I did not think it belonged in the same category as paintings or drawings.  To me it looked “different” and as a traditional painter, I was having trouble with that.  I also did not understand how much hard work it was!  There is also the argument that states that you cannot get a “one of a kind” piece with digitally produced media.  This is true!  But you also cannot get a one of a kind photograph either unless you have the negative or file yourself and then you can only enjoy it as a small inverse image or on your computer.  To fully enjoy photography you must have a print made of it so you can hang it on your wall.  It is the same with digital art.  

Image

 

I do not create ANYTHING entirely with my computer.  I do not do fractal work.  I always start with one of my original paintings or a photograph.  I copy my own hand painted patterns from original works.  I draw designs.  Every piece I create on my computer starts with something I did with my hands away from the black box.  My mandalas start from my paintings on Yupo.  My Stone Rock’d Art starts with patterns from my Labor of Love pieces which I painted by hand.  

Image

 

I am sure that the charcoal and fruit ink painters were incredulous when oil painters came along.  It was something new and untested. How could something so radically different from charcoal ever become popular?  To me “real art” has nothing to do with the mediums used.  If you lock a creative person into a room without anything, they will make art from dust particles.  Art is the expression or application of creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. But is it “real art”? Is it collectible?  In the last year I have sold over 1000 prints that I produced with the aid of my computer.  Now to me that is beautiful and oh so powerful……and undeniable real!

Digital artists….rock on!

Enjoy all of my work here…both traditional and contemporary:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries

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Collaborations

01 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by sharoncummings in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

alice in wonderland, art, art collaboration, Artist, beach, bears, butterflies, butterfly, collaboration, collage, collage art, collage work, creating, creativity, mixed media, mixed media art, muse, ocean, Paint, painting, photography, photos, pretty art, sea, sharon cummings, tampa, tampa artist, Teddy bear, teddy bears, the mad hatter, women, women's issues

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http://fineartamerica.com/featured/on-the-rocks-teddy-bear-art-by-william-patrick-and-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

Do any of you other artists ever collaborate?  Work on photography together?  Paintings?  Music?  I tend to be a loner when it comes to my work, but I have had some really great opportunities to work with some amazing artists from around the World on pieces of art that really challenged me but ultimately brought me great satisfaction.  

The piece above is a joint effort between me and my husband William Patrick.  We headed to the beach with his box of toys and I handled all of the choreography and staging while he snapped the shots.  I also handled the post processing.

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 http://fineartamerica.com/featured/down-the-rabbit-hole-sharon-cummings.html

Down the Rabbit Hole was a very interesting project that I shared with a Canadian artist named Geraldine Gracia.  What we did was each sent each other a package filled with all sorts of bits and pieces of things we collected.  The rule was we had to use EVERYTHING in the package in a mixed media piece.  We could add to it, but we could not subtract.  It really got my imagination going and the end result was a surprise to me.  I to this day continue to sell this piece regularly…so glad it speaks to so many.

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http://fineartamerica.com/featured/balancing-act-sharon-cummings.html

Balancing Act was another collaboration piece.  I have done these many times with other artist and it is always fun to see what we create!

 

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Good Girl…..Bad Girl

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by sharoncummings in Uncategorized

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acceptance, affirmations, art, Artist, bad girls, darkness, equality, evil, girls, good, good and evil, good girls, love, mixed media, oppression, paintings, prints, rape, religion, self love, sharon cummings, society, soul, women, women's issues

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Someone posted on my Facebook today that I ought not say anything that shatters the illusion of my “good girl” status.  I had to laugh because I did not know I had one of those.  Now I do not believe I am a “bad girl” either.  What is a “good girl” anyway?  Is she one that stays quiet or only says things to flatter their husbands or their children?  Is she one that does not stand for anything?  Does she only wear clothing that covers most of her skin?  Does she never curse and never ever have a drink in a bar?  Does she cook dinner every night and keep the house tidy?  Would she only paint flowers and puppies?  There is no such thing as a “good girl” because there is no Worldwide agreement as to what constitutes this label.  We have one for “water”, but when it comes to women all else is just an opinion usually based on religion.  If you look around my portfolio you will get a glimpse into my personality.  I have many facets including dark and gothic imagery. I believe in peace, love and equality, but I am certainly not afraid to tap into my dark and/or sensual side.  There is a Country song performed by Patty Loveless that describes me well:  I ain’t the woman in red, I ain’t the girl next door, But if somewhere in the middle’s what you’re lookin’ for, I’m that kind of girl….

“Good girls” don’t get raped right?  In this piece titled “I Wanted To Tell You” I visually express the oppression of women….all of the women who are forced to stay silent……all of the women who MUST be “good girls”.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/i-wanted-to-tell-you-mixed-media-study-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

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Sharon Cummings

sharoncummings

sharoncummings

Coloring the world with abstract art & photography. Interests include pets, animals, dogs, cats, spiritual life, yoga, people, health, fitness, music, coffee, food, wine, and a whole lot more!

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