Underway

The plan is to use this blog as my official “Heartbeat” website where people can come to see the progress I’m making on my project. I plan on uploading images, video (if I can figure it all out) and text about my experiences. Please follow along on my journey and by all means share it with your friends!

I’ve received my funds and now it’s time to bring in supplies and get to work. I’ve already made connections with some dance studios here on the island and one up in North Carolina. I wasn’t able to convince the New York City Ballet to allow me access to their rehearsal halls in July, so I moved on to other options.

I attended my first dance session this past week at the studio of Luis Lizardi, who teaches all forms of latin dance as well as ballet. The class I attended was Salsa and some samplings of Merengue. I can’t do a painting project about dance while living in Puerto Rico and NOT include Salsa and Merengue! It was the perfect first step on my adventure.

Next week I will be visiting the studios of the Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico. Laura Valentin, a prima ballerina with the troupe, has opened her arms in welcome to me and my project. She’s given me free run of the classrooms and I’m thrilled!

I think the evolution of this project is going to be really interesting because I have a feeling that by the time I’m done there will be musicians and artists from other disciplines involved as well. Can’t think of a better way to generate positive energy….something the world is sorely in need of.

Blessings to all!

Diary of a Mad Fundraiser – c’est fini! Now the work begins.

“3 Sisters” Oil on Canvas

Never thought I’d be saying these words, but my project “Heartbeat” with USA Projects has been fully funded! Who woulda thought??? With a week left until my April 29th deadline, I can still accept donations that will be added to the fund. If you would share this link with your friends that like to support the arts, I would greatly appreciate it.
( http://www.usaprojects.org/project/heartbeat ) In the meantime, the work begins!

Essential to this project is to create a series of gestural drawings that will be the basis for my underpaintings. For those that don’t know, gestural drawings are very quick line drawings meant to capture the movement and dynamics of the model. By quick I mean less than 2 minutes. Being “up close and personal” with the dancers is important to this process, which is why I want to work right there in the studios with the dancers as opposed to doing small sketches in a book while sitting in the audience of a performance. (Although I will do that too when the opportunity presents itself) I’ll then take these large drawings back to my studio and using a very large brush and thinned down oil paint, recreate them on canvas. Thinning down the paint will allow it to flow and drip and naturally mix with the various colors I’ll be using. This is when life begins on the canvas. This is the heartbeat.

From this point on, after the underpainting has dried, I will no longer look at my drawings but will simply work to honor the dynamics created during the underpainting process. I believe that the truth of the subject or artist always surfaces so I no longer need to emphasize the subject. It’s already there. I just need to make the painting work.

Onward!

Diary of a Mad Fundraiser ~ Almost there!

When I first got involved with this fundraising project with USAProjects, I honestly thought I didn’t have a chance of raising the amount I had budgeted to get the job done. But I figured “what the hell. I have nothing to lose” so I went ahead with it. I am now only $350.00 away from making it!!!! Nobody is more surprised than me! In addition, they extended my deadline to April 29th, so if the donations continue coming in, I can keep those as well. I crave the luxury of time for doing work such as this, so anything that will give me more time is a godsend.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of my spamming, the purpose of my project “Heartbeat” is to create series of paintings that will induce a visceral experience with dance as felt through my painter’s heart. I don’t want to simply show you how dance looks, I aim to show you how it feels. I plan on working up close and personal with dancers from different disciplines by attending their rehearsals in the studio. I will work only with gestural drawings done during this phase which I will then translate in color once back in my own studio. The paintings I’ve done using this technique are explosive, dynamic and embracing.

In order to produce enough paintings that will culminate in a multimedia event I need the luxury of time. As a self supporting artist, time to focus on things other than commercial endeavors is rare. Mortgages have to be paid. By raising funds to support this project, I will be able to devote the time needed to “get the job done.” Your support is tremendously valuable to the success of “Heartbeat”, whether it’s a donation of money (any amount is precious) or simply sharing this link with friends who believe in supporting the arts.

Please visit http://www.usaprojects.org/project/heartbeat to learn more about what I believe will be a life enhancing experience for all involved.

Diary of a Mad Fundraiser IV

The image I’m posting today is another example of a painting inspired by dance. In this case it was 3 female dancers caught “in flight” that inspired the underpainting for this piece I call “Nature Rising”. Once the underpainting has established itself, I no longer look at the models and concentrate instead on honoring the dynamics established by the underpainting. Because I believe that in art, the truth of the artist ALWAYS surfaces, I have faith that at the end of the day, the explosive movement of the dance that originally inspired me will shine through.

My project “Heartbeat” will give me a chance to explore this philosophy even further. We’re making GREAT headway and almost to my goal amount needed to fund the project. Time is coming to an end so I’m hoping people who want to participate but for some reason or other have been procrastinating will realize it’s time to donate!

Visit http://www.usaprojects.org/project/heartbeat to learn more about my motivation and direction. Thank you!

Diary of a Mad Fundraiser IV

So far the fundraising is going GREAT! I am so touched to see all the people who have stepped up to the plate for me. I’m 70% funded so far. Wooo hoooooo!!!!

That being said, I found an essay by a woman named Rebekah Joy Plett. I have taken the liberty of changing a few words, but for all intents and purposes, they are her thoughts that remarkably mirror my own. I think it’s relevant to what I’m trying to do with my project “Heartbeat”.

“When you support the work of an independent artist you are supporting more than just a painting or a novel or a song. You are supporting hundreds of hours of experimentation and thousands of failures interspersed with glorious successes. You are supporting days, weeks, months, years of frustration and also moments of pure joy. You are offering relief for nights of worry about paying the rent, having enough money to eat, having enough money to buy gas, having enough money to feed the doggies and kitty kat. You aren’t just supporting a thing, you are supporting a piece of the heart, a part of a soul, private moments in someone’s life. Most importantly you are allowing that artist more time to do something they are passionate about; something that makes all of the above worth the fear and the doubt; something that puts the life in to the living.”

For all of you that are part of my 70% I thank you for giving my “Heartbeat” a pulse.

http://www.usaprojects.org/project/heartbeat

Diary of a mad fundraiser III – Why I think this project is important enough to ask for support

 

I have long thought that my job as an artist is to create paintings that offer refuge from the craziness of every day life. I have come to believe that the reason why life has become so crazy is because we have become so disconnected… from society, from the planet, from ourselves. We have become a society of droids using machines to navigate through our daily routines rather than using our senses. With my work I strive to recreate the sensations one feels when there is a connection. In my case, the connections would be between you and the painting, you and the inspiration and ultimately between you and me.

If you visit http://www.usaprojects.org/project/heartbeat you will gain a better understading of what I’m trying to accomplish with my project “Heartbeat”. As a self-supporting artist it is difficult to set aside time for experimental work and yet it is through experimentation that I continue to grow. If I am successful in raising the funds needed to get this work under way, I will have the luxury of time that I don’t currently have.

USA Projects calls their fundraising programs “microphilanthropy”. I love that concept! It takes the idea of philanthropy out of the realm of very wealthy and generous people giving large sums of money and places it the hands of ordinary people who want to contribute but think that small amounts won’t make a difference. The exact opposite is true!

I thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to presenting you with the fruits of my labor.

Diary of a mad fundraiser II

Fundraising for the Heartbeat project…. what a strange and not very comfortable feeling it is! I’ve been making my way on my own for years and I’ve never asked for money from anyone. I have been blessed, thank god, when at times I was sinking, angels came to my rescue, unasked and financed my sorry ass out of the fire. Now that I’m actually asking for money outright, in the back of my mind I’m screaming “Haven’t they done enough??” (meaning all the friends who have given me moral support throughout the years in addition to the ones who have bailed me out) or “This is so embarrassing! I’m such a loser!”. In fact, I had 2 people, both artists, yell at me for begging. One of them said that if I wasn’t such a loser I wouldn’t have to beg for money.

I came upon USA Projects by accident really. I saw a notice about them on another website. When I read about the possibilities I thought “Oh my god! I might actually be able to BREATHE for a little while!” The technique I want to explore further is one that I used for the exhibition I did up in Saratoga Springs, NY. Those paintings have such power, such movement, such LIFE! I’ve wanted to delve in to it further and thought that dance would be the perfect theme for what I want to do. But reality raises its ugly head and the bills must be paid. Soooo…. while I would never show and sell any paintings that don’t pass my muster, the work I have to do is much more commercial than what I want to do with “Heartbeat”. If I am successful and raise the goal amount of $9775.00 I could actually have a little breathing room to dive in to the process. God how good that would feel!

If you want to learn more about “Heartbeat”, please visit http://www.usaprojects.org/project/heartbeat

Heartbeat – Diary of a Mad Fundraiser

It’s funny how the universe works. I’ve been feeling directionless for some time now, having great difficulty figuring out why I’ve spent the last 35 years painting and why I should spend the next 25 or so doing the same. Am I not simply taking up space on the planet that could be used more productively by someone else? But… and this is a big but…. It’s who I am and it’s what I’m supposed to do. I’ve asked these kinds of questions many times over the years and at the end of the day I realize that I truly do know, from deep inside me, I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing. The why of it is not something I need to concern myself with.

But how on earth do I keep going, just from a practical standpoint? I’m alone with only my art to support me and frankly, I’m tired. Very tired. And so I obsess about how to keep going. My solution was to find a way to get myself out of my comfort zone for even a little while in effort to shake up my perceptions. I believe that doing so will result in giving me a fresh approach to my work. With this in mind, I applied for an artist’s residency at Yaddo, an artists’ retreat in Saratoga Springs, New York.

I grew up in the area and ever since I was a child I dreamed about spending time in a place like Yaddo. It would be a month away from the demands of my every day studio life, surrounded by other artists from a myriad of different disciplines. I’m pretty isolated in my pursuit and as a result I haven’t had many opportunities to be immersed in the creative process alongside other artists. An artist’s residency seemed like the perfect solution! As intimidated as I am by the process and having to present myself to this prestigious program, I figured all they could do was say no.

Becoming involved with the Yaddo application led me to discovering USAProjects, as several artists who have participated in the Yaddo residency program have had their art projects funded through this organization. This is how I stumbled upon this concept of fundraising and it has given me the direction I’ve needed to move forward as I had to put together a cohesive plan for the work I wish to do.

But it’s weird, ya know? In order to raise the funds needed to support my work I have to reach out to my whole network of friends and supporters. I feel very strange asking for money. I mean, my loved ones have supported me spiritually (and in some cases financially) over the years which has kept me going through many a dark time. But now I’m asking for money outright and it’s truly not the most comfortable thing I’ve done in my life. It’s necessary yes, but not comfortable.

I guess when I said I needed to get out of my comfort zone, this is part of the gig.

 http://www.usaprojects.org/project/heartbeat

Where to find my art online

I read so many truly beautiful, thoughtful, funny and inspiring blogs and think I SHOULD DO THAT!!! Hopefully some day I’ll find the words to do the same, but for the time being I gotta tell ya this!!!

I spent a lot of time researching online print publishers in effort to find those that produce true quality archival reproductions. I believe I have done so and judging by the responses of customers who have puchased my prints through these sites, I’ve selected good ones. These are sites that produce the prints themselves on a variety of substrates, and can either ship you just the print itself or mat it and even frame it. It’s one stop shopping delivered to your door!

For a selection of my contemporary realism and magical realism paintings in oil or watercolor, visit http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/monica-linville.html?page=1

For a selection of my abstract and magical realism paintings in oil or watercolor, please visit http://www.artflakes.com/en/s?search=monica+linville. Note that this is a European site so for my friends on that side of the Atlantic, shipping is easy. Should you see something on this site that you like but isn’t on the stateside website, contact me and we can work something out.

Watercolor on Claybord

Seed Pod, oil on panel

For a general portfolio of my work that will give you an idea of what my evolution as an artist has been, please visit my main website, http://www.monicalinville.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and looking over these sites. In my next post, I’ll wax poetic.

Where to find my art in Puerto Rico

oil painting

If you live in or plan to visit Puerto Rico, you are first and foremost welcome to visit my studio in the mountains on the east end of the island. In saying that it sounds as if I live in a remote area. I don’t. It just seems that way because I’m on and acre and a half and the property is situated as such that it feels secluded and is quite lovely. That said, a visit to my studio is an easy 10 minute drive from the main east-west highway, Rte 3. I have a nice collection of original work as well as my reproductions. I also teach private classes and group workshops. I know I’m a tad biased, but I think these are all good reasons to come up and see me! Those interested can contact me through this blog or my email: monica@monicalinville.com.

If a studio visit doesn’t rock your world, my artwork is available in locations where just about everybody visits. I have original paintings and prints at Puerto Rico Arts & Crafts on Calle Forteleza in Old San Juan as well as a nice selection of prints at Eclectika, on the west side of Plaza Colon, also in Old San Juan. For those of you visiting the rainforest, the gift shop at El Portal, the visitors’ center at the entrance to El Yunque National Rain Forest is now carrying a nice variety of my smaller prints, perfect for mementos or gifts or both!

oil painting