Karen Cooper
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Interest Cooking

by Cooper on 5/27/2010 7:37:37 AM1 Comment
Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa.

My spouse is becoming concerned, I think.  I seem to be trying a lot of new recipes, and the vast majority of them have been quite successful.  In fact, we are both wondering at my newly discovered affininty for preparing better than tasty edibles.  His concern likely stems from the "what on earth is up" thought line.

Now really, there's just not any need for concern, from any side of this issue.  What's really happened is that I decided to sign up to receive a couple of newsletters---one at Pillsbury and the other at Betty Crocker.  If you click in the right places, you get five fabulous recipes from each, every week.  What a deal. 

Here's the catch.  You have to be a little bit brave.  Those people at Pillsbury and Betty Crocker know how to mix some highly unlikely combinations.  Last week there was a salad recipe---spinach, strawberries, red onion, blue cheese, honey, walnuts, and strawberry yogurt---now how could that combination even be edible?!  It was better than edible, it was exquisite.

"Hey, wait", you say.  "This is a blog about painting, and you're telling us about food!"  Right.  But I'm telling you about food that's INTERESTING. 

INTERESTING is an important word for me.  When it comes to painting, I think it's a key word.  I have probably looked at more paintings than the average person.  They seem to compel me to do that.  And quite possibly I have become cynical in my viewings. 

While I will always look at a painting, I seem to have reached a stage of viewer-dom where I quickly mentally place the painting in one of two categories.  Interesting or not-interesting.  Figurative, landscape, abstract---doesn't really matter if they are not interesting.  Clever brush strokes?  Doesn't matter if they are not interesting.  Matches the sofa?  Doesn't matter if it's not interesting.  After all, your pillow can match the sofa, and you're not likely to hang a pillow on your wall, are you?

What makes up interesting when it comes to a painting?  Does it have to be one of a kind?   Does it lose "interest quality" when you realize you've seen a hundred or a thousand paintings just like it before?  Maybe all those mentors who tell us to develop our "own voice", our own painting style, are really just talking about interest.  Could be.

Time to go paint.  People with skin that isn't skin toned.  Dios mio.
I am almost ready for my exhibit at the WineBarArtGallery---promised photos coming soon.

Later, Cooper

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Wine Bar Art Gallery, Arnolds Park, Iowa

by Cooper on 5/23/2010 7:18:50 PMComment on this



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Paid With A Brownie

by Cooper on 5/21/2010 10:52:21 AM1 Comment
Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa, where at the moment the sky is gray.  But!  The weather people are telling us nice warm sunshine for the afternoon.  Maybe tipping 90 degrees for the weekend.  Yay!

By now, you are wondering about that title, "Paid With A Brownie", aren't you?  Paid.  I did.  I was.  Let me explain.  This morning I added three extra blocks to my morning run.  I know---pshaw.  That's nothing.  But it made me happy.  And I decided to pay myself for the extra effort.  A brownie.  Oh wait, you don't understand, do you?  These brownies were baked fresh last night.  And we dumped in a whole bunch of white chocolate chips.  As if a brownie isn't chocolate enough already, eh? 

It's kind of like the painting I'm working on.  It's of a beach cafe up at Arnolds Park, Iowa.  It will hopefully finish up in time for my exhibit which opens at the WineBarArtGallery in Arnolds Park, a week (eek) from today.  For some reason, maybe diligence?, I was being pretty faithful to the true setting of this cafe.  It's a view from the west, looking into the open side of the cafe and through to the back where you can see the greenspace, called Preservation Plaza.  It's a lovely view, but it wasn't working for this painting.  So I did the unthinkable.  I painted over the greenspace.  It was a tough decision.  We've enjoyed many a great concert on that greenspace.  But it was right for the compositon of the painting.  And then I decided to give myself a treat.  You know, like pay myself for the tough decision.  I painted the floor of the cafe red.  Dang, it's almost as good as a brownie.  It's good to pay yourself for the tough decision, don't you think?  Especially when there's a painting involved  :)  Must be time to get back to work. 

Later, Cooper

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Valley Junction Art Market And The Summer Art Fair

by Cooper on 5/17/2010 1:13:29 PMComment on this
Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa, on a lovely spring day.  We have finally inched that thermometer back up a few degrees, possibly the garden will notice and finally start growing again? 

So let me tell you about the "season opener" of summer art fairs.  Valley Junction Art Market.  Brace yourself, here's the tricky part, it's held by a "town" that isn't really a town.  "Eh?" you say?  If you look at a listing of all the towns in Iowa, you won't find one named Valley Junction, but don't tell those folks that.  They like their town and they put on a pretty fine art fair.  As I understand it, some years back, little old Valley Junction was overwhelmed by the thriving metropolis of West Des Moines, and the rest is history.  West Des Moines continues to grow and Valley Junction, is, well, Valley Junction.  I suppose when they write out their montly water bill, they have to address it to West Des Moines.  Ah, progress.

But.  Back to the art market.  I have to tell you there were some definite moments of "oh no" syndrome.  As in, why are all the patrons walking around with their hands in their pockets?  By the end of the day, enough of them finally got busy with the buying of paintings that I drove home wearing a smile.  And some windburn.

Are you an artist wondering if should you put this show on your possibilities list for next year?  I would offer that if you live far enough away that you have to add overnight expenses, then no.  If you can drive in for the morning, and back home the same night, then the friendly crew at Valley Junction Art Market  is worth a shot.

Time to go find a paint brush.  Oddly enough, I think I am painting pears today.  And a red stripe table cover, of course.  Update at eleven.  Or there abouts.

Later, Cooper

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Stre-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-etch

by Cooper on 5/14/2010 11:36:07 AM2 Comments
Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio on a splendid Friday morning in Jefferson, Iowa.  I will probably be giving in to the "must go dig in the garden" urge here shortly.

But first, do you remember a few days ago, when I told you about "junk day"  (click on the red) in Jefferson?  I ended up with two canvas stretchers in the freebie category.  One of them has moved on to the completed painting category!

However!  First you need the facts.  These two stretchers are a dimension I have never used before.  16 x 42 inches.  That's a whole lot of panorama, trust me.  We've all used the phrase "think outside the box" in referring to thinking more expansive thoughts, in hopes of stretching to new levels of introspect.  Wow.  This was the studio version of painting outside the box.  What an adventure.  It took some massive cropping of a few photo references, and what I found that did was help me isolate the big shapes.  Yes, I know, that's something all painters were taught to do way back in their infancy, but getting it done on a regular basis is another matter entirely.  In this case, all those cafe umbrellas suddenly merged into one.  I took my drawing of that over to the easel and painted those umbrellas as one big long red streak right across the top of the canvas.  Don't you just love when it all becomes crystal clear?!!  The whole painting was pretty dang easy after that big moment.

Oh, yeah, back to the title:  stre-e-e-e-e-etch.  Would I have had that big moment if I hadn't had to stretch?  Think (er,paint) outside the box?  Would I have eventually tried that extreme a canvas dimension just for the heck of it?  Maybe.  But I would venture that having the opportunity, via a freebie, literally thrown at my feet, hurried the process on. 

Stretching.  Something we should probably all do more of.  Oh, and here's the painting:

  Sidewalk Table, Brits, an acrylic painting on a panoramic 16 x 42 inch canvas.  Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

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Always Low Prices, Really?

by Cooper on 5/11/2010 8:42:35 AM2 Comments
Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio on a soggy Tuesday.  It's a grand day for a rant, I think!

Now to be a true rant, the author often heads in the direction of policy, right?  Does it count if it's MY policy?  Let me explain.

Way back before it was cool, I began a personal boycott of the monstrosity of an enterprise, whose name begins with wal and ends with mart.  October 2004, to be exact, was the last time I threw any dollars into their magna-massive coffers.  I often brag about that.  I am quite pleased with the longevity of my boycott.  I have had people respond with, "wow, they must have really treated you bad".  And actually, they appear to treat everyone pretty much the same, which causes me to wonder why people still go there.

"So why is this blog post surfacing now", you ask?  A friend asked if I wanted to go over to the neighboring town with her yesterday.  Ok. When we got there she mentioned, on her list, of stops was the object of my boycott.  Have I mentioned that not only have I not spent any money in said store since October of 2004, I had not even walked into one?  Yesterday I walked in.  Not much has changed.  Lots of cheap plastic stuff.  Most of it stuff that people don't really need, but it's arranged to make them want it, and after all, it's "always low prices", so buy it. 

Can anyone remember when their daddy Sam, used to advertise his products as "made in the USA"?  A few months ago my husband brought home an interesting tidbit, the number of empty C containers Walmart ships back to China each month, to be refilled and brought back here to sell some more.  Sorry---did not retain the number, just that it was overwhelming.  Hey, and just a short while ago, they used to advertise "always the lowest prices".  Now they get by with "always low prices".

Because I was in the store with nothing better to do, I decided to price compare, and looked for a few things that I purchase often enough to have the price memorized.  Shampoo, for example.  Turns out it's 3 cents a bottle less at my local grocery store.  I walked over to the book rack.  There was my friend Mary Connealy's new book release.  It was the exact same price as what I had just paid ten minutes earlier downtown at the local bookstore.  You know, the kind of bookstore where the owner lives in town, and his kids go to the local school, and they spend their money in town, and it all works together? 

Robert Genn, at the Painters Keys had a letter a week or so ago about "The Next Big Thing", regarding promoting an artist or an art form as what EVERYBODY will be in awe of shortly.  You should key on the word promoting there.  "Ha", you say, "now she's finally getting to the point!"  With a little bit of promotion, we will believe just about anything.  With a little bit of promoting, a canvas that's painted a flat solid red can be called great art, loudly enough so that some fool will be convinced enough to shell out the big bucks.  With a little bit of promotion, what we don't really need becomes something we want bad enough to pay for.  With a little bit of promoting (advertising) the store that used to brag made in the USA, then always the lowest prices, now gets by with "always low prices".  And we believe.  Dios mio.  Stop with the gullability, friend. 

And you know what?---the guy who owns the local bookstore downtown---he was friendly, and he chatted with us, and told us about other new things that would be coming in soon, and he was happy to be at his job.  His store was neat and clean, (no merchandise laying on the floor!) and shoppers were happy to be there.  And because of people like him, life in a small midwestern town will continue to be good, despite the delusion at the pile of plastic and concrete out on the edge of town.

Rant complete.  The paint brush should fly now, eh?  Thanks for stopping by!

Later, Cooper

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Junk Day

by Cooper on 5/5/2010 6:43:29 AMComment on this
Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa.  Jefferson is one of those nice little center-of-the-country towns where the city officials think of spring cleaning as an event.  In fact, it IS an event.  Let me explain.

Once a week in the spring, the good citizens of Jefferson are allowed to bring all their junk, that the garbage truck guys won't normally pick up, to the curb.  You know, that appliance you replaced, the sofa that's seen better days, a car trunk lid from a 1997 Audi (don't ask), but you get the picture.

That car trunk lid, a dishwasher, a coat rack, a television, an end table and a washing machine were our contribution to the game.  And here's where it gets interesting.  The washing machine?  It still works, all though not as good as the one that came with the house we bought last August.  And the tv?  You can still get a picture, but my husband balked when the Celtics were wearing blue uniforms  :)  So everyone puts their "stuff" out on the curb, and then the "browsing" begins.  We actually put a sign "Yep, still works" on top of the washing machine.  By the time the actual pick up crew got to our house the next morning, all that remained for them to pick up was the dishwasher and the coat rack.  "Now where on earth is she going with this", you're asking?  Getting there.

Early the next morning, out on my run, on East Vest Street, there on someone's "curb pile" were two stretcher frames.  The kind you wrap canvas around and paint on.  Nice, solid stretcher frames.  Unusual dimensions, 16" x 42", but too good to throw away.  What's that old saying?  "One man's trash is another man's treasure"?  Yep, I went from runner mode to shopper mode, just like that.

Ironically, I had a piece of leftover canvas, that wouldn't fit any of the stretcher sizes I normally use, just laying there waiting.  The younger Cooper is home from college---said, "Hey, Mom, panoramic".  Ok.  And it is.  I had this great photo reference from the recent trip to Minneapolis that just wouldn't fit a normal canvas---Wow.  Junk day.  Isn't it great?  And besides, now we don't have a trunk lid leaning on the wall of the basement shop anymore.  Hopefully, some one is putting that to good use, too.  Have a lovely day.

Oh, and that "panoramic view" canvas?  The paint is flying onto it.  I should be able to post something colorful for you soon!

Later, Cooper


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