Flower Pot, Acrylic 36 x 36

Gallery shots

Thanks to Marni and Becky for helping set the camera. Raw footage is much better to work with in photoshop.

Paintings are up in the Gallery

http://www.library.rochester.edu/artmusic/gallery

Harmony & Discord
Paintings by Amy Mirabella

April 12-16, 2010
University of Rochester
Art & Music Library, lower level

Family life is filled with deciphering children's
personalities, juggling play dates, and balancing the
dinner menu with demanding work schedules.
Babies are born, children get older, hormones hit
and priorities change. Finding a sense of order
alongside the never-ending flow and rhythm of a
household is what many of us parents long for. A
place where peace exists amidst the chaos. A place
where moments of harmony outshine the discord...

Six, Seven and Eight

Somewhere about 2 weeks from my deadline I became more confident about my theme for the show. The only concern became what to paint? I knew the focus was about family life, but how can you represent this idea with paintings. I decided to try and capture the idea of change. I remember my daughter going through a lot of changes; in particular when she was younger she used to love the color pink but one day she reminded me it was not her favorite color anymore. Not only was she growing up and able to make choices for herself, I realized I may not know what these changes would bring. A happy but sad time as a parent to realize.

I don't like Pink anymore, 18 x 24, acrylic on board

Single socks, 16 x 20, acrylic on board
For everyone who has wondered where the other match went

What's For Dinner, 36 x 24., acrylic on board

This is a major concern in my household.
Even the cat persistently asks when you walk in the door

The week before the show

In the midst of everything I checked back in with my to do list:

1. Ordered Postcards from UR Copy Center, they turned out great! and two day turn around!
2. Emailed the Art & Music Library my image and statement for their website.Also notified of my reception date and time.
3. Sent out postcards to everyone.
4. Sent out an email postcard with artist statement to faculty.
5. Order and pick up the wall vinyl
6. Ordered reception items

Now all that is left....set up in the gallery!

Painted the wall a camel color brown, put up the wall vinyl and hung the paintings. Voila, ready for the reception. It feels great to have it all done. There was a period of time in the last week where I wanted to discard everything I had finished and start a new idea. I contemplated how many babysitters it would take for me to work around the clock for 5 days. Could I get done?? Feeling a bit defeated or tired from the exhausted month. I decided to keep what I had. I followed Marni's advice and visited the gallery a few days after the show started. My opinion changed. I was now happy with what I completed. I felt pushed to get everything done...now excited about the results.






wow!! Its a great to be done.....

The Fifth Painting

The fifth painting "Dance Lessons" was the easiest one to complete. In mid stage (photo below) I took a picture for my postcard. After a few days, I corrected a few areas (neckline, face, hair, top of dress) and ended up with the final version.

Help with Portrait Painting

Since I haven't completed many portrait paintings. I found a few websites that had instruction, although most were about using oil paints, you can also use acrylic. YouTube is a great place to find an actual person using a brush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a__n22dp2k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4wAoTb9etk&feature=related

and last how to paint one of my favorite paintings. Vermeer's, The girl with the pearl earring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLh5b9CDNmg&feature=related