I was recently asked to be involved in a project called Picmees.
Every month, they have a big jackpot contest held in the name of a working artist. I have been asked to be the featured artist for the month of April! So when people upload artwork into April’s contest, they’ll be taking part in the “Cedar Lee Contest.â€
Yesterday, two of the masterminds behind Picmees.com drove down from PA to visit my studio, interview me, and film my life for a few hours.
Here’s an excerpt of the blog they just posted about me:
[Cedar] seems fully capable of someday becoming one of our culture’s great artists. Beyond her technique and her doubtless talent, she is filled with an articulate awareness and a perception about who she is and what she is trying to become.
She also understands how difficult her path may be. To be an artist in a country that has a large thread of utilitarianism sewn into its fabric is no easy task…..Cedar is exactly the sort of young, hard-working artist that our culture should recognize, elevate and promote.
Wow! Maybe I should invite people to visit my studio more often, huh?
So I figured out how to add polls to my blog, and I’m really excited about it. Take this poll!
What are your favorite colors for artwork that you hang in your home?
Speaking of colors, here is a little painting I did today (8 x 10″) called “Summer in Technicolor.”
The weather was absolutely gorgeous today–almost 80 degrees and sunny! I walked by this awesome apple tree on my block that is blooming early. It was this huge explosion of pink and white–by far the prettiest tree I’ve seen in a long time. Today I also got a haircut and a new sun dress. Ahhhh, springtime!
This painting is of my vivacious young cousin, Karen. It is a gift for her Bat Mitzvah celebration, which is coming up in April.
Progress on our kitchen is nerve-wracking at times, but steady. We have the new floor in and the wall cabinets hung, and we’re currently dealing with some plumbing issues. There is also a bit more electrical tweaking to do, and a lot of cosmetic work. But I think we will really see the results of our labor over the next couple of weeks, as things slowly come together.
Next week, I’m delivering 2 huge paintings to be hung at the new gallery that’s representing me. Hopefully they will sell…what do you think? =)
I have 2 new paintings…one of them continues the exploration I started with “Shenandoah Splendor” of faraway mountains, atmosphere, and gradations of color in landscape. This one is loosely based on a photo I took somewhere in the middle of Mexico (I studied Spanish abroad for 3 weeks in 2004) on one of many excursions to the ruins of ancient Mayan cities. The focus of this painting is not on anything ancient or Mayan, however, but on the beautiful landscape of the area.
“Distant Lake” 28″ x 46″
The second new painting came totally from my imagination and was very spontaneous and emotional. Every now and then I just start playing around with paint with a sense of complete detachment from the final outcome. Usually I just get a bunch of rubbish that I end up painting over, and sometimes I get something that’s basically rubbish but has inspired me with an idea for future paintings. And once in awhile, my efforts materialize into something with both aesthetic strength and meaning. I like this one.
Several people have told me this painting makes them miss Asheville. In all honesty, I actually painted it in a fit of nostalgia for Asheville. (It’s based on a photo I took while hiking in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, so it’s not Asheville, but technically, it is the same mountain range.) I want to do more paintings like this, but first I have to wait till more leaves grow on the trees and it warms up, so I can go hiking in the mountains again to collect lots of photos and sketches.
On Saturday I attended my father-in-law’s wedding to my new stepmom-in-law. It was a quite lovely and happy day.
The kitchen renovation is still going–more slowly than we expected, but going nonetheless. We have a bit of patching, re-wiring, rebuilding and painting to do before we can put the new floor in…but once that’s done, we only have to deal with the installation of cabinets and countertops, and a little bit of plumbing. And then a little bit of tile-work. No sweat. =)
I’m working as hard as ever on my art lately, so right now I am happy to be making any progress on our kitchen that we do.
