When confronted with the title of this blog post, some people might think “oooh, that’s the Italian word for ‘beautiful’! Wayne is finally becoming multicultural!”
Others might sound it out and think of an Austin Powers movie or two.
Get in mah bellah!
But after last night, I can say that when *I* hear “Bellah,” I will be thinking of Mickie Bellah Art.
A few months ago, our family attended the Austin Psychic Fair. We first saw Mickie’s art there at her booth and were fascinated by the Astrology Birth Chart Paintings. However, what intrigued my wife even more was that Mickie hosted art classes where up to 4 students at a time could learn her techniques and just play around with making custom art. Mickie supplies the space, the canvases, the paint, supplies, prep and cleanup. As a student, you just show up in clothes that can get a little dirty and start creating.
My wife and daughter went to 2 consecutive classes a month or two ago and really loved the experience. They both strongly suggested I attend. Clearly they see a budding artist within me. Either that, or they hated it and wanted me to suffer along with them. Fortunately, I can say that I’ve ruled out the latter.
Being someone who rarely passes up an opportunity for some easy blog fodder, I signed up. I also invited my mom along because A) she lives within walking distance to Mickie, B) they have the same massage therapist, C) they had the same hairstylist, and D) my mom is a great, wonderful and creative person to be around.
Mickie’s really great with enthusiasm, encouragement, tips and making sure you feel “open” enough to just be artful. Always available with answers if you ask, she doesn’t proactively direct your actions, techniques, methods or even style. We mixed our paints for a while. I ended up watching Mickie do one, and watched two of the other students start on theirs before I decided to splash my first blobs of paint on my canvas and get to work.
WHALLART #1
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Not sure what i see in there. You really need to enlarge it to see more, and of course there’s lots more detail in person. I’m thinking maybe it was Dr Suess inspired (see the white Whosizit leaning out from the right?)
I went, undeterred, to create my second masterpiece:
WHALLART #2
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Now that I was getting the hang of it, I knocked out a few more:
WHALLART #3
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WHALLART #4
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WHALLART #5
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Other than looking like I had sniffed in a bunch of paints and sneezed them out, what do you see in them?
I finished out the session with this last piece:
WHALLART #6
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This concludes the first of two sessions – my mom and I go back again next month to do another six or so pieces. Now that we have a little experience, I expect to make some art work that will be made available for sale. I’m sure the prices will be reasonable; it’s not like I’m expecting to pay off the house with the income. Maybe I can pay off a car or a timeshare or two, though. You never know what people will pay for!
I like #3 and #6 the best. 6 is my favorite, it looks like sunset on a beach with palm trees, when your eyes are half asleep after a glorious and warm afternoon nap. A very pleasant image.
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I love number four!
Tt rather looks like a forest fire. I’m hoping the big blue waves in number three will drop down and put out the fire before the trees on the right light up in flames!
bluepaintred´s last blog post..The Tree Of (your) Knowledge
LOVE this! You’re a natural…there’s a bat flying in the molten lava of #3!
Ooh, six is prettiful!
1) Canary in a blender.
2) Moldy sandwich.
3) Electric bat landing on a dead tree in hell.
4) Godzilla eyeball closeup.
5) Rush Limbaugh… filled with dynamite and exploded in the FOX News parking lot, then lit on fire and run over with a steamroller. (love it!)
6) Sunspots.
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HAH! I avoided reading other comments so I could form my own opinion… reading back now, I see Tug thought it was a bat too! Awesome! I love bats!*
* But not half as much as I like the idea of Rush Limbaugh filled with dynamite and exploded in the FOX News parking lot, then lit on fire and run over with a steamroller.
Dave2´s last blog post..Baby
I had to laugh too – but you were much more descriptive than I was!
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#’s 3 and 4 are the best!
I miss that stuff…..
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I’m just not seeing anything “batlike in number three. I see a hello kitty in the top right though…
bluepaintred´s last blog post..The Tree Of (your) Knowledge
That’s a BAT, not Hello Kitty weirdo. There’s also an owl hanging upside down in the upper left corner.
Tug´s last blog post..Pray…
1) a jungle river that looks like someone dumped white, yellow and purple paint in it.
2) blue and yellow squares
3) a large flame covering the night sky
4) oncoming jeep driving through the forest
5) not sure what I see
6) sunspots (stealing Dave2′s answer
I think I like number 6 the best.
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Liking #3 the best. Course, I dig red and blue. I *also* thought #4 looked very much like a forest fire.
Karl´s last blog post..Nothing to See Here. Go.
WOOHOO! Karl Digs me!!
bluepaintred´s last blog post..The Tree Of (your) Knowledge
Naturally! Who wouldn’t?
Ooh what medium is this? oil? what technique did you use? there’s water involved, I can tell that
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Okay, first of all #3 is the best of them all. I love the colors and the painting just speaks to me. Now then, here is what I see in each:
1. Wicked Witch in a tornado
2. A blister in the sun.
3. the way out of hell
4. Halloween candy forest
5. death of Pokemon
6. Aurora
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That is really interesting and sounds like a ton of fun!
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My “interpretation” isn’t along conventional lines, it’s more of an intuitive thing. I’m less interested in the representational aspects (“what does it look like?”) and more in the emotional/spiritual. Overall, I sense an general ascending tendency (indicating spiritual depth or surrender) augmented by unpredictable disconnected descending elements. The last in the series seems the most straightforward, with the yellow emergence left, bottom, surrounded by the warm red barrier (descending, or material, physical, sensual aspect), which gets denser and positively impenetrable toward upper right. The black movements (intellectual or emotional dissonance, possibly related to control or grounding) are, again, on an ascending axis, but are strongest in the warm descending red regions. My amateur and arbitrary interpretation: your identity, built solidly on rationality and linearity, is slowly transforming over time, creating a certain amount of conflict and shaking up in your inner life.
Sooooo. . I read that three times and all I can say is “huh?”
In other words, its like a Hello Kitty.
Bellisimo! Nice work Wayne, hang these on a whall
I need an Astrology Birth Chart Painting…
Six is good, but even the rest are better than LOLCats. Except three, which I think is probably a disguised LOLCat!
Where did you get that picture of me to Photoshop your head onto?
[rq=2134,0,blog][/rq]Avitable’s Halloween Party 2009
Happy New Year–’Thought of you and your trips to Austin.
Recently discovered the artist and she does workshops for
groups mostly on Tuesday nights but can accomodate day
sessions. Check her abstracts out at Bellah Art.com–Tim,
in S Rosa B, FL