10/17/09

Studio Tour Saturday #9 - DJ's Art


"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

Welcome back to another Saturday Studio Tour. This week we're off to Virginia to visit artist Dolores Jablonski. DJs paintings & drawings often feature nature and animals. There is a wonderful touch of whimsy in her work which brings to mind the magic of childhood. I was window shopping in her online store, DJArts.esty.com, when I spotted the charming ACEO Mystic Cat which has the Proust quotation on the backside. This phrase seemed to perfecty sum up her enchanting artwork.


Today's tour is part 2 of an interview with DJ. To read part 1 and view more of her art, CLICK HERE. DJ is also the sponsor of the current Thursday Giveaway. Next Thursday (10/22) 1 lucky winner will be randomly selected to win her original mixed media painting Inspiration. You can read more about this piece in Thursday's feature. To enter the random drawing simply leave a comment before noon (EST) on 10/22. Contest is open worldwide.


Now back to the tour! I really enjoyed looking through DJ's studio. It is so full of sunlight & nature with bright colors, organic elements & inspiring vignettes throughout this cozy space. So I'm going to step aside and let DJ lead the way.


DJ: Hi, welcome to my studio. Autumn is my favorite season. I chose colors that remind me of fall, painting fall leaves on the floor. Right now I have fall garland in my studio, but that will change with the up coming holidays.

DJ: My studio has lots of color and lots of treasures as I like to call it.


DJ: I have never been in a studio class room that didn’t have lots of items to draw from, branches, shells, glass, the cow skull (which by the way I am looking for one.) I remember being in those classrooms, ready to put just about any type of still life together. When I took a break, there was always something to look at.


DJ: Here I am with my dogs Holly (the yellow lab) & Abby (the black lab). They are my models for my lab paintings. In the painting Incubation, that was Holly when she was a baby. I've used both dogs for Christmas cards.

DJ: Oh almost forgot, the floor.... The floor was primed and then painted in red floor paint. After that I waited for actual autumn and went on a leaf hunt of fallen leaves and took pictures of them on the floor and I used a book of trees to help with the more unusual ones. I printed the photos (on plain paper) to use as reference. After I swept and mopped the floor, I free handed the leaves in gesso , I painted the gesso leaves with strokes that looked like the veins in the leaf.


DJ: Since it's my fantasy, I painted them large as well as small. I used acrylics, to paint the leaves, following the gesso strokes. When it was finished, I sprayed the whole floor with a polymer, with a mat finish, so when I mop the floor the paint won't come off.


DJ: It took me about a year to complete. I wasn't in a rush and there are a few more leaves that need to be done on the opposite side of the studio.

DJ: My studio is my comfort zone, it’s the place where I can totally be myself and inspires me.

Wow! Thanks for the wonderful tour, DJ. Your room has the feel of a perfect autumn day.

If you'd like to find out more about DJ & her art, check out Thursday's feature. You can also visit her at these online locations:
www.doloresjablonski.com
www.DJsArt.etsy.com
www.DJsArt.blogspot.com

After you've left a comment here to enter the random drawing for DJ's delightful painting Inspiration, pop on over to her blog were she is hosting a giveaway of my art. CLICK HERE to find out how you could win my mixed media piece Trevi Letters.

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by today. I get so much pleasure visiting other artists creative spaces & I know from your comments that some of you do to. Saturday Studio Tours is off to Europe next weekend, so be sure to come back on 10/24 !

If you would like to share your workspace with others, just drop me an email (address is in my profile). The calendar is filled until January but I'd love to feature your space in 2010!

7 comments:

  1. Hi ArtSnark!
    Another great post...DJ's work is awesome, she uses a lot of alegories and references to mother nature - just like me, and i really can relate to that.

    Thanks for your comment in my blog!

    Francisco Martins

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an inspiring studio to paint in. I just love these tours. Thanks for hosting them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful space!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So much light and color I feel like I'm looking into a chapel, and definitely your sacred space! Namaste!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved the studio visit. Those leaves on the floor must have taken forever...I loved the gesso version the best!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your Studio is so pretty!!! I'm jealous. I really love the red floor - well, I really love red in general but especially the floor.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, that is the most amazing floor I have ever seen. I really hope I win the giveaway. I could use some positive, uplifting artwork in my life right now! Thanks for the opportunity.

    ReplyDelete