Carol Aust's Painting a Day Blog

Outstretched Arms

2012-02-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

Outstretched Arms, 24"x24"

Good morning. It's a gray dreary morning. This painting helps me get out of bed.

Reach

2012-01-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

I love these clouds.

Flight

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Who needs shoes?

It's Been So Long

2012-01-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

Improvisation

2012-01-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

In doing improvisational theater, you cannot say no because it breaks trust and ends the plot. This year I want to say, "Yes, and..."

The Crossing

2011-12-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

Some paintings are like my kids--I linger at the door and watch them walk out of sight. This painting is like that. A part of me is hanging at the Studio Shop in Burlingame, Ca.

Pink Window, Blue Sky

2011-12-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

I get glimpses of something bigger.
This painting is at the Harrison Gallery--(413)458-1700.

Waiting for Rain

2011-12-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

She knows it will come.

Trapeze Couple

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00


Trapeze Couple, 62"x30"

Sometimes I put a big canvas on my easel with no idea where it will go. This one begged for a trapeze.

Standing on Heads

2011-12-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

I have a solo show at the Harrison Gallery in Williamstown, MA, opening this Thursday, Dec 15. Thank you, Jo, for letting the work shine.

Vantage Point

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Vantage Point, 36"x36"

When I go to the art store, I buy large jars of blue...

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yellow Innertube #2, 24"x24"

She's undaunted by the immensity of it all, maybe even delighted by it. I wish I was like her.

Breathe

2011-12-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

A good reminder for a Monday morning...

New Start

2011-11-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for new starts, for the black soil when I rip out my old tomatoes, for friends in far places, for miracles every day.

Rooted #5

2011-08-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Some paintings come easy. Others keep going back to the studio. This was one of those. First i had a reader at the base of the tree, then dancers. More appropriate that it's my kids, still rooted but venturing out.

Sophie Modeling

2011-08-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

August. My son is home from college, and he sees us with fresh eyes. I guess we're not a typical family...

White Dress

2011-05-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Dancers, White Sky

2011-05-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

Open Studios is over. Thanks to everyone who came. Thank you, Galen, for letting me use your space. Thanks to Jonathan and Marcus for helping us transport it all home and the the Van Gelders for keeping Sophie. And special thanks to Ed for hanging around all weekend.

The next event of note is the SFMoMA Artists Gallery Warehouse Sale. It starts tomorrow, May 4 and goes through Saturday in building A at Fort Mason. All the art there is slashed 50%, and it's a very lively and fun scene. I have six paintings there. If you don't see them on the walls, ask a staff person to bring them out.

Open Studios Today & Tomorrow, April 30-May 1, 2011

2011-04-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

It's that rush time, loading up the car and hanging at Hunters Point. This year I'll be at my regular space and room 1210 on the main floor of building 101. April 30 and May 1, 11:00 to 6:00. I hope you can come.

My Studio

2011-04-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

A late-spring chaos has descended on my studio this week. Tonight and Friday I will transport about 70 paintings to Hunters Point for this weekend's open studio. There's always a point at midspan on the Bay Bridge where I ask myself, "Do I actually get to do this for a living?" Even though it's a tremendous amount of work, I wouldn't want to do anything else.

Hunters Point Open Studio, April 30-May 1, 2011
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Building 101, Room 1210, Hunters Point Shipyard, San Francisco

The Judges

2011-04-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

These guys go with me everywhere. They never agree.

Girl with Hand Raised #2

2011-04-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

I sat out on the back porch to paint this one on one of those amazing blue-sky-days after weeks of rain. The painting gets shipped off tomorrow for the Harrison Gallery's tenth anniversary.

Girl at Beach

2011-03-31T06:39:00.000-07:00

Oh, I am ready for summer.

Lamp Lit Dinner Party

2011-03-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

I went around and around on this one, changing faces, changing the sky. I wanted everyone engaged but no one dominating. it's that time when the meal is over but no one is a hurry to leave the table.

Torch in Forest

2011-03-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm packing up a crate today for the Harrison Gallery in Williamstown , Ma. They're preparing for their 10 year anniversary, so I'm sending this and two other paintings. I wish I could climb in the box and go, too. Thank you, Jo, for showing my work the past 3 years.

Two Boats

2011-03-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

I would love some input on this one. Is anyone out there? Does anyone read this blog? What is in the paper boat? If it's a message, what does it day?

Vista

2011-03-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

She's climbed a long way and still has a ways to go, but isn't the view beautiful?

Sidewalk Dancers

2011-03-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

My kids posed for this one. After years of doing this, they are very good at holding still for long periods, arms aloft, quipping jokes while hardly moving their lips.I can figure out when I did a painting by how old they are in it. Soon I'll have to start asking the kids down the block.

Direction

2011-03-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

The landscape here is inspired from Dore's illustrations for The Inferno. Does she have correct directions? Is she double checking her to-do list and ignoring the world around her? Or is she rereading a poem that reminds her of what is really important?

Rooted #4

2011-03-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

This painting hangs in my bedroom. It's a portrait of my daughter. I use it to remember it doesn't all depend on me.

Arm Wrestling

2011-03-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

So much give and take. So much pushing and compromise. If I just try a little harder... I can't let up for a minute.

Twilight Tango

2011-03-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Last week Sophie went on a school trip to El Salvador. It was the first time in 19 years we had no kids in the house for an extended length of time.It wasn't too bad. And then on Friday night, Noah flew home from Boston, followed by Sophie the next night. That was pretty good, too.

Three in Boat with Violin

2011-03-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I wrote. My mom died after a life of struggle. Life seems very short and precious. Both of my kids are on other parts of the globe and are due back this weekend. Can't wait to hug them. I've been painting up a storm and loading crates in the Volvo for distant destinations. What a journey.

Suitcase and Pines

2011-01-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

These trees were the view from a window at a house in Oregon we rented two weeks ago with friends. They are used to me painting at a table as the kids run past. Sometimes a lone teenager will join me and pick up a brush.

Torch #4

2011-01-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2011.
I'm trying to see into the future, but there are a lot of unknowns coming up. I prefer certainty...

Boat in Forest #3

2010-12-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

Life is full of mysteries, discoveries on the road, absurd things that seem pointless right now but are wisely stored or remembered for later. The bird gave the young prince three flowers. The old crone gave the traveler a mirror and a comb. The princess saved her father's ring, even when she herded geese.

Juggler with Raven

2010-12-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Small stage, small audience, a few dropped balls...

Hesitation

2010-11-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

Where do ideas come from? Is it right to return to themes again and again? Do I need to always paint new? Or are certain images so hard-wired into my soul that honesty requires that I repeat those themes again and again?

Ravens

2010-11-22T07:49:00.000-08:00

Consider the ravens: they don't sow or reap, and they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. Luke 12:24

Art Auction

2010-10-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

This painting was inspired by a walk with my friend Jennifer. We were both sorting through the next steps in our careers, and Jen spoke so longingly of how she missed the stage.
Well, a couple of years have passed, and Jennifer is exploring a new type of stage. She has just moved to Pasadena and is attending Fuller Theological Seminary to prepare for ministry. It only seems right that this painting be auctioned off to help her pay for tuition. The painting is 24"x24" on wood panel and is valued at $1000. We are asking that bids start at $350. If you would like to place a bid, just leave your name and amount in the comment section below with some sort of contact info if I don't know you, or you can call me at (510)655-1988. Bidding will close on Oct 16th. All proceeds will go to Jennifer.

Update: I've received the first bid at $350. (Oct. 15, 9:00 p.m.)

Red House

2010-09-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

Saw this doorway on an evening walk up by Indian Rock. It felt like a homecoming kind of place.

Birthday Blessing

2010-09-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

It's your day-of-days. I'm glad you were born. You make the world a better place.

Burning at Both Ends

2010-09-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

She's not too worried. She's done this a lot before.

Birthday Cake in Dark Woods

2010-09-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

I met with a neighbor to pray about our kids' upcoming tuition bills. As we finished, we heard the doorbell... Her husband was there to say that he had just gotten news of an inheritance check that would fill the gap for what they needed the next day for the fall semester. "But we still have nothing to put towards the spring semester!" he moaned. Oh, the candles burn bright in this dark wood.

Long Distance

2010-09-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Last week I took my 18 year old son to college. Then I got on a plane and flew across multiple rivers and cities and mountain ranges and deserts and came home. I'm not hearing from him much, which I think is a good sign...

Just Paper

2010-08-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

Birth certificates, social security cards, tax forms, college applications, FAFSA paperwork, bios, resumes, artist statements, visitation records, medical releases, TB test documentation, orientation dates, boarding passes, confirmation numbers, maps, weekly planners, living trusts, power of attorney forms, obituaries...

Blindfold #2

2010-08-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

When someone dies, does their spirit linger for a few days? Do they hear the comments about the unfinished business, the unpaid bills, the long-suppressed feelings?

Tango #2

2010-07-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

It's Monday morning. It's a dance, making lunches, finding the coffee, warning a kid who's in the shower too long. An efficient pivot and spin, and it all gets done.

Rowing Hard (diptych)

2010-07-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

Another boat. Life is a lot of work, you know? You row hard, and sometimes there are beaches, and you do what you thought you couldn't do.

Overboard

2010-07-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

Hmm. Not much to say about this one... Simplification, letting go, realizing what is important... Maybe I wrote too much already.

Birthday Solo

2010-07-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

I started this painting with lots of faces crowding around the background, but eventually they all seemed unnecessary.

Precipice

2010-07-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

For the thrill of it...

Curve in Path #2

2010-07-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

We bought the plane tickets last night to take our son to college. His toes are barely touching the ground, and the whole world is opening up before him.

Looking Back

2010-07-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Doubletake. Torn between two directions. I was so certain I was going the right way, but something caught my heart...

At Sea

2010-07-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Every painting these days is of the ocean. I've got sand in my shoes and a beach bag by the door.

Two at Table

2010-06-27T16:15:00.001-07:00

I've been sketching a lot in cafes this summer. This couple was from that. I ended up removing the other tables and people; only the door seemed necessary.

Traveler in Forest

2010-06-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

Another painting started in Redwood Park. That's the park I went to when my labor contractions wouldn't start and the first walk I took my babies to. It's where I celebrate birthdays and baptisms and clear my head after a tough week. So. of course, it's where I would paint about the changes in my life right now, my first kid leaving home and me starting on a new journey, too.

Island #2

2010-05-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

I went with a friend to Point Richmond and saw this beautiful island. I wish I was there.

Campfire #6

2010-05-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to everyone who came to my open studio on Sunday. It was definitely a spot of light, a warm flame. Afterwards we had a salon with poetry and art and dancing and chocolate.

Taking Flight #3

2010-05-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

I sketched this painting at a meeting that was going too long.

Flying Away

2010-05-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Monday morning. How I would love to transcend the old patterns.

Party on Stage

2010-05-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Pause, celebrate, ignore the ever-present audience...

Solo #2

2010-05-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

"The black clamshell"--out on stage, singing into the invisible audience. Not unlike painting every day and wondering if anyone will see, or raising kids without the big picture, or casting a vote and wondering if it matters.

Woman on Beach

2010-05-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

It's that beach time again, sand in the shoes, the old plaid tablecloth drying out in back. This time I took four teenaged girls who dug in the sand like puppies.

2010-05-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

Four of my paintings will be on sale at half price at the 17th Annual Artists Warehouse Sale at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery at Fort Mason, San Francisco, Wed. May 5 - Sun. May 9. The staff hangs the work salon-style with more in the racks, and the first night is especially hectic and exciting. Preview them on the Artists Gallery Facebook page.

May 16 - Dinner and Salon

2010-04-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

I will be hosting an open studio on Sunday, May 16, from 1:00 to 6:00 at my home at 655 63rd Street, Oakland. I am half a block southwest of Shattuck and Alcatraz, just 15 minutes from downtown San Francisco. I will be showing here rather than Hunters Point this year.

I am following this open studio with dinner and a salon, my thank you to all of you for suppporting and encouraging me for another year. Dinner is at 6:00. Please bring a song or a poem or a piece of art to share. RSVP in the comment section of this blog or give me a call at (510)655-1988. I hope to see you all!

Work

2010-04-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

Solo Applause

2010-04-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

I went to three high school drama performances in the last two weeks. One more to go. At the last one, a radiant mother led the standing ovation. I keep seeing her in my mind. I hope God is like her.

Six Mountains

2010-03-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

The years of paying college tuition stretch before me...

Woman with Arm Raised

2010-03-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

New work is going up at the Studio Gallery at 1815 Polk Street, San Francisco. Stop by and say hello to Rab and Jen if you're in the neighborhood.

Keeping Score

2010-03-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

I wish they were at least consistant.

Campfire #4

2010-02-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

In this rainiest of winters, it's good to dream of summer.

Post-Auction Update

2010-02-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to everyone who came and bid at the Valentines auction for Global Strategies for HIV Prevention. We raised $1200 for navarapine vaccines that cost a buck and have a 50% success rate in preventing the transmission of AIDS from mothers to newborns. In this picture I'm with Dr. Art Ammann, the founder of Global Strategies and my hero.

Dinner Out

2010-02-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

There's a double ring of redwoods nearby in Tilden Park; it's so magical. And what's more magical than a group of friends lingering after dinner, conversations splitting off, everyone forgetting about time.

Helping Hand

2010-02-11T06:21:00.000-08:00

Rowing Hard

2010-02-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure which way this woman should be looking. I'd like to give her some heavenly gaze, but those waves are just too distracting...

Bedtime Story

2010-02-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

Red Ball

2010-02-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

You've got to admire her determination and skill, but is she a very fun person to be around?

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

2010-02-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

Suitcases, Four Hands

2010-02-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

Suitcases full of treasures--extra underwear and chocolate bars, dogeared novels and savings accounts, old resentments, dusty drams, obsolete rules. Do I hold on or let it go?

Time

2010-02-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

Is she counting the minutes or slowing the clock?

Art Auction on Valentine's Day

2010-01-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

These three paintings are up for auction. 100% of the sale price will go to Global Strategies for HIV Prevention, saving lives in Africa.

The painting on the left is "Fresh Wind." It's the largest at 36"x24"; the minimum bid is $500.
The middle painting is "Embrace #9." It's 16"x12" and we're asking that bids start at $150.
The painting on the right is "Mountain Pass." It's 12"x12" and the opening bid needs to be at least $140.

If you'd like to bid on any of these, leave the amount, the title, and some sort of contact info in the comment section below, or call me at (510) 655-1988. Bidding will continue at my Valentine's Day Open Studio on Feb. 14 at 655 63rd St., Oakland, with bidding closing at 4:45 p.m.

See you there!

Backstage View

2010-01-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

10 days ago I got to watch a performance backstage at the opera house. It was crowded with instruments and performers and lights, and the audience was totally invisible. One performer told me, "This is the hardest place we perform, because we get absolutely no audience feedback here. We can't hear any laughter or applause in this theater."

Under the Bed

2010-01-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

Sophie thought this should be titled, "Silly, There aren't Any Monsters!"

Dancer on Rock

2010-01-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

Avery small rock, but it doesn't matter.

Late

2010-01-20T07:15:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure what to title this. Insomnia? Late Night Worries?But when I can't sleep at night, I don't just worry. I take the night shift on the prayer chain. I remember hymns my mom sang as lullabies. I think about food...

Connection

2009-12-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

So many things beneath the surface, unspoken histories, subterranean messages, especially at Christmas. Don't buy me anything. I have everything I need. Look at those bills. Did you buy me anything? I can do it all, but I wish there was a Santa. Do you remember your mom's house, the smell of wood smoke, the gun rack over the fireplace, eating ice cream out of the carton? Black oak trees in fog and our hair all dripping as we came back to the yellow windows. After 26 years together, the roots are all intertwined.

Six on a Hill

2009-12-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

Maybe this painting should be called Herding Cats. Is the significance of six that I came from a family of six, and it is so challenging to all get together at the holidays? Will my children feel that same tug of obligation ten years from now? Or will I be the one spending Christmas on another continent?

Solitude

2009-12-02T06:54:00.000-08:00

Another painting from Redwood Park; I dragged a 36" wood panel a mile on a very noisy cart.

Rope Swing

2009-11-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Noah helped me load up the car with paintings again, and we drove them to Rick and Ann's Restaurant, the friendliest and classiest place in town. Noah helped me unload, and then he took off. Ann came out, and we talked about our kids' college search. I pointed at this painting and said, "This is about them...or is it us?"

If you would like to see the show and have the best salmon burger in town, Rick and Ann's is at 2922 Domingo in Berkeley, across the street form the Claremont Hotel.

Thank you, Ann.

Hunters Point Open Studio

2009-11-03T08:31:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was open studios at Hunters Point. Many thanks to the people who came on the holiday weekend, and congratulations to Monica for putting in the winning bid on Sweet Dreams (see Oct 12).

Being an artist is an experience of extremes. I work alone in my basement for weeks or months, and as I paint, I feel a mounting concern that I'm going in a wrong direction, that the new work will not communicate, that the paintings I did in 2007 or 2004 were much better. I grit my teeth when it's time to install the show, and I'm tempted to sneak it all into the building when no one else is there. On Saturday morning I flip on the lights and turn on the music and open my doors and wonder what will happen.

That's when the audience takes up their part of the partnership, and they didn't let me down last weekend. People came early, looked, paused, grabbed a friend, and shared their stories with me. They'd come up and say, "This painting here touches me," and I'd say, "Tell me about it," and their eyes would get all wet, and they'd say, "I don't know why I'm crying," and I'd say, "don't worry; you're the third one to cry this morning." I felt like people trusted me through the artwork, and I felt so honored.

One man came and told me about a painting he had bought from me several years ago of a woman flying up into the sky with a peaceful expression on her face. Only afterwards did he realize that it was a perfect likeness of his mom, and she was wearing a dress he had bought for her at his first department store job. "She died two years ago, and that painting helped me to believe that she is happy where she is."

There's also a lot of laughter at open studios--the mother of three small children who bought the painting of a juggler dropping the balls, the museum staff person who had to have the levitating woman in a dividing box, another woman who told me about childhood birthdays after buying Birthday with Clouds.

The painting that got the biggest response was a painting of a girl sitting tall in a chair on a hilltop, raising her hand to the sky. "She's waving good-bye to someone who died!" "No, she's asking God some questions." "Well, I'd like to ask God some questions!" "I'm willing to meet Him halfway." "He's got a lot to answer for."

The open studio ended at 6:00 on Sunday evening. The Bay Bridge was still closed, so I loaded up the work alone. By the time I pulled out, the car was low on the axels, andthe parking lot was dark and empty. I joined the traffic inching around accidents, but I hardly noticed. I was so full of gratitude to everyone who shared in this dance of creating and seeing.

Green Moon

2009-10-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Green Moon
48"x36"

Looking For a Way Out

2009-10-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

Looking for a Way Out

Upstairs

2009-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Reading Under Tree

2009-10-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Artist as Fool, sitting in a bed of poison oak. Well, if I must be a fool, let me be this type. It was a beautiful day, and so sweet to connect with Laura afterwards.

Amazing Vanishing Act

2009-10-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

The Amazing Vanishing Act

Clear Blue Sky

2008-12-18T07:35:00.001-08:00

This is one of those paintings that was pure delight to create.

Got a phone call this week that my paintings are going to be used in an Acura commercial. The story-line is of a man who is trying to find his artist-girlfriend in San Francisco, and in one scene she's painting my pictures. It will be shown in China. Now when I go downstairs to paint it feels mythological, something foreigners would romanticize about. I was bound to get back to China, one way or another.

Boat in Desert #3

2008-12-16T03:15:00.000-08:00

So much of life is waiting. The challenge is having open eyes when standing in line, being surprised when doing the same task for the hundredth time.

Boy in Chair

2008-12-15T04:15:00.000-08:00

I love the clouds in this one. There is an orange undercoat which makes everything glow.
The young man is so high, but he's unfazed by it, like he takes it for granted that this is the way life goes.

My Studio

2008-12-14T08:08:00.001-08:00

I paint in my basement, cradled by heater ducts and redwood beams. I go downstairs with a cat or two and a cup of tea, turn on NPR, and fill my palette with beautiful colors. I can't leave until the colors are all used up. Photos and sketchbooks are scattered about, wood panels and old picture frames. It's a chapel. It's a dungeon. Just the easel is illuminated with a blank canvas. Have I painted my last? Are new surprises in store? Will anyone notice? This painting will be for only my eyes. For now.