Steinbeck Planted A Seed

Much of my artwork is inspired by the many places I've been too, and since I have again recently relocated I though it appropriate to share this entry from an old blog here.



28th Street Landing provided by the City of Hoquiam, WA

 I've travelled Americas highways more than most, being a chronic "tumbleweed" or Bohemian, and the interaction with so many personalities has had a wonderful effect on my art and self. I would love to travel Europe someday, but America is quite large enough. I have crossed it many times and still cannot hope to see it all. I was a fan of a book by the writer John Steinbeck when I was young, and that likely had an influence on my travel desire. He wrote, "Travels with Charley" that captured me with charm and adventure off the beaten path. Charley was Steinbecks dog, and I lived with one that looked just like him. Steinbeck had been asked to write about America, but he despised commercialism and tourist traps. He refused to write about or visit the mundane famous locations that middle class America drags children off to by droves each summer. He wanted the real people -- the real America. So he packed off with his dog in a tiny travel camper and went from town to town, staying off of the main highways and onto the back roads of America; That just sounded too romantic for me to resist!
Johns theory was that to know the people you must live with them. So from the time I was 13 years of age I have lived many places. I educated myself, utilizing the public library system in what ever town I happened to have landed in for a time. I "payed" for my education by offering my services in return to the library by performing tasks such as sweeping floors, reading to children and the elderly, working used book sales, artwork and signs, landscaping; what ever I could do. The closest I've come to growing roots under this Tree was the nearly ten years I spent in Washington State; the Great Pacific Northwest. I now find myself back in the family home in Ohio. My husband and I are both open to whatever the future may hold for us. But the Internet now makes it possible for me to grow roots, of a sort, under this Tree and I am grateful.

• http://www.steinbeck.org/Travels.html
• http://www.ci.hoquiam.wa.us/murals.htm Hoquiam has many wonderful works of art that create the town. View some images here that will give an idea, but photographs don't compare to standing in front of these, some times, immense, vivid, creations. The town tells its own story through images and artists.
• * Artist Portfolio

Life influencing art that influenced this artists life!

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Sketchbook vs Worksheet

The following is an entry from an older blog...


If I keep my blogs in any way as I do my journals and notebooks then it's likely to jump around a bit. My "notebooks" would likely be considered as sketch books by many. I don't consider them as such. Notebooks and worksheets work best for me. I'll often make a verbal notation of a scene or idea, rather than a visual image, to keep the mental picture firmly in my mind. Most often a page consists of a mixture of the two. They can be some what messy due to my tendency to grab a book and find a blank spot in a hurry. I do try to maintain some order though I suspect it's an order only I can see at times! :)
I prefer to make notes & worksheets before beginning a piece of artwork. That way I work out the idea but the actual exploration of the subject happens IN the art -- my passion for it is expressed during the creation of the piece. For myself there is always a great danger of burning out early on a subject; A concept has to continue to hold my attention in order for me to commit the time to give birth to it, if you will. If I allow too much early exploration through sketches then sketching becomes what I am doing. The sketch would become my response to whatever it was that urged me to create, and that may likely be the end of it. I rarely work the same subject more than once. If I do it is simply because I've not finished contemplating the topic of origin. On occasion, the first creation will inspire a second piece along the same topic line. So I do have series that I may return to from time to time --just as topics of conversation often arise out of the ashes of the spoken to spark to new life.
There are so very many things to think about that I cannot imagine ever running out of things to paint, or create on any particular subject. It really is quite like an insanity. I mean that light-heatedly, but there is a sharp pang of truth to it. A crazy life seems to be one of the requirements to the job of artist -- they don't tell ya that when ya sign up! :) But I do the best that I can to get through it with dignity, and try to produce the images in my mind's eye.

*Visit also "Pages From My Sketchbook" From Marion Bobby-Evans
* Artist Portfolio
* Above image, "The Traveller", ©Tree Pruitt 1999. All rights retained. Example of a worksheet with both sketch & notes.


*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

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Shift Happens

The Curio Castle Shoppe and my Fine Art Store at Etsy are going through some big changes. We're currently relocating our real world location (home), and so I thought it best to temporarily close both of my Etsy shops during this time. If you have a favorite item, you can contact me and still make a purchase provided you can afford some patience as we organise the storage. Good customer service and lovable products are always my priority, so I hope to resolve the situation swiftly.

Ongoing art projects too must sadly be put on hold for a while, and trust me this is the hard one for myself; shift happens, and shift we must. Overall I think the changes will be better for my family as well as my art work out put, but it sorely hurts to put a pause on things for now. I will be posting new photos of the in-progress sculpture, "Nature Goddess" as soon as possible.
Many thanks!
Tree Pruitt

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