I'VE BEEN FALLING SLOWLY LITERALLY!

Hey guys...it's Loren here.  Been a bit of time since I filled you in on what is going on in my studio and life in general.  Lot's going on and many changes in the past few months.

                                   

                                     FALLING SLOWLY

I've had to take some time off from painting and life in general before Christmas and now because I have been having some medical issues.  I mentioned it in a blog post a ways back that I was having some mysterious problems walking..  Well, to be brief, I had been falling and falling a lot.  I have fallen 10 times in 2016!  The most serious was the time I got a concussion from landing backwards on my head on a cement floor.  I had to call 911 and go to hospital in ambulance.  Scary episode.

What had been causing me to fall had been a mystery to every doctor I saw.  I went to back doctors, knee doctors, spine doctors, neurologists, physical therapists, orthopedics and on and on.  It baffled the doctors.  I did find out that I have severe nerve damage in my legs however, no one thought that was why I was falling.  So, I had been having this problem for 2 years and it was a extremely upsetting and debilitating problem.  I couldn't walk anywhere without the fear that I would fall and just going to car would be too much and I did fall getting into the car 4 times.

I went to see a new neurologist and he was perplexed as well..  He said as he looked at me straight in the eye, "I don't know what is wrong with you!"  Needless to say, that after waiting 4 months to see him, I was devastated.  He had me get some blood work and thought I may have had a neurological problem called Myastenia Gravis.  But the tests showed up normal. On my last appointment, the neurologist said again that he didn't know what was wrong with me and I didn't fit any neurological disorder.  He did however nonchalantly and briefly check my blood work and he saw that my B12 level was really low!  Yep, that's right B12.  Well, it just so happens that a B12 deficiency can cause all kinds of neurological problems in the legs and when walking.  Also, I was walking in to things like doorways, tables lamps and so on. This also can be because of B12.  The other things that can be caused by B12 are severe anxiety, mood problems, balance problems and on and on.  The doctor told me he has never seen someone get better from B12 treatment!  Then he proceeded to tell me not to come back.  He didn't want to waste my time!!  He said "go to your primary Doctor and see about B12 injections."

So, I went to my primary and she wanted to do a second test to be sure and it came back that I was in the range but it was low/normal.  She agreed that I should try B12 injections (not pills they don't work) once a month for three months.  I just had my second shot and I have been able to walk a little better without getting numbness and tingling down my legs.  So that is really good.  I even managed to walk an hour at the mall before Christmas!  Before I could only walk about 20 feet and I'd get wobbly and was afraid of falling.  Now, I am waiting to see how I do with the shots for three months and get reevaluated to see if I need them for the rest of my life.  B12 shots are stored in the liver and pills are not.  The question I asked was "How did B12 level drop so low?'  One answer may be in that I was taking a heartburn medicine for another problem with my esophagus and the medicine can delete your B12 level.  Also, I was not eating a lot of meat and that can deplete it as well.

I am telling this story for everyone to beware of heartburn meds and B12 levels.  If you are taking heartburn medicine, get your B12 level checked to make sure it is normal.  B12 deficiency can be extremely serious and may cause permanent neurological problems.  In general I am feeling a little better.  It may take 6 -9 months for the neurological problems to get better if thay can.  I am hoping that I will be back to myself soon but in the meantime, I have started to paint again and am back in the swing of things.  No falling in a month!  I'd love to hear from anyone who has had B12 deficiency.  Please leave a comment.

REALLY WORKING THE SEASCAPES AND MORE

"FOLLOW THE LIGHT'   12 x 16 acrylic on watercolor paper    (c) Loren Fidalgo 2016

This is one of the paintings that really drew me into painting seascapes.  I love the texture in the sky and water.  I painted it solely with a palette knife. All of these seascapes and landscapes were painted during the time I was falling and I can see my instability in my paintings.  Can you?

STUDY IN TEXTURE,SPACE AND COLOR   24x18  acrylic on canvas  (c) Loren Fidalgo 2016

 Another experimental study in texture, space and color.  I am so in love with Prussian Blue and I can't use it enough these days. I especially love it with Crimson .  Mixed together or on top of each other, either way I am in love!

'STORM IS RAGING'       7 x 5         acrylic on matte board         (c) Loren Fidalgo 2016

This painting is really a mystery to me.  I can't decide if it is a seascape or a landscape?  When looking at it one way it looks like a long road out west on the way to California.  Then when I look at it again it looks like a stormy sky with raging clouds.  I really love it especially because of it's size. It's a petite size painting 7 x 5.  I have been working on all different size surfaces lately and it really shakes things up! I did a small series on 7 x 5 inch matte board and I really like the surface.  They are quick studies that have really turned out to be small and petite paintings in their own right.  I like to see something emerge on the surface quickly to quell my anxiety when starting a painting.  I never know what to expect.  The anticipation makes me unsettled for a few moments as I am beginning my painting.  So, these small pieces are a great way to get rid of the anxious feelings

Thanks for reading.  Remember get your B12 checked if you take meds for heartburn!

Cheers,

Loren

STILL LIFE EXHIBIT UP UNTIL NOVEMBER 30th COME AND SEE IT!!!

Hey guys...it's Loren here.  I wanted to share that my show will be up until November 30th if you are interested in seeing it?  Christopher's has great food so a lunch date would be super there  If you are new to my blog site, then I will go over details.   

        Christopher's:A Neighborhood Place  

 335 E. Kings Street

 Malvern, PA  19355

 (610) 568-4127

There is a train stop  MALVERN ,  very close to Christopher's.  It's about 1/4 -1/2 a mile from train stop.  If you can make it, the show looks very beautiful with 16 still life paintings in oil,  all on one high wall and you won't be disappointed.

RECEPTION

Reception on Monday evening was very joyful and organizing the rides from Center City Philadelphia, went smoothly.  My instructor John from my painting class at Fleisher Art Memorial and his wife Lynne attended and it was such an honor. They seemed to enjoy themselves and I was grateful.  My bro Ken came all the way from New Jersey shore and I was very happy about that.  He had a lot of fun as I was too.  Also, it seemed like everyone really was having a good time and conversation was nonstop.  We were all carrying on chatting about this and that and then I was subtly coaxed into telling some thing personal and funny about what another male student in his late eighties had said to me in the elevator one day.  Everyone cracked up and I was finding it funny as well.  Normally, I do not talk about personal things in public, but this was too funny to leave on the floor!  Too much to tell on blog, but trust me.  It was hysterical.

I on the other hand had a little bit of a medical crisis. (too embarrassing to tell the gruesome details) however, I will tell that I cut the side of my foot and I could not stop the bleeding. I wound up rigging a pad to go over cut and put tight new white socks on.  The way I fashioned it, it worked to stop the bleeding, however, I could not wear shoes or boots.  So I put on a funky pair of sandals and they looked pathetic but they did what I needed them to do.

By the time I got to Christopher's, the pain went down some and bleeding stopped.  Thank goodness.  Foot is getting better.

Thanks to everyone who came out to reception.  It is heartfelt!

Cheers,

Loren

RECEPTION FOR STILL LIFE EXHIBIT COMING AROUND THE CORNER!!

 

Hey guys...it's Loren here.  Just wanted to give a heads up that the reception for my still life paintings  is coming around the corner Monday November 14th 6 pm - 8 pm at 

Christopher's: A Neighborhood Place 335 E. Kings Street Malvern, PA 19335.  Come on by and enjoy some wine and interesting conversations with some fine artists and people who are surely interested in the arts of all kinds.  Writers, musicians, visual artists, painters, illustrators, guitar makers are just some of the areas of art disciplines that will be at the show to chat with about this and that!

The show is open until November 30th if you want to take in a different time to visit the artwork.  You can also view some of the exhibited works here on my site.  Just click on the still life button in the tabs bar.

  

Hope you can make it to the reception.  Looking forward to seeing and meeting everyone.

See you then.

Cheers, Loren

NEW ABSTRACT PAINTING SERIES 'WEEPING' COMING SOON

Hey guys... new abstract paintings are on their way to a series called 'WEEPING'.  I can only reveal a littler bit about them until they are completed.  I want to show them all together, as they should be seen together.

'WEEPING #1' 24x30  acrylic on canvas  2014 by Loren Fidalgo
small section from larger painting

My style is evolving and really changing from series to series and medium to medium.  This new series 'WEEPING' is created solely with a palette knife and painted in acrylic paint. Most pieces are on gallery wrapped canvas.  Lately, I am hooked on acrylic paint and loving how it dries so quickly. I am able to get lots of texture with the acrylic paint and unlike oils, I am able to work fast and furiously.  This way, I can get my emotion out onto the canvas in a short time.  This is not saying that I dislike oils, by no means is this the case.  I love oils, as well.  I love the look and feel of oils and how they blend together and move on the canvas, however right now, I am in love with these acrylic paintings I am working on.  I think I will be switching back and forth from oils to acrylics and back to oils in the future.

"WEEPING #2' 24x30  acrylic on canvas  2014

by (c) Loren Fidalgo
small section of larger painting

I have a lot of ideas for the new series that will come after the 'WEEPING' series and I am so excited for what the future holds for my work.  My studio is almost together (the one I turned from a porch) and I am so eager to get in there and create these new paintings.  Currently, I am still painting in the dining room/studio and it's not very inspiring, so I can't wait to get in my new studio  I would like to say to this new studio,...  "porch/ studio, I am looking forward to working in you and all that you have to offer for me.  I am anticipating all that will be created in your environment that is conducive for creating. I am so thrilled to have this new environment for me to rediscover myself both personally and creatively.  I am all in"!

Check back for the reveal of the 'WEEPING' series on this blog and for sale in my ETSY shop.  Please feel free to leave a comment or question if you would like to.  I  love hearing from my readers.

Cheers,

Loren

NEW ABSTRACT PAINTINGS FEATURED IN MY ETSY SHOP

Hey guys...
I've been listing my large 24 x30 abstract paintings in my etsy shop and they are currently for sale.  Most of these paintings are featured in my 'abstract' art portfolio page, however I will post a few here so you can view them more quickly if you would like to.  If you would like to purchase a painting, please click on this link  www.lorenfidalgoart.etsy.com  Here you can find more 24 x30 paintings than are featured here in this post.

'Thoughts Spinning Round And Round'    24x30    oil on canvas   2013  (c) Loren Fidalgo

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'Stepping In And Out Of Life'   24x30  oil on canvas   2012   (c) Loren Fidalgo

'Path To Enlightment'     24x30     oil on canvas     2013     (c) Loren Fidalgo

'Blue Mood'    24x30          oil on canvas      2013        (c) Loren Fidalgo     

'Finding My Way'      24x30      oil on canvas        2013         (c) Loren Fidalgo

"Beginning Again'     24x30      oil on canvas     2012        (c)  Loren Fidalgo

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my larger paintings.  Don't forget to click on link if you are interested in purchasing a painting.  Please leave a comment if you would like to.
Cheers,
Loren

THE LANDSDALE ART FESTIVAL

Hi, there. I wanted to share some photos from the Landsdale Art Festival.

I really want to thank my husband Paul and my brother Ken for helping me make the event happen.  They were both an enormous help and without them, I wouldn’t have been able to assemble everything, and carry everything to the show. My husband Paul was so dear and he helped me build the wooden easels, from sawing, drilling and painting them.  He is such a 'gem’.   Ken had his truck, and even so, we were packed solid with easels and boxes of paintings.  Ken was so awesome because he made me easels out of PVC piping and along with the wooden ones I made with my husband, they all looked so great.  The paintings sat on them so nicely and they really allowed them to shine.  He also made me a rack to display my small paintings.

The day was so beautiful nevertheless, when we arrived on the site, it was windy.  It was something that we didn’t expect.  But thanks to my brother and my thinking, we attached some really large white sheets (purchased many years back, preparing for this possible event) to the top of our tent with Ken's nifty plastic ties.  He also attached them to the bottom of the tent legs on two sides.  This really cut down on the wind and it gave the tent a really awesome feel to it when the sun shone in so bright. It had this heavenly, ethereal ambiance to it when the sun was shining in it. It was an unexpected joyful effect.

My friends Rebekah and Nerida also came to show there support.  They got lost on the way to the show so thank goodness they made it there.  They brought me a small birthday cake and a birthday gift.  It was very sweet and I was thankful for having them as my friends.

Well, the day flew by and it seemed that just as how soon we put everything up, we had to take everything down and pack up.  So pack up we did and off to home we went.  Good-bye Landsdale.  See you again next year.

Leave a comment if you would like to comment about what you think about my booth display and the artwork showing.  I'd love to hear what my viewers think about my work, so feel free to comment.

Cheers,
Loren 

NEW PAINTING FROM BALLOON SERIES

I was going through some of my paintings yesterday and came across this little painting that I had done awhile ago that goes along with my Balloon Series Paintings.  I over looked it and totally lost track of it since it is a small painting.
It was created with the series of paintings that I just posted about called 'HOW FRAGILE WE ARE' and I wanted to include it with the series
This painting is titled, 'IN THE WINK OF AN EYE' 11x14  2010 oil on canvas.

'IN THE WINK OF AN EYE'                  11x14                oil on canvas            2010

HOW FRAGILE WE ARE

A couple of years ago I took a brief dabbling in my painting and began painting characters that look like balloons.  

It all started when I painted a diptychs for my brother as a Christmas gift.  He was my secret Santa and I wanted to do something cool for his house.  He had virtually no art in his beautiful home so I thought a painting would be an awesome idea.  I had no idea as to what I was going to take on right before Christmas.

It is titled 'Air on the side of caution' and each canvas is 24x30.  It took some time to paint, but I really got in the groove and finished them on time.  It began my interest in the balloon as a metaphor for the human brain and personality.

'AIR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION'      2009   24x30 panels     oil on canvas

I don't know precisely what caught my attention to create these balloon character faces except that I am generally interested in the face as a theme and use it in a lot of my paintings.  I am also interested in our human psychology as a theme.  The idea that these balloon characters can be extinguished with just a nick by the birds beak, speaks to me because I feel that that is how one can feel when they move in the world.  Vulnerability is the key word I think of to describe these balloon character paintings.  I think of how fragile our psychological life can be and how we can feel so unimportant at times.  I also think of strength and courage when I look at these paintings.  Courage to put yourself out there not knowing what will come back to you.  Strength to pick yourself up after an emotional event and move forward.  The faces are just floating in the air and moving through their life even though there is tragedy.  One balloon has been loosing it's air it's life and a lot of balloons look at it in concern and fear, while others are not nearly so affected.  Some characters like the one in the left panel in the bottom left corner is closing his eyes and doesn't even want to know what is going on.

                'BLISS'                11x14               2010      oil on canvas                                         

This painting above titled 'BLISS" 11x14 oil on canvas is one of my very favorites.  I think it is because I love the way the face looks so relaxed and truly experiencing 'bliss'.  I love the way the colors blend together and support the red face.  It is not actually a balloon face however it is the beginning of my balloon series.

               'HOPES DEFLATED'         16x20                 2010       oil on canvas                                   

Above in this second painting, 'Hopes Deflated' 16x20.  Two birds swoop in to bite onto the yellow balloon character and deflates it while standing on the face of the green character.  This reflects the fragile nature of our psychological persona.

             'WHAT'S SO FUNNY?'                   16x20                      2010      oil on canvas             

 In this third painting above, 'What's so funny?' 16x20, each character in the painting is laughing and filled with fun.  The blue character is clearly the 'jokester' while the yellow woman character is very amused and smitten with the joke as the orange woman looks on.  This painting reflects the different sides of ourselves and how we can change our persona from one moment to the next.

      'RISING ABOVE'          16x20        2010       oil on canvas                             

In this fourth painting, 'Rising above' 16x20 , you can see different emotions as the orange balloon is relaxing and looks like he is meditating and not effected by the others.  The blue character looks on wondering and the green guy in the background looks like he wants to make his own appearance as a unique and different personality from the others.  The three birds fly around these characters clearly familiar with these three guys. The guys do not feel any fear even though at any minute the birds can nick them and they will deflate and their lives will be lost

              'GRIEF'                    11x14              2010   oil on canvas

In this painting above titled 'GRIEF' 11x14,  I really experience the feeling of grief when I look at the face of this balloon that is floating in the air.  Since I have been going through a lot of grief lately with the loss of my Mom and my Gram 16 months apart, I really relate to the way the balloon is holding his head and closing his eyes and staring down. This balloon character is surely feeling down and filled with sorrow.

I hope you enjoyed viewing this group of paintings.  Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what's on your mind.

MY HEAD INJURY AND MYSTERIOUS OBSESSION WITH PAINTING

As I have been wanting to do, I would like to share some more info with you about the head injury I had some 3 years ago. In a nutshell, I had a huge, at least 7-10  lb. ceramic vase/vessel fall on the top of my head or "clunked" me on the head, while I was loading some pottery on a wobbly shelf.   If you are interested to learn more about how it happened, check out the post in my blog MIND GIGGLES TM.  There you will get the details of the accident before and after it happened.

THE SECRET
OIL ON CANVAS 30x40 
(c) Loren Fidalgo 2010
Since the "clunk" on the head,, I have had an addition and change in the direction of my creative passion and interests.  Prior head injury, I was primarily passionate about graphic arts, and illustration.  I was mainly pursuing a career in art licensing working with pastels and colored pencil. I never thought of painting as a medium for myself and I was not interested in the fine arts as a career.  But, something changed in me after the injury, some thing that I do not have an explanation for.  Although, I  still working on illustration and graphics, I have begun to furiously start painting and working in mixed media.  The ideas for painting have been coming from my heart.    Some time soon after the injury, I signed up for a painting, drawing and watercolor class which was "odd" for me, and although I was painting still lives in class, which I now loved (also odd for me) I was painting images from a deeper place in my heart at home from a deeper place in my heart.  You can see some of these still life paintings here and my fantasy paintings here. 

After being "clunked" on the head,  I have found that I want to create more meaningful and thoughtful images and pieces of art.  I am much more interested in expressing my emotions in my work.  I feel compelled to express my deeper feelings, thoughts and ideas.  I have made changes and choices in the ideas for paintings and mixed media works and they have also taken a turn in subject matter. Although, I have always been strongly interested in concept and ideas,  I have now become interested in expression of feelings and life experiences.  This is an amazement to me.  I have been shocked at the depth of my despair at times that has been coming out of my heart and soul and portrayed in my work. I find myself compelled now to express not only my joyful and exuberant feelings but now my sorrow, depression, pain and challenging feelings about my life in a way that I did not know existed. I am having to face and question some of my experiences of my life presently and as most artists do at some time, I am also facing experiences from my childhood traumas.  (UGGHH!!! this is a topic that in full is still too deep to share here).  Although I am not one to often wear my deep feelings of sorrow on my sleeve, and share it with others, I am for some reason expressing it in my paintings and art. Go figure! 

SEARCHING FOR MEANING
OIL ON CANVAS 18x24
(c) Loren Fidalgo 2010

 So as you see, things have changed creatively for me and I am just hanging on for the ride.  I wonder if anyone has experienced this same sort of shift in consciousness and focus from an accident or head injury?  I was "clunked" on the left side on top of my head and since I did not show signs of a concussion, it appeared that nothing was injured internally.  The only signs and symptoms are these changes in my obsession with painting and mixed media, and a change in my perception of color. which I talk about it in my blog MIND GIGGLES TM  So, as I have said, "Is my huge obsession with painting a coincidence or a direct result from being "clunked" on the head from a 6 lb ceramic vase? You be the judge."

NEW PAINTINGS ARE POSTED ON BLOG

ABOUT FLOWERS
OIL ON CANVAS 16x20
(c) Loren Fidalgo 2009
Hello, and welcome to my blog.
Well, I have finally posted some paintings on my blog. I wanted to post them as a group on my Portfolio page, however I had to load them one at a time.   So, to view them, go to Portfolio and scroll down the page. They are just some of my paintings in still life subject matter. I will be posting more paintings soon and they will be more still lifes and a whole bunch of fantasy paintings.

Hopefully, I will be able to figure out how to put my paintings up in a group. Until then, I will post them up one at a time. If anyone knows exactly how to do this, please fill me in. I will be so grateful!

PAINTINGS COMING SOON!!!

It's almost 5:00 A.M. on the east coast and I'm seriously trying to get this blog up and running. This is a post to let everyone know that I will be featuring my paintings from the last 2 1/2 years very soon on this blog. I am working out the kinks in this blog formatt.. UGGHHH!!!. Keep checking back to catch them when they are uploaded.

JUST A NOTE; If you would like to see some of my designs for Licensing, you can take a peek at my blog http://www.lorenfidalgo.blogspot.com Loren Fidalgo Mind Giggles TM and to see my website www.lorenfidalgo.com.

You can view some of my products on etsy shop www.dabblingdelights.etsy.com

Thanks so much for being patient.

Cheers,

Loren