Stephen Ortman

Art in the Making

2011-02-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

I love to paint, but time always seems to find me working on another project or two. I first put oil to canvas as a teenager when I was given my first set of oils and a wooden case by an aunt. I was quite prolific until I put such things away for college. Then of course there was marriage, children and a number of careers that came and went.

I began to dust off my intrest in painting a few years ago when I met and married my third wife, Lisa. We came to realize that we both had been hiding a "starving artist" insde for years. The call of artistic creativity grew stronger and stronger. My wife took the plunge first and today is an accomplished fiber artist here in San Antonio.

My plan is to follow in her footsteps with my own artistic style. Check it out and let me know what you think.

More to follow...

Lisa Kerpoe on Youtube.com

2010-11-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

Check out Lisa's promo on Youtube.com for her new Irresistible Texture instructional DVD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcFiVOG7tg

and also Vibrant Color instructional DVD with Lisa Kerpoe and Jane Dunnewold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMwW96ia0xc

Lisa's New DVD's

2010-10-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Lisa Kerpoe, San Antonio fiber artist, now has two instructional DVD's for sale:

Vibrant Color
with Lisa Kerpoe and Jane Dunnewold

Irresistible Texture Using Resisits to Create Stunning Cloth
with Lisa Kerpoe

Check it out on her web site:

http://www.lisakerpoe.com/media.html

(Now taking orders)

Lisa's exhibit in Kerrville, Texas

2010-07-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 17th, Lisa and I took a drive up to Kerrville, Texas to attend an exhibition of local artists at the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center. We stopped off at Wild Seed Farms, near Fredericksburg, to purchase more Texas wildflower seed mix for our flower garden next spring. It's a wonderful place full of plants, pots and flowers of every color. They even had cats...which delighted Lisa.

From there we drove through Fredericksburg, Texas and on to Kerrville for the exhibit. The Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center was the town's former post office.

Lisa had an exhibit of five pieces inspired by the Poem, 10,000 Flowers by Wu Men

10,000 Flowers...

The Moon and Cool Breeze...

Snow and... The Best Season of All

Lisa's Web Site:

http://www.lisakerpoe.com/

Lisa's Blog:

http://lisakerpoe.blogspot.com/

Lisa's Online Gallery:

http://surge.heritagewebdesign.com/~janednnw/cart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11&zenid=1b30b549df4cf85e18ee138d9a337221

Exhibition in Round Top Texas

2010-02-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

Lisa and I made our way to Round Top, Texas for a fiber art exhibit featuring 4 of Lisa's smaller pieces. This small Texas town with a population of 77 hosted quite a night of wonderful fiber art and food at the Copper Shade Tree Gallery. We spent the night at a quint B&B just outside of Round Top and had a great time!

Second Saturday Gallery Night

2010-01-13T10:55:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I went with Lisa to an event held on the second Saturday in January by some of the galleries in Boerne, Texas, about an hour north of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country. Lisa teaches fiber art at the Majestic Ranch located at the top of a hill just outside of Boerne. Lisa was among several instructors demonstarting their craft that night. I even tried my hand at sculpting in limestone after some basic intruction on the use of four types of tools by Rachman Ulmer (center), Executive Director and Stone Sculpting Instructor at Majestic Ranch. You will find some pictures of my handywork with stone below. I enjoyed it so much that I'm thinking about joining the group of sculpters working at Majestic Ranch. Why should I limit my creativity to writing and painting. It may be time to break out into 3 dememsional art! Stay tuned folks.

El Dia de los Muertos

2009-11-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

The ''Day of the Dead'' (Día de los Muertos) or "All Souls Day" is celebrated in Mexico, the United States and Canada by Latin Americans. Gatherings of family and friends pray for and remember friends and family members who have passed on. The celebration occurs on November 1st, and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls' Day which occurs on November 2nd. Families build private altars that honor the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. It is traditional to visit graves with these as gifts.

This month's theme at the Sava Art Gallery in San Antonio honors the tradition of the day of the dead. I submitted two paintings for this month's show. My first painting is called "Flying to Forever" and the the other one is called "It Comes..." but they don't really follow the traditional format of skulls and skeletons that you see during Dia de los Muertos. I chose to go momchromatic in the first painting and used vivid colors for the second. The medium was acrylic on canvas.

If you live in or near San Antonio, come visit the SAVA (San Antonio Visual Artists) Gallery at the River Center Mall next door to the Alamo!

Happy Halloween!

Babs the Studio Cat

2009-08-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

My wife has been busy restoring her art studio at home so she can work in the comfort of air conditioning. When she goes to work at ArtCloth Studios on the other side of town, she has to leave early in the morning and return around noon because of the heat in their 3rd floor walk up studio.

She misses her two studio cats, Marshall and Pretty Girl, when she has to leave early, so our family cat, Babs, has "stepped up to the plate" and offered her services as the at home "studio cat." She loves to help "Mommy" create her fiber art pieces. Whether it is dipping her paws into fabric paint, laying on fabric and utensils or pulling pins out of Lisa's pin cushion...one at a time, Babs is there.

What a good kitty!

What is Art?

2009-06-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

Art is in the eye of the beholder. I like to paint mysteries. My paintings are not well crafted pastoral scenes or majestic snow covered mountain peaks. I do not have that kind of talent. If you want a spectacular landscape, why not take a photograph?

When I see those works I can appreciate their beauty and the talent it took to create them, but they are... defined, familiar and comfortable and I move on. They rarely burn a hole in my head driving me to take a second look and wonder it's hidden meaning. That is where I enter the discussion. I like a good mystery. I invite second looks. What is it? WHAT IS IT!

It's art. It's experimental... art. Enjoy!