Unexpected Serendipity!

After a tumultuous year and a creative deadening I am coming to life again. I have been trying to paint almost every day and although I have not perceived myself as "ready" per say to venture out into the public arena of art again, I have not been able to completely separate myself from involvement. I can't escape it. Art brings good things into my life. I am a brilliant self-sabotager and try as I might, I have been unable to destroy my art or the good things it brings me. I received a phone call last night from Caterina Winery inviting me back to be the First Friday Artist in June. To me, this is the biggest honor...the fact I was already there, they saw my art, they met me and they want me back! I am so gracious and humble to anyone who appreciates my art. :)

Art For Sale

Black Belladonna Arts features fine art originals by artist Joy Tagliavia-Mizzoni, as featured in the Spokesman Review:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/13/promise-of-hope-depicted-in-work/

Please visit the Black Belladonna Arts website to view paintings for sale at:
http://www.wix.com/bbarts/blackbelladonnaarts

Select pieces can be purchased locally at:
Gallery of T.H.U.M.
2910 N. Monroe Street
Spokane, WA 99201

http://www.thumstores.com/joy-tagliavia-mizzoni/manufacturers/joy-tagliavia-mizzoni


Current Listings For Sale:

"Abundance"  Oil Pastel (FIRST IMAGE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT; PINK HAIR BLUE BACKGROUND GREEN LEAVES)
18"w x 24"h
$100 - Original, Signed, Unframed

"Wild Woman's Sister" Oil Pastel (SECOND IMAGE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT;YELLOW FRAME)
13'w x 16'h
$50 - Original, Signed, Matted, Framed

"Lola" Oil Pastel (FIRST IMAGE; SECOND ROW; LEFT TO RIGHT; PINK FRAME; YELLOW FLOWER IN HAIR)
25.5"w x 31.5"h
$50 - Original, Signed, Matted, Framed

"Luscious" Oil Pastel (FRAME NOT SHOWN IN PICTURE; PURPLE AND RED WOMAN; LAST IMAGE BOTTOM ROW)
15"w x 12"h
$50 - Original, Signed, Matted Framed

Canvas and Framed Prints Available at Imagekind
To view additional works and purchase art prints under $30, please visit my online gallery at:
 http://blackbelladonna.imagekind.com/

Please visit Black Belladonna Arts on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Belladonna-Arts/138922636193997

Twins

Acrylic on canvas

Latest and Greatest

Dear Black Belladonna Blog Followers:

It's been awhile since I've made a post, and I apologize. See, what most people don't understand about procrastination is that it can be debilitating. And I have been trying to escape reality though a smorgasbord of Facebook games. Now that I think my brain has completely turned to mush, I can't stand it anymore! As much as I am trying to fight the urge to think and create, I'm losing. Thus, here is a blog post.

Jennifer LaRue from the Spokesman came out on Monday to interview me. All my years working on the base newspaper in the Air Force, I have never been interviewed by anyone before. I was very apprehensive about this interview because from what I heard through the grape vine was that this woman was very assertive and that I shouldn't be wishy washy. My experience with most other alpha females is that I typically back down. It's pretty certain I would be "bitch" status in prison. So, I attempted to approach the interview slightly guarded. Of course, my incessant need to fill empty silence with my sarcasm and chatter pretty much screwed that up.

Long story short: It was amazing and I think I made a friend. I am so touched by what this woman wrote about both myself and my art, I can't seem to think of her as any other way.

I will post a link to the story when it comes out.

I haven't been painting much. I have another one started that Stefan posted that I really really just started. I'll take a picture of it's progress.

Thanks for those of you still subscribed to this blog. Trust me, I'll slowly (very slowly) get it going. Somehow.
The next few days I will be focusing on selling my art somehow and taking full advantage of my 15 minutes of fame.  It's late and I think I have some cows to feed in Farmville.

Bye!
Joy

Mixed Media on Canvas & Wood..Work in progress...

Sugar Skulls -Cranial Yum Yums!

My first attempt at a sugar skull.

Dear Black Belladonna Arts Friends:

As I start to explore my artistic propensities, I noticed a popular trend of sugar skulls popping up everywhere.(please read the disclaimer regarding the fact I'm always BEHIND the trends by a few years.)

I was drawn to them because of the colorful patterns and I've always been a fan of "Day of the Dead" art. I love horror and Day of the Dead celebrations, in my mind, lend themselves to imaginative mischief, and I assume some real-life questionable shenanigans as well. 

Just in the same fashion I am fascinated by the tall, haunting, silently brooding buildings of the Eastern State Mental Hospital located here in Medical Lake, Washington. There is even an old graveyard and a closed down primate testing facility. How I long for Stephen King to discover this hidden gem nestled inside a treed campus. I know he could really do this place justice.

Back to Sugar Skulls....

Another oil pastel sugar skull.

 I was searching the net for sugar skull artists and found this awesome artist. His name is David Lozeau and below is Please check out his website.

http://www.davidlozeau.com/#.TjIkyBoRirk.facebook

I haven't had a chance to look through all his art yet, but it's on the top of my to-do list. I have refrained from looking at too many other artists for a number of reasons. First, I don't want to compare myself to them. It's like being the chubby chick at the gym. The skinny girls don't inspire me. They don't make me want to work out harder; they make me want to sneak donuts and drown my sorrows in chocolate syrup. I didn't want my art to become another way of me "not being good enough." I only began doing art as an escape from judgement. A way to do what I wanted, how I wanted. I never planned on ever showing my art to anyone outside of immediate family, let alone open myself up to the scrutiny of strangers, professionals,and the like.

I also have felt that my art is pure. I have been, up until this point, apprehensive to look at too many other artists since I'm just developing my talent and artistic voice. I want it to be my own. But now, I'm at a point where I need to start educating myself and familiarizing myself with other artists whose work I admire.

Plus that dude was pretty friendly on Facebook and I always expect people with that sort of talent to be pretentious and cold to novices like myself.  So if you need artistic inspiration or just want to enjoy some bad ass amazing art, check out David Lozeau.




Check out the links below:


How to Draw Sugar Skulls:

• http://www.art-is-fun.com/day-of-the-dead-art.html

• http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/2097/1/1/how-to-draw-a-sugar-skull-design.htm

• http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/sugar_skulls/instructions.html

 

There once was a girl...

With a curl in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very very good, and when she was bad, she was horrid. This girl was named Marlena and she had a sister, named Ella. These two little girls were the most beautiful little girls in all the land. But they were very badly behaved. The two of them ganged up relentlessly on their poor mother who just didn't know what to do. They didn't follow their mother's directions, they laughed and snickered and kicked walls. They answered back in snotty little snippets. Their mother loved and valued them more than her own extremities. She would give all her legs and arms for each one's happiness. But yet, the two little girls failed to realize how their behavior was moments off from making their mother cry. Being divorced from their father, she couldn't call him for discipline assistance. Either way, it was always him and his family against her and no family. The mother decided there was only one thing she could do. She could stop taking them to the water park, stop taking them to the merry go round, stop taking them for sushi, ice cream, and happy meals. They didn't appreciate it anyway. Perhaps good old fashioned plain boredom would be the only tool she needed to transform her darling little shews back into properly poised princesses.

Slacking on the Blog

So this blog is developing very slowly. Perhaps not at all. It seems that there are not enough hours in the day, especially when you get up after 9 a.m. The weather has been beautiful and we've been out and about at various water parks with Marlena and Ella. Last night we went for Sushi and snow cones and didn't get home until almost 10. I snuggled with the girls this morning and have accomplished nothing except making breakfast and getting lost on Facebook.
I am working on (haphazardly) a blog posting on Sugar Skulls and Day of the Dead art and I want to also do something on "low brow art." As I learn more about different genres of art hopefully this blog will be a place other people can learn and grow their knowledge of the arts with me. I just don't work well without supervision and unfortunately, I'm the supervisor. So, with that, I'm off into the shower to take the girls and a neighbor kid to Browne's Addition water park.

But, I'll leave you with this awesome photograph I call "Starving Artist"