marianne's art blog

catching my breath

2012-02-01T20:51:00.002-07:00

last week, all roads led through airports.... first, chicago monday & tuesday

then south carolina for thursday- sunday

back through o'hare on sunday

to phoenix for work monday & tuesday

tonight we attended the artist's opening for valentines for aids- nice dinner with friends, saw other friends at the event (lots of hugs, which are always good). will have to go back to actually see the art though.

i miss the studio and actually creating, but know that what i am seeing and doing and storing up will eventually manifest. i don't see studio time for a couple of weeks, so there should be lots ready to go when i can get back to it.

it's going to be busy til at least the 14th, will post where i can- happy february!

welcome to my house of hearts

2012-01-21T22:57:00.001-07:00

wow- was the last post really wednesday? i got some studio time in on thursday, but starts of things and odds & ends, nothing to really talk about. went to dinner & a vaudeville/burlesque show with friends last night (fun!) and to see haywire tonight (loved it! good action flick, love seeing a strong kick ass female lead).

i am working on various things & hope to have some to post tomorrow, but thought i would gather the gallery of hearts that has accumulated over the past month-

ode to joy, 6x6 mixed media

duet, 10x10 mixed media

beautiful, 6x6 mixed media

guarded, 6x6 mixed media

simple gifts, 8x8 mixed media

heart is a beating drum, 6x6 mixed media

love somebody, 8x8 mixed media

nobody knows, 8x8 mixed media

funny how these things go. last year, i was struggling with my valentine for aids donation, this year i have hearts galore. hoping i don't still have all of them in march!

mas manana-

nobody knows

2012-01-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

i started this waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 2011 (well, like the 27th) and then it sat.

then i got the cool little printer and went on a printing rampage. the heart is from a meat tray cut out stencil. i ended up using the cut out part as a stamp. the styro provides interesting texture and takes color unevenly (nice!). i saw the heart sitting on a white paper plate (bonus random event) and took a few photos with my phone. printed this one out with the black grunge border option, used the wood burning tool to add the x's and o's and cut to fit-

don't ask me to explain why the bluebird came in, but she did

decided that the background needed to go farther back, misted and washed some liquid cerulean blue on, leaving the figure. i sponged paint off of the bird too so she wouldn't melt into the background. good at this point, but needing just a bit more.

and here's the (for now) finished product. what's really funny is that we are having a women themed art exhibit at the gallery in march and this will fit right in.

8x8 mixed media, nobody knows

on drawing, and the value of spending time with other artists (even for the antisocial)

2012-01-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

last tuesday in the studio for 3 weeks-ack! sometimes it just works out that way. lynn, nancy & sue were able to come tonight.

this is lynn, sculpting this incredible horse relief without a reference document and explaining to us that she can't draw. you see, she can do this in clay but doesn't think that she can do the same with pencil & paper.

which, of course, led to the discussion about "being able to draw". sue is also a sculptor and she admitted to not being too interested in drawing. i have to admit same- seems like a good skill to have, and there are times i curse myself for not developing it (like when i am halfway through- or even finished with- a piece & i realize i have made a major, unplanned, error in perspective or when i want to dash something off, but instead have to grid it out or figure out how to trace it) but clearly i don't wish it badly enough to make it so.

i have sketch pads and pencils and books on drawing. i haul stuff to sketch with with me when i travel. the most i ever do is doodle. i am much more likely to take 9 million photos and mess with them in the photoshop app than to draw something. but it seems like something i should do. we are told that drawing is the foundation of art. not being "able to" draw then makes it seem like i am not a "real" artist.

only i draw with paint. just like lynn draws in clay. nancy said she can't draw, but i have seen her do beautiful work that's creative in a way that's amazing. it's funny how we measure ourselves and see our (perceived) limitations more clearly than our strengths. and that is one of the wonderful things about creating with my friends- now i know that i'm not the only one who "can't draw"- more than that, i know that i'm not the only one who really isn't that interested in drawing but feels like i "should" be. so maybe i can free myself to add some drawing attempts to the doodles, no pressure.

updated

2012-01-16T21:42:00.004-07:00

when i looked at this today i realized that it needed more light, so i went back in and lightened up the flowers.

like it better now!

and still more hearts :)

2012-01-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

finished the 2 in the running for the valentines for aids donation. both are 6x6, the first titled beautiful (there are mirrors behind the mesh, so you can see yourself if you look inside)

this is titled guarded (it has a hawk on the back of the piece, and the hawk is a guardian). this is the one going to the show (thanks for the feedback barb). it will likely appeal more to the audience there.

after sleeping in and a nice long walk i was able to spend most of the day in the studio again. here's the journey of simple gifts. i painted the light modeling paste flowers pink and applied a layer of matte gel medium to seal things. wanted another layer & some smaller things to add in next.

so i got out the stamps, which i haven't used in ages, and took a look.

using stayz on ink, i stamped several choices onto napkin bits that were left over, hoping that the thin tissue would disappear into the back ground.

ended up selecting the bee because the size is right and i could repeat in several places. as is my practice, i read up on the symbolism of bee and found:

"The bee is symbolic of the Empress and feminine energy. Bees are often considered a symbol of the Goddess or Divine Feminine because they are ruled by queens. In particular, they are associated with the goddess Venus because part of their labor is the indirect fertilization of flowers, all of which come under the dominion of Venus. Without bees, many species of flowers would die out, and so the bee may justly be considered a handmaiden of that goddess. There is a Greek tradition, too, of the Nine Muses, the divine patronesses or music and poetry, taking on the form of bees. This comports well with the rulership of Venus over the arts. The bee is also a symbol for wisdom, as it collects pollen from many flowers and turns it into honey, which is the gold of bees." - yahoo answers

which works for me, especially in the context of hearts and flowers and gifts.

when i started applying the bees with gel medium i realized that the paper wasn't going to disappear as hoped, so i stamped the center bee on the piece. i also added the raven- along with the skull a symbol of creation.

i went back & did some blending and added and subtracted paint til i arrived at this:

simple gifts, 8x8 mixed media-

this is the other one i worked on today. i actually don't think it needs a whole lot more other than maybe something in the upper left hand corner. will leave it around the house to look at and see if anything occurs to me.

gallery member meeting tomorrow night (oh joy!). be back after studio night on tuesday-

more hearts & flowers & GL10 play-

2012-01-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

some photoshop play to print on the gl10- nat geo/citrasolve backgrounds and images layered on top. another idea from the creative photographer by catherine anderson

i have amassed a fair amount of 3x4 prints and have been playing with various things & looking forward to incorporating them into collage. the first shot shows a successful peeling off of the top layer (the pink palm at bottom) and the remains of a photo that i soaked but had the top layer just crumble off (the blue photo)

here's one that i cut and glued down- it glued nicely, even though the paper is a bit stiff and thick. a layer of matte gel over the photo didn't affect the color or image at all, which is great.

and where it sits now-

and lastly- i coated the heart photo here in gac 800, which did alter the color by giving it a pinkish tint. it also provided a plastic-y top layer.

where this one sits now-

lastly, i was looking for some rusty barbed wire and my husband came through- this is called guarded. needs to have the wire attached, but this is pretty much it-

and this one is done. i keep trying different things and coming back to this-

now the only question is which one of the last 2 to take to valentines for aids. my goal is to break the $25 sales price my piece got last year ( from my neighbor no less). which do you like better?

since the broncos were so stinky i got plenty of studio time in this evening- gave up at halftime. more studio time tomorrow- nice to have the luxury of getting ahead for february, especially since travel starts up again the week after next.

more tomorrow-

polaroid gl 10 play

2012-01-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

where i think this will work best is pairing my retro camera and fx camera apps with the printer, then scanning the photos to blow up & use as transfers, etc or using as is in collage. benefit there being the water resistant coating. kinda want a pogo too now, for smaller, sticky back prints.

tonight's crop of prints. notice the different borders, which are available to choose from in the printer's menu. the writing is with the woodburning tool that i had the foresight to purchase months ago :)

there's one you tube video of guys manipulating zink photo paper. yep, one. they do a transfer technique by soaking the print for 30-40 mins than carefully peeling off the top layer. sure they do. i soaked for 30 mins and everything got all crumbly and just sloughed off. front and back. will try soaking one longer to see if that makes a difference. the post soak print is below-

i also fiddled with some more valentines ideas. i think i need some rusty barbed wire.

there will be studio time this weekend- more later-

another studio night

2012-01-11T21:13:00.002-07:00

with lynn

and leslie

and pam (sorry pam! i'd have taken another photo if i'd noticed your eyes were closed!)

i sold 2 pieces yesterday- one at the airport and one downtown, so i needed to replace them. i sent the hawk to the airport. the one i sold downtown was the fox i painted a few months ago, which was 12x12 so i needed a large-ish piece to fill.

i have been working on hearts in anticipation of valentine's day. i looked for sheet music that fit the theme. this is titled simply "duet"-

i added more layers, including a wash of red paint, then a watered down wash of titan buff to soften the background. the stems are tar gel with green added and a color shaper used to get a thin, even line. the flowers are paper, the centers that annoying dry paint that collects around caps & lids.

i painted the heart, found it boring, stamped into it with a cork and then added another layer of color. and here is the finished product- titled duet- 10x10 mixed media-

i have a few more things started and hope to get to them this weekend. i also plan to video the altoids tinstallation & share that (there are some incredible tins- you can see some of them here ).

and amazon was wonderful about letting me return the first printer (no questions, sent UPS to pick it up & a label with the UPS guy- couldn't be easier), so i had another delivered (next day delivery $3.99 with amazon prime), so there will be more experiments coming up there, including transfers.

yep, less stuck- finally! great way to start 2012!

sunday sunday

2012-01-08T21:30:00.001-07:00

started the day with another long hike- beautiful morning! this trail had snow on it last year at this time. this year the willow along the creek are already budding out- kind of scary-

came home & watched football. this is what i was doing during the bronco game to stay calm. these fabric sharpies are fun! the shoes were $13 at target. i have more to do next week, since the donks squeezed thru to the next round.

and a brief studio visit. working on several ideas for the valentines for aids fundraiser- do you like this-

this (blurry photo, sorry, says i love you in the lower left corner)

or this?

what doesn't make it to the fundraiser may make it to the gallery. i loved doing needlepoint on the screen and want to play with that some more.

feedback welcome-

2012-01-07T22:40:00.001-07:00

lovely 2 1/2 hour hike with margie & the dogs this morning. it was beautiful as you can see.

came home, napped a bit, went to play with the printer & noticed that there's a bit of a problem in the form of lines in the print. started as one, became 2. hopefully not something i did. i guess we'll find out. otherwise, though, i love this! i got the woodburning tool out too, and it gets a bit hot for the paper, but is useful in making marks (see the xxx ooo on the heart).

so when i gave up on that, i went back to canvasses. i added leaves and then the flowers looked thin. the green is clear tar gel & i expected more of a thin, string effect. maybe it was operator error that made that not happen. anyway- the flowers needed texture too, so i mixed paint with high solid gel, gloss & added it. i think this is kind of fun-

this is ode to joy- 6x6 mixed media, featuring kidfetti (that would be the confetti i was picking up from the floor as we were leaving the kid rock show)

more studio time tomorrow, after a hike in the morning. working on the valentine for aids piece and some other things.

hasta!

new toy!

2012-01-06T23:05:00.001-07:00

as is my practice when i'm stuck i ordered some new books. one of which was the creative photographer by catherine anderson. although she gets a little squishy touchy feely for me i liked the book overall. some good creative jump starts & new ways of seeing ( or ways to remember to see).

there was one line about the new polaroid instant printers that caught my eye. so i googled. and became more intrigued. i am now the proud owner of a gl10. which lady gaga has something to do with, so you know it's cool.

the printer uses zink paper, which is heat activated. no ink. the heat activation part allows for all sorts of manipulation opportunities. :)

prints photos from my phone via bluetooth (way cool!).

and here's one of them. i use retro camera and fx camera apps to get different effects and the printer does a very nice job of translating those. the paper is 3x4-

i haven't had time to experiment much, but this paper has been sanded & had acetone applied-

and here is the same photo on the manipulated paper-

straight print-

manipulated print-

there are transfer opportunities and all sorts of other things to try. i think i bought a cheap wood burning tool kit from the science surplus catalog that i need to dig out.......

and i have all weekend to do it! :)

tuesday!

2012-01-03T22:18:00.002-07:00

full house tonight- pam, nancy, lynn & sue came over. so good to see everyone and catch up. sue & lynn had a conversation about kilns and firing that was like listening to a foreign language, and fascinating. there's so much to learn about!

as i was listening to talk about very exacting processes that are impacted by all sorts of things that can lead to disaster i was slopping paper & medium on canvas.

working on valentine-y things, both for the valentines for aids show (my goal is to beat the $25 my piece raised last year- and that was only because my neighbor took pity on me & bid on it). this is 6x6.

ready for me to decide what image goes on top. probably a heart vase & flowers. maybe more kidfetti.

i think that this is 10x10. this song is called duet. most likely another heart vase- probably a series of them, tho ode to joy might get a fireworks heart instead..... hmmmm

this is a 6x6 that i played with and had it go horribly wrong. the problem being that the paint is oil, so the only thing i can put on it is more oil and i don't see a way to paint myself out of this. but since the hawk is the guardian and messenger she is a good valentine's bird

so i am using the other side of the canvas. not sure where this is going, but the small canvas fits neatly in the hole

and there will probably be needlepoint on the screen.... it has possibilities

saw this as i was walking out of the studio, begging to have a photo taken. need to work on the lighting, tho-

and this is sort of done. wondering if i need to add leaves and whether the flowers need more definition. the stems are tar gel & not as thin as i would have liked, but live & learn. the concept i had is here and lynn could tell that they're tulips, so i'm good! :)

we hung the altoids show yesterday & it looks great! we've sold 14 tins already (mostly to the peeps hanging the show). opening is thursday, so will post then.

tough getting back to work today, but i am sure all will return to normal soon!

happy 2012! may your year be filled with creativity and magic and laughter-

happy new year!

2012-01-02T21:56:00.001-07:00

red, red i love red! i worked my way up the list for Valentines for AIDS and was invited to participate last year, so it looks like i'm in until i decide i'm not. so i'm thinking about valentines and that means red & pink.

i have an idea to use a reversed 6x6 canvas (they request small pieces bc the venue is so jammed), screen & needlepoint yarn. we'll see. early days ( i have til jan 28th)

in keeping with the valentines theme (but possibly the i'm going to key west in a month theme) more reds and pinks

and some spring-y (or tropical) greens and blues

this is kind of fun because the oblong pieces of paper are kidfetti- confetti i scooped up from the floor at the kid rock concert (yes, my friend asked me wtf?).

i am liking the ode to joy & fun of the confetti and alcohol splotches. it'll be fun to see where this one goes.

we hung the altoids tinstallation today at the gallery and there is some amazing art (i am the proud owner of the t rex blue dahlia tin), stay tuned for more on this.

happy 2012! may it be the best year ever!

what i love about mixed media

2011-12-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

studio night! just pam, nancy & me tonight. here's nancy working on an intricate design (which nancy specializes in) for an altoids tin :)

i was stuck. again. one of the things i love about studio night is that i am in the studio to make art but i can distract myself from that fact if i need to. so i can drink wine and laugh and not worry about what i'm doing. which works out great if i can't think of what to do.

so i pulled out some canvasses and the scraps

and started making backgrounds

i have no idea where the green is coming from. not my fave color unless it's b/c of chlorophyll. will have to look up associations, tho i would suspect they have to do with growth, rebirth, etc. maybe that means i am about to break thru my block, which would be excellent!

and what i love about mixed media collage is that when i am stuck i can just throw stuff together that can be painted over later, but makes a great textural background. sometimes when i go back to the canvas there is a direction that i didn't see when i put it together. it's great to be free of the (self imposed) pressure to draw or paint and give myself permission to play.

here's the latest hodge podge of work. i am going to apply for a city art project that requests 10 pieces of recent work. i'm kinda worried about finding 10 pieces that look the same (besides being mixed media). but it isn't due til february, so who knows what will happen?

it was good to be in the studio tonight and just make stuff. that's a good first step. i also quite like the two bare trees pieces (i guess that there are 3 if you count the goddess). so things are moving, they're just not smoothly rolling along. be interesting to see what comes next.

happy wednesday!

bare trees

2011-12-26T20:50:00.001-07:00

fleetwood mac's bare trees has been running through my head lately because we have cold weather but no snow.

here are a couple of photos that i took the other day walking around my in law's farm-

here's what's been going on in the studio:

this is a photo that i coated with glass bead gel and then realized i wasn't going to peel off the paper to make a transfer. i played around with different ideas, then opted for the simple presentation below- what do you think?

and another bare trees- notice the images in the very background- trees with their leaves in a row-

bare trees added with a sharpie (it is mixed media after all)

a layer of matte gel medium. note the texture added over the circle in the sky

i liked the effect of the distressed bronze on the orb, but it was much lighter than anything else & didn't tie well. i tried putting the oxidizer on the bronze dots (made with the same paint) but no dice.

i added lines of bronze in the tree trunks and then tried to age those as well, but that didn't work either. must need more paint. i gave up & painted over the orb to make it tie better. unfortunately all of the additional layers have pretty much obscured the trees in the background, but they're still there informing the outcome. added the red spatters for some spice & i think done.

we'll see what other bare trees show up in the next few days.

studio night tomorrow- yay! hope everyone had a wonderful christmas!

holiday cheer

2011-12-25T20:18:00.005-07:00

it's been a very social week- hence the lack of posts. i had friday off, but didn't make it into the studio. this project is a result of a friend telling me that her tree stand broke, and her tree was leaning in the corner & she thought she might just decorate it that way (b/c she could still water it in the broken stand), but wasn't sure how to decorate it.

i thought that empty wine bottles would be just the thing. then had the brainstorm below.

bought 2 mini bottles and laid them down on card stock to make wing shapes. the card stock curled, so i ended up using canvas paper, which worked great. i painted both sides gold, then found decorative paper to adhere to one side. if you look closely below you can see the wing shapes.

for the heads, i used beer bottle tops. i used these cogs (from a tim holtz set i picked up a while ago) and placed the gems on them. i would have used glass bead gel or modeling paste to fill but this was a 1 hour project, so i used heavy duty glue instead.

heads being glued to the bodies.

with the wings adhered-

with copper wire wrapped around the necks to hang them from the tree-

and lastly, in their new home. i have been warned that they may be emptied out before they're put away for next year :)

merry christmas to all! hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful day! i'm looking forward to more studio time tomorrow- stay tuned!

tuesday!

2011-12-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

back to tuesday nights- yay! pam, lynn & nancy in attendance. i have missed them!

got help with this- this is one thing that is so valuable for me about getting together to paint with other artists (my blog friends also serve the same purpose on many occasions). i had decided that the vase was too much for the rest of the piece- it overpowered everything. so i washed on some thinned fluid titan buff, and painted the flower centers (aka buttons) red. then i added red back into the body, still not quite there.

when i asked for help i said "since i don't do collage" and pam said "what is it you do when you layer all of that stuff in your mixed media work then?" (another thing that's valuable about getting together w/ friends and painting.....) anyway, the consensus was tie it together more, so i painted the outside red rather than blue, stamped red via a wine cork (seemed appropriate) into the heart & painted in the edges.

now i have red tying together and circles and the gold dot at the bottom bouncing back to the flower colors at top. way better.

then there's this- i have been tinkering with it for a while. like the colors in the background & the tree images, but stuck. i have the same images ready to transfer, only bigger, but couldn't get it quite right.

then i decided that it must be OK to use markers, because this is mixed media after all and i knew i could never control a brush well enough to get what i wanted. my original thought was to use these trees as an interim layer, do a wash or two and then another transfer of the images in back. only larger, over it. but i kind of like what i have here so far. my friends helped me on this too- lynn called me out on my oft repeated comment that i can't draw. but these trees don't really count as DRAWING, do they?

a wonderful evening! looking forward to studio time friday & monday too- i have both days off and am feeling like playing!

a little r&r

2011-12-19T22:11:00.002-07:00

we made one of my favorite annual trips last weekend. sun valley lodge has an early season ski & stay deal. the stay is my favorite part- the heated outdoor pools, photos of celebs lining the lodge walls (from 1936 to present), sun valley serenade on continuous play on the tv. (note to barb: the south hillsides are bare, tho they were bragging about having the best snow in the west right now- because of the resort's major snow making capabilities. it's pretty sad).

for an added bonus this year we discovered the santarchy pub crawl (facebook can be a beautiful thing!), so we dressed up appropriately (santa is in his dress suit), had the concierge take a blurry photo & headed out. it was a blast! lots of people wanted to talk to santa. some folks at dinner looked at us oddly, but who cares? it was most amusing to look around the bar & see 50-60 santas of various types.

when we got back on sunday i went to lynn's for more altoids tin play- she & barry generously providing resin. below are some of my & lisa's tins in progress.

tonight, back in the studio. i finally ordered some books from amazon, which is usually helpful in getting me unstuck. one is new creative collage techniques by nita leland. i had all of this paper out from playing with the tins and realized that part of what bothers me about this is that it's so flat.

so i started cutting & placing paper

and here's where we are now. better, though the flowers aren't strong enough for the vase, i don't think. so i may put a layer of pink or even white paper over all, or a wash of titan buff. it's progress, tho, and was fun to play with.

back in the studio tomorrow night- yay! and i have friday & monday off & no obligations, so i should be able to get lots of studio time in this weekend.

messing around...

2011-12-15T21:23:00.001-07:00

finally felt decent enough to get back to the studio this evening. finishing up some altoids tins-

this one cracked oddly- must be because i left a transparency in the self leveing gel. it works for me, always happy to have texture add interest

trying to decide what i could do with this, came up with the idea of using an upside down canvas as a frame. i may use needlepoint yarn thru the corners to fix in on the canvas.... maybe a dark background- could be fun to play with.

this i started for a fundraiser that is happening tonight. small child with cancer, which is cureable but bankrupting his parents. criminal. i don't know the family, but a friend does & asked me to contribute. anyway, didn't get it done & contributed something else, but got going on it tonight. the heart as vase is an image that i have used several times.

not crazy about the bright green stems & think i need a triangle at the base of the heart for it to stand on. maybe sand the background back some too. but it's a start and it was great to put paint on a canvas again!

off to sun valley this weekend for the annual early season maybe we can ski but for sure we can hang at the lodge & enjoy the pool trip. found a santa pub crawl on facebook- they are hoping to have 100 people in santa suits! how fun is that! hoping we feel good enough to go- if so, you can count on photos :)

hasta

4 down....

2011-12-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Altoids mania continues! i have 4 to the completion point. 5 to go.

These are for a show at the gallery in January, selling for $20 ea as a fundraiser. Those sold for the gallery will go to retire our sign debt; those sold for open studios to pay for programs there; those sold for trica (treasure valley institute for children's arts) ditto.

i need some for art source & some for bosco.

first is a day at the beach

next: dancing queen

get lucky:

still working on a title (ideas welcome!)

and lakshmi- nearly finished, need to work on the outside lid-

so far the biggest takeaway is that if you want the lid to close you can't paint on the inside lip. painting that and the bottom makes it too tight to easily open & close. jic this looks like so much fun you can't wait to try it at home (which it is!)

nearing completion!

2011-12-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

saw this this morning when we went to get our christmas tree- title: <3 coffee (if that <3 would just turn into a heart.....)

the tree is up, the house smells great and i got to see my favorite ornaments. it's like seeing old friends every year- the ruby slipper, t rex, santa troll :)

watched the bronco game, walked the dogs, to the studio for more altoids tin fun. i had two female figures show up. this one is dancing queen. the inside of the lid facing this figure is black with silver stars and rhinestones. i think it will be cute when done.

i think that this is lakshmi, goddess of abundance. she needs a little more work.

here is the outside of the ocean themed box at the end of yesterday's post. nearly finished. the gel holding the shells will dry clear. this is beach in a box or a day at the beach or something.

and one that illustrates what i'm trying to do in terms of tying it all together- this is the outside lid (still waiting for the gel to dry- i turned up the space heater in the studio).

side says "do you believe in love? do you?" (i was listening to ryan adams). the forever came about because for some reason an f rubbed off and it worked with the rest.

and the interior. not crazy about the wrinkles in the lid, so i may redo that, but otherwise it's pretty good.

maybe more crafty that arty but oh so much fun!

have a great week!

tinmania

2011-12-11T00:07:00.001-07:00

my poor studio! i am officially addicted to altoids tin art and that seems to require having EVERYTHING out, bc i don't know what i might want to use. odds are it will be a golden product tho!

although this means that i am not making art for the gallery (as in to hang on the walls), it is a good thing for me to be doing. i was feeling so stuck, and this is helping. i am remembering that it's ok to play, to doodle, to be sort of crafty (horrors!) and if they actually sell & raise money so much the better.

here are some of the (9) tins i am working on-

my new fave is golden self leveling gel. actually, i have always loved it, but for this it is invaluable. will dry nice & clear & level with what needs to be embedded embedded. perfect. less of a problem with dog & cat hair since i have moved to the studio, tho i do drop a piece of cardboard over while drying jic.

one that's nearly done (are we really only asking $20 for these?) tentatively titled beach in a box. the gel on the left will dry clear.

tree and decorating tomorrow, but with any luck at all more art too-

back in the saddle again

2011-12-09T22:22:00.001-07:00

before i went to chicago i cut out some altoids tin sized pieces of paper to doodle on and maybe use for that project. i even actually got some done ( i bet the woman next to me on the plane wondered wtf?) not great, but fun doodles-

got back to the tin project this evening (even tho i still need 15 inches for january. there's time, right?) these are so much fun to play with- much like atc's and potato chips- no one can do just one. this is the starting point from sunday-

playing with possible layouts-

self leveling gel poured into tins. if you look at the flying ravens, you can see the shadow cast by the image in the resin. i think this is so cool! barry poured a layer of resin, we put a transparency in, then he poured more resin and we added another image. love the feeling of depth.

more self leveling gel (hope it doesn't look too different from the resin). this tin taped to the table to keep it fairly level. that scrap of paper is folded over to keep stuff (hair, dust) out of the gel as it dries.

one of the challenges is that the new improved packaging includes embossed lids, which need to be worked around. i tried a few things this evening, we'll see how they turn out. sandpapering and gessoing the tins is definitely critical to subsequent layering. hope i did a good enough job!

and here's my poor messy studio, which will be the scene of more creativity this weekend (yay!)

happy weekend!

fun with altoids

2011-12-05T06:31:00.001-07:00

started the day with a nice hike- including a sleepy great horned owl- see her?

then off to lynn's studio for some altoids tin art fun. the gallery is doing a tinstallation as our january show and we invited some other arts groups to join us (so we'd have enough to fill up the featured artist area). one of the groups is bosco (boise open studios), so lynn and lisa and i got together yesterday to get started.

gessoed tins

my contribution- i knew that this paper would come in handy some day!

one of the tins in progress. lynn is a sculptor, and her husband casts her pieces. barry kindly offered to pour resin for us, which really increases the options. this is the first pour over the shells-

these are as addictive as atcs! i look forward to getting back to them when i get back from chicago.

lastly, saw kid rock in a small (600 people) venue last night. great show. and he donated the gate to several local charities, which made it even better.

and now- off to work!

lots of "in progress"

2011-12-03T22:44:00.001-07:00

i got to spend time in the studio today (no leaves were raked, no cleaning was done, but there was a hike & a grocery store run or two & a bit of football watched with the hub). i do feel like progress was made, i'm just not quite sure what yet.

i recently commented on gabrielle's blog that the piece she was having a hard time with would tell her what to do. i hope like hell that's true for me too! the two on the bottom left in particular i feel like have promise, but i have no idea where to go from here.

this is a photo that i coated with glass bead gel (thanks for the idea judy!). i thought that the winter landscape would take nicely to this treatment. it might be better if i made a transfer out of it, but the photo paper doesn't seem interested. i may try again but print the image on something else. in reality it is lighter with less detail, but still usable.

this is the one piece that may be finished. at least it's close. fly seems to be the theme of the moment. crane's wings are intact unlike the last time i used her.

we are doing an altoids tin art show (tinstallation) at the gallery in january. it is a fundraiser for 2 local groups- boise open studios, treasure valley childrens institute for the arts (trica) and to retire sign debt at the gallery. we'll be selling tins for $20, 100% of the proceeds go the the organization whose artist made the tin.

i have seen some really creative stuff and have been a bit worried about finding my groove, but since i got to tinker in the studio today i feel a bit better. going to lynn's tomorrow to work on these and that will surely help even more.

and then- kid rock tomorrow night in a venue that holds 3000. sold out in a couple of hours. not my all time fave, but it should be a great show, and he is donating the gate to the foodbank and other local charities. i just hope he does more obnoxious tacky insensitive rock and roll than sappy ballad crap. (what do i really think?)

then off to chicago on tuesday, but hopefully i will get some festive michigan ave holiday shots!

i'm sure there will be a full kid rock report- stay tuned!

and the beat goes on....

2011-12-01T22:39:00.001-07:00

mom and dad left today after a great visit. they got to help me set up for gypsy gallery on monday night.

if you don't know, gypsy gallery is a show that a friend and i started 9 years ago in december to have a place to show our art. we found empty spaces downtown, rented them for the night, invited artists & had a show. been doing that ever since for around 4 times per year. if we have extra room, we invite more artists.

we had an excellent spot tonight- on the corner of 10th and main, between several permanent galleries with great visibility. 22 artists working in a variety of media. great turnout. typical first thursday sales- some did well, some didn't. luckily, i was on of the didn'ts (it's always easier to talk to other artists you've invited to show when they outsell you :))

i'm proud to have kept gypsy going (the friend moved away years ago) and that we attract the caliber of artists that we do to show with us. i'm grateful to the other gypsies for the work they do to keep it together. it's a lot of fun.

this photo gives you an idea of the space we had-

as i am still stuck i got the markers out while mom & i were drinking bourbon last night. (true- maker's 46- pretty good stuff).

planning a raven painting on the red background that i've been layering in the studio. i like the idea of raven being colors, and purple is a color of magic & majesty. thinking cobalt for the highlights. i read somewhere that van gogh always put a bit of red in his trees to symbolize life. i have no idea if that's true, but love the concept. raven just gets different colors.

we'll see, but this is a good start. plus it was good to play.

the next one made me think i need to go somewhere warm and sunny :)

and sort of a combo.

i haven't doodled for a while and forgot how helpful (and fun) it can be. it might be interesting to try to paint something like the one above, except that i am hopeless at clean lines with paintbrushes.

my dad misses my former regular blogging, so i am going to make an effort to get back to doing this more frequently.

except for sunday, which is kid rock, and next week in chicago- oh dear! maybe a new year's resolution.....

tuesday!

2011-11-29T22:02:00.001-07:00

mom & dad came for thanksgiving, and we've been having a great visit. mom joined us for studio night to do some quilting.

i am still slogging away between inspirational modes and just waiting for something to really hit me. work in progress.

and one that's finished.

time has also been taken up by gypsy gallery. this is a movable art show that a friend and i started 9 years ago. there are 10 gypsies, we rent a vacant building downtown for an art show usually 4 times a year- tho this year our last show was in march. if the space is big enough, we invite other artists to join us.

this year we have a great space- busy corner, nice big room- 22 artists altogether. below are a few of the goodies available-

the big show is first thursday (december 1), then we pack it all up & leave the building. a lot of work, but a lot of fun. there will be photos of the show :)

more later-

thankful

2011-11-24T21:26:00.001-07:00

among the many things i have to be thankful for are my family, friends and studio. had a great dinner with family and friends this afternoon and got to spend some time in the studio too.

my dad sent me the letters to my name for christmas last year ( he made them for me) and i thought it would be fun to have my friends art them up. since mom & dad are visiting for the holiday all of the letters were returned and here they are-

isn't that great?

m by margie, my fellow aries hiking dog person music buddy who has hidden talents-

a by zella, metal artist extraordinaire, mentor, good friend-

r from leaf, who i have known since the early 80s when we were both young and cute and wore animal print minis and looked great :)

from lynn, an amazing scupltor who is a tuesday night regular and with whom i share a passion for music. the guitar has lights that run up & down the neck

this is the zuni symbol for friendship

a reflection of our mutual love for the mountains and sky

and 2 dog and a cat print for my pets

from patty, good friend, hiking dog & music buddy who always makes me laugh

n from nancy, a fabulous artist and friend who i have been making art on tuesdays with since i started painting,

this n from pam, whose assemblage art is often centered around letters of the alphabet. another good friend and tuesday studio regular

and the e from wendy, a new friend met through open studios who is also a neighbor & great glass artist

i am so lucky, and so thankful for all of the amazingly generous and talented people that i have in my life. and that includes all of you- happy thanksgiving! (even if you're not in the us)

wed studio night

2011-11-16T22:22:00.001-07:00

we were supposed to be out last night, so i moved studio night. 2 pieces sold at the gallery this month (yay!) means gotta make art.

tonight was a bit of a different group- sue rooke, who i met through open studios and is my neighbor came by for a glass of wine and talk (she makes wonderful ceramic sculptures- not exactly portable art); lisa cheney- jorgensen, who i also met thru open studios ( and who used my blog about how fearless she is about putting her art out there to open her class at journalfest by saying she was sure i saw it that way, but really she has a lot of fear- and don't we all?) and nancy, who doesn't have a website i can link to- and more's the pity, b/c you should see her art.

lisa and i talked about art journals. i am not by nature introspective, so tho i have been intrigued by the idea of art journals and even started one or two i haven't gotten far. i process things when i walk the dogs in the mornings and by talking to my friends, i trust my intuition. i see the value of art journals, i think they're cool, but i haven't made the leap to making. i'll have to think about this, probably a round robin or journal exchange would be something to get me to try it, get my feet wet.

anyway, tonight was more background stuff for me, though these are close. the top is raven going into the dark to bring forth the light. raven creating. not quite there, but nearly.

this i think is done.

and now off to bed. movie with a friend tomorrow night and house cleaning (mom & dad will be here next week!) and assorted social engagements this weekend. and hopefully more studio time!

retrying sunday's post- updated

2011-11-15T21:20:00.001-07:00

couple of lovely hikes this weekend. this from sunday, just me & the dogs, a bit of snow and some fall color.

found this on saturday morning's hike with margie & patty & our 5 dogs. it was on the trail pretty much in front of me. not surprising, in view of the number of bird pieces that have been showing up. it's now in the studio.

here are some of the aforementioned birds.

this one may finally be done. i did the hawk transfer and then didn't like it because the background was too dark. some day i will learn. (not here evidently, because i proceeded to do exactly the same damn thing on another piece! hello!)

anyway- so i decided to paint the hawk in. and i used acrylics and wasn't thrilled with that either. i was loving the layered, textured rich background, though.

so i decided to layer over the hawk to knock back what i was less than thrilled with & emphasize the background. and i liked it much better, but after looking at it a few days decided she needed something else.

one of the meaning of hawk is messenger, which is the title of the piece. so i decided that she needed a message, and below you have it. i am going to mix red paint into a fairly solid gel and give the heart some dimension, but otherwise i think i like it.

and here's all the rest of the mess waiting to tell me what to do. ack! i am certain that inspiration is just around the corner.

i sold 2 pieces this month at the gallery (yay!) the nicest thing happened today- when lou told me she sold one of mine she told me that she was happy that she had. it made me feel so good, and reminded me that we are all in it together & should be happy for each other. easier sometimes than others, but still.

other art related (but non art making) stuff- open studios meeting last night. i was accused of looking like i was having fun. me, the meeting hater. it is a good group, though, and i am looking forward to another great year.

and getting ready for our 9th december gypsy gallery- which is really hard to believe. we have a new spot in a great location & 20 artists ready to go. we'll make camp on monday, do the show on first thursday and be out on friday. the shows are so much fun- especially when we can bring other artists in. we have several artists who show with us every chance they get, which is a great feeling. probably more about gypsy next week.

for now- hasta. we were supposed to go to a concert tonight, so no studio night. but hub wasn't feeling too chipper & i got studio on the brain, so i spent some time out there myself. the girls will be here tomorrow instead- yay! more then-

i posted, but blogger lost it

2011-11-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

and i'm tired and it's bedtime, so i guess it'll wait.

friends

2011-11-08T22:47:00.003-07:00

tuesday, you know how i love tuesday! tonight it was (left to right) lynn, pam, nancy & me. i needed a shot in the arm- of positivity & creativity & camaraderie & i got it.

i think i even finished 3 pieces (where i would have thought MAYBE 1 when the night started)

fly away, 8x8 mixed media

mystery, 6x6 mixed media

great horned owl, 6x6 mixed media

i made some progress on this- we'll see what happens with those oil pastels, but at least it's movement.

and lastly- one of these things is not like the others- where will the hot pink want to go?

i am so relieved to have broken thru the block i was feeling. i knew that studio night would help. often the distraction of talking and not working too hard to find an answer and the good creative energy work amazing magic! the block may be back, but at least i'm ahead for now. hasta-

stuck again...

2011-11-06T21:36:00.001-07:00

i've been looking at this piece for a while and not making progress. i know there's something there, but it isn't coming out. typical of this fall for me, it seems. luckily, when they do come through things have been working, so i'll keep hoping. i should have a 6x6 sold that i'll need to replace next week ( hoping for luck with that too, nothing springing to mind there either).

i had 9 teeth pulled on friday due to gum disease that was so far along that was the only answer. needless to say friday & yesterday were pretty much lay on the couch, take pain pills, read & sleep. luckily today was an improvement and i got some studio time in (and was able to eat something besides yogurt or ice cream).

i am on the marketing committee for the gallery. it's a struggle getting members involved, it's always a core group who step up- as with any volunteer organization. though since we are a business you'd think it might be a bit different. but no.

one of the committee members had the great idea for the gallery to donate a tree to a local fundraiser where the trees are sold at auction. we opted for a tabletop tree and asked members to donate animal themed ornaments. one member made the tree and jaki (whose idea this was) painted and decorated it.

as of last week, we had 20 ornaments & i was getting concerned. not the least because i found myself completely unable to come up with one decent animal ornament. mine all sucked. luckily, things came in at the last moment & our tree is looking good- representative of the variety of art in the gallery and fun.

my first job today was to decorate the finial for the top of the tree. i managed to get that done. then i flailed around with some backgrounds & completely overworked/ruined a 6x6 i nearly had done. sigh.

i did manage to get images for my new website loaded for the developer, though, so that's a plus. i am looking forward to having an integrated website/blog/fb presence and to be able to update my galleries, show info, etc. myself. and i really like the woman i am working with, so it's exciting.

i got one of those "i love your art but i can never visit your blog again because of the loud music" comments from someone who visited via the altered page. i replied that that was why there is a warning at the top & instructions for turning off the music. thanks & have a nice day. do i really need to know that?

i guess that someone might appreciate that sort of comment. i would never think to leave one like that myself. seems negative & unnecessary. i should have invited her to visit my website or fb page, where her tender ears won't be assaulted. at the end of the day a) music is a big part of my life & my art and b) i guess that i really blog more to keep myself focused on my art & figure things out than to collect readers. i appreciate each and every one of you who puts up with my music (i am betting that many of you turn down your speakers or turn off the music, just as i do sometimes) and makes comments, i just don't do the necessary stuff to keep growing my followers. and i'm OK with that. there's only so much time.

anyway- enough of that! here's hoping for creative inspiration for all next week!

seth apter's technique/ tool

2011-11-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

seth apter writes a wonderful blog called the altered page. among other things, he publishes the pulse, which is the results of a collection of questions sent out to volunteer artists.

this edition of the pulse contained these questions:

If you could take a class from one artist from anytime in history, including the present, who would it be and why?
The one technique or tool that you cannot live without is…
Show a picture of a favorite piece of art that you have created and explain its meaning for you.
How would you describe your artistic style? Include one image that shows this off.
What is the one thing that you know now that you would have liked to have known when you first started to create art?
Photograph a still life that you create using an array of objects. I have attached an example but absolutely anything goes.

the questions in blue are the one covered so far. i am one of the artists in this week's technique/tool post- click on the image to check it out-

it was a great exercise for me to think about and answer the questions, as i am not generally introspective and it's fun to read other artist's answers. for instance, in the last installment of tools/techniques many mentioned their camera. though i rely heavily on my photography for images in my art it never occured to me to answer that way- funny, isn't it?

anyway, thanks Seth! always enjoy seeing what other artists are up to!

she flies 2

2011-11-01T22:26:00.000-06:00

according to animal speak by ted andrews, crane is about longevity and creation through focus. a symbol of justice and associated with feminine energies. we are fortunate to have a home in an area where sandhill cranes summer and over the years i have managed to get some decent photos (and a lot of awful ones!) i am fascinated by the cranes- love to hear them call, see them in the fields, watch them fly and dance and do what they do.

this is the first she flies (6x6 cradle board) - love the distressed feel, and the fact that she flies even if a little beat up.

the board on the right eventually became the piece below. since crane is a solar symbol (in many cultures) it is appropriate that she started out with reds & yellows.

i struggled with the background for a while. as usual at this point i wasn't sure what image i wanted on the background, and i added some bronze paint, then got the idea of the crane and added red dots, circles and other marks. needed a focal point, put heavy gesso on a paper plate & plopped it down in a central location.

next, the overlay of the crane image to see if it works. it does.

layer of golden soft gel matte medium over the entire surface. i like to have the texture integrated with the entire piece, not only where the transfer is. no matter how subtle, there can be a change of texture or sheen that looks off.

after the transparency was peeled off. great transfer this time. i went back & moved the medium around some to create more texture & minimize the difference between smooth where the transparency was & not smooth elsewhere.

after a few more layers of glazes- quince nickel azo & bronze mixed with glazing medium-

and a detail of the crane-

pretty happy with the way this one turned out. and 1/10th of the way to my new inches for december! trying to get ahead since november will be gone before i know it. and i am bound to sell a few things this month and will need something in the wings :)

fun studio night with nancy, leslie & sue. i do love tuesdays!

vixen

2011-10-30T00:08:00.003-06:00

this is a process/progress post. i have been scrambling to have enough new art this month, due to selling several large pieces last month (yay!) and having something in the humane society fundraiser that doesn't need to stay in the gallery for the next 2 months.

i set myself a challenge not to put art back into the downtown gallery once it's been there for 3 months. it keeps me working. also, i see art that has been in & out of there for years and it drives me nuts. i don't want people looking at my work & thinking the same. so i try to work ahead as much as i can and stay on top of things.

that said, a few business trips this month and open studios weekend (which was too busy to make art on saturday) left me a little behind the 8 ball. i did manage to get it done, thanks to studio time today.

here's the progress of one of the finally finished pieces.

these are 12x12 wood panels with tissue paper & gel medium for texture & acrylic paint. the one on the right was specially prepped for the fox after i read the animal meanings book- 21 types of fox (there is a 21 in the lower right corner) which corresponds to the tarot card symbolizing the world (there is a map behind the paint). i had another piece of board to paint fox on, but after reading needed to start over and include the background.

from a photo i took of a vixen, i traced the outline of the image. i would have to grid this out if i wanted to draw it, and then deal with getting rid of the gridlines. PITA! i feel sorta guilty doing this, but not too, as i still have to draw with paint to make it look like anything.

body roughed in, ready to start on the scary head

first pass. not bad, not great.

i am glad to see, looking at this photo for the first time, that it would have been very difficult to make the dark roots look right- bc they look odd here to me. hard to tell what's going on from far away. anyway- photo reference & painting-

i hung them up side by side in my office & solved many problems from correcting the slant of the eye to noticing that the front foot was on a downhill slide that didn't work so well.

husband helped by pointing out anatomy questions (where is her hip?) and here we are- vixen, oil on acrylic background-

she is the only non- bird going to the gallery tomorrow. will share the rest in a future post. for now, bed- hangin' day is tomorrow-

albuquerque

2011-10-27T22:43:00.003-06:00

i had a boss tell me one time that since business travel is not the most fun thing in the world- and this was before 9/11 and airlines charging for bags & all of that stuff- you may as well enjoy the places you go when you have done what you went there to do. made a lot of sense to me. i always knew guys who stayed at the hotel by the airport & worked through the evening- because, after all, they weren't at home so they may as well.

i am more the type to find a good place for dinner, hopefully one i can walk to (because the exercise thing is good & i need to move & be outside) and see where i am, maybe talk to some folks & learn something. i like to see new things and learn and people are pretty much endlessly fascinating.

so, once i saw and did what i needed to in albuquerque i had a bit of time to look around. i stopped at petroglyph national monument. got to enjoy big stormy skies

and get some exercise and see some ancient art-

mysteries in those petroglyphs. no one has yet quite figured out what they mean or why they were created. art? storytelling? warnings? directions? i love that we don't know. it's good to have questions that can't readily be answered.

i also made it to old town, despite a less than stellar (i'd say downright disappointing) dinner the previous night. i think that the hotel guy sent me to a "safe" mexican restaurant. i've had bland mexican food (that's an oxymoron, right?), not what i came for. and it was night and dark and the area looked touristy. which doesn't offend me but i do want some charm. charm was greatly lacking in my tuesday evening experience.

but i went back the next day (my sister said this is one of her favorite places on facebook when i checked in there, so i figured i must have missed something). the first place i went on wednesday had red and blue animals that looked like cattle with strange spiked horns-

and happy lizards piled on each other hanging in the sun

and some of my favorite creatures- flying pigs- (the cute yellow guy is coming home with me)

i got a blast of bright beautiful sunny south of the border color

which i suspect may inform some winter art.

walked through galleries and saw some great (and less than g) stuff. funniest was a gallery advertising "the most modern art" with leroy neiman prints prominently displayed upon entrance. please.

but i saw some amazing art too. 2D, 3D and jewelry. none of which i could justify purchasing. a woman in one store laughed at me when i told her not to take a necklace i was admiring out of the case bc i was scared. but that's how beautiful the necklace was and how tempted i would have been. she appreciated my honesty. (maybe not, but at least i made her laugh!)

anyway- i am grateful that i get to travel with my job. i actually see it as an opportunity to go and see places that i otherwise wouldn't. i am lucky enough to have friends in some of the places i regularly go too. it's a good gig.

happy friday all- i am going to be panicked and trying to finish enough art up to have new stuff for the sunday hanging, come back and see how it goes :)

a walk around scottsdale

2011-10-25T21:52:00.001-06:00

had a nice walk around old town scottsdale this morning and thought i'd share some of the art i found-

hoping for more to add from albuquerque tomorrow.....

the most wonderful time of the year

2011-10-23T20:58:00.001-06:00

imho anyway! love the warm days, cool nights, clear blue skies, snow on the horizon and the colors of the leaves. we had a lovely color seeking drive this weekend, complete with a hike way up high on top of the part of the world we were in-

great color from aspen & cottonwoods- we hit it just right!

got some studio time in- am really sort of worried about new art next month, but i can always put the still lives in, i guess...... i'll be fine- i have all day next saturday..... off to phoenix & albuquerque tomorrow- wednesday. will try to post photos, but you know how it goes!

have a great week all!

corpses

2011-10-21T22:48:00.000-06:00

one of the things we struggle with at the gallery is people's perception of us. we have fine traditional watercolor and oil painters and photographers but that is not all we are. unlike a privately owned gallery that might specialize in a certain type of art we are purposely eclectic. haven't always been, but we are working on it. still have a bit of the "grandma gallery" perception in town.

the marketing committee has decided that having fun and asking people to join us is a good way to change perceptions. we've started a third friday event, with different art making activities featured. tonight was an exquisite corpse. very simple, parlor game type- draw a head, fold the paper over & pass it along to someone who will draw a body, fold that over & pass it along for legs.

we had 2 jewelers, an assemblage artist, me (notoriously unable to draw, and with no imagination to boot), an origami artist and 3 painters. so 5 of us "can't draw". we had a blast!

the end results were interesting- worked together more often than not, but just plain strange in some cases-

we had so much fun! we didn't have much traffic (the fact that i had the kills blasting- with encouragement from my fellow artists- couldn't have had anything to do with that), but we had a great time playing and not worrying about the final result. great exercise for being loose.

ps- i was the only one who said i couldn't draw and wasn't lying.......

the gift of art

2011-10-19T22:28:00.001-06:00

i got a bit more work done on the tanager this evening. i am enjoying oil painting again so much- love the smell and the texture and blendy-ness of it (i know i've said that recently, but i DO!) maybe some details left (and definitely a better photo), but i think he looks pretty good.

a new friend, a woman i met through the open studios group, lisa cheney jorgensen, came by this evening to pick up some transparencies i had & couldn't use that she hopefully can for a class she's teaching in seattle at journalfest.

lisa does amazing visual journals. visit her blog for a taste. she's an accomplished artist who is fearless about putting herself and her art out there. lisa's also a graphic designer who contributed a lot of time & energy to our open studios material this year & who has been instrumental in revitalizing the group.

we sat and had a glass of wine in the studio and had the chance to actually talk and get to know each other. it was lovely, and got me thinking about how much art has given me. it's kind of amazing that wondering if i could learn how to paint 12 years ago has had such a profound impact on my life. it's even more amazing how clear the journey has been, and how guides have come along to teach me and to keep me moving.

it's late, and i need to go to bed, but i am very grateful for the chances i've been given and the people who have encouraged me along the way. i appreciate my friends and how open and generous so many of the artists i am lucky enough to know are. i need to bear that in mind when the pettiness at the gallery gets to me- i would be better to celebrate how lucky i am. thanks to all of you who visit and comment regularly and provide encouragement & support & ideas. thanks to those of you who visit & don't comment too- i appreciate your interest.

must produce! ack!

2011-10-18T22:28:00.002-06:00

i need 43 new horizontal inches of art by October 30 for the gallery. i had a minor setback by actually selling some new art- one to a friend of mine & 2 during the studio tour. which i am not complaining about!

if i wasn't such a weirdo about not wanting to repeat anything at the downtown gallery i'd be fine, but there is art in there that i notice has been in and out over the last few years (and not in a good way) and i don't want people looking at mine the same way. so i try really hard to have new art for every hanging rotation and so far i have managed to do that.

these are 12x12 panels ready for animals. i had so much fun oil painting the hawk that i decided to continue down the same road. love that i can make cool textured backgrounds with acrylic and the use oils (actually alkyds) to finish things off.

the left panel gets a western tanager, photo courtesy of my neighbor molly with my camera while we were on photo safari a few years ago.

decent progress was made tonight. i am not one of those painters who can finish in one setting, tho if i practiced/ took plein air lessons i night get close. i don't think he needs tons more work, tho. he will get something to perch on, and legs, and more contour.

and the fox. i read about the meaning of fox in my animal book and started a whole new background for this painting. there are 21 types of fox, the number 21 aligns with the tarot card the world. in the background is a map and the number 21.

i have been tracing from the photos for these. otherwise i would be gridding things out & then trying to figure out how to get rid of the grid lines. besides, that just gets me the basics. there's still drawing to be done with the brush.

the expression on her face isn't quite right- there's work to be done there as well as the rest of the body. fox is also allied with feminine magic, so i want to capture the sweet feminine look of the fox in the photo (yes it is a female- a young mother).

all in all, good progress for a night's work, though

made even better because pam & nancy were in the studio with me!

more to come- i need 'em by the 30th!

boise open studios weekend

2011-10-16T21:58:00.002-06:00

this weekend was boise's open studios tour. my second year participating, the first in my studio. i was excited to have my art chosen for the cover of the boise weekly, the local alternative paper that partners with BOSCO (boise open studios collective) on the tour.

i wasn't sure what to expect, so i set up and planned on working in the studio all afternoon.

silly me! the weather was beautiful and we're in a central location so i was pretty busy all day saturday. it was great fun talking to people about my art and sharing my wonderful studio space. some of my favorite artists stopped by to say hi too, which always makes me smile.

today was rainy all day. consolidated things and set up the canopy. i wasn't going to put anything out, just let people come into the studio, but i realized that having my finished work available was informative. the canopy rocked and maintained its integrity through a whole day of showers.

i wasn't sure how traffic would be but was pleased to have a good number of visitors. i learned from yesterday & had some examples of transfers and how different mediums work ready to show. it was slow enough that i got to work on some art too, which was helpful when people asked questions about my process. (which i normally describe as pull everything out, see what looks interesting and where that takes you- not a terribly informative answer).

at the end of the day the studio was messy but i had lots of stuff in the works.

this was such a great, rewarding experience.

i was fascinated by how many people thought it was interesting to tour studios
it was cool that people came because they knew my art
nice to have artist friends stop by
fun to meet neighbors who were out walking & took advantage of the sign in the yard to come in and check things out

i am energized about making art again because of the people who came to my studio this weekend. established artists as well as those just starting out, people thinking about trying to make art, people who appreciate art but don't make it. i hope i was able to provide encouragement and ideas as was done for me when i was starting out.

this was such an excellent experience on so many levels that even if i hadn't sold a damn thing (which i did) i would sign up again in a heartbeat. and not just to show off my wonderful studio.

best lesson: think about your music! i almost blasted the kills' f$%k the people without realizing it. that might have been bad. then again, i am an artist therefore eccentric, right? :)

i sold 2 of the pieces i was planning on taking to the gallery to swap out next month- gotta get after some art making, so expect more regular posts!

checking in

2011-10-10T22:01:00.001-06:00

quick check in before hitting the road (to minneapolis) early on wednesday, getting home late thursday and setting up for open studios saturday and sunday. i had studio time last night & was uninspired, despite a trip to boise art museum to see a wonderful catherine courtenaye exhibit.

i have so many things started and so little close to completion that i am a bit overwhelmed. that and needing 45 inches of new art for november. luckily, i have 12 hours of dedicated studio time this weekend! but i feel sort of directionless. i did go through photos and found some crane and fox shots that i want to paint in a similar manner as the hawk. the creative logjam has to break at some point.

no studio time tomorrow night as it's an early flight. maybe traveling will spark something.

i am looking forward to open studios this weekend. not doing much besides some snacks & drinks and setting up some art for sale (hopefully, if the weather holds). mostly i plan to hole up in the studio and answer any questions. i think it will be fun.

maybe i'll be able to post something artistic from my trip- hasta-

playing with plaster

2011-10-05T21:12:00.001-06:00

another technique from Stephanie Lee and Judy Wise's Plaster Studio: Mixed Media Techniques, etc . it started with a square of burlap coated with plaster, then rolled to create cracks.

the burlap was glued to an 8x8 canvas using wood glue, and the excess trimmed off (undoubtedly to find a new life adding texture somewhere else!)

the book suggests adding paint and working it into the cracks, then wiping or sanding it off so that the cracks are emphasized. good luck with that. my experience was that unless the plaster is sealed the paint soaks in and isn't easy to sand- or wipe- off. which is fine, just not what i was expecting.

this is me with a transparency over the plaster after a few painting and sanding sessions. it isn't strong enough to carry over the blue. i also decided that i wanted the meadowlark bigger (the nice thing about working with transparencies!

so i added a layer of gesso over the blue to knock it back (and didn't take a photo). for added insurance, i decided to use a laser transfer rather than an inkjet. the colors are more opaque, which is what i wanted for this piece. i coated the plaster with golden soft gel matte medium and placed the inkjet image face down in place, rubbing and brayering to ensure good contact.

normally i would wait overnight for the gel to dry then rub my fingertips raw trying to remove paper. i covered the whole thing to keep the texture consistent, even though the only color is the bird & branch. once i saw the image showing through because the paper was soaking moisture from the gel i decided to try removing the backing.

and it worked great! i was able to peel off much of the paper in strips, with only a little bit of rubbing stray fibers here & there. the gel medium filled in the cracks and provided a nice level surface for the image.

i am quite happy with this and look forward to playing with this technique more. now to dig through photos!

yay! tuesday!

2011-10-04T22:26:00.002-06:00

you know how i love tuesday nights! lynn and pam (left to right) joined me tonight...

and echo

the ponies

and the birds

it is so nice to have my studio space to create in and to share with my friends.

i never really got the point behind studio tours. i painted in the office and my art making spread thru the rest of the house when i started doing mixed media. i joined boise open studios because i wanted to see if i was good enough to be juried into a professional artist's group, not because i wanted people to come into my dirty house and deal with the big dogs only to find an easel set up in the corner of the office & paint and canvases stacked everywhere. but the reality is that's how a lot of us make our art. on kitchen tables, in spare bedrooms, wherever we can.

i really appreciate my studio. i am so lucky to have it. and now that i do, i am beginning to understand the interest in seeing where art is made. and to understand that people would be just as interested in the kitchen table, tho i might be less comfortable sharing that. but my comfort level isn't the point.

there are artists who don't want to do the studio tour because they haven't sold much in the past. me? i am excited to have 2 days in my studio with nothing much to do except make art! i think it's cool that people are interested in seeing how and where artists work. i hope that some of my fellow studio tour artists are brave enough to show the kitchen table/office/spare bedroom studios.

our preview show is at the boise art museum this thursday, open studios weekend the 15 & 15th. looking forward to it!

catching up

2011-10-02T20:40:00.001-06:00

what with house cleaning and house guests there was not a lot of time for art last week. i had the happy experience of selling 3 (yes, 3!) 16x20 paintings at the gallery last week and was scrambling for art to put in today (hanging day) because i am such a weirdo about not wanting to repeat anything at the downtown gallery.

i did finally get the hawk where i wanted her. the paint was wet when she went on the wall, but it'll dry! i am really happy with the outcome. several of the members there today initially thought this was a photo. i am jazzed about doing more oil paintings over textured backgrounds & think i will start making backgrounds when i am otherwise uninspired.

we had several artists, once again, without new art this month. we're giving everyone until january before we start pulling things, but it is so nice to know that we have a plan in place to start enforcing the rules! there are a few things in the gallery that we move every month and are very tired of looking at. yes, i can be the art nazi....

here is my wall- NOT looking like a garage sale, contrary to the opinion of some. i did panic a bit after i sold those larger pieces, because all i had ready to go were 6x6's (because i was so sure i would sell some of the nests- fooled again!). the 11x14 hawk helps.

we are also doing a benefit for the humane society this month, and have a section of animal paintings with 10% of the proceeds being donated. hopefully we'll sell some art & make 'em some $$.

back to the studio this week. the preview show for open studios weekend is at the art museum on thursday and then i need to do some studio tidying up and get ready for the tour, which is the 15 & 16. the fun never ends!

happy monday all!

art at last!

2011-09-27T22:34:00.001-06:00

ack! i have been cleaning house. part of the reason i get art made is that i don't clean, but husband has cousins coming to visit and we thought that maybe a deep clean was in order. and we're still not done, but we are close.

so i'm going to show off some of the handy work! this is the joint office/computer room (where the art table used to be) lots of room in here now.

this is my home office. you can tell by the tom petty poster over the desk. where i slave away selling gum & candy. also the guest room (there's a daybed against the wall across from the desk) so it had to be cleaned.

this is also the room where the out of rotation art hangs out. in the closet. which hasn't been too organized. it is now tho!

check it out- i even labeled the boxes with the art they contain. and yes, i can figure out what that says if i have to.

i did a lot of purging and repacking and cleaning, but it is nice to have things organized again. the 5 hours i spent in the kitchen last night was not nearly as much fun. oh well!

the reward was studio night tonight. nancy & lynn came over. lynn has a birthday tomorrow, so we had champagne. we laughed and talked and listened to music and made art and it was good.

bonus for me was that since lynn is a sculptor she had a real feel for what need to happen in my hawk's head (as in seeing the skull) and helped me work out what was needed. much better now, and done. we talked about going to the birds of prey center together and taking a behind the scenes tour. i think that this would be particularly cool to do with lynn to watch how she sees the birds.

be sporadic posts the rest of the week, as there is more cleaning and music and then visitors and hanging day but i hope to get back to a regular schedule soon! luckily i am ahead a bit on art and in good shape for sunday's hanging.

scary stuff

2011-09-23T22:31:00.000-06:00

for some odd reason i thought that i should clean out the scary art closet. the one that holds all of the artwork that i tried to sell once. and art that i tried to sell more than once but not in the right place.

some of it is just not good- as in someone might buy it (and goddess bless 'em if they do and i'm glad for the joy it will bring them), but really? some of it IS good and i don't know why i still own it. and then there's the stuff i just don't know about.

i haven't painted in a long damn time. and still lifes scare me. cuz it involves drawing and being still. but i did the three below, showed them, then put 'em in the closet. so when i was cleaning today and found them i hauled 'em out and thought- they aren't so scary. but i could be wrong.....

i remember being so excited that i painted metal that looked like metal.

i think about how militant i get with the other folks in the gallery and i wonder if this work of mine is good enough to hang there (as in at the standard i would like to see). hard to know about your own work. and we all slide stuff. or get emotionally involved one way or t'other.

your opinion?

maybe if i keep plugging away something will happen

2011-09-22T21:00:00.004-06:00

i left the hawk for the evening and did a bit of messing about- this one probably won't need much more. 8x10 on wood panel, texture provided by tissue paper.

some of the various assorted sundry works in progress. magnets, plaster play, little odds & ends. i keep waiting to be hit with inspiration, but maybe i should just lock myself in the studio tomorrow with with a bottle of wine & some loud music & see what happens.

here's hoping that your artistic ventures are going a bit easier!

oil painting

2011-09-21T21:22:00.001-06:00

i haven't oil painted in a long time- probably 4 years. the paints (alkyds) have been hanging around, waiting. i pulled them out a week or so ago to paint the hawk. quickly remembered the smell of the paint and turpenoid and the wonderful creamy blendy way they work.

here's ms. hawk at the end of the last session- still needing work. the beautiful thing about alkyds is that they dry overnight, unlike traditional oils, which can take a week. not that i got right back to her.

here's the painting when my husband came home- happier with the body, there is still something needing work. he pinpointed that as the head needing more.

and here's where that ended up- better, still needing some work. like the body pretty well, just need a bit more work on the head.....

wish me luck! :)

as for our meeting- long and painful. i don't understand how people can join an organization knowing what is expected and sign a contract and then be surprised when the terms are enforced. and that was the easy part. we did amend the bylaws to read that art has to be out for 4 months before it can come back in too- yay!

we also got to rehash- again- hanging small pieces at the airport. even tho the membership voted down the proposed change last meeting and the board decided not to put in on the agenda, supposedly closing the door on the discussion. but NO! i think maybe we're finally done, tho. i hope.

anyway- hopefully ms. hawk helps me finish her tomorrow or this weekend & i get inspired to get started on something else!

back at last!

2011-09-18T21:25:00.000-06:00

glad to be home after a week in san antonio. a busy week, but good. no down time, though, so it was good to get home and have a chance to veg.

first two photos from yesterday & today's hikes. so nice to be back in the not humid west!

my morning glory is just fabulous- i can't believe that i never had one before! i will share more garden shots- the back yard is wonderful- i planted lots of annuals to fill in for the small perennials and it worked great. need to think about annuals in the front yard too.....

got to the studio today. started this a few weeks ago, over an old piece. this is drawn in plaster-

then painted and left to contemplate.

decided that the edges could use some embellishment and pushed spackle thru a stencil to end up with the texture below-

wanted more the look of an old piece of plaster, so i washed titan buff fluid acrylic thinned with water over the blue to tone it down.

better, but realized i needed to put some blue on the spackle to blend it in.

and another wash of the buff. what i'm having trouble with now is how to seal this. tried clear gesso, but i had some of the spackle come off and leave white spots. maybe the gesso wasn't quite dry enough. i could use thinned matte medium, but haven't been crazy about what that does to the look of the plaster in the past. i made myself stop and let this dry and will regroup tomorrow.

tried the citrasolve transfer to plaster again, with better results. i think the image has a lot to do with it. i also did a better job of adding a little citrasolve at a time & doing a lot of burnishing in between. be fun to see where these go-

member meeting at the gallery tomorrow night, where we will attempt to give the hanging committee the authority to enforce the rules around switching out 1/3 of art monthly and pulling pieces after they've been in for 3 months. the rules are in the bylaws, and we all signed a contract, but there is no method for enforcement. we're also going to try to pass a rule that something needs to be out for 6 months before it can be rotated back in. it's going to be interesting to see how all of this goes over. stay tuned!

a bit of this, a bit of that....

2011-09-11T20:35:00.003-06:00

i added more blue at the bottom and am now happier with this and calling it done- title blackbird singing in the dead of night. 6x6 mixed media on board

here's a shot from our hike this morning. we have lots of sunflowers this time of year and i love to catch them backlit and glowing.

lastly- got the oils (alkyd) out for the first time in years. the background is textured with tissue and has layers of various paints, including bronze. i've been looking at this background for a while & when i saw this hawk photo it came together. i forgot how wonderful and creamy and blendy oil is compared to acrylic. happy with the start-

i am off to san antonio for work for the week tomorrow. will try to get at least one arty photo each day to post. it's a good goal to set myself. great week all!

birds of a feather

2011-09-07T21:09:00.002-06:00

this is the remnant of an exquisite corpse project from last year. not crazy about it, tried a few touch ups. gave up and added a layer of plaster. and i still hated it and couldn't see where it could do- even after coats of paint. so i decided to add more plaster. taped the sides & slathered in a bunch of joint compound.

then i drew in the joint compound. this works better once it has begun to set up a bit. my first few tries weren't so good (hence my growing feeling that i should make myself draw), but i finally ended up with a form that i could live with.

here it is dried- you can see that the product cracked, probably because of the thickness of the application. i don't mind, i think it adds character. i may add a titan buff glaze to make it look more distressed. not sure where i'm going from here- this has paint and a layer of watered down matte gel medium on it. i need the medium to keep things from crumbling, but i hate using too much because it takes away some of the character of the plaster.

and, par for the course, another piece with the same image. this is actually the transparency that i was drawing the bird from. 6x6 on wood.

i think i like it better before i put the moon in. what do you think?

worked on some more layered bases too. trying to get ahead since i will be gone all of next week and because it will just feel good to be a bit ahead. cuz something's bound to sell soon! :)

studio night!

2011-09-06T21:50:00.000-06:00

tuesday studio night with pam & nancy- yay! great evening as always!

this is the thing i worked on for much of the evening. it's a gesso board box, 8x8. loving these boxed boards for the support they provide for layers.

here it is in august

and various stages over the past few weeks

the seed pods are from daylilies. although i love the dragonfly and the paper on the right hand side i felt like i needed something to tie things together, so i washed a glaze of ultramarine over everything, wiped some of it off with rubbing alcohol and then decided to paint a daylily over all.

this may still need a glaze of maybe nickel quince azo to tie the flower together. nancy laughed when i asked if it looks old lady (painting flowers scares me). that's what friends are for!

what do you think?

i had to laugh at the photo of things in progress or recently finished on my bench- see a theme?

i'm afraid that i need to apply myself to learning to draw. tracing is good for small pieces, and gridding things out works for larger ones, but i think that maybe it's time to make myself take the next step. ouch.

pam offered drawing on the right side of the brain, but i am not sure that's the right approach (the exercises and all). i need to think about this, and not do anything rash.

hmmmm... doodling would be a good place to start probably, if i could make myself doodle something that was supposed to look like something. ideas?

the guardian

2011-09-05T21:21:00.003-06:00

apollo transparency transfer to golden soft gel medium, matte on 6x6 cradle board.

the background is layers of glazes, including iridescent bronze, and a layer of tissue for texture. really pleased with the quality of this transfer.

hope everyone had a great labor day! i got some things started that will show up here soon, so stay tuned!

sing

2011-09-04T23:15:00.001-06:00

one of my favorite birds on the marsh in the spring are the yellowheaded blackbirds. there are so many of them singing away and chasing each other around. the nest series is from a photo of yellow headed blackbird eggs.

i've got a lot of photos of them, decided to paint this one.

i painted the canvas green, then added strips of green rice paper (thanks lynn!) and lighter green tissue for texture. below, comparing to the background of the photo.

wanted something to add a bit more interest in the background- and we all know that all art, especially music, incorporates math, so why not some numbers.....

then i added another wash of paint to knock back the gesso & tie the background together and a layer of tissue for more texture. the first tissue i laid down wrinkled horizontally and that didn't work at all. so i pulled it up & turned it but it didn't retain any wrinkles.

back to the drawing board- and the second try worked nicely. then i traced the photo (cheater! but it works) and painted him in. surprisingly quickly, i might add. i was surprised that there wasn't a lot of over and re-painting. i used micaceous iron oxide mixed with carbon black for his body, more mica for the lighter bits (with some titan buff mixed in for the highlights) and straight carbon black for the darkest.

tomorrow i plan to pull out the alkyds and start on my hawk. woo hoo! brave girl.

in the meantime, speaking of hawks, here are a few i saw today-

another one down

2011-09-02T22:56:00.001-06:00

well, survived the colonoscopy and after sleeping all day am now looking to be up late tonight. got some studio time in and got this piece this far. it may be done, not sure.

and no, i haven't touched the crane- she's safe :)

happy labor day everyone- studio time sunday & monday, photo opps tomorrow- looking forward to the weekend!

breathing room

2011-08-31T21:12:00.003-06:00

one more night in the studio, a bit more progress.

the one below is done- it's 6x6 cradled panel, the background is one of the Nat Geo citrasolve pages (click to read the post), the crane is an apollo transparency inkjet transfer using golden soft matte gel medium. i thought about painting in the rather large spot in the wing that didn't transfer, but i kind of like it this way and i got such good response on facebook that i know i'm not the only one.

this has been hanging around for a while- since july probably, 8x8 cradled panel. (i'm loving these cradled wood panel from blick- they are great for layering and about the same price as canvas). anyway- this is how it sat for weeks.

and here after last night and tonight. making progress. as always it helps me to see it up here, at a bit of a remove. more layers will be good, but it's shaping up.

i have a routine colonoscopy friday- oh joy! so i will probably be silent for a while- be drinking icky goo tomorrow night to clean things out and maybe too tired to do much friday night (but we'll see about that!) so happy labor day everyone-

stuck

2011-08-30T21:51:00.003-06:00

all by my lonesome for studio night tonight and although i missed my friends it was ok because i was blocked, stuck, cranky and kind of stressed about not having something in the works that can be completed in a reasonable amount of time (because i am so sure that the nests are going to go- optimism is a good thing, as is being prepared, but this is kind of silly. nevertheless it is.)

i just could not get started on anything and everything i tried (mostly citrasolve transfers to plaster) turned to caca. so i cranked the tunes (deadweather & heartless bastards), poured some wine, pulled out every bit of paper and lots of tissue and maps and sheet music and matte gel medium and started tearing and gluing

and progress was made!

i feel better now. what do you do to get unstuck?

Style File- Seth Apter's Pulse

2011-08-29T21:33:00.000-06:00

if you're a mixed media artist and are not familiar with seth apter's blog the altered page change that right now. seth is a very generous artist who provides all sorts of sparks to the creative spirit.

one of those is his project the pulse. in seth's words:

...... a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.

the current pulse asked the following questions:

If you could take a class from one artist from anytime in history, including the present, who would it be and why?
The one technique or tool that you cannot live without is…
Show a picture of a favorite piece of art that you have created and explain its meaning for you.
How would you describe your artistic style? Include one image that shows this off.
What is the one thing that you know now that you would have liked to have known when you first started to create art?
Photograph a still life that you create using an array of objects. I have attached an example but absolutely anything goes.

this is a great exercise for me because i am not by nature introspective and i tend to do rather than spend a lot of (any?) time thinking about what i'm doing. but i think that it is important to touch base with that sometimes (and it can make writing artist statements less painful)

the first of these to be showcased on the altered page is the one about artistic style, and it has been fascinating reading how artists describe their art and matching that to the images that were sent in. i'm in this week's style file , and this is the image i chose to represent my artistic style. i'm curious to know if you think i described my style like you would?

new work- and rant warning

2011-08-28T22:28:00.000-06:00

today was hanging day at the gallery. monthly before first thursday (our gallery stroll) we rehang the gallery. each artist is supposed to trade out 1/3 of their work. we have 144 linear inches, so that would be 48 linear inches. i was sure that i was going to be short inches this month b/c i didn't see how i would have enough new work done. but i managed to finish a few things and the gap went from 18 inches to 10 to 4.

this is the last piece i finished. this is a shot of the laser transfer that i did to a 3x3 canvas onto fiber paste, then painted over with acrylic thinned with glazing medium.

the 3x3 canvas fit perfectly into the back of this 6x6 that i had been washing with paint left from other things and was the perfect color for the image. (i need to figure out what brand of canvas this was, as none of the 6x6 left on the shelf will take a 3x3 like this. damnit!)

with the interior wood painted

and the finished product- which brought me up to 140 of my 144 inches and was completed around midnight last night, after the eilen jewell concert.

and i was up at 6:30 to walk dogs before going to the gallery to hang. and when i got there, the same regular group of artists hadn't bothered to bring in new art to hang and we were still moving and rehanging their art, even though we have the conversation about making everyone follow the rules every month. and i lost it.

it makes me incredibly angry that i work very hard to produce new art monthly to meet my obligation to the gallery, full time job and all, and these people are allowed to disregard the rules. i feel strongly that it is important for the gallery to have new art monthly.

i don't understand people who call themselves artists but don't produce art. working artists produce art- they grow and learn and keep refining and create a body of work. if we want to be taken seriously as a gallery and not viewed as a vanity gallery or old lady coop we need to push our members to keep getting better.

i have only once (for valentine's day) rehung something that was in the gallery previously. there have probably been some times when i have hung things that weren't great but were new, but i am getting better about that. and that's better than bringing in things that aren't great OR new.

what i am working on now is letting this go. because all i can control is myself. i have made my feelings on this very clear and spoken to board members and i can't really do any more. my mantra for the next hanging day will be ohm.....

what happened?

2011-08-26T23:06:00.002-06:00

wow- it's already friday! what happened?

i did get to spend the evening in my studio, though, and am so happy about that. mostly getting ready for sunday's gallery hanging. i will be short about 10 linear inches this month cuz i didn't get enough made and i don't want to trot old stuff out. oh well!

i finally found a good use for all of those stupid sawtooth hangers that come with prefab frames that i can't use for shows. when i went to clip the canvas into the frame i found that the clips were wider than my canvas. so i got creative. i now know why i didn't just toss these damn things.

and here's the front- looks like i did a decent job of rendering mr. buff.

i finally got this where i want it. took a bit of work. the bird is scratched into drywall paste, the rest of the piece is modeling paste & a bit of crackle paste. this is an old piece reworked.

started with a black bird- crow, raven, that was the thought. but it just didn't work.

decided that everything was too close tonally, but i couldn't figure out how to lighten the background.

went for color, but i still have no darks or lights. and it's kinda garish, not quite what i was going for.....

i quit taking photos of all of the background trials, but after many washes and alcohol rub outs i finally put a white glaze on it and a quince nickel azo (my old standby) wash and got it to where i wanted it. i also used some turquoise acrylic ink to get the bird where i wanted her, and dropped liquid thalo blue in the low spots. and i actually like it and am done:)

looking forward to more plaster play. got some goodies from blick- sculpey clay for making casts and plaster tape- to experiment with. but first, open studios website maintenance tomorrow- three of us are getting together to upload the artist images for our october open studios weekend tomorrow afternoon and then eilen jewell tomorrow night. fun stuff!

1000th Post

2011-08-23T21:56:00.002-06:00

wow. hard to believe. especially since i've been struggling lately. though i blog to make my art better and because it helps me think i have very much missed comments and interaction this past month or so. whether it's because my posting has been more erratic, my visits to other blogs have been sporadic or i'm simply uninspiring (or it has nothing to do with me) the quiet has made me realize how much i appreciate the blogging community that i've developed over the past few years. so thanks to all of you who have been on this journey with me for your comments and support and brilliant ideas and creative energy.

those of you who have been with me for a while know that i tend to use and reuse certain images. seldom do i use one image in a whole bunch of pieces in a short period of time, though. for some reason the photo below is proving the exception.

the first two are currently hanging in the gallery

and this is what my workbench looks like

all headed to the gallery on sunday. i finally googled nest, as is my habit when an image or number starts to appear in my art insistently and found that ....." a nest is a place of refuge....."

speaking of refuge, it was another wonderful tuesday in the studio with leslie and nancy- thanks guys! i am lucky indeed-

long time away

2011-08-21T22:10:00.000-06:00

ack! has it really been tuesday since i've blogged? things were supposed to slow down! i've been busy, though, never fear.....

wednesday night was a meeting to organize our fall open studios tour.

friday night was third friday at the gallery. we held a quick draw, with artists completing a piece of art in 2 hours to be auctioned off to benefit a local non profit. we had 2 oil painters, one working in acrylic, an assemblage artist, a jewelry maker working in enamel and a collaboration between a jeweler and painter to make a mobile. it was fun, and traffic keeps building.

saturday was tour de fat, a celebration of bikes sponsored by new belgium brewing. it's sort of an old fashioned traveling vaudeville show, featuring things like porta-yoke (karaoke in a refitted porta potty), oddly constructed bikes to try out, music, magic and- of course- beer. we always volunteer b/c money earned supports foothills trails, among other things. lots of costumes. the unofficial theme this year was blazing saddles and here i am in costume-

a shot through a large kaleidoscope-

this morning started with a nice hike

and i got back in the studio! all of this stuff in progress- time to finish some of it up for the next hanging!

here's the progress on this one-

sanded it back some and added highlights, also added the flower with modeling paste through a stencil

and as it is now. i think i need a bit of stem on the other side of the beak, and some more washes, maybe some bright colors spattered throughout, but it's coming along.

i was liking this as it was, but felt it wasn't finished.

googled nest and found " a nest is a place of refuge", which i liked (i've been using this image so much lately that it's nice to have a conscious meaning attached), so i used rub on letters to add that to the side of the piece. then went looking for another layer.

tried a few things to transfer- this looked a bit too ominous

this worked better for me- both sort of watching over the nest and maybe looking to the refuge.

i used golden soft gel matte to do the transfer. wasn't feeling like dealing with some of the texture issues i sometimes get with caulk when i use it on a large piece, and i decided what the heck. it worked great. (apollo transparency).

pleased with the progress on both, and hopeful i will have enough finished before next sunday! it could be a flurry of activity- come back & see!