Yellow Rising...combining realistic painting with patterning

Yellow Rising   watercolor   27.5 x 15

is the painting that resulted from our watercolor class challenge of architectural detail.  I do love houses...especially old ones.  In this case, I chose a view of a home just up the street, featuring only the part of that home that I enjoyed the most...the windows.  Painting objects in their entirety along with their surrounds (i.e. gardens, walkways, backgrounds) is not nearly as appealing to me.  For me, more forms in the work diminish the power of each and every form.  This approach reflects my current aesthetic of simplicity.  On a whim, I chose to embellish the work with with a detail from a salvaged piece that hangs in our home with, I believe, a carving that would have appeared in a home of about the same age.  I began with a sketch that guided the movement around the page and followed it closely during the painting process.  I am satisfied....

....for the moment.

A Rare Treat...enjoying the music of The Speedbumps...Cellist

Cellist   pastel/paper   20.5 x 13

is, for me, witnessing, experiencing, seeing and listening to something completely novel...a journey into the new and different.  We become so accustomed to the usual these days where our brains are constantly bombarded with stimulation.  It takes a lot to stand out.  We have always enjoyed the music of the Speedbumps, a local band with a new sound.  The symphony, not so much.  Although symphonic selections are quite lovely, I always re-experience childhood piano lessons...the same...again and again.  Hybrids have captured my interest...in vehicles, foods, in visual art and in music.  Combining the staid with the new provides a certain-something that captures my interest.  Mixed media.  Cafe au lait.  A partially destroyed painting providing a new path to resolution.  And so it was when the Speedbumps joined forces with the Canton Symphony this past Friday evening.  We were stimulated, excited, blown away.  A Prius of an experience.

Line:Mass...a self-portrait

The Devil in Disguise

There are really two distinct approaches to drawing:  line and mass, and I believe that, for each of us, one excites more than the other.  Line involves line-making, all kinds, in order to build the surfaces and to define the subject.  Lines can be overlaid; hatched and cross-hatched.  Line drawings can run the gamut from simple to complex.  Lines are strong and resilient. Lines are produced from the the drawing tool, the pencil, from its stylus end.  Mass, on the other hand, results from often using the sides of the tool, with lots of mushing around.  Blending stumps are used, as are erasers.  The end result is, in my opinion, softer and more painterly.  I am definitely a mass-person.  However, as in most aspects of my life, I am a hybrid.  I like to use the power of the line to add a bit of punch (I like to think of it as punctuation) to a softer mass drawing.

The Devil in Disguise was drawn while looking in a mirror.  I am very satisfied in its ability to convey what I wanted:  that the mask is indeed separate from the head and that is presence has squished my eyes into an uncomfortable position.  I am also satisfied with the mass and mark-making, a good combination, I think, of the two approaches.

Blue Pumpkin... celebrating the unusual

Blue Pumpkin with Japanese Lanterns   oil/canvas  20 x 16 x 1.5

reveals my fascination with the unusual, the different.  Sure, I like orange pumpkins.  Who doesn't?  But a blue pumpkin challenges our "pumpkin notion" and, perhaps, in this color shift, enables us to see this grand harbinger of autumn in a new way.  Paring the heaviness of the gourd with the light, papery Japanese lanterns and the berries was a good thing, I think.  This year my husband brought home a white pumpkin for our buffet.  Different is good.  Different excites.

Mini Pumpkins...observing the to's and fro's of light

were the subject of our very first drawing class.  They provide drawing material before the class survey is taken whereupon we decide which direction our class will take for the next 10 weeks.  These small gourds are greatly segmented and lightly textured, providing a tool to study the light and shadow that defines form, the rise and fall of light that creates a powerful 3-dimensional drawing.  Granted, the most valuable light for the artist, and the form, comes from a single light source at either 10:00 or 2:00 in relation to the object.  This positioning sets the scene for the most favorable pattern of light/shadow for description.  In this case, the art room lighting comes from directly above, from the ceiling, where there there are banks of fluorescent lighting shining down from above.  Such is the case in most classrooms and art centers.  We use what we have.  We then understand that the lightest lights will be on the tops of all of the forms...and, likewise, the darkest darks on the bottoms.  The biggest challenge is trying to rid ourselves of the simplistic pumpkin drawing that our six-year-old brains have memorized, where the indentations become much too solid, and shapes much too rigid.  We have to be able to "feel" the shapes, and "feel" the individual segments.  And yet, these very segments must become supporting actors to the grand gesture of the gourd itself.  Tall order.  Simple Object.  The simple mini pumpkin provides a most complex lesson for those who wish to commune with it.

By the way, the class voted on studying the human figure for the majority of class time.  Hopefully, the pumpkin lesson will translate well.

Stem to Stem...painting a group gesture of pumpkins

Stem to Stem   oil/canvas   20 x 10 x 1.5

is the result of a visit to a local farm....Dussel's...that really does it up for Halloween.  Pumpkins!  I love all-things-pumpkin...bread, cookies, truffles and pie.  Oh, yes, also the ale.  I love their look, their shape and their thick skin.  But I especially love them for their role as a harbinger to my favorite season.

"Stem to Stem" can be seen in person at Hudson Fine Art and Framing in picturesque Hudson, Ohio.

Seedless...mixing it up

Seedless   Watercolor/Mixed on paper   7 x 10

is my response to our first project in watercolor class.  That first week presents time limitations due to our discussions of materials and goals, so I usually bring some sort of subject along (usually some kind of produce) which gets our brushes wet, our minds realigned and our preferences stated.  One of our quests is self-definition which allows us to think about just which design principles provide us with a thrill.  Each artist is thrilled in his or her own way.  By prioritizing those principles a bit, we are more clearly able to focus on the kind of work we choose to do, the language we wish to speak, the ways in which our paintings become our own.  A unique translation, so to speak.  My own thrills involve a bit of "messing up" and some layering that allows for both transparency and opacity to work their magic.   After painting quite a while, making some of the individual grapes both solid and well-defined, I turned to printers ink which was rolled onto a plate and pressed onto the background.  Ah, yes.  It's me.