Scary

Sisters in Spirit   watercolor   21.5 x 13

means so many things to so many people.  In fact, I think that our notion of what is scary is being constantly pushed to the extreme these days. 

In this painting, I chose to depict two seemingly innocent young girls in sweet patterned dresses, each wearing Halloween heads.  That, in and of itself, is a bit disturbing.  Things are not as they "should be".  I decided to push the envelope by scewing their bodies slightly off the vertical.  Diagonal placement leaves the viewer a bit disoriented....will they tip over?  will they rock towards the vertical.  In addition, the figures and the background were merged in a sameness that, in my opinion, adds a bit of other-worldliness to the presentation.

I am pleased with this work.  It is not only what we have to say, but how we say it, that makes for a more creative viewpoint.

Ballerinas Also Rest

Sequined Skirt   conte crayon/pastel   20.5 x 12

I always look forward to Tuesday evenings when Ballet Excel Ohio teams up with Cuyahoga Valley Art Center to provide young dancers with live models for the evening.  Typically the session begins with a series of 1-5 minute poses, wherein we are more likely to be treated to particular dance movements, where the body itself, as well as the negative space surrounding the body, becomes the subject.  The major shapes in the work are complex, broken up and imply the energy of the dance.  Subsequently, the model is posed in a more static restful position which she will hold, with small breaks, until the end of the session.  This is when observational skills are piqued and extended.  The major shapes are more self-enclosed, less dynamic.  This quietude leads to a completely different kind of work...one that is more of an exchange between model and artist, one that offers an emotional countenance.  These things, then, become the subject of the work.  Two completely different kinds of work.

In looking back over the past works, I see that most of my work has been a welcome exchange between the seated model and myself...a quieter, more serious kind of contemplation.

I think that when our sessions begin again in January, I will try to make more creative and dynamic works from the gesture poses.....a bit daunting....but very exciting....I love giving myself new challenges.

Pump up the Color!

Mexican Sunflowers   watercolor   13 x 10

Some would deem watercolor to be the perfect medium for floral work.  I agree that that can be true.  However, my tastes run to the richer, the meatier, the weightier.....too much lightness, for me, can not be taken seriously.  These particular flowers are Mexican sunflowers.  The seeds were sewn indoors, then later transplanted to the garden.  Late summer.....these blooms create a trellis-like entangling, about 6 feet in height.  The hummingbirds love them.  We love them.  The color is spectacular.....the most fluorescent hue imaginable!

Fluorescent?  Lucky me.  Last birthday I received some watercolor pans from Case for Making, a San Francisco-based storefront that carries handmade pigments.  The ones used here (as well as several other autumn projects):  fluorescent orange light and fluorescent flame red. 

In the working of this painting, the entangling of the blooms got to be too much, just too tedious.  That is when I used a blue-tinted gouache to separate the top.  This break almost reads as sky,  and the design benefits greatly. 

Color me fluorescently happy.

A Glimpse

Doe, A Dear

This work began as reference photo shot deep within the woods.  The animal was barely visible, his own self-protective camouflage coloring working as it should.  The background was, of course, filled with texture....leaves, leaves, branches and leaves.  What I have done here is, in my own opinion, to create a better painting than what was provided by my reference.  I know what I like....and any attempt to alter it has been discarded, repainted, and, perhaps, discarded again.  I have absolutely no interest in painting hyper-realism.  (I am probably unable to do it anyways). 

In looking at the work, and trying to understand a few of the major decisions that made this work personal, I found:

- The value of the deep woods in the background was maintained, while eliminating the texture. 

- Some shapes were simplified and made two-dimensional, to further simplify

- the largest major shape (deer torso) has been broken into, primarily because I wanted more interest     in the face and head

- and, as always, values were slightly pushed to a blackish-violet in some areas to further rhythmic        viewing and focal point description

These decisions were made intuitively....it is only when finished, that I try to understand why things happened as they did.

Although my final work reveals more than just a glimpse, I am happier.

One Day

One Day   oil/canvas   30 x 30 x 1.5

Late Summer.  A trip to our "way back" to dump garden detritus. A glance over to our out building that currently houses our wood supply for winter.  The light was spectacular!  ...it was the kind of situation that I often search for in vain.  This time it was, quite simply, happenstance. 

I have painted day lilies before.  They don't work that well singularly, but are dynamic as a group.  And, yes, each blossom blooms for only one day. 

While there were areas that offered up problems to be solved, the work was mostly simple in resolution.  My own cemented sense of design required a dark on the left edge....my preference always being to solve with value shifts.  And, yet, a heavy dark shape would have destroyed the feeling of lightness that day.  So my resolution, while a bit ambiguous, is satisfactory.  It definitely recalls the feeling that I had....that day....that hour...that moment.

Coneflowers

Coneflowers   12 x 4 x 1.5

was intended as small between-the-lines painting...nothing serious, small in size....just an exercise.  Flowers are the perfect vehicle for such a work.  Without the seriousness of a larger or more contemplative work, I feel free to explore and try out new techniques.

In this case, this very small canvas was toned with what I would call "navy blue", a neutralized dark blue that was probably mixed with French ultramarine and burnt sienna.  The background leaves and pods are closer in value to the toned ground so they fade to the background.  The pink leaves were intentionally scraped and pulled back to allow that blue toned ground to become a major player. 

I am pleased. 

Simplicity

Bread, Wine and Turnips   oil/canvas   15 x 12 x .5

is a quality that I strive for in my work.  Actually, I think that it took me quite a long time to realize it.  Backgrounds were painted in....then painted over.  Chair legs were carefully painted in and then painted over and substituted with horizontal strokes that simply suggested a place for the model to sit.  And, now, so we have it.  So I have it...another requisite that makes my art my own. 

I have a belief that the power of the work is somehow divided between all of the objects in the plane....so, it follows, for me, that the fewer the things, the more power that each one holds.  Big and little things arranged pleasingly on the page.

The reference for this simple still life came from a series of photos taken on my patio many years back....it was a veritable feast, a banquet.  The long horizontal painting was sold, but I have so many reference photos that I can now produce several smaller works from the original, and quite painstakingly arranged, feast.  This work pleases me as it has the feel that I was going for...a few simple ingredients can make a painting that I enjoy.......and, also, I think that a few simple ingredients can produce an exquisite meal.  We live in complex times.  I crave simplicity for balance.

Rorschach

Rorschach   oil/canvas   24 x 30 x 1.5

This pair of young dancers were quite remarkable....during the warm-up poses, they assumed several premeditated poses in which their two bodies created interesting shapes and outstanding visuals.  I was truly taken with their expertise!

The most exciting part of figurative painting, to me, is the shape of the core, the limbs, and, subsequently, the diminishing of the facial features to create intriguing lines....an overall visual that is greater than the sum of the parts....gestalt!!!

This was an exciting painting to work on...I feel that it mirrors that which their young bodies were trained to do.  Thank you.

Sequins are just Gravy

INTENSITY.  I can easily recognize it.  I live it. ...and, to me, it is easily recognized in a few other individuals.  A tension in the body.  A perking up of the senses.  A refusal to take things lightly. Fire in the belly....not in each and every undertaking, but in the discipline that fuels a person's soul.

This young dancer was the epitome of intensity...of discipline.

While the sequins on her costume were fun to paint....small specks of retained white paper amidst the color to imply the multidimensional reflection of the light...sequins are just gravy here.

She could, in my opinion, be just as distinctive in a simple leotard.  INTENSITY.

Sequins Optional   watercolor   20 x 12

Wendy

Wendy   charcoal and pastel on paper   14.5 x 11

is one of the younger dancers in the troupe.  And yet, her whole being embodies extraordinary discipline.   I thorough enjoyed making this drawing!

Budded

Budded   watercolor   18.5 x 7

Our challenge was to paint a tree in its early spring budded state....not an easy task, given the small white blooms....in watercolor!  As I do not use opaque white in any form, or masking fluid, my challenge was to use brushwork to move around the work, avoiding the buds, thereby using the white of the paper for the blooms.  The tree I selected was one that I photographed while in the drive-through line at McDonald's.  The moody spring sky behind added to the immensity of the day...as well as to the immensity of the challenge.  The buds at the horizon line are mostly pure white.  Those at the top were toned to blend in with the sky.

Final word:  this is the best I could do with a difficult challenge....This small painting makes me happy.

Clownfish

Clownfish   mixed/paper   19.5 x 12

are important roles to dance in "The Little Mermaid".  And these dancers were so impressive....quite a pair.  They were both dedicated, focused and graceful to the max.  No Alphas.  Two halves::one whole. And....just as a school of fish moves instantly together, sensing the minute neuromuscular movements of the others, these two young dancers were oh-so-in-sync.  Each pose, not only portrayed each dancer to advantage, but also formed an interesting together shape.  They moved without speaking a word.

THESE DANCERS WERE AMAZING!



And...as for the highly developed sensitivity to the movements of the other....

I sometimes think that the world would be so much more pleasant if we all learned this sensitivity...we all learned to dance.

And....just maybe...we would be better drivers.

M as Shark - The Little Mermaid

M as Shark   mixed/paper   20 x 13

Konstantin Stanislavski remarked that "there are no small parts, only small actors."  Some of the young ballet dancers that we have painted have the "chorus" roles, the smaller parts.  I suspect that these roles go to the younger, less experienced dancers.  M. stood before us in her shark costume...the dearest shark I have ever seen.  While this hat and these fin attachments are clever as can be, my goal was to give to M. the innocence and humility that enveloped her.  No grand gestures here.  Her stance was natural.  No affectation.  Hooray for sharks!

Dabbs Greer, a bit actor, once said, "Every character actor, in their own little sphere, is the lead".

Easy Livin'

Easy Livin'   conte crayon on toned pastel paper   15.5 x 11.5

is a drawing that I like...completed at an expressive drawing workshop.  The reference was an old family photo that features two couples in swimsuits at a favorite lake.  Toned paper was used...quite handy as used as a mid-tone value.  Individual characteristics are downplayed, while the group gesture becomes all-important...the way in which the four figures relate to each other to support their relationships.  Negative spaces become important.  Patterns of darks were worked in a balanced way, creating a satisfactory pattern of its own, independent of the details of the reality provided.  Likewise with the whites.  This drawing was worked by using basically only three values. While likenesses and leg details were mostly suggested, I placed the emphasis on the relationships of the torsos...not the torsos themselves, but on the relationships between them.

I like this drawing very much.  It was fun to do and provides the feeling that I wished to convey in a minimal way.  Less is more

Bunch

Bunch   watercolor   16.75 x 9.5

I believe that flowers are possibly the most difficult subject for me to paint...so complex...so many relationships!  For that reason, I prefer to paint them in a bunch, along with their wild natures, as opposed to the restraints of a vase or mise-en scene setting that further dilutes their energy.

This bunch was plucked from our yard.  I am basically happy with the work, but, in retrospect, wish that I had included some other varieties. 

There is always next spring.

Ants-in-Your-Pants-Goals

S.

I am, without a doubt, a goal-oriented person.  I am a list-maker who derives great pleasure from being organized.  The end of each studio session is dedicated to actually naming the goals for the next, unless more time is needed for contemplation of a given work. 

That being said, travelling presents a problem for a person like me.  It is simply not possible to drag along armloads of art supplies.  And so I have devised a solution that keeps me content at the same time I am able to visit without too much offense.  The latest venture was a visit for a week in North Carolina.  Three very small watercolors were made on a deck providing afternoon sun.  But my favorite activity is to make small drawings from life while the family is gathered around, in discussion, or in front of TV.  Nothing posed.  Just several drawings begun at once and keeping an eye out for the model to resume a particular pose.  This trip I ended up with two small drawings that pleased me.  This one took a couple of hours, but I was content to pick away. Kept my attention up.  Feels good to produce something worthwhile. 

And.....keeps the ants out of my pants...temporarily.

Establishing a Rhythm

Majorette   oil/canvas   24 x 8 x .5

When I was a young girl, a little girl, I was in awe of Jan, a teenage girl who lived across the street in our little neighborhood of post-war brick cape cod homes in Akron, Ohio.  Jan was a twirler, a majorette, who practiced in her yard....her baton catching the light as it spun around, sometimes high into the sky.  She caught it deftly and continued her routine.  On game days, she emerged from her home in total regalia.  My memory of her costume has faded, but those heavy white leather boots with giant tassels are embedded in my mind. 

My own experience with baton twirling was short-lived.  I guess I just didn't "have it".  It may have been limited coordination, or, perhaps, interest.

This work of a drum majorette was inspired by a vintage photo of my husband's aunt....probably taken in the late 40's. 

Figurative work is my favorite.  For me, it has evolved into a sublimation of the facial features along with the placement of several focal points, established by choice, to lead the eye around the entire figure and its posture.  The regimentation of the twirler is reflected in her posed stance.  Discipline.

And the....there are those boots.

Some time ago, another astute artist picked up on my method at a local critique.  He was quick to point out the use of the multiple focal points.  We seem to love and to need a focal area in the work....why not several?  They actually create their own rhythm.

Intensity

Intensity- L.   oil/canvas   16 x 12 x .5

is a quality that I share with L., a painter who has been in several of my classes over the years.  He holds a full time job and has a wife and two children.  His plate is full.  And, yet, his drive to create art is admirable, and sometimes painful, as he struggles to find TIME TIME TIME.

This painting was made at a final class session where the assignment was to create a painting by simply watching and observing  someone else at work....an artist who is in constant motion while observing the subject of his/her own painting.

This assignment is tough, but allows one to get at the "nitty gritty"...the important stuff...big shapes and simplified forms.  I did take a photo and did a few minor corrections at home, but was careful not to overwork the simplicity that had been achieved during the session.

I have found, over years of observing and drawing people at work, that a person will resume one of two or three positions continually, which helps with clarification, if only you are patient.

Ah, yes.......INTENSITY and PATIENCE.

Blue to Yellow....a subtle change

When Sheep are Golden   oil/canvas   16 x 20 x 1.5

Come February, the light changes, creating a noticeable shift from cool to warm outdoor palettes.  This simple painting almost painted itself....very very rare.  I started with the same notion of a changing color temperature and a drawing.

The biggest challenge for me was to create the chaotic texture of that marvelous wool.....as a knitter of many years, I wanted to honor the glory of the sheep's contribution to our well being.  A bit of time was spent on hard and soft edges.  The background was kept simple.

I can honestly say that I truly love this work.

What's not to love when talking sheep?

Ancestry

Union   watercolor    20 x 11

Having your DNA tested seems to be the thing these days.  My results did not yield any surprises from that which I suspected.  There is a bit of an excitement, however, in the discovery of a linkage, a past history, often disrupted by modern life and especially by the immigration of our relatives to these United States, where family tree lineage often comes to a screeching halt.  As a result of this renewed interested, we sifted through old photos to see what we actually had.

Vintage photos are wonderful to use as painting references!  The photos can be interpreted without fear of achieving exact likenesses or making Aunt Maude look 10 pounds too heavy.  I like to use them monochromatically as a study of value.  By subtracting color from the mix, one is able to fully understand the great power of value in description. 

The photo of the valiant soldier at the right was labelled on the back as "Pas Eisenhour",  from my husband's family, who fought for the Union in the Civil War from Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Couple/Polar Opposites/hard::soft/Roses in Aluminum

Couple   oil/canvas board   12 x 12

This small painting is a metaphor for all things yin::yang in our lives.  My idea was to create shared space between the two roses...a relationship merged yet individual. 

One of my passions is to eliminate the unnecessary edges which represent fences that block the movement of the pieces/parts.  Because all of these operations are so subjective and so personal, I spent a good deal of time on a sketch that solved (hopefully) potential errors and helped to convey my feelings.  In the past, I have found that the division of space in square formats to be a challenge. In this case, it worked out......

There is much that pleases me here...right down to the simple limited palette.

In addition, the opposition of the quintessentially beautiful roses with the aluminum can completes me.

Heartland ll

Heartland II - Winter Cows (A Sense of Calm Given the Situation)   oil on canvas   16 x 20

This painting represents a long journey and much endurance, much like these local bovines, although robust, must face daily in our severe northeast Ohio winter.  Everything seemed to be an issue....the treeline, too much then too little; the placement of the cows and their relationship, one to the other; and, most importantly, the atmosphere of the snowy field, which I felt would be comprised by using local color.  Each problem was eventually solved to my satisfaction.

The one huge thrill in all of the labor:  the introduction of Gamblin's Cold Was Medium, that was mixed into paint in both the back- and fore-ground.  It produced an impasto effect that was much lighter than using gobs of paint, and even more effective, I think.  Used in a 1/3:2/3 ratio with paint) My first use....terrific!

Ah.....if I had only labored over a sketch.  That would have been time well spent.

Heartland

Heartland   oil/canvas   30 x 48 x 1.5

is one of those paintings that was germinated many years ago.  We are lucky to live close to a farm that sparks to life with color each October when thousands of pumpkins and Indian corn cobs come out for sale.  Everything looks so crisp...so golden

Painting a cornfield is always a challenge as it is comprised of so very much chaos. 

While painted using local color, I may not be averse to glazing with transparent yellow....will need to think about it.

This work is comforting to me.....it feels like home.

Opinions

Opinions   watercolor   12 x 9

While at the art center where I teach, I was struck by the simple beauty of some aluminum cans that were stacked up in the kitchen.  (The art center uses these for the plastic utensils) These cans, along with many of the things we use, are manufactured for one use, then recycled....into other ones, I hope.  I felt that one of these cans would make a perfect receptacle for a couple of very full valentine roses.  These two blooms are both so lovely and so complex, yet each calls for its own space.  Much like opinions, I think.  Individual relationships are beautiful and, yes, complex, and the loving ones allow for differing opinions and much discourse.

My husband and I are in the process of a kitchen makeover.  We love each other beyond measure.  But our opinions on so many small details differ:  on the materials to be used, on the placement of components, and, yes, on the cupboard handles as well.

What better metaphor for a home improvement?

Winterberries and Bells

Winterberries and Bells   oil   12 x 9

This work got me reacquainted with by brushes early in the year.  The still life was put together using simple decorations that were still around long after the fun has subsided. 

I try to have no expectations whatsoever in such an exercise.  All in all, the background white, a gray green, pleased me.

2019 is gonna be a great year!

...for the road

For the Road   oil   12 x 12

is a post-holiday work...one designed as a bit of practice, a return to the rigors of painting. And this particular set up involved a re-familiarization with the difficult ellipses. 

I have a family of coffee-lovers and, during the holidays, these beans abound:  those who prefer a winter spice from Trader Joe's, those who love a cup of McCafe, and those who relish grinding their own beans, the darker the roast, the better.  OK.  There are a few tea-lovers as well.

And, yes, we certainly do need a cuppa for the road.