Is Roy G. Biv a Real Person?

In school we learned in both science and art classes that light filtered through a prism is divided into 7 colors, namely: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. We memorized the Roy G. Biv mantra in order to remember it for the test. And, still, I ask: isn't indigo a shade of blue? I am now realizing how subjective seeing really is. We really do understand that the list of possible colors in infinite. Designers invent and reinvent new colors all the time to keep us buying; i.e. sage, eggplant and butterscotch. Naming and naming. Dividing and further dividing. Yet, in college sociology class, I learned of a primitive tribe that had only two naming words for color. Of course, I cannot recall the exact words, but I would guess that they might have meant warm-ish and cool-ish. Red, orange and yellow are warmish. Blue, indigo and violet are coolish. Green is a swing middle-initial. Even though all hues can be altered to a warm end or a cool end, each has its innate temperature property. I love simplification. And often, I think that the color temperature notion is a better way to approach a painting....that way we don't get caught up in all of those divisions. I think that we should be able to declare either warm-dominance or cool-dominance before we begin....that depending on the subject matter. Dominance is important for harmony and is a key design principle. Using like amounts of warms and cools results in a static feeling...not near as visually interesting! (a clear case for assymmetry of all kinds).

And speaking of out of the box...

Sunflower Box - Side View

The Out of the Box exhibition is currently being shown at The Summit Artspace Gallery located at 140 E. Market Street in Akron. Local and regional artists create boxes that will be auctioned off to benefit The Akron Area Arts Alliance, an umbrella group that represents 40+ cultural groups in the Akron Area. This event is held every two years and will culminate at the Arts Alive! event Sunday, November 15 at The Portage Country Club. This year I decided to paint a commercially purchased cigar box, simply because painting is what I do best....well, maybe not best, but better than constructing, gluing, and working with hand tools. My "Sunflower Box" is color driven and was inspired by vintage fabrics with, I think, an unusual color palette for sunflowers....red! (Sunflowers are almost always set off with cool blue or blue-violet backgrounds). I also wanted to introduce raw umber to the palette, which is a Scandinavian addition which ages and softens. It took a while! All of the surfaces were coated with gesso...several layers....the sides were patterned....then the flowers painted on top and lapping over the patterning. The inside is a solid cadmium yellow. The painting, of course, was the most fun. The hardest part was gripping those teeny weeny screwdrivers to reassemble the hardware....I cursed like a sailor. All in all, it was a fun project. Next time (and that's the way we painters think), I might look for a vintage box with an unusual shape. There are always so many fabulous and funky entries....I can't wait to see them all!

It is always a surprise....the turning of the seasons. Those sunflowers have now now morphed into seed heads for the birds.

Thinking outside the Box...

Brimfield Laundromat...a sketch

This weekend found us braving the rain and cold in Washington D.C. at The Solar Decathlon sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. There were 20 college and university teams represented in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered home. What we saw was truly mind-boggling and will cause reality-shifts all over the globe! Our son is an adviser for Team California, a collaboration between California College for the Arts and Santa Clara University. New materials, new aesthetics. All of the teams were able to power their own homes with the sun. Off the energy grid, so to speak. The homes made use of recycled "gray water" (run-off from showers, dishwashers and washing machines) to create peaceful water gardens on decks and porches. Some teams showed the harmony of feng shui by creating indoor and outdoor spaces that were interlaced. Most homes were highly flexible, taking advantage of shades and panels dependent on seasons and lighting conditions. One of my biggest surprises was a combination washer-dryer machine that accomplishes both tasks....apparently already in use in Europe. Saving space and energy. Challenging our very limited notion of a beautiful home. Less being truly very much more. One never knows how these experiences will show up in the visual arts, but tucking them into your brain is a wonderful thing and can only lead to more thinking outside the box.

BTW....The Brimfield Laudromat is no longer in business, and, yes, I have a drawing for just about everything.

Watercolor Impressions...Red

Red Leaf on Green Ground

For me, it is true that, sometimes, even the weight of one quick brushstroke is too much, too direct. I am searching for a visual implication of some objects rather than something more concrete. There are many ways to foster this notion: using lots of medium, whether that is water or turpentine; soaking the paint surface beforehand; blotting or removing some of the paint immediately after applying; layering; selectively destroying the surface; and using printmaking, a more passive application, for some elements. "Red Leaf" was begun as a monoprint using the back of the leaf, with the protruding veins, which was coated with paint and pressed into the surface. Then I came back into the painting softly and slowly to bring it more clearly into focus....to suit me. I did several and this one is my favorite. It provides a GIVEN, a design element that is already on the paper when you begin to paint. It is the first piece of the visual puzzle to be solved. This method also eliminates the "white surface syndrome" that can be daunting as well as causing the elements to be painted just too directly for my liking. This resultant work resembles a piece of silk to me. I would think that this would be an amazing exercise for young artists as well.....young in age as well as young in heart. Delighting in autumn. Delighting in simplicity. What could be better?

Progress...

Brimfield Post   oil/canvas   20 x 16 x 1.5

The notion of progress is a sticky wick. Sometimes we humans resist change as the simple inertia of the process challenges our comfort zones which I compare to "the body at rest". Last night before falling asleep, we watched an art show where the art was designed on a computer....after that, teams of colorists came in to correctly mix and match colors which were then put into tubes and numbered. Other teams of painters worked for weeks to fill in the huge painting surface which had been greatly magnified....just like a giant paint-by-number. Wow....talk about a mental shift. The notion of solitary artists morphs into a creative team to create giant paintings where the end product becomes all. I am not sure how I feel about all of this....will need a while to think on these things. Paint-by-numbers starting within the realm of craft, for the not-as-creative, and morphing into the highly desirable. Such is change. Our Brimfield post office will be going out of business in November. This small business was a combination sheet metal/gift and card shop/post office for as long as I can remember. Each patron was greeted with a smile and a story. It was personal. It was a feel-good experience. The owner Cheryl Rexrode is an energetic woman with energy to spare and an admirable world view. Talking with her is a pleasure. I regret that I have never drawn or painted her. Sometimes she hires Mark part-time to fill in. He bleaches his long beard at Christmas-time to play Santa and slips outside to puff on his ever-present cigars. This whole scene is how "post office" is defined for me in my brain. That is about to change. I picture a long line of postal patrons anxiously awaiting to hear the word "next". Progress is sometimes hard to swallow.

Anomaly...

Linda in Fur Hat   watercolor   16.5 x 10.5

I love the uncommon, the unexpected. Those events are so very memorable. This summer in the eastern Midwest was an uncommon summer...extraordinarily cool and comfortable. The trend continues into autumn. I spent yesterday digging out winter apparel.....put quite simply, we are cold. The temperature last weekend in Chicago for the marathon was in the low 30's. Here in the Akron/Cleveland area, the weather is much the same. No sunny sparkling 70-degree crisp autumn days this year! Just as every person has a story, every painting has a story. "Linda in Fur Hat" is my only watercolor painting done on 100 percent rag mat board. I read about someone doing it so I thought I would give it a try. The results were not nearly as malleable as I am used to. The paint soaked right in....no pushing and pulling it around. I guess those whose work is more akin to preserving detail would appreciate this surface. We had paired up in watercolor class across from each other but were supposed to have a Halloween mask. Linda really didn't seem up for this exercise and came ill-prepared, but was able to rummage up a fur hat from her car. That was many years ago. I am fairly satisfied with the results. Cold weather. Halloween. Fur Hats. I remember that session. I remember Linda.

That Competition Thing

pre-race...a sketch

I have never enjoyed competition....I don't enjoy being nervous....I don't particularly enjoy the adrenaline rush...and I don't like being singled out, for reasons good or bad. I just enjoy being, creating and solving the visual problems ahead of me. I really do enjoy, however, being part of something bigger, something positive that alters the state of mind to an optimum experience. This weekend past, we experienced The Chicago Marathon where runners compete primarily against themselves, pushing themselves beyond their own pre-established boundaries. We met our runner-son at the airport and proceeded to the registration point, the mandatory pasta/carb meal, the hydration fixes, the stretching and the 8 pm bedtime. Preparation for these events begins years ahead of time. There is definitely a pre-race tension. I am out of my element. For me, nervousness restricts my drawing and painting hand....makes it small. Seeing the 40,000 runners and their support teams was awesome beyond belief. Elevation beyond the mundane. Heroic efforts. Exhaustion. Our runner-son did well. He is inspired to better his performance next time. I am inspired to reach beyond what I already know and do. An elevating experience.

That Apple Time of Year...

Varietal   watercolor   17.5 x 13

The meaning of the word "pagan" has changed over the years. Currently, it has negative religious undertones having to do with one's beliefs, or not. Originally it had more to do with the notion of peasant, rural, of the earth, a following of the natural rhythms of the seasons. The unknowing. Perhaps the illiterate. Intuition. I enjoy painting with the seasons. What excites me personally is affected by the weather, the amount of light and dark, the temperature and the holidays. This is apple season....every year I am quite astonished at the number of new varieties available! Always some never heard of before. I can hear the crunching and smell the sweetness. Apple fritters. Apple Dumplings. Apple Pie. I guess the heart and stomach are definitely related. "Varietal" was painted in the autumn. I studied calligraphy for many years....repetitious line work with lots of rules. Very precise. These days I like to spin off of those rigid letter forms to make my own varieties. In this case, I used them as a design element, some creative line work, to list some of the varieties of apples that can be had. Not meant to be read. Just enjoyed visually.

Parade of Guys...

For the past couple of weeks, we have had a parade of guys going through our home - those guys who fix what needs fixing and who replace what we don't know how to do ourselves. Jeremy the boiler guy. Dasun the countertop and sink guy. Charles the septic guy. These guys help our daily lives move along smoothly and prevent break-downs. I really do appreciate the expertise and knowledge of all of these guys. But waiting for them is another matter. I try to paint, to enter the creative world where minutes swiftly turn into hours. Each stroke is put on in hesitation, with the knowledge that this stroke might be the last before I hear the worker knocking at my door. The stokes become timid and halting and restrictive. It is no use. Either the worker guys work, or I work. There really can be no compromising here. No putting on a stroke in-between checking the thermostat in zone one. Another stroke before making sure the kitchen faucet is open. Very frustrating. Creative work is so very different from other kinds of work that have built in starting and ending points. Being creative requires time with no limits, at least very few. The minutes must be able to become hours if need be. Ah, time.

Standing on the Shoulders of Miller

Miller Horns   a sketch

Congratulations to Miller Horns! He was awarded the outstanding visual artist by Arts Alive! in Akron sponsored by The Akron Area Arts Alliance. This small sketch of Miller was done a few years back as he sat and chatted with Rick during some function-or-other at Summit ArtSpace. For all of these years, I saw a few isolated works by Miller and always enjoyed their hidden complexity. But the power of seeing a lifetime of work is undeniably moving and emotional! A retrospective of his work is currently being shown at the new home of Artists of Rubber City, "The Box", on the third floor of Summit ArtSpace. Seeing this wonderful exhibit is worth the elevator ride up....in fact, several elevator rides up. Patterns from Miller's life form meaningful displays in electrostatic art. The quality he achieves visually is similar to me to a large print. He is able to achieve both attention to detail and the very big picture simultaneously. He is quiet. He is thoughtful. And he is complex. If you are lucky, you will be able to meet Miller and he will be able to further explain his ideas and his process. His is the life of an artist, a life well-spent. Thank you, Miller.

Open Door:Close Door...

The Red Guitar   watercolor/gouache   29 x 20

I am always getting in trouble at my house for leaving doors open....cupboard doors, closet doors and pantry doors. I am making an effort to remedy this as it is terribly bothersome to my husband. I am not sure why I do this, but the notion of an open door (as opposed to a closed door) is very appealing to me. (OK, I really do know why, but choose not to share). Possibilities....things yet to be....things left undone. And so it follows that I also like that "open door notion" in the way I work. If I have already tried it, I would like to do it another way the second time around. When I painted "The Red Guitar", I was pushing the capabilities of watercolor - working large and aggressively and, at the same time, disregarding the quiet and passive qualities for which watercolor is known. The sublime. I have since moved on to other things. That being said, I still kind of admire the gusto in this painting....worked from a model on an easel with big brushes....very few quiet passages. The raw white passages of the paper left undone....my trademark. The open doors. Finding a compromise between open doors and closed doors.

As you sow............

Three Daffodils   watercolor   11.5 x 21

Everyone has heard about the positive relationship between sowing and reaping. I like to think of it as an introduction to the notion of possibility. Possibilities make my spirit soar. Sometimes the ideas are totally un-doable, sometimes just a particle to latch onto, and very often discarded after lots of effort has revealed a negative time spent/positive result ratio. Flower gardening is in the last of these for me....I don't really enjoy tending to them, planting them, or even painting them. But, from time to time, I do it anyways. Daffodils are the exception. I LOVE THEM. This weekend I plan to plant more bulbs in our front yard which we are naturalizing in a minimal attempt to keep civilization at bay. Maybe it has to do with that planting and sowing thing, the wait, the possibility, the looking forward to. Maybe it is the bright yellow color that symbolizes sunshine. Maybe it is the memory of treating myself to a fistful at the market when buying them is such a luxury item. Whatever. I paint daffodils yearly and seem to have run the gamut as far as color choices and compositions. "Three Daffodils" was painted in watercolor and restricted in size....I wanted to "paint for the frame", always a bad idea, as I had found a lovely powder-blue shabby frame that was the seed for this year's daffodil painting. Although it did work out after lots of juggling, it is cropped a bit more than I would like. Having boundaries from the get-go of the process is unnatural. Having flowers in a vase is unnatural, as well, to me. Come April, I will be thinking again of painting them.

Critique

Wilma...a sketch

Last night was critique at our club, The Akron Society of Artists. Members bring a couple of works that go up on an easel and the members comment on them....good, bad, indifferent. This whole process can make people drain flasks in their vehicles before entering, smoke in dimly-lit alleyways and even retain anger and reluctance to participate for many years. This is a fact. I guess that we all need validation from others. Judging someone else's work is completely subjective. Surely, the design elements and principles are solid and works can be evaluated considering them as guidelines. But how an individual artist combines the principles are as unique as the artist himself/herself. A one-of-a-kind recipe dependent on the ingredients you choose to incorporate, as well as the amounts. I think that something we should strive towards is the release of work, the ability to separate ego from the work itself, and see the big picture of a progressions of works. Process over product. No work will ever be perfect. No work is innately bad. No one ever arrives. As usual, I am quite stimulated by this whole event, and usually end up sleepless. (could also be due to the consumption of 20 oz. of Diet Coke). Images float around my brain for days. ....the memorable ones keep surfacing. For me, last night's adventure was driven by the day lily painting by Wilma Kiser(the colors amazing!); the watercolor portrait by Lynda Rimke; the design-y lotus blossom work by Ann Emmitt; the gnarly trees by Jack Lieberman; the animated march of lemons and peppers by Judith Carducci; the mysterious pastel sky works by Kimberly Moore; and the brushwork and composition of Mina Huang.

Poignant is a quote from a 1992 film called Lorenzo's Oil. The Swahili Warrior Song: "Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hand of the gods. So let us celebrate the struggle". Amen.

The Akron Society of Artists Studio will be open from 5-9 pm on Saturday night during the Akron ArtWalk. Again on Sunday from noon - 4 pm during the Sunday Sampler at The Akron Art Museum. Come on along. See what you think.

"Wilma" was sketched during the critique......................it helps relieve the tension.

Night Music

Night Music   oil/canvas   40 x 30 x 1.5

Here is that same wonderful triangle....head, hands, instrument....my favorite. In painting a figure, we artists are always tempted to spend too much time on the face. But I have learned, albeit reluctantly, that body parts must be subject to prioritization in order to tell your story, to pay honor to your focal point. A portrait is a portrait. A figure painting is something else entirely. It all gets very confusing when I try to sort out the important parts. In this session, the musician's knees were the closest parts to me. It follows then, that in order to render the illusion of 3 dimensions, the knees would be fully described. However, I wanted the knees to be supporting actors to the important triangle already mentioned. So I attempted to use the rhythm of the gesture of the legs to pull interest up into the hands/guitar area. Another way to accomplish this goal is to render the legs more flatly, heading into 2-dimensional flatness. I had to flatten them, while honoring the jutting forward of the kneecap. Trial and error. It is interesting to watch a dozen painters work from the same model. Each and every one is different. Each and every one tells a different story. Every model can become a metaphor for something deep within your soul. Priorities. Preferences. I really do try to identify my focal point before I set the brush to canvas. Knowing where you are going is a good thing. Remind me of that next time I am behind the wheel.

The Three Stages of Saturday Night

Saturday Night's All Right   oil/canvas   16 x 20 x 1.5

My notion of a great Saturday night has evolved a bit through the years. When we were a young couple, Saturday night was a night to be with friends, drink a little too much and stay out too late. Sleeping in the next morning. After the children came along, Saturday night included shampoos and some pretty bad television shows. Now, my notion of a fabulous Saturday evening is painting....nonstop....terrific. This Saturday evening is the Akron Art Walk and our ASA Studio is on the list of open venues. We will paint from a model from 5-9 pm on the third floor of the Summit Artspace building which is located at 140 E. Market Street in Akron. Painting from a model for 4 straight hours is my notion of Saturday night bliss.

The fun continues on Sunday when we continue the open studio from noon until 5 pm in collaboration with The Sunday Sampler program (FREE admission) sponsored by The Akron Art Museum.

Be evolved. Avoid drinking too much and staying out too late. Avoid bad television. And put off that shampoo for another day....it really doesn't look that bad. Saturday night ART's all right.

In The Pink

Chocolate Box   charcoal/toned paper   23 x 13.5

I am fortunate to be represented by Hudson Fine Art and Framing in Hudson, Ohio. Kathy Johnson, the owner, is a really nice person. She has been combining her business of art with the business of helping others ever since she took ownership. Earlier in the year, she hosted "It's Raining Cats and Dogs" to benefit The Humane Society of Greater Akron. "In The Pink" opens this Friday and will benefit The Gathering Place's annual retreat for women with breast cancer. This show features the needlework of Hudson's Pillow Group, a group of nine women who have formed a coalition of sorts, to share and promote the varied needlework art of its members: Beth Angelotta, Katie Coulton, Anne Cutchin, Brigitte Gottfried, Angela Strach-Gotthardt, Heinke Klaassen, Peg Mayor, Kathy Schiciano and Barb Warner. In addition to my work, the exhibit also features the work of fabric artist Connie Bloom, the collage and haiku work of Darcy Haynes and the work of fellow painter Tricia Kaman. There is a $10 entry fee for a fabulous opening this Friday from 5:30-8:30 pm at Hudson Fine Art & Framing located at 9 Aurora Street in Hudson. Support those with breast cancer. Support the arts. Support Hudson Fine Art & Framing. They are good guys. Or should I say gals?

A Slight Curve

A Slight Curve   watercolor/gouache   13 x 10

Many years back, I was granted permission to watch a rehearsal of The Akron Symphony Orchestra. My goal was to come back with sketches and photos to work from. "A Slight Curve" was done with watercolor over gouache. I first coated the paper with a layer of permanent white gouache that had been thinned to the consistency of cream. Then I painted in watercolor. The gouache creates a surface that is finitely changeable and malleable, which is something that is difficult when working transparently. White gouache is a body color.....it adds opacity to the paint. All colors become tints. It really is a totally different way of working with the medium. I like this small painting and felt the curves of the instrument and likened them to the curves of the human body. This musician is caressing his instrument. That is the mark of a true musician. Just the way we caress watercolor paper with our brushes. Soft touch.

Groupie

Renaissance Man   watercolor   18 x 12.5

I am a music groupie of sorts................and love most kinds of music. It seems to me that musicians and visual artists alike trust their intuitions to make the music, the painting, their own. For me, playing the piano became the source of great stress. I just couldn't get over the performance anxiety and the feeling that I was continually being watched and judged. But I continued to admire those who played, those who went inside of themselves to interpret the music, to make it their own. Both art forms resist words. And so, along with paintings of those who labor, I have found that paintings of those who make music have always pleased me. I think I have painted dozens of musicians over the years. "Renaissance Man" is a painting done of my nephew George while he was still in high school and played the viola. Even then, the shapes of the figure merged with the background and rhythms took a higher priority than the figure itself. The triangle created by the musician's head (with intent gaze), the hands and the instrument is so important and symbolizes, to me, the going beyond the self, the letting in of the thing that makes one greater than the self. Head. Heart. Instrument.

The Art of the Figure....tee hee hee

January Nude   pastel/paper   19.75 x 8

I see the human body as a major miracle, a thing of beauty, and I love to study it. Muscles of dancers and runners thrill me. Postures of musicians titillate. But the jokes associated with life drawing classes (tee hee hee) have never been that funny to me. We are a culture of contrasts: we don't think twice about watching people get "blown away" in movies or in video games; we love to watch intimate details of people treating each other horribly, disregarding kindness and respect, through the lens of reality television; and women with plastic breasts stare at us from magazine racks at every quick-stop across the land. But somehow the nude human body scares us, taints us and could possibly be evil? It is my own humble opinion that things are a bit bass-ackwards here. "The Art of the Figure" exhibit at Peninsula Art Academy will be shown through October 17. Will all school children who view the exhibit be forever tainted? I think not. I hope for "forever inspired".

Patriot - Labor Series

Patriot   watercolor   13 x 10

The word "patriot", I believe, would present a multitude of definitions, dependent on how many people would be asked to define it. But for those in our labor class, I believe that the definition would be the most concrete, the most fervent and the most resolved. For they have sacrificed the most. I dream of a world where each person's definition is considered equally and treated with respect.

Happy Hour - Labor Series

Happy Hour   pastel/paper   19 x 12

"Happy Hour" was done from a live model in pastel on toned paper. John, the model, is an amazing guy and his look was right for what I needed. I wanted the feel of a guy who celebrates the end of the work week with a can of beer....none of this fancy imported stuff but more likely a can of high-powered Milwaukee Ice. In actuality, John is a Pepsi freak, but that worked just fine. I like using the paper itself, in this case a darker blue, as the dark value masses of what I am seeing. I like the surface being incorporated into the picture. I like this work. Pastel can be very immediate. When I look at it now, I see that I threw caution to the wind that day. I drew recklessly. And I like that. Maybe it was Friday.

Painter - Labor Series

Painter   oil/canvas   49 x 24 x 1.5

It's funny how a simple word can pull up impressions in our brains. The notion of "painter" for example. A painter who paints pictures on canvas conjures up a romantic notion, those who are somewhat removed from the society at large, and those whose notion of beauty or personal expression take preference over daily labor. The painter who paints the homes of others can be considered an "underling", and often get paid only a minimum wage to do the work that homeowners don't have time to do for themselves. These two notions are vastly disparate.....but I like the idea of offering these two stereotypes for consideration, for thought. Both wield a brush with ease. Both work hard. "Painter" was done from a series of photos take while visiting San Francisco. The city is filled with these Victorian monster-houses, built before the cost of heating was an issue. The temperate climate there is relatively easy on these homes and few seem to be vinyl-sided. On each block, one can see home that are "in the process" of renewal. Constant upkeep. I loved the combination of shapes, both geometric and organic, the mix of which can result in a good painting. I wanted to honor this young Hispanic painter even though he has no idea that his picture is here on the internet. And yes, I deem him a painter.

Drawings

Laborer   charcoal/paper   15 x 21

Some artists use drawings only as vehicles in the preparation for subsequent paintings. I do that a lot. But I also like drawings as finished art. By subtracting color from the design mix, the resultant limited palette can carry lots of strength with value changes and creative line work. And I have always loved loved loved drawings done in earth tones....they convey strength and softness all at the same time for me. "Laborer" was done from a live model. John looks like the guys I see at Circle K at the end of each work day buying their high-powered beer to get them through an evening filled with aches and pains just to get up and do it again the next day. I respect their physical labors. An honest day's work. Little in the way of financial rewards. Fatigue. That is what I wanted the work to say. I can relate.

Brushes

Paint Brush (Labor Series)   watercolor   8.5 x 14

Brushes are our friends, sometimes our best friends. When we paint often enough, the brush becomes an extension of our hands, our wills and our hearts. When I was a child, I can remember wanting to paint alongside my father. As he didn't trust my skill-level, I was given a bucket of water and a large brush and told that I could paint the side of the garage, which was cement block. I painted happily, as I recall, enjoying the rhythm and the coverage. All went well until the water started drying up and I could no longer see the fruits of my labors. Bummer. These days my home is filled with brushes of all kinds....various handles and ferrules, with hairs from goats, ponies, squirrels and the beloved Kolinsky Sables. They are, to me, a symbol of creative work, no matter who is wielding them. Jack Lieberman shared his tips on cleaning with me - a bar of olive oil soap that sits alongside my sink. I clean them lovingly now and again. And they serve me well. "Paint Brush - Labor Series" was painted in one of my classes and was one of those odd paintings that seemed to paint itself....I think my heart was in it. The bristles are not perfect, but show signs of use.....off I go for today to pick up my best friend. We plan to work together.

The Value of Work

Paint Dancer - detail

One week ago exactly was Labor Day, and being that I am always late, I feel it appropriate to talk labor today. Every now and then, you see a painting that rocks your world in some way....it could be the technique, the paint quality, the colors, the rhythms or the subject. Subject it was. "The Floor Scrapers" by Gustave Caillebotte. Not only is it a lovely painting, but it elevates the stature of the laborers by its subject, even though the workers are situated at the bottom of the picture plane. Lovely. I love to work with my hands as well, as do most of the people in my family. Even though our education leads us to work in a cubicle, most likely on a computer in what might be considered a white collar job, there are those of us that would be most happy working with our hands in whatever may be considered to be blue. Matthew B. Crawford speaks to this subject in his new book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work. Sitting down all day is highly overrated.

Debits and Credits

Edna...a sketch

Enough about money. I am talking an emotional bank here. My emotional bank is divided into two sections: debits and credits....much like an accounting book. Those things that drain me are definitely debits: courtesy calls from any business with whom I have ever done business or from whom I have ever ordered a magazine; power plays among people; the little purple pill and other ads from drug companies; and the evening scare-tactic news. I have found that I must consciously fill my emotional bank with interactions and activities that keep my bankbook afloat....those are credits. My sketchbook is filled with small drawings of those people who populate my immediate world....those with whom I feel a connection with, as well as those who don't have a clue that I am drawing them. Edna Williams is a dynamo with whom I have shared gallery sitting at Summit Artspace on more than one occasion. Wow.....I feel energized just being with her. She is an avid reader in several book clubs.....she has an interest in art that she feeds regularly.....and she has a forthright opinion on just about everything. Sometimes we quietly sit and read. Sometimes we chat. She is definitely a credit. Five hours feel like one.

By the way, Summit Artspace can always use volunteer gallery sitters.....could put your bank account over the top....the emotional one, that is.

Q...not O

Q...not O   oil/canvas   16 x 20 x 1.5

Small difference between these two letters. Just a wedge. I see the "O" as representative of "ohm", recycling continuous harmony. I see "Q" as an "O" that has been altered, transformed from the outside. We live in what used to be a rural community. When we heard that a new Walmart was moving in, we couldn't believe our ears, as there was another Walmart with 5 miles of our home already. We documented the transformation of these fields as the building went on for months and months. The shopping arena (would that be like a sports arena?) resembles those arenas just off the freeway in nearly every American town. Homogeny. Blah. "Q...not O" was painted before the land was mutated. And speaking of the environment, a show worth seeing is "One Degree of Change", a collaboration between Nancy Richards-Davis, an abstract encaustic artist, and Bradley Hart, a photographer from Kent. The exhibit is open through October 9 at the Dolan Gallery which is located in the Dolan Science Center at John Carroll University in University Heights. A moving experience! Like-mindedness.

Painting an apple a day.....

Granny Smith's Grin   oil/canvas   4 x 4 x 1.5

The artists in my classes will attest to the fact that I love apples. Almost always, we paint apples for the first session in the fall, as they are easy to lug along and fun to paint. And then they provide a treat for the ride home. We also discuss design elements. If we attest to the simple explanation of good design as "big and little things arranged pleasingly on a page", then we must also admit that not every still-life set-up offers the ultimate in great design. Sometimes it is necessary, and even preferable, to allow our imaginations to create where reality falls short. I think of line, especially pencil line, as an inviting element incorporated into a painting. Those first pencil lines that peek through a watercolor not only function as a design element, but also allow soulfulness to appear by watching the attempts, and perhaps the struggles, of the artist. Lines that have virtually no meaning literally still pack a punch when read visually. Squiggly energetic lines playing with the front-stage round form of the apple. Yum. In "Varietal" I painted the scene in front of me, then added calligraphic line work in the form of the various kinds of apples that are available to us in the marketplace. Playful lines. Colorful lines. Contrasted with rounded forms. Crunch.

Bounty

Tomato Tango   oil/canvas   8 x 8 x 1

My life is inextricably bound up with the seasons. Time of year determines what I will be painting, what I will be wearing, how I will be feeling and what I will be doing. There is a constant hum in our kitchen right now....the oven dehydrator is working full-tilt to preserve all of the tomatoes that ripened within a week's time. Funny how that is..............we wait and wait and wait..........and then the ripe goodness inundates our menus and our lives all at once. I always look forward to autumn and its quiet. More quality time in the studio. Less to do in the yard, After the tomatoes will come paprika peppers, then parsley, then thyme, then chives. I love following the rhythms of the seasons. Goodness emerges from each. Georgia O'Keefe once said that visiting the East inundated her senses with green.....and she got bored with so much green. Time to put away the greens. Time to squeeze out tubes of earth tones....raw sienna, raw umber, the burnt counterparts of each; yellow ochre and perhaps some violet. I am ready.

Market and High...

Market and High...a sketch

Yesterday morning I sat outside of the Akron Art Museum for an hour handing out postcards for Summit Artspace to museum-goers. The goal is for more area art-lovers to realize the existence of area artists, where they work and where they exhibit. I really had no idea that so many people visited the museum before noon! Of course, it was a free Sunday Sampler and an exhibit of Chuck Close, a combination that is hard to resist. The presence of window washers(on Sunday?) using an outrageously loud lift made it hard to talk and to concentrate. So, when possible, I retreated into my own visual world, where I find stimulation and comfort both. I concentrated on the old part of the building and drew some of the ornamentation which was vastly affected by the changing light. Whoa....here come some people. Letting go of drawings is so very hard for me. I never want to leave that mind arena. By noon I had handed out scads of postcards and had finished a small drawing. The drawing will be ever incised into my memory.....I hope that the recipients of those cards have that same endless-joyful-feeling as they take in the work at the Akron Art Museum. I also hope that many of them will find a new venue to explore in Summit Artspace.

Paint Like No One's Watching

Deference   oil/canvas   40 x 30 x .75

My sister once gave me a small gilded plaque that said, "Dance Like No One's Watching". I guess one could infer that would mean without any self-consciousness whatever. Letting it all hang out. I read once that dancing was one of the most right-brained activities there is....totally in the moment...just feeling the music....no words....no instructions. How nice. This Saturday Night is the Akron Art Walk from 5-10 pm. What a wonderful way to spend the evening! I will be painting at our ASA studio on the third floor of Summit Artspace at 140 E. Market Street until 9:30 pm along with a motley group of painters from The Akron Society of Artists. I am told that our model will be a dancer.....dancers are my favorites models as they are comfortable with their bodies and seem to hold to a higher notion of "the dance" above "the self". I will attempt to paint like no one's watching.

Trust

Trusting Chef Roger   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

O.K.....I have a hard time trusting people....we all have our emotional baggage. But sometimes we can feel akin to strangers. That happened the morning we were scheduled to have Roger Thomas of the Piatto Novo of Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls as our model for three sessions. I had the opportunity to ride up to our studio in the elevator with Chef Roger. There was something familiar in his countenance that felt comforting to me. I had seen his look before in my own family. When I asked him about it, I found that his heritage was quite similar to mine...some northern European, including Wales, as well as some American Indian from the Blackfoot tribe. I really don't get into the ancestry thing at all, as that goes against my "living in the present" philosophy. But, all in all, I found it interesting. As I result, I found it a pleasure to paint him....I felt the intimacy that is necessary for me to turn out a portrait with feeling. I like the portrait. And I like Chef Roger. After the sessions were over, he treated all of us painters to lunch at his restaurant. What a nice, nice feeling.

Chaos...

October Quince   watercolor   19 x 9.5

My painting process requires chaos. When there isn't enough of it on my canvas, I create some by the purposeful destruction of passages that are too sweet, too precious. The problem solving that is a by-product of this process is intellectually stimulating. The end result is sometimes visually un-readable. But sometimes the picture contains more, and becomes larger, than the original intention. This is a very precarious walk between illusion, chaos and reality. We have to be able to see between the lines and to take in all that is presented to us....not just the good stuff. "October Quince" is a chaotic painting. Most of the ones that I do of nature have that same feeling. Painting them helps me deal with life's chaos as well. Our quince bush is a force to reckoned with, especially during mowing. Its long spikes are outthrust like tiny weapons. But in October, it burgeons with the most aromatic fruits. It is also a wonderful fortress for our tiny feathered friends.

Carl Sagan said: It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

A kernel of truth...

Bi Color   oil/canvas   11 x 14

Just what is a kernel of truth anyways? A small bite....practically microscopic? Something easy to digest? Something that we ourselves digest and decide whether or not it is true? I like that one. When I was a young artist, I was always so impressed by paintings, usually watercolor, of corncobs. The ones of multicolored Indian corn were always the most impressive. It was apparent that these artists had extreme patience, a will to survive and extremely small brushes. Therefore, it was many years before I attempted to paint corn, as I had very little of the above......well, maybe a medium-sized brush. As we grow as artists, we come to digest small kernels of our own truths...the qualities that define us as individual artists. And, for me, it was definitely not going to be perfectly-painted kernels of corn. For me, those kernels had to become supporting actors to the entire cobs and their luscious leaves and silks that twist, undulate and protect. There, I did it. One more kernel on my cob.

White objects + Stacked Objects=Quite a Challenge

Precarious Stack of Vintage Bowls   watercolor   12.5 x 9

I love setting up painting challenges for myself. And I love stacks of things. My husband and I are stackers.....mostly stuff we are studying....books, magazines, reference materials and the like. Simply put, we are "pile people". In fact, when we are having company, we scurry around looking for places to hide our stacks. Stacks are always precarious, moveable, shiftable. And I like white dinnerware.....always have. No fancy patterns for me. I like that clean background look for the palette of food colors. White objects pick up colors from their surrounds that are reflected onto them. Rarely does an object register as pure white.....usually only in a highlight area. So, considering my fondness for stacked things, and white dinnerware, why not combine the two for an ultimate painting challenge? I really like this painting. There is something raw about it. I am usually very disappointed when I go too far with refinement. That is a very very very fine line. The values on the white bowl have been exaggerated a bit. All paintings are autobiographical to some degree, even if we consider just the selection process of the subject matter. "Precarious Stack of Vintage Bowls" is even more so. It has my name written all over it.

Have Sketchbook Will Travel...

two gentlemen from Charlottesville

 
















CharloMy handbag weighs a ton. It's true....I travel with a lot of baggage. But I would rather lug this thing around any day and be prepared for drawings that reveal themselves to me than be left sketchbook-less. This past weekend we traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia for a birthday visit with our youngest son who lives, works and runs in this charming community. The old bricked pedestrian mall is a most wonderful place to sip strong coffee, eat raisin scones, people-watch and, most importantly, people-sketch. It makes me deliriously happy to spend time this way. I usually start 2 or 3 drawings and work on them simultaneously. This allows for changes in position from the unsuspecting models that would leave me waiting. After years of drawing in public venues, I have come to realization that said unsuspecting model will return to the same 2 or 3 comfort positions ad infinitum. Although my little drawings are far from complete, I am happy with their spirits. Gentleman 1 was involved in a fairly deep religious and/or philosophical conversation with a friend. They were intense. I don't believe that they noticed me at all. Gentleman 2 was a gentle-looking young man who had stopped to sip some java and peruse the Sunday morning newspaper. I don't think that Gentleman 1 and Gentleman 2 knew how much their mere presence moved me. Gloria.

Trusting Intuition...

Dappled   oil/canvas   30 x 40 x 1.5

Trusting your own intuition is difficult to do. But the more it is trusted, the easier it is the next time around.....and the easier...and the easier. I have learned to trust mine, even if it means the demise of a painting. In other words, I would rather take the painting where my intuition leads me, spending more hours of problem-solving, than play it safe. Whoa......did I just say that? "Dappled" lead me on quite the supreme adventure! The color evolved from bright emerald green to blue-green to turquoise. The background started out as a barn, then suggestions of a barn to nothingness. The cropping of the horse kept returning, even though I thought I was changing it. The dappled horse went from solid to transparent to everything in-between. This painting holds the dubious distinction of being the longest-time-wise-painting-ever for me............over 4 months of facing the canvas with nothing more to guide me than my intuition. I checked and rechecked my original sketch. I made more sketches. Can you feel my desperation? This horse lives down the street from me. There were times that I couldn't even look at her as I passed by....too much frustration. I was ready to give up countless times. Lucky I was using oil paint. I knew then that I had arrived when my intuition told me I had. I felt that the painting said what I needed it to say. The essence of dappled. It works for me. Another notch scratched on my studio wall for the unknown.

The Bundt - it's not just for cake anymore

Bundt Pan...a sketch

Yesterday, I spent a wonderful day with my friend Jo wandering through the Medina Antiques Mall. It is a pleasant adventure that we love but, with our busy lives, have not found the time to do for many years. What's not to like? Air conditioning....music....and plenty of visual stimulation....almost to the point of overload. It is not nostalgia that drives me, but the true visual pleasure of wabi-sabi-one-of-a-kind items, the counterpart to what we see in most market places. I am always drawn to items with visual texture....old architectural elements and cooking utensils. Lots of muffin tins, old boxes and relief carvings. These old pans are a perfect way to learn much about "the nature of things", which improves and refines drawing skills. We have to deal with perspective, two-point and ellipses, as well as the way light describes the many indented surfaces. The pans are rarely perfect, which adds a quirky element to the drawing. Fun. For an interesting drawing problem, then, we need not look any farther than our own kitchens. The rest is just cake.

Wait

Wait   mixed/paper   20 x 13.5

No one understands defeat like an athlete. An athlete seems to understand the ebb and flow between victory and defeat and the resultant tenacity that serves him/her well. Everyone experiences defeat. Artists experience defeat when they receive rejection notices from exhibits that have chosen not to include their work. Artists experience defeat as the painting progresses from the deliriously expectant and joyful start to the realization that this work, too, has its flaws and may not be everything they had hoped it would be. But without the polar opposites of victory and defeat, we would not even begin to understand one or the other. Without defeat, success would be devoid of meaning. And I believe a successful athlete learns to gracefully incorporate both victory and defeat into her/his being which leads to a rich and soulful existence. Creative Akron artist Mark Soppeland has a wonderful work at the "Fresh and Witty" exhibit at Summit ArtSpace that is entitled "Obsessing over Other's Successes". This work has been created from old trophies. I can't wait to see it in person! The model for "Wait" posed with a towel around his neck, a dejected look on his face, and a trophy in his hand. I chose to concentrate on the face area, as I hoped that his dejection would have a more generalized influence without a physical trophy. Vertical strokes were used to strengthen the feeling of being "down". As with all sadness and disappointment, the only medicine is time.....the wait is painful.

Six Degrees of Separation...

Marci   oil/canvas   20 x 10 x .5

Six degrees of separation (also referred to as the "Human Web") refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth. It was made popular by a play written by John Guare. (from Wikipedia)

I guess this notion just might be similar to what is happening on Facebook and like-minded websites. This really is an amazing notion. I just finished reading Wolf Note, a book of short stories by Akron writer Libby Jacobs, who has also directed my friend Jo at Weathervane Playhouse. I loved the stories! They are smart, quirky, and show an amazing understanding of human behavior. The book was an award finalist granted by USABookNews.com. On the cover, lo and behold, is model Marci Paolucci who also acts. In fact, Marci recently posed for our Akron Society of Artists on a Saturday Art Walk..............I love the web of the creative community! "Marci" is my effort at portraying another amazing woman.

Wabi Sabi Holes

Longing...Detail

Holes in all kinds of things offer the possibility to learn so much about drawing! Holes are the places where light is gradually denied. Here we can learn about the values of surfaces. In addition, holes are completely wabi sabi....the imperfect quality that offers up the genuine, the used and the loved. Holes can also add a touch of quirkiness to an otherwise staid drawing. Holes in trees, holes in clothing, holes in implements and holes in shoes. What a great drawing experience! Holey moley.

It's all Relative

Eclipsed   oil/canvas   24 x 8 x .5

Painting The First Merit Bank Building at night from our ASA studios on the 3rd floor of Summit Artspace using only headbands with LCD lights on our foreheads was exciting. Oh, yeah, and it was also the night of a lunar eclipse. Also exciting was sipping cocktails on the top of the 100-story John Hancock Center in Chicago. I also had a chance to visit a few galleries on my visit. There were lots of Chinese and Russian paintings being sold for exorbitant amounts. There were also many slick large-paneled multiples. The images were beautiful....sunlight drops showing through branches of trees that were dripping down to lower edge of the picture plane. Really lovely. And there is was.....in green....in red....in blue....in yellow. I was told by the gallery owner that it really is the "big city" thing to do in large art markets such as Chicago.....focusing on just one thing....polka dots....whatever. You might as well put pins in my eyes. Doing the same thing again and again. I guess that makes my work pretty regional. For me, moving into the impersonal visual is a step towards the commercial-oneness. One of my hug-to-my-chest books is Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Rilke. He says:
Just as language has no longer anything in common with the thing it names, so the movements of most of the people who live in cities have lost their connexion with the earth; they hang, as it were, in the air, hover in all directions, and find no place where they can settle.

• Worpswede (1903)

I asked the gallery owner where he was from......Iowa....or was it Idaho?

Peach Pie

Freestone   oil/canvas   6 x 6 x 1.5

This past weekend my friend Peggy Shriner served peach pie at a get-together. Delicious! My mother could never understand my preference for peach-anything. She always said it had no flavor. Flavors of all kinds are very personal, very subjective. Same with artwork. Every person visiting The Chicago Institute of Art will probably come home with different favorites, works that will stay in the mind long after the visit. We might not even know why. Such is the case with "Le Premier Pas" (The First Step), an oil painting by Constantin Brancusi. It latched onto me from across the gallery. Maybe it is the subject matter. The "first step" is and always will be a monumental event for any parent. Perhaps it is the color....neutralized pastels that confuse the viewer...is it pastel? or is it oil? I love contradictions of all kinds. It may have been the extraordinary use of what appears to be a raw umber line along the perimeter of the small figure. Line work is not that common in paintings. It is bold and demonstrates a sure hand. I love raw umber. Perhaps. I am not sure why. Brancusi and Peaches....what a great combination!

The Great American Pastime

Cubs fan...a sketch

For many people, baseball is the great American pastime. For me, it is sketching. We took an urban vacation this year year to Chicago to join several family members for 4 days of urban adventures. One such adventure was to Wrigley Field where we (?) watched The Chicago Cubs play the Cincinnati Reds. For me, the thrill lies in people watching and learning about the nature of drawing the human face and figure. However, when the crowd rises to its feet and explodes with applause, I follow suit in order to fit in, even though, for the most part, I haven't a clue as to the reason for the excitement. For me, the excitement lies in capturing just the right angle of the nose, or in understanding the jumbled values of masses in the eye/eyeglasses area. As a result, I am never bored. Stick me in a seat anywhere with my sketchbook and I am happy as a clam. The frozen lemonade is just gravy. I know that the Cubs won. I do not know the score. Fine with me.

Water Warrior

Water Warrior   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

Our friend Pat is a water warrior, i.e., an expert kayaker in white water. What an interesting concept that is a perfect balance of the yin and the yang! Maneuvering through the fast-moving white frothy stuff requires great intuition and moment-to-moment decision-making. As for me, the notion of a warrior that can prove his strength in a quiet, self-sustained way is an appealing one indeed. No killing. No guns. No squealing tires. No arrogance. When Pat saw the finished work, he seemed moved that the face seemed to be timeless....he saw himself as a 17-year-old and at present, somewhat older. At first I was clueless and thought myself to be the recipient of a happy accident. However, my process involves lots of reductionism, lots of wiping out. Perhaps the details of the present were wiped away. Perhaps an essence of my friend is what remained. My goals were only to render the notion of water without droplets and to show the deep admiration that I hold for the man that he is, and the ways in which he chooses to participate in this life. Amen.

Unraveling Perspective

Stack of Books and a Gourd...a sketch

I love visual problem solving! I think that is why I enjoy facing the easel every day. And that is why I don't like to repeat processes. Setting up new problems is invigorating! I can only hope that the artists in my perspective class feel the same way. This week's problem involves a drawing of a stack of books. Alack and alas.....this problem is definitely more intricate than what it first appears. The three books share a common horizon line as the eye level of the artist remains constant. However, each book has its own two particular vanishing points along that line if each is skewed in a different direction. I advised the artists to do thumbnail sketches first in order to understand what is going on before they jump into the rendering which is infinitely more fun. Stay tuned for the finished drawings. Linda Davis demonstrated that she understands the presented perspective problem. Ahhhhh......satisfaction.