On Making a Connection

Hand Knit Scarf   watercolor   13 x 9.6

One of the reasons for failed paintings, I believe, is the inability to connect with, or feel committed to the subject. For me, this happens when someone else sets up a still life, or a model is distant or, to me, emits negative energy. It has happened time and time again. The young women I painted in "Hand Knit Scarf" was sweet and approachable. I felt the energy and time that she had put into making her own scarf. Although there are always many problems to solve in each painting, and often some resultant weaknesses, I am pleased with this overall result.

By gosh, I think I've got it!.....wait... I don't

Tarragon Vinegar and Pepper   watercolor   8 x 18.5

Why is it that some paintings seem to paint themselves, while others cause complete exasperation? "Tarragon Vinegar and Pepper" is such a painting. It was started as a demonstration in my watercolor class and almost finished up that evening. Only a few strokes were added later. Having such an experience causes you to think that you might finally have a grasp on the magic of painting. Alas and alack.....one painting later and you wonder if you really are a painter, or perhaps an imposter. I muck around trying to solve the visual puzzles with little relief. Nothing pleases me. What a roller coaster ride!

Negative Painting

Beliefs   watercolor   18 x 19.5

Sometimes, especially in watercolor, intricate things are best described by the holes in them, or the space around them. This is especially true for things such as lace and garden fences. (Is there a life metaphor here?) This was the class lesson for "Beliefs". We were studying reliefs, raised surfaces, and how they are described by the light hitting them. I like to call this concept the "to's and the fro's". I paired up this iron garden cross with mineolas which were in season. Using a limited palette always pleases me. I am pleased with the result.

Making Time for Art

Strawberry Boat - Overboard   oil/canvas   5 x 7 x 1.5

I get very grumpy when I don't get to paint each day....just ask my husband. Most of my paintings are large and complicated.....I labor over the concept, the forms and the colors that will most succinctly support my ideas. However, there are days when the duties of being a homeowner, a consumer and an art manager(clerical work to support my calling) consume my time. Yesterday was such a day. I had only 2 hours for my creative work. Small paintings fit the bill for these days. Smaller paintings, for me, tend to be just about the subject matter at hand.....the beautiful colors and textures of fruits, vegetables and small things that don't normally catch our attention. Solving problems in a smaller format can help to solve larger ones down the road. Each has its lessons to teach. I am grateful for those 2 hours.

Transparency and Opacity

Summer Brie   watercolor   13.5 x 21

I work in both oils and watercolors. Each provides me with lessons that can be transferred to the other. I was obsessed with these opposing notions of transparency and opacity for years. Watercolor teaches a deftness and economy of stroke AND transparency. Oils provide creamy opacity. I love attempting both in all of my works. It has been said that opacity provides more of a viewpoint for the artist alone(what is).....and that transparency allows a window for the viewer to see more of his/her own viewpoint(what may be). This watercolor was started in my class and finished at home. It is being shipped tomorrow to the "Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts" and will hang at the Robeson Gallery at Penn State from June 11 through July 13.

Animation

Daisy's Legacy   oil/canvas   16 x 20

My favorite paintings are of the human figure. But, from time to time, I paint things around me that make me feel. These peonies were started from my Grandma Daisy's peonies and this time of year they seem to shoot up from the ground seemingly overnight. However, the time it takes to get from the formation of the heads, to the endless stream of ants that eat from the sweetness and help them to open seems to take forever. I always hope for several lovely blooms to be ready for Memorial Day, when my mom and I take the billowy blooms to her grave site. Grandma Daisy didn't have much money and she didn't say much, but her garden was her glory. I thank her for this important lesson. It is difficult to paint flowers. These were painted from life in my studio. I feel that I have succeeded when the flower grouping has an animated gesture, when I really do feel the life within. The power of the peonies is cyclical and teaches me every spring.

Stepping out of the Comfort Zone

Eclipsed   oil/canvas   24 x 8 x .5

"The jazz in life is not found in the comfort zone". Wow, do I love this quote! As we muddle through our days, we find comfort in always sitting in the same chair, taking the same route to the grocery, and so on and so on. I think that this saves our energy and that is good. I wear my bib overalls every day to paint.....I like saving my creativity for the canvas. It is only when the status quo consumes every moment of our lives that we become bored and restless. I really do believe that we ought to "shake it up" in the realms that are most interesting to us. "Eclipsed" is such a painting. A few of us painted during the recent lunar eclipse on February 20 on the 3rd floor of a county building in Akron, Ohio. We turned out all of the interior lights and used only LED headbands to paint the nightscape. What a rush! This painting is of The First National Bank Building.....I added the eclipse later, as it was not visible from my viewpoint. As I couldn't see my palette that well, I found that I was much more generous with both the paint and the medium than usual and was pleased with the results. Painting "in the dark" has its benefits. Are there other lessons to be learned here?

The subjectivity of Seeing

Mary, Mary   oil/canvas   36 x 24 x 1.5

The varieties of human taste always interest me. I paint with lots of other artists. Each has his/her own way of seeing, of taking in the sight in front of them. Mary was a beautiful model. When she entered the room, I took note of her hair, which had been dyed a kool-aid lime green. That, I thought, would be my "hook", my focal point. Then, as the painting progressed, I thought that her revealing backless dress and the muscles on the back would be my focal area. By the second session, I realized that the thing of interest, to me, was her heel, turned so subtly in those strappy high heels. I wouldn't even had guessed it myself! There, in the left corner, is my center of interest. I guess it is like ice cream..............different people, different flavors. I have always loved rum raisin.

The Power of Negative Space

Breakaway   watercolor   19 x 27

The hardest thing for so many artists, including myself, is the "negative space", that part of the painting that surrounds the thing that we are trying to capture. I have known for a long time that pictures filled with things are a turn-off to me personally. I believe that the power of the picture in total is divided between the things in the picture plane. Therefore, the fewer the things, the more power each possesses. We Americans are full of things....in our homes, in our lives. We are simply losing, in my opinion, the ability to see the power in the negative space.....for me that negative space becomes "what is to be". The L-shaped composition of a sprawling figure on a horizontal picture plane becomes somewhat problematic since there remains a complete rectangle of "nothing".....what is to be. I must admit that I was intimidated by this space, but have become satisfied in the treatment of this space. This painting is of my son....he is a recent college graduate and is weighing all of his options for the future. That unfilled space represents, for me, all that is to come. Very satisfying.

Drawing from the Shoulder

Tricorne   charcoal and pastel on paper   18.5 x 11

As I journey into the land of "what makes my art mine", I try to imprint what has given me a thrill, what marks on the paper sing of expression, of desire more than perfection, of letting loose more than control. These marks or strokes more often originate from the shoulder, where the strokes become stronger and grander and faster. (marks made from the wrist are generally weaker and more perfect, due to the desire to maintain control). The drawing "Tricorne" started as most drawings do when I work from a model. I start by finding the major forms, searching for rhythms and always searching for the "likeness". Yet when I reevaluate the drawing much later, I find that what moves me the most are often errant, searching strokes that speak simply and imply "less" rather than "more". The white calligraphic stroke that describes the ruffled shirt is my favorite. I love energy in the stroke. Let that be a lesson to me. Control is over-rated.

Avoiding the precious

Pince Nez   mixed/paper   20 x 13.5

In my work, I really do try to avoid preciousness and perfection, which seems to kill the energy and, in the long run, the work itself. Playing with the media is a wonderful way to shake up the work and to push the envelope. Sometimes, of course, I am unable to retrieve the goodness of it all. But sometimes, by making the visual problem-solving more complex, I am surprised and delighted with the turn of events. In "Pince-nez", I knew that I would be working from a model. Ahead of time, I used watercolor to swash the surface of the paper in an interesting pattern. The portrait was worked over it with charcoal and pastel. Later I added gold leaf to the chain of the glasses.....I have had the gold leaf for many years in my cupboard and had not found a reason to use it. I am pleased with the results!

Working with what is Given

Mary in Polka Dots   oil/canvas   30 x 24 x .5

I frequently work from models. Most of the time this works out. I believe that you must find something about that person that is thrilling to you. In the case of "Mary in Polka Dots", I found the rhythm of her figure, with the long leg curling around to catch the support bar of the stool, to be intriguing. It also supported her figure....long and lithe....to aid in the composition. She represented completed freshness to me. It was a pleasure to paint her. I guess I see a metaphor here for life in general..........making the most of what is given to you. Painting helps me to understand all that is good.

living in the present

Rabbit Study   Pencil/conte crayon on paper   10 x 13

Art, to me, is about living in the present moment, becoming timeless and enjoying the flow. In that regard, the only work of art that is important is the one you are currently working on. The problem-solving and endless choices available are a definite remedy to the confines of day-to-day living. Letting go of "things", including past works of art, is, to me, necessary to continue to grow and experience more. An evolution of sorts. "Rabbit Study" is one such work. It took me a week to do and, to me, is so very tender and fine. Most of my current work is large and gestural. I am ready to let it go.

Drawing

Tired Official...a sketch

Drawing is my greatest pleasure! I keep a small sketchbook and a variety of pencils with me at all times.....Not only does it help to pass the time in some situations, it also helps me to feel a part of whatever I am witnessing. It helps me to understand the world that I live in. All of my sons have been awesome runners, so we (my husband and me) have been to countless races and meets throughout the years. My sketchbook is like a diary of those wonderful memories. "Tired Official" is one of those sketches. It documents, I think, the life of an older man whose running days are long past and has continued his legacy by being a timekeeper. He is now tired. I recall making the sketch and empathizing with him.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Daffodils Redux   watercolor   8 x 13.5

I am a painter. Painting is always a struggle, a search for self. Painting is freedom, where there are millions of choices and millions of right answers. Not so much pure black or pure white. Today I am working on a watercolor painting of daffodils that I started as a class demonstration. My goal was to alter the usual "happy color" daffodil palette that has been successful in my previous daffodil paintings...i.e. yellow, yellow green and turquoise. My journey started into violets, then was soon heading back to the comfortable blue-greens......whoa............shake it up with brown. I am learning to love the earthiness and honesty of brown. Has it been successful? I won't know for a few days until I see the painting with fresh eyes. Can't wait.