Craving Some Color...

Turkish Pitcher and Orange   watercolor   14 x 10

It is around this time of year that I have noticed my friend Jo declaring her craving for color...bright color.  We are shut in this year for long periods of time as snow has been in the forecast nearly daily for at least a month.  Cabin fever.  Just as we need extra vitamins C and sunshine D, our souls crave color for elevation, as a mood enhancer.  Norma, an artist in my class, chose to paint oranges under the theme of a "snack" painting.  Her color palette is full of vitamin C as well....citrusy brights to alleviate the boredom and the darkness.  Her painting is freshly rendered, nicely composed and believable.  So...........I guess the lesson is.

February:  eat and paint oranges....in no particular order at all.

What is harder to paint than flowers?...

White Rose Pair   watercolor   6.5 x 20

Nothing, in my opinion.  Although flowers are a popular subject matter for painters, I don't do them much at all.  First of all, I would rather have the real thing in a vase.  Secondly, they just don't provide a spark for me.  And, last, they are so darned difficult to paint.....each bloom is extremely complex in its formation, not to mention the bending of the form to and from the light source that gives it credibility.  Throw in another 8 or 9 blooms and you have a real headache....many decisions to be made as far as a focal point, leading flower actor and supporting blooms.  This week in both of my watercolor classes we will be painting flowers in honor of the love day.  Tonight's class in Kent we will be doing small 5 x 7 paintings of single blooms.....this class just started and we will be easing into larger things.  At Cuyahoga Valley Art Center next Monday, we will tackle "a bouquet that you would like to give to yourself".....a more complex problem for artists who have been painting a while.  No plastic please.  Wish us luck.

PLAN AHEA.............

D.  That is me.  Remember those signs at the turnpike gift shops that were carved with

     "PLAN AHEA

       D"?   (the D is always on the second line)

Grit   conte crayon   34.5 x 20

That is me.  That is my weakness.  No matter what size ground I am given, paper or canvas, small, large, or in-between, I am running off the borders.  My weakness shows up even when I work larger.  I tend to work all over at once, and often consider the subject matter as secondary to other rhythms, (the initial block-in losing a bit of importance) so, often, a bit of time passes before I realize that I don't have room for all of the crucial elements.....and my painting euphoria comes to a screeching halt.

So, in order to compensate for this tendency, I have become used to placing a smaller rectangle inside the real one....an "imaginary boundary" that must be obeyed.  It seems to work for me.  In fact, the pencil boundary can often be seen faintly underlying layers of paint in watercolors.  In oils, it can easily be removed on a subsequent layer.

I once did a drawing of my son Seth who is a runner.  There simply was no room left on the paper for his feet.  And I really liked the drawing.  In this case it worked for me, as the emphasis was on his upper body and face, which was in survival mode.  But this drawing was the final straw for me.....I simply must be more careful.  

PLAN AHEAD.  I guess I was attracted to that sign for a reason.

The Knowing/Unknowing...

Sylvia   watercolor/watercolor pencil   18 x 9

We artists like to think that we are always progressing....that our knowledge increases, becomes more sophisticated, more "there".  But sometimes we pull out work that is years old and are surprised at its immediacy and its power.  Always a surprise.  I believe that there is a fine line between the knowing and the unknowing.  It is always good to be in possession of more knowledge...for sure.  But the goal is to be able to move about the work with a bit of naivete and the enthusiasm that comes only from our R-brain which doesn't concern itself much with rules and formulas.  Such is the case with "Sylvia", an amazing person, and a painting from years ago that I like very very much.

Don't tell anyone, but....

Some Things are Seen More Clearly in Winter - Danseuse   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

I am a lover of winter....the snow, the cold and the isolation.  For me, it is my most painting-productive time of year as well as a respite from feverish activity.  This season promotes introspection and the observance of quiet living.  OK.  Well.  Don't ever say it in public, as the vast majority of people seem to prefer other seasons, any other season...summer most often.  It is true that my job does not require me to leave home, so driving and perpetual bundling are not issues.  For me, things are more clearly seen in winter....the visual delights as well as the emotional dilemmas.  Bare Bones.  Less competition.  Definitely less noise.  The cardinal takes on more importance in the background of winter.  Love it.  Love it.  Love it.

End Game...

Lone Cone   watercolor   7 x 7

With watercolor, the end game is always the trickiest....I guess that it is true in all mediums.  The major difference is that in applying the darkest darks, certainty is more crucial, in that these pigments are impossible to remove, and the spoiling of the work is always a possibility.  By the time I have nearly reached a finish, I have an idea of exactly which dark I would like to use.  For me, it doesn't really matter which hue is used, as it is read as "just dark".  I guess that temperature is more important.  It is then applied sparingly (usually) to lead the eye around the picture.  Light washes of cadmium red were added to some of the bracts.  (Thanks to Tom Auld for this new word) Crucial edges become more defined.....last minute details.  More often than not, the artists who look at my work find them to be under-described more than over-. Fine by me.  When I tread across that fine line, the works just don't look like mine anymore.  Most often, we find the areas that have been less-worked to be the freshest and the most agreeable.  More spontaneous.  More calligraphic.  Yes, there will always be passages that hit the mark.  And always those that don't seem to commit.  I guess our goal might be to increase the number of those passages that do. 

more than I ever wanted to know about pinecones....Quiet Conversation..

Quiet Conversation   watercolor   9 x 13

Not really, but drawing or painting any object is really the only way to begin to understand its nature, its rhythm.  The beginning of the painting is always the most important....it sets the stage for me, the mood.  If that beginning is not loose, not rich, and doesn't offer lots of possibilities, I would sooner quit.  So, you see, the pine cone  photo from the last session is really the most important one.  It is not possible to start tight then go looser.  It is only possible to start with wild childlike enthusiasm, then gradually rein it in.

During my second session with this painting, which was at home, I continued to work on:  defining the color temperature; working towards more darks, and also towards more texture.  The temperature was a surprise (YES!) as I really did think that this painting would have a warm dominance.  But as I worked along, the cooler hues were thrilling me more, and setting off the slight warmth of the cones themselves.  Also, I continued to describe areas throughout with crisp well-defined edges that, hopefully, would aid to lead the eye around the composition.  And, there was also the relationship between the two cones on the left, one in front of the other, that needed definition by using dominance.  I am guessing that this second session was about an hour and a half.  Still feeling excited.......

Complaint Department...why my work changes drastically from one session to the next

The front desk of the complaint department of my art store (that imaginary place where I make art)is lined up with watercolor artists in my classes who register the same complaint again and again.....

...your work is never finished in class and when you bring it back, it looks entirely different...Guilty as charged. The reasons why are:

* I work within the framework of abstraction while painting realistic objects
* Time means nothing to me. Sometimes I finish before the end of the session...but that is rare
Paintings can take days to finish, or just a couple of sessions. I have goals, but they are so
flexible. My personal sense of aesthetic is the final judge. There is no checklist.
* I try to postpone the hard edges and dark values...as their harshness cannot be taken away.
I try not to commit too soon, all the while enjoying the painting process

At our last session, each artist was given three pine cones. What a difficult proposition! All that detail! All of that complex rhythm! The goal was to be able to put the form first....the details of the cones secondary. Those who obey realism the most will probably have the most difficult time, as they tend to describe the object by its detail, rather than the larger notion of its form in the composition. Although I have never been a fan of the 1..2..3..method of painting (there is no such thing as three simple steps), I will attempt to describe the progress of the cone painting visually.

The first class session was about 1 1/2 hours painting time. My goals for that beginning session where to lay down a groundwork of wonderful swirling light-valued washes that connected the three forms, while maintaining some sparkling whites. After that was done......and that is a slow process due to the amount of water on the paper and the time needed to dry it up a bit...I began LIGHTLY to describe just a bit of detail in the forms at locations that I have deemed important....all that is worked out ahead of time in preparatory drawings.

I am, and will always be, a toad. Spontaneity does not always equal speediness.

Surprises...

Tomato Basket   oil/canvas   16 x 20 x 1.5

I love surprises....just a bit of something that breaks through the ordinary. I never read programs at the theater, for example. I don't want to about the actors' real lives, at least not before the show. I want to believe the illusion that they present on stage. I rarely make the same meal twice....and when I do, it is usually a disappointment. That is why I paint like I do. Although the subject matter is concrete, I try to maneuver throughout the painting making snap judgments and relying, hopefully, on a more-or-less practiced knowledge of the design elements and principles. (The opposite, of course, being photo-realism, which allows for no surprises at all.....the goal being for the resultant work to look exactly like the photo).

"Tomato Basket" is a painting that never quite made it out of choppy water. I never ever felt all that comfortable at any stage of the painting. Uneasiness. Insecurity. I reached what I considered to be a stopping point, confident that I had attempted all possible solutions within my reach. OK. It was hung in the dining room during holiday season because of its color but each time I walked by, I questioned whether or not I should have another go at it. Our ASA critique was last evening....so I toted it along wearing my thick skin in hopes that other solutions might present themselves. Problem areas to me were not problem areas to the leader whose aesthetic sense is one I trust. Problem areas that were questioned by others were not problematic to me. I was surprised. And I will let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak. Unless, that is, you have another solution that has not yet been considered...

Between the Folds...on origami...

Leap of Faith   acrylic/paper   29 x 19

We watched an amazing movie the other evening...."Between the Folds", a documentary focused on those who have become obsessed with origami....scientists, artists and mathematicians. This movie appeared at last year's Cleveland Film Festival but we were unable to attend, so anxiously awaited its release at Netflix.

Matisse said: Much of the beauty that arises in art comes from the struggle an artist wages with his limited medium.

True. True. True. Painting is an additive art. Sculpture a subtractive. Origami uses only one given....a square piece of paper that can range in size from a few inches to several feet. Some of our era's greatest minds have given up their lives to study this discipline, a wild combination of art, math and science, and actually believe that it might hold the key to solutions in medicine. Technique has exploded since the 60's when an origami work may have had a dozen folds compared to today's works that take several days and hundreds of folds to complete. Works using thousands of folds are on the horizon.

As technique has become more important, however, several practitioners have noted the inverse relationship between technique and emotion. The more technique.....the less emotion. And these same artists, whose work in origami has spanned decades, have endeavored, after achieving great technical feats, to reinstate emotion into their work by reducing their efforts to the simple, the expressive, the abstract. Sound familiar?

The work is a ballet in progress....yes, yes, yes. If the process is good, then the end result is an object that looks good. Orchestration. Dance. Music. Yes. It's all about process. Amen.

beep...beep...beep...(annoyingly)...backing up..

Cog   watercolor/mixed   9.5 x 13

These days you can hear all sorts of vehicles backing up....dump trucks....public transportation buses and even cars. The sound is annoying to be sure. But necessary. I am backing up here to our first watercolor class. This one is the very first, where artists come somewhat prepared, but what to paint? For too many years I used apples because they were easily portable....and cheap. We cut them in various ways to make it interesting. This year I was certain I needed a change when one of the participants came prepared with an apple....just too predictable. I decided that we just needed to experience the joy of mucking around with paint...in a restricted non-objective manner. I felt some perimeters were in order:

* we attempted to preserve sparkling whites
* we had to work in the traditional watercolor way....light to dark
* we needed to use both organic and straight line (forms with those lines), with one or the other
being dominant

My hope was that we could all enjoy the freedom of painting spontaneously and non-objectively without the concerns of reality-painting, and more importantly, that we would be able to transfer this freedom to painting from reality during the subsequent lessons. All went very well. The results were admirable. "Cog" is the result of my work that night. I finished it off at home with a fat dark water-soluble crayon. I guess my brain was telling me that I need to get in gear. Get that vehicle in drive!

The sublime...the soft...the understated...

White Rose Pair   watercolor   6.5 x 20

To me, watercolor works are sublime. Soft. Understated. These days we are barraged with images from all corners of our existence and, unfortunately, those images that shout the loudest are those that stay with us. Watercolors require us to pay attention. They often speak to what is underneath the surface. And they are the most difficult to bring to fruition given the nature of the medium, which does not allow for infinite applications of paint. In a world of words, watercolor is poetry and even, perhaps, haiku. In my earlier years, I wanted watercolor to be the end-all while I went about trying to break through its limitations. That is good.....an envelope pushed. These days I find myself being more satisfied with its limitations, and even enjoying them. That is good too. Age? Fatigue? Acceptance? Whatever. "White Rose Pair" is one of my favorites.....I can actually say that I like it. Especially the small violet wash that came as a surprise.

Watercolor is full of surprises................that is its strength.

Crunch...

Winter Print   watercolor   11.5 x 8

Crunch is definitely an onomatopoeia word.....sounds like its intended meaning. And we are hearing plenty of it these days as we trod through the snow to get our mail and get to our vehicles. Crunch. The footprints left behind are a sort-of fragile relief.....many layers of to and fro....patterns that catch the light in various ways. Last year I attempted a footprint painting....in fact, I attempted two. My goal was to achieve the 3-dimensions of the pressed print left in the snow by heavily soled and corrugated boots. OK. Also.....to play with color temperature....a dominant cool painting with bits of warmth to make it more dynamic. This little project was more work that what I thought! Each stroke seemed too strong.....yet necessary for the definition of the pieces parts. The little resultant painting is confusing, I think. I don't believe that it reads as it should. The print part doesn't really read as being beneath the surface of the snow. Perhaps my aesthetic need to join the shape with the background resulted in the visual confusion. At any rate, I am still crunching away. Maybe I will try it again.....next winter.

It Takes a Village...

Every Mother's Daughter   oil/canvas   36 x 48

I am a painter.....yes, indeed. And a painter with focus, I believe. But I am a mother, first of all. We human beings are very fragile....our children are fragile.....and I believe that the responsibility of raising feel-good children belongs to us all. Many years ago, I painted a young friend while she was still a university student. For me, she epitomized the notion of openness, of inclusion....she still does. She posed, somewhat painfully, on the fireplace mantle in her small apartment, with an Indian mandala cloth tacked up on the wall behind. This holiday season I heard from dear Kate.....she is really one of a handful (sadly - yes) of women I have met who celebrate others as well as themselves....who understand the notion of different but equal.....a very difficult lateral adjustment for those of us who grew up within the vertical ladder of success of authoritarian behavior. ( Escape from Freedom, Erich Fromm) Sure, she demonstrates good-for-me......but she also celebrates good-for-you. She is the product of lots of love....from her parents.....and from the village. She now lives in LA and works in Hollywood in the movie industry....and travels the globe. Good for you, Kate!

Giving Pause...

So Young Worries   watercolor/mixed   15.5 x 10

We should pay more attention to those things, those events and those life passages that give us pause. I love that catch-phrase "giving pause"! I believe that it is our creative subconscious at work, highlighting notions to which we should be paying more attention....those designs, those colors, those fragments of knowledge that help to define our individual selves. And, counter-likewise, when we see works, actions and events that "turn us off", we should pay attention as well. Those negatives help us to see what we are not.

Defining our individual selves as artists is quite difficult. I think that we should avoid trying to paint like Joe, or Pablo, or whomever. By gradually eliminating what we are not, we should be able to come up with, over time, what we are.....hopefully. ATTENTION MUST BE PAID.

Who knows why some images just stick in our brains? It happens to me now and again. My daughter-in-law recently shared a book on Picasso with me that she is using as inspiration in her job as a designer at The Tea Collection. I thumbed through the pages enjoying them all. Then, a week later, I found that I just could not forget one in particular. "Woman with a Crow" was done in charcoal, pastel and watercolor. The overall effect is so immensely pleasing to me.....the subject matter, the way the color is used, the vibrant colors that were selected.....and the paint quality. In addition, this work is owned by The Toledo Museum of Art, my daughter-in-law's home town.....quite a coincidence! This image, for me, may represent a direction for discovering my artistic self. Perhaps not. But I am wealthier for taking note and really really infusing this painting into my soul.

Purgatory Ain't Nothin' But The Blues

During the weeks of altered Christmas reality, where I seem obsessed with making lists and sub-lists of those lists, an image from the newspaper caught my eye.....no time for this....remain on current list-track.....can't help it.....it is powerful and amazing......there before me was an article by Dorothy Shinn reviewing an exhibit by former Akronite and always-my-hero-and-inspiration Tyrone Geter. By the time the article appeared, the exhibit was almost over. We made it into the little-known-and-had-to-be-unlocked gallery on the last day, January 4. This man and his work bowl me over! His drawing skills are extraordinary. His expressiveness beyond compare. The resultant charcoals speak, yet softly, across a room. These newer works combined collage, with torn and cut paper, and assemblage with his drawing and painting. Beautifully-constructed boxes held some of the work. His heritage and his elevated consciousness are beautifully told. For a short while, I was transported into his world. What a wonderful gift! Thank you, Tyrone Geter, for your stories. Thank you, Tyrone Geter, for sharing your growth with Akron.........Thanks..............I needed that.

Winter Red...a simply cardinal painting

Winter Red   watercolor   19 x 12.5

It has been snowing for days on end....beautiful quiet stuff. Peaceful. Our home has been emptied of holiday visitors (sigh) and we are back to our pre-holiday rhythms....albeit a bit slower than usual. Outside our window, however, is a feed-fest. Our bird feeders are open 24/7 for the cold and hungry. Watching the diners is like peeking into the microcosm of human and animal behavior. Big bullies. The tolerant and the not-so. The flighty. The stable. Those with beautiful coats pure in color. Those who sport tasteful neutrals. It is both enjoyable and entertaining. Peaceful it is not.

Tis the Season...for small works...

Delicious   oil/canvas   5.5 x 5.5 x 1

I have found that most of my creative energy of late has been devoted to preparing for a wonderful holiday season with my family. I'm sure I don't have to list here all of the added activities that consume December time...we are well aware. As a result, my painting time has come almost to a screeching halt....I simply do not have the attention span or the brainpower to solve visual problems. Mini-paintings are a wonderful solution to keeping our brushes in paint. Sure, they have some problems to solve.....but not overwhelmingly so. And a min-painting can usually be finished in a session. The drawbacks, of course, are those confoundedly small brushes and setting up a large easel for such a small canvas. These small canvasses can be put on shelves and side tables for more intimate viewing....I am particularly happy with the color harmony in " Delicious". This painting is 5.5 x 5.5!

The fat/thin paradox...

Sparse Tree   linoleum print Christmas card

I am an amateur print-maker. In other words, I am no Joan Colbert. But I have done linoleum cut holiday cards a number of times. It is refreshing to work in a different way and to experience different creative problems. Several years ago, I decided to challenge, for myself, the notion of a beautiful Christmas tree. Some folks insist on finding the "perfect" shaped tree every year. Some love tall.....and the taller, the better. Some prefer a certain kind of pine, exclusive, always the most expensive. We are what we decorate? All in all, the notion of bounty rules in the Christmas tree realm. Full has become more beautiful....that is, unless we're talking about the female figure. Well nourished. Well fed. Fewer gaps. Straighter.The kind we like to see on happy Christmas cards. The year of this card, we had a Charlie Brown tree.....the sketch of it turned into a card the following year. Mixing the dark green color was problematic for me, as each batch of mixed paint yielded quiet a different color. My studio is brightly lit, so those that seemed perfect became almost blackish in a more dimly lit surround. Oh well. The bulbs were printed with the tip of an eraser. Several years hence, I realize that there is just too much white space.....perhaps the Charlie Brown tree could have had more branches. I do, however, love the fact that I challenged this notion. I also like the diagonal cuts in the border. Sometimes I am satisfied with a few good passages. I am easily amused.

The Dance...

Before the Dance   oil/canvas   20 x 16 x 1.5

There is absolutely nothing more beautiful to me than THE DANCE. The spontaneous movement of the human body gracefully moving through space. It is pure. And, likewise, I enjoy the movement of forms and rhythmic placement of forms on a canvas. (Mind you, this does not include the dances that are signaled by the counting and recalling of the L-brain saying, "1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4".) I have spent lots of paint, lots of paper, lots of canvas on the beauty of the dancer. Time well spent. And I have a very naive notion that if all people would just dance, the world would be a better place. Spinning, swaying, tapping and spiraling in unrestrained joy. No inhibitions. No rules. Dance like there's no one watching. Paint like there's no one watching. What a buzz.

Eyes to the Skies...

Big Snow   watercolor   20.5 x 13.5

For the past several days, we have been under a severe snow advisory here in northeast Ohio. The skies have been violent and winds severe. Most of the Midwest has been blasted with snow. Here, nothing so far....except extreme cold. We have dodged the snow-bullet temporarily. However, there are several weather systems just south of Lake Erie. Our friends just 50 miles away are shoveling out a foot of snow from their driveways. As they say here in Ohio, "Don't like the weather? Just stick around for five minutes." We artists benefit from our constantly changing environment. "Big Snow" was painted last January from a scene at a horse farm just up the street in Brimfield Center. The huge piles of snow were dirtied from the efforts of snow removal crews. The sky was tumultuous. The only pure white snow was on the rooftops and yards. I wanted to shift attention in this painting to the sky. I used pure color in the counter areas around the clouds and used muddied neutrals in the foreground. "Big Snow" is currently on exhibit at Hudson Fine Art and Framing.

Appropriateness...

April...a sketch

Although I profess to be a lover of novelty and experimentation, I will acknowledge that certain ways of working are appropriate to certain circumstances. Standing while painting and drawing offers the possibility for more movement, grander strokes, a more aggressive application of pigment. Large brushes, large sticks of pigment and pencils with very large leads seem to work the best. So does a large sheet of paper or a large canvas. Sitting while working is more passive and more intimate.....usually leading to smaller sizing of both tools and grounds. Which is best? Neither, in my opinion. Both have their benefits and their limitations. Just like musicians who are able to construct songs that both elevate and let down; both shout and whisper; both accelerate and decelerate; artists who go to both lengths can widen their visual experiences resulting in more freedom and more interest, both for the viewer and for the artist herself. Avoiding the same the same the same. My drawing of April was done in a grandstand at the MAC championships in 2007. It is one of my favorite drawings in the aforementioned sketchbook. It was done in bits and pieces throughout the event with a small pencil, probably a harder lead. It is small and tender. Perhaps I appreciated my patience that evening...my willingness to take a bit longer, to consider a bit more, and to enjoy the finer mark-making. My natural impulsiveness usually precludes this kind of work. Good memory. One of my personal goals is to do that which does not come naturally.

Milestone...

Jane Kovacic...a sketch

Today is a milestone - a big one. I am removing my small sketchbook from my bag and replacing it with a clean and untouched new one. This small book has recorded events and notations since March of 2006 when it was begun. This precious visual diary is now in dangerous condition.....the beautiful cover and binding are pulling away from its pages. It contains hundreds of drawings of family members in recreation and sickness; track and field athletes; and, of course, drawings of my artist friends. It even contains essential insurance information from a traffic accident several years ago when it was the only paper at hand. Despite the fact that I am never successful at multi-tasking, I have, for some strange reason, developed a tolerance for listening to speakers and drawing at the same time. In fact, it is an optimum experience and extremely pleasurable. I beg forgiveness from all speakers past and present as I work and listen simultaneously. One of the first drawings in the book is of fellow artist (and one of my heroines) Jane Kovacic as she uses binoculars at a critique. The drawing has been done in brown china marker and, I believe, captures her character. Many of the drawings are complete; many are faulty in one way or another; and most have been abandoned quite early on. These efforts reflect my life and these marks mirror both my searching and my successes and failures.

A beautiful new leather book has already been selected.....very exciting. Sometimes I leave the first page blank as the pressure of the FIRST PAGE is just too daunting. Time to move on.

Change of Rhythm...

Pine   watercolor   9.5 x 7

Life is full of changes in rhythm. I remember when my children were small, I would no sooner get used to one rhythm of naps and developmental hurdles, then it would be replaced by another. Good thing. It helped me to become more fluid. My background in music and dance enables the enhancement of rhythms for me....they are everywhere! No time of year presents a greater change in rhythm than Christmas. We become ever so busy with the shopping, the wrapping, the baking. Even so, I find that this season brings peace to my soul, in that it signals the beginning of winter, the interior season, which provides me with much needed reflection and production. Many rhythms are more visible with a white backdrop of snow......including that of pine trees. Had I been asked to simply draw the pine tree in my brain which is dependent on the tree-icon of a 6-year-old, I wouldn't have noticed the rhythm. Recently we studied trees in painting class.....not groupings, but the personalities of individual trees. It was then that I noticed this branching rhythm. Peace, quiet, visible rhythms, solitude.

Gotta go..........so much to do.

The Eye of the Beholder...the art critic

The air at Summit Artspace yesterday was abuzz with reactions to Dorothy Shinn's critique of the Kaleidoscope 2009 exhibit. As always, she states her preferences for that which she considers to be non-traditional work and a bit of disgust for those who choose a non-traditional approach. This is old news. The danger of this black and white thinking is dividing artists into polarized groups: the-validated-by-Dorothies and the not-validated-by-Dorothies. This is actually a problem that I have been considering for many years. Us versus them. Very dangerous thinking. Art making and art appreciation come from the R-brain and the responses are largely visceral, instinctual.....without words. Words have their original in a more aggressive L-brain. Almost an unfair attack.....writers and artists simply are not armed with the same weapons. (weapons being a notion of the L-brain.) This interesting problem is discussed at length in Leonard Shlain's The Alphabet versus the Goddess. He is one of my personal heroes along with Erich Fromm.

My friends, Kim and Kevin, and I decided to judge the exhibit ourselves during the time that we gallery-sat. We judged independently (excluding our own works) and then came together for our choices. Interesting, we had some common works on our lists....in fact, none of the award winners. We all enjoyed the landscapes of April Cameron and Carol Klingel's wonderful drawing "Crazy Little Quantum String Thing Called Love".....one that probably would have been in the validated-by-Dorothy category, and the other probably not. Which shows to go you....both were in the validated by Kim-Kevin-Linda category.

I believe that there is room for Dorothy Shinn in this world......and for all of us. Artistic journeys are highly personal. Self-validation.

Candace 4...

Candace in Black and White   watercolor   26.75 x 17

This is it. Candace 4 shows my resolution and I am happy/ After doing some value sketches to decide if I might like the addition of a very dark area, I did just that using a blackish-green and dropping in some orange. (Ideally, these invaluable value studies should be done before beginning any painting, but not as probable in demonstration circumstances where time is at a premium and people want to see you paint) The dark at the top helped to devalue the fedora.....a decision had to be made. Dominance for the hat or the boots....not both. I also left some pink patches showing through to mimic the pattern in the coat. I really like the way the boots drop off of the solid color field onto the lightest area. Although I am basically finished, I am still considering the addition of a very light stroke on the left of the the boot on the viewer's left.

There were actually many more passes than four.....I have described here only the four that were more groundbreaking in order to condense this process.

Life Lessons...

Raking   watercolor/graphite   21 x 13.25

I love learning. And I prefer learning life lessons from experience rather than through books. I prefer the learning that self-corrects after mistakes that are made. And I love drawing and painting from life rather than from photos. Life observation teaches about the sculptural qualities of the human form, the human face. This is my preference and I'm sticking to it despite the current wave of artwork, especially award-winning artwork, that is obviously done from photos or even (cringe) photos projected onto canvasses. (Now, of course, being that every yin has a yang, and every tradition spins over into a "new" revelation, modernism is quite accepting of the work that results from copying, rather than observing from nature. Case in point: experiencing sports through realistic digital simulations on your own television; i.e. bowling, skiing or playing football. )

In one of our last painting classes for the year, we painted from a model, a raking man. It was a challenging exercise for both the model and the artists. Things that move. Things that force you into capturing the essence early on. For me, the spirit of the figure is more important than the mistakes that are inevitably made. I noticed that the weight-bearing leg changed from artist to artist as the model shifted weight to avoid fatigue. I believe that all of the paintings of "raking man" were successful in their honesty and in their attempts to understand. This painting session was an hour and a half............well spent. And, come to think of it, never say never, I adore Guitar Hero.

Genesis...

Genesis   oil/canvas   20 x 60 x 1.5

Genesis is unlike anything else I have painted up to this point. But the seed for this work has been in my brain for more years than I can remember. It is currently on exhibition in Kaleidoscope 2009 at Summit Artspace. Some viewers have asked, "Is it Lakemore?", "is it Barberton?", is it Firestone Park?", is it "North Hill?". The truth is all of the above. It is also Pittsburgh and Gary, Indiana. These are the neighborhoods at the core of every Midwestern city. These are the houses that were inhabited by the rubber workers and the steel workers. These are the homes that my grandparents lived in, the homes that we visited on holidays. I can remember looking out of our car window during the dark season en route to visit my grandmother. These are the neighborhoods that I saw. And these neighborhoods existed before we understood the notion of "suburb".

The image in my mind included more roof top.....as if viewed from above on a hill. But when I went looking for reference material, I realized that the viewpoints of my mind existed only behind the chain link properties of the expressways. Stopping on the expressway in the snow, climbing chain link fences and exploring expressway land seemed impossible. So my references were gathered from many places and put together in my own neighborhood composite drawing and resultant painting. It was a painting that just had to be.

It just could be Hazel Street near City Hospital in Akron.

Inside-Outside-In...

Gourd Fest   watercolor   8 x 12

Most of the time, I advocate painting and drawing from the inside-out. This whole process delays boundaries.....form follows function. This notion has also been touted as a way to design homes according to the owner's activities and preferences.

The opposite tack is to set limitations ahead of time. I have always associated this plan with illustration and design. Setting and knowing your boundaries comes first. Card design, for example is almost always a 7 x 5 vertical format. You can be creative, but your creative impulses must fit inside the boundaries. Same with framing. I have a myriad of frames that are the most unusual of sizes......all because the cropping of said painting was the preference.

It is always more economical to use standard sized frames that follow the harmonizing golden mean ratio of length to width. Ho hum. That standard rectangle looks pretty boring after a while. Occasionally I will pick up a vintage frame....only if well constructed and has an aesthetic that I enjoy. No oak. No gold. No metal. I prefer dinged up pine, frames with paint that is not perfect, and, of course, the hand carved and raw looking frames from Mexico. Painting with a particular frame in mind is difficult, as the boundaries are set in advance, including those of the mat board....no skimpy stuff either. Such was the case with "Gourd Fest". It was designed to fit into hand-carved Mexican frame and, as far as I am concerned, pleasingly echoed the shapes and rhythms of the gourds.

All who saw it loved the combination. Except one......an artist and framer himself who said he had never seen such an atrocious combination....ever. I guess it's like getting a haircut. When changing beauticians, the current is always shocked at the horrors perpetrated by the former.

I like the rhythm of "Gourd Fest". I also like the rhythms in the framing as well. Of course, you can change it if you wish. Individual aesthetics. "Gourd Fest" can be seen this Friday evening at the ASA Studio, located on the third floor of the Summit Artspace Building, 140 E. Market Street in Akron. Our studio will be open during the opening of "Kaleidoscope 2009" from 6-8 pm in the Taylor Gallery on the first floor. Check out that Mexican frame. Let me know what you think.

Reading...

Books...two-point perspective drawing

The air is cooling down and the time is ripe for reading. I read first thing in the morning while I enjoy my cup of java...it puts my brain in a receiving mode and lifts my spirits. I plow through all kinds of books, mostly non-fiction. Recently, I returned a biography of Thomas Jefferson after two renewals, yet remaining largely unread....I tried and tried, but just couldn't do it. The author reveled in minutia, writing chapter upon chapter detailing all of the books in Jefferson's library. Lots of lists. Very little interpersonal stuff. My brain craves distillation....that which is sifted and sieved into importance. I felt a sense of defeat. I started thinking about the books that are so very spiritual to me that I have them in my library and return to them time and time again.

Letters to a Young Poet by Ranier Maria Rilke is a series of 10 letters written over a period of 5 years to a young soldier named Franz Kappas with the intent of critiquing this man's poems. Rilke was 27 at the time. Rilke's intimate words reveal what it is to be an artist.....and what it is to be a person.

The Art Spirit by Robert Henri is a collection of Henri's words, taken from the notes of his students. Lucky for us....his students were paying attention. This work is based on his in-depth considerations of their paintings. "Art, when really understood, is the province of every human being".

The Alphabet versus the Goddess: Conflict Between Word and Image by Leonard Shlain considers the paradigm shift that occurred as a result of literacy and considers the differences between left-brain-knowing and right-brain-knowing. It is provocative, disturbing and and inspiring. (Shlain also wrote Art and Physics).

Words are a concoction of the L-brain but the powerful feelings that remain are processed in the R-brain, the intuitive brain. These three books are close to my heart. Also close to my heart is Laura, my wonderful daughter-in-law.

idiot:maniac...

Have you ever felt that everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot? And those who drive faster than you are maniacs? This simple truism makes me chuckle and reflect, both, every time I think of it and can be attributed to one of my sons. This whole notion points out the simple tendency of human beings to be egocentric, to feel as if their own thoughts and actions are the rational, the just, the true. Others to the left and others to the right are suspect. This same idea is applicable across the board, revealing prejudices and preferences. Preferences are great......so long as they don't turn into prejudices. Art is full of it. The notion of contemporary art versus traditional art. Those who profess to be a part of a contemporary art movement would like to think that they are a part of something special, something that others just don't have. Traditionalists feel the same way in reverse. When, in actuality, we are all contemporary artists by definition and what goes around comes around again and again. What is old becomes new. Retro. I am continually faced with my prejudice against work that is over-reliant on photos, when, in actuality, there are some really fine works done this way, albeit a bit too controlled for my liking. Yet another step removed from the actual experiencing of the thing. OK. I guess what I am getting at is trying to catch myself in these prejudices so that I can let them go. Trying to relinquish any notion at all of the labeling of good or bad. We all drive at the speed that makes us comfortable. It's all good.

Hey, kids, let's have a show!...

Superkids...a collaborative work

"Hey, kids, let's have a show!", is one of those phrases permanently embedded in my memory bank......from watching all of those Spanky and Our Gang movies. Who wouldn't just love seeing Darla, Alfalfa, Spanky, Wheezer, Darla, Farina, Porky, Mickey, Buckwheat,Chubby and Stymie in a production of their own making? Yesterday was the "take-in" for Kaleidoscope 2009, a show sponsored by The Alliance for Visual Arts in Akron, a group comprised of over 500 working artists. The gallery at Summit Artspace was a-twitter with excitement and conversation. Characters just as interesting as the Our Gang Kids brought in amazing work throughout the day in preparation for the judging which will take place on Friday. Colors, patterns, shapes, sizes, and visual feelings galore. Kaleidoscope 2009 opens on Friday, November 20 from 6-8 pm. The public is invited. The exhibit runs through January 2 in the new year.

"Super Kids" is one of a group of 5 collaborative paintings done with art students from Field High School several years ago for permanent display in the new wing of Akron Children's Hospital.

Hey, Kids, let's have a show! Indeed.

Viewpoint 2009...

Trusting Chef Roger   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

"Trusting Chef Roger" has been included in, and received second place in, Viewpoint 2009, a national exhibition sponsored by The Cincinnati Art Club. (I am so happy that I attended college close to Cincinnati and learned how to spell it then) It is always gratifying to receive validation from someone else for our work. As we work mostly in solitary conditions, I think that sometimes we are too hard on ourselves......and sometimes too easy. The exhibition is open through November 22 and is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 2-5 pm. Too Bad. The club is located at 1021 Parkside Place in Mount Adams.

Games of Chance...

Winter Games   watercolor   13.75 x 10

I have never professed to be lover of games of chance....the lottery, for instance. I can't tell you the number of times I have cursed under my breath waiting to put $20 in my gas tank while being delayed by a lotto-lover who just can't seem to make up his/her mind. And wait, the lotto-lover has $2 left over.....what other tickets can he/she buy with that leftover change? What are all of the possibilities? Eeeeee gads. And yet, couldn't that very ticket be the winner? Couldn't that very ticket be the one that will change a life....make it easier? Couldn't that ticket be the one to insure an easier life path from here on in? Couldn't my intuition provide the winner numbers in the winning order? Doesn't buying the ticket spark some excitement within me that spices up the status quo of daily life? Just the very purchase of the ticket soothes my soul.

I sense a pattern here. Couldn't that very painting be the winner? Couldn't that very painting be the one that will change my life....make it easier? Couldn't that painting be the one to insure an easier life path from here on in? Couldn't my intuition provide the winning colors, the winning composition? Doesn't painting that picture spark some excitement within me that spices up the status quo of daily life? Just the very painting of it soothes my soul.

I guess I am a lover of games of chance.

I guess I do believe in games of chance.

Hidden Symmetry...

Hidden Symmetry   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

For the past 20+ years we have lived in a large-in-area-small-population farmy area....room to breathe. There were two steeples on a charming but decrepit barn on the way home that beckoned to me. Not just to me, but to everyone. Rumor had it that the owners were going to restore the barn. In fact, I believe that at one point, it was jacked up. The years passed and the rumors persisted. Although I am mostly a figurative painter, I am attracted by architectural detailing and those pieces parts that are handmade. So my motive is not so much nostalgia, but the desire for communities, as well as individuals, to celebrate their diversity. Walmart and other retail giants are slowly but surely creating communities that are homogenous. Any road trip will tell you that. Finally, Rick shot some photos for me and I painted both spires individually, a bit like figure paintings. Three weeks hence, the spires were removed from the barn and laid in the yard. I don't know where they are now.
My goal was to complement the extreme textures of the slate roof tiles with the smooth quality of the sky. Rooftops for me represent a conjoining of the earth and the sky, a puzzle piece that symbolizes also the metaphor of finite/infinite; man-made/nature; imperfect/perfect; and the list goes on. As I painted the steeple, I also realized that this damaged element was still upright, still under the influence of gravity, still vertical. I liken this to the resiliency of so many people I know. So many people I respect. Hidden symmetry.

The Other...

Kitty   watercolor   10 x 13.75

As a child, I wasn't certain whether to be scared or thrilled at Halloween. But the prospect of becoming something else was just too exciting. In painting class, we, too, become the "Other". We come to class prepared with a mask, draw names, and sit across from our chosen partners. The object to paint a portrait that isn't so intimidating....just the learn the facial planes....and have some fun without the pressures of correctness and likeness. Of course, there always other lessons involved: painting hair as a mass; things that are in front of other things; and always the illusion of the third dimension. Spooky. Fun.

My partner Kitty Waybright had created a homemade "kitty" mask. My task, as I saw it, was to keep the mask in front and on the surface. Pushing the reality of Kitty a bit back. To keep it a bit ghoulish, I altered the color palette and pushed a bit towards a yellowish-green, a color that isn't so natural. I like it. I like the fact that this is an adult woman in a cat mask. I also like the colors. Thank you Kitty. Meow.

Open your eyes.....or windows

Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in.

Fenetre   oil/canvas board   8 x 8

Alan Alda

I have always loved the spiritual quality of windows and doors. That follows my natural inclination to personify inanimate objects, such as houses and cars. What child hasn't made a face with windows and doors on house drawings? Perhaps I saw Fantasia one too many times. Whatever. In the feng shui world of harmony, windows and doors are key ingredients to creating a harmonic interplay between the indoors and out. In my painting world, I try to create harmony between the subject and its background, or counter-space, by creating "windows" or openings between them to ease those transitions. In other words, I don't much enjoy too many hard edges. Andrew Wyeth's windows make us, the viewers, into voyeurs. His windows and doors have a mystical quality. The home of first place Team Germany in this year's solar decathalon had few, if any, windows. Good for net energy. Bad for feng shui.

Today begins my annual CLEANING OF THE WINDOWS....not an easy task in this old house of 6 over 6 panes in each one. It is fulfilling, however. I like the reflective quality of clean glass during the dark season. I plan to challenge my assumptions as I work.

Shocking in Columbus...

Shocking   mixed on paper   34.5 x 22

This week I was cleaning Swiss chard for our pumpkin lasagna when I discovered a small snake in among the greens. Shivers. I poked at it for several minutes with the end of a wooden spoon to see if it was still alive. Then the awareness.....a coiled rubber snake that had been put there to send shivers up my spine by my one and only........Rick. Never a dull moment. The whole thing caused lots of giggling. I love it!  'Tis the season for shocking.....and it always surprises me how subjective the notion of shocking is! Don't get me started! In October, I usually have a personal film festival of films of my choosing designed to create shivers. "Shocking" was designed originally for the "Fresh and Spooky" show at Summit Artspace. I thought of how shocking is totally personal. Some are shocked when a toilet seat is left up. And some are still not shocked when watching autopsies on television for entertainment. It was fun to create the appearance of film with linoleum printing under and over the drawing. Models for my work were: friend Concepcion; friend Brian and his two sons Oscar and Casper; friend Cheryl of the Brimfield Post Office, son Seth and myself up in the corner. 

 

“Shocking” has been included in The Online Visual Artists Registry Juried Show at the Columbus Main Library from Nov. 9 until Jan. 3, 2010. Location for the exhibit is: Columbus Metropolitan Library, Arts and Media Division, 2nd Floor; 96 S. Grant Avenue in Columbus. The exhibit is open during library hours: 10-8 Mon-Thurs; 10-4 Fri & Sat; 1-5 Sun

Call 645-2ASK or visit www.columbuslibrary.org for further information

The Box is Open...

Sunflower Box lid...my entry

Or should I say the boxes are open? All 78 of them! Last night at Summit Artspace was the opening for the "out of the box" auction that will culminate at the Arts Alive! celebration on November 7 at the Portage Country Club. What a wonderful surprise! 78 Akron area artists have created and donated boxes to benefit The Akron Area Arts Alliance. And what a bunch of wild boxes there are! Openings are not the best venue to commune with art of any kind as it kind of goes like this: spend 30 viewing.....chat 5 minutes....spend 15 seconds heading towards.....run into someone else.....and on and on. So, needless to say, I plan to spend more time in appreciation of these creative efforts. Miller Horns' tiny and affordable housing boxes are thoughtful. Shannon Casey's box kite is a one-of-a-kind. Linda Nye's assemblage of paper painted flowers made into an upside-down flower pot is positively kookie....that really was a word in the 60's. A large-scale globe box with hands for legs by Candace Bennington is magical and captivating. The list goes on and on. The bidding sheets are attached....bidding has begun and will continue during gallery hours: Thurs-Sun of this week from noon - 5 pm. They are quirky, thought-provoking, humorous and quirky again.

This shoe box drawing was done during my perspective class this past summer. For me, a point of interest and learning is the brand title on the box lid. I purposely turned it upside-down in order to draw the word by the shapes making up the letters. Knowing the word itself (words come from the L-brain) interferes with this process. Not only is the word itself (as one unit) affected by two-point perspective, but the backbones of all of the individual letters are also affected. Those are some of the things you know inside, but are surprised nonetheless to see them spelled out in front of you. I love surprises!

Concoction...

Witch Mask   watercolor

Concoction is a wonderful word that conjures up images of a witch's brew. But, really, it is just a mixture of one's own making. We painters who paint from reality often use that reality as a crutch, I think. Myself included. By making up an image, we are able to pursue art and mark-making with no known precedent....thereby entering the territory of questionable rights and wrongs. Of course, good design principles will hopefully guide us. There are a few artists I know who routinely make things up. Their imaginations seem to be more accessible, closer to the surface. Judy Gaiser and Jana Volkmer are a couple. "Witch" was painted from memory of a mask I had as a child. It was delightfully sculpted and textured, and had an unforgettable smell from the rubber from which it was made. I could actually smell it as I painted. 'Tis the season for concoctions....don't you think?

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?