Bling...

So Young Worries   watercolor/mixed with gold leaf   15.5 x 10

current slang for shiny things, is a distraction.  Shiny things attract crows as well.  I was inspired by Picasso's "Woman With a Crow" done in watercolor, pastel and charcoal in 1904 and owned by The Toledo Museum of Art.  I love everything about it...its simplicity, the soft caress of the woman's hand, the colors, the elongated fingers.  Some pictures just move us....who knows why?  Maybe it stirs up something in the memory.  Perhaps it indicates a place we would like to inhabit artistically or emotionally.  I painted "So Young Worries" d'apres Picasso.  My work is done also in watercolor, pastel and charcoal.  The gold coin is gold leaf applied.  I guess I feel that we are too often distracted by bling and all it represents.  It really keeps us from knowing ourselves.  To have or to be.

Yardsticks...

Pot of Potatoes   watercolor on paper   13 x 17

are good for measuring things, even measuring finished work, but lose their function when trying to measure the quality of our work.  One day at the end of class, one of the artists asked me if I thought his work had improved over the past couple of years.  Wow...talk about a loaded question.  I hate to respond with another question, but I think that improvement can only be judged from within.  With some paintings, I felt that I really hit the mark.  Others, not so much.  I have sold many paintings that were not among my favorites.  I am happier with my work than I was a decade ago....does that count?  It seems that my earlier work garnered more awards....but I may be wrong.  I am doing riskier things these days...solving more difficult problems....I feel that my work is now really mine.  But how would others measure it?  I don't know.  Sometimes I really love a painting that has not even gotten a second glance by others.  I guess improvement is in the eye of beholder.

"Pot of Potatoes" is the aforementioned work.

Life is just a bowl of....

Eat Your Broccoli   watercolor   13.25 x 6.5

let's see...we had spools of thread, bok choi, fruit and my own response, broccoli.  In this case I was working on an unusually shaped scrap of paper.  I wanted the darks and lights to play against each other to create drama.  And....I had the green/violet combo in my brain.  The tops of each floret are a kind of bluish-whitish-greenish.  Millions of little pieces.  The goal:  to indicate broccoli without too much detail.

"Eat Your Broccoli" is my response.

Winter-ful...painting snow...

Blue Hen Falls   watercolor   11 x 11

This has certainly been a winterful winter....after weeks of slightly warming temperatures and chilling rain, we are back into the grips....the trees and ground are covered with the fluffy white stuff.  Last chance to paint a winter landscape.  Painting snow in the spring seems, well, just wrong, like looking at a Christmas wreath in March.

"Blue Hen Falls" is the result.  About half of it was painted during class.  I was terrified to complete this in the studio at a separate session....worried that I would be unable to continue the earlier color palette, the earlier soft rhythm.  I guess the muse was with me on this one.  I am pleased.

Literature...

What Have We Done With Us?   oil/canvas   24 x 30 x .75

(that which one chooses to read) and life experience are inextricably related.  Life experience, then is inextricably related with what one chooses to paint.  I am a fan of the work of Louise Erdrich.  I found Love Medicine and Plague of Doves to be both haunting and a bit disturbing.  When I was in elementary school, our class assignment was to question our relatives about our heritage.  In a super-moment (one that remains strongly engrained in the conscious), I asked my grandfather where our ancestors came from.  He replied that my grandmother was a "wild injun".  My grandmother gave him a mean glance and then went about her chores....she was a woman of few words.  I thought it was a joke, even though she really did look Native American.  In years to come, I did find out that her own mother was the child of such a "bi-racial" relationship.  The details are quite sketchy but researched to a degree by a cousin.  I have no desire to undertake the task of genealogy.  But the interest is there.  That my tolerance of cold, that my extremely slow metabolism and my love of silence could be a product of genetic coding.  When Twelve Eagles posed, I undertook the project with enthusiasm.  Indian art runs the gamut from being a bit scientific (as specimens from The New World) to a bit too sweet as in "cute little Indian girl".  But as I worked, I realized that even though Twelve Eagles is authentic, she came off as a beautiful woman in a costume, as defined by my narrow middle-class-America-Ohio-to-be-specific cultural dictionary.

"What Have We Done With Us?" was painted of a sketch of Twelve Eagles.  I see myself in her.

Nuances....the stuff that others don't notice

become apparent to anyone who creatively undertakes a given task more than once.  Cake-baking.  Fire-building.  Plant-watering.  Whatever.  I have never trusted the opinion of anyone who deems any undertaking to be a cinch.....that indicates to me an unawareness of nuance.

Take materials, for example.  I usually follow the plan of:  the larger the work, the larger the tools, the need to stand.   And so it follows with smaller.  For our Wednesday evening model, I decided to sit instead of stand at the easel.  And so it followed that I would use a small piece of paper and a small charcoal pencil.  I usually use vine charcoal for drawing which mushes easily...sometimes too much.  The pencil was harder.  Even though I used my blending stump, the lines are still visible.  That can work to advantage, or disadvantage, of course, depending on the goals.  I used the less-bumpy side of the paper so that there would be more merging of the medium.

Sometimes it takes years to understand all of the hidden nuances hidden in art materials.  And to work with them to advantage.  Utilizing our own strengths as well as our limitations, including our materials, can improve our work.

The inner unconscious world...

Bartlett Pear   watercolor and thread on paper   5 x 8

the one we're not directly in contact with or in control of - that's the one I try and privilege.
                                                                                                 Charlotte Rampling, actress

Here here.  I was privileged to lead a program Monday eve on "A Pear is a Pear is a Pear" at the Medina Art League.  Due to time limitations, we created 8 small paintings, very quickly painted, with the pear as our subject.  Oh, the possibilities!
     1. vanilla....blah, blah, blah.  The pear painted as seen using local color.
     2. daring do.  We worked on this one throughout the session beginning with unlikely colors
          and strokes....how dare we?
     3. feeling edgy.  Manipulating hard and soft edges to tell different stories
     4. the thermostat....some artists worked on warm dominant paintings, and the others cool
     5. curly or straight?  some artists worked on texture within the pear form, and others texture in
         the background
     6. the feng shui way...bringing the outside (the form) in and inside out
     7. towing the line....adding a straight line to the organic pear form to offer strength
     8. color power...utilizing both pure hues and neutrals

My goal was to illustrate the possibilities inherent in the design principles and to help artists to prioritize what key ingredients please them in order to make their art more personal.  It was a rousing session with so many great little beginnings! (especially those of a 3rd grade art teacher)

Rum raisin, anyone?

Portraits...

Delores in Fendi   watercolor   11 x 8.25

are an amazing opportunity to commune with another individual in a very personal way....an intimacy beyond measure.  A silent wordless relationship.  For me, a portrait painted in love is the only way to travel.  I am inspired by real people with real humanity and a real soulfulness.  When presented with whiny uninspiring models or those in costume, I am at a bit of a loss, as a boundary has been laid which I am unable or unwilling to penetrate.  Portrait painting for me is so undeniably connected to my brain.  Painting Delores was such a work of love.  She is a perpetual student who is 86 years young.  We have been painting together for many years.  The muse seems to guide me in these joyful endeavors.  The work was started from a classroom situation where she was painting someone else, so the simple shapes changed a bit from time to time as her head rotated both from up to down and from left to right as she dipped into paint.  Once the groundwork was laid I was committed and finished as best I could.

A tribute to my friend and colleague Delores.  I am pleased.

Paint it Forward..

Pine Cone Pair 2   oil/canvas board   8 x 8

of course, is a play on the phrase "pay it forward".  To me, it implies works of good faith, done for the joy of it, with no expectation other than the happiness it gives or provides.  And, so, pine cones.  My sister in law recently asked me if I paint seasonally.  Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  My regimes, my thoughts and my soul seem to be enveloped by the weather, the scene, the feel around me.  I simply could not paint a summer landscape while surrounded by snow.  Right after the holidays, I had a difficult time returning to the large unresolved work in my studio.  And so, I thought that I would spend some time doing smaller pine cone paintings, 8 x 8, the idea seeded by a find of wonderful wood frames hanging from chains.  These little paintings seemed to go on forever, as I was in love with the paint-on-top-of-paint thing that was going on and the surface texture that emerged.  Although I did have pine cones in front of me, I pretended that they were enveloped by and topped with snow.  And now, with the first warm rays of spring penetrating the glass, I am, at long last, finished with these four small works.  And, I believe, I have had quite enough of pine cones for a while.

Heavenly...

(Applause)   watercolor   9.25 x 13.25  

is an understatement.  These cupcakes surpass anything I have ever tried.  Our class assignment:  bakery in reds, pinks, chocolates and whites to celebrate the love day.  I stopped in to Heavenly Cupcakes to buy a few support materials.  I couldn't believe the buzz, the activity!  These really are heavenly....buy, then paint, then buy again.

And the oscar goes to....all three.

Really.

The Pinecone...

Lone Cone   Watercolor   7 x 7

is simple, yet complex....like many organic things.  And I believe that it presents a most interesting drawing and painting problem.  The ins-outs, the tos and the fros, of light falling on it can teach us so much about the way light affects form.  In our watercolor class, we undertook this problem, knowing that the values need to be upped  to the light end of the scale.  While cones don't really have white on each tip, we understand that to be easily read visually, these changes would keep the cone sublime, without becoming a dark brown blob.  Carol's work is indeed sublime....this is her second effort at this gentle cone.  The gentle washes on each side help the cone to recede and to read in a three-dimensional way.  It has volume.  Her first attempt became too dark too quickly.  She corrected and reworked.  Her efforts were rewarded.  My own version is more drenched in color.

We're Painting the Roses Red....

Confection   watercolor   8 x 5.5

sang the cards in "Alice in Wonderland".  I am singing it too...."Confection" is my response to our valentine challenge.  I guess I am somewhat satisfied with the work.  I took it as far as it would go.  Years ago while working in the greeting card industry, I painted more roses that I ever would want in a lifetime.  They are difficult, not only in their curling twisting forms, but in that deep red color which does not reflect light very well.  Actually, not at all with the overhead lighting at the art center.  Beginning painters often over-paint the rose, in an attempt to achieve that rich redness.  Permanent rose, Rose Madder and Opera Pink are all pink-oriented.  Alizarin tends toward brown.  But, once again, I dipped into it in order to achieve a darkness which the other hues could not provide.  I left a white which was gradually washed over in the final stages.

My regret with this work is its scale.  Too many things on the paper for its size.  I was using a odd-sized leftover.  Painting freely with one or two forms in the composition works.  Too many forms inhibit that freedom.

Note to myself:  on Valentine paintings, stay out of the Alizarin.  And, oh yeah, bring a bigger sheet of paper.

Homage...

Bundled   watercolor   14 x 10

is pronounced o-maj'  in French.  My friend Tom painted an homage to Dean Mitchell after viewing his exhibition in Canton.  My homage today is to my friend Mo.  She has studied with me for years.  She is an open-minded and fair individual.  She treats everyone with kindness.  She is enthusiastic.  We are both perpetual students.  And....she lives an artful and considerate life in every way.  Her portrait of me is just wonderful.  Simply rendered.  Texture has been liberally suggested.  Energetic.  And, as it seems to me, she only represented the good parts....of course, my hair and mouth were covered.  (definitely a good thing)

Mo was not at class last week.  Her wonderful dog Farina, who is also a member of our class, suffered an accident at a dog park and had to have surgery on Monday.  Farina's leg was dislocated as she leaped to get away from some other large dogs.  And the very sad thing is that not one individual stepped up to help her, or to acknowledge their part in the accident.  I would have to say that this is anti-Mo behavior.

Which is exactly why I like her so much.

Impure?...

Fallow   watercolor/mixed   25.75 x 11

It seems that there are purists in almost every detail of habitation these days. All cotton.  Strictly organic.  And transparent watercolor.  I'm afraid that I am a mutt.  Mixing it up in every way possible...especially if that seems to be the way to achieve what I am after.  "Fallow" started off as a watercolor for our class challenge of a vertical landscape.  After simplifying and reestablishing countless times, I introduced gouache....then watercolor pencils....then pastel...more watercolor....then a Lyra watersoluable grafit-kreide.  This work is about as far away from my usual as can be.  And, yet, the feel of this work is exactly the image inhabiting my brain ever since that Sunday walk down my road, the day that I needed to procure an image for the upcoming class.  Feel.  Important.

Yet, I feel a bit of guilt that I was unable to resolve the problem with pure watercolor.  Oh well.  I might just drown my sorrows with a slice of  smoked Gouda....or possibly Velveeta.

LOVE Day...

Chocolate Cupcake   watercolor   7 x 5

is here.  Our small festive celebrations punctuate our lives with little spurts of joy.  It seems that we, in our culture, are appreciating the visual quality of food as never before.  We are lucky to enjoy a standard of living that allows for this.  As we fill our homes with art...meaningful art...let's not forget to include the beauty of food....it is a huge part of our lives and provides us with a venue for artful living, no matter what our daily endeavors.

Oh yes....a cupcake with no calories!

Critiques...

Winter Nap   Charcoal/Pastel   28 x 18

are a regular event at our club here in Akron.  Last week, I took in a drawing done shortly before Christmas as a demonstration.  I really do like it.  I was successful in the "feel" of the work which was a winter nap.  It was a cold day and we were approaching the holiday season.  Once home, I quickly framed and put it on the wall.  Now, in January, I knew that it was time to reconsider the work.  Several artists pointed out the model's right arm and hand which, in its darkness and weight, commanded too much attention.  I agree.  OK.  Yet, on the other hand, I knew that the dark and weight were there to balance the right side of the drawing.  Judy Carducci made a great suggestion which was to remove a particular mark on that arm, leaving it more open to merge with the toned paper beneath.  The next day I tackled the project.  Because I had sprayed the work with fixative, the mark would not budge.  (I guess it's good to know that the stuff works)  The green pastel on the work had been put on first under the charcoal.  It had never occurred to me to reintroduce it.  Duh.  Putting in a passage or two lessened the power of that arm and, to me, solidified the whole.  Thank you to Judy, to Tom Campbell  and to JoAnn for your comments and suggestions.  In addition, friends Kim Moore and Tom Mullins suggested that this drawing would benefit from a floater frame....where no mat would be used.  Terrific idea.

No matter whether a work is quickly done or takes weeks, the consideration process goes on for quite a while.  At least for me.  A bit of separation from the work helps one to see things more clearly.

Isn't that Mary?...

Mary Sanders...a sketch

Every now and then I browse through the small drawings that have been uploaded onto my computer.  I came across a drawing of the back of Mary Sanders' head.  Yes, it has to be her.  You know, the Yupo guru?  I have come to realize that more and more, likeness has a whole lot to do with the simple geometric shapes that make up a face, a head, an arm, a body.  We recognize our friends from the back.  We even recognize them from very far away as they approach.  When we take the time to "nail" these simple shapes, we are rewarded.  This also explains my dislike for "the portraits of a thousand wrinkles", as if the aging of the face tells the story.  Simple shapes rule.

Of course it's her.  Why I'd recognize her anywhere.

It's all in the shape of the hairdo....not the individual hairs.

Texture...

Christmas Chaos   Watercolor on Yupo   8 x 8

is inherent when painting on Yupo.  I like texture in small doses but prefer it when played against the calm of a flatly painted area.  Right now I am picturing a greeting card that featured an elderly man dressed in stripes, checks and patterns of all kinds.  The greeting is "don't drink and dress".  Very funny.  Too many textures seem agitating.  Stories can get lost in texture.  I have come to believe that simple forms work out well on Yupo.  To the right are examples of our holiday still life paintings on Yupo.

Between the Cracks...

Peony Row   Watercolor on Yupo   11 x 15

As we were using Yupo in class, I recalled just one other time, many years previously, that I had used the stuff.  The memory was crisp....sitting the warm sun on my patio and tackling the peony row there....on Yupo.  I remember the frustration of the meandering paint, the frustration of not being able to layer.  These days I am, hopefully, more accepting of such challenges.  After some looking, I came upon that older work "Peony Row".  At the time, I was still taking the best work to a professional to be photographed and, apparently, I didn't feel that my peony painting was worthy.  Pulling it out, after all these years helped me to see that it was better than I had thought.

One quick swipe of a wet brush on Yupo takes the stroke back to the white surface...well, almost.  I found that I really did appreciate the colorful residue left behind on these strokes.  Very sublime.

Putting away questionable paintings is a good trick.  Several years later, I am able to make a better judgement regarding its success.  Sometimes, I am quite aware that the painting really does suck.  And, surprisingly, sometimes the work is better than the image of it that dwells in my subconscious.  That was the case here.  A work that had fallen between the cracks has redeemed itself to me.  Let's not be too hasty to judge.

How DOES he do that?...

Still Life with Jug and Poppies   watercolor   4 x 6

Dean Mitchell, I mean.  Painting small, I mean.  Returning to the studio after the holidays is always difficult.  I understand the supposed ripeness of the dormancy period.  But facing the white canvas or the white paper is scary....more so after being away for a while.  I found that my strokes were too heavy, too deliberate.  My sleight of hand had also been on holiday.  After perusing the Dean Mitchell book of exhibition paintings loaned by a friend, I was inspired by some of the miniature works and decided to paint a small still life.  As a painter who relishes large spaces and big brushes, this was truly a challenge.  Smaller brushes.  Less freedom.  Being concise is a virtue when painting small.

"Still Life with Jug and Poppies" is 4 x 6.  I am happy with it.  But I am ready to get big again.

Dean Mitchell:  Space, People and Places is on exhibit at the Canton Museum of Art through March 6.

New Pen...

Ivy Drive Seth...sketch done with Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Pen in Blue

I would guess that many art-supply addicts can also be seen in the dark alleys of office supply stores to get their fixes of adrenaline.  Years ago, and I mean years ago, I read an article about an artist who worked in travel journals with a Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Pen in blue ink.  These pens have a needlepoint somewhat like those nasty technical pens that always seem to be clogged. This  pen makes beautiful rolling and seamless lines.....AND it also responds to a water wash to soften and delight.  I immediately bought the pens and there they sat, in my desk drawer, as a reminder of things to be.  In the first days of the new year, we helped our son switch apartments in Charlottesville....lots of moving and cleaning.  Lucky for me, I glanced at those unopened pens before the trip and vowed to give them a try during our down-time.  Yes-in-deedy-di.  I am definitely not a line-driven artist, but the washy substance gives me a thrill.  I am afraid that I did not spend too much time on the drawings themselves, as I was so excited about the wash.  Experiments.  More tools in the creativity arsenal. 

Added to my small pouch of sketching supplies to be found in my bag:

1-Pilot V7 rolling pen in blue
1-small watercolor brush
1-folded paper towel for drying and blotting.

Life is good.

In the still...

Rick reading The Tree by John Fowler...s sketch

of the morning during our wonderful family holiday, I found some time to sketch and sip my morning java at the same time.  What a wonderful way to greet the day!  During these holidays, my studio is tidied and shut down....no large projects underway.  When I get itchy to draw, I contemplate family members before me, loving their contours, loving their similarities and differences.....loving them.  Some sketches are quick.  I ask no one to pose.  My goal is to grab what I am given.  In this sketch my Rick is reading a book which was a gift.  The light is behind him.  It is dim.  It is early.  The fire roars.

Drawing...

hand drawn Christmas card

In our DRAWING class we have a tradition before the holiday season...  we have a DRAWING to select names for a hand-drawn greeting card to be sent to the recipient.  Very exciting...a bit of a Secret Santa thing that allows for more drawing practice at the same time it excites the recipient to be the owner of an original drawing.  Yes!  I drew Lisa's name.  As time was short, I chose to work on my card during the ornament/greens lesson in class.  I brought in some vintage ornaments that had some patterns on them for a bit of a challenge.   I used a Strathmore card with a red deckled edge and masked off borders with artist's tape in order to have clean and smudge-free edges.  I began with a few marks with a red pastel in order to tie into that red border.  I worked the drawing in a fairly dark pencil.  At the end-of-class-critique, most artists felt that I needed more darks.  So, at home, I used some of my darkest leads to create a rhythm that would connect the elements.  I sprayed the card with fixative and sent it on its way, addressing it in pencil to tie into the drawing.

Contrast...

hand drawn Christmas card

A week ago in our Thursday drawing class, we brought in glass Christmas balls and greenery to set up for a still life.  Our goal was to contrast the hard, shiny and highly reflective balls with the textured greens of the season.  We all seemed to have a difficult time with contrasting values, as the greens and the balls were somewhat the same.  The overhead banks of fluorescent lights did not provide the bright sparkling highlights that we had hoped for.  In almost every case, the artists had to rework the drawings at home, adding deeper darks in order to make the drawings more easily read.  Concepcion chose two nearly-transparent hand-blown bulbs that were a gift.  The stems are visible through them.  She added a wrapped package and some fine rhythmic pine needles.  The varying forms make the drawing quite interesting.  The glass balls are very finely drawn.  The composition is quite strong.  Very successful....we all agreed.

Dussel Farm...

Dussel Farm in February   watercolor   8.25 x 23.25

Is a local farm that we frequent for sweet corn, pumpkins and the like.  My children passed it on the school bus each day.  The Dussel children were classmates.  There aren't so many farms like it anymore.  It is monumental to me.  "Dussel Farm in February" was painted at the end of last winter from reference photos shot across the street.  I like the horizontal format as it implies the unending lay of the land.

Leave that stroke alone!...

Julie   conte crayon on paper   17.5 x 10

Yes, my brain tells me this repeatedly!  Demonstrations offer the opportunity to draw from life and to relish what has been given to you.  Julie sank into the comfy chair and eventually became one with that chair as she relaxed.  The excitement was there for me....the notion of a winter nap.  At the end of the session, I was quite satisfied with the overall feel of the work but felt that there were several issues that still needed to be resolved.  At home, I worked a bit...maybe a half hour, but understood the danger of "fixing"...where areas do become neater, tidier, but at what cost?  .....at reducing the energy of the work.  Ask me how I learned this lesson.  Ask anyone who has ever worked in watercolor.  Sometimes I look around at model sessions and classes and see well-versed artists repeatedly stroking (licking) areas again and again to no avail.....trying to get it "right".  It takes a long while to learn to trust yourself...to trust what you see...to realize that every stroke is valid, that every stroke, every mark, every squiggle is valid.  Trust......yeah, I get it now....hopefully it will stick.

To Draw is to Feel...

Bob...a sketch

It is no secret that my feelings are completely evident in my work....Words have become nearly superfluous to me...good listeners are rare.  True communication through words is nearly impossible to me.  The paper, the canvas....now they allow me to express myself completely and unconditionally.  Bob is a feeling artist as well.  In the past several years Bob has put his heart on paper.  To call his work nostalgic would be a misnomer.  His work celebrates the momentous parts of his life....those things worth keeping, worth expressing.  Bob's drawing of baby shoes on a toned piece of paper drew admiration from the other artists in our class.  The shoes are tenderly drawn.

Very often artists consider the background to be a separate entity from the subject matter....and we are often sucked into rendering the table, the chair, the curtain....just because they are there.  Bob's very slight horizontal strokes solve the problem of weight....the necessity of having the shoes rest on something so that they do not appear to float.  Those few strokes are worth the price of admission to me.  So much power in such a simple drawing!

Feetured Artists..

my feet...a sketch

On Thursday last the artists in drawing class drew our own feet!  Believe me, there were lots of complaints!  .....of having feet like Bilbo Baggins and Fred Flintstone....feet so dexterous that they can pick up objects from the floor....one artist too shy and cold to reveal anything at all...and my own high-arched complaint of never feeling quite grounded.  All in all, it was very wonderful.  We noticed tendons.  We noticed negative space.  Each and every drawing is animated and demonstrates a lively interaction between the two feet.  I thought of creating a matching game with posted faces and feet drawings.....that would have involved far too much work and, perhaps, a bit too much exposure.  Instead, we have a slide show of feet!

Enjoy our feet.  Enjoy our drawings.  Ah.....the thrill of da feet.

It's Hoppin'!...

Winter Nap   charcoal/pastel   28 x 18

Sugar.  Caffeine.  Diet Coke.  Love them all.  But in this case I am talking about downtown Akron.  It is supremely satisfying to see your city in the process of waking up to the creative arts.  This coming Saturday, December 4, is the monthly artwalk and things are hopping at Summit Artspace and in many downtown venues.  We are painting in the ASA Studio on the 3rd floor starting at 5 pm.  On Sunday, December 5, I will be doing a figure drawing demonstration, also on the 3rd floor, starting at 1 pm.  Oh, the possibilities.  I am excited and have already purchased a wonderful piece of paper.  (yes, it's the little things)  Julie DiSiena will be my model.  I cannot promise success......but I can promise a heartfelt searching. 

Shopping provides a momentary buzz.  Making art is lasting.  Consider giving a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork.  Support local artists.  Have a cup of coffee to ward off the chill.  Enjoy the buzz.

Sinus Headache...

Heavy Frost   watercolor   3.5 x 17

Yes I do have one.  Last week we were coatless.  This week a dusting of snow.  Those changes that affect our beings are in some way momentous.  Noteworthy.

Last week's assignment was a painting of a late November landscape.  Come class day, I still had no reference as the holiday weekend had usurped my energy.  I awoke to a heavy frost, the headache, and decided to paint the view that I see as I sip my morning java.  And, I decided to paint small, really small....something I rarely do.  One glance into my studio currently reveals 6 unfinished paintings and, with the holidays abreast, I didn't want to add to that number.  An hour or so before class, I thrifted a small, small horizontal frame.....perfect!  I painting sitting down...with small brushes....barely touching the surface....and.....a light-hearted attitude.

I am truly happy with the result.  The finished work is 3.5 x 17".  Very very small.  This extreme exercise was good for me in many ways.  Learning to play the softer notes.

And, I guess we should have put up the outdoor lights last week.

Winter Red...Cardinals at the feeder

Winter Red   watercolor   19 x 12.5

The first dusting of snow greeted us this morning.  Coffee.  Cardinals at the feeder.  Life is good.

There is a frenzy about the holiday season...

Filling In   watercolor   10 x 10

that has nothing at all to do with shopping or cookie-baking.  It has to do with a cleansing of our environment....both Rick and I become obsessed with pounding in those errant nails that we have lived with the entire year, ridding the shower curtain of that mildew smell and checking out the size of the dust bunnies behind the refrigerator.  I used to think it was because his parents came to visit.  Now I think of it more as a creating of more negative space in which to dwell in peace.  AND SO CAME THE CLEANING OF THE STUDIO.   For years I had been meaning to paint the antique jelly cupboard that houses my supplies.  The brown wood was depressing.  The paint job took several days, as I chose to do it in three colors (but of course!) and the cupboard is happier.  I am happier.  Then the cupboard led to cleaning out the files......there are always surprises involved.  For the most part, I find that earlier work is better than I remember....almost fresher when I knew less, perhaps relied more on instinct.  "Filling In" is such a work.  When our model did not show up one evening, a newcomer instantly declared her willingness to shed clothing and fill in.  None of us knew much about this girl.  She had no art supplies and painted with eye makeup on paper.  At the end of the session her husband came into the studio to pick her up. I never knew her name.  We never saw her again.  It was a bit of a Santa Claus experience and I was the benefactor.  I have always loved this painting and was surprised, in my reorganization, at its honesty.

...but not the hominy....

Stack of books and gourd...a sketch showing two-point perspective

The only vegetable I can remember totally refusing as a child was hominy.  It was a memorable experience as my mom chose to serve it on trick-or-treat night.  My mother finally relented and let me go out for the begging, only after she realized that I was so very serious about my hatred for this vegetable that I was willing to give up costume, treats and fun.  2-point perspective is much more palatable than that!  Our drawing class members stacked up books and boxes.  First we discussed the two vanishing points for each object which can only be seen when the objects are drawn from a big distance...i..e. on a drawing that is quite small on a fairly large sheet of paper.  When we understood what was happening, we drew our piles of objects that were placed in front of us on the table.  I chose a stack of three different kinds of books, each one with its own particular vanishing points along with its own particular degree of recession. (even though the horizon line at eye-level remains the same).   I placed a handmade gourd on top for patterning, and because I like organic line playing with all of the straights....the yin and the yang.

An astute artist pointed out the apparent faultiness of my bottom book.  This spiral-bound paperback, had a laminated cover that was not laying flat and had slipped down to the spiral area destroying the perfection of the receding form.  I liken it to clothing on a model.  The book's binding is still receding....it is just a bit disguised.  Another way to help with the perspective issue when drawing items that are close to us is to accurately judge and record angles of edges, and to pay close attention to the shapes of the negative or counter-spaces....i.e. the spaces between the objects.  We keep each other on our toes!

Ah, mom, do we have to eat our veggies?

One-point perspective drawing

I liken a lesson on perspective to eating our veggies when we are kids....do we really have to?  The artists in our Thursday drawing class are really very good....good at prioritizing the forms, good with shadowing, good with values and good with rhythms.  It was only when I realized that the lack of knowledge regarding one-point and two-point perspective was interfering with our success, that I decided to devote a couple of lessons to it.  In the past, I have done an entire 8-week class on these basics.  Last week we took on the one-point....objects placed directly in front of us that recede to vanishing point on the horizon which is at our eye level.  The vanishing point would then represent an imaginary spot (at least I hope so) directly between our eyes.  My subject was an enamelware pan.  As I prefer any composition with both organic and geometric shapes, I put two apples in the back of the pan.  The lighting in the classroom was overhead.  I tried to shift the focal area to the back of the pan.  Indicating the chips on the enamel was fun and, hopefully, helped to indicate the material from which the pan was constructed.

Broccoli really isn't so bad after all.

Concept or Technique?

Hidden Symmetry   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

Making art can be approached in different ways.  A young painting major in university told me that he always starts by putting his ideas on paper, by crafting a concept that he wishes to explore.  I find that university programs are concept-oriented, getting students to think outside of the box, to intellectually explore new ways of thinking through art.  Excellent.  This way of thinking produces thought-provoking work.

Local and regional art organizations tend to revere technique, the drawing and redrawing, the painting and repainting in the hopes of getting it right, of improving draftspersonship and the ages-old methods of paint application.  Lighting is everything.  Painting what you see right down to the yellow drape behind the model.  Also excellent.  This way of working can produce art that is beautifully engaging, work that creates pause through its paint application and color use.

I cannot imagine beginning a work by making a list....my life is already too filled with lists.  I am trying to escape lists!  My own method is strictly intuitive, creating movement and rhythm through stroke and color.  In many instances, when the subject simply does not challenge my intellect or my sensibilities, the work is discarded.

It is my own belief that the best of all scenarios is the work that marries technique along with concept.  Work from each school of thought is sought out and admired.  Judges seem to favor one or the other and it is our aim in Kaleidoscope to provide an opportunity for all work to shine.

No answers.  Just more questions.

I

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

Visionary   watercolor/mixed on paper   11 x 17

Those were my favorite lines on the Spanky and Our Gang television show when I was a kid!  Who can forget Alphafa singing, "I'm the Barber of Seville" in his screechy voice?  And, so, the four Akron area art groups come together once a year for a juried exhibition.  The postcard this year is my design.  The idea came to me in my sleep and I was simply unable to go anywhere else with the concept.  My friend with three young sons came over for a photo shoot on my patio where I posed and photographed the boys in various ways with a kaleidoscope.  I ended up using some shots of the youngest whose hands cupping his eyes seemed more naive and, in some ways, more interesting without a prop.  The figure was rendered in watercolor pencil.  The three circular motifs were done by reduction printing.  Watercolor washes were added to tie it altogether.  The color palette of an acid green, turquoise and ultramarine spun my fan, or, in this case, my wheel.  I call it "Visionary".

Seeing as a child.  Excited by the oh-so-many possibilities.  The joy of singing without caring about perfection.  I love you, Alphalfa!

Values...

Twelve Eagles   watercolor   27.5 x 17

provide a given artwork with a meaning all their own, I believe.  Works that are light-light-light on the value scale seem romantic and carefree.  Personally, I have a difficult time taking them seriously.  Sometimes they seem just too hap-hap-happy.  Works that utilize values in the mid-range, without strong lights or darks, seem quite moody.  Those on the dark end of the scale are just that...dark.  I prefer the high drama of works that utilize values from both ends, as well as those in-between.  We recently had a Native American model from the Cherokee Nation.  This whole problem was a bit difficult, as the resultant work darkened with each pass.  I wanted to give the work a serious treatment.  All too often, the Native American paintings seem a bit trite, a bit too dark in the eyes and rosy in the cheek.  And, conversely, those on display at The Butler Institute of American Art which were painted during the Westward Expansion seem almost scientific, as if these people were objectified and painted as if they were pinned butterflies.  I knew what I wanted but did not know how to achieve it.  The painting was critiqued by a couple of artist friends whose suggestions were valid.....originally, the feathers were much lighter.  They created a distraction and a problem that worked against the head area.  More washes.  More adjustments.  I have released the painting.  I do not yet know if I achieved my goal.  Ask me in a year.....maybe 10.  How does one paint honor, pride and wisdom that often seems outside of my grasp?  I do not know.

Communion...

Wednesday Night   charcoal/pastel   22.5 s 14

I have heard it said that musicians tend to work well together as being a part of a greater good, a greater sound, if you will, is in their nature. As for visual artists, well...they kind of have their own personal thing going on so the individuality sometimes gets in the way.  It seems to be true to some degree.  But there is nothing like the silent communion that fills the air on our model nights where artists of varying mediums and experience take to the easel to hone their skills and draw from a common model.  It really is wonderful to be in the company of so many fine artists who have no need for idle chatter and choose to spend that few hours doing what they love most.  Very satisfying.

As for me, I love these nights, as I usually set a playful goal for myself...one that may help me to solve problems on the canvas or paper later on down the line.  Last Wednesday evening, Jamie was our model....she is absolutely excellent!  Her professionalism and high regard for working time is to be admired.  I have painted Jamie many times in the past, and I have to say, that I really enjoyed working with her again.

It is always a delight to see so many individual takes on the model....just don't ask us to collaborate.

Odd Devil Out...

Devil in Disguise...a sketch

At the Halloween mask session, we had an uneven number of artists in class that evening.  Lucky for me, the mirrors on the side of the room provided a place for me to study my own portrait.  The devil mask of cloth was a relief compared to the other choices in my dress-up box which included several full-face rubber masks.  The cloth mask seemed less irritating to my head cold.  My goals were:  to describe the mask in such a way that viewers would be able to understand the material from which it was made; to bring up the likeness on the bottom half so that it would contrast with the mask on top; and to describe the eyes in such a way so we understand that they are in shadow and definitely on a plane behind the holes of the mask.

I found that the eye-cut-outs were askew and that tickled my fancy.  That added to the fun of it all.

In addition, I find that whole devil/angel notion of paired opposites to be interesting as well as intriguing.  Positively devilish.

Relationships...

That October Feeling   watercolor   12.75 x 9

can be tricky.  The more relationships one has, it seems to me, the more complex life becomes.  The same with paintings.  The more objects in the painting, the more complex the painting of it becomes.  We started out this week in class by piling a large number of organic autumn objects onto a well-lit table.  Gourds.  Pumpkins.  Grasses.  Branches.  Mums.  Squashes.  Even a Caramel Apple.  We are using our handmade cropping windows to find interesting compositions.  Everyone's is different.  In the beginning, we paint each object separately to the best of our abilities.  Then later, we need to contemplate the prioritizing of the elements, and, in turn, to consider the hard and soft edges that support this prioritization.  For me, the relationships of the forms become more important than the objects themselves.  I look for hidden rhythms to carry out my intentions.  Forms become alive, almost like persons who make up a crowd....persons at a party, persons at a meeting.  Persons having a conversation.

Animated objects.  Struggling in relationships.  Mirroring reality.

Halloween Parade

Kitty   watercolor   10 x 13.75

The highlight of all-childhood-Halloween-memories-that-meld-into-one was the Halloween Parade where all of the classes lined up and paraded the block around Windermere Elementary School in Akron where homeowners and eager parents  looked on.  They seemed to be amazed and delighted with our transformation from "just kids" into superheroes and monsters.  I, myself, was amazed and delighted.  And so, today, I present the Halloween parade of most of the paintings and drawings created last week in class.

We were transformed.  Please pretend to be amazed.

Golden...

Five O'Clock Shadow   watercolor   20 x 13

It really is a great time to paint landscapes...what, with all the color and all.  Our weekly painting assignment was to capture a beautiful autumn landscape with our cameras.  We would be painting from our photos, as working outdoors is impossible during class.  ( I do believe, however, that those who paint out of doors on a regular basis are more able to translate these photos in a realistic and natural way).  I don't much enjoy landscapes.  I prefer including houses or people or some element of humanity.  My husband does not understand it.  That being said, I was fretting about the weekly assignment myself.  Our niece's wedding reception was being held at Hale Farm and Village.  Accompanying us were my husband's parents who had made the trip up from North Carolina.  As there was a bit of a gap between the wedding and the reception, we sat on picnic tables in the crisp autumn air, waiting for the the caterers to complete the set-up.  Voila.  Before me the sun was magical in its goldenness.  The time: 5 pm.  The memory:  wonderful.  "Five O'Clock Shadow" was the result.  My assignment:  complete.

Whew.

Goal Setting and Problem Solving...

What's Up Jack?  watercolor/gouache   11.75 x 7

are things we strive for in each class.  They vary from session to session.  At the first class, I try to establish a list of problems that artists would like to work on.  One of the suggestions was learning to paint things that are wet.....things that reflect into wetness.  Who among us has not greatly admired those night time street scenes where tail lights and street lights are reflected into the wet pavement?  Replicating such a problem in our classroom with overhead lighting is a bit tricky.  We brought in small vanity mirrors and placed objects on top in order to understand the object/reflected object relationship.  Very tricky.  In our particular situation, the reflected objects seemed just as solid as the objects themselves.  I chose a vertical format and also chose to elongate the reflection that I saw for aesthetic purposes.  My subject matter - "jacks" - was so simple that I added calligraphy words related to the game.

Great fun.  Memories of many childhood hours playing jacks on the sidewalk. 

Onesies.  Cherries in a basket.  Paintsies.

Paper Dolls? Surely you Jest........

Paper Linda  watercolor/mixed...a paper doll  11.5.x 7

Paper Linda (back)

One of our first creative problems to solve in watercolor class involved the making of paper dolls.  Needless to say, the project was met with skepticism.  My motivation was twofold:  to understand the moving of painting in three dimensions in the focal area (the face) to a more flatly rendered body and clothing; as well as to paint what is imagined, yet unseen (the back of the figure).

Artists brought picture of themselves as children.  One artist just painted a self-portrait that moved from detail into more of an abstract presentation at the bottom.  I ended up painting a front and a back, as well, stitched the edges on my sewing machine and stuffed it lightly with cotton balls.  All in all, the project was a bit of silly fun.  Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously.

I love technology...

Dappled   oil/canvas   30 x 40 x 1.5

when I am able to view an exhibit online.  "Dappled" was selected for inclusion in the Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional exhibition being held at Walls Gallery in Wilmington, North Carolina.

I feel honored to have my work shown in this good company!

Walls Gallery

The Drawing of the 10,000 Kernels...

Indian Corn...a sketch

began last evening....each artist was given an ear of dried Indian corn to draw.  The results were fabulous!  Each drawing was as individual as the artist him/herself.  The twisting leaves were a challenge, as well as the rendering of the rows of multi-colored kernels.  We re-learned that the form of the entire ear is more important, and should be more dominant, than the individual kernels.  Even the beginning artists turned out highly successful drawings.  Pleasant surprises......let the good times roll.

Last Chance...

Sunflower Head   watercolor   8 x 8

warnings always bring me back to reality.  As I spend a good deal of time in my imagination, I tend to overlook some important things until they become a crisis:  i.e.  last gas station for the next 200 miles, last chance to use the restroom until the plane lands, and last chance to visit Stuckey's pecan roll superstore.  The sunflowers came and went in my garden throughout the summer.  As they waned, we placed the heads near the bird feeder.  I thought the opportunity to paint them had passed me by.  Then early in September, I noticed two tender sunflowers that had sprouted from the bird droppings.  Having painted sunflowers many times before, I wanted this attempt to be different from all of the others.

It was, after all, my last chance.

Painting Challenges...

Bartlett Pear   watercolor and thread   5 x 8

are an excellent way to keep one's work fresh.  Most professional artists I know give themselves challenges on a regular basis.  Goal-setting is a related notion.  It keeps us from stagnation or becoming embedded in a comfort zone.  On the first night of watercolor class, we were each given a pear and selected a goal out of a hat.  My goal was to focus on value only by painting in one color.  Others were:  painting only with a flat brush; using an analogous color palette; using a power stroke; using both organic and straight line; and using a huge wash brush for the entire painting. 

"Bartlett Pear" is the result.  I used only a brown mix that was in the mixing well during class.  The yellow-green was added at home.

Seeing the Universal in the Specific

Many years ago I was assigned, by the print company for which I worked, to paint a series of angels.  I worked so hard on those angels.  But the series was rejected for print because they looked too much like real people.  I have struggled with this notion.  I yearn to see universal humanity through an individual, not the reverse.  The market is flooded with images of generic people, done so because, supposedly, more people can relate when a particular visage is rendered in an undefinable way.  These images smack of mass marketing to me and seem somehow cheapened.  And so it goes.

So when I read the following quote about H. Craig Hanna on the website from Amelia Johnson Contemporary, my heart was lightened.....someone else feels the same as I do.

 He paints recognizable human beings as opposed to standard images of physically perfect or stereotypically imperfect 'types'.  They are not, however, portraits, and most have their identities effaced, faces obstructed, but their presence is the strongest and most captivating element in the painting.

 Affirmation.  Sweet.

Falling in Love

There is nothing like the feeling of falling in love....very very intense.  It doesn't happen that often.  During our recent visit to San Francisco, we visited a couple of galleries in St. Helena.  Although the galleries were spectacular in every way and there was an abundance of beautiful art objects to grace the home, the works on the walls were disappointing to me.  They were too slick, too impersonal;  i.e. an immense work in black and white of pounding horses' hooves.  Nothing that touched my soul.  The next day, I spotted a poster in a shop window on 24th Street in the city.  The painting pulled me across the street where I quickly jotted down the information.  Back at home on my computer I was able to pull up the wonderful wonderful work of H. Craig Hanna.

Another muse.............totally inspiring.  Hi art.

Mile High Sketch Club

Mile High Man...a sketch

I am a member of the mile high club.....sketching, that is.  Is there another?   One row up across the aisle is the perfect position for acquiring an unknowing model.  This gentleman was a fidgeter....tall and lanky.  He spent lots of time standing in the aisle where his legs could expand.  During the sitting intervals, he provided me with ample drawing opportunity.  The difficulty was in his slight lateral movements to the left and right, where the degree of eyeglasses and nose changed from time to time.  Therein lies the challenge.  Values were all midtones, so there were no extremes on which to build a stronger sense of patterning.  No strong light.  I was satisfied.