5x5

5x5 Cardboard, plaster gauze, pastel, ink, torch, encaustic medium

I can't really remember when Seth Apter put out a call for entries,

but I was all in.

It came at a time when there was stuff I had to get out,

you know?

Grabbing just a few supplies, I starting cutting, ripping, burning,

adding text and pastel

sealing it all in with encaustic medium.

Off in the mail it went to Seth.

I didn't take any photos of it (duh).

Seth sent them on the Somerset Studio.

I was rather amazed that it not only got in the magazine

but that it was on a full page!

Head over to The Altered Page to see all the 5x5 works

Thank you Seth!

This n' that

Back to work after my hiatus.

It didn't take long to get back into the routine.

I do miss having all that time to make art.

It's difficult to carve out bits of time,

the dailyness of life is so time consuming.

I'm not the sort of person that can let things go for too long.

Clutter, dishes and laundry can only pile up so much and...

and I become unbearable...poor Paul :(

This is a small piece I finished for an art fair.

5" x 5" on panel

Layer upon layer of encaustic medium, shellac, Panpastel, gesso, there might even be a layer of gouache in the mix.  

It's another in the "River Gazing" series.

Puttered around making pendants.  

This one inspired by a French gate.

Made with copper wire and solder.

Primitive...I like the way it turned out.

All those little pieces almost drove me mad.

At least I can say it has some character!

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Art Institute of Chicago 

with our neighbors, Rick and Wendy.

There was a Roy Lichtenstein Retrospective.

All I can say is WOW!

While he is best know for his comics,

I didn't know all the other things he did.

Spoofs on other artists...

 Monet for example...

Notre Dame Cathedral

The piece in the middle gave me bed spins.

The pieces on either side anchor the center panel.

Seriously cool!

 Awesome how he took one of his paintings,

Picaso'd it

then

Mondrain'd it.

Room after room of amazing scuptures, paintings, and drawings.

His Chinese paintings were awesome, 

dots, lines and aqua...quite a departure from his use of primaries.

 We took a walk across the street to Millennium Park.

Can you see the Jay Pritzker Pavillion behind us?

(designed by the incredible Frank Gehry)

We had so much fun at the Cloud Gate sculpture.

Nice to see so many people enjoying the park.

I love where the reflection of the sky meets the sky.

~~~~~

We're just about ready to head out for a bike ride.

Enjoy your weekend,

thanks for stopping by!

Emerging

I had hoped to "stitch" these 3 photos together to see

what they'd look like vertically and horizontally,

but I can't figure out how to do that...iphoto doesn't do it.

At the moment these are kind of fascinating me.

I started adding layers of oil & cold wax,

then some muslin.

More and more and more o & cw.

Forgot about the muslin,

started scraping.

Interesting things were emerging.

oops...found the muslin.

Pulled the muslin off.

Sections of them remind me of Mokume Gane.

So for now I may title them,

Home Depot meets Mokume Gane 1, 2 & 3

Each panel is 10 x 30

Steel Wire and Brass

Rowboats

I love rowboats.

They are showing up in my work.

I wanted to do something completely different yesterday.

Out came the steel wire, brass and solder.

A hot mess-literally.

This little rowboat is rather crude...

but not bad for a first attempt.

1 3/4" x 1"

Working away

This was sitting around waiting for attention.

It was one of those paintings that was started

and then abandoned because I couldn't decide what to do next.

It came together, finally.

Plaster on panel, oil and cold wax  12x16

~~~~~

I start my art practice by warming up.

I use bulldog clips and hang paper from nails on the wall.

Do you know of Steven Aimone's book Expressive Drawing?

There is a exercise from the book that is fast paced and non thinking.

I set a timer for a minute or two and start making marks.

Then set the timer again and go in with watercolors or acrylics.

Back and forth, marks and paint.

Great for helping you get loosened up and out of your head.

Graphite, charcoal, acrylic on paper 22 x 30

~~~

Trying to decided what to do next, I spotted a bottle 

of Golden's Asphaltum Glaze. hmmmm...

I grabbed the glaze and a chip brush and went at it,

scrubbing away. Working with glaze can be a little tricky, 

if you go over an area with glaze on it too many times

the paint lifts off.  That wasn't a problem here as it

created its own outlines.

I'm happy with the way it turned out.

~~~

I started another influx drawing/painting the other day.

There's some pretty good drama going on here so far.

Need to let it sit for a bit before I dive in again.

Fear of ruining it.

That's really the time I should go for it, when I feel fear.

Graphite and acrylic on paper 25" x 40"

Thanks for stopping by!

 This piece has been in the works for months and months.

Cold wax and oil on panel.  18 x 24

It's hanging in my teal bathroom.

The more I work with cold wax and oil the more versatility I find it has.  

I enjoy mixing dry pigments, charcoal, graphite, plaster, powdered marble

and I am just about to go scooping out ash from the fireplace.

The possibilities are endless.

During my hiatus from work, I plan to spend as much time painting as possible.

"Red Hots in my Dreamsicle"

Here are bowls that are drying, soon to be painted with cold wax & oil.

Encaustic medium, shellac, encaustic gesso and Panpastel

9 x 12 on panel

These as well as some bowls posted previously,

have been inspired by the river I grew up on.

Funny how I hadn't thought about that place in years 

and all of a sudden, memories came back and have become inspiration for art.

Holiday?

Handbuilt plaster bowl, 13.5"

Shellac, Panpastel, encaustic medium

~~~~~

Happy 4th of July!

I should be taking the day off,

but...

I'm picking up my studio.

What a mess!

Crap Art supplies, boards, canvases all over the floor.

Tripping hazard for a klutz like me.

Why am I saving all this stuff I don't use?

You've done that right?

Bought stuff thinking this was it, the "thing",

the "thing" that was going to make a difference in your art practice.

Only to find out is was only 'eh...

For over 20 years, I've been trying different medium.

It's been interesting, fun, exhilarating, eye opening

learning how to do.  Mostly, once you learn basic techniques,

you find out quickly that while it's interesting to learn,

sometimes it just doesn't click.

Do you get overwhelmed by too many art supplies,

too many choices?

Yeah, me too.

I'm narrowing my focus.

I will still probably take me a long time to get down to basic materials,

but I know I'm getting closer.

~~~

A few Shellac, pastel and encaustic medium pieces in the works.

Photos to come.

~~~

A memory came flooding back out of no where.

Of a row boat I had when I was in 4th grade.

Long time ago.

I made one out of heavy paper,

tacked it together with linen thread,

covered it in encaustic medium.

Paper, linen thread, encaustic medium

15 x 6

 Love my little row boat.

Plaster bowls

 Saturday glorious Saturday! 

 It's already a gorgeous day outside.  

The windows are wide open in my studio.  

Thought I would show you a couple of bowls I'm working on.

Hand built plaster bowl (8.5 " across) with a layer of encaustic medium on top.

Next a layer of amber shellac that was set on fire.

It's been drying for a week, now it's ready for the next step.

Another plaster bowl (13.5" across) that I intentionally smashed,

going for the relic look.

It also has a layer of encaustic medium and a layer of shellac that was burned.

F-i-r-e  g-o-o-d.

It dried for a week, then I rubbed Pan pastel all over it.

 The dried shellac acts as a resist,

while the thicker areas of shellac are still a bit tacky.

Turquoise and amber are beautiful together.

This is ready for a layer of encaustic medium.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Like vs Gotta Have

WIP-Mixed Media 16 x 16 on canvas

An "in flux" painting--a warm up.

I've taken a longer hiatus than anticipated,

but that's for another post...

~~~

This week I had a commission fall through.

Nope, I didn't have a contract or a deposit.

My bad.

But I realized something significant.

The person didn't love it.

While they liked it, they didn't love it.

big. difference.

Quite a number of years ago when I did a lot of art fairs,

there were several different types of people that wandered into my booth.

The "breeze in-breeze out" no eye contact-barely replied to my hello,

the "why is this so expensive?, I could get this at JCPenney's-framed for $30",

the person who would engage in conversation about my work,

the gem of all gems, the drunk person asking for a discount,(buh-bye now)

then out of the blue....

the person who sees your work from across the way, 

marches in, takes it off the wall and proclaims-

"I have to have this!"

If you truly love something, make a connection with it,

you'll make it happen-you'll buy it.

The reason I make art isn't just to sell art.

Absolutely, sales are fantastic, 

but the reason I make art is because even though I question myself all-the-time,

I have something to say.

When someone connects with that, 

it affirms why I make art.

I sold my Dad's house, the couple that bought it, 

looked at it, fell in love with it and wrote an offer on the spot.

That's the same reaction I desire for my art.

Someone makes a connection-be it emotional, spiritual--whatever

and. buys. it.

In the future,

Contract-Deposit.