Throwback Thursday

Sing to me sweetly, as I turn sour

Lay me down, remembering

That the wind and the rain played a part 

In that dreadful hour.

This week's throwback is inspired by a 5 day art challenge I did on facebook. The challenge was to post three artworks a day for five days, and challenge another artist to the same each day. You can follow some of the posts under #5dayart. 

lay me down, 2012, acrylic, 12" x

On day four, I posted some america series paintings from 2012, which from an artistic standpoint, feels like a million years ago. lay me down was created for a lyrics themed show at Hammond Art Center. The idea was to create a piece of art based on some lyrics, and at the opening all of the songs were performed by a couple of musicians.

in the studio

This week, I've worked on two paintings, but didn't finish either one. I spent the first half of the week on one and got nowhere with it. And set it aside for a day while I started the other. They are not even close to being done and haven't quite found the direction they are headed, but I'm going to post them anyway, because I don't want to not post today. It's my own personal deadline. They will most likely be unrecognizable between this state and the final paintings.

This first was originally a different part of the prairie and I am relocating it. It just was not working where it was. This happens sometimes. I get stuck and something else catches my eye, and I abandon the first idea for the next. There was a feathery grass of some sort that glowed soft and yellow and I thought plush. I haven't gotten it yet to say plush yet, though, and I'm not convinced that it doesn't need to be horizontal format, rather than a square.

The second is based on the Devil's Slide at the Dunes. I've gotten so involved in the patterning that I've neglected the rest of the piece. That's all just blocked in sand and sky, and is just underpainting. I haven't decided that the patterning is staying yet. I envisioned it looking more like this when completed, which is a bit more random.

Out of the studio this week: This was the final week for the Salon Show at South Shore Arts. I am this|close to booking another show for 2015. There was a quick meet and greet with the Calumet Heritage Partnership at White Ripple Gallery where I have work in the Indigenous Landscapes exhibit. Saturday was also the DAVe (Dyer Arts Visionaries) Pop Up Gallery at the Fashion Show. I had four america series paintings there. Angela Leimer took this photo of stretched out. I love the bright airiness of the painting shining out of the darkness.

Throwback Thursday

This week's throwback is one of the last america series paintings I have left: an untitled landscape.

untitled (landscape), 2012, acrylic, 16" x 16"

Throwback Thursday

America! Have a happy 4th and stay safe this weekend.

america, 2011, acrylic, 36" x 48"

This piece was inspired by a friend's post of this video the previous year.





Don't forget the Studio Independence Sale!

Throwback Thursday

I painted this right before the Safety and America show. I was considering this piece at the time part of the america series, which were figurative abstracts disguised as landscapes, but this was a real place. I hadn't yet started the #art365 landscapes but I was focused enough on the look of landscapes that I was noticing them show up in friends' vacation pictures. And I had started painting them whenever one caught my eye.

buff, acrylic, 16" x 20"

buff is one of the paintings I have at Renditions Gallery for the Engaging Arts event on Sunday.

Throwback Thursday

I was thinking that a painting titled winter would be rather appropriate, but after 2 weeks of Christmas break followed by 3 days of it's too cold to go to school, I'm thinking freedom is really more where it's at. I've had the house to myself for a couple of hours now and it has been glorious. Like choirs of angels singing. yeah, freedom. from the america series, 2010, acrylic, 15" x 30"

#art365: crete

My show at The Edge is coming to a close. I made another trip out on Friday for a late lunch with my husband. It's important to be supportive of the businesses and organizations which are supporting you. 

These first two images were from the delivery and installation days. The last is from Friday's lunch date.

2.6.13 morning, crete

2.7.13 the stand

3.3.13 corn fields, winter, crete

The last day to see America at The Edge is this Tuesday. I am deinstalling Wednesday morning.

America at The Edge

Sounds ominous, doesn't it? But, it's true! America is at The Edge. How many crazy political extremists are totally disappointed that I mean my America paintings are at the Edge Coffee House? If I haven't lost you, stick around to hear to the controversy at the end.

I first heard about The Edge from my friend and fellow-artist/photographer Lora Mercado. It's a cool coffee shop in Crete, IL. She had a show of her photographs there last year. She'd been referred by someone else we both know. When she was installing her show, she showed the gallerist my facebook page on her phone, and just like that, a potential show.

This is why you need to know other artists. You need to support them and they will support you. And that's how things happen.

Yesterday and today I delivered and installed. I have twelve paintings form the America series up all month. A portion of all sales (20%!) is going to the Crete Food Pantry, so purchases are not just helping a starving artist, they're helping local people who are in need. Compliments were coming in as I was hanging, so I was very pleased.

Today, when I went in to wrap up the final details, one of the employees said a customer wanted to speak to me about the artwork. He said he saw human figures in the artwork and asked if he was correct. I confirmed this for him. It's in my artist statement, hanging next to my work. I don't know if he read it before or after he looked at it, or even if he bothered. He was very nice and enthusiastic about my work being there. Later, the employee came back and said he had complained that my work was "too explicit" for the coffee shop. That's right: My landscapes were too explicit. 

So, what do you think? Are they too explicit? This is my first art controversy. It's kind of exciting!

grant work!

So, despite the lack of updates, I have been working on my grant project. I have been trying to set aside one day each week just for this project. It's mostly working. Last week I had two mornings instead of a full day, which is a little less ideal, but I just have to work when I can.

The mixed media pieces I'm working on are meant to be a bridge between my paintings and drawings. I think this is where my artwork is heading, in general. I am really enjoying it. I'm slated to do 4 of these pieces (and 4 large scale paintings.) One of the odd things about working this way is the show is already scheduled, before I made any work for it at all. And the 8 pieces were planned. So everything I make, I now have to consider how it will work within the show. How will it hang? How will it all work together? All the frames have been painted white. I originally planned to paint the frames black to make them look more cohesive, but the canvases will be unframed and so white on the edges. So white frames.

the ties that bind

I'm in the done-for-now stage with the ties that bind and this woman's work. I think the ties that bind is a bit to geometric in the bottom right corner, so that will need to be tweaked a bit. The spoons in this woman's work are going to be moved into a less dangle-y position and I think I'm going move the crochet work in the embroidery hoop to the right side.

this woman's work

And now I'm working on fairy tales...

line drawing and placement

ink writing under"painting"

acrylic

I've since put silver ink over the light pink section. The writing in the first layer there says "where is my silver lining?" The picture frames were going to get happy little individual landscapes in them, but then I went for blue skies, which had a kind of Magritte feel. I settled, for now anyway, on using them more as windows, in a rose colored glasses way. I still may work more on the background painting: more ink, more washes? maybe.

This is just set together right now. I am not sure exactly how I am going to attach the frames to the painting. I may cut it and insert them that way, but I'm fairly scared to cut this.

ATC: Day 30

The end!

acrylic and watercolor pencil. This is the very last card of the challenge. I signed and dated and loaded them up with contact info today. Note to self: do this daily, it was annoying to have to look up each and every image to see when it was done. Somehow I am missing one card. It's completed, but Missing In Action somewhere in my house.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are posting albums on facebook.

Tomorrow: grant work! Stop back tomorrow afternoon for an update on the mixed media pieces I'm working on for the IAC grant project.

ATC: Day 29

Next to the last post and it's a two-fer. One card and one day left.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 28

It's almost over! Yesterday I started a new mixed media piece for the grant work. I am going to get a little bit more done on that today, and I'm thinking a very low key palette for it. Probably mostly greys. I used black in these two pieces, which I rarely use. I prefer to mix my own, the color is much richer that way.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 27

The end is near! The end of the challenge, I mean. Three more days and I have 5 cards left.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 26

acrylic.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 25

better late than never. and it's a two-fer. I am not crazy about painting at night, because the light is off. I really like to paint in indirect sunlight. Night paintings and overcast days usually result in super bright colors, like I am somehow overcompensating visually.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 24

acrylic. So not much of a surprise, I guess. I didn't even stop to consider watercolor paper cards. For half a second, I looked at the mixed combo pack, but didn't have any interest in using them. It'll be linen paper for the rest of the month.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 23

acrylic:

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

winner announcement! (and ATC Day 22)

I just emailed the winner of the good karma giveaway. I can't announce who it is, because he/she didn't leave a name, just an email addy...so check your email, it could be you!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway! I can't give away something if I have no one to give it to. Your support is greatly appreciated!

And back to our regularly scheduled ATC daily card. Only one more week and then I'll be back to posting other artwork, like the mixed media pieces I've been working on for the grant.

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 21

acrylic...

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.

ATC: Day 20

acrylic and ink on watercolor paper. I know, you can't really see the ink. I sketched this out in ink and planned to watercolor over it, but found a few minutes and got out some acrylics. This was the last watercolor card I had. The rest will be on canvas paper cards, unless I get to the store to buy that last pack for #31-40 and I change my mind...

The ATC is an artist trading card and this project is a challenge issued by Susan Henshaw's Art Challenge. 30 Artists, 30 Days, 30 ATCs. The links .... I am still posting on pinterest. You can also follow Kim Clanton and Teri Partridge on their blogs. Lynette K. Waters-Whitesell, Susan Henshaw, and Leslie Lambert are both posting albums on facebook.


Don't forget! Tomorrow is the last day to register for the good karma giveaway by signing up for my mailing list! (right over there ->->->)