in the studio

This week was full of #art365 landscapes. It began with a continuation of the field outside Crown Point but got sidetracked by some high contrast. Then further sidetracked while I worked through a couple of ideas on a sliver of light at sunset and the glow of sunrise on fog, and finally back to the field.

field I, acrylic on paper, 5" x 5"

quiet, acrylic on paper, 5" x 5"

roadside glow, acrylic on paper, 4" x 6"

early sunset I,acrylic on paper, 4" x 6"

early sunset II,acrylic on paper, 4" x 6"

early sunset III, acrylic on paper, 5" x 5"

morning fog I, acrylic on paper, 4" x 6"

morning fog II,acrylic on paper, 4" x 6"

early sunset IV, acrylic on paper, 4" x 6"

field II, acrylic on paper, 4" x 6"

In other news: I've joined #paintseptember on twitter and will be making a small landscape every day. This easily ties in with my #art365 project of making art every day, I just have to have something completed every day for this month. 

seneca will be part of Studio 659's TEXT: Louder Than Words exhibit which opens this Friday. The following week, there will be an opening featuring a large selection of these #art365 landscapes at Paul Henry's Art Gallery. Details to follow.

encaustics

Encaustics is something I've wanted to try for the last few years. And it hasn't really happened. 

                                      UNTIL TODAY!
Are there trumpets and streamers? There should be. It's on my art bucket list. More on that later.


Some artists get in a rut. They do the same thing over and over, usually because they've had some success. Success is good! Sales are good! But really, you need to keep learning and trying new things. I am trying not to be the artist that gets in a rut. I try to keep challenging myself.
So when Deborah Landry said she was giving an encaustic lesson in her studio and invited me to join, I had to say yes! 

So what exactly am I so excited about? Painting with hot wax. And there's a bit of process. (I barely scratched the surface with these.) And some of happy accidents. And a bunch of not so happy accidents. And a whole lot of is it done? or could I make it better? And if I try to make it better, will I ruin it? Here are a few in progress shots from the 1st one. This is 3.5" by 4.5".

I was shooting for an #art365 landscape sort of look, without trying for one specifically. Lots of this I didn't plan. Okay, almost all of this I didn't plan. One of the really wild things, which I didn't expect, was the wax continues to move after the heat gun is taken away. I thought it would stay where it was once it stopped being heated. It doesn't. It contracts, and seems to follow the heat. I made four paintings total today. The three below are 2.5" x 3.5"

This next one started with a yellow base layer of paint. I decided to never do that again. Note the accidental "sun" which happened in the middle photo.

For this last one, I went back to a light blue base, which I used in the first one. I also tried to have something closer to that overall look. I don't think I really succeeded in that. One thing I think I would do in the future would be to actually mix some colors before I paint them onto the boards. Another thing would be to paint the wax on with very fine brushes and potentially heat it less. I'm clearly at the bottom of a very large learning curve.

So my art bucket list... is art things I want to try. Not so much before I die, but you know, it will be harder to try them when I'm dead. I wanted to paint really big, and I've done that. And I love it! 

So encaustics was also on my bucket list. Encaustics is something I can see incorporating into my work. Layering text and drawings can also be added into the pieces, which is an additional bonus. Also on my bucket list: throwing pottery on a wheel. Plein aire painting. Sometimes getting back to gum dichromate printing is on the list. Some days welding. It's a short list, I know. And while encaustics makes some sense in with my current work, welding and pottery, not so much. I just think they'd be cool things to know.

So, to the artists reading: what's on your art bucket list?

And if you want to see more encaustics, from artists who actually know what they're doing, take a look at Deborah Landry and Abigail Markov. They have entirely different aesthetics, and really show the broad range of work which can be done with wax.

the postcards: part 1

POSTCARDS!

back of Carol Graham's postcard

The postmark deadline is today. There were just over 2 dozen artists who joined, representing 14 states, and 3 countries. (Come on EU, you were underrepresented!) 

My goals for the postcard swap were:

1. Have fun.
2. Meet other artists. The swap was set up in a way that an artist was sending a postcard to one artist but receiving one from a different artist.
3. Promote those artists, and hopefully have them promote each other. I agreed from the onset to repost/share all the postcards which were posted online and to put together a couple of blog posts featuring all the artists' work. This is first one.

Carol Graham
page from an old book, gesso, ink, pencil

Jennifer Billig

letterpress light exposed plate for image transfer, 

standard metal type, embroidery, colored pencil

Leslie Lambert
ink and highlighter 

Patsy Priebe
graphite

Shad Hall
acrylic with glass beads on fabric

P. Anthony Benninghoff
pen and bleach on colored cardstock

Loralei Walker
mixed media with collage

Mary Schons
collage

Michael Kaysen
collage, found materials

Links are included for the artists who provided them. So check out the rest of their work, and find them online: circle, follow, like, etc. 

There will be another  #postcardswap. I am looking at twice a year. Sign ups in December, make and post in January, and then continue every January and July. Suggestions to this? Is it doable? It is certainly not set in stone. In the meantime, I recommend you all check out #twitterartexhibit. 

Updated: Part 2 can be seen here. Part 3 can be seen here.

in the studio

This week was mostly spent on drawing, although I did manage to do one little #art365 landscape after a trip out to Wolf Lake in Chicago. Wolf Lake straddles the state line, and while I often drive by on the Indiana side, I'd never been over to the Illinois side. It was quite peaceful.

wolf lake from chicago, acrylic on paper, 5" x 7"
available for purchase here

I finished up four drawings: other people's kindnesses, maybe this, semantics, and silver lining. This is all the drawings I had started. I am loosely calling this series of drawings conversations in my head. Loosely meaning, it is subject to change slightly in wording but not in idea. I really feel like these pieces work in conjunction with my recent large scale paintings, stylistically. 

It would be great to be able to have several drawings up around a large studio where I could work on several in quicker succession. The drying time on washes does test my patience some days. I would like to do these drawings larger as well, but for now I am limited to materials on hand. Sewing paper together may be in order. I do believe there will be more of these drawings, but I have 3 medium-sized canvases which were given to me and they are going to make a new larger piece at 34" x 90". At least that is the plan for now. I want to go back to painting.

other people's kindnesses always catch me off guard. I never expect them.
other people's kindnesses, watercolor pencil, ink, conté on paper, 30" x 23"

maybe this was all in my head.
maybe this, watercolor pencil, ink on paper, 30" x 22"

finding the silver lining always makes me sound like a bitch.
silver lining, watercolor pencil, ink, conté on paper, 30" x 23"

semantics does not excuse your words.
semantics, watercolor pencil, ink, conté on paper, 30" x 22"

Just a reminder: the good karma giveaway deadline is Monday June 24th at 4pm and the postcard swap deadline is Friday July 5th. Be sure to sign up for these if you're interested!

post card swap!

Years and years and years ago, back when people still sent physical mail, I got this postcard. 

postcard labeled: photo from Portsmouth, NH

Fast forward to maybe 2 years ago, when I came across this again and I started thinking how awesome it was to get a handmade postcard and how nobody does this sort of thing. I thought about asking a few artists to swap with me, but I also thought I could easily get in over my head if I was personally swapping with each person. And I sorta just filed the idea away. Sometimes it would cross my mind, but I never really did anything with it.

So this is the plan: I'm looking for a group of artists willing to part with one of their creations in return for another artist's work. You will be randomly given another artist's name and address to send it to. 

This is not a partnership. You will get a piece from one artist and send yours to another. In this way you will connect with 2 different artists. By all means load your postcard up with all your contact info.

There is no cost, other than your supplies and the postage. I am in the US, but that doesn't mean everyone else is. You might have international postage. 

It's a postcard. It does not need an envelope. But: be thoughtful in your work. The USPS will surely handle it carefully, right? If you are using media that is not water safe or could smudge, maybe you put it in an envelope anyway. If you chance this, it will rain on the delivery day. Just because. The same with threads and wires. Will it get caught in the sorting machines? Use your discretion with this. Do I need to mention ink/paint should be dry? You want your work to show up in decent condition, and you want the piece you get to be in good shape. 

I am leaving the media open, but it must be handmade by you in someway. Photography/digital arts is okay as long as it's your original work. Prints/postcards that you've had made of your work are not acceptable. Don't send the postcard from your last show. You should be making something for this project.

Let me know that you want to be a part of this! If you can create a postcard you can be a part of the swap. Know some friends or other artists who might be interested? Pass this along and invite them! If you're in, send an email with your mailing address here. Sign up by July 5th. That's 2 weeks from when I posted this. I will get your artist address to you within a week (or two depending on the response) and your postcard needs to be postmarked by July 31st. Please be sure you follow through. It will suck to be the person who sent off a piece of artwork and didn't get one in return.

When your postcard is done, send a jpeg of it to the above email. I'll put together some follow up posts featuring your work. And if you post it online, tag me in it and I'll share it! Tag it with #postcardswap, and you'll be able to check out other artists' work as well!

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Ready? Sign up and start creating!

and now for some more good karma

Who doesn't need more good karma? I mean, seriously, if you feel like you could use some karmic interference, you need to earn it. You need to be grateful and thankful for good things in your life. I really believe appreciation is a key factor in this.

early summer prairie, acrylic on canvas, 4" x 4"

early summer prairie is the #art365 piece for 5.29.13. #art365 is my pledge/challenge to make art every day. I started January 1st and have made some art every day since then. Some days I do a lot and some days I do a little, but I haven't missed a day yet. I am posting #art365 on facebook, as well as  google+ twitter and pinterest. #art365 landscapes are also being posted to my website.

So here is the next good karma giveaway. This is for facebook because I already promised it for facebook. Sadly, there are too many hoops to jump through to have the giveaway on facebook. Happily, a large portion of the sales I've had this year have been through facebook! So, thanks, facebook likers! When I hit 200 likes, I will give away this painting to a random comment-er on this blog post.


Rules? 

1. You have to like my facebook page. You can do that here. 
2. You have to leave a comment on this blog post. Not on the link to wherever you may have seen it, but actually on this post.

That's it. The drawing will be one week after I hit 200. I will post an update edit when that happens, with a firm date for the deadline.

Deadline update: Today is 6.17.13 and I have just hit 200 likes, thanks to everyone who shared my page and invited friends. The deadline will be in one week: Monday 6.24.13 at 4pm Central time. Please be sure to comment on this post, not the link. Thanks!

in the studio

drawing! all drawing, all week!

I continued working on the drawings I started last week and started a few more. mediocrity and the difference between are finished, the rest are works in progress. Unfinished works all still have mask on them. This is particularly visible on semantics: the yellow drips are mask. I find that I can work on several drawings at the same time a lot easier than several paintings. Although my studio is now covered in drawings and I'm running out of room. :/

medicrity, watercolor pencil and ink on paper, 30" x 23"
let me tell you a fairy tale of mediocrity: this is as good as it's going to get.

the difference between, watercolor pencil, ink, conté on paper, 30" x 23"
how do you tell the difference between what you want and what you need?

maybe this, watercolor pencil and ink on paper, 30" x 22"
maybe this was all in my head

other people's kindnesses, watercolor pencil ink and conté on paper, 30" x 23"
other people's kindnesses always catch me off guard. I never expect them.

semantics, watercolor pencil, ink and conté on paper, 30" x 22"
semantics does not excuse your words.

silver lining, watercolor pencil, ink, conté on paper, 30" x 23"
finding the silver lining always makes me sound like a bitch.

in the studio

Most of this week was spent on bad penny. A couple of days I only took detail shots. oops. I know it's a little bit like where's waldo trying to find the differences from one day to the next, but I assure you there was work done in between each of these shots. I think I am now done with this piece. I am going to leave it for now and live with it for a few days before I decide for sure, and then I'll sign it if it is staying like this.

I also got back to the #art365 landscapes. wetlands was inspired by a photo a friend posted to facebook and early summer prairie is the next good karma giveaway. You can find out how to win early summer prairie here.

early summer prairie, acrylic on canvas, 4" x 4"

waterways, acrylic on paper, 5" x 7"