Throwback Thursday

This week's throwback is one of the large scale paintings I was working on two years ago for the Alternate Realities Show at South Shore Arts - Crown Point.

tumult, 2013, acrylic and ink, 48" x 96"

in the studio

This week, I've been working through softly below. It is still working and I am happy with where it is heading, although it is not where I thought it would be. I am impressed that the green is still there. It is a painting based on moss, so it should be green, but I didn't expect the green to stay, because it often doesn't. I should have it finished in the next day or two. 

softly below, wip, acrylic, 11" x 14"

I've also started a commission piece, which is a little outside of my usual range. I am generally reluctant to do these things, although I always surprise myself. I was asked last week, Is there nothing you can't do? And it was a compliment. But I don't really think of myself as that unstoppable. Maybe I should.

Out of the studio, I had a full week. I saw a printmaking/assemblage demo and artist talk through Illiana Artists by Corey Hagelberg. I really enjoy seeing other artists work. You can always learn something, even if the work is not in your style or media. And there was printmaking, so I really couldn't not be there. While there I was invited to be in a show next month, in a gallery where I haven't previously shown. This was a great way to end the evening/start the week. I have work in two shows which opened this week. I have five paintings in this year's Oliver Brown Show at CornerStone. This is an annual members exhibit for 119th Street Artists. My work was well received and two different people expressed interest in one of the paintings. Today was the opening of the Salon Show at South Shore Arts. This was my third time entering the exhibit, but the first I was accepted. It is the most prestigious show in this area. Several friends were also accepted into the show and it was nice to see some other friendly faces there. Rumor has it I almost won an award. But you know, almost and horseshoes or something like that. But... I was invited to be in another show for November in another gallery where I've never shown while I was there. So two openings and two invitations for shows. It was a good week.

And if you missed the #postcardswap post, check out the art here.

Throwback Thursday

This was only a dream, but now I am awake, but I wish I was still asleep.

Last summer I spent a lot of time painting big canvases. After the 8' grant paintings, I just wanted to keep going. The problem with 8' paintings is they don't fit in my car. You need a van (which I don't have) to get them anywhere and they take up a lot of storage space (which I also don't have) and quite honestly the only wall in my house with an 8' expanse is the wall I painted against. I can't even hang these paintings up in my house because my house is too small.

My solution to this (well, the transportation solution) was to paint on smaller canvases and strap them together with metal brackets. Et voila! Big paintings which I can get from one place to another.

I struggled with the right side canvas over and over and couldn't really get it where it was supposed to go. When I added in the larger canvas, everything changed and all of a sudden this piece came together.

this was only a dream, acrylic and ink, 2013, 48" x 60"

in the studio

This week I kept working on far from the stars, or the forest for the trees. And I didn't think about the title once, so I still don't know if that's what the finished piece will be called. And I forgot to take pictures on most days. But...

I did work on this.

This is a synthetic rubber block, approximately 4.5" x 2.75". Dick Blick* carries lots of sizes in their stores, and I picked up the smallest, because I wasn't sure if I would like it. I loved it. It was so easy to cut - I guess the E-Z-Cut name is here is appropriate. It cut like butter, and I will get more of them. It is thick enough to carve both sides but after looking at it again, I don't think I will, because I did cut a few spots really deeply.

The test print above has single printing in the bottom section and layered printing on the top, including some upside down. I wasn't very careful with this printing, in terms of registration, etc, because I just wanted to see how it looked repeated and if the carving was alright. This is block ink on printmaking paper. The blockiness wasn't really going to work in this painting, but I rolled from the center out and left the edges uninked. Note: the painting is printed with acrylic paint not ink.

And here is where I have ended the week. I have about 3 super thin layers of paint over the tree trunks on top of the printing. Still a wip. Hope to finish this up next week.

 Also this week, saw some shows and showed some support for other artists. Bad Business opened yesterday at Paul Henry's. On Friday I went to Brauer Museum of Art to see Tom Brand and Carole Stodder but really liked two of the other shows: Fred Frey and Jeanette Pasin Sloan.

Next week: There will not be an in the studio post. I will be off the grid for the Holiday weekend. I'll be taking a sketchbook and a camera, and hope to come back with lots of inspiration.



*Dick Blick did not pay me to say this. I really did like it. But if someone at Dick Blick wants to pay me to say this, or send me samples to "review" then I would totally be okay with that.

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.

in the studio

This week started with more little gouaches....

melt, gouache, 4" x 6"

last night, gouache, 4" x 6"

dark prairie, gouache, 4" x 4"

...and ended with a bigger piece. This canvas has been fighting me, but I think it might be done. I'm going to sleep on it.

thaw, acrylic, 40" x 30"

And here I am at the Triad Show at CornerStone Gallery Friday night. 

photo by Debra Gutierrez

in the studio

This has been a really good week. 7 paintings sold. Paintings delivered for an upcoming show. An opening Friday night. A potential solo show in the works.

I would say things fall into my lap, but I know that they fall into my lap when I work really hard. It isn't really luck, or at least not mostly luck. Cue the Thomas Jefferson quote:

 "I am a great believer in luck,

 and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." 

And on to this week's art!

morning clouds, gouache, 4" x 6"

the stretch behind, gouache, 4" x 6" SOLD

dusk, gouache, 4" x 6"

winter oaks, gouache, 4" x 6"

sunset prairie, gouache, 4" x 6"

fresh snow, gouache, 4" x 6"

Plans for this week: another delivery to Paul Henry's Art Gallery, a Friday night opening to support some fellow artists. More studio cleaning, so I can get that large canvas stretched. Some small color field studies based on the #art365 landscapes (think: simpler reductions) and a collage idea just popped into my head, which is a little weird because I don't do collages. hunh. Happy March!

in the studio

Not a lot of art making has happened in the studio this week. There were days of sketching. Well, not really days of sketching, but days when only sketching was done. Better something than nothing. There has been a lot of behind the scenes/admin work. There was waiting on art supply shipments. Delivery of gouaches to Sip on Thursday and an opening at Merge on Friday and another delivery to Paul Henry's on Saturday. And The Cleaning Of The Studio Has Begun... Still I managed to work on and off on this new painting, which seems huge after painting pieces 4" x 4".  

in, wip, ink, acrylic, and conté, 30" x 40"

There will be more ink and conté added in over the next week and probably more paint, too. Also up this week: delivering some gouaches for the Triad show at Cornerstone and the opening at Sip Friday night. And I'm very excited to announce that I will be featured at the Depot Art Gallery in Beverly Shores this "season." I will be thinking about that work in a more organized way.

in the studio

This week was spent working slowly on the worst enemy. 

Small layers because I haven't wanted to overwork it, and I felt there were some good things happening early on. Also small layers because work was keeping me busy and I've been sick on top of that. Still a work in progress. I think this painting wants to be a drawing.

So I started a drawing to try to work on a similar idea. The text is from a mixed media piece I worked on about a year ago. ink and mask. More to come in the next week.

Reminder: The #postcardswap sign up deadline is January 5th!

Happy Holidays!

Throwback Thursday

Another more recent throwback: embrace, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 36".  This was in the first show I had when I started painting again, at the Gary Public Library. Since then it's shown in several other galleries in Northwest Indiana.

in the studio

This has been a slow week for art making. I even got lazy about photographing and posting. oops. I finished up where is it? (I think. I'm letting it sit for a bit.)

And I started I am my own worst enemy. This title may get shortened, by the time it is done. I don't know what that UR in the corner was part of, but I always think BUTTER. I know butter doesn't end in -ur but that's what it makes me think of. Maybe it's just the color. I'm hoping at this point to leave a lot of the UR in the finished piece.

Also this week, the postcard swap was relaunched! Already there are artists signed up in 11 states! You can join, too! This was lots of fun to see unfold and a great chance to "meet" lots of artists. Join here  or follow along with the #postcardswap hashtag.

in the studio

I spent most of the week working on the piece now titled where is it?  including making this relief print which is on the piece in several places but not quite visible/readable. I still need to work a little further on this to get it to where I want it. In the meantime, this print on paper is being given away on my facebook page Monday morning. edit: the giveaway is over, but I do them a couple of times a year, so if you are on facebook, give my page a like so you know when they happen!

So here is where where is it? stands now. Still tacky ink printed on Friday. Need to make a mental note about printing oil based inks in re: my lack of patience.

I still have a few more layers planned for this one and the inevitable  is also on hold as I try to work out the printmaking text bit, so I started a third piece, help, which is still early on in the whole layering process.  And this new canvas is a little lumpy from the paint underneath, which I didn't sand or gesso at all. This was part of the plan, to let the original painting act as underpainting, but it's a little lumpier than I'd like. The 'help' was original and I'm still deciding how much of it to leave unaltered. It's starting to look a little more unified but I've just about eliminated the 3 columns of printing I did on it. I may try printing in mask, to remove later. I'll have to do some experiments with that. Still so many ideas to work through! And I'm starting to feel the need to do some looser drawing to balance all this process out.

In other related news, I've started writing another grant idea. I have an artist willing to mentor me in a new process and have already booked a show for this as yet un-created new body of work in 2015. Good things are happening!

in the studio

Most of this week was spent in bits and pieces working on and so it begins again. Finally, it is starting to come together. Today, I declared it almost done. Should be finished next week.

and so it begins again, acrylic and ink on canvas, 36" x 90"

I spent two days out of the house at my kid's scout camp and I'm still recovering from the sun burn. (ouch!) The #art365 landscapes are from the camp days and the drive there.

wildflowers, acrylic on paper, 5" x 7"

light and shadow, acrylic on paper, 5" x 7"

ditch (tiger lilies), acrylic on paper, 5" x 7"

Up next week: finishing and so it begins again, hopefully starting a new larger version of tired (with a strong back but an empty soul), and revamping my website. Not looking forward to the last bit, but it's needed. And postcard art! I've seen a few pieces for the #postcardswap and I'm really looking forward to more!

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!

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

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"

in the studio

The big thing that happened in the studio this week, was the studio got cleaned. My husband commented, wow, we have hardwood floors?! uh, yeah, yeah we do. The cleaning was necessary because I had to find room to put the Alternate Realities paintings, and really this is where they need to go for now. And that sort of sucks because I was working on bad penny which is big and needs to be in that same spot to be painted.

pretty much as good as it's going to get

No #art365 landscapes this week, just more and more work on bad penny and this was only a dream.

this was only a dream, still a wip

I forgot to take pictures a couple of days, but when you look at the first two of bad penny, you see how little difference there is between the two days. There were two days of work, unphotographed, between the 2nd and 3rd pics. Here's why: with Alternate Realities pieces are back in the studio, it's a little chaotic now.

how I was working today

in the studio

This week in the studio, time was mostly spent on the #art365 project. 5 new pieces

5.6.13 wicker park through the oaks

5.7.13 above

5.8.13 merge

5.9.13 pear II

5.11.13 lincoln highway

I also worked a bit more on this was only a dream for a couple of days. Here's where it is tonight. Still a bit wet in the upper left in this shot.