Art Muse

Heading south...

2010-01-29T17:32:00.000-05:00

Georgia Trees 24 X 30"

Last winter we spent a month in Georgia on Saint Simons Island. The attraction for most visitors is the oceanfront, for me it is the trees. Live oaks with Spanish moss and Resurrection ferns are like little communites or big mamas with numerous interesting children onboard or flitting about. We're heading back there next week and I plan to take this painting with me. I need to revisit Saint Simons Park and decide if it is done. Then start on some more tree portraits. Maybe this gracious one:

What's up? Two new works in progress...

2010-01-24T13:16:00.074-05:00

Most of my very wet acrylics are quite small, the one above is the start of a bigger canvas, 34" X 34". I'm not sure the technique suits this larger format. This piece may or may not evolve in the same way as the smaller (5" X 7") controlled pieces. Because it is big and wet, it needs a lot of room. I have to work flat on the table and let it dry. So I switch to another work in progress, one on the easel, like this one (30" X 30") :

Not at all like the other but that's me - consistently producing a body of work that covers a whole menu of art entrees . A few weeks ago at the Kingston Arts & Letters Club two local writers, Steven Heighton and Susan Olding, spoke about adopting different genres or approaches to writing depending on the inspiration or content of the work. Kindred spirits, I could relate. The top painting seems to be a poem, an idyll. The lower one is defintely prose, creative nonfiction.

Christmas in Cape Vincent

2009-12-27T17:02:00.005-05:00

Cape Vincent New York is just 10 miles south of Kingston, as the crow flies. However there is a lot of big water and a large island between the two. So, travelling to visit our friends who live there takes about an hour and fifteen minutes by car which includes two big bridges and a brief stop at the border crossing. The community is a small village with a rich history, beautiful old buildings and powerful huge maples that toss the sidewalks around. Despite the dull gray weather I found plenty to inpspire me and recorded it in rather bland photos. Bland until some creative manipulation made them quite "painterly" I think. Perhaps I can come up with something to suit a commission for one of the CV residents....?

A few "unaltered" photos :

Sidewalks along the western stretch of Broadway. Trees have the right of way, just as it should be!

The Cape Vincent Arts Council's Chopin Festival is held in this lovely building.

The Fisheries Station and Aquarium, formerly a grist mill.

The famous "Stone House" which housed Canadian Rebels during the Patriot War in 1838.

A dry spell

2009-12-16T16:32:00.002-05:00

Finally something new to show after a dry spell in the studio. This piece (12" X 24) is nearing completion. I've been experimenting with my love (compulsion?) to portray flat horizon lines. The calmness of a simple and strong horizontal is what I am drawn to do and when I manipulate it even a little, I find it unsettling. The slight rise in the green hill seems too determined. I'm hearing Julie Andrews "The hills are aliiiivvvvve .... and it's kind of creeee-eppeey!"

Art for the Holidays

2009-12-06T14:08:00.001-05:00

Lisa has mounted another interesting show at the Tay River Gallery and I'm happy to have six of my little landscapes included. Below is one of these, a night scene. The windmills on Wolfe Island continue to intrigue me despite the fact they are both ugly or amzing depending on your point of view.

Windfarm 8" X 10" acrylic on board

And here's a detail of another small one, called "Flow" :

Blurb - publish your art!

2009-10-23T00:19:00.002-04:00

Another way to spend a lot of time at the computer and not in your studio? Make a book! The site I used was Blurb and I created a little journal with 35 of my paintings and some cool quotes. Here it is, you can flip through the entire book:

http://www.blurb.com/books/933831

I've come to appreciate how my record keeping and pictures files are sorely lacking. I needed both to create the book and discovered I have no pictures of 2 pieces I've sold and have no dimensions for several others. Some of the jpegs were really low resolution and unusable. This could become a problem if I am suddenly important in the art world. Uh huh.
I'll be buying a few copies of the book for friends and family once I've seen the quality of the first one I ordered today. The colour reproductions will have to be spot on, crisp and accurate...

Artsy weekend

2009-10-18T17:45:00.003-04:00

We had a lovely day in Perth for the Strange and Beautiful opening at the Tay River Gallery. The show looked great, Lisa manged to get 7 of my pieces mounted, quite a challenge as the work is so diverse. The other particpating artists were from the Perth area or nearby in Quebec, most were able to attend the opening and it is always a true delight to meet new "colleagues." The pic on the right shows me at the Tay River Gallery with "Behold" hung vertically. Not the first time I've had pieces wired for more than one hanging option! It is such a bold painting so unlike my calm, shy pieces!

Today I visited a few local artists who were part of the Town and Country Studio Tour in Kingston and northward. Of course Sally Chupick's landscapes and florals were lovely, Nasturtiums was exquisite, tho the photo here doesn't do it justice. I was very impressed with Michele LaRose's abstracts. My favourite was one called Provence, click to have a look. After a long drive down a twisty gravel road we came upon Bear Bottom Studio. It looked like some hobbits might be nearby! Have a look at the link to see Jamie Brick's fanciful work. Jamie's website will tell you this:

Abandoned as an infant, Jamie Brick was taken in and raised by a pack of wild medieval rabbits. This unusual upbringing reflects in this artist's eyes as he sculpts, stone, wood and mixed media into creatures from a world that lies just left of centre.

The fall has been packed with shows. Now it's time to settle down and get back to my studio and get to work.

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Focus Art Juried Show October 7, 2009

2009-10-08T22:39:00.002-04:00

Last night we attended the annual Focus Art show in Cornwall; I had 3 pieces chosen for this juried event. It has been some time since I was in downtown Cornwall and I was amazed at the transformation in the last few years: loads of waterfront greenspace, interesting shops, excellent restaurants and art galleries! We entered the imposing Cornwall Public Library to find over 75 pieces of art on display, an impressive and highly diverse show. The "gallery space" was not large but very well lit, elegant, and directly adjacent to the reading room. The Focus Art group did a wonderful job setting the work up as they have NO access to wall space!

Shortly after the opening, prizes were announced in various cateogories. I was thrilled and amazed to be called up for Honourable Mention (acrylics) for my little piece called Red Skies.

Red Skies 5" X 7"

A few minutes later I was called again! I also got First Prize in the acrylics category for this piece:

Natural Order #1 24" X 36"

Thank you judges, thank you Focus Art!

More good news!

2009-10-04T22:42:00.003-04:00

Today we drove back to Perth to deliver 2 more pieces for the "Strange and Beautiful" show; that makes 7 contributions from me. Eight other artists have been chosen to participate and I had an opportunity to see some of the very impressive work Lisa Brown (gallery owner) was getting ready to mount.

When I got home I had a phone message with more good news. Last week I submitted 3 pieces to the FOCUS ART (Eastern Ontario Visual Arts Association) Juried Show in Cornwall. All 3 were accepted! More about that later...

I think maybe I should buy a lottery ticket!

Art for Heritage at St. George's Cathedral

2009-09-30T19:57:00.001-04:00

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Here are 2 small landscapes framed and ready for the show at St. George's "Art for Heritage" on Friday and Saturday. Each is 5 X 7". Framing was a challenge. I convinced The Framer to mount the boards on the frames rather than behind as is typical. The paintings are tiny and putting them behind would cover half an inch, too much. So The Framer glued wooden dowels to the back of each board and surface mounted them. They sit in a little bevel that fits them perfectly. They look wonderful! Thank you Sweetie.

The show is on Friday October 2, 6:30 -9:00
and Saturday October 3rd, 10:00 -3pm. Over 60 artists are participating with funds raised being directed to building restoration.

Strange and Beautiful

2009-09-20T20:57:00.004-04:00

"Tay River Gallery is accepting submissions from Ontario and Quebec artists for an upcoming juried show,"Strange and Beautiful". Deadline for submissions is Sept 10th. Quality artwork in your choice of media, of an illustrative, painterly or abstract nature with the emphasis on the Strange "the unusual,different, eccentric, unfamiliar, peculiar, fantastic, bizarre, mystifying, perplexing" art that can at the same time be viewed as Beautiful " having beauty; having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind". The focus is on compositions where either content (subject matter) or perspective taken (interpretation) is particularly unique, imaginative and arresting."

I read this Call to Artists a few weeks ago and thought my art is often strange, unusual, different and eccentric, peculiar etc and hopefully beautiful from time to time as well. So I put together a submission, some of my really unique and unusual pieces, thinking this show was meant for me! After checking the phone for messages and the computer for emails, just about hourly, I finally got the news. I"M IN!!!! I am truly bizarre and unique! Or at least some of my work is.... I submitted 10 pieces, 5 were chosen: "Improv 3" which I completed recently, 3 of my bas relief pieces and "How the light Gets In" (detail above). Wooohooo!
The Tay River Gallery is in lovely Perth Ontario; the show opens Oct 6 and runs to Nov 21.

Slave to the photograph

2009-09-16T15:58:00.004-04:00

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!
No, just the start of another abstract painting. After no new work in the studio for a week I am finally back at my easel. But a lot of "work" is done before the paint comes out, even with what seems to be an intuitve abstract like the one on the left. I have been culling old photos, tossing lots and cutting up others that I reassemble and manipulate with Irfanview (an easier type of Phototshop, and free!). In this kind of work my computer is my sketch book and I create lots of possibilities before I am even close to something worth painting. Then of course when the paint comes out the photo sketches are manipulated even more or abandoned altogether. Don't be a slave to the photograph! Otherwise you may just as well print that and say you're done. Can't remember where I first heard the slave phrase, but it is a good one. Never be a slave to your computer either. That's me talking to myself.

Perfection

2009-09-09T21:33:00.002-04:00

Perfection refers to the weather! My studio has a door directly to the back yard and lately I have taken to sitting outside to muse about paintings in progress. I have some hooks on the fence providing me with a plein air gallery and of course there is lots of comfortable seating as well. The September weather has been made to order: not too cool, not too hot, no rain, not humid, no bugs - perfect!

Here are two versions of an abstract I've been working on. Early version on the left, a later revision on the right. Improved or not? I'm not sure....

"Improv 3" acrylic on canvas 22" X 28"

Behold

2009-08-25T17:31:00.003-04:00

Behold 20" X 40" acrylic on canvas

Here's a new painting I've been working on, rather controlled and not as loose as my last abstract piece.
Seems to be done? I'll give it a rest and look at it with fresh eyes in a few days...

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Fish flashback

2009-08-20T16:38:00.006-04:00

"

It's a flashback painting because I'm back to my early representational phase for this painting. I chose the fish as I had taken some photos of him (her?) in the fish tank at the interpretive centre in Mallorytown, St Lawrence Islands National Park. The park is sponsoring a call to artists and I'll submit this when done. Needs some more work on the background and then some glazing to settle everything in.

I am reminded how relaxing painting like this can be, no abstraction, no open ended soul searching angst! Just paint a nice picture. Like baking a cake you've baked many times before. You know what to do, how to do it and how it should turn out. Maybe a little bit of manipulation of brush stroke and composition but it's all brain work. Heart and soul take a back seat.

Nice little fish, "Pumpkinseed" or sunfish as we called it when I was a kid. We'd catch these little guys and toss them back in, too small and too prickly to eat.

A glazing fiesta

2009-08-03T20:35:00.012-04:00

"80F- hot, dry and clear"

"90F - hot, hazy and humid"

These are 2 little pieces (part of 6 paintings called the "Weather Series") that I sold at the eee show. Each is 5" X 7" . Working this small is new for me but the small size really allows me to focus and explore working with very wet acrylics.

This weekend I started on 12 more minis, working on all of them simultaneously. After many many glazes there are 6 that are close to being done, 3 that I will likely sand off, re-gesso and start over. Three more still need a lot of work before they sing.

Here are a couple that are starting to hum:

Focus

2009-07-31T07:54:00.003-04:00

Here's another piece (24 X 36") I started last week in Brockville. I'm now saying started as the finished label no longer applies. After a few days of looking at it in a new setting I can see colour changes I want to make. Stay tuned, I have 4 days with the whole house to myself so there are no excuses.

No distractions, just focus and paint paint paint.

Memories of Kandinsky

2009-07-25T11:41:00.002-04:00

I'm back from another week away, this time a class at Brockville's St. Lawrence College. Jennifer Lawton's approach to large and lush representations of photographic close ups had me revisiting some of my earlier approaches to abstraction. The above piece in acrylic (30 X 30") is reminscent of Kandinsky's improvisations I think, though that was not my intent when I started on it. It needs some more work, something looks unresolved. Perhaps some music may help me complete this piece. As Kandinsky said:

Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano
with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or
another, to cause vibrations in the soul.

Leonard please call

2009-07-12T17:49:00.006-04:00

How the light gets in, Homage to Leonard Cohen 24 X 36

I frequently listen to Leonard Cohen as I paint, and while a friend says his work features music to slit your wrists by, I think he sings of hope, for the most part. Take his song Anthem. Despite the mess we may find ourselves in there is always some hope, a crack in the darkness, a crack in the universe where the light gets in. The painting above is in the current eee group show. It is called "How the light gets in, Homage to Leonard Cohen"

I recently saw Leonard perform and he was breathtakingly impressive. I want to have an art show, an homage to Leonard Cohen. Artists would respond visually to his music and prose. I've written to his management folks in NYC and I managed to get a flower and card to him on stage when he was here in Kingston. So far no reponse. Leonard, I'm waiting, you have my number!

Panic to Peace

2009-07-10T14:56:00.005-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I was in a major panic, our show was opening and I thought no one would attend. Or maybe 4 or 5 people drifting around in the huge room. Many of my invitees were out of town or otherwise occupied. The show opened at 7 pm; at 10 to 7 we had one guest. Looked like a lot of food and wine would be going home and we would be pretty depressed about the turnout. BUT! By 7:15 the place was packed, you could no longer hear the music for the din of visitors. The crowd (yup, I call it a crowd) was steady and we all had lots of positive comments about our work. And a few sales as well! The eee show even got a bit of TV coverage as Ben and Terry appeared on the 6 o'clock news. A great show!

Whew, now some peace and relaxation......

56 inch centers

2009-07-07T11:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I spent the whole day helping Ben Darrah mount the eee show. Ben is an artist and former gallery manager with lots of experience curating and hanging art. Needless to say I learned a lot. All the art is mounted so that the center of the painting is 56 inches from the floor. So, when one stands back the visual presentation is all paintings in line, the center of each at eye level. Sound easy? Well just where is the center of the painting and where does the center of the painting end up when it is hanging, stretched across two nails? Is the floor level? If not then the 56 inch rule will need to be adjusted. And if 2 paintings are stacked the center is in the space between them. No problem!

Kingston has no public art gallery space (a horrible situation) so we are happy to have the multi purpose room in the libary but of course there are lots of problems with the walls, projection niches, screens, switches, alarms etc. There goes the nice centering of the work.

Despite the challenges I think the show looks pretty good.

Join us : Thursday evening, 7-9 pm

Bubble and Squeak

2009-06-30T18:53:00.015-04:00

I have now done 6 of these little mini landscapes. Each is 5"' X 7 with many layers of very wet paint applied using sponges, rags, brushes and my fingers. These are all on masonite board; those I did on canvas panels are not as effective. The canvas texture interfers with the glazing effects I am after.

I plan to exhibit them at the eee show next week. Naming them is going to be a challenge. Perhaps Bubble for the one above and Squeak for the one on the left?

A Great Week Working with Megan Hinton!

2009-06-28T22:41:00.007-04:00

Here's a final shot of Megan Hinton's new studio which our group christened. The 5 afternoons examining abstract representational painting was time very well spent. Although the demos on colour, value etc were not new information the treatment of each was new and Megan's approach reflected a style and method that was unique. I have a new respect for black paint, charcoal, the palette knife and drawing with paint.

It is wonderful to see how other artists work. Most of the time we artists work alone. I wonder if we could be more like musicians, play and create together. We can "listen" to the music our fellow artists play.

PAAM (Provincetown Art Association and Museum) has an amazing roster of classes. It will be hard to return to Cape Cod and not consider another class with Megan.

Colour Color

2009-06-26T07:43:00.005-04:00

Yesterday's studio lesson was supposed to focus on colour but we all got yakking and working so Megan didn't have time to do her demo.
The weather has improved and we finally walked one of the many beaches which are all very clean and serene.
The old weather beaten ball above was a beautiful piece of flotsam.
Or is it jetsam?

Lesson 3: Value

2009-06-24T19:42:00.005-04:00

Today Megan started off by mixing 2 blues: cobalt and ultramarine. Next she created a varied palette by adjusting the value of the mixture by adding black and white to varying degrees. From there she proceeded to paint a quick value study of one of the objects in the still life collection.

After the demo I worked from a photo I took while in England, one of the woodsy canals. I like the compostion but am not yet happy with the colour and brushwork. Here it is:

Lesson 2: Shape

2009-06-23T21:58:00.005-04:00

Today Megan started with a demonstration that focused on shape while painting with a palette knife. I too focused on shape but started with line and quickly moved to emphasize the forms of the various items (old cameras, radios, phones, cans etc.) I used only blue, yellow, orange and white. The limited number of colours unified the odd shapes. I plan to add more white and emphasize the darks as well.

Abstract representation with Megan Hinton - Lesson 1: Line

2009-06-22T17:11:00.016-04:00

Above, an abstracted representational photo of the Cape Cod shore by water on the windshield and HM.
A brief break in the big wind and steady rain allowed for a more traditional view of the dunes:

Greetings from Cape Cod! I am here with hubby and pooch to attend a workshop on abstract representational painting with PAAM (Provincetown Art Association and Museum). Our instructor is Megan Hinton and we are working in her new studio in Wellfleet. Today's session focused on line as one of the 5 basic elements in visual art. After a brief demonstration the group began working on a abstracted still life based on objects Megan had set up to inspire us.

Here's my work so far. Starting with line is new for me, but I like it! Megan also adds line as she works, sometimes using charcoal. I am seeing changes I want to make but this one was nice and quick.

Despite the stormy weather this is a beautiful place! A couple more photos:

eee Show Coming Soon!

2009-06-17T21:03:00.007-04:00

Seismia 8" X 10" (HM)

I've just finished writing a little description of our upcoming show. Hopefully we can get some good press and get lots of folks out. Here is our "press release"

The “eee” show is an unusual name for an unusual art show
which opens July 9th at the Wilson Room at the Kingston Public Library.
The show owes its theme to the proliferation of e descriptors
in the art world. Artists explore, examine, evolve and may
finally leave the emergent field to become known as established artists. The artists represented in the eee show will cover all these e’s and promise not to evoke the commonplace. Prepare for a highly diverse and stimulating exhibition!

Sheila Dunkinson is an emerging artist whose work reflects an intimate connection to the natural world. Organic forms are interpreted through bold use of colour, pattern and shape.

Irina Skvortsova is a multi-media artist, working in both
traditional print and painting and experimental community arts
collaborations. The eee show will feature Irina’s unique and intriguing
prints.

Hennie Marsh has been creating richly textured and abstracted landscapes pushing the potential of acrylic paint using various
mediums and tools. Her work is constantly evolving and attests to her
strong belief that consistency is highly overrated.

Ben Darrah is an established artist who portrays a playful exploration of elements in mixed media work. His choices reflect a curiosity in elevating an everyday, recognizable, common object or image to the status of scrutinized subject.

Terry Culbert is a writer and illustrator whose paintings represent daily life in Kingston and Amherst Island. His work is often whimsical and
humourous; each canvas tells a tale.

The opening reception is from 7 to 9 pm on Thursday July 9th. The show continues to July 29 during regular library hours at 130 Johnson Street.

More hot stuff

2009-06-11T15:06:00.004-04:00

" The Way I Remember It" 16 X 20"

Another one with lots of hot colours, maybe it's the summer influence, maybe it's Fred Williams. More fun with drips, drops and very wet acrylics. I think it's ready for the show on July 9th. Maybe just a little more green....

Trio done

2009-06-08T07:59:00.002-04:00

Here they are finished, more or less.
A lot more colour and a lot more detail now.
I worked on all three simultaneously,
trying to make sure they each had some
unique features while the palette is fairly consistent.
Iceland or Australia - take your pick!

Size matters?

2009-06-03T10:42:00.006-04:00

These are works in progress, very small, 5 by 7 inches each. I haven't done any work this tiny before but am enjoying focusing down. Once again I'm letting the water do it's thing and I'll be adding more of "my thing" as they reach completion. Can you see the Icelandic landscape that inspired these?

Before and After

2009-05-26T22:05:00.004-04:00

These two paintings are the same canvas. The lower one is a piece I did last winter, very soft and atmospheric, thin paint that looked like water colour. Above it is the piece reworked, much bolder. I'm not sure it is better but it has a very different feel.

I have been attacking older pieces, anything is fair game. There are some paintings that are perfect as they are, at least in my mind. But lately it is survival of the fittest. The studio is stuffed with canvases and the runts have to beef up. Mean. That's me the mean painter. Even the newset one may not survive the week.

Cooperate

2009-05-23T09:21:00.004-04:00

The piece above is one I have been working on, getting ready for a show in July. Not sure if it is done or not, the usual dilema. Wouldn't it be great if you could just set the timer on your stove and you'd know when it was time to take it out of the oven - off the easel. Or in my case off the table. I have been working flat as I'm using very wet acrylics. At times the water controls the work and I'm trying to cooperate with the natural properties of the water. I'm learning what it will and won't do, mixed with the paint and mediums. I can encourage it to make little bubbles or drips or thin washes. I use a variety of sponges, rags, spray bottles etc. And my fingers, moving the thin wet paint or dabbing to make little spots. It sometimes surprises me how these layers change as they dry. The process is totally different than work I've done with tube paints and brushes. Stand back, wait, watch and play some more.
Click on the pic to enlarge and see the lovely effects of water play!

Opening Night for the Madonnas!

2009-01-25T10:14:00.029-05:00

"Isis Dreams of Horus" mixed media. H. Marsh

It was a busy evening on the Kingston arts scene last night with at least 3 openings, ours at Sandra Whitton Gallery, another across the street at Aroma and another at Gallery Raymond. The snapping cold weather didn't seem deter anyone as the gallery was packed for our Black Madonnas opening. Tim out did himself with amazing "black" foods like marmite, olives, dates, blackberries etc. I contributed licorice, cookies with black sprinkles. Later dark cakes and what looked like black rice crispy squares arrived. No black drinks tho there was plenty of the red stuff! Despite all this, the art managed to hold its own. Some patrons even claimed they saw a Madonna moving.... The carefully selected music was drowned out pretty quickly by enthusiastic chatter. Here's a very little sample of the event, click on the arrow:

And a few photos:

Mounting the Black Madonna Show

2009-01-20T11:34:00.008-05:00

On the left is one of 5 pieces I have in the Black Madonnas show. It is about 2 feet by 10 inches, mixed media. I call it "Full of Grace" a phrase I remember from an oft repeated prayer.

I spent most of yesterday helping Tim Soper (curator, he's in the photo on the right) and Sandra Whitton (gallery owner) hang the Black Madonna show. It was a good experience, Sandra has lots of expertise and seeing her in action was great. I'll be mounting a group show in July and have come to appreciate that displaying the art is an art in itself. Each piece needs to be considered in terms of lighting, neighbouring pieces, wall surface, height, and the impact of distant and close viewing. We finished up by 5pm with most of the work effectively mounted and ready for the opening on Saturday. Tim's vision is coming to fruition. Sandra has kindly let her gallery be "hijacked" for a unique show that features artists of all ages and all levels of experience.

Bushman Madonna

2008-12-27T17:18:00.004-05:00

This is a small piece (10" X 10) with lots of texture inspired by very old pictographs by African Bushmen. It needs a little more colour variation before I am satisfied that it is done. I haven't altered the image of the woman, I think she looks strong and lovely though to western eyes her body is exaggerated. She wasn't pictured with a baby so I added the seated infant and some hints of a spirit life with the gold spots and swoosh. Not sure how this one will be received.... but she definitely IS a Black Madonna.

Dutch Madonna

2008-12-15T13:30:00.004-05:00

This Madonna is almost done, maybe a little tweaking with the colours.

My inspiration was the statue which Mom and Dad had in the dining room. It was a replacement for one they brought from Holland which fell off its little wooden shrine and broke. This one too is from Holland and the shape and symbols are quite traditional in Dutch depictions of Mary (apart from the black).

I suspect there may not be traditional madonna figures in the upcoming show so perhaps this one will pay homage to history.
My next one will be a Bushman Madonna, African.

Black Madonna

2008-12-08T23:21:00.010-05:00

possibly the Black Madonna of Chestochova, 6th century

Last week I met fellow artist Tim Soper at the Sandra Whitton Gallery. Tim is planning a group show exploring one of his long time interests, the Black Madonna. Here's the Slate description of his upcoming show:

Black Madonnas – a group show curated by Tim Soper. Dark statues
and paintings of a mother and child exist in hundreds all over Europe, and
especially in France. They are revered as the image of Mary and the baby Jesus.
However, their origin may go back to pre-Christian pagan times. They share a
kinship with with ancient statues of Isis and Horus, and Cybele and Attis. These
mythical figures tell a tale of a mother and her God / Son who dies and is
reborn. Over the past year, Tim Soper has been creating his own Black Madonna
sculptures. He has invited a collection of artists to create their own pieces
symbolizing their connection to, or perception of, the Black Madonna. From
literal translations, to dynamic and challenging representations, the pieces in
this show capture the evocative and mysterious nature of the Black
Madonna.

I told Tim about a Madonna I had created, a watery blue-green figure as she was inspired by an incident I witnessed by the riverside at Kingston Mills. Some kids had caught a huge salmon, very heavy, and as they dragged it along the shore it spilled what seemed to be hundreds of golden eggs. The kids were thrilled with their big catch, I was sad. Here she is, rather Byzantine, swimming with silver eggs.

I think she will be in Tim's show next month and perhaps I will make another, this time black and more like the Madonnas I remember from church. Or perhaps like the one we had in the house when I was I child.

If you have a Madonna to share Tim would like to hear from you!

Grasslands

2008-11-24T15:37:00.005-05:00

Grasslands 20 X 40

I finished this last week but it was lacking in depth and the colours were a little flat too. I'm happier with it now, especially the sky. If you click on the image you will see at least 8 glazes in the sky. I've done several landscapes like this. The strong and simple horizontal is always a big attraction for me. Perhaps having lived near a strong horizontal for most of my life (Lake Ontario) I am compelled to paint it, tho rarely in the form of water. Tomorrow this piece heads to LSP Designs for a show with 12 other recent paintings. The show runs til Christmas and some of the proceeds go to a charity called Kingston Grandmother Connection. KGC is a fund-raising organization in support of African grandmothers raising their grandchildren. I hope we both do well!

Too sweet?

2008-11-23T20:34:00.006-05:00

Lovers' Tree 16 X 20

Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid. Jules Feiffer

I must admit this is my first red or rose coloured sky. I rarely do blue skies, usually gray, yellow, white, beige - anything but blue. My landscapes tend to earth tones, usually fairly "real". The above painting seems a tad too romantic or sugary. Hence the title. Maybe it is not the sky rather the composition or treatment of content that is mushy. I'm going to post this on WetCanvas and see what the crtics have to say... I'll let you know.

Exploring Colour

2008-11-22T23:39:00.004-05:00

This odd little painting (8" X 16") is an exploration of colour. I saw this palette on a large abstract in a Toronto gallery, warm reds and golds with a splash of cool light blue for contrast. The combination has potential for a bigger piece I think...

Consistency is highly over rated

2008-11-18T21:54:00.005-05:00

Just when I thought I would be in the running for the most inconsistent artist in the country I am now convinced there would be no contest. I would win. As my painter buddy said today "Consistency is highly over rated". We both played happily in the studio all day, experimenting and teasing the acrylics with brushes, scrapers, sponges etc. I picked up a brush (as opposed to a mini roller, knife) for the first time in weeks and these popped out. Both are works in progress. They do not look like my work. BUT just maybe this will be the real me.....

Some interesting quotes about consistency:

CONSISTENCY is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead. Aldous Huxley
CONSISTENCY requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago. Bernard Berenson
And my personal favourite:
CONSISTENCY is the last refuge of the unimaginative. Oscar Wilde

Wolfe Island WIP

2008-11-16T11:23:00.006-05:00

My daily walks take me to the shore of the St. Lawrence where it meets Lake Ontario. Across the river is a large island which has been sprouting windmills, an eyesore or a delight, depending on your point of view. Above is my rather fanciful view. I have yet to add the ferry that travels back and forth. Not sure about adding more windmills with the blades? There are going to be over 80 windmills, not all will be seen from my vantage point:

http://www.canhydro.com/newprojects_wolfeisland_wind.htm

Some residents are pretty unhappy:

http://www.truveo.com/Wolfe-Island-Wind-Turbines-Life-on-the-Front-Lines/id/2623355125

Lean...

2008-11-11T22:27:00.002-05:00

Here's one I've been working on, very lean acrylic paint, looks like watercolour. I'd like to keep it soft and calm but I think it needs a little more definiton to make it interesting.

Spinning my Wheels

2008-11-09T20:13:00.003-05:00

It has not been easy get back to work in the studio. While I've been in there almost every day I have little to show for my efforts so far. Two months away has filled me with a tremendous amount of stimulation and my brain whirs with anticipation of creating a masterpiece! I can see the finished product but the road is not clear. I am frustated with the quick drying time of acrylics but also seduced by it. It may be time to head back to oils for a while.

I did tweak this one, so now it is ready for an upcoming show:

"Grow Baby Grow" 24 X 24 acrylic on canvas

We're back!

2008-10-21T15:43:00.006-04:00

After 2 months of travel I am back and ready to dip into the paint again. My husband and I have been to Iceland, Netherlands and the UK. We visited over 10 galleries/museums and I'll copy some of the info over from my trip blog in the next few days so you can have a look.
Above is hubby at (or in?) the Dubuffet part of the sculpture garden of the Kroller Muller Museum. The Kroller Muller is in the Hoge Veluwe National Park near Arnhem (Netherlands).

http://www.hogeveluwe.nl/default.asp?language=2

It is an elegant building, low and simple, set amongst manicured lawns, sculpture gardens and woodlands. We first visited in January of 1995. Many parts of Holland had been experiencing severe flooding; when we arrived the grounds around the museum were soggy and the entrance flanked by a row of 5 blue porta potties, neatly connected in a row. How unfortunate we thought, the flooding has caused the museum plumbing to fail. Sure enough, when we were inside the smell of ammonia was powerful. Fortunately it had not permeated the Van Gogh hall, we enjoyed the paintings immensely. Leaving the permanent exhibits behind we headed for the temporary show areas, past a huge mound of burned chairs. More problems! The museum certainly had been having its share of difficulties. Nearby unopened crates, addressed to the museum, were stacked and unopened. Staff shortages? We were now close to the restrooms but no stench was apparent, in fact they were clean and functioning. The smell of ammonia was elsewhere….
This was our first experience with installation art. The ammonia smell wafted from a small house made entirely of salt cod, the burned chairs were another installation. The unopened crates contained art which the artist had submitted but with the stipulation the crates not be unpacked - a statement about the commercialism rampant in art. Now wiser about this “new” type of art, we checked out the porta potties. Yup! Art!!! The connected stalls were empty except the last one. We entered to check out the TV monitor mounted over the only toilet. The program on the screen was a simple one: a buzzing fly. This installation was called Virtual Reality for Poor People. Someone had made a statement about the piece by leaving a rather large deposit in the toilet. That part was real.
Our second visit to the Kroller was llast month. It has expanded and is probably my favourite museum. It is spacious, elegant and one is immediately aware of being in the presence of greatness. There are numerous VanGogh’s, Mondrians, Toorops. The Van Goghs are superb, you rarely have to share the viewing space and you can get up close and personal without the docents or the alarm system throwing a fit. Photos are permitted (no flash). I took lots!

A rather saucy little nude by Van Gogh

A new widget

2008-07-13T13:13:00.004-04:00

In a few weeks hubby and I will be heading for Iceland, Holland and England. Of course I plan to see as much art as possible. We've been to Amsterdam a few times before an have visited the fabulous VanGogh Museum as well as the Rijksmuseum and the Kröller-Müller in nearby Otterlo. All of these are incredible places to visit. I've added the "Rijkswidget" to my blog, you can see it on the left. Click it to have a look and visit the museum website too.

Abstract Art with Ben Darrah

2008-06-14T11:49:00.005-04:00

WIP or just process? (32" X 45)

Monday evenings are taken up with a trek to our local community college to join in Ben Darrah's abstract art class. We are using acrylics, loose canvas and found materials. Ben's approach to working on unprimed and unstretched canvas is new to me and quite a revelation. Likely oil paints would not be quite so forgiving and flexible but travelling to class with your painting rolled or folded up is a boon. The raw canvas soaks up the washes and has a tendency to shrink a lot so I have now learned to prewash or account for shrinkage if I'm going for a specific size. As the canvas is not stretched, one can crop and stretch it later to best fit the compostion.

The piece above is an example of the loose canvas and the class in which we painted to music. I was listening to Buddha Bar, my favourite all purpose dining, painting, working music. As we are focusing on process rather than product, ie playing and exploring, I am free to take this further or flip it over and reuse the canvas for something else...
Maybe it should go like this? -

Finally!

2008-06-08T20:39:00.008-04:00

Kingston Mills, Kingston Ontario

Yes 2 months between posts is far too long. My excuses are numerous, not the least of which is I'm outside now that the weather is wonderful. I think I may be a foul weather blogger but I'll try to post more often and not wait for a rainy day.
I don't paint plein air much and when I do my work usually reflects the atmosphere of a place rather than a representation of the scene. A few weeks ago S and I spent the day painting at Kingston Mills, a favourite spot for both of us. Last week we headed across the river and across the border to Cape Vincent New York. My friend D is manging the hostel at Tibbets Point and we sat under the sun sketching the lighthouse, the waves and the lilacs.

Tibbets Point, New York

Yesterday my backyard was our studio and the yellow irises prompted me to to start on a fanciful abstraction of petals, leaves and shade. Looks more Hawaiian than Canadian but the weather was sultry: hot and humid.

work in progress, June 08

Enough Eyeballs?

2008-04-08T15:14:00.004-04:00

Homage # 2, 24 X 36, WIP: work in progress

Now that I've posted this here I can see a couple of colour adjustments I need to do, but how about the flying eyeballs? Are there enough? This is the second homage piece to Hundertwasser and is more fanciful than the first. I love the streaming windows, an image one sees frequently in his work. Hundertwasser thought windows had "rights" ie the right to be prominent and the right to house trees which of course had rights too. Trees had the right to have a special floor all their own and windows just for their growth. Below is one of his sketches for how this might work:

SOLD!

2008-04-02T18:39:00.005-04:00

"Slow Dance in the Moonlight" 18 X 36 acrylic on canvas

Sally Chupick and I continue to have our work on display at Frameworks gallery until April 25. On the weekend I had a happy surprise, an email from someone who had just purchased the painting above, the 5th one to sell since the show opened! I've never done this well before so I am pretty excited and of course motivated to do more. It has been a revelation to see what has sold and what hasn't. A couple of my favourites are still available (Red Hills, True North) and a couple that I wasn't even sure about showing, have sold. I had neglected to take a picture of one, being pretty sure it would be coming back home. So you just never know...

Hundertwasser's House - done?

2008-03-29T11:30:00.005-04:00

Hundertwasser's House, 24" X 36 mixed media

I've adjusted the colours somewhat, highlighting the edges and smaller forms. I think it is done tho' the lower half seems quite dark.... What do you think?

Hundertwasser's House

2008-03-24T17:50:00.006-04:00

Here it is with the first layer of colour. I'm pleased with the composition but not sure how far to take the colours, more highlights are needed to define the smaller figures and forms. As it is highly textured I may just keep it limited to earthy tones with of course a gold dome. It wouldn't be Hundertwasser without this bit of gilt. You can compare it to the sketch below to see where I have made some adjustments. This technique of cutting and pasting allows me to move the shapes around to get just the composition I want before I glue it permanently. Then the colour work begins.

The piece below is another I've done using the same techniques, this one was inspired by a Byzantine Madonna and a large female salmon with eggs. A slight force fit of ideas but both images were in my mind at the time.

Iconic Form, mixed media on board 21" X 26

"Straight Lines are Ungodly"

2008-03-17T13:03:00.005-04:00

"Humans have more than just eyes to enjoy beautiful things and ears to hear beautiful sounds and noses to smell beautiful smells. Humans can also feel with their hands and feet. The flat floor with straight lines has been recognized as a real danger to humans. The uneven path becomes a symphony, a melody for the feet. This path makes one vibrate with joy." Friedensreich Hundertwasser

A few years ago I visited amazing Vienna with a prime target being the Klimt collections. These were truly impressive but a later Viennese artist was equally impressive. Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (his chosen name) was an incredibly creative and controversial artist. He developed public spaces that were works of art and transformed ugly institutional buildings into intriguing gleaming and colourful confections, like the one above. This is one of Vienna's incinerators and a heating plant. It was a gray ugly eyesore until the "doctor of architecture" performed a face lift. We visited the buildings which were a delight. Even the pavement in the parking lot revealed Hundertwasser's touch. The painted dividing lines were wavy, not straight. He felt straight lines were unnatural, only man produces such uncomfortable constructs. Osaka has copied Hundertwasser's ideas for their incineration buildings which are often mistaken for a theme park.
My current project is an homage to Hundertwasser, a bas relief piece using foam core and lots of textural effects. Here's a preliminary sketch of my imaginary "Hundertwasser House"

Bjork Speaks About Poets

2008-03-07T17:33:00.008-05:00

Bloggers love to get comments. One of my regular and most dependable responders is W. He doesn't always use the same moniker but you know it is W if the comment is lengthy, incredibly erudite and astute! W writes poetry and reviews art too. This post is for you W, thanks for your steady input on those quiet days when it seems know one is out there. Here's a very young Bjork with her thoughts about poets. (click on her name to get the video)

As an aside Bjork's longtime partner is Matthew Barney, a performance artist and filmaker. Check him out on Youtube if you really want to see something bizarre. Here he is in Cremaster 4. Can you imagine having these two over for dinner?

Pausing...

2008-03-03T20:36:00.007-05:00

Pausing, acrylic on board 16 X 18

The painting above is one I sold recently at the Frameworks show. The simplicity of the scene really appealed to me as I worked on it. It is was not hard to resist adding "more". Sometimes less is more. When it was done I thought of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening". One might glance and stop to catch the simple beauty of sun on grass, pause and enjoy a moment lovely and light. Obviously it is not a snowy evening so here is how the poem might work (apologies to RF):

Stopping By Fields On A Hazy Evening

Whose fields these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his grass gleam and glow. etc

Here's another wonderful poem that starts in a field. By Mark Strand, this poem is about not stopping, at least that is the superficial message. Strand's "verse deals primarily with the relationship between the individual self and the rest of the world in language that is spare and through images that are often surreal and dream-like." I think the style of the poem fits the style of my painting, but the message is quite different.

Keeping Things Whole

In a field
I am the absence
of field.
This is
always the case.
Wherever I am
I am what is missing.

When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body's been.

We all have reasons
for moving.
I move
to keep things whole.

Art and Wine, a perfect match

2008-02-29T12:08:00.014-05:00

Last fall my husband picked a pail full of wild grapes from the neighbour's fence. He has produced 4 bottles of his "Mowat Ave Red Fox Wine" as he calls it. Not to be outdone by the vineyards who commission artists to create labels, I was asked to print out 4 of my pastoral scenes for his exclusive and very limited varietal. Some vineyards pay the artists outright; others supply them with wine. I think I'll go for the latter.
Here in Ontario the Hillebrand Winery in Grimsby has an annual contest for artists:

"Our long standing support of the arts comes to life in Artist Series. Each bottle features the original work of an Ontario artist, a beautiful piece that captures the spirit of our province and shows the incredible talent found here. Inside the bottle is the work of our talented winemaker, Darryl Brooker. "
You can see some of the past winners here.

Next time you visit the LCBO remember to support the wineries that support the arts!

A Great Day!

2008-02-25T20:29:00.008-05:00

Tundra #1 - 14" X 30"
click to enlarge, lots of nice texture!

Both Sally and I were thrilled with the turnout for the opening of our show on Sunday. The Frameworks staff (incuding Sally) had done a super job to make the space inviting and many folks spent the afternoon chatting and munching, munching and chatting. And enjoying the art of course; we both sold pieces which was very gratifying.
My impressionistic landscape above (which has not sold yet) was one of my favourites in the show. It did get lots of attention but no takers. If it is still unsold next month I may keep it. I did 2 others like it, all reminiscences of my travels in Labrador. Labrador is a magical beautiful place, one of the last true wilderness sites in the world, right here in Canada.

"Double Feature" Opening on Sunday!

2008-02-20T10:55:00.008-05:00

Evening, acrylic on canvas 24 X 36

Dave, at Frameworks, has called our show "Double Feature" as 2 artists are showing new work. As well as my quirky landscapes, Sally Chupick has a large number of her sumptuous landscapes, cityscapes and florals in the show. I have 15 unusual pieces on display, all new, completed within the last few months. Despite the variety of interpretation in my work I am consistently examining landscape, some pieces quite representational and others more abstract, patterned or atmospheric. I like to discover new approaches so I'm not sure I will ever leave my period of "artistic gymnastics" as VanGogh called his stylistic explorations. The one above was finished yesterday with the blow dryer hastening the varnish so it could be delivered to the gallery. Our show opens on Sunday from 1-4pm. Sally and I have our tiaras polished and shoes shined so we hope to see you there. The art will be on display until April 30. Frameworks is at the corner of Princess and Montreal, in downtown Kingston.

Stop Blaming Mother!

2008-02-16T12:17:00.006-05:00

The long ride home had me thinking about the workshop, the pros and cons. It certainly was a new experience for me to view art as a therapy, a process rather than a product. Blocks to creativity were discussed : the usual nuggets of conformist schooling, repressive parenting and the evils of coloring books. I have problem with this as most of the artists we admire today came from very strict societies and frequently had major demons nibbling at their psyches. Their education focused soley on knowledge rather than imagination. Did they go to BE workshops to open up? Maybe they meditated for at least an hour a day or were sexually abstinent - these were also discussed. But I have read "Sex Lives of the Artists" know the latter is is rather dubious. (See also The Big Bang Theroy of Art, fascinating reading about creative types, maybe being promiscuous and schizophrenic is the answer.) Or was it the copius amounts of absinthe that led early artists to be more expressive? Maybe their sad, demanding or neurotic mothers were the muses that led to creativity? (Van Gogh's mother Anneke above.)
I loved my coloring books and had a huge collection of crayons. I coloured within the lines, sometimes I added my own lines. I learned that with careful amounts of pressure and various forms of hatching you can shade and blend even with wax crayons. Push enough crayon onto the page and you can put a paint wash over top. Take the page out, turn it over and make a rubbing. Oil it and make it transparent. I could go on and on. Colouring books are just another tool to use creatively. Thank you Mom!
Some more intersting reading about creativity in kids, click here.

Get in Touch with Your Inner Pain

2008-02-11T18:31:00.001-05:00

Sunday's session at Jonas' and Kat's BE workshop started with a warning that we would have to work harder, dig deeper. We needed to really let our deepest fears, angers, hates, sorrows etc emerge in our paintings. The kind of joy we admire in Jonas' work is only possible by first unloading all the baggage that is holding us back. Now I had been having a good time and didn't really want to drag up old issues let alone waste good paint on them. I should have struck firm but also thought I should conform to these expectations. So I painted about my experiences with health crisis, typical dysfunctional family problems and gloomy winter depression. What emerged was angerlite. Jonas wanted to see more angst, more blood and guts. It made me angry, I didn't want to be angry. Was he goading me to attack the paper? If so, it worked. Here is something I blasted off in a few minutes when it was clear my work was too mild. But even this one turned out to be just plain silly.

Painting Marathon

2008-02-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

Today we started painting at 9 a.m. and worked to 5 with a short break for lunch. I did 4 paintings, not completely finished but close. We were instructed to work silently and just enjoy the process without trying to create a polished product. Jonas and Kat circulated asking about our thoughts and offering some of their own which frequently came in the form of more questions. The one above (tempera 20 X 24) started as a stylized self portrait. I rotated it and the temple emerged.

Another full day of painting tomorrow in Jonas'
huge studio space. A pic of his painting table, a
work of art in itself, is here. He uses the edge of the table to wipe his brushes. Years of accumulated acrylic paint has totally covered the table edge with a rainbow coloured coral reef.

Jonas Gerard & Asheville NC

2008-02-07T09:28:00.000-05:00

Heading south, over the Smoky Mountains to Asheville

Hi y'all, greetings from Asheville, home of sun, no snow and the studio of Jonas Gerard. My workshop starts tomorrow, have a look here and you will see why I am stoked!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I1lfe1ngtc

"Now What" is nearing completion

2008-02-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

still untitled, acrylic on canvas 24 X 36

Today I worked on this piece, I posted an image of the underpainting earlier this week and waited for the inspiration muse to arrive. Putting work aside when I am at an impasse seems to be a good strategy but it means a lot of unfinished work sitting around the studio. I'm also waiting to decide if a piece is finished. Sometimes it looks great when I stop for the day and the next morning it may look like poop! Right now I'm thinking this one might be close to DONE. The layers are formal, somewhat meditative and playful too. Hints at a natural order that keeps us on an even keel. It has my landscape line thing going on so maybe you can see some consistency with other recent work.

Framing and Naming

2008-02-02T09:15:00.000-05:00

This is one of two pieces I took in for framing yesterday. Choosing a frame from the hundreds available was a lot easier than choosing a title from the infinite number of possibilites. Obviously it is a landscape but a loose and somewhat abstracted version so I think the title should be loose too. I like the viewer to bring his own intrepretation to my work so I don't like to direct the response. A vague title or nondescript title is what I need...

Now What? WIP

2008-01-30T15:11:00.000-05:00

Here's one I've been playing with, 24" X 36". It's somewhat like the Pound of Paint picture I posted last week. I've taken the landscape theme I've been working on and reduced it to bands of pattern and colour, enlarge it to have a better look. Today I stuck a variety of turquoise shapes on it but pulled them all off. Nothing seemed quite right, putting it away for a few days.

" A Consistent Body of Work"

2008-01-27T14:24:00.001-05:00

"There Goes the Neighbourhood" mixed media bas relief 24" X 36" click to enlarge

I have nightmares about "a consistent body of work". Since setting out on the path to abstraction my work has been anything but consistent. I guess that means I haven't arrived yet. Even when doing respresentational work I was always exploring - new media, new subject matter, new approaches. I know that artists are expected to produce a consistent body of work, one that shows they are exploring a theme or approach in great depth. They develop a recognizable style. Either I have a limited attention span or my "bin there, done that" attitude means I have no style. Maybe my style is novelty! For now, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The piece above is a type of bas relief with lots of shallow sculptural detail. It was selected for the KAC Juried Arts Salon a few years back and sold! It is constructed of board, layers of foam, and gritty modelling paste followed by numerous glazes of oil paint. I've only done one other piece like it. Bin there, done that!

A Pound of Paint

2008-01-24T23:35:00.001-05:00

I finished this one a few weeks ago. It is 12 X 24" and likely has a pound of paint on it. Manipulating the various gels, polymers and acrylic paint was a bit like icing a cake, if you could imagine at least 10 different kinds of icing on the same cake. Fortunately this one is for the eye, not the tummy. Not sure if this is a good painting, but it was a good learning experience. Have a click on the image to enlarge and see all the yummy texture!

Doris McCarthy

2008-01-23T18:07:00.000-05:00

Doris McCarthy was the elfin faced mystery artist for January. She will be 98 in July and is still painting. Look at her fingers! I was fortunate to attend a small presentation she gave here in Kingston a few years ago. Doris has been a plein air painter, working outdoors well into her 80's along Canada's coasts and northlands, sitting out on the tundra or in the snow. She did a brief journey into abstract art but quit as "it didn't sell". I love her boldness and honesty. Here's Doris' website: http://www.dorismccarthy.com

Doris McCarthy -Boughton Reflections 1984

A Transitional Piece

2008-01-17T19:28:00.000-05:00

Salt water grass, 12 X 24" oil on canvas

This painting was inspired by the salt water grasses I photographed while visiting Les Iles de Madeleine (Magadelen Islands). The colours really were this spectacular as was just about everything else we saw on these inspiring islands perched in the gulf of the St. Lawrence. This piece is still quite objective but I was starting to "loosen up" on my brush work. Sometime soon I'm going to try another version of this same subject but even looser and of course more abstract - as I am on the journey to abstraction...
Lately I feel like I am on the journey to distraction as nothing is going right in the studio! When I was doing narrative work I could tell when something was done, when it was good, when it was bad. Now with the looser approach it ALL looks bad! I wonder if abstract artists are more prone to neuroses than their more objective colleagues?

Who Is It?

2008-01-12T18:04:00.000-05:00

" It's sheer physical labour being an artist, but it's the thing I love to do.
I have rejoiced in it every step of the way."

This month's mystery artist will either be very easy or impossible, depending on your interests! I was going to make it easier but there is a ringer in the crowd. Hopefully this photo and quote will provide a little more challenge for him....

True North

2008-01-10T19:35:00.000-05:00

True North 10" X 20"

I think this one is done. It has had many incarnations over the past few weeks but has finally emerged as something with which I am satisfied. Punching up the values and adding more colour made a big difference. My inspiration is the Canadian north and although I haven't been as far north as this might suggest, it is much like the Labrador coastal area I visited a few years ago. Big bold landscapes, powerful skies, little vegetation. There I felt like I was on the surface of the earth, not nestled in trees and granite and limestone as I am here in southern Ontario.
I'll be a adding this one to the show I am having with Sally Chupick at Frameworks Gallery in Kingston. Our opening is Sunday, February 24, 1-4 pm; the show will continue for the month of March and April.

Jonas Gerard

2008-01-08T17:10:00.000-05:00

In February I will be travelling to Asheville NC for a weekend workshop with Jonas Gerard. Jonas will not be teaching any techniques, rather this is called a BE Workshop. Get in touch with your inner artist, just BE, express yourself. Sounds a little 60's and a little scary. What if a really strange and messed up inner artist emerges? Maybe she should stay bottled up? I was going to travel to Asheville on my own but after talking to Jonas and telling my husband what the workshop is about he has decided he and the dog will accompany me. Jonas confidently and calmly told me that this workshop will change my life! G (husband) will ensure that my life doesn't change my life too much and that all 3 of us return to Canada the way we left.
I'm looking forward to an advance preview of Jonas, Friday night on ABC's 20-20.

Red Hills

2008-01-06T22:37:00.000-05:00

Red Hills, acrylic on board, 18" X 34"

Sometimes a painting seems to have a life all it's own, you just have to be there holding the brush and let it happen. This was one of those paintings. But no brushes this time, I used a brayer and various rags and paper to blend. I had to work very quickly as the paint dried much too fast, rag in one hand water spritzer in another. I almost had it, but put too much information in the foreground, trying to define grasses of various colours. It was OK but not the atmospheric feel I was after. A few hours later I redid the lower part as distant hills and Wham! There it was, a gentle painting smiling back at me. I knew it was time to back off. Where did this painting come from? Can I go there again and get another?

Yes, Kandinsky!

2008-01-04T22:56:00.000-05:00

Vassily Kandinsky, Composition X, 1939 130cm X 195cm

The mystery painter was Vassily Kandinsky. Congrats Dave! (aka Stlukesguild).
With the shift in my style to somewhat more abstract I have actually been reading art books, not just looking at the pictures. Kandinsky gradually abandoned recognizable forms and perspective in favour of powerful colour and dynamic compositions. He felt recognizable objects harmed his pictures and limited his freedom. Paintings should grow out of what he called "inner need" not any external model. The artist's voice and his soul is the source of inspired painting.
I'm not sure if my soul was at work on this piece below but I was certainly able to abandon perspective and objects. And I had a lot of fun doing it, that has to be good for the soul!

Composition 1, 30in X 30in

CONTEST!!!! Who is it?

2007-12-31T21:01:00.000-05:00

"Opposites and contradictions- this is our harmony. Composition on the basis of this harmony is the juxtaposition of coloristic and linear forms that have an independent existence as such, derived from internal necessity, which create within the common life arising from this source a whole that is called a picture."

Sentences like these are why I often just look at the pictures in my art books! But a highly influential artist (and one of my muses) said this. Who was it? I've included a pic of him when he was 6, about as helpful as his adult photo as he is not recognizable like Picasso or Dali. Here's your chance to gain recognition as a highly erudite person or just someone with too much time on their hands. Each month I will be posting a pic of an important artist and a quote from or about said artist. Use the comments section for your best guess or start doing some real research. Immediate family members and persons with whom such members are domiciled are excluded from this contest. G, that means you! First person to get 3 correct wins something, I haven't figured out just what. No time limit! Go for it!
Click on the COMMENT pencil -

My Narrative Past

2007-12-28T14:00:00.007-05:00

Asta Yawns oil on canvas 25 X 38"
Since I was a kid I've created narrative paintings - pictures of objects, landscapes, people etc. Lately my work is becoming more nonobjective, impressionistic, abstract and expressive.

Here is one of the first paintings I thought was worth framing and showing off. It was one of 2 pieces I submitted for a juried arts show, it wasn't chosen though my second entry (a portrait of my mother) was selected. Of course this one will always be a winner for me, it's my dog Asta yawning nervously. Painting the fur gave me fits but I loosened up and out it came. Two glasses of wine helped release the inner fur painter in me.

Mixed Reviews

2007-12-28T14:00:00.006-05:00

"green & gray" acrylic on canvas 20 X 40" (click to enlarge)

This painting is getting mixed reviews. M, the artist who lives down the street, was immediately drawn to it to noting some hints of Wolf Kahn. M has politely ignored my earlier work that is traditionally narrative.
My friend W was practically rhapsodic about this piece:

THIS is my favourite! There are strong determined brushstrokes here. No doubting, very confident and assured. But, at the same time, flexible and highly sensitive. The transition from marsh – to sky – overlaid by light brushstrokes of mist is cleverly done. I wanted to say “a vaporous blending of blue and green”, especially at the horizon is masterful. The long slender wisps of paint complete the scene. It is contemplative and yet, evocative. This piece really takes my breath away. It is powerful.

Of course I love to quote W! However the folks at WetCanvas website Critiques are not quite as impressed with this piece:

I see where you're going, but you're going to really be careful that when you simplify, you still have a powerful compositional stance. This one is lacking in strong value patterns, or center of interest. It's simple, but I am left wondering what it was about what you're trying to show us. The things that make you love this should be apparent.

and:

I myself, to be honest...do not find this work speaking to me, not as yet who and what I am in life, and apparently what I respond. Perhaps that is what I personally and individually demand and expect of art...and ultimately says more about me than about your work. Am I majority? Am I in the minority? Does it even matter? Who cares? Have I become numb to such? I'm not sure...but if the work is important to the artist...and if the artist has intent for the world to understand the importance of its making...it then becomes an issue of importance to the indvidual making the work.

The 2 main critics at WetCanvas are excellent, one is primarily a landscape artist, the other a superb portrait painter. I respect them both.

All that being said this painting is currently my all time favourite work I have ever done. It soothes my soul, I rest, am at peace and my breathing slows. I can, at least for awhile, forget about global warming, the death of the oceans by 2050 and colony collapse disorder. (It's time for another news fast.)

Starting in the Middle

2007-12-28T14:00:00.005-05:00

I have probably started at least 10 art blogs, some here and some at WordPress. I've wrestled with trying to come up with really clever intro's, a great bio and a nicely ordered presentation of my art. The blog just wasn't coming together so now I've decided to just jump in, where I'm at now, and add the sensible stuff later. Or not.
Here's a recent painting-

"August" 23 X 40" mixed media on canvas

I have been painting a lot of field pictures, trying to capture their simple beauty in a loose impressionist or abstract way. This one was done outdoors and if you click to enlarge it you will see the help I had from Mother Nature. While working it started to rain softly, leaving dots on the wet acrylic. This happy accident added to the feel of the piece and I didn' try to correct it. Since then I have tried to copy the small rain dots on new work using a spray bottle. But it has been impossible to recreate the lovely dots of real rain.