Archive for June, 2008
« Previous EntriesVAST 125 Mile Exhibition
Monday, June 30th, 2008
White Pine Bows, 20 x 34 x 1.5 inches Acrylics on wrapped canvas ($650.00) was just accepted into the 125 Mile Exhibition July 24th - August 15, 2008 presented by VAST in partnership with the Department of Visual Arts at Texas Women’s University (TWU).
Opening Reception on July 31st, 2008 5:30p.m. - 7:30p.m. July 31st, 2008 at the TWU Arts and Sciences Building, Denton, TX.
Portraits
Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Josee, a portrait of my neice. Gift, work in progress, 11 x 14 inches Graphite on paper.
Drawing portraits is like brain surgery - one millimeter off, more or less, in any direction makes a difference.
Painting gifts
Friday, June 27th, 2008
Cloe, 16 x 20 inches Acrylics on wrapped canvas.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish The Fourth of July as planned in time for the American holiday. Leaving for Canada on Monday, and will be away for two weeks, I’ve been painting and drawing a few gifts for relatives, one of them this pet portrait. Still tweaking a few details.
I started playing with space and subtle texture with scratches using my fingernail under a wet cloth. The space under the dog where the beach and log meet is implied more than defined, partly for interest’s sake, but also because if we were looking directly at the dog in real life, that space would be in our periferal vision, and not a primary concern. In reality our focus is on the main subject.
She sings and she paints…
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Chris Bolmeiere calls herself an Accidental Artist. Previously a professional actress, she still sings and posts the songs on her blog. Her “accidental” oil paintings are colorful, energetic and expressive. Chris never planned to become a painter, so that’s probably what she means by accidental…plus her methods of painting are rather impromptu: she paints, scrapes away, applies more then removes more, and somewhere along the way a successful painting emerges.
Her crude (but crude in a good way) illustrations of childhood memories are hilarious; one might be inclined to label them Naive Art, but in no way is Chris naive. This “accidental” Artist is honest and direct with her approach to all of the Arts; painting, writing, singing, whatever, has little fear and is full of fun. Multi-talented, and as the name of her weblog implies: she’s Christerical.
Not only that, if you sell her work she’ll give you 20%….so, If you buy this painting from Chris and saw it here first, please let her know. I’ll give you 10% for telling her, because otherwise you might not…meaning you get 10% off and we’ll all come out winners.
Play with your food.
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
The first of the pumpkin blossoms are opening; they open early in the morning and close fairly quickly. I once came across a bee struggling inside a flower that had collapsed before it finished gathering pollen. When the flower wilts, the sticky soft petals bond together, and the bee would never have escaped if I hadn’t been in that spot at that time! It was so cool, I didn’t think a tender flower could be so strong.
This year when the pumpkin, cantaloupe, butternut squash, and cucumber fruits are a little larger I plan to tie string around some of them and manipulate the shapes as they grow. The idea “blossomed” after seeing a cantaloupe grow heart-shaped voluntarily. I’m trying to think of methods and materials to make a large heart-shaped mold that will be strong enough to contain the strength of an increasingly large pumpkin. Progress and results will be posted during the summer.
The 4th of July on the 22nd of June
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Added darkest values, mapping out the composition more clearly, now will define a few blossoms in the foreground by washing off dark areas and paint with pure colors from the tube and bring back to the cheery lights and brights that were present at the start.
The Fourth of July
Friday, June 20th, 2008
The Fourth of July, 36 x 48 x 2 inches Acrylics on wrapped canvas. Work in progress. Rarely do I draw outlines to start paintings. I just start splashing paint in a frenzy around the canvas, responding to the subject matter. Very little detail is planned for this painting, just the recognizable shape of growth habits and a few flowerettes.
The final results will be posted on the Fourth of July.
The Fourth of July - Click here to view the post and progress details of this preliminary Oil Pastel drawing. Not only does the Orange Milkweed remind me of fireworks, but it was on July 4th last year that I stopped to photograph the vibrant wildflowers growing alongside the highways in Kentucky.
Happy Tree
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Happy Face - Pecan tree, Lewisville, TX
Sun Shower #4 updates
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
June 19th: My husband said this morning “Uh-oh Nik, you’re losing control of it”. He’s not an Artist, and rarely comments on paintings, but he saw exactly what I was starting to feel about the work. More accurately, I was starting to take too much control.
I added another layer of white diluted with matte medium, then am giving the whole surface a layer of streaks of masking medium to bring all that texture out again that was there at the start. Tomorrow will start another painting and study this one on the side before going back into it.
June 19th June 17th
June 17th: Work still in progress, and have shifted gears unexpectedly. I should expect the unexpected by now, but I guess that’s the nature of the unexpected isn’t it?! Above: bottom left detail. I felt that there was not enough story or interest holding attention in the painting. I started recreating a memory of laying on the forest floor looking up…will maintain the abstract and extreme perspectives throughout.
June 14th June 17th
Sun Shower #4 - June 14th: I’m restraining from using black as long as possible, if at all. Layers of Pthalos blue, Burnt Umber, plus all the other colors eventually creates livlier versions of dark values. I may move the location of the light source today so that it’s not so obvious; a less direct effect will probably be more interesting and not so “usual” or predictable - I’m looking for the unpredictable.
June 13th: Above Left and right details of today’s work. I have done a few layers of various color washes (Acrylics with matte medium) since removing most of the masking medium, and am about to apply more of it again in the raindrop areas (applied with the toothpicks and paper pencils - see also May 3, 5, 9, 17th and May 23rd posts).
The painting is so large, heavy and awkward to move, so photos are where it stands inside for now. The colors are mostly accurate, just a little dull. The dark seen here is actually not so dark…will take photos under natural lighting conditions when it’s nearer to completion.
Jewels in the garden
Sunday, June 15th, 2008
