This blog is my portfolio of artwork, a journal about my process of making art...and the things that I have no words for...

*Copyright notice* All photos, writing, and artwork are mine (
© Laura J. Wellner), unless otherwise noted, please be a peach, if you'd like to use my work for a project or you just love it and must have it, message me and we'll work out the details...it's simple...JUST ASK, please.



Sunday, June 28, 2009

Porch Studio goodies...

This is a detail of the ever changing tall skinny vertically oriented rectangle canvas...it's been kicking around since last summer when I painted it yellow...then blue...then it sat in this blue and yellow phase...with some kind of black glaze on it...and then I painted it white...then gray...splattered some yellow on it, and drew on it, and put a white rectangle imprint on it mid-way down or mid-way up...I couldn't decide which way I liked it and tried to think of it as a "white painting", but no matter how hard I tried to like it, I didn't, it just was a tall skinny vertically oriented rectangle blah...now...it's joined the Bones of the Earth series...and this is it...the tall skinny rectangle...with lots of busy shit happening...

I usually have at least three or five things going at the same time...

This square (12 x 12) on tempered hardboard is another treat...I've been playing with a modeling paste foundation, and have loved the nifty textures I can get with it...and dimension...this is my Rust series (sort of an extension of Bones of the Earth)...corrosion, bronze, copper...or something metal series...it has a nice feeling to it...it's not quite done yet...maybe tomorrow...

And once again, I made a satisfying piece in my sketchbook...
Night Tide, Rain, June 28, 2009, acrylic monotype, 10 1/2 x 6 inches

It was warm and sunny right up until about 5PM, now it's raining again...I'm hoping to spend the last two days of my vacation on the porch painting some more (weather permitting!)

Friday, June 26, 2009

Rain Day and grumble storms...

Night Hush, 6/24/2009, acrylic monotype on paper, 10 1/2" h x 6" w


Last night's opening at the Delavan was very nice and well attended, there seemed to be a great deal of interest in the concept of the Price Check exhibition and participating in filling out the cards with their thoughts about the value of artwork...my Fred and I wandered about, chatting, and having a lovely time...it's always a treat to meet people who have purchased my things and have them tell me how they are still enjoying my work. There's a grumble storm out there this morning, so I'm indoors today...I can catch up on what I've been doing...I've made lots of stuff on the porch studio, some good, some not so good...ya can't hit a home run all the time...

I was telling Roslyn last night about one piece in particular...pictured above...I love this little guy, there's something nocturnal about it, like an owl...anyway, I was just saying to her that I bought a roll of BFK Rives paper, nice expensive paper, perfect for doing what I'm doing with monotypes...and so far...the best thing I made the other day was on the cheapest paper I own...and it was a struggle making it...


This is the first layer (above)...it's a mixture of raw umber (dark brown) and terre verte (green) showed promise, but the next two layers with a pale green and white were disappointing (I guess I didn't photograph those)...I set it aside, worked on something else...I just rotate through, making layers of color and marks, fooling around with this and that...different shapes of paper, squares and long skinny rectangles (I don't know why, but standard size rectangles bore me, I'm fine with squares (6 x 6, 12 x 12), but 16 x 20 just doesn't do it for me...there's always that corner or the extra inches around the edges that become a dead zone, I don't know why, it's just me...I want my own parameters, edges, borders.) So back to the making of Night Hush...the last layer...my new favorite color, payne's gray...slathered on a small square of mat board, plunk, plunk, plunk...OMG...it's all in the process...the work in progress...

Details...I always love the details...


Grumble storm...

My dog is hiding under my writing table...he doesn't like thunder...poor baby...

I've noticed that I've switched to this gloomy pallet, the earthy, Bones of the Earth series...I've gone from the rich blues of River of Fallen Stars series and the brilliant yellows of the Celestial Spring series...then there's that pretty crimson/port color from the Symphony series, like The Eighth (currently on view at the Delavan Art Gallery) and The Fifth, which is traveling with the Price Check exhibition...I guess this is my latest phase...tho' I did make a yellow one yesterday (I promised myself that I would), but it's not done yet...I just gotta play around and see what happens...I made a new green to go with it, so we'll see...or maybe the new green will become it's own thing...I don't know...I made a turquoise color too (and while at the gallery last night, I noticed that I was still "wearing it" on my hand in spite of my scrubbing.) I gotta play some more...

Rain, rain go away, come again some other day (like after my vacation ends and I go back to the real world!)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Porch Studio

This is one thing I did today...

I needed a table, preferably one portable...one about so high and so wide...since I didn't have one, I improvised...I poked around in the garage, found the old drying rack (with rotten feet that I took a hand saw and hacked them off) and the top from a broken drafting table...voila...I have a portable table, just so high and just so wide...and I went on to make really cool pictures...

Acrylic over modeling paste on board...

Monday, June 22, 2009

Practice, Patience, Persistence...part 2

Part one is over at my writer's blog Upstate Girl...

I'm a busy girl for being on vacation and going nowhere out of town...home is busy enough, thank you, and I'm enjoying myself in spite of the crappy weather that we've had...just look at this mess...some of these I had my doubts...still do, sort of...but I kept going until I was satisfied...I've gone crazy with Payne's Gray lately...I think I'm about done with it...it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do...close but not quite...I had to compromise with the medium...said a few choice words, walked away, came back, waited for the paint to dry...walked away again...returned...and then something happened...and done...





I'm having fun...can't you tell?

Thursday, June 25th there's a reception at Delavan Art Gallery from 5-8PM, Price Check: Syracuse will be the Wild Card exhibition, if you're in the area, please stop in! My Fred and I are participants in this traveling show event...I hope to see you there!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

River of Falling Stars series


I made this at about the same time as the others in the previous post, but tinkered a little longer before I felt right about it...I'm a sucker for blue....

What is it about the color blue...it's the color of perception...a boy color...but lots of girls like it, especially when it's a boy with blue eyes...it's a color that is cold or cool...or Hey, that's COOL! It's a color of sadness...it's also a soothing color...or one could be swearing a blue streak (0y, that's bad)...

This drawing is Just Blue...one blue colored pencil, I wore it down to a nubbin...

Sometimes, it is just blue...

What can I say...it's just a pretty color to play with...

Saturday, June 06, 2009

New Monotypes

Ancient Mechanism, May 31, 2009, acrylic monotype on Stonehenge paper, 6 x 6 inches


Mind's Eye, May 31, 2009, acrylic monotype on Stonehenge paper, 6 x 6 inches


Moonlight, June 3, 2009, acrylic monotype on Stonehenge paper, 6 x 6 inches

I've been having lots of fun with colors and have fallen in love with Paynes Gray again...

Friday, June 05, 2009

This one is about my book! The other art that I do.


On a whim I entered my little ghost story, Dusty Waters, into the 2009 New York Book Festival, I had absolutely no high expectations, but I figured, it wouldn't hurt to go through the process...everything is a learning experience...so wtf, right? I've kept my eye on my email box...waiting...expecting to see something official announcing the winners...but got nothing. So I went to the website...today is the big day down at the Algonquin Hotel in NY...so I scrolled down the line of names and titles of books, and it caught my eye in the honorable mention for Fiction...then I started to scream!!!!

Oh happy day, oh happy day!!!!

I scared every cat in the house, even the fat tubby tabby lifted his head and made a grunt as if to say "Get a hold of yourself!" and poor Max tucked into his chair wondering if I had lost my mind...

No I haven't...I'm only happy, not crazy.

Oh happy day, oh happy day!!!!

Monday, June 01, 2009

The Lovely Blog Award goes too...(well, one of them)

Ro Bruhn Art!

She's got one of the visually prettiest and creatively inspiring blogs out there...a feast for the eyes!