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.



Showing posts with label Moonlighting Gallery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moonlighting Gallery. Show all posts

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Being good to myself...

A found painting, 8/21/2011...random spray painting done by my Fred, he was spray painting somethings for a project and I found his left behind marks on the plywood intriguing
 
A found painting, another view, 8/21/2011
A found painting, yet another look, 8/21/2011

Starting over, new blanks to work with...yes, that is a Pringle's potato chip can on the table, I use it to store my brushes.
 Last weekend I started to think about new work...anything that I had started prior to my mother's death, I painted over as the flow had been disrupted and I just lost heart to work on what I had put there, so, I made them all white again. I will probably add some fresh rice paper in areas where I want to freshen up the texture as now there is no longer the papery feel to the surface that I prefer to maintain under the thin washes of paint...

Oh, I've hit a rough patch...we all hit them throughout our lives, these last two years have been emotionally rough as my Fred lost both of his parents within a year of each other, and now this month of August, my mother, and in the midst of this while struggling to find equilibrium three weeks to the day of my mother's death, my poor father had an accident at home and broke his hip...accidents happen...we were just feeling a sense of "normal", feeling less apprehensive about dad being home alone as his attitude and forward thinking were making us feel confident that he was going to be okay as time went by, but now this new change, shift in gears...oh the poor thing, I feel so bad for him! The surgery went well, his hip is fixed, and now, barring any medical complications associated with the surgery, he should be moved on to the rehab unit as early as Monday and the next step, the long road to recovery.

Lovely news tho' my mother's paintings and other crafts that she entered into the New York State Fair won prizes! She rec'd 4 honorable mentions and a blue ribbon...scrolling through the photos I took at the house, I only have the one of the bunny (he's leaning up against the wooden box on the rug):
Janie's Bunny and other things she made, the bunny won honorable mention. Her traditional hooked wool rug with little chickadees won a blue ribbon (similar in style to the rug on the left with Paul Revere, only it is smaller.) She hand dyed and hand cut her wool for these rugs.



Our little gallery, Moonlighting had its closing reception last night, my Fred and I were unable to make it as we were just returning from my father's house and I am gimping around with severe sciatic nerve pain because of the disc in my lower back became irritated (apparently, I haven't been good to myself, so now I'm paying for it in spades!) It is bittersweet shutting it down, it was a good experience having a place of our own to hang our artwork, inviting people in to see what we've done, and enjoying good company...but in a way that is a little bit selfish, I'm glad we're done with it (more time to paint!) We learned a lot and it's time to move on. I feel badly that I haven't been able to be there this past month with all that has gone on, but there isn't much to be done about it. On Sunday our show at Szozda Gallery is closing, and of course, Hurricane Irene is stopping by with wind and rain to make for a spectacular ending to our beautiful art show...oy vey, right?

I've been on my porch all day, propped on pillows in a chair, watching the world go by with my dog Max, he's been gnawing on a bone that is making him very happy (he was so unhappy and out of sorts while I was away.) A flock of black birds have been shuffling themselves about the trees with much cackling fuss and when they take off in a group, the fluttering of wings sound like a storm surge blowing in...the incoming storm must be making them nervous. I've noted today that the barn swallows have finished teaching the last of their little peas from their brooding nests and vacated the barn and our sky it's sad to think that summer is over already, I have loved watching their annual air show, and seeing their fledglings lined up on the ledges, looking like round little peas fresh from their pods.

No rain as of yet, but there is a prevalent gray sky above.

I am being good to myself...being patient with how things are...I'm doing some drawings to satisfy the need to be doing something creative...when I have a few finished, I will share them...it is back to black and white to work out what I need to do next or to just go with the flow, I always pick up a pencil when I need to start over again.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Here comes the sun...

Here comes the sun... 4/23/2011 acrylic wash monotype, rice paper on canvas 16 x 8 inches

Detail
I finished this little one yesterday afternoon, the multiple layers of paint create such stunning depth...it's so much prettier in person...I have it finished just in time to include it in our end of month reception at Moonlighting this Friday night (4/29), I might try to finish up one more, maybe...just maybe...
Left to Right, Ken Nichols, Fred Wellner, Laura Wellner, Suzanne Masters

 Last Sunday afternoon, the four painters of Moonlighting Gallery visited Cafe 407 on Tulip Street in Liverpool NY to paint a painting for a fundraiser for Ophelia's Place (event yet to be determined.)

The finished painting

detail

detail with critter that My Fred made

I think this is my favorite spot...

Another favorite spot

It's just interesting to see how we blend our styles on the canvas

another detail of a favorite spot...
 So many nifty little places for the eye to wander into and rest for awhile, thinking...

We've been doing this project since we started our partnership at Moonlighting, starting a painting, and then passing it around amongst ourselves or to other painters we know...we have about a dozen paintings so far, and it is our intention to do a reception at the gallery someday, have a silent auction, and donate the money to a good cause...fun stuff!

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Back to making more...

Evening Light, 3/28/2011, acrylic wash, monotype, rice paper on canvas, 18 x 6 inches

detail of middle/bottom

Detail of top
Evening Light started off as a blue painting and turned into gold instead...I'm so in love with this little painting! She really sparkles, I don't think the photos really do her justice at all (in most of the pics I took she looks too green, so I had to fiddle a bit to get it right.) I love her simplicity, when I placed the blue horizon bands I knew that was all she needed...I didn't want to do another thing to that surface. I took her to Moonlighting and hung her up to replace one of the paintings that I packed up for Szozoda Gallery, to swap out paintings that have been there since fall. (My Fred and I will be showing there mid-July, the dates yet to be announced.)

The writing and production of our little art book Elemental took up so much of my time that I hardly painted a thing for nearly a month! I'm so glad the book is done, it's published, and out there to be browsed through... it's a real beauty (please click the BookBuzzr widget and enjoy!) It's a fabulous collection of artwork, it barely scratches the surface of what we've accomplished (that's the crazy part of it!) We're in the planning stages for a book of our drawings...so stayed tuned. I've gathered up a bunch of scans and have started the selection process...so much to choose from!

Tomorrow my Fred and I will be on television promoting the CNY Art Showcase, (WSYR Ch. 9, "Bridge Street, 10-11 AM) We're bringing our paints and canvases to work on something new, we'll see what happens with that...I'm trying not to dwell on it too much (if you know what I mean, too much of the 'unknown' and 'what if' imagined disasters sort of stuff that can drive a person to distraction.) I just need to pack up my stuff, pick something comfortable to wear, pack my little apron, and go with the flow...what will be, will be. The auction will be on Friday, we'll go and enjoy the show.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Opening 1/28/2011

 After weeks of preparation the new show is up in our little Moonlighting Gallery...Thursday night we took some of the old and put up the new...this is what it looked like before we left at the end of the night, Suzanne has a way with putting it together...
My wall after hanging on Thursday night

The night before, after the hanging, Ken's newest painting on the easel

A grouping of my paintings in the hallway
Suzanne's wall and Ken's wife, Chris's jewelry tree
Suzanne and Ken's shared wall
Ken's wall

My Fred's wall and Suzanne's furniture...
And so the day of the opening came...I spent the day at work, doing what I do to pay the bills...
A LONNG day at work, pre-opening, my little size 6 1/2 "dogs" were "barking" ...I took a photo of my poor tired feet after a long day cataloging an incoming collection from a donor (I just completed documentation of the 100th piece.) But I gotta tell ya, the Frye's are awesome boots and soooo comfortable.
The NIGHT! It looks so pretty!
Thankfully we missed the coastal storm so the weather was good, we weren't up to our eyeballs in snow (just our knees, right?), what's there, has been there for awhile with a light dusting to make it prettier...

...and the people came, filling the space with excited voices and enthusiasm...I made a "gallery playlist" on my mini and hooked up speakers for cool tunes, Moby, Grouper, Warpaint, Blur, the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, TheWho, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Emily Barker, Florence and the Machine, Groove Armada, Imogen Heap, M83, Mistle Thrush, Artemis, Paul Simon, The Ravonettes, XX, Tracy Bonham, and Metric...just a mix...



Fun was had by all...it's a sweet little space, and we feel so fortunate to have a place to hang our work and to have the chance to invite friends and the community in to visit with us and see what we've been up to lately...everyone we meet loves the concept of "Moonlighting", we're working artists who work day jobs, we pool our resources and follow our bliss...

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Moon paintings...

Setting Crescent Moon, January 9, 2011, acrylic wash, sumi paper on canvas, 4 x 4 inches

Full Moon at Dawn, January 9, 2011, acrylic wash, sumi paper on canvas, 8 x 8 inches
I did a little bit of painting this weekend, not as much as I wanted to because yesterday was a total wash out due to FMS symptoms that made me happy to tuck into bed for the day. It's just how it goes sometimes. I did move forward on a few paintings that I was stalled on, these two were my successes of the day. The little crescent moon came into being because of the moon I saw setting one night in a haze of cloud cover, it was creamy orange in the darkness...oy was that a pretty sight to see! No photos of the event...I just enjoyed looking at it rather than trying to fit it through a camera...some times it's just the experience that matters more...and I love the simplicity of it, sometimes I bog myself down with too much fussing around with throwing everything I've got into a painting and making a mess that I forget to keep it simple.

The dawn image is more of a fantasy, I wanted to use yellow ochre so bad one day and the canvas sat there being yellow ochre for quite a few days before I went at it with the blue and white...I added the full moon tonight...I might tinker with it a little more...or not, depends on how I feel about it later, but for now I'm glad to see that this little canvas has something on it that I'm happy with...it had something completely different on it previously (one of the not so satisfying pieces that I made go away!)

We're going to have a reception for our new work on January 28th at Moonlighting, so I need to try to finish up a few paintings, but looking at what I've got set aside, I have more than I thought...so no real panic to pull it together.

Friday, December 31, 2010

New Year's Eve 2010

The Childrens Moon, New Year's Eve morning
It's looking like this is my last painting of 2010, it's just a wee bit, 4 x 4 inches, part of the blue sky/children's moon series that I've been working with lately. I was noticing the moon in the morning sky for the last couple of mornings (we've been fortunate to see the sun for the first time in awhile), and I had this little painting in limbo for several weeks, only the background pleased me, not so much the moon until I made it into a crescent moon yesterday morning after I saw the little pale crescent riding high in the morning sky. I loved it immediately, but waited until today to see if I still liked it, and I do, so I signed it. and it's done. (YAY!) There are still unfinished paintings on my work table left to do, but they are going to wait for another time.

I've been a busy girl this year, painting, drawing, making photographs, publishing another book, and opening a gallery with our friends...(much of this I mused over at my other blog Upstate Girl http://upstategirl-laurajwryan.blogspot.com/ I posted a few of my favorite photos there)...it's been a good year along with the usual ups and downs of life, I can't complain...it's all good.

I will post my most favorite paintings of 2010 here...

Full Moon, 2010 (The one I'm glad didn't sell.)

If Not, Winter, 2010

Nocturne, Winter New Moon, 2010
Bones of the Earth, 2010


Ancient Mechanism, 2010
A part of the "shared painting" project with Ken Nichols at Moonlighting Gallery

 There is more than just blue going on in that sky...2010
The Childrens Moon, November 7, 2010

Winter Moon, November 7, 2010


Has anyone noticed the overwhelming color...blue? I guess it's my favorite.

Defining art moments of 2010 (at least the ones I could find pictures of!):

Our Wall at The Delavan Gallery, April 2010
June, 2010

A full house with me in the middle of it

The Sign is UP!

Happy New Year!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Painting, painting, painting...

Detail of work in progress in the Blue Sky series...layers of color...


Work in progress, from the Blue Sky series 16 x 8 inches

The big one...

Work in progress in the Ancient Mechanism painting 16 x 8 inches
A night sky in progress 12 x 12 inches

Lots of work in progress, nothing finished, yet progress is a good thing, and I'm feeling satisfied with the way things are going...it feels good.


Moonlighting Gallery, 137 First Street, Liverpool New York
Our sign was installed on the store front today (at last)...now people will know who we are...it's so pretty!