Winter Solstice paintings

Winter Solstice No. 1, 12/11/2011

 Busy painting today...5 new paintings, all acrylic on Stonehenge paper with rice paper (8 x 8
 inches).

Winter Solstice No. 2, 12/11/2011

Winter Solstice No. 3, 12/11/2011

Winter Solstice No. 4, 12/11/2011

Winter Solstice No. 5, 12/11/2011

It's been awhile since I had a marathon painting day...I usually do a Winter Solstice series around now and give a few of the results for presents, the full moon that was out the last few nights inspired them...I'm pretty pleased with the results...a blustery little collection. I'm such a sucker for blue.

Vacation...part 2

Elemental, abstraction 6/16/2011, acrylic wash, monotype, rice paper on canvas, 24 x 8 inches

I'm back on vacation again, a few days off, a few days at work...it's a little hectic at the office. (I don't really want to talk about it.)

Yesterday I painted all day outside, my little porch studio was a contemplative space, the first painting fell into place quickly (in stages of course), but it was inspired by a small acrylic monotype sketch in my sketchbook from two years ago, I've been meaning to put it on canvas, but sometimes these things need to be worked out in their own time.

detail

 The second piece...oh, fun!

This was done on a whim...

 I painted over the 2006 Calendar from one of the Chinese restaurants that we frequent that was hanging on our kitchen door (for a little too long), but I didn't throw it out...the idea wheels turned. I tried painting over it, but it just wasn't right, so I adhered some rice paper to it, and then it got some body to it. I've been layering color on it for a few weeks, it wasn't doin' it for me...well, you know how that goes, so I went into "that mode", you know the one, the state of frustration that very often can make or break a piece..."oh, fuck it" I said, and went at it...the blue circle was preceded by a white one that disappeared rather than being something ethereal and lovely, so I slathered on the blue, stepped back and said "There ya go!" I am painting the back, but it's not finished.

detail

A work in progress. 24 x 24 inches

This last piece is a work in progress, oh it's so pretty, I'm enjoying my yellow-on-yellow phase, tho' I wound up adding a touch of green to this one to give it a little more contrast...I'll finish it soon, I'm almost there.

Detail

 

 

 

There are more in progress, surfaces prepared, washes laid down, and such...I'm juggling painting and writing, and working in the garden...I've been dodging raindrops today to keep up with the weeds, at least the asparagus bed looks better than it did! I'll post more as they come into being. I have a show to get ready for next Friday at Moonlighting, and a show coming up in July at the Szozda Gallery (can't wait!) So I must work hard to get these pieces ready to hang!

What's on my easel?

Bones of the Earth, August 29, 2009, acrylic monotype on canvas board with sumi paper collage, 20 x 16,

Although I scribbled my signature on it yesterday just say to myself "It's done", I'm not completely satisfied with it...don't get me wrong, I like it...OH I HAD SO MUCH FUN...you betchya, I had fun...I love the colors, I love the texture, but I think I got into trouble with the orderliness of my shapes...the structure...if only it were more higgledy-piggledy...well, I'll have to think about what I might do next to make it right...

Bones of the Earth series...

Detail of August 14th, 2009

Bones of the Earth, Fieldstone, August 14, 2009, acrylic monotype on Sumi and Stonehenge paper, 8 x 8 (I haven't decided which way is up with this one...)

Bones of the Earth, Fieldstone, August 16, 2009, acrylic monotype on Sumi and Stonehenge paper, 8 x 8

Detail of August 16, 2009

Been concentrating more on my writing than mark making this weekend...these are leftovers from last weekend...it's pouring rain and grumbling out there right now...a bit of the tail of "Bill" passing by...I've been wondering when my last weekend on the porch will be...it's been a good run, I'll have to think about putting away the portable studio soon...

Inspiration from the rock pile of nature

Just some stones that I photographed this weekend...

I found these two little guys hanging out in the weeds so I set them together on the old flat fossil encrusted rock by the back door step where they can hang out for as long as they like...I really liked the stripes on the little guy on the right (the special enhanced close up at the top came from that.)

Are you ready for your close up Rock Granite?

I love this last one...


I made lots of things this weekend...but...didn't finish a thing...lots of work in progress...but alas...nothing I'm ready to share just yet, and most of my snapshots of WIP at the end of the day turned out crappy, drat...I'm still muddling around with mossy/lichen colors (if it keeps raining, we're all going to start growing green stuff)...I ordered more rolls of sumi papers from Blick (can't wait)...and I treated myself to other feel good goodies too...paints and mat medium, and handmade paper by Ro Bruhn...I've had my eye on a package of those sweets for quite a while :)

I have lots of ideas that I want to work on, colors I want to explore, I'm thinking about yellow again...I just wish I felt better. I haven't been feeling all that perky lately, just keeping my fingers crossed that all will be well sooner or later. I have a Neurologist appointment tomorrow morning to follow up with my herniated disc (which is still an issue causing problems) and as if having the backache to deal with wasn't enough, the chronic GYN issues started to resurface, so I'm waiting to hear back about a uterine biopsy (that was a peel me off the ceiling painful procedure!) I'm in good hands...it's the hurry up and wait parts that make me nuts (especially waiting during a weekend...) so naturally, my focus hasn't been as focused as I'd like, but the work I did do kept me busy and in good spirits during this time of "now what?"

Okay...okay...here's a couple of little somethings I played with in my sketchbook...

Down by the Sea, 7/25/2009, acrylic monotype, 6 x 6 (I think) It stinks that the "horizon line" is a bit off...drat...

These are two little canvases that I'm fiddling around with...they're sort of done...I love the wrinkles the sumi paper made at the top of this first one...so I had to zoom in close on it to show it off...
Okay, so...that's all for now...more next time...

New work...

Detail of The Waves (I was thinking of pink dolphins), 7/23/09 for Maryanna, acrylic monotype on paper...


This little monotype was given as a present to one of my students at work, she's leaving us after two years, I wanted to make something that reflected her sense of "magical"...yes, pink dolphins exist (in the Amazon I think)...well, they're in there somewhere...

Celestial Phases, Summer Twilight...7/25/2009, acrylic monotype on canvas with sumi paper

This little canvas, 8 x 8 has gone through multiple layers of changes for over a month, I had it hanging in my dining room since I first painted the original, and it kept "bugging" me, so since I didn't really like it so much, I attached the sumi paper to the surface and began to splash...oh it was fun! I think it's done (finally!)


Bones of the Earth series...this one is Granite, 7/25/09, acrylic monotype, 8 x 8, chine colle, Sumi on Stonehenge paper

The last one...


Bones of the Earth, Fieldstone, 7/25/2009, acrylic monotype, chine colle, sumi on Stonehenge paper, 8 x 8.

I keep making more...it's what keeps me happy!

The latest work in progress

This little guy has no name yet, tho' it's definitely part of the Bones of the Earth series...24" high, by 8" wide, acrylic monotype on canvas with sumi paper...I was working outside, but it was a bit breezy for comfort and suddenly became chilly so I packed up and came back inside...feels like rain (certainly does not feel like JULY!) I might do a little more today, but I need to take a break for a bit...have a cup of coffee...and think about comfort food for dinner...

Thanks for stopping by!

More Bones of the Earth...

Moonshine, July 4, 2009, Bones of the Earth series, acrylic on sumi paper over canvas, 10" x 8"


Since the Fourth of July on my acre of the country was chilly, gray (at times later in the day partly sunny), and too breezy to be enjoyable for long periods of time, so I stayed inside and made more art...

Landscape, July 4, 2009, Bones of the Earth series, acrylic on canvas, 12" x 31 1/2"
Fooling around with a used canvas that my Fred gave to me (he had made a painting that he didn't like, and instead of making something he did like, he gave it to me to use because he prefers the thicker canvases, but I don't mind the low profile)...so paint over it I did...white first, naples yellow next (while the white was wet), squished it around with the brush, then pulled on it with mat board scraps to make textures...while it dried I rotated around working on other pictures...and then added the dark green/brown (that mossy terra verte, raw umber, burnt umber mix that I like so well), the lichen green, and some white were added later...using mat board plates for the monotype textures...some brushwork, not much...and my tape roll, plastic lid circles...lots of playing around...I was happily "in the zone", lost track of time so there was no potato salad to go with the coneys...oops! Thankfully, my boys don't seem to mind (our son grilled the coneys...they were yummy!)

Stone Cold, July 4, 2009, Bones of the Earth series, acrylic on sumi paper over canvas 8" x 8"
This one I made over a painting from last April that I didn't like very well (I sort of liked the idea of it, but it was pale and wishy-washy...not very interesting.) This one has that stuff going on that I'm enjoying very much, I love the ragged edge of the paper showing through...

It's a nice day out there, it's my intention to make more art today on the porch...I just need to set up and go to it!

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!)

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!)

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...

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!