Opening Night at Szozda Gallery 8/10/2012

 

A corner of my own...

 A good night, the rain cleared off and it wasn't as hot outside...the show was hung and looks great, Caroline always does a good job making our art look good!

the Blue Square Window on one side and Solar on the other side...

The First People...

Eclipse hanging on the wall looking sooo beautiful!

SOLD! (not me, the painting.) I really don't like having my picture taken, I always make faces. The person who bought the painting made the beautiful copper necklace with the turquoise stones that I'm wearing.

Good times...great conversations, more exhibitions at other venues in the planning stages...it's been a long day. I'm tired. Time to go to bed.

Addendum...8/11/2012:

I knew this one little painting would sell...that color turquoise seems to grab everyone's attention these days. I'm very happy that my painting is going to a good home...and I'm very glad to be exhibiting at Caroline's lovely gallery with a unique group of local talent, photographer Ray Trudell, mixed media by Linda Esterley and paintings by Phil Parsons, and Emily Elizabeth...I don't think the local artists get enough credit for what we do, many of us work day jobs and squeeze in time alone in some corner of our homes to make art...(and for goodness sakes, write books), some of us are fortunate to make a little pocket money now and then...we are "the other New York." We are the reality of a lot of dreams. Someone long ago, back in the '80's said that "Painting is dead." And every now an then, I hear this so-called death-knell still being batted about in conversation...seriously? For something that's supposedly dead or dying for 30 years or more, it looks mighty alive to me on the walls of Caroline's gallery...and other galleries too...and online, there's tons of artists out there making art, beautiful art. We make art because we love it...it's our joy in life...and I know I appreciate it everyday. I also appreciate Caroline Szozda for inviting me to drop off my little paintings and being part of this exhibition.

Press for the upcoming show at Szozda Gallery...

Thursday, July 14, 2011, "Neighbors", the Post Standard (Syracuse, NY) we got a full page spread featuring three of my paintings, but not all of it fit on my scanner...

...so here's the rest of the piece from Thursday's "Neighbors"

My Fred's painting made it into the "Stars" section of the local Sunday paper

We dropped off our paintings on Sunday and tomorrow the soft opening happens, and then we'll be attending the Third Thursday event at Szozda Gallery, and then the opening reception on Friday night (whew!) It's also going to be in the low to high 90's for the next few days too...oy, I fear that people will wilt and not show up...but it is an air-conditioned gallery, so maybe they'll come for the A/C and snacks! We're very excited...it's going to be a very nice show...

Making stuff up as I go along...

Ancient Mechanism, May 30, 2010, acrylic, wash, monotype, sumi paper on Stonehenge paper, 8 x 8 inches.

I've been having a lovely time painting outside on my porch, using my portable studio table, the weather has been perfect all weekend, and another perfect day is ahead for tomorrow. This little painting started off as something I grabbed off the reject pile today...the original idea was red like my molten ore paintings... but it turned into mud and looked like crap, so I covered it up with Payne's gray (one of my favorite colors) and that looked crappy too, so I forgot about it for several weeks, then today, while I was waiting for other works in progress to dry, I decided to mess around with this...at this point, I figured, I already fucked it up, why not get experimental and see how much worse I could make it look...so I took a square piece of 2 ply mat board and slathered one side with a mix of Payne's gray and burnt umber (makes a nifty earthy blue/brown) and then I went crazy and squeezed a blob of vermillion on the other half, slathered that around and then flipped it onto the victim and "splat", on it went, and I burnished the crap out of it with the nearest jar (since I don't have a press to run it through, I have to print my monotypes with whatever I have handy!) Well...if only I photographed the hideous mess I made...oy, it was yuck-foo...so I turned the mat board a half turn and pressed the colors opposite...that made a bigger mess...then I dabbed my brush into burnt umber and dabbed that around...well, it toned down the vermillion...I was still not happy with it. I let it set for a bit, strolled around the yard, checked my email and browsed on line for a bit, ordered a new book, and then eventually made my way back to it...well, it still looked bad. I poked around a bit, I had just mixed a new batch of my special pale green that I love (that lovely lichen color) and I noticed the skin of the dried paint had released inside the jar, and I just had to start poking at it...yup that was a mess, so I took the piece of dried acrylic skin that was dripping with color and...you got it...I "brushed" it on the mess I was making...hey now...that...wait...I dabbed, dabbled, pressed, and poked...it got better... and thennnnn, I did a little bit of this, a little bit of that...oh, how about this...and flick this on it...well, will you look at that...I like it!

And so, that's how this little guy came into being...I love when that happens!

Gallery Opening...

This is our wall at the Delavan Art Gallery (pre-view before opening, I didn't take a single picture tonight, I was too busy people watching and chatting!) I'm sure you can pick out my little bits from past posts, they pretty much represent my summer evolution. The four paintings grouped in the lower middle and right are my Fred's (see his Blog "Crux" in the line up on the right!) He sold one early, the little vertical on the left next to my tall skinny vertical (Welsh Slate). It was Th3 in Syracuse tonight...and the opening was very crowded and lovely, we had perfect weather today and tonight, so everyone came out to browse the city's art world...We're both feeling buoyed by the event, it feels good to see our accomplishments on display!

A busy day...

Bones of the Earth, Molten Ore, (Star) 12/13/2009, acrylic monotype, sumi paper on canvas, 9 x 9 inches

A wintery mix outside today...inside...well, a mix of this, a mix of that, I turned on the music and let the paint fly...many of these were posted in their early stages on my November 29th post...many have evolved into something completely different from what I started with...


Ice Nocturne, Elemental December, 12/13/2009, acrylic monotype, sumi paper and 2 ply mat board on canvas, 12 x 12 inches



Bones of the Earth, 12/13/2009, acrylic monotype, sumi paper on canvas, 9 x 9 inches



Bones of the Earth, 12/13/2009, acrylic monotype, sumi paper on canvas, 12 x 12 inches



Bones of the Earth, Fieldstone, 12/13/2009, acrylic monotype, sumi paper and 2 ply mat board on canvas, 4 x 4 inches (It's sooooo little!)


Bones of the Earth, 12/13/2009, acrylic monotype, sumi paper on canvas, 9 x 9 inches



This one isn't quite done yet...almost...I really love to keep it simple...

My choice of music today was an eclectic mix, Patty Smith, Florence and the Machine, Moby, Bob Dylan, Tracy Bonham, Beatles, Metric, Mute Math, Balbec, and then I listened to all four discs of Woodstock... Okay with that said...imagine painting that red one with Jimi Hendricks jamming the Star Spangled Banner? (Yes, it was awesome.)

Today was awesome.

Celestial Spring, Phases of the Sun and Moon

Well, after a flurry of splatters and scratches yesterday afternoon, I signed my name in the lower left corner...I think it's done...I might tip-toe through it with a touch or two here and there, but I do declare it's done...

(Deep Satisfied Sigh)

What's for sale...

My Fred and I delivered artwork at the Delavan Art Gallery this week...thought I'd post a few pictures of the "friends" that I have parted with...organized by smallest to largest...

Twilight, Black and Gold, 4/21/2007, pencil and colored pencil, framed 9 x 9

The Eighth, 2008, watercolor, colored pencil, pencil on Stonehenge paper, framed 12 x 12

Celestial Sliver of Time I, May 31, 2008, mixed media (watercolor, pastel, gouache, acrylic, and pencil) on Strathmore watercolor paper, framed 22 x 12



Natural Chaos and Order, Composition in Gray and Black, 2008 pencil on gray charcoal paper, framed 20 x 16



A Violin Opus, Allegro - Fuga, 2008, pencil on Bristol paper, framed 20 x 16 (I always think of these more "busy" drawings to be like listening to something by Beethoven...usually I am listening to Beethoven in some form.)

Each one seems to have it's own personality...yet they're all related...I look at each one and remember what was going on at the time, what I was thinking about, and I always marvel over the act of making art...they're personal, and I cannot expect anyone to completely understand them or how I come up with them, they just happen (there I go again, following my own random beat of the drum)...but it is always my hope that the person who is drawn to them will find something meaningful in the marks that I make...

Progress!

My work in progress is progressing, I'm trying to leave as much of the lovely yellow wash at the top alone...if you haven't noticed, I have a thing for yellow...I spent some of yesterday working on it, sprinkling, splashing, rooting around with a pencil, dipping charcoal in water, getting my fingers very dirty...it felt good to be busy and productive, my stupid cold is finally clearing away, so I feel more like doing things...

I also cleared off a small drafting table in the studio to make room for the production of small things on little bits of scraps...I have several little spaces throughout the house where I do my creative work, and one more little place...or "play station"...won't hurt the creative process....the lamp is temporary until I buy a replacement, the darn thing is wobbly because of poor design so I piled some stones around it to keep it from tumbling off...and of course the lamp shade doesn't fit those newfangled light bulbs...it casts a creepy shadow...(oh yeah, those are my little framed drawings from previous exhibitions hanging around...)
One little scrap of paper was pretty sorry looking, so I crumpled it up once, opened it, crumpled it up twice, flattened it out and set it on the drawing board for a bit, scribbled over it with a 9B woodless pencil and then left it...and then laid down the beach stones around it..

Then just before going to bed I went to the living room to turn back the heat, wound up sitting down and added some tinted graphite wash to a white acrylic background that I made in my sketchbook earlier in the evening...who knows where it's going to go...I love the blue...

On a Winter's Night...

On a Winter's Night...January 10, 2009

Mixed media, acrylic, tinted graphite pencils, watercolor, gouache, pencil, colored pencil on Stonehenge paper, approx. 8 x 8"

Detail of texture...the paper has an acrylic/gel medium base with a variety of brushstrokes, splatters, and ridges applied, then I draw and paint on top after it's dried, the colored pencils and tinted graphite are all water-soluble so I scribble the colors over the rough surface and then scumble with a wet brush to create the wash, then more dry media (pencil, colored pencil, tinted graphite), more water as needed, then a splash here, a splash there, pencil lines scratched in...I beat up the surface sometimes...

The stars were out on Friday night just before this latest storm hit us...they were so bright and gorgeous, although it was very cold, I looked at them for as long as I could stand it...Orion was standing over our pine trees...it was all very quiet and beautiful...the Great Horned Owl was hooting across the road...one day I will treat you with a post all about my favorite night paintings by my favorite artists...I've been working on some essay sort of stuff...so, hang in there...

A work in progress...

I have lots of works in progress over the holiday vacation, but this one has carried on since early December before I had my surgery...and while I worked it, I've been dying to post the pictures, but...haven't because...

I'm still "working on it"...but have tucked it away to think about it...I love it. Really I do, it's doing what I wanted, it's just not done yet. Well, since I write a lot about process, why not show the work in progress...

The heavily textured surface consists of white acrylic paint with an impasto that is splattered, dribbled, and scumbled, then I scribbled graphitint pencils over it, made them soggy, brushed and washed, dabbled and splattered, then when it dried, I started drawing with graphite...I'm loving the surface, and all, but...ummm...I don't know, it's just not finished yet...and that dark fossil-like shell bugs me, even tho' I like it...it's too dark (darn it.) This will be a multiple layer piece before it's done...I have some detail shots too...

It's been a lot of fun making this one...and I'm enjoying the frustration of the struggle with resolving it too...if anything, I've always been patient and have been willing to work out the bugs that are bugging me...

A few drawings made quick

Not everything has to be a "project" that takes days n' days or weeks 'n months...I love doing drawings that happen in one sitting, these are quick studies that happened in a sitting...a splash here, a dash there...done...sometimes it's just a color that sets me going, sometimes it's the paper, the texture, the shape, or something about that pencil...whatever hits me at the time, I go with it...

Eyes on the Prize

This small mixed media image is a treat, kind of an accidental watercolor happening that I teased out with color pencil and pencil, creating delicate ribbons of color. Not bad for something that I almost didn't do anything with. It's that Prismacolor tuscan red that I like so much, it really has a nice glow to it that I like. I tend to draw a lot with the television on, I'm a PBS fan, and I happened to have on the civil rights documentary "Eyes on the Prize" and I was feeling somewhat empowered at the time, so it came by its name that way...

Winter Song

Winter Song is a fitting image for the blustery day, Lake Effect snow, I said earlier in the day: "The snow devils are thick as thieves out there, they've got us surrounded!" Along with the blowing and drifting snow I've seen patches of blue sky and sunshine...it's been a beautiful January day, a good day for staying inside and making something beautiful.

Epiphany

Well, this is the finished product from an earlier post...her name is Epiphany, I finished last night...stayed up later than I should have, but I can't resist the drive to work when it's there...

The process is as follows...

The paper is 140 lb cold press Arches watercolor paper (15 x 11 overall size, image is 13 x 9 1/2"), it has a nice "tooth" to it to create texture when using dry media. I taped the sheet down to a piece of matboard with artist tape to make a clean margin and hold it in place. Then I took my raw graphite chunk and scrubbed it over the paper allowing the crumbles to make random lines as well...then using a paper towel I softened the overall image area, grading dark to light and carefully maintaining the curving lines that developed. Then lifting the black and gray with the kneaded eraser creating fluttering marks and light gray lines. I've carefully defined shapes with hard pencils, the 5 H, 4 H and 2 H, again touching off details with the eraser. Once I finished I misted it with fixative to prevent smudges.


How do I know I'm done? Well...sometimes I don't...but last night I knew...so far it's been a productive new year!