Happy Merry!
24”x24”, oil on canvas
This is me trying to be inspired by the snow. Actually, it’s the power lines and the streaks of light that really got me going. And of course the trees. Always the trees.
Tree Pot
8”x8” mixed media and oil on panel.
I’m still working on titles for these. 8”x8” mixed media and oil paint on panel.
I’m still loving trees. I’ve done several new little collages. I’ll post them one at a time. This is 8” x 8” mixed media and oil paint on board.
Just picked up my work from the Illuminations show at Mass General Hospital. It’s nice to have some of my big pieces home again. Also, they kindly chose to include me in their calendar, which is a review of some of the art they’ve shown in the past year. I’m September.
The RISD Holiday Sale was terrific yesterday. Complete visual over-stimulation is how I would describe it. Too much beautiful stuff, none of it to be found in your local big box stores.
This was our first time participating and figuring out the logistics was a little overwhelming. We worried about things that didn’t matter, didn’t worry about things that ended up mattering, and somehow we sold a bunch of art anyway!!! Best of all, we met several terrific artists, and reconnected with some we’ve known for a while. Here are some highlights:
For an overview and links to websites (where you can buy cool stuff) here’s the RISD flickr group:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52103784@N04/sets/72157624660101002/
Pia Peterson is a wonderful person as well as a really terrific painter: http://piapeterson.com/opening.html
We met Kim in the parking garage and became fast friends: http://kimberlybecker.blogspot.com/
Another daily painter (like Kim) with really nice work: http://www.debbiemillerpainting.blogspot.com/
A bunch of images of new work at Summer House Furnishings in Rye, NH. I ran up there yesterday to swap some work in and out. I brought several new 12” x 12” tree collages. While in the store I was inspired to take these photos of displays. What an incredible sense of color they have. Really delicious stuff.
Two new pieces…
One is 24”x36” on canvas. The other is 12”x16” on wood panel. I’m getting ready for two one-day events. The first is the RISD Holiday Sale on Saturday December 4th at the Rhode Island Convention Center. This is an all day event that John and I are doing together. The second is a trunk show in Belmont. More on that one later…
In my painting class last night, we did a tricky little exercise. I used a slide projector (yes, we actually own one). I inserted the slide so it projected the image upside down. I adjusted the focus so that it was so blurry, you really couldn’t make out what the image was. Then, they painted. Every 20 minutes or so, I focused the image a bit. At the end we rotated the canvases and the slide to see what they’d done.
This process is great because it tricks the mind into painting only what you see and not what you think you know. As soon as the artists realize what they are painting, the spell is broken, and it becomes much more difficult to paint accurately. It can be a real struggle to work this way, but it is really good for the brain and the eye. It teaches one to work from generalities toward details AND to trust the eye more than the brain.
That was the last class for this session. We begin again in the new year. Thanks Liz, Toni, Alison and Babette!
For information on adult and youth classes go to my classes blog.
The Crochet Coral Reef →
I’m reminded of a class at RISD taught by Preston McClanahan. We called it “Systems” but I know it had a longer name. I built a large paper sculpture using origami and a simple program to determine the folds and connections. Check out these fabulous crocheted pieces. There is a show at the Smithsonian of a crocheted coral reef that was created using the principles described here. Amazing.
Tiny Trees - These are 4 inches square, mixed media on panel. I plan to have them with me for the RISD holiday art sale December 4th. This is our first year participating in the sale. We often go to Providence for the one on Columbus Day. The work there (particularly the jewelery) is truly inspiring. Come on down if you are in the area that day. We’d love to see you.
Kiss it Goodbye…
I just delivered this painting to its new home at the Hebrew Senior Living Center in Roslindale, MA. I had an exhibit there last March, after which they commissioned this painting. It is 36” x 36”, oil on canvas. I’m calling it “Saturday Morning”.
It has been a real pleasure to work with the people at Hebrew Senior Life. I hope the residents and staff enjoy the painting as much as I enjoyed making it for them.
Student work from my youth class -
These kids are really fantastic! They jumped right into working on an easel, with real canvases, long brushes, and a variety of other details that were new to most of them. We covered still life painting, portraits and a bit of abstract painting.
New session begins next week. To register, go to my classes blog.
Youth Art Classes, Session 2 →
Registration has begun for Session 2 of my Youth Acrylic Painting Class. To learn more, visit my classes blog at:
Terrific Opening
at the Mass General Cancer Center in Boston tonight. This was for the “Illuminations” project. I was so touched that Jenn Dorsey and Beth Duncan Manzon both came to the opening, it meant the world to me. The program places art in the waiting areas of the Cancer Center for patients, families and friends. I can not think of a higher, better purpose for my paintings than this.
I was asked to say a few words about my work and the moment was so unexpected that I completely flubbed it. Naturally, I have been reliving that moment ever since. If I had it back, here’s what I would say:
I am deeply honored to be a part of this program.
My work is large format mixed media paintings. They are dream-scapes, inspired by real trees and landscapes.
In the tree work, I’m interested in the things that are brewing beneath the surface. As they emerge from below, they can offer us fragile and unexpected detours in the branches of our lives. The neighborhood pieces are also inspired by real places, but they are about how those places feel rather than being a direct representation of how they look.
So, that’s it. Maybe next time I’ll be ready! (Thanks to John for the photos!)
Acceptance
You have to take it as it happens, but you should try to make it happen the way you want to take it.
-German proverb. (spoken like a good German!)
John is having a solo show in Roslindale! See his blog post below:
Here is the official invite to the show at the Daniels Gallery. There is no opening, just go and enjoy if you can find the time. It’s part of the Hebrew Senior Life Center in Roslindale so the hours are pretty much all day, every day and I would think you go early in the evening as well.
I’ve begun incorporating the paintings I did on the cape with the more abstract collage tree paintings I’ve been working on. This one is fairly small. I prepped the canvas with acrylics and some printed papers. You can see some of the paper peeking out behind the paint in the detail shots. I have a large canvas (36” x 60”) that I am thinking of doing with this subject matter. But first I’ll do a bunch of these and have them for the RISD Holiday sale in December.
Light Between the Lines
12” x 16”, mixed media and oil paint on panel
Illuminations
is the art program at Mass General Cancer Center where my work will be on display. The opening is on Tuesday October 12 from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., opening remarks at 6:00 p.m.. It is on the tenth floor of the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care.
My paintings, along with the work of 15 other artists will be on display in the waiting and treatment areas for the patients and their families. The work is meant to be uplifting and provide (at the very least) a distraction and a visually stimulating environment. It is a real honor to be allowed to participate in this small way to the incredible work going on at Mass General.
The image above is the invitation to the opening. Please consider yourself invited.