Digital Finished

This was fun to do. Now I want to use acrylic medium to transfer it to a board and paint on it with acrylics again, metallic gold especially.

Going Digital Again

I am excited about combining my painted elements with digital photography on the computer. When I was in graduate school, I would do a digital piece then a painting and work back and forth. Then, I did not put paintings into my digital composites but mostly found textures and digital photographs. I was discovering how to work with paint media and texture with those explorations. I was very concerned about how to make things subtle and integrated. With my new work I believe I will learn about forms and shapes. I think going back and forth into the realistic elements of digital photography will be beneficial to my painting. I took a photo of this face when I was starting a painting. I proceeded to paint over this so I am glad that I grabbed it with my camera and was able to go back to it on the computer. Now I am adding photo elements to it. It might be hard to tell what is photo and what is not in the face. It is still a work in progress.
As I continued with the original painting, I overworked it and lost it. I am going to scrap it off and start over on the board. I recognize the mistakes of the painting because I have made them before. I had the idea I wanted to make a mythical beast so I drew the shapes and then tried to integrate it into the painting or space around it. Whenever I do that, it seems the painting falls apart into pretty marks and no form. The forms and images need to emerge from the process of painting almost like a sculptor building forms from clay. Tightening and defining towards the end of the process instead of the beginning. I am still not sure how to begin the entire process, although thinned out media seems to work well. When I do start with lots of thin medium, then finding good compositions and shapes is the challenge. But I see so many images in the tonal changes of color created from working with fluid acrylics and mediums.

It was a great show!

The opening was wonderful. Lots and lots of people, delicious food that never ran out and live music. Looking at the video I wish I was taller (short even with very high heels) and a better conversationalist, but I loved meeting the students and other attendees. Everyone else seemed to enjoy themselves too.
Thank you to the art students who took the video. They did a great job, I did the sloppy editing. While I am thanking: thank you to everyone who came to the opening, Blue Water Bay for the food, SFCC for being the host and Jayne Grant for coordinating it all. Jayne did a great job hanging the show, I was pleased with the way it flowed and that I actually filled the gallery. What a relief!
If you liked Soul Passages you can buy a print here: http://swaziaid.org/makersunited/Gallery.php
Also I have prints available at the Melrose Bay Gallery in Melrose.

Anticipation

I have been more excited and anxious this week than I anticipated. I am not generally a very social person and do not like being the center of attention. I can see why famous artists might have gone a little crazy when they became popular. As an artist, I am focused on the work and putting it out there, not me as a person. But now that I have taken the week to get used to the idea, I am looking forward to the evening. I love to talk about art. That is what I have enjoyed about doing art fairs. And the positive feed back is quite a rush. Friends that I know and volunteer with at church and in art organizations are coming. So I can see another reason it pays to get out of the studio and make contacts, you have someone to share in your celebrations.
Everyone whom I talk to seems very excited about coming. I was trying to figure out why I have more people wanting to attend this event than some others like art fairs. I guess the free food and music is a nice incentive. I hope people are not disappointed that it is a lot of works that have been shown before. I am glad that I have the writings that go with all the paintings to unveil, that is all new. When I do another big show in the future, I would love it to be all new works. But I went to a friend's show this past Summer that was a mixture of old and new works and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to see all of the works together in one place and in a nice space. So for the next post I will let you know how it goes. Unfortunately, I hear it thundering outside. I hope that will not dampen the attendance too much.

Show Information

The reason why the show is called Painted Dreams is because the best way I can describe my painting process is to compare it to dreaming. You do not decide exactly what will happen in a dream, it emerges from your thoughts, concerns and experiences. Forms and sometimes narratives emerge from my painting process, as well. I do not do preliminary sketches or studies, images appear from my layering, textures and gesture marks. Although I work intuitively, I intend for my paintings to focus on the positive and bring beauty into the world.

As with dreams, my paintings have recurring symbols one of which is a bird. To me, birds symbolize freedom because of their flight, nurturing and love because of their frailty and joy from their song. For this exhibit I am doing something I have never done before. And that is write a short poetic statement about each piece to put into words my thoughts and feelings about what developed in the painting. These words are often as ambiguous as the paintings and still leave viewers room to form their own interpretations. They are free to dream also.

Please come to the opening reception. There will be tasty edibles, live jazz and imaginative paintings. A feast for the senses and mind.

To Plan or Not to Plan

Today
Well, I am finally discovering that if I plan the direction of a painting that it takes longer to paint it than if I work with out a set plan. It is a revelation for me because I thought I was somehow making things easier by having a plan. With a plan, I do guarantee that I will have a better composition in the end but the process is not as satisfying. When I did California Poppies I made some shapes for composition, had some vague ideas of color and how I wanted to work the media but the imagery and subject matter developed toward the end of the process. A delight for me. Of course if it doesn't come together then it is very discouraging but if it works, it is elation. With Tree of Life I keep revising the colors, the marks and the media. It feels two inches thick. I have done this before, just when I think "okay it is going to work" and I make plans to send it somewhere, then it falls apart and I have to bring it back. Yesterday, I took a picture of it to post and discovered it looked worse than the last post and I thought it was surely done. Last night, I worked on the tree again, I felt it needed more outline marks to make the whole painting come together. In the previous version, I was trying to take the emphasis off of the tree and put it back on the atmosphere imagery around the tree. Too much thinking. I have been working on this since early August,ugh. But now it must be done, the show opening is just days away.
Yesterday

Blogs, Can anyone help?

I am very excited about the new possibilities that blogs are giving artists to reach an audience. For instance Blogger just made it really easy to add video, so I am going to try that. I want to post some video of opening night. I am also trying Feed Blitz so people can sign up to get email updates when I make a new post on my blog. I would love to connect more with readers, it would be motivating. Although blogging helps me even if no one is reading because when I need to write an art statement or talk about a particular painting I am ready. I have already figured it out in my blog.
Though I feel like a foreign tourist in a country where I do not know the language with these blogging features. I don't know how to change the look of the email sign up or exactly how it is all going to work. But I figure dive in and maybe I will learn to swim.

Tree of Life

I am working on this large 48" x 36" painting for the show. I am happy that it is turning out because I think this larger piece will break up the space in the gallery and look nice with my mostly medium to small works. I was somewhat formulaic with this piece because I really wanted to finish it in time for the show. I did not plan what the images would be around the tree but I began drawing stain glass type shapes around the tree and then "found" animals etc... while painting. It is quite monochromatic in color scheme but I think it needs to be so that it is not too busy. This photo is on the yellow side, I will take another one when it is finished.

Show Title Type

Wow, the middle of August. I think time is on fast forward.
I spent a lot of time on the type for the publicity material for the show. I think typography is like metal working for jewelry. You can continually sand and polish or quit at many various stages in the process.

Another combo.

I think it is between this one and the one on the top of the next set of three.

Pushing it

Getting Ready

As a graphic designer, I am really interested in designing the wall and poster type for the show. Here are some type treatments that I am considering. Which one do you like?
I can't believe there is just one month left to get everything ready for the show. The postcards need to be designed soon so they can be printed and mailed. I am so glad my husband has been making frames early. I will have a lot of running around to do at the end of August to pick up artwork from different patrons and venues.
I understand what Gary Borse was talking about when he said he could not wait to get back to the easel after his big show was over at the Capitol in Tallahassee.

Logistics

We are really getting into the logistics of the show now: making labels, filling out insurance forms, hiring a caterer, etc... My husband and I are making frames for the remainder of my unframed pieces. A corner clamp from www.woodworkers.com is wonderful but working in our hot, un-airconditioned Florida garage is not.
I am still hoping to do a couple of new pieces but I don't know if I will have time. Especially with my older son out of school and camp.
I have been thinking of Matisse and how his figures are immersed with nature. Many times the environment in his paintings are just as important as the figures. They all are vital parts of the composition. I can't wait to work in that direction. When I get time again.

Writing on the Painting

I have been writing short sentences to go with all of the paintings for the upcoming show. I am really more excited about that aspect of the show than any other. I have never done any creative writing beyond elementary school so I feel like a folk artist in that respect. I don't know if I am making obvious mistakes or not. Ignorance is bliss I guess. I am really curious how people are going to react to them. When my husband read one, he said "what does that mean?" and started making interpretations I never thought of. I think that is a good sign the writings match my art, ambiguous. Getting out of my comfort zone and entering the unknown is making the show more exciting and fun. If I ever get bored showing my art, I will have to remember to try something really different for me such as sculpture.

Poppies

This is the latest painting that I am working on and I feel that it represents a breakthrough. After looking at Chagall's and Odilon Redon's work, I wanted colors to stay in their own areas in the painting. The placement of the colors is forming the composition and is not dictated by the imagery and forms. I am also resisting the urge to disperse the colors equally over the painting. I still want to work more with the yellow areas and the small flowers but keep them soft and distant.

Internationl Exhibition

The online catalogue for the 10th international acrylic society exhibition is now at the following address: http://www.isap-usa.com/isapinternational/
My painting is in the galleries under Artists A-B
I was so happy to be juried into this show especially since I have been getting a lot of rejection letters lately. Gainesville is a competitive town for artists.

Man by the Sea

This painting did not flow from beginning to end like the last two small ones did. I ruined the colors making them too light and dark and then had to wash and sand them off and bring the forms back. What is amazing is how many sail boats and faces started appearing. That mystery of the creative process and how something develops never stops intriguing me. But as a painting I don't think the composition and color is as strong as in the last two. And I wonder if people will stop to see all that is hidden in this painting.

Free to Run

I really enjoyed showing for the art walk this past Friday night.
I am happy with this little painting too.

Island Shell

Composition - I feel like I am moving into a positive direction with compositions. I am starting with shapes of color and gesture marks to define spaces unlike before when I was starting with splashes of paint and texture.
Mediums - I haven't mastered where I want to go using the different acrylic mediums. I want the pieces to have thin washed areas and thick grainy areas like mixed media work. I used to be better at this than I am doing now, I would work a lot of wet into wet and wash everything off if it got to heavy. I would also use paper collage and stamping techniques. I am being too heavy handed with a brush now and getting that thick plastic look acrylics can have.
Color - I am happy letting colors stay in their areas of the painting. I once thought that all the colors had to be spread over the entire painting to unify it. So for instance a big face can be blue on one side and red on one side and yellow on the top to relate to its area of the painting not a face that is all blue with red shadows throughout and yellow highlights. So for this Island Shell painting, I started moving the yellow green around the painting but resisted the urge to put the white in another area and the teal in other areas. I guess it really is a matter of not over working.
Writings - I started writing short sentences to go with my paintings for the show. It is fun and comes really easy and fast. For some, I think a little bit about what I was feeling and thinking about at the time of the painting. For others it is just my interpretation of the image. It seems the more ambiguous the painting the easier it is to write for them. Making my nonlinear dreamscape type of compositions seem more valid. This is the writing for this piece: "The hot tropical night anticipates treasures for tomorrow."

photo by Sam Carr