In Progress, Nearly Finished, and Complete

Respiration (Work in Progress)
Watercolor and graphite on paper
3' x 4'

Breathe (Work in Progress)
Watercolor, acrylic, wax crayon and graphite  with collage on paper
3' x 4'

Goat with Fishes
Watercolor, acrylic, wax crayon and graphite  with collage on paper
3' x 4'

Return from the Paperdoll Hiatus and Works in Progress

June 16, 2012

After a much needed break from the paperdoll a day project, I am returning to making them.  I'd love feedback on subjects for these dolls.  Please email me your ideas or leave them in the comment section.  If I use your idea I'll give you credit.  The doll idea for today is from Rosemary C, who in addition to being a family friend from New Jersey attended art school with me in Philadelphia.

Mule (WIP)

The images above and below are two larger paintings that I am currently working on in the studio.  I feel like I have a split personality when I think about them.  Mule is close to complete and is very sparse and simple.  Goat with Fishes is a completely different story.  This painting feels "ugly" to me but I am compelled to be near it.  While Mule is only watercolor on En Tout Cas paper, Goat with Fishes is seems to be every media I have on my work table on bits of salvage paper.  Stay tuned.

Goat with Fish (WIP)

Studio Peek

Goose WIP (June 1, 2012)

Goat with Fish WIP (June 10, 2012)

Here is the same painting wall with the distance of a week and two days.  I work in a variety of media but the "formal" medium that I feel I belong to is watercolor.  The catch is that I like to work large.  Long ago I began buy large rolls of watercolor paper and started tacking it to the wall.  This allowed me to address the paper as if it were like canvas.

The most pesky problem with works on paper is that after they are complete, they are usually just raw paper unlike images on canvas and stretchers.  At my most recent shows at Sylvia Kania Gallery and Gelato Fiasco, my paintings were just tacked to the wall.  Sometimes this works but it does present a problem of durability.  I have also experimented with mounting the watercolors to board structures, framing them with large Japanese joinery frames in plexiglass and hanging them using rods (as if they were tapestries.)  All have both pros and cons.  The cons haven't ever seemed to deterred me from painting only occasionally limited where I can exhibit what (which is usually the last thing on my mind when creating an image).

 Since my watercolors are on the larger side, those cute little watercolor palettes don't really cut it.  To be sure I have about four or five other palettes of various sizes lurking throughout my studio.  However, the window tends to be the best "sandbox."

 I have two walls on which to paint in this studio.  The largest I am able to create currently (on a single sheet of paper) is 5 feet wide by about 7 feet high.  I had a lovely space many years ago in Philadelphia where I was able to create images that were 8 or 9 feet high by 15 feet wide.  The issue with paintings that big is twofold: 1 where will I hang this after I painted it? and 2 where do I store this behemoth?

 These two tables offer more flat space.  The red table is where I usually make small collages and paperdolls.  The table in the forefront doubles as a sewing machine table and can roll around.  It also has a glass top that offers itself as a makeshift light-table...pretty sneaky.

 These are my two dogs.  The black dog is on my back screen porch with acts as a extension to the studio in the warmer months and storage for some stuff in the colder months.  Very useful.

Maine has the most incredible light.   In addition I am blessed to live on a beautiful piece of land that is filled with lovely plants and creatures.  This fills my imagination and feeds me (literally (I have a very large garden and a greenhouse) and figuratively).

Thanks for stopping by!

Versatile Blog Award

Yvonne recently nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award.  I'm not exactly sure what it is or what magic wishes it entitles me to but it allowed me to find out about both her "Zentangles" and her birds.  I love her birds.  So, thank you, Yvonne, both for nominating me and for making those birds!


There are rules for this award thingy. So, here are the rules for the Versatile Blog Award:

                

• Thank the person who gave you this award. 
• Include a link to Their blog.
• Next, select 5 blogs / bloggers That you've recently discovered or follow REGULARLY.
• Those nominate 5 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
• Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

Here are the 5 blogs that I'd like to nominate:

1. Took over at Fraught with Meaning...I do believe she tries to post something about her art process everyday and she makes some wonderful creatures.

2. Sebastian over at Acts of Random Art often gets in trouble for drawing with chalk on trash cans and I love that.  Also he "catches" street art at its finest among many other things.

3. Michael at Skybridge Studios creates fantastic collages that have a lovely dry humor.

4. Papergirl Zagreb founded by Aisha asks for folks to send art that can be rolled up, archives the art on her blog, then randomly gives the art to people in Zagreb.  Love this democratic distribution of art.

5. And finally Tomasz has Simple Observations.  These almost daily photographs are lovely bits of the world.  Snapshots of places that are.

An Yvonne here are the seven things about me:

1. I love digging in the dirt and planting things.  My husband built me a greenhouse last summer and it is one of my favorite places in the universe.

2. I love the smell of watercolors and have to refrain from licking the paint.

3.  I have two dogs, four cats and a flock of theoretical goats and metaphysical chicken (the goats and chickens live in my mind because I would be too scared for them in the wintertime and would probably bring them all in the house.)

4. I have been with my husband longer than I have not been with him.  He is my best friend.

5. We (my husband and I) have a very cheeky 11 year old daughter who is right now playing the piano.

6. I often draw my dreams.  My drawings often scare me.  Then I have nightmare about my drawings and I have to draw the nightmares.  It is quite a loop.

7. I love roses and tomatoes and plant both whenever I can.  I would like a rose and tomato infused perfume.

Namaste.

Birds and Other Ponderings

My favorite aunt called me “Bird” as a child (still does in fact).  Perhaps this alone is not enough reason to create the amount of bird related imagery that I do, but this is the reason that always pops into my head.

Regardless of the reason, I make a lot of birds.  Real birds that I have actually seen outside.  Imaginary birds that flutter into my dreams.  Birds that demand to be perched on the page.

This grouping of works on view at Gelato Fiasco is about a sense of humor in art as well.  The goose painting is of the African Goose that my father had on his farm in New Jersey.  He named this goose Zeus.  Zeus the Goose.  I often put jokes and puns in my art wherever I can. I hope you enjoy them if you find them.  More importantly, I hope you enjoy my art.

Remiss: May's end of bird paperdolls

May 29, 2012

May 30, 2012

May 31, 2012