Thirty inch square series continues

Just finished another painting in my latest 30x30 series. Very happy with it.



Here is a detail.

As I teacher, I've been learning

Teaching art is interesting, in that you learn as much as (probably more than) you teach. There is a remarkable interplay between what you assign your students in the classroom and what you are doing in your own studio.

In my watercolor class this morning, the assignment was to paint four copies of Edward Weston's photograph of a"Pepper" -- one in a light value color, one in a dark value color, one using warm colors, and one using cool colors.

Since I didn't have an example to show the students of how to paint the warm color version, I decided to make one while they were working on the one-color interpretations. So I made this painting:



I thought it was interesting to realize that I had such ease in painting this example because I've been working with warm colors in my own paintings lately (latest work, shown below). Even though the subject matter and styles are different between the assignment and my latest series, the colors are the same, and the methods of creating three-dimensional illusions are the same!!

Spray on

Switching gears from the bright works on paper of Friday night, I turned my garage into a spray booth today, and made the spray-painted painting, below (acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 30" H x 20" W".



I haven't used spray-paint in my paintings in a while, years in fact, because the fumes are so noxious in my studio, even wearing a respirator, running two box fans, and with the door to the outside opened. But I can't get these terrific flat patterns any other way!

So today I opened the two garage windows, backed the car into the driveway, and started spraying! It seems to work out fine, fume-wise. Obviously the whole process would be easier if I could just wait until a sunny spring day and work outdoors, but I'm way too impatient to wait three months for that.

Also I spray-painted designs onto sheer white fabric today, and my next step is to cut them up and collage them onto canvas.

Starting tomorrow I'll be teaching five days a week for the next 14 weeks, so I probably won't be able to continue to be this prolific. I think it was anticipation of this new schedule that I was so determined to get a lot done this weekend!

First paintings of 2011!

My first efforts of the New Year are starting to emerge!

Here's a piece I finished yesterday (acrylic on canvas, 30 by 30 inches):




I also made this painting at the same time. I'm not as happy with it, and yet it has something going on that intrigues me ...




When I make a painting, I draw lines on the canvas with paint extruded through plastic bottles, then lay down a sheet of paper and roll over it with a brayer, so that the lines of wet paint spread out. This leaves me with, not only my canvas, but also a white sheet of paper covered with white lines, the perfect surface on which to play with color! I had collected a pile of these pages, so last night I decided to try painting on them, and this is what resulted. Each one is acrylic on paper, 30" H x 22" W.











2011 is off to a rockin' start!

Grabbing the brush in 2011

I am excited about my studio plans for the New Year. There are five distinct directions I would like to explore, each represented by an older painting that I loved when I first made it, but didn't have a chance to develop into a series. Here are each of the directions, with an example of the painting that inspired it:

Series 1: The first direction I'd like to pursue is exemplified by the painting below, "Twist." I made this painting in 2002, by spray-painting lines on sheer white cloth, then cutting out shapes and gluing them onto a white canvas. Because both the cloth and the canvas are white, the color in the sprayed lines pops out and the lines seem to float.



The work below, "Shard," also from 2002, is one of the best paintings I've ever made. It was made with the same process, only this time the cloth and the canvas were brown, and the marks were made with white spray-paint. For some reason (which I hope I can remember, so I can duplicate the effect!), the lines cracked as they dried, making an interesting pattern. I also used smaller circles than in "Twist," so the individual lines didn't show as much.



I have new cans of spray paint, and yards of cheap curtain fabric from Savers, all ready to go.

Series 2: I loved the following painting, "Undersea 1," when I first made it in Fall 2009. I was very happy when it sold very quickly in February, but it meant I didn't really have a chance to develop a series like this. So I'd like to revisit the idea of a dark background with two layers of white lines and some washy layers applied on top, creating a sense of deep space, on a square format.



This time, rather than use blues, I'm going to use a series of yellows, oranges, and warm browns, as in "Desert 3," below, which I made last summer. I really love the color scheme here.



Series 3: I also loved the "Wintergreen" series of 3 paintings I made last year ("Wintergreen 2" is pictured below). This idea of horizontal bands of lines/stripes in contrasting colors and sharp edges really appeals to me, so I'll be making more like this but exploring different color schemes.



Series 4: I made the work below, "Waterways," for an invitational exhibit at the New Bedford Art Museum in 2006. Artists were asked to create a work inspired by an assigned artifact, which gave us a chance to try something different. I loved the result, but haven't had a chance to work it into a variety of directions: different colors, maybe four lines on a square format ... we'll see.



Series 5: And finally, I loved this painting I made for a benefit exhibit at the New Art Center in Newton last month, titled "Wine Lines." I like the format, the combination of materials, and the variation of dark on light and light on dark. I'd like to play more with this, using different colors.



So I'm looking forward to seeing where these ideas lead! If there's one thing I've learned about being an artist, it's that your work never turns out the way you expect it to ...

A visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

My husband and I visit Richmond every year in January, to celebrate a late Christmas with family members. Fortunately they are art enthusiasts who enjoy taking us to view various exhibits during our trips. We haven’t been able to visit the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for some time, partly because their facilities have been closed for renovation and, sadly, because family illnesses and transitions have required our attention during our visits in recent years.

But this year, all systems were GO for our trip to the museum, and I was looking forward to seeing the new building. I was not prepared, however, for one of the most impressive and rewarding museum visits I can ever remember having.

The building itself is tremendous (see above). The architecture is sleek and elegant, designed in a way that complements the 19th century structures nearby. The interiors are spacious and inviting, with warm-toned marble walls and carefully spaced courtyards and lobbies. The gallery layouts are well-considered too; in the 20th-century-art rooms, for example, the various creative movements are distinctly separated but arranged with care, so that the viewer has a sense of how the periods are both unique and interrelated. The well-written wall documentation provides facts that inform but do not overwhelm the viewer.

I was especially impressed by the show of Sally Mann’s photographs in the Special Exhibition gallery. This exhibit included examples from all of Mann’s series since the 1970s, but was hung in a non-chronological way that revealed the various turns and connections her ideas have made over the years. Here again, the wall blurbs were informative and stimulating without overwhelming the visual experience. (I’ve noticed at the MFA in Boston, for example, that I read their ceiling-to-floor wall documentation and start to feel a little bit like “get on with the art, already.”)

I was also very excited by the galleries showing 21st-century art. It seems clear that 21st-century artists are individuals who are “doing their own thing,” taking notice of the past but not in a way that boxes them into a “movement,” as in the 20th century. I left feeling inspired as an artist and, as a viewer, very excited about the art world in the present, and certainly for the future.

Of course I needed to visit old favorites and take a few touristy shots. I posed in front of a Franz Kline (below) and my husband posed in front of a James Rosenquist. (Yes, we did receive weird looks from the security guards. But as the museum’s stated policy is to allow non-flash shots, we went ahead and said, “Hi, Mom!” to the camera.)



One work in particular that stood out to me was “Fast Track Home” (below), a piece made in 1999 by an artist I had never heard of before, Willie Cole. Cole created the pattern on the canvas by scorching the surface with a hot iron. Different heat settings or lengths of time held against the canvas created a range of browns. Once you know the technique, it is easy to discern the triangular shape of the iron’s base. But the intricate pattern Cole created, and the artwork’s references to female identity and history, among other things, take the work far beyond technical considerations.



I was walking on air when we left (which we did only because the museum was closing, not because we were ready to leave!), and am excited to make the museum a planned part of our annual Virginia visits.

All photos in this post taken by my husband, Kevin Seward.

Deborah Bohnert's Art/Life Project

Just when I thought Deborah Bohnert couldn't get any cooler ...

Deborah Bohnert is a Boston-area artist whom I have long admired, and whose work I have long enjoyed. Imagine my pleasure when, in September 2009, she asked me to participate in her "Art/Life Project." All I had to do to participate was to accept a wonderful artwork of hers, any one that I chose, for free. I answered YES without a moment's hesitation!

That was cool enough. Then, about a year ago, Deb asked if I would write a statement for the Art/Life Project. Again, easy as pie for me to do, since I love her work.

And finally, today, when I opened my mailbox just now, things got EVEN COOLER. Deb has collected the statements from all the fortunate recipients of her artwork through the Art/Life Project and compiled them, along with images of the artworks each of us selected, into a book! She sent me a copy, and I was thrilled to receive it.

Thank you, Deb, so much for including me in your project! Like all of your artwork, this one has a concept that's original, inspiring, and that hints at many wonderful things beyond its physical materials (including the gift of giving and the measureless worth of visual beauty).

Here's the cover of her book, illustrated by the artwork chosen by one of the project recipients, Carl Belz:



And here is the back cover:



Here is the statement I contributed, and the painting I chose:





And here is the painting hanging on the wall in my bedroom, which I presented in a blog post in November:



What an inspiring way to start the New Year! I feel like one lucky art-lover.

Looking back, looking forward

Good-bye, 2010!

As one of those people who tends to forge ahead and forget to look back and appreciate what I’ve accomplished, I want to make sure and take note of what a wonderful year 2010 was.

The most important thing about 2010 was that I painted and painted and painted. I learned a lot technically and gained more range of expression, particularly through exploration of color and format. I also came to a greater understanding of what it means to develop a strong statement through a cohesive body of work.

I am proud and grateful to have sold six paintings this year.

I am also thrilled to have exhibited my work in four shows during 2010. In particular, three of my works were chosen for exhibit at the U.S. Embassy in Oman. Also, I was in a two-person show at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, MA (image above is from this event); a six-person show at Bristol Community College in Fall River; and a five-person show at Jules Place in Boston.

I had a chance for self-reflection this year after some not-so-rewarding events of 2010. I thought I had been hired for a three-painting commission project, then found out that the collectors had changed their minds. This made me question my interest in doing commissions at all, which turned out to be a learning experience in what I am and am not willing to do as an artist.

I also was turned down for a number of the grants and shows I applied for. After 14 years as a professional artist, those rejection letters still sting! But as artist friends are quick to remind me, you have to “get back on the horse” and keep applying for these opportunities, or you’ll never secure them.

As far as my “day job,” teaching, I believe that I accomplished a lot this year. I taught 5 graduate-level professional development courses for art teachers, 3 adult education courses, 5 courses to high-school students, and 3 college courses. All of these classes gave me the opportunity to share the knowledge I’ve gleaned in my many years of painting, as well as allowed me to pay the bills! I am truly thankful to have a job I love, one that grows with me as I grow. After many years of hating what I did for a living (mostly secretarial work), I don’t take this gift lightly.

Now I can charge ahead! I have quite a number of “irons in the fire” for possible shows and sales in 2011. I am excited at the prospect of seeing them come to fruition.

This seems like a good time to thank the readers of my blog! I have received so many supportive comments, this year and in the nearly 4 years I have been blogging, from those who take the time to read my writing. I truly appreciate your attention and feedback. I also thank the folks who link my blog on their blog or website. It certainly brings me more readers, and that’s a good thing!

Here’s wishing you a very HAPPY 2011! May it bring all you are hoping for.