Art Girl

A New Body of Work

Ink wash portraits.  No pencil.  I work vertically and incorporate the drips into the work.

Various sizes.  Top three pieces range between 6x6 and 8x8 inches.  The last piece is 18x22".    

Moving Right Along

Georgetown Neighborhood Art Attack TONIGHT from 6-9pm.

And more work in transition...

From the Prescribed series.  I've moved from medication labels to medication chemical compounds to making each compound into an ink on paper brush stroke phrase.  I've installed 22 of the 100 research pieces I made in trying to work out one layer for the 3rd Prescribed piece.

Last photo is of 6 Lasts Long Time pieces.  They are finished.  Wax on kona nut Japanese paper.  From graves.

New Studio, New Body of Work

Since the stroke in 2000 I take a lot of medications.  In my daily reality, these help me be pleasant, sane, and reasonably reasonable.  I've been gathering all things to do with these drugs for a couple of years but the initial stages of visioning this self-portrait work eluded me until this month.  Two days before I got the keys for my new studio I thought of the first piece.  From top to bottom the pictures below show the evolution of this first piece.

Layer 1: arranged prescription stickers

Layer 2: lines, shapes in ink on tracing paper to size of canvas

Layer 3: (in 3rd picture on wall behind canvas on easel) gouche on tracing paper

Layer 4: oil & oil stick on canvas

Layer 5: (not shown) more oil

I'll take a less bleary picture this weekend.  Stay tuned for the process of the next piece!!

The Latest Landscapes

Both are almost finished.

My Latest Figure in Oil

New hard drive installed. Once again able to blog. Whew!

But, you know, I'm still moving so there will be blog post gaps.

In December a woman modeled for me. School always took precedence so only now am I able to spend the time required on this piece. Below are a series of pics showing the progression, the latest layer at the bottom. She's far from finished.

Reworking

Same Palouse painting I posted this morning but the other two I haven't mentioned in a few days. Here's my progress (sorry about the flash glare):

Finishing Some Paintings

Not quite done yet but really close. A few changes to each.

Woodstock Farm Magnolia and Stormy Summer on the Palouse.

Woodstock Farm

Today was my second day at this park this week. Both times I've taken paintings I began last summer and continued them this week. However today's painting is even more different to begin with. In the first image you'll see that the painting begun last summer is of a completely different place.

It contained two key elements and one bonus element at the start of today's painting session: blue sky and water and some trees.

As the afternoon ticked away it began to resemble what I saw in front of me. I'll finish it in the studio next week.

And a bit of a self-portrait....

Studio Time

Ohhhhh yessss. So so nice to have the studio to myself and my own work to do instead of assignments.

I began this commission painting:

And I began to finish this one I started last summer during my trip to the Palouse. My friend Andi wants to buy it from me so I better get it done!!!

Plein Air Premier!!

Ok, ok the only "first" about today was that is was my first time painting on location this summer. Super fun. Woodstock Farm with my buddy Margot. I had begun a painting there last summer and chose to work further on it today. Obviously some branches need to be added since leaf bunches don't usually hover over the trees.

Pre-Europe Piece #2

This piece goes forward in time from the first one (see yesterday's blog post). We've planned where we're going, have daydreams of what it'll be like, and are really intensely remembering why we're going. I don't want to explain the piece for good reasons except know that every mark and object in this piece is on purpose. The lightbox with the xray of my neck over it isn't installed yet so there's a hole. Double click on the images to enlarge them.

I Know

I need to update my blog more often. Between nursemaid and school starting, there hasn't been a lot of time for painting but alas there has been some!

I will acquire pics today of my pieces. Our digital camera has been in use. Wheelson has been the official stills photographer during the filming of the TV pilot for The Cody Rivers Show. Cool, huh?

Missing the Mark

So two of the three shows I was going to enter have minimum and maximum size requirements. My most professional piece to date, Blue Nude,

is too big at 50.5"x60.5". Obviously I'll enter it into the 3rd show without the size restrictions.

As I cleaned my palette from the working of the tinier Red Nude (shown in front of the gigantic Blue Nude), I decided to make this:

Ohhhh the Studio!

First time I have picked up a paintbrush in several months. Wow it felt good! I'll let some pictures do the talking...

Yes It's Dark, Yet the Studio Calls

I've been up since 4am, 'tis almost 6, so why not just head off to the studio since that's where I wanna be anyway?? Maybe just a few more warm minutes next to a warm body first...

When is Too Much, Too Much?

Oh my. So I'm waiting to hear from Gallery By the Bay about the four paintings I submitted Saturday. In the meantime I've been asked to donate a piece to the annual Gala and Auction for the Brain Injury Association of Washington by my former Rehab Medicine Doc, Kathy Bell. What an honor! That's in October.

I signed up today to show my paintings (and a few of Margot's) at a Fairhaven Salmon BBQ & Art Show (reminiscent of the 70's and 80's) on Saturday, September 15th. What if my four paintings get accepted into the other show? Then I can't sell/show them at the BBQ. So I'm racing to finish five more, just in case, since I'm a wishful-thinking kind of girl. I'm touching up my second choice to donate to the BIA in case my first choice for them gets into the first show. School starts in two weeks. And I need to start painting Christmas presents now! Not to mention there's a Gallery Walk that my studio's a part of on October 5th.

When it rains it pours, baby!

Here's a glimpse of some work I did today on some plein aire pieces from my trip that will be finished in the studio:

Almost there...

Here are the latest versions of 3 of the 4 pieces I'll submit Saturday for Brushes With the Land. Of course none of these are quite finished....yet.

And a bit of detail for this one....

In a Groove

Just like any other job, despite best laid plans, one never knows what the day will bring or even if it will be a productive one or not.

With a little breakfast under my belt I arrived at the studio around 10am. Entries are due two Saturdays from now for a local juried show, Brushes With the Land. I missed a similar opportunity last month. I'm determined to finish four landscapes and enter them in the competition/show!

Deciding which four pieces (I only looked at those I created this summer) to work on and enter became the first task.

I chose two from my recent trip to Moscow and two from around Bellingham earlier this summer. I based my decisions loosely on the following: Is the painting exciting or have the potential to be? If not exciting, beautiful in some way? Am I likely to finish the piece in time? Given my formula for pricing pieces (size & media), do I have enough of a variety?

I chose this one because of it's size (8x10") and how far along I am:

Oh my. Such a tease. I set my camera to take the highest quality digitial photos of the pieces I worked on yesterday. But Typepad just told me (the hard way) that it doesn't support the quality of photo taken.

Summary: I finished one painting and am 80% along with a second out of the four. GREAT painting day! However I didn't go to bed until 3am because I had to pick up Wheelson on a movie set where he is their still photographer. And I really don't feel like messing around with pictures right now. I'd rather sleep. You'll just have to anticipate the moment the universe comes together and those images are presented to you.

Gotta Scratch the Itch

Gottagettothestudionownowgogo. YespaintmmmmmmsmellthelinseedoilandOMSyummyyummy.

This picture sealed the deal. I'm going to the studio.

Off to Moscow!

Idaho, that is. A former home of mine and the town where Mom grew up. Margot and I set off tomorrow AM and I'm so excited to travel and paint with her and see my very good friends, Gretchen & Dean and many other folks from a former life.

Before I go, though, here are a few recent pics of the layers I've been adding to some of the summer's plein air pieces.

Paddle to Lummi, second piece, from the beginning of August. Just beginning to put in canoes and figures. Rather naive, I think, so must paint over again once it dries.

From the top of the Parkade looking Southwest onto GP (soon to be demolished) and out onto Lummi Island. I'm pleased with how it's progressing and feels 80% done.

The most recent piece, created Monday at Woodstock Farm. The fastest I've worked to date. Ignore the dead bugs scattered in the paint around the canvas. Dude! They fly into the paint and I have to wait until it dries to pull them off or I end up getting fingerprints in everything. I'm sorry they're dead.