Claudine Metrick

We're moving!

2010-04-11T02:06:00.000-07:00

blog content that is. I have long struggled with passing out the name of my blog to interested persons. Try penning the words "a still life" and you'll see what I mean. So rather than worry that people will never be able to correctly enter my url into their navigation bar, I have set up a site with a more accessible name. Blogger has facilitated the move of all the current blog content and future posts will only be uploaded to that site. It is easy to remember, and has the added bonus of already being printed on my business cards! Enjoy. http://www.claudine-metrick.blogspot.com/

New drawings

2010-03-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

12 x 12" charcoal on Arches

approx. 20 x 16" ink, charcoal and yarn on Arches

20 x 20" charcoal, acrylic, and yarn on Arches

I began these pieces in our Friday studio class. I am trying to combine the image of the bird with the stitching that I began last semester.

New painting

2010-03-15T07:30:00.001-07:00

I started a series of roosters in acrylic paint. These pieces are 24 x 24" and going very well. I felt so relieved to be working with paint that dries quickly. I am able to lay on a color and a mark then restate it immediately if I want. There are still some technical issues I would like to resolve with the paint; i.e. it seemingly flattens when it dries. But I am well on my way to figuring that out with some new mediums and natural bristle brushes. I apologize, the color in the photo posted above is a little off. I will repost photos in a couple of weeks when the series is finished.

Natura closed last Friday. We were sad to take it down, but the feedback we got was overwhelmingly positive. Thanks to everyone who attended and offered encouragement.

New exhibit and classes

2010-03-01T14:57:00.000-08:00

Natura is up in New Bedford and it looks great. Artist Mellissa Morris and I were down there today organizing and hanging the show. We decided to hang our works in pairs - one of her small encaustic landscapes with my slightly larger bird studies in oils. I am posting photos below. The work will be on exhibit until March 12th from 9 -4 Monday through Saturday at 715 Purchase St. New Bedford, MA.

This summer I will be teaching another introductory oil painting workshop at the Brookline Arts Center. It's a great thing to do on a summer night and typically the class sizes are modest giving me lots of time to interact with students. If you know anyone in the area looking to add a little art to their lives, let them know about the course. The class will run on Tuesday nights from 6:30 until 9:30 pm beginning June 29 - and ending August 10. The catalog will be out soon and I will post an update on registration when I know more.

Below are photos from the current Natura exhibit.

Just begun today

2010-02-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

I should likely resist the urge to post photos such as this one which are not entirely in focus. But I can't. I began this in the studio today in hopes of doing something slightly less demanding than a painting. It was cloudy and rainy outside and I simply didn't have the energy to worry about color. As I develop this piece, I plan to use some actual stitching into the ball of thread at the bottom right.

New ground

2010-02-24T04:32:00.000-08:00

I have already put in more work on this painting changing it from how it is pictured here. I am working with a new ground on my panels in order to get the oil paint to handle better, and I am pleased with the results. My next challenge is to find a good recipe for size that will allow me to work on paper so that I can combine some of my stitching work with these painted images of birds.

Museum visit

2010-02-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

Pat Steir, Kyoto Chrysanthemum, woodcut

I'm going to the RISD museum to see their new exhibition of Pat Steir's drawings this weekend - very exciting. There are lots of events and talks lined up in conjunction with the showing. I'm also hoping to photograph the Graduate Drawing Show now hanging in New Bedford and get some shots online.

Birds from life

2010-01-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

I think I have photographed all of the studies I painted last quarter - finally! They are photographed but not entirely edited. Here are posts of the few that are complete. The actual pieces are quite small - no more than 12 inches in any direction; and they are rather gritty. The series is an exercise in quick observation and risk. I chose to make either a dark or a light painting and spent little more than an hour attacking the articulation of the form of the bird and the surrounding space. I intend to keep on with these as a way to push my ability to manipulate the paint. I think the winter break is going to help me get further in my painting of the atmosphere around the birds. I feel refreshed.

More white drawings

2010-01-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Holiday Hiatus

2010-01-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

The blog has lain dormant for a few weeks now as I finished up with end of the semester reviews and took a break for the Holidays. School is still not back in session, but the studio in New Bedford is calling me; and I thought it would be a good way to start getting back to it by posting some images of work still unseen.

two wrens, 20 x 30, oil and collage on panel

rooster, 12 x 12, oil on panel

owls, 24 x 12, oil sketch on panel

I sold a piece!

2009-12-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

The Miniature Masterpiece show opened last Friday at the Guyer Barn in Hyannis. There was a short review of the show written up in the local paper. And I sold a piece. Check it out if you're looking for a unique holiday gift.

Working from life

2009-12-10T04:43:00.000-08:00

When the blackbird flew out of sight,

It marked the edge

Of one of many circles.

-Wallace Stevens, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

I began a series of short paintings from life. I am working with stuffed birds that the school had stored in the basement of the fine arts building. The two examples above happen to be a few of the light paintings I am making. The majority of the work is very dark and rough looking, but it hasn't photographed well yet.

Images of grad studio

2009-12-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give you an idea of where I go everyday to spend my time painting. The top image is a good portion of the paintings I've produced in the second half of the fall semester. And the bottom image is a good shot of the studio with my recent works on paper hanging over the sewing machine.

I found this wonderful link

2009-11-17T05:45:00.001-08:00

for artist Ke-Sook Lee (click on her name at the left). She is working with thread on paper and using many of the same ideas and materials as I am in my new body of work - tea, doilies, domesticity. Check it out.

New works on paper

2009-11-17T04:59:00.000-08:00

I have been developing a new body of works on paper in graduate school. Recently I had to photograph a few of them, and I have uploaded them in a link at the right under "portfolio" "new works on paper". Enjoy.

Solo exhibition next October

2009-11-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

I've just been invited to have a solo exhibit at the Guyer Barn next Fall. Thanks Mellisa!!! If you're planning to be in New England next fall consider taking a side trip to Hyannis.

Check out

2009-11-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

Mindy Bray's residency blog. She's in Aspen Colorado right now completing a ten week artist's residency at Anderson Ranch.

portrait

2009-11-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

Ira 24 x 18"

Figure drawing is not my favourite activity in grad school, but the result this day was particularly good. It was a product of circumstance. Ira is the only male model I've seen so far, and his physique is striking - "railish"ly thin. Just as the pose was beginning he snapped at one of our classmates for fussing over the heaters; and I was struck with the sense of his hawkish profile which I set about drawing.

small painting

2009-11-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

le morte 8 x 12"

One of the grad students noticed a dead creeper while on their way into the building. It is finding a second life in several different incarnations within the graduate program. I made this small sketch of a painting and a sculpture student is casting the little bird in bronze.

Two Painters Exhibit

2009-11-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

Don't forget, next Thursday is the opening for a collaborative exhibit involving the UMass painting department. Click on the link at the right for details.

Whiteness

2009-11-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

Here are two of the current series of drawings I am working on in grad school. So far there are near a dozen small stitched compositions. I am working with the khadi cotton rag paper, sewing, and doilies. I'll be posting more in the future!

Sickness and lace

2009-10-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

Check out this article at Utne.com.

Two pieces 12 x 12" each

2009-10-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

In an effort to organize some of the larger works I did before entering grad school I have made smaller paintings based on them. I looked at the large panel and focused on an area which had a strong composition. I then created a much smaller piece which pulled directly from that area. The resulting paintings are pictured first with the two original sources below.

My advisor thought

2009-10-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

The Two Thieves 22 x 22"

this was finished. I've only worked it for three hours!!! But like he said, "How long does it take to make a painting?" I may make some minor adjustments, but for the moment it is being set aside so I can consider what it needs.

Here is a photo

2009-10-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

of a painting I recently completed in the graduate studio. My advisor is encouraging me to rework a few large pieces I started last Spring and Summer and I must say, the results are encouraging. Here is an image of the piece previously, if you don't remember...
I actually cropped the painting using the table saw to cut the bottom 10 inches off both panels. I then worked to organize the space into larger movements of dark and light values. This idea is giving me a flexible framework with which to make paintings. There is a greater freedom to make choices when operating with simple guidelines.

The upcoming painting

2009-10-05T15:26:00.001-07:00

workshop at the Brookline Art Center is full. If you weren't able to join us, sign up for the next one in the winter. It runs on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 9:30 pm beginning January 21st and ending February 11th. If you're not in the area, there's still a chance to join us for a Color Workshop at the South Shore Art Center.

Here are photos

2009-09-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

of the remaining two drawings in the series of three that includes Spiral. I was focusing on simplifying the imagery and dealing only with the circles that have cropped up in earlier works like Heal/Hunger. I'm trying to convince myself that this is enough.

The other photos

2009-09-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

I took this morning are horrific. So I'll leave you with only this one as a hint about what I'm working on in the studio. This is a mixed media piece, ink, graphite, white out, acrylic paint, and conte on cotton rag paper that I've stitched together. It is about 16 x 20". I'm focusing on these circles right now and letting the art be simply about arranging them in and moving them through space. It feels like there's a lot more meaning behind it when I'm engaged in the process of drawing, but I am limiting myself to issues of form and space so that I can better make decisions about what to draw and how.

The Brookline Art Center

2009-09-13T16:30:00.001-07:00

workshop has been rescheduled. Classes will now begin on October 15th and run through November 5th. That's four weeks in total and I'm hoping we'll get to some good exercises on seeing and basic composition in that time. If you're free on Thursday nights and looking to learn, join us. Coming up next Friday is the evening dance performance and art exhibit, Circles, tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and the show begins at 8pm. If you're in Brighton that night and looking for great art and great dance, come on out.

I found

2009-09-07T05:41:00.001-07:00

some very exciting work online today. Check out Marko Velk and Alex Kanevsky.

Grad School...

2009-09-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

is beginning. There is a lot going on right now and most of it has to do with orientation and moving (again). The Newton Free Library show came down last Monday. I sold two pieces!!! And got some good positive feedback. Next Thursday I'm part of a group exhibition at UMass in New Bedford where one piece from all the new graduate students will be on display during their AHA! night artwalk. The following weekend it will be up to Boston where I will be showing with Jenna DeLuca and TS Hart at Circles a dance performance at the Boston University Theater. Come out and see the work or stay tuned. There are many more things in the works.

Thanks to everyone

2009-08-07T05:15:00.000-07:00

who made it out to Newton last night. It was a mellow turn out with a lot of support coming in via the web or the phone from places out West. Thank you to those well wishers who attended in spirit. Here are some photos of the gallery, the schmoozing and the hanging.

Lisa and Jenna helped me to arrange and hang the show which took six hours on Monday to sort out! Thank you ladies.

These two walls face each other and greet viewers as they enter the library inviting them to come into the gallery to view the rest of the show. I really love how these are arranged. I wouldn't have put this together by myself.

The three photos below are from the interior of the gallery itself. It's a gorgeous space, very large, with picture windows at the far end letting in good natural light. I think we struck just the right balance with this exhibit giving the work ample visual room to breathe.

There was a lot of interest and great feedback. If you haven't had a chance to see the work yet, the show will remain on display until Aug. 30. Click here for hours and directions.

The solo show is up...

2009-08-05T05:04:00.000-07:00

and the opening reception is this Thursday.

Flutter, at the Newton Free Library from Aug 4 - 30

Opening reception Thursday from 7 - 8:30pm.

I had help arranging and hanging the show and the input I received has it looking phenomenal. Come check it out.

Member's registration

2009-07-23T11:40:00.001-07:00

has begun at the Brookline Art Center. I'll be teaching fall and winter workshops in oil painting Thursdays from 6:30 to 9:30. These are a great introduction to the media and a short time committment. Come join us and sharpen you skills.

Fall classes

2009-07-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

are being sorted out at the moment. I just received word that I'll be running a four week color workshop at the South Shore Art Center. The course runs 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday from Oct 17th through November 7th. Students are welcome to work in both oil or acrylic and we will dissect subject matter with my favourite device - color! The workshop is a short four week commitment, reasonably priced, and held in beautiful seaside Cohasset, Massachusetts. Come join us!

The link is posted under the classes and workshops listing on the right and once the Art Center uploads their catalogue, I will link directly to it.

The Brookline Art Center

2009-07-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

class is going great. And I'm tinkering with the idea of uploading samples of student work. You can peruse all the great things we do before deciding to come join us! Classes will continue in the fall for a shorter 5 week term.

Check out

2009-07-08T04:53:00.000-07:00

the current edition of Artscope for a listing for the upcoming solo show Flutter. There it is...in the back; no further..wait! Oh!...There. (I get excited about the little victories.)

All done

2009-07-06T12:35:00.001-07:00

I am going to put this aside for the moment. I'm happy with the developments that occurred since the June critique, and I believe it may be ready for August's show.

Untitled (as of yet) 48 x 36" diptych

2009-06-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Here is what I worked on through the end of May and early June. I finally really sanded down Darwin's finches sending buttons and beads flying from under the undulating power sander. It was sort of gleeful. I laid down a good medium toned gesso and am developing good contrast in this piece right from the start. The starlings were chosen for their notorious ubiquity returning to an idea that I like found in Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - the darker side of fecundity.

Getting some rust out

2009-06-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

This painting came to a screeching halt and was in dire need of feedback which it received today at the Joy St Studio critique. I think I had become too timid; and some of the simple ideas put forward really got me making choices again. I've introduced some larger compositional elements and am working on bringing up the contrast in my palette.

Online advertisement for the Newton Free Library Show

2009-06-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

I have been painting in the studio. It's just that so many other things are also happening in my life right now. I did find that the Newton Free Library has posted an image and information for my upcoming solo show in August. Check it out.

Calendar of Events

August 2009 Art Exhibits
GALLERY / AUGUST
Gallery: Flutter by Claudine Metrick, August 4-30Reception Thursday, August 6, 7:00 pm
Image by C. Metrick
Claudine Metrick’s paintings and ink drawings use conventions of both western and eastern sacred art. The Flutter series incorporates images of birds on wood panels with precious materials, including beads and food to evoke opulence and reference avian habits of collecting materials for nidification, and portray bird song either written in longhand notation or translated into visual bytes of Morse Code. Claudine Metrick graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a BFA in painting.

More work on my little drawing

2009-05-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a week or so since I've had good time to plug away on my art. And I think the break prompted me to look at this piece in a new way. I added four birds today by tracing an outline over a piece of carbon paper. I love the dark graphite like line this produces.

2009-05-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

I returned to this smaller piece that I began a few weeks ago. Happily most of the stand oil pours have dried and I was able to introduce more and develop the visual complexity of the layers. I wonder if these smaller pieces will continue in conjunction with my larger panels. In comparison they are almost secret little portraits - icons perhaps?...

12? x 24"

2009-05-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

I began this piece a few weeks ago with the intention of exploring color in my drawings. But then I put it down for quite a while as I began lacrimosa. Today I returned to it introducing some darker colors and expanding the palette. I've also started stitching the paper to create horizontal movement in the composition.

2009-05-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have been able to work often this week, and I am making headway with this painting. Yesterday I introduced some strong horizontal lines and I think I've hit upon a cohesion that was lacking in my last few oblong compositions. This piece particularly is really exploring mark. I've found a wide variety of ways to work with the paint here without becoming overwhelming.

Quiet morning in the studio

2009-05-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty tired after the long weekend at Brookline Open Studios, but it was a wonderful success. It's such a change for me to discuss my art with other people. I found the experience very refreshing.

This morning I spent a quiet hour or two in the studio. I began articulating a second bird in the upper right hand corner of this panel. Then as I grew tired of that I ventured into the abstract work on the rest of the panel. I've added beads, thin washes, goopy piles of pigment and stand oil and some interesting marks with oil stick and straight out of the tube.

2009-05-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

I've started articulating a bird! It's always an exciting point in a painting for me - creating the living subject.

Grad School

2009-04-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention anything because it was a whirlwind. But I'll be going to UMass Dartmouth next year!!! It looked like a great program with a balance between conceptual and traditional painting techniques. AND I may get to go along to Sicily for three weeks as a teaching assistant. Yea!!!

Lacrimosa 24 x 48"

2009-04-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you can't see this very well, but I have begun another large panel. This one has three crying finches on it. For the moment the birds are vehicles for autobiography - stories about my family and about illness. The subject seems more down to earth to me than earlier ideas about evolution; and I think there is a certain spiritual meditation going on here that will allow me to access and incorporate religious references. We'll see. I did my thinking and this is the path I am walking down right now. While I do it, I have to put the thinking aside and use my intuition instead. Stay tuned...

Improvements

2009-04-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Remember this one? It went from this....

to this..

Beginnings...

2009-04-22T04:42:00.001-07:00

Pulmonary: 11 x 14"

I sat down to work on this for two or three hours yesterday, and I'm getting a good start.

Pulmonary

2009-04-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

Pulmonary: 11 x 14"

Above is the first sketch of a new painting I am beginning. I am thinking of using the birds in the fashion of Mexican Catholic "milagros" - the word means "miracles" in Spanish. Small charms are fashioned from metal in the shape of ills or trials about which people may offer prayers to God. Small legs, ears, or even children are made to represent illness, disability, or the wish for a baby. I am thinking to introduce tiny beaded milagros on the bodies of the birds which indicate the ares where I pray for the health and safety of those I love. Perhaps capitalizing on the altar idea uncovered in this month's critique.

Buttons and finches

2009-04-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

Buttons and finches: 8 x 8"

Above is another variation on the sketch theme - a small painting where I can quickly play with an idea. I am deciding to sand down the larger Darwin's finches piece and instead am using the imagery of the finch heads in this smaller piece - perhaps to work out how best to employ them. This painting is borrowing from the more structured compositions of the earlier Warbler experiments when I worked with orzo and beans.

Sketch paintings

2009-04-21T05:49:00.000-07:00

I have been busy lately - too busy. But I am working in the studio as well as flying through my life and hanging on. Below are a series of small paintings wherein I have been working out ideas on abstraction and collage. You may recognize the last image as having been posted earlier. The other three are an expansion on the idea of brainstorming in beads and paint.

sketch 2: 6 x 6"

sketch 4: 5 x 5"

sketch 3: 5 x 5"

sketch 1: 6 x 6"

Fishing for show titles

2009-04-09T04:45:00.000-07:00

I'm just putting it out there, but it's time to start coming up with a title for my August solo show. And well, you know how well I do with titles...If I were a wordsmith, I would be a writer not a painter. So I'm looking for ideas. So far I'm considering "Songbirds". I expect to include the two large panels I completed recently - Hunger and Hope/Heal; as well as the four square bird paintings made during the fall - sparrow, oak warbler, chickadee, and house finch; and the small warbler project paintings with the pulses adhered to the panels. That will give you an idea of what you're naming...

Teeny tiny sketch painting 5 x 5"

2009-04-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

I bought a few small panels with the idea of working towards an installation painting, as I'll call it. (A series of small pieces installed on a wall in an organic arrangement.) But here I've used the panel to play and work out the new materials I am beginning to incorporate into my work. I'm smitten.

Amazing little embroideries

2009-04-03T04:49:00.000-07:00

I beginning to explore the possibilities of textiles in my paintings which makes stumbling upon these very exciting. I like the combination of materials; and the humor in the pieces makes them particularly fun.

Darwin's finches 48 x 24"

2009-04-02T07:17:00.001-07:00

This painting is not going well. And the more I work on it I believe that I am fighting the underlying grid I set up with the repeating pattern of birds heads. I have brainstormed lately about the concepts that interest me and I've come to some ideas about science and metaphysics that I would like to explore. The current piece Darwin's finches uses diagrams of the heads of finches that Darwin discovered in the Galapagos which led the development of the idea of evolution and natural selection. Thus far I am awkwardly bridging the gap between thought and it's visual expression; but I am sure after some more time and experimentation I will hit upon a good visual articulation of this idea. The painting is also unfolding quickly which is resulting in some muddying of the color. I am considering putting this aside for a while and allowing it to fully dry before reworking the piece.

Unfinished warbler

2009-03-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

Click here to find a wonderfully strange unfinished painitng of a bird I stumbled upon. The text is what makes it intriguing...

Hope

2009-03-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have tried to open up with this piece. I haven't built up the same layer of paint that is at work in the sister painting, but I am focusing on not letting that be a hindrance. I began tracing the sparrows in this painting then moving them around the composition and transferring them onto the surface of the painting with carbon paper. The result is a nice graphic outline of the birds hidden within the paintwork. They are a type of second generation image. I am also beginning to work with the birdsong. Birdsong came up at the Mass Art interview, and mention of it made me realize that I had yet to explore the attributes of the birds I was so keen on including in my work. So here I've taken the first portion of the Savannah Sparrow song tititi and transcribed it to Morse code, dash dot dash dot dash dot. It is sprinkled throughout the composition.

Maybe now it's called "Hunger"

2009-03-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the inexpertly Photoshopped image. It fell victim to my camera work and perhaps I should've reshot it, but I was eager to post the image online.

I had my grad school interview with Mass Art on Tues and it brought up some interesting issues for me concerning my work. It was suggested that I had not really achieved a dialogue or integration between my painted images and the abstract substrate of my paintings. And I agree. The birds are somehow seemingly superfluous. I am thinking on why I incorporate them and what I may be hoping to ask or investigate with them. Formally, I am beginning to allow the paint to violate the borders of the birds. I am also continuing to introduce new realistic elements throughout the entire process of the painting hoping that this will be a start to better integrating them into the many layers of mark. This piece was already on a trajectory to go "over the top" visually, but an issue that I voiced during the interview was that I was seeking to make my work opulent or gaudy. I know that I haven't quite pushed it as far as I can go - so here's my latest effort.

Hope 4' x 2'

2009-03-13T11:43:00.001-07:00

Heal

2009-03-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

2009-03-11T12:56:00.001-07:00

Can I pay someone to name my paintings?...Really. It's a task in which I feel I come up short.

So here is an Untitled piece which I began working on again today. It was very simple, I set aside four hours for painting and wrote the schedule in my day planner. And what do you know? I stuck to it!

The consensus in the critique was that this piece functioned really well albeit without a focal point. Previously I had given up on it not knowing where to go. And while we sat in the studio talking about it I realized it raised the question of complete abstraction for me. The background texture and complexities are really what concerned me most in making this painting. The birds were including through force of habit. I think I found a happy resolution to that situation today by taking the dive and painting out two of the birds; and developing the problem bird in the bottom right of the composition. I think this allowed me to fully explore the intricacies of the abstraction while creating a focal point. I'll take a few days break so that the heavy paint can dry and see what I think.

See the last photo of this painting that I posted here. (It's a bad photo, sorry.)

Panel no. 2; 4' x 2'

2009-03-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

I am already well beyond what is pictured above. I have fully articulated the third bird pictured here as only a drawing. And I began working with doilies to build texture and weight at the bottom of the composition. This panel is much drier than Heal and I am not sure if I will keep or lose that aspect. So far it feels neat, perhaps pastel. There is text throughout the work. They are phrases from a radio show I listened to while working. The show talked about various imaginings of the afterlife. The particular snippets I chose struck me as very poetic; "brief twinkling", "recycling of souls", "when your name is spoken for the last time".

Heal

2009-03-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

I worked in the studio last night which is unusual for me. I generally spend my days painting. But I think there is something to be said for the change in routine to shake things up. I went a little wild and began pressing stuff into the paint to affix it to the panel. I'll take a breather to see what I think, and if I like it, I plan to build it up more. For now there are some lengths of lace, a few buttons, and strands of thread dotting the picture. Perhaps like the materials a bird would use for a nest...

Heal, 4' x 2'

2009-03-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here's the first of the three two foot by four foot panels I am working on in the studio at the moment. I remember saying I was stuck when I began the last "sketch" Flutter. I suppose now I am considerably "unstuck". The painting is lurching and reeling towards something right now. It feels awkward, but positive. I am opening up to the possibilities of accident and mess and the grotesquely beautiful. When I told this to my husband, he mutely nodded and left the studio. I suppose he was confirming the "grotesquely beautiful" part (in the kindest possible way). No matter. I think I'm onto something.

Flutter 6 x 6"

2009-02-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much painting yet this year so I decided to take small steps. This was conceived of and begun as a sketch; but I am thrilled by the results. You may recognize the silver background from an earlier piece. I think I am putting it to better use here. By gluing the paper to the wood panel then peeling, scraping and sanding it away I created a weathered surface to begin painting upon.

Finished

2009-02-24T06:37:00.001-08:00

and ready for Thursday's critique. We'll see what kind of feedback I get, but for now I am putting this aside.

School update

2009-02-18T13:02:00.000-08:00

Mass Art gave me an interview!!!! Yea!

2009-02-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

I really like the progress I am making with this drawing. Currently I am using a white out pen to build a trail of white circles throughout the image. The resulting marks seem like cobwebs, but more importantly they are giving structure to the composition and strengthening the drawing. I am toying with titles for this piece and would appreciate input. The first word I like is "nourish" and I think it is captured by the addition of the embossed golden circles at the bird's feet - like seeds. The second word I like is "vesper". I love anything related to the Catholic church all that creepy, mystical, ritual...But these are Vesper Sparrows as well which we have in the marshes around Massachusetts. Any votes?

The Details

2009-02-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

I'm filling in the details on the birdies...

28 x 40"

2009-02-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

This is a drawing I've been sitting on for a week, but I'm very excited to be sharing it with you now. I think it is a good commingling of the various ideas I have been working through over the fall. I drew the gathering of birds then masked them off and began working with the ink. The masking fluid unfortunately pulled up all my pencil marks, but I suspected that might happen. I'll have to fill in the details on the birds again. I am working on a gorgeous and large piece of Khadi paper (a cotton rag paper handmade in India). It's 28 x 40" and so so thick it can just about stand up on its own.

Prana project #5

2009-02-06T12:54:00.002-08:00

Birdies in da Twees

Prana project #4

2009-02-06T12:54:00.001-08:00

Prana project #3

2009-02-06T12:53:00.001-08:00

More progress

2009-01-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

I am working to build up the darks and introduce movement in this composition. I am also working on a very small scale to build texture by creating the clusters of small circles.

phoenix 12 x 12"

2009-01-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

ink, stitching, watercolor and cutout on Khadi paper

New Drawing 22.5 x 30"

2009-01-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

Our breath became trees 8 x 8"

2009-01-23T06:17:00.002-08:00

Number 2 in the prana sketches began to resemble a winter landscape. So I capitalized on that.

Finished...14 x 28"

2009-01-23T06:17:00.001-08:00

I think. And hark, where are the birds. I was able to work up a really interesting surface in this piece and added only a little imagery - the gingko leaves. "Decorative" seems to be a four-letter idea in art; but I love treading that line. Is it working?

#1 8 x 8"

2009-01-22T08:15:00.001-08:00

I think this idea of Prana may occupy me for a while. Here is a small sketch where I played around with the idea of deliberately placing drops of ink on the surface rather than working in washes.

Prana

2009-01-20T13:05:00.001-08:00

I saw some great work done by my friend's primary school art students. She called them "breath" paintings. The concept of moving media with breath was so exciting I went to the market and bought myself some straws. Voila! I began creating this image by first blowing some light washes around the paper. I am also working with a metallic dry pigment which I hoped would behave more like glitter than it did. I used spray glue and the doilies as stencils then sifted the gold pigment onto the surface expecting it to only adhere to the adhesive. But it worked its way into the fiber of the paper. Not to worry though. Because of this I conversely had a happy accident. Once the adhesive dried it acted as a resist and I was able to expose the doilie by applying a light ink wash over the area - check the bottom right side of the page. Perhaps this is the start of a Prana series...

2009-01-16T10:34:00.000-08:00

I'm chugging along on this one.

2009-01-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a shot of the drawing before (on the right) and after (on the left). I really darkened it to its advantage I think.

Tying up loose ends

2009-01-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

I had time over the last three days to get some good work done in the studio. Some of what I am pursuing is playful, a way to experiment with new ideas; but I am also finishing some work as well as working back into older drawings that need attention.

Silver Silhouette 6 x 6" acrylic, cut out and paper mounted on panel

Botanical revisited 20 x 20" ink on Arches

acorn inklet 5 x 7" stitching and ink on Khadi

SOLD...

2009-01-14T17:35:00.001-08:00

Whoever said that thing about counting those unhatched chickens never met me...It's still not entirely a done deal, but -

I sold a piece from the Drawing Project, Yea!

Getting back on the horse

2009-01-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I've really had to give myself permission to make mistakes in order to coax myself back into the studio. I have had such a long break from regular work over the holidays with our two trips out of town, and the grad school application process is really a Herculean achievement that sort of hangs in my mind. As I thought about simply showing up this week, and primed myself for the week ahead I realized I need to be gentle with myself. "It's okay to make bad paintings...for now, just paint." Of course the work never goes badly, really. It's just the fear that you won't live up to your past which is paralyzing. And the permission to fail is a very powerful catalyst towards productivity.

The piece I am working on above was begun in December. It is the sister to the piece of wood upon which I painted "pretty bird". I have held off with the tight realistic renderings of the animals mostly due to aversion, but I think there is some benefit to it all. I have remained wide open to risk in the background of the painting because my investment of time and effort so far remains small.

Happy New Year to all of you and best of luck with whatever you are working towards this year.

Icarus 5 x 7"

2008-12-31T11:16:00.000-08:00

I played around with this sketch I started for the fundraiser and I really like the results!

2008-12-30T13:11:00.000-08:00

I promise, I checked the white balance when I photographed this. And it's still yellow!

I dug this out today after working on a new painting during the morning. I began adding the strands of circular marks right before I quit for the day. My last few drawings were too light. And here I am really trying to develop some good darks as well as some subtlety and depth in the darker values. But I am as of yet unsatisfied with the black color I get once the India ink dries.

sketches

2008-12-29T08:02:00.000-08:00

Pictured above are some small 5 x 7" inklets that I am working on for a fundraising event. The Foundry Art Centre's Off the Wall happens March 22- if you're in St. Charles, Missouri, check it out. You may snag some nice art for cheap.

Revisited

2008-12-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, yes. This exposure is horribly yellow. I'm lazy. It is in focus - a problem that I am slowly working out. It feels so good to get into the studio to work on something I know won't make it into the grad school portfolio. I feel so free (and happy). I had the thought to stitch some of the paper I have laying around. And while I was dragging it out, I happened upon some past failed drawings. I began ripping them with the idea of attaching them to fresh pieces of paper and beginning again. By ripping off either the left or right edge, I was left with the basic composition above, and I liked it so much I began working back into it. I think my older drawings are too light mostly because I felt I couldn't reverse the ink marks I was laying down on the white paper. But I am going for it...if I want to lighten up the darker areas I am creating I think I will collage some fresh paper into the piece. Ahhh, freedom.

Done

2008-12-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

Finishing up

2008-11-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

These two photos aren't stunningly sharp, but there is a heavy cloud cover today and just not enough light leaking into my studio. I am posting them to give you a general idea of the progress on these two works. I will upload better photos later.

I think this purple piece is finished. Strangely enough I sat down in the studio today and really felt as if I was haphazardly flinging paint - et voila! Perhaps the idea of "just getting on with it" really does get you somewhere.

Keeping with the "anything goes" vein, I am pushing this painting into new territory and allowing it to be ugly (which is making it look quite nice). I do tighten up too much. The little artist child inside me wants to throw paint and get messy. So I suppose now is as good a time as any. (Can I use anymore cliches in my entry...)

2008-11-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

The grad school portfolio has been chosen (for now) and is uploaded under the "twenty best images" link. Cross your fingers for me...

Updated photo

2008-11-13T12:08:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of the progress made on the current piece.

Another new painting 12 x 48"

2008-11-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

Here are the beginnings of the piece on the panels I recently cradled. Yes, this is a four foot tall painting that is only one foot wide. I am back to my oblong formats of yore. There is something I really like about visually composing on these stretched out fields. The paintings for me are becoming more about space. Can I create visual movement by depicting objects that seemingly move through the space of the picture plane? The gingko leaves in the smaller purple painting play across the picture and move the eye by undulating through the space. The leaves above are drifting through the composition and collecting in heaps along the base. In the piece above there is perhaps more direct evidence of the influence that the seasons and the surrounding natural world have upon my work. We relocated from the desert to Massachusetts this year and as spring progressed into summer I was fascinated with blossoms and leaves around me that I had never seen before. Now as the weather cools and we prepare for winter my work is taking notice of the change in the color of the foliage and of the motion of the falling leaves that float to the ground.

On another note, I have finished with the drawing project and posted the remaining pieces under the Drawing Project portfolio link to the right - 50 pieces in total. The last 8 drawings really broke with the original concept of the project as a drawing from something observable. Instead they more closely reflect what is happening in my larger ink pieces which is more abstract and self referential. It's possible that I will start a second project more in line with this way of drawing and on larger squares of paper. We shall see.

New Warbler painting 10 x 20"

2008-11-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

I have been working on this piece for a week or so now. I think the concept and aesthetic of the bird paintings is slowly being refined. I also began painting on the larger panels I recently made, and will post them when they develop more.

The last post of October

2008-10-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

I visited Home Depot on Monday and had wood cut for two oblong supports which I am excited to begin painting! I also completed another drawing in the daisie and doilie tradition - posted here.

I put in a little more work on the drawing posted below and uploaded it under the portfolio link. I also posted 6 new images in the Drawing Project album. Check them out!

Another show!

2008-10-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Warbler one and Warbler two will be showing at FUEL in Philadelphia from Dec 2 until the 28. Yea! Check out their website.