I sold a piece!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

portrait

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

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

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

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

Check out this article at Utne.com.

Two pieces 12 x 12" each

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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