Spring search for inspiration

This year in New Hampshire, winter threatened to never leave.
So last month (March), after discovering optimistic bargain bouquets of daffodils at Trader Joe's, and  while the snow was still two feet deep on the ground, we took a drive out to Marlborough, MA to browse the Paradise City arts and crafts show.  I've been getting their catalogs since our arrival in New England and wanted to see for myself.  The $13 admission price got you relatively accomodating parking, live music, a pleasant indoor climate (compared to the arctic temperatures of the Big E in Springfield last winter!), and 175 juried artists.

I knew from the brochure that these were professional artists and craftspeople.  I also expected the work and the prices to be relatively "high end."  I was not disappointed.  (I didn't even look at the multitude of artisan jewelers! This wasn't your homegrown church bazaar (with no offense intended to "church lady crafters.)

The first booth that caught my eye was Dale Rogers .  He is known locally for his dog sculptures, so the cardinals were new to me. I'm glad I looked at his website because he's done more than just dogs and cardinals.  But since his works are welded Cor-Ten steel, he doesn't schlep them around that much. His studio is just down the road from us in Haverhill.

 These turned wood pieces are by Warren Vienneau. I hadn't seen ikebana style vases of wood before.  I liked the vases AND the arrangements.

 Another creation and idea that was un-thought of before was making books into purses.  As a former librarian, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this... but I also know how many books are sitting in dusty corners getting moldy for no good reason.  Whose to say that handles, clasps and braids aren't a good trade off for pages what aren't going to be read anyway?  These are by Kathleen Scranton.  She even provides a "paper cover" version of the book that the cover came from!

 Barbara Lee Seligman produced arresting mixed media pieces that included crochet work added to layers of fabric and painting.  She is an artist member of the Attleboro Art Museum and has exhibited at Wellesley.  Otherwise she seems to have a remarkably small web presence!

 Juliana Boyd's work blew me away.  I can hardly wait to get (more) needlefelting needles and start stabbing!  Her company is  Growler and Renard, named after fictitious characters from stories her father told when she was a child. The animals are bas-relief, but made of wool roving affixed to tapestry material by poking it with a fish-hooked needle.

 Wouldn't you love having this little fox keep you company?

 The woman painting dots (and her husband) was friendly and easy going.  Regrettably, I can't find her card, nor can I figure from the PC brochure, which was her booth.  If you are the artist or know her name, please let me know so I can give her credit.

 I had never seen a chess set made from spools.  I thought it was just a LOT of painting and daubing.  The artist was totally un-phased.

 And then there were goats.  And kids. By Roger Ditarando. "Weatherproof, non ferrous scrap metals."  Definitely out of my price range.  But I would love to have them frolicking on my front lawn! He does herons, bird baths and gates, too.

So the season of art fairs is coming up.  I hope to get to lots of them... and that they don't ALL have admission fees.

Twice in One Day!

I gave myself a treat last week (when it was NOT snowing!) and visited two favorite galleries.  

The George Marshall Store Gallery was actually in the middle of taking down their Winter Invitational exhibit, but the charming curator, Mary Harding, was there and turned the lights on for me.  Based on the gallery's website, I missed some wonderful paintings.  But look at the ones I DID see!  (Apologies for those paintings which are unattributed.  Sometimes I just get too excited to be a good documentarian.)

Brett Gamache

Lower:  Todd Bezold

Madeleine Hopkins

 I think Madeleine's way with a palette knife is amazing-- sometimes it's water, or rocks or trees.  She definitely recognizes the shapes of the colors.

Lower:  Madeleine Hopkins

Man with Ice Chipper ( Michael Stasiuk)

 I laughed out loud when I saw Stasiuk's Bunny on Bobsled.  Apparently he teaches, does theater sets and likes to teach children.  What a great sense of whimsy.

Gail Spaien

 I can't find this painting paired up with an artist's name.  What attracted me was the way he/she painted the spaces"between" the tree branches-- thus revealing the back ground AND the trees themselves.  Kind of mind boggling.

Amy Brnger "Winter Roses"

 The range of pinks and reds in this... fabulous.

I hope to make THIS into a painting of my own.

And this one, too. 

The Newburyport Art Association is pretty much "on the way home" from York, Maine.  So I stopped into see their Members Juried Show, Part 1.  Just to prove what a small world it is, the curator from The George Marshall Store gallery was the juror for NAA!  I love that they displayed HER criteria for judging.

Cara Gonier (award for Acrylic painting)

Janet MacLeod

 Janet sat behind me in MY first ever pastel class.  Obviously, she's been at it a while longer!!

Janet Macleod (award for Pastel)

Jay McCarthy (Photography)

 I'm quite sure the brick building was digitally enhanced... but I liked the graphic quality and the apparently endless variety of details in all those windows!  I must be a peeping Tom at heart. (At least a little)

Jack Fowler (Photography...)

  looked SO much like watercolor to me

Madeleine Hopkins (award for Acrylic)

Jan Roy (an abstraction of a cathedral in Novgorod)

 I have a friend back in Plano who does abstract mixed media paintings of buildings in India.  This Russian scene reminded me of her.

Lisa Baumwagner

Don't you wonder just a little how a Blue Goat with a scarlet "glow" can still seem so realistic?

Easel Peasel

I am gaining on my goal to paint (or at least sketch) everyday.  Although some days, the late night news is already on before I get to the easel.

This image is based on a picture I took at dusk while still living in Texas..  Trust me, that tree is the only big one around for miles!  This isn't finished yet... as I want it a lot more atmospheric; dreamy and mysterious.

Comments and suggestions encouraged.  I.e., HELP!

There is a house in our town that I think has that new kind of paint that changes color depending on the way the light hits it.  Most days it seems to be two different colors of lavender.  Others it is blue and darker blue.  As is the custom, it still has winter wreaths and bows on every window.

 

I mis-judged the ground AND the underpainting,  thinking that with so much green and purple, complimentary undertones would be a good thing.  WRONG IN THIS CASE!! 
My husband's comments were very helpful in getting me to (at least) add more darks in order to get a sense of depth (it had been even flatter looking at an earlier stage).  Never the less, the mustardy atmosphere reminds me more of smoggy Southern California in the 50's than frigid, crisp New Hampshire in 2014.

And it would have been nice if I had ACTUALLY fixed the perspective on the house.  The facade IS supposed to be at a slight angle to the picture plane... but the way I've painted it, it looks like it is leaning toward Vermont.

Just so you don't think I am toooo much of a perfectionist, I AM happy with the development of multiple kinds of marks, strokes and smudges.
It's always something.

Through the miracle of photoshop, the picture below is closer to the tone I'd hoped to achieve.  Maybe this will be another piece that I totally scrub off and use for something else!

PS:  Thanks to Karen Margolis for the tips on how to put "snowflakes" in your pastels.  THAT part worked pretty well.

Kind of a production

Two years ago, in a fit of enthusiasm, I copies a dozen of my favorite paintings (sheep mostly) and made a calendar as a gift for a few supportive friends.

Then I moved 1800 miles away, and find I haven't made as many friends as I left behind, and am not all that sure of who would WANT a calendar with art from yours truly.

It's printed on 8 1/2"  x 11" card stock, spiral bound, with a hole punched for convenient hanging.

Each page has a large, color reproduction of some of my art, a quote, a Sunday-Saturday calendar and notice of major holidays, equinoxes and daylight savings time.


Since I'm not printing thousands of them and don't have off-shore elves, you can have your very own for $15.00.

Let me know if you'd like one!








You can send your $15 via paypal to: 4dana(at)airmail(dot)net

or use that email to send me your mailing address... and I will provide mine if you want to mail a check.

Pastel Class VI

I don't know if I am "improving" with the soft pastels or not, but I AM relaxing and having more fun.

Today I was careful not to just use my index finger for blending so my pointer isn't painful.  AND I wore finger cots on all the fingers of my right hand,so my nails don't look like I've been homeless for a month.

The instructor commented, "It's all about the barn."  

Or possibly the colors.  I find it interesting that when you really overwhelm the frame with a simple shape, it DOES take over.  I may have to mess with the grass some more, as it looks awfully "regular."  Have you ever seen a yellow barn in real life?Last post you saw the sheets to which I applied coarse pumice gesso.  I colored it a deep gray-purple and then surprised it with this bright barn.  I really like the rough look and how the colors over lay each other.  said they were probably clinging to the paper for dear life. 9x12

A Local Artist

This anatomically incorrect crow is definitely a work-in-progress.  This paper was gessoed with the coarse pumice, too... but with a larger ratio of plain gesso.  It was much easier to slather on.

Nevertheless, I have NO idea where his legs belong!  Will do research and then wee about rearranging his/her center of gravity!  Being an artist is a wee bit like playing God sometimes.  You can create something and then change it, and then sometimes it takes off on its own.  This fellow isn't going anywhere yet.

  

The class is beginning to get to know each other better.  This woman, whose pieces are SO dreamy/misty/foggy and soft was telling us about all the places she had lived during her THIRTY years teaching math and physics in the Middle East. Cairo, Beirut, and many places that seemed very exotic.  Turns out that another student's husband was raised in that part of the world because his dad taught in ARAMCO schools.  That student only visited and apparently felt out of step much of the time.

The instructor and I thought that Oslo would be exotic enough for us.

And it turns out that another student in the class is also a psychologist/psychotherapist.  She trained in expressive art therapy, but realized that she had to go back to school for a more robust credential.  As usual, some classmates thought they were doomed having therapists in the class.  I tried to reassure them that THERAPISTS DON'T JUDGE, but my colleague just laughed and said, "Right!  Like we're not human."

We did agree that we don't judge in public.

The instructor's building is getting more solid.  Although we agreed that structurally, there's some unlikely stuff going on.

 

Less Dust, More Space and Gaining Ground

 I could hardly believe it when I came back upstairs from the basement.  I'd spent three hours cleaning up, cutting paper and gessoing more paper. I must have been  having fun!

First I scraped the oil skins off of my glass palette, then I coralled paint tubes, brushes and palette knives into various bins and baskets.

Then I realigned my music collection, coralled my (relatively small) collection of RF paint sticks, and put my brushes away.  (There are two which are going to need the hot vinegar treatment.  Sigh.)

Next I gathered my courage and mixed up some Coarse Pumice Gel and blue and red Acrylic paint to see if it was really possible to make one's own "sanded" paper for pastel painting.  The jury is out because they have to fully dry first.
However, I think it's going to work.  I now have a 9x12 sheet of almost purple sanded Strathmore watercolor paper.  For that one I used just Gel and paint.

 For the next three sheets I mixed the Golden Coarse Pumice Gel with gesso as well as acrylic paint.  I now have a sheet that is fairly blue, somewhat green and barely buff. I am SO glad I have an offset handled HUGE palette knife to spread the grit with.  If you hate the fingernail/blackboard combination, you probably wouldn't like making your own ground!  Scritch. Scratch. Which reminds me that I'll be needing more finger cot protectors soon.  :-) No need to get blisters from painting.  A stiff neck is bad enough.

When I went to Art Supplies Wholesale, I also bought two whole sheets of Wallis Sanded paper.  I cut each sheet into 4 9x12 pieces. 

 My poor oil painting of a house on a hill must be feeling forlorn and abandoned!  My eyes certainly saw it in a new lite after solely looking at dreamy, smudgy pastels for a month!

The best news is that the easel and "studio" space are ready for me whether I want to paint with oils OR pastels.

And the hyacinth and daffodil bulbs are still waiting to be buried planted.  If it is dry tomorrow, maybe it'll all happen.