When Is It Finished?

WIP - Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, 10"x8"

When Is It Finished?

I started this painting using my usual self-developed, non-approved method. When I got to this point in the process, I was taken with the feeling I get from it. So I stopped. It's probably finished. Unless it isn't, but I don't know that yet. Does this ever happen to you?

Open Studio - Today! 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Today is the second day of Open Studio Weekend here in Vermont. If you are in the area, please stop by! I am set up at Theresa Somerset's Precision Studio in Essex Junction. Come and see what we have been working on - Theresa has loads of exotic eggs decorated in the most amazing ways; I have lots of new paintings created using a variety of fun techniques and materials.

Portrait of Mom

Mom, Acrylic on Canvas, 10"x8"

Loose and Vibrant!

I have a natural tendency to go tight when I paint. So when I decided to experiment with portraits, I put in a lot of time figuring out how to do it in a painterly fashion (don't you just love that expression?). To that end, I violate pretty much every rule of portrait painting there is, but it works for me. This painting is from an old photo of my Mom.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Today's the day! Today and tomorrow, I will be at Theresa Somerset's studio in Essex Junction. I have lots of paintings and some works in progress on display so you can see what I have been up to. Theresa has all of her egg art (Pysanky) on display. If you have some time and are in the area, please stop by - we would love to see you!

P.S. We will also have lots of work for sale! Theresa accepts cash, checks and credit; I accept cash and checks.

Chain Link Fence

Chain Link Fence, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 7"x5"

Little Abstractions

I love making little abstract pieces. It's amazing how much can fit on a 5"x7" piece of paper. This one reminded me of an urban environment (for a country girl, an awful lot of my abstracts take on a city vibe.) The great thing about little pieces is that you can try something new without the commitment of time and money (materials) that a large piece requires. Thus, if it doesn't work out, you can just go on to the next one and try again. It's a great way to stretch.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Tomorrow is the day! Please join me and Theresa Somerset at her studio in Essex Junction, VT.  We will have loads of new work to show you.  Theresa has been working on some amazing techniques and has the eggs to prove it. I have been working on new painting techniques and subject matter, including abstraction, portraiture, and still life.

Mischievous

Mischievous, Acrylic on Mat Board, 10"x7"

Portraits!

I have been exploring the joys of portraiture for the last couple of years. I am especially interested in integrating looseness and abstraction into my portraits as a way to express the individuality and the personality of the person. This painting is of one of my long-departed aunts. She had a great sense of humor and could be counted on to do something completely unconventional and fun whenever she had a chance.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 25, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

If you are in our area this weekend, please stop by! I will be the guest artist at Theresa Somerset's Precision Studio (www.precisionartstudio.com) in Essex Junction, VT. 

Green Pear

Green Pear, Acrylic on Gessoboard, 6"x6"

Disappearing Images

One of things I like to experiment with is the boundary at which one does or does not have enough information to figure out what one is looking at. In this painting, the shadowed side of the pear disappears into the background while the lit side gives us the information that tells us what is going on. Because this pear does not have as many of the curves that a Bartlett pear would have, I needed a stem to provide the extra clue. It was a small thing, but in this case, necessary.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Stop in to see Theresa Somerset and I at her Precision Studio in Essex Junction, VT this weekend. Theresa will have all her eggs on display while I will be showing my recent paintings. Both of us will have work for sale - she accepts cash, checks, and credit; I accept just cash and checks. 

North Carolina Woman

North Carolina Woman, Acrylic and Collage on Watercolor Paper, 9"x10"

Collage and Portraiture

I created this painting in a class with Jean Pederson a year ago. I started with a collage, then added paint to create the portrait. As part of the class, we made the collage papers that we used in the paintings, made collages to paint onto, did life-drawing for the subject, and then combined all of those steps into a portrait.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

I will be a guest artist at Theresa Somerset's Precision Studio in Essex Junction, VT this weekend. If you are in the area, please stop by. We will each have lots of work out for everyone to enjoy. Theresa will be showing and explaining her wonderful egg art (Pysanky) and I will be there with lots of paintings and examples of the areas I am currently exploring .

Three Oranges

Three Oranges, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 10" x 9"

Working with Painting Knives

I did this painting a while ago but it is still one of my favorites. It was painted entirely with painting knives. It took me a while to get the hang of painting this way, but I discovered that I really like to do so. Plus I really like the look of the texture and the thick, rich colors. 

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Just a reminder - I will be a guest at Theresa Somerset's Precision Studio in Essex Junction, VT this weekend. Check out her website www.precisionartstudio.com. She will be showing her gorgeous egg art and the myriad techniques she used to create them.

I will be showing my abstracts, portraits, and knife paintings along with some of the techniques and subject areas I am currently exploring. Many of my paintings will be for sale - I will be accepting cash and checks.

Golden Textures

Golden Textures, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 22"x22"

More Wild and Crazy Textures

This is another painting created during Joan Fullerton's workshop. Using the same palette as the last piece, I added paste and stamping to create some raised areas that were then painted to create additional texture.  In this painting you can clearly see the variety of mark making that we engaged in - we used hard brayers, pencils, oil pastels, plastic cards, stencils, the cut off ends of paper towels rolls, and sticks from outdoors.

During the class, it was interesting to see how each of us divided our spaces, something that seemed to be instinctual for most of us and that differed by personality. My paintings all developed some kind of rectangular grid system; each painting was divided into boxes of various sizes. Other artists in the class had more organic, rounded areas, or didn't divide up their space at all.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26

Join me at Theresa Somerset's Precision Studio in Essex Junction, VT for Open Studio Weekend. I will have all of my latest work, including some works from my latest workshops. Plus, you get to see all of Theresa's gorgeous egg art - truly amazing! You can check out some of her work on her website: www.precisionartstudio.com.

Teal and Gold

Teal and Gold, Acrylic on Watercolor Paper, 22"x22"

Wild and Crazy Textures

This painting was done in Joan Fullerton's class in April. It is fairly large (22"x22") and uses a whole bunch of Joan's paint application techniques, many of which have wonderful names like the "Dangling Sleeve". (The dangling sleeve is a method that imitates the effects of inadvertently dragging your sleeve through an area of wet paint without the inconvenience of ruining your shirt.)

One of the ways she helped us get wonderful, all-over patterns and interest, was to turn the paper 90 degrees after each individual step. In that way, you would see the painting differently with each step, perhaps freeing you up to try something in an area that might otherwise get neglected. In this painting, I used only two colors plus black and white which helped keep everything unified.

Oom Daan

Oom Daan, Acrylic and Collage on Watercolor Paper, 10" x 9"

Collage and Portraiture

I started this painting while in a workshop with Jean Pederson last year. I started with a collage. Then I painted the portrait into the collage, using whatever elements worked and painting out the ones that did not. I then added more collage elements followed by still more paint. This painting still needs a little bit of work, mostly around the mouth and chin. In this painting, the collage papers are handmade - I used acid-free sketchbook paper and acrylic paint.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26

Open Studio Weekend is coming up fast! I will be a guest at Theresa Somerset's Precision Studio in Essex Junction, VT. Come see her gorgeous egg art and check out my latest artistic explorations while you are there.

Emerging

Emerging (Work in progress), Acrylic and Collage on Watercolor Paper, 22"x15"

Portraits and Abstracts - Oh My!

This is a sneak peek of a direction I want to explore further. I made this painting during my Joan Fullerton Workshop last month and I am really excited about it. It is not ready for prime time - I have some work to do around the mouth and lower face - but overall, I love the interplay of abstract elements with the features of the woman. I used a bunch of different techniques to get the colors and patterns. Loads of fun!

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26

I will be bringing my new explorations to Open Studio Weekend. It is a great opportunity to see work in progress and share new directions and inspirations. If you have a chance to stop by, please do! I will be set up at Theresa Somerset's studio in Essex Junction, VT. You will get to see Theresa's gorgeous egg art as well. Check out her website, too - www.precisionartstudio.com.

Interplay of Red and Gold

Interplay of Red and Gold, Acrylic and Collage on Watercolor Paper, 8"x8"

More Playing with Materials

This is the third in a trio of small paintings that I made at the Joan Fullerton workshop in April. In this painting, I used much thicker passages of the dominant colors against the warm background wash. Most of the color and textural elements from the other two paintings make an appearance here as well.

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26

Just a quick reminder that Open Studio Weekend is on Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. I will be a guest at Theresa Somerset's studio in Essex Junction, VT. If you are in town that weekend, I encourage you to stop by and see what we have been working on.

Window Screen

Window Screen, Acrylic and Collage on Watercolor Paper, 8"x8"

Playing with Materials

This painting is the second of three small abstracts that were painted at the same time using a common palette and materials. In this group of paintings, the dominant color is an Indian Yellow. I used Alizarin Crimson, White, Black, and Cadmium Red for the rest of the work. Then I added a turquoise oil pastel, a bit of Iridescent Copper and some collage elements for added punch.

Some of the techniques I used here are stamping, graded washes, collage, scribbling, and the "dangling sleeve."

Copper Block

Copper Block, Acrylic and collage on Watercolor Paper, 8"x8"

Open Studio Weekend - May 25 and 26

Open Studio Weekend is just around the corner. This year I will be setting up at Theresa Somerset's studio in Essex Junction, VT. She does amazing egg art using techniques and designs that she has developed as well as the traditional Pysanky designs. Please check out her website at www.precisionartstudio.com. I will be exhibiting still life works created using painting knives, abstract art, and portraiture.

Joan Fullerton Workshop

I  recently attended a one-week workshop with Joan Fullerton in North Carolina. She taught us the basics of her intuitive method for creating abstract works with or without a representational component. After showing us a bunch of different techniques for creating textures, shapes, and lines, we made a bunch of large and small paintings over five days.

This painting is one of a trio that were made with a common palette and materials - the intention was to make a group of paintings that would go together.