Untitled in Progress

"Untitled"

36"H by 48"W, on canvas. 

(click for enlargement)

I had been working on this background on and off for more than a year before I realized what I needed to put on top of it. Some paintings are a struggle, but once I started painting the figure, I instantly knew that that was what it needed. A little more work in the shadows and some on the face and hair, and it will be done, except for the title, which I plan to settle eventually. 

Commuter

"Commuter"

11"H by 8.5"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

I really enjoy small figures. Breaking down the forms into simple blocks of color, flattening some areas, using the viewer's knowledge and empathy to fill in details, that's what I love about little things.

Mine and Yours

"Mine and Yours"

48"H by 36"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This painting is 36"x48", and went to the California State Fair this year. It won an award of Merit, and more importantly, represents a new path for me. Having it hanging in my space while I work doesn't slow my process on other paintings, it serves to inspire me.  I am in love again with the human figure. 

Studio Ruminations

This past weekend I resolved to create enough new art to fill my walls again.
Open Studios sees a lot of people that seem to be familiar with the studio complex and the artists inside, and some of them have seen my work three or four times. So it looks a little lazy to have so many pieces that are older than a year.
Time to make some stuff.

In Progress: Ex-Latte Six, Seven, and Eight

"Ex-Latte Six, Seven, Eight"

8"H by 6"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

 Began this by drawing on some panels a couple of Saturdays ago. Blocked in the background and shadows quickly, and they'll need more fine tuning.

"Ex-Latte Six, Seven, Eight"

8"H by 6"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This is after three hours of work. It needs a little help where some of the spaces between planes are, as they're still devoid of paint. 

In Progress: Cleft

"Cleft"
30"H by 20"W on Silver Mylar
(click for enlargement)

This was started last night at Kaleid's Two-Buck Tuesdays, where I like to paint live in front of people. Unlike the last two paintings I did while I was at that event, this one isn't even close to being done, because as I got more involved with the painting of it, I realized that I really needed to treat this carefully and not just jot it down as a sketch as I did with the last two.

Lately I've been doing quite a lot with the shoes, and it's not that I'm less infatuated with them, but I think my attraction to them might be more about gendered objects and the concept of what is appropriate in masculine and feminine roles.  The notion that an inanimate object can be assigned a gender is intriguing to me because it can leave a lot of room to play with innuendo and still remain comfortably within the genre of "still life." Above, in the painting "Cleft," we're looking at an ordinary garden hose bisecting a shiny purple bow. What it means isn't nearly as important as what the viewer believes it represents. 

Float

"Float"
36"H by 24"W on Matte Media Dura-Lar
(click for enlargement)

This was my second live painting session at Kaleid Gallery, and went pretty well. In less than three hours I was able to paint a new stack. I really love the surface I was painting on. It's a large sheet of matte dura-lar that has been glued to a piece of gator board that had the greenish pattern stenciled on it. The only problem now is that I'm out of boards and matte sheets.

Pigeon Toes

"Pigeon Toes"
36"H by 24"W on Matte Media Dura-Lar
(click for enlargement)

This is a very poor quality photo of an exceptional quality painting, so I do have some apologies on that account, but since my computer has recently been taken apart and reassembled with a new operating system and less programs, it is the best that I can do for now.

This painting was completed in less than three hours. I had a fantastic time at a live-painting session, and I seem to be one of the rare breed of painters who can speak at the same time that they are painting, provided they've pre-mixed their colors and aren't too attached to the outcome. Basically, what this process has told me is that I need to move my studio outside onto the sidewalk where I can jabber incessantly at passerby and drink as much coffee as I'm able. What a wonderful recipe for success.

I'm updating with a photo of the piece in a frame.

Progress to Completion: Bad Luck Girls

"Bad Luck Girls"

36"H by 36"W, on canvas. 

(click for enlargement)

This is something I've started over the past weekend. If you look closely you'll see a discoloration in the surface, especially in the left side. That is because I have used acrylic matte medium to laminate four pieces of paper onto a canvas so that I could continue my drawing all the way out to the edges. Some of the matte medium has gotten on to the surface but it doesn't seem to affect the way the charcoal rubs onto it at all.

So far, work on the paintings in the studio is phenomenally slow, but I've been reassured by several people that it's to be expected so soon after having a baby. I have a play pen all set up, waiting for the day when he will tolerate being put down with some toys while I work. 


I've decided to keep updating this post with my progress. After four hours of painting, I've got this:

(click for enlargement)

Acrylic! For a brief moment with my napthanol red, I thought "Wow, just like my oils. This isn't at all hard." Sadly, the only reason the paint felt thicker and more buttery is because I've had the tube for five years. Once I moved to other colors it seemed thin and watery, so I'm thinking of getting a tub of heavy gel medium and seeing if that helps to compensate for the lack of texture. Maybe Golden's OPEN line will be more like what I'm used to. It's on my Christmas list.

Here it is after six hours of work:

(click for enlargement)

The lavender shoe at the top right seems badly drawn right now. I will come back to it after I get all the shoes blocked in. At this point all my concerns are about the technical aspects of the painting, and later, when I'm wrapping it up, I'll start to think about it as an art object, rather than something I'm working on.

I really should throw out my tube of cobalt blue. For one, I suspect it has actual cobalt in it, which is a toxin. But I'm stubborn, and despite a texture like blue plastic cottage cheese, I painted the blue satin shoes. Not nearly as finished, but at least they're blocked in.

Here's the completed piece:

(click for enlargement)

I have varnished this piece so it is incredibly difficult to photograph without having some light bounce off the surface.  I named it Bad Luck Girls primarily because of the open umbrella that served as the background to the still life. Also, there are thirteen shoes depicted in it, although one is incredibly hard to spot. 

In Progress: Ex-Latte Five

"Ex-Latte Five"

7"H by 5"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

I painted this in acrylic just this past Sunday and found myself really enjoying the experience, which surprised me.  I've had a set of acrylics for about five years, but rarely found myself using them, and when I did I painted very thinly and didn't experiment with any mediums. Well, if I want to paint in an manner which is at all similar to my way of applying oils, I'd better learn to slather it on like butter. The trick is to go a lot faster than I normally would. This painting has just an hour invested in it. There couldn't be more- the paint dried on the palette really quickly.

So far I feel successful. However, this is still unfinished even though what is left is just minor detailing. Mixing the same color for a specific area may be the most difficult thing to do in acrylics as the paint darkens and changes as it dries. When I took a class which used acrylic paint in the past, that feature of the medium was a source of constant frustration. I'll take another whack at it this coming Sunday (still not renaming this blog "One Day a Week" despite the reality), and see what develops.

In Progress: Light the Floor

"Light the Floor"

20"H by 16"W, on canvas. 

(click for enlargement)

This is my first serious acrylic painting since a little experimentation in school. I decided to begin by mixing black and white gesso to work out the initial values in the underpainting. So far, I really do like the medium but I do have a little problem with judging the drying time with the colors.

When I shot the photo I'm using as my reference for this painting, I was in an abandoned house in Mississippi. Painting the window with the same energetic pale spring greens that saturate that landscape seems the most likely. Interestingly, this was the first property where I had physical problems with getting around from room to room, and not because of the amount of refuse. The floor, while holding together amazingly well in most places, had some precarious soft spots where water had been dripping for decades. 

In Progress: Retired

"Retired"
36"H by 36"W, on canvas.
(click for enlargement)

This painting began with a doodle on a post-it note, just a simple composition study with areas of positive and negative space. I've painted some problematic areas several times and as with most things that aren't based on my own photography, I'm having a difficult time figuring out whether I'm done or not. At the moment it seems like there's too many neutral and cool grays.

This is my last oil painting, at least for a little while. I took a two-month break from the oils and all of a sudden I can smell the mediums and thinners, and I hadn't been able to detect the odor since I was in school. Frighteningly, I was also unable to smell them while pregnant. I wore a mask while painting, but I still didn't smell anything while in the studio. So in the interest of my baby's health and my own, I'm packing the oils away for a little bit. 

Hiatus

I have a very good little reason for not being very productive lately, and his name is Simon Stark Black.

(click for enlargement)

He's two and a half months old at the moment, and while he lets me sleep most nights, he certainly isn't ready to be introduced to the art studio. Painting had slowed down quite a bit even before his arrival, but now I'm in the studio very rarely. I should rename this blog "One Day a Week".

Website Down

My site is down temporarily as I change hosting and do a little bit of redesigning. The URL is still correct.

Chatter

"Chatter"

48"H by 48"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This is being taken to the State Fair this Saturday for delivery to their Fine Art Competition. Here is the accompanying Artist Statement:

"With my paintings I explore the accessories of modern life, directly confronting consumerism and the link between identity and material possessions. In this work, I have made a study of the artifacts of material culture, diffused and tangled in a treacherous jumble of repetitive colors and familiar shapes."

It may not be the best that I've ever written, but it is short, and I felt that that was important. I didn't want to get the reader too bogged down by elaborating on ownership, culture, totems, self-worth, and femininity. 


6.5 in Gold

"6.5 in Gold"

11"H by 8.5"W, on wet media Dura-Lar. 

(click for enlargement)

This was done quickly with a favorite shoe as my model. I can't actually wear most of the shoes I've been painting, and this one in particular is so absurdly tiny that it should be relegated to the world of doll shoes. However, the label on the sole insists that this is sized six and a half.

I was invited to a contest put on by the makers of Dura-Lar film, and this is completed on their media. It is a very unusual surface to paint on; the brush seems to pull differently, as though the clear media were quite absorbent. The fact that I can paint on both sides of the surface was fun and liberating. It's a good thing that I have several more sheets to use up, but I am a little confused about how to handle the artwork once it dries. It seems to dislike tape, so I'm not sure a conventional mounting in a matt or frame will work.

Noema

"Noema"

30"H by 48"W, on canvas. 

(click for enlargement)

I very nearly sent this to the California state fair without a title. Now I'm playing the waiting game, hoping to hear back before the 15th, when the competition literature said results would be published. It's a huge relief to have it completed.

Lily the Pug

"Lily"

11"H by 8.5"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This was finished a few weeks ago but I forgot to post it, and the unframed version of this photo was unfortunately corrupted by a memory card error. 

Pugs really do have some of the most enthusiastic and dedicated owners I've ever met, and it's seldom that I meet a dog of this breed that isn't sociable. As a commission, this was an enjoyable experience. I do experience a lot of anxiety over arrangments and custom paintings, mostly because if I'm creating for a specific person or audience I stop being able to be happy with the piece of art- and I seldom can tell if and when I'm finished. However, this one was straightforward and easy to paint, and when the buyer approved without any corrections I found myself hungry to do more of these.

Of course, the other two dog paintings I've started are not progressing so easily. At least I can put them off until the 22nd, when the State Fair deadline is officially up.

In Progress: Untitled 3 (shoes)

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"

48"H by 48"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This behemoth of a work has to be done by the 22nd of this month in order to be eligible for this year's State Fair Fine Art Competition. Unfortunately I'm still grappling with major revisions to my initial composition, which can be seen in earlier entries- the initial photo scrap can be seen here.

It's not the biggest work I've ever done, but it is probably the largest one to feature so much detail. There's very little resting space for the eye and the entire work is intended to be high in contrast. As a result, I can work on it closely, and back away about twenty feet to evaluate what I've done, but medium distance is difficult because there are so many areas that distract from the area I'm attempting to focus on. I've considered placing paper over some areas to keep it from distracting me, but because I tend to work all at once on my reds, grays, blues, etc., I need to be able to move from one area to the next quickly.

I've given a lot of thought to the titles for these shoe works, and nothing I've generated or heard has really stuck to the idea wall. Ferreting out a title is an arduous process, especially since "Shoes" strikes me as being far too simplistic.

In Progress: Untitled (Mantle)

"Untitled (Mantle)"

16"H by 20"W, on canvas. 

(click for enlargement)

 

 

A quick start on a painting is easy for me and often makes me think I should slow down. The corner of my studio is filled with false starts and paintings that have failed to hold my interest for more than a few hours of painting. With this piece, I thumbnailed only twice before drawing directly on the canvas. A wooden stick helped me lay my perspective lines, and I started painting the base layers of color.

At this point I feel it necessary to address that my work is diverging into a lot of different areas. Perhaps it's a bad habit left over from art school, but I always want more than one body of work to whittle away at. Of course, I'm not sure it's really a bad habit- painting as much as I can on as many bodies of work means that I'll have a diverse portfolio for different audiences to see. On the other hand, it would be so nice to be able to present twenty shoe paintings to a gallery in San Francisco this year or next, instead of in 2015.