So Many Hues

January 2012

2012-01-29T13:41:00.000-05:00

"Deep Memory" 24 x 30 inches Encaustic/silk photo/paper

"Strolling Deeper" 24 x 30 inches Encasutic/silk/paper

"To Float A Little" 24 x 30 inches Encaustic/silk/paper

The new year has brought such promise. With my solo exhibit behind me, I'm back in the studio ready to work again. I started with three paintings that satisfy me on a deeper level than expected. The work is less abstract than when I last worked but the work seems to be for me transition images. Inspiration comes from many sources but I often find mine from reading Mary Oliver poetry. Along with poetry from many sources is the music of Zoe Keating. "Into the Trees" plays constantly as I dream and draw. I hope she records more music as I now own everything available.

New Paintings

2011-12-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

I surprised myself. At this time of the year I have always found it difficult to create anything in the studio but today I finished two paintings with a third already completed in a new series. Excavating, reducing, looking at the light.

Shallow Water
Encaustic on banana silk paper on wood panel

At The River
Encaustic on banana silk paper on wood panel

A Tribute to Bootsie

2011-11-29T08:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a sad day. We lost Bootsie. She had been with me for over thirteen years. A rescue cat she was already six months old when we got her from the Humane Society. They had rescued her from a dumpster. From the very beginning she was a great studio companion and only once did she jump up in the paint. She seemed to know what was out-of-bounds from the very beginning.

Every week she came into the studio when my model arrived for a session and usually ended up on the model stand asleep. She liked Laura. She is the invisible presence in all the drawings and paintings I did in those sessions. I will miss her.

ARC Open House

2011-11-19T08:37:00.001-05:00

Last evening was the opening reception for studio tours at the Artisan Resource Center where I have my studio. I've had a studio at the Center for so many years; I'm not counting anymore. There are 23 studios and they vary from fine art to film production. The energy at ARC is always positive and there are many collaborations that go on all the time. A huge building, I always feel as if the studio is my private retreat.

This year Kennesaw University art students have a juried painting exhibition in the halls and I didn't count, but there are so many interesting works to see. Since we have very wide long hallways there is plenty of room to see the art and enjoy. I like seeing art in the halls.

Last evening we had a steady flow of visitors stroll thru my studio and I am always amazed at the interest and questions I get. I have a chance to talk to people in depth about the work I'm doing and many times they "get it". I can't count the number of people who connected with the abstract landscapes I'm working on now. Since I'm so sequestered most of the time (except at exhibits of course) I rarely have the opportunity to go into depth about what I am doing. I find I love talking to people at these events and yet all week while I'm in my studio working I do not like talking. Music on and I'm working.

My work is going well and I'll be posting more info about my solo exhibit at dk Gallery which is scheduled to open on January 6, 2012. I have three more large paintings to finish over this holiday month. The hardest time of the year to work yet the work is so compelling to me it should be no problem to finish the last paintings I want to show.

Southern Living

2011-09-24T10:21:00.000-04:00

Just got the copy of the new book "2011 Christmas with Southern Living". Aha, my painting is featured above the mantle on pages 64 and 65. They did a great job incorporating the painting with the decor. My three dancers became angels. I like that.

Shifting Landscapes Exhibit

2011-09-02T20:55:00.000-04:00

The reception at Georgia Perimeter College was just perfect. The work was installed beautifully and well lit. Thanks again to Don Dougan, the gallery director. I truly appreciated the lighting since encaustic paintings must have the right lighting much like glazed oil paintings...well that's certainly true of any artwork. My good friend Jim Gibson took some photos and video and I haven't seen those yet but thanks to Angie Dachs, I'm posting a few photos to to give a flavor of a stellar evening. Fun for me was the fact that one of my good friends from high school along with her husband made it to the show as well as two of my friends from college. So great that they made the trip to Atlanta to see this exhibit. So many of my colleagues from the Women's Caucus for Art of Georgia also attended; they are so supportive. Old friends, new friends, I am so lucky.

I had the opportunity to speak about the exhibit to one of the 2-D classes at GPC and found it rewarding to discuss the work with them as well as everyone there. Although I do like for the work to speak for itself I appreciate the opportunity to elaborate on the process of art making and particularly what precipitated this series of paintings and how I see myself going forward.

Ah going forward....I'm taking the weekend off to the spend with friends and will be ready next week to continue this series with renewed energy.

Openings and Oil Paint

2011-08-29T16:12:00.000-04:00

Knowing that my exhibit finally opens on Wednesday, I now have jitters. Nothing new to the process I always have stage fright but how to keep focused is a bit of a conundrum. Lucky for me I had two large oil paintings to complete...ah...oil paint. It is so much fun to paint on canvas once in a while. Canvas is a lovely active surface to work on and oil paint is so, well, it's oil paint. The lovely aroma cast it's spell on me a very long time ago. I can still remember walking upstairs to the painting studio at ACNNJ and knowing I was home before I opened the first tube of paint. It was probably the solvent that came first. Yes it's a bit weird to love that aroma, to some "that smell", but there you are.... painting is in my being. This week I have been treated to that odor and have loved coming into the studio in the morning. I have also like working so quickly and fluently which is a little harder when working with encaustic though I'm beginning to work more intuitively with every new encaustic painting.

The paintings are now finished and I have to clean up. This part of the process, ugh. With encaustic there is so little cleaning to be done. I truly love that. I did have to tell myself "stop, stop, stop", enough with the layers. But I listened and now all I have to do is take them off the stretchers, roll them up, and send them on their way. As for the studio, I'm resetting everything, making medium and paint and after a brief but wonderful weekend out of town with friends, I'll be ready to begin again.

Speaking Figuratively

2011-08-20T12:48:00.000-04:00

On my journey I am exploring images from many vantage points. One of those points is to look to at a source that continues as a theme in my drawings, the figure. The figure as a way of expressing ideas that are not quite ideas. I'm not trying to understand, to give meaning, just draw, find something that is familiar to me from making so many images for so many years. Not just familiar but maybe something that is revealing. A revelation, what a concept. Is there a transition coming or am I just going deeper? Questions are more important that the answers. I'm looking to find the open passage now.

Back to the Drawing Board

2011-08-18T13:37:00.001-04:00

More appropriately I should say back to the drawing wall. There is no doubt that the "after the exhibit blues" is a reality. Because the "Shifting Landscapes" reception will not be until August 31, the malaise has set in and will reverse at an unknown time. I would love to know how many other artists have the same letdown. I know it's coming, I prepare, I acknowledge....nothing derails its little insidious onset. Happens every time. I wander around aimlessly for days or weeks at a time. I don't think of it as an "artist block" because I do continue to work in some capacity.

So what to do.
1. write in my journal
2. look at sketchbooks, oh let's go way back, years
3. read fiction, nonfiction, art books whatever
4. draw on the wall

The most effective of these diversions is drawing. It is a powerful way to work my way back to painting and there are many drawings I will like enough to show them. Most images will never see the outside of the studio. It can get a little dark in the studio at times like this.

Time to chase the critics, most of whom are residing in my head. Eventually they will all be asked to leave in an orderly fashion. Let the mayhem begin.

The drawing is "All the Little Creatures". I know them all.

Alice Neel

2011-08-14T18:09:00.001-04:00

When I have time off from the studio, from the actual creation of images, I find myself immersed in art in a different way studying the art of the artists that I admire. Today has been a day to study Alice Neel. Neel was an artist with work worthy of study. How can you not be mesmerized by her line, her brushwork...I am totally in awe, this woman of the early twentieth century, born in 1900, who can teach so much.
I'll be moving my home soon and this process always brings up memories of past series of paintings, in this case it is the figure work that I did before the last momentus (to me) move that spawned a series of the best figure paintings that I have done. Moving is always stimulating to me almost always a good series of paintings ensue. I love to start over to stretch. The painting here is titled of course "Moving". Behind the figure are all the moving boxes as yet to be unpacked.

Not to intimate in any way that my paintings have a relationship to Neel's work but I feel a connection, be it just the fact that I was working freely after my move and certainly with no restrictions. When I look at the current series of paintings to be exhibited, I must say I feel almost disconnected from the past. The exhibit of the figures at Lynne Farris' Gallery was a gift, a cohesive body of work that said something about me though I still wouldn't hazard a guess what that is. I ask myself am I the same person, the same artist. I have passed into another world, another territory and looking back very briefly gives me a perspective. I'm not much for hanging on to the past. In fact, I am nortorious for ridding myself of any incumbrances. I am a minimalist at saving when it comes to things including artwork. But I do save images and occasionally a glance back is worth it.

I liked what Alice's son said about her, "She teaches you to never give up".

A Day Off

2011-08-13T15:16:00.000-04:00

The paintings are hung at GPC (Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston Campus, Fine Arts Gallery) with the expert assistance of gallery director, Don Dougan. I was so glad to move the 37 paintings out of my studio. Once they are out no more changes to be made. Thank goodness. I think I begin to question each image if I look at them too long and this series of paintings was accomplished during a five month period remarkable to me since there were side trips taken during this time as well, paintings that were entirely unrelated. That was in fact good because any break gave me a chance to come back to the series and work with renewed energy and a slightly different eye so neccesary for remaining fresh. I always learn something from an unrelated image whether it be a drawing, print or painting of mine or sometimes even an artwork that is accomplished by one of my students.

Today is a day off. I have such a hard time taking time off from the studio, call me obsessive, type A...both apply I am sure and I consider it a plus except when I need to stop, renew. It's hard to know at first when it's time but yesterday told me stop! I was barely able to converse, to think clearly...The good stress had the upperhand. True of any creative you must leave time for the gestation of new images. It will take a day or two before I am truly able to relax.

So here is the painting that is my focus right now while I relax. I will not visualize it directly but let it simmer beneath the surface. When I return to the studio in a few days I will begin to draw again on my new big white wall and begin to comb through the photographs that have been awaiting my attention, no expectations just draw and look and luxuriate in the power of images.,

Disparate Thoughts

2011-07-29T10:59:00.003-04:00

When I came into the studio this morning I had many thoughts rumbling in my brain. One of course as the result of seeing the three new paintings waiting completion. It all has to do with color. Color is very significant right now. Too much makes me crazy and not enough doesn't seem to work. So how much is enough? It's alarms me to see anything too "colorful" as that does not work in my eye with the story that I am telling. The line is everything right now; it's fast, confidant, moving. Yet there is the blue, yellow staring at me, taunting me. I am trying to let go but that's the hard part.

Then there is the music and the words. Music was so important to this series of paintings. It set the tone for the swiftness of drawing and painting leaving little time for reflection until it was too late and the India ink was dry and permanent. I can hear the music even when it's not playing carrying around like a third hand.

"Now I Become Myself" a poem written by May Sarton and one that tells the tale since the spring this year. "Now I become myself.....Now to stand still, to be here, feel my own weight and density." I am glad that there are those who are so articulate. They can speak for me in words since I have only images.

The Challenge

2011-07-27T11:50:00.011-04:00

As I count down to my exhibit at Georgia Perimeter College, I've slowed down today to take stock of the images I've created. I have another three paintings started and can't wait to start but have to wait for gesso to dry before I add the next layers. While contemplating these paintings I realize what a journey it has been since I started in the spring. To put together a themed exhibit is a challenge and what happened as I started surprised me.

The work that I thought I was continuing did not continue and something new and miraculous happened. An entirely new series emerged. Now that would be great except for the fact that the previous series has images that are not entirely related or not related in the way that I would like. So what happens, I have to created more paintings than I thought I would.

Now part of that equation is that I love the new images so much that I want to continue with this theme. They are just the right amount of abstraction married to the decipherable to make me excited with the process. Though I titled my show "Shifting Landscapes", I could have easily titled it "Memory Trance" for that what if feels like to make these paintings.

The image pictured here is "Simultaneity" which sums up the series very well. A large painting 30 x 72 inches. More new work on my website http://www.helenderamus.com .

Going Solo

2011-07-11T08:07:00.007-04:00

Too long since I last posted but hey I've been busy. Working in the studio is not easy right now as everyone must know our weather here in the south is ghastly. I say that and truly this year I have just accepted the fact that it is hot and will be hot till sometime in the fall. I have been not comfortable but at least keeping myself in the moment of painting with the goal of finishing the paintings for my solo show at Georgia Perimeter College (Clarkston campus) in the Fine Art Building. The show officially opens on August 15th with the reception set on August 31st.

"Shifting Landscapes" is my chosen title with the inspiration coming from three sources: my Hambidge Residency, the music of John Adams and Lucas Samaras, and the poetry of Mary Oliver. What a line up! The series took on a life of its own when I completed fifteen large drawings that I found compelling. The series then began a quest to transfer the essence of those drawings to encaustic. The trip to encaustic was not a trip that I could have predicted and has led to a series of unexpected images that I'm not sure I totally understand yet. The pure abstraction that I am seeking is only partly realized. The more non-objective they become the happier and more questioning I become. There is no doubt that I am reaching for a deeper understanding of what this painting life is all about.

Summer and Encaustic

2011-06-08T08:22:00.005-04:00

Ah summer. There is no easy way to explain the heat generated by all the various heating implements used when painting with encaustic. Suffice it to say, it gets hot in the studio. The answer of course is start early and leave early; my new motto as I paint for my upcoming solo exhibit. Have to keep working or I'll never make the August deadline.

Work is going well. I will never understand why my most creative, productive time occurs in the summer. I don't like the heat and the light is so harsh. Not much to recommend the summer in the South in my book. But I look at it this way. During the cool of the winter I gather ideas, photos, drawings and boom when it gets hot the ideas flow into the paintings. Sounds like a simple answer to me.

The new work is exciting to me. And here is a photo of one of the new paintings in the series.

Summer 2011 Encaustic Workshop

2011-05-01T15:29:00.010-04:00

This week I successfully finished three small encaustic paintings with the "feel" I was looking for to translate my mountain experience at Hambidge into encaustic. I have been so in love with my drawings completed during my residency, that it took me two weeks to get back to my usual practice. To say it was a challenge doesn't even begin to explain how hard it has been. Part of the difficulty is the encaustic technique itself. There is a certain amount of preplanning necessary for the images I'm working on and the drawings from which they are inspired were so intuitively and freely created. Of course, as many artists have said before you are never the same artist or person, for that matter, yesterday as you are today. Never was that so true as with the project.

I'm now looking at the solo exhibit in August and the pressure is on to produce more paintings. Although I won't call it pressure because I love having deadlines. There are many times when I need focus for my wandering creative spirit which like to experiment ad infinitum. So here begins my process of deciding size etc. for a twenty or more painting exhibit. Not that many weeks left!

June 18 & 19, Saturday and Sunday are the dates for the summer workshop in encaustic. Visit my website for details. What happens after a residency is a burst of creative thoughts that lead to new ideas that I will share in this workshop. Encaustic is, may I say, an elastic medium.

Residency

2011-04-18T15:58:00.003-04:00

It is now time to reflect on the past three weeks. Two of those weeks were spent at a Hambidge residency. This was a remarkable experience that allowed me to work in complete solitude and rediscover myself as an artist. There are many circumstances over the past five years that came between me and my art self and those issues were part of living and were unavoidable but I didn't realize until I had so many hours to draw, meditate, journal and read what cost was necessary to perform the tasks that were required of me.

So here I am happy as can be ready to start a new era in my artwork. Returning to "normal" life is not so easy but the transition is working itself out now. I have incorporated many lessons I learned during the residency to my own studio and my own practice here in the studio. I will continue to assess the rewards received in the coming months.

Above is a drawings 30 x 110 inches titled "Sequence", part of my drawing experience.

Tangled Up In Dreams

2011-03-21T18:57:00.004-04:00

It's remarkable to think that I am packed and ready to make my trip to Hambidge for my residency which begins tomorrow at noon. Since before Christmas, when I received my acceptance, I have thought about what I want to do while there for two glorious weeks. This past week I began the process of putting together my supplies and the answer was very clear. I want to draw, to work on paper, to freely work on projects as they create themselves through me.

My decision not to work in encaustic was an easy one because I need time and space to renew myself with my art, to once again get acquainted with myself. If this sounds like a lot of "me me me"...I think it is. There comes a point in a career where you feel you may have lost a little of what you are. Maybe it doesn't happen to everyone but I think that renewal is often the answer when the work starts to come more slowly to feel not so exciting..or relevant.

So in my car trunk is a wonderful assortment of beautiful drawing papers, all imaginable mark making tools and mediums...charcoal, lith crayon, India ink and so much more. I have even thought that I might use some smaller pieces of paper for beginning an artist's book, a project that I've had on my mind for quite some time.

I started reading Twyla Tharps book on creativity and have included in my working tools some of my favorite books of poetry: Mary Oliver, Frerico Lorca, T.S. Eliot...The new memoir by Joyce Carole Oates, and the lovely Louise Bourgeois, Drawings and Observations. The Bourgeois book is always at my side. The Deep Song...resonating with me now.

No cellphone or internet to disrupt my days of musing and drawing. Now, how wonderful is that.

dk Gallery Romance of the Figure Exhibit

2011-02-09T13:43:00.009-05:00

This past weekend the "Romance of the Figure and Nude" Exhibit opened, to a crowd I might add. It was horrible weather but nothing stops the dk Gallery collectors and admirers from attending an opening night. New artists were introduced and I loved having my new figure encaustics included in the exhibit. Check out the Marietta Patch for an article "Marietta Square Art Gallery Boon to Local Artists" about the gallery and about me too. Deronte Smith wrote the piece. Though note that my husband's name is Lyn, Charlie is my stepson...both are musicians however. Stop by the gallery while this show is up. Good show.

Griffith Gallery: The Best

2011-02-08T19:42:00.007-05:00

Important information I heard straight from Griffith Art Gallery today about how the painting in the Christmas book occured. Rick and Dave Griffith work with Southern Living magazine often and it was their choice to bring the painting to the attention of the staff for the photo shoot. They carefully wrapped the painting for its journey to the photo shoot and made sure that it was then returned to the gallery in good shape. I would never worry about any painting that was transported with their care.

I am one lucky artist to have the professional support of Griffith Art Gallery. For so many years now I can count on their creative efforts to sell my work. And I can just plain count on them...and their wonderful sense of humor that keeps me smiling while I work.

Booth Museum

2011-02-03T20:09:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday I took a trip to Cartersville, Georgia, not far from my studio in Marietta. It was my first visit to the Booth Museum. It's a very interesting museum filled with Western art and artifacts. The building itself is striking and the interior is modern and well appointed. One of the chief reasons for the visit was the Ansel Adams photography exhibit. I truly spent almost two hours looking and just taking in the beauty of so many black & white photographs made by the master himself. I think the last time I saw so many of his photographs was on a visit to Carmel before he died. It was also confirmed that AA dried his test strips in a microwave...I saw him do it in the video presentation.

It's hard to explain just how much I am in awe of those stunning photos. One reason of course is that I learned his method of making photographs and processing the film at the Southeastern Center for the Photographic Arts in Atlanta (Neil Chaput et al). My fondest memory of that time was spent in Brevard, North Carolina learning to use a 4 x 5 camera in the rain, hauling my big camera and Majestic tripod around and having Buck Mills as my mentor...I was his only student for the workshop, lucky me.

I do miss the darkroom, the beautiful B&W papers, even the chemicals. There is certainly nothing like that experience now with digital photography even though I enjoy it for its ease of use.

My second reason for visiting the Booth was my presentation and demonstration to the Booth Museum Artists Guild. It was a very positive experience as the group was a good size for a more relaxed discussion and lots of questions and answers.

I must go back for another visit when I can go earlier and stay in the galleries longer. I only scratched the surface.

Winter Solstice

2010-12-30T15:56:00.005-05:00

For the first time in many years, I have had a creative surge during the holidays enabling me to finish three large paintings. I'm not sure where this surge came from and I am happy to report that there was time for friends and family too!! I always think of spring and summer, mostly summer as my creative time and have always had difficulty continuing any project this time of the year. So welcome this time as January and February look to be especially busy next year. Very grateful for that too.

The day after Christmas, Charlie, my stepson and I had an exhibit in my studio. We exhibited his photographs taken in Sweden, where he lives now and my photograph taken here in the States. I was amazed at how our similar points of view merged for this show. Charlie is so creative both in this music (his real career) and his photography. I have been watching the progress of his image making for a long time and admire his ability to see. We were hampered by such horrible weather and his long journey from Sweden (43 hours) but we managed to have a great exhibit and great conversations with all those who were able to make the trip to the studio.

As an addendum, I have to say that I found out today that some paintings I like so much, I don't want to finish them. I delay and delay their final layer or whatever it is that needs to be done to put a final touch. I'll now watch that.

Southern Living Publication

2010-12-13T12:47:00.005-05:00

Received a note from "Southern Living" magazine on Friday that one of my paintings will be included in the Christmas with Southern Living 2011 hardcover book. Not due out till July but I'm psyched already. A rather nice Christmas gift.

Working in the studio today to get ready for Charles and my photo salon on Sunday, December 26. Charles has been taking photographs for years and I've always loved his work but it's never been shown anywhere. So he'll be here from Sweden during the holidays and we're putting together an informal exhibit to introduce his work. He's such a wonderful musician it'll be fun to see another side of his talents.

Art Interrupted

2010-12-04T11:57:00.005-05:00

Okay that's a strange title but it came to mind as I started to work after an illness enforced break. Years ago I was asked to be represented by a gallery with the same name as the title of this post. Yes, the name of the gallery was "Art Interrupted". I believe that the owner's own art work had been interrupted by the usual life shifts and was eager to get back to art. I still thought the name a very unusual and perhaps not to promising a name. The owner was very nice. She was young and enthusiastic and sold a painting an hour after I delivered the first work to her. But alas not long afterward her life took another shift and she had to close the gallery. It's a tough business.

It is amazing to me how many galleries have represented my work over my art producing life span and how many are not in business anymore. Each one is special with its own stamp on my art career. I'm very lucky to know and have known so many art lovers who showed me something new about art and sometimes about life. And too, how much I've grown many times with their backing and encouragement. Artists do have fragile egos no matter their outward posing and demeanor. A good gallery owner means a lot. An artist is supposed to distance themselves from their work but that's way to hard when you invest so much of yourself into each artwork you create. A little piece of yourself is broken off and embedded or at least that is what you can hope for if the artwork is a success.

And I Can Eat it Too!

2010-11-30T13:18:00.007-05:00

I thought I had finished a painting and THEN (actually nothing new) there it was a space for a pomegranate. This summer the apple tree outside my apartment was full of apples but, well they were a little sad to look at. Since I never ate one, I'm not sure they tasted good either. Nevertheless I really fell in love with this little tree as it tried to compete with space with the boysenberry tree which has truly taken over everything. I still took photographs of those apples and wanted to immortalize them just for their tenaciousness. Back to the space in the painting. I left a square unpainted and the color rather pedestrian until the other day the painting called me back for a finish after I heard a story about pomegranates on NPR. Someone had traveled half around the world to see a big grove. For me the trip was a lot shorter as the Whole Foods near my studio has many...so I can draw the lovely prop and eat it too.

The Good, the bad and the beautiful

2010-11-29T15:49:00.005-05:00

This was a most unusual Thanksgiving. Since I had the flu, I was in bed sniffling, coughing and sneezing and just feeling generally miserable. It was such a shock to get sick this time of the year. We were supposed to be vacationing in the mountains and then having a family dinner at my sister's house. Didn't miss the turkey since I'm a vegetarian but I did miss my family. We'll catch up at Christmas.

Here at the studio I began preparing for Open House and my trunk sale of oil paintings the weekend before Thanksgiving. Well part of the weekend went well. I made it till Saturday afternoon before I had to give in and go home to bed. I was so pleased that four of my very large abstract oils went to excellent homes...very nice collectors. They were as pleased as I was for those paintings to have permanent homes. I can't wait for the photos of them installed. The best part of course is that I now have more room for the large encaustics that I am continuing to work on.

Yes today, it's beautiful to be here in the studio working on these paintings. It was all I could do to stay away from the studio but much better to feel better! I'll post photos soon.

Time to get ready for my photo exhibit with my stepson Charlie. The day after Christmas we're launching an exhibit of our photographic work. Charlie is an excellent photographer (musician by profession) and I'm sure we'll put together a great exhibit. Can't wait.

Hambidge Residency

2010-11-12T08:26:00.005-05:00

The news was very good yesterday. I was accepted for a residency at Hambidge. So long I have wanted to apply but there was always some reason I could not be away for two weeks. I can now only imagine how great it will be to have two weeks to work in solitude in a beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain location right at the close of winter. So many vistas to visit, draw, photograph. Staggering to think how excited I am. The prospect of the hours to just luxuriate in the quiet cabin on my own. So grateful for the opportunity.

Georgia National Fair

2010-09-20T11:37:00.008-04:00

I took a trip to south Georgia on Saturday and it was a great trip. Two of my encaustic paintings were delivered to the Georgia National Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. Immediately I met an artist who was volunteering and had just bought encaustic paint. She had not used it yet and we had a good talk about the project she was planning.

The trip itself was interesting because we decided to travel home via Fort Valley and Pine Mountain. The weather, of course, was hot but the ride was great traveling on a four lane at 65 mph almost all the way. No traffic either which was a pleasure having made the trip down in a whole lot of traffic on I-75. We stopped in a town called Junction City...nothing there anymore though it had been a thriving railroad stop at one time...now almost deserted.

The trip across Pine Mountain was stellar and a dinner at the Country Store topped off a most enjoyable day in the state of Georgia. The State has so much to offer with its rolling countryside.
Should mention a stop in a "junk" store in the town of Pine Mountain that yielded me two more items for a sculptural project that will soon start.

Always A Nice Surprise

2010-09-03T20:27:00.009-04:00

I've been very lucky to work with wonderful gallery owners. One of whom is Rick Griffith. He serves up a treat with each sale, a yellow sticky note with info on who bought the painting(s) and where it will now reside...oh yes and why the painting was the right one for this client. Besides that info, there is always a funny line or two from a guy who has a great sense of humor. Over the years I've saved these gems and often display them by my computer just to remind myself to have fun.

The image to the left went to Florida with a man who bought it for his wife as an "I Love You" gift. Nice huh? "Sunflowers II" a 24 x 24 inch encaustic painting.

Commissions

2010-09-01T15:07:00.008-04:00

I just remembered today that I forgot to post photos of the two commission paintings that I did for Griffith Art Gallery. Each was 37" x 72". This was the great commission for the summer and I enjoyed very much the challenge.

So Cool

2010-08-14T12:05:00.005-04:00

Right now I'm sitting at the computer and enjoying the cool air. Yes it is very humid outside but my air conditioner is keeping up with the temp and humidity inside very well. So many days it has been too hot to work but of course I have anyway. Firing up the grill on those 90 degree days, not something to look forward to but on the other hand fusing the wax was faster or it seemed so.

I just finished the accompanying painting yesterday and love it. The photographs of the apples were transferred to the encaustic surface and then I had fun doing my usual creating and destroying as I make the painting. The apple tree is right outside my apartment and I've been taking photos for a few weeks now in anticipation of doing something with them. The finished product says what I wanted to say. What more can you ask?

Art Forger

2010-07-16T14:59:00.003-04:00

For the past three weeks I have been working on a commission for one of my favorite galleries. The assignment sounded impossible but I agree to it! A client loved two of my paintings so she decided she would take them home on approval. The next day she brought them back and requested that the artist (that would be me) create for her two paintings that were almost identical but much much larger...I'm talking about very big. The original paintings are created in a multitude of layers and frankly I don't remember how long it took me to finish them. The other stumbling block was the fact that the client mentioned a month deadline which was shorter than that by the time I got the necessary photographs of her daughters. Oh did I mention she wanted the figures to represent her daughters.

Well I did it. The paintings are finished and photographed and now are drying..oil paint of course. But I had the strangest sensation on one of the painting days that I was an art forger as I studied the originals and did my best to recreate the touch, color, and feel of those paintings. I think this may be the most complicated commission that I've ever done. I will await the client's response coming next week.

Oil in the Studio

2010-06-03T18:59:00.003-04:00

After so many months working in encaustic I am working in oil this week. I have a request for a number of paintings large and small and have spent the week immersed in those images. It was hard to get started, very hard in fact. Unlike working in encaustic it is so fast, unbelievably fast. That's the part that I like right now. Finishing seven paintings in a week. Woohoo! Almost ready to return to the grill and torch. The one thing that I especially liked this week was the cool studio. The air conditioner actually kept up with the heat not having to fight with all the heating tools.

.

Playing

2010-05-14T21:07:00.003-04:00

I am playing tonight. Bought a new computer for our home and wow is it fun to use. Of course there is a learning curve with a new operating system but it's a piece of cake compared to our first computer, a Comodore 64. I'm sure there are many people who don't even know what that is. The most fun must be the Webcam. I'm positively giddy using that feature. Really makes me laugh. Especially creating a avatar. Always wanted one. The graphics have to be the best feature of this computer and of course I've tried all the games available.

This computer will be a breeze to use when I'm working on my website or editing photos of my artwork. Can't wait.

Paintings This Week

2010-05-02T08:53:00.003-04:00

This morning I'm taking stock of the past week which was creatively fun and successful. I finished the last of the paintings that were started earlier in the spring and found inspiration in unexpected places. I'm not a gardener at least not for many years but since moving into the apartment where I live now I have a renewed interest in everything growing. The grounds are simply beautiful with so many flowering shrubs, flowers, and trees, including fruit trees of every variety. I enjoy without actually working to maintain them. I almost feel guilty but not really. The grounds crew is far more knowledgeable and efficient than I would be now. The studio and painting really chew up everyday very nicely. The center courtyard this year was a sea of azaleas of many varieties. I've never been a big fan of azaleas but have been converted this year.

The painting pictured here was inspired by the beautiful spring. "Essence".

New Art Start

2010-04-14T08:52:00.006-04:00

Last evening I had to admit to myself that I am experiencing disappointment. Whenever that happens I have to reach back and find my optimism again. I also pull out a copy of "Finding Water" because Julia Cameron articulates better than I can myself what happens when you lose your optimism and how to balance yourself again to regain that very important quality which keeps me going. How else could I continue to make art?

One side of the "art business" is going very well and that is the teaching or mentoring side. I have been very blessed and grateful for the wonderful people that I work with. Yesterday a raw beginning adult student drew for two hours straight completing the exercises I gave her. Her passion to learn how to draw was a revelation to me as I don't see that kind of eagerness to start at the beginning. Seems everyone wants to start at the end. Not that I don't understand for the discipline to draw everyday is sometimes elusive.

Saturday Morning

2010-04-03T07:19:00.003-04:00

This morning I was awake at 5:30am thinking about the paintings I want to start today. After handling a family affair for the past five years, I am now able to wake up and think only about art if I want to. What a rare and wonderful privilege. I feel so free and it has taken a while for it to happen. But finally so much imaging time! During the past week, my visualizing has really taken off and sitting on the easel in the studio is a painting that is the result of uninterrupted time to work. May I say, I am grateful.

New Work

2010-03-22T21:53:00.000-04:00

I have been so absorbed in my work that it continues to flow. I don't feel hesitant to paint, make wholesale changes...the images are right near my hand. And I am painting for myself in a way that I haven't in quite some time. It feels quite miraculous and hard to explain in words. The images float through my dreams, meet me when I awaken and stay on my eyes as I head for the studio to start work again. I won't talk about it anymore because I think I may be superstitious.

New work

2010-03-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

The last three weeks were spent finishing a large number of paintings for a gallery. It was rewarding in the fact that I am now working with great concentration at a time of the year that is not usually a very good one for me. I'm not sure why but the winter has always been a difficult time even though after the first of the year I have always had a lot of time in the studio. One big difference is just how busy my schedule has been. So many activities I am presuming have energized my work.

Now I've begun work on the next series of paintings and am working non-stop, experimenting and planning as never before. If it is this good now, I can't wait for the summer my most productive time. "Regeneration" to the left.

A Day Away

2010-03-05T09:46:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a day away from the studio today. Need to refuel, repair, and rethink. Well maybe not think too much. After delivering so many paintings this week, it was almost like I had mounted an exhibit. My energy drained and time to rest. An uncertainty always takes over after mounting a marathon of painting and perhaps a letdown. I need space so that I can see again.

The painting pictured here was especially rewarding and will lead me forward.

Auction

2010-02-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

The Trinity School artists' market is about to get underway. I delivered my work today after being delayed by the snow for a couple of days. The latest I've delivered in the nine years of participating. If you can't get out of your driveway, you can't. I also delivered my painting for the auction; that is something new this year and I decided to participate. Hope the painting makes some money for them.

Fun with wax

2010-02-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

I must admit to having fun while painting with encaustic though at times it is a daunting task to forget the process while using so many tools, electrical wires and heavy duty extension cords everywhere as well as so many pots of paint, sharp ceramic instruments, irons, the list is too long. As time has passed I am freed, most of time, to pursue the "subject matter" that I'm exploring. It is so difficult not to blown off course by process experimentation. Especially since I've been teaching other artists how to use this method of painting. The workshop and classes are great and as I've said before I learn alot.

It is so interesting to me that my path has now led to the incorporation of "real" images though I still vacillate between pure abstraction and shall I call it semi-abstraction. Yes I am playing with terms knowing that most will say all art is abstract. But you get my meaning. Using the silk organza photographs in my work give it a new quality that I quite like. I have now spent many hours photographing winter trees for future incorporation.

Above is a photo of some of the encaustic paintings I recently delivered to Rick and Dave at Griffith Gallery in Pelham, Alabama. Rick made the photo for me after he framed some of paintings to hang. I often say it and will say again my nearly eight relationship with the Gallery is stellar. I'm lucky to work with great gallery owners who send me commissions of which I am very appreciative. Thanks guys!

Creativity and the Holidays

2009-11-27T07:40:00.000-05:00

Each year I notice that as the year winds down it is harder to work. I go in the studio in the morning and sit for a long time or pace around and around trying to decide how to proceed. It's hard for me to know if it is the outside world invading the studio or just a memory overload from all holidays past. There is definitely a sea change in the atmosphere.

I remember several years ago having an exhibit open in January. The struggle to finish all the work in December was very daunting and I determined never to schedule another exhibit in January and have kept that promise to myself.

Each year I plan a vacation during this time. It seems the best thing to do under the circumstances and at least I can leisurely draw and take photographs just for myself. This year it will be the beach, sand, cold wind and breaking waves that will in concert by my muse.

Open House

2009-11-22T20:41:00.000-05:00

This weekend was "Open House" at the Artisan Resource Center where I have my studio. Really love my studio, by the way. So many people came through and I had the chance to talk about the encaustic work I am doing now, do a little demonstrating, and meet such great people.

Friday night was the first anniversary celebration at dk Gallery. So many of the artists represented were there and I continue to be impressed with owner, Donna Krueger, who cares about her artists. She is really an amazing person and I'm lucky to know her. I also admire the artists' works that are in the gallery and enjoy just going in to be inspired. The gallery has changed the landscape of the Marietta Square.

I now look forward to a trip to Savannah to not only have a few days of r&r but also time to take photographs. There hasn't been much time lately. Spending time in Bonaventure Cemetery will be wonderful this time of year. So many old trees. Just being in Savannah is like going home in a way. Living there for a while was such a pleasure...though I don't miss the heat and humidity of the summer.

The image above doesn't really have anything to do with this post. Just an image of a recently completed oil painting that I like.

Hot Wax in the Studio

2009-10-04T08:53:00.000-04:00

I've started new paintings. Since I spent the summer preparing for an exhibit at the Walker School, a private school in Marietta, Georgia, I have had my usual interim period of cleaning up and waiting to start again. It wasn't really a down time since I had an oil commission painting to work on and two other large oil paintings to finish for the Tannery Row "Big 2" exhibit coming up in a couple of weeks. It has become relaxing to paint with oil, somehow so much easier than encaustic. The encaustic method has greatly influenced my oil painting I think mainly looking at color in a new way. Not sure how that works yet but I'm thinking about it. No matter how often I return to oil it does not satisfy me in the same way as the encaustic painting.

This week I did three demos and had a great time. I love the excitement generated by the contemporary form of the ancient painting technique. Now over time I've become very comfortable talking and painting. I remember the first time I did a demo many years ago at Sam Flax and had a very hard time talking to people and painting.

Looking forward to seeing Jack Kehoe's sculpture at dk Gallery at the end of the week. His marble sculpture is so beautiful.

My favorite quote for the day

2009-06-16T10:28:00.000-04:00

Vladimir Nabokov wrote that the purpose of storytelling is "to portray ordinary objects as they will be reflected in the kindly mirror of future times; to find in the objects around us the fragrant tenderness that only posterity will discern and appreciate in far-off times when every trifle of our plain everyday life will become exquisite and festive in its own right; the times when man who might put on the most ordinary jacket of today will be dressed up for an elegant masquerade."

Early Saturday

2009-06-06T08:36:00.001-04:00

This morning I'm in the studio early to look at the work I've finished and assess it. I'm working methodically and therefore self-consciously. There are times when it may not be possible to rid my studio of the voices that try to direct me toward an image. I'll be teaching this morning and then I'll do that lovely exercise of inviting everyone, in my head and on my shoulders to leave the studio so that I will no longer be concentrating but composing without an audience. This is not an easy task and may take some time. However, I'm dedicated to the proposition that being alone in the studio is the only way to make art that is meaningful to me.

She Always Walked That Way

2009-05-20T14:42:00.000-04:00

And there, hanging my the one hair left to her, she heard a song.
Bent backward and all around she dreamed of inventing the sea.
She tried to understand why she was so solid and not there.
But was geometrically opposed.

She had many eyes at the tips of her fingers but could feel nothing.
Did she need arms to go behind her looking for the answer.
She always walked that way.
Staying connected or wishing for no silence, whichever came first
Part of her stood waiting for the many faces left in her brain.

Her dress was dark and stormy
And her eyes had two lenses.
It was funny the appendages she grew while waiting to divide.
Living up in a row, she saw no one.
Uncontrolled hands were never there.
Was her father the fly on the wall?

Her senses tried to find calm.
She saw a mechanical leg---then she wept.
Her ears grew longer and she felt an eye.
She stood on the stand half thin,
But her eyes were wings, green.
She grew pregnant and heard voices.
Hooks and hangers stabbed below her heart then came a hot whistle.
Her neck stretched to a long finger and she wept again.

Small and black and finely grained
Her legs were shorter than she was.
There was a big line that threw itself about her.
She was only three.

Neglected

2009-04-23T19:57:00.000-04:00

I have seriously neglected my blog lately. Maybe Facebook is partly to blame but for the most part I have been working on new work truly spending hours fusing encaustic paint. The results have been pleasing but I have struggled too. The struggle comes with trying to pinpoint exactly what I am saying right now. I don't really have very much of a clue. It has to do with pattern, symmetry, repetition...I may know what is emerging soon as the series continues to stay with me even when I'm sleeping. That really doesn't happen to me very often. I am really working on three series at once. The floral with texture, the serial abstract, and photographs of trees that are cut and pasted resulting in the most fantastic images. Accompanying is a floral I find fascinating because the color palette is so different for me.

Encaustic Talk

2009-03-08T17:06:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, this was a truly interesting week. There was the fact that I am finally recovering from the worst viral bug in my history and I had an opportunity to talk about encaustic painting two times this past week at dk Gallery. Of all the talks I've given I think I enjoyed these the best. The audience was made up of art lovers and artists who were almost as enthusiastic as I was. Lots of questions which made my job so easy.

The "Live and Learn" series at the gallery is such a wonderful way of making art accessible. Each month since the beginning of the year an artist has had an opportunity of bringing his or her art to life. Kudos to the gallery owner.

Too Busy

2009-02-03T19:16:00.000-05:00

When I get too busy to blog, I know I'm too busy. On the other hand I had a stellar January. Right now I'm fully engaged in making work and teaching. I'm enjoying both roles and they are feeding me. The photo encaustics are still my favorites and I'll be posting new images soon.

I just finished the book "The Spirit of Abstract Expressionism" the selected writings of Elaine de Kooning. A most satisfying selection of essays. How fun to read about the process of various artists including Hofman, de Kooning and Wyeth. Particularly Wyeth whose work I love with a passion. Elaine de Kooning had access to so many artists and faithfully recorded her knowledge of, interest in and admiration for so many of her artist friends that now we can savor her thoughts.

John Updikes's death last week was particularly sad as I had grown up reading him. Every year, or almost, I waited for the new book to be released close to the beginning of the year. Though I haven't checked, I think I've read all this books. I remember reading his memoir in a rain storm while camping in North Carolina. Our tent was leaking and despite it all, wet socks and shoes....everything wet, I was engrossed in his writing though I remember thinking he was whining just a little bit. Since I was whining too perhaps that makes sense. This was an untimely death and I look forward to reading his last words in print.

Why the chair photo? Well next week I deliver my installation of chairs to dk Gallery for a show that opens on Friday, February 13th (yikes). I will enjoy once again visiting the "Family Circle". One of the chairs went to a collector in California so I just finished the replacement and wouldn't you know it's "The Princess".

Foggy

2009-01-04T13:04:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I left for the studio on a beautiful morning. It was so foggy. I loved the feel of all that water in the air. Even the sound was deadened as it is when it snows. Since snow is rarely a possiblity here then fog will have to do creating that amazing quiet. Of course it was very early when I left and I have to admit I love the very early morning. I'm still getting acquainted with my camera but I did take several shots that I like.

Today I'm finally working on new paintings for the Spotlight exhibit. I've done this show for so many years, but who's counting. The venue has gotten very crowded now but it's for a good cause and I make money too. It will be interesting to see what's on tap for this year.

The dk Gallery exhibit opens on Friday evening. I already delivered my paintings, all oil this time and all in the series of soft geometrics (with bold color) that I have painted since '01. It will always be my favorite series. I'm attempting to carry them into encaustic. We'll see if that works. They will of course be different in feel because the oils have very energetic brushwork. Maybe it's a different series.

Fauveland

2008-12-19T15:57:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this week. Painting in oil again was tremendous fun, a break from fusing. I needed a break. But what happened is astounding to me. The Fauves came to see me. All of the sudden my paintings were being painted with pure color right from the tube. Now I grant you the underpaintings were not pure hues.
How did this happen? I had been working on some pretty stunning color in encaustic but I don't remember in the last five years having the "wild beast" come to visit. Am I pleased? You bet. The paintings startle me when I look at them; But, I'm growing accustom to the look and it's growing on me.

I have been working on paintings for dk Gallery since they will be featured in January but I really had no idea that my color box would spill all these great hues: reds, oranges and OMG even a violet fell on my paintings. It's hard to paint small abstracts...for me it's hard, but I actually like these.

Well they are too wet to photograph so I'll post the results in a day or two. On the other hand I do have one ready so here goes.

Drayton Tower

2008-12-05T11:40:00.000-05:00

I just returned from Savannah, Georgia and more specifically from the Beach...Tybee Island. It is a special place because it really never changes except perhaps for the demise of a fabulous diner. Wow I miss that diner. I spent many a meal enjoying great food right near the beach. The only catch this year was the fact that there was no beach access since they were working on reclaiming the beach. I could not believe there was so little beach left. Of course they were working 24/7 so there was that beep beep noise all the time. No matter, I loved being near the water. Amazing how they have been able to skip development. Tybee remains shall I say remains primitive, pristine, I'm not sure how to describe a place that from year to year looks the same with no chain stores. Just imagine. Well there is one change and that is development of an area that has made no beach access a fact with condos galore.

Ah yes. I lived in Savannah until I moved to New Jersey. That was a big change believe me and though I liked Jersey very much I always feel that I am going home when I drive Victory Drive.
This trip I found out that I lived in a landmark while in Savannah. The Drayton Arms, now called the Drayton Tower was the first fully air-conditioned building in Georgia. OMG! The building is one of the earliest examples of the International Style. What I remember are the windows and the very minimalist feel to the little efficiency apartment with my reproduction of Picasso's "Three Musicians" on the wall and a little comfortable day bed.

When I wasn't on the beach I was in Bonaventure Cemetery taking photos , 300 of them. Love those big flash cards and digital cameras. I'm not ready yet but soon I'll be continuing my series on trees in encaustic. I'm savoring the photos right now.

Open House

2008-11-25T14:00:00.001-05:00

Open House for 2008 is now officially over. It was a great three days with a lot of people coming through the Center. Now it's back to work and that is not easy. This is a hard time of the year for creating with holidays looming ahead. I like the holidays but since art making is my job, I do find it hard to take time off. I will however have fun despite that pull to stay in the studio and work. I remember seeing an interview with Charles Schultz' family and their remembering him in his studio working on all the holidays. I understood.

Right now I'm looking forward to a trip after Thanksgiving that will allow me an opportunity to use my new camera and gather more tree photos for paintings. The response to my tree paintings was very positive over the weekend. I like creating them so much, I guess it shows.

Grand Opening

2008-11-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

Well it's official. dk Gallery is open after a very successful grand opening reception. So many people there that it was hard to move. So many happy artists and so many happy patrons. Donna Krueger has launched a premier gallery right in the midst of the historic square in Marietta, Georgia. I can tell you there are many people pleased with having a top rate gallery in this location including me since it's only a few minutes away from my studio AND I like working with people who are so positive. With all the dire economic news, here is an example of what can happen if you're open to the possibilities in life. The gallery sold work even before it officially opened its doors. If you were to meet Donna you would understand why. My praise could go on and on.

New Work

2008-11-09T20:16:00.000-05:00

I took the weekend off not because I wanted to but because the floor in the center was being painted. I know I'll be glad since it will look great for open house but I must admit to having serious withdrawal problems. Since I moved in in May I haven't missed more than a day of work. The weekend did give me a chance to do some much needed homework. Though my husband is a champ when it comes to taking care of the homestead, he needed a break I'm sure. I had planned to cook and freeze for the week that didn't happen. Maybe another weekend it will happen. It's fun to cook when the weather is so cool and pleasant. Soups and stews taste so excellent this time of the year.

I did finish a couple of oil paintings and pictured is one of them. It was fun...and so easy. It was really enjoyable to break out the oil paint. Love that fabulous linseed oil aroma. When I walked into the studio the other day it really made me remember the first time I walked into a working studio...I knew I loved oil, there is no substitute even though my work in encaustic has overtaken me now.

Open House and Grand Opening

2008-10-31T20:54:00.001-04:00

Looking forward to the next few weeks (the election WILL be over) with the Open House at the Artisan Resource Center and the Grand Opening of dk Gallery on the square in Marietta, Georgia. ARC will open its doors with twenty-one artists participating. So many interesting artist studios, tours of the complex, and demos including several that I will enjoy presenting on the ancient technique of encaustic painting.

The Grand Opening of dk Gallery is set for November 15th from 6 - 9 pm. How fabulous to have a top rate gallery on the historic square in a historic building I might add.

Cool

2008-10-27T23:03:00.000-04:00

Today it was cool. I loved it and spent the day reorganizing my studio. My goal is to get rid of more "stuff". I truly want more room to breathe. Funny but I like a clean slate..working with too much visual stimulation does not work for me. Following the advice of Louise Bourgeois (I'm paraphrasing of course), I clean, clean, clean and then work.

Before I left the studio this afternoon I readied a large canvas and I do mean large. Tomorrow will be a return to oil painting. After looking at some of the paintings that I'll deliver to the new gallery, I know that I want to paint with the gooey paint. I'm ready for some fun. And ready for color. The last encaustics that I've completed have certainly been of the more subdued variety. O.k. I'm ready to face the large white surface with large brushes in hand.

Trees & Printers

2008-10-20T20:32:00.000-04:00

In the continuing series of tree encaustic paintings, I just finished one. I'm pleased. The look is just right for how I felt about the original photograph which was taken in the rain. With the change in the weather it seems appropriate to have been finished today. I walked into my studio this morning and it was 60 glorious degrees. Anyone who works in encaustic will appreciate the fact that today's drop in temp was a boon to art making. I had two grills going at the same time, double the space and double the heat. Whoopee. I look forward to a chilly winter. Of course, here in the "southland" it never gets very cold or at least it never stays cold for more than a few hours. Especially these days I don't even have a heavy winter coat. Layers, that's what it's all about here.

Well, I did it! I bought a wide format printer (albeit reFURbished). To say I can hardly wait to use it is an understatement. The idea of producing larger photos is so intriquing to me. When I had a darkroom I was so free to produce any size I wanted (well maybe not any size). Being stuck producing 8 1/2 x 11 prints has literally driven me crazy. No more. In a week I will be off on another great adventure.

Curious Day

2008-10-17T22:41:00.000-04:00

I worked today framing work for the upcoming opening. My frames arrived and they were perfect. It did take most of the day to accomplish the framing but it was worth it, especially the "fig leaf" painting. I used maple and the floater really made a difference in the presentation. With encaustic paintings I always ask myself if a frame is necessary.

Though very humid it was a comfortable day and I enjoyed watching the rain while I worked. It was quiet too except for the guys (and maybe gals) flying jets overhead getting ready for an air show that commences for the two days of the weekend. I will be interested to hear how that goes tomorrow.

I'm ready now to begin new paintings and am letting ideas freely float. They will be more trees I'm sure of that but not exactly sure how I will proceed, what sizes etc. I like floating on to the next work and hope to work out details while I sleep tonight. While I wait I'll play with images on the computer, draw, and read. Reading has a most beneficial effect on me. First it always causes lucid dreaming and for some unknown reason helps me clarify what I want to create. The reading can be novels ("Snow"), short stories (John Updike), Vegetarian Times (really!) having nothing to do with visual art. I don't know how the process works but I don't have to know.

My chairs are going to the gallery so I thought I'd post an image. Fun.

Encaustic Worshop

2008-10-11T20:51:00.001-04:00

Of all the subjects that I've taught (in this case really facilitated), the encaustic technique has to be my favorite. There is so much experimenting to be done, the results are so immediate and yet there is always a long way to go till the final image emerges. Today I had three partipants in the workshop and we did have a creative adventure. The three artists who participated all do wonderful paintings that I admire. Each has a distinct way of using encaustic which utlitizes the talent and experience they already possess. I was impressed.

We have so much to learn as artists and I think there is no doubt that continuing to learn new skills is the lifeblood of our work. The artist will never learn it all. Isn't that fantastic. Today I had a chance to experience the creativity of three very accomplished artists. My own work will improve as a result.

New Paintings

2008-10-01T20:25:00.000-04:00

I have finally finished two paintings that have been quite a challenge. It's work that I'll be sending to a new gallery, and I mean new. The gallery will be opening in a little over a month and I'm truly excited to be participating. How great to be participating in the inaugural exhibit of a new gallery. The owner is someone I will enjoy working with. She visited my studio recently and I did not hestitate to sign on after our meeting. Sometimes you just know when it's right.

This past weekend was stellar! I had an encaustic workshop in my studio. That's an inauguration of a sort too since I have been traveling to other locations for workshops. I had three very enthusiastic participants who were excellent artists. It was fun to watch as they started on the "encaustic road". I don't know if they will continue to pursue the technique but I know it was a good experience for all of us. I plan a followup workshop weekend after next.

I keep saying variations of inaugural, you think politics could be responsible? Though I try to keep it out of the studio it's seeping everywhere.

Arabian Mountain

2008-09-04T21:35:00.000-04:00

After posting on my website a photo of an encaustic painting I have just finished, I decided I wanted to write about the image because it interests me. The original photo was taken with my view camera on an old majestic tripod atop Arabian Mountain. For those who are not familiar it is a foothill of Stone Mountain in Georgia. I don't remember exactly how I found out about the spot but in any event the story was that the KKK had meetings there at one time. I honestly do not know if that is true but the day I climbed with my heavy load of equipment it was deserted. Not a soul anywhere. Truly it was a an eerie experience as the photos I took still make me wonder. At some time I think I'll revisit them all, the prints that is. One photo of a fissure in the stone looks like an open grave. I know this sounds creepy perhaps but I found myself wondering as I reinvented the original photograph in encaustic and silk why this pics still fascinate me.

Studio

2008-08-28T19:31:00.000-04:00

Remarkably I am spending at least six to eight hours a day painting. It is glorious. Nothing has been better for me than my studio space. When I left this evening it was only because I need to give it a rest. Myopia is sometimes not a good thing. Tomorrow I will go to work and see the two paintings I have been working on simultaneously with new eyes. Even though I wanted to start the next two, I said to myself get some rest and start fresh tomorrow. That is very hard to do when the paint is flowing, or should I say fusing in this case. There is a certain obsession that follows the passion for art making and as many experts have said....keep your balance. Very hard to do.

So here is a snap of my studio. That's Joanna whom I have mentored since she was in Kindergarten. She is a joy to work with and a gifted artist headed for a successful career in art someday.

Thank You

2008-08-24T09:25:00.000-04:00

I had a great email this week from a client who purchased one of my paintings from Griffith Gallery. It was a "thank you" for a painting that he placed in his office. It's so rare when I know where a painting finally ends up and I was very grateful for his message. Not only did he hang it in his office but he planned the interior decor based on the painting. Now that is a dream client! I am the one who is thanking him.

It's been a great August (and still is). I'm working on commissions, have great people to mentor, am joining fellow encaustic artists in a local group of the International Encaustic Artists, and meeting and working with a group of artists at the complex where I have my studio. In other words, I'm having fun.

Is it fall yet?

2008-08-02T20:43:00.000-04:00

Amazing to me that in two short weeks school starts in Georgia. It is so hot right now, I can not imagine teaching or learning anything. What happened to summer? In another sense I'll be glad people will be back in town. Either vacations or the economy is keeping people from the galleries. I would hazard a guess that it is the economy if all the financial pundits are correct.

On the other hand life goes on...I paint...that's what I do no matter what the financial markets do. I ask myself once in a while, why would I choose art making for a career. The answer comes very quickly, that's what I do. It's my passion, my vocation...but don't tell me that I am following my bliss. To be an artist is sometimes blissful but that is a rare indeed or so it seems to me. When a painting really works, I mean really works to the point that you shudder with delight as you stand before it, then blissful it is. How many times does that happen? May I say again, rarely. There is truly nothing like recognizing that I have created something and I do not know how I did it. I mean literally I do not know how it came about. I guess if I did know then I'd be turning them out one after another. Quite a search goes on for that image I look for all my life. It takes a lifetime of work and I will never be sure I will find THE image. Good luck.

New Work

2008-07-04T19:26:00.000-04:00

I just posted a new image on the index page on my website. I've been working on it for weeks. The photo is really a detail since it is a large painting 30 x 60 inches...the largest that I've attempted so far. I'm now hooked and know that more larger paintings are on the horizon.

Tonight I'm taking it easy. I didn't go to the studio today, taking a little break since I teach tomorrow morning early and then plan to start fusing and painting later in the day. More paintings! Now that I have air conditioning in my studio I can work any time in utter comfort. No, the temp is still around 80-85 but the humidity is gone. Working in the South in the summer can be daunting. When I first moved into my studio I had to take paintings home because the heat was keeping the wax a little too soft when I didn't need it soft. It was a challenge getting ready for the exhibit at Thomas Deans.

Outside my new apartment there is a virtual garden of eden..plum, apple, and fig trees and beautiful flowering plants everywhere. I know that I will be busy with my camera taking advantage of so much beauty as fodder for my new work.

Encaustic Workshop

2008-06-27T19:59:00.000-04:00

I'm in the midst of planning for my upcoming workshop. I look forward to conducting workshops for encaustic painting I guess because I love the method of working. There are so many variables involved that no way will I get bored. Fusing is not the most fun I ever had but on the other hand there are times when the process allows me to wait. Yes wait. That time for me is a good thing since I am a bit impulsive...shall I say.

This time around I want to take some photos during the workshop. The last workshop in the fall was so much fun. I always learn as much as I teach to others. Really a win/win. The workshop will be at the Atlanta Artists Center. What a great place. It's a pleasure to work in a room with space to move around, plenty of amenities along with their helpful members. July 19th, all day should prove to be a creative day. We'll work with pastels, monotypes, charcoal, photographs...you name it.

Too Long

2008-06-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

Time to post! I have been in the midst of working on a large encaustic, the biggest I've worked on so far and of course I like working big. I think my best work has always been of the larger variety. It's just something that I understand; it's freeing. The work I'm creating now is photo based and that in itself is news because it takes me back to my photographic roots. I feel as if I have come full circle. How phenomenal. I'm energized to keep my camera at my side and this time it's so much easier in the digital world. Though I must admit working in the darkroom was one of my favorite activities. I'll always miss the beauty of the BW print created in the dark. As a matter of fact I even enjoyed the process of developing my film.
My studio is up and running and I love the space, perfect for larger format work and for working in general. The work is flowing in the best way possible.

Great weekend opening at Tannery Row. The "Word" reception was great, poets were interesting and art outstanding. The artists' studios are definitely worth a trip to Buford, Georgia. Interesting town too.

The work above is an encaustic that is now on view at Thomas Deans Fine Art on Bennett Street in Atlanta. Love the gallery and this is one of the paintings that is currently in the exhibit, "From Nature". More to come.

New Studio

2008-05-06T21:03:00.001-04:00

I have a new studio space! Wow just like that everything came together. Big studio, great light, painting walls...what else could I ask...well maybe a/c. Who cares, the space rocks. It's in the Artisan Resource Center, a big complex, 43,000 sq ft and 25+ artist and craftman studios and workshops. My studio is in such good condition, thanks to the previous lessee that I will have to do nothing but move in, which I will do shortly. You can't see what a great door with wonderful sculptural elements by Marygrace Perkins. I'll have to try for a better photo next time.

New Series

2008-04-23T19:38:00.000-04:00

I'm experimenting with encaustic on cast paper. What fun! The paper has such wonderful texture though called cold press it really is quite rough. Love that. The images thus far are subtle to say the least and I have tentatively titled the series secrets and revelations. I start with a drawing that is covered with beeswax continuing to layer with encaustic medium and pigment. Oil and wax sticks have always been one of my favorite mediums and now I'm finding that I like working on the top layer of encaustic with the sticks. I bought my first sticks so long ago, I think R&F Paints was just starting up. They are my favorite because of their rich pigmentation.

Soon I'll begin monotyping again in preparation for a workshop I'll teach this summer. I look forward to testing some new procedures since the last time I worked with prints. This is my favorite time of the year to work and usually as the air heats up..my work does too.

Studio Space

2008-04-14T18:26:00.001-04:00

I'm considering studio space. Yes I have a studio and it's big, but I am living where I'm working now for the passed five years. It works on some levels: easy to get to work, work anytime you wish night or day, privacy...and other advantages. But there are many advantages to working in a separate space: going home from work, camaraderie with other artists, letting the gesso Or wax fall where it may. The last reason is one that means the most to me. There is a certain ease being in a rough space where cleanliness means nothing if you don't want it to. In my case I am neat and organized but when I'm painting I can't think, if you know what I mean. Love to sling that paint. Oh yeah, I don't have painting walls...drives me crazy.

So how big and where? The center where I had a studio before is an excellent choice since it's only twenty minutes away, but they don't have the right size studio at the moment. Waiting, I'm not that good at waiting but better than I used to be. Crossing my fingers that something becomes available soon. In the meantime, I work.

Black and White

2008-03-31T16:06:00.000-04:00

One of my Platinum prints will be shown in the Mills Pond House Gallery exhibit in St. James, New York that opens in May. Lest anyone doubt that I work in many mediums and often at the same time, here is another case. Black & white photography is a passion of mine. When I began taking photographs and studying at the Southeastern Center for Photographic Arts in Atlanta, I knew immediately that black & white would be my choice. One of my earliest memories is my dad in the darkroom; he let me come in to watch him. I think from that very time I knew photography was going to be important to me, maybe because it was a passion of his.

Although, of course I have done color it never has interested me much; somehow the color print was never true enough no matter how well I learned to print it, it always looked artificial. And print it I did when I was working commercially.

Then there is Platinum with it's warmth and beauty. Glossy was never and is not my thing either. The closest I get to anything glossy is with my encaustic paintings but they are so textured that "really" glossy never happens. "The Argument", the photo above is one of those images that happened without my realizing what it was about. I had spent some time breaking crystal (from my first marriage), mirrors, and then happened upon broken eyeglasses. I still collect eyeglasses usually finding them in parking lots. People evidently just drop their glasses and eventually they are run over by a vehicle several times and presto they are just right for me. I scoop them up and eventually use them for the next project.

Family Circle

2008-03-18T17:46:00.000-04:00

Right now I am very pleased. Pleased that "Family Circle" will again be shown. Last summers' work was arduous and in the end successful as it said what I wanted to say. So it's off to the Fine Arts Exhibition at the Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College as part of the Decatur Arts Festival 2008. It's been a long time since I entered a work in that show.

Spring

2008-03-16T16:45:00.000-04:00

This is the time of the year when I feel the most focus. There is a certain ease about creating that doesn't happen for me any other time of the year. The ease increases as the weather gets warmer and warmer. Summer is the peak time for me to make artwork. Last summer I was working on a sculpture/installation project for an exhibit. This year I am working on a series for a solo exhibit.

The series has already taken shape but working on larger encaustic paintings has slowed me down so that I am working more thoughtfully or maybe a better way to say it is meditatively for there isn't as much thinking as doing. I continue to glaze and scrape back looking for that surface which says something to me. My hues are becoming complex systems of wax and pigment. They are alive. The inspiration for this series came from photos taken through a microscope, my photos. As for the microscope, it is not much more than a toy but once I load the digits into Photoshop, magic happens. Organic systems continue to invade my images. Where is this going? I may not know for a while.

After the series of tornadoes that hit my town this weekend, today spring has arrived and I've never seen the trees more beautiful; they take my breath away.

WCAGA Exhibit "Earth: A Microcosm"

2008-03-12T09:11:00.000-04:00

Enjoy a trip to the Women's Caucus for Art of Georgia's regional juried exhibition at the Ferst Center for the Arts and the Networking Day event "The Artist and the Environment: A Day of Discussion".

Earth: A Microcosm

2008-03-08T10:23:00.000-05:00

The opening last night was sucessful. Thanks to the WCAGA group who hung the show! They were meticulous lighting the artwork and hanging the work to its best advantage. And as you can see by the photo, I had rather a good time myself. This group of women (and man as we have a male artist who joined recently) is a positive force. I'm energized each time I interact with the programming and exhibits sponsored by the Caucus.

Tomorrow's panel discussion of art and the environment will be interesting as I come from environmentally conscious stock. My father designed a system for heating and cooling his house with both solar and wind power. He was a remarkable man. His genius made him a bit strange but his creativity and good heart was unmistable. I loved his vitality and have always thought how lucky I am to have inherited his love of music, art, science...how good can it get.

Thanks to Flora Rosefsky for the photo. She's a marvelous artist whose exhibit at the Temple Gallery in Decatur, Georgia will open in a little over a month. Congratulations Flora.

Coasting

2008-02-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

After finishing work for a show on which I have been working for a few months, I find myself coasting. It takes a while to get back up and running with new work. I'm ready, in my head, to begin new encaustic paintings, this time large ones, but some part of me is not quite ready for the execution of the artwork. I wander around cleaning my studio, looking at my paints, cleaning brushes, really the list is endless. In fact I remember hearing Louise Bourgeoise say that she "cleans, cleans, cleans" and then starts to work.

Each task has an important purpose in the process as I ease my way back. In the interim I am of course coaching my students and right now their work I find fascinating as everyone is proceding on a different path everything from wall sculpture to large figure paintings. The coaching, though draining at times, is such an excellent way to stay connected.

The Good News

2008-02-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

I had a dream that my frames were delivered and my dream came true on Saturday morning...There they were sitting outside the studio door. Wow dreams come true? The paintings were delivered and now I can resume work on my commissions.

This day foretells spring. I see daffodils about to bloom and the trees that always bloom early are doing so again. I haven't decided my favorite time of the year but I do enjoy spring especially the beautiful greens I have a chance to see again. I forget those greens for a while.

There are two large panels ready for encaustic. I am so ready but they will have to wait. The anticipation is fabulous. Tonight my plan is to finish the oil paintings and to be free once more to begin heating that wax. I have a new hue, aqua blue, ready for a spin.

Flexible

2008-02-15T21:00:00.000-05:00

It finally happened. After all these years delivering work to exhibits on time exactly the way I planned, my frames did not arrive today. That means that I will have to deliver my encaustic paintings sans their lovely floater frames. Allright I can live with this after spending months perfecting each painting and looking forward to a great presentation. At least they are cradled and I've painting the edges. Alas, I'm trying to remain calm.

For the good news. One of my paintings (above) will be in the Georgia Tech Ferst Gallery exhibit coming in March as part of the Women's Caucus for Art of Georgia's regional juried show "Earth a Microcosm". I think I better start preparing this painting tonight for delivery. Who knows what schedule buster lurks out there.

Tonight I cry in my beer, tomorrow I deliver paintings!

Sharing

2008-02-09T20:24:00.001-05:00

I conducted an encaustic workshop today and I had a great time. To introduce the process to artists is exciting. Since it's versatile, unmanageable, flexible, unpredictable, shall I go on, there is always amazement at just how interesting an image is possible with a little patience. The group was small and since this was the first experience for most I was amazed at the quick progress some made producing really outstanding paintings for their first try. And of course I had the chance to see the progress over the days time and the finished product. I'm nuts however, I didn't take any photos. Next time. The enthusiasm for another workshop will make it certain that I'll do another one. All in all a good day. Sharing with other artists, I love it!

Tomorrow I'm off to commission land. It's the land of great promise and trepidation. Monday is a full teaching day so tomorrow and Tuesday will be put my nose to canvas (oil paintings are on tap).

Quiet

2008-02-04T12:15:00.001-05:00

Why are some days quieter than others? This morning I walked to the mailbox and noticed so many beautiful sounds. This is the quietest place I've ever lived. I could hear a gray squirrel running up the tree from down the street, just the scratching sound was a minor interruption. There was a gentle breeze and I could hear the birds bustling about their business of the morning. I followed up my quiet morning by staying in that inner peaceful state to finish my "beeswaxing". If I could maintain this state of mind I would be very thankful.

Trees

2008-02-03T17:14:00.000-05:00

I was in the cemetery today. Why, I might ask? Because the most interesting trees are to be found there. Two trees I found today were outstanding. There is no way to describe these trees other than perhaps the obvious; they are old and very big. The tree trunks hold so much mystery. When I began this tree search I thought it was for the purpose of painting subject matter. Now I think quite clearly it may be the photographs themselves because they say so much to me. I'm enraptured. More adventures to come.

Right now I won't try to analyze what this venture is about, I only know there is an emotional connection that is going on here and I'll follow it to the conclusion whatever that it to be.

Cooling at the End of the Day

2008-02-02T20:36:00.000-05:00

This has been a long productive day. I had a student this morning and we worked in clay. It was a very good way to start a day since just working with clay is very meditative. The rest of the day has been one of "burning in" beeswax on two large canvas panels that will become encaustic paintings. I am savoring the start of these paintings as I let myself enjoy the process though believe me holding a heat gun for several hours will give your arms and wrists a workout. Since I've begun lifiting weights again the process gets easier each time and I recommend it.

I must admit I am thinking of some kind of apparatus to which I can attach a heat gun to make this job easier when I am doing a very large work. I'm not sure that it is even possible. At one time I had a black light exposure unit that I made for alternative photo printing so perhaps that design with heat lamps might have possible use in this situation. Or maybe I'll just suck it up and do the work as I've been doing it. My mind always races to think of a new inventive way to do the work.

Ah, the photo. This photo cools me, since that's what I need right now. I photographed the beach in Savannah right after Thanksgiving and let me tell you it was COLD.

Almost Finished

2008-01-31T16:16:00.000-05:00

I'm now almost finished with the paintings for the Trinity School artists market. What a pleasant surprise to find new imagery, well not quite new, but new in terms of the encaustics I'm painting. Trees have become so important to me and I think that is not surprising since I have now been working in a suburban setting for almost three years. Before, my studio looked out upon a gravel parking lot and the only yard work necessary was to kick the gravel off the entry pad. Though I have missed my old studio with its high ceiling and bountiful room, I am now beginning to take advantage of the fact that there are lovely trees so close to me and they are so beautiful.

Not just that they are beautiful but they have also been suffering through the drought. I want to be their protector though I know I can't.

For years my work has really focused on the manmade structure of the urban environment. When I pulled out the many photographic prints I have made there were enumerable photos of trees from every angle: macros, abstractions, the list goes on. So here I am embarking on new territory and feeling a kinship with the images. What they mean to me I'm not quite sure yet. But I don't have to know. I will continue to work and let the images come through me and melt into the panels. I am now finding my way back to photography in the most unexpected way.

Girl Scout Cookies

2008-01-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I will be the proud owner of eight boxes of Girl Scout Cookies very soon. It just happened since I know a few parents whose girls are now selling the cookies. A tradition, that's what it is though I will no doubt not eat any of them..I'm not much for eating any kind of processed food. In fact, since becoming a vegetarian a few years ago I am rather deligent about eating properly. My allergies disappeared when I started this regimen, who knew?

I have discovered polenta. Why did it take so long? I don't know but I do know it's great to sling it on the grill on Monday evenings as I create dinner in fifteen minutes. That's all the time I have between students on Monday. I do believe my food network job awaits me as the creator of "Fifteen Minute Meals". Believe me I'm an expert at throwing healthy hash on a plate.

Today was an off day as I decided to continue to savor ("The Sound of Paper") and even work on some of the lists Cameron suggests. I needed a break from "burning in". The paintings are going so well I am almost finished with the thirteenth...the last one that is if I don't change my mind. It could happen. I will once again be ready on time for the Trinity School Exhibit.

I know this photo has nothing to do with cookies but this cat duo made me laugh today.

The Sound of Paper

2008-01-23T18:25:00.001-05:00

Last night I started reading Julia Cameron's book "The Sound of Paper". I may have owned one of her other books, "The Artist's Way", but never really got involved in it. This book is written so beautifully that just reading it fires off my creative spirit. I just love reading it if only for the way she writes. I found this copy in a used bookstore when in Savannah before Christmas and I guess I was waiting until I finished Kirk Varnedoe's book, "Pictures of Nothing" a fascinating book...so lovely I could not make my usual notes in it..maybe sometime to go back and mark my favorite passages.

Reading for me is a catalyst. I don't know why but the better written the book the more dreaming and the more ideas start to hatch maybe even more than when journaling or drawing in my sketchbook. Paper itself is interesting. I buy paper long before I know what I'll do with it. The photo is of a monotype that I completed a while ago called "Existences". Great paper.

Julia's idea of writing three pages of longhand every morning may never catch on with me but her superb writing will assist me on this creative journey.

White Cube

2008-01-20T13:46:00.000-05:00

This morning through a friend of mine I discovered the artwork of Doris Salcedo and quickly viewed her work on the website http://www.whitecube.com . Not only was Salcedo's work interesting but I found a plethora of artists that engaged me. It will never cease to amaze me that I have so much information availabe to me at the click of a mouse.

I have the leisure of surfing this morning as I print information brochures on my upcoming encaustic workshops at the Atlanta Artists Center. Working with a small group of artists is really a pleasure. When I was conducting my "Exploring Abstraction" workshops, we had so much fun. I made as many discoveries as the participants did. That's the way it is with mentoring or teaching, a great way to energize.

Snowing

2008-01-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

I'm in my studio not working because I am enjoying the snow falling outside my windows. Today I have too many windows (and a glass door to the deck) so that my attention is on the beautiful wonderland of white and not on the work that is before me today. Living in New Jersey for so many years I really was blase about snow but being back in the south for a time now, snow is welcome again. There is a visitor on the deck, not my cat, but a cat that has taken up residence under cover of the gazebo. In fact this great orange cat has been sleeping on my chair for the past few days, have no idea where he's from.

Good Friends

2008-01-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

I had lunch with old friend today. I had not seen Brenda (http://www.brendapinnickdesigns.com/) in at least five years; a lot to catch up in a short time. She truly is one of the most creative and generous artists I've ever known; ready to assist another artist anyway she can. Generosity is scarce these days midst the competiveness that accompanies "trying to get ahead". I enjoyed talking with her and finding out about the many design projects she's working on. She is so passionate about what she does. I love it.

Tonight I'm back to work on the encaustics I'm creating for the Trinity School Show. Oh my, I've done this show a least six years maybe more since I'm not counting, don't have time to. I look forward to the show this year because I like the work I'm exhibiting better than anything I've done before. It will be interesting to see if my audience is as please as I am.

Hurrah, my page is updated on the CLARA database on the National Museum for Women in the Arts website with photos of my new encaustics and info about me. That was fast as I sent the CD and info only last week. Thanks to Emily Frum for the quick posting.

O.K., I'm not painting so it's high time I start but following Brenda's lead I'll be posting here more often. She has good advice.

Winter Solstice

2007-12-21T17:59:00.000-05:00

Apropos of the season is the photo of a new encaustic painting. Very difficult to photograph encaustics. I've become fascinated with trees and have been retrieving the many photographs I have of trees a collection of twenty years worth of images. I'm amazed at how many images I have to work with but have not yet decided exactly how I want to use them in the series. At least I have a few started using a technique of drawing in India ink on the panel and then building up layers of encaustic medium and pigment. I've been experimenting with different "burning in" methods as well..mainly the use of heat from underneath the panel and infrared light bulbs. Both are very tricky to control and I've begun to realize more and more that I don't have total control of the process and will not have total control no matter how many hours I spend using the medium for painting.

I just viewed "Le Belle Noiseuse". It was four hours of heaven for an artist to watch another artist drawing from the figure..Well the entire DVD is not drawing, there is a story so to speak but the drawing was mesmerizing. After viewing I took out my extra long filbert brushes and discovered new life in my paintings of the figure this past week.

Then there are the holidays. It is hard to keep working with all the hubbub around me but I've been managing quite well to keep the work going that needs to be delivered after the first of the year. January will be a very busy month to say the least.

Cooler

2007-09-15T19:22:00.000-04:00

The weather finally feels like fall. I'm not sure how long it will last but a few days will enervate me for sure. I look around the studio and see so many paintings in progress and I love it; they are all encaustics at the moment. I've fallen in love with the circle, circumference, the sphere, a hole in the wall, an opening. Frankly I'm not sure if I understand the significance of the emerging images but they please me. There is now a series of twelve "roundnesses" that appear to be one painting---8 x 8 inch paintings. Don't know yet what configuration they'll take. All in a row...I like that. So much texture. Can't get enough.

I've been fascinated by the NASA "Earth as Art" site. Can't get enough of the photos available online. They are inspiring my underpaintings for the current series but they're not the only inspiration. My photos taken through the microscope are a second sources and an interesting one.

Georgia Women Artists Blog

2007-09-01T10:26:00.000-04:00

Check out the new blog, Georgia Women Artists. Look forward to interesting discussions. The first entry has great photos of the recent exhibition in Athens, Georgia, "Stretch". It was an amazing experience to be part of the exhibition. But perhaps even better was to see the other artists as they installed their work. Many, many hours went into the creation of those works.

New encaustics, my format is getting bigger and I'm certainly getting more ambitious with the texture becoming richer and richer. An unusual format for me, I'm painting round images in a square. Boundless symbolism. The inspiration for the images is coming from NASA photos. I'm of course not recreating the photos but rather using the color and texture for my underpaintings.

Encaustic

2007-07-16T14:34:00.000-04:00

I am as relaxed as is possible with all the deadlines looming ahead. One day at a time, I've heard that said so many times...just hard to practice. The "Stretch" exhibit is next and my installation is finished (the image shown here). Then the show in Kingston, New York, "Encaustic '07". My "Calypso" painting will hang there and then move to Ball State University for the rest of the show till December. I am really excited about showing that work in such a prestigious venue. I hope to meet the other encaustic artists..what a blast.

Today I'm readying my presentation for the Atlanta Artists Center, explaining the wonderful world of encaustic painting. I'll do a workshop there in September and look forward to sharing all the fun with other artists willing to do all that "burning in".

Our trip to Paducah was great. What a wonderful idea their artist relocation plan. Not many properties still available but I can't wait to go back and see the progress. Met artist and gallery owner Char Downs there and visited the Mark Palmer Gallery...outstanding. So much abstract art in the heart of Kentucky. Who knew? With so short a vacation there was no time to explore everything. We'll be back.

Hello Out There

2007-04-07T21:07:00.000-04:00

I have been at it again. Working 18 hour days to get ready for upcoming exhibits and painting new work needed for my favorite galleries. Though I must admit that some of those hours are spent staring at blank canvases and waiting for lightning to strike, so to speak. The work was going so slowly I was beginning to think I was going to be in big trouble. Then it happened. Out of the blue come images and colors that started singing to me, yes singing! I finished a number of encaustics, very pleased with those and oil paintings too. My model was unavailable last week so I had to focus, luckily, on the abstract work I have a little over three weeks left before the deadlines. Fifteen paintings in all, would you believe it. It's freezing outside here. Maybe that's the reason why I recovered from what was becoming a serious case of "spring fever". The painting to the left is "Calypso", my favorite so far.

It Won't Work

2007-02-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

What, I forgot how to log in! Don't tell me I'm not keeping up with my wish to blog. Alas. I have been brush to canvas for several weeks now. Starting and starting a painting which will never work. I can't make it work. I cannot direct the art I have to let go and let it come. Oh brother. So I have put it away and have begun again on an image that will work, I'm sure it will?

I am enjoying the oil paint again and am ready to start on new encaustics. Everyday I think the commission is finished and it will be possible to get to the lovely wax. Well, maybe tomorrow is the day.

I heard a great lecture (courtesy of Netflix) on Louise Bourgeois. How wonderful that she has created a sculpture that will celebrate the lives of those who were lost in the tsunami. I would very much like to see it in person.

Where are the hues?

2007-02-10T15:53:00.000-05:00

Why is it that spontaneous color is so hard to come by. I've been working in oil for the past three weeks and for some reason the colors will not come. They're not singing to me. I teach private students and I'm always on their backs to loosen up, let the color and images come to them. Don't try to push it. Well, guess what? I'm pushing, pulling, almost no hair left on my head and all I see before me is mush, not mud, mush. Letting go has to be the hardest thing an artist must do to create. Part of the problem has been commissions...I love doing them but they can stop me being me at some point and trying to find me again takes some time.

The painting here is what I consider my only success lately. But it didn't come easily. The failures are lining up now and I'm quickly removing them from my studio. Sure, I know that learning from failures is how you find success but it feels terrible sometimes.

Catch Up Time

2007-01-20T22:53:00.000-05:00

I know it's past time to catch up with myself. The winter is a very busy time this year, new galleries, new work. Soon, soon I'll have time to start some new encaustics as I've been working in oil for a show. I viewed some encaustics at a prestigious gallery yesterday and was amazed at how much wax I estimated to have been used in the production of some very large pieces. All that "burning in" boggles my mind. I worked on a couple of large pieces several years ago. They were very long and very narrow and took forever to complete. Totally worth it but I think I'll stick to working in series in the smaller format. I love the idea of experimenting and feel so much freer to do so on a smaller scale. The big ones till come eventually because I can not stop them.

The encaustic above is more whimsical than many of the others I've been working on and I like it.

Treading Water

2006-12-27T10:16:00.000-05:00

Might as well tread water. It is so warm it's scary. I just saw the Gore film about global warming. It's staying with me as I try to digest the message. All those melting icebergs are not a pretty sight to see.

Am treading water in the studio as well. For some reason this is always a down time for me creatively. So I spend time thinking, writing and gathering supplies...stretching and gessoing, gluing canvas to panels. In a sense this is a good time to reflect on my next work in the series of encaustics and decide what to do next in my figurative series. On the other hand I am chomping at the bit to start to work again when my studio becomes all mine again.