Working in the Studio

This is an ink painting I worked on this summer. For me it sums up our summer trip and I think it's title should be "Looking for the Waterfall". It looks like the global positioning unit we used in my car whenever we set out on one of our sightseeing trips. So does that keep this piece from being abstract because it so closely resembles a map?

I seem to be struggling with this concept of abstract versus abstraction in my work. Labels, genres, categories and such seem to be for art historians so I shouldn't concern myself with this while I'm working. That said, it's always good to ask questions, and know where you are heading like looking at a map once in a while. I feel the work should have something to say, whether everyone gets it is another question entirely. I always say that images were used to communicate before written language and have the potential to communicate more directly than words. My work comes from my heart and usually communicates what I'm going through so maybe that's exactly why the work is a struggle right now. It's caught between representation and non representation as I struggle with whether to paint for an audience or paint purely for myself with no regard as to whether it will make it into a prestigious gallery or sell for a nice price. Is validation from an outside source as important as I perceive it to be?
Then on top of that I add working with a new medium just for kicks.
Here are some encaustic paintings I worked on this week.

These were 2 that I kind of liked. Another one I fought with for days wasn't even worth photographing. I was ready to just throw in the towel even though I'm not a quitter. I was thinking to myself maybe I should just be concentrating on oil painting and give up on the encaustic while I'm ahead and then I eek out one or two little things that keep me intrigued. This week it was gouging out lines, then filling them with a color and then scraping the whole surface smooth so that the fill color only shows in the gouged areas. That is called learning and then comes applying that knowledge appropriately and with finesse. Stay tuned.

Picking Up Where I Left Off

September was a crazy month of painting fabric and nuno felting for my window display. When it was done I was exhausted and so anxious to get back to painting. Last week I cleaned and tried to return my studio to some kind of working state. I had these two canvases 26 x 36 inches that I decided to make a diptych and primed them a midnight blue. Boy, they looked dark. Today I took the plunge and did my first pour of oil paint on canvas since last May. There's some glare because the paint is wet.

It's a start and feels more successful than the messes I made in encaustic. I haven't worked in encaustic in a long while and I'm still struggling to get what I want. I feel like a foreigner or a child, or both. I feel like a child in a foreign land. When I first started working with it, that is what I liked about it. It was exciting, like traveling to a new place where you don't know the language and you don't know what you'll encounter. Now I'm finding I can work for hours without bringing a piece to completion. I layer, melt, scrape, and still no satisfaction. Frustrating. I guess it's like learning a foreign language. So I was thinking about how a child communicates. They have limited vocabulary but usually find a way to communicate their needs. Sometimes it's with a cry that communicates loud and clear. So I tell myself I need to simplify, resort to a limited vocabulary. I guess that can be scary sometimes, to drop the pretenses and just say what you mean. Another advantage children have, they don't mince words they just say what they mean without the superfluous adjectives. I'm trying too hard, I guess. I keep hoping the results will be worth all the struggle. Here's a few pieces I'm still working on.

Then I grabbed a small panel that had some colors smeared on it from when I needed to clean my brushes from time to time. I painted some dark brown circles, when in doubt paint circles, right? Then I layered and carved, drew with oil pastel, ran out of time and called it a day. I kind of like it, I mean I really think I like it. It's simple and to the point. What do you think?

Windows Throughout Old City

I completed my window display and installation at J. Karma Boutique at 62 N. 3rd St. in Old City Philadelphia! I worked myself to exhaustion and beyond. I'm happy with most of it, but there were I few things I wish I could have worked on but there just wasn't any time left. I installed on Thursday for 8 hours, up and down a ladder, every change I made I had to go outside to see how it looked from the street. Despite my inexperience in these things it went pretty well. I finished my sketch and a few small changes in the window on Friday. Now it's done and all I can do is take away the knowledge of what I'll do different the next time I do an installation.You can check photos of the other windows and vote for your favorite at http://www.discoveroldcity.com/ (you know what I mean, vote for me.)Studio shots..










You are invited to join me at the opening in Old City.
Dane Decor is hosting an opening reception for the DesignPhiladelphia Old City Window Reception on Friday, October 9th, 5:30-9:00:
Hors D'oeuvres by Tastebuds Market
Wine Service by Pinot: They will serve Pinotini's! Pinotini's are Pinot's Specialty Drink of Raspberry Vodka blended with Pinot's own Cabernet Chocolate Sauce.
Everyone is invited to attend: Window Designers, Old City businesses, residents and their friends. Dane Decor will also have digital photos of windows around Old City in their showroom so everyone can see what is going on in the
district!
Don't forget to vote for your favorite window at http://www.discoveroldcity.org/

Windows Throughout Old City

When I got back from vacation I'd been away from my studio for 10 weeks. It might seem like a long time but when I'm away from the studio that doesn't mean I'm not working. Coming up with all those projects for the kids keeps my creative mind running full speed and then finding ways to display it all is a creative endeavor also. When I'm with my sisters we're into one creative project after another. We bead together and scour every shop in Skaneatles, some of our best finds were in the church thrift store. Even if we're not buying we're discussing how something is made and what colors we would make it in. I saw some really nice nuno felted scarves and garments in the Artisan Gallery. The silk was really soft and hand dyed in beautiful colors.

Sue and I felted some rocks. I've seen them on Etsy and couldn't wait to try it. These are some we made.

I also made Sue a couple nuno felted bracelets to match some of her outfits for work.

When I got home I posted a few bracelets and purses to my Etsy shop before I got too busy in the studio. I want to post more soon but I have a very tight deadline on this project I jumped in on. I'm participating in Windows Throughout Old City, a window design exhibition and competition as part of Design Philadelphia! Well I've been talking about making one of my paintings into a 3 dimensional experience like an installation for some time now. I bought white organza to paint on and even did a small painting with fabric dyes before I left the studio. As soon as I signed up for this competition I started painting fabric, yards of it that will be felted. I made lots more felted rocks and constructed a small mock up and photographed it. Every night when I close my eyes I try to imagine how these painted fabrics and rocks will become an installation that surpasses mere window dressing. Well, I'm still working on many ideas and trying to bring them together into one brilliant idea. The waterfalls I visited this summer and white water rafting on the Moose River in the Adirondacks are my inspiration. I met with my business owner Jeanne of J. Karma Boutique on 3rd St, last Friday. I brought sketches, photos of my paintings, painted silk organza, felted rocks, papier mache rocks and hoped and prayed that she would love my idea. She did! Now here's the catch, I was preparing to design one window and she has 3 windows. So instead of doing one installation I'm doing 3 and the deadline is Oct. 2nd. That's 2 weeks away and includes photographs and a sketch of the final work. So much to do, so little time.

Buttermilk Falls, Ithaca, NY

The last week of our vacation we drove an hour and a half in spitting rain and ate our lunch in the car just to see Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, NY. Luckily it wasn't a perfect day because we could enjoy the place without sharing it with a lot of people. It stopped raining long enough for us to walk up and for the girls to swim. What is it about rushing water? The sound alone was worth the car ride. It was a steep hike, a lot of stairs to traverse but the view kept improving as we went up. I'm back in the studio working on a big project, I'll post details soon. I can say my summer water adventures will be the inspiration for this new project and for more new paintings too. Water seems to be consuming my creative brain. I am a Scorpio after all.

Montreal

This ferris wheel at LaRonde Montreal, Quebec was HUGE!

I think Alex's pants were brown afterwards. My stomach did flip flops just watching Delaney lean forward and look down.

Cute penguins I photographed at the Biosphere.

These weather worn, old, paint flaking murals in Old Montreal were great abstract compositions when cropped. Found art.

Skaneatles Lake

I'm missing putting my feet in the chilly water of Skaneatles Lake. If you have the guts to jump in, it feels sooo good.

Savannah had the guts.

I swam a couple times, the water is crystal clear.

I love the sound of water lapping over the shore. That sound used to lull me to sleep many nights of my childhood spent on the boat.