Insects

Throughout my career there have been a few subjects that I continually am drawn to paint.  Of course the figure is my main love, but then too I am nearly equally drawn to nature.  I've had an on going series of paintings of dead birds that was started while still in college, though my fascination with birds likely started at a much younger age.  My childhood best friend's father was the director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Nearly every weekend was spent on some bird count our nature hunt.  But right now, I seem to have reconnected with insects.  Here are a few small, recent, little buggers for your viewing pleasure.

Cicada Killer, oil on panel, 5" x 5"

Progress Shots of Bumblebee:

Bumblebee, oil on panel, 5" x 5"

I have one more insect related painting that I just completed.  The paint has dried dull in some areas and needs varnish to even it out.  So until I can get a good final image, here are just a few progress snapshots of my painting titled Orchestrate Change which features a cocoon, likely of a Polyphemus Moth .

 

  

Orchestrate Change, oil on panel, 6" x 18"

Guardian

 

Guardian, oil on panel, 64" x 48"

My painting Guardian is now dry enough to photograph.  As I stated in the previous post (which you can read here), this painting is a deeply personal image that has stuck with me for approximately three years.  I'm not ready to verbally explain all the symbols and meanings of this painting - hopefully there are some that you will be able to read in the painting on your own.  I will share that this has been one of the most rewarding painting experiences of my life.  This painting has developed and evolved and gushed out of the deepest parts of my being.  I feel so much gratitude for being able to experience this.     

 Guardian (details), oil on panel, 64" x 48" 

 

Self as Skeptic

Last week, after spending many hours on the large painting of my son, I wanted to take a little breather so I started a new self portrait.  It is a relief to work smaller and once again from life.  As you can imagine, I am not able to get my five year old son to hold still as a model, so I've been struggling with the limitations of photo reference.  This self portrait is a huge relief in that sense, though I do have a mad crick in my neck.

 open underpainting of 

The Skeptic, oil on panel, 20" x 16"

The day after I started this self portrait, I had the pleasure (for the second time) to see the beautiful Rembrandt in America exhibition at the NCMA with some lovely friends.  This exhibit boasts nearly 50 portraits by both Rembrandt and "the school of Rembrandt".  There are some truly remarkable paintings to feast on, such as the following self portrait painted in 1659 (which is on loan from the National Gallery of Art).  The exhibition continues at the NCMA thru January 22, 2012 and then travels to the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

It certainly is a humbling experience to compare my efforts in paint to that of the master Rembrandt!  But it also serves as a great source of inspiration to see how he layered so much paint and completely controls the viewers focus with not only the variation of paint applications, but great mastery of value relationships.  Here are a few more progress shots of my humble attempt.  It is still not complete and unfortunately, photographing a wet painting is nearly futile... my apologies for the poor photo quality.

work in progress 

detail of first pass of color

The Skeptic (in progress), oil on panel, 20" x 16"

 

Happy to be back

I am so happy that my travel is behind me (for now).  California was sensational!  Spending time with friends in Monterey at the Weekend with the Masters was wonderful and then too to have the opportunity to hear and paint along side some all stars was a cherry a'top that treat.  Following the conference, the wonderful Rachel Constantine and I had a brief but amazing adventure in the most beautiful place - Big Sur.  The locals took us in and made us feel right at home.  I won't soon forget it!  And then too, my visit down to Laguna Beach was a whirlwind trying to squeeze in as many visits with old friends as possible in 48 hours.  Thank you to the beautiful Stefani Tewes for lending me your amazing studio as a place to rest my head.  The lecture at LCAD went rather well.  I had several students come up to me after with compliments and gratitude.  I'm so happy that my experiences as an artist can inspire other artists.  It's a wonderful life, being an artist.  But I must admit, I was itching to get home to my family.  Now that I'm back, my babes look bigger and seem smarter.  My patient husband has managed to keep them alive and well.  I'm so grateful to their amazing daddy!  

Back into the studio I jumped.  This week I have finished two paintings.  The first is a study for a much larger work to come called Dumb Luck.  I won't give too much away at this point, but I'm really looking forward to diving into this large painting.  The second painting is one I have been sporadically working on for nearly 9 months.  With all the travel I have done this year, this poor painting kept getting put in the corner half done.  Now that I was able to focus on it for a bit, I think she's done.  Right??  I think there are still a few more things I will tweak on it till the two big, custom panels from Ampersand arrive.   Any suggestions for areas that you see need tweaking, speak up in the comments section. 

Study for Dumb Luck, oil on panel, 16" x 12"

Home Maker, oil on panel, 48" x 36"

Daniel Sprick

This past week I had the ultimate pleasure of spending time in Philadelphia with my very good friends Diane Feissel, Rachel Constantine and fellow NC artist Susan Lyon.  We were all enrolled in a workshop at the esteemed Studio Incamminati taught by the incredible Colorado artist Daniel Sprick.  There have been several posts on facebook and on the other artist's blogs about this workshop (Philly artist William Sentman did two great posts on the workshop which you can read by clicking: Day 1 or Day 2 and Diane Feissel did a great post titled Sprick).

Here are some photos of the experience with a few captions. 

Painting at Rachel's beautiful studio on Thursday before the weekend workshop.

(left to right: Sue Lyon, Diane Feissel, Daniel Sprick & Rachel Constantine off camera to left)

 Saturday, Day 1. Drawing

Daniel's final drawing demo.

Daniel starts another drawing demo from the model.

Daniel's final figure drawing demo.

My drawing of model Ron.

Day 2. Painting!

Susan Lyon taking Daniel's seat.

Daniel Sprick's palette.

Daniel's final painting demo (detail below)

My painting from the workshop.

Many thanks to Rachel and Diane for your amazing hospitality; to Daniel for the wonderful experience; to Studio Incamminati for hosting this great workshop and also a huge thank you to the lovely Lea Colie Wight for lending me your spare drawing board and paper.  Philly is full of amazing people!! 

Introducing - Tricia Cline

There is just SO much art out there in this wide world and on the world wide web.  So much good and yes, so much not so good art.  Its hard to not become anesthetized to images in general when there are so many images that are reminiscent and familiar.  So when you stumble upon an image that awakens something within you it feels as if you are discovering a hidden treasure.

Please let me introduce you to a most recent discovery - sculptor Tricia Cline.  After reading a bit of her thoughts behind her work and process, I all of a sudden feel too inarticulate to describe what it is that I find so compelling in her work.  Instead, I think the images will speak volumes on their own.

Exile of the Deer, 25" x 12" x 12", Porcelain, 2008   

To Bend and To Bow, 20" x 10" x 10", Porcelain, 2010

Fancy Ratus, 24" x 8" x 10", Porcelain, 2005 

There are many many more works shown on Tricia Cline's website that you can find by clicking HERE.  One of my favorite quotes from her statement page is below.  Enjoy!

"Here in the west art has been glorified as a product of the ego, as personal revelation, this couldn't be less true, art comes from beyond the personal, from the transcendent whisper that is ever present to everyone (and every thing), and therefore there is really nothing personal about it. So the images that come to us are not based on ideas out of mind, the images that come are transcendent guests - friends - that we develop ongoing relationships with."

Birth of Impressionism at the Frist

William Bougureau's Birth of Venus, oil on canvas, 120" x 86", 1879.

This past long holiday weekend, the family and I made our way to Nashville, TN to see the beautiful exhibition at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts called Birth of Impressionism.  This exhibition displays 100 paintings from the mid to late 19th century which are from the collection of the Musee d'Orsay.  In comparing the contemporaneous academic and realist paintings of that time period to the paintings of the avant garde, this show seeks to show the evolution of Impressionism as a reaction against the Salon.  

In walking thru this exhibit I kept finding myself drawn more to the examples of academic realism, the accepted Salon paintings or the earliest examples of Impressionism.  I found myself rushing through the last two rooms of typical Impressionistic landscapes, trying to avoid looking too long at what my daughter brilliantly described as "scribble, scrabble".  I've included some images of some of my favorite works from the show (many of which I first saw at the Musee d'Orsay in the summer of 1997).

Alfred Stevens, Le Bain, oil on canvas, 29 7/8" x 36 5/8", 1867

Henri Fantin-Latour, Victoria Dubourg, oil on canvas, 36 3/8" x 29 7/8", 1873

Henri Fantin-Latour, Antoine Vollon, oil on canvas, 11 7/8" x 7 1/8", 1865

Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran, Lady with a Glove, oil on canvas, 89 3/4" x 64 1/2", 1869

Gustave Caillebotte, The Floor Scrapers, oil on canvas, 40 1/4" x 57 5/8", 1875

This show is definitely worth a trip to Nashville to see these amazing paintings before they return to their home in Paris.  The Birth of Impressionism continues through January 23, 2011.  The Frist has also posted a short video of visitor reactions to the exhibit that you can view by clicking HERE.  A favorite quote from the video a gentleman speaks about The Floor Scrapers painting "It said to me, that we are worked on by what we work on".

RADIO Interview!

I am so very excited to share with you an interview that aired today on a local NPR station - 88.5 WFDD's Triad Arts Up Close.  David Ford did an amazing job condensing our 30 minute conversation into an eloquent interview about my work as well as my philosophies on Art.  This interview coincides with an Artist Lecture that I will be giving at the Green Hill Center for NC Art in Greensboro this Wednesday October 20th at 5:30-6:30.  I will be talking about my work in general as well as my layered vellum drawings that are included in the Drawing Revisited exhibition. 

Thank you to David Ford for a wonderful first experience!  I am so honored to be on your fantastic radio program.


You can hear the interview by clicking "listen" on the following link: Triad Arts Up Close

Twenty-Four Hours

Joaquin Sorolla, Vision of Spain 

Thursday was a full, wonderful day of inspiration and the joy of great friendship.  I headed to Philadelphia so that Diane Feissel and I could meet up with our other dear friend Sadie Valeri in New York City.  We started our day in upper Manhattan at the Hispanic Society of America.  This Museum/ Research Library, founded by Archer Milton Huntington in 1904, is devoted to the arts and literature of Spain, Portugal and Latin America.  The beautiful Beaux Arts building, constructed in 1904 on a farm originally owned by artist John James Audubon, was created specifically to house the Hispanic Society of America's impressive collection.  In May of this year, they finished renovating the fantastic Bancaja Gallery which has housed Joaquin Sarolla's Vison of Spain murals since 1926.  These 14 monumental canvases (commissioned specifically for the Hispanic Society) surround you when you enter and each represent a different facet of Spanish life.  This free museum is a real hidden treasure.

 Diane in the center of the Hispanic Society of America

 

 

 Joaquin Sorolla's Vision of Spain Murals

After feeling full on inspiration, we set out to fill our stomachs before heading to Arcadia Fine Arts a gallery in SoHo, at 51 Greene St NY, NY.  Sadie has one stunning piece included in their Small Works exhibit.  It was a wonderful opening reception for a beautiful show filled with small jewels of paintings, drawings, and photographs.  Small Works will be on exhibit thru October 13, 2010.

Sadie Valeri, The Wave, oil on panel, 9" x 12"

 

 Sadie, Me, Diane at Arcadia Fine Arts Small Works exhibit.

We ended the evening with more food and friends.  It was a truly wonderful twenty-four hours!