Getting a hang of landscapes... maybe

This weekend was a glorious time for me. I got to get away from the monotony of motherhood for just a wee bit, while enjoying some of the beautiful nature of my new state and some even more beautiful 'old' friends. I drove west to Asheville, NC to stay with a childhood friend, Amanda as well as visit a college girl friend, and fabulous artist Angela Cunningham (who I haven't seen in about 5 years because she's been rockin' the big apple). Angela is in her 3rd year of study at the Grand Central Academy. We spent most of the day Saturday on a hike and painting a beautiful spot along the Old Laurel Creek in the Pisgah National Forest. We then had a fun night with a few more friends in Asheville eating well and drinking some local brew, while listening to some great Blue Grass music. Fun, Fun, Fun.

Old Laurel Creek
oil on panel
10" x 8"

Summer Figure Drawing

Here is an array of figure drawing from July and August. Thank you to Mike who lent me 5 sheets of paper last night at ArtSpace because I forgot all my stuff (those drawings are the last three done with ball point pen that I dug out of my purse, uggh).

Share the love (again)

I wanted to share with you all another blog that I enjoy reading now and again. The Hidden Place holds a phenomenal collection of great artists, primarily painters (with representational tendencies). Do any of you know who does all the work over at The Hidden Place? I must admit, I do love that this blog doesn't have an obvious author. It somehow takes the ego out of the equation. It even is hard to know how to say thank you to this blogger. He/she has posted some great artists, most recently my very favorite sculptor Nicola Hicks.

I discovered Nicola Hicks work way back when I was in undergraduate school in Laguna Beach, CA (LCAD). At the time there was a Flowers West Gallery at Bergamot Station (which was once a train depot, now turned into a huge complex of several galleries and a small museum). Flowers West no longer is there, which is a great loss for the Los Angeles art scene, as this was one heck of a gallery (Flowers East still remains a constant presence in London). As a student (well still really) all I could afford were the beautiful catalogues they produced for her shows. In fact, at one time shortly after graduating, my husband and I seriously considered selling our Volkswagen to be able to purchase a life size sculpture of a child from her series about Little Red Riding Hood. I really wish we had been able to make that work. I still think of that sculpture and not being able to see it (except in photos) is heartbreaking. It really is a bummer when reality and the practical issues of life (like how to move a life size bronze around the country with you as you relocate, let alone the ever present issues of $$) win over the power of Art to move you. As an added treat for you here is an Art in America article on Nicola Hicks from Jan. 2000 that will give you a clear picture of her work.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

I had an opportunity to draw with other artists at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston while I was on my trip to Massachusetts. I was under the impression that it was going to be from a live model, but apparently, once a month, they choose to draw from the collection (and this happened to be that day). I was quite disappointed at first, but not for long, as it gave me time to go thru the museum and visit some old friends (like the Sargent murals that were specifically made for this museum). Some of my favorite paintings are housed in this building (a sacred place for me). I can't believe how spoiled I was to grow up looking at these works. The MFA is undergoing an extensive renovation, adding on an entire new wing to house their American Collection, so only a few American greats were on view while the others are faithfully being restored and kept safe.

Here are a few of my favorite paintings and sculptures that were on view. Please visit the MFA any time you are in Boston.

John Singer Sargent, Murals for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA

Take a close look at the ladies laying at Atlas' feet above and then marvel at Gustave Dore's large scale, multi-figural, high relief sculpture which is just at the end of the hall from the Sargent Rotunda.

Gustave Dore, Maenads in a Wood, 1879, plaster, 47 1/4 x 77 3/16 x 9 7/8 in. (and detail shot)

Another example of wonderful exhibition design can be found around the top of the stairs (which brings you closer to the Sargent Rotunda) behind a colonnade. There you can find some of the finest paintings by Sargent's contemporaries and rivals such as...

Thomas Eakins, The Dean's Roll Call,1899, oil on canvas, 84 1/8 x 42 in.


Aunders Zorn, Martha Dana (later Mrs. William Mercer), 1899, oil on canvas, 27 x 20 in.


Gretchen Woodman Rogers, Woman in a Fur Hat, about 1915, oil on canvas, 30 x 25 1/4 in.


Cecilia Beaux, Charles Sumner Bird and His Sister Edith Bird Bass, 1907 oil on canvas, 94 5/8 x 53 1/2 in.


Other favorite works of mine that are else where in the museum are as follows:
Edmund Charles Tarbell, Reverie (Katharine Finn), 1913, oil on canvas, 50 1/8 x 34 1/8 in. (and detail shot)
Edmund Charles Tarbell, New England Interior, 1906, 30 3/8 x 25 1/4 in.



Ellen Day Hale, Self Portrait, 1883, oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 39 in (and detail shot)

I had not previously seen the painting below before. I am so attracted to this painting, as several years back, I had painted a similar scene which you can view here. Of course, I realize my Music Maker pales in comparison.
William H. W. Bicknell, The Violin Maker, 1888, oil on canvas, 40 1/4 x 50 in. (and detail shot)
Jules Desbois, Le Printemps, 1893, black wax over plaster, 18 1/2 in. high
"Jules Desbois collaborated on occasion with Auguste Rodin, who praised Desbois by saying that he practiced sculpture with a fever that bordered on the religious" (quoted off the description card on the wall).


Auguste Rodin, Psyche, 1899, marble, 29 x 27 x 15 in.

I did manage to use a bit of the time to do one quick drawing of a marble youth from between 1cBC - 1cAD.

Study of a Roman Youth Sculpture
graphite on paper (in sketchbook)

Masscapes

I just returned from a 12 day trip to my home state of Massachusetts. The south shore of Massachusetts is a place that at once can evoke feelings of longing and the desire to find an escape. It's a complex reaction I find I have with each return visit. It is an incredibly inspiring place with beautiful vistas, homes, and people. But at the same time, these things can sometimes become oppressive. Eventually, the need to disentangle myself from a place that holds too much of my past overpowers the beauty and charm of the area.

This trip held a first for me. It was the first time I wanted to celebrate this area through paint; To do it justice by capturing its inherent beauty as well as some of the honest, ugliness that occurs here. I did not get the time I dreamt of, but I did manage a few feeble attempts to capture some of its ever changing beauty in a few, tiny shoreline paintings.

(**the quality of these photos may be poor as these were taken from a cell phone. Until the paintings are dry enough to ship, this is all I have to show.)

Rocky Nook

oil on panel

4" x 5"

Tidal Waters (view of Cordage Rope Company)

oil on panel

8" x 10"

Studio Chores while Mother's Reading

This week is all about necessary studio chores. I have shipped my paints (except a tube of Raw Umber) to Massachusetts in hopes that I can carve out some painting time in my beautiful home state, between family business. So I have been framing, photographing and underpainting this week (thus the need for Raw Umber). I am feeling the pressure of time sneaking up on me for my solo show which is most likely happening in the fall of 2010. The underpaintings are for that body of work. Also, I am in need of models. If you are in the Triangle area NC, and willing to pose nude or semi-nude, please send me an email.

I finished up Mother Reading last week, or was it the week before, but I am now getting caught up on photographing works. So here she is. Shameful, I know, that it took me so long to finish this one. I needed space and time and better reference to finish this one up; none of which came easily. I've included a detail image as well. Hope you enjoy.

Mother Reading
oil on panel
20" x 16"

In Flight

These sketchbook drawings were done on my trip, as well as the painting below. They were inspired by my artist friend Diane Feissel's Bart Drawings that can be seen on her current blog here or her bart sketches blog. I hope you enjoy!

Passenger 12C
graphite on paper
9.75" x 7.5"



















Passenger 18D
graphite on paper
9.75" x 7.5"

Rocks, Water, Trees and Sand

We just returned from an all too quick family vacation to Yosemite National Park in California. We had three idyllic days there, visiting friends and taking in all the grandeur. Yosemite is one of the most amazing treasures this country has preserved. I have had the great fortune to see it in winter covered in crisp snow (my favorite time to go), in spring while in full bloom, as well as in summer during peak tourism season. I usually would be bothered by all those other people, but for some reason, in Yosemite I am more willing to share the vistas (this place definitely brings out the best in me). The National Park Service has done a phenomenal job of controlling the congestion that once filled the valley floor with diesel fumes, by installing Hybrid buses with efficient service to all destinations. No longer are lines and lines of tourist buses stuck in traffic while circling the valley floor for those postcard perfect shots of the falls. We were able to rent bikes (with trailers for the kids and the gear) and were therefore able to see much more than if just on foot. We hiked, we swam, we ate delicious picnics, and I did get to paint... one small painting.

While the kids played on the beach and in the water, I got to listen to their sounds of joy, while creating a little bit of my own. I'm always humbled by nature and trying to represent it justly. I've heard tales of what artists must endure in nature to try to capture it's beauty (mosquitoes, lightening, cold, rain etc.) but I don't think I've come across a story of bandit squirrels and children with fists full of sand. I set up my (new) pochade box in a shady corner of the beach near a rock outcropping. Instead of looking out at Mirror Lake, this spot offered me a chance to look back at the beach and shallow waters of the shore. Living in this rock outcropping were a couple of pesky ground squirrels. They had absolutely no fear of humans. Unfortunately, these rodents have become quite adept at opening backpacks and stealing bits of sandwiches and apple cores. While I was sitting there, they had no problem coming right under my leg to check out what I had in my Ziploc bag (paints). They obviously know these bags usually contain food. So for awhile I let them investigate, thinking they would go away when they realized there was no food involved. But after many distracted moments (thinking they were going to crawl up my shorts... uggh) I finally gave one of them a light whack with the handle of my brush. It was surprised, and they didn't bother me after that. But then, the children on the beach (my own and others) often would wander up to see what I was painting. Children have a different sense of personal space. They dripped water and sand into my paint while getting their noses as close as possible to the painting. Their questions were fantastic and I didn't want to stop their own discovery, so I just made do and excepted these small bits of nature as part of the experience. But then, my daughter, who always try to be so helpful, saw a squirrel approaching me from behind. She scooped up two fists full of sand and thew them at the approaching varmint. It may have worked, if my face, my pochade box and painting were not in the way... Now there is more grit in this painting than I would have intended, but c'est la vie.

Rock at Mirror Lake

oil on panel (and sand)

8" x 10"

Away...

I will be away for a bit, while I enjoy the beauty and fun of Yosemite with just a taste of sweet San Francisco.

Life Drawings

The two drawings above are charcoal on 18" x 24" paper. All of the poses were approximately 25 minutes long. I took flack from my husband for not even suggesting the face of the lower one. Besides myself, he's my toughest critic. It's ok though, because it keeps me improving. His life drawings are to die for when he gets time infront of a figure (and actually uses real media and not a computer).

The two drawings below are done using Derwent Watercolour pencils (Burnt Umber or VanDyke Brown, which I bought individually, not in a huge kit as the link suggests) in my sketchbook (a moleskine) which is approximately 9.75" x 7.5". Water will hopefully never touch these pages as the paper is too thin to handle such abuse. However, I like the idea and may experiment with some gestures on heavier paper with these and add water.

I really love the last pose. It expresses so much emotion. I think I will try to investigate this pose again soon (and for a longer period of time). I also like in this last drawing how much your eye fills in on its own. Economy of lines is working well in this one (in my humble opinion).

Cross Pollinate

I wanted to let all of you know I am now a Contributor over at the wonderful Women Painting Women blog which was created by the uber talented Sadie J. Valeri, and my friend and fellow Masshole Diane Feissel also contributes. If you have some favorite contemporary women painters, who paint women, I'd love to get your ideas via email (links help greatly). Enjoy perusing the wonderful paintings; comments are greatly appreciated and encouraged.

The Saga Continues...

Mother Reading

oil on panel

20" x 16"

And so the painting continues. As I've said before, there is still much to do on this one. It seems the more I do, the more I see to do. This painting was not supposed to take this long. I started this on a whim to keep both my mom and I occupied while the little folks were at preschool. However, this painting has developed into more of a family portrait, than just a single portrait of my mother. In the background there are things that reference both of my children, my husband, and of course myself. When I started this painting, I noticed for the first time, a beautiful nest just outside our window. It ended up having two eggs in it, which while my mom was posing both hatched. We so enjoyed watching these ugly little beings turn into full fledged mocking birds. Their mother worked tirelessly to feed them and protect them from a curious squirrel. In fact, she did too good of a job with one, who got too fat to leave the nest. When he (I say he, because I think of him as similar to my brother) finally flew from the nest, he didn't make it far. He hid in the bushes on the opposite side of the house and she continued to be his full service meal cart. I know I am anthropomorphising big time here, but I can't help to see ironic similarities.

As you can see, there are several books (I am addicted to them) on the shelves. When we moved into this house, I organized this wall of shelves to be both pleasing to the eye, as well as orderly. Therefore, the top shelf is filled with my husbands graphic novels and such, the next shelf down has Art History books and a stack of women artist books (one which is titled 'Seeing Our Selves, another irony?), and then toys, lots of toys. Also, you see I've included two paintings. The robot painting on the top shelf is one of three paintings my husband and I bought for our 10th Anniversary a few years ago. The other painting is of our daughter when she was 5 weeks old. It was painted quickly from life, on a wooden box for my husband's first father's day. I've included images of both of these paintings for you to see. I don't think I'll add too much more detail from these to my current painting since I think it will detract from what's supposed to be the main subject; my mother reading.

I know I must seem like such a sentimental fool. So be it. I don't want to paint hardship or psychologically (negatively) charged portraits (anymore). There was a time when I looked for the uncomfortable in my sitters, but now there is something that has changed within me where I don't feel that urge any longer. I have no need to show the world anymore ugliness. There is all ready enough of that, now isn't there?

Mike Tracy Monster #32, 2007 acrylic on canvas 8" x 8"

Sienna at Five Weeks

oil on wooden box

5 3/8" x 6 3/4"