Finally a New Painting

I painted a smaller version of this that I really liked. While I was (actually I still am) struggling to create something new and exciting, I decided to create a larger version. Unfortunately there are things I would like to change about it, but it has been accepted for the E.A.F.A. Abstract Show that is coming up soon. It will be at the Seattle Design Center January 10 - February 24. The reception will be on January 15 from 4:30-8:30 if you are interested. It is sure to be a good show.

New Pear Paintings

These are the two pear paintings I referred to in my last post. The one with three pears is the one that had been sitting in the closet half finished for three years. The other is one that I painted to use an old canvas that had a lot of texture on it, and I like the way it turned out.

New Work

Hooray! I am finally painting again. I have had no great ideas for a new series, but at least am able to paint the tried and true again. I finished a large pear painting that had been sitting in my closet for three years. I am also working on two 24x36 abstract paintings that are reworkings of a couple of earlier paintings. I have always wanted to see if they would translate a little larger, so am working on those now. Of course, they will not be exactly the same, but a variation of the earlier work. So, stay tuned because I am back in the studio!

Creativity

This has been a tough year for me, including 4 surgeries that will take me some time to recover from. The most recent was a knee replacement on October 14. My goal is that I will be able to travel again and walk everywhere like a good tourist by October of 2012.

During this time of surgery and rehabilitation, my muse appears to have fled. I spent a little time in the studio yesterday for the first time in almost a month, and I could not find a single spark of creativity. So, I think I will just visit my studio occasionally to see if anything stirs and give myself time to heal. Or, perhaps it is time to hit the art books. Usually when I get out my books and look at them, something strikes me and I rush off to the studio to try something out. Wish me luck in finding the spark that sets me off on another voyage of exploration. I miss it!

Edmonds Art Studio Tour

Well, Edmonds Art Studio Tour 2011 is over, and what a lot of fun it was. I could have had better sales, but couldn't have had more fun. We are already starting the planning for the 2012 tour. It truly is a labor of love.

Edmonds Art Studio Tour, Etc.

I have no new paintings to post, but it just didn't seem right not to post just before the Edmonds Art Studio Tour. The tour is coming up this Saturday and Sunday, and I hope that you will all come visit me if you are nearby.

The reason I don't have any new paintings to post here is because I have been distracted by the mixed media sculpture business that I have been messing about with. Yesterday some of the members of the experimental painting group that meets in my studio also started related projects. I am actually starting to work on a structure to put one of the heads on. It is similar to a Santos doll. I have a long way to go on that sculpture though and am distracted by making more heads. Perhaps I should just do a mixed media project with the heads and stop struggling with the rest.

Well, wish me luck with the tour. I must get back to preparing for it now.

Icon Show

I just haven't been getting much painting done lately, and that means I don't often post here. I have just two new paintings which I submitted for the Icon show at Fraker/Scott Gallery in September. The one shown above was accepted. Check out www.frakerscottgallery.com to get the details on the show. It should be a good one, with many local artists represented.

The reason I have not been getting much painting done is because I have been making molds and clay heads. For at least two years I have been thinking of making three dimensional mixed media sculptures. However, I haven't been able to move forward with it because I don't know how to accomplish it. I keep gathering materials that I imagine using in these sculptures, and I have started making heads. I spend a lot of time at thrift stores looking for dolls that I can behead and make molds from. Now I must learn how to make them stand up! I got excited because Tory Brokenshire was doing a Santos Doll workshop at ArtFest this year. Then I noticed that it is on a day that we will be away. Darn! I guess I will just have to figure this out for myself.

Fraker/Scott Door Show

I have finally finished and delivered the four cupboard doors I have been working on for the Fraker/Scott Gallery "Doors" show in August. The two above were the last two and the top one was finished just yesterday and they had to be delivered today. Actually, I only found the fourth door a few days ago.

The show will be an interesting one and includes doors that were rescued during the demolition of Old Mill Town in Edmonds. Stop by if you can. More information about the show can be found at www.frakerscottgallery.com.

ARTSplash

ARTSplash is this weekend at ArtWorks in Edmonds. It is on the corner of Dayton and 2nd if you are interested in dropping by. This year I do not have my own wall. I just have one painting in the show because I did not have time to do the "whole thing". The painting is the yellow and green abstract landscape in my last post.

Don and I are driving to LaConner today. Unfortunately, for the first time, my painting for the auction at MONA did not sell. Boo! So, we are going to pick it up, visit the museum and galleries and have lunch. Should be a good day, and I hear that it is not supposed to rain. That would be a nice change. I must admit that I have completely given up on summer this year. Maybe next year!

New Images

While I am here I might as well post a couple of my new abstract landscape paintings. I think I am almost at the end of this series.

Edmonds Art Studio Tour

Wearing my co-chair of the Edmonds Art Studio Tour hat, I visited the studio of Tere Ryder and Gayle Ketzel yesterday. The tour part was to take pictures of their shared studio space. The main reason for the visit was to visit! It is so much fun to visit other artist's studios and see how they accommodate all the materials that they use in producing their work. Some studios are absolutely organized and others you wonder how they ever find anything, but they all manage to produce their artwork. If you are interested in seeing the Ketzel & Ryder Studio, check it out on www.facebook.com/EdmondsArtStudioTour. I told them I would be posting pictures on that page, not on my blog! Also, you might want to google both artists to see some of their fascinating work. The best thing to do would be to visit their studio during the Edmonds Art Studio Tour.

Door Paintings

This is the second of two cupboard door paintings I have done for the Door Show at Fraker/Scott Gallery in August. The color in the first image is wrong on the inner border. It is not that yellow. I posted a separate image of the plaster tiles so that you can see them more clearly.
You should come see this show as a number of the artists are painting on full size doors. I didn't think all my new parts were up to the challenge, so went with cupboard doors from my remodeled kitchen.

A Couple More Abstract Landscapes

Today is the end of week six since my knee replacement, and I am doing well though still recuperating. Don and I have been discussing whether or not it makes sense for me to have the second knee surgery in October, since it would be my fourth surgery in 13 months. I think I may need to take some time off before having the next one! Luckily I was at least inspired to paint after this most recent one.

I continue to paint abstract landscapes, some more abstract than others. The above are a couple of the most recent pieces I finished.

Something Different

Every once in awhile I paint something unlike anything else I have done. This is it for this year.

Abstract Landscapes Continued

Well, the abstract landscape idea has stuck with me, so I am posting a couple of the newest ones. I have also been working on three pieces that I am painting on old cabinet doors left from our kitchen remodel. They are something I wanted to do for the Door themed show at Fraker/Scott Gallery that is coming up soon. I only have one done and I have posted it here for you to see. At one point I dragged out my old encaustics, which I have not used for a couple years, and used wax on the door. It did not go well, however, and I had to remove all of it. Now that was a mess, but I am used to cleaning up messes.

New Work

The best part of this new work is the texture, and unfortunately texture is really hard to see in these images. I had a wonderful afternoon creating these. I also produced two pear paintings and a floral for the first time in a couple of years. I had such a good time!

Catching UP

I can't believe it has been a month since I have posted here. We spent the month of April in Palm Springs. All I did for a month was float in the pool, read and paint. It was fabulous. The painting above is one I completed in Palm Springs. It is a temporary jump back into a series I did a couple of years ago. Sometimes that happens!

As soon as I returned home I had the Kirkland Art Studio Tour to participate in. This year I was in the turret room at Kirkland Arts Center. I did not do well in terms of sales, but I had a very good time visiting with all the people that came through.

Next I had knee replacement surgery last Monday. Hooray! The doctor also gave me a cortisone shot in the other knee so that I can do the necessary rehab for the knee I had surgery on. I will be having the other knee done in the fall. In any event, once I have healed, I should be able to walk better than I have in years. Recovery is going very well, and I was on the stairs the day after surgery. I made it to my studio downstairs as soon as I got home, and I am working on a new piece today. It is going to be a plaster piece on a cupboard door that is left from our kitchen remodel. I am hoping to turn out something I like for a door-themed show at Fraker/Scott next month.

I will not let another month go by before I get back to this blog.

New Painting

This is the only painting from the current figurative series that I have completed. I hope to have a couple more completed by tomorrow. I only have a couple of weeks to paint if I want to have anything new to show at the Kirkland Art Studio Tour!

Paintings in Progress

Okay, here are a couple of the paintings I am currently working on. They are in the early stages. The bottom one I have only worked on once since applying the Citra Solv papers. The upper one, I have worked on establishing the figure a little more.

New Paintings & Old Paintings

The first two images are of something I painted a few years ago. I recently altered the pieces by cutting them into 10x10 squares. The third piece is something I painted a couple of weeks ago, and it is titled "Abundance". All three of these paintings are currently showing at Fraker/Scott Gallery in Pioneer Square. Check out the show at www.frakerscottgallery.com. It is a great show, and I am especially fond of Pamela Mummy's voluptuous women sculptures.

My Muse is Back!

She has been missing for months, but my muse has returned, and I am very happy to see her. Unfortunately I may not have any images to show you for awhile, but I am busily painting more full figured women. I am using the Citra Solv papers once again. It seems that these things are cyclical for me. I think I am finished with something, and here it comes again. I certainly have been into figures for a long while now. The style changes, but the majority of my work remains figurative. Perhaps tomorrow I will try to get some "in progress" shots of what I am currently working on.

Working With Plaster

This is one of my new paintings using plaster. It is hard to see any difference in the image, but it is quite different to work on than acrylic grounds like modeling paste. I really enjoy carving it.

Busy Days

I have been making a conscious effort not to let my life get too busy since my back surgery in September. However, I seem to be losing my grip on that goal right now. Between the health related things I must do and the creative things I want to do, life is getting complicated again.

I have the Kirkland Art Studio Tour on Mother's Day weekend and a figurative show at Local Color for the month of May. That involves a lot of paintings, and I have not been painting as much as usual the last 6 months. Fortunately, I have already produced the paintings for the Local Color show, but I need more for the Kirkland Art Studio Tour.

Let us not forget that I will be showing with Nancy Thompson at Matthew Robert Salon in Edmonds June through August.

As soon as the Edmonds Studio Tour is over in September, I will be having knee replacement surgery. I will then have 10 weeks to recover before leaving on a cruise! As soon as we return from the cruise, I have the Edmonds Art Studio Tour. By the way, I am the co-chair for this tour. I do admit that my co-chair, Nancy Thompson, is doing most of the work!

Are you tired yet? Apparently I have my life planned for the next eight months. After that I will be having surgery on the other knee!

Coffee Cups

I just finished a group of small coffee cup paintings to display at Local Color at the Pike Place Market. It was fun to paint something small, quick and colorful.

I am still experimenting with the use of plaster on board and have done some interesting things. As soon as I get them photographed, I will post a couple of them.

Layered

This is my latest effort at non-objective abstract. I am not sure I am entirely happy with it, but I did have a good time creating it! That is what it is about for me. It is 18x36.

Yesterday I started working with plaster on board. I took a class in using plaster in paintings few years ago from Stephanie Lee and didn't do much with it. Now I am interested in trying it again and am anxiously awaiting Stephanie's new book Plaster Studio.

Faux Encaustic

More of the faux encaustic work I have done lately and similar to what I was doing a few years ago. I have never really gotten encaustics out of my mind, even though I gave up on painting with them a couple of years ago. I just love the look. However, someone as careless as I am should not be working with hot wax. I still have some wax that I intend to put over collages, but mostly just think about it. Perhaps I will work on making my faux encaustics look more like encaustics instead!

New Work & Art Exchange

The Art Exchange was just too much fun this year. About 30 artists attended and brought wonderful art. We all got rid of pieces we were tired of looking at and went home with new treasures. Can't wait until the next one.

My latest painting is above. It is 24x24 with a faux encaustic finish that doesn't show up very well in the image. I may be moving in a more abstract direction and away from the figurative for a little while. At least the four pieces I am working on currently are in that category. I am also returning to the faux encaustic look that I played with a few years ago. That doesn't mean much with me though as I flit from one thing to another. For instance, where did the polka dot animals come from that were in my last post?

Just for Fun

Art Exchange

Holey moley it is time for the 3rd annual art exchange at my house. Actually it is past due. It is usually in October, but I had back surgery in September this year, so it was postponed. Now it is only a week away and I am so excited. The idea is that all invitees bring art of their own that they haven't sold, or are just plain tired of, and exchange it for someone else's art. Some people bring a dozen pieces and some one or two. No matter how many you bring, you draw a number and take a turn selecting something until everything is gone. For art lovers all that free art is irresistable. I can hardly wait.

One Happy Carp

This is my latest painting, and it is currently hanging at Parklane Gallery in Kirkland. The whole gallery is hung salon style this month, meaning there is a lot more art hung higher and lower and closer together. So, there is much to see if you stop by.

I am also participating in the B & W Show at Fraker/Scott Gallery this month. As a matter of fact I will be heading off in about an hour for art walk there.

I think I have finished the production of hearts for my shows at C'est la Vie and Local Color. I will be delivering hearts to C'est la Vie in mid-January and the Local Color show will be in February and March. I wonder if anyone will be buying hearts in March!