Zounds! An entire year has rolled by. Its hard to believe that a little idea like using film photography and following the alphabet- a letter every two weeks, would be such a buoyant factor in my year. I shared this journey of FILM26 with 5 very special women, all of whom are remarkable photographers. I am grateful to them for the support and camaraderie through the year. I know for a fact that I would never would had made it through on my own. It goes to show the importance of a speaking and sharing goals out loud with others and following through with the support of friends. The commitment we made to each other was held together with rolls of film and letter inspired photos. It was enough, it was plenty to see us all through the year.
A journey doesn't have to be alone, sometimes its better shared. Sometimes, the act of just telling someone else what you want to do - dare I say... speaking your dreams, makes all the difference. Its out there. Its spoken... its out loud. There's something about the spoken version of a dream, that makes it more tangible and more obtainable.
The idea of working on the skill of seeing the world in a different light, and being able to tune-in on a more regular basis was the foundation for this project. Seeing the world through a camera lens is a wonderful way to approach honing these skills. Seeing the world through a film camera lens - even better. With film, you have 24 frames to shoot. Each is meaningful and must be framed, composed and really planned. Its not like the digital cameras where the shots are endless and you can snap away in hopes of getting one good photo. You have 24 tries with no immediate feedback. You must pay attention to what you are doing.
I completed the year with 26 encaustic letter tiles, 26+ photos of me with the letter tiles and lots of 4x6 photo prints. I won't be continuing this project into 2013. I am happy with my take away and what I learned in 2012. Its a nice feeling to know that in the end, I can say "mission accomplished" with a smile.
I don't know how you feel about things, but 2012 whizzed by for me. Its been a year full of wonders and progress. Sometimes, we have no idea how far we have travelled, until we pause and take a look back. I mean really look back to where it is that we started. Look to the point where we took our first steps in the direction in which our hearts told us to go.
This is my first wax portrait that I did. And really, there weren't many before her regardless of medium. I painted animals as a kid, not people, not portraits. Yet, lately this past year there has been a compelling desire to learn to paint portraits. No explanation, no reason - just got it in my head and had to go that way, that direction. It was the same for me, when I just had to learn how to do encaustic painting.
I honestly, have no idea where this road is taking me - nor do I really care. All I know is this is the way I need to focus what I am doing right now. I know I am on a ride, where I'm not exactly sure where the next stop lies, nor if its a long ways down this road, or perhaps I get on to something new tomorrow. But, what I do know is that its right for the moment. The road has taken a twist with the addition of oil paints. But, I know, it will all come together some how, some way.
While, not every painting is perfect - the progress is forward even if in bits and pieces. 2012 has been this way for me. Its been a piecing together of wonderful progress - one painting, one face at a time. And, I know it isn't just me - I've seen it in many other's work this year and its been fun to share your progress with you. Thank you all for your support through 2012. I am so looking forward to what 2013 has in store for all of us. Wishing you all a very creative and Happy New Year!!
This past week I've been working more with the water soluble oil paints. I'm figuring them out. I'm also getting a better feel for painting faces and the ability to see in terms of values. Taking the time to stop the norm for me and settle in to learning and studying is a great break and a beneficial one.
My break is coming to an end and Christmas is just around the corner. Wishing you all Happy Holidays to you and your families.
I've been practicing. I feel that I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to bring it home over the finish line. I'm pretty good up to the 80-85% mark, then I'm a little wobbly after that. So, I decided to try some warm ups this week and focus on trying to keep a fresh look + trying some other head positions. I'm a little unsure on using warms and cools in colors and how the shadows actually fall. As I go through this realm of unsurity, before I know it I've dropped into the endless spin cycle - making corrections here, then there, and then another round, again and again. So, these studies have rules... fast (or at least faster), few corrections and decisive strokes with fresh color.
I'm still working on the swimmers from last week. I was actually kinda hoping to be done with them by now. I can say one is done. I have declared her complete. I had really thought that two were done. But, now that I have revisited, I think there are a few more corrections to do. This thought process, by the way, is actually the kiss of death because opens the door to fall into the dreaded spin cycle. When I get to that spot where I'm so close to being done.... just like 10-15% left to go... I start over working things and over thinking, and over analyzing. I make a correction here, that throws things off and leads to a correction there and before you know it - I have made a lot of little corrections. In wax, like any other paint - mud is inevitable when we churn and aren't decisive in our choices of color and stroke. Colors build up and layers build up that end up losing the fresh clarity of confidence. So, in between the spin cycle of working on the swimmers, I'm doing these small studies. They are an attempt to get over the finish line with clear colors and confidence without the churn of overworking things. Practice, practice, practice... its true.
I went to the Elles: Pompidou exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, yesterday. It is a gathering more than 130 works of art by 75 Women artists that rocked the art world from 1907-2007. It was not only paintings, but video, sculpture, photography and installations. I can't say that every piece there resonated with me, nor can I say that I really loved any one piece. Yet, the thought that some of this art was produced in the 1950's and it is still compelling today is remarkable. These women walked up to the edge, looked over, and with no fear they leaped. They put themselves out there in ways that were remarkable for the times. They created daring and creative works that challenged the stereotype of the art world. They showed humor, sensuality and innovation through modern and contemporary art. I left there not sure whether I liked it, or didn't like it. But I do know that I keep thinking about it and the amazing courage these women artists demonstrated. They pushed the envelope of women in art in a provocative and thought provoking way. There was no internet, no connectivity, no social media in their time. They just did what they did. They were compelled to make a statement for women through art and they broke the trail for the rest of us to follow.
If you are up for a bit of shopping after leaving the SAM, there are some stops that make the day complete. I love beautiful paper as much as I love beautiful fabric. Often, I have no idea what to do with it, but I love looking. de Medici Ming is a sweet find in Seattle. If you love fine papers you need to go here. Its across University Street towards the south of the SAM. Its a tiny little place, but packed with pure paper goodness. After you leave paper heaven, continue heading south to Spring street. On the corner you will find Watson Kennedy. Its no wonder they won an award for outstanding visual retailing. Plan an hour here. It will take you that long to make one lap through and see all the eye candy. Gifts galore and amazing merchandise to fill your senses. Next door you will find Far4, which is a unique small little boutique with interesting selection of porcelain pieces as well as a collection of local artist's work and beautiful glass pieces. The sweet white pomegranate above is from their fruit and vegetable collection.
Also, one of my favorite local encaustic artists, Stephanie Hargrave is showing for the month of November at the Partrica Rovzar Gallery. The gallery on the corner of University Street and Second, across from the SAM.
The joy of being an Artist is when we go off on a tangent and paint several of something - its a series. I've been working on these 4 this week. They are actually 4 separate paintings. Its been an interesting process to work up four similar paintings together. I've never done this before. I have lots of open paintings in various stages in my studio (seven to be exact), but I've not worked four of the same before in variation. I decided to give it a try based on some of the comments from last week, where my fellow PPFrs, actually do work up variations of one subject.
What's been interesting is how these swimmers have morphed. The boy on the left was the first one. He is fresh, kinda rustic and not overworked... at all. They've been worked simultaneously and all started out looking kinda like him. The next girl until about an hour ago, had a similar look to her friend on the left. Then she morphed and skewed away from that style crossed over to be more like the others. The next girl, she has had 5 different faces and two different bodies. I had a body that I liked, but after the first face went awry, I couldn't get a replacement face to work. I learned that face and body are a unit. Either they work as a whole together or I need to start over in total not in parts. What's interesting is that she has looked like the same girl in the face every time. I guess she wanted to show up regardless of what body she was on.
The boy on the far right had gotten a bit overworked in the face, but his hands are still at a good stage... so, what to do - based on the learning's of the girl to his left, do I keep working the face and risk overworking it or do I start all over again? Needless to say... he is sitting for the moment, while I decide what to do. I'm actually a salvager, so I'm sure I'll take at least one more run at him to keep those hands. My favorite is the boy on the far left and I've been reluctant to work on him at all and just leaving him as he originally showed up. He is actually based on the style of a German artist.
This has been such an interesting lesson in style and how it seems I want or need to paint. The more I try to duplicate the style of the one on the left - the more they end up away from that and settling into, I guess where they should be. They are teaching me that my style and voice show through. And no matter if I try to paint in someone else's style, my own style is going to find a way to override. I used to find this kind of frustrating. I haven't been a fan of this style I have. But, the more I paint, the more the style is refining and becoming something I do like. I have to thank Flora Bowley for helping to free up my thinking. Finally, I'm at the point where I am embracing my style rather than fighting it. It's taken a while, I don't know if any of you have found this to be true on your artful journey.
This foursome isn't meant to be too realistic, because for me that adds too much pressure and a load of expectations. So here they are... in the middle. They still need some work to be finished up. I need to figure out the bodies. So more work, more discovery, more learning. Happy Friday!
And.. actually before this - it was a portrait. It was a face with long flowing hair that was to be a mermaid with a underwater background. It was one of those panels in my studio that lost its way. It has become one more layer and makes a richer deeper painting to think that a mermaid lives under Vegetable Dreams :)
I've spent the past 5 weeks Blooming True with Flora Bowley. Its been an amazing journey for me and I have shared some thoughts and some of my intuitive paintings over this time. After this process, I am not sure if I can go back to the way I was painting - at least not for a while. For me, the journey has been fun and full of unexpected twists and turns that have helped me discover or uncover new desires in my artwork. I'm finding color - real awesome color. I'm finding BIG - painting BIG is fun. I'm finding a joy in painting animals.
I do have to say that it saddens me a little to understand that some of my classmates are not experiencing the joy that I am finding in this process. There is frustration and disappointment with results. Art is so very personal and so very easy to self critique and compare - especially in classroom situations. The intuitive painting process is not easy. Its not. It requires an open mind, open heart, the ability to really let go of everything you've been taught about structure, planning, and rules. It is much harder than it sounds because our inner critic makes it so. Its a little easier for me because I have had no formal training to undo.
I feel they are a little too hard on themselves, especially at this point in the game. We are all learning and in the early stages of getting this process which is so very different than I know I have ever tried. It takes time, patience, practice and kindness. This prompted me to pull out one of my favorite quotes that I felt was a fitting reminder to all of us who do creative work.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” Ira Glass
Fight On! - and remember to be kind to yourself. Use kind words when thinking about and making your creative work. Thoughts become things - really. Realize that not every single thing you make is gallery quality. But that's OK - because we make art for ourselves. I have 6 other panels that are in various stages in my studio right now. Some of them are the ugliest ducklings ever - but I have faith they will grow into beautiful swans.
Inspiration in our lives. This is what we are visiting this week in my intuitive painting class. So what inspires me?
For me, number 8 is not necessarily creating art. There is so much more to creating from the heart, at least I believe so. For me, its things like:
Making my husband's lunch in the morning. Sending a "thinking of you " text to a friend. Writing thoughtful words. Sharing a smile.
You've seen it - the way the light shines in just the right way, there is a certain radience to it that lights up an object in a delightful way. My Dad called these magic moments. He had honed his senses to see these things in life - the magic moments. He would stop and pause, and watch that split second when the light on an object was perfection. He would stand and stare, taking it in and remembering the detail of it. He logged hunderds of magic moments into his mind where they would stay until needed for inspiration.
I also find inspiration in collecting things that catch my eye. I have little piles that have come from pockets, stashes of colorful things, cards. pages torn from magazines, 1000s of photos in Picasa. I have the need to touch fabrics and objects. I take artist dates to Anthropolgie and I think I touch just about everything in that store. I have to.. its in my wiring, the curiosity and the need to connect with things that inspire me. I often pick up things, touch things, thumb through books and pause to look at something without thinking - it just happens. When we draw inspiration from our lives.. its not just the tangible things that we can lay hand to. Sometimes its the words of friends, its the steam curling from a bowl of hot soup, a smile, the way the flavor of dark chocolate dances on your tounge. The thing about finding inspriation in our everyday life is to notice it. It's the ability to feel that little flutter of the heart when something inspiring lights up the moment and we learn to recognize it and take a mental or physical note of it. There is no telling when that glimmer of inspiration might circle back and be the thread that leads to something new.
The deer painting above is my first intuitive piece. He just showed up during my last painting session. I had kept a photo of a deer - one of my things I collected somewhere along the way. His image kept dancing across my mind. So, here he is. Several layers of playful color introduced over the past couple of weeks in Flora Bowley's class resulted in this painting. He was painted with no thought, no sketch.. freehand with only a notion that he was what needed to be on this panel. When I started to paint him, I kept telling myself - don't think, just paint. I did spiral out to clean up a few mistakes - like an oversized ear, but really, he is pretty much how he came to be. There was a point that I just knew, I was finished - no more. I have a feeling he is here to guide me on my way to new destinations of colorful art - thus his name Vade Mecum.
I set off on a photo journey. I have my favorite haunts. One is the docks at the top of South Lake Union. I was taking photos and having a grand time, when a gentleman approached me. He was a little suspect of me snapping photos on his dock and a little gruff.
He was curious to know a little bit more about my antics. I probably looked a little out of place as I wasn't dressed like a dock hand. When I told him I was shooting a photo project, he lightened up a little. We chatted a bit and I managed to get him to laugh a little. He left me with a warning to be careful and not fall from the dock. I'm really hoping that I didn't look like the type that would blunder over the edge and into the water.
I hit my other favorite place to take photos - which is Capital Hill. Its a big difference from the docks for sure. I do love wandering the streets there snap happy.
I did manage to get to Fremont area.. another place I like to wander. I even stumbled on the Theo Chocolate factory there. I opened the door of their retail store.. The smell of Heaven wafted out at me.. chocolate - mmmmm. I'll go back for a tour someday soon - very soon. No photos there, sorry. But, I found this nifty stop sign in the hood.
I have terrible luck with Impossible Project film. I don't know enough about Polaroid to know if its actually the film or the camera. This is the second Polaroid box camera that I own, and both have this same issue with the film.
That's a wrap for the letter T. Need to start leaning my brain on U. See you all in a couple of weeks. Film only film :)
I've been getting mail in my mailbox - real mail. Beautiful mail. Artful mail. I participated for the third year in Kat Sloma's Liberate Your Art postcard swap. And these are the beauties that I received this year:
Thank you all for participating in the swap. It is so much fun to see the beautiful art from around the world being liberated and shared. Thank you also, to Kat Sloma and all of her hard work in putting this together for all of us to enjoy.
It's a blog hop!!! Be sure to visit the others who participated by using the link tool below to take you to more beautiful liberated art!
Do you pander? Do you indulge your audience and create for them rather than for yourself? Do you stay true to yourself and your creative voice? I'm defining pandering as using your perception of your customer's wishes as an excuse to do work you're not proud of. I think this is a trap that many artists, bloggers, and creatives fall in to. In my creative life before painting, I know that I fell in - big time. I know I fell in when I was a small business owner too. It can actually be a bit hard to avoid, especially if you have a taste of success. Its easy to be average and to produce for what you think people will like rather than stay true and authentic. I'm borrowing Seth Godin's words here - I get his blog posts in my email. Sometimes I don't bother to read them and sometimes I do. But this one... for some reason really struck a cord with me. Its a little body check, just to make sure that THIS time - I stay true to quirky heart filled art.
The reason you don't have to pander is that you're not in a hurry and you don't need everyone to embrace you and your work. When you focus on the weird, passionate, interesting segment of the audience, you can do extraordinary work for a few (and watch it spread) instead of starting from a place of average.
Go ahead and make something for the elites. Not the elites of class or wealth, but the elites of curiosity, passion and taste. Every great thing ever created was created by and for this group. ••• Read the entire blog post HERE
Its been two years, and I'm ready for a palette upgrade. Pancake griddles have been the workhorses in my studio. They are a great entry level palette into the encaustic world. I have two brands - Presto and Procter-Silex. By far the Presto is a better griddle with a more dependable thermostat and reliable heating elements. The Proctor-Silex, on the other hand, had a mind of its own when it comes to regulating heat. Now, mind you, these are purchased at Fred Meyer.. on sale and were less than $20 each. The Presto is square and slightly textured which is not good for mono prints. The other is the traditional rectangle with a smooth Teflon coating. The square one was like a ready rack - it held many colors of wax and just kept them at a constant temp. The other held my favorite colors and was also where I mixed colors in what seemed like a teeny tiny space. Yet it worked and was working fine. In fact, I would probably still have them except for the fact that when I went to Wax Works West for a class in March - they had beautiful anodized aluminum palettes for us. I got spoiled - fast.
The light colored, smooth. large surface for mixing color was heavenly. Mixing color on black is challenging and hard to get a real feel for what exactly the colors are - and how they will look once they are on a painting.
I really wanted to buy one there - at the class, and bring it home. But, too heavy, too big and wouldn't fit in the overhead bin on my flight. So, I left it thinking I would order one. They're heavy - several pounds (like 30+) and that equates to a lot of additional shipping costs.. and mind you, I had nooooo interest in the small version - only the big Mama - 22 x 36. I can fit a full sheet of paper on it for mono printing (which I don't do - but... maybe I will) - or... all of my favorite colors and STILL have lots of room for mixing colors. I had to think about it - really... its an investment and after two years of this, I think I'm in - all in. So, it was definitely worth it.
First, the aluminum palette MUST be anodized - why? Because aluminum can have some funky reactions with pigments and can cause sludge - black sludge. Don't want that.
So, its not just a matter of finding someone to cut a piece of aluminum to size - 22 x 36 x 3/8, I had to find someone to anodize it. Anodizing is a special coating in which the aluminum is dipped.
I didn't pursue anyone to do any special tooling, drilling or addition of a brush rack or anything fancy. I'm going for total plain Jane here - aluminum slab on top of a heat source.
I ordered two matching double burner hot plates from Amazon (here). I went with the coil burners - I think either burner types are OK. I wanted ones with dimensions that worked for the size of the palette, the controls were located towards the ends where I could adjust them easily, and one that had two burners that were the same output wattage and size. So far, I am very pleased with the burners that I chose.
What I did discover is that this is a very large piece of metal. It takes longer to heat up and there is a cooler spot in the middle where there is no burner elements. So, I added a single hot plate burner in the middle which keeps the entire surface where I am working to the temperature I need. I love the new palette. It has its quirks as did the griddles, but overall well worth the time and effort to put this together. I actually found it quite easy once I located the sources. Total cost was less than $270 and it was ready in a week.
Some things I would consider if I was doing this all over again - I have rough edges and scratches on the aluminum because I did not have it finished before taking it for coating. I went straight from buying it at the metal fabrication place to the coating place. In hind sight, I would have considered having it finished around the edges to remove the burr that you get in the shearing process and any deep scratches (coating does not hide any of this). The palettes you can purchase here or here are Cadillacs compared to what I made. They have adjustable legs (for leveling) and brush holders and are a really nice piece of gear. I highly recommend those options if you prefer no hassle and a nicer look and finish.
Its worth making phone calls. I found the prices varied on the metal and the plating substantially from place to place. The plating company did have a minimum. My job was quite small, but they were willing to do it.
Its an exciting day when things come together. I've been really perplexed on a couple of paintings and how to finish them - to bring them to completion. My Rhino friend here has been one of them. She has been hanging around the studio for months - shifting from one place to another... waiting. I really love her - and I wanted to finish her, but the background was really not working. She is one of the paintings that came from Flora Bowley's class back in the fall. Her texture and colors are really perfect for a Rhino and I just couldn't get myself to paint over her and have her become just another layer for something new. There were some close calls - when I felt that maybe those two peaks on her back would make a good start to a landscape - like some sort of mountains in the background. Yet, I couldn't do it - I couldn't paint over her. So she sat... and sat.
Until Friday last week... finally, the background came together after a few tries. I guess it goes to show that the paintings sometimes need to come together on their own.. at their own pace - when they are ready.
Also, I couldn't resist sharing some photos from my show - I was so worried about having enough work and really... there is plenty. I've already sold two - YAY!