Collage papers, birch panels and painting larger. It is all good.

** This is a repost of my post from June 18th. Blogger had a brief issue with uploaded photos, and mine were among them. I don’t know any other way to fix this. Unfortunately, I will loose all your kind comments, and my responses. But I wanted the pictures to be on the post.***
Art time has been preciously rare. This is a quick post today. If you read this blog on a more or less regular basis, you know my husband had foot surgery a month ago. Life has not been the same since. But yesterday he went back to work, and things are going well. On my side bar are photos of him gluing up a 36 inch by 36 inch birch panel. You can just see his cast/boot in one of the photos. This weekend I hope to get photos of the final steps he takes when finishing these panels. Mary asked how much the panels weigh. The 36 inch by 36 inch panels are 9 pounds. They are very easy to move about, and hang on the wall while I work standing up. I’ll post more about the whole process soon.
When I have been in the studio I have been working on these 36 inch square panels. I just love working large. Finally there is enough room for gesture, and expanse. In the process of creating my paintings, I also create collage papers. I use a variety of paper to put paint on and take paint off of the panels. These images are of some of the papers recently created. I think they are intriguing, and I can visualize them as an artist book perhaps.
I think my work on the panels is looking more encaustic like all the time. I am isolating layers with gloss acrylic medium. That is really adding depth. Then at the end I use a varnish or medium that is not glossy. I don’t like all that reflection, and I don’t think it suits the mood of my work. I am seriously toying with the idea of trying encaustic, although I wish I could use my tried and trusted acrylics with the wax.
During this time when my studio time has been limited, I have been out and about on the internet, discovering new and interesting blogs. I have added several to my side bar – encaustic artists and photographers. There is stunning work out there!

Studio Time

I’ve had three good days in the studio. I usually work on several pieces at a time. That means sometimes a lot of things are coming to resolution all at the same time. That is always a good feeling.

This piece is one that I enjoyed creating. It is on birch panel, 20 inches by 20 inches. It is mixed media; gauche, acrylic, and conté crayon. The number 5 has some personal meaning for me. I am showing you a photo and then scans for detail. When Jeane was here the other day, the one thing we complained about was the difficulty of getting colors just right between digital imagery, the differing computer monitors, and – at least for me – my skill level for adjusting colors to make them most like the original. The color in the close up scans is more true to the actual painting.

Here is a thought for the day, from Ian Roberts – “The quality of your attention influences how you see things. And, what you put your attention on grows stronger in your life…If you want to paint and put your focus on paintings you will unleash a torrent of energy and enthusiasm.”

So true.

Jeane's Studio Visit

Jeane’s Visit to the Studio

Hello!
Tour the studio
Art work
Jeane’s art work is so deep!
Technique talk
Oils
Wax
Acrylic
Canvas
Birch Panels
That great soft yellow bag
Talk
Laugh
Bits of life stories
Tea
Dreams
Visions
Intensions
To brush or not to brush?
Scrub is a good thing
Laugh
OMG!
Show and Tell
Meet the kitties
Meet Wire Man
Talk
Laugh
Little gifts
Good By until next time

Great Energy!

I loved your visit Jeane!

A View From the Edge

I like the edges of things, where things come together and change because of contact with one another. I like the edges of things, where there is a rawness, a frontier to be discovered. I like the edges of things, where the water and sand burnish one another and leave each other softer, more rounded and energized.

I particularly like edges in my art work. I like to see two colors come together and create contrast. I like to see water media flow into one another and create an interesting trail of changes. I like to see textures, one abutted up against the other, making each more beautiful in the visual reaction. I like margins on the page, and breaking the rules and writing or drawing in that space just to see what comes of it. I just like the words “threshold” and “verge”.

And when it comes to ephemera, I love the worn, softened edges of 100 year old wheat colored papers; music sheets, handwritten diaries, and yellowed book pages. I like old photographs, poorly exposed, or badly composed, but changed by being pasted in an old back photograph album. I love my family’s collection old player piano rolls, some worn out beyond use. And I adore yellowed tape, no longer holding much together, but leaving a rectangle of the most beautiful amber color that can only be created over time.

I have created a little book using yellowed ephemera, the only criteria being the pieces have interesting edges, lines, markings, or signs of age. Making this book I was able to hang out with Kurt as he continues to heal from his surgery with his foot elevated, and still satisfy my creative urges as I found interesting tid-bits, arranged them and affixed them to stationary from World War II. I’m calling this book The Book of Edges.

And some of my inspiration came from Jo Horswill’s Quiet Book, which you can see here.

“We’re always attracted to the edge of where we are, out by the edges where it’s a little raw and nervy.”

E. L. Doctorow

“Energy gathers at the borders. It appears spontaneously at birth and death, at the beginning of a novel and at the end. It gathers at natural boundaries such as the new moon and the first day of spring, and at human-made borders such as presidential elections.”

Paul Richards.