Please allow me to toot my horn! "Departing" is accepted into the Manifest Gallery DRAWN exhibit. 36 pieces form 27 artists chosen out of 1188 entries by 394 artists. Opening reception April 17th
. This is a big deal for me. Manifest Gallery is an amazing non profit organization that shows and promotes very current work through its publications as well as exhibitions. Acceptance into DRAWN makes me feel relevant. And believe me when I tell you, it has been a long windy road to arrive at this point!!
Latest Work
This latest drawing -painting uses all my technical tricks to tell a story. You will notice the rich color and texture of the red coat in contrast with the barely there background. It is 27"x20" colored pencil on rag mat board. I haven't decided on the title. For now I'm calling it "On The Bridge" It was conceived while visiting The Brooklyn Bridge last November. I came upon this scene and found it interesting. The bridge itself is an amazing place to visit- all those cables slicing patterns through the New york sky. But it was the gush
of human traffic over the bridge, people from all over the world, some commuting, some tourists, some on foot, some on bikes, I found most fascinating.
In this scene you have the juxtaposition of three self absorbed young girls taking a group shot with a smart phone, while a serious young woman photographs scenery with her SLR and zoom lens. The progression of technology- what is gained what is lost? The three girls capture three faces, together in the place, in the moment, while the more mature woman takes photos of what is beyond.
In addition, I like the humor in this scene. You have me taking a reference photo of a young woman taking a photo in front of three younger women taking a group selfie, all of us standing on the same bridge seeing completely different things!
Pigeon Trinity #3
This is the third pigeon image for a triptych. The question will be how to frame. I originally planned on three small images matted together: two horizontal and one vertical- the horizontals will have the same mat opening size. The piece would be one long horizontal. An other way to approach this would be to frame separately to be hung on the wall in a cluster. This would enable me to crop this image differently if I choose.
I realize the subject and the images are dark. And I'm not 100% sure this will work, but I will try anyway. Once I have them matted together I will post it so you can see.
Pigeon Trinity #2
This is the second of three I intend to use in a triptych of creepy grave stones and pigeons. The references were taken with the last of the afternoon light, Trinity church in NYC. These are painted with colored pencils on linen which makes glare a problem. Hopefully I will be able to iron out the photography kinks once finished with all three.
Pigeon Trinity #1
This is a series I'm working on using references photographed in NYC Trinity Church graveyard. This painting is one of three and is painted using colored pencils and solvent on black linen mat board.
Christmas rush!
I just finished two small paintings for a lovely client who wished to create the perfect gifts for her two children: table top original portraits of their two dogs. Each child chose a puppy fourteen years ago. They are now gray in the muzzle and a little slower, but otherwise healthy. The children, both in college, miss their pups. I spent a few hours one afternoon, photographing and getting to know the dogs, while also learning about the family and the mom. The photographs and expressions were chosen by her. We wished to capture each dog's personality in a tiny 5x7 head shot. This is not an easy task. In fact, a lot can be lost in one small tick of the pencil. I struggled with these. There was concern that the dog Ed, looking at the viewer and pleading to be petted, might appear to be giving dominant eye contact. Thanks to my husband's suggestion, a touch of dark to the eyebrow made the difference in the perceived expression. The other dog, Lucy held a strange pose which finally necessitated the inclusion of parts of her foreleg; otherwise her head would have seemed tipped over.
I decided to use colored linen mat as the surface to give these a painterly feel. Lucy, who is mostly black, is painted on a dark blue mat and Ed, who has a lot of browns and reds, is on a red mat. Using colored mat board, even if completely covered with pigment, is similar to an under paint wash and provides tone.
When my client finally saw the finished pieces she was completely satisfied. This is a blessing, because I never know what a client will think until they have the art in hand. Now I can relax for a bit and paint something new, something BIGGER.
Thomas may be too chubby to hitch a ride on a witch's broom, but he will fly first class to Germany.
This has been such an exciting few weeks! I've just sold "Fly BY" to an amazing woman from Germany who works with cancer patients. She intends to hang this on the wall of her office, to share with her patients. How wonderful to know that my imagery might give someone a needed reason to smile.
This is the second item she has bought from me, which makes it all the more fun. She seems to like my fantasy cats, proving that its okay for me to step off the well worn path into the weeds and paint what I like. I don't have to worry about confusing my audience with an occasional change of approach. I paint all kinds of subjects, from landscapes to facetious young women, some realistic, some fantastic and as long as I stick to the story, people continue to enjoy my work and I don't get bored. And trust me, this girl thrives on challenge!
Ancient Apple- a portal.
This is an ancient apple tree that arches over a path to the sea. A much appreciated comment, by an amazing cp artist, Julie Podstolski, described the scene as Narnia. That's all she said, "Narnia." Somehow she got my intent. It is said that there is a strong spirit residing in this gnarly sentry.
A study for a larger piece I plan for the future, it comes from one of many reference shots taken this summer, on the Maine property of dear friends. It is painted with Prismacolor and Luminance pencils on linen mat board.
Bragging rights
I'm tipping the proverbial "hat" to myself. The past few months have been quite successful:
My painting "Waiting" was selected to be in Ann Kullberg's e-book Hidden Treasures. This same painting, which earned CPSA Signature Status for me by being my third acceptance into the CPSA International Exhibition within ten years, was also purchased at a recent art fair and was my biggest sale to date. And let's be honest, sales make the rest possible. For those of you interested, I am in the process of having the image printed in giclee form to be sold in my shop soon
. READ ON
My painting "Who Rescued Whom" was published in Strokes of Genius 6, by Rachel R. Wolf, Northlight Books, hitting the bookstore shelves as we speak.
My painting "Departing" earned second place at the CPSA District Chapter 119 exhibition, showing now until the end of the month at The Clifton Cultural Arts Center in Clifton Oh.
That's it for now, but there is always room for more.
Kevin's View
This little 9x19" piece of Bailey's Island Maine (or near there anyway) was painted from one of hundreds of reference photos taken there this summer. My husband and I were guests of some dear old friends. They kindly tolerated my habit of banging through the kitchen, making coffee at the crack of dawn, so I could scramble around their property with the camera. Once they arose at the alarmingly late hour of 10:00 am, they drove me up and down the coast, combed beaches and took me out on their boat to find Harbor Seals. I didn't waste one second of my time there. I painted this little gem to fit a skinny gold leaf, antique frame given up by its previous owner. (I'll post a photo of the finished version, once the rest of the materials are in. ) It is fun to use the occasional woopsies and discards. I have a strong need to repurpose stuff. Given a predetermined size, color pallet and style, forces me to change up my routine. It's an interesting exercise.
