restless......

I have knocked out close to 20 pieces on paper in the past few weeks and I was DONE!!! Out of the 20 pieces I was able to resolve about three of them and the rest are waiting their turn to find out what their fate will be - resolved painting, fodder for collage, steps to other paintings, etc., etc., etc. When a person is done, it's time to switch gears. Bees wax seemed a good choice. I heated some up, pulled out some rice paper, an old board and loaded my little torch - exactly what the doctor ordered!! Bees wax is so yummy! You can glob it on thick or just glide the wax brush over the surface - I grabbed my scrap box and added bits from other projects that I've deconstructed. I was able to burn foam core, muslin, paper, netting and a few things I didn't recognize. The piece below pushed me to another one on canvas that I finished today. This feels like a good direction for awhile. Using what is laying around the workspace - something very satisfying about that.

 mixed media with bees wax on board, 31x13.5, 'She Let Out The Clutch'

Hope you are all busy making art. January is almost over and that means we are heading out of the dark/cold. It gives me hope.

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deconstruct/reconstruct

I haven't done a progression in awhile, but I've gotten so many emails these past few weeks about my technique that I thought I would document a painting from 'deconstruction' to 'reconstruction' - the process is all intuitive and doesn't mean much using words, but a series of photos gives a better idea of how my process works - The first photo is a painting I did last year that I never connected with - the resolve always felt contrived so I thought it would be a good one to use for this progression -

the next photo shows my first marks to deconstruct the painting - white oil pastel and yellow ochre

these next photos show the deconstruction process

now I see a new shape emerging....I start carving out the new images

the next pic is the place I start editing - I got so involved in the next part of the process that I didn't take anymore pictures until I finished the new painting

Here is the new painting - I feel a connection to this work and call it finished for now

mixed media on board, 24x24, 'When Madelynn Dreams'

I hope this answers some of the questions I've gotten - I just paint! I'm not a technical painter - I work wet on wet - I don't mind if the colors get muddy - I like the color of mud - I love when I get to the editing part - add, subtract, add, subtract, take out my favorite part, take out another favorite section, take out all the ambiguity- done!

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Saturday Armor

It's a very real challenge to work in my workspace during January and February - I basically have an outdoor shed with minimal insulation that I converted into a workspace - IT IS COLD!! I have a little space heater and that gets the temps into the 50's and then I layer my outerwear and that lets me work for a couple of hours during the day which I am so thankful for!! I can bring work into the house to dry. We've had little showers of snow for the last two days, but it doesn't even stick to the ground, thank god! Other places are not so lucky - being so close to the water keeps us a bit warmer and I'm very thankful. I have finished several paintings in the past few days and I'll share the one I finished today. The work, even though a bit more settled then a couple of weeks ago, is still coming pretty fast. I don't question this anymore - I just take advantage of it and paint as much as possible. This too will stop and then I will have to dig deep to start new work. And when those dryer times come, there is the excitement of trying new things - I always love messing with video, or my digital camera, new mediums, etc. But for now, painting is on the front burner.

this is oil on paper, 24x19, 'Saturday Armor'


Another Monday has rolled out and I hope you are all on board for the week!

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'AWOL'

Things feel like they have started to settle and the work is back on track. Whew! Figures are not new for me, but the 'pouring out beginnings' have almost all included figures in some way. I find this interesting. I mean they are always appearing, but these particular figures are bit more persistent.  Don't know how long they will stick around, but will follow this particular path for awhile until something points another way.  The painting below I finished a couple of days ago.  Hope you are all settling back into your work and finding it all good.

this is oil on paper 24x19, 'AWOL'. Grab the week everyone!

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Five days in......

We are five days into the new year - I didn't know what to expect as I started working again - I knew I wanted to cover new ground in new ways but how wasn't clear - so I putter and putter and putter and the paintings are coming pretty fast - the work below I finished today in a very short time - It's like I can't paint fast enough - work on paper lays about drying on the floor, wood pieces are started and a large one waits for me to work on tomorrow - even though the first day in was difficult, the work is pouring out - of course not all of it will be good work, but it needs to be done - much of it will be reworked after this initial emptying - hope you are all finding new ways to drop into the new year - will see you all on the other side of the weekend......

oil and bees wax on board 12x12, 'Sideways on the Big Dipper'


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re-entry.....

It's been a rough re-entry into the studio today - I wanted to work, but when I closed the door to the studio, I didn't want to work.....I just wandered around, picking up this, looking at that, cleaning off my work table - sigh - I picked up a piece I had started earlier in the month, clipped it on my work board and just sat and looked at it - I kind of liked it the way it was - no, not really, but I just didn't have a clue where to start - there was a piece of graphite laying on the floor so I picked it up and made a couple of marks, then a couple of more marks, then I rubbed the graphite into the paint and smeared it around and then I added some ochre paint and then some raw umber and then a few  hours later I had the piece below - certainly not the best work I've done, but it got me moving again.....re-entry is never easy - trying to find my way back into the work - letting go of the holidays - emptying myself of the last three weeks - tomorrow's work will be informed by the work I did today and so on and so on and so on.....it's a start - welcome to 2012.......

this is mixed media on paper 24x19, 'When the Cypher Breaks Down'


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sliding out of 2011......

Unbelievably 2011 is coming to an end. Even as I type the words, it's hard for me to believe, I mean, I know that sounds cliche, but SERIOUS!!??? Have I been on the bullet train? and am I just now getting off to try and figure out what I was doing for 12 months? It seems like that - I was busy, a bunch of stuff happened, good stuff, bad stuff, life changing stuff, reality changing stuff, and then a whole load of ordinary stuff. Personally I like the ordinary stuff because it keeps me grounded - that first cup of coffee in the morning, the good feeling AFTER working out, throwing on my work clothes and heading to the studio to throw paint, the days of a thousand errands, climbing into bed at night with a very good book, housework all checked off, lists with everything crossed off, watching the birds in the yard, turning the computer off at night - the list could go on and on and maybe I will add things as the week goes by -

I ran back over the work I completed this year and made the mosaic below of my favs - it was another year of some good work, some bad work and a transition that I'm just falling into..... Two new outlets for my work and even a few sales.....life is good and one of the good things on a daily basis are you guys - my cyber friends - I so appreciate your continued support - I want to wish each of you the VERY BEST for 2012!! It's going to be a very good year.

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