Studio slice #1

I have come up with a new little exercise for myself, a way of keeping in touch with you, and to hopefully keep this blog fresh and interesting. I'll be post a new little photo, a fragment of life inside my studio, almost every day. And when I paint something worthy of a whole blog, I'll slip that in too. So here we go, Studio Slice #1.

Just Blabbing

The flecks of red breaking up the sea of green trees surrounding the studio suggests a change of seasons. And the fiddling, procrastinating, pacing, and wandering inside the studio suggests changes as well.


Quick changes are difficult for me as an artist. Once I get into the groove of process, knowing what colors work well together, and I have a stack of ideas to work with, things move along smoothly. Occasionally someone tries to reel me in, asking me to paint a still life, or a landscape, "like you do so well." Then I hear the grinding of gears. I have a couple of these commissions staring at me right now. But they just seem so far off the path of me moving forward that I can't quite bring myself to do them. I feel awkward, like I have to learn "how to" all over again.


Other times, like now, it is me trying to push my work in a new direction. So here I am. wandering off the beaten path. I feel like I need a carrot and a stick just to keep moving. And to make things a little more complicated I have two different bodies of work I am trying to cough up.


One is reasonably simple, Scott and I want to share a new blog much like his cupcake blog that was so successful last year. We will be posting a new sweet painting each day, and the theme will be "Just Desserts." I have a handful of these little babies done, and they are coming along nicely. Although very slowly, I think I've spent enough time on one tiny painting of cookies that I may make minimum wage on it by the time all is said and done.


But the other work is about to drive me around the bend. There will be dresses, there will be multiple canvases, my pallet will change, I will use more lino block prints and less photos. I have built a model, I have sketched out the layout, I have ordered the canvases. Ready, set, go!


Instead I sit staring at the pile of canvases, carve a possible linoleum block, fiddle on Facebook. I know what the answer is. Just do it. (Thanks Nike.) Just walk in the door and get to work. And I will I suppose. Once I get over whatever this is. Until then I guess I will fiddle, and poke at ideas, and quietly bitch at myself for watching the sun go down again with very little new work to show. Perhaps the biggest babies are hardest to birth. Maybe I'm just a big chicken. But I sure can understand why so many artists keep on doing the same thing for years. There is a lot of comfort there.


So now I'm going to post this, and walk back into the studio and try again.


Because we all know, if at first you don't succeed...

The Project

So, those of you who have been watching my blog for a while know that when I'm not painting, or off at a show I am usually keeping busy with another project. The current project is "the great wall of china." A mosaic wall that will eventually go around the entire foundation of our house.

As you can see from this photo, it's been a while since I've been out on the side porch working on the wall. In the back left hand side of the photo you can see the remnants of a bird nest, we've had at least two babies hatch and move on since I've done anything significant. But I've been to the hardware store, and have a bit of time...so I'm back at it.

The main image for the wall is a sort of abstract, funky flower garden. Everywhere that is except for the two panels on either side of our chimney. Without giving up the whole story yet, these panels will have a clothes line with mosaic "laundry" hanging in the breeze. Here's what I've started...

A pair of 70's funky bell bottoms...

A souvenir t-shirt featuring a salt shaker from the Washington monument. If you know Ed Brownlee you'll recognise some tiles at the top that he made for me for this part.

A flowery bra made from a couple of hand painted tiles I bought on a trip to Southern France...talk about hardly being able to stand to break something...

And finally a pair of Y-front undies made from some beautiful frosted glass tile left over from Jennifer and David Garr's new house at the beach. I doubt this is what David had in mind when he gave me the leftover bits.

That's the progress at the moment, I still have a parade of animals to place along the bottom, and a whole background to fill. But I promise to post when these parts are finished, just don't hold your breath!

Somewhere in the middle

I just thought I'd give you a quick peek at what is going on inside the studio this weekend. I have three separate pieces on the go right now. "Smarty Pants" just has a little bit of stitching left to do, "Little Bee" is drying, and this one is coming along nicely. This will be a new "Good Egg." But I am just so darned pleased with the chickens that I had to show it off. The chickens are linoleum block prints on rice paper, the paper is so transparent that I was able to flop the image to have them pair up beak to beak. There is still plenty more to do, but I hope to have this in the van with me heading to the Des Moines Art Festival next weekend. If you want to do a little artist surfing you can find their web site at www.desmoinesartsfestival.org If I have a moment, I'll post the finished piece before it goes in the van!

Chicken and Prettybird

Chickens! I have to tell you I am really having fun with this. I have been bringing linoleum block prints into the dress paintings for a few months now. Printing them directly onto the canvas. But the more of this I do, the more I want to do. Now, I'm printing them onto rice paper, and collaging the paper onto the paintings. All these chickens will be in the background of my newest piece, "Good Egg." I've just started it, so I have a way to go, but I'll post when it's done...provided I don't completely mess it up on the way!

But in the meantime, here is a piece that I finished last week, "Prettybird." I love how this turned out, and already have plans for more. The background is a collage of lino block prints, the little yellow bird, ( a pine warbler I think) is painted. And the little halo of seed beads is stitched through the canvas.

A good start to the week!

Buttercup

Buttercup is the latest piece to come out of the studio. The dress was found at a great vintage clothing/costume shop in Austin, TX. The dress itself was so perfect it needed very little work, the velvet ribbon and thick lace are fabulous. The background is collaged linoblock prints on rice paper. The image of buttercups are repeated in varying tints and shades of yellow. The tricky part was the embroidery. It may be a little hard to see in the first picture, but it is front and center on the dress, so scroll down...

One of the best parts of being a "street artist" is getting to meet the folks who love and buy my work. And I have to tell you, I am really looking forward to meeting whoever buys "Buttercup." Talk about a conversation starter. Enjoy!

"Buttercup" is 30" x 40"

Our web site is back!

I finally have The Spring Gallery web site back up and running. You can find it at www.thespringgallery.com You be able to find Scott's few available cupcakes, most of my dress paintings, and other stuff all in one spot. Take a look. And thanks!

A new "Wallflower"

If you've known my work for very long you'll know that I often revisit my titles. I've done a few different versions of "Wallflower." This is the latest. Washes of pink covered in lino cut flowers.

And a little closer. Sometimes I just like to make them pretty.

"Wallflower is 40" square.

Attagirl

It's been a while since I've done an "attagirl." An "attagirl" from my Dad was the best thing ever. They were few and far between, you knew you deserved it when one came. While working on this piece I was thinking about two possibilities; a little girl brave enough to climb a tree, or the encouragement needed to learn to fly.

The tree branches are full of life, washes of color from mauve to yellows. Cut into with a semi opaque sky. "Attagirl is stitched through the canvas, right next to the yellow Pine Warbler.

24" square.

what did I do all day?

I often chastise myself at the end of the day for not seeming to get anything accomplished. I started it today. Mostly because it's getting dark, and I don't seem to have a painting finished, I hardly even have one started. So I made myself stop and think...

Well I did put together a rough idea of a commission for approval. I like it, haven't heard if the client does though. Decided on the path for a new painting, complicated, but beautiful. That wasn't intended to be the title, but it may fit? This is the commission idea by the way...

Simple, pretty, but not too girlie.

Oh, and I attached a handful of photo transfers to a canvas, a new "4 eyes" is on the way.

Some arts council stuff came next, we have a small art festival going on in Jackson on May 7th. Scott and I are helping put that together, if you are in the area it is really going to be worth coming to. So that took a little time. Then errands in town...what a boring list, have you quit reading yet? But then I was distracted and wound up in the garden center. I was going to buy one tomato plant. $50+ later I was driving home.

Whoops, I actually got back to work, framed three large oil paintings. Then next thing I know I'm in the garden drinking a glass of wine with my neighbor. My neighbor has spray paint, and she let me rob her spray paint collection. Now my tomato cages are deep electric blue. And I've planted about half of what I bought, a bunch of different peppers, two tomatoes, cucumbers.

Hmm, and I'm blogging now, and when I actually walk away from this computer I'll walk out to the studio, and poke around a little longer. I guess that is a pretty good day.