Meltdown

Not sure that this one is complete, but it is likely close. Mixed media (assemblage) on cradled wood panel 18″x18″x2″ (and a bit).

Rising Through

So one of them is now completed, and just needs a signature. Rising Through is 18″x18″ acrylic on cradled wood panel:

Now for the Under Paintings

Most painters work from the bottom up and often I do too. But with these two pieces, I’ve worked the top layers first, keeping them somewhat transparent, at least for a significant portion of the compositions. Now I’ll work on the underpaintings for them, place them atop and revise the underpaintings until the overall composition works. I may have to add to the top layers as well – we’ll see.

So here is the latest progress on two of the three paintings that I have on the go:

Continuing in Mixed Media

So here is where the mixed media piece is headed so far:

Here is a detail shot of a portion of it:

Work in Progress

Time to get back to posting on the blog.  I find it surprisingly helpful to post about my work.  Like talking about your goals, it seems to help get me motivated each day to take the next step.

Here is a detail shot of my favorite area of one that has been on the easel for a while, then off the easel, and now is going back on the easel.  The figure will probably not be recognizable when I finish with this one.

And here is something new I am excited about, a mixed media piece with recycled components.  I’m looking forward to adding paint to this once the gel medium holding it together dries solidly.

And finally here is an early WIP of  a new painting in my From the Deep series.   It has only two layers, one of distressed gel medium, and a partial layer of pouring medium.

Mixed Signals

Well, I struggled a little bit with the composition of this one.  The top layer was created first and was very busy; it was a failed experiment from which I loved the result.  (the oft mentioned “happy accident”)   But it was very busy.  So finding the right textural counterpoint for it took some work, and then some more work, and then yet more work.  It started as three sets of concentric circles overlapping and interfering with each other, which were then deconstructed with an alcohol distressed wash, glazing, another wash, sanding, splattering, more glazing, and more splattering.  I think it is done now, so I’ve hung it on the wall to determine whether I can live with it before I sign it.

New York

Saw a call for artists for artexpo new york, and was intrigued to see who shows there and why.  Not me, not yet!  It’s a very pricey venue, and adding the travel and shipping costs, you’d have to do very VERY well to make it worth your while I think.  Nevertheless, I had a quick stroll through their exhibitors with my mouse and found some artists whose works I REALLY like:

Laetitia Schlesser-Gamelin

Song Jiang

Karen Kohtz

Elizabeth Slomka

Aglaia Thalia and Euphrosyne

In ancient Greece, among the pantheon of gods and goddesses, there were several goddesses called Charities (or Graces), the goddesses of grace, beauty, festivity, merriment, dance, song,… Though more than three are mentioned in writings (Homer, Hesiod, and several others) and depicted in vase paintings, they are usually depicted as a trio.

There is a long history of artists depicting the three graces.  Here is a great web page (that I can’t read) showing many of the interpretations through the ages. And here are a few more interpretations I found:
Michel Parkes
Seidai Tamura
Terri Windling
Flo Perkins
Kehinde Wiley

Hesiod named them Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne, daughters of Zeus (the bad boy himself) and Eurynome (an oceanid). Aglaia personified beauty; Thalia flowering; and Euphrosyne joy.  Here is my own interpretation of the three graces:

Laugh In

This piece was inspired by a YouTube video of Laugh In. The bright colours of the ’60s are well suited to using modern pigments. And the joke wall reminded me of the nature of conversations – a natural flow of topics, puctuated now and then with humour. It is funny (literally this time) where inspiration can come from. 18″x18″ acrylic on cradled wood panel, titled Streams of Consciousness:

Sorry for the Long Hiatus!

It’s been a while since I last posted. I could blame that on my double hernia operation, a heavy workload at a wonderful client site, a great drawing course, trying to get art work done for a show, summer and vacation, and creating an artist website. And I will! The important thing is that all of those activities were worth the hiatus from blogging.

The operation was a rough couple of weeks, with a drug reaction and some minor complications, but the doc did a great job and symptoms I didn’t even know were related to the hernia have abated! The drawing course was great, and I have had a good few months of creating art as well, though the drawing course took up most of my art time until summer began. If you don’t mind, please let me know what you think of the new site linked above.

Here is a series of three drawings with the same subject material from the drawing course:

Expressive charcoal:

Realist graphite:

Abstracted mixed media: