Works in progress, where I share what I'm working on and what I'm thinking about, and also show my Instagram feed.
an 8x8" painting on birch panel, tentatively called "Siragusa Settlement"
Artists sometimes have wildly whimsical conversations, and I think strains of such talks must have been softly whispering as I made this painting. This is one of the many pieces I have available, and because it's "Shop Small Saturday" tomorrow, I'll have my studio open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. I hope you'll stop in!
a painting on 9x12" paper
As part of my role as a teaching artist in the Midwest Artist Studios project, I had to provide an illustrated step-by-step description of creating a painting. Project founder Frank Juarez collects such descriptions from each artist and writes a curriculum around them to share with high school art teachers throughout the region. In our conversations, I discussed the importance of prairies and fostering a love for terrain and native plants in this distinctive regional landscape. I also talked about finding inspiration in your surroundings. My studio is in an old warehouse district of Omaha where native plants sometimes take root in empty lots and along chain-link fences. At this time of year, the sun creates blazes of color on the brick buildings late in the afternoon, and this painting is inspired by the view right out my studio window. Below are a few of the images of the painting as it progressed.
detail shot of painting in progress to show pattern achieved after pressing textured paper into the surface
scraping with a utility knife to reveal underlying colors
getting close to done...
Some of my Southwest-inspired oil paintings on display in the lounge area
Sixteen of my paintings are on display at the Josie Harper Hospice House through January. Art displayed in the lounge area is available for sale, but is shared primarily to offer some comfort and creative contemplation for patients, visitors and staff.
"San Jose Barrio," six 8x8" cold wax and oil paintings on birch panels at the Nicholas Street Gallery, Hot Shops Art Center, Omaha, Neb.
Tapping nails into the walls, stepping back to look and sipping coffee, making slight adjustments in arranging pieces, five artists quietly worked side by side yesterday morning to install artworks for the show "Pure Vida: Impressions of Costa Rica" in the Nicholas Street Gallery at Hot Shops Art Center, 1301 Nicholas Street in Omaha. Traveling with Linda Hatfield, Judith Anthony Johnston, Katrina Methot-Swanson, Cheri Ginsburg and Elisa Morera was great fun. Showing artwork with them has been great fun, too.
Linda Hatfield hangs her pieces between Katrina's and mine.
Now we're looking forward to sharing the vibrant colors and interesting back stories with visitors. Please join us for the opening reception 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, Sept. 9. We'll also conduct demonstrations from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on two Sundays: Sept. 11 and 18. We've got a map of Costa Rica hanging at the gallery entrance and will be delighted to tell you about all the places we experienced.
And I'll be working in my studio upstairs most weekdays, so please pop in!
Most people imagine adding layers of color when you tell them you paint. My work on this piece recently was all about scraping and scratching into the surface to reveal colors underneath. The idea of reduction -- taking away -- is one I learned in printmaking. In that medium, one approach is to carve away sections of block after each color layer until the last lines are darkest outlines or shadow.
In current paintings where I use wax mixed with oil colors, I can build up layers, scrape down and build up again until I'm satisfied with the results. I've been working on this 20x20" panel as a way to avoid attention to pieces destined for the CostaRica-themed show I'm doing in September. At the same time, working on this piece allows me to experiment with colors, shapes and techniques that will likely appear in those paintings, too.
Work in progress, oil and cold wax on 20x20" panel