what happened in the studio

If I find myself loving one area of a painting early in the process, it usually ends in having to say goodbye to the whole image. That's what happened to this painting. Back in the studio after the demo, I worked on the row of trees until I liked them a lot but the rest of the painting never came together so I washed it all off, turned it right-side up (same as the original painting in my previous post) and began again with a white NuPastel. This time, without a precious area to guard, the painting evolved all over simultaneously and came to rest as "Pond Dream II."

what happened at the demo

This is how far I got on one of the Leap-of-Faith-Abstracting paintings at the PSWC demo. I'll let you know what happens from here.

upside down before the brush-off

original painting to be brushed off

pswc demo

I'm back from my Leap-of-Faith Abstracting Demo for the Pastel Society of the West Coast at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, CA. If you are anywhere in the area, I encourage you to see the show - every piece is worthy of an award, I'm honored to have been included in the show and to have received the Atlantic Papers Award.

shipping time

Spring is a busy shipping time. This is "The Tender Hour," snugly sandwiched in my good old (and I do mean OLD) Strongbox® for the journey to the IAPS 18th Juried Exhibition in Albuquerque, NM. If you'd like to read a short article on shipping pastel art, it will be posted as an editorial on the Northwest Pastel Society website soon.

pastel demo

I was surprised and pleased to receive this postcard in yesterday's mail. If you are in the Stockton, CA area, please join me for my demo at the Haggin Museum, 1-4 PM, May 22. I'll be washing off a couple paintings and taking a leap of faith that I can turn them into successful abstracted work.

Before you leave this postcard image, take a moment to appreciate how the person who designed it related these three images. The tree in the upper right corner of my painting repeats the tree in the barn image by Kim Lordier  then the barnyard flows into the vineyard of the third painting by Dug Waggoner. To do this, images might have been cropped but I think it is a thoughtfully designed postcard - and I am pleased to be on it with these two outstanding painters.

my blue heaven

This is the finished painting based on the under-painting I posted yesterday. I'm loving all that blue!

demo candidates

These are my candidates to be washed off Sunday, May 22nd at a demo I'll be doing for the Pastel Society of the West Coast in Stockton, CA. Right now, these are framed so I'll have to go through my art data base to see what surface each was painted on. My first choice would be Wallis paper because I could just blast it with a hose. But, if it is Canson Mi-Teintes, I'll have to brush it off...not nearly as dramatic.

high country test

The second of the five paintings I brought back from a gallery yesterday was unframed this morning. This was one of the Sky View Meadow series of 2009 -  I brushed it off and began again. Now it is called High Country. It will also serve as a test to see if I will receive this post through a gmail account instead of Comcast. Thanks to all who have taken a moment to let me know that you have (or haven't) been receiving these posts in the past 3 weeks. Interesting that the people who aren't receiving it anymore are those with Comcast email addresses. Original painting is shown below.

promises

Promises is the new rendition of a 2007 painting that has been shown at three of my galleries and a couple shows without selling. A sale is usually one of the goals of a painting but I've always been fond of this one and happy to have it back in my studio. However...today I unframed it, painted on it some more, cropped it into a slightly new composition and retitled it. I'll probably send it out into the world again but I won't mind if it comes back home.

group show

I am pleased to be included in a group show at American Art Company, Tacoma, WA, May 14 through June 25th. Other artists in the show are Neil Andersson, Brenda Boylan, Fumiko Kimura, Misty Martin, Reni Moriarity and Ann Stockdale.

If this post doesn't go out automatically to email subscribers, I will send it to the list myself. Still testing...testing...

blue monday

The title says it all. After a beautiful spring day yesterday, today it's raining again. I'm going to bake a chocolate cake.

value addition/subtraction

Today's post is about making decisions. I've been reworking a painting and getting nowhere so I decided to eliminate the color decisions and work in value only.  I took a photo of the washed-off-painting, printed it out in grayscale and added and subtracted value with pencil and eraser on the printout until I got to a composition and value story I could live with. Then, I printed this image on paper and put it on my easel next to the painting. Next I will select colors to match these values and begin painting again. See below for the visual journey to this point.

Gray scale of painting waiting for decisions.

Washed off, reworked, washed off, reworked, washed off.

This was Simplicity completed last December.

spring cleaning

My pastels have gotten out of control which makes me crazy. I don't pre plan the colors for each painting but I do like to find a color I have in mind when I want it so I took the time (and it does take time!) this week to reorganize. Pulled the pastels out of each section of my boxes and cleaned them in cornmeal. Then they went to paper plates to be resorted by color, value and temperature before they go back into the box. I'm almost done! This post will also be a test to see if my posts are being delivered to email subscribers. I haven't received the last two posts. I had a similar problem a year ago (same time of year too) with my previous journal blog which I finally gave up on and created this new one. I haven't done anything to my settings, the posts just quit coming. Testing...testing...

good news

I'm very pleased that my painting, The Tender Hour, was accepted into the IAPS 18th Juried Exhibition to be held in Albuquerque New Mexico in conjunction with the International Association of Pastel Societies Ninth Biennial Convention June 2-5, 2011.

poster honor

I am honored to be featured on the poster for Escapade, at the WPW Gallery, 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 310, Columbia Center Building, Seattle. Open weekdays 11 AM - 4 PM. The show will run May, June and July and features the art of 23 members of the 80 year old organization, Women Painters of Washington.

making the cut...or not

In February, I posted an image of completed paintings hanging all in row in my studio. They were waiting framing and the decision about which show they would be entered into before they went to a gallery. To date, four of those paintings have been framed entered into shows. Now it is time to make decisions about the rest and order frames.

It just occurred to me that I am doing my own American Idol competition here. Not all paintings will go on...some will NOT make the cut. The paintings were hanging in no particular order but today, the painting that will go "home" is Hometown Heartstrings.

I tried to use my save on it by making a few adjustments but in the end, 98% got reworked. Now it is Hometown Heartstrings II.

east and west

I am honored to have received two awards within the past week. One from the Northeast National Pastel Exhibition, Old Forge, NY (Ampersand Art Supply Award for "Dream Catcher") and the other from the Northwest Pastel Society Member Show, Seattle, WA (Presidents' Award for "Ruby's Canada"). 

flowering cherries

The flowering cherry trees along our driveway are in bloom. They seem oblivious to the hail and coldest temperatures for this time of year since 1935. pastel, 15.5 x 20 inches.

a simple act of kindness

I have been painting on this surface since yesterday morning at 10 AM when it began as a demo for a couple artist friends. When they left my studio two hours later, it looked nothing like this. In the time since then it has been washed off several times and has been poked and prodded. I even "painted" in wet pastel for a awhile with a bristle paintbrush.

Finally, in a simple act of kindness to both myself and the pastel surface, I quit working on it. I don't know why it was so hard. I think I need Spring!

rainy day vacuuming

It's a rainy, rainy day this April 1st in Washington. I vacuumed off another old 2006 painting to use the Colourfix paper for a new painting.

When I began making marks and relating shapes and colors,  I didn't intend to paint about rain or water, it just turned out that way. It is enjoyable as well as a leap of faith to begin a painting without any plans and to watch it grow into something that strikes a cord with the artist. This is the basis for the one day workshop I'll teach May 23rd at the Pastel Society of the West Coast show in Stockton, CA. Join me!

painful marks

Donna T asked why I decided to paint over the 2006 painting shown in my previous post. Here's the reason: when I look at the marks I made in that painting (left image), they are painful to me. Roundy, poky, stabby. I can remember the feeling and movement in making those marks. When they worked I liked them (I have a little plein air piece hanging in my bathroom with lovely sharp marks) but when they didn't work...aaarggh. The image on the right shows my current marks. Gently pulling color over color. I feel better.

september becomes may

Two paintings: the lower one, "The Third Season" was painted plein air in September 2006 on dark blue Colourfix paper.  Wiped it off today and now it is a Spring scene, "May."

as time goes by

If we continue to make art, as time goes by our work evolves, grows, matures. Our pastel marks and brush strokes become more confident. The process spans a life-time of creating. Let's live long and make art that pleases us.

the right side

The right side of the 2006 painting has survived with some adjustment to foliage on all trees. It's growing on me. I'm going to cut the mat for it now and order the frame. It has become "Coastland Revisited."

5 years later

I'd like to thank those who commented or sent me an email on my March 14th post with their opinion about what to do with this painting.

I intended to cut it into two pieces, crop and reframe each as smaller, vertical paintings. But when I unframed it I was immediately drawn to the spontaneous marks in the border area just outside the picture and how they differ from the more controlled strokes within the scene. This led me to reflect how my work today differs from this 2006 painting. Apparently my view of the world has softened and become more tolerant and playful, less literal. My application of the medium has evolved which affects the character of my marks.

So when I cut this painting into two pieces, I couldn't resist reinterpreting the scene on the left. Then, putting the two pieces back together, it was easy to visually compare how I, and my work, have changed. Click on the image to enlarge.

congratulations

Washington state is well represented in this year's Annual Pastel 100 Competition in The Pastel Journal.

Susan Glendenning Third Place Abstract/Non-Objective,  

Barbara Noonan Fourth Place Landscape and Interior, 

Diana Sanford Silver Medal Award for Excellence, 

Karen Schroeder Honorable Mention Abstract/Non-Objective 

and me, Honorable Mention Abstract/Non-Objective 

for "From the West Unto the East."

These are artists I know. If you live in Washington and received an award in the 2011 Pastel 100, let me know and I'll add you to the list. Congratulations to all in the competition.

Cropping Queen

I love to crop. In our Critique Group I'm known as the Cropping Queen which is probably not what artists really want to call me when I suggest cropping away hours of their work. But, as with reworking, sometimes you have to let go of a precious area or two to get a better statement. One of the challenges of cropping occurs when a painting has a couple nice areas but they are at opposite ends or corners. In that case, you might be able to get two paintings out of one.

I've gone through my inventory and scheduled pieces for upcoming solo and groups shows and find that I need more work! I came across a 2006 painting that I like too much to wash off and rework, but it isn't great the way it is. I'm thinking about cropping it into one stronger statement or maybe into two small paintings.

Below, I've posted some of the cropping possibilities and I'd be pleased to hear comments from anyone who sees a clear best choice. The last image at the bottom is the painting the way it is today.