Sorry State of Affairs

So much for *not* the best laid plans. It's been more than two months since I darkened the blogger door. The summer has been about travel and being in the studio. Lots of little trips, hiking and camping, swimming and recharging. Lots of work made and posted on Facebook, please follow me there for all the latest in this messy process. You will find, a painting on mylar here, a contour drawing there, a plein air drawing (not from life) in another place, some dabbling in collage, some studio drawings in my sketch book etc. See, messy.

The piece I posted in this blog in June has been reworked once again. I posted it here. I think you can see it even if you are not on Facebook.

When I say messy, I do mean messy. The whole process is messy for me. It's taken me the summer to get my head in gear, and my body recharged, only to have life just go on and on, requiring more head work and body recharging. You know how it is, one thing done, another thing crops up. One of life's curve balls dealt with and another just around the bend. This is not a complaint, this is just life. A sorry state of affairs sometimes, a glorious adventure others, and sometimes both simultaneously. A little health crisis here, a big loss there, a move over here, a birth, a death, a lovely trip, a brief fall into despair.

Some exciting news: I will be in another show in January, a small group show on a well respected and beautifully curated website with 5 other artists with whom I am thrilled and honoured to be exhibiting. Stay tuned for details.

Below is a look at my messy process: This is a piece I'm working on as part of the series (started last year) posted to my website on the page  Paintings on Paper. I've been meaning to get back to this series, and now I have.

First stage:  I don't like that Tim Burton face, and overall it feels wishy washy. I started with a light pink/white/blue background and painted in the green cloud and the blue bottom, then I globbed on some piles of paint from left over paint and responded to that, yes there are some sparkles in there.

oil painting on huile paper using leftover paint and fresh paint, stage 1

Next day I looked at it and decided the face had to go, I scraped it out and reworked the background, that figure is too blatant, or something.

oil painting on huile paper using leftover paint and fresh paint, stage 2 

Then I added more pinky purple in the top, integrate the figure, repaint the face, make that oil spill hand more globby. Hmm, I don't know, 

No, not right, redefine the figure, bring up that fence at the bottom a bit, more intense colour by the head to the right etc. Look at it tomorrow.

Sorry State of Affairs, in progress.

Edited to say, reworked and reworked again and  retitled

Can't seem to lighten up

Back to full time in the studio!

Since my show in February (see previous posts), I've been hibernating. Working 3 days a week and all the other demands of life meant that I had to prioritize art making and personal life over blog writing for a while. I am back in the studio full time now (yaay) and returning to writing here about this and that.

A long time ago, in 2013, I wrote this blog post. It was about the painting posted below. I was happy with it at the time and became unhappy with it later. It happens that way sometimes. So I've done some more work on it. It's still in progress. I have to see if it continues to sit well with me.

Cohere
14 x 12" mixed media on mylar

Just a re cap of what's been going on around here:
In 2013, when this piece was started, I returned to my earlier way of painting and drawing. I had taken a few years to explore painting from life and it was not giving me what I wanted. Every painting was too literal for me. Attempting to move them into abstraction made me feel all over the place. I need poetry in my paintings and drawing. Some people can do that with representation and abstraction, I couldn't. I needed to go back to the humour and pathos that I have always indulged in with my work.

Less than two years later I had a solo show and am putting together submissions to show even more recent work. We'll see where that goes.

I'm taking things one day at a time, trying to live every day fully, and not get ahead of myself.

Intuition and painting, interview

I'm excited to be included in the latest 'mixed media tapes'. My prompt for this interview was "intuition".
http://themixedmediatapes.blogspot.ca/…/cassette-two-side-a…

This project is put together by Phillip J. Mellen . In this tape, Cassette Two Side A, I am in the company of Sabine Tress, Brigid Watson and Victor DaSilva. I learned a lot from and enjoyed greatly listening to these artists talk and I think you will too. Phillip is a thoughtful interviewer with a great sense of humour. The interviews feel more like discussion and warm visits than interviews. They give an insight into process and the background behind each artists approach to art.

Some favourite moments:
Painting is "an attempt at grasping at intangible truths" Brigid Watson:

The painting "can look really bad, turn it round and all of a sudden it can look really good. All that matters is the result - and now it's looking good". Sabine Tress talking about control/no control in finishing a painting.

"Sometimes your painting insults you "you'll never be any good" and you say "yes I will, maybe not today.." Phillip J. Mellen.

The show is up.

The opening of the show at the Firehall Arts Centre was great. I was nervous about it, but thanks to all who came out. It was so good to see you see what I've been up to for almost 2 years now, well some of what I've been up to.

Here are some photos:

And some installation shots of the work taken this week:

And, It's up.

It's been a day, show is hung, It went smoothly thanks to the powerhouse brilliance of Kriss and Ming. We had a great time hanging. I drank too much coffee and was a bit hyper and annoying, but they laughed at me and gave me instructions so I wasn't too all over the place, and basically took charge. I so like take charge women. Some photos.



The Firehall Arts Centre is beautiful.

 What's next?

I think I'll just lean here for a bit.

She's got a plan.

Unpacking.

Look the little one's are up

Show Time (and statement angst).

Not long now and the show will be up. On Tuesday we hang. The show is in a non-profit space and so I have to do a lot of the work myself. Wow, marathon. I will have help with the hanging though. Thanks Kriss and Ming and Firehall staff.

Your invitation is posted below, but if you are a Facebook friend or otherwise a  friend, or are on my mailing list you have already seen it.

Things are looking good. Of all the things on my list in the last post there are only a couple left. "Blog Post" is one of them and here I am, blog posting. No statement yet, who knows if it will happen. If it comes naturally and I feel like it, it will be done. I've rewritten my initial statement many times. The last iteration is on the invitation but even that feels not exactly it. It's accurate but doesn't seem to cover it somehow. I recently refined it down to: "Today's Lesson Will be in Life: These pathos and humour filled paintings reveal an approach to current events and life's turmoil that may give some relief from the grim dark while at the same time not denying it's full truth and impact."  Ahh, I don't know. If I could say it, I might not have to paint it. Never mind, I'll do my best with it and that will be that

It's been a while since I've had a solo exhibition. I'm very happy that I did this show. I need and want people to see the new work in person. Thank you in advance for being there. And thanks for reading my posts and looking at my work online too. It's great to have a way to get it out there to appreciative eyes. And, even to critical ones.

Now, to make sure all the last minute things are done and take a walk in the bog with the dog. First I think I'll have lunch and a cup of tea.

Moderately proud.

I'm moderately proud of myself today. I've managed quite a bit since my last post, in spite of having a cold, Christmas and all it entails (though thankfully mine is modest and quiet), working my usual 3 days a week at the dayjob, having a couple of minor crisis that got me up in the middle of the night, causing days in zombieland. Then there is the studio in the kitchen, I'm still working and nothing will stop me. It will be good to get back to a separate studio in a year or so.

It's 1:45 on a Saturday. I should be eating lunch and then going to Opus, the local art supply and framing shop, to finish off 4 small frames and buy some more foam core in order to finish off 2 larger ones. Instead I'm typing this briefly then going. Once I get those frames finished I bring them home and wire them, That will take today and tomorrow (if I fit in a big dollop of doing not much and making dinner etc.).

Then it's down to making labels, a list of work, a statement to go with the work, sending out invites, maybe doing some press outreach...  Will I make it? will it all get done? Stay tuned, and show up on January 22 at 5:30 to see what happens (I think I said 5, in an earlier post so change this on your calendar if you've already marked it down).  I'll be reminding you again.