Faces 13

Years ago—maybe as many as 30? is that possible?!—I jotted a postcard to my friend Stu, whom I'd met at Takodah family camp in NH at least 10 years prior to jotting said postcard, to ask what kind of pen he'd been using at camp that August to doodle in his pocket sketch book.

A week or 10 days later, I found an empty water bottle in my mailbox and wondered who'd picked up street litter and placed it in with my mail. 

But, ha! This was no litter. It was an 'envelope' inside of which sat a small bit of paper with the pen info I'd requested from Stu.

Even though "OMG" was not yet in the common vernacular, my internal reaction was, O.M.G! My immediate next thought was, Two can play at this game!

And I was off and running, viewing correspondence by mail in a whole new light. WAY fun.

The Friend Who Uses an Enamaled Spoon
as a Postcard
9 x 12"; acrylic, ink, and pastel on drawing paper
abstract face
$45
sold

(Parenthetical Project) 8

Here's my Inauguration Day story. 

We have Dan the Man, a trusty tile guy (same guy who did a bathroom renovation for us), installing tile in our mudroom which directly abuts the kitchen where I usually eat. Because I want to watch/hear inauguration proceedings without tile-installation noise, I set up my lunch on a tray and take it to my study. 

I place the tray on the table there and start to reach for my laptop to get it set for inauguration viewing. The tray slides off whatever I perched it on, and almost everything on the tray slides off the tray, making more cacophony than any tile installation. 

Homemade soup (broccoli, chicken, kale, carrots, olive oil, bone broth, snow peas, and spinach) in a 20-ounce handpainted bowl; half an avocado; a serving of homemade cole slaw on a favorite ceramic plate; a small bowl of dried pumpkin seeds; a 16-ounce glass of water.

Onto a fabric-covered chair, an open heating grate, a pine floor with spaces between boards, and a decorative metal bowl filled with river stones and three votive candles.

Soup bowl loses a big fragment; plate breaks into pieces.

A peaceful transition of power. Go, Joe! Go, Kamala!

No Other World but This One
4.25 x 5.5" greeting card; acrylic, ink, and collage
abstract
2021

Turn Me Into Song, Sing Me Awake
4.25 x 5.5" greeting card; acrylic, ink, and collage
abstract
2021

Lake Champlain, Day 6

[entry drafted at Lake Champlain 6/13/18]

Huh. 

This painting has surprised me more than once as I've worked on it at our little vacation cottage on this little island at the north end of not-so-little Lake Champlain.

Today, still a work in progress but 'finished' for now, it surprises me again when I step back to photograph it: I’ve painted a little self-contained island!

work in progress
18x24"; mixed media on drawing paper

detail

Lake Champlain, Day 5

[entry drafted at Lake Champlain 6/12/18]

We sleep all night with the French doors in the bedroom open to the attached screened porch overlooking Lake Champlain. A Mary-Poppins-like wind blasts the day in with vigor.

I let the fresh-off-the-lake bluster gust through me all day. Love its cleansing, invigorating energy, the intense feeling of charged weather.

collage and neutrals added to work in progress

more shapes, more neutrals

detail

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Paint All Over Creation

OK, I started this piece—the second in a possible series—wanting to play with paint, mark-making, and pastels. Pretty quickly I felt the call to tap into some uninhibited, childlike free-play. Then after a bit, the painting wanted structure and refinement so I responded accordingly.

I reached a point where the painting felt complete.

I gave it a title.

I perched it on a shelf in my study (where I tutor) which gave me the chance to glance up and see it from a few feet of distance off and on for the rest of the day and into the next.

Oh.

Not done.

Wasn't sure where to go. Felt familiar constriction—fear of 'wrecking' what I liked in the piece. Gave myself a quick talking-to: So, do you want an incomplete, unsatisfying painting that sits in a drawer because you don't want to display it? What'll happen if you go back in and start playing with it? Seems to me that you either won't like it or you will. If you don't, status quo. If you do, good to go!

This piece feels crazy-quilt busy but I like it.

It has asked respectfully that I title it and post it for sale but if it hasn't sold in four weeks to please cut it into quadrants, play with the resulting volunteer compositions, make them into postcards, and send them out into the world.

Deal.

All Over Creation

9x12"; acrylic, ink, pencil, collage, and chalk and oil pastels on watercolor paper

abstract

2017

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Activate

I activate a new canvas today to further my paint/mark-making/pastels (pmmp) exploration.

A childhood counting rhyme comes to mind. I used to say it when I needed a little self-push to take initiative with one task or another. It'd give me a few moments' pause while reciting, and then the oomph to go when I got to the final word. I recite it today:

One for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to make ready,
And four to go!

I cut a sheet of 9x12" watercolor paper, tape it to a support, wet it with water, and rotate it multiple times as I work. I apply neutral paints, spray water to start drips, make marks with graphite crayon, use a sponge roller and white paint, scribble with a charcoal pencil, scribble with a gum eraser, use a brush to veil areas with white, make patterns with a texture sheet (thank you, Sheila!).

pmmp-2, work in progress

pmmp-2, work in progress

pmmp-2, work in progress

pmmp-2, work in progress

pmmp-2, work in progress

What to Do?

where I left off

What to do, what to do?

What happens if I add pattern/texture with stencil and spray paint?

Just Kidding 22717a [working title]

Pretty cool.

What happens if I use a sponge roller to veil the stenciling, and then scribble in it with a tooling stylus?

Just Kidding 22717b [working title]

How 'bout some complementary color? Some drips?

Just Kidding 22717c [working title]

How 'bout I let this percolate overnight?

---

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detail of scratches that reveal other iterations on this canvas

Lining Things Up

Moseyed into my studio not knowing what or if I would add to Vova II. Stayed in a quiet place of pause until collage came to mind.

I sifted through my handpainted collage papers and found two that called out to me. Headed for my paper trimmer to cut thin strips, but stopped. Tore my strips instead. Savored the satisfying feeling of spreading matte medium, placing my strips, pressing them down, and further securing them with more medium.

Then I did stop. I think this piece needs to stay simple. It's part of a possible project where less-is-more may be key.

Vova II 21717 [working title] 

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LOVE MY TEAM

LOVE MY TEAM was a message created for Necco's The Game of Love theme for its candy conversation hearts in 2005.

I do love my team!

You know how sometimes folks come into your home and as you hug them you can drink deeply of the fresh outdoor air they carry indoors with them in their hair or on their clothes? Today I felt so aware of the fresh air of my friendships with other artists online—my team. I breathed that pure oxygen right in.

In particular, Simone's mention of painting with her fingers suffused my studio time, and Carol's mention of using a black and white filter to assess values in a painting is about to freshen up this post.

I continue to move along with Vova, mixing and adding color with my fingers, using spray paint, playing with stencils, scribbling with wax pastels, dripping paints from bottles, turning the painting on it side, and checking its values.

Happy Valentine's Day, one and all!

Vova 21417 [working title]

values, not too bad!

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There 'Sno Day Like a Snow Day

We kept ourselves out of winter's reach for weeks and weeks and weeks, but she caught up with us!

Snow Day on Thursday.

Another Snow Day Friday.

Snow on Saturday.

Snow on Sunday.

Another Snow Day today.

By Snow Day I mean no school for local schools.

As a private tutor, that has meant Snow Days for me as well!

I'll give you a sneak peek at details of the painting I'm working on, with its working title Vova. I introduced little painted patterns with a brush. Very enjoyable and satisfying. Great way to while away a Snow Day.

Vova 21317 detail

Vova 21317 detail

Vova 21317 detail