From the Shelf to the Show

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Georgia Lawyers for the Arts annual art auction and gala in Atlanta. The GLA is a wonderful organization, and I've enjoyed the chance to contribute to their art auction for years now. It's a chance to see works from amazing local artists, catch up with friends, and meet a few new ones each year. It's truly a wonderful experience and something that I look forward to.

Me and my sweet Matt at the GLA Show

The pieces I donated this year were sketches that had been created some time ago but that had been languishing in one of my portfolios. Upon rediscovering them, I spruced them up by breaking out my trusty Micron pens and giving each drawing more time and detail. The grouse and rabbit both needed more care taken with their feathers and fur---more pen strokes, deeper values and contrasts, etc. Once I was satisfied with the detail and depth of each piece, it was time to apply some coffee. After all, coffee makes everything better, right?

My pieces, "Scratching Out a Living" and "Making Tracks"

I like to use coffee or tea to tint my pieces, whether they're on canvas or paper. I also like the look that can be achieved by mimicking the foxing often found on old paper. I've always had a deep appreciation for pieces that show their age. Whether it's a chair with worn wooden arms from many hands resting there, a book with dogeared and stained pages, or a pair of boots marked with scuffs and scratches, they all tell a story and they all let us touch our fingertips where other fingertips lingered many years previously. With that in mind, I like my work to be tactile and to hopefully start a story and life of its own with the person who decides to take it home with them.

Looking ahead, we're getting into the holiday season, and time has a way of speeding up between now and January 1st. However, I'm determined not to let the last of 2017 slip away without some significant work happening in my studio. Check back in for a few sneak peeks of what's in the works!

Time Flies

Okay, it has officially been a loooong time since I posted here! Things have been rolling along steadily in the studio, and I figured it was time to get back to letting my blog reflect the same productivity that was happening there :) I have a few bodies of work I'm building up, but I decided to just do some tinkering today. I spent some time taking stock of old sketches and projects that were laying around and deciding what could be let go, what could be earmarked for shows or sales, and what perhaps needed a bit of work still. I came across two little quick drawings from several years ago and immediately decided they still had a lot of room for improvement. The first was a little stylized rendering of a ruffed grouse done using Micron pens. The first draft, if you will, was flat and pretty devoid of interest. So, I went back over it and blocked in more feathers and added contrast to the different areas of the body. It still needs a little more work before it's done, but I'm much happier with how it looks now compared to earlier today. The goal is to have it completed and framed up by this time next week and then on to the next revamp!

Sad and drab little bird in need of tlc

Now this little critter is getting some life breathed into it!

Playing Catch-Up

Opening night with Suzanne and Hugh
 Photo by Hewett Beasley

It's been a whirlwind couple of months, but now that the dust is settling, I'm so glad to be able to check back in!  First and foremost, the Spectrum Show at Gallery 4463 went off without a hitch!  I had the pleasure of exhibiting my work with the very talented Suzanne Cooper Morris and Hugh Gordon MacKay.  To get the most out of the show, we spent a lot of time prepping and advertising for the opening.  Thanks to the support of our families, friends, fellow artists, and our community, the show had a great turnout!  Our work was well-received, and we all enjoyed seeing our pieces go out the door and on to new homes.

As with any show, I learned a lot from my experience with this one.  I truly appreciate all the hard work it takes to put a show together and, with that in mind, I'm already itching to do another.  I'm also ready to stretch my wings a little further and seek out more opportunities to show my work.  I have some new projects I'm really excited about, and I'm anxious to share them with the art community!

Enjoying the show with my better half, Matt
Photo by Hewett Beasley

Before I do all that though, I have a studio space that needs to be unpacked and put into working order.  Yup, that's what a lot of the whirlwind was about--we waited until the last possible moment, and then we picked up and moved in a very condensed and intense fashion.  While I don't think we'll make a repeat of that experience, we pulled through all right--thanks in big part to the help of some seriously awesome friends.

Now that life is returning to normal, the road ahead is clear and I know what direction I'm heading in.  I got my drafting table set up today, I found my easel and paint box, and that's enough to get started!

Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you again soon with some new work from the new house!

A Tale of Two Canvases

It's funny what you can accomplish when you have a deadline to meet.  Or, in my case, a looming deadline.  As in mere days to potentially move artistic mountains.  Now, no complaints from my corner--I'm a notorious procrastinator and I do it to myself.  You guys may remember my last post where I showed you two big canvases I'd had kicking around my art space for several years.  Well, they've gone through several transformations since I last checked in.  I'm afraid I'm not showing the end result in a very timely fashion, but at least the finish line has been crossed.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :D

So, when last we saw the two canvases, they were primed and ready for some stroke of genius to befall them.  In the meantime, they underwent several coats of gesso to build up some texture.  Once that was done to my satisfaction, I decided to spread some yellow ochre across all my lovely new layers.  I thought, "That'll look great!"  I then used a rag to blot some texture and let it sit for a day or two to dry.  Next, I spread instant coffee across the dampened surface.  "It's going to look like aged parchment," I said to myself.

And then they dried.  And they looked like this...

Yeeeaah, not really the look I was going for...at all. Fortunately, there's always room for improvement!  It was a warm spring day, so I decided to spritz some water on my poor canvas experiments and start again.  I rather liked the streaks that resulted from the instant coffee streaming down to the deck.  That was at least one good thing that came of the yellow nightmares.

Feeling a little dejected at my failure so far, I left my canvases to dry.  They then sat in my little studio while I stewed over what to do with them and tackled some other projects.  Finally, the deadline for my art show was knocking on my door, and I had to do something with those two sad canvases.  I had already decided a long time ago that I wanted to draw some stylized water fowl on them.  So, on a sunny morning, I hauled them out to the kitchen and brushed on some phthalo blue to cover up the terrible egg yolk yellow.  The result was a very pleasing turquoise blue with some of the original coffee streaks showing through.  After another round of drying time, I sprinkled a little more instant coffee on them, sealed them, and left them for one more round of drying time.

Funnily enough, the bulk of the time I spent on these silly canvases was soaked up in just trying to get the texture and color right.  Once I was satisfied with that, I sat down with my vine charcoal and sketched out a heron and an egret in about five minutes.  I simply looked at the canvases and let my mind pick out shapes among the texture or swirls of paint to help determine where the body of each bird would fall.

From there, I went over the rough sketches with a Prisma marker and filled in the details.  After many hours and many episodes of Tattoo Nightmares (yeah, it's a guilty pleasure), I was done.  Behold, the final product!

Skyward and Windfall, mixed media

I chose to depict a great blue heron and an egret to tie in with the watery background.  These are birds that I grew up watching as they stalked the shore of my backyard and flew back and forth across the lake.  The birds can stand on their own, but I really like how they function as a pair, too.  These pieces were a bit of a departure for me, but I'm thrilled with how they turned out. It feels good to tackle a large format for a change.  And, while the project became more of a saga than anticipated, I've reached the end with two big new pieces and a new direction in which to take my work.  Thanks for coming along with me!  If you're in the Acworth, GA area, please stop by Gallery 4463 to take a look at my work in person.  Otherwise, I'll be back again soon with more projects and progress!

Go Big or Go Home

At least, that seems to be the rule of the day as everyone heads out to celebrate Fat Tuesday!  In my case, I'll probably brew a fresh pot of coffee and get to work on my next big project.  And by big, I mean big--literally.

Three miniatures including two homages to Albrecht Dürer

Traditionally, my work is pretty small.  I rarely draw or paint much of anything beyond 12" x 14", and even that's pushing it.  The reason is pretty simple--I just love working on a very small scale.  The challenge of creating a miniature is exciting, and the finished product feels like a little bit of treasure in your hands when it's done.  With that in mind, I'm going to step out on a limb and stretch my creative wings.  I think it's time to take my same verve for creating and let it live on a larger scale.

I don't know about you guys, but as an artist, I pick up canvases almost every chance I get.  That said, I have quite the closet full.  About three years ago or so, I bought two awesome 12" x 36" gallery wrap canvases.  I thought, "These are great!  There's so much I can do with them!"  And then they proceeded to sit on the floor next to my drafting table and stare at me for the next year.  When we moved, the poor things were relegated to the closet in my little studio and did not see the light of day until now.

Primed and ready to go!

After musing on what direction I'd like to take my work next, inspiration suddenly struck and I knew just what to do with those canvases.  While the plan is still just a mental sketch at this point, I've hauled my neglected canvases out of the closet and brushed several layers of gesso over them.  Next comes some sanding, and then it's time to really get down to business.  Back next time with some progress or, if I'm lucky, the finished pieces!

Ice and Inspiration

Once again, we southerners have found ourselves at the mercy of Mother Nature.  The outside world is covered in an icy veneer and no one's going much of anywhere for a couple of days.  So, a snow/ice day at home makes for a perfect excuse to break out the brushes and paint!  I decided to get some work done on a little piece for my scientific journal series.  This one features bur oak leaves and some rather destructive caterpillars.  I have to wait for some layers to dry, and then comes the fun of adding some more details and such to really make it come alive.  More to come when it's all finished up and, if the weather persists, that should be pretty soon!

Hello!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet!  Here you'll find works in progress, thoughts on finished pieces, news about upcoming shows and events, as well as musings on the art world in general.  I love to share my work as well as the work of artists I admire.  Please feel free to poke around here, on my website, or find me on Facebook--I'd love to hear any thoughts or feedback!

Now, on to business!  As this is a new blog in a new year, I thought I'd start out with something well, new.  In this case, I'm about to embark on a series of paintings and drawings inspired by myriad conversations with my very supportive boyfriend and our motley crew of friends.  Amongst the laughter and banter, someone usually says something ridiculous which is then followed by, "Hey, you should paint that!"  While I've made many promises and kept a long list, it's time to put my money where my mouth is and get to work.  So, in addition to my usual naturalist-themed work, brace yourself for a dash of the weird and wild tossed in!  See you again soon!