Room E Studio

2012-02-01T13:00:00.002-05:00

Woman Leaning Against Wall

2011

charcoal

Just another figure study from this past Fall.

I have been so focussed on show preparations that my regular practice has had to take a back seat.

Installation Underway!

2012-01-29T10:17:00.008-05:00

Six of us, Worcester area artists, are working wildly to complete installation of our show,

The Eye is not a Camera, opening next Saturday at the Sprinkler Factory, Worcester, MA.

We will be exhibiting sculpture, paintings, installations, and video, all new works with a contemporary and at times conceptual approach in this terrific space.

We are also lucky enough to be joined at our opening by the gifted guitarist, Peter Clemente. http://peterclementemusic.com/

Please accept our invitation to come, enjoy the music, food, wine, and take in our thought provoking art.

The Eye is Not a Camera

February 4th, 2012 6-9 pm

The Sprinkler Factory Gallery

38 Harlow St., Worcester, MA

For more information, please visit our official website

http://eyeisnotacamera.blogspot.com

Back to the Figure

2012-01-23T23:19:00.000-05:00

Figure study

2012

24x18

charcoal

2012-01-21T10:57:00.003-05:00

2011

6x9

acrylic on paper

I painted this little piece with the intention of putting it up for auction in the annual breast cancer research fundraiser hosted by Post Road Arts Center.

This is a wonderful event that happens just in time for Valentine's Day.

I will post more as the date approaches.

Mean while, work continues on the show: The Eye is not a Camera.

New Upcoming Show at The Sprinkler Factory

2012-01-07T10:19:00.003-05:00

work in progress

metal & vinyl

I have been slow getting things posted as I have been working like crazy towards a show opening next month.

I am very excited to be in this group of six artists from the Worcester area.

I will have two large paintings, a sculpture and an installation on exhibit.

The other artists, Christine Croteau, Ted Lilley, Philip Marshall, Lynn Simmons, and Mark Spencer, will also have paintings, sculpture, installations, and video pieces.

I will get the official invite posted here as the date approaches, but mark your calendars now for the February 4th evening opening!

Resolve to try something new

2011-12-29T22:16:00.004-05:00

Village

2011

24x18

mixed drawing media

A new year is nearly upon us, and with it new opportunities and experiences open up right before us.

I have been asked to teach a class at the Post Road Art Center!

For my first foray into teaching, I am offering a one-day workshop called Drawing on the Imagination: Experiments in Expressive Drawing.

This will be a lot of fun, non-judgmental, and appropriate for beginners, as well as pros.

Class will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at Post Road Art Center, Marlborough, MA.

Visit http://postroadartcenter.com/index.html for more information on this workshop, other class offerings and registration.

2011-12-20T10:44:00.001-05:00

Happy Season of Light!

I think I'm done, now...

2011-12-16T21:48:00.003-05:00

Waiting

2011

oil

40x30

Okay, so you might recognize this painting. I started it in January, 2011, reworked it a few times and thought I was done. I posted it at that point on February 8th, 2011.

Recently I launched back into it, and I am now much happier with it.

I seem to always need to have a "stewing" period with my paintings, at least the larger ones.

2011-12-10T21:27:00.001-05:00

Untitled

2010

10x8

oil on panel

2011-12-06T00:20:00.006-05:00

Red Circle, Rising

2011

10x8

encaustic

I find encaustic paintings really hard to photograph. It is so hard to catch the depth of the layers.

Also, you can't smell the beeswax.

So you will just have to see (and sniff) this in person at Post Road Art Center.

Miniature show opens this Thursday, December 13th, 2011

5:30-8:00 p.m.

1 Boston Post Road East, Marlborough, MA

On display until December 28th (unless some buys it!)

http://postroadartcenter.com/

2011-12-01T22:09:00.002-05:00

Untitled

2011

acrylic

6x6

2011-11-27T20:42:00.010-05:00

Rudbeckia

2011

5x7

encaustic

This small painting is going to be for sale at

The Holiday Originals Exhibition & Sale at the Concord Art Association

December 1-22, 2011

Open House: December 4th, 2-4 p.m.

37 Lexington Rd., Concord, MA http://www.concordart.org/ for more information & hours

2011 Winter Sprinkler Factory Exhibition

2011-11-23T10:02:00.004-05:00

January Thaw

2011

30x40

oil

No Theme -- No Limits

Juried show of work from Worcester area artists, including my painting, shown here.

Exhibition will run from December 2nd, 2011 through January 14, 2012

at the Sprinkler Factory, 38 Harlow St., Worcester, MA

Please join us for the opening reception:

Saturday, December 3rd from 5-8p.m.

check their website for gallery hours and more information

http://www.sprinklerfactory.com/

2011-11-19T22:31:00.001-05:00

Woman with Flower

2011

charcoal

Keeping with the Floral Theme

2011-11-18T21:04:00.002-05:00

Hydrangea

2011

5x7

encaustic

2011-11-15T16:46:00.003-05:00

Garden in July

2011

7x5

encaustic

This cheery little painting is going in one of those holiday sale/mini art shows that pop up in December.

I'll keep you posted!

On Drawing

2011-11-10T22:40:00.004-05:00

Three studies of broken tree trunk.

1,) Charcoal

2,) Graphite

3.) Conte Crayon

This past winter a lovely little Japanese Maple broke under excessive snow weight. I saved the trunk, that to me is very suggestive of the figure. I would like use it to make a sculpture, which is kind of silly; I'm not sure I could improve upon what is already there.

Thought it would be wise to draw from it for a while first. There is no better way to get to know something fully, and learn about yourself in the process, than by drawing.

Inside/Outside

2011-11-05T10:45:00.007-04:00

My new studio.

It still leaks, but I am trying to get started working in here, anyhow.

No regrets.

I remain optimistic that a new roof will be in place shortly.

Click on the photo to enlarge, so you can see the fun interplay of reflections. No, the semi is not really parked on the roof. Looks that way though, huh?

2011-11-04T11:08:00.002-04:00

Tool

2011

24x18

mixed drawing media

on paper

Snows & Shows

2011-10-31T14:41:00.002-04:00

Kelly

2011

conte crayon

12x9

Drew this last week in the life drawing group that meets at the Sprinkler Factory, Thursday nights.

Since then, our neck of the woods have been "blessed" with nearly two feet of heavy wet snow, unheard of in October, and causing a mess, to say the least. No power, phone, internet, but still, not nearly as bad as the ice storm December, 2008.

Nevertheless, the show, or shows in this case, must go on!

This weekend in Gardner, MA is the GALA Fall show. Art and Live Music Friday - Sunday

visit http://www.galagardner.org/ for details.

Also opening this Thursday 5:30-8 p.m. at the Post Road Art Center, Marlborough, MA is the Abstract Show, 2011, juried by Bob Collins of the Danforth Museum. Two of my paintings are among the 42 pieces on view until November 30, 2011.

Please visit http://postroadartcenter.com/ for full details.

The Nature of Identity

2011-10-28T11:01:00.006-04:00

Shadow

2011

oil

20x16

This was done this past summer with Randy LeSage at the Worcester Art Museum. The class was called the Nature of Identity, and the assignment was (loosely) a self portrait.

I didn't want to get bogged down by features and likeness; I wanted to address a deeper identity than appearance. I decided that the way I paint is the best expression of my identity.

So as not to be distracted by facial details, I took a photo of my shadow, and worked from that (see above).

The shadow seemed like a perfect vehicle for the slippery topic of identity: always shifting, without substance, distorting, but also unapologetically honest.

We dance back and forth between revealing and hiding, imitating and projecting, and then are prone to despair when we feel no one truly knows us.

2011-10-21T22:19:00.002-04:00

I am disappointed how this photographed. Maybe I will try again, later.

Anyhow, I just wanted to post a reminder that tomorrow, Saturday Oct 22, 2011, at 7 p.m. is the reception for the Blanche Ames National Juried Art Exhibit at the Ames Mansion, Borderland State Park, North Easton, MA.

There will be live music, food, and champagne, art will be for sale, as well as color catalogs.

If a nighttime soiree isn't your thing, the park is a really lovely place with acres to explore and the mansion is a gorgeous stone structure filled with the original, sumptuous furnishings.

The woman for whom this competition is named, Blanche Ames, had an incredible, full life and a mind I wish I had a fraction of. She was an artist, and inventor, an engineer, a pioneer of woman's rights, a mother, a philanthropist.

Show runs until November 5th.

Another View

2011-10-18T20:51:00.008-04:00

New Braintree Farm Land

2010

oil

19x25

Look familiar? This is the same view as The Fields at Utley Road. Still stylized, but more literal. Whimsical, but more subdued.

Princeton Portrait Group

2011-10-07T20:40:00.005-04:00

Every so often I get to the Princeton Portrait Group and give a shot at painting a portrait. It is not really my passion, but it is a good exercise, and for me, plenty challenging. Here is a work in process from this summer.

Landscape show at Post Road Art Center

2011-10-02T15:57:00.004-04:00

The Fields at Utley Road

2011

oil

36x36

I know you've seen this painting here before, but it was just accepted into the landscape show at the Post Road Art Center, Marlborough, MA

The juror was Elizabeth Geller, Head of the Corporate Program at the DeCordova Museum.

Here's a snap shot of Utley Road. I did not work from photo, but thought it might be interesting for you to see how the painting connects to "reality" and where it becomes abstracted with the hopes of conveying something about the sense of the place, beyond a mere visual record.

There are 27 pieces in many different media in this show through October 26, 2011.

Opening reception will be October 6th, 5:30-8 p.m.

Post Road Art Center

1 Boston Post Road, Marlborough, MA

508-485-2580

http://postroadartcenter.com/

My traditional side

2011-09-30T18:33:00.013-04:00

Arjen's Fields

2010

oil on panel

7x9

Arjen & Jaap are two guys from the Netherlands who grow perennial plants in Deerfield, MA for the wholesale market. Their fields can be a gorgeous sight, when you catch things in peak bloom. This year, their business, Pioneer Gardens, was badly flooded by the Deerfield River due to Hurricane Irene.

This painting is atypical of my usual approach: rather tradional, representational, and worked from a photograph.

Blanche Ames National Juried Art Exhibition

2011-09-23T09:56:00.004-04:00

Tablet

2011

12x12x2

plaster and encaustic

My piece, Tablet, has been selected by Juror David Lang to be included in the 9th Annual Blanche Ames National Juried Art Exhibition.

I am really pleased, as this is my first national competition! There will be a printed catalog of all accepted works.

Where: Borderland State Park, North Easton, MA

When: October 18- November 5, 2011 11 a.m.-3 p.m. except Mondays

Admission is free, parking $2.00

Opening reception: Saturday, October 22nd, 7-10 p.m. in the Ames Mansion Library

More information at: http://www.friendsofborderland.org/Home.html or call 508-238-6566

Incidentally, the juror, artist David Lang, has an exhibit at the Boston Sculptors Gallery until October 2nd.

12th Annual Frances N. Roddy Open Competition

2011-09-12T18:41:00.005-04:00

Young Man, Seated

2011

conte crayon

32x22, framed

Concord Art Association

September 14-October 16, 2011

Reception: Thursday, September 15, 6-8p.m.

Juror: Ellen Miller, Ellen Miller Gallery, Boston, MA

I am so pleased to have this piece to be included in this competitive show. There were 585 submissions and only 89 selections. This is just my second time, since 2006, that I have gotten a piece in. I am looking forward to the show, and encourage any of you who may be in the area to come. The Concord Art Association has a lovely gallery space in the center of town.

37 Lexington Road, Concord, MA

Free and open to the public

Tuesday through Saturday 10-4:30p.m., Sundays Noon-4:00p.m.

Visit http://www.concordart.org/ or call 978-369-2578 for more information.

Falling, Floating

2011-09-05T21:40:00.008-04:00

Untitled Female Figure

2011

24x18

charcoal with pastel

I've been going, almost weekly, to figure drawing at the Sprinkler Factory in Worcester, MA.

Here, I exaggerated the pose into a sort of ecstatic fall.

For information on the drawing group, please visit

http://luisworks.weebly.com

So Long, Room E!

2011-09-03T09:28:00.004-04:00

Not the blog, mind you.

I have moved from the space that has been my studio for the past two and a half years.

Happily, Room E is now

even Room E-er.

Once the boxes are unpacked and I get settled, I will show you my new (and even bigger) digs, and more importantly, get back to making some art!

La Viuda (The Widow)

2011-08-22T10:08:00.007-04:00

La Viuda

2011

9x9x2

encaustic on plaster

This is my third time working with this combination of materials, and I really enjoy them. They both have such a great feel.

The title for this piece refers to this work by Ramon Casas. And while there is no borrowing of literal images, I feel a similarity. See how his painted folds of white fabric and appears in my piece as the edges of the plaster, for example?

Show at the Sprinkler Factory

2011-08-19T22:01:00.007-04:00

Angela,

2011

conte crayon

10x8

The Worcester Life Drawing Group Is having a show at the Sprinkler Factory this September 1st through the 25th.

There will be an artists reception on Friday, September 9th, 2011 from 6-9 p.m.

This group has been meeting for something like 35 years at various locations around Worcester, and some of the original group still attend. I've been drawing with them, with spotty attendance, for the past three years.

Here's one of the pieces I hope to include in the show.

I'm not sure exactly who will be exhibiting, but mostly likely there will be works by some of the Worcester area arts stalwarts like Sid Solomon, Elly Beatty, Sam Lalos, Randy LeSage, Don McCabe, Michel Merle, to name a few.

self portrait

2011-08-09T10:03:00.004-04:00

self portrait

2011

9x9x2

encaustic on plaster

Are We There Yet?

2011-08-03T19:43:00.004-04:00

The Fields at Utley Road

2011

36x36

oil on canvas

I have been working on this painting for a year.

I think I am done.

But I haven't signed it yet!

2011-07-29T22:36:00.010-04:00

Echinacea

2011

8x8

acrylic on paper

If you come here often, you know I don't usually work with still life.

This was fun, though. Uncharacteristically for me, I worked out the composition and colors first, then I went out to my garden to find some pink flowers, and came back with these echinacea (purple cone flowers, if you prefer).

The challenge then was to take something so intentionally designed and make it fresh, loose, gestural. There was some struggle and doubt, but I think I got there, more or less.

I cannot understate the usefulness of the advice I got last year from Jon Imber who encouraged pushing compositions off the edge, and for me, specifically, to use more neutrals.

I am nuts for color, but using neutral tones, really makes them sing. It is like balancing flavors when you cook.

2011-07-23T22:09:00.005-04:00

2011

19x16

acrylic on paper

There is something about the lack of specificity in this portrait that feels more to the point, more sincere than my trying to illustrate facial features.

2011-07-15T22:39:00.004-04:00

2011

20x16

acrylic on canvas

I painted this last night in a class at Worcester Art Museum with Randy LeSage called "Painting the Figure:

the Nature of Identity".

The colors & light feels like the coast in southern California.......

2011-07-08T12:03:00.003-04:00

On the Threshold

2011

24x18

oil on canvas

Return to the Figure

2011-07-01T17:50:00.003-04:00

June, 2011

mixed drawing media

24x18

2 x 4's

2011-06-27T14:28:00.005-04:00

A pair of eight foot long 2x4's in cast concrete bases.

I made these this past winter in a contemporary sculpture class with Lynn Simmons.

The assignment was to take a 2 x4 and "transform" it. Pretty open ended. My attempt was to revert it to it's primal, tree- self. The method, which was with a hatchet, was as important to me as the end result. My own physical effort was very primitive and primal and I felt imbued the piece with that raw energy.

The shards that came off the lumber were equally important to me, and were used in the second manifestation of this project which I call PV Trees. They can be seen on the Worcester Art Museum's sculpture blog http://wamsculpture.blogspot.com/ scroll to the April 4th, 2011 entry.

To see my instructor's work please visit her website http://www.lynnsimmons.com/lynnsimmons_working/home.html

Fitchburg Art Museum

2011-06-21T22:16:00.004-04:00

Tablet

2011

12x12x2

Encaustic on plaster

I just got word that this piece of mine has been accepted into the 76th Regional Exhibition of Art & Craft at the Fitchburg Art Museum. This is the first time I have submitted a three dimensional piece into a juried show, so I am very pleased it got in!

Jurors were: Candace Casey, Worcester Center for Crafts

Nick Johnson, New England School of Photography

Mary Ann Kearns, 119 Gallery, Lowell

Opening Reception is this Sunday, 26th of June 1-3 p.m.

Show runs until September 04, 2011

This is an art museum, so there is a fee for admission.

Members & kids under 12 get in free. Some public libraries may have passes AND the first Thursday of every month from 4-8 p.m. is free for everyone!

Fitchburg Art Museum is located at 25 Merriam Parkway, Fitchburg, MA

978-345-4207

http://www.fitchburgartmuseum.org/

for hours & directions

Rockin' Out

2011-06-19T10:40:00.008-04:00

Another plein air abstraction from my trip to Biddeford Pool, Maine.

I was really excited by all the different kinds of rock formations. This spot had very angular, jutting forms.

The painting is 12x12, oil on canvas

2011-06-17T10:06:00.004-04:00

Family

2011

beach stones,

Maine coast

So, is it art? I don't really think so, but some would argue.....

I was just getting awfully tired of looking at the last post, and haven't had the chance to photograph any paintings.

Today I have the time, but no sun! I might try under artificial lights and see how that goes.

More from Maine

2011-06-04T10:29:00.004-04:00

Untitled

2011

9x12

acrylic on paper

One overcast morning in Maine a few of us gathered on the porch to work on some non-objective paintings. This is my favorite of the ones I made. I think there is a landscape in there.

2011-06-02T00:50:00.002-04:00

Storyteller

2011

18x24

mixed drawing media

The Maine Abstraction

2011-05-29T22:54:00.005-04:00

Tidal Pool, Maine

2011

12x12

oil on canvas

Took a trip to Biddeford Pool, Maine with a group of talented painters from Worcester, Massachusetts, and spent several days painting at the rocky shoreline.

This was the final painting I did there which was a loose abstraction of a tidal pool. I thought you might enjoy the snapshot of what I was actually looking at. You can see where I wanted to be faithful to the forms, and where I made my departures. There comes a point when getting the forms and colors on the canvas in the way you want them takes precedence over simply recording what is in front of you.

2011-05-24T10:30:00.004-04:00

Tripod with Pendent

2011

32x30x26

wood, metal, wire, twine

The wood was chewed by a beaver, the metal chewed by rust.

2011-05-19T11:21:00.002-04:00

Weary (detail)

2011

mixed drawing media

2011-05-04T22:30:00.004-04:00

Chairs

2011

48x30x13

mixed media

The Outskirts of Town

2011-04-16T10:02:00.003-04:00

2011

15x23

mixed media on paper

2011-04-10T23:39:00.003-04:00

2011

18x24

mixed media

on paper

2011-04-07T00:01:00.002-04:00

2011

23x15

Mixed media on paper

Isn't she a saucy red head?

Mixed Media Show

2011-04-05T10:37:00.003-04:00

Creation: Day Two

2011

mixed media, hanging sculpture

There is a very exciting show at the Post Road Art Center, Marlborough, MA through the 29th of April.

This show's category is Mixed Media. and it seems to have attracted some really inventive works by creative local artists working both two and three dimensionally. I am pleased to have my painting, Remembering New Mexico (see entry for March 24, 2011), be one of the works selected by juror Catherine Carter of the Danforth Museum.

If you have not been to PRAC, this would be a show worth making the trip for. The Center an art supply shop, custom frame shop, gift shop, and art gallery all rolled into one.

If Marlborough is too far for you, they always post their shows online. Visit http://www.postroadartcenter.com/Mixed_Media_Show_2011_Page_1.html

Opening reception is Thursday, April 07, 2011 5:30-8:00 p.m.

1 Boston Post Road, East, Marlborough, MA

508-485-2580 for hours and information

Thank you!

2011-04-03T22:25:00.004-04:00

I want to thank my friends & family who made the trek to Lowell today to attend the opening at The Brush Gallery.

I truly appreciate your support, insight, and encouragement.

You fuel me.

2011-04-01T17:34:00.004-04:00

Tablet

2011

12x12x2

plaster and encaustic

Painted sculpture?

Sculpted painting?

Yes.

2011-03-28T23:03:00.001-04:00

2011

18x24

mixed media on paper

2011-03-24T19:59:00.001-04:00

Remembering New Mexico

2011

24x18

mixed media on panel

2011-03-22T21:50:00.003-04:00

2011

17x14

Acrylic on paper

April 3rd, 2011 opening at The Brush Gallery

2011-03-20T10:03:00.002-04:00

Spring Begins

2011-03-20T09:12:00.003-04:00

Fleur

2010

5x8

acrylic & graphite on rag board

Spring begins at 6:21 p.m. today, so here's something with a spring-like feel for you to enjoy.

Found Object Sculpture

2011-03-18T10:29:00.006-04:00

Dancers

2011

8x21.5

found metal wire and wood

This piece was for an assignment for a class at Worcester Art Museum, in which we had to make a sculpture from found objects.

Of course the concept has been around forever, but I still like the simplicity of the resulting piece.

The line of the metal actually feels like one of my own gesture drawings. Maybe that's what attracted me to it in the first place.

For those who are curious, the wood base was also found and the holes in which the wire fits were pre-existing. The metal piece is a fragment from a cage that goes around the root ball of a tree.

2011-03-16T19:52:00.002-04:00

Pebbles & Splash

2011

18x24

mixed media on paper

2011-03-14T23:02:00.002-04:00

Pine

2011

17x14

acrylic on paper

more than just a two dimensional gal

2011-03-13T21:17:00.002-04:00

I've been busy this winter with a couple of classes at Worcester Art Museum that deal with three dimensional art.

In this clay piece I was trying to make a hybrid of sorts between the classical sculptured female figure and the expressionistic manner in which I tend to draw the human form.

She is about 16" high.

When one door shuts, break the freakin' window

2011-03-12T23:16:00.004-05:00

2011

14x17

mixed media on paper

I hate to let so much time go between posts, but it has been kind of a stressful time lately.

The space I rent to paint in, which gives this blog it's name, has become unbearable with lack of heat and general bad behavior by the greedy landlord. Hopefully, a resolution is not too far off.

Now, back to what matters: Art, or as we say here is Massachusetts, Ahhhht.

This subdued piece is one from another fine class with Christine Cross at Worcester Art Museum. It makes me think of windows in a building or a card game we played as kids, "Concentration".

2011 Massachusetts Artists Biennial

2011-02-27T22:44:00.002-05:00

The Other Side of the Fence

2011

8x28

acrylic on panel

I recently got word that two pieces of mine (not this one) have been included in the 2011 Massachusetts Artists Biennial. The juror was Jen Mergel, senior curator of contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I am really pleased to be included in what promises to be a wonderful exhibit at the Brush Gallery, Lowell, MA. I will post more information as the date draws closer, but if you just can't wait, visit http://www.thebrush.org/

2011-02-23T23:21:00.002-05:00

Trees of Winter

2011

8x10

encaustic on panel

Still not really confident with encaustics, but I am having fun trying to get a handle on them. Okay, so, sometimes it is frustrating, but mostly it is fun.

model muse, woodland snooze

2011-02-20T22:35:00.002-05:00

mixed media on paper

2011-02-19T17:25:00.002-05:00

as of yet, untitled

2011

14x11

mixed media on paper

Members Juried II, Concord Art Association

2011-02-11T18:37:00.004-05:00

Aggregate

2010

32x20

mixed media on paper

I am very pleased to announce that both of the mixed media pieces I submitted to Members Juried II at the Concord Art Association have been accepted by juror, Karen Hass, Curator of the Lane Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This exhibit showcases photography, drawing, mixed media, graphics and crafts. If you are in the Concord, MA area, please drop by to see the show. CAA also makes their exhibits viewable online sometime shortly after the opening.

Show runs February 15-March 13, 2011

hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10-4:30, Sunday noon-4

37 Lexington Rd., Concord, MA

978-371-2496

www.concordart.org

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 17, 2011 6-8 p.m.

Figure Painting

2011-02-08T10:30:00.005-05:00

What Lies Ahead

2011

40x30

oil on canvas

A month ago a group of my artist compadres came over for an afternoon of figure painting. Our model, Katie was just wonderful! I think everyone enjoyed themselves; I know I did, which is not to say I didn't find it very challenging.

I've done quite a bit of figure drawing over the years, but not much figure painting . I think this is my second time ever (the last time being back in the mid-1980's. Yikes.)

Since our session, I have returned to worked on this a few times, but I think I am finally done messing around with it.

I have mixed feelings about the end result. I guess I thought I was going to approach this much more loosely, abstractly than I did. I will just have to try again, and this time, perhaps, I won't let 25 years pass between attempts!

For you local artists who might be in search of a fantastic model to work with:

http://katiemariemodel.weebly.com/

Exhibit at Goodnow Library

2011-02-06T10:30:00.004-05:00

Untitled

2011

3.5x9

oil on canvas

Now through the end of February, 2011 I will have three paintings on display at the Goodnow Library, Sudbury Massachusetts.

This is a group show along with artists, George Hancin, Thomas Kellner, and Patricia Kelly. Together, we represent a broad spectrum of contemporary approaches to painting.

Gallery is open during regular library hours. Please check their website or call for more information.

http://sudbury.ma.us/departments/Library/news3275/

(978) 443-1035

Show of Hearts, 2011, Post Road Art Center

2011-02-01T10:20:00.002-05:00

Tremble

2011

8"x3.75"

Encaustic on panel

This is one of four paintings I have donated to the annual breast cancer research fund raiser hosted by the Post Road Art Center in Marlborough, MA.

This is such a great event! You can view the show on line and bid by email, or if you are local, of course, you can do it in person.

All the works are small (read: affordable), unframed, and have a loosely interpreted connection to the theme of hearts, just in time for a fabulously original, no calorie, wilt-proof Valentine's Day gift!

All proceeds go to Art beCause a breast cancer research charity http://www.artbecause.org/

Show of Hearts runs just until February 10th, so don't dilly-dally!

Closing bid Party, February 10, 2011 5:30-8:00 p.m. (snow date Feb. 12)

1 Boston Post Road East, Marlborough, MA (508) 485-2580

http://www.postroadartcenter.com/

January Thaw

2011-01-29T22:00:00.004-05:00

January Thaw

2011

30x40

oil on canvas

More work on Paper

2011-01-25T22:54:00.003-05:00

Adolescence

2011

11x11

mixed media on paper

Katie

2011-01-20T22:37:00.002-05:00

Katie

2011

13x10

graphite

Had a group of friends over to my studio to paint from a model, a very lovely young woman named Katie. I took a break from painting, and did this little sketch, which I am much more pleased with than the painting, at least so far. No telling what I will do with the painting! For any of you in the area, I really recommend this model. She is professional, creative, lovely and holds a pose flawlessly. http://katiemariemodel.weebly.com/

Princeton Portrait Group

2011-01-15T22:10:00.002-05:00

Diana

2011

12x12

oil on canvas

Okay, so, I have no aspirations to become a "portrait painter", but I have been going to a weekly portrait painting group in Princeton, MA, hosted by the Princeton Art Society, because I think it is really important to keep returning to working from observation. Faces are so wonderful and challenging. I have painted with this group four times so far and this is the first painting I am happy enough with to post here. If you are interested in what the other artists in the group produced, visit their blog at http://princetonartssociety.blogspot.com/

Mixed Media

2011-01-10T23:19:00.003-05:00

Making a Pearl

2011

25x35

mixed media on paper

More specifically, graphite, charcoal, conte crayon, and acrylic paint. You really need to click on this one to see it.

Another Dimension

2011-01-07T10:15:00.002-05:00

We are All Bound

2010

17x17

mixed media with encaustic

Here is a recent experiment of mine with building out from the surface. It is such a new process for me that I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it was really fun to do. A big "Thank you" to Tracy Spadafora. She is a wonderfully talented encaustic artist (just about every piece of hers I look at I think, "man, I wish I made that!"), and a very patient teacher (I ask a boat-load of questions).

Concord Art Association, Members Juried I, 2011

2011-01-06T23:42:00.002-05:00

Spring

2010

24x24

oil on canvas

I am pleased to say that my painting, Spring, was chosen by juror Nina Gara Bozinik of the Currier Museum of Art (Manchester, NH) to be included in the Concord Art Association's annual members' show of painting and sculpture. I heard, unofficially, that something like 400 pieces were submitted and 97 were accepted. If you are in the area, I do recommend stopping in to see the exhibit. There is usually a wide range of styles represented, all of a high caliber.

Show runs January 8-February 6, 2011

Tues.-Sat. 10-4:30, Sun. noon-4

Concord Art Association

37 Lexington Road

Concord, MA 01742

978-369-2496

http://concordart.org/

Blizzard Conditions Predicted

2010-12-25T23:25:00.001-05:00

Endure

2010

24x18

oil on canvas

Abstracted Landscape

2010-12-24T18:46:00.005-05:00

At the Park

2010

12x13.75

oil on canvas

My Favorite Four Letter Word.....

2010-12-04T17:46:00.005-05:00

SOLD!

On the first day of the Holiday Originals show at Concord Art Association, my painting, "Red Bars" sold. Tomorrow (Sunday, December 5th), is the opening reception, and I will be bringing in this painting, which I am calling "Trio". It measures 8x6 and is oil pastel on panel.

Having your art, one's art, my art, sell is a funny thing. First of all, it is great. It is so very encouraging that some total stranger saw something I made and plunked down a wad o' cash so they could own it and look at it more. Come on, that's cool.

The second thing that happens is a little tug at the heart: oh, I'm going to miss my little red friend!

Then, the third thing that happens is insidious. Thoughts come barreling down, "Oh, They (whoever "they" are) liked that one. I will make More, just like It! And They will like it even more!"

Agh. The challenge is to remain true to one's own artistic exploration. We all are vulnerable to bending towards the warm light of praise, but an artist making art mustn't be a dog learning tricks: do the thing, get a treat, do the same thing, get the same treat, every time, time after time. We have to push on, follow the thread of our own inquiry, wherever it leads us, even if into unpopular terrain. What I mean to say, is that sincerity of heart and vision may be the most important lesson any artist, great or small, must grapple with.

This was my fifth painting to sell this year.

Now, get out there, whatever hemisphere, stratosphere, time zone, twilight zone, you find yourself in and buy some original art!

P.s.: I also have two small oil paintings available in the Miniature show running until December 30th at the Post Road Art Center. http://postroadartcenter.com/ The photo doesn't really show off the cool surface on these two. You've got to see them in the flesh!

An Original Gift

2010-11-26T18:54:00.003-05:00

Concord Art Association will have two of my paintings in their Holiday Originals Exhibit & Sale. This still life as well as "Red Bars" (see blog entry from March 22, 2010) are both available for under $100.00.

This time of year lots of local groups and galleries make smaller scale pieces available for gift giving. I encourage you to get out to enjoy the shows and take the leap to buy a truly original gift for someone special.

Holiday Originals runs December 2nd through the 21st

open house December 5th 2-4 p.m.

Concord Art Association, 37 Lexington, Rd, Concord, MA

978-369-2578, http://concordart.org/

Green Vase with Flowers

2010

8.5x8.5

oil on canvas, framed

So November

2010-11-21T23:59:00.003-05:00

Some things are just so very November.

In my part of the world, things can be very stark, grey, raw with increasing hours of darkness that catch you off guard. Nevertheless, the subdued tones and low, raking light is really beautiful, even if in a mournful way.

This is a painting of a rookery (where great blue heron nest) that I pass frequently. It is always haunting and stark, but even more so this time of year.

Rookery

2010

24x13

oil on panel

2010-11-14T22:30:00.008-05:00

The wetlands in my area of Central Massachusetts get wildly colorful in the Fall. On bright, clear October days I just have to drink in all in before the expanse of grey that comes in November.

Bog, Autumn Colors

2010

30x40

oil on canvas

2010-10-23T23:23:00.002-04:00

2010

16.75x12.5

oil on canvas

Bankside in Autumn

2010-10-19T22:43:00.004-04:00

".....one day the sun shall shine more brightly than he has ever done, shall perchance shine into our minds and hearts and light up our whole lives with a great awakening light, as warm and serene and golden as on a bankside in autumn." Henry David Thoreau

Bankside in Autumn

2010

16x19

oil on paper

2010-10-09T23:34:00.001-04:00

It Gets Deep Quick

2010

14x11

oil on panel

I'm getting more comfortable with those ooey-gooey R&F pigment sticks. Click on image for textural detail.

Still Life

2010-10-03T23:10:00.003-04:00

Flower Pots, 1

2010

12x12

oil on canvas

I have never really been enthralled by still life as a subject matter, but a week of heavy rain during what was supposed to be a plein aire workshop culminated in this painting. I so enjoyed working with these terra cotta pots, that I imagine doing more paintings with them. Thanks to Jon Imber for a great week, despite the uncooperative weather!

2010 Abstract Show

2010-10-03T22:42:00.005-04:00

Post Road Art Center,

2010 Abstract Show

Post Road Art Center, Marlborough,MA

October 4th-30th, 2010

opening reception Thursday, October 7th, 5:30-8 p.m.

Yellow Rhythm and Spring were selected by juror, Bob Collins of the Danforth Museum. Spring, pictured above, was awarded 3rd place prize.

Visit the gallery at 1 Boston Post Road, East in Marlborough or online at http://postroadartcenter.com/

2010-09-26T22:59:00.003-04:00

2010

oil on panel

9x7

Summers at the Lake

2010-09-02T19:14:00.004-04:00

Summers at the Lake

2010

11x12.5

oil stick on panel

2010-08-23T21:04:00.003-04:00

2010

40 x 26

mixed media on paper

Plein Air Group to Millers River

2010-08-20T17:45:00.006-04:00

sun bright

air warm

river low

rocks captivating

company stimulating

food plentiful

hosts generous

Thank you Tom & Lynne for a perfect day!

Millers River, Late Summer

2010

8x10

oil pastel on board

Expressive Drawing and Painting class at WAM

2010-08-15T16:26:00.004-04:00

I don't usually post class assignments, but I really enjoyed many of the pieces that resulted from a class I took at Worcester Art Museum. This came out of "Expressive Drawing and Painting" with Patti Kelly. As always, click on image for detail.

24 x 36

Mixed media on paper

2010-08-14T11:02:00.002-04:00

currently untitled

2010

7.5 x 10.5

acrylic on rag board

2010-07-28T22:49:00.003-04:00

Comet Pond

2010

12x12

acrylic on canvas

the second one

2010-07-10T23:41:00.004-04:00

This is the second piece to which I referred (see last entry). It seems, if I insert two images in the same blog entry, you can only click on the first one to see the full-sized file. So here it is, click away!

en plein (and really hot) air

2010-07-10T23:15:00.007-04:00

In the midst of a heat wave, I went out with two friends, wonderful (patient) teachers, gifted artists, Randy Le Sage and George Hancin, to paint "en plein air" at Moore State Park, Paxton, MA. In was meltingly hot. The deer flies were in attack mode. Perfectly charming. I did the first piece in oil pastel and then later that evening (in air conditioned comfort) did the second one in acrylic. I didn't set out to recreate the scene, it just kind of crept back to me.