Delicious Distractions

You all need to know something.

We have a new dog. He's eye candy - a beautiful tri-color Assie mix with bright eyes and huge ears. He is sweet and smart and playful when it's time to play and mellow when it's not. I'm teaching him how to catch a frisbee.

He is a joy and a distraction. Here he is in my studio being Extra Good:

We named him Friday, partly because I found him at the shelter on a Friday but also because we knew he would be as loyal to us as Robinson Crusoe's Man Friday was to him.  

We only had him for two days before we hauled him off on a 5 hour trip to Portland for my grandson's 2nd birthday. I love this photo of the two of them:

They are both "distractions" from my studio work. And a huge source of joy in my life.

Protest SOPA and SIPA

What if you could not access my blog because SOMEONE decided I swiped some of my content, or maybe because I've got nudes posted here.Tell Congress and President Obama TODAY that We The People will not tolerate the proposed internet censoring of SOPA and SIPA. Click here to take action.

Noah's guitar

Remember the pictures of my grandniece Sophie playing her violin and then a couple years later, her flute? Well, her little brother Noah, now nearly 10, is also a musician. This Christmas I snapped some photos of him playing his guitar and when I was trying to boot myself back to work in the studio this was the image from which I most wanted to make a painting.

 As usual, I'm not going to say a whole lot here. The photos tell the story with only a few comments:

 I'm using an old painting nullified with a couple coats of quick-dry titanium white. (Remember! never gesso or acrylics over oils)

 the tone of the picture is mostly reds, so I'm sketching in red

 I'm not using the background in the photo so here are some small value studies to figure out the composition.

 Thinner on the darks...

 heavier on the lights...

 I always think it's kind of funny when another painting jumps into these photos.

 Oooh that guitar has a rubber neck!

 better, but not right yet

 Having trouble getting this beautiful instrument lined up right!

 Trying to keep the shapes simple in the face and hands.

 Yes! I like this hand!

 Still working on getting that neck down.

Almost, but not quite.

I'm back in class with Gabriel tomorrow so I won't be working on this, but I'll share again soon.

...and the winner is...

As a promo during my show at Stonehenge we offered a drawing where anyone who came to see the exhibit could throw their name in to possibly win  a Leslie Lee print of their choice.  How lovely that the name drawn was my friend Gyllian who now lives in Canada, but still was there for me on opening night. Gyllian is a most lovely, interesting person and creator of Hope Bearers "Repairing the World". Check it out.  Given Gyllian's sensibilities I'm curious to see what image she will pick for her print.

Solo Show at Stonehenge Studios in Portland

Yesterday the first solo show I have had in a decade was hung. Tomorrow night is the opening. I am in that "what if nobody comes" phase which will heighten progressively throughout the day until 5:30 comes and I'm talking to visitors and old friends who show up.  Then for the next few days I will wonder why so and so didn't come. Didn't they get the announcements? Do I have to re-do my entire email list? Such a silly cycle. Oh well, it's all part of the game.

I wrapped these painting up two days before Thanksgiving when we drove to Portland for our annual feast with family and friends. Having not seen them for over two weeks I wondered how I would feel as they were unveiled in the gallery space; not bad as it turns out. I really do like this group of paintings, twelve of which I have completed in the last six months. And, since we have been hanging out in Portland all this time I am ready to get back in the studio and make some more as soon as we get home.   I don't have any shows booked but I got a glimpse this time of how good it feels to be able to pick and choose my best work to exhibit instead of including the not-so-greats just to fill a show.

If you are in the Portland area or know someone you think would enjoy this exhibit here's the info and a preview.

Everyone who comes Dec 9 -Jan 4 can enter to win one of my giclee prints of their choice so come on down to SW Corbett and throw your name in the hat! If you mention that you heard about it on my blog you can enter twice and double your chances.

Garden of Earthly Disasters

This summer Dennis and I were asked to participate in a project initiated by the Jefferson Nature Center in Medford called Shifting Patterns. Eleven artists attended an intense education on the subject of Climate Change and then were asked to respond with a piece of art. The intention was to possibly convey the subject in a way that was more "right brain" than charts and graphs and dire climate models. The pieces were presented by the artists in a series of public forums last month.
I had a lot of ideas about artistic metaphors that might express my alarm over what I had learned, but when it came to put brush to canvas I realized what I really wanted to do was rant. The result is below, and after that some close ups of different sections. The painting is 34 x 24 oil on canvas, mostly done with a pallet knife.

 I feel like the subject of Climate Change is so overwhelming that most of us prefer to put bags over our heads rather that confront it. The text reads: WTF? / idk!

 And who is left to try to hold the whole thing up? The youth of today and their subsequent generations.

Corporate board meeting and recycling truck spewing trash. I rather enjoyed this venting of all my pet peeves!

If you'd like to see this painting in the real I have sent it off to the benefit show for SITKA Art and Ecology Center that will be at the Forestry Center in Portland next weekend. Info here.
When I get it back ( I guess I should say if) I think I will add two more panels on either side; one on the left in sepia of the scene pre-industrial, and one on the right a drawing in blueprint of the future where the challenges are being met by those future generations.

More figure studies