Monday, January 25, 2010

Goldfish, at Last...

I have been studying Goldfish for well over a year. My goal was to figure out the shimmers and glimmers of these beauties. Goldfish have a unique shape and they come in many sizes and colors. So after slogging through numerous photos, books and other paintings I was ready to paint these fish myself! I created a background that has the colors of water with plant, light and sunshine affecting the shades. Fun.

After sketching the fish, loosely with a pencil onto the canvas, the moment arrived. All of my theories and techniques came together in a perfect storm and 5 Goldfish appeared on the canvas.. Yes I am joyous, I am happy to look upon my canvas of Goldfish, finally!



Goldfish #1.... 2'x2' Acrylic on canvas.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

One Morning In Maine Laboratory...

This piece has been in the works for several months. Inspiration? Simple, I love Maine.


I have been walking on the Rocky Coast for more than 20 years. I was lucky enough to move here in 2001. What a truly beautiful spot, this Maine coastline. On my walks I find funny and interesting things like Heart Rocks, Egg Rocks, Moss and Seaweed, Junky Bottles, Feathers, Sea Glass, Sand Dollars, Urchins, Clam and Mussel Shells and funky pieces of Wire. Most of the pieces in this box I have had stashed away for many years. I found this old junky brown 4' box at a Junk Store and knew that it was indeed the box for my Maine Laboratory. I painted the box to look as if it was also found on the shore, added a glass front and pulled the whole piece together with wire and string. That is it. One of my favorite moments of this piece is the magnifying glass section. It allows one to see up-close a fun Mussel/Barnacle sculpture Neil gave to me last September when we had the magical "Full Moon Week in Harpswell." This piece measures 4'x 15".
CLICK ON ARROW BELOW TO VIEW SLIDESHOW

Branchy Nest...

Branchy Nest was inspired by the color palette I was using when I was working on my Assemblage piece "One Morning in Maine Laboratory".

This very large Nest Painting was painted loosely and more abstract. I have been studying Field guides to Nests mostly because it is very interesting.






I was struck by the amount of energy that truly goes into building a nest and how large some birdies make their nests. Cool fact: Crows nests have an outside diameter of 22-25" and an interior measurement of 10 or so inches. WOW! It is winter in Maine and there is plenty of time to study things of this nature! I like the peaceful, quiet, all is right with the world feeling it seems to evoke. This canvas is 6'x2', it was painted with Golden Acrylics and Glazes.

December POP Art...

December is a busy month for all of us but I was on a mission to finish these pieces before Christmas. Achieved!





I love creating pieces of art that feature my darling fellow and partner Neil. I found an old photo of him para-sailing in Florida. These 2 pieces were inspired by the Warhol series of manipulated photos. This was fun and I loved using the bright primary colors. The energy is as strong as the color palette. This is a mixed media piece: wood substrate, paper, Acrylic paint, Black Grease Pencil, a compass and found words.