A Happy Painting Afternoon

Despite my having been down with the current malaise going around, I was able to lurch out to the studio this afternoon for a few hours of happy painting. I'm still indulging my cold wax/oil obsession which was enhanced by the arrival yesterday of some new paints in the mail.

Work in progress with delicious new paints

Several years ago I was fortunate to stumble onto the Vasari Paint store in Manhattan. The owners are friendly and knowledgeable and make their own paint! Yes, a tiny independent company whose oil paint is the best I've ever used. This is an unsolicited testimonial, by the way:)

Anyway, I got some lovely paint in their earth color sale and look forward to returning to the studio when I feel better. (Soon, please!)

The Hunting and Gathering Report

Yes, it's back! My reportage on hunting and gathering for mixed media splendor has been lacking lately.
 
Today I made up for this by going to a fabulous flea market in the St. John's area of Portland. I was lucky to have with me the amazing Alicia Caudle, a wonderful artist and lovely person. Check out her blog and shop!

Alicia and I have been corresponding for years and finally got it together to meet in person today. Alicia also does web design and did my new therapy site.

Here's what I came away with:

A book by Edwardian humorous writer Jerome K. Jerome-I'll be reading this one.

Cover of Jerome's Book

This is the inner back cover of a Catholic missal given to the owner in 1955. 

Vintage dictionary

An old stamp catalogue

I also scored a vintage potato masher with a green handle. I used to have one but who knows where it went...I'm going to try using this one for texture in cold wax.

Gel Medium Photo Transfer Tutorial

Here's a tutorial for today: How to make a gel medium transfer. It's an art, not a science but this is the method that works best for me. Enjoy!

Wabi-Sabi Dumpster Inspires Painting

This is one of the hardest paintings I've done in a long time. It has gone through so many incarnations you wouldn't believe it. I've layered and scraped back, incised, slathered on, rubbed in, and all but wrestled the piece to the ground. This is what it looks like now, but a bit blurry because the cold wax is still wet.

Realms    Cold Wax, Oil, Pigment on Panel

  
 I was frustrated several times during the process of making this piece and I felt bad about "wasted" paint and wax that got scraped off. The painting turned out to be inspired by the wabi-sabi photos of the rusted dumpster shown in my last post. I could have just done that to begin with, right?

Probably not. If I'd set out to re-create what nature and time had wrought on the rusted metal dumpster, it might have looked fake and artificial. This piece contains real scoring, wounds, peeling, and abrasions incurred as I struggled with the materials. We are both bruised from the engagement, but resting comfortably now, as old friends.

Realm                   Detail 1

Realm                     Detail 2

Dumpster Beauty

No, I didn't go dumpster diving. But I did find beauty in the shell of an old dumpster sitting beside my neighbor's house. (Why is it there?--don't know.) 

I needed to clean the house today so I decided to go on a wabi-sabi walk instead. On these walks I go from my house several blocks down to my local coffee shop, The Bi-Partisan Cafe. I like to challenge myself to see if I can find something wabi-sabi on the way.

 So, the house is still a mess but I have some lovely inspiration for encaustic or cold wax paintings.

Seeing what is/is not there...

I gasped with delight when I saw the piece below take shape.

The Golden Age          Oil/Cold Wax on Wood Panel

Do you see images in linoleum, cracked wall paint, clouds, ceiling cracks, etc? What about abstract paintings?

 I remember when I was a teen, I read a letter to Dear Abby where a woman was worried that she was crazy for seeing images in her floor covering. I was relieved to have Abby assure the woman that she was not alone.

This has been on my mind lately in view of my abstract work with oil and cold wax. This is intuitive, exploratory work, very different from my representative work.

So, what I was excited to see in this piece is a 17th century harbor with ships ready to set sail from Holland to the South Seas,or the East Indies to pick up spices, china, textiles, or tulip bulbs. The colors remind me of those used by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Judith Leyster. 

I can't see the  piece without thinking of that. I've wondered what this would look like to others. So far one person has agreed about the ships in harbor. Another saw a volcano. What do you see? Anyone able to see pure abstraction?

I Hope You Can Tell a Book By It's Cover!

I got a wonderful surprise by email today. You will see below that the final version of the cover for my book is ready! I'm just showing the back cover as you can see the front on my sidebar.The entire book will be out soon. This day seemed so far away when I signed the book contract. I really couldn't imagine what a lovely book North Light would produce. (Well, I guess I helped, but the design was up to them.) Imagine me walking on air and you have it about right.