How I See Lady Agnew

How I See Lady Agnew, 16x12, Oil on Birch Panel, 2010

Like many artists, I am often asked to donate paintings for various fundraisers. I don't mind doing this, although after the first auction I was in had no minimum bids set and my painting went to someone for ten bucks, I quickly became much more discerning about the events that I participated in. I have also narrowed it down to no more than 4 donations per year and those are mainly for local events at an arts organization and our school's annual fundraiser.

I also usually donate a painting to the annual auction and gala sponsored by NYSHA from which the proceeds benefit educational programs at The Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmer's Museum here in Cooperstown, two organizations that mean a lot to me. This year's big exhibition at the Fenimore is John Singer Sargent; Portraits in Praise of Women and I have always LOVED John Singer Sargent's work. So when I was asked to participate in the auction it occurred to me that maybe I should donate a portrait rather than the usual landscape.

Kinda risky decision though, because, well I want the piece to be sold (hopefully for more than ten bucks!) and I am mostly known for landscapes around here. But the portrait thing just kept nagging at me and finally I decided to do what I really wanted to do; paint my version of one of John Singer Sargent's paintings.

In college I had several assignments that included copying (mostly) old master's paintings, I did a Rembrandt (here is my copy of Rembrandt), a van Gogh, and several illustrators which I can't recall anymore. The goal then was to COPY the paintings, the composition, the brushstrokes, color, everything.

This time I wanted to reference the image but paint it in my style. I settled on Lady Agnew, mostly because I felt it had similarities to some of the portraits I have been doing lately; a seated woman, very straightforward pose, the colors and patterns. However, after I finished the underpainting I noticed that the body structure in mine was more compressed than in the original, which I have decided to attribute to using a different scaled panel (vertical instead of squarish) rather than my iffy observation and drawing skills. heh. And as I got into the painting of the details, I SO wanted to copy everything about the painting and I had to wipe out more than a few areas because they were looking more like a bad version of Sargent than the good version of me.

Anyway, overall I am very pleased with this painting and it was a fun and yet rather challenging diversion. I am also crossing my fingers that someone at the auction will bid on it.........

PS. I would like to add that really, there is no comparison between Sargent's painting and mine. His Lady Agnew totally rules in every single way possible!

The Sky is the Limit!

Flashy Little Bugger, 6"x9", Oil on Birch Panel, 2010

Each year our local arts org has an invitational small works show with a theme, this year it is "The Sky is the Limit". I have participated each time that I am invited because it's always a fun theme plus it's a great chance to stretch out and do something different.

At first I was thinking black paintings, with some random stars, lights, etc. but then one evening in the garden I was swatting bugs away and it occurred to me that I should use the bugs as subject matter. They qualified, what with all that flying in the sky and dive bombing me, hehe.
Flying In From New Guinea, 6"x9", Oil on Birch Panel, 2010

And actually, I have done some paintings of insects before. During the first year that I had started painting again, I was playing around with different imagery, having not conclusively decided to focus on landscapes. I did several bug paintings and one or two were kind of interesting but the rest were pretty dreary. I was still experimenting with the color of the underpaintings and how to get the glazes to work with the underpainting instead of against it. I also recall being unsure about how technically correct to get with the insects, I didn't want them to look like scientific illustrations yet I did feel that some accuracy was important. In general, I was still searching for the balance then, between accuracy and expression (actually that is an ongoing search) and insects were maybe not quite the place to explore that. In addition, my painting skills were just plain out rusty, so I gravitated back towards more simplistic subject matter in order to relearn my process and skills.
After looking through my jpegs, this seems to be the only bug painting that qualified for photography AND inclusion in the 2004 image folder. I believe it is painted on hardboard and is about 6 inches square. I guess the painting didn't qualify as one to keep either, because I can't find it anywhere!

Anyway, I am not so sure that all those issues are resolved concerning the bug paintings here although I think my painting skills have improved, and my color sense has certainly evolved too. But whatever! Mostly it was just a lot of FUN to paint these bugs! I would like to do more; for now though, they have been a lovely diversion for me before I settle down to prepare for an upcoming solo show.
I've Spotted You, 6"x9", Oil on Birch Panel, 2010

Anyway, after posting a few of these images on my Facebook page, I had a number of requests for more info, like prices and availability, so I am going to include all that here, even though I rarely post prices on this blog. I have six bug paintings (the firefly crashed and burned, unfortunately;)) and only four of them will be included in the show. I have not decided which ones yet, but if anyone is interested in ANY of the 6 paintings, I am going to support my local arts org here and they will be handling the sales for all of them.
Fluttering Moths, 6"x9", Oil on Birch Panel, 2010

So. Details.

Cooperstown Art Association
Exhibition Dates: June 11-July 9
Opening Reception: Friday, June 11 5-7pm
Each panel is 6"x9" and are priced at $225.
If you are interested in buying one please contact CAA AFTER Saturday, June 5th. I have to deliver them first!

And PS. I will post the last two here on Saturday, not quite finished with them, oops!

Gardening, and the Birds and the Bees

Very busy last few days here and I don't think it will be letting up anytime soon.

I have been rather derelict in getting the garden cleared out for spring planting, although THAT would be easier if we did better at cleaning and prepping the planting beds in the fall. Sigh. One of these days, it will happen. Anyway, I have been trying to spend a few hours a day weeding and luckily everything but the dumb, stupid burdock has been easy to pull out. However, all of a sudden wild mustard plants have taken over the garden, which is irritating because that is the one weed we haven't had before and they are seriously invasive. They do have beautiful yellow flowers though and fields of them have inspired a whole series of paintings but I would like them to stay out of my vegetable garden, please.

Three beds back in the corner that still need weeding (they are done now):

This is where the tomatoes are going this year and I have handed the weeding duty over to Doug as I suspect some serious shoveling will be necessary (he is the shovel guy):


And proof that our weeds don't need much in the way of light, air or water. A tarp has been on this section for a few years now (clearing that spot is rather low on our list as it is in a shaded area) and every year the weeds under it raise it up off the ground about three feet:

But there are some bright spots. The garlic is looking good:

The raspberries look great this year (even if they are sending shoots off into the neighboring beds). And most of the beds are cleared now, ready for some mulch and then planting:

We are still a few weeks from planting for most things though, and I really should have gotten the peas and carrots in already, but I am planning to get them in this week. Oddly, my greens that I planted several weeks ago in the cold frame didn't come up, so I guess I messed up the system somehow. I am going to try planting greens again in the regular beds. Oh and the perimeter fence needs much attention. I am pretty sure that last year deer were just strolling in every night and eating everything from the top down. They LOVE peas and broccoli, just so you know.

Update on the birds and the bees:

Yes, my new chicks have arrived, just this morning in fact:

We are establishing a new coop for them as our old hen house is too small and plus it's really tough to integrate flocks. So Doug spent a few days putting up plywood on the interior of a small room in our crappy old garage. We wanted to build an entirely new building, but it wasn't in the budget and this was the next best, cheap idea. And actually it seems pretty luxurious to me, it has power and is very close to water (the garage is attached to the kitchen) so we can brood them in their coop. Doug still has to build the nests and an outdoor chicken run, but we have time for that.

It's been about four years since we got our first chicks and three years since we got the second batch and I have forgotten about the stress level with these little chickies. I have already spent so much time worrying and checking on them today and it's only been a few hours! One difference this time though is that there are 45 chicks, well actually 44 since one was trampled to death in the shipping box, and the little cannibals were already pecking it apart by the time I picked them up, and so I now get to worried about their pig pile tendencies too. Heh. But I am going to cross my fingers that they will be ok, and later on after I get some work done I will go and check all of them for pasty butt*, yay!

Doug was planning to get two more bee hives this spring but when he went to pick them up on Saturday, he was told the bees were gone. A part of the whole disappearing bee problem evidently. So Doug is calling around today, trying to find someone who has bees. Our existing hive is doing great, very busy and active bees already working on their honey, so we were really hoping to add to all that.

And besides our WORK work, there is a long list of things that have to be done around here; I was going to list them, but it makes me feel overwhelmed! I will post photos if as we make some progress. Right now I will just be happy if we can get some plants in the ground and keep my chicks alive until they are a bit more durable!

*Pasty Butt: Shipping can be hard on some chicks and a sign of that stress is that they get their butts pasted up with loose droppings. Keep a close eye on them for the first 5-6 days. If this happens, you must clean it up or they'll die. There are 2 methods: A -- you can softly moisten the plug with a warm moist cloth until you can pick it off, this being easier on the chick, or B -- you can simply pluck it off with the down it is stuck to. This is more painful to the chick, like having some hairs pulled, but has the advantage that without the down to stick to the problem will not repeat itself.

Painterchick/Chickenfarmer Girl

South Side, 2010, Oil on Panel, 24"x18"

Good thing I have gotten some of my energy back, because there is a lot going on. Actually that probably is WHY I am getting it back, I HAVE to. Anyway, I am feeling enthusiastic again about working in the studio and just finished a really good group of paintings (see above). I am planning to focus on the 'People You Know' now, as I currently have plenty of landscapes in my inventory.

And life in general is particularly crazy right now. Both of my daughters have crazy busy sports schedules, one daughter is in softball with practice everyday and my youngest daughter is playing both softball AND soccer AND is also taking a Junior Lifeguarding class. And I am tired just writing this. Heh. Anyway, mostly this translates to A LOT of driving and scheduling and watching games for me. Plus we are getting into all the end of the year stuff; school concerts, dances, etc. Ok, nap time now......

Life on the farm is picking up too. The weather has been kind of wacky, and it has been really cold for the last several days which has been the perfect excuse to delay more work out in the vegetable garden. But there is MUCH to do out there and it is looming over us. I have been puttering around in the flower gardens but don't even ask me why there are a million dandelions IN the back flower garden. I need to get to that pretty soon. And this weekend we will be getting new 45 new chicks. I have decided to fully embrace being a painterchick/chickenfarmer girl and will be selling organic eggs, hopefully enough to at least pay for the organic feed. Our current flock of chickens are getting older and although they are still laying, they are slowing down so it's a good time to start a new flock. However, I am not exactly the culling chicken type, so we have decided to establish a second hen house. We have a 10x12 room in our garage that has its own door out to the yard and so Doug has been working on getting that room ready. It also has electricity which is VERY exciting, the other hen house is all pioneer with no power or water even remotely nearby. Chick pictures coming soon.

So I guess spring is a good time to get a girl out of a mild funk, eh?

Regional Shows and Often Procrastination is Good

The Weight of Being, 2010, Oil on Panel, 20"x24"

So Chair Lady was accepted into the regional show at the Cooperstown Art Association and Doug and I went to the opening reception last night. We didn't stay too long because we had to get to our daughter's softball game but we had a nice time, talked to some friends and munched at the food table. Actually, I had exactly two things and they were both so spicy that I had a runny nose the rest of the evening. Awesome!

The work in the show was good but it became clear as we saw which artists won the prizes that I probably should have entered a landscape. Well, if I was intent on winning something. Heh. I do like to win, who doesn't? But I am still glad that I pushed the envelope a bit and entered something different. And a number of people mentioned that even though mine was a figurative painting, they still immediately recognized it as my work.

But the best part of yesterday (well besides watching my daughter play really well in her very first softball game!) was getting two large Black Paintings done. I spent most of Thursday SO not sure about what I was going to do with them, but finally that night I managed to eke out a few sketches of compositions that seemed like they might work. I still needed some time to settle in (procrastinate) on Friday morning but at about 1:30pm I stepped up to the easel and just whipped out the two paintings, it's like they just flowed right out of me. Love when that happens, that feeling is one of the things that makes being a painter chick so great.

Sure don't need a prize for that!

Winging it

Black Painting#92, 2010, Oil on Panel, 9"x6"

Today I am prepping two 36 inch square panels. I have decided to enter two Black Paintings in the upcoming National Juried Show at the Cooperstown Arts Association, that I mentioned last time. I spent way too much time yesterday obsessing about the size, format and image but finally I decided to just go ahead and settle on the two 36 inch square panels that I already have on hand. I have a few other large panels, but only one of each size and well, I keep thinking that I should enter two that are the same. I need SOME order here! Especially since I have NO CLUE as to what I will be painting on these panels! I tried making some sketches yesterday which only proved to me that the large, looming barn like structures that I keep seeing in my mind, will not work very well in a square format.

However, I am recalling that when I worked on the Black Paintings series in Vermont, I was not sure what the image would be until my hands were in the paint and maybe even well after that. So I am going to wing it here on these pieces, fully aware that I may end up entering a landscape after all. I have to finish the painting part by this Friday, so I can get them photographed and meet the deadline which is next Saturday.

We'll just have to see how that pressure thing works for me this time.

Chair Lady

Chair Lady, 2010, Oil on Panel, 40"x30"

Well, the people have spoken and so the Chair Lady has been entered into the juried show. Thanks so much to everyone who gave me their input, I really appreciate it. I was leaning towards entering the Chair Lady too but I became a bit mesmerized by all the color in the other painting once I tweaked it a little bit. I am a sucker for color, heh. Also I hadn't really planned to title it "Chair Lady" but it stuck after all that. Above is the final jpeg of the painting.

I should find out in a few days about whether I am in or not and either way I will attend the opening reception for the show this Friday. Always a good chance to chat with some friends and also to catch up with a few of the artists in in the area that I only see once in awhile.

And in case anyone is interested, this same organization also has a national juried show and the deadline is coming up on May 15. More info here if you are interested in participating. The Cooperstown Art Association is a GREAT local arts organization, very supportive of artists (they gave me a solo show when I was just starting out) and they do a number of community art events each year. And I can assure you that locals do not get special treatment here, I have been accepted only once out of about seven tries. I actually wasn't sure if I even should enter this year because one of the jurors is the owner of a gallery that represents me. However, I am going to anyway as I feel supporting the CAA (as well as all local arts organizations) is important and will just consider the 20 bucks as a donation. I will also enter different work than what I usually show with that gallery so that when I get turned down I can justify it by saying that it was because I hadn't entered my real work. ha

Juried Show Entry

Not the best photos ever, but hopefully you can see past that and help me decide which painting to enter in a local regional show. I like (and dislike) both for different reasons. If I had more time this morning I'd add one of those little voting thingies but will just have to settle for votes in the comments. Thanks!

Chair Lady is 40"x30"


Five People is 24"x36"


PS. It is entirely possible that I may decide at the very last minute to enter a landscape or barn. Just so you know..........

What's Goin' On?

House on Route 52, 2010, Oil on Panel, 18"x18"

OK, well, spring break is over (finally!) the kids are back in school and my days are my own again. And despite this last two week blip of constant interruptions here, I do feel like I am pretty much back on track. Doing a public to do list and charting my progress helped so I will be keeping that little trick in mind in case I go off the rails again. Um, train metaphors, anyone?????

Anyway, for awhile there it was feeling like I had NOTHING going on, which was kind of messing with my productivity. However, in the last few days I have been adding things up and it looks like things are picking up. Can't give a lot details yet on some things but this is what I have going on:

This week I am finishing up a portrait that I did about a year ago and never really resolved. I am planning to enter it in a regional competition at our local arts organization and the deadline is Saturday. Not really worried about NOT getting in, although it is certainly possible that I won't, but I just want to make sure and enter something since I missed the deadline for the last two years. I have decided to enter a portrait, a LARGE portrait (40x30) for purely egotistical reasons;in the past the paintings that I have entered have been small and rather quiet and this year I want a flashy entry for once. Heh.

Today I am packing up four paintings from the 'People You Know' series that I did in Vermont, and am shipping them off to one of my galleries. This gallery does very well with my landscapes and it will be interesting to see how these go over. They will be at The Harrison Gallery if anyone out there is in the area (Williamstown MA) and would like to see these paintings in person. Way better in real life if I do say so myself.....

I am just finishing up a bunch of paintings to send to Chrysalis Gallery in the Hamptons soon. The two that I sent last year have NOT sold but the owner said she is not giving up on me yet and will be giving me a good space on the wall this season for a whole grouping of paintings, which is really the best way to present my work. They seems to make more sense when seen in a grouping. She also prefers my more abstract color field type landscapes which are not really included in my current burn out on landscapes.

I have been invited to have a solo show at The Main Street Gallery in Groton, NY in September. This was the first gallery to give me a solo show back in 2005 just a few years after I had started painting again and it will great to be there again. I will be showing small scale landscapes in the back area and portraits in the main room, so YAYY! Pretty excited about that!

And I just heard yesterday that the proposal for an exhibition that an artist that I met at the Vermont Studio Center applied for has been accepted. I'll be learning more details in the next few days and will post about it soon. I will say however, that I am very, VERY excited about this because it involves me being able to show work from the Black Painting series that I worked on in Vermont.

Black painting #99, 2010, 9"x6" Oil on Panel
Sales have improved somewhat, two large paintings have sold in the last month or so; very happy they found their "people" and of course the surprise income is good too. This also makes me feel a bit more confident that not everything I paint will just be sitting around, gathering dust in my studio.

Also, I have a possible commission for a very large scale painting. Not confirmed yet, and I may be jinxing the whole thing by even mentioning it, but hey, I feel like living dangerously today, heh.

So there you go. Another step back to my previously busy self and it feels really good!

Low on Title Ideas Today (so that's the title)

Messy studio

Well, all of a sudden it's almost two weeks since I have posted here. Sigh.

I haven't been super productive in the studio either. However, in general I have been pretty busy. Our washer broke down last week so Doug and I took the better part of a day to go shopping for a new one. We also took an afternoon to look at small barns since I am getting a new batch of baby chicks next month, plus we are also planning to get sheep or goats next spring. So trying to do a little long range planning for that. A day to take my daughter to the diabetes clinic in Syracuse. A couple of mornings in the garden, clearing out a few beds and planting greens. Mr. Wilson had to get his teeth cleaned and so a day of going back and forth to the vet. An afternoon for a hair appointment. Shopping for spring things with the girls. Doug was in the city last Friday and picked up a load of birch panels for me. Dumping them in my studio was the tipping point for clutter and so I need a day or so to clean and reorganize.

It's just been one thing after another and the rest of this week is looking crazy too.

I really have to finish up some paintings though as I have to send new work off to two galleries soon. Having a looming deadline always helps when my internal motivation is not quite up to par. So this morning I am trying yet again, to get back to work in the studio. I don't think I need a to do list to get going this time but I am not ruling one out either......

To Do List Update, Before I Bail!

Study#213, 2010, Oil on Birch Panel, 5x7

I meant to post yesterday but a ghost somehow downloaded almost 200mgs from the internet on Thursday morning (I was the only person on the computer during that time and all I did was open Facebook and look at a few news articles, I swear!) putting us over the top of the dreaded Fair Access Policy. So little to no internet for 24 hours, which is always a blessing, even though we all grumble about it.

Anyway, here is the update for Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday:
Wrote a blog post on Wednesday and then spent some time answering emails, paying bills, etc.

Doug and I took a much needed walk around the country block on a very foggy and cool day. Took some pictures too in which I mostly look stupid but he looks good. Posting the most decent one of us together: (in real life, our heads are about the same size, just in case you were wondering)

In the studio I painted the edges on some small paintings, finishing them up so that I can put them in a drawer, hehe.

I finished up two more of the initial ten paintings on my to do list. I would have gotten more done except the first one that I did was VERY pesky and I had to to wipe the paint off and start over several times. Bleh. It ended up pretty good though.

And I worked on the curtain hems again while I was watching TV on Wednesday evening.

Thursday:

I did two more paintings which leaves me with just two more out of the ten. My lunch with a friend/social life item was replaced with taking our cat, Hermine and our poodle Mr. Wilson to the vet. I did speak to four people (which is four more than I talked to all week) while I was there so I think that qualifies as a social outing!

And in VERY exciting news, I finished the curtains Thursday night. Took me a bit longer than I expected once I got out the sewing machine that I haven't used in about 6 years. However, after pushing a bunch of buttons, I eventually figured out how to run it without even having to refer to the owner's manual. Luckily the bobbin had enough thread in it, otherwise I would still be trying to figure out how to load that up. After I got everything set up, it only took me a few minutes to do the actual sewing part. It ALMOST made me want to dig out the quilt that I started when my daughter was born in 1997......

So today, I had planned to work on the other studio stuff, the underpainting for a portrait, drawing and starting a few Black Paintings. But I gotta be honest here; it is a drop dead gorgeous and very warm day outside and so I think I am bailing on most of my to do list today. I do plan on getting out in the garden and planting a few seeds (maybe tomorrow) but mostly I am just going to putter around in the yard and maybe take a walk. My son has a friend over and so there will definitely be chocolate chip cookies to bake later, so before I get to that I am going outside!

I will get back to all this productiveness/motivation/to do list silliness next Monday. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Progress

Frames#1005, 2010, Oil on Birch Panel, 16x20

I made moderate progress on Tuesday. Um, despite spending a little bit too much time on the computer. But it was less time than usual so I will look at the bright side on that.

It was a lovely, rainy day (I like rainy days) so it was easy to stay in my studio and work. I finished prepping all ten panels and after my little computer binge, I managed to finish up two of the ten paintings that were on my to do list. There are six left, and I think I can make some progress on several of them today.

Also, last night while I was watching American Idol (LOVE Crystal, Lee and that Casey is a real cutie pie), I started the whole curtain project and I think tonight (during Criminal Minds) I can get all of them prepared for the sewing part.

And bonus task yesterday was cleaning out the sink in the kid's bathroom. Normally, I would have one of the kids do it, but I use it during the day for cleaning my brushes, and it was starting to bug me so I just took a few minutes to do it.

Oh AND I wrote a BLOG POST!!!!!!!!!

Baby Steps

Frames(Structure)#1002, 2010, Oil on Birch Panel, 20x16

Ok, it seems like the act of making the list and posting it on the internet has gotten me feeling a bit more energetic about things in general. I made some progress yesterday and also it was so awesome to get such encouragement about continuing the blog from my lovely readers. Thank you!

So this is what I did yesterday:

I made all my phone calls and I now have appointments to take two pets to the vet this Thursday, a meeting at the clinic in Syracuse concerning my daughter's insulin pump, and I also rescheduled my upcoming dentist appointment.

I finished the backs of the ten panels that I am prepping and this morning started the priming on the front and sides. The prep doesn't take so much time, it's mostly the drying, sanding and having to run downstairs to clean the brushes that can really drag things out here......

I had some emails to attend to yesterday, in addition to a good chunk of online time (oops) so I got started painting a bit later than I should have. But it ended up ok, I managed to get two smaller pieces done and will get back to the easel as soon as I am done with this post.

And bonus! After dinner, instead of glancing at the disgusting, dusty, greasy range hood, sighing and then ignoring it yet again, I decided to just take a few minutes and clean the dumb thing. This might have been the most encouraging thing I did all day; I have been ignoring stuff like that for weeks.

Will be back tomorrow!

Spectacularly Unproductive

Frames #1001, 2010, Oil on Birch Panel, 12x16

Well. Ahem. Yes, it has been three weeks since I last posted. Every single day, I thought about posting, but didn't. Couldn't? Not sure which anymore. I can't say I have been too busy either, as I have been spectacularly unproductive lately. And while I don't want to end this blog, it does periodically occur to me that maybe I will.

But today is Monday, a good day to turn over a new leaf and I am going to try again and get my mojo back. For the blog, for my work, for my life in general. Sounds dramatic, eh??? Well, like I said; spectacularly unproductive lately. Not only am I not working in the studio enough, I am not even doing the projects around the house that I usually complain about not having enough time for, even though I have had all the time in the world lately.

So I have decided to start with to-do lists. Public to-do lists. I don't normally keep a formal to do list, but well, desperate times here. I do NOT like being spectacularly unproductive. The plan is to post a to-do list for each week, on Mondays and update my progress each day. I am hoping that this will get me posting here again and also help me get some stuff done.

Well, here we go. My list of things to-do this week (in addition to regular stuff like driving kids, making dinner, scooping cat litter and feeding chickens and um, keeping up with Facebook):

Studio

Finish the 10 paintings that are in progress, starting with the six that have been sitting here, halfway finished for at least three weeks.......

Finish prepping panels.

Do some drawing for at least a half day.

Start at least one new 'People You Know' painting.

Do seven more Black Paintings on the 6x9 inch panels that have been sitting here for a whole MONTH.

Load new paintings on to my sales blog, and do some other things, like ordering supplies, etc.

House

CLEAN the house.

Hem the new curtains for my daughter's room, the curtains that are still sitting in the shopping bag on the dining room table, exactly where I set them down when I got home from buying them 3 WEEKS AGO.

Make a few appointments that I have been lazy about making. Dentist, vet, etc.

Have lunch with a friend. I have been spectacularly antisocial lately as well.

Get out in the garden and plant spinach and lettuce seeds in the cold frame.

This seems like a lot to me, especially since I am pretty much starting at zero. Heh. But it's nowhere close to what I used to accomplish in a week and it is stuff that I really do need to get done, so this is my list and I am sticking to it.

PS. I do realize that I would be spectacularly productive if I had anything whatsoever on the exhibition schedule for the upcoming year, but that is a post for another day;)

Vermont Friends

Last night together in Vermont: Jon, Rob and J.T.

Even though I spent way more time working than socializing while I was at the residency in January I did manage to meet at least a few people. I tried to keep most of my chit chatting to mealtimes, although there were some memorable conversations in my studio, or at one of the two parties I attended. Heh.

It was very exciting to see what other artists were working on in their studios and I really enjoyed 'Slide Night', the weekly event when the visual artists gave a short presentation of their work. Most of the artists I got to know have websites (seems more common than when I was there two years ago) so I am going to share them here with you.

I knew J.T. through our blogs before January, but he was also pretty much the first resident that I met; I walked in to the opening night reception and there he was. We got along well, we had most of our meals at the same table and also visited each others studios. The other resident that I 'knew' before we got there was Rob Williams. He found me after doing a google search about VSC and we hit it off right away, both via the internet and in person. He knows a few of my deep dark secrets too, lucky guy.
Rob and Jang Soon

I also really enjoyed the time I spent with Lauren, Marcie, Michelle, Aschley, Lindsay and Giordanne. I believe that technically I am old enough to be a mother to most of these lovely and talented women (in one 'ouch' moment I learned that Michelle's mother is younger than I am), but they did not in any way hold that against me! I am also very happy to have acquired several new pieces of art from this group of friends.
J.T. and Aschely

It's bad luck to discuss the details but I will say that I might have a potential project with JoAnna Johnson and Kristie Eden O'Donnell. JoAnna's dress project awes me and Kristie's work is very bold and strong with just a bit of vulnerability, just like her. Crossing my fingers about our project.
JoAnna's dresses, hanging in her studio.

Matthew McConville had a studio down the hall from me and he had some really helpful observations about my work, and I really appreciated those. His work is beautiful AND funny, which is the perfect combination if you ask me. Nicole McCormick Santiago also gave me some really good feedback about my work (she didn't need any on hers; it is ALREADY PERFECT!) and we had some good talks concerning painting process and the art biz too. I think Steven Pearson worked harder and longer in his studio than anyone. It was my own personal goal to work later than him in just once in the month we were there, but I failed; he was always in his studio whenever I dragged my zombie self home, no matter the time. He had a project that had to be finished while he was at the residency and it was pretty exciting when he did just that.
Steve, in front of his finished painting.

I had a lot of nice conversations with painter Jon Eckel. Jon lives in the Philadelphia area so we had that in common even if he was just 5 when I moved there, hehe. I was impressed with his motivation too; Jon was spending THREE months in Vermont to find new direction in his work and I will be very interested in seeing what happens with that.
Jon

I also enjoyed talking to Kim Manfredi, and reallyreally liked what she was working on and admired her process which was pretty involved. I am also still bummed out that I didn't get to see what she did in the last week or so, she packed up her work before the final Open Studio. Anthony Hawley came in for the second two weeks of the session and I like him right away, he was very nice to talk to. He also has an interesting project going on right now and I am pleased to now have two of his small paintings.
Anthony

I loved my housemates, Nancy Williams was only there for two weeks, but we had much in common and I enjoyed her reading (she is a writer). Kimberly Dark came in at the middle of the session and her performances were incredible, very funny and thought provoking, and she is just an all around wonderful and kind person. Tonya Gregg was very sweet to me one evening after I had had a frustrating day and I also was very taken with her work. She showed some images of previous work that I still think about, very strong, colorful and bold work.

So those were the people that I got to know best. I wish I had been able to spend more time with other residents as well, but I really wanted to work so unfortunately my social time was limited. However, many of those residents are my Facebook friends now and so I may get another chance. A few of these folks don't have websites (as far as I know) but I am listing them anyway: Marin Abell, JC Jogerst, Nicholas Naughton, Lia Powers, Carrie Elizabeth Cook, Ariana Franco, Jang Soon, Matthew Clark, Eric Markowsky, Christian Benefiel, Ariel Churnin, Kate McGraw, Mary Lamboley, Tatiana Berg, Jeremy Lundquist, Kit Burke-Smith, Liliya Zalevskaya, Sanghee Park, Seungae Bang. Also, Jeanne Marie Wasilik was in the studio right next door to me (which was the studio I had last time), and we had many nice chats.
Ariana Franco at the last Open Studio night.

Marin Abell's project.

Oh and it was wonderful to see David Grozinsky again. He works there and remembered me! Yay!

So anyway. I am sure I am forgetting someone and I apologize in advance. And if I am missing anyone's website or link please let me know and I will add it. Love sharing up links!

New Website

Black Painting#98, 2010, Oil on Panel, 9"x6"

More than a few mealtime conversations at the Vermont Studio Center revolved around our websites. J.T. was real keen on Other People's Pixels and he encouraged, and then helped a few of the other residents set up their sites at OPP (the next post will include links to those sites as well as to blogs etc of some of the other residents that I got to know).

At first I wasn't really interested in changing my website. A friend of mine had designed mine several years ago and even though it could use some updating I still really liked the basic design. So I mentally filed all this new info, which is not easy to do these days, I am perilously close to total overload!

After I got home and sorted through and photographed all the work that I did in Vermont, I was really excited to get my website updated and maybe give it a little face lift too. Unfortunately, my friend's company was swamped with work and it wasn't looking like anything was going to get updated for awhile. I was feeling a bit pressured to start sending my info out (this coming year is looking very quiet right now) right away, so I checked out OPP again. I signed up for the trial membership and within a day or so I got a good part of the site set up which really won me over. Gotta love anything that is easy enough for ME to set up! By the time I got everything loaded I was ready to sign up for a year of hosting ($160) and that is just what I did.

So go check out my new website. I like it a lot; it looks pretty snappy and I really like the simple layout and easy navigation. It doesn't have some of the wonderful little details that my old design had (love ya, Niklas:)) but I have finally gotten over losing those. Best of all I can load and unload new images and make other changes as easily as if I were on Blogger or Facebook. Not saying I am an expert, or am even fast at any of that, but eventually I can figure things out. Well, usually. Heh.

And if you happen to decide to sign up at Other People's Pixels, link to it from my site so I can get a free month. I bet J.T. has a free year by now!

Vermont Light

I wrote a post while I was in Vermont mentioning the light in my studio there and even though it was a little bit pesky if I was trying to actually paint, it was a comforting element in my space. My windows faced east, and slightly south, so when the sun was out (which was not too often actually, it was a pretty gray month) the light moved from one side of the studio to the other between about 10am and 1pm. And just by chance it often illuminated my work that was hanging on the walls and I was always trying to quickly find my camera to get a good shot.

Sometimes it seemed as if the light was communicating with me, telling me to do another painting:


Showing me the drama in the Black Paintings:





Highlighting a favorite:




And gently saying goodbye as I was taking my work down at the end of my time there......






And PS: JT was visiting my studio on a sunny morning and here is his hand: