Small-Art Compendium

My mailbox contained a wonderful treat on Friday...a lovely gelatin monotype by artist, Martha Marshall . Gelatin Monotype by Martha Marshall My collection of other artist's small works is growing and I'm delighted that this piece is included. I'll be making some monotypes in the near future and Martha will choose one to complete our trade - love doing that!

Fellow blogger Simon at Toginis has posted a Q & A regarding my artwork. Take a look at his great blog - lots of interesting interviews to read. Thanks Simon!

A great blog post from a wonderful artist, Karine Swenson. I absolutely agree with her. Check it out here . And while you are there, take a long gander at her amazing artwork -- she's a realist and an abstractionist. Such a dynamic combo!

Isn't it wonderful! This piece was created by U.K. artist,  Andy Parkinson , and was included in the 2012 6" x 6" exhibit at the Rochester Contemporary Arts Center and when I came across the piece,. I just had to have it. It's so vibrant and cheery and just makes me happy. Quickweave by Andy Parkinson, 6" x 6", Highlighter on Paper

Day 10 100 Days of Rain Day 10 Acrylic, pencil, crayon on Rives BFK 5" x 6" A tenth of the 100 Days of Rain have been posted and there are 50 made thus far - half way completed! I've never done 100 of any one thing. Usually my series are somewhere under 20, so this is a challenge. I was inspired to stretch myself by a wonderful artist from Prince Edward Island, Stephen MacInnis . He started a project called the Long Series a couple of years ago and if I'm not mistaken his original goal was 100. It then grew to 1,000 and now it's grown to 10,000! Please check out his amazing project. I highly doubt I'll get beyond 100, but I'm enjoying the journey into the world of grays thus far.

Today marks the launch of the annual 6" x 6" fund-raising exhibition at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center . Although I could not participate this year as an artist, I will be purchasing a few pieces. It's a great opportunity to pick up some engaging small works for a wallet-friendly price (around $20). Here's a link for the online viewing gallery . Check it out. Hopefully next year, I'll be organized enough to participate again. Such a fun event!

Wonderful advice from Neil Gaiman for anyone in the arts: watch here . Excerpt from speech: When things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art. I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician -- make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by a mutated boa constrictor -- make good art. IRS on your trail -- make good art. Cat exploded -- make good art. Someone on the Internet thinks what you're doing is stupid or evil or it's all been done before -- make good art.

It happens. This too shall pass. *dramatic sigh* Chocolate makes everything better, right?

Last week, I said a wistful goodbye to winter and welcomed in spring while sitting under swaying palm trees, listening to mockingbirds and watching hummingbirds flit about in the citrus trees in Palm Desert, CA. It's still brown and dusty here in Denver, no signs of spring greenery yet -- but work begins anew. New canvases are being prepared, paintings for shows are getting crated and sent, papier mache vessels are in various states of  being, and of course, the almost daily works on paper continue to be made (for better or worse) . Spring planting, such as I can manage in our wee space (containers!) is still a couple of months away, but until then I want to share a few artist blogs that I love to read year round. They are an exceptional read for not only art-related stuff but for their other focus on the outdoors and gardening. Don't miss them! The Grand Tour Altoon Sultan's,  Studio and Garden Blog Martha Marshall's, An Artist's Journal Karine Swens...

Courage. Kindness. Connection. These are important.

The long-awaited Clyfford Still Museum opens in Denver today. I'm so excited to have one of my own artistic inspirations so close at hand. I will be haunting the halls of that museum, alrighty! Mr. Still infamously kept most of his considerable output of work from public eyes until now, so the museum will have over 2400 works of his to exhibit. This is a big day for Denver and an incredible opportunity for us art lovers everywhere to see amazing art from a master. Clips from the PBS documentary on Clyfford Still: Clyfford Still Wikipedia entry: here   HAPPY FEET!

Summer Marsh 6" x 6" Oil on panel $400 SOLD An abstracted view of a summer marsh. Mostly, I'm an intuitive painter; meaning I work primarily from memory, imagination, or letting the paint guide me. But, I do use references on occasion like photos, painting from life, or plein air -- and in this instance, from a collage I made a year earlier. I've always loved the collage because it's so darned happy and bright and I wanted to capture that in paint. The collage is shown below. Inspiration can come from unexpected places.

Neighbors 5" x 7" Oil on canvas panel SOLD Ta Dah! The last one. Although I actually painted these a couple of months ago, the thick white paint is taking its sweet time in drying. Perhaps future ones will be done with more transparent and quicker drying paint colors. Fun experiment and I really like the results. Now I'll go back and study the Wolf Kahn book again and determine in what way my experiments have given me a deeper understanding of his work. I know he gave me insight into my own and for that I thank him.

The Carport 5" x 7" Oil on canvas panel Third one in the series. This one speaks to me of loneliness, waiting, expectation. I like the emotional weight of the piece. My husband calls them the "beach houses," and that certainly works; but for me, I think of them as suburbia. Those endless cheery blue skies, the pitiless uniformity of the houses and the loneliness, waiting, and expectation. These building portraits interest me and I'll definitely do more of them. I'll post the last one in this series tomorrow.

Laundry Line 7" x 5" Oil on canvas panel SOLD The second in the four painting series originally inspired by Wolf Kahn's barns. Where are all the laundry lines? Used to be, you'd see them everywhere. Oddly, I miss them. 8B2BM9A3N5R3

The Fence 5" x 7" Oil on canvas panel SOLD A couple of months ago, I bought a new art book, Wolf Kahn by Justin Spring with an essay by Louis Finkelstein (highly recommend) and I was struck by Mr. Kahn's fascinating paintings of barns and buildings. They have such presence! I felt they were a stolid, silent witness to human experience and I was hooked into trying to paint some of my own. "The Fence" is one of four paintings I did over the course of a couple of days and I'm quite pleased with them. I'll post the remaining three in the next few days.