Perugia Oil Portrait Sketches

Collection of Portriat Sketches at Women Exposed in Bloomington, IN February 2007

Today I have released the rest of the collection of oil portrait sketches I did in Perugia two years ago--they are now either sold or posted to be sold!

This collection of work is one that is very dear to my heart. In the Spring of 2006 I arrived in Perugia after my first (and only) printmaking high. I thought that I had found a new medium that would carry me to new depth in my art. Printmaking did expand my work immensely but experiences with it also beat into my head that I am not a printmaker. After this stir in my artistic psyche I was baffled to find not one press in the facilities in Perugia. Instead I was placed in a beautiful room with the two other artist in my independent study class. We were never there at the same time so it felt like I had a studio all to myself. My inspiration was lacking.

Bettylou (Pineapple), 10 x 11, oil on paper

My teacher, William Pettit, was phenomenal in figuring out where I needed to be pushed. After some frustrated still lives I finally did a quick set of sketches for a larger portrait--keep working the basics. It was like doing sit-ups and push-up every day when I really just needed to go and take along run. Bill saw the sketches and really liked them. He suggested I just start having people come in a sit for me as I do quick sketches of them. The project was amazing. I not only had a wonderful time doing it, I also had a collection of people who willingly modeled for me.

To view the oil portrait sketches that are still for sale visit my etsy site.

Pineapple and Bettylou, aprox. 3x5', Perugia, Italy

After months of these portraits I got a little bit teird of painting people so I turned to something else--pineapples. Pineapples are so colorful and full of texture that they were the perfect new subject for my portrait project! These paintings are also available for sale but are not posted on etsy.

Thanks for reading and please contact me with any questions!

A Room - Installation Idea

A Room, In Progress Sketch, Spring 2008

This photo is from my sketch book. One of my long terms goal in regard to my art is promoting education and open minds when it comes to the human form. This installation sketch is of a room with many different mannequins representing a variety of bodies. The mannequins will be created with a creative assortment of materials which will help further convey the message and stereotype of each form. Each individual sculpture will be roughly life size to create a more intimate interaction with the piece.

Now, this has been done to certain degrees before (like with real bodies). I wanted to stick in some image references but the names are escaping me at the moment.
- - - - - - - - -
Since the opening I have been running around quite a bit! Chad is moving from Saint Paul to Aspen, CO (we are leaving for that leg of his move on Thursday). I am also in the midst of designing some art classes to teach this summer at Flourish. I have to have all of that done before we leave for CO, so no new art for a couple of weeks. I will get back to my easel soon.

Happy June!

You Name It VI, Flowers

You Name It VI, 2'x2', mixed media on board

The underlying theme of last weekend seemed to be flowers. On Friday Chad arrived with some sweet pink roses, the next afternoon we chose bundles of flowers to create Mother's Day bouquets and that evening we arrived at the gallery to some beautiful flowers my parents sent. They are on their last legs so I decided to give them eternal life on wood.

This piece is just a quick sketch. I made a video just for fun. I like that this painting is mostly gray and white and not so much colorful.

The Subject

I wanted some kind of an alliteration for the title of this piece. Ideas?

Below is the video, I have never posted a video directly to the blog post. We'll see how this goes.

Explore the Wild Opening!

This is the sign outside of Flourish Studios.

The opening was a huge success! I am thrilled that everything went so well. We had a huge turnout and I even sold a painting! In this post you can just browse through the pictures I have posted. Sadly, I took no pictures and I have not gotten my hands on all of the pictures that were taken. Enjoy the blips you can see, I might add more later.

Also, thank you for reading this blog. If I didn't feel somewhat accountable to keeping my readers entertained I would not have produced the work which I exhibited in the show.

Me with Zoollpaper, Solo Duet and From the Zoo

This is Andrew Heber. His encaustics are behind us! Andrew and I met while studying at an art school with UGA in Cortona, Italy.

Here is my Tulip, Casey. She had to leave the opening early and run off to the Cornservatory because she is a woman of many talents.

My absolutely wonderful Grandparents came to the opening from Michigan. They were so fun to have there (Grama took almost all of the pictures in this post) and the next day I got to see Grama on Mother's Day!

For those of you who don't know, this is my super-deeee-doooper Chad. Needless to say, I couldn't have done all of this without his endless support.

Chad chatting with Anne Leuck Feldhaus and her husband, Rich Feldhaus.

Some of the work by Casey Searles and Andrew Heber. Casey's work is to the left of the column, Andrew's to the right.

My two paintngs flanking Casey's cupcake. Francine the Asian Pear, on the right, sold on the night of the opening! Thank you Tim and Annie!

Some of my You Name It paintings looking into the main gallery space.

Casey did a post about the opening too! Check it out on her blog! You should also check out her post previous to the one about the opening. In that post Casey has some pictures up of some of the pieces she had in Explore the Wild. Alright, its back to the easel for me.

Francine the Asian Pear

Francine the Asian Pear, mixed media on board, 28x23"

I pumped out a few paintings last Monday before I hung the show. Recently I sold a piece of fruit on etsy so I figured more fruit might not hurt. I enjoy doing it and the more classic still life is a little more likely to sell.

Here are some process photos. It is fun to see the collage process. The reason I enjoy using text in collage is not for reference to literature but to use the line of the text as a contour for the shape of the piece--it gives an extra dimension to the paintings of everyday objects.

Some of the collage pieces I died in tea They are not strategically placed but I like the patchy look, its the Asian Pear look.

Don't forget about EXPLORE THE WILD on Saturday!!! More info is in the last blog entry! I am so excited!

Thanks!

Tweaked

For Tweaked, mixed media on canvas, 2x3'

I did this painting for the play of Tweaked, by Paul Shoulberg, directed by my good friend Ross Matsuda. The play is being performed at the Viaduct Theatre in Chicago. The performances began on 2 May and will continue through the month. For more information on when you can go and see it visit Big Brother Productions.

When Ross asked me to do this piece I knew one thing about the play--its about meth addicts. That was enough to spark my interest. The piece is meant to be the one thing of value the addicts cannot get rid of. The painting was to be an abstract, misunderstood but genius, unaccessible but iconic.

Layer 1, For Tweaked

I sent Ross a few artists I would keep in mind while composing the piece--Rothko, Rauschenberg, Miro, and Korroch. Rothko for patches of gradiated color. Rauschenberg for chunky collage. Miro for bold outlines. Korroch for some me in it. If you do not know these artists they are definitley worth getting to know. Click on the links.

Another Layer

Here you can see I used some pumice to add texture. I also incorporated layers of collage and I threw in some oil pastel (the lines). I also used this interesting gold polish like paint Anne had laying around.

More oil pastel. Geometric shapes I manage to force into being organic. I am not one for hard edged painting.


Patches of color. I used string gel, the material I use to make people think my paintings have oil paint in them. I mixed up a tone of that yellow with string gel and used my palette knife to get harder, thicker edges.

- - - - -

REMINDER:

Explore The Wild: Newly Discovered Artists

THIS SATURDAY, 6-9 PM
Flourish Studios, 3020 N Lincoln

AMAZING ART and FREE WINE TASTING!

Solo Duet

Solo Duet, aprox. 5 x 3 ft., mixed media

This is another improv piece. With this gallery opening looming I needed to do something without a plan. It felt good to do and thats what I needed. I plan to cut it down to be a diptych (which I did to my first improv painting). Visit viddler or youtube to see the process of this painting!

(I recommend viddler quality wise but it takes a bit longer to upload so go to youtube if its not up yet!)

Accidents are the best part of being an artist. I learned this when i worked as a ceramics studio assistant. Now whenever something I didn't plan happens I know the piece will be special. In this case I took an oil pastel and drew something, didn't like it and used water based materials on top of it. This created a vein like effect underneath the skin of the figure.



Another happy accident is the figure highlighted in this painting. I sketched her from a Lucian Freud painting while I was collecting visual data of different kinds of body-types. In my monoprint class I ended up trying to make a print from my drawing. It failed but I liked the plate I used. This particular process is a xerox transfer process, so the photo copy of the chosen image is the plate.



Underneath this woman is a quick sketch of a framed portrait of a man in a top hat. I didn't like where that was going (I have tried to insert him before, he is a perfect voyeur for my subjects, yet he never seems works out).


I have this piece hanging next to the area where I am painting in my apartment (look below). Mary Cassatt was a huge influence on my life growing up. My parents did a wonderful job of throwing me into the art world when I was very young. My family has a special love for Cassatt, not only because of her beautiful artwork, but also because she pioneered the path that my mother and I are now (and have been) walking.



I had to share how physically overwhelmed my living space is with ART. I will be hanging most of it a week from tomorrow at Flourish Studios. Wish me luck!