temporary art . . .

Last Tuesday I got out my sidewalk chalk and a few of my pastels to join our local community in a day of sidewalk chalk art on Main Street. I did a quick reproduction of Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’, a detail of the face.

I have always liked the lines in Botticelli’s work. It was fun to try to imitate his style in such a temporary medium.

march was . . .

Happy Valentine’s Day

Getting Organized

My work space has two identities. It is a mild mannered sewing space by day and a wild and crazy artist’s studio by night. Well actually it was just becoming a wild and crazy mess. Sewing tools, art supplies, fabric, paint, boxes and canvas everywhere. Nothing had a home and I finally got sick of it. Every time I got things remotely organized it would implode on itself with every new project. So I bit the bullet and took a trip to IKEA. Thank you IKEA zero percent interest. I am so delighted with my new and improved work space that I could just squeal with delight, or do a dance or something.

While I know that these before and after pictures will probably not excite you as much as the do me, I am sure you will at least be somewhat impressed with the transformation. Now I just want to work and work and work. I love it in my studio so much!

Here is the mess before I got organized with some new shelves and a wardrobe from IKEA.

*

*

And this is what it looks like now:

*

*

*

I love it!

DNA is so pretty

*

I have an ongoing obsession with chromosomes.  What began a while back as a focus on the letter X turned into a study on chromosomes, particularly the ones that determine gender. Each chromosome individually is delicate and graceful, like an character from an Asian language. Yet when grouped together they become orderly and organized. The completed image takes on the sensibility of a plate from a vintage biology text.

playing with my crayons

. . . a quick crayon sketch of Natalia.

anatomical heart

So, today I’m working on some pieces involving images of anatomical hearts. I cut out a stencil. There is something about the ability to repeat an image that has always appealed to me. There are many ways to create a repeatable image.  Techniques such as lithography or block printing are relatively universally respected art forms. Yet, when I cut a stencil or perhaps chop a potato into a stamp why am I suddenly doing arts and crafts? . . . Well, I’m not baby! I’m making art. And while there are surely countless stencils sitting complacently on the shelves of Martha Stewart and others. My stencils hang out with the other art supplies. In fact, my stencil’s best friend is an exacto knife. If that little stencil has the guts to hang with sharp blades, I think it really deserves to be taken seriously.

Well for now I’ll get off my little soapbox (until next time, when I lecture on the artistic merits of googly eyes and pipe cleaners) . . . for now I’ll show you what I’ve been working on.

This piece is just 8 by 10 inches, so it is pretty small. But I plan to incorporate the heart image into some larger paintings, too. I like the crisp lines that stencils can create. There is a flatness to a stenciled image, too. It is kind of fun and commercial. I’ll do some more of these little ones, too, in some other color combinations.

*

Capturing some Moab Retro

It was a busy weekend. I had fun in Moab painting for the art auction at the Mystery dinner theater. I decided to tie the art to the location and chose two local Moab landmarks to depict in my paintings. I did one painting of a girl at Milt’s, a small 50’s Diner of sorts. The other painting was of a girl at Moab’s Apache Motel, a place so kitschy you’ve just got to love it. The Apache’s claim to fame is that John Wayne stayed there. They even have a suite named after him.

*

Moab’s Art Walk is Saturday night

I’ll be in Moab tomorrow night for the November Art Walk. Some of my paintings will be on display at the MARC (Moab Arts and Recreation Center). Here are some pictures of one of the paintings that will be on display.  It is called ‘Yellow House’.

*

*

November Events

I am excited to have been invited to be a participating artist in the Quick Draw Art Auction. It takes place in Moab on the evenings of November 21st and 22nd. The event is part of a Mystery Dinner Theatre that is hosted by the MARC (Moab Arts and Recreation Center). It is a fundraiser for the MARC. The art that is created during the performance is then auctioned off at the end of the evening.  Thus the name, “Quick Draw Art Auction”. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

Right now I am working on a series called “The Flying Boy and the Girl”. They involve a boy with mechanical wings. Think Davinci, and sketches for flying machines. He is friends with a girl. Vague, I know, but I am having fun with it. So far the paintings use a lot of vivid reds and pale aqua blues. The two paintings pictured above are part of a group of paintings that work together to create a larger image.

I plan for the paintings for the art auction to be along this theme. I will also be showing a select few pieces from the collection in the MARC’s gallery during November and December. So look for me at the November 8th Art Walk in Moab, too.