semi-impressionist
Next Entries »VAST 125 Mile Exhibition
Monday, June 30th, 2008
White Pine Bows, 20H x 34W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, trim frame, just accepted into the 125 Mile Exhibition July 24th – August 15, 2008 presented by VAST in partnership with the Department of Visual Arts at Texas Women’s University (TWU).
Opening Reception on July 31st, 2008 5:30p.m. – 7:30p.m. July 31st, 2008 at the TWU Arts and Sciences Building, Denton, TX.
Post-dated note: Sold in 2010.
Sun Shower 04 update
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
Sun Shower 04 work in progress, June 19th after a layer of white wash; white diluted with matte medium, then am giving the whole surface a layer of streaks of masking medium to bring all that texture out again that was there at the start. Tomorrow will start another painting and study this one before going back into it. My husband said this morning “Uh-oh Nik, you’re losing control of it”. He’s not an artist and rarely comments on paintings, but he sees things that I don’t. He saw exactly what I was starting to feel about the work. More accurately, I was starting to take too much control.
June 19th June 17th
Sun Shower 04
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
May 30th: Today I’m starting to remove miles of rubberized masking medium. It’s so exciting to unravel the results; they look a little like Batik, where wax or resist is applied then removed.
Sunshower 04, 49 x 85 x 3 inches acrylics on canvas. 29th: Starting to build thin layers of acrylics, gel medium and water. As previously posted, when painting is all finished I plan to remove all of the masking medium and reveal the original colors underneath. Paint catching on the textured surface gives the look of 3D raindrops…very interesting, and in retrospect I don’t know why it wasn’t obvious that this would occur.
I was mostly thinking ahead about the atmosphere and negative spaces. There are so many things that you can’t anticipate or put into a plan, that you only discover by doing, even the obvious. As the painting changes you have to keep changing your plan along with it. Preconceived ideas are a must, but you have to be willing to let go of some and stay open to others. This is what I love so much about painting..how one thing leads to another; planning and surprises working together. Now this will have multidimensional surface of every grade from watercolor-like washes to thick applications of paint.
May 28th: Anxious to finish placing the raindrop patterns and get to painting the light rays. The next layers of paint will resist those raindrop areas. I’m usually content to go with the flow, following how the painting gradually comes together. With this painting I have to think ahead, visualize, and plan the completed piece more than usual. As the canvas fills in more with the resist, mark-making is more strategic. I can’t wait to see how it will look when the resist is removed.
May 26th: …am on the third bottle of masking medium. Soon the surface will be ready to start painting light and dark sun rays, layering color washes of acrylics and gel medium.
May 23rd: As I fill in with streaks of masking medium to block off areas of rain, progress is slow because of the painting’s size, but I work a little on it every day. Toothpicks keep breaking, and my hand gets cramped and numb after a few hours, so I bought some of the smallest paper pencils usually used for smudging graphite, and those are working out much better. I devised a sort of brush with a few toothpicks taped to a brush handle, but this is awkward to use, and there is not much control over mark placement. One streak at a time.
White Pine Bows
Friday, April 18th, 2008
White Pine Bows, 20H x 34W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. (sold 2010)
Some paintings take a long time and change dramatically from start to finish. Others have a clear direction and seem to flow out in a day, as this one did.
Post-dated note: showcased in Visual Arts Society of Texas’ 125 Show July 24th – August 15, 2008.
Also, Debby Davis a local Denton TX poet wrote a poem inspired by the White Pine Bows painting
Bouncing branch to bough within stiff white pines,
finding my eyes uplifted; what a show!
Violinist gently pulls; taut bow whines.
Bouncing branch to bough within stiff white pines,
like the beat of an orchestra playing.
Violinist gently pulls; taut bow whines
raining harmonies; colors displaying.
Like the beat of an orchestra playing,
my thumping heart strings tug me into now!
raining harmonies; colors displaying,
I am an audience of one somehow.
My thumping heart strings tug me into now!
It is the secret that only I shall know.
I am an audience of one somehow.
Fragile notes fracture light into rainbow.
Rocky Mountain Vista finished
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Rocky Mountain Vista 48H x 24W x 2D inches, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, detail images.
Left: Complete image. Paintings that are proportionately longer than wider don’t photograph well or show impressively on screen, so this has been split into three separate detail images.
Progress on Rocky Mountain Vista
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
Rocky Mountain Vista, 48H x 24W inches acrylics on canvas after one more day of work, still in progress and almost finished.
Rocky Mountain Vista started
Monday, April 7th, 2008
Started last night, work in progress: Rocky Mountain Vista 48 x 24 inches acrylics on stretched canvas.
Dandelions In the Tulips
Friday, October 19th, 2007
Dandelions in the Tulips, 16 x 20 inches acrylics on canvas with maple wood frame stained dark with red trim design, total size 22H x 28W inches. Available with or without the frame.
Simply “Tulips” as a title would have been too obvious. Dandelions are persistent. Likewise, I’m pleased to have persevered through the course of painting this one; it went through many changes and I learned a lot. Gradual build-up of textures and colors, layers of piling on, scrubbing off and reapplying paint — those parts show through. Painting with pure color in Firewheels, plus grey scale drawing earlier this year really contributed to finding a way to finish this painting. Next two thumbnails show phases of work in progress:
