More about Portland Art Center's fund raiser...

Delivered my panel to PAC today and took the opportunity to walk around and check out the few pieces that were already there. Lots and lots of interesting stuff, you can tell many people were experimenting. Some of my favorite artists are participating, so I'm hoping everything would be hung by Tuesday afternoon and I can check things out after I deliver my pieces for the print show at City Hall. Although my guess is that the big names will already be sold even by then.

The title I finally decided on -- On the Edge of Her Seat She Watches. I wanted to play up the tension between the bird sitting there so calmly while there's all this commotion swirling around her. The blue magnolia didn't need any more attention drawn to it.

Exchanged the frames I got yesterday for something much nicer and framed up Trixie the Poetry Car and The Mysterious Gift Horse for the City Hall show. Haven't heard back from there regarding having someone else 'table' for me on Thursday. I guess I'll find out when I find out.

Portland Art Center fundraiser piece, day...n

I uploaded the photo from yesterday, but now I don't see it; not sure what happened. But here's the photo from today, the finished piece:



As far as title, I can't decide whether to go with 'Blue Magnolia' or 'Ruins', or maybe something else all together. 'Ruins' was kind of what I had in mind from early on, back when it was still on paper. I had the sense that it was an abandoned/burnt out building, but the magnolia tree had come back and was blooming. Here, on the panel, I don't so much have the sense of something abandoned/burnt a while ago, but rather, it's in the middle of the process of falling apart now.

See this entry for day n-2.

Went to the frame shop and found 2 ready made frames the right size, already fitted with uv conservation glass. Goodies, I thought. Brought them home and started framing, and realized that the frames were plastic! I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it, and decided to return them, which I shall do tomorrow.

Ahhhh, blissful day...

...of painting. After doing the MUCH needed grocery shopping in the morning, I spent the rest of the day working on the PAC piece. I did take a photo, but then worked on it a lot more, and decided to not bother uploading the photo for tonight. I am making good progress, although it's still not finished, which I was hoping it would be by tonight. Tomorrow is the absolute last day as it's due back on Sat. So game plan for tomorrow -- frame shop first, then back into the studio to finish.

The Random Movie tonight was Enchanted, a lovely, lovely, lovely fairy tale...sigh...makes this Ferry Tale Princess want to Sing and Dance around the room, IF ONLY MY PRINCE WOULD, TOO!

Portland Art Center fundraiser piece

With the fundraiser piece due back at PAC this Saturday, I've procrastinated until just about the last moment on this, as usual. Last I left off, this was what it was like. After running some errands early afternoon, I came back to the studio and started working on it again.

Here it is, part way through the afternoon. It's acrylic, and I had to use the camera flash, so the glare.



And here's by early evening. Doesn't look like a big change, between the two, but as each piece goes along, it takes longer and longer to do anything, for a couple of reasons—1) making a mistake becomes more costly, and 2) you start to work on the more subtle or minute details that are harder to see. Again, glare.



And I'm now thinking that the red across the magnolia is a mistake. I guess I'll sleep on it and see how it looks in the daylight.

I do like it better than the original drawing, which you can see here and here in its previous incarnation.

Printing with food, and THAT magnolia drawing

Remember the magnolia drawing? It never went anywhere, so now it's all cut up into pieces and being used for a good cause.

I'm participating in the Portland Art Center's December Fundraiser in which some 300 2'x2' panels were distributed to artists to complete and return to the Center for a December show & sale. I started working on my panel on Monday. Here it is -- a basic under-painting in acrylic in magenta, orange and raw siena. And while that's still wet, I drew into it with compressed charcoal and wiped it with my hands (the white spots are the gesso underneath showing through). I just picked up the magnolia seed pod at random, it was hanging around in my studio in a clear vase. I looked up while I was looking around for something to draw, and there it was.

I just drew until the paint dried, which didn't take very long.



Then I realized that I had that magnolia drawing sitting around. So here it is, cut up and collaged onto the board.



Here's a detail of the bottom. I always like these close-up shots of flowers, they can be so striking. But on the other hand, I also lose interest in them pretty quickly, there's just not a whole lot there for me to keep coming back.



Since the drawing is pastel, and these pieces will not be under glass, the pastel parts need to be laminated, which is what I'm doing now. So pictures of that tomorrow.

The Print With Your Food class last night was a lot of fun, despite that we only had 2 people. And actually, I'm not sure that there was room for more, once we spread out all the food stuff on the table. So here's 'the spread' -- I brought all the successful results, puff pastry, apple slices, lunch meats, milano cookies, fig newtons, mini pancakes, and the students brought crepes and tortillas. To print, I brought the nutella, peanut butter, sour cream, hershey's syrup, ketchup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar.

(Four of the printed items are under the Witness Protection Program, so they have been blurred in this photograph.)



Another shot of the table. Two still under the WPP. No, clicking on the photograph won't get you a clearer picture.

The First Emperor

The bulk of the day was taken up with Chinese breakfast with 60 people and then attending The First Emperor simulcast with hundreds! The Met opera got a scathing review in both the NYT and The New Yorker, but it seems like everyone at the theater audience enjoyed it. I certainly liked it quite a bit. Domingo really didn't have that big of a role, considering how Tan Dun was making a big deal out of writing an opera for him.

On Constant Snacking -- the molding paste was not yet dry on the hand so I couldn't do the other side. I did do the 7 cookies and they should dry over night.

On the magnolia drawing -- I added a bird (Sally, your observer!).



And I think I'll crop it down a bit. I'll sleep on it. This is starting to feel like stumbling upon an abandoned home site that has been taken over by plants and wild life.

No, it's not finished

And no, I haven't a clue what I'm trying to do.

OK, Sunday night, time to deal with the to-do list. Last week's list:

1) Take the violin to the shop.
2) Try the Lenox with the plexi.
3) Finish the magnolia drawing.
4) Finish Byzantium, Faith & Power.

Did everything except 3) finish the magnolia drawing. I did also do a lot of stuff not on the list though, mostly leg work for the book arts show in March, and now possibly helping to put together the Abu Ghraib prisoners prints/wc show. Started a new book (German Expressionism), and did the Jan gallery walk (well, haven't seen Froelick and Augen, which I will see this week).

This week looks super busy, my calendar is full of writing. So here's a not too difficult list for the week:

1) Deal with insurance for skylights.
2) Finish magnolia drawing.
3) And most importantly, start laying out and mocking up the shadows book. I have some of the text done, but still have more text to incorporate.

Just drawing

I haven't drawn for a long time, maybe for a couple of years, and tonight I suddenly got the urge to draw. Probably because both paintings are stalled and I'm still in the experimental stage with the book project. So tonight, I dug out my pastels and started this drawing. Not sure what it's about. I picked out something from a clip art book (the one on the left) and just started working intuitively.



Once I got going though, I started to work in the dream from last night. I dreamed that our house was connected to our neighbors house. When you looked out the window of our house, you saw a stone wall; but if you walked next door, you saw a highway. And if you walked out the backdoor, you were in this really lush garden. I also dreamed that I told my mother that I had a dream of my father sitting on a chair, and a snake came out of the cushions. The snake had 2 arms; it walked to the backdoor, looked at me, and opened the door and walked into the garden. Huh?

Anyhow, about the book -- I got a sheet of Stonehenge to try with the plexi, and I don't like it as much as the BFK. It's slightly lighter weight, and personally I just like the feel of BFK better. Although the difference in weight is very minor, Stonehenge is 245mg/sq. meter and BFK is 250mg/sq. meter, it feels lighter to the hand. I still need to try printing on Stonehenge and see how it takes the ink. I know BFK doesn't gocco all that well without dampening, and that's kind of a drag. I was also going to try Lenox, which I completely forgot about tonight, so will do that tomorrow.

Spent part of the day putting together Mike's b-day party -- booked the room at Wong's King & sent out the invitation. I'll need to go in to drop off the deposit tomorrow.