New Work! + Jen Sbragia

Stop the presses! Hold the phone!

I've made a few new little paintings (or drawings, or whatever you want to call them). These were all made with graphite pencil and acrylic paint as the eraser/ghost maker. I am thinking of these grisailles as my ghosts and would like to make a series of them, houses and people... for my solo show coming up at Betty's in May? Maybe title it "Haunted"? Or something.

Anyway. The work:


Ghost (1), mixed media on paper, 11" x 14", 2010.



Ghost (2), mixed media on wood, about 3" x 4", 2010.

These are obviously not the best photos—I took them while sitting in the parking lot of Big Orbit Gallery, where I was bringing them to submit to this year's members show. Always last minute, I am. But I got stuff done, and it felt great to be making art again.

Then there is the third "ghost". It's bordering on cheesy, I guess, sitting there at the dining room table making drawings of dead (and beloved and missed) rock stars. This one is Elliott Smith. I can't believe it's been almost seven years since his death! I always thought he had the best face and hair, I've been wanting to paint him for a long time. This was a fun little project to work on, and I'm happy with how it turned out. I think I will hang him in my bedroom.




Close up


Framed, with Nico the cat nosing around

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Finally, since we're almost out of January and the thrill of the new year has all but passed, here is the lovely card that yet another inspiring, talented friend who is also an amazing musician and artist, Jen Sbragia, made! I'm almost certain it is stenciled and it is just so simple and cool. (My other friend that fits that bill is Tae Won Yu, who in addition to being an amazing artist and designer, was also in the band Kicking Giant in the heyday of 90s indie rock.) Jen, if you didn't know, was pretty famous back then, too, as one half of aptly-named The Softies and now of the All-Girl Summer Fun Band.




Funny, I seem to remember a fun photo of Elliott and The Softies that maybe Tae even took himself? But I can't find it anywhere. Too bad—that really would have tied this whole post together, yeah?

Anyway, I am so lucky to have cool friends like these who still send me cool stuff after all these years. Thank you for the encouragement and support and inspiration!!!

Never-before seen

I just got photos of these paintings sent from Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, NH, where they have been living since the beginning of August, when they were included in their annual Landscape Show. They'll be coming back to me eventually (unless they sell, of course), but they asked to keep them for a while longer. Stupid me, in a mad rush before I delivered them to the gallery, neglected to document them, write down dimensions, anything! Bad, bad practice indeed, and won't ever happen again. Anyway, it was almost like Christmas when I received the photos yesterday. I'd forgotten how nice they were (if I say so myself!). Hope you enjoy them, too!


Little Red, 12" x 18", acrylic on canvas, 2009.


Big Red, 18" x 24", acrylic on canvas, 2009.


Things We Lost, 36" x 24", acrylic on canvas, 2009.

In other news, I submitted my application to the NYFA Fellowship, cutting it close to the deadline! I've applied several times in the past; maybe this will be my lucky year! Of course, I have a long wait to find out... not until April 2010 or so. It's going to be a loooong winter...

I also have another thing up my sleeve but can't talk about it. It's an exciting prospect, though! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Wow: Sunny

Going through my daily reads (see sidebar), on which incidentally I had gotten a bit behind, I found this incredible artist via the most awesome Dear Ada blog. Her name is Sunny Belliston, and just holy cow! Her skill and versatility bowl me over; I love her sense of color and contrast especially. Check it out!





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In more personal art news, I am very pleased to announce that I have been invited to participate in a group show at Nahcotta in Portsmouth, NH in August. I'll be including six of my house paintings (all new, most likely, including some NH houses if I am lucky on my next trip there in June).

Need to get painting!

Catch-up

I haven't much new to report or show you, but since my last post announcing that my website had some meat, I wanted to tell you that everything that I wanted to get up, including galleries, is up! What a great feeling... I can't tell you how long I've been saying, "I've got to get a website up, I've got to get a website up..." and just never followed through. I'm so pleased that I finally made it happen and now have a one stop shop to direct people toward. I think this will call for some new business cards, while I am thinking about it... hmmm...

And just so I don't leave you with nothing to look at, may I present to you one of the lovely, poor, abandoned houses I found this past weekend? I found so much inspiration and can't wait to get back in the studio to paint!


On Route 20, somewhere between Alden and Avon, NY.

Inspiration

Yesterday I went back to the museum where my current show is hanging. I had set up an informal Q & A session for those who didn't make it to the opening — nothing official, just a Facebook-invite sort of thing. No one ended up coming, which was OK since I live just literally a few minutes away, but I made good use of the time, wandering around and having second looks at things, both in my exhibition and in the other areas of the museum. I took photos because there were a few things I really wanted to remember — though for shame, I didn't take down the names of the artists on a few. Anyway, here's what I saw and really liked.


(Self-portrait in a Rauschenburg)


(One of my all-time favorite painters, Alice Neel)


(I love this beautiful wooden sculpture... need to find out who the artist is)


(Ah, Jed Jackson!)


(Ralston Crawford)


(SO gorgeous! Phillip Elliott)

I think it is interesting to see what art really grabs me, seeing it in a group like this, and comparing the group to my own art — not that I am saying my work compares to the work of these artists, just looking at individual elements: color, composition, concept, things like that.

On another kind of inspiration, a beautiful abandoned house I'll be painting in the near future. This one was just off Niagara St. near downtown, Buffalo, NY.





I'm sitting here trying not be gloomy about the impending Monday morning that will be upon us soon! A little cheer, perhaps.

Something I've been thinking about

Drifting around on the internets one day not long ago, I came across a blogger who was making a Dear Jane quilt. What, you ask, is a Dear Jane quilt? Well, there's not exactly a short answer, but in nutshell it's a quilt that lots of folk have been making based on the design of one made originally by one Jane Stickle in 1863.

See?

I've always been interested in handcrafts like sewing, knitting, and quilting. This quilt is really gnawing at my craw for some reason. It's a project, when undertaken, will occupy its maker for years to come. Yet I really want to get the book and become engrossed in the whole online community that surrounds it.

Unfortunately, there's no way I could fit it in, not really. Then again... doing one little patch at a time, one or two a month while I'm sitting watching TV or something? I could just make it a process, a lifetime endeavor which I never really plan to finish...

In the meantime I need to get cranking on some house paintings. I've been seeing many lovely candidates out in my daily travels that I need to photograph and bring into the studio. I am trying to stay focused on those houses that are run-down, or totally abandoned, but I have also been drawn to houses that may not really be run-down but just a little tattered, but with interesting lines, or lines that I have a hard time finding beauty in. And not just houses! I am noticing so much more "regular" architecture than ever before. I need to take a photo trip one of these weekends.

In the meantime, there is this poor little house that I would love to buy and take care of. She's my next muse.