berkeley - painted on the back porch today. brian was good enough to take large format shots of my last painting - so I finally made use of my "home studio" paint set. I've hijacked enough of the tubes for davis, that I was left with a limited earthy palette. A reminder of old favorites. Reverting to past format (local landscape spread between multi-mini canvases) brought some new sensibilities into relief. Quicker to get paint on the canvas; Judicious with shwoopy (painterly) brushstrokes; Editorialized easily for goal; Keep the subject texture in mind. This is a first pass on my backyard. Like using each panel as a clue to one other, without having obvious line-up points. Once they were going, its fun to look at them mixed up - sky, window, branch, and gutter. To do a reasonable job, I need to find a space that would hold my interest for 50 panels.
The weekend Brian and I crossed the bridge west to participate in the Marin Arts Fair. My booth was near the stilt-walker section of the grounds so we got to see a band of modern gypsies transform into corset wearing long-legged clowns, dragons,and sunflowers. The children were face-painted and costumed as well, and danced and played at the end of ribbon-leashes held by an adult. Their camp was articulated by the modern caravan of Dodge Sprinter vans and Prius cars. After the make up came off, the kids wrestled in the grass and sang.
We were literally facing the music, so both days started with Tico drumming and mellowed into afternoon guitar or banjo.
On the art-end, it was a change to hear from the Marin crowd. They are not used to seeing the Bay from the East, so had difficulty identifying where my big Berkeley (grizzly peak-ish view) was from. At Live Oak Park, most visitors were filled with local pride and recognition of a good spot. Marin elicited more puzzled looks and questions. My decision to leave out the Golden Gate bridge was more controversial here than in Berkeley. Some were excited or amused by my attention to simple objects, and some excited to see brush-stroke activity on the canvas. After a speedy tour of the grounds, I see how this could be a novelty amid booths of flowers, fruits, and seasides floating on smooth canvas.
When I consider my hopes and expectations for this summer's fairs, they were all met - I gave out cards, met new folks, and nothing fell down or took flight in a stiff breeze. I ate well, had great company, and met some folks that I hope will turn into good future friends.
The Marin event was 3 times larger and more commercial than last weekend - both by the type of product and in the way it was put together. The shiny white-peaked tent tops were quite nice (Bri got a lot of cool pix of them). And the location was stellar, next to a big lagoon. Lunch was a mean portabella sandwich and hand scooped ice cream for dessert. Highlights included seeing some family and friends I haven't caught up with for a while.
Along with all the good vibes, I returned home super-tired and with a feeling of uncertainty. I guess I am a gypsy as well, seeking the right white walls and crowd to show to. For now, all I can do is make more work and keep moving around, looking for the perfectly placed wedge of pegboard or empty walls under track lighting.
Project of the day is to reclaim the living room from the piles of plastic boxes full of art goods and return the van. I spent a good hour at Andronico's and treated myself to delicious snacks, a jug of superfood juice, and the ingredients for good baking.
Not sure if I will cross the Bay again next year -- I will wait for a few more nights good sleep to decide.
I can stop stalking my mailbox for academic letterhead and favorable replies. The final results are in from my MFA apps. I made it into exactly half of my schools (2.5 yesses, .5= wait list). The greatest shock is that I'll be migrating south. I've grown up in Northern Californian (have the palid complexion to prove it) so the southern part of my state remains a mystery.
The Prius was loaded up again for another road trip of visits.
School candidates are Laguna College of Art and Design, and Cal State Long Beach. In many ways the programs are opposites - LCAD, a small private school focused on representational & figurative art, and CSU Long Beach, a supersized art department with lots of interdisciplinary possibilities and facilities.
Considering how different the programs are, I thought my decision would be easy. However, they both seem good in different ways.
I took as many pictures as I could to aid with my meditation.
The Brewery pix are from the location where LCAD hosts their classes in LA, and the gallery shots are some spots where LCAD teachers are showing or grads have their shows.
LA MFA and Gallery Visit Pix
Lots of sunshine and good art all around. I am just beginning to wrap my mind around what it will mean to leave the East Bay for three years. and what it could be like to paint intensely over that span.
Our house is already filling with bubble wrap and tape as we start to clean house for the move.
The return to office supplies as still life subjects was prompted by recent grad school applications. A primary goal is to beef up my representational skills. But, it will take months to find out if I am accepted, can afford to move & pay for school, etcetera. So I've opted to take matters into my own hands.
I will practice rendering forms and shadow shapes. I will use non-fictional colors. And I will love it.
Both aesthetically and practically I've never tired of the binder clip. In the years since I've left my proofreading job, I have few opportunities to combine over 5 pieces of paper, but I still keep a tray of the little guys around just in case. I pride myself on maintaining a variety of clip sizes and selecting the proper capacity for each task. They've demonstrated their continued utility by acting as an affordable display mount for unframed drawings. I like their dark interior, their hooks and curls, and their near symmetry. A perfect subject of contemplation in my academic practice.
The first few clip paintings of were fun. Chunky little representations of bent metal. Tried to show the clip as a noble, standalone element. Shadows were shaded, backgrounds gradiated. I let them tighten up to try to master the reflections and shape. But painting number four surprised me. I wiped down the brushes to clean up for the day, when I decided to get a jump start with a final sketch. I rotated the clip this way and that, and settled here, clamp side facing the viewer, handles spread like wings.
On the final blank canvas, charcoal went down quickly. Then some quick washes followed by the blocking in colors. Before I knew it, some neat stuff emerged, cool blue background blending into ochre, bright warm red marked by a fissure of browns and blues.
I was painting with the mentality that I had to rush out the door at any second, but was sucked into the process. Unintentionally the clip became red instead of the blue I'd used for its predecessors. I broke rules, fictionalized shadows, scribbles and scratched into the paint, let the canvas show through in patches. The result? a painting I was excited enough to bring home wet in the car, and place on the fireplace mantle like an unexpected "a" on a report card.
This effort marks everything I love about painting - energetic, frantic work, laced with discoveries about how to paint a subject by figuring out where to bend some rules in order to convey a truth.
Due to the gracious gifting of Aunt Linda, I am trying my hand at painting on linen. Till now, I've worked with cotton canvas, and considered the tan colored cousin for a distant project only. So, yay for new materials.
I've already dug in, starting some new office supply still lifes. I've been contemplating the binder clip for some time, and finally mustered the resolve to tackle portraits of this fine little tool.
While working, I am contemplating the support. Painter's lore says linen lasts much longer than other fabrics, and once you paint on it you will *never* want to revert to lesser materials. Reminded me of other great mysteries of life which must be experienced to be understood: eating fresh sushi, pumpkin pie made from real pumpkin, and singing karaoke in front of other people. But, after a couple days of work, I haven't caught the magic under-brush. Hm, perhaps I will detect something when I make it up to a larger swath of material.
But, the true benefit is that its prettier. The backside of each canvas is a warm tan color, woven tightly, with little textural variations throughout. It makes me want to leave more fabric viewable in the final painting, allowing the texture to become an important part of work rather than something to be obscured in pigment.
