Abstract Art Blog

California Dreamin'

We just got back from five days in California, where we celebrated a granddaughter's Batmitzvah.  It is always a tonic for my eyes to embrace California landscapes after seeing nothing but the northeast for so many months.  We managed to get to Santa Cruz for one day, driving from Los Gatos through the mountains to get to the beach. 

In Los Gatos we stopped in at the Linda Durnell Gallery where we saw some exciting abstract art. I'm sorry I didn't take notes because now I can't remember the artists' names, and the gallery website doesn't describe their current show.  If you want to check it out, however, many of their artists have work on the site: lindadurnellgallery.com.

When I got back, I had to get a giclee print on canvas ready for shipping:

   Sun Rising, 30" x 40"

Now I just need to adjust to east coast time again.

Revisiting Two Paintings

Last year I had painted two mostly green canvases, each 24" x 24".  At the time they seemed as finished as I could make them, but their images continued to haunt me.  I am not used to painting in this small size, and often have difficulty coming up with something that works for it.

Recently I got them both out and decided to have some fun with them.  Here are the originals:

Choose Life One, 24" x 24"

  Choose Life Two, 24" x 24"

Here is how they look after I revisted them:

  Choose Life One, 24" x 24"

  Choose Life Two, 24" x 24"

Painting a Series

In my last group of paintings I worked on a series which began with one painting called Culmination.  In the series, I used a similar method of preparing the backgrounds, then drawing circles and filling them in, and finally drawing a leaf pattern and filling it in.  Each layer is somewhat transluscent, allowing the previous layers to show through:

  Canvas #42 40" x 40"

  Canvas #41  44" x 44"

  Patchouli 30" x 30"

  Earth Songs  40" x 40"

I had to go back several times and change the shade of color I used in each of these, until I felt the blend was right. 

My Two Passions: Art and Writing

Shouldn't it be, "art and literature," not "art and writing"?  Or perhaps "making art and literature."  But that sounds too egotistical, as if by the mere act of "writing," one were making "literature."  In the visual arts we have eliminated the separation between "fine art" and "crafts," haven't we?

Maybe not.  I knew exactly when I crossed that line in the 1970s when I started a leather-craft business making belts and handbags for sale at craft shows, and then automated a little bit and hired employees in order to sell through retail stores.  I knew I was no longer making fine art.

Is the difference in the artist's intention, or in the unique quality of items made?  If each creation is one-of-a-kind, then we are more likely to call it fine art.  Yet, that doesn't really resolve the issue.

When I was going to college and art school in the early 1960s, these questions were important.  An artist was a priest of sorts, who could help us transcend this mundane life.  Or an interpreter of culture, who could help us understand our position in it.  Anyone who was simply making pretty pictures was an "amateur" or "Sunday painter."

The act of writing seems less fraught with this tension.  One writes in private for months or years, and it is only upon publication that the question of literature comes up.  And today there are many outlets for publication (internet journals and magazines, blogs, print-on-demand publishing, etc.) besides traditional publishing houses.  Having an audience who reads what we write is often gratifying enough without an official critic's blessing.

A Year of Making Art, Day 351: Folk Art Americana at Mary Shelley's House

April 5, 2008  Day 351

Last night Adrian and I went to an open house at folk artist Mary Shelley's house/gallery in downtown Ithaca.  It was amazing to see so many of her works together, each one strengthening the effect of the others.  Mary does relief carvings in wood and then paints them with acrylics.  Her subjects are often diners, farming, and other regional subjects from upstate New York.  Mary has an impressive resume, with works at the Smithsonian, the Fennimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and the National Museum of Women and the Arts in Washington, DC.  If you haven't seen her work yet, take a look at her website:  Mary Shelley Folk Art.

Going out to see Mary's art rejuvenated me, and I got past yesterday's depression.  Today I feel great, especially since I finally got to paint again after a long pause for renovations to my studio.

I worked on the backgrounds of three paintings, but in the third one, I tried a more structured and thoughtful background than I usually make:

  Canvas #38  44" x 44"

Before that, I made my drawing for the day with blue/green and purple waves going across the horizontal plane:

  Drawing #358  14" x 11"

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 331: Visiting Local Galleries

March 16, 2008  Day 331

Yesterday afternoon we went to some local art galleries.  We enjoyed the annual juried photo show at the State of the Art Gallery.  Laura's husband, Jim Kirsner, is a photographer, so he was interested in the variety of techniques displayed.

Next we went to Belle Melange, a relatively new gallery in Ithaca.  There we were impressed with works by Mary Shelley and Kim Schrag.  Kim is an abstract artist who paints in intense colors, so naturally I was attracted to her work.  Fernando Llosa, another favorite, was also exhibiting at Belle Melange.

Today is a Sunday, so we slept in and I got a late start.  That's fine, because I've been too tense lately and need to slow down.  In my drawing this morning I started with black, but soon moved freely into more color:

Drawing #338  14" x 11"

Tomorrow I am shipping the original painting of "I Fancy":

  I Fancy 40" x 40"

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 330: Mark Dion at Bertram's Garden

March 15, 2008  Day 330

For this morning's drawing I made a black-and-white minimalist sketch:

  Drawing #337  14" x 11"

Recently I received a notice about installation artist Mark Dion's project for Bartram's Garden--America's oldest botanical research garden.  I was offered "promotional materials that would be useful to you and/or your staff of writers interested in this project."  Wow, it must be great to have a staff on board to help you promote your art.

Unfortunately, I have no staff whatsoever and have to make the art, photograph it, write about it, update my website, and do all the marketing/promotional/bookkeeping work myself.  That's the case for most artists today.  The lucky few have a staff.

However, I don't mind putting in a little plug for Mark: you can check out his project at MarkDionsBartramsTravels.com.

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 322: Young at Art

March 6, 2008  Day 322

Today is Blixy's birthday.  We'll celebrate it tomorrow, a Friday, by going to gallery night downtown and then out to dinner.

I just spent an hour and a half with a young artist who wanted to pick my brain about marketing his art, and especially, getting into galleries.  Somehow, I find myself exhausted at the end of our session.  While I was talking to him, I felt an excitement at his prospects--a young artist finding his way in the art world.  He seemed to have so much energy and enthusiasm, both for his art and the enterprise of marketing it.

Most artists in this country do not make a living by selling their art.  They teach or apply their creative skills to commercial careers in industrial or fabric design, advertising, and so forth.  Some have day jobs totally unrelated to their art.  Yet it is every artist's dream to eventually find a way to live by making fine art.

My drawing today is about texture.  I thought of the "ovals" and "push-pulls" we were required to pen years ago in grammar school:

  Drawing #328  11" x 14"

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 318: Exhibition Photos

March 2, 2008  Day 318

Today I was determined to finish going through everything in my studio in preparation for the construction work that will happen soon.  In addition to lots of junk to throw out and give away, I found a cache of old drawings and some photos from exhibitions I'd been in years ago:

  Hartley Gallery, Winter Park, Florida

   Lynne at Hartley Gallery

  Hartley Gallery

  Lynne at Div. of Cultural Affairs Gallery, Tallahassee, FL

The process of sorting through all my stuff was emotionally and physically exhausting, but I finally finished, and then did my drawing for the day:

  Drawing #324  11" x 14"

Now I am beat and need to relax.

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 280: Giving Up One Painting to Gain Another

January 24, 2008 Day 280

I am writing my art blog on my new Imac for the first time today. I don't quite have all the files from my old computer transferred yet, but I have been making progress. It has been very frustrating and I was sure I'd made a huge mistake for a while there, but now I think it will all work out OK.

In my drawing this morning I used calligraphy pens in shades from yellow through red to purple, adding some final lines with a coffee-colored brown:

Drawing #286 14" x 11"

Then I worked on Canvas #32 again. From certain angles, I loved this painting the way it was, but that wasn't enough reason not to give it up for a new version. I felt I'd lost too much light, and drew thin lines across the canvas in unbleached titanium in order to get some of it back. After that, I used a pale blue wash to soften the lines and cover up some of the dark blue. A little more touch-up with sienna, and I ended up with this:

Canvas #32 step 1

Canvas #32 step 2

Canvas #32 step 3

Canvas #32 36" x 36" step 4

(Note: There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)