Something Old

I took this figure study out of it's old frame today to reframe it for an upcoming figurative show at Aucocisco Gallery. I will also be showing my new portrait, Greta's Dark Self. This drawing is titled Matthew, and I drew it at a figure study group at The Academy of Carlo Pittore in the late fall of 1988. I chuckle at the word Academy: Carlo's studio was in a dilapidated old chicken barn. Never the less, we worked very hard there! The upcoming show is titled In the Spirit of Carlo Pittore, in honor of Carlo's birthday, May 14th, and a percentage of the proceeds will go to The Pittore Foundation which issues grants to figurative artists. Bowdoinham artist Susie Drucker and I are the curators, and we are both old friends of Carlo, who died in 2005.

Primer Prime Pics

My daughter-in-law Tracey Miller took these stellar shots of my triptych, A Girl's Primer, on the last day of the exhibit at Aucocisco Gallery. Tracey has an excellent eye and a superb camera - you can really see the details and the surface texture in these images! I'm so grateful to her for travelling to Portland to document my triptych while it was still installed at Aucocisco, which is such a beautiful space.

This group show never did get a formal review, but I received many wonderful and insightful notes, comments and e-mails about A Girl's Primer. One of my favorite remark's came from independent curator and writer Britta Konau:

Saw the Aucocisco show and was really taken by your big drawings. The following names came to my mind while looking: Dix, Klimt, and Chagall. Not bad associations, right?

(Right!)

Portrait Marathon, Cont'd...

Another Saturday afternoon spent making on the spot portraits at Aucocisco Galleries. This beautiful father and son were my second subjects of the day. I drew twin brothers for my first appointment. Their Mom took some pictures and promised to send me some, so I can post about that sitting soon.

Whew! I try to get as much information as possible in under an hour...it's a challenge! I always want to hang onto the drawings and work more on them, but the speed and seeing what unfolds is part of the fun.

Portrait Marathon at Aucociso

A busy afternoon @ Aucocisco Galleries yesterday! I'll be doing this again next Saturday, the 17th! Thirty minute portraits for $100, $150 for couples or a family of three. Gift certificates availble at this sale price until the 24th, redeemable at any time. E-mail me at mmiller@meca.edu.

A Real Steal December Deal!

Tomorrow, December 10th, and next Saturday, the 17th, I will be doing on the spot portraits @ Aucocisco in Portland from noon - 5pm. A great gift idea! $100 for a 30 minute sitting, $150 for a couple or family of three, and you get a 22" x 30" mixed media drawing on Rives BFK, ready to frame or hang as is. Gift certificates also available until December 24th. E-mail me at mmiller@meca.edu for an appointment!

Aucocisco Group Show

Rachael Eastman’s recent paintings explore a merger of memory, visceral awareness, and an empathetic response to the coastal Maine landscape. Influenced by color field painting, Japanese aesthetics, and Zen concepts alike, her colored abstractions reference nature as condensed for reflection.

Judy O'Donnell's bronze works are inspired by the transformative energies of nature. Daily walks in the woods provide an infinite variety of settings, symbols, textures and elements, such as twisted roots and the filigree of lichen from which to evolve self-portraits and other depictions of man's primitive inter-connectedness to his environment.

My mother’s loss of memory due to the ravages of Alzheimer’s and her recent death prompted me to create this series of drawings, a triptych populated by three major spirits: my mother, my father, and my maternal grandmother. A Girl’s Primer speaks of love, loss, dreams, desire, memory and experience, and the early forces that shaped me.

Tanya Fletcher’s figurative paintings are predominantly oil on birch panel. The artist uses the figure as a metaphor, creating psychological and/or philosophical images.

Michele A. Caron’s current body of work is an exploration of repetitive structure and geometry in pigment-rich industrial enamels. Her work is a progression of drawing techniques with an underlining influence of commercial graphics, show card lettering and automotive pin striping.

All photos courtesy of Aucocisco Galleries.

I Saw Her Today at the Reception...

Sure wish I knew what he was saying! (Maybe he could tell me what it's about! :^)

Above pics courtesy Michele Caron.

Me in front of A Girl's Primer with my brother Ken and sister Deb.

Terrific photo by

my daughter-in-law, Tracey Miller.

Some pics from yesterday's reception at Aucocisco. What a fantastic turnout!

Delivered and Installed!

Opening reception @ Aucociso today from 2 - 5 p.m.!

I'll blog more about it all later - wish me luck!