Monday, June 30, 2008

Encore...

This one's more my Dad's style!

:^)

An Old Tune for the Last Day of June...

My Dad was a Barbershopper - this was one of his favorites...

(Where did June go??)

Fats Waller - By the Light of the Silvery Moon, 1942

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Carlo Pittore and Alex Kahn @ The ICA

I saw the Send Exhibit on Friday at the ICA and was quite moved to see Carlo Pittore's correspondance to his friend and fellow mail artist Bern Porter. It's all so Lo Tech and I love it for that. Just seeing someone's handwriting (and Carlo's was special) on real mail is a treat nowadays as both handwriting and real letters are becoming obsolete. There's an article in this week's Phoenix about the show. I very much enjoyed seeing my former professor Alex Kahn's work as well. He has made poetry of Spam, printed it in letterpress, and illustrated it with complex, witty and delicate etchings. Kahn's blending of Hi and Lo Tech is genius.



Carlo Pittore

Bern's Ear

The Draw Down

There's a great conversation happening on Carol Diehl's blog Art Vent that has stemmed from Carol's posts about the Whitney Biennial. Check it out!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Process
















My cousin Del sent these pics that he took of me working on this couples portrait last weekend. Kind of fun to see the process! Have a great weekend!

Friday, June 27, 2008

A Dozen Doozies












































Twelve more terrific self-portraits from Edward Lucie-Smith's book, The Self Portrait: A Modern View.
From the inside jacket cover:


We do not see ourselves as others see us, even the mirror image lies. The self-portrait continues to be a richly productive source of inspiration for contemporoary artists...and continues one of the most enduring traditions of Western art.




Elisabeth Frink
Self Portrait

John Kirby
Self Portrait

R.B. Kitaj
Self Portrait

Maggie Hambling
Self Portrait Working, 1985

Peter Howson
Self Portrait

Rod Judkins
Double Self Portrait

Adrian Wiszniewski
Self Portrait, 1987

Rose Garrard
Self Portrait

Norman Blamey
Self Portrait in Cushion Mirror

Alan Stones
Self Portrait

Glynn Williams
Self Portrait

David Hockney
Self Portrait, 1978

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Blackwork Lovers Installation











Blackwork Lovers will finally be installed next week in the Walker Terrace window here in Portland. Meanwhile I wanted to photograph the prints with frames for an exhibit application (June 30th is the deadline). My studio is way too small so this afternoon I lugged everything next door to the MECA classroom where I teach and tacked them up with their frames, which are all separate pieces. I had to sort of jury rig the whole operation - it was a real chore. But I think that I have some decent enough images to submit. Once the prints are installed in the window they will be up for 2 months, and it would have been impossible to photograph them satisfactorily through the glass. I may be painting the background in the window black, so the prints will look like they do in the top pic posted here. I decided not to add the top piece (with the angel). It seemed like too separate of a piece. So, here they are, ready for the window.
Blackwork Lovers, 2008
linoleum block prints with relief printed frames,
frames: painted recycled cardboard, clothesline rope, duct tape, glitter
installation 5' x 10'
print size, 3' x 3' each
print with frame size, 5' x 5' each

Francis Bacon - On Life, Death, and Gambling

More Bacon Bits.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Francis Bacon Documentary

I watched this documentary a few years ago and loved it. It's excellent. Now you can see it in 6 parts on YouTube. Here's Part One. I especially enjoy hearing Bacon talk about other artists - he's straight forward and very funny.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Woman with Wounded Man









I've changed the title of this series to Woman with Wounded Man, rather than Wounded Man with Woman. Just sounds better. I decided to use collaged photocopies with the linoleum block print. (Sorry about the poor quality of the 3rd pic - took these on the fly in the dark last night on my way out of the studio). I have added metallic silver and gold borders, and am working into the pieces with charcoal powder and turp. I plan to stitch into them with black thread, and to add some color using pastels and colored pencils. I might add a bit more collaged elements. I'm thinking of somehow adding a different flower to each piece. They are coming along. I'll post the finished products when completed!

Elizabeth and Zach Portrait Progress






I printed out the photographs of Elizabeth and Zach @ Kinko's yesterday then worked on their portrait in my studio. It's challenge for me to work this way. I'd much rather have the models sitting for me a second time. This was not possible because they had to fly back to Utah on Sunday. It is a good challenge, though. I can become too dependent on working from life. Now I have to rely on my memory, and I can make stronger editing and compositional choices when I am alone in my studio. I also get to use my imagination to play with the symbolism and the narrative. This is easier to do when I'm alone. When I'm with the people I am drawing, I am like a sponge, taking everything in. When I am alone I get to squeeze some of that back out! :^)
A little shop talk: I sprayed the drawing with workable fixative in order to add more layers of pastel. I had used Natural Turpeniod rather than plain Turpenoid to do my oil wash drawing at the start of the piece. I won't do this again - it is too oily, and is causing the paper surface to pull apart in some places. I had to go buy a couple of Schmeinke pastels to draw on these areas. Schmeinke's are ultra soft (and expensive - the Cadillac of pastels!)

Monday, June 23, 2008

Safe Travel Over Water















Two of my cousin's children are getting married this summer and I am doing a couples portrait of each of them with their partner for their wedding gifts. This weekend I travelled down to the RI shore to start the first portrait. My cousin's daughter Elizabeth and her fiance, Zach, sat for about an hour and a half, enough time for me to get the groundwork done on their portrait. I will use these photos as references to complete the portrait in my studio. I plan to zoom in on Elizabeth's engagement ring, which Zach designed for her, and will also zoom in on Zach's necklace, which Elizabeth bought for him in New Zealand. I will also add the details of the fish design on Zach's shirt. I like the circle of two fish - it echos their intertwined hands...
Zach's necklace is a fishhook, and it symbolizes safe travel over water. I find this an apt wish for a couple that is about to embark upon the commitment of marriage!
Stay tuned for the finished portrait. I will be scheduling a sitting for my cousin's son and his fiance in August...

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Happy Summer Solstice!





















Two of our grandsons having fun in Grampa & Gramma's garden.
Happy Summer, All!