Sensitive Silence

Is this title a reflection of how I feel about nature? I call this new body of work my white on white stage. Unfortunately it did  not get me into a gallery in Naples. The owners were very enthusiastic about what I presented to them but when they called me their verdict was that their clients really like bright colors. And that is what you mostly see in FL in all the galleries. They were gracious enough to say that they had tried to educate their clients but to no avail. Maybe I will find another outlet. But I did have a wonderful two months in my little bungalow working on the porch almost daily. The weather was wonderful this year even warming up the gulf enough to swim in. It was hard coming home when I knew there was much snow still on the ground. But I had to take down the show at Lawrence Academy and deliver some of it to Stowe. Three days later I drove back up 89 for the opening which was one of the best I have ever attended there. It was the largest crowd they had ever had. I think people wanted  go anywhere just to get to the end of this endless winter. There was definitely a festive air. I spent the night with the gallery owners who know how to throw a good party. Two of the other  guests were people who had taken a year to pay for one of my paintings they had purchased from my solo show last year. He does monumental marble sculptures that sell all over the world and she is a dressage rider. I think the greatest compliment is when another artist buys an artist's work. Since they live in Burlington, I hope I will see them again.

Spring is so slow to arrive. I have been home for two weeks. I just had to get outside today even though there is still at least a foot of snow in areas around the house. So I went out with my clippers and tried to do some gardening.....dead heading of last year's plants. My cat Rumi was so happy to have company outside. There is still no aroma of earth  but that may come in another week. At least we were outside.

Friday night I go to the Currier for their first auction in 10 years. One of my paintings will be sold....or so I hope. Rather nerve wracking to be in the audience while it is happening. How on earth did I ever get myself into this?! Well, I hope it sells and they make some money for their education program.

And soon I must get back to work. It's hard with my kitchen totally gone and the house in disarray. When the dust settles, literally, I will settle into the studio and get back to Sensitive Silence. When I am outside gardening, I do feel the presence of nature in its own silent way.

January Online

My studio equipment was sent off last week in my little blue car on a great big truck. I follow it day after tomorrow and pick it up in St. Petersburg. After a day or so, I will drive on down to Naples and open up my shabby chic bungalow. I will be thrilled to get back to work. It is ever so pleasant to work there as I am on the porch in my jungle. I can hear the birds and feel the warm breezes. Today it is 4 below zero on my hill. Time to migrate!
The show went up smoothly at Lawrence Academy just after New Years. But it was a disappointing opening. They scheduled the opening the night of the school dance so there were no students at all. About 10 friends showed up as the weather was dreadful. Oh well, at least the new work is hanging in a lovely large space for two months rather than hanging in the studio. As soon as I remove the work, I will drive it to Stowe VT for the Spring show which opens on the 22nd of March.

While I have no chance to work these days, I am doing the publicity part. I was juried into an online art publication that is sent to galleries and museums internationally. A bit of a vanity press but it can't hurt. Also posted work on Saatchi Online which has been quite successful for my painter friend Helen Shulman. So, let's hope, the Muse is waiting for me on Sperling Avenue. 

Show hung at Lawrence Academy 2014

'Sensitive Illusions' show was hung this morning at lawrence Academy, Groton MA. The space is large, filled with light and airy. Large floor to ceiling glass windows grace the room. The fifteen paintings I hung all looked good. Nothing was crowded. I had at least 5 recent series represented so I hung them on separate walls. I used my usual signage of poetry and favorite sayings. It's a nice way to start out the new year and my gallery in Stowe VT is already excited about the new work and waiting for it when to show comes down mid March. Seeing the new work hanging in a clean, uncluttered gallery space, makes me appreciate the work I have been doing recently all the more.

I continue to experiment with my surfaces. Looking to achieve the  look of an old wall or fresco   with a very simple image. And my usual scribbles like a lost language. Opening is Friday 4 to 6 but that often seems like an after thought to me after all the work. However, it's nice to share and hear peoples' reaction to my progress....hopefully positive. Happy New Year!

Sensitive Illusions

Sensitive Illusions is the title for my upcoming show at Lawrence Academy in Groton. It has been a struggle to complete work in a short space of time. Working smaller this year in order to get more control of the medium. After two years of Sensitive Chaos, I decided to remove the chaos. I felt the paintings were becoming too frenetic. It's a fine line I walk between wanting to express energy and wanting to express the quieter side of myself and nature. Hoping eventually to be able to do the same in the larger scale I like to work in. This one is Poppy Pod, 12 x 12 inches. I used an image transfer and after layers of clear encaustic medium over the image, I enhanced it with some very thin washes of oil stick. The old rule applies....Less is more.

Title yet to come

I am surely putting in the hours these days as fall fades away and winter puts its iron claws on the world. The leaves are  gone, the days so short. I go to the studio early morning and work many hours. It's rather cozy out there.The cat is getting used to visiting with me rather than spending time by himself in the house. And if he is outside, snow is not appealing to him. He shakes his feet and quickly comes back in.

I have spent three weeks on three pieces. That is a long time for me Usually I produce many more pieces in a short time. Something in me is telling me 'less is more'. And 'less is more' on the canvas as well. Seems I am taking so long to finish a piece. The layers are thinner but the depth is increasing. Just like the water I am trying to express. Simplifying the image as well. I think the lotus is so overused but if I focus on the material I hope I can transcend the normalcy of the flower. So many layers and so much scraping off of wax.

Images to follow when I have them. And the simpler the image the more difficult it is to photograph.

Lotus B

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Lotus B is on its way to FL. Clients who had bought a tree painting after seeing my show at Exeter Academy three years ago chose this piece as well as a poppy one with the cast bronze poppy pod. This was the first successful encaustic painting, in my mind anyway, that I completed a couple of years ago after I took up the medium. I had taken a private, one day workshop with Fawn Potash. She introduced me to the technique of drawing more with the  wax than painting with the blocks of color. To this day I still approach encaustic this way. Lotus B is 30 x 36 inches on heavy plywood.
This weekend I am on a statewide tour which is rather tedious but half over. Some people have shown up and so far I have sold two prints. Old emulsion transfer prints. I did not expect to sell much. I was hoping more for exposure. Just one right person needs to walk through. Alas, I do not think that is going to happen. What I now need to do is start work for my show at Lawrence Academy which starts in January. Only two months away. I thought I  might include some small gouache studies but they have not been too successful. I am often impatient when I want to t learn something new. I have 3 in the studio now. And I mean small. 4 x 6 inches. It was relaxing working with a water based medium after the huge commitment of hot wax. But encaustic is my medium.

          Claremont Opera House in the John Bennett Atrium Gallery. Opening November 18th, 4:30-6:30

This 24 x 72 inch triptych is to go to the Carla Massoni Gallery in Chestertown but not until November. I thought it would be a good anchor piece for my show in Claremont. The rest of the show will comprise of Vanishing Landscape works as well as Sensitive Chaos. It will be good to have all this work out of the studio so I have the space to focus on the next three panels. I find these large pieces so satisfying to work on. Of course they are difficult to ship which is why I did this one as a triptych but I think the one piece panel is stronger looking. More of an impact. Will also try a vertical piece for the next show.