Mural painting

February 12, 2010 at 8:35 am · Filed under other

I’ve worked on a couple murals over the years, usually school related projects involving a number of people and artists. This mural was different, if only because it was all up to me. And boy did that make a difference.

I went into it thinking it would take me about a week if I worked steadily. Ha. In retrospect, that thought is hilarious. To be fair, I hadn’t exactly measured the space, and I didn’t have a concrete plan of what I was going to paint (albeit something beach themed). The first thing I did after getting to Palm Beach was measure, and as it turns out 30ft x 10ft x 6ft with 10 doors is actually ginormous when it comes to muraling. 900 square feet of regular house painting, especially if you have 10 doors worth of trim to attend to, takes forever. Then add in carefully measuring and taping off faux window panes, actually painting the murals, and then finishing everything with faux trim? FOREVER.

But I’ve finally finished, so here goes:

Continue to Page 2 for close-ups and details of all the panels and doors!

Florida & Florida birds

November 10, 2009 at 8:21 am · Filed under art updates, life updates

As I type this I’m sitting the living room of my Aunt & Uncle’s condo in North Palm Beach.  To say it is beautiful would almost be an understatement.  The rooms are spacious and carefully decorated, with accents of blues and greens that complement the ocean.  The ocean that is literally just outside.  They have a lovely deck that wraps around nearly the entirety of the apartment, and the large glass doors and windows that lead to the balcony look right out on the waves.  I’m sitting on a comfy couch and feeling the ocean breeze on my face and hearing the waves and looking through the glass onto the gorgeous turquoise water.  This is so brilliant it should be imaginary.

I came down partially to drive down their BMW convertible (I know, what a chore), and partially to transport the series of Florida bird paintings they’ve commissioned for this house.  I’ve completed three 24″ x 36″ paintings, and will perhaps do more.  But for now, here is the completed series:

(click for enlarged views of each painting)

Partridge Cochin Rooster

October 1, 2009 at 8:28 am · Filed under art updates

The thirteenth in the series of watercolor chickens: a Partridge Cochin rooster!

Original watercolor, signed.
8″x10″

For sale, $40!
Or, prints available for $20.
Go to Etsy shop for purchasing.

Buff Cochin Rooster

October 1, 2009 at 8:23 am · Filed under art updates

The twelfth in the series of watercolor chickens: a Buff Cochin rooster!

Original watercolor, signed.
8″x10″

For sale, $40!
Or, prints available for $20.
Go to Etsy shop for purchasing.

Pennsylvania, once again

September 29, 2009 at 12:04 pm · Filed under art updates, life updates

I haven’t been updating this recently, but there’s a reason! Or rather, a couple reasons. First, it was the last week of my life in Cape Cod, so I was at least kind-of trying to appreciate it. Second, my parents and Texas grandparents came up to visit, so there was a long weekend span filled with sightseeing and lobster cooking/eating and shopping and seal watching and beach going and just plain socializing! Third, it was my birthday so obvi I was celebrating. Fourth, I had to move! I feel like I have had to move so many times in the last few years, and it’s really never very enjoyable. So I was packing up all my stuff, cleaning out Jessica’s parents’ condo, driving all my stuff back to PA, unpacking it all, shoving it somewhere until the next time I have to move… you get the idea.

But now I’m back settled in good old Pennsylvania, so updates will follow. I’m still working on chicken paintings, as well as a few commissions (two more 24″ x 36″ bird portraits to go with the herons, and one 36″ x 80″ painting of two penguins and two dragons playing golf together in a foursome). But I’m also planning on starting a couple of my own Projects. I’ve been doing primarily practice/busy work/commissions this summer, and it’s about time I give my brain a good shake and come up with something a little more conceptual. I get antsy if I don’t.

I’m also job-hunting. Which is depressing and hard, especially since I don’t really know yet what I want to do.

So more on both of those topics to come.

Well, I guess technically more on everything to come!

Sunday Artist: Mary Temple

September 6, 2009 at 12:16 pm · Filed under sunday artist

OK, this is kind of cheating b/c I’ve written about her before.  But whatever, when I re-do Paperpetual.com I’ll probably delete that journal, so here it is again.  And besides, she’s great enough to merit more than one entry of regard.  You see, Mary Temple is one of those artists of whom I am quite genuinely jealous.  This jealousy doesn’t spring particularly from her making something spectacular that I can’t help but wish I had the skill and audacity to complete (although this is certainly part of it).  It’s more because she’s doing exactly what I’d love to be doing; her work is a better version of some of the projects I’ve tackled over my last couple years of undergrad!

It’s one thing to discover another artist who makes work very similar to your own.  Realizing that someone else has already done a project you’re considering can be a let down, but half the time the circumstances are different, and it can give you a bit of fuel to go out and make your version better.  But Mary Temple is different.

Her shadow work isn’t an exact replica of an idea I’ve had – it’s more of a more eloquent and direct interpretation of the same things I wanted to discuss in my work.  It’s similar to some of the things I’ve worked with (most specifically hand puppet series as well as my brown center shadow installation), only better.  And if I could have thought on it longer, I’m sure I might have traveled in the same direction as Mary Temple.  Her work is what I wish I could have done, what I wish I could be doing!  It’s frustrating, but also kind of amazing.  I’ve been inspired by a multitude of artists over the past coupe of years, but it’s positively scary how akin I feel to her work.  It’s like we’re sharing brain waves!

Mary Temple, www.marytemple.com!

Sunday Artist: Elizabeth Blackadder

August 30, 2009 at 1:03 pm · Filed under sunday artist

Is it obvious yet that I’m inspired by a diverse medley of artists?  I haven’t been doing this Sunday Artists thing for very long, but I already seem to have a nice variety on my hands.

I stumbled upon an Elizabeth Blackadder book in the Glasgow School of Art library when I was studying there for a semester two springs ago. As a printmaker, it’s kind of laughable how few traditional printmaking artists I’m gravitated towards.  I’ve tried a large number of traditional printmaking processes, and I’m pretty sure it would be impossible for me to ignore and/or lack respect for the printmaking greats.  Also in Glasgow, I was given the opportunity to see some Goya etchings in person; it’s kind of impossible for me to explain how incredible that was.  But even still, Rembrandt and Durer don’t make me want to make etchings.  But Elizabeth Blackadder does.

If it’s not already obvious, I adore cats.  I enjoy a variety of Elizabeth’s work (her flower studies are lovely), but I am absolutely besotted with her drawings of cats.  Cats are lively creatures with larger-than-life personalities, and I think she manages to capture their spirit exactly. 

And even beyond the subject matter, it’s her mark-making that truly hooks me.  There’s just something very vibrant and fresh and sincere apparent in both her drawings and her etchings.  I’ve done some intaglio, but I can’t say I was really hooked.  You can do some gorgeous things with etching, and I love the idea of aquatinting the hell out of something, but it never quite clicked with my own work.  I could make beautiful lines, but I always felt like the end product was too removed from that first drawing on the fresh soft ground.  In retrospect, I think I was too caught up in the classical etchings that are all about composition, rework, and revisions.  Elizabeth Blackadder’s etchings make me want to go back to etching and draw and draw and draw, embracing the spirit of that initial drawing.

P.S. You can see a nice selection of her work here, and/or google.  Or go to the Tate Gallery or the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Sunday Artist: Chris Gilmour

August 23, 2009 at 1:41 pm · Filed under sunday artist

Yes, I skipped last week.  My parents were in town and we were staying in a weird cottage shack and going to the beach and going whale watching.  Way better than blogging, if I do say so myself.

Anyways, I stumbled upon Chris Gilmour on a recent Paper Forest blog post.  His sculptures are amazing, crazy pieces made of cardboard and glue.  The suspended piano and the safe are definitely my favorites; the irony makes their materiality completely appropriate.

Go to www.chrisgilmour.com for more.