Great day of drawing in the chilly sunshine. The tree looks like a haughty turn of the twentieth century old lady with a wasp waste and lavishly feathered hat. I think if the sun’s going to shine the light should come with an automatic seventy degrees attached, however, as they say - we’ll take what we can get.
Encaustic Experiment
Encaustic, 8”x8”, 2011Douglas Colyer
After three aborted drawings made the trash bin today, I had a creative breakdown and went to pick up some of the basics for encaustic. If any of the beeswax pros look too closely they’ll see a myriad of technical errors, however, I had a blast and after the frustrating studio day it was either this or chocolate.
The piece comes close to what I envisioned. Intuition said stop one layer earlier yet this version is still satisfying for a first timer. I enjoy the result of pushing the hot wax to create texture on the surface.
Day One - again.
Colored pencil on BFK, 6.5” x 7.5”, 2011Candied Apples with color…
After adding color this morning, I’m reminded of a statement issued by a gentleman who painted our house years ago: “It ain’t the Mona Lisa ya know.”
The black pencil seemed to contaminate the layered colors, especially in the sticks of the apples. I was getting impatient and ready to work bigger before the sketch was finished.
Candied Apples grisaille…
Black Polychromos pencil on BFK paper. I enjoy the way the support and medium interact. We’ll see how it goes adding color.
Removing the image one step from precious by posting the drawing allows me to immediately see where revisions are needed. Interesting.
I completed the grisaille “watching” a movie with my husband, who generously encourages my creative efforts.
Corvidae
Oil on primed archival paper, 18 x 24”, 2010Today was intended to be an exploration of the much maligned black, however, I’m so conditioned by the traditional sanction of black I don’t even own a black oil paint. So, went to Payne’s Gray, technically a blue.
Heavy Conversation
I’ve just returned from a meeting of artists, predominantly women. The exchange centered around professional issues and the lone male in the group asked how to address a group of women in a politically correct way. We went from there to the ways women have potentially powerful (and largely neglected) influence for non-violence in the world. Someone commented the conversation was “heavy” and that’s when the meeting disbanded.
As women, we have to get used to the “heavy” conversations. We won’t be able to make a difference until we can sit at ease with ourselves and our power in the middle of difficult topics heretofore reserved for the men over port while the ladies withdrew to the drawing room. To me, it’s one more evidence of genetic memory - at least the latent effects of social conditioning. We signed the papers for emancipation in 1920 and our knee-jerk response is centuries old. We can’t leave the tuff stuff to the menfolk and co-opt out of uncomfortable conversations because frankly, the males haven’t done such a great job with the planet so far. I’m thinking that’s probably because our female contribution has been, in large part, missing.
There are women making a real effort toward a peace filled world. Women in the news, on the talk shows, and some who never raise a blip in any media. For most of us, the opportunity to influence for effective peaceful relations come in our circles of everyday association.
Hossein Bidgoli, who authored The Internet Encyclopedia, stated visual images, especially photographs, have credibility and people believe what they see particularly when words and images are combined to create “social commentary in more powerful forms than had previously existed.” I’m not saying as artists and writers every piece has to be a political or social statement. That we have the ability to bring beauty to the world in images or words or both is a great contribution to the energy of peace in itself. However, I’m starting to think in terms of how I, as an artist and writer who is also a woman, can participate more fully in the quest for non-violence and peace in the world.
Primroses
Oil on primed archival paper, 24 x 18”, 2010
Primroses
With a limited palette of one cool and warm color from each of the primaries, the awareness today is remembering the different characteristics of opaque and transparent color and the realization of how the same quality is exhibited in zinc and titanium whites.
I had a better experience with the paper on this one and begin to see some advantages to the support.
While the painting is not what I’d call finished, I say it’s good enough. My favorite sister’s husband of almost sixty years died very unexpectedly today and my heart is heavy for her and not in the work.