Olive Me Paints...Olives?

Sometimes I give myself an "assignment" 

as a challenge or a push in my painting journey.

Herewith, for several reasons, I set out

to see how many different ways I could paint

Olives...olives?

I've painted 100s of pears, a few dozen apples and several sunflowers in an effort to learn by repetitive rendering.  Most were serious depictions, some more bizarre than others but all as an intention to study the subject and find new ways of presenting it.  So when I had reason to paint lots and lots of olives I decided to leave "serious" behind and go for "different."

Each would be on 4" x 4" cradled hardboard panels I got from Cheap Joe's.  Each would be a green olive with a red pimento in it.  Therein the rules ceased.  

Let the fun begin:

gold gesso set the stage for a dramatic olive,

I think the "pimento" looks like a red hole instead of a pepper piece?

oh well...onward

can you guess where this olive is residing?

trust me, without live "models" these little buggers were hard to depict

this collage piece was fun but oh so tiny for my challenged tearing-

fingers, the further back you are the more olive-y it looks

this was my feeble attempt at a wire sculpture olive...

I enjoy "mixed media" but

you have to use your imagination to know what it is

Now this was truly experimental, the olive is painted 

with a coat of oxidizing copper paint which dries and then

is reapplied, while wet it is then sprayed with green patina aging solution

which causes it to rust into this green on copper patina.

Both of these products are made by Modern Masters.

this is started with a bunch of random designs done in acrylic,

then with a background color a design is selected and the "negative" parts painted

out to reveal the olive

couldn't leave out fabric, could I?  a little boro, a little embroidery,

a touch of quilting and olive it works together

and now a clay olive....polymer clay, which is sculpted and baked in

the oven, this is my fav pimento: red cloth stuffed and glued into the 

pitted hole

admitting that I was running out of ideas on where

to place these olives I decided they could resemble

balloons at a party...

One last 4 x 4 remains...no ideas surfaced.  I think I will stick a fork in

olive this and call it done!

So what did I learn?  (1) that I really do not enjoy painting this small...I need space, I need more real estate, I am a 9 x 12 and beyond (preferably beyond) kinda gal;  (2) I do like the exercise of thinking of multiple ways to render something, perhaps I should make more effort to do this as sketching prep before a LARGER format of something; and finally, (3) I like drama, the contrast of bright colors and the play between dark darks and light lights.  

So what did I do with so many similar paintings?  Olive them went with my love to new homes.  I'll let you wonder about just who might want such a piece.

Olive Me thanks Olive You (for reading),

Cindy

Lost in White Abstraction

“Women think of all colors except the absence of color. 

I have said that black has it all. 

White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.” 
― Coco Chanel, Chanel

Remember I left you at:

12 x 9 canvas

I liked messing around in the playground of white so I decided to return to this start of a collage.  In the abstract world of art there are certain recognized patterns of design that have proven to be basic to the balance of an abstract.  The cruciform is one of those and you can see it above in the off center cross made from crumpled tracing paper.

some patterns of abstract design

 I went on to finish it:

and before too much evaluation or judgement, I started another:

again, a 12 x 9 canvas

with some soft molding gel I added some texture

which is hard to see in this photo

and...calling it done.

I'm not sure how I feel about these...other than to say I am glad I dabbled.  I really prefer minimalist abstract art and there isn't much about me that is capable of producing "minimalist" anything.  

I don't really feel finished with this experiment and I'm not certain whether it is the lack of an identifiable subject, the absence of strong color or the idea that it doesn't have to "be" anything that appeals to me from an execution standpoint.  I don't think they represent Coco's "perfect harmony" but who knows?  I'm a little too close to really judge at the moment.  Guess I will run it up the flagpole, hold off on banishing them and see where it leads.  They are not secured in the frames so no commitment there.  Let me know what you think.  

Back to the Lab,

Cindy

Is White the Absence of Color?

"...The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for

some way, and then dipped suddenly down,

so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think

about stopping herself before she found herself

falling down a very deep well." 

                                                      from Alice in Wonderland,        

                                 Lewis Carroll

It is a very deep well indeed....with all kinds of underground systems leading to new and unusual places.  I was playing with natural dyes:

upper L to R: goldenrod, red cabbage with vinegar, red cabbage with

ammonia, walnut hulls and avocado pits and skins...

and I found the subtle colors soothing.  This was not my usual bursts of magenta or lime green and yet these were refreshing, calming.  Which got me to thinking about the absence of color...is it white?

That question caught my eye as I was surfing through program offerings on PBS and I watched one that involved a challenge from an art professor in working with white.  He talked about white being relative.  One only has to go to the paint store and ask for "white" to learn that there is at least "50 shades of" white.  Which lead me to begin thinking about experiments using white.

(See where the rabbit hole tunnels lead....you can turn back now!)

Which led me to reclaim an old painting with the intention of playing around with....white? whiteS?

the green tape is to protect the frame as this painting was apparently glued to the frame...? So I covered over the old piece.

I began to play with different shades of white...using up some old paint on the palate and employing a few toys: credit card to scrape, a rubber nib, a roller and a small sponge.  I wasn't sure where this was going and I was trying hard not to let that major issue get in the way.

Oh dear, Joni Mitchell is now singing "...they paved paradise..." and that becomes a working title.  I'm afraid that now I feel bound to come up with something.  Shoot.  We will see.  Time to let it dry, it feels a bit busy to me. Perhaps move on to a "white" collage.

12 x 9 white canvas

And...now back to the oil.

More white and I'm not liking this at all.  I'm a bit scattered without some sort of a plan....

 from bad to badder or worse to worse-er?

Calling it quits.

Unless I have a wild inspiration soon this will be headed right for the dumpster.

HOWEVER...not all is lost.  I learned that I (that's me, not everyone) need some semblance of a plan before I begin.  No problem diverting from it but with no plan I just get tangled up in the weeds.

AND, I liked working with these various shades of no color.  It's a "try again."  With a plan.

Going to go dig out the beginnings of that white collage and see where it goes...I did start with a standard abstract format referred to as the cruciform.  Now watch me take off....

Dabbling WithOut Color,

Cindy

a Painted Collage

Some of the various definitions of 'collage' 

include the words assemblage, 

collections, artistic composition of objects, a composite collection...

usually from differing materials all mounted together as one.

I don't do many collages but I have enjoyed what I call "painted collages," that is,  a gathering of objects (usually thematic) all painted on one surface which is made to look like several different surfaces.  Here are a few examples done over the years:

I have not done one recently but I always found it was a great challenge to combine painted pieces and parts in a way that they stood as many individual paintings yet still hung together as one.  Lots of mind tricks are involved.  A friend of mine who is preparing to teach asked if I would review my process so they might give it a try.  

If you have no intention of painting this then sign out here and have a great day!  If you are curious, stick around.

I start by taping off sections on a well gessoed board or canvas. (I like board as I will use pencil, but personal choice). Using transparent acrylics (made soupy with either water or medium) I put down a coat of color (start light) and let it dry.  Remove some of the painters tape and either put more pieces down in new spots or just proceed.  Using a slightly different transparent color, paint half or more of the board again.  Where you removed the tape you will still see a "divider" due to the difference in color.  Where colors overlap in your squares and rectangles you will see another color.  You could also mix a slightly less transparent color and force it to drip down the piece in several places.  Keep going. All of this is "play" with an eye to making some sections come forward and some recede.  As you work on laying down the background don't be too hesitant but work slowly as ideas for balance will occur to you. Pull off all the tape and let the piece dry.

Hopefully your colors were chosen with a subject in mind.  Gather up the images and begin deciding how to lay them out on the board.  Some might fit nicely in a "box," while others will defy the box and go over a "line."  Choose some to make large and others to minimize or only do part of.  At this point I begin working in pencil so that I can get the feel for sizes.  

I like to proceed in pencil and balance it off with white acrylic paint.  By spraying the pencil with a fixative (when you are certain you will not erase any more) you will get a stable image.  Other times I simply sketch an image loosely and then paint it on with acrylic paints.  Keep in mind that no one image is really complete until all are done....this is very much a matter of pushing and pulling elements as you flesh out the objects.

Remember that you are not obligated to protect or preserve any of your background if it morphs along with the painting.  And "painting out" a mistake (or something you did not like) often will enhance the background you have going.  Nothing is unable to be changed and nothing should feel too sacred.  

You are done when...you are done!  you will know!  and if three days later the painting begs for more, well, have at it.  If you prefer to finish off by using oils that is fine as well but I don't start with them as they take so long to dry.

I'm sure there is more to add to this....please experiment.

Collaging My Way,

Cindy

Collage Therapy

Its been an exhausting, draining, demoralizing election season.

I have friends and family who made excellent arguments

for both (all) sides of the equation.  It was brutal.

While I am always optimistic, just processing the

last several months has taken so much energy.

And with depleted reserves I wasn't sure what I could concentrate on in the studio.  Voila!  I picked up an old favorite, Steal Like an Artist Journal,  and opened it up to this page:

So I had a plan to keep my hands busy while my mind wandered wherever it wanted to go.  I dug around and put the trash out on my table:

Then I got busy ripping, cutting and gluing....all therapeutic activities while waiting for the creativity muse to come by.

I turned this around by 90 degrees several times but clearly, it was too soon to get any real direction.

I kept pasting, sometimes aware of great frustration and other times mindlessly tacking things on.  I felt protective of the bee but realized that sort of defeated my original, freewheeling intention.

partial detail

I kept plodding along and then a word came to me - bam- just like that!  The word was "obfuscation."  Bingo.

Thats how I had felt all these months - obfuscated - and that was the confusing feeling I was getting right this minute from my unplanned collage.  The art was unclear, the paths were misleading and everything was made complex and disjointed.  Suddenly I had a bit of clarity.  I added my last piece, swept the remaining goodies back into the trash and stood up feeling much, much better.  This was no work of art but the block got moved, the feeling verbalized (or art-itized) and I am now ready to move forward.

Obfuscation

trash collage, 7.75" x 7.75"

Whether the election went your way or not, I hope you agree with me that we should all be motivated to do what we can to improve the quality of life for each other and to continue to work on those issues we deem important.  Here's to no more obfuscation!

Thank you Austin Kleon,

Cindy

p.s.  Click on his name for an interesting TED talk by him.

Follow Up: Try, Try Again

I love reading your comments and reactions

to my posts.  And I take them to heart.

Little did I know that my blog on  "Far and Away," titled

KA-BOOM (the sound of a failed experiment) would

elicit so much input.  So I shall follow up.

You may recall the experiment:

     

which I believed had failed.  Let me clarify: it failed to accomplish what I had hoped to achieve in paint.  It may not have failed to please your eye or failed to teach me something.  It was an effort, like homework, to practice a technique.

However the post resulted in some very interesting reactions!  One reader cautioned me against going too close to the "dark side," (the world of modern art.) Another said it was not a huge failure, just a "little one."  I also received a lecture on not telling my readers what they should or should not like and a fellow artist sent a cropped photo of the piece (which greatly improved it).  More feedback than I ever imagined and while I appreciated each, one motivated me.

Ellen Lindner, a renowned fabric artist, applauded my efforts and suggested a method she uses for  design.  "Tear up colored paper," she advised, "play around with that.  Tearing paper keeps you from being precise but forces you to color-think."

Voila!

my square canvas, my inspiration photo and piles of color from magazines

next I began playing with a layout

eventually I have to commit, using Mod Podge for glue

It was fun choosing my colors from the paper pile and trying to tear out simple shapes.

from this detail you can see the variety of the patterns used, I tried to squint down

hard so that I mostly saw the overall value, not that I had onions

and asparagus in the swatch

one more detail so you can see the variety of magazine pages gathered to use

Far Away, 10 x 10 on canvas

torn paper collage

available, of course!

Ta da!  Done.  I knew when I started tearing pinhead-sized pieces I was getting too detailed (or just "licking" as we say when done with paint).  Time to cease and desist.

Now I'm going out on a limb here and state that I like this!  (feel free to disagree...) 

Tearing up paper made me think hard about the big shapes I wanted (not the detail) and using found colors, not mixing them, forced me to think about color values.  And I really like the little patterns that snuck in. 

What do you think?

(And BTW, I apologize that the link on the site to contact me is broken: work in progress.  If you receive this via an email feed just hit the reply button and I will get it.  I really do value what you say.)

Glued together,

Cindy

A Month of Left Handed Labor

Just a few of the January 30 paintings in 30 days results:

Thanks for sharing the journey.

P.S.  The paintings which have not yet sold will be available for the special price of $30 plus shipping on my

esty.com shop site here until February 10 when they will revert to their usual prices.

Shipping is extra.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

 In closing out 2013 and looking forward to 2014 I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things (art-related of course).  Please feel free to hum along...I hear Julie Andrews singing in the background! And boy was it hard to choose just a "few..."

Started the year with drawing classes from Jon Houghton

Collage paintings, this one inspired by Patti's chickens

Art for the Pieces of 8 show:
Black & White and Read All Over

Many afternoons learning mosaic with friend Cheri

Painting "Healing Ceilings" for the Raleigh, NC Cancer Center

A surprise sailing trip to celebrate 60 with my sis

 All things related to my trip to Italy but especially the graceful Umbrella Pines and the awesome feeling of standing on the Appian Way... and any day Kelly took me out to paint!

The annual trip with the Pieces, this time to GA home of Phillis,
here is the barn at Washington Grass Inn

Painting some whimsy for my DiL Alex's laundry room

Camping with my husband in our new pop-up and capturing
the scenery in oil (St Augustine area)

More eye-candy: painting chairs just for fun
and knowing they have a new life!

".....when the bee stings, when the dog bites, when I'm feeling sad...I simply remember a few of these things and then I don't feel (crescendo....) so bad!"

With wishes for a  Colorful New Year for all of us.
Cindy