Compositions and Cutting up Work
I've got a lot of work laying around. Color studies, experiments, paper-tests... these all add up to stacks of work that aren't suitable for sale, but are too interesting to just throw away.
So I cut it up.
I begin by finding areas that call to me, that seem like there might be more to their story if they could stand alone and then cut them out. I don't really pay attention to size or orientation, just allowing that small moment to exist without the trappings of the rest of the painting. (I've cut some 18 x 24s down to 2 inches in my pursuit!)
Once I have my pieces, I like to examine each one - flipping them over and spinning them until that moment becomes a new composition. I'm looking for something I haven't done before, something that begs to be explored, something different. Occasionally I'll tape them up on the wall, here I can flip and manipulate with my mind on other work -- which usually allows the better compositions to percolate to the top of my consciousness.
Armed with a fistful of new compositions, I take these to my sketchbook to explore further. Some end up paintings, some end up taped into the folds to play with another day, but all of them teach me something about how and why I do the work I do.
What do you do with old/experimental work? Do you cut it up too or use it for other purposes?
Happy 2018!
Happy 2018 friends.
Just wanted to check-in briefly here to officially reopen my commission page for 2018, talk about a few changes you might see in this space. (And to say “hello!”It’s been awhile!) Hope you all had a warm holiday season and a great start to the new year!
On the subject of commissions; my studio is back up and running in this beautiful new space, recharged and revitalized from the time off. To get started on a project, you can either email me here, or fill out the form here. Projects are being scheduled for February-April currently, so let me know if you have a rush deadline.
Regarding changes; I’m in the middle of a site overhaul. (Finally!) Tending to my web presence hasn’t been top of my list for the last few months, with shows and holidays orders demanding most of my time. Now that I’ve got a pretty good handle on my winter schedule I’ve been able to devote some time to update my available work and redesign the flow of my site. I’m hoping to having it completed soon - sign up for my newsletter to get word of the official relaunch.
In other news, my Instagram following just passed 30k - a very nice little surprise to start off the year. What began as a personal, journaled approach to my art practice has morphed into a space I couldn’t have imagined. I’ve made lifelong friends, been a part of some truly fantastic projects and have found a wonderful community of artists and collectors to connect with. If you follow me over there, thanks so much for coming along for the ride - it’s been such a pleasure to share my process with you <3
Cheers to 2018!
A Day at the Elephant Sanctuary
I am simply without words. I'll try my best to write out what I can about our day spent among the elephants - but I know whatever words I pick will not do the animals justice.
We visited an elephant sanctuary today. No riding, no performing, just a slow walk back from the river. These elephants have been rescued from dire situations around the countryside and brought to the refuge to live out their days in peace, and it was hard to speak in anything more than a whisper around them - everything just felt so sacred and soft.
We walked with them on their daily trek from the river to their sleeping quarters, feeding them bananas, sugar cane and bundles of grass along the way. They were so much larger than I was expecting, just absolutely gargantuan creatures - but so, so gentle.
We learned about each elephant individually as we walked the trail, it's history and it's temperament, favorite foods and funny moments. I just can't get over how incredible their presence was, how anyone could hurt them is a baffling, sickening mystery to me.
At the end of the day I was more tired than I think I've been in years. The walk wasn't strenuous, but every nerve alert, every sense trained on soaking in the time we had with these gentle giants.
It will take me a bit to process the day, but I already have a few sketches going to help. When words fail me, colors usually pick up the slack.
As always, thanks for following along <3
Refuge / 18 x 24
Travel Art Supplies :: Japan/Thailand
I’m an over packer by nature.
As a little kid I would stuff virtually every CD I owned, at least 3 books and as many colored pencils/sketchbooks as would physically fit inside my backpack just to go on relatively short road trips. (Sorry Mom and Dad!)
It’s not that I fear being be bored, or have to be occupied at all times, — I actually really enjoy the feeling of “nothing” to do, I’ve just always felt a supreme need to be prepared. What if the car breaks down in a beautiful field and I want to draw? Better have my pencils. What if rains all day and our hiking plans are cancelled? Better have my sketchbooks.
These over-packing tendencies begged to be carried over into my international trips - but baggage requirements and the realistic weight of what I can actually carry have dictated otherwise. Over the last 3 or 4 adventures abroad I’ve whittled down what I consider necessary and have ended up with a pretty good list for creating the art I want to create while away. I’ve been asked a few times on instagram to share what I bring, so here is my complete list of art supplies for this 2017 Asia trip.
Art Supplies - Japan/Thailand 2017
Document tube + a few sheets of paper from home.
Tube acrylics
Acrylic brushes + plastic palette
Passport-sized Moleskine sketchbook (generally kept with my passport)
4 x 6 watercolor book (cold pressed)
Sennelier watercolor travel palette
9 x 12 Fredrix watercolor canvas pad
9 x 12 watercolor block (hot pressed)
Watercolor brushes (Escoda, Golden)
Washi tape
9 x 5 watercolor sketchbook
All of this fits into my carryon backpack except the document tube, which gets carabiner-ed onto my checked luggage. True it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for non-art items, but with my phone and iPad I’m pretty well set for the flights. At the end of the trip I’m sure re-evaluate what I used the most/least and tweak my list again - but I think out of all the trips we’ve gone in the last 2-3 years, this has been my most successful packing list. What about you, how do you pack for art-inclined vacations?
Problem Solving with Fredrix Pro-Series Dixie Canvas Kit
I love working on commissions. Creativity, problem-solving, getting to speak with clients; the process combines some of my favorite parts of being a working artist. As much as I try to make sure everything is ready, planned and budgeted correctly, as with any long-term project— issues can arise that could possibly derail the progress.
In this case I’m excited to share an issue that came up in the initial planning stage -- which I can happily report is solved.
Staying within a budget for a project is incredibly important to me. I value my clients time and information and do everything I can to make sure the finished version aligns with the initial projected cost. On this project, the canvas was large enough (40 x 60) that it wouldn’t leave a lot wiggle room for the shipping. Well, not any in truth, and thus made the project less than feasible. We didn’t want to break the sketch into two pieces for cheaper shipping, and moving to paper to roll it up wouldn’t work with our sketch either. Feeling really dismayed that I wouldn’t be able to make this project fit in the budget, I tried one last option.
The Fredrix Dixie-Pro rollup canvas kit.
The kit is a rolled, pre-gessoed length (multiple sizes to pick from) of Fredrix’s Dixie Pro canvas. It’s stapled on one side with a sturdy cardboard tube in the middle to support the canvas and is packaged with all the appropriate sized stretcher bars and their patent-pending stretching tool. By using the kit I can stretch it in my studio, paint the work, undo the canvas and repackage in it's original long, thin box to send out. With this arrangement shipping is far, far less of a concern and makes the project 100% feasible.
What I needed:
-Electric drill
-Staples/Staple gun
((Everything else is included in the kit.))
To put it together, I simply unrolled the canvas on my vacuumed studio floor, and aligned the stretcher bars. From there I screwed in the cross pieces at 90 degree angles and added the crossbeams. Once the frame was together I used the provided tool system to stretch the canvas and staple down.
I usually stretch my canvases by hand, or by using a set of metal stretcher clamps --- but I was seriously so impressed with the Fredrix kit stretching system. It was incredibly easy to get a perfect tautness in the canvas, and even easier to staple down. If I was stretching the kit without the disassembly I’d cut the extra canvas off and fold the corners - but since my client will be re-stretching on her end I left the extra.
The canvas was easy to build, and will be just as easy to take apart to save on transit fees. I’m ridiculously thrilled that it solved the shipping problem and made this project possible --- and can’t wait to start the painting phase!