AS PROMISED...

20 SURFACES PREPPED

I'm happy to be in Big100, a one-night cash & carry show next month where everything is $30. It's a benefit for KBOO community radio (where my buddy DJ Tronic hosts a show) and The Oregon Food Bank. The 8x8 surfaces are provided, and we have about 3 weeks to produce up to 20 pieces. I intend to do 20, and use the opportunity as a living sketch book. I'm going to do cityscapes, but in a much looser style, and experiment with different types of backgrounds. I have 6 spraypainted for a beginning- 2 each of 3 colors; 2 with 3 layers of spray adhesive and newspaper, then coated with glaze; 2 that are 3 layers with alternating glazing and newspaper, 2 gessoed with a diagonal stroke, 3 gessoed with some paint mixed in, and the rest gessoed with a regular horizontal stroke. I'm going to add some fun things like receipts and drycleaning tickets to some of the plain glazed ones, maybe try some more watercolor-ish backgrounds, and I think I'll just paint buildings straight onto the newspaper covered ones. My thoughts are only about one step ahead of my hands, as opposed to my normal way of doing cityscapes, where I know what to do in what order to get what I want. I'll post pictures when things begin to shape up :-)

some of the stuff in my head

...is a collage I did last May, but it's been naked and frame-less all this time. I went to The Rebuilding Center (just like the bumper stickers say- I love that place) and found some molding that's perfect for a frame. It was that 80's/90's country dusty blue and provided the perfect color base to blend with the pastels in the piece. I added, blended and wiped away colors until the pieces matched, then went about deciding which side of the frame looked best on each side of the canvas. Even though I painted the molding with the collage in front of me to gauge colors, I matched all 4 sides with the entire piece. I was pleasantly surprised- the finished product looked as though I'd painted the whole thing together. There's just some touch up work needed at the corners.

en pointe

I've been making progress on the ballet collage. I know I'm getting close to finished when there are fewer and fewer areas that I want to change or fix. I'm thinking that I'll either do a simple wood panel frame, or make a velvet curtain like that on a stage. Most of the images I used art from OBT print materials, so there's some copyright details to take care of. What I want to do is offer the piece to them in exchange for tickets, and if that doesn't go over, I'll ask for their permission to sell it. I'd LOVE for them to have the piece, if they like it. I think ballet is amazing and have much respect for what dancers do, sacrifice, and endure to become the masters of this art. I think I've put that wonder into the piece, and if a rep of OBT feels the same way, I'd be really pleased. If OBT doesn't want it, I'll offer it to Allison Roper, Yuka Iino or Christopher Stowell- the two principles and the artist director. Yes, I know these names off the top of my head:-)

new backgrounds

These arebrand spankin' new- not even titled/numbered yet. I'm experimenting with backgrounds. This is on gessoboard/hardboard with a cream colored base (instead of white gesso) and the background color painted on, let to dry, then sprayed with water & let drip. I want it to look like the sky is falling.

old stuff, new eyes, new stuff

So I made it into the Art & Labor show- my second juried show acceptance- yeay!
Here's the blurb: http://portlandcityart.org/2009/06/26/art-labor-the-labor-of-art/ There aren't any pics of my stuff, but OH MY GAWD the artists I'm sharing walls with a freakin' incredible. Keeping fingers crossed that something sells... the opening was a lot smaller than I'd expected. BUT KC Cowan was there!! She's half of the Oregon Art Beat crew- EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I spoke with her (she's approachable and very nice), she said she liked my work (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!) and I gave her my card. If nothing else, KC Cowan has seen my work, likes it, and has met me. Have I mentioned EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!?

I'm painting new ones now (I've ben showing the same damned ones for 2 years). I'm excited to have something new- the backgrounds are very different. I'd show you what I'm doing but our scanner isn't on speaking terms with our computer. I'll have to take photos. I've also had the thought to put more skyscrapers in there- real ones. Or at least inspired by real ones. I've traced some new & funky buildings from all over the world, and want to put my favorites in the background- a little Detroit, a little Tokyo, a little Paris.I'll have the whole world in my paintings. Then I'll do the smaller buildings where people live in the front, as always. This just makes the city bigger, and the gap between the haves & have nots more profound.

yeay!

I received confirmation that the curator received my submission- I'd left it on her porch so as not to disturb her or barge in unannounced. Hee hee! Here's her email:

I found your packet this afternoon.
Thanks for bringing it by. (stealth-submission ... :-)
Your work is a delight.

A delight!! This is good! The curator has told me twice that she likes my work, and that she thinks it fits! Woohoo!