September has been a super busy month, ya’ll! My work has been poppin’ up from New Hampshire to Seattle, but this coming weekend, it’s an actual POP-UP!
Friday & Saturday, September 22nd & 23rd, there will be a one-time Pop-Up show of my latest work at the Seattle Art Source showroom in the International District in Seattle. New acrylic paintings from both my ECHOES & LEMOLO series, as well as large & small watercolors on cradled panel will be on display inside the SAC showroom, showcased with Plank & Grain’s gorgeous reclaimed wood furnishings.
I will be in the showroom gallery on Saturday, 9/23 from 11am-1pm and would love to meet you in person! I’ll have my watercolors with me, so you may even catch me doing a little watercolor sketching!
For directions to Seattle Art Source and showroom hours, click here. Hope to see you on Saturday!
Hi friends and especially Seattle area folks! A new painting from my LEMOLO series has been chosen to be a part of the juried group show, ICON, opening at Lynn Hanson Gallery on Thursday, September 7th.
The Mountain Comes To Me, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 20x20x1.5
Since being in the Tacoma/Olympia area for nearly a year, we’ve spent a good bit of time exploring around Mount Rainier. This summer, while camping at Cougar Rock, we took a few strolls at dusk at the base of the mighty mountain and I was awestruck once again by her presence. The Mountain Comes To Me was painted the following week.
view of mount rainier from the nisqually vista trail at paradise
The ICON show opens during the First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square where dozens of galleries and venues stay open late for your art browsing pleasure. Lynn Hanson Gallery will be open for First Thursday from 5pm-8pm and there will be an Artists Reception & Awards event on Saturday, Sept 16th, from 4-7pm. I won’t be able to make it to the First Thursday opening, but Mr. F and I will be at the gallery for the artists reception on the 16th– come by and say hi!
If you’re in Seattle for First Thursday or if you’d just like to see the show in person, drop by Lynn Hanson Gallery, 312 S Washington St, Sept 7-30th to see the show! For purchase information, please contact Lynn Hanson Gallery at 206-960-2118.
Since beginning the #100littleartworks project way back in 2016, I’ve been diving deeper and deeper into my love of watercolors. I’m excited to announce that six new watercolors on Aquaboard panel are part of my second showing with Nahcotta Gallery in Enormous Tiny Art #22 opening this Friday, September 1st!
waterbound I and VI, watercolor and cold wax on aquaboard panel, 7×5 art in 10×8 white float frame
I’ve been exploring watercolors beyond paper and have completely fallen for Ampersand Aquaboard panels. The surface reacts much the same way as watercolor paper, but unlike paper, they can be displayed without glass once sealed. These watercolors on panel are sprayed with fixative and then, for extra protection, coated with a cold wax finish.
To see all of the Waterbound series available at Nahcotta, check out my artist page on their website. Work is available for pre-show purchase now and the show will be up in the Portsmouth, NH gallery until September 30th.
What our eventual home space will look like is a major topic of conversation for Mr. F and I. We’re on our 15th(!) living space in 6 years of traveling and with each new home we discover what works for us and what doesn’t.
Since amping up my studio practice in the last several years, having space to paint has become more and more important for my happiness as an artist and well, the Mr. knows that happy wife=happy life. For our permanent living situation, we’ve talked about an in-home studio, backyard studio, and off-site studio. But lately, we’ve been seriously thinking about a live/work studio home.
Even when I have a little studio area, my painting paraphernalia always seems to find its way out into the other living areas. We don’t want a huge house with wasted space, so why not combine our living space with my work space?
Mr. F isn’t picky and he’s super low maintenance, not minding the thought of basically living in a big artist’s studio. All that he requires is a comfortable bed, sofa, and well-functioning kitchen. We both prefer spaces that aren’t precious– none of that “furniture you can’t sit on” for us. So I think we’d be OK with knowing there may be random paint splatters happening.
With that said, I’m a pretty neat painter– I always wash my brushes and keep my studio pretty clean and organized. So I think we wouldn’t have to worry too much about living in a disaster zone.
We’re still a few years away from settling down, so we have lots of time to ruminate on this option. Any of my artist readers work/live in the same space? I would love to hear your experiences!
Water, water, everywhere. The abundance of water is a big part of what draws me to the Pacific Northwest. Here we have rivers, sound, sea, alpine lakes, streams, waterfalls, the mighty Pacific Ocean, all within reach.
Some of my favorite childhood memories happened around water– time spent at my aunt and uncle’s lake house in Florida continue to influence me as an adult. It was there that I spent mornings and afternoons– always a break for lunch and then a “rest” before more swimming, my aunt was a firm believer in that whole no swimming an hour after eating, much to my childhood frustration– in the cool, dark water.
For nearly a year now (the longest I’ve yet to spend focused on one series), I’ve been painting ECHOES, my abstract interpretations of what happens above, beneath, and upon the water’s surface. When we would go out exploring, I was finding myself taking photos of the water itself, instead of the scene as a whole.
I was fascinated by the way you could almost detect a sense of another landscape in the reflected surface, but it was often distorted and abstracted by the angle of view, ripples in the water, or fog upon the surface.
It’s these abstractions and distortions that most fascinate me. I’m not interested in an exact replication, but what I find happening is that the more I look, the more I see, and the more it pours out in the work.
You can see the latest of my ECHOES paintings on my website. I’m starting on two large canvases this week. I can’t wait to dive in!
Do you remember the scene in Wild where Reese Witherspoon can’t stand up under the weight of her pack? Every backpacker knows that weight is everything. Every ounce you add to your pack is an additional strain on your legs and back as you hike, which makes what should be an amazing, beautiful experience painfully agonizing.
It was so last minute, I didn’t have a tiny sketchbook to carry with me and I wanted to be able to do some watercolors when we had downtime. So industrious artsy that I am, I decided to create a makeshift watercolor kit for backpacking.
First task– create a sketchbook. The Mr.’s job recruiter recently came to visit & brought us some branded goodies– among them a few pocket journals, which just happened to be the perfect size for backpacking (remember, size matters! ha!). I ripped out the lined journal paper, then cut a few pieces of Canson Mixed Media paper to size, securing them inside with a heavy rubber band, recycled from grocery-bought veggie bundles (I always keep some on hand, they come in so handy!)
It worked perfectly– and as an added bonus, it is lighter than a moleskin would be and the pages will be easily removable as I fill them– so it will continue to lighten the more I hike & paint!
Onto the paint itself. I already had a super light weight flower-shaped watercolor palette with a lightweight cover. So I filled the wells with my favorite tube colors and let them dry out before packing them up. I zipped the palette up in a ziploc, to protect all my other things just in case there was any paint leakage.
A small, inexpensive brush is sufficient for tiny quick sketches. I hacked off about an inch from the end so that it would fit easily in a quart-sized ziploc with my sketchbook without bending the bristles. That ziploc was then placed inside the freezer-sized ziploc with my palette and a small plastic water cup. I also bring along a folded paper towel for blotting. Viva brand towels work best– light and super absorbent, so I can do lots of blotting and cleaning up without soaking the towel through.
Everything worked like a charm! I may eventually switch out the palette for something more secure, perhaps with a larger mixing area (I like this option, the thumb hole would make it much easier to hold onto), but for now, it does the trick. We’re hoping to do another overnighter this weekend along the Sol Duc River, follow me on Instagram for photos!
Here’s a clip of me getting ready for a backpacking adventure.. 🙂
Over the last few months, I’ve been working on some new SCINTILLA paintings, just in time to be included in the Enormous Tiny Art Show #21 opening this Friday, March 3rd at Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, NH!
scintilla 14, 2017, acrylic on cradled wood panel, 4x4x1.5
This new group of SCINTILLA mini paintings are a bit of a departure from the last group– still minimal in design and palette, but instead of varying the hues with each painting, I kept to a seaside color scheme, inspired by the Puget Sound and the coastal Northeast.
You can see the new series in person at Nahcotta or check them all out online here! The show runs through April 2nd and all the work is available to purchase both in the gallery and online.
In all my years growing up and as an adult in Florida, I longed for cold winters. I dreamed of snowy days and cozy nights, only getting small doses on quick trips North. Since traveling through the West and Northwest for almost six (!!) years, I’m finally experiencing the seasons as I always hoped to.
I hear people complain about the cold and snow, but for me, it never ceases to be magical.
The streets are quiet, all the bustle of life slows and is muted.
Colors become deeper and more saturated.
Everything sparkles.
Expanses of white bring colors and textures to the forefront, giving them room to breathe, space to show off. This interaction informs and inspires my work more and more as I seek to create paintings that emanate that same sense of peace and quiet.
It’s been a bit since I’ve shared what I’m reading with you! I just finished Judy Chicago’s Through The Flower and wanted to share some quick thoughts I took from her early experiences as a female artist.
Frustrated with the patriarchal structure of the art world, in 1970 Chicago took a faculty position with Fresno State College to teach a women-only art program. The groundbreaking Feminist Art Program provided female artists a platform for creating artwork specific to their experiences as women.
For several years, Chicago immersed herself in the study of other female artists working in abstraction. There is truly nothing new under the sun, but looking back at how other women created and functioned in the male dominated world (both the art world and the world at large) helped give the artist the confidence and commitment to create her own visual language and tradition.
In her early years, Chicago heard a professor tell her class that women had made no contributions to art history. This, along with a sense of equality and justice instilled by her father, propelled her to work tirelessly not only to become an important artist but to become an important, inherently feminine artist. Chicago’s style of feminism is very direct, while the work of other female artists can be more subtle.
As an artist, I find myself feeling like I should be making important statements with my work. But as a person, I’ve never been one for overt statements, though I have definite opinions. Over time, Chicago found her voice. I hope to do the same.
Top image by me. Other image sources linked above.
When I’m in the studio, I’m always listening to something– just what depends on my mood and what I’m working on. Sometimes it’s music, sometimes podcasts. I have a few “go-to” podcasts that I really enjoy and thought you might like a listen if you haven’t tried them out already!
We all know Danielle Krysa as a champion of artists, but it turns out she is also a fantastic interviewer! Danielle spends time chatting with artists over coffee or an adult beverage, getting the low down on their backgrounds, artistic inspirations and aspirations, and fun tidbits like whether they prefer potato chips or chocolate. I’ll take chocolate covered chips!
A painter with a sincere appreciation for the ins and outs of the studio work of other painters, John Dalton’s podcast Gently Does It, is a joy to listen to, especially for gaining insight into the minds of some of the best painters working today. I have a few favorites that I’ve listened to multiple times including Ep. 30 pictured above featuring Alyssa Monks and Ep. 26 and 27 with Ali Cavanaugh.
I have a soft spot for Joshua Tree, California. If you’ve been a longtime reader of AF, you may remember, Mr. F & I spent six months living in JT a few years ago. Joshua Tree has a distinctly creative vibe, which attracts all sorts of artsy folks to the high desert. Emily Silver interviews local JT area artists in their studios, which adds a layer of familiarity to her interviews that isn’t there among the podcasts in which interviewer/interviewee are separated by miles. The artists and Emily both continue to remind me of what an inspiring and magical place Joshua Tree can be.
Gale Straub’s She Explores podcast centers around the experiences of women in the outdoors. Artists, entrepreneurs, and thru-hikers are among her interviewees. Each bringing their own unique experience to the podcast. Listening to the SE podcast makes me want to get outside and if you take your inspiration from nature, like I do, I promise you’ll be inspired!
I’ve been a reader of Young House Love longer than any other blog I’ve followed. Even from before they were YHL (I remember This Young House!). Anyone who reads their DIY blog knows these two are super fun and super cute. Listening to them is like hanging out in your best friend’s kitchen.
Wild author Cheryl Strayed joins Steve Almond in dispensing advice to Dear Sugar listeners on this weekly podcast. Smart and insightful, this one is a favorite when I’m gessoing!
