A Monotype Kind of Day

Hurray!  I happily spent an afternoon in the studio playing with monotypes.  I had spent the better part of two days in the studio bouncing from idea to idea, the result of having made a 2010 To Do list.  So much I want to do, so many ideas that need to come forth and work their way through the birthing process.  In reading other artist blogs, I see I am not alone.  Maybe it is the time of year.  Maybe it is the unusual Arizona rain.  So to clear my head, I just played with the AKUA ink and learned more about Transparent Base.  In the first pass of this print to the right, I added the figure in one color, wiped out a little white areas and painted in the trunks and the rolled out the ultramarine blue on the right.  Then I cleaned the plate and rolled out the entire plate with Phthalo blue w/white and lots of transparent base.  I wiped out the light areas on the body and printed it again.  For the third pull, I rolled out ultramarine blue again with transparent base and printed it over the body and the rest of the right side.  I wiped the light and middle tones on the body which created the darkest shade on the figure.  I was really happy with how it turned out.  I've called it "Plunge" and it is 10" x 10."

Dan Welden in Phoenix in March and Path of an Artist Tour to Paris, Bordeaux and Bergerac in June

I would like to recommend two wonderful artist activities for your consideration.  The first is a solarplate workshop in Phoenix with the world reknown Dan Welden.  The second is a unique opportunity to experience some of the most magical and art inspiring locations (and way of life) in France, accompanied by painter/printmaker/teacher Nancy Willis (my sister). 

Introduction to Solarplate March 10 & 11; 9-4:00pm

Honing Your Solarplate Skills March 12, 13 & 14; 9-4:00pm

Preview/Demo Tuesday March 9; 6-8:30 pm

Dan will be conducting two short workshops at Armstrong-Prior Studio in Phoenix.  I will be one of his helpers in both classes, having taken his workshops twice.  Of course, I had to go to Santa Fe for the first one and Napa Valley for the second.  Hard duty, huh?  He's a really nice man and teaches in the most friendly and helpful ways.  Let me know if you are interested in either workshop and I will get you all the info you need to register. 

Path of an Artist Tour to Paris, Bordeaux and Bergerac
June 3rd to June 13th 2010

With Nancy Willis

This intimate tour is designed to open your eyes to the particular nature of French sensations-- the city, the landscape, the light, the food, the wine, and the pace—and refract that experience into your painting/writing/photography.

$3875* Double occupancy        * $600. single supplement
For more information contact nancy@nancywillis.com
or www.pathofanartist.com

Catching Up

WINTER RENEWAL

The New Year is often a time of reflection and I have been enjoying an unhurried look back in trying to decide what goals I want to set for myself this coming year.   I have always been a listmaker but don't always think of a whole year when planning what I want to do.  My painter/printmaker sister and my printmaker/studiomate are both teachers and have been working on what they want to accomplish during the next semester. Talking to them about their plans and ideas has gotten me working on my own life syllabus.  I am excited about some of the projects I plan to work on this year and hope you will enjoy seeing them reveal themselves over time.  For now I am in the hunter/gatherer stage of pulling together bits and pieces that will find their way into my art.  Sometimes it feels like nothing is being accomplished but this part of the process is necessary to the creative effort. 

SATURDAY JANUARY 16TH AT ANOTHER GALLERY

I am staffing the gallery Saturday from 10 to 4.  Kimberly Harris will be by to work some ceramics wonders in the back room.  Stop in see what's new!  Bring a friend.  It's a great space and it has some wonderful works to inspire us all.  I was able to show off the gallery to my sister who was visiting from Napa Valley last week and today to an old friend from Albuquerque.  I would happy to share it with you too!

Christmas Eve at Contemporary Arts Center

MARILYN MINTER
 My sister, Nancy, my husband and I carved out a quick visit to the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati this morning.  I most enjoyed the paintings, photographs and video of Marilyn Minter in her "Chewing Color" exhibition.  The paintings of enamel on metal were large and had amazing detail, greats colors - my favorite was the extreme closeup of a woman blowing a bubble gum bubble.  We also saw an exhibition called "Purchase Not By Moonlight" by Albanian artist Anri Sala.  He had one film in which he was drumming while a woman tried to get him to "Answer Me!"  The rhythm was catching and real drumsticks on real drums would vibrate nearby.  Very interesting. 


FOUNTAIN SQUARE

After cruising the gift shop we stopped by the ice rink on Fountain Square to watch the daredevil kids and the awkward adults.  We passed the horse drawn carriages in front of the hotel all lined up in their finery.

It is midnight here in Cincinnati.  Merry Christmas, World!  Peace on Earth.

Close Call in Sunny Phoenix

CHUCK CLOSE EXHIBITION COMING TO SMOCA IN FEBRUARY
 Saw this link on Facebook from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art:
http://www.smoca.org/exhibit.php?id=193
Alert all the printmakers you know to put it on their calendars!  118 works!  This should be wonderful! 

ANOTHER GALLERY 3RD SATURDAY

Beautiful weather today and sunny inside the gallery too as several friends dropped by who missed our opening weekend.   It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.  Kimberly, Mark and I had some new work to show and Larry brought in two of Greg West's paintings for display.  We appreciate all your support and hope you will come back to see what's new on a regular basis.    Tell your friends.  Another Gallery is a special place and small businesses are precious resources to be nurtured and encouraged.  So thank you again - see you next YEAR!

Monotypes and AKUA Ink

PLAY TIME

For some reason this year I found myself with all my Christmas presents wrapped and mailed off two weeks early.  This gave me 4 unexpected days to play with monotypes in the studio.

After the controlled process of reduction linocut, it felt freeing to break out the ink and brushes and plexi plates.  I had done a little 4" x 4" monotype a couple years ago of a friend's little boy (with oil based ink) and it just made everyone smile.  So in that small format I printed a half dozen experiments using AKUA Intaglio and AKUA Color inks.

 I like how the ink doesn't dry on your palette from day to day.  Like magic, it dries when applied to the correct paper, in my case, Arches 88.   But seeing the images here, the colors just aren't as bright.  My techniques are not the same and I applied too much ink to both of the new ones, but I am learning. 

STOP BY ANOTHER GALLERY

If you would like to see these 7 new prints up close and personal, stop by Another Gallery tomorrow (Saturday) from 10 to 5.  I will be happy to explain the process further if you are interested.  The address in Phoenix is 3806 N. Third Street.  There is plenty of parking and refreshments will be served!

2010 Whitney Biennial

The artists were announced for the Whitney Biennial.  Here's a link to the Art Forum article with a list of names. http://www.artforum.com/news/#news24390
I didn't recognize any of the names but my hope is there are multiple printmakers on the list.  Do you know of any?