do you like to watch....

....me paint?!  last thursday i set up at the Eldorado Hotel lobby for a private event where i painted while friends and collectors nibbled on appetizers, talked and laughed, and sampled vodka and whiskey from KGB Spirits out of Alcalde, NM. (i have no idea where that is...must google it and make a trip, the vodka was smooth!)

now i don't know why, i guess i'm a bit of a performer, but i paint very well in front of an audience.  several times i was so into working that people had to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention and i jumped ten feet off the floor.  i enjoy talking to people about my work and for them to see how i create.  my actions are fast and i can cover a lot of ground quickly, even with a small brush.  i spend a lot of time going over the same areas in order to get the right shift of color and value.  i usually work from photos of clouds or landscapes, or even from pictures of a color that i found on my walks to work.  sometimes i'm a little more loose and am just going for a feeling, like with my spring piece, "On Your Way".

in other news, the allergies are a tiny bit better, the asthma is still killing me every time i walk outside, but i'm going on vacation to palm springs, ca next week so hopefully i'll get a breather (ha, get it, breather...so i can breathe?!) and a little refresh so i can come home and start another new group of paintings.  i'll leave you with this beauty shot of one of my small works, "Setting," skillfully captured by Beals & Abbate's photographer, Alex.  

growing

i can't believe how busy i'm getting!  so much going on lately, the energy is adding to my paintings and things are flowing faster and better.  finishing up some things now before my reception at the Eldorado Hotel on thursday.  there will be wine and food and me, painting and chatting with people from 4:30-6:30.  if you're local and want to hang out, please come by, the more the merrier! (and the more popular i look!)  

it's a rough time of year for me.  as much as i love the idea of spring and warmer weather, in santa fe spring is kinda deadly for me.  i'm severely allergic to juniper pollen.  just walking from my apartment door to my jeep about 15 feet away sends me into an asthma/sneezing attack.  i'm on allergy meds, a steroid shot, eye drops, a face mask, and an inhaler and still pretty miserable.  is there some kind of artist exchange program that i can start every spring that will send me to a nice, juniper-less place where i can actually breathe?!  

this week i stopped and dropped two paintings off at SmithKlein in boulder, colorado and i'll have at least 6 new pieces for the event on thursday.  i'll also start something new tomorrow night that i'll be working on during the event.  it's a good chance to see me work my signature brushstroke!  

looking forward to a good year ahead!

namaste!

untitled

24x12

oil on canvas

any title ideas?!  i usually get it from music, will have to think on it...

the edge of sanity

let's talk edges.  there are several ways that artists can finish their edges.  you can use a frame, in which you usually want to use canvas with thinner stretcher bars so they fit in pre-made frames or the less expensive frame choices at the frame shop.  if you paint on thicker canvases like i do, you have to use deeper, more expensive frames which look sharp with some spacing but add size and weight to the entire piece.  i don't believe that frames work well with my work because of the range of values and color, no one style of frame will work and it's important to keep everything unified.  if i used all black frames it contrasts with lighter pieces and darkens the dark pieces.  i also don't like the sharp wall, or stopping point on my open, active brushstroke.

another option is to nix the frame and paint the edges all one color, usually black or a color that matches the painting.  i've seen this done successfully and i've seen this done very sloppily and it looked unfinished.  you have to make sure your edges are precise and clean and evenly painted otherwise it doesn't look professional.  

what you're used to seeing with my work is the gallery wrap, or wraparound technique where you just continue the painting around the edges.  i like the look of this for my work, it keeps the space flowing and looks very finished and whole, less like a painting and more like 3-dimensional windows into my little cloudy worlds.  the only problem with this type of edging is if you don't do it while working on the front body of the painting (which is easy to do when your caught up in the energy of a new piece), you have to go back later hoping you have enough matching paint.  many times this process can take longer than the actual painting itself!  in fact, this blog was prompted by a large chunk of my night working on edges and the pain in my neck from painting with my head cocked to the side.  and this ladies and gentlemen is what we call #artistproblems. (if you twitter, search the hashtag, it's rather amusing)  time for a little yoga stretch break...