quick notes

Here's the weekend wrap-up:

1.) Studio night on Saturday, yielding a quick silly drawing on reclaimed frame backing.
1a.) This is my biggest completed colored pencil to date (16x20)

2.) Woken up Sunday by viciously hungry cat. Ouch.
3.) Weather is fantastic.
4.) Early breakfast out with Arkonbey, with donuts for afters.
5.) Start reading The Magician's Nephew.
6.) Good morning of painting (after consumption of donuts.)
7.) Afternoon visit from D & B. D & I take marvelous walk down to the park & back.
8.) Weather still gorgeous.
9.) Plans made for Monday with MW.
10.) Consume tomato sauce made with our own tomatoes from last fall.
11.) Finish The Magician's Nephew.
12.) Muddle about in studio.
13.) Forgive cat for clawing hand. Go to bed.

meca in days of yore

I had fully intended to bring these out when I met up with the other alums in Portland, but never got around to it. So here I go publicly embarrasing myself and perhaps a few others... First up, my old birkenstocks and white-clad rear take center stage in a polaroid that was rightfully thrown away by some meca publicity photographers. As it's the only image remaining of this huge drawing collage that I did (220 pieces) I do treasure it. Plus it looks so punk. This was junior year at meca.
The highlight of that year was our Washington, D.C. trip with Ed Douglas. I was using a disposable camera and didn't develop the images for months afterwards, so everything has a bluish tinge. Left to right, as I remember are:
Will B, Renee B, me, Chris K, Constance O, Julie...., ....(eeek I forget) and Jack S. I presume Ed took the picture. So far it's the only time I've been to the capitol, but I'd go back if I had the chance (the National Gallery! Smithsonian! Phillips Collection! GAH!)

This is from 1999, fourth & final year. My studio had this window as one of three walls, and there were work crews on scaffolding outside almost the whole year as renovations progressed. Arkonbey took this pic, and it's still one of my favorites from the whole time there.


Also taken by Arkonbey, (same space as above but at night) showing me in my lovely studio togs. Bleh, I probably was fresh from my dishwashing job or something.
That's all for now. Perhaps some other time I'll post the few others I have stashed away somewhere. I do rather wish I'd had a digital camera back then.

Miss Finch, with help from Miriam

Hello again. Today's posting is inspired by Miriam's comments on a previous post. Here is a rough sketch from my Quattro journal:

And here's an 8x8" pen & ink of the same basic composition. There will be some light watercoloring in addition to it's present state. The next version of it will have to be on larger paper, I ran into the edges here, and would like to include a bit more airspace around the characters.

Before heading out this afternoon, I got a bit crafty. I can still smell the glue-gun glue here in the studio. If what I made isn't totally ridiculous, then maybe it will make an appearance here. Sequins were involved, so I'm not sure.

Frogs for PW!

Here are a few of the frog 'studies' I've been trying to re-create for P.W. My goal was to recapture the feel of the original that sold at Art Hop, but without copying exactly. Well, there are a fair number of attempts, but still I'm not quite sure I've got it. Patient P.W. has been waiting for ages to see something (anything!) so here they are for her perusal.


Out for a jaunt with his mushroom umbrella and acorn. 4x6 inch.



Walnut ink wash, colored pencil and black ink. 4x6 inch (I like his eyes.)


Quite a departure from the 'original' I wanted to give him more landscape. (For 4"x6" I was able to squeeze in a good amount.)


Breaking away from the original 4x6 size, I went to 8x8 and then cropped to about a 5x7 size here. A few nice moments in this, but also a few technical issues. This led Rick to recommend me doing more figure studies for Frog.



These sketchbook images are from this evening, I'm trying to emphasize his "dancing" posture.

She's blanked herself! Alumni Show Re-cap

Yay, me. With all good intentions of putting up a new profile image, I find myself with none. Blogger and I just can't get along today!

Well, I'm back from a second trip to June Fitzpatrick's gallery in Portland, ME. This time I brought along my laptop, but did I think to post while I was there? Ummm... no.... But I did distract myself mightily with my new cellphone. Those will come once I figure out the phone!
Showing with me were: Renee Bouchard, Will Broadbent, Doug Dulac, Constance Oliver, and Jack Sabon. Forgetting about the camera on the phone, of course I forgot to take a picture of Renee & Constance when we were wrapping up the show Saturday.

June Fitzpatrick's High Street gallery was MUCH warmer this time around (thank you, June!) but it was still a very quiet few days. One couple who did come in happened to be regular customers from Artists' Mediums, of all places! Smart move on their part, as Maine was far warmer than VT that weekend.

Despite being within sight of the Portland Museum of Art, I missed the Friday night free admission once again! Feeling a bit road-weary after the drive and sitting in the gallery all day, I opted to check in at the Inn first and then go back downtown for dinner & art. Sad to say, there was a hockey game happening, so ALL parking had evaporated. After driving around and around and around (partly trying to find parking, but then trying to find my way back!) I opted for dinner from the grocery store, ate back in my room at the Inn, and wrapped up the evening on the phone with Dani.

Saturday and Sunday the fare was MUCH better: if ever you visit Portland, have dinner at Katahdin on High & Spring, and then have brunch (7 days a week! oh my waistline & wallet!) at Bintliff's on Portland street. I wanted to bring the waiters home with me, and oh yes, the food was amazing. Thanks to Mike & Heather for treating me Sunday, and for getting me to the MECA ICA Show "Twilight."

Cheers!

Pen & Ink for winter

The last two months, I've barely touched the acrylics. But I have been wearing out my crow-quill pen, I'm down to the last few drops of Higgins Black Magic, and my watercolors are finally getting used up.
Yes, there's a bit of a reading theme now. Perhaps I could do a story after all, despite my protests to the contrary.

pretty little color boxes

I just found this beautiful post: a re-imagining of a Photoshop desktop; on Drawn
It's one of those things you wish you'd had the genius to think of yourself.
All those teeny little pieces: the wee drawers alone have me going all squidgy. (at least I think they're tiny, I haven't looked through the 'making of' section yet.) And the color palette! I'm betting color aid was involved. Remember color aid?

This reminds me of the cool little exhibit at our local library this month. A collection of antique watercolor paint boxes! We are talking real vintage here (not 1970's) as in perhaps your grandparents used some of these when they were kids. I always get that warm fuzzy feeling when I come across a toy I once had loved but had since forgotten. And there in the display case I see a watercolor tin with a circus painting on the lid. Oh! MY! This probably wasn't the one I'd owned, as it was in really good shape, but nevertheless, warm fuzzies. If you live out this way, check it out at the library. Worth the visit.

Tomorrow Miriam & I head to the Print studio to get some more prints made: I think she's working on her zinc plates, and I'm trying out some drypoint on plexiglass for the first time. Still have to bevel the edges, but I might have access to a file there in the studio. If not, I'm bringing my linoleum as backup. My finger is still hurting from trying to scratch my image into the plate with an old carving tool. But I think that's more the fault of how I held onto it than anything else. Still. Ow.