Cool kids

Is it really November already? Did Open Studios really come and go and now the holidays are here? Is it possible I have to deliver art to two galleries but am afraid I have nothing new to say? Tomorrow I am going to my studio, and it feels like I'll be visiting an old friend or distant relative, what if we have nothing to talk about? Wish me luck!

Building Things

I just completed a four day printmaking class with Jenny Robinson and my gang of artist friends. This is not one of the pieces that I made, but it's a funny thing the way printmaking and encaustic painting overlap. They each demand humility and a huge capacity to let go. However, in printmaking, once you put the print through the press, or cut the plate - there is no going back. I'm not sure how much of that permanence I can take. I am super excited about combining the two medias and seeing what happens. 

Red Tipped Rufous

I've begun to play with collage a little. I have so much respect for people who do it successfully - making an interesting composition out of scraps of things is really challenging. In this piece, I dipped my toe in a wee bit just to see how well the additional fabric and paper would adhere just by placing it into the wax. I've prepped a couple of panels but the process has me yearning for acrylics.

Autumn Flight

We camped at Manresa in September for Trish's birthday (and our anniversary). On the way home we hit a bunch of beaches along the coast. This was taken by Trish while I ran around the beach trying to get the gulls to fly. They were so accustomed to beach combers they barely got off the ground as I ran around waving my arms in the air. She should have taken a picture of that. 

Winter Clarity

I'm putting up a small show at City Art Gallery today. The Opening Reception is Friday, November 4, from 7 - 10 pm. This will be included in the show, along with other small works that I finished recently. 

Analogue Ivy

At some point the power lines will come down and the urban birds will find new places to perch. In this shot, which is a favorite of mine, the ivy has grown around the telephone poll and given them a second option. I went back to Saint Mary's Park to get more images of this scene and the ivy had been cleared away. I wondered by whom. The City gardener? The telephone company? Do they even exist anymore?  Hopefully by the time the world goes entirely digital, I'll have moved on to new subjects. In the mean time, I'm working to capture this urban scenario that I can't seem to get enough of. 

Another view of the Bakery Outlet

The Bakery Outlet at 17th and Bryant is a puzzling relic. I know my years in California, along with my innate tendency to be impressed by healthy foods, fads, and happy cows, have taken me a long way from my Midwestern Wonder bread roots - actually it was Gardner bread in Madison, Wisconsin. So I have to wonder (ha!) how does that bread maker that bakes that yummy smelling "bread" survive in the land of gourmet baguettes and vegan, gluten free pastries? I can smell the bread being baked while in my studio up the street, so I know they're not shipping it in from the Midwest. I guess it's good the squishy white bread lovers of the City still have a place to buy day old bread.

Sunny in St. Mary's Park

I've reproduced this transfer on other back grounds but this is my favorite, yet. The fabric absorbs the wax medium in a way that adds depth and richness and makes the colors really pop. Set into one of those groovy black float frames - this one found it's way into a new home last week. Farewell, little bird.