Making Art

Short Vignette

2012-02-16T19:41:00.002-05:00

I continue working on a book project. It's like working on a painting only instead of paints and brushes I am using words and jpg images.

One of my favorite experiences from my very first three-day Paradise City show:

"The highlight of the show for me was the sale of “Bonsai” to a lovely young couple, they fell in love with the painting on first sight. They felt an immediate connection to the work and asked me where the inspiration came from. I told them about a scene in the movie “Hero” starring Jet li (promoted by Quentin Tarantino) when two women samurai are battling in a forest. The colors change from natural forest greens into mystical golden yellows and bloody reds. The women float through space as they battle to the death … the scene took my breath away… the painting took their breath away. Coincidence, “Hero” was one of their movie favorites and they knew the exact scene I was describing."

"Bonsai", 22" x 30" watercolor on paper

Memory Lane

2012-02-13T23:22:00.005-05:00

I have spent most of the day gathering books, photos, paintings, and writing what has now taken on a life of it's own. I shared an introduction on the previous blog post and have made huge progress since then. I had to pull out discs of older works that I want to share, but I am limited because most of these old files are on floppy discs and I no longer have a computer in the house that can read them (I will have to take the floppies to be transferred onto a hard disc). Technology has changed so much.

In honor of Valentine's Day I am posting paintings from 2004 that I stumbled upon, inspired by artist Jim Dine.

"Heart", 14" x 10"

"Hearts", 30" x 22"

I hope your day is filled with love.

An Introduction

2012-02-12T19:26:00.010-05:00

I decided to share my book introduction just in case it never goes any further than this blog! Don, I know I agreed with your suggestion to wait on sharing in order to avoid unnecessary pressure but sharing here will allow me feedback (or lack of feedback). As the book progresses so will the art examples I include in it. My thought from today - documenting the business progression is just as important as the documentation of my personal artistic growth, the two go hand in hand.

1 – An Introduction, Watercolor

Throughout my life I have always loved painting and creating things, enough to make Art History my college major area of study but not enough to allow art to be a career immediately following my undergraduate studies. That all changed after I realized painting was my way of expressing the things that words could not. Since 1998 I have found myself immersed in the endless ways of developing my art and my career as an artist. I am constantly looking to set new goals, then work toward achieving those goals, and always finding the next challenge leading into a natural progression of development. I am always re-defining what constitutes success as a working professional artist. I have come to accept that my definition is continuously changing.

I first started painting in weekly watercolor classes (early 1990’s) at the local community center with Nordia Kay. She was a successful watercolorist well known on the North Shore of Boston, and happened to be teaching in the same building where my children were in pre-school. The class was a break from my household responsibilities and I looked forward to the 3 hours a week I could call my own. I had never used watercolor before this class and I had to learn the basic skills required in order to handle the medium properly. I loved being surrounded by the creative environment in a studio setting and these classes were a welcomed return to my youth. My first paintings were stiff and muddy (it’s embarrassing to even re-visit these) and it took years of practice to truly understand the translucent qualities of the watercolor medium.

Early Still life, around 1990, 20” x 16”, watercolor on paper

The still life above is an example of one of my earliest watercolors.

After years of practicing with the medium and attending these local classes, I reached a point where I needed to be liberated from all of the “rules” associated with traditional watercolor painting. I felt stagnate and limited, and was fortunate to have been introduced to Jeanne Carbonetti via her book, “The Tao of Watercolor”. Her book struck a chord with me and I was compelled to schedule a private paint session with her. Fortunately she was only a 3-hour drive away.

Driving to Vermont from Massachusetts was easy and it was the first time I had ever scheduled a trip just for myself. Alone in the car with my painting supplies and music, my favorite song at that time was “Me” by Paula Cole.

Lyrics to "Me"

I am not the person who is singing

I am the silent one inside

I am not the one who laughs at people's jokes

I just pacify their egos

I am not my house, my car, my songs

They are only just stops along my way

I am like the winter

I'm a dark cold female

With a golden ring of wisdom in my cave

CHORUS:

And it is me who is my enemy

Me who beats me up

Me who makes the monsters

Me who strips my confidence

This trip signified a huge change not just in the direction of my art (it was the catalyst that led me to creating “A Year of the Full Moon”) but it also was a journey of personal and spiritual growth. It was at this time I first recognized my relationship with my husband was drifting further apart and my art was the one place I felt safe and happy.

I met with Jeanne Carbonetti in August 2003 and she freed me.

Business of the Arts

2012-02-09T09:43:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I was the guest speaker for the Enterprise Center at Salem State University in the Business of the Arts Series and I had the opportunity to share what years of working as an artist have taught me from first hand experiences. My three page outline was available for attendees, (just in case I forgot to cover all the things I felt were important once I started talking), and I realized by putting this outline together I have the basis for one of the big things on my bucket list (I didn't even realize I had a bucket list!) The outline I put together for this workshop will be the core of the book I plan to write, "Making it as an Artist ... and avoid living in your parent's basement!" In this book I will also incorporate artwork that reflects the progression of my personal growth as an artist.

124 people attended the event, and I was told the prior 2 events in this series attracted 50+ people each. There is a definite niche in the art marketplace for the business of being an artist. The first few minutes I felt all those eyes looking at me and I may have stuttered a bit but once I got into the topic I found my comfort zone and was able to go with the flow.

At the end of the workshop attendees were given an evaluation form and I will have access to the results of the questionnaire (my choice). I will also be receiving an edited video which I hope to share either here or on YouTube. Now that all this art business is settled, I am ready to get my paints out...

I took this photograph last week when I was walking my dog and plan to use it for my next encaustic image transfer, hoping to start this weekend.

Weaving the Web

2012-02-03T09:16:00.004-05:00

The timing couldn't have been better with my upcoming presentation on February 8, addressing the business of the arts and successful self-promotion... entering selected juried shows, then hearing my work was accepted, is something that exemplifies building a resume, an ongoing work in progress. I used to think it was great being a big fish in a little sea (Swampscott being the little sea) but now bigger shows in Cambridge, Boston, New England, and even National shows have been more my focus.

My previous blog post announced the Best of Show I received at Lynn Arts (works on paper winter show). Yesterday the show postcard was sent and I was delighted to see my painting on the front of the card. The card was emailed and postal mailed to the entire Lynn Art Association membership and mailing list.

Once I received the pdf file I was able to forward it to the entire Swampscott Arts Association mailing list as well as post it on my Facebook page (and now on my Blog). The Lynn Arts website also has the card featured on their home page, and the publicity opportunities seem endless.

Another example of weaving in the world wide web occurred when Montserrat College of Art sent me an email to let me know they have been promoting my up coming Business of the Arts speaking engagement on their blog and throughout the community.

Instructor Robin Samiljan on Successful Self-Promotion

Their blog post was connected to the Enterprise Center at Salem State University's blog post which was shared by several other local business blog posts, and it goes on and on...

I was reading the Marblehead Reporter (the local weekly newspaper) yesterday and was surprised to see my name along with another local artist, Claudia Kaufman, featured as the artists of the week. The Copley Society contacted all of the communities representing their new artist members and it was my good fortune that the paper decided to print the news. I had submitted work to the Copley Society's winter show, juried by David Brown of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Miriam Stewart of the Fogg Museum, and found out last week that my painting "Echo" was 1 of 29 pieces accepted to the show. The Copley Society has already started promoting the show on their website and will be doing more publicity once the show is up.

One of the main points I am going to make when I am speaking about self-promotion is the way we all have the ability to use the internet for free publicity. The possibilities are endless.

Best of Show

2012-01-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

I was pleasantly surprised to hear I won Best of Show in the works on paper show at Lynn Arts. When I dropped off my 2 watercolor submissions I couldn't help but notice incredible paper collages and abstract works of art. I had hoped both of my paintings would be juried into the show but because the juror, Stacy Thomas-Vickory, specializes in printmaking, I didn't think my watercolors would impress her! Happy to say I was wrong.

"Bonsai", 30" x 22" watercolor on paper

"Bonsai" won the Best in Show award, "Snow Day" is also in the show, both of these paintings were demonstrations from the watercolor workshops I taught last year.

"Snow Day", 22" x 30" watercolor on paper

Treescape, another large work

2012-01-24T20:12:00.001-05:00

"Treescape"

26" x 40" watercolor on paper

Years ago I bought 4 sheets of jumbo (40" x 26") watercolor paper and after framing two works in this size I realized the cost made it somewhat prohibitive. I keep my unframed watercolors in a flat paper file cabinet but the jumbo size is too large for the drawers. The two remaining sheets of jumbo paper have been rolled and tied up, sitting in a corner for the past eight years. After completing the 30" x 60" encaustic diptych "Turbulent Seas" earlier this month it felt comfortable working larger with watercolor and I decided I would bite the bullet and purchase a frame to accommodate this new work.

The first step to my treescape painting style is to use painters tape, masking out areas of the paper, setting the composition, then starting a building process by adding layers of color.

Once I have added several layers of background color I take off the tape and continue building layers. My motivation here was to not let myself get too literal with the trees and to try to rely more on line and color. I won't have time to look for a proper frame until the weekend, but I am thinking simple natural light wood with a plain white matt.

Below are the two jumbo works from years ago, both painted on jumbo paper, both sold.

Working Larger

2012-01-18T18:33:00.001-05:00

My first challenge of 2012 was to paint larger using the encaustic medium, and this piece is my newest addition to the Water Life series.

"Turbulent Seas", 30" x 60" diptych, encaustic on panel

Note to self: if I am going to work larger painting with wax then I need to have much larger quantities of encaustic medium.

I had ordered additional medium for this project because I knew coating both of the 30" x 30" panels with 3 layers prior to adding pigment would require plenty of wax but I used up the entire 333 ml block before I even added any pigmented wax. Fortunately I had back up quantities but I never expected to use so much so quickly into the painting process. The other note to self was that I was grateful I had my torch for fusing because the heat gun covers a much smaller area and it took a long time to fuse the entire surface of both panels.

I used painters tape to protect the edges, I wanted to keep it clean looking because I do not plan on adding a frame, the cradled panel will frame itself.

After applying 3 layers of clear wax medium I am finally ready to add color.

Every addition of colored wax is combined with a layer of clear medium that is then fused with heat.
It's a building process and everything took much longer because of the size involved.

Now that I have completed this project, I am ready to start the next one with the same motivation to continue working larger, this next project will be a watercolor.

New Member's Show, Copley Society of Art

2012-01-15T09:07:00.000-05:00

Last night was the opening reception for the new members at the Copley Society of Art. It was my first official show participation and I wasn't sure what to expect. Maybe because it was a winter Saturday or maybe because the Copley Society is located in a great location on Newbury Street in Boston but I was blown away by the attendance. I made a few new friends, did some networking, even had several patrons approach me about my art. Time will tell if anything pans out or if I will be a part of future juried exhibitions.

Above, I am standing next to the wall in the front of the gallery where all of the new members accepted in 2011 are listed.

The reception was packed!

My painting "Storm Wave" (top right) was the only encaustic painting in the show.

New artist friends, Derek Uhlman (sculptor) and Marilene Sawaf (painter).

We took a group photo for gallery publicity, I counted 20 out of the 34 new members at the reception but I am not sure if others left before the photo was taken.

Many of the pieces in the show were large scale and I have been procrastinating with my next project... I am finally motivated to get to work.

Each of these panels are 30" x 30", a possible diptych is in the works.

Encaustic Heaven

2012-01-09T19:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the opening reception for the Swampscott Arts Association Winter Show and I decided to exhibit several newer encaustic paintings inspired by my visit to Tuscany last spring. The judge who determined award winners is the owner of Gaga Gallery, Julie Brooks. Her gallery has had some of the most interesting, eclectic art shows and receiving the 2nd place award from her was more confirmation that I am moving in a positive direction with the encaustic medium.

"Tuscan Vineyards", 12" x 12" oil pastel and encaustic on panel

Recently I had re-worked this piece and when I added the layers of oil pastel the mood became more ethereal and softer, I was much happier with the result. The judge's comment was "Love the texture, colors, the form of vertical rows intersecting, tree-like elements, how the sky is articulated. Great composition; how it is framed is also part of the appeal".

Below you can see my other piece in the show, "Early Morning in Cortona" (top right corner) and I actually had thought that was a more interesting painting. I am on the left, talking to Mimi Andler, one of the Swampscott Arts Association members that was just telling me how she preferred my watercolor paintings more than the newer encaustic work!

Today I hung 11 paintings at Marblehead Natural Healing and we firmed up the dates for the upcoming encaustic workshops - February 5 and February 19. I have also committed to teaching an encaustic workshop at Lynn Arts on May 12. It's been over a month since I have had time to work in the studio and this morning I finally bit the bullet and ordered 2 large wood panels, each panel is 30" x 30" and my hope/plan is to work on a diptych (possibly an addition to the Water Life series). I keep hearing bigger is better, what do you think?

Photos of my paintings and the workshop space at Marblehead Natural Healing are shown below.

Encaustic Workshops

2012-01-07T17:49:00.003-05:00

The first week of the new year has led me into several new teaching opportunities. I continue to teach watercolor painting at Montserrat College of Art but after the demonstration I held during my reception in December at Lynn Arts, there was so much interest with encaustic painting techniques that I am now scheduled to teach a 1 day workshop on May 12 (details for the workshop will be listed on the Lynn Arts website soon).

I am also offering another 1 day encaustic workshop in February at Marblehead Natural Healing. My paintings will be hanging on display starting Monday and details for the upcoming workshop will be posted next week.

Dr. Devorah and I together decided which pieces I would hang in her office space and four of her favorites were older paintings from The Lotus Series.

The other 10 paintings are from my Pathways series, hopefully everything will fit in her space when I hang on Monday!

Hello, 2012

2012-01-01T19:01:00.007-05:00

Reflecting and summarizing events from the past year has always helped me to plan new goals for the coming year. Initially I wasn't feeling the success of 2011 because of an overall decrease in art sales but then as I reviewed each month, I realized 2011 was actually a year of personal bests.

January

I painted what became the first piece in the Water Life series, "Low Tide". Capturing the motion and mood of the ocean, painting free-hand with the encaustic medium, began with this painting. I continued to develop this series throughout the year.

"Low Tide", 16" x 20" encaustic on panel

February

I taught 1 of the 2 annual watercolor workshops I offer through Montserrat College of Art. Some of my best paintings are the result of class demonstrations.

March

I entered a juried photography show at Lynn Arts and my photograph was one of the three award winning photos in the show.

"After the Storm", 16" x 20", b/w photograph

April

I travelled to the Tuscany region in Italy, was inspired by the medieval cities and vineyards, and came home to discover I had won a 3rd place award in the Swampscott Arts Association spring show.

"Spring Pathway", 20" x 16", encaustic on panel

May

My encaustic painting, "Storm Wave" was accepted into the Cambridge Art Association National Prize show.

"Storm Wave", 16" x 20", encaustic on panel

June

I re-designed my website and decided it was time to take charge and manage it without outside help. I changed the entire layout and continue to maintain my updates on a more timely basis.

July

The Marblehead Festival of Arts is an annual juried Fourth of July art event that attracts artists throughout Essex County. My mixed media piece, "Gray Day at the Beach" received the Best of Show award in the mixed media exhibit, and my watercolor painting, "Howling at the Moon" received the Edward Carey award in the painting exhibit.

"Gray Day at the Beach", 8" x 8" encaustic on panel

"Howling at the Moon", 30" x 22" watercolor on paper

(this was my demo painting from the February watercolor workshop I taught )

I also applied for an artist membership at the Copley Society in Boston. The application procedure began in July (and was not completed until September).

August

The Salem Art Association in conjunction with the Peabody Essex Museum hosted a juried water themed show and my painting "Waves" was accepted.

"Waves", 18" x 24" encaustic on panel

September

I received word my painting "Howling at the Moon" was accepted into the New England Watercolor Society Annual Show. I also heard that I was accepted as an artist member to the Copley Society.

October

"Waves" received 2nd place in the Swampscott Arts Association fall show. I taught another watercolor workshop at Montserrat College of Art and completed another successful demonstration painting.

November

My solo show opened at Lynn Arts and I featured the Pathways and Transition series. I also demonstrated encaustic painting techniques during my opening reception and am now looking into teaching encaustic workshops through Lynn Arts.

December

Sales during the holiday season were generated through the Fine Art America website.

2011 was a year of both personal and professional growth. I hope to continue on the same creative path in 2012. I already have a speaking engagement at the Enterprise Center at Salem State University in February and my passion for pursuing the business of the arts may even lead to a book writing attempt.

I don't know what the coming year will bring but I am determined to follow my heart and my instincts and continue to open myself to new opportunities. Happy New Year.

Demo's from last weekend

2011-12-10T19:12:00.001-05:00

"Dreaming", 8" x 8" encaustic on panel

This week I was able to complete one of my demonstration paintings from last Saturday's reception. I added oil pastel and a greater sense of depth with pigmented wax, now this feels right to me. I continue to question why I am so attracted to painting the landscape even though I always admire abstract art done by other artists. I thought I would feel connected to vibrant color with the second demo started last weekend, but it just doesn't click with me when it's me painting! I am going to add white oil pastel to the piece below, and it will probably become more of a "thing", I just don't know what thing that will be yet.

"Abstract", 8" x 8", work in progress

My big project waiting to happen is going to be working larger using jumbo sized watercolor paper (that's been sitting in my studio for years). I want to have fun, mask with tape creating resists and many layers of watercolor washes, trees are going to continue to be my inspiration.

Somehow I managed to do most of my holiday shopping already and now I can have some fun stimulating my creative juices.

Pathways Reception and Demo

2011-12-04T08:31:00.004-05:00

Thank you to all that came to yesterday's reception and demo. At one point the room was quite full with curious onlookers and I was able to share my enthusiasm and joy for encaustic painting. I demonstrated several techniques but my focus was on image transfers enhanced with layers of wax medium and pigment.

I had prepared several wood panels with wax medium in order to show the different stages involved with the image transfer technique that I used in the Pathways Series. The panel below was started before the demo and at the demo I added layers of detailed color and medium. One more layer to add greater depth should complete this piece.

It was important to me that everyone see what I consider the most important first step of fusing the image into wax (shown below). Watching the image mesh into the wax medium is always a highlight. I will fill in gaps when I incorporate details with pigment.

These enthusiastic patrons stayed for the entire length of the demo, thank you for coming, asking questions, and sharing in my passion.

Local Publicity

2011-11-28T07:14:00.002-05:00

Fortunately over the years I have established a relationship with two local Arts reporters. My current show has been publicized weekly for the past month in the "Arts and More" section of the town newspaper ( The Swampscott Reporter) with show information and a brief description posted every Thursday, the day the paper is printed. I also was interviewed by the Arts reporter for the online paper, the Swampscott Patch.

Deahn Berrini Leblang came to the show, took photos, and yesterday I was the feature story in the Sunday column of local culture.

Swampscott Patch

It's been great getting all the publicity and this week I will be preparing my encaustic panels for Saturday's demo. I want to have plenty of choices and backup plans in case the wax and I aren't in sync. Just like I always tell my students, the worst thing that can happen is the painting does not turn out the way I envisioned it, but I will still be sharing the process which is really what it's all about.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:59:00.002-05:00

My Thanksgiving holiday usually means a trip to Chicago to spend a few days with my mother and brothers and their families. When my adult children can join me every other year, it's a more meaningful holiday, and I am always grateful.

I am starting to plan my move back from the east coast to the Windy City, and after having spent 23 years living in New England it will feel good to move back to my roots. One of the biggest challenges I will face is networking and re-establishing myself in the art communities. It's been too distant to grasp so far and I still have plenty of time with an estimate move date planned for the summer of 2013. My art has always been inspired by my surroundings and I wonder if the cityscape will become a new, important inspiration. I am already thinking about streets, angles, grids, and geometry.

View from the hotel, looking east toward the lake -

These encaustic paintings (medieval walled cities but city inspiration nonetheless!) could be a precursor of what's to come -

Yesterday we managed to make time to eat out, shop, and eat out again! The holiday decorations are always so beautiful.

Today will be a big, festive, extended family get together and I am so grateful that we are able to do this.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. What are you grateful for?

Square

2011-11-21T07:47:00.004-05:00

Recently I had been told about an application that allowed retailers (specifically, me when I am at shows) to accept credit card payments without charging a monthly service fee. I had been apprehensive about making a change over to a new company that would need to be linked directly to my business account but after many years of paying monthly service fees that continuously increase (with an additional fee based on a percentage of every credit card sale that is processed and deposited into my account), I finally decided to make the change. The application is called Square, and their website is www.squareup.com.

I am already setup with Paypal for online purchases, but now I have the ability to accept credit cards and NO MORE MONTHLY FEES!

Once I signed up with Square I received one of these small swiper plug-ins for my iphone. After swiping the card, the dollar amount and description is entered on the phone, I can even include a photo of the purchase! A receipt is then sent in the form of an email (or text message) which includes the dollar amount, description, customer's signature, and my business information.

Please let me know if any of you have heard of Square or similar applications, I am still curious and open to learning about various options that do not carry a monthly service fee.

Mission Accomplished

2011-11-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

You can see the challenges I faced when hanging the show - the long gallery wall has windows dividing up the hanging space and the opposite wall has two oversized windows facing the street with a very narrow hanging column between them. I added my easels in order to include the Autumn pond paintings in the show and I also think it creates a more interesting space.

Small encaustic works followed by Summer Pathways

Autumn and Winter hang together on the far end wall

Summer hangs on a side wall opposite the big windows

Spring hangs on the shorter entrance end wall (after the doorway)

The gallery director will be typing up and labeling each piece for me, along with putting together a book including my artist statement, resume, bio, and price list. All that's left for me to do is prepare for the demo I am doing at the opening reception on December 3, and hopefully the show will be well attended. Maybe I will see you there!

Space limitations

2011-11-07T17:05:00.007-05:00

Today I brought "Pathways and Transition" to the Willow Community Gallery at Lynn Arts (it was hanging day for my solo show), only to discover there was not nearly enough wall space to include everything. What was I thinking? I setup and display work in a 10" x 10" show space regularly but this was much more challenging for me even though the space was larger at 12" x 25". Not leaving any breathing room between paintings made them all look terrible.

Eventually I worked through the space problems (with the help of the gallery director) and tomorrow I will finish hanging, tweak a few other things, take photos, and probably obsess about details for another day. I have until the end of the week for the show to be completely setup.

Over the weekend I had worked on a large encaustic version of the Autumn Pond thinking it would be a nice addition to have in the show, especially this time of year. Unfortunately two of the pieces that had to be eliminated were the photo and watercolor versions of the pond.

"Autumn Pond", 18" x 24" encaustic on panel

Digital photograph, 16" x 20"

Watercolor on paper, 18" x 24"

Recent sketch

2011-10-30T14:35:00.008-04:00

9" x 12" soft pastel and ink

One theme that consistently reappears in my work is the tree-filled landscape. Simple lines give the impression of dense growth and depth, often depicted when the branches are bare.

I usually sketch during break times when I am working as a substitute teacher; the pastels travel easily although I am limited to working smaller.

Below you can see some of my watercolor paintings with the same linear qualities:

My ongoing challenge is to explore working with a subject I know and reinterpret it in new ways. Less is more.

Tuscan landscape, redux

2011-10-23T17:05:00.002-04:00

Today turned into a fix-it day and I decided to have some fun. I reworked one of my Tuscany paintings with the attitude that the worst I could do was ruin it, it already was not working for me the way it was so there was no down side!

"Tuscan Vineyards"

12" x 12" encaustic and oil pastel on panel

I built up layers of clear wax medium plus I decided to use oil pastel in between each layer. I wanted to loose the texture and details from the earlier version and dilute some of the background colors. I am still learning how to fuse the wax with just the right amount of heat. I was able to develop a more ethereal, dream like feeling with the addition of oil pastels.

The first version is shown below -

The Final Pathway

2011-10-21T18:47:00.001-04:00

The final piece to be included in my "Pathways and Transition" series was completed today. For me it's the closure I needed.

"Winter Pathway"

18" x 24" encaustic on panel

My other large encaustic paintings can be seen below, shown in the order in which they were painted. The show will also feature photographs, watercolors, and smaller encaustic paintings.

"Summer Pathway"

24" x 18" encaustic on panel

"Spring Pathway"

20" x 16" encaustic on panel

"Autumn Pathway"

24" x 18" encaustic on panel

New Autumn Painting

2011-10-13T17:01:00.001-04:00

"Autumn Pathway", 24" x 18" encaustic on panel

Below is the photograph I used for the transfer, although I had it printed in black and white. You may notice that the transfer process reverses the image.

I have been focusing on the final details for my upcoming solo show next month and I decided to add a large encaustic painting to the "Pathways and Transition" series. I already had the 24" x 18" encausticbord here at home and thought the autumn pathway in that size would be a welcome addition. (I will also try to make time to paint the winter pathway in a larger size but will have to order another panel). The autumn and winter encaustic paintings I had originally done in this series are only 8" x 8".

I photographed the stages of my image transfer process and you can see how the initial transfer is a simple black and white photo. The paper I use is inexpensive and rips easily but these gaps will not show up once I add colored wax.

After adding initial color to the first layer, it is a building process of fusing wax medium and pigmented wax. In the morning I will decide if I need to make any changes.

Assessing and Next Up

2011-10-12T08:28:00.000-04:00

Booth setup from the weekend

This past weekend was the Paradise City fine art and craft show in Northampton, MA; my 6th year exhibiting in this particular show, and definitely the most exhausting exhibition and display setup that I do in the course of a year. My newest challenge was making room for both encaustic and watercolor paintings without confusing patrons and potential customers. I wanted to display my large landscapes (watercolor) along with my encaustic "water life" paintings. I made the decision to not bring any encaustic landscapes because I need most of them for my solo show opening locally next month but ... looking back now I can say it would have been a better mesh of themed work if I had only landscape paintings in both the watercolor and encaustic mediums.

As I answered questions and explained the encaustic process at the show, I realized that this medium was confusing to a majority of patrons. I made changes and adjusted my display throughout the weekend but going forward I will not be combining different mediums unless they have the same theme.

Fortunately, next up is my solo show at Lynn Arts where that is exactly what I am doing! My photographs, hanging next to the watercolor interpretation of that photograph, next to the encaustic image transfer of that same photograph. The flow between each piece already exists.

First day at the show, most of my encaustic paintings are hanging grouped together rather than spread around.

Day 2 at the show, I added my giclee prints to the booth. I realized smaller, less expensive pieces needed to be included.

Was the show a success? The attendance was there (so they said), but most of the 2-d artists were having a tough time. I felt fortunate that I had prints, note cards, and small works. Part of doing these shows is the selling opportunity, but the other part is the PR aspect and having the first hand conversations with the people that want to connect with artists. A combination of current economic turmoil and extreme weekend temperatures (mid and upper 80's) definitely impacted all of the exhibitors.

Northampton, here I come!

2011-10-06T18:43:00.000-04:00

My panels are finally dry although if you look real close you may notice the water stain from the flooding earlier this week. My car is packed and loaded up. And once again I am looking forward to what I consider to be a working vacation at the Paradise City 3-day art show.

I love visiting the western part of Massachusetts this time of year. The leaves are changing colors and I am always inspired. I spent a long time deciding which paintings I should bring to the show and I knew I wanted warm, burnt orange, autumn colored watercolors along with my newest series of encaustic paintings from the Water Life series. To help myself work through the details I always print pdf's. Below you can see my choices (although size does not translate). I am also bringing small encaustic works in shadowbox frames along with small prints, hand painted and printed note cards. Something for everyone! Northampton here I come ...

Mother Nature, boss of us all

2011-10-04T19:51:00.000-04:00

Later this week I am on the road to Northampton for the Paradise City art show. The only problem is, we had some serious rain and flooding early this morning. Totally unexpected.

I store art supplies in my garage which is on ground level - watercolor papers, paints, boards and frames, an assortment of mediums. More importantly, I also store my display panels, electrical lighting, and show materials.

The storm I heard at 5am turned out to be massive, we had 6 inches of rain.

Mr. Policeman checking things out in front at 7am

Across the street

Back door, Charlie surveying the situation

What is so unbelievable to me is I always watch the news and feel terrible when places I have visited are devastated by storms and floods, but it's never been something I experienced first hand until now.

Second Workshop

2011-10-02T17:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I taught the second and final watercolor workshop of the fall, we shared a wonderful mix of skill levels, and regardless of previous experience, everyone was able to learn several new techniques. I always demonstrate when I teach, and below is my demo from the day (I was able to finish it today).

"Snow Day", 22" x 30"

Last spring when I taught a weekend workshop, I had started a basic watercolor wash but never developed the painting. Using this yesterday allowed me the opportunity to show how painting snow was similar in technique to painting clouds, as well as mountains.

Below you can see some of the works in progress from yesterday, a few of their paintings are complete.

We had such wonderful energy and I look forward to the next workshop, but right now it's time to switch gears and prepare for the 3-day Paradise City fine arts and craft show opening this Saturday in Northampton.

The Copley Society of Art

2011-09-29T09:56:00.003-04:00

It started back in July when I decided to submit a preliminary application to the Copley Society, 4 jpg images with a very brief 1 page form outlining specifics regarding my art. Within a month's time I heard back that I made it successfully (my last attempt about 5 years ago was not successful) past the initial application process and I was now eligible to submit the full application, a much more detailed package of information.

Next I was to submit a minimum of 5 jpg images that were a strong, cohesive body of work with the #1 image actually brought in, framed and ready to hang. We were told that we could include up to 20 jpg's although the first 5 were the only that would be juried. Additional images would be included on the website if accepted as an artist member. I also had to include:
- a current resume (something I needed to format properly and spent numerous hours reviewing)
- a personal statement that specifically addressed my process and inspiration (I also spent numerous hours refining this)
- hard copies and digital images, all on a disc in the required format
- a personal reference from a credentialed source
- any articles, reviews, or additional references were optional
- check payment carrying a 2nd application fee

This was my choice for #1 image

I had another month to organize and prepare all of these application materials and this was a key opportunity to bring my behind the scenes, professional details up a notch. I met with Kim Bernard, an encaustic artist and consultant I respected, and the first professional to actually review my encaustic paintings and technique. She also helped me refine my website and better merge the two mediums I am using, encaustic and watercolor painting, into a more cohesive presentation of work. She was also the affirmation I needed in the encaustic art world. My preferred medium is encaustic, and the Copley Society was given the Water Life series to judge in my application.

About 2 weeks after submitting everything I received word I was accepted as an artist member at the Copley Society of Art. Wow. I am thrilled, and looking forward to participating in all that the society has to offer.

The Copley Society of Art is the oldest non-profit art association in America. It began in 1879 and ...

"As the oldest nonprofit 501(c)(3) art association in America, the Society remains true to its original mandate by promoting the advancement, understanding, and enjoyment of the highest quality visual arts. By engaging its artist, patron, and volunteer members in exhibitions and innovative outreach programs - such as award and scholarship support for artists, Masters Workshop Programs, gallery talks, and critique sessions - the Society is prepared to reaffirm its mission for the next millennium."

Re-connecting with Watercolor

2011-09-25T18:20:00.004-04:00

It had been three months since I painted with my watercolor palette, until yesterday when I taught the first of a two- part weekend workshop at Montserrat College of Art. I had spent the summer focused on my encaustic "Water Life" series and after attending an intensive 5-day watercolor workshop (as a student) in June, I felt the need to take a break. Teaching is probably the most creative muse I have discovered to date, and demonstrating techniques with the ability to share the process is one of the most exciting things I get to do! Yesterday brought me back to my watercolor roots.

I have a group of 7 students, most of them are new to watercolor. My favorite first lesson is creating a resist with tape, an easy way to mask out areas of the paper, allowing students to focus on learning how to layer their watercolor washes without worrying about loosing the crispness of white. Below you can see our room set up with everyone busy working.

We spent the morning working on water washes, learning how to create depth by layering paint, and after a lunch break we shared in a group critique. I was able to start a second demonstration, a landscape painting, focusing on more specific painting techniques. My initial paint washes were simple but my composition and colors were set.

Today at home I was able to continue working on this painting; as I painted I listed key elements I want to outline and share next weekend when we complete the workshop. I am not sure if I will add anything else to this, it feels finished right now but I need fresh eyes to be sure.

"Bonsai Glow", 30" x 22"

Watercolor concepts

1. Know your subject - look at it, study the shapes, know the place.

2. Work wet!

3. Control the paint by using the spray bottle; respond to where the paint leaves a mark rather than forcing the paint, don’t fight “happy accidents”.

4. Build up layers, use a hairdryer between each layer, finish with glazes if necessary.

5. Lift paint with a clean, wet brush.

6. Work dryer as the painting progresses, spattering and small linear details should be saved until the painting is almost complete.
Final note
7. There is always a point when you need to stop using a photo reference, when you need to stop looking and trust your instincts, freeing yourself to experience the free flow of the watercolor medium.

Art and the Economy

2011-09-19T17:20:00.000-04:00

Needless to say, I am a little (a lot) concerned about the upcoming Paradise City fine arts and craft show just 3 weeks from now, because of the economy and the general depression of the country. As an artist, I feel it is my responsibility to create art that connects to people, whether viewing my art ends in a sale or not is a different type of success.

I am bringing my newest body of work to the show, The Water Life series, and in order to encourage a positive (purchase) response I decided to also offer smaller (less expensive) versions of the series. It was difficult working this small, using the torch to fuse the wax, but I was still able to translate the movement of water.

Both of these paintings are 2.5" x 3.5", encaustic on board -

Floating each piece with foam core on a sheet of watercolor paper, then adding my chop (signature) stamp and putting it into a 6" x 6" shadowbox frame, all adds to creating a stronger statement with these smaller works. I price these at $95.

Talking about art and blogging, going to galleries and openings, teaching workshops and attending classes, all contribute to nurturing those of us struggling in the art world. I wonder when this grey cloud hanging over the country is going to pass.

Autumn in the Air

2011-09-13T17:15:00.003-04:00

Lot's of activities going on this time of year and at the end of the month I will be teaching Saturday workshops at Montserrat College of Art. Last spring we decided to offer the workshop on 2 consecutive Saturdays rather than 8 weekly evening classes and it was a much more successful, intensive way to teach and learn. There is still time to sign up and if you are interested, all information is in the workshop link above.

I also have been busy ordering new business cards with my new domain name (www.RobinSamiljan.com), creating a new sign for my exhibit booth, and with the Paradise City fine arts and craft show just a few weeks away I decided to put together the show announcement promoting my upcoming solo show.

My new booth sign is a simple font (which happens to match my web design) with the background from one of my newer encaustic paintings (which happens to match my blog header). The sign is 8 inches high and 4 feet wide made out of gator board and will hang from a support bar near the back panel of my booth.

The Cambridge Art Association Fall Salon opens this Friday, it's the one show each year that is not juried and allows every artist member to participate. I have a few other things in the works and hope to have news and updates by the beginning of October. There certainly is a huge amount of work behind the scenes, tending to the business of being an artist.

Take 2

2011-09-06T18:44:00.002-04:00

I had to try one more time to use the wine photo, but this time I scaled it down to 8" x 8". I did not want to let myself get caught up in the geometric details and only chose to highlight random spots. I made sure the image was transferred without rips and I reminded myself not to over work this but it looks cloudy and lifeless, maybe that's why I am so attracted to painting nature. Kinda looks like cob webs and dust are surrounding the bottles, doesn't it?

"A Good Year"

8" x 8", encaustic on panel

I also added a few foreground details into "Sandy Beach Waves", now I can call this a finished work.

Win Some, Loose Some

2011-09-05T19:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I started working on a large image transfer and today it transformed into one huge disaster. Let's just say I could not remedy the problems I created with the red and black wax and melting it off caused the image transfer to fall apart (I admit I was not gentle with the torch)!

In order to find some peace of mind I took out a smaller panel (11" x 14") and decided to paint sandy waves. Every day when I walk my dog I notice the colors of the sand, waves, water, and sky. This was the last official day of summer although I am sure the beaches will continue to be my inspiration.

"Sandy Waves" (in progress)

11" x 14" encaustic on panel

Geometric challenges

2011-09-04T19:54:00.004-04:00

My usual preference in subject matter is nature - trees, mountains, oceans, anything outdoors. I can't explain why I felt compelled to paint bottles on a wall in a wine cellar, other than this project is the opposite of everything in my comfort zone. Plus, seeing bottles everywhere was eye-catching, and I do love tasting wine.

I started off with an 18" x 24" wood panel, prepared with painters tape to protect the edges (a new process I am trying) and 3 layers of fused wax medium. I had my photo enlarged on a basic paper (printed at the local Staples) and I burnished and transferred the image onto the panel although I had some trouble keeping the image intact.

As you can see there are plenty of white spaces, and I am considering leaving some of the white areas. The key will be finding a balance between the colors of the stacked bottles and maintaining a pattern.

I progressed as far as painting all of the wood shelves, and some of the darks and reds in the top right hand corner. It's frustrating because I know I am not able to create an even bottle pattern without a stencil and I am trying not to get caught up in precise details. Tomorrow I will make better progress, maybe even finish this.

Swampscott Makes News

2011-08-30T08:59:00.000-04:00

As the entire east coast prepared for Hurricane Irene, my daughters and I were home bound and ready to take whatever action would keep us safe. Fortunately, there was minimal damage in town, none to our home, although 14 boats were ripped away from their moorings. For this reason, Swampscott was a news headliner.

Watching the cleanup yesterday was a main event. Last time I checked there were just under 14,000 residents in this coastal town, just 15 miles North of Boston.

As summer comes to a close (with the first day of school tomorrow) I am ready to get back into the studio. It's been a hectic month with everything going on except for art activities, although I did submit one of my new Water Life paintings to a juried water themed show in Salem, "Just Add Water". This show is running in conjunction with "Ripple Effect, the art of H2O" at the Peabody Essex Museum, and will be juried by Sarah Fraser Robbins, director of the nature center at the museum.

I will hear tomorrow if my piece was accepted.

"Waves", 18" x 24", encaustic on panel

Can you articulate?

2011-08-18T11:51:00.001-04:00

About a month ago I re-wrote my artist statement, which spiraled into a personal journey of me asking myself once again what I was trying to accomplish with my art. I know as artists we are often asked what inspires us, and as easy as it is for me to express myself with paint, it is equally as hard for me to articulate that same thought with words. I think this is why art is such an important modality in learning.

Can you articulate in one paragraph why you make art? (please share if you can)

I tried to articulate... but as often as I sign onto my computer, it seems I am editing!

"Every season in nature has a unique color palette, energized and transformed by the endless cycle of rebirth. I walk through the woods and feel secure in the arms of Mother Nature, cushioned by her earth tones, viewing what was once a budding branch, now a full-bodied tree. The waves and currents change along the coast, and I am in awe of their movement. Nothing stays the same and the cycle never ends."

This paragraph is a summary and a starting point to help you understand what inspires me. I continue to explain in more detail the processes I use with each body of work featured on my website.

It is easy enough to search out other artist statements online. I find some artists to be so technical I am easily confused about what they are trying to explain, and other artists so vague I feel lost. Because I am applying for an artist membership at The Copley Society I have been forced to review what it is I am doing, and why. The one thing I am clear about is my love of the land, the changing seasons, and the life force that exists.

*if you want to read the rest of my artist statement visit "About the Artist"

End of Summer, II

2011-08-11T07:58:00.001-04:00

One of the goals I set for myself this summer was to paint with wax on a larger scale. I wanted to continue working on the Water Life series and to build a strong body of work with hopes of featuring this series of paintings at the upcoming Paradise City show in October. I achieved my goal this week.

"End of Summer II", 18" x 24" encaustic painting completed yesterday

"End of Summer I", 18" x 24" encaustic painting completed earlier this week

After painting the first seascape I thought it would be impressive if I created a second piece that could work as a diptych as well as on it's own. Either way I place the paintings together (see below), the colors are slightly off and although the flow of the waves does work, there is a warm serenity in one painting, and cold turbulence in the other. I decided to put each of these in a simple black floater frame and when I am setting up the entire body of Water Life paintings at the show I can then decide the best display.

It's hard to believe school will be back in session several weeks from now and the easy days of summer will come to an end. I feel depleted from the many hours spent working on these two paintings. I plan on resting for the next few days, and will wait to see where my creative juices take me next.

End of Summer

2011-08-09T18:21:00.000-04:00

It really feels like fall is lurking around the corner... at least that's the way the ocean looked to me today.

"End of Summer", 18" x 24" encaustic painting

Balancing Act

2011-08-08T18:41:00.000-04:00

Ever since I started using my photographs and combining them with encaustic paints, I have been more aware of details in a composition. Today I was able to complete another mixed media work.

"Early Morning" (Cortona), 14" x 11" encaustic image transfer

It was important to me to leave some of the photograph alone, (without any wax textures), and to find a balance between the flat surfaces of the photo combined with the textured surfaces of the wax. Every time I transfer an image into wax medium, it is always a balancing act. Sometimes less of the photograph is showing depending on how much pigment I add with encaustic paint, but I am always creating the key composition elements from one of my photographs that inspired me.

My summer has definitely been focused on encaustic paintings and image transfers although I am still teaching watercolor painting in the fall at Montserrat College of Art. I received notification today that a painting I submitted to the New England Watercolor Society was accepted into their annual juried exhibition. I am pleased to be a part of this exhibit, although I will have a two hour drive to the "hand delivery only" drop off and pick up location in Westfield, MA. If you are interested in seeing the show or want to know more about the exhibit you can visit the NEWS website.

Etching with Wax

2011-08-03T19:50:00.000-04:00

Last month I participated in a "plein air" paint event and I had decided to challenge myself by using the encaustic medium outdoors for the first time. The end result was a not so exciting mixed media collage. I was inspired by the beach, tide, rocks, and sand on the shoreline, but I did not feel I had the "plein air" expertise with encaustic to pull all of these elements together successfully. After retrieving my painting from the month long exhibit I was able to look at it with fresh eyes and I knew exactly what to do. Rather than building up additional layers of wax, I etched into the existing layers and I was able to bring more color into the composition surface. I also got lost in the process and found the repetitive etching marks to be a key addition to the revival of this painting.

"Devereux Beach", 8" x 8" mixed media collage

Tuscan landscape

2011-07-31T12:40:00.000-04:00

Another 12" x 12" encaustic completed, "Springtime in Tuscany", and this painting had already been played out in my mind as well as on watercolor paper several months ago. I knew exactly how I wanted the geometry of the composition to work. I was most focused on the clouds and sky, which had similar qualities to painting waves and ocean. It's interesting to me how one art process always ties into another.

The next several days will be hectic around here but once I have time to get back into the studio I plan on using a large 18" x 24" panel for my next ocean painting. I am still bouncing back and forth between these two styles of painting with wax, and will continue to do so as long as the inspiration continues with both.

Wildflowers in Tuscany

2011-07-26T23:20:00.001-04:00

When I was traveling through Tuscany, a few of my favorite photos were taken when we got lost on a country road on our way to Cortona. I only had my phone camera handy and I decided to use the low resolution photo as a transfer, knowing I would enhance details with paint.

"Wildflowers", 20" x 16" encaustic image transfer

This painting is the 4th encaustic image transfer inspired by my recent visit to Tuscany. I will be starting the 5th as soon as my order from Dick Blick is delivered, I ran out of encaustic medium!

Photo I plan on using:

My other Tuscan inspired encaustic image transfers can be seen below.

"Wisteria Canopy", 16" x 20"

"Red Geraniums", 12" x 12"

"Shadows in Tuscany", 16" x 20"

Fresh Eyes

2011-07-23T11:40:00.000-04:00

It happened again! I worked on an encaustic painting for most of yesterday, thought the work was complete. Obsessive me strikes again (*note to self - when I continue obsessing over a painting through the night it usually means there is something wrong with it) and this morning I had to make some adjustments to the colors in the waves. I woke up with fresh eyes and knew exactly what needed to be changed.

"Tumbling Tide", 12" x 12" encaustic painting

This is how my painting looked at the end of yesterday -

I have definitely been focused on encaustic paintings and image transfers this summer. It feels like I am doing 2 completely different things using the same medium. I have been trying to decide if one way is better, or should I write, requires more skill, than the other. Should I be developing my free-hand painting skills over encaustic image transfer skills? Do you consider one technique more of an art form than the other? these are just a few of the questions I have been asking myself lately. I know it's not always good to have to define one's art, (but for reasons I am not ready to share at this time), I need to define where I am at with encaustic art and I need to choose one use vs. the other. Which would you pick? why? any input would be truly appreciated!

Thanks,

Robin

Finalizing details

2011-07-21T16:40:00.000-04:00

Late yesterday I posted my newest work, and I knew I would have to look at the painting with fresh eyes in the morning. Of course I decided to make changes, too much of the photograph was showing and there was not enough textured wax. I also made several small repairs and I am now ready to call this a finished work.

"Sunday on Snow Street", final version

"Sunday on Snow Street" (below), as it appeared at the end of yesterday. Which version do you prefer?

Sunday on Snow Street

2011-07-20T18:10:00.001-04:00

Being on vacation made me realize how important my art is to me on an almost daily basis. I never had time to take out the pastels I brought with me, and I could not wait to begin several new projects once I arrived home. Immediately I wanted to work on a gift for my brother and his wife. Their painting is only 8" x 8" which made it come together quickly, plus I knew exactly how I wanted to work this.

"Sunday on Snow Street", 8" x 8" encaustic image transfer

I will look at it again in the morning and make sure I don't want to add additional details. Then I will proceed with preparing the 16" x 20" wood panel I still have, it's time for me to do another ocean painting. I don't have any other large panels here and my next order will be 18" x 24" size from the Dick Blick website. I set goals for myself and working larger with wax medium is on the top of the list.

Vacation inspiration

2011-07-19T09:29:00.000-04:00

I will be back home later today and already I am looking forward to my next painting(s). One of the photographs I took of my brother's home in Michigan will be used for an encaustic image transfer, a house warming gift that is long over due.

My focus will be on the lines and angles of the fence softened by the surrounding flowers and bushes. I like the uphill view in this composition and that it is not an obvious "head-on" house portrait.

And my ongoing project continues, The Water Life Series. I am ready to use the 18" x 24" wood panel that's been collecting dust in my studio.

Recently I updated my artist statement and because of this, I am now able to easily identify and focus on creating motion, reflecting the energy of the water landscape with the encaustic medium. The logical progression of this series is to work larger. Isn't it great when you go on vacation and come back re-charged and excited to work?

Listening to my instincts

2011-07-09T10:17:00.004-04:00

"Tempest", encaustic painting, 12" x 12"

The ocean has been talking to me lately. And my encaustic paints are begging me to paint seascapes, so the Water Life Series (thank you to Casey Klahn for naming the series) continues. I learned a valuable lesson with this piece.

I had several photographs from my most recent beach outing and wanted to recapture fluid motion, something I believe the encaustic medium lends itself to doing when properly fused. Yesterday I spent way too much time looking at the photographs trying to re-create details and ended up with a stagnant interpretation. I felt like I was forcing the paint because I was caught up in controlling the pigments and for me that is never a good thing. Luckily, I had recently revised my artist statement and during the night I reminded myself why I paint...

My current artist statement:

"Landscape painting allows me to experience the flow of nature. I create fluid, organic shapes by trusting the creative process rather than forcing it and I respond to where the paint naturally flows. I build a greater sense of depth with each layer of new color and the result is a dynamic, three-dimensional artwork.

There is an essential connection between seeing and capturing the composition through a camera lens, then re-interpreting it as visual art. I translate nature using primitive form combined with pure color and then add composition details enhanced with pigment. My use of colorful, impressionistic brushstrokes leads to comprehending a greater reality within each of my paintings.

My newest body of work consists of encaustic painting focused on the ocean and sky. I feel the medium lends itself to the movement of the water. Creating transparent layers with wax captures the depth of the sea. Fusing color variations with heat allows for a permanent, charismatic interpretation of nature’s beauty. I love painting with wax!"

So after a sleepless night (talk about obsessing) I woke up this morning and decided to make changes, my primary motivation was to create flow and muted color in order to capture the mood of "Tempest".

This is how my wood panel appeared after adding the first 3 layers of clear medium, and a fourth layer with shades of blue.

Additional pigmented wax (above), combined with more layers of medium and the introduction of yellow tints in the sky.

I wanted to create a storm sky, the reason for the yellow, and the motion of waves crashing in the foreground.

Last night I thought this painting was complete (above) but during my sleepless obsessing, I decided the colors were disturbing, and the waves felt too contrived.

This morning I could hardly wait to mute the colors and create greater depth with wax medium. I added additional layers of pigment with the end result (first image posted) providing a more subtle, organic storm approaching... Tempest.

Swept Away

2011-07-07T16:56:00.002-04:00

"Swept Away", 11" x 14" encaustic painting

Below is a photograph I took on July 4th when I was at the beach, I knew it would inspire me with my next encaustic painting.

The lazy days of summer have arrived. No schedules, lots of sun and surf, and I have come to realize I am in the midst of creating a new series of encaustic paintings. I have been observing the tides since last winter but now I am able to notice so many different hues of color.

My goal will be to work on a slightly larger scale, I already have 12" x 12" and 18" x 24" panels. Once I use those I will consider ordering a 22" x 30" panel (the same size I am comfortable using with watercolor) but I need to ease my way into this. I also realize that I am going to need to order much larger quantities of wax medium!

Below are some of my other encaustic paintings that could work in this new series, I am not sure what to call it (have any suggestions?) but for now I am thinking "Sea and Sky".

Exciting News!

2011-07-02T15:57:00.007-04:00

Last fall I had heard that the Ampersand Company was offering free samples of their newest product for encaustic painters, Encausticbord. I decided to visit the website and sure enough I read that if you sent an email request for free samples, they would send several small sample sized boards, free of charge. When is anything ever free, right? Well, within a week's time I received my samples along with a letter from Andrea, the Ampersand customer service rep. She said if I wanted to share with her via email what I used the encausticbord for, there might be a chance Dick Blick would want to use the artwork in one of their promotional catalogs. That was nine months ago.

The image I had sent - "Spring Pathway", 3.5" x 2.5", encaustic image transfer

Two days ago I received an email from Andrea, and to quote her,

"Hi Robin, I have some very good news! This lovely image that you emailed us last year has been selected by Dick Blick to be featured in their Holiday '11 sales flyer".

I have to say that I had completely forgotten about ever submitting a sample to her and the fact that they are using one of my paintings, (they are also compensating me financially), combined with the publicity of my name and website below the image in the catalog, has me thinking I could not have even paid for better publicity than this. After the holiday weekend I will be free during most of July and I am definitely inspired to continue exploring encaustics. Of course, I will be painting on Ampersand's encausticbords.

"Plein Air" painting at the beach

2011-07-01T18:46:00.002-04:00

I spent the day at the beach, set up with my beach umbrella, camping stove burner, torch, encaustic paints, and beautiful surroundings. It was overwhelming at first, trying to figure out the correct heat settings on the stove, making sure that the wax was not too hot. Fusing with my torch was also a challenge because I could not see how strong the flame was and I needed to control it in order to not over heat the wax. Did I mention it was a bright sunny blue sky morning followed by clouds mid day that were chased off by more blue sky in the afternoon?

I already can see the things I want to change in my painting (as soon as I can bring it home after the art festival is over). I had to submit my work by 5pm this afternoon and often I need a few days before I can accurately see the corrections that need to be made in order to make a painting successful. In the meantime, it is part of the "Painting the Town" exhibit at the Marblehead Festival of Arts this weekend.

"High Tide at Devereux Beach", 8" x 8", pigmented wax, sand, rocks

Here I am painting at the beach; notice the sky in the first image, and how it's changed minutes later in the second image.

And last night was the award ceremony...

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Prep time

2011-06-29T14:23:00.000-04:00

It's almost the 4th of July which means the summer Festival of Arts is about to begin. On Thursday night there is an award ceremony followed by a preview night and I am receiving 2 awards this year which has me a little more excited than usual. On Friday the "Painting the Town" event begins with breakfast in Old Town followed by all of us "on location" painters scattered throughout the town of Marblehead. I usually participate in this plein air event and in the past have always been drawn toward a more peaceful, isolated painting location. This year everything is going to change!

Because of my continuous passion for encaustic painting I am going to plein air paint with wax at Deveraux Beach. Today I drove by to make sure there were secure, safe tables I can use to set up my portable camping stove along with my encaustic paints and brushes.

View from shaded picnic table area -

I already prepared 2 wood panels with layers of wax medium so that I can get right to painting with pigmented wax. I have never painted outdoors using the camping stove and being at the beach location with the changing light and sun should be a new adventure. I am curious to see how different my palette choices will be.

Stack of panels and floater frames, ready and waiting -

We have all of Friday to paint with the deadline to submit finished, framed, paintings by 5pm (although there is now an allowance for those artists that need until 9am Saturday). A reception is held later Saturday afternoon and the exhibit remains intact until the end of the festival.

New website - up and running

2011-06-23T10:00:00.004-04:00

www.fineartbyrobin.com

It only took a day of intense focus combined with obsession, followed by several days of rechecking on different web browsers to make sure my new web design was functioning properly. The only glitch I found was on the home page; viewing on the firefox web browser, my signature does not appear correctly. Next week I will meet with tech support in the local Apple store to see if there is something I can do to correct that.

My watercolor palette is fighting with my encaustic palette and I don't know which medium is going to win in my next creative endeavor! I did just order several new encaustic paint colors from Evans Encaustic and I am leaning toward waiting until they arrive before pulling out the torch and electric griddle.

I decided to frame some of the figure studies from last week's watercolor workshop. I am still surprised with my enjoyment from something I had felt such a strong aversion to in the past.

This first painting is the only one not under glass yet, you may notice reflections in the images that are under glass.

Web facelift time (again)

2011-06-20T22:53:00.007-04:00

It was almost a year ago when I decided to no longer pay a web designer to manage my site and I switched over to Apple software with web hosting. I am not versed in web design although the Apple company offers simplified templates, perfect for someone like me, who would rather be spending my time doing other things (like painting). When I initially setup my site, I spent several weeks totally obsessed, building and editing every detail. I was able to update as often as needed.

I love being able to manage everything on my own.

I decided to choose a black background because it made the images of my paintings pop (and it was how my old website looked) but in the past 10 months I have discovered that the best way to present artwork online is with a white or light background. Galleries have white walls, not black, because it is less distracting and makes it easier to see the true color of an artwork. I know when I am reading a black page on my monitor if the font is bright white it almost hurts my eyes. I am now going to make the change over to white pages. Below are 2 samples of my new home page, although neither sample includes the header on top. Pretty simple. I am not sure if my font should be gray or black, but once I start copying my current website in the new template it will be easier for me to figure out the details. I am hoping I can focus on this all week so that I will be ready to post my new and improved site live on the web by next week.

Current Website link

sample of new website home page (below)
version 1

version 2

End of watercolor workshop

2011-06-17T21:19:00.004-04:00

Things began to click for me yesterday, and continued today. The biggest impact Joel made on me was in my use of lights and darks, and not being afraid to make strong shadows. I also want to cut back on the amount of water and spray I use when wetting the paper. My most unexpected experience was how much I enjoyed painting from a live model.

Yesterday we painted outside but my favorite work from the day was when I got "up close and personal" with Hosta in the garden.

Hosta I, 18" x 24"

Hosta II, 18" x 24"

One of my favorite figure studies was combining 3 different poses, each painted in less than 5 minutes.

Figure Study, 22" x 30"

The last thing we did this afternoon was rip up the paintings we did not want to keep, then we created collages.

Figure Study Collage, 30" x 22"

Joel Janowitz was an amazing, articulate, knowledgable teacher. I can only hope I am as helpful to my students as he was to me.

Mid-week watercolor workshop update

2011-06-15T21:54:00.004-04:00

Exhaustion, frustration, humility... just a few words to describe the way things are going for me so far. I have been trying to open myself up to a more disciplined and controlled use of watercolor and instead what I am experiencing is more of a disconnect in my paintings. The technical skills of any art medium are always key to success and once I reached my personal understanding with watercolor I was able to move into a more therapeutic, free flowing approach. This week has been the opposite end of the spectrum from what I am used to, and I am hopeful that in a day, or in a month, I will walk away with new skills that I didn't realize I learned this week.

We have been focusing on shadows, lights and darks, and drawing; Eyy Gads, drawing! I will admit that when we had a live model yesterday the quick sketches followed by quick watercolor washes were a ton of fun. Tomorrow we are spending the day outdoors, plein air landscape painting, something I enjoy, then Friday the model is back.

Day 1 - we had to work dry, and our focus was not on the details in the shapes but on the shadows.

After the first lesson, the next thing we did was paint abstractly using color, making sure there was no background distinction and at least one hard edge. I don't think I followed directions well for this one!

Day 2 - we had a live model in the morning and started with quick 40 second pencil sketches, then we were given a little more time to add wash colors.

After each lesson we hang work in the hallway and critique as a group.

Day 3 - we were told to bring still life objects. I decided to bring in my dead bonsai, along with a bowl of fruit. I missed the opportunity to create an entire 'environment' with my still life arrangement when I decided to use the bonsai alone. I would have been able to concentrate on a wider variety of shadows if I had included more objects.

In the afternoon I used fruit in an 'up close and personal' kind of way. I had trouble understanding the light/dark relationships and reached a point where I didn't think about matching color in my shadows. Tonight I decided to add outline with a sharpie marker because I figured the worst thing I could do was ruin what I already considered a failure.

I am hoping tomorrow I can move back into my looser style of landscape painting and not feel as restricted in how I am using water and paint. Friday when the model returns I hope to get into more detailed figure studies. In the afternoon I think we are using our "reject" paintings to create a collage.

Throughout the week I have been asking myself what works for me, what doesn't, and I have reassured myself that it's OK if I don't want to change my style of watercolor painting. It's always good to see how other teachers make things click for their students. Maybe as a student my clicker isn't working as well as it used to.

Positive reinforcement

2011-06-11T12:32:00.007-04:00

I was at a meeting this morning (Weight Watchers, I admit I am one of them) and we talked about what we keep track of in the course of a week. Tara, our meeting leader, asked if anyone blogged and of course I responded enthusiastically that I did, then she asked me why. The answer for me was "it helps make sense of it all". I blog because I am passionate about making art, love to share and talk about each new piece as it occurs, and often learn from all of your comments. I also know that by writing (blogging aka journaling) I am listening to myself, something I am not always good at.

With that in mind, receiving the Best in Show for mixed media work at this years Marblehead Festival of Arts has inspired me to revisit the ocean waves across the street, and the dreary, rainy weather is always motivation.

"Splash", 8" x 8" encaustic painting

Next week I will be participating in a week long Summer Studio Immersive at Montserrat College hosted by Joel Janowitz. I am excited and curious to embrace a workshop environment that is not hosted by yours truly, and look forward to sharing my progress here.

Shadows, take 2 (and some more good news!)

2011-06-06T17:55:00.002-04:00

I have spent the past 24 hours obsessing over my newest painting, "Shadows in the Grove", trying to figure out what bothered me and after spending all day, quietly and privately over analyzing what the painting needed, I came home and went right to work. I am much happier with this now, can you tell what I changed?

The primary attraction in the composition when I decided to paint this was the shadow in the foreground, more than anything else.

"Shadows", 16" x 20", encaustic

My other bit of news is that I received another phone call earlier today from the Marblehead Festival of Arts and found out I also won the Edward D. Carey award, for my watercolor painting. In the over 20 years that I have been visiting and participating in this summer art festival, there has never been an award that I have respected and admired more than this. I am so thrilled and encouraged, and I had to share the news.

To read about the summer art festival and the award I am receiving, you can visit the festival website:

http://www.marbleheadfestival.org/exhibits/painting/painting.html

The painting that received the Edward Carey award, "Howling at the Moon"

Cheers, Everyone!

Shadows in the Olive Grove

2011-06-05T15:19:00.001-04:00

Inspiration continues to flow from my Tuscan vacation, this time from hiking through an olive grove in Italy. In the background you can see Castello di Tornano, it was the first stop on our trip, in the town of Gaiole in Chianti. Early spring meant colors were minimal but I was more intrigued with the shadows and textures in the grove.

"Shadows in the Grove", 16" x 20" encaustic image transfer

As a footnote, I have to mention that I found out yesterday I won "Best in Show" in the Mixed Media category of the Marblehead Festival of Arts. This is the painting that won me the prize:

"Gray Day at the Beach", 8" x 8", encaustic painting

Fun Fruits

2011-06-02T22:55:00.003-04:00

Wouldn't fruit drawings be fun to hang in a kitchen? Permanently ripe!

Apple, 9" x 10", pastel

Orange, 9" x 10", pastel

Lemon, 9" x 10", pastel

It took me several days to recuperate from last weekend's encaustic project, I was totally engrossed for 2 days not to mention the weeks I had spent thinking about how I was going to handle it and I was physically drained when I finished. I have another encaustic painting planned for this weekend, but in the mean time, I had time to sketch some things I found in my refrigerator.

Memorial Day weekend

2011-05-30T17:35:00.001-04:00

"Silhouette", 12" x 12", encaustic painting

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Traveling to foreign countries always makes me appreciate life here in the U.S.A. and Memorial Day is a reminder that our freedom comes at a cost, however... being in Italy last month was incredibly inspiring and continues to stimulate my creative juices. Thankfully, the holiday weekend allowed me time to work on a project I had been planning for weeks.

I wanted to use a photograph I had taken in San Gimignano for an encaustic image transfer. I also knew I had a special custom panel and frame I had purchased from Rodney Thompson last year at the National Encaustic Conference. The cradled wood board came wired and with a deep, black wood frame.

My biggest concern was finding a composition that would work well in 12" x 12". I had to crop my photo and I actually like it better now. The most important element to me was the texture of the different bricks and by using the encaustic medium I was able to create literal 3-dimensionality.

It's always challenging transferring the image without creating holes or rips in the paper but as you can see below, once the heat fuses the paper onto the board, it takes on a translucent appearance.

After the photograph is fused I add details with pigmented wax and this allows me to fill in any of the holes created during the transfer process. The vibrant, colorful highlights are the reason the painting "pops", and the reason I love working with the encaustic medium.

Pear

2011-05-27T18:28:00.002-04:00

I have a confession to make... when I am a substitute teacher, if I have a free period or a study period to cover, I usually end up sketching something with my pastels. That's how all of my new pastel work happened. The reason I am using pastel is it's easy to transport - no water, brushes, and minimal mess. Everything I need fits into my tote bag and I am able to keep myself busy when there is a lull in the course of my substitute-teacher work day. I used to bring my Matisse book with me, until there was the "incident", so today all I had with me for inspiration was my lunch... a few pieces of fresh fruit and some vegetable soup. I decided to sketch the pear before I ate it, and it reminded me of one of my favorite bloggers and her recent Pear sketches, Eva.

In a way, sketching with pastels in a school setting is perfect for me. I have never worked with pastels before and I am learning by just doing it. I usually think like a watercolorist, working light to dark. I am now learning that with pastel (and oil and acrylic, 2 mediums I rarely use), to work from dark to light. It was fun working on this, and in a way it made those first bites at lunch time taste even sweeter!

Next painting...

2011-05-25T07:45:00.001-04:00

My next encaustic painting will be one of these two images. I have already printed both in 12" x 12" but I have not had the time to decide which one to use. With the long holiday weekend almost here, I should finally have the time. I have already painted the Tuscan landscape in watercolor because the rolling vineyards, purple mountains, and lush greens captivated me. Now I am leaning toward the cobblestones with silhouette, focusing on texture and shadows, not color and hue. Which do you prefer?

Summer Festival time

2011-05-19T09:26:00.001-04:00

Saturday morning I plan on submitting an assortment of my work to the annual Marblehead Festival of Arts. Every 4th of July weekend I look forward to participating in this event, whether it is by acceptance to one of the juried shows, or because I signed up for the "Painting the Town" (plein air) day. This year I decided to submit work to more venues than ever before although I think I will pass on the plein air event. Notifications on acceptance (or rejection) are sent mid June so I will keep you posted on results.

Marblehead is known for it's sailing community, and in the summer time the yacht clubs draw tourists from all over the world. It is also known for being the birth place for the American Navy, and home to the painting, "Spirit of '76". I recommend visiting the links above, all related to the wonderful New England history right next door to where I live.

"Howling at the Moon" is one of my newest (and favorite) watercolor paintings that has not been shown anywhere as of yet. I hope it is accepted into the painting exhibit.

"Winter Wonderland" won an award in the Lynn Arts photo show this past winter. Photography has become an integral part of my encaustic painting development.

"Sitting" is another one of my new pastel drawings, I have never tried to enter the drawing venue of this festival before.

Lastly, my large version of "Wisteria" has not been shown yet. "Gray Day at the Beach" has only been shown once before. I was a judge for the mixed media exhibit last year and I am hoping that both pieces are accepted.

It really is such a change for me to be involved in so many different art mediums. I can still remember when I was only sharing watercolor paintings; it sure is nice to see personal change and growth.

BUMP!

2011-05-17T07:22:00.000-04:00

Exciting news... I just found out 2 of my newest works were accepted into the BUMP show, "A Juried Exhibit of all things lumpy, bumpy, obstructionist, and detouring. What are your bumps?"

I submitted "Nude" (pastel drawing), my thinking was there are plenty of bumps and curves in her body, and "Wisteria (encaustic) because it is literally bumpy and 3-dimensional. What is encouraging to me is that my biggest insecurity as an artist has always been drawing the human form and face, and I feel as if I have gotten over the hump by submitting this piece and then actually getting accepted into the show. Of course my inner critic is whispering into my ear that maybe there were not enough submissions to fill the gallery and maybe there was desperation in choosing pieces just to fill the space. Gotta love (and coexist with) that inner critic.

Exploring Pastels

2011-05-13T21:16:00.001-04:00

There was a time when I would never publicly share the early stages of exploring a new art medium, but then I went to graduate school and spent two years learning how to accept and live with my "inner critic".

The past few months I have been reading about Henry Matisse and observing the style of his figure drawing and paintings. He has been inspirational to me. Although Matisse did not use pastels, he did draw and paint the human form in many other mediums. I think his paper cutouts from later in his life are some of my favorites.

My first few pastels are child like, simple forms with bright colors. I am exploring pastels and will continue to refine my drawing skills. It feels liberating to be using a medium I know nothing about (pastel) combined with a subject I have never studied in depth (figure). It can only go uphill!

Two nights ago I was fortunate enough to go to an art demonstration by Clayton Curtis, a fabulous local artist who at one time was the head of the art department at the high school. As luck would have it, his demo was "still life" using pastel.

"Pretty as a Picture", encaustic painting interview

2011-05-09T10:36:00.002-04:00

link to interview - Swampscott Patch

Yesterday I woke up to find the interview from last week already published online, it was an unexpected Mother's Day gift. That, combined with my acceptance to the Cambridge Art Association's Northeast Prize Show has encouraged me to continue exploring encaustic image transfers and painting. My painting "Storm Wave" is in the show; one of 112 pieces out of 725 submissions. I must be doing something right!

Wisteria

2011-04-30T19:34:00.001-04:00

I got an email last week, from a reporter who works for a local online newspaper. She saw one of my encaustic paintings in the Swampscott Arts Association exhibit and asked if she could interview me. I had met her in January at a reception and we realized our daughters went to pre-school together, so she came to my home for the interview. When she was here, I showed her the series of work I will be featuring in November at my solo show "Pathways and Transitions", then I demonstrated how I do encaustic image transfers. I let her pick out which of the images to use for the transfer and after she left I decided to do a larger version of the same image. I am curious to see what she writes (she said it won't be posted for a few weeks), but for now I can share what I painted.

"Wisteria", 16" x 20" encaustic image transfer

2.5" x 3.5" encaustic image transfer, painted during my interview

Photo used for image transfer

You may notice I edited the image in my paintings; did not include the car under the canopy, and painted heavier blossoms (artistic freedom).

Tuscan Landscape revisited

2011-04-26T07:09:00.013-04:00

"Springtime in Tuscany 2", watercolor, 30" x 38"

I wanted to find a balance between geometric details (first Tuscany painting) and simplicity (second version). My biggest challenge was including the yellow tree in the foreground and repeating it next to the farmhouse. Adding spatter softened the hard edges and created more highlights. Practice with the first two paintings made it easier to build up the composition however I feel like I still overworked parts of this and I prefer the 2nd version best... practice practice practice.

Now that I have painted this scene in watercolor, I think I will attempt to do an encaustic version... focus being on geometry leaning toward abstraction.

Re-do

2011-04-22T16:50:00.002-04:00

Still in warm-up mode, getting ready to approach larger scale landscape paintings of Tuscany. Yesterday's painting was muddy and dark, today's painting is light, airy but with less detail. I also wanted to focus on the actual building structures and I needed to draw them in pencil first, something I rarely do. I kept telling myself "less is more" because my tendency is to overwork a painting, big no-no with watercolor.

"Springtime in Tuscany", watercolor, 18" x 20"

warm-up painting

2011-04-21T18:39:00.002-04:00

This was the first day I had time to setup my paints and start working on re-creating the Tuscan landscape. I considered it a "warm-up" (and still a work in progress - in the morning I may add a few details into the distant mountains) which should help me loosen up for when I do a larger 22" x 30" version. My focus was more on creating geometric impressions and less on accurate details.

"View from San Gimignano", watercolor, 18" x 20"

The reason I haven't yet focused on my paints is because I have been focusing on the beautiful photographs we took while in Italy. I created a photo album using iphoto software which led me to creating a slideshow (Apple makes everything so easy). The first version I made was 8:26 minutes (this morning I decided it was too long!) and this is the shorter, higher resolution version...

New Spring Exhibitions

2011-04-18T10:17:00.004-04:00

Yesterday the Swampscott Arts Association opened their Spring Show at Marian Court College. The participation and attendance was slightly down from prior years although the exhibit looks beautiful. Yours truly was the recipient of the 3rd place prize! Other award winners are shown below, quite an eclectic mix.

Waiting for award winners to be announced...

My friend Betty Ann and I are looking closely at the way this pastel was framed. Carmela Martin used museum quality glass and there was absolutely no glare. Carmela used to be a watercolor student of mine and now she has sky-rocketed using dry pastels. I was disappointed she did not receive a award for this piece.

Award winners: Barbara Gherzi, Me, Debbie Gates, Noreen Nelson, and Clayton Curtis (Ruth Rooks, Amy Roberts and Robert Oliver were not present)

Award winning pieces:

1st -"Just Clowning Around", mixed media, Noreen Nelson

2nd - "Still Life with Bread and Tomatoes", pastel, Clayton Curtis

3rd - "Spring Pathway", encaustic, my painting

Honorable mention - "Mail Call", watercolor, Robert Oliver

Honorable Mention - "When Rachel Sings", watercolor, Barbara Gherzi

Honorable Mention - "Intermission Cafe", oil, Ruth Rooks

Honorable Mention - "Landing Reflection", photo, Amy Roberts

Marian Court College Award - "Caitlin", watercolor, Debbie Gates

Other news... I was asked if I wanted to kick-off exhibiting at a new venue for the SAA, in the lobby of the local Sovereign Bank in town. My paintings are being featured along with photographs by award winning photographer Peggy A. Farrell until the end of May.

Bank exhibit featuring these paintings:

"Full Wolf Moon", 30" x 38", watercolor

"Moonrise at the Lake", 26" x 32", watercolor

"Winter Reflections", 26" x 32", watercolor

"Another Gray Day", encaustic, 18" x 22"

Transitioning, back home

2011-04-14T09:30:00.004-04:00

Tuscany was an amazing inspiration for me, a place where all of your senses are stimulated morning to night. The people, the countryside, the food (new favorite cheese - pecorino) , and the wine (new favorite wine - Vernaccia di San Gimignano). I am still thinking about all of the vistas and fortunately have so many incredible photographs, a few of which I am sharing below. I hope to start painting from these next week but in the meantime I am back home catching up on life.

Trip highlights -

Castello di Tornano, Gaiole in Chianti

Good Morning, done with blood oranges

"Plein Air" studio #1, looking toward Lecci in Chianti

wine tasting at the castle

entering Siena, walled medieval city that once rivaled with Florence (and I think it still does)

view looking out from San Gimignano, a small, walled medieval hill town known for it's many towers, and for it's white wine, Vernaccia. For me, being in San Gimignano provided the epitome of a lush, Tuscan Vista

"Plein Air" studio #2, Torrita di Siena

looking toward Torrita, another walled medieval town

one of the many metal sculptures scattered throughout the property

On the way to Cortona

Wines from the Baracchi Vineyards, Cortona

Ben and Jerry's ice cream in Cortona, really?

By the end of the trip, flowers were blooming everywhere, the spring greens were even more lush than when we arrived

Vista from the Cortona city walls, an Etruscan city dating back to 200 B.C., which also flourished during the Renaissance

My decision when planning this trip was to focus on the landscape and countryside more than the architecture and art in the cities. The italian culture is one that has always fascinated me and being there was the gift of a lifetime.

Getting into the groove back at home meant dropping off two larger encaustic paintings to the local Swampscott Arts Association spring show:

"Summer Pathway"

"Spring Pathway"

I was also asked to exhibit at the Sovereign Bank in town, details will follow after we hang work tomorrow. Next week once I am more settled I will begin framing my plein air paintings done in Italy and then hope to get to work on some larger encaustic as well as watercolors, all inspired by my trip. Until then, Arrivederci!

Torrita di Siena

2011-04-09T04:48:00.000-04:00

Interesting accommodations... we booked a 2 night stay at the "Residenza d'Arte" in Torrita di Siena. An italian artist by the name of Anna Izzo used the space as her studio and gallery. The medieval structure was first inhabited by monks, but renovations have allowed for the 8 room B&B to attract visitors from all over the world. Her work is scattered throughout the gardens as well as the interior and there is an eclectic mix of modern, abstract art combined with medieval, monastic traces of life.

Yesterday I spent time with my paints, more "plein air" paintings. My goal for the day was to better understand the Italian Cypress.

Vistas of Tuscany

Medieval town of Torrita di Siena

I decided to split the painting, creating a diptych

Italian Cypress

Our next stop is Cortona for two nights, possibly a day trip to Florence, ending the trip with 1 night in Rome. In a very strange way, the Tuscan landscape reminds me of Vermont (minus the medieval towns and Cypress)... rolling emerald greens with lush shrubs and trees... hills and valleys, breathtaking.

Incredible inspiration in Tuscany

2011-04-06T14:19:00.000-04:00

It's been a couple days since I took out my paints because once we left Gaiole we moved to city locations (Siena and San Gimignano). I have seen amazing landscape vistas and will be anxious to paint on a larger scale when I get home. Tomorrow we move to Torrita di Siena with a possible art class in my near future! The hotel is a "Relais Residenza d'Arte" and it should be really interesting for me. In the meantime, I will share several photographs, there are no words...

Entering Siena -

Il Campo -

Duomo in Siena -

View from San Gimignano -

Piazza Cisterna -

Entering San Gimignano, a medieval walled city -

Rooftop view -

Another landscape view, I can't get enough!

Gaiole in Chianti, first stop in Tuscany

2011-04-04T08:29:00.000-04:00

I have only been in Tuscany for a few days and the weather has been warmer than usual. I knew it would be early spring with minimal colors in the surrounding landscape so I decided to take some artistic liberties with my color palette in this first "en plein air" painting of my trip. The vineyards are beautifully linear this early in the season. I am still blown away by the way these small villages are nestled between hill tops, rolling olive groves and vineyards.

Hill top view, "Lecchi in Chianti", 9 x 12 watercolor

This photograph was taken early in the day. As the sun moved, landscape details changed and so did my painting.

My make-shift studio, pretty awesome!

One of the many vineyards surrounding Castello di Tornano

Timing is Everything

2011-03-30T18:50:00.003-04:00

We get used to the Nor'easters that come along with living on the New England coast, but the timing of this newest storm... April Fools Day!

I am suppose to be on a flight heading to Rome (then the Tuscany region of Italy) this Friday, flight take-off time happens to be at the peak of the storm being forecasted here in Boston. I took a photograph when I was walking my dog this afternoon, signs of spring? What a tease! We could get up to 6 inches of snow (hopefully not on the coast) and definitely none of this snow will last long because it is springtime, right? I do remember the April fools day storm of 1997 when we took a family trip for the "weekend", a visit to NYC that became the 5 day visit, kind of like the Gilligan's Island theme song...

Spring Crocuses, 3/30/11

Vacation

2011-03-28T16:59:00.002-04:00

This morning I mailed off my digital submissions to the North East Prize Show at the Cambridge Art Association. I decided to submit both a watercolor and encaustic painting, 2 entries allowed. The entries must be received by April 15 and I will be on vacation beginning April 1 so I wanted to do this before I got lost in vacation mode. I won't hear until the end of April if I was accepted.

"Storm Wave", 16 x 20 encaustic painting

"Howling at the Moon", 30 x 22 watercolor painting

I am excited to share that I will be going to Italy at the end of the week... with my primary focus being on the food, the wine, the people, and of course the landscapes. I have packed both watercolor and soft pastels and am not sure if I will spend time creating when I am there but I would feel terrible if I was inspired and without supplies. The past few months have been incredibly busy for me and this vacation has been the light at the end of the work tunnel.

Fino a quando ci incontreremo di nuovo, ciao!

Post show recap, Paradise City Spring Show

2011-03-21T17:27:00.000-04:00

The first day of the show was on a Friday and definitely not as crowded as past shows. I am confident the current events have made people cautious about spending money on "luxury" items. It seemed to me that a day visiting and just meeting artists felt like a welcome distraction (at the right price). Fortunately I had a customer who had an immediate connection to one of my medium-sized encaustic paintings and that was the highlight of the day. Over the weekend I was frequently explaining the encaustic process and my sales were mostly smaller items (enough to make it a worth while show). Lots and lots of people looking, many of my fellow exhibitors missed covering their show expenses, and once again I felt fortunate.

It's been an exhausting six days, and I am just now starting to catch up on life outside the art world.

Show Time

2011-03-15T13:55:00.000-04:00

Watercolor and Encaustic Paintings

Paradise City Fine Arts and Craft Show

Spring 2011

My paintings are selected, framed, priced, and will be loaded up tomorrow. My display panels, lighting, hanging system, and sales supplies are about to be loaded today. And I ask myself, what have I forgotten! The location of the March Paradise City show is a commutable distance from my home which means each night I will be back here and if I forgot to bring something I will have the luxury of retrieving it over night. Part of my preparation requires organizing in my mind what I will want to fit and hang in my booth space but it always takes me hours to find the proper spacing for each artwork once my panels are up. If I am lucky, by day 2 of the show that "feng shui" will be found.

I always print out thumbnails of my work (images above) before the show, but until I am actually setting up I can't be sure of anything. Size does NOT translate, although each time I do a show I refine my process. This time I have created pre-printed price tags with medium and title information for each painting, something I have hand written in the past, sometimes using business cards (too distracting from the actual art) or on plain rectangular stickers (I decided this was too sloppy looking). In the end, none of it really matters to the patron that falls in love with the art. I guess I do all of this obsessing for me.

Honorable Mention

2011-03-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

What an unexpected surprise... I found out when I arrived at the "Capturing Time" show reception that I was an award winner (there was a Best in Show award, and 2 Honorable Mentions). I almost didn't go to the opening because I have been consumed with the news out of Japan not to mention what's going on in Libya. With the world in such chaos, I am hoping art can continue to help all of us find a more peaceful way to exist.

Photography

2011-03-11T07:28:00.010-05:00

As many of you know, I have been focused on painting with beeswax using image transfers in many of my new works. In order to maintain 100% copyright, I have been taking photographs on a regular basis. I decided to print and frame one of my favorite photos and was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was accepted to the "Capturing Time" show at Lynn Arts, Inc.

"Winter Wonderland", 23" x 27" framed photograph

A short vignette in the life of a substitute teacher....

Front cover of my recently purchased book

I was asked to come in as the music teacher at the local elementary school yesterday. Because the music room is also the art room, I knew I would be allowed to incorporate art in my lesson plan if nothing specific was left for me to do so I brought in my ipod and speakers along with one of my new Matisse art books. I used music to help inspire the students with their color choices, also using templates I cut of dancing figures. We used crayons to create brightly colored drawings, very similar to the lesson from middle school used last week (simplified and age appropriate).

The book cover was not displayed for students to see; I used several pages in the book with examples of the cut-outs Matisse created later in his life.

My figure templates

As I was sharing facts about Matisse's life, I was holding the book and some of the boys started laughing... I asked why.... they said it was because of the book.... I then looked at the back side of the book and see a graphic black and white photograph of Matisse sitting in his studio drawing a nude model. I didn't even realize the photograph was there because I was only focused on the art! I continued with the lesson and everyone had fun drawing. Soon into the next class, the 4th grade teachers came to see the book and the photo, followed by the school principal. The principal said she had to send home a letter explaining to the parents that "inadvertently" the students were exposed to an "inappropriate photograph". I felt horrible that my passion and love for Matisse turned into a "damage control" letter.

Back cover

(*footnote: I did not display the back of the book at any time, but was simply holding it as I was talking about the artist)

Live and Learn.

Publicity made easy

2011-03-08T12:47:00.000-05:00

Next week I will be one of 175 artists to exhibit in the Paradise City spring show. The show directors always send a "fill in the blank" PR format that can be used to help promote the show in local papers for those artists interested in extra publicity. The artist gets promoted, the show gets promoted, and I think it's a "win-win" situation for all involved. I decided to share with you this form with my specific information filled in the blanks:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   Local Artist Selected to Exhibit in the Award-Winning Paradise City Arts Festival, March 18-20 in Marlborough, Massachusetts

Robin Samiljan of Swampscott, MA was selected from among nearly 1000 applicants to participate in the Paradise City Arts Festival, March 18, 19 & 20, at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA.

Thousands of images were reviewed last April, with just 175 artists selected for this prestigious show. The applicants’ work was judged on the basis of imagination, technical excellence, design and originality. Robin Samiljan is in very good company, since many of the works by the exhibiting artists are featured in major collections, museums, and publications around the world.

Named among America’s Top Ten Art Fairs since 2004, Paradise City Arts Festival is Metro Boston’s most acclaimed show and sale of fine craft, paintings and sculpture. Paradise City offers innovative shows with a diverse selection of the newest work at the cutting edge of design, from the studios of both emerging and established artists. More than one-fifth of the participating artists will exhibit their work for the first time at Paradise City Marlborough.

Special Exhibit: The Nature of Beauty

"Blushing Lotus", my watercolor submission

"Hidden Sunset", my encaustic submission

Paradise City continues its acclaimed series of themed special exhibitions with this spring’s “The Nature of Beauty” in the Sculpture Café. Paradise City’s artists share their own perceptions of beauty in glass, wearable art, jewelry, clay, photography, painting and sculpture. The works in this “show-within-a-show” may encompass irony, subtlety, sentimentality or elegance. While beauty may indeed be in the eye of the beholder, in its essence, beauty brings harmony to our lives.

The Sculpture Café features a different band each day playing classic jazz, jazz vocals and swing, lending a lively ambiance to the festivities. The 14th annual coat check station benefits the Marlborough Public Schools Music Association, which supports music programs in the public schools.

Fast Facts What:  175 juried artists from 30 states, exhibiting original works in art glass, ceramics, painting, decorative fiber, fine furniture, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, photography, large-scale sculpture, wearable art and wood.  Where:  The Royal Plaza Trade Center, 181 Boston Post Road West (Route 20W), Marlborough, MA 01752

Just 5 minutes north of the intersection of Mass Pike (I-90) and I-495, Marlborough is only 35 minutes from downtown Boston, and an easy drive from NH, RI, CT, ME and points west.

From all points, take 495 to exit 24B (Route 20 West). The Royal Plaza Trade Center is one mile on the right.

 When: March 18, 19 & 20, 2011 Friday, March 18: 10am-5pm Saturday, March 19: 10am-6pm Sunday, March 20: 11am-5pm  Admission: $12 adults; $10 seniors; $8 students; $15 weekend pass; children 12 and under admitted free; handicapped accessible; free color program with admission; acres of free parking!

Complete show and travel information and discount admission coupons: online at www.paradisecityarts.com or call 800.511.9725   About Paradise City Paradise City, founded in 1995, is an arts promotion and service organization, producing award-winning shows of fine and functional art in a range of national markets. Its shows provide artists with a sophisticated marketplace for cutting-edge work, and are an important resource for serious collectors, homeowners, galleries and decorators. Among the art media included are works in furniture, art glass, large-scale sculpture, ceramics, jewelry and painting.

www.paradisecityarts.com serves as an extensive visual preview and fact-finder for all Paradise City shows. In addition, editors can register and download additional materials and high-resolution images from the online pressroom. To gain access to all of Paradise City’s press materials and images, please register online or call Linda Post at 800-511-9725. 

Henri Matisse Inspiration

2011-03-02T15:50:00.001-05:00

Today was another substitute art teacher day for me, this time I was back in the middle school, grades 5 through 8. Often substitute teachers are left with minimal lesson plan direction and I always try to have additional ideas to keep students interested. I noticed a Matisse figure drawing on the wall in the back of the art room and decided it would be interesting to encourage students to use simple lines to create figures. I also suggested they choose colors that reflected the mood they wanted to convey, something Matisse also did in his works. I talked about the artist briefly but I felt it was important the students understood the motivation behind the artist's work.

"Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954), considered to be the 20th century’s most important French painter, communicated joy with expressive colors, striking ornamentation and bold patterns. Matisse, whose mother gave him his first art supplies while he was recovering from an illness, described his discovery of art as “a kind of paradise.” He was originally viewed as a Fauvist, and his early works were exceptionally mature. Influenced by Impressionism and Japanese art, Matisse made color a crucial element of his work, and also experimented with expressive abstraction. When he was nearly 80, Matisse volunteered to decorate the Dominican nuns' chapel at Vence, France. Suffering from anxiety, Matisse found serenity in painting". (from Matisse art link)

My Matisse inspired 18" x 12" pastel drawings:

Student pastel drawings:

Follow-up on Watercolor Workshop

2011-03-01T13:47:00.000-05:00

Last week was a vacation week for the schools here and I was out of town in between teaching the two Saturday watercolor workshops at Montserrat College. It was the first time my class was offered on Saturdays and it was by far more productive and successful teaching with a longer block of time (in the past my classes were offered once a week in the evenings for two hours). I hope to continue with the Saturday schedule in the fall as continuing ed classes are not offered late spring and summer time.

We focused on landscape painting during this second class and my initial watercolor wash simply establishes a composition; it will be fun building up layers of paint as I work on adding depth and details.

I asked my students if I could share their work on my blog, they were all so successful! The workshop consisted of beginners to experienced painters. I am so proud of what everyone accomplished:

Pat Flaherty

Barbara Gherzi

Judith Eskin

Norm Bosse

Barbara Defranza

Mary Lynn Burke

Betty Dumas

Watercolor Workshop

2011-02-20T09:31:00.002-05:00

Seven students are taking my current workshop and yesterday we were able to cover 2 important lessons: working wet using a spray bottle to help move the paint, and building wash layers to create a greater sense of depth. I always need to revisit these lessons because acknowledging what we are doing with the paint continues to help me recognize the wonderful qualities of watercolor. This morning I was able to complete yesterday's first demonstration painting.

"Howling at the Moon", watercolor, 30" x 22"

The wolf is still on my mind and after last weekend's encaustic paintings (all wolf themed) I am still inspired by these wonderfully mysterious creatures. I also could not help but notice the full moon the past 2 nights, did you see it?

Next weekend we will work on more traditional landscape painting however my hope is that we will incorporate many of the watercolor techniques we practiced yesterday with a more impressionistic landscape as an end result.

setup and working

2 of the 7 are repeat students who were familiar with the wash lesson. We all used painters tape to mask out white areas in the painting. They worked quickly and are allowing me to share their work.

Betty Dumas's birch trees on the easel, and Judith Eskin's painting is flat on the table.

Sketching

2011-02-19T07:47:00.000-05:00

This must be the week of sketch book practice... other bloggers I follow also wrote about sketching (Dan, Sherry, Celeste). I have only had time to sketch briefly while out and about this week, until today when I am teaching an all day watercolor workshop. It's all about making time (any amount of time) to practice and not feel inhibited.

I liked viewing the sketches on both the front and back side of the page, there is interesting white of paper remaining on the back side... the watercolor painter in me always recognizes white space. Sharpie markers are easy to transport and do not require any setup, quite a change from watercolor or encaustic.

Sketches from Thursday:

More Wolves... I am dancing now!

2011-02-13T14:47:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I painted the gray wolf portrait, but today I wanted to incorporate the wolf theme into landscapes. I worked small which allowed me to have more fun and enjoy quicker results. Now I need to decide which of these will make the best gift for my niece, which would you choose?

"Gray Wolf Howling", 2.5 x 3.5 encaustic

"Brown Wolf", 2.5 x 3.5 encaustic

I always float and mount my small encaustic works on watercolor paper, sign with my chop stamp instead a traditional signature, and put the work into shadowbox frames. This protects the wax and helps create even more dimensionality (* the brown wolf image below is truer color than the image above).

Yesterdays work below, "Gray Wolf", 6 x 6 encaustic painting; this does not need to be framed because it is painted on a 2 inch deep cradled birch panel, I just need to wire it.

And one last image to share... I was a substitute teacher on Friday in the high school art department and what a pleasure to be with students that were there by choice busy working on assignments, although very few of them needed my help. I spent most of my time doodling with paints in between classes and decided to share one of my paintings with you. If I worked at the high school full time, I would insist on a student grade watercolor paper. The students are painting mostly with acrylics and tempera, and using an inexpensive sketch paper with paints. I used a tray of watercolor in square blocks, the same kind distributed in elementary school, then added india ink for outlining and thin permanent marker for details.

FUN

2011-02-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

It was time to lighten up - no thoughts about competitions or entering juried shows, just having fun with my paints and remembering why I love being an artist. I chose a completely different theme, the gray wolf.

My one and only dilemma was whether I wanted to build up layers of clear wax medium on top of the pigmented wax, but I didn't want to loose the texture, instead I fused with heat to seal the paint. I may continue with the wolf theme tomorrow; there is someone special that will be receiving a wolf painting for her birthday next week!

"Gray Wolf", 6 x 6 encaustic

Strike Two

2011-02-11T17:58:00.003-05:00

Today was the day I would have received notification if any of my submissions were accepted to the most recent competition I entered, and let's just say I did not receive notification (which means I was not accepted). I can't say I am terribly disappointed but it's never fun accepting rejection (although over the years I have gotten much better at it!) I did second guess the work I submitted, I always do, because all 3 pieces were impressionistic encaustic paintings and in my opinion, encaustic as a medium is misunderstood unless you are an artist working with it.

This weekend should allow me time to work on small image transfers followed by the watercolor workshop I am teaching at Montserrat College on February 19 and 26. In the meantime, I am posting an older watercolor that was sold several years ago. The image inspires me with feelings of peace and tranquility. I tried to re-create a similar feeling using encaustic paint several weeks ago; practice practice!

"Ocean Dreams"

"Hidden Sunset"

Balancing Act

2011-02-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

This past December I signed up to substitute teach in the local school system. I have been trying to figure out ways I can supplement my art income because my sales were down in 2010. Fortunately, I have been called regularly to cover classrooms, anywhere from high school English and History, to middle school Special Ed., to elementary school Art. Unfortunately, this has been a huge distraction from my art-making process in the studio. My hope is that I continue to substitute teach until the end of the school year, then I will be more qualified when I apply for full time positions this summer. I still teach watercolor workshops at the local art college but it's just not enough. My creativity has been side tracked for now and rather than forcing myself to paint when I have time (a day off like today) I am taking a break from new works, just until I have found a better balance in my life.

Sometimes I wonder how everyone else finds a balance with the "art" world vs. "real" world.

After my last post... in retaliation from show rejection... I decided to subject myself to more torture (kidding) and I applied to a juried show but this time it was out of state (and a last minute effort). I will hear on Friday whether my work was accepted or not; my expectations are low bordering non existent. I found the prospectus in an email generated from Professional Artist magazine aka Art Calendar email. Do any of you submit work to those listings?

My submissions were 3 new encaustic paintings, I will hear via email whether I was accepted to the show or not, wish me luck.

Sea and Sky

2011-01-30T21:51:00.000-05:00

Morning walks with my dog Charlie inspired my first encaustic seascapes and I am still painting with the influence of this winter season. My challenge has been understanding the dynamic qualities of the encaustic medium and I feel as if I continue to refine my skills.

"Another Gray Day", encaustic, 16" x 20"

I always start with 3 layers of clear medium fused on the cradled wood panel. Fusing with heat evenly is tricky although I am getting better at it.

The initial layer of color on top of the clear medium appears spotty and thin. It's just a starting point.

More pigmented wax, and layers of clear medium; the concept of building up the colors combined with the medium is very similar to how I build up layers and create depth in my watercolor paintings.

Juried Shows

2011-01-26T08:54:00.001-05:00

Recently I submitted work to two different juried shows; I was accepted to one, rejected from the other. The standard procedure for art associations is to post information about the juror prior to the submitting of work which can be a tool to help the artist get a sense of what the show may look like based on what style of art the juror is associated with. I have always struggled with this; I have both watercolor and encaustic paintings, both impressionistic (and more recently) abstract styles of painting. Even now for me it's a challenge to not second guess my submission choices. Needless to say, I was disappointed when one of my newest works was rejected from a show, and I ask myself... but what if I had submitted something more abstract, would I have gotten into that show?

My practice for right now is to trust myself, and follow my heart when I create new art. I have to turn off the inner critic, and just continue to move forward. I was going to end this post with a question asking if anyone else has ever experienced these self-doubt feelings but I already know the answer. :)

Accepted pieces:

Rejected pieces:

Winter Wonderland, revisited

2011-01-18T16:50:00.002-05:00

Last week we had several feet of snow fall and I was inspired by all of the beautiful trees covered in ice and winter white. A few days later when I was walking past the same spot I realized many of the tree branches are now broken because of the weight of the ice and snow. The beauty was gone, the moment in time I had captured in photography would never be the same. I felt the need to paint the same spot again, this time larger and with more focus on the black and white contrasts.

"Winter Wonderland", 11" x 14" encaustic painting

It is always a challenge photographing encaustic paintings. In order to avoid getting a glare the light source has to be natural. I thought the above image captured the 3-dimensionality of the work but the colors were yellowed by my ceiling lights. The below image is truer color but does not reflect the depth of the painting. Which image do you prefer?

working it out

2011-01-16T18:56:00.000-05:00

"Purple Haze", 11 x 14 encaustic painting

I spent most of today adding pigments to the birch panel I prepped with wax medium yesterday. I used to think prepping the panel was the hardest part of encaustic painting, but painting without an image transfer is still such a challenge for me. It requires so much thinking because of the constantly changing dynamics of this medium: how much pigment to mix with beeswax, how high or low heat on the griddle should be, how do I keep the heat from the torch even on the surface, not letting the wax bubble over ... just to name a few.

I forced myself to paint another sea and sky scape and I think it's the best way for me to learn. I am still thinking about the storm photographs I took this week and I want to spend more time painting winter scenes; it almost feels like I am painting with wax 2 very different ways and I am not sure if I have found "my way" yet. So for now, I will just do it any way that happens, and keep learning.