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My digital camera has changed how I walk. Now I'm constantly looking for color combinations, interesting compositions and things I haven't noticed before I walked around with a camera. One thing that consistently draws my attention is flowers.
I'm very happy with my Gocco machine! I'll have prints of my first design available at Lunaria since these coordinate with the paintings I did for my show with KC.
This photo is of the first steps I took when printing. I taped around the edges of the paper and masked areas that I wanted to print in the last steps. (These are circles cut with a hole punch out of sticky notes, so they stuck to the paper by themselves.) You can also see the samples I made of the Gocco inks on the papers propped up in the background.
These papers have had the first printing and are drying on the window sill. My office/studio is pretty small, so every space is used when I'm working on a big project. I was glad I took the time to apply tape for a clean edge since the ink bled out of the size I intended. You can see the punched circles lifted up a little and were an effective mask of the ink. The little white circles were part of the printed design.
The next layer was of a line design printed in blue ink. These were inspired by Rebecca Wild's class I took earlier in the summer and I also used in some of the paintings for the show.
This is a photo of the final image (5" x 7"). The last two layers I printed were the orange circles and then the blue marks over the circles. It's called Blue Gestures and there's a limited edition of 15. I also made one artist's proof.
I was so excited by this process and outcome that I've planned several more designs. Now I just need time.
One thing that's so great about Cannon Beach is the Center Diamond, the coziest quilt shop I've been in. The people are so nice, and the selection of fabric runs from fun retro styles (Dick and Jane were featured recently) to sophisticated Asian designs (such as the Emperor's Collection). They also have a great selection of books, including the- difficult-to-find Beaney & Littlejohn series.
One of the things that caught my eye was Mary Jo Hiney's selection of silk fabrics. She has several color-way options, but this one really stood out for me. I like the juxtaposition of warmer, earth colors with vibrant blue and purple. I splurged and bought it.
Sometimes when we get home, there's so much to do that the quilt store treasures remain in the bag for a few days . . . and this was no exception. When I finally unpacked the selection of silks, I put it on the bookshelf in front of my workspace as to remind myself of the gorgeous colors.
Then I looked down.
I saw a canvas I had been using to clean paint off my brushes. It had a very similar color palette to the silk collection (the edges were lime green). The subconscious is amazing.
After discovering patterns in seaweed during our trip to Canada, I've been more observant when we walk along the beach. Of course there are often linear patterns in the sand, but I didn't expect to see these designs on a crab shell! Most dungeness crab shells that I have seen on the Oregon coast have small dots. This shell was so odd that I carefully picked it up and gently carried it home to photograph.
I've noticed the phenomenon in the past . . . once I learn something new or see something different, I see it all over the place. In this case, it's linear designs occurring in nature. Earlier in the spring, I learned about Umbrian brown. Then I noticed some cosmetic in my cabinet has Umbrian clay in it. Then I found out my parents are going to take a painting workshop in the Umbrian region of Italy.
What have you noticed lately?
In a previous post, I wrote about patterns in seaweed I saw on the beach. Here's one of the pictures I took which shows the patterns, how they are accentuated by sand, and how they they are obscured by sand.
In my next paintings, one of my goals is to work specifically on texture. I adore texture and fear that in the past, I've sometimes added it for superfluous or even detrimental effects. I understand that contrasting texture can add interest, but now I want to make sure textures are more integrated and make sense in the context of the whole work.
Acrylic Revolution has an excellent example of texture that supports the theme and texture that contrasts the theme of acrylic paintings.
I uploaded images of all 29 of my current paintings on my website. It feels really good to be this far along in preparing for the show opening on Sept. 7th!
The show postcard is in production, and KC and I have been planning for the publicity. Our work will compliment each other for a great show.
Since preparing for this show has gone so well, I will return to the goal of one small painting a week. I've taken a good portion of the summer off due to travel and work commitments, so I'll have to choose a start date. This week. I'll start again this week.
I was recently reading Acrylic Revolution and was truly inspired. Declan Halpin's work really caught my eye. This book will give me a little boost to start painting again. Yes, I'll start this week.
I've been working on a design team for Kristy Harris from Far Flung Craft. She's publishing a book focused on Asian themes in scrap booking. One of the projects I submitted is this card. The background is a hand carved rubber stamp and the picture is of a local store front, Stone Buddha.
This is one of the delightful things about Silverton: we have a "Chinatown" consisting of two store fonts. One is Stone Buddha and Chan's Restaraunt is next door. Chinatown is marked by two charming signs on the sidewalk.
Believe it or not, we also have two Thai restaraunts in town. Little Silverton (pop. 8000) is very international.
Our local Arts Association hosts a show in conjunction with the Silverton Fine Arts Festival. I was juried in and am showing the embossed pastel work I made at a workshop at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. Tidal Forms (to the left), Spring Garden Forms, and Pebble Forms are for sale at the show.
Silverton artists have developed a strong network and a vibrant community. I am constantly surprised at the dedication and effort so many people put into sustaining the arts here. Thank you!
Some of my recent web journeys led me to discover Gocco, a Japanese silk screen printing machine. I decided that I had to have one of these devices because of all of the really wonderful things people were doing with them. (The Gocco Flickr group has some good examples.) I saw how I could print terrific images, from basic text to very artistic applications.
I ordered a PG6 from Paper Source (more about them below) and started dreaming up designs. I also ordered a book (the New Gocco Guide) to help me understand how to accomplish some of these great possibilities. I planned my first design and prepared photocopies to make screens. I was printing the day it arrived.
My experiment (above) uses parts of the whole design I had envisioned. It gave me a feel for how my idea transitioned to paper. I learned I will need to use more ink to get a solid image and that the inks are not opaque enough to over print and cover the first layer. I'm still really excited about the possibilities and my new toy!
Now, about the Paper Source - when we were driving back from Canada, we stayed a night in Bellevue, WA, and ate at a restraunt right next door to the Paper Source store. The store is as good as the website - inviting, well-designed, and staffed with super friendly people. I wish we had one closer!
