Virginia Center for the Creative Arts residency

 

I recently returned from a month long residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. This place nurtures artists, writers, musicians and composers with a pastoral environment in the foothills of the Blue Ride mountains. I had uninterrupted time in the studio and I met fellow artists whose work inspired me. Residencies can be compared to both summer camp and the Gulag. It is not a vacation. You have to face your work day after day with little to distract you.

In my studio.

Working on paintings on paper.

In front of three of the largest boards, 48" x 36".

Tim DeChristopher, stone sculptor, with his installation made from cardboard boxes.

Sculptor Jackie Branson and writer Deirdra McAfee in Jackie's studio.

Maggie Dubris, Jackie, Deirdra, and me.

Why drive 12 hours from home to do your work? Because you want to get away from your daily chores and distractions to focus on a particular goal, or to reconnect with why you became an artist. You are surrounded by others who feel the same way, and who understand the appeal of spending a beautiful sunny day inside the studio.

My work in Art New England

Read the interview on residencies featuring my work in this month's Art New England magazine!

My work at Aloft Hotel in Lexington

Four of my new pieces from the Tangled series are on display at Aloft Hotel in Lexington, MA. I think they look great in the space! I am hoping that the manager agrees and will commission me to do a wall mural there.

Tangled series, 2012, acrylic on board, in situ at Aloft Hotel in Lexington, MA

Tangled 11, 2012, acrylic on board, 30" x 20"

Tangled series, 2012, acrylic on board, in situ at Aloft Hotel in Lexington, MA

Tangled 12, 2012, acrylic on board, 30" x 20"

Tangled 13, 2012, acrylic on board, 30" x 20"

All Tangled Up Again

Re-worked several of the newest pieces to add some extra zip and energy. Gotta feel like the work sings.

All Tangled Up

I have been lax about blogging lately, but very busy in the studio. That's generally a good thing! It means I think things are going well. Here are images from my newest series, Tangled, which are all done in acrylic on board. They have the velvety look of encaustic painting (paint mixed with or covered with wax) that gives a feeling of depth and softness up close BUT it's NOT encaustic, it's acrylic matte medium in layers and layers over painted layers. The imagery continues to be the drawn mark enlarged and projected onto my painting surface. The series title, Tangled, is expressive of my state of mind lately.

40"x 30", acrylic on board

30" x 20", acrylic on board

40" x 30", acrylic on board

20" x 16", acrylic on board

20" x 16", acrylic on board

20" x 16", acrylic on board

30" x 24", acrylic on board

20" x 16", acrylic on board

20" x 16", acrylic on board

40" x 30", acrylic on board

It's been awhile, but things are happening!

A new distraction, Bisbee the puppy, has entered my life and lessens the number of hours I spend online. Probably a good thing, however my blog has suffered. And it has been a busy winter in terms of teaching. I am currently teaching 3 classes - a home studio class, Introduction to Abstract Acrylic Painting at the New Art Center in Newton, MA, and Intuitive Painting at Maud Morgan Arts in Cambridge, MA. In addition, I have been doing many Golden Acrylic Paint workshops in a variety of venues. Here are some images from a workshop that I taught last weekend at Concord Art Association called the Painterly Print, monoprinting with Golden OPEN acrylics.

Monoprinting with Gelli Plates!

Two nice pieces by Martha Wakefield

Monoprints using a plexi plate by Natalie MacKnight

Lovely piece by Arlene Richman

Currently, my work is on exhibit at the Munroe Center for the Arts in Lexington, MA through May, and I just installed 4 new pieces at the Aloft Hotel in Lexington, MA. The installation below is called Spring Constellation. You may recognize these shapes from my two previous installations, Summer Constellation in Beverly, and Winter Constellation in Cambridge. Hmm, do you see a connection here?

acrylic on Mylar in the second room

Winter Constellation at Munroe Center for the Arts

new work

Script 3, 30" x 24", acrylic on board

Encrypted 1, 10" x 8", acrylic on board

Encrypted 2, 10" x 8", acrylic on board

Encrypted 3, 10" x 8", acrylic on board

Script 1, 30" x 24", acrylic on board

Script 2, 30" x 24", acrylic on board

Encrypted 4, 10" x 8", acrylic on board

Still images of Porter Square installation

Winter Constellation with movement!

It turns out I did not need to install the little fan to make the hanging pieces move. They do it anyway!

Winter Constellation at Porter Square CVS Windows

Winter Constellation, 6' x 12', acrylic on paper and foam core board with vinyl cutouts.

Winter Constellation, 6' x 12', acrylic on paper and foam core board with vinyl cutouts.

My piece, Winter Constellation, is now installed in the window of the CVS in Porter Square, Mass Ave., Cambridge MA. It's a companion piece to the Summer Constellation that hung in Frame 301 this July. It's fun to see this at night, since I installed it during the day, and I had no idea how it would look with lights on it. I wanted the hanging doodles to move slightly and they do, thanks to the heat from the light bulbs and the air that circulates from the store. I bought a small desk fan to help the movement, but I might not need it after all.