The Art of Patti Roberts-Pizzuto....Graphic Subtleties

 

"The Tall House" by Patti Roberts-Pizzuto

Mixed media on vellum

I guess you would have to figure that I would love this work by Patti Roberts-Pizzuto.  It's graphic, but subtle; rich but spare; and always very thoughtful.  The works shown here incorporate drawing, painting, embroidery, collage, beading and beeswax; and although I chose pieces of similar muted palettes for this post, Patti has numerous colorful pieces available in her Etsy shop now.

"Winter" by Patti Roberts-Pizzuto

Mixed media on vellum

Patti has been honing the skills she acquired while completing her BFA for years now, but it's only recently that she opened her shop and started her blogs. She has two of them: Missouri Bend Studio and Missouri Bend Paper Works, the latter of which chronicles her project of creating poems from words cut from the texts of old books.

"Season Cycles / Spring" by Patti Roberts-Pizzuto

5" x 5" on handmade paper

Patti's studio blog combines lovely narrative about the artistic process with observations about life and the beauty of the natural world.  Her current post speaks to the intimacy of her small works of art as it relates to the richness of life.  Patti and her husband, who makes much of her paper and is an artist himself, live in South Dakota on the Missouri River, captured stunningly here... in my favorite "golden hour" light. :)

Have a wonderful week!

Simple Materials....Simple Beauty

Acrylic on recycled coffee sleeves

Mixed media and lovely pomegranate

Much to do today in preparation for my daughter's homecoming, but I wanted to encourage you to stop back by soon as I will be featuring the work of a couple of wonderful artists in separate posts.

Simply gorgeous here in Portland.  Hope all is well where you are.  Thanks for visiting!!

Adelaide's....Great Books, Great Coffee and Great Conversation

When I go to the Long Beach Peninsula on the Pacific coast of Washington, I soak up the beauty of the natural world and also make time to stop in at a few of the many small shops and eateries found there.  A current favorite is housed in the old Taylor Hotel, which was built in the 1800s and recently renovated by my new friend, Cyndy. 

   

In tribute to the hotel's proprietress, Adelaide, above, the new establishment is named after her, and though it's no longer a hotel, there's no shortage of hospitality here. 

Cyndy and her knowledgeable staff serve up great conversation, delicious espressos and wonderful pastries in the eatery side of the store; and offer a truly interesting selection of books in a very comfortable "reading room" that includes a lovely corner for youngsters. All in all, it's pretty easy to while away some hours at Adelaide's. 

A serendipity of my visit this past Saturday, was the discovery that Cyndy's sister, Colleen Hayward,  is an extremely accomplished encaustic painter, installation artist and sculptor. Represented by the Catherine Person Gallery in Seattle, you can see more of her beautiful work here. 

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Joan McGuire's "Painted Drawings" at Gallery 114

"Painted Drawing #6" by Joan McGuire

38" x 48"

Acrylic on canvas

(photo courtesy of the artist)

As promised,  here are a couple of  photos of Joan McGuire's show, "Painted Drawings,"  at Gallery 114 in the Pearl District of Portland.  Her paintings, abstractions of fir cones on branches, were the main event (while my six mixed media works were tucked away in a small room in the center of the gallery). You can get a feel for the strength of Joan's paintings in these photos, but it's nothing like standing in front of them.  They're very active paintings with rich hues, wonderful line quality, and multiple layers of generously applied paint.  The oranges, for example, in "Painted Drawing #1" below, virtually radiate heat, while the varied deep, dimensional hues in several of her paintings recede rather mysteriously, beckoning the viewer to take a closer look.  In addition to her paintings on canvas, Joan showed smaller diptychs on wood panels that featured abstract close-ups of the cones themselves, juxtaposed in some cases with silhouettes of the branches. (A couple of them appear around the corner in the above photo.)

"Painted Drawings #3, #1, and #4" by Joan McGuire

60" x 48"

Acrylic on Canvas

It was only after I had seen Joan’s show twice that I read her very interesting statement about the paintings, which follows:

"Using two branches of dried fir cones plus a number of ink drawings as source material, I have repeatedly drawn the forms in an attempt to grasp their complexity. Rather than culminating in homogeneity, the repetitive practice led to variations and abstraction, and became a fertile launching of a series of paradoxical pairings. And ultimately, it is the endlessly fascinating qualities of paint that are explored and relished. Applied with primitive tools like brushes, bits of cardboard and fingers; at turns thick with impasto or thin and drippy, paint remains the focus of the show."

To see more of Joan's portfolio of paintings, graphic design and illustration, visit her website.  Her show, along with my "Remnants" show, will be at Gallery 114 through June 26. (Gallery info here.)

"Remnants" - Mixed Media Show

 

"Remnants 1 & 2"

Mixed media

(....with flash spots, dark shadows, and all!)

It's Saturday morning and it's glorious in Portlandia, quite unlike this past Thursday evening when Joan McGuire's and my shows at Gallery 114 opened.  The sky looked promising on that morning, but it began to rain an hour before the start of the monthly First Thursday art walk in Portland's Pearl District.  Nevertheless, folks turned out and the gallery had great attendance.  Joan's paintings looked fabulous on the walls of the main gallery (photos of that coming soon) and the Pozzi Room was  perfect for my series of six mixed media works. It was a wonderful evening and I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with friends and the general public.  Many thanks to those who sloshed through the streets to come to the opening!!  (For anyone still thinking of going to the show, it will be up through June 26 and the gallery's open Th -Sun from 12 - 6.)

(Click to read a little about this work.)

"Remnants 3 & 4"

"Remnants 5 & 6"

Now it's time to focus on the domestic front, and also to get caught up with what all of you are doing. Definitely looking forward to reading Robyn Gordon, Sophie Munns, and  Carolyn Saxby's blogs; all of which are visual feasts and treasure troves of informa-tion; and the latter of which has the most soothing New Age music (some with ocean waves, no less!)

Hope the sun is shining where you are!  Enjoy!