"Veiled Ovoid" in situ

"Veiled Ovoid"

30" x 40"

"Veiled Ovoid" is almost finished and I couldn't resist capturing it with these fabulous onion orbs from our garden.  We've never used them in a bouquet before, and although a mild onion fragrance permeated the air when my husband first brought them in several days ago, it has since dissipated and surprisingly, not a single floret (no doubt the wrong term) has fallen.

A lovely soft rain has brought relief from the heat to the west side of the Cascades this morning.  I am reluctant to look at the news to see how many wildfires were started by the lightning storms predicted in the central and eastern regions of the state last night.  Currently, the largest wildfire in nearly 150 years is burning very close to a tiny, favorite "hamlet" that is near the southern border.  

I've just spent twenty minutes getting caught up on these wonderful blogs:  Paper Ponderings, Printed Material; and Non-indigenous Woman.   Time to move away from the computer and get into action.

Cheers!

Apricot Poppy and Non-Stop Sun

 

Now that the "sun switch" has been turned on, our suburban vegetable garden has reached a nice state: The plants have come into their own but have not yet gone wild.  Well, that is, all but the flowering phlox.  The phlox (not shown here) is another story.  Phlox is considered a bit of a "thug" plant by perennial gardeners in Oregon because of its rampant spreading tendencies.  It has systematically crowded out our strawberries and is now threatening our few blueberry bushes.  Furthermore, it has paid no attention to our property line and has spread unrestrained into our neighbor's yard.  I have begun an earnest campaign to eradicate it but as my husband pointed out, it will continue to trouble us as it will simply march back across the property line! 

I am almost finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's 2007 book, Vegetable, Animal, Miracle. Even though I have been tuned into the local, organic, sustainable food movement for over ten years, and my husband has faithfully planted and maintained our vegetable gardens for twenty-seven years, I gleaned many new insights from Kingsolver's book, which also features contributions from her biologist husband and her grown daughter. I wouldn't say it is a particularly fast read; rather it moves along at an enjoyably leisurely pace with each chapter reinforcing the tenets set forth in prior chapters. 

While on the subject, I feel compelled to mention, again, the lovely book that Kerstin Svendsen edited, From Orchards, Fields, and Gardens, first appearing on this blog here.  Such a simple, beautiful and moving book. . . . .

Hope this week is treating you well!

And thanks for following!

Vibrancy and Quietude

     

Mixed media on paper

7" x 7"

Sold

This low-growing Oregon Grape is coming into its glory right now -- at least as far as I'm concerned. (I much prefer the red leaf / green berry stage to the intense yellow flowering stage.)  As summer progresses, the berries will turn deep blue-purple and develop their own sort of patina.   They were a mainstay of the indigenous tribes' diet but I have yet to try them.  They are said to be very sour but it's hard to imagine they could be any more sour than cranberries and they're no doubt equally nutritious.   Hmm, perhaps I should get with the program; our yard is full of this native plant!

It's a very quiet, soft, and misty grey day in Portlandia.  The kind that rather demands a slow start to the weekend.  Hope you are enjoying yours, whatever the weather might be.

Cheers!

 

Veiled Ovoid - In Progress

 "Veiled Ovoid" 

Acrylic on canvas

30" x 40"

So here's where I've landed after having taken the flying leap a couple of weeks ago. I guess this painting confirms the "Ovoid" series is still alive and kicking. I spent hours, literally, on the pink bar in the lower right corner last night, and I still don't have it right.  I suppose I will persist. 

Tenaciousness can be a good thing when painting, but sometimes one needs to let a painting go and move on in order to bring forth what lies ahead.  The element in this particular painting that just might provide the impetus for me to let it go is the ambiguity of the band in the middle.  Ambiguity in various areas of my compositions is a goal that I've held in my mind for quite some time.  It will require a new way of applying the paint for me, and I know there is a steep learning curve ahead.  Although I had planned to take a break  from the ovoid series, I believe this center band might serve as the jumping off point for my next painting, which I envision as having a great deal of ambiguity and perhaps transparent ovoids of one size or another. :)

Hope you are happily engaged in some sort of creative process!

New Mixed-Media Collages and Some Sage Advice

 

  

 Images - 5" x 7"

As promised, here are two mixed-media collages on paper that I just finished.  They're comprised of remnants of various monoprints, a couple of potato prints, painted recycled paper, ink, and gold gouache.  Many more of these are in the works.

In response to my last post, Patti Roberts-Pizzuto encouraged me to let myself "play" with my paintings.  I must admit, I'm not very good at that.  Seriously, I think it must be the canvas.  I should probably work on paper for awhile and trick myself into believing that I am merely working on preliminary "sketches".  I do feel that freedom when I am printing.  Hmm. . . must have to do with the fact that I'm printing on paper, which allows me to try this, that and the other thing -- one sheet after another, as fast as I can go ad infinitum.

Which brings to mind Dale Chihuly, master glass artist.  I must confess that when I went to an exhibit of his work at the Portland Art Museum years ago, my favorite pieces were his quick, sketches on large paper.  Would have loved to have each and every one of them.  So spontaneous!

Well, I took the leap and my 30" x 40" canvas is underway.  Feels good to be painting; especially so because I keep the music cranked up loud!  Ha!

Cheers!

Well No Wonder . . . .

Acrylic on paper

5" x 7"

(In the shop.)

So today is the day.  Yes, I am committed to breaking out the paints and beginning a new large painting.  In fact, I was intent upon getting everything set up on Thursday evening so that I could jump right in and get started in advance of the weekend.  But it didn't happen.  Trouble is, I'm feeling a little skittish about the prospect.  Not quite sure which direction to jump.  Perhaps you know the feeling . . . when a big white canvas is staring right back at you.   I began to wonder if I was perhaps just a bit rusty.  So last night, I took a look back through this blog and found out that my last large painting was completed FOURTEEN months ago.  Seriously?!! Well no wonder. .   Guess it really must be time to simply close my eyes and jump!  I'll keep you posted.  (And I hope to have a couple new, small mixed-media pieces to show you tomorrow.)

Speaking of "small," have you had a chance to check out Patti Roberts-Pizzuto's daily drawings on tea bags?

Hope your weekend is progressing nicely.

Welcome new followers!

When All is New

 

Finally!  We've replaced the camera that was lost .  And just in time to capture the essence of late spring, when "newness" still abounds.  Above: new fern fronds; a new (?) lovely (?) fly; new salmon berries, and a new board in the bird "condominiums" that my husband built twenty years ago. (The downstairs units are accessible from the other side.)  The condominiums are a focal point in our coastal garden and there is now a bit of a sad (and now silly) story associated with them:  My husband built this hoping to attract the birds that had frequented his father's garden through the years.  However, when he built it, the birds were no longer coming to his father's garden and there was some uncertainty about what kind of birds they actually were; were they Purple Martins or Tree Swallows, or perhaps both?  And then, many years ago, his father passed away.  And all the while, no birds established residency in our condominiums. So disappointing!  Then. . . while we were in our garden last weekend, the Tree Swallows were suddenly circling overhead and occasionally swooping down to land on the perches, before quickly taking off again.  

Not far away, we saw a swallow land on the perch of a stand-alone birdhouse, enter the hole, and then emerge to fly off.  While observing this, I commented that the entrance to that house -- which he had also built -- looked like it had a bigger diameter than those of the condominium entrances.  My husband replied, "Wouldn't that be something --  to find out after all these years that the holes hadn't been large enough!"  Well, he got right to work.  He measured the entrance to the other house, removed the entryways to the condominiums (south side, only -- so as not to overly commit to the new design) found a replacement board and drilled three new holes, hammered new perches into the board and nailed it to the structure. Within minutes, the Tree Swallows returned.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon watching assorted pairs swoop down to investigate the "south-side" units while we fabricated funny dialogues between the spouses regarding the respective features of the various units, and why one unit should be selected over the next. For awhile, they limited their investigations to peering in from the perches, but eventually, the females (I imagine) hopped inside to take a look around. The following morning, there was still activity around the condominiums and now, one week later, it appears as though residency has been established!  Such a happy ending! (Or rather, now, a new beginning.)

Happy weekend!

Three Diamonds . . . . Small Print

 

Monoprint

4" x 4"

Just a quick drop in.

Still working with my small monoprints.

Two small collages on the table, each with shots of lemon/mustard and turquoise.

Eager to pick up a paint brush.

Soon.

Have you seen these recent lush colorworks by:

Annamaria Potamiti

Kristen Donegan

Shu-Ju Wang

Hope your week is going well.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Cheers!