rain + paint

ah, the winter rains have come! three days and counting. painting in bright pinks and yellows. some remembered Carolina blue. adding color to a low gray sky. the green green grasses and trees that thrive out here in Cascadia.

the progress presentation of the Cedar Rapids, IA project is in review with the client. i'll post a link where you can see a version of it. soon. thanks to everyone for your support and excitement about the work these days. images of the new paintings up soon, too.

sun + paint

it's been so sunny here in Portland. a late burst before the winter rains. painting in it has been pure joy. the commission series is nearly complete and ready for a visit with the client. and i'm preparing some 42"x48" canvases for new paintings. beginning work on another single canvas commission that's been waiting in the wings with a December delivery date.

in the round

the paintings for the six-panel commission continue to develop. painting "in the round" to balance color and shape before images are submitted for client feedback and approval at the end of the month.

the triptych

the six-panel commission includes a triptych: each panel measures 48"x 60" and will be installed close together to create an area approximately 150" x 60". while work continues on that portion of the project this week, i'm also beginning to paint "in the round", working on several pieces at a time, balancing color and shapes among the sections.

120" x 60" anchor piece

worked this week on one of the end "anchor" pieces of the six-panel commission: a gloriously large 120" x 60" canvas. adjusting well to the shift in perspective and the amount of paint and time each piece requires. everything still in progress, though i can see and feel the whole of it taking shape.

larger than life

Steady progress continues on the six-panel commission. Especially note the easels that boost the paintings up to hanging level: light, sturdy and made to fold up when not in use. Designed and built for this project by artist and woodworker David Sheppard, recently relocated to Portland from Philadelphia. Lucky us!

new painting up on website

images of some of the new paintings are up on the website. as always, thanks to artist and website magician Dan Ferro for his wiling and able assistance.

and... the Fall 07 paintings

Early images from one of the new pieces from the Fall 07 series (untitled1, 30"x36", 2007). Am interested most in how line is coming into play; as an organizational element as well as being a visual element itself.

stretch. gesso. paint.

Over the last couple of weeks (and with the able assistance of Oregon College of Arts and Crafts student, up and coming book artist, and former Iowan Molly Kafka), we've prepared the canvas for the Cedar Rapids project. In the meantime, I've been painting interim-scale "sketches", looking to translate the spirit of my original 2-inch scale models into the the full-size paintings. Here, some samples of details from the interim-scale pieces.

Upper Canada Stretchers, Inc.

we've successfully and easily assembled the frames for the six-piece commission. special and very grateful thanks to Donato Cianci and Bob Nadon at Upper Canada Stretchers for their friendly expertise with large-scale projects and for making the most beautiful "bones" a painter could ask for. more process shots on the way.
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work begins

work begins in my Portland studio space on a six-painting commission for a new private home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. pieces measure from as long as 120" x 60" to 48"x 60" and will be installed along a 56' interior wall. here, at left, i'm on a visit to the building site in June with my two-inch scale models of the project. more progress shots as we go.

drawing down the line

at the request of a client, i'm working on a charcoal portrait of his daughter for him to give as a gift. early drafts have me drawing those crazy dark lines similar to the biographical maps i made several years ago (see at right), though as the project progresses, we're leaning toward something that looks more like the one my self-portraits, also from some years back (see image at left). the final piece will likely be a hybrid of the two. i'll post when it's complete.

Art Camp Dreams

Back from Iowa with visions of Art Camp dancing forever in my head. The kids were great, the art fabulous. New ideas for my own paintings knocking at the door. A friend offered that as adult artists, we're always trying to get back to the way these kids naturally make art: embodied marks, flowing paint, and spontaneous effort. Ah.

Iowa ARTaPALOOZA

back to Iowa for June to teach the painting portion of the Grinnell Summer Arts program. this year's theme: ARTaPALOOZA. stay tuned for tales from camp. wish me luck.

I'll also be doing a site visit for a Cedar Rapids, IA commission, a six-piece series of related paintings on canvas, each from 48"x60" to 120"x60". It's a private, site-specific interior installation along a 56' wall. Installation scheduled for sometime in early 2008. more stories and images as we go. it's a fabulous house and a fabulous project.

new work

images of new 2007 painting are available and up on the site. thanks to those of you who have already sent feedback. keep it coming.

when she counts herself in, 2006

grace calls god loudest

i've again been beautifully and internationally blogged. Brigid Walsh (aka Miss Eagle) of Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia, contacted me about using the image of grace calls god loudest for her lovely resource for desert spirituality called Desert. She also runs The Eagle's Nest, where she writes about religion, society and politics.

Images from the Do North Show

Great opening last week for the Do North Show at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center here in Portland. Thanks to everyone who turned up for the event. Through April 21.

Do North Portland - Opens March 31

I'm participating in the Do North Community Celebration's populist art exhibit, opening Thursday March 31 at 5PM in Portland, OR and running through the end of April. The exhibition is open for public jurying and awards will be given in several categories.

Included for this show are: "this is where some of it happened" and "we fell into it".

The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC), a community-based arts center, is committed to creating an environment in which people of every ethnic/cultural background can come together as artists and audience to explore, preserve and celebrate their diversity.

process shots

for those who've asked how my paintings evolve, here's some pictures of what the beginnings can look like. this commission is based on an existing piece (it held (then opened)), and so i'm initially putting down a similar pattern of color and shape. this particular piece is already showing its unique expression. the next stage will bring that forward.

new commission

Work has begun on a new piece for a client from Baltimore, MD. Commission is inspired by response to the series of darker pieces completed in the latter part of 2006, especially it held (then opened). Finished piece will measure 26"x42", installed on an interior wall of a private home. In process pictures as we go.

illogical logic

Thinking again about my decision to title a new painting "the logic of division" (detail at left, original post below). Initial impulse for the name came in response to a radio interview with Jimmy Carter about his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid wherein he explained that there is, indeed, a logic to the Israeli government's policy of division, Palestinians from Israelis. And, while acknowledging this logic, Carter offers reminders of possibilities beyond division via walls.

My intention in titling the piece was to agree with Carter, to question the logic of division. Without context, i wondered if it might seem like a promotion of division? And thus, a right logic of division? As i'm in a position to guide a viewer's response, i'm now working with this new title: "the logic illogic of division".

sounds and feel interesting when said aloud, and it's still in process. stay tuned.