This is most of the show – deciding which paintings to hang together on the varied colors on the painted walls took me a little while to figure out, but I think it came out well. I am very excited about how well they all look together. Who knew I’d be here when today when I picked up some paint, brushes and canvas at the discount store 2 years ago?
Namaste,
Jackie
In preparation for the upcoming show “Alchemy” I was thinking about making some business cards. I decided to be more creative than printing some out on the computer. With leftover scraps of other collage work, I made a whole bunch of ATCs – artist trading cards. I thought it would be fun to give people who come to the show their very own little piece of art. These could be framed if people wanted to, but on the back is my contact information. The top photo is a panorama of about 60 of the cards and the other two are closeups.
When I’m painting and need to switch colors, I wipe the brush or palette knife on paper that I have sitting on the table, or if I’m using palette paper to mix colors, I save the dried paint to add to later paintings for texture. Sometimes these become abstract painting on their own, but more often are cut or torn up to use in collages. In some of the examples above, I cut a small piece of the painted paper and mounted it on a solid color piece of card stock. In others, I cut an ATC size piece from the paper and it became the base of the card. Others are more of a collage using scraps of the painted paper, as well as other papers. It actually was a great deal of fun to work on these while I was waiting for layers of paint to dry on paintings.
Today I’m finishing all the paintings for the show and putting wires on them. On Monday I’ll hang the show. I have room for about 16 paintings. I’ll probably take more than 16 with me, so I can switch things out depending on how the whole show looks. I’ll take photos of the show and post them next week.
Namaste,
Jackie
This is another of the 12″ x 12″ paintings I’ve been working on – not sure if this will make it into the “Alchemy” show or not, or if it does, which way I’ll hang it. Like most of my work, this is mixed media – there are dried paint skins, a very thick raised gel paint, acrylic, and the top layer of yellow is a tempera paint that is nearly translucent.
Namaste,
Jackie
There is more glare in this photo than I’m happy with, but you get the idea. I’m in the process of choosing the art for my upcoming exhibit, “Alchemy”. I’m pretty sure this one has made the cut. There is space for 15 or 16 paintings, depending upon size. Most of the one’s I’ve done lately are 12″ x 12″ but I also have some older ones that are larger that I’d like to display, as well as some of the 6″ x 6″ small works. I have about a week to figure it all out.
Today I spent the day at the college where I teach, organizing my office and courses for the semester that begins on Monday. Every year I tell myself I won’t wait until the last minute, and then every year, I do. But my first class isn’t until 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, so I still have PLENTY of time! It all feels very well under control however, so tomorrow I can spend some time getting ready for the exhibit.
Namaste,
Jackie
alchemy |’alkemē
Figurative: a process by which paradoxical results are achieved or incompatible elements combined with no obvious rational explanation
A few days ago I was asked to come up with a title for my upcoming art exhibit. To be honest, it hadn’t even occurred to me that I’d need to come up with a title, and I was stumped. I have a hard enough time naming paintings. So I thought, and I did some research on abstract expressionism, and somewhere came across the word ‘alchemy.” I’d always thought of alchemy as the science of turning nothing into something – like spinning straw into gold, or something to do with “magick.” And then I ran across the website http://al.chemy.org where I found the definition listed above. AH-HAH! The statement on the website reads:
“Alchemy is an open drawing project aimed at exploring how we can sketch, draw, and create on computers in new ways. Alchemy isn’t software for creating finished artwork, but rather a sketching environment that focuses on the absolute initial stage of the creation process. Experimental in nature, Alchemy lets you brainstorm visually to explore an expanded range of ideas and possibilities in a serendipitous way.”
And, suddenly, my exhibit had a title. Alchemy seems the perfect description of the work I do – paradoxical results and combining elements with no rational explanation. I love it.
Namaste,
Jackie
Portland Head Light
Here’s another view of my favorite light house in Maine, this one taken by me a few days ago when I was in Maine. I had a wonderful trip, part business, mostly pleasure. I stayed at the Eastland Park Hotel in Portland which I highly recommend. The city of Portland has a wonderful art museum, as well as the Maine College of Art.
And as is always true for me, visiting the ocean was healing and rejuvenating. From Portland I traveled south along the coast to Newport, RI where I stayed for a few more days. Long walks around town, sleeping late, and painting, with the company of my beautiful sister-in-law, niece and nephew, made for a perfect time to prepare myself for the semester ahead.
I have many blessings in my life…
Namaste,
Jackie
Portland Head Lighthouse
This is the Portland Head Light in South Portland, ME. I think it’s my favorite lighthouse in the world, although having spent a fair portion of my life in Maine, any one of the Maine lighthouses makes me feel like I’ve come home. Tomorrow I’m heading up to Portland for a couple days, just for a quick break before my semester break ends. This picture was taken in the summer – I plan to go by the lighthouse and take a few winter shots.
Namaste,
Jackie
Reflections 51 #1
Reflections 51 #2
Reflections 51 #3
Reflections 51 #4
It’s done, but once again, I’m having trouble with which way is up – I’ll ultimately pick one orientation, sign it, and then ultimately the buyer can hang it in whatever direction they think is correct.
The other day my 5 year old nephew was painting, and he gave a small canvas to me. He didn’t sign it, and I hung it the way I thought it should go. He came down later, looked at it and said, with some disdain and a look of disbelief on his face “Ami, it’s upside down!” I could see him thinking “And you call yourself an artist! HA!” I quickly turned it around.
Namaste,
Jackie
Reflections #50 #1
Reflections #50 #2
Reflections #50 #3
Reflections #50 #4
This painting in the Reflections series is done…I’m pretty sure! I’ve been looking at it for about 4 days and can’t think what I’d add to it, so perhaps I should just leave it along. I’ve posted it here in 4 different orientations to show the different possibilities – I’m just not sure which way is “up” (that seems to be a recurring theme in my life). It’s clear to me that my mood is often expressed in my paintings, and what is interesting is all the different moods that can appear in a particular painting session. My mood, or at least the way I’m expressing it, seems to change a great deal even in just a few hours. An art therapist might have a field day with that. Me, I just accept it and enjoy the process.
Namaste,
Jackie
I’m still working on the paintings in the Reflections Series that I began New Year’s Eve – this is the blue one that was pictured in my last blog. I’m not sure if it’s done, but it might be. I see much more red in the photograph than I do in the painting – that is interesting to me – and I find I like the red underpainting that is there. There is a fair amount of texture – the red comes from dried paint skins that are layered onto the 12 x 12 canvas.
I’ve let all of them sit for a couple days, and will do some more work on them later today. I’m also not sure if this is the best orientation for this one – I might turn it around. Once question I often have about my abstract paintings is whether I should sign it on the front, thus dictating the “correct” orientation, or if I should sign it on the back and just let the person who ends up with the painting decide how to hang it. I’ll wire it in preparation for exhibiting it, but that could easily be changed by a new owner.
Namaste,
Jackie
