INSIDE THE MIND OF AN ARTIST 

While the creative process can be difficult to explain, finding insight into how it works can be useful. To repeat a success, it helps to understand how you got there. So I’m writing about how these 30 pieces of art were conceived and created. I will do my best to update this blog post throughout the month of June, adding daily conversations to tell you about the making of these paintings. I invite you to follow along, just check back to get the whole story. I’ll also make a scrapbook and poster of my process that you can see at the show. I can’t offer pre-show sales but you can buy prints on panel. Please ask!

ART SHOW —

I’ve been invited to participate in a group show requiring making 30 paintings along with notes about my process in creating them. What a fun challenge! I figured this would be a great exercise for me — cause me to stretch. Just to be clear, my intension is not to make a painting a day. I don’t really work like that. But to create a cohesive body of work is a worthwhile goal.

WHERE: Columbia Art Gallery at Columbia Center for the Arts
in Hood River

WHEN: Aug 1 – Sept 2, 2018

Day 1

THE CONCEPT:  What makes a good show? Consistency and Variety

Originally I’d planned to simply paint 30 birds. But would that be boring for me? Then I realized I could marble over them to make them more unique. I wanted consistency but not sameness so the question was how best to achieve that. I love painting portraits and ultimately couldn’t resist including a couple of them. Plus I’ve been making and teaching collage, which has been selling really well.

So much to consider! I knew I would have an 8×8 foot wall for all 30 paintings, so a traditional frame was out of the question, plus wood panels are wonderfully contemporary. So I made a grid on the computer like this, to imagine how they might fit, including a variety of sizes.

Honing the concept, I decided to use marbling with each painting in the show and mount them all on the wood panels, then allow more variety in subject and technique. Some I would paint then marble, some I would paint over a marbled pattern and others I would make with collage using marbled paper. Here is an example… a chickadee that I’d painted, then added collage marbling, then dipped into the marbling tray to add still more patterning. I’ll explain the whole process in more detail in days to come, showing step-by-step examples.