Post Studio Visit

Time in: 10:00 am

This week I had a studio visit with Linda Warren of Linda Warren Gallery. Wesley Kimler had connected me with her for her to come and take a look at my work. As you can see in the picture, I devised a hanging system to get some of my drying paper studies up off the floor- they're clipped to a string that runs along the top of the wall.

Linda came over and looked at pieces from all my series and was very positive about my work. We talked about my work, her gallery and a bit about the Chicago art scene. I know she has an enormous list if gallery artists so my intention in having her over wasn't really to become one of her artists. She may have people in mind that might be interested in some of my work though. She was generous enough to suggest a collector I should contact who is really interested in portraits/figurative work, primarily of women.

It was really great to get someone in the studio who is a professional in the field. It makes me feel like being an artist is more of a reality, in a way. I've been wanting to be around other art professionals for so long, it can feel like you're so isolated and like you're working towards something so vague when you're all alone in your studio, producing and producing.

This week I also finished my application for a grant from the Chenven Foundation. I'm still waiting to hear about the CAAP Grant from Chicago- I emailed them to see what was going on (they said notifications would be sent in May) and they said that they are waiting to see if they're going to get money from the State or City to award grants, so it could take a while yet.

To Do:
Email women about photo shoot
Put away Duplex paintings
Email HT
disc of images/materials for Linda
Email artists for WPG shows
Photograph plant pieces

Playlist:
Barbara Kingsolver on Speaking of Faith
Tom Waits
Joan Armatrading
The Private Patient by PD James

Missing space

I think I'm pretty good at adapting to space restrictions when it comes to my studio. I've had to adapt to a variety of spaces, all with benefits and disadvantages. Right now, my studio bleeds over into the dining room (it's the same room, sort of divided in half, really the dining room table becomes my desk, so I guess the dining room is my studio). It's enough room to work in, it's just not quite big enough to spread out all the pieces I'm working on at once without feeling like I am constantly shuffling things around.

I need to come up with a system for hanging my studies on paper while they're drying, rather than laying them all across the floor. I think with some clever organizing I can make the most of the space I have, I just have to figure out how to do that. I'm planning on hanging some wire/string across the ceiling to clip the papers to. That will at least get them off the floor.

I also need to find a way to easily present my work for viewing. I have a studio visit this week with a gallery owner and wish I had a better way to display my paintings. This will also take some clever organizing of space.

To Do:
Hang paintings to dry
Unwrap paintings and hang what I can
Gesso paper
Hands on head portrait- fix ear
clean brushes

Perceptions, plus

I mentioned in my last post that I had some work included in the latest issue of Perceptions, which is a magazine for the arts put out by Mt. Hood Community College. If you'd like to purchase a copy, you can send either a check or money order to the following address:

Mt. Hood Community College

Humanities Division c/o Megan Jones

26000 SE Stark Street

Gresham, OR 97080

Copies are $15 apiece and you can make checks payable to "Perceptions".

I'm continuing to work on quick studies on paper of facial expressions of women exercising. I'm thinking of them almost like gesture drawings, trying to quickly capture the expression. I'm playing around with both realistic and gestural/expressive portrayals and trying to vary my color palette. I'm thinking of this as a chance to just try out a lot of things without a preconceived idea what I'm trying to achieve as far as a "look".

I'm taking some time to see what happens with regularly working on these. I'm working on cheap paper that I gesso which allows me to make a lot of these. I usually do a few a day- some I work on for just one session, and some I am going back into to work on for multiple sessions.

Sometimes I like what I make, sometimes it changes- I'll like it at first and then not like it and want to paint over it. I need to get some women together to photograph- I am really looking forward to have some new references to work from and new faces to paint.

To Do:
Work on Chenven Foundation grant application
Gesso more paper
3 Sketches
Re-work previous studies
Organize women for exercise photo session

Playlist:
This American Life and Re:Sound
Joan Armatrading
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Eddi Reader- Simple Soul
Van Morrison

Sketches on Paper

I want to be able to be doing many quick studies while I'm getting into my new subject matter, so I've been gessoing sheets of brown paper- the type you wrap packages with, which is an incredibly cheap way to have lots of paper to work on. Of course it's not very sturdy stuff, but it works great for studies.

So far, I've photographed just myself so I can get started and start seeing where I want to go with this idea that I'm working with. I went out on a nice hot day and ran a couple miles and then had someone photograph me once I was good and tired. It takes a little getting used to to be photographed honestly when not necessarily at your best.


Anyway, some of the expressions I think are really interesting and I can't wait to get some more women's faces to work with which is my next step- having some photo shoots with women.

Puffin Foundation and Perceptions

Some exciting news since my last post: I received a grant from the Puffin Foundation!

This is the first grant I've received and it is so wonderful to have my work funded and to be able to go and buy materials. This is especially needed since I'm getting back into oil paint. I'm taking some time to familiarize myself with it once again since it's been a while since I've really painted with it.

I've been doing a lot of quick studies, also portraits, to get used to the paint and to start to play around with the subject matter. My next series which I received the grant for includes three specific portrait groupings. The first that I am starting to play around with involves women's faces after exercising. Women working hard, straining, sweaty, flushed faces and running make-up- I'm thinking about how this reflects how women push themselves for their physical appearance and/or health. It's a view of women not typically represented (think of the pictures you've seen of women working out, usually in advertisements or magazines- they are smiling and fully made up, usually looking beautiful and at ease). I've been interested in seeing what it would look like to portray women how they really look while working out- I think the expressions could be really interesting to work with.

I also just received my contributor copy of Perceptions- a Journal for the Arts from Mt. Hood Community College. I was not expecting such a high quality publication. It's a beautiful publication including fiction, poetry, visual art and a DVD of film and additional images and a CD of music. My piece "You think I'm Joking?" was included in the printed journal and "Swipe" was included on one of the discs including the film pieces and a slideshow of additional images.

Ed Winkleman - Apprenticeships

I also forgot to mention that Ed Winkleman recently posted about apprenticeships here and started an interesting conversation on his blog. This was of course really interesting to me since a lot of what he and others started talking about, about the needs of artists early in their careers, were things I am hoping to address by being a studio assistant, and in a way, sort of an apprentice.

Studio work

This month has been busy, with little time in my studio. I have been working in a studio, though, just not my own. About a month ago I emailed Paul Klein, who I had met at an event at the Hyde Park Art Center, to ask for some assistance. He had generously let me know back when I met him that if I ever had any questions or needed help, I could ask him. So I did. The idea had recently sprung into my head, or maybe rather just came finally came together in an articulate thought, that I could gain a lot from being a studio assistant to a successful artist. I don't really know any successful artists, so that's always been the problem.

I emailed Paul and told him what I was interested in. Specifically I told him that I was looking for a successful painter that I could assist. In exchange for my assistance, I would like to learn from someone who has survived as a painter and had a successful career that I could learn from. He connected me with Wesley Kimler, a painter here in Chicago that has been a significant part of the Chicago art scene as well as having a successful career in painting for many years. Wesley and I talked on the phone and arranged for me to start the following week.

So now, twice a week, I help Wesley out in his studio- cleaning, straightening, preparing canvases and we also talk quite a bit about art, painting, and stories about the Chicago art scene.

So far I think we've been able to help each other out- me helping keep his studio in order and he providing insights that he's learned over years of experience as an artist. I'm hoping also to meet people in the art community here as well. It's been difficult or me to find a place that I "fit in" so far with the various cliques that I've been introduced here in the art scene. I haven't found terribly many people interested in developing more of an artistic network and community. I'm hoping that through Wesley, who is known for not accepting any BS and making it a priority to be in the presence of people with integrity, I can meet some artists and creative people that are perhaps can become part of a community for me.

So, from my show to becoming a studio assistant, my time has been getting used up pretty quickly and I'm making more of a point to get some focused time to work.

TO DO:
Finalize images for Will and Matt commission
Study on paper- oil
Work on Scott piece
Check deadlines for submissions
Update website

PLAYLIST:
Sheryl Crow
Tom Waits
Tom Yorke
My Morning Jacket
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Stan Getz

Pictures from Fermilab

My solo exhibition "I live in a duplex." opened on March 10, 2010 at the Fermilab Art Gallery in Batavia. Here are some pictures from Fermilab before and during the reception. It was a great opening- thank you to everyone who came and saw the show! It will be up through May 4, 2010 so there are many opportunities to check it out.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day: the opening of my show at Fermilab Art Gallery. My parents are flying in to Chicago today from San Diego to enjoy some of the cooler weather and attend my talk and opening. I am really excited about my talk as I always love the opportunity to talk with people about my work. It's a great opportunity for me to hear how people are responding to the work and what it makes them think about. It's interesting and also helps me to understand how people look at what I'm doing. I think it will be mostly scientists from Fermilab that will be there so I'm sure they will have their own unique perspective that may be different from an artist's.

The details once again:

Wednesday March 10, 2010
Artist Talk: 11:30-12:30pm in the gallery
Reception: 5-7pm in the gallery,

Show runs March 10 - May 4, 2010.

Fermilab Art Gallery website here.

Hauling Art

Early Monday morning, I picked up my U-haul rental to load up my paintings and bring the to Fermilab. I had them all wrapped in plastic and blankets and ready to go out the door...and down the stairs....and around the turn in the stairs...down more stairs and then out to the truck. It's that middle part about the stairs that I always forget how difficult it is to maneuver eight foot paintings around.

Here's a shot of my work getting safely strapped down in the back of the truck. I know it doesn't look like a lot, but there were 21 paintings in the truck. Yes- it was cold.