LAST WEEK FOR RHYTHM OF MY LIFE SOLO SHOW

GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD © 2005


Just a reminder, my solo show at the Sandy Springs library, located on Johnson Ferry Road, will be coming down on 6/30. This show consists of the drawing show above, and collages based on composers or pieces of music.



PASSION ©2005

CONNECTING INTERNATIONALLY WHILE READING ABOUT DE KOONING

If someone had suggested to me a month ago I'd be reading a biography of an artist with people around the world on Twitter, I wouldn't have known what they were talking about. I had heard of Twitter, but I didn't know what it really was, or that people connected there. To start at the beginning, this began when I took a blogging class from Alyson Stanfield and Cynthia Morris. Alyson is known to many artists are the "ART BIZ COACH". Well, after several weeks of working on my blog and reading fascinating blogs by other artists, we were told to subscribe to Twitter. At first I resisted. Understand, I don't text, IM, or have any phone apps. But, I succumbed and dutifully signed up. At first I was totally lost, but I slowly started getting the hang of it. Alyson thought it would be a good idea to use Twitter to read a book as a group. This helped me learn to navigate through Twitter, interact with people internationally, and read a great book - all at the same time.

The book, De Kooning, An American Master, is 600 pages long. The intent was to read 100 pages a week and discuss it for 6 weeks. Unfortunately, once I began, I couldn't put it down and completed the book in less than two weeks. We use #dekooning to connect through Search/Twitter.

The book is rich in detail, the world De Kooning inhabited is alive within the pages of this fascinating story of a fascinating era in American art. Heavily researched and ten years in the making, it deservingly won the Pulitzer Price.

It begins with Dekooning's childhood in Rotterdam; his mother beat him with wooden shoes, he was trained in old school portraiture, he arrived in the US as a stowaway, and then made his way to the bohemian art world of New York. It covers his marriage to Elaine, his womanizing, his ascent to being one of the most important artists in the 20th century, and his descent in alcoholism and finally Alzheimers.

It is a page turner, with people like Jackson Pollock, Gorky (his mentor), Franz Klein, Rothko inhabiting the pages. (Paul and Linda McCartney make an appearance, as does David Bryne.) The book is both chatty and educational as many chapters end with a lengthy dissertation on a particular important painting of the era.

DeKooning put his work above all else, and it took him a long time to get a body of work. He never learned to drive, he didn't have a checking account until he was in his 40's, he was always worried he would be deported, as he entered the US illegally. He was both charming and abusive to his friends and lovers.

I highly recommend this page turning biography!

(above painting EXCAVATION)

ECLIPSE

This piece was started in a class and finished it at home. It began with collage of dress patterns in the shape of a cityscape. After layers and layers of acrylic paint and ink, I would mask certain areas and paint over it and move the masks around. This was entered into a show and I am happy to say it won an honorable mention. The judges remarks were "sophisticated with rich colors, great textural quality, really draws you in". However, it was suggested I hang it vertically. Personally, I like it better this way, but knowing it can hang differently let's me know there is balance in the painting.

RHYTHM OF MY LIFE SHOW

I currently have a solo show up at the Sandy Springs Library, here in Atlanta. The piece to the left, MUSIC OF THE WORLD, is one of the pieces I am showing. Because I am the daughter and the grand-daughter of piano tuners, I have always turned to music for inspiration. I have always like the way music looks on the page.


Also, the piece on the left side of the banner (above) is in the show. This piece began with a page from a book of music I found at the Goodwill Book Sale. Each page was devoted to a different composer, with the top half devoted to a short biography, and the bottom with a simplified version of a piece of music often associated with that partciular composter. This one was devoted to Bizet, and the music is from Carmen. I used the word "passion" prominently because that best describes this music.

Enjoy. Come to the show at the Sandy Spring Library on Johnson Ferry Road, through 6/31.

Let me know what you think of these pieces. If you use music in your artwork, please share!

AN INTERVIEW WITH FINE ARTIST LANCE CARLSON

Lance and I have not only painted together for years and we have even shown our work together many times.I was intriqued about his new "Face" series and I wanted to learn more about his process. I knew he began by seeing a face in an inanimate object (i.e. the more obvious ones are seeing a face in a house or the front of a car), but I wanted to know where he went from there, so I posed several questions to him.Read on and see his answers to his interesting approach to art.



I know you are an architect by trade, but when did you begin shifting over to fine art? I took a painting class about 15 years ago and was hooked immediately. It brought back alot of memories of creating art in my youth. (Painting to the left is FAMILY+REUNION)

Has your style changed from when you began as an artist? I don't think I really had a style to begin with, it was just a matter of putting paint on paper. As I progressed, a certain style emerged. For a while, I vassilated between abstract and something more representational. But, I have pretty much adapted an abstract style. However I make personal connections to literature, music and pop culture.

Can you explain this series? This series began with finding a face (of sorts) in the still life (basically a grouping of objects). I find a rudimentary face and base my initial composition on that. As the painting progresses, the face may appear and disappear and the composition that remains becomes the most important thing.

What medium are you using? For the face series, it was back to basics for me. I had become enamored with mixed media where I could throw together a bunch of varying media and then solve the final composition with a little drawing. I wanted to see if I was using the drawing (on top of paintings) as a crutch. So, I limited myself to acrylic paint on canvas for this series. There was some collage in a few, but this was from "painted over" previous paintings.

Of the 4 images displayed here, I see the palette is very similar. How did you choose the palette? Because I work on several pieces at the same, I am using the same colors on all when I'm finalizing the image.



I see the relationship between the titles and the paintings, except for the one titled "Without at Name", will you explain this? That is the name of a song by Kisschasy. I know it is pretty obscure, but it held meaning for me. (Painting to the left is WITHOUT A NAME)

What visual elements do you repeat in this series? There are alot of curves, to make it lyrical. There is also a good change in values, and I use some form of stripes and bands in each one.

How do you know when a piece is finished? I like to get outside the critique, because for me, an internal knowledge or satisfaction that I know it is complete works for me.

Do you have any plans to exhibit this series in the future? Sure, any ideas? I have submitted it to competitions and galleries. I will keep you posted when it is up somewhere.

Who is your favorite artist? I don't know if I have a favorite, as there are several artists that speak to me. I get an adranline rush out of Ann Hamilton, but I was super excited when I recently saw the back of a Rubens/ I am also influenced by great architecture for le Corbusier to Graves to Calitrava

Who do you consider your biggest influences in art? My mom and dad and brother had plein air outings when I was a kid. They all had easels while I did somersaults in the grass. I think in some ways Franz Klein and Rodin. Wierd combo, eh? But, their work both dealt with human figures and also drawn to bodies and faces.


What do you see in your future as an artist? My future is so bright. I will just continue to create art and see where it takes me. I am taking paths as they come, but not really forging new territory or looking for wealth of fame. I wouldn't turn it down if it came. (Painting to the left is WISE AND DEEP AS THE SEA)


Thank you Lance for taking the time to answer these questions thoughtfully and honestly. However, I have to disagree on your last answer. I think you are forging new territory by continuing to learn and explore new techniques in art.

After reading this, if you think I have left anything out, please leave a comment. And you can continue to follow this series with Lance on his blog.