Thursday, January 31, 2013

When I Grow Up I Want to Be A Big Painting

After finishing my first painting of the year, I admit that I  slacked off slightly over the weekend. No, artists do not get weekends off! I seem to respond well to deadline pressure so I am sure I will get going full steam ahead soon. I have been making sketches for one part of my show that is still in the germination stage and have done a study for my next painting (left). I like this whole doing a study first thing. It is much less daunting to paint and repaint at 8" x 10" than  30" x 40". Last night I got the yellow of the house mixed and some preliminary shadow colors mixed and tested. Alas, after the paint dried my yellow had a greenish tinge. Grrrr, back to mixing and testing...


I've been thinking a lot about where I am going with my paintings. I have been working on my Neighborhood Series since late 2009. The paintings are based on houses in the Heights. I don't paint them because I am in love with the architecture of bungalows or am interested in portraying charming cottages. I paint them because to me they represent mystery, the unknown and loss. When I see a house that intrigues me, I'm curious about the many lives lived in it, the secrets it holds, and losses it has endured. These houses are much more than simply impersonal structures. That is what continues to compel me to paint them. At the same time, I don't want to become so one dimensional that I'm only known as a "house" painter. It's important to evolve as an artist. I guess that when I feel finished with this series, I will know that it is time to move on to something new. Until then, bungalows reign!










Friday, January 25, 2013

Is It Done Yet And Other Questions Painters Ask Themselves

I made my deadline with 11 hours, 45 minutes to spare! My painting, seen here and as yet untitled, is pretty much finished. There are a few things not shown in this photo that I want to fix. I usually end up changing the ground color, then the sky color, then changing the ground color again to look better with the sky color. Honestly I could go back and forth for days changing these colors ever so slightly until I'm finally satisfied. I've learned though to step away and sit with a painting for a while first because in a rush to finish you can really screw things up! Nonstop painting is also very tiring, so making decisions when you are exhausted generally ends up in disaster. I am also trying something new and novel: making small studies of paintings first to work out the colors and composition. Hopefully this will help me figure things out before spending hours mixing and taping and painting and mixing and painting, etc.

I very happy to be fully back in the painting groove. I am not struggling with distractions as much and have to remind myself to take breaks and go to sleep at a decent hour. It's so good to be back!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Is There Such A Thing As Painter's Elbow?

I know that it is probably too early to start whining but owwee, my right arm hurts! I had no idea how out of shape I was painting-wise. I guess it is just like exercise; once you start a new routine you feel pain in muscles you never knew you had. I wonder if I can get workman's comp?

Today, I have continued working on those windows I keep going on about. They are coming out good so far. It looks like I am on track to finish this painting by my first deadline so I will not incur the wrath of my sister! I also got some new brushes today and they are delicious to work with.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Taping Madness

When I first started painting, my goal was to loosen up and break away from my commercial art background that required precision and straight lines. Back then, lines and objects had to be hand-drawn because it was the early 80s before the time of computers and all the cool software and gadgets these kids have today. I started out painting relatively loose but have slowly made my way back to a more graphic, hard-edged style which I have accepted as "me." That's fine, I can't fight destiny. I was, however, not too keen on getting into the whole madness of taping, i.e. using painter's tape to get precise straight lines. This was before I switched from oils, with which you can use a ruler to get straight lines, to acrylics, which unfortunately become a wretched mess when you do the same.


So I have entered the land of taping hell. My easel is covered with little pieces of blue tape, wadded up balls of tape are lying all over the floor near the wastebasket, and I keep forgetting to put the cap on the Xacto knife and have nearly stabbed myself several times. I have a love/hate relationship with taping but when I do the "big reveal" of peeling off the tape, oh what clean lines I have! I know that it is bizarre to get this excited about peeling off tape but I don't get out much these days. Work with me people!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Home Improvement is Not Nearly as Fun as They Make it Seem on Home Depot Commercials

The husband and I finished putting up our picket fence today. You would think that wouldn't be very tiring but you would be wrong. This must be why our professions involve us working indoors, away from heavy objects, dirt and power tools. We are just too delicate for hard labor. Both of us are suffering from backaches and walking around like 90 year olds.

That said, I didn't get much accomplished on my painting today other than attempting to transfer painter's tape that I meticulously laid out on vellum and cut out last night. It did not go well, the whole peeling off and transferring part. Usually I would cuss and throw a fit about it but I'm just too tired to do that  today. Yes, I am that tired! I will have more to say about taping tomorrow - stay tuned.

Windows of Obsession

Yesterday, my beloved and I worked on replacing our picket fence which had become an embarrassment and made us the laughing stock of the block. It was pretty exhausting, but after a nap I was able to get into the studio.  I am a Virgo and for anyone who doesn't believe in astrology that's fine, but when I read the description for Virgos they pretty much have me pegged. The primary characteristics of us Virgos are that we are detail-oriented perfectionists and meticulous to the nth degree. These characteristics are all manifesting themselves in the part of my painting I am working on right now.

I am painting one of the windows of the house and am trying to capture the levels of shadow that I see in my reference photo. It took me several hours to mix the paint to the exact color I wanted (warm gray but not too warm) and then to get the values right for each part of the shadow. I've got that step done. Step two will be painting the window pane. Wait till you see the obsession involved with that!

Friday, January 18, 2013

1% Inspiration, 99% Perspiration

2013 is a very big year for me. I'm going to be in my first two-person show in February at the O'Kane Gallery at the University of Houston-Downtown and am getting ready for my first SOLO SHOW in August at the Lawndale Art Center. Of course I am excited but I am also scared shitless. Not about the February show. I have all the paintings done and ready. It's the August show that is freaking me out. I'm afraid that without the deadlines of classes and the seemingly far off in the future date, I will wake up on installation day and have a bundle of great ideas but no actual paintings.

The purpose of this blog is to keep me on track so I can get those paintings done with minimal coffee, email, Facebook, and cat petting breaks. I have also enlisted my sister Joan Babcock, a fabulous artist (check out her work here: www.joanbabcock.com), to keep me on track as my "accountability buddy." This means I have given her permission to yell at me if I don't send her an email with a copy of my completed works by certain dates.

This may seem like an extreme measure to some but I still cannot believe I am having a SOLO SHOW at Lawndale! I love Lawndale! I want it to be awesome! I don't want to wake up on installation day with no paintings! 

So without further adieu, I will now march myself over to my easel and get to work. This blog will chart my progress at keeping focused and getting shit done!