Big Spring Exhibition and Charity Box Show

You will be happy to know that I have been working diligently on my paintings these past few weeks. The stuff of life has thrown me off course here and there but I finished the painting to the right this past week. It is for the Winter Street Studios Big Spring Exhibition and Charity Box Show, April 12th from 6-10 p.m. More than 250 12"x12" works will be available for $100 each, with proceeds benefiting Freedom Place.

Come see me and my studio mate Marsha Glickman in studio #A8. We will have lots art for your viewing enjoyment!

Large and In Charge

While trying to come up with a title for this post, I realized how many sayings there are related to "bigness" including: go big or go home, Mr. Big Stuff, big man on campus, be the bigger person, and my favorite, "No man stands taller than when he reaches down to pet a cat," an awesome quote from my husband that nobody better steal!

I went from doing a very small painting last time to a much larger painting this time around. I had a flash of inspiration and a deadline to meet, which turned out to be the perfect combination. The painting is titled, Privacy Please, and is 48"H x 36"W. I liked working on something that is almost as tall as I am although I had to remember to mix three times as much paint as I thought I needed. Lots of area to cover on this one! I have entered it and two new paintings in the Visual Arts Alliance's Open Exhibition so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Can't I Just Stay Home With My Cats?

I finished painting number three last night. It's a smaller and narrower format than I usually work in but I'm happy with the result. I'm obsessed with tree shadows right now and whenever there is a sunny day, I am out taking lots of reference photos. Many of the trees are still leaf-less and cast the most amazing, limb-like shadows on buildings. Now I have the task of trying to figure out what to do for my next painting - so many ideas! I've got my work cut out for me.

I would love nothing more than to stay at home painting with my cat assistants by my side, but as I move further into the world of being an artist who wants people to see, enjoy and purchase my work, I am realizing that being social is pretty important. Like the old adage offered to shy girls and boys hoping to go on a date: Prince/Princess Charming isn't going knock on your door, you need to get out and meet people. While I do like to socialize and meet people, I am an introvert through and through. Where social occasions are energizing for extroverts, they tend to be draining for introverts. Because of this I am highly selective with my gallivanting.

A case in point--there were two opening receptions tonight that I had planned to attend: a printmaker's show at Avis Frank and Beth Secor's show at Inman Gallery. This morning I felt energetic and raring to go to both. As the day went on, I decided to skip the Avis Frank show, and later, after every shred of extroversion had left my body, I decided to stay home. What I like about receptions is that I usually meet new people, see friends, and meet the artists featured in the show. I also think its important to get out and be part of the art community.

The reality is that making art is a very solitary activity. Because of this, it attracts a lot of introverts who enjoy their studio time immensely and cringe when it's time to get out and be social. While I don't exactly "cringe" at socializing, I really do prefer staying home with my cats. Don't take it personally though, it's not you, it's me.

Ordinary Paintings

I visited the Lawndale Art Center this week to scope out the gallery where I will be having my show in August. I'm a planner (I even have a degree in planning. Unused to this day!) and in order to calm my nerves, I tend to analyze, over analyze and plan every minute detail of any project I undertake. My husband says that I would be great at planning military battles, but I'm just not into that. I'm more into planning vacations and such.

What I love most about Lawndale is that I never know what to expect when I visit. Invariably there is a video on nonstop loop that must annoy the bejesus out of the staff. The other art though is probably not what your grandmother would consider art, meaning that it is challenging and rarely involves traditional paintings. This worries me a bit. While I don't consider my paintings traditional, next to most of shows I have seen at Lawndale, my paintings seem pretty "normal." The last thing I want to present is the most boring show in Lawndale history. At the same time, I did propose a show of paintings. I guess my challenge is to remain true to my original intention but push what I am doing a little further. It's really exciting to think about the possibilities!

Doing Lines and Meeting Deadlines

No, I have not turned to 1970-era, disco drugs to get my artwork done. I've just been painting lines, lots of lines, as I put the finishing touches on my latest painting. This is usually a very Zen-like experience for me but yesterday I ran out of the right color of paint with only a few lines left to do so that was kind of a buzz kill. Alas, I am a fighter and you can't keep this girl down. I went right back to my disposable palette pad, mixed some more paint and charged on. Mission accomplished! Now I need to decide if I still want to add the side building that I'd planned on and whether to do a cool blue, light Diebenkornish "sky" or keep it white. I kind of like the starkness of the white. We shall see...

Thursday night was the opening of my first two-person show, Toward Subsistence: Paintings by Rebecca Hamm and Cary Reeder, at the O'Kane Gallery, UH-Downtown, Houston. First off, the exhibition looks great! What a hidden gem the O'Kane is - such a great space. I'm so pleased with how my paintings mesh with Rebecca's oversized, abstract watercolors based on the natural environment. While the O'Kane Gallery is a bit off the beaten path, I hope you will stop by to see the show. It's definitely worth the trip!

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!

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!