Last Nests…Rare Sale

Nest of Possibility  (SOLD)

 

Space is finite in the studio, and there is little room remaining on the walls and boards; so I am reducing the price on the last seven nest images to make room for the new drawings in the works. There are five framed oil stick drawings and two oil paintings on wood panel. Most will be reduced  by half. Let me know if you are interested, and I can send pricing information. Come by the studio to have a look in person! Please note, sizes are the framed sizes, and they are approximate.

The image above is the largest:  oil stick and graphite on paper, 22″ x 25″

 

Terra   (SOLD)

oil stick on paper, 13″ x 15″

 

Sure

oil stick on paper, 10″ x 10″

 

Elemental   (SOLD)

oil stick and graphite on paper, 18″ x 18″

 

Eclipse

oil stick on paper, 18″ x 18″

 

Where to Begin   (SOLD)

oil on wood panel, 11″ x 11″

 

Winter Nest   (SOLD)

oil on wood panel, 11″ x 11″

Double

 

It has been a while since I posted any new work here. I’ve been busy working on a couple of large landscape paintings for a friend (stay tuned for those), but there are a few small pieces that have  happened along the way. This one is a small (6″ x  11″) oil pastel that began as a demo for one of my classes to show different ways that oil painting medium can be used with oil pastels. I started with the two images on the same piece of paper in order to demonstrate two different  techniques side by side. Although I hadn’t intended to complete this demo, after the class I couldn’t resist continuing. In the end there was something I especially liked about the juxtaposition of the two  images.

This drawing will be among the offerings at the annual Artists Support ChildSavers Show which opens this Thursday, October 20, 6:00-9:00, hosted by Glave Kocen at 1620 W. Main Street and continues through October 21. Check out the link for more information including a list of participating artists. Purchase of the work at this show will help support ChildSavers, an organization that serves mental health and developmental needs of children, especially those who have experienced trauma in their lives.

 

 

This small (6″ x 8″) oil stick nest, Reverie, is another new piece that will also be at the ChildSavers show. If you stop by the show, and it isn’t on the  wall, ask the ChildSavers folks to check the back stock work. The impetus for this piece was a series of ink drawings that I worked on in preparation for a contribution to the  Artist’s Coloring Book, Volume 2 organized by Chuck Scalin (Look for a post on that soon!).

 

 

 

Alternative to the Frenzy

 

 

If you are weary of the Christmas shopping frenzy or trying to avoid it, this invitation is for you. It is quiet and peaceful in the studio – a welcome alternative shopping experience if you are interested in shopping for original artwork. I am not holding an open studio, but will happily be here by appointment for anyone who wants to stop in. There are drawings (framed and unframed), paintings, collages, monotypes, 3-D pieces, and even clay whistles to have a look at. I’ll brew up some tea or share a glass of wine if you want to come and have a look! If you are interested, get in touch or contact me here and we can set something up.

 

 

Enjoy these days, every one of them and every beautiful minute!

Old Glove

Recently I had cause to return to an old and familiar subject: the nest. I hadn’t made any drawings in this series for about four years, but thought I would take time to make a couple in a mid-size (22” x 22” or so), a size I haven’t used since the very beginning of this series. As I began to work on these, the process was immediately like finding an old, favorite glove and slipping it on; it was familiar and comforting (but NOT comfortable!). I quickly remembered how this would go: first the excitement of beginning – of laying in a graphite sketch and seeing it melt when the paint stick went over it; then the delight of watching the form of the nest appear in color over the English red gesso on the paper (like watching a photo come up in the developer); then the moment when the process shifts from allowing the drawing to have full rein over to needing to impose some control over what is happening on the paper; and finally that difficult place of balancing control and release (to the drawing) in order to bring the piece to its completion. This last step involves being open to see the energy and beauty in the imperfections that I am dying to adjust.

This process really applies to all the work, but it is most predictable to me with the nest drawings. And, honestly, the nest drawings and the process of making them have always afforded a metaphor and mirror for life for me. I always learn something from making them, even if just to be reminded of something I already know.