p farrell artblog

PHYSICAL GRAFFITI 9.10.11 - 10.22.11

2011-07-30T11:54:00.000-04:00

happy mid summer

2011-07-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

I gasped when I saw how long it's been since I last posted. Seems like I missed the whole month of June. Not sure how that happened, but I am spending a lot of time in the studio preparing for fall shows. The show I'm curating that opens in September has been the focus of my attention. As has having my work commissioned. Oh yeah, and running a private psychotherapy practice takes a bit of time too. No excuses though. Just prioritizing. Or triaging.

Since the damned deer have devoured the profusion of morning glories I was planning to shoot and post, I have chosen to use these imaginary flowers instead. Here's a bit of summer for all y'all...

The publicity materials for Physical Graffiti, the show I'm curating, are nearly completed, and in another few weeks I'll be posting info. For now, I can say the process has been fun, challenging, complicated, fulfilling, and working with some very talented artists has been truly enjoyable. Please check back for more info... and save the date:

mixing it up

2011-05-13T22:20:00.001-04:00

From the Suspension Series (scrim)

pigment-based ink on silk, mylar, wax, found wood

2010/11 appr. 16 x 16"

After being away from wax for a couple of years and working in oil, I've spent the past few months easing my way back. Having also spent a considerable period of time working on digital photo-based images, as well as creating a large body of work of oil on mulberry paper, I wasn't ready to walk away from paper just yet.

I gave myself some freedom to experiment with numerous materials I hadn't used with wax before: pigment-based ink on silk, Duralar (mylar), corrugated translucent plastic, and double mulberry paper, encaustic medium and paint; pigment stick, powdered pigment, mica, and other powdered materials, graphite, and found wood.

In all cases, I was after light...capturing it, directing it, allowing it. This does not translate much in these photos, but is very apparent in person. Something to work on--how to photograph the work to more accurately show the play of light through the wax and other translucent and semi-transparent materials.

Most remain untitled, for the moment at least, with the two digital images printed on silk coming from a series that has been around for awhile. All of these works are of various sizes, and the smaller ones I think of as maquettes, sort of, but may make their way to the light of day. Who knows....

untitled

digital photo-based print on onionskin paper,

wax, mulberry paper, mylar, found wood

2011 appr. 11 x 14"

untitled (from the working title Open Book Series)

mulberry paper, pigment stick, graphite, wax

2011 appr. 14 x 18"

untitled

wax, pigment stick, graphite, powdered pigment on mulberry paper

note: this has four deckled edges

2011 appr. 22 x 30"

untitled

wax, pigment stick, graphite, powdered pigment on mulberry paper

2011 appr. 28 x 42"

untitled (from the working title Open Book Series)

mulberry paper, pigment stick, graphite, wax mounted on Arches paper (22 x 30)

2011 appr. 18 x 24"

untitled

wax, pigment stick, graphite,

powdered pigment on mulberry paper

2011 appr. 28 x 42"

untitled

wax, pigment stick, graphite,

powdered pigment on mulberry paper

2011 appr. 28 x 42"

untitled

digital photo-based print on onionskin paper,

wax, mulberry paper, mylar

2011 appr. 11 x 14"

From the Suspension Series (scrim)

pigment-based ink on silk, mylar, wax,
on mulberry paper and translucent corrugated plastic

2010/11 appr. 20 x 30"

artist as curator...calling all comments

2011-04-25T14:57:00.026-04:00

I'm in the midst of curating a show that will open in a Philadelphia gallery in September. I'm well into the fun part of the project: fulfilling my vision, contacting artists, having them respond (at least some of them) and putting together the show, at least on paper. I haven't gotten to the nitty gritty beyond having the venue, the date, and several other arrangements in the works. Now that I have most of the artists for the show, I'm about to step into the next phase of working more directly with the gallery owner, coordinating tasks, writing the essay and putting together the publicity, etc.

I'm interested in hearing from artists who have had the experience of curating a show...Here are a few of my questions:

did you include your own work? or do you consider that strictly taboo? (I've had some interesting conversations with both artists and folks who put together shows...there are some rather strong opinions about that one.)

what about setting and meeting deadlines? i've often felt that organizing artists can be a bit like herding cats...was this your experience? or was it easy as pie?

how did you find the venue for the show you curated? was there administrative help? someone available to help schlep, hang, and light the show, or were you on your own?

what "advice" would you offer a first-timer (like me) about this kind of enterprise? (i.e.: what did you learn that you feel might be helpful to others? is there a list of do's and don't's you're willing to share?

was your curatorial experience within a "curator-in-residence" program, did you pitch a proposal for a call, or did you just wing it and approach a gallerist or director of a venue?

Feel free to share your experiences in general about participating as an artist in a show curated by an artist as well...or maybe you're an artist who has always wanted to curate a show but didn't quite know how to proceed. Please respond in the comments section. If you wish to remain anonymous, use that option...

From my own recent experience, I can say that participating in "Conversations" (see previous blog post) was a very positive experience. It was curated by artist Joanne Mattera and artist Laura Moriarity. Laura happens to be the gallery director at RF Handmade Paints...From the start to opening night, this was a very coordinated, smoothly run event. I suspect both Joanne's and Laura's considerable experience in curating played a major role, as well as a shared vision, clear expectations and communication...a very positive model for me to reference.

....................................................................
Addenda.........
In the comments section, Susan Schwab, Rachel Citrino, Joanne Mattera, and Nancy Natale offered their words of wisdom. And Susan, and NN, I appreciate your generous offers. Don't be surprised if you hear from me somewhere along the line...

Here's a little background about my previous curating experiences... When I was an undergrad at Mason Gross, I had the curating itch pretty strong: I participated in a group curatorial project along with 3 other students; curated a group show of ceramic sculpture by a range of participants from Mason Gross; and volunteered to arrange/install the BFA Senior Thesis show. Stressors were minimal; projects were successful, or at least that's my recollection. (Maybe curating is like childbirth; somehow the memory of the pain subsides with time.)

Later in my career, I co-curated an exhibit of encaustic work at Morpeth Contemporary, the gallery where I have been represented for the past 6 or 7 years. It was a joint project, and I had a number of pieces included.

Since then I put together, with 2 Philly artists, a 3 person show, the (dark) show, at the indie gallery Stratasphere, in Kensington. This was not really curated, since we were each selecting our own bodies of work, though there was dialogue about placement of the work.

So, this show is my first solo-curating project. I'm enjoying the sense of freedom that comes with the process of making the vision happen....and so far, embracing the uncertainty about what is yet to come. I'll update further in a few days about the decision to include my work or not in a few days.

Conversations @ R&F

2011-03-28T18:41:00.000-04:00

The Gallery at R&F presents Conversations

(press release from R&F Handmade Paints)

The Gallery at R&F is pleased to present ‘Conversations’, an exhibition of works by eight painters and sculptors who also work on paper. The show will run from April 2nd through May 12th, 2011. There will be an opening reception for the artists and gallery talk on Saturday, April 2nd, from 5 to 7 p.m. There will also be a gallery closing, on Saturday, May 14 from 2-4 pm, where the artists will be on hand to have conversations with visitors.

Co-curated by Joanne Mattera and Laura Moriarty, ‘Conversations’ is a group exhibition that looks at the work on paper of artists who are primarily known for their paintings or sculpture. By showing these different mediums together, ‘Conversations’ presents a visual dialog between the artists’ two mediums, vis a vis materials, dimensions, proportions, palette and content; as well as a conversation among the participating artists on these same issues.

The eight artists include Steven Alexander, Nancy Azara, Grace DeGennaro, Pam Farrell, Lorrie Fredette, George Mason, Joanne Mattera and Laura Moriarty.

Located at 84 Ten Broeck Ave, in midtown Kingston, NY, gallery hours are Monday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. For further information, call (845) 331-3112.

from the Chamber series

2011-02-08T20:47:00.001-05:00

These are digital photo images from a series I have thought of as Chamber. I've been photographing this area in Lambertville, NJ, in daylight and at night, through the seasons, over several years. I never come away without seeing something new, something surprising, both during the time I spend there shooting, and when I finally get to look at the images on my computer.

Shot underneath a bridge and capturing a spill-over designed to carry water from the Delaware & Raritan Canal underneath the Canal into the Delaware River. The word Chamber suggested itself to me almost immediately, with its sense of an enclosed space beyond the effluence.

If the water is low enough, I can get close to the water falling over the spill-over. During late summer, I have to get brave and push through weeds that grow way over my head in height and are host to way too many spiderwebs and cobwebs, not to mention whatever flying insects are hanging around. On a muggy summer evening I will often come away from spending time there damp with mist from the spray and from the humidity. Because of the mist, the air thick with humidity and distinctive river scent that disappears during the winter months, summer nights are my favorite time to be there.

pink

2011-01-15T21:54:00.005-05:00

paint color names from art supply websites

These days I often find it difficult to determine the origin of an idea. The vast amount of data and stimuli encountered on any given day defies measure and sometimes even specific cognitive register. Middle-aged memory doesn't help, either. This is a somewhat long-winded way of saying that I can't remember how I was moved to paint a pink painting. I can tell you that the idea for this post came after a Facebook post in which I said that I had just painted a big pink painting and an ensuing email conversation with buddy Hylla Evans. When I then announced I would name the painting Maybelline, Hylla responded with her by saying that she would name her new chicken after my new pink painting. I am honored!

From Hylla:

She is a six month old blue color Cochin bantam. No doubt each of her feathers has been carefully lined in dark gray with an eye makeup pencil. Her comb and wattles are the most perfect Maybelline pink, too. Such a beauty!

Maybelline

Pink, or I should say, the pinks, do not typically dominate my painting, living, or sartorial palettes. Nonetheless, I created Maybelline, as one of my final paintings of 2010. Out with a bang, so to speak.

Associations and baggage are endless for pink: politics, gender, sex, sex, sex; race (anyone remember Crayola's Flesh crayon? Thought that was outmoded? Well, guess again how many major paint manufacturers still label a pink-toned paint Flesh), age, status, wellness...the list goes on and on.

Perhaps because I am interested in the more esoteric aspects of the usage of the word pink--and I see this entry as somewhat transgressive--this is my favorite dictionary definition of pink (From Douglas Harper's Online Etymology Dictionary...a fabulous resource.)
pink (v.) c.1300, "pierce, stab, make holes in," perhaps from a Romanic stem *pinc- (cf. Fr. piquer, Sp. picar), from L. pungere "to pierce, prick" (see pungent). Surviving mainly in pinking shears.

For a wildly comprehensive reference on all things pink, see wikipedia here and here...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OK...back to art...and a few words from paint maker, artist, teacher, and chicken trainer, Hylla Evans, who waxes on about one of her favorite pinks:

Deep, Rich, Warm - Pink!

As winter cold settles in, the best remedy is a morning spent making Studio Pink Paint Sticks. Each pink is unique and each has its following, but Studio Pink with its understated name is my favorite.

Since Studio Pink is a single pigment paint color (there is no white in it), it can be translucent and oh-so-warm without being cloyingly sweet the way Candy Pink is. Studio Pink works and plays well with others. It's the perfect opposite of Cadmium Green Light in every way.

Many painters find reds are challenging because they always seem to move to the middle ground. Try putting a red in your background and watch it move forward just enough to irritate you. Reds do that; they move visually. Want red in the foreground? Better add some orange or yellow or it runs right back to the middle. Damn frustrating color! Pinks do the same thing, so it's important to make a choice of warm vs cool pink or the painting will control the artist rather than the other way 'round. Try putting a single pigment pink next to a warm metallic such as Copper and you could go dizzy from the tango they do together!

A n d n o w, o n w i t h t h e (p i n k) s h o w ...

Curatorial note: The images below all come from the Call For Pink. I decided to limit the post to images that the artists who responded to the call, rather than mining the web. I also placed the images somewhat randomly, that is, after endlessly arranging and rearranging them. Thanks to all who contributed.

Linda Cordner

Morning Scape
Encaustic on board 8 x 8" 2010

Though I don't usually use pink in my paintings,

I've started putting down under-colors of wax to

start a painting off -- this one started out solid pink.

Gwen Plunkett

Baby's Breath Encaustic on Panel

I did this painting earlier this year. I was thinking of pale skin at first.

The way the dots of color layered I imagined them as particles of something

disbursing into the air. For some reason the title Baby's Breath stuck in my mind

with this one. I also thought of the soft, delicate nature of a baby's skin.

Tamar Zinn

Broadway 44 16 x 16 oil on canvas

Pink, pink, pink-- it is a color with so much baggage!

...I steadfastly avoided it for years and years, until I was invited to participate in a breast cancer fundraiser (of course, all donated work had to be primarily pink). After overcoming the initial yuk factor, I was determined to find ways to become comfortable with the color.

Eleanor Farrell

Cherry Blossoms

Usually pink is not my color of choice for graphic design (or anything else except maybe cosmos), but here's a photo I took in San Francisco's Japantown a few years ago during the Cherry Blossom Festival. I added a pink frame to reflect the color of the blossoms.

Deb + Allan

Herringbone (Sansom Pink)

Photographic Assemblage

A rare sighting of pink in the urban landscape
(window glass splashed with pink paint)

was the inspiration for this photographic assemblage.

Paul Behnke

Snubbie

2010 acrylic on canvas 42 x 44"

Steven Alexander

Hot Topic

acrylic on linen

Bob Barbera
Pop
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas 16 x 20

Bob Barbera
Lower
Spray and house paint on canvas 28 x 34

I get pink here and there.

Heather Wilcoxon

Art Critic

Elizabeth Sheppell

Pink Veil I

Elizabeth Sheppell

Surface Series #3 2009

Pink is strong and whimsical. It makes you look twice.

Glenn Fischer
Habits of Safe Living
Mixed Media Collage 16 x 20"

Pink magically works as a great buffer when you need to
take the hard edge off of something.

Paula Roland

My image is a digital collage of two encaustic monotypes.

Actual works are 40" x 26".

Pink is the center of our body.

Steven LaRose
Cerise Pink

An ongoing project I have is randomly drawing a paint chip from a

local manufacturer's fan deck and drawing the name of the color.

One hundred and one of them can be found here.

Ian MacLeod
Untitled #31
19.5" x 16.75" (irregular)

Acrylic, latex, tape, sticker and varathane on cardboard
As I worked on this piece it seemed it needed some colour --

the pink acrylic paint was right there and on it went.

Big Pink

Cheryl McClure

This painting with a pink ground is so new, it is still titled "Pink Ground"

.....acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48"

It was fun playing with an unfamiliar color.

Lawrence Fodor

Koan Box Pink/Salmon/Green, 2008-10
oil, wax, alkyd, and 23 kt gold on wood cigar box
10.5 x 8.25 x 2"

The Koan Boxes are an ongoing exploration of paint, color, intuition, paradox and randomness; they all start either as drop clothes on the floor of the studio or as palettes, for months or even years, until they let me know when they are ready to make the leap to the wall, wherein I investigate, elaborate or simplify what is happening on each.

Lynda Fay Braun
MG 4115

I always try to make Pink "mean" because when it appears in
nature it seems natural and beautiful but using it on the canvas
without appearing corny

is a huge challenge, and I love a challenge.

Stephanie Clayton

Peel (from The Paradise Project)

2009 16 x 16 x 2" acrylic on panel

In this painting and others in The Paradise Project,
I used vernacular color –- hot, saturated Caribbean hues --

to evoke an emotional reaction to place and time.

Mary Zeran

White Shiny Orbit
8 x 8 x 2”
acrylic paint, acetate, masonite, pine, gel medium

I don't know what it is about pink but...Pink Love seems to be in the air.

I've had several conversations with folks about how pink is on their mind.
Could it be a need for softness? Wombness? Or Girliness? I'm not sure.

Julie Alexander
Locunia
Oil on Canvas 24 x 24" 2010

Here is a mostly pink painting. I love the color pink.
It gets my juices flowing on so many levels.
This time it's muddied pink -- skin or bandaid -- rubbed
over a scratched, landscape-ish ground.

Shelley Thorstensen

Matter of Fact

12 x 16" Lithograph

Nancy Natale

Here's my new pink piece called Pink Lady.

She's 42 x 40"

Paper, cardboard, book parts and tacks

with encaustic on three joined panels

Tim McFarlane

Blink

2010 acrylic on paper 22 x 22"

Chris Neyen
Pink 2
oil and oil pastel on paper/bristol board

Chris Neyen

Pink 3
oil and oil pastel on paper/bristol board

Randy Carone

Pink Hats/Hello Kitty

photograph 2010

Marie Danti

Pink 2

I wanted to give color and new life to the sepia toned photo of

this little girl from long ago so I chose pink,

symbolic for me of free-spirited transformation.

Liz Davidson

Dreaming the Pink Dress 2

Pink: a girl color, not for redheads,

makes other colors sing, sunrise, sunset, gaudy, garish,

and the name of a flat bottomed, narrow-sterned sailing vessel with bulging sides.

Lance Carlson

This is "Rues" from my 20/20 series

The series shared a commonality of size, collage as structure and water media applied, in this instance watered down red reads PINK. Other drawing media also applied.

Pink usually has an unsettling effect but i have been told that this piece is calming

as you travel the streets of paris, you are not irate and seeing red...its a more voluptuous pink, and pleasure for the eye.

Joanne Mattera

Silk Road 86

2007 encaustic on panel 12 x 12"

Joanne Mattera

Silk Road 147

2010, encaustic on panel 16 x 16"

courtesy of Arden Gallery, Boston

Pink has no particular significance for me save for the fact that it's a color, and I work with color, so I try to work with as broad a spectrum as possible; also, my color is created with layers of transparent or translucent paint, so the hue is mutable, depending on the angle of the light and your position in relation to the light and the painting.

Lisa Pressman

2003 oil, mixed media on canvas 36 x 36"

Wow--no pink in my last 20 years...hmmmm except maybe this one?

I remember working on this piece thinking was it too pink or too fleshy?

Lynda Ray

Tillow

Encaustic 9 x 12"

The title is Tillow, meaning to put forth new shoots. I gave it that title after I made it as my thoughts were that the color pink means a positive new start for me.

Ellen Soffer

Sea
oil on canvas, 40 x 30"

I love using a pink shade in paint,
although I sometimes end up painting it out.

Tremain Smith
Universal Harmony
2010 Acrylic, collage, watercolor & pencil on paper 30" x 22"

My mother once told me to paint pink for health -
what could be healthier than Universal Harmony?

and...my pink....

Maybelline

36 x 48" oil and alkyd on canvas 2010

This is too corporeal for my delicate sensibilities.
In fact, it may become incorporeal,

with only a digital record remaining....

f i n i

2011 resolutions/2010 resolutions review

2011-01-01T11:57:00.002-05:00

Happy January 1 of 2011!

NB: This digital photo-based image has nothing to do with the post. I just like it.

So...I thought I'd make the first post of 2011 a little look back and a little look forward. Last year, I posted ya-say-ya-wanna-resolution and included my list of resolutions or intentions. The latter might be the better word.

These are the art-practice intentions from last year. Let's see how I did.

be kinder to my brushes

A+ for improvement, not perfection. I've had a few relapses, but I have been cleaning the brushes and CONDITIONING them.

listen to my own voice

B+ for the effort, but still sometimes a struggle. Got to get rid of the extraneous voices in my head.

spend more time looking, just looking

B 2010 started out with lots of that but sometimes I just forget to look.

trust the process

A but it's a qualified A. I think I have stopped trying to make things happen. Mostly.

get better at knowing when to put the brush down and say it's done

B- Arrgh. 'nough said?

take more chances

A+ One of my little victories for the year. In the studio.

let the damned paint dry

A- Getting better all the time.

keep my studio a little neater

deferred

be unafraid

A++!!! Big leap in 2010!!!!

And now, intentions for 2011. Keep doing what I'm doing that's working. These are the areas for improvement.

listen to my own voice
spend more time looking. just looking.
get better at putting the brush down
that cleaning the studio thing

New for 2011:

get out of the studio more and be among the living
update my inventory of paintings
update my mailing list
update my website
update portfolio
get the work out there

We'll see how this goes...

So, as I did with the 2010 post, I now invite you to share your intentions, resolutions, promises to self, etc. for your art practice in 2011...

Call for Pink

2010-12-14T08:27:00.002-05:00

Update on CALL FOR PINK

Greetings all y'all, on this final day of 2010. I will be posting the PINK works of art that you have sent sometime during the first week of January... so for those of you who have not yet gotten around to sending an image, there's still time.

OK...here's a call for art that has as its dominant color PINK

Send a low res (72 dpi/1900) image of a painting, drawing, sculpture, photo, digital image, performance, video still, print, mixed media, collage, etc., along with a label, and a ONE SENTENCE statement describing the significance of the use of PINK. I will also include a link to your blog or website.Please send it to pfarrell13@comcast.net with PINK in the subject line.

Here's one to get us started... This was from the Little Red Squares post back in April. Philadelphia artist Harold Venable was seeing pink, which is one of those color grey areas for me...I was looking for red paintings and he sent pink, which I always saw as one of those colors that had it's own category, sort of, rather than being a color like blue, which when lightened with white becomes LIGHT BLUE. But I loved that he had a more flexible conceptualization of the idea of red.

Looking forward to seeing your images!

NB: I've already gotten some great images...keep 'em coming. There's no real deadline, but I intend to post the images in early January.

Harold Venable

Scripts

18 x 18"

acrylic on panel

2009

new pics

2010-11-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Roots, bound.

solitude falls dam

2010-10-10T23:55:00.002-04:00

Pics taken along the top of Lake Solitude dam in High Bridge NJ

gorgeous fall day: bright blue sky; intense sunshine;
green, yellow, and orange leaves reflected in the water.

The top of the dam was made of iron by the Taylor Forge Ironworks, which was the main industry in the area at the turn of the last century.

The iron had ridges on it, creating little channels for the water. Moving water, sunlight, reflected color, textured surface all conspired to produce these intense random patterns in the rippled surface of the water.

Unlike with some of my digital work, these images were treated with next to no post-camera editing.

recent work...and source/reference photo images

2010-09-16T21:16:00.002-04:00

These are some of the photo images that led me to (b)ramble on... In one way or another they were in my thoughts. I did not work directly from the photos. I was painting from the experience of them; what they told me, how they oriented me without my even knowing.

(b)ramble on

2010

oil on canvas

48 x 72"

Soft Parade is a series of paintings and monoprints. The making of them was informed, I think, by the experience of the water, from the feel of it while I'm standing under the tow path bridge getting lightly soaked by the spray.

soft parade (ochre)

2010

oil on canvas

44 x 48"

More photo images and another Soft Parade...

soft parade (sanctuary)

2010

oil on canvas

60 x 60"

not the end of the world...

2010-09-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

Yeah, my little macbook had a meltdown over the weekend. It was the "not if but when" thing.

It's not the end of the world. I had to remind myself this as I recovered from a simultaneous sinking feeling and rise in my blood pressure along with a sense of derealization and a shot of adrenaline.

I won't bore you with the details. After 2 hours on the phone with 2 Apple tech guys who had the patience of saints and made valiant efforts to rescue me and my macbook and helped resolve the problem so it won't happen again, I was still left with the problem of missing data, mostly my emails, and email addresses--all million of them or so--and my Itunes library, including many songs bought and paid for on Itunes, and bookmarks, preferences, and settings.

So, I spent about 10 or so hours scanning my computer and recovering data using a software program that I downloaded...excellent program by the way. Well actually, I spent some of this time in the studio, the computer did the work.

I now have many many many emails to wade through and organize and this will take me some time. If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive blog posts or notices about upcoming shows, I'm hoping that you'll help me rebuild my email address book by sending me an email to pfarrell13@comcast.net. Thanks....

the road to hell...

2010-08-19T20:32:00.001-04:00

Oy. Good intentions will not get you anywhere except well, you know.

I had every intention of posting the collection of "detail" sent by readers of this blog in response to my "Call for Details." Really, I did. But I've turned into a full-fledged procrastinator. I still intend to post the Details. At some point. In the fall. I swear. Really.

For now I'm going to excuse myself til after Labor Day. I'll be spending time at work and in the studio trying to get caught up on some stuff, get some work photographed, finish a painting, start another.

In the spirit of hell and the waning summer, here's a new painting:

soft parade (red)

2010

oil on panel

12 x 12"

See you in September......

Four Notable NJ Artists

2010-07-22T10:46:00.000-04:00

RSVP...update

2010-07-17T20:58:00.001-04:00

The opening for RSVP was lovely...well attended, with lots of the artists present.
Here is an installation shot of my pigment prints (Suspension 3848 on the left and Suspension 3855 on the right) hanging in the front room of the gallery. When I shot the photo, the space was flooded with wonderful late afternoon natural light, which made the colors of the works luminous.

RSVP, the LGTripp Gallery Summer Group Show, will be up through August 20, with a First Friday reception on August 6.

call for...details

2010-07-10T13:09:00.000-04:00

I was taking some pics in the studio today and shot some details of paintings in progress and thought how much I love doing that. Just some little piece of the work that stands out for whatever reason. I figure if I like that, maybe others do too, and thought it might make a nice online exhibit for the blog.

I posted this detail from an oil on canvas as my profile pic on Facebook earlier. The color is a little less saturated than the painting itself, but I like it just fine. This stood out for me as just one area of texture that bridged a color border. The painting is 5 x 5 ft, and still untitled.

If you would like to have a detail from one of your works posted here, send it to me at pfarrell13@comcast.net (one per person please, and low res 72 dpi only). Feel free to include a link to the work it's from or your blog/website, where the detail image is from, and a few words on why you chose this detail or what stood out for you about it.

Happy First Day of Summer!

2010-06-21T17:48:00.000-04:00

new works on paper...

2010-05-31T18:29:00.000-04:00

No. 3

oil on mulberry paper

No. 2

oil on mulberry paper

No. 1

oil on mulberry paper

new digital images...

2010-05-06T21:02:00.001-04:00

Three from the Suspension Series....

seeing red/little red squares

2010-04-29T21:33:00.000-04:00

Today's color: RED

OK...I'm a copy cat, and happily so.

This post was inspired, in part, by (everyone's favorite angry hillbilly) Joanne Mattera's blog post on Spring Greens and her recent post on "Red" as well as Kate Beck's post on Orange. There are others, such as the annual Red exhibit at Cheryl Hazan...

I love the idea and look forward to offering up my version of Seeing Red/Little Red Squares.

Thanks to the artists who sent their splendid red!

Enjoy...

UPDATE:

I'm happy to expand this as I find other pieces.

I'll add to the top...

Ian MacLeod

Composition #194 (detail)

acrylic on canvas

48"x72"

Stephanie Clayton

Outside Break

2009

acrylic on panel

16 x 16 x 2"

Catherine Carter

Strawberry

2008

acrylic on canvas

16 x 16

Gwen Plunkett

el grande rouge (cropped)

encaustic on panel

2010

Michelle Marcuse

Far Sight

2007

image transfer print to wax, oil on luan
36" x 48"

Harold Venable

Scripts

18 x 18"

acrylic on panel

2009

Diane McGregor

Suma (detail)

Lisa Pressman

red painting

46 x 46

oil on canvas

2008

Tamar Zinn
Arabesque 47
18 x 18
oil on paper
2008

Paul Behnke
Poets' Mouths
30 x 30
acrylic on canvas
2010

Joanne Mattera
Uttar 238
36x36
2004

Kate Beck

Constant (Red.White)

2007

46 x 46 oil on canvas (poured)

Sue Katz

Dumpster Red 16 Square
found object

Rebecca Crowell
Stripes #2 e

Tremain Smith
Seeing Red
oil, wax & collage on panel
2006

Steven Alexander

SOMA 2

acrylic on panel

Cora Jane Glasser
Query in Red and White

Nancy Natale

Sticky Situation

oil, cold wax & oil stick on panel

24 x 24

Deborah Barlow
Dar Jeele
30 x 30”
Mixed media on canvas

David Foss

Black Cross

Acrylic on Canvas

Pam Farrell

Red Ophelia

36 x 36

encaustic on panel

2009

Tim Mcfarlane

Image 2567: macro photo of the red side

of the fuzzy top of one of our cat scratching toys

Charyl Weissbach

Botanical Red

10 x 10"

evergreen and encaustic mixed media on linen over panel

2009

Ken Weathersby

LRS color study 3

digital image study

...and because it's my party, I get to have 2 images.

This is a detail from

"My Favorite Flavor, Cherry Red"

8 x 10

oil on paper

2010

Hanging on Nam June Paik

2010-04-26T10:16:00.002-04:00

As I entered the New Jersey News building in Trenton for their open house "A Night for the Arts," it was with mixed feelings I saw my three paintings, the central pieces from my current series, All Things Flow, hanging on Nam June Paik's commissioned piece, PBS.

photo by Randy Carone

The installation, commissioned by the state of New Jersey in 1978, has been non-functional for some years and in need of extensive restoration. The neon gas long gone, and the various components for the monitors no longer active, the work nonetheless makes a statement, perhaps one that extends beyond the artist's intent. Quantum leaps in the development of technology and (planned?) obsolescence leave what once was considered a bold work of art using advanced technology sitting sadly dormant on the outside-facing wall of the NJN building.

This is a low-res image of the Paik installation from NJN.net.

Instead of serving as a beacon to greet the public and to look to the future of technology to build community, the ghostlike appearance of Paik's installation perhaps augurs a different future for NJN. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's proposed plan to privatize NJN is sure to bring change to public broadcasting in NJ.

This series of mine, All Things Flow, began as a means of reconciling the anxiety that comes with a growing awareness of the passage of time. More time behind me than ahead; time seeming to speed by faster and faster as I grow older; much uncertainty about what all this means. Since there is no controlling it (time) I needed to find a way to roll with it, so to speak. These pieces reference water flowing, spring colors, and the idea that maybe there is a constancy to all this.

These paintings are about the present, not the past or the future. So perhaps the placement of All Things Flow is fitting, hanging on Nam June Paik, whose work here now seems to address the past and the (once) future.

Opening a gallery during a recession? Intrepid.

2010-04-11T23:39:00.002-04:00

From the far periphery, through the grapevine, and with updates from some little birdies, I've been following Luella Tripp's journey from the closing of Gallery Siano, to the opening of LGTripp Gallery in Old City Philadelphia on March 28. I first met Luella at the opening reception for the final show at Siano Gallery a couple of years ago, which I wrote about in one of my first posts on this blog. The gallery's closing produced a void in the Old City gallery scene, but I was introduced to someone in the business who seemed truly focused on art and the artists.

With each update, and then finally, a real date for an opening, I started to get curious about the kind of person who opens a gallery in the middle of a recession and post-art market bubble. (I know, I know, according to some of the leading economic indicators, the recession is over. Just tell that to all the folks who have lost jobs, houses, etc.) But the idea of a brand new gallery opening in the spring seemed a harbinger of hope. I decided to ask Luella a few questions and invite her to be "interviewed" to talk about her journey, and she was up for it.

How did you get started in the gallery business? Art history background? Curatorial studies?

There are professionally trained gallery directors and then there are self-taught directors. I’m in the latter category.

This journey began about nine years ago. After working for many years in office management I became increasingly restless, wanting to explore ‘something’ (not sure what) that tapped into my creative energy. This combined with an appreciation for the visual arts; introduction to the local art community and relationships with artists prompted a rather spontaneous decision to open a small gallery in Old City. In retrospect, I’m rather stunned at the boldness of my decision, but in reality felt compelled to follow my passion. I had to give it a try.

In the months preceding the opening of PARALLELS gallery, I became aware that the art that ‘spoke’ to me, often drawing me in like a magnet was abstract and non-objective work. Looking at art without clearly recognizable images catapulted my imagination to another place…one unknown, unexplored, and that transcended my present moment and reality. It was euphoric. The vocabulary of shapes or lack of, layering of colors, unfamiliar textures, the harmony of balance, the energy of expressionist work, the calming nature of color fields, the beauty of lines intersecting or looping, the unexpected punctuation of a marking, all at the impulse of the artist’s hand and imagination…this captivated my spirit.

As abstraction became my passion it only made sense that this should be the focus of the gallery. After all, in order to successfully represent and sell a product I had to believe in it and be passionate about it, so abstraction became my niche, the identity of the gallery. In the summer of 2001, in a small gallery space, I installed my first exhibition at PARALLELS Gallery and opened the doors on First Friday.

My education as a gallery director took place in this little gallery. It was intense, exciting and terrifying all at once. However, I loved it and absorbed all the information I could find on twentieth century art and the role of a gallery director. Two years later, following 9/11, an impending war and their impact on the art world and specifically art sales, I made the very difficult decision to close the gallery.
Six months later in January 2004, I became director of Gallery Siano, another gallery in Old City. The following four years I had the pleasure of working with about 100 artists, both young and mid career, local, national and international artists, collaborated on a couple national exhibitions at the gallery, was curator of exhibitions at two local museums, placed art in both personal and corporate collections, was curator of a retrospective exhibition and a Master of Fine Arts senior thesis exhibition, sold work through interior designers, placed art in MTV’S REAL WORLD Philadelphia house and organized exhibitions at alternative art venues. After four wonderfully exhilarating years, I was informed our lease had quadrupled and I would have to close the gallery.

But miracles continued to happen. Before closing Gallery Siano I was offered gallery space in a building soon to be renovated in Old City. Now, two years later, LGTripp Gallery will open its doors and have the privilege of once again promoting artists from the Philadelphia area. The gallery will represent fourteen artists I have worked with and whose works I respect and admire. Whether it be paintings, works on paper, sculpture, photography or installations, my passion for the abstract and non-objective will be apparent and at the heart of LGTripp Gallery. [As you will read below, the opening reception for LGTripp Gallery took place, as scheduled, on March 28.]

Opening Luella Tripp Contemporary has been quite a journey. Can you talk about how you maintained the vision despite some major challenges, like the economy tanking and construction/architectural issues?

The one constant factor that gave me impetus to persevere after closing both PARALLELS and Gallery Siano is the artists. At times when the future was uncertain or I didn't see any possible space for a gallery, I just had to think of the incredible artists I had worked with for 4 - 8 years, their commitment and dedication to creating art and I would pick myself up and keep searching. They (the artists) were my motivation!

How would you describe the program for the gallery?

Of course I will continue to be a strong proponent of abstraction. At the hands of a skilled artist, abstraction is dramatic, powerful and inspiring. My goal is to exhibit paintings, photography, sculpture and installations. Fourteen artists will be represented by the gallery, with regularly scheduled solo exhibitions. At Gallery Siano I loved offering exhibitions to new artists, so I plan to continue that tradition once a year. Abstract photography is also a passion of mine so December is reserved for photography shows. About four times a year I plan to dedicate one of the galleries to an installation.

Considering that quite a bit of time has passed since Siano closed and LGTripp Gallery came into fruition, how did you manage to maintain your relationship with your roster of artists?

Mainly through emails. I would send periodic updates of what was happening with the construction of the gallery. Most of the time it was to announce delays with the opening which became discouraging. The delays were legitimate but nevertheless it seemed to be endless. At one point I felt it necessary to release my artists to pursue other representation because I couldn't in good conscience ask them to hang on any longer. I also continued to make studio visits when the artists had new work to show me. This really propelled me to keep looking for another space or option to promote their work. I was very excited with the progress they were making. Then there were also occasional opportunities to sell some of their work.

It was an amazing opening. Although I anticipated a decent attendance, I never expected the several hundred that dropped in to see the gallery, the expressions of congratulations and best wishes from so many friends and acquaintances... some I hadn't seen for a couple of years. The response to the space, the exhibition as a whole and the artists' work was extremely positive.

When I initially spoke to the artists regarding this exhibition, I asked them to create new work, their very best work to date, and if possible never previously shown. This group show wasn't about selecting existing work that would be appropriate for the exhibition. This was truly a PREMIERE, an opening, presenting some of their best work to date. It was all about the artists and their 'in the moment' place in the evolution of their creativity. I was very pleased with the results and thought the exhibition clearly demonstrated each artist's distinct style and skill along with the significant development of his/her work. Although the last two years were uneventful in regards to gallery involvement, the artists were in their studios, inspired, energized, clearly focused on the next creative direction.

Any thoughts on the whole journey, about following your passion, having faith that you were making the right decisions, having it feel like it's real and yours, etc.?

The journey has been a learning experience, one requiring patience, perseverance,"trying" not to lose sight of a vision or a goal in the midst of obstacles and the unpredictable, believing there is a season for everything and everything in its right time and place, faith borne out of deep belief in the intangible, observing what seemed like the impossible become reality one little step at a time, each time giving impetus to continue on this trajectory.

The first day the gallery was open, it felt surreal...two years had come and gone, I felt as though I had just completed a marathon, the space looked spectacular, more stunning than I had ever imagined and the art that I loved had taken its rightful place. It was an extraordinary feeling...as if I had come full circle and it felt terrific to be back in business! Nine years ago I took the plunge and opened a little gallery at 321 Arch Street. In my wildest dreams I never would have anticipated this awesome space and opportunity would be mine at this time. Now the real work begins!

NJ Public Network Public Television & Radio presents A Night For The Arts

2010-04-08T22:21:00.001-04:00

All Things Flow (Pink) 36 x 36 oil on canvas 2010

I am pleased to be included in an invitational exhibit of work by New Jersey artists, hosted by New Jersey Network Public

Television & Radio in Trenton, NJ.

Hope to see you at the reception!

nice

2010-03-22T10:20:00.002-04:00

Update: I've just acquired my first piece of Aaron Krach's work. I'm now the happy owner of the t-shirt in the pic below. (Available at the New Museum gift shop).

Aaron Krach Indestructible Artifact #11: Confidence, 2009

T-shirt, edition of 500.

Every once in a while I come across something that pulls me in and makes me smile. In this case, it is the work of Aaron Krach. Linking off of One Art World, I clicked on what I thought was a link to a Lower East Side gallery site, but instead turned out to be Aaron's website. What initially grabbed my attention was the t-shirt above. As a practicing psychotherapist and a working artist, its sensibility appealed to me on both counts.

I looked further and found this essay:

Having long been an admirer of Yoko Ono's art, I was moved by this simple declaration of an artist's recognition of meaning and purpose. The essay's closing sentence (called a "kicker" in journalistic terms) was, well, a kicker for me.

Here are photos of the show (October 2009) that Aaron dedicated his apartment for.

"i curated that show in my apartment because it was something I always wanted to do. i moved my furniture out and put everything up---only work i loved, and only work i wish i had made---and then invited people over during one (long) saturday and sunday. then done."

My favorite is the handkerchief with the words "there there" embroidered in its center. I found it very moving, and told Aaron in an email that I had once used those words to title a painting because I found them so comforting.

Visit Aaron's website to see his work, and Artists Who Use Text To Say Nice Things to see more about this project, including the names of the artists. Thanks, Aaron. Nice.

new works from All Things Flow

2010-03-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

For the past six months or so, I've been working in oil (on canvas, wood panel, paper, and copper). These are a few of the works on paper from the series "All Things Flow".

(re)motion 2010 oil on paper 18" x 30"

approximation 2010 oil on paper 11" x 28"

pale rider 2010 oil on paper 11" x 30"

All Things Flow...New Work

2010-02-03T07:19:00.003-05:00

I've updated my website with new paintings. The piece below is from an ongoing series of works of oil on canvas, panel, paper, and copper. I've also included encaustic pieces from 2009 as well as some newer digital photos.

From the series All Things Flow

All Things Flow (pink)

2010

oil on canvas

36 x 36

ya say ya wanna resolution...

2010-01-02T19:48:00.000-05:00

Water Ribbon 2009 digital print/photographic image 6" x 36"

Okay, okay...I know the title is a bit of a reach. But it being the new year and all, I thought I'd do a little post on resolutions. Specifically, resolutions relative to my art practice. I'm not particularly good at keeping these promises to myself, but I figure it's got to be worth putting them out there at least. Let's call them goals. In no particular order:

be kinder to my brushes
listen to my own voice
spend more time looking, just looking
trust the process
get better at knowing when to put the brush down and say it's done
take more chances
let the damned paint dry
keep my studio a little neater
be unafraid

And now friends, fellow artists and bloggers, I invite you to share your art-practice resolutions/goals or comment on mine here...

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful holiday season.

2009-11-28T04:41:00.001-05:00

pam's big adventure

2009-11-10T08:53:00.002-05:00

yet to be titled digital image pfarrell 2009

I've been meaning to see Roxy Paine's Maelstrom, installed on the Metropolitan Museum of Art roof sculpture garden. But as with many things in my life, these days, I am relying instead on the 'net (and Joanne Mattera and her blog) to provide a vicarious experience. Thanks Joanne!

Perhaps somewhat inspired by Maelstrom, the image above is the latest in a series of digital pieces I began early last spring and posted on my photo art blog. I've been alternating between trees and water, water and trees.I've been preparing several images from this series to have printed in a large format, and I'm heading to Philly's Silicon Gallery this week to avail myself of their 60" printers and digital printing expertise. Also along for this adventure will be my friend Randy Carone, who provides me invaluable technical advice and assistance. He also plays a mean slide guitar.

While I have a fair amount of printmaking experience from back in the day, this is my first foray into large format digital printing. Very exciting. I'm trying to suspend my expectations and just go with whatever happens. As my friend photographer John Carlano counseled, these larger images will be "different pictures." So, I'm off with that in mind...

Sue Katz: What's the Big Idea?

2009-11-01T21:21:00.004-05:00

I met Sue Katz at the 3rd Annual Montserrat Encaustic Painting Conference in June, when I attended her presentation "What's the Big Idea?", which discussed content in art--her own, and that of a number of other artists. Sue is presenting "What's the Big Idea?" in an open forum that is part of her show with Jozan Treston at Gallery A3 in Amherst, Massachusetts. One of Sue's pieces from the show is below with a short statement. Check out the gallery link for more info.

SPIRALING OUT, 36"x66", encaustic on wood and metal, 2009, Sue Katz

Basically every found object in this piece is old and worn except for the panel with cream white and copper-colored encaustic - proportions aren't exactly two squares in a rectangle now - one member of my family's generations has died and another is declining - so out and into new directions - and so it goes - life keeps happening!

west prize painting faves

2009-10-19T17:56:00.006-04:00

Here are my fave paintings from this year's West Prize applicants. I have thus far only searched through the paintings category. I don't know if it's me or if the thumbnails are especially small this year, but my eyes were rather fatigued after the painting category. I might just come back in a few days with picks from other media.I've chosen pretty much at random, and these appear in alphabetical order, though I admit to including the work of a few buddies.

henry bermudez

jaq chartier

cora jane glasser

cynthia ona innes

michelle mackey

michelle marcuse

govinda sah

stephanie serpick

vilma vissers

jesse whittle

Carl Plansky 1951-2009

2009-10-14T21:03:00.008-04:00

Carl Plansky, visionary paintmaker, founder of Williamsburg Oil Paints, and artist, died Saturday, October 10, 2009, from a heart attack. His good friend Richard Frumess of R F Handmade Paints offers a tribute to him on his blog.

I did not know Carl Plansky, but I've used his paints for years. I've always thought of them as paints made with artistry. His inspired contributions will live on in the works of countless artists.

THE REAL - THE ABSTRACT - THE ART OF HUNTERDON

2009-09-17T19:25:00.003-04:00

A group invitational exhibition presented by the
Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission featuring work by:

Malcolm Bray, Susan Blubaugh, Sheila Coutin, Alexander Farnham,
Pamela Farrell, Penny Gagne, Barbara Osterman, Bruce Rigby, Rhoda Yanow

I'll be at the reception Friday, October 2, 5-8 pm
Hope to see you there

October 2-30, 2009

Prallsville Mills
In the newly renovated Sawmill

Rt. 29, Stockton, NJ
on the Delaware River 3 miles north of Lambertville

Exhibition open Tuesdays-Sundays 12-5 pm

image: Ophelia (grey) 2009
36 x 36" encaustic on panel

nice post on Joanne mattera's blog...and good folk

2009-09-04T09:09:00.007-04:00

Joanne Mattera, as part of her What I Did This Summer series of blog posts, has pics and text about her visit to my studio in NJ and Steven Alexander's studio in PA. Quite the contrast between the two in space, style, work, and uh, neatness. Thanks Joanne! It was a pleasure to have you.

This is a pic of the studio in its current state, with a roof added to the front and french doors replacing the wood ones. The roof allows me to have the doors open when it rains, adds indirect light, and keeps some of the direct sun from heating the building too much in summer. Oh yeah--and it's a really nice place to sit for cocktail time in the evenings.

I just have to add a few thoughts about the goodness of folk. Our neighbors, Ken and Nan Yard, and their two sons, Forrest and Clinton, have been friends from the beginning. We've been here 16 years, and were greeted on moving day by 2 little boys bearing a bag of veggies from their garden. (I know now their mother sent them to "check out the new neighbors.") Well, the two little boys have now completed college and grad school and have become wonderful young men.

Ken, a class A carpenter and cabinetmaker builds my painting panels. He also did the finish work in the studio. One day, he surprised me by offering to build the roof onto the studio and install the french doors. All I had to do was supply some additional labor (Rocky, my husband) and cover the materials. Quite an offer!!! A couple of months later, and I have my completed studio, and Ken and Nan have some very happy neighbors and friends, and a large, colorful, encaustic waterscape hanging near their spa room.
All that's left is to finish the landscaping in the front, which will be tended to in the spring. Thanks, guys!

THE (DARK) SHOW

2009-08-23T22:49:00.007-04:00

Today, Michelle Marcuse, Rob Solomon, and I hung The (Dark) Show at StrataSphere Gallery in Philadelphia. This collaborative effort came about some months ago when the three of us jokingly commented that since we all had a tendency to use a dark palette in our work, that we should show together; hence, The (Dark) Show. As collaborative efforts go, this has been a very positive one--negotiations for hanging space in a relatively small exhibition space went smoothly, with all of us contributing our thoughts about what goes where. No easy feat considering how group dynamics can go with three individuals interacting. A short essay below discusses the ideas behind the show.

Foreign Soil No. 5 18 x 18"
encaustic on panel 2009

The (Dark) Show

In The (Dark) Show, Pam Farrell, Michelle Marcuse, and Rob Solomon address the dark with a grain of salt, or perhaps a broad brush. Art history abounds with references to dark as a theme. For some, the dark suggests the unspeakable, the unknown, evil, the sinister, gloomy, and ominous. For these three artists, choice of palette represents more than a proclivity for dark thoughts. Light emerging from dark, shining a light in the dark, a playful interaction of opposites, and an exploration of space and time all offer the viewer an open-ended experience to explore individual ideas about the dark, to see beyond the expected.

Pam Farrell’s work references natural phenomena and elements such as water, weather, and geographic formations to explore concepts of lacunae in terms of loss, memory, and identity. Using layers of pigmented beeswax built up and scraped back, the process allows the obscured and indeterminate to surface. Mark making is the experience; the mark is the trace. Remains, vestiges, scars, memories, clues, and the barely discernable are revealed; traces of memory and experience that cannot be expressed with words become more evident.

Michelle Marcuse uses monochromatic coloring to suggest a subdued, sometimes anxious atmosphere, one that at times appears veiled and mysterious. At first glance there may seem to be an identifiable space where specific elements are in a state of isolated flux. But Marcuse invites the viewer to explore more closely her fields of concentrated, quiet energy. Existing within silence, the fields are slow in time, with the energy moving in from the outside. The impressions suggest a distanced level of reality…seen as uncategorized extracts from a space that runs counter to our own.

Rob Solomon's current work blurs the line between painting and drawing: paintings of drawings or diagrams; diagramming paintings with collaged canvas insets; drawings embedded into painting, and paper supporting canvas overlays. The work integrates multiple processes and materials, including dyed and bleached paper, graphite on raw canvas, mars black pigmented beeswax, and black ink-based photographs. The work explores opposing elements within a theme: patterns and patterns breaking, order and destruction, making and breaking symmetry, framing and re-framing within the canvas, and delight and despair.

August 29-October 3 2009
Reception: Saturday, August 29 2-5 pm
For more information: The StrataSphere Gallery

siesta....

2009-08-14T19:22:00.004-04:00

Well it's not like I post all that much, but I think it's time for a little end-o-summer break. I'll be back after Labor Day with new stuff...

A nice treat...

2009-08-01T15:57:00.003-04:00

During a break from the studio (that's a euphemism for procrastination) I read Brent Hallard's interview of Tim McFarlane on Visual Discrepancies, his artist-interview blog. Definitely makes my procrastinating easier to rationalize. It's always interesting to be invited into an artists' head, so to speak, to be able to gain some insight into the process, the approach, the inspiration. I find the reading especially rewarding when both artist and interviewer are literate, informed, and best, able to clearly communicate, as is the case with Visual Discrepancies.

The (Dark) Show

2009-07-24T19:57:00.008-04:00

The (Dark) Show is a collaborative curatorial effort I'm involved in with Philadelphia artists Michelle Marcuse and Rob Solomon. At a show held at the StrataSphere Gallery in Philly, we will be showing work that addresses the dark, with a grain of salt, or perhaps a broad brush.

Art history abounds with references to dark as a theme. For some, the dark suggests the unspeakable, the unknown, evil, the sinister, gloomy, and ominous. For these three artists, choice of palette represents more than a proclivity for dark thoughts. Light emerging from dark, shining a light in the dark, a playful interaction of opposites, and an exploration of space and time all offer the viewer an open-ended experience to explore individual ideas about the dark, to see beyond the expected.

half seas over 2009 encaustic on panel 24 x 24

line

2009-06-21T11:13:00.012-04:00

Line. Until recently, line did not figure prominently in my work.
I was all about the form. In the field.

hard rain (prototype) 2004
12 x 12 encaustic on panel
collection of Ruth Morpeth

Sometimes a horizon line was called for.
But I don't really think there is a line
so much as there is a juxtapostion of forms.
In the field.

untitled landscape 2006
24 x 24 encaustic on panel
collection of the artist

More form in the field. Maybe a few drips.

Lacuna (red cassandra 1 & 2) 2008
24 x 24 encaustic on panel (each)

Then came the drips. Big time. Lines as drips.
Drips as lines. Lines caused by drips.

ophelia red 2009
36 x 36 encaustic on panel
private collection

And then, the horizon line became insinuated into the work.
A little obsessively, I think. But not aggressively. It's lurking in the background.

false walls (umber) 2009
24 x 24 encaustic on panel

Line takes front and center and
pushes form and field to the background.

from the sea 1 2009
6" x 6" digital photo

Update: I'm No. 29

2009-05-19T19:36:00.011-04:00

I've completed my postcard for A Book About Death and the image appears on the project's blog site. I hope you'll consider participating in this interesting project. I'll be looking forward to watching the project grow online and to meet other participating artists in September at the opening reception. You can see the image here.

Also on the blog are links for more information about the Emily Harvey Foundation. Emily Harvey (1941-2004) was a pioneering gallerist (Emily Harvey Gallery at 537 Broadway) and champion of Fluxus artists as well as artists who made mail art, concept art, and performance pieces.

Here is an example of one of the postcards, this one by Cecil Touchon

new blog...

2009-05-17T21:03:00.003-04:00

OK...so it's not like I don't already have plenty to keep me busy, but I've launched another blog, p farrell photo art blog, this one for my digital images.

I've been spending quite a bit of time using my new digital slr. Because I don't know any better, I've been taking pics outside at night using my flash and auto settings, then using Photoshop Elements to play with the images. I'm no tech person, so much of this is trial and error. I've been amassing images and have printed them out with my non-archival ink jet printer just to use for reference/source material for paintings. I'm having fun as well as feeling productive, and I've put together another blog to house some of the images I'm wanting to share as I develop my photo skills. At some point I plan to upgrade my printer to one that uses archival inks so I can produce archival images.

I hope you'll visit and take a look. I don't expect to include much text, just images and a blog roll as I find relevant websites. Feel free to comment about the images, ask questions, or make suggestions.

Lisa Pressman Art Blog

2009-05-05T20:15:00.003-04:00

Hey All Y'all... Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!!

Take a look at my buddy Lisa Pressman's new artblog...

Here's one of her works on paper. Lisa, welcome to the world of blogging!

Between the Lines #12 encaustic on paper

Kathryn Pannepacker at Museum of Arts and Design

2009-04-10T20:50:00.007-04:00

Kathryn is a Philadelphia artist who paints and works in textile. She's having an eventful month, with a speaking engagement at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, and being featured on the cover of the current issue of American Craft magazine. More info below. Go Kathryn!

from the press release:

In Print/In Process: Artist Talk with Kathryn Pannepacker

Thursday April 16, 6:30 pm

Free with Thursday evening pay-as-you-wish-admission

The Museum of Arts and Design and American Craft magazine present: In Print/In Process – A new series of artist talks and studio demonstrations featuring today’s most innovative makers. Every two months, MAD and American Craft team up to bring the articles in the magazine to life at the Museum. Visitors and readers will hear directly from the artists, and experience their materials and processes first-hand in the MAD Open Studios.

Weaver and painter Kathryn Pannepacker’s urban interventions are featured in the April/May issue of American Craft . Trained in the French tapestry tradition, Pannepacker has melded her love of traditional weaving and textile work with gritty public art – creating murals in West and North Philadelphia that integrate textile designs from around the world with the industrial architecture of her neighborhood. Pannepacker’s work is subtly political, inherently social, and deeply invested in the art-making process. In part one of this two-part program, Pannepacker will provide an overview of her 20-year career and discuss her recent projects, including her guerilla weaving “tags” that are stealthily appearing in cities across the USA.

About the artist:

Kathryn Pannepacker is a textile/visual artist living in Philadelphia. She graduated from Penn State University with a major in English and a minor in art, and apprenticed with 3rd generation French tapestry weaver, Jean Pierre Larochette and his partner, Yael Lurie, a painter and designer for tapestry. In Aubusson, France Pannepacker continued weaving as an artist-in-resident. Though still weaving pictorial tapestry, she also weaves with unusual materials. Through the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, Pannepacker painted a 7' x 500ft wide mural called Wall of Rugs: the global language of textiles at Girard and Belmont Avenues featuring the textiles of 43 countries. Pannepacker exhibits locally, nationally and internationally, and has work in private and public collections. She is committed to the transformative power of art in people's lives and the sustainability of such transformation by involving the community.

Read American Craft's cover feature on Kathryn Pannepacker: A Local Take on Global Textiles.

new work at morpeth gallery

2009-03-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

ISBP installment no. 18: Rebecca Crowell

2009-03-08T18:41:00.005-04:00

Rebecca Crowell gives a glimpse, inside and out, of her rural Wisconsin studio, as well as her work, which was inspired by her residency in Catalonia. See more on her website and blog.

Rebecca writes:
My studio is in a separate building behind the house, on 40 acres in west-central Wisconsin, a beautiful natural setting. I like the fact that I have to leave the house to go to the studio, as it always feels like moving into a different world. The building is a simple metal outbuilding with a foot of insulation in the walls, and part of the south-facing wall is made of cinder block to provide some solar gain. It is a large, utilitarian space that I have occupied for over 20 years, and inside it's quite messy and chaotic, with paint on the floors, walls, and other surfaces, and piles of stuff that are far from neat or organized.

In my house I keep reasonable order and cleanliness, so I sometimes wonder why the studio mess doesn't bother me. But being neat is not what comes naturally, and I guess for me it is a matter of where to put my energy. Nothing about the studio space is pristine or precious, which allows me to relax and focus on the work and feel free to muck around. And I rather enjoy the studio clutter--the accumulated stuff, piles of old paintings, sketchbooks, art books, journals, tools, materials, rocks and shells, and forgotten, half-finished work. The whole place feels intensely mine, full of my personal history, my art history--yet not in an oppressive way, it's just there in the background when I paint.

In the photo is the large wall on which I do most of my oil painting, hanging the panels up with push pins or small nails. There are always a lot of panels in various states of completion leaning around. I also have another wall that is cleaner, where I can view finished pieces with less visual distraction. My painting table is elevated to a comfortable height so I don't have to bend over it--a great relief for my back--and I have a couch by the wood stove, a table and counter area for doing mixed media work, and an air-to air heat exchanger for ventilation. About a year ago I got some excellent daylight fixtures, and there are high, north windows too. So it is a very functional space. Just outside my door is a rock garden set into a steep bank (the studio is at the bottom of a small hill, accessed by stairs) and that is a beautiful, secluded spot to sit in warmer weather.

Remembering Catalunya
74 x 30 oil on board

interactive studio blog project installment no. 17: kate beck

2009-02-21T12:26:00.000-05:00

I have tremendous respect for Kate and her work. I've learned much from her wonderful blog and how she speaks about her process.

My words:
We moved into a new house last year and I consequently moved my studio, as well. I now live and work “… in a field, on a beach, on a pile of rocks in the Atlantic...”. We’re building it out, so it’s a challenge to be working in the same space I’m renovating, but it's coming along. All together, it is about 950 sq. ft., the entire bottom level of the house, which opens up into the field, looking out to sea. Quiet, and nice. The largest space is for painting, and I have a room for drawing – the clean room – and another for storage. The light is mostly artificial but the studio faces south and I do get natural light for drawing, especially. I’ve never had a studio in my living space before but it is working out well.

My drawings and paintings are created as an intuitive response to materials placed within a given space: graphite on paper, paint on substrate, objects within a room. I consider them as objects, concrete elements of structure. I believe white to be the most inherently beautiful color as it carries with it the potential to simultaneously expose and negate space. I believe black to be the most innately powerful color as it is defined by the presence of light as well as by the absence of light.

The mind’s natural inclination is to identify a problem and work it out, a process of thinking and re-thinking. My aesthetic is founded in formal principles and methodologies of drawing, which I consider the most visual equivalent to thought.

I named my house and my studio White Spot.

Kate Beck

isbp installment no. 16: diane mcgregor

2009-02-15T12:30:00.006-05:00

Diane McGregor gives us a look at her New Mexico studio and work. I am especially impressed that Diane's studio looks this clean even when she's working in it. Oh yeah, and I really like her work.

Diane writes:

Attached in a photo of a corner of my studio with some finished paintings on the walls and one in progress on the easel. This is pretty much how my studio looks all the time -- I didn't clean it up or anything. I'm a fairly tidy painter. I have fantastic light (although not northern light), from south, east and west windows. This studio is the largest room in my house, what would have been the master bedroom, but it is quickly getting very cramped and I'm considering renting a studio in town, if I can stand the commute. (I live outside of Santa Fe in a little farming village, and it's about a half-hour drive into town).

Rising 2009

oil on canvas 40x40

isbp installment no. 15: lisa pressman

2009-02-09T20:40:00.006-05:00

Lisa Pressman, who lives and works in West Orange, NJ, and I met--once, for about 5 minutes--at the opening reception for Material Color at the Hunterdon Art Museum last October, but we've kept in touch via the magic of the web. I love her thoughts about her studio to the work. Not gibberish at all, Lisa!

Lisa writes:

I actually took this photo a while ago as I was finishing up some work; I wasn't happy with it (the studio looked so clean or composed). But looking at it now I was struck by how the image begins to "read" like one of my paintings.

In the foreground you have the red heat gun shape with the graphic red line of the wire that then leads to the touches of red on the table in the mid ground and then to the fire extinguisher red and then to the touch of the red in that canvas in the way back. and so on and so forth- with colors, shapes, lines, stops and starts of bundles of energy (the brushes, the scrambled papers,the repeating rectangles, etc.). The eye meanders through to read the story.

I may be speaking gibberish with only my first cup of coffee, but seems so clear to me this morning: the studio is the bridge from the unconscious and conscious to the work.

I Know That 1 & 2 2009 encaustic on panel each 24 x 24

Interactive Studio Blog Project Installment No. 14: Marco Paltrinieri

2009-02-02T19:59:00.005-05:00

Marco Paltrinieri lives in London, but is native to Italy. When he's not working on his psychology dissertation, Marco is focused on photography, and just had an exhibit in Italy.

Marco writes:

I'm a photographer. Or even better, I'm a psychologist who loves to play with photography.

In the last two years I have lived in 3 different flat so I've got nothing more than a sort of "portable" studio. All I need are my laptop and my notebooks, a few drawings to hang up on the wall and a small collection of found objects. Leaves, stones, shells, each object represents an exact moment in time, a personal and intimate memory that I decided to hide from the camera's eye...

Untitled C Print

from the series "Borders and Gates of 66 Poplar Court"

...Gerhard Richter says that images are "unachievable" and are to be doubted. I do agree. That's why I love photography. It gives me the opportunity to explore the space existing between reality and the mind, between certainty and confusion. A space where the meaning of reality is constantly challenged, negotiated and redefined.

A TECH REQUEST

2009-02-01T09:00:00.003-05:00

Greetings:

I have recently switched from pc to mac, and I'm experiencing a bit of a learning curve when it comes to blogging, particularly uploading photos to the blog. I've done a bit of looking around to see what others recommend for photos/images. Many mention Ecto, but I've not been able to download it successfully. So...I'm asking readers to comment on solutions that work for you when it comes to uploading photos and images onto your Blogger blog. Thanks in advance!

ISBP Installment No. 13: Joanne Mattera

2009-01-27T20:24:00.010-05:00

I'll consider this post lucky number 13. With Joanne Mattera's images and statement, it feels like this little project has come full circle. Joanne's visit to my studio prompted me to put my thoughts about the ISBP into words. (She was the one walking around snapping pix of my studio while I was thinking what a mess it was.)

Joanne writes:

I shot this picture of my studio, a former auto repair shop, in 2004. I had just finished two large paintings—capstones for two solo shows that would take place shortly—and, still in high gear, prepared a number of smaller panels for the next body of work. As is my wont, after a period of intense activity leading up to a show, I crash for a few days and then clean up the studio. There’s something cathartic about the process. (I wrote about that interim in a post called Post-Partum Abstraction.)

So you’re seeing the space in an unnaturally pristine way. It’s the physical embodiment of a Zen moment. When I’m sitting in this ordered, empty space, I can see the next body of work. It’s not a process I can describe; I just need to start with a clean slate.

You’ll notice that the brushes are not clean, however. I work primarily in encaustic. Wax paint never polymerizes, so when it’s heated, it’s workable again. I can melt off what’s there, wipe the brush clean, and dip it into the new palette—though I keep the brushes within color families. I have hundreds more brushes now, but they all look like this.

I’m not a north light purist. I’m perfectly happy to work with incandescent illumination, but I do like the diffused southern light that comes through the translucent overheads I had installed. I call them my “Gagosian doors.” (They are the only thing Larry and I have in common.)

The studio is in Massachusetts, just north of Boston. I had no intention of relocating my studio from New York, but on a whim while visiting the area, I looked at this building with its open space on the ground floor and a sky lit loft upstairs and a price that was actually affordable. I heard my mouth make an offer. The universe had quite literally delivered me to the doorstep. I also live in New York. It’s a long “commute,” but I do it in chunks, an almost perfect balance of life in the studio and life outside it.

Vicolo 52 2008
encaustic on panel 36 x 36 inches

Interactive Studio Blog Project Installment No. 12: Nancy Natale

2009-01-22T22:10:00.000-05:00

This installation of the ISBP brings us to Nancy Natale's studio and work. She provides us with images of her old studio and bright spanking new studio, as well as one of her encaustic pieces. Nancy has recently launched a blog, Art In the Studio where you can see more pics of her studio and work.

Nancy writes:
My studio is in a big old mill building (formerly a factory for Stanley Home Products) in Easthampton, Mass., in the western side of the state near Northampton and Amherst, almost to the Berkshires. The photo is a shot of the way it looks while I'm working - not neat.

The Maze (below) is a 20 x 32 joined diptych of encaustic and embedded materials on top of sanded acrylic paintings on paper mounted on wooden panels.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PHILADELPHIA AREA ARTISTS

2009-01-13T20:43:00.001-05:00

Thought this could be helpful for Philly area artists...

LINC Philadelphia is pleased to announce the publication of "An Artist's Guide to Accessing Health Care in the Philadelphia Area" and a series of free information sessions to learn more about your rights and options for health care in the region.

The Artist's Guide is available at www.artistlincphiladelphia.org/insurance
and will be distributed in printed form at the following information
sessions:

Monday, February 2, 4:00-6:00 pm
at the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, 1608 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

Wednesday, February 4, 5:30-7:30
Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catherine Street, Philadelphia

Monday, February 9, 6:30-8:30
Main Line Art Center, Lancaster Avenue and Old Buck Lane, Haverford

The sessions are free but registration is required. For more information and to register, go to www.artistlincphiladelphia.org/insurance

Please forward this email to anyone who might benefit from this information.

ISBP installment no. 11: John Tallman

2009-01-11T13:08:00.004-05:00

John Tallman's work makes me smile. And I like his wonderful blog, Color Chunks. And I like this excerpt from his statement:

Here's what I'm interested in:

I’m interested in that point where the illusion breaks down.

I’m interested in answers that are both true and false.

I’m interested in lying your way to the truth.

I’m interested in the fragility of the art object.

I’m interested in the theoretical possibility of

creating endless compositions.

I’m interested in the study of sloppy craft.

I’m interested in joy.

Here are two of John's pieces with a shot from his studio sandwiched in between:

　

ISBP installment no. 10: Mary Klein

2009-01-08T21:27:00.004-05:00

Mary Klein is a Minneapolis-based artist--visit her blog still lifes, which records real-time progress of her work, which I find quiet and contemplative. Here is a look at her studio.

Turning 2008
oil on canvas 20 x 16

ISBP installment no. 9: Steven Alexander

2009-01-03T16:09:00.007-05:00

With this installation of the Interactive Studio Blog Project, we get a nice peek into Steven Alexander's studio, which is up in Dalton, PA, somewhere north of Scranton. Steven teaches at my alma mater, Marywood University. Make sure to visit Steven's wonderful Studio Journal blog, where he generously shares his work, process, and impressions and observations of other art and artists, such as the work of Brazilian painter Goncalo Ivo. I highlight this because as you'll see in the post, Steven has included a photo of Ivo's studio. The space is mighty impressive with a huge array of paints and brushes laid out with precision, like a surgeon's tools. This precision is very evident in Ivo's intensely colored geometric abstractions.

Now, back to Stephen and his work. After writing the above, I became aware that there is a real connection between Steven's workspace, which I've had the chance to see through his blog posts, and his work. I see an openness, an expansiveness that is present in both, and experience a sense of place in many of Steven's paintings. Of course, it's not at all that simple. Please see Steven's statement below...

Meteor Beach 2008
96 x 96 acrylic on 4 canvases

My work is an exploration of relations that reside in the constant flux of sensory events. I am interested in the interaction between the painting and the viewer's imagination and experience; in the painting's catalytic potency - it's potential to generate unspecified mobile meaning.

Color operates in this work and in the world as a kind of pure energy, dynamic, capricious, evocative. The surfaces emphasize the sensual rather than analytical nature of the process, and attest to the pervasive presence of time. Within the structure of the paintings, archetypal dualities of male/female, earth/sky, internal/external are inevitably implied; not as opposing forces, but as interdependent aspects of an animate whole. In this sense, these paintings might be regarded as open-ended cosmologies, or as chunks of unencumbered raw reality, or to use John Cage's words, "like Nature in her manner of operation".

I am trying to build, out of color and substance, a place for the viewer's consciousness - where unexpected associations and resonances may occur, where history merges with the present moment, and the stuff of life, love and desire has corporeal presence - states of being, embodied in paint.

Eighth installment of the ISBP: Tim McFarlane

2008-12-28T20:29:00.005-05:00

This installation takes us to Tim McFarlane's work and studio. He lives and works in Philadelphia, and shows at Bridgette Mayer Gallery. I appreciate the controlled chaos of Tim's studio: looks like lots of activity, lots of good energy--just like his paintings.

Untitled 2008
acrylic on panel 36" x 36"

Tim writes: This is my second studio space I've had that was outside of a living space. It's in an old factory in the Old City section of Philadelphia and very raw, perfect for not worrying about paint spatters on the walls or floor. It can be disorienting when someone walks in because there's always a mix of old works and new works in progress scattered around.

No. 7 installment of ISBP: Eduardo Angell

2008-12-21T21:55:00.007-05:00

Eduardo Angell, or Ed, as he is known to many of us, is an artist living and working in Poulsbo, Washington. This summer, Eduardo had a solo show at R & F Paints in Kingston, NY.

Ed writes:

Unlike most dedicated artists, I didn't go to art school right away, I found a home in industry. As luck would have it, the company that hired me devoted a certain portion of production to fabricating and/or finishing art work for individuals. Having come from a family of artists and craftsmen, I guess I was genetically predisposed to work in the section of the company which handled artists and their production problems. Needless to say, this industry experience continued my love for art and gave me much of the knowledge I use in my own art today.

After fine art production, I matriculated to the film industry and started a business building props, sets, and special effects. While I was never a film buff, this industry allowed me to experiment with all sorts materials and processes and usually on a grand scale. I would say that my studio is definitely an extension of my early training in industry. My personal pleasure in art comes from the process of construction as much as the finished image, I've designed my studio accordingly.

The work is part of a new series on architecture for 2009. This is a diptych as yet untitled. 4" X 17" X 3" (see detail below). Wood, lead, beeswax and cadmium yellow pigment. The glow between the elements is a natural color flux that happens when the pieces are in close proximity, I want to explore this effect more. The detail shot shows the placement of the cad yellow encaustic paint within the elements.

no. 6 installment of the interactive studio blog project: Ken Weathersby

2008-12-21T21:24:00.009-05:00

Ken Weathersby lives in Montclair NJ. His work can be seen in New American Paintings: Juried Exhibitions in Print #75, Mid-Atlantic Edition, Open Studios Press (2008). I became familiar with Ken's work when I "reviewed" one of his paintings on JT Kirkland's Thinking About Art blog.

Studio wall on December 1, 2008, with notes, sketches, sources, paintings
and work in progress. The array changes frequently.

d & G Sketch #67a, digital, size variable, 2008

(a printout of this is visible on the wall in the studio shot.)

5th installment of the isbp: kirby grimes

2008-12-18T21:22:00.004-05:00

I know pretty much nothing about Kirby Grimes beyond what he writes here. I really like this painting. Makes me wonder what his architectural work is like...
Thanks, Kirby. I like your colors, too!

�architecture is my 'work'

painting is my pleasure,

to experiment w/pigments in acrylic base &

explore my thoughts about colors.

like Mondrian, i'm not trying to make pictures,

just trying to find things out.

i like his chrysanthemum dwgs.& trees.

�my 'studio' is the bedroom floor;

a big mess.�

i sleep next to the open window.

i do some grids also.

this is a challenge for me

to show & tell.

thanks. i like your subtle colors.

installment no.4 ISBP: El Farrell

2008-12-17T22:51:00.006-05:00

Eleanor Farrell lives and works in San Fransisco. She is an artist of a different stripe...El is a graphic artist (disclosure: she's my sister-in-law) and among her many pursuits, works as a book designer, website designer, and is a devotee of Chinese pop culture.

El writes:

I was intrigued by your new blog post, and although I'm not an artist in the more traditional sense, I thought I'd like to contribute something in response. Here's a photo of my workspace -- an alcove inside my studio apartment in San Francisco. Kinda messy: I always seem to have multiple projects going, and I tend to let papers pile up until I get into a recycling mood. But I like having all of my computer tools, research books and finished pieces within handy reach; it feels cozy. The art piece is a logo of sorts for my new Sina blog, focusing on Asian culture and supporting my Chinese language studies. (Sina is one of the largest China entertainment and social web site portals.)

Installment no 3 of ISBP: donna dodson

2008-12-15T18:28:00.008-05:00

Here is the third installment of the ISBP. This one features Donna Dodson, a sculptor from Jamaica Plain, Mass (or JP to those in the know). I was fortunate to meet Donna this weekend in Boston at Joanne Mattera's Arden Gallery opening. Here is one of Donna's wood sculptures, El Matador. Below is a pic of her studio. On Donna's blog you'll see that she organizes a Sunday morning salon at her studio. Since May 2007, Donna has run Art Salon Boston in her JP studio for artists who work in all media from the Boston area and beyond.

Update: check out this video of Donna
interpreting a commissioned work for her client.

ISBP Installment Two: Paul Behnke

2008-12-05T19:48:00.020-05:00

Installation Two of the ISBP has images from Paul Behnke, who has his studio at 915 Studios on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia. Paul's statement (below) alludes to the importance of time and space in his work; the photo of his studio (space) prominently features a clock (time) above the painting--you may draw your own conclusions...

My paintings are begun with the intention that they will be soundly connected to a specific location and time. However, as the images progress from notebook jottings of experience, environment and memory, to more complete pieces, their meanings begin a steady shift from specific reactions to broad allusions. The finished works signify the faulty concepts of security, place and distance and give form to the rituals and obsessions that sprout from these notions. Paul Behnke

Astir Already
Paul Behnke 2008
acrylic on canvas 42 x 42

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Claudia Waters is an artist based in Montclair, NJ. She offers us a photo of her palette, and says: "I guess you could say it's summer all year round in my studio!"

When You Were Young consists of a group of four paintings. My underwater series captures random specific moments of figures in a pool environment to relate universal themes. Using vibrant color and focused, unexpected compositions, I aim to reveal the inner essence with the purpose of expressing the universal unconscious.

When You Were Young 1
Claudia Waters 2008
18 x 14 oil on linen

I choose random images that create the feeling of being right there in the moment, not necessarily premeditated or manipulated. This image or concept reveals itself in a more arbitrary way to make a compelling, more abstract composition. When You Were Young uses a polytych configuration to elaborate on this randomness. It takes everyday moments in the pool in a way that eludes to our universal life experiences: obviously joy and fun but also buoyancy and resilience in the face of hardships in life. Claudia Waters

Interactive Studio Blog Post (ISBP), Installment One: Deboarah Barlow, Lou Storey

2008-12-04T20:11:00.011-05:00

Here's the first installation of the interactive studio blog post (ISBP), as I've come to think of this project. I really wish I had a snazzy title for this project, but alas, more prosaic words will have to do...

I thought it might be appropriate to start with Boston-area artist Deborah Barlow's thoughts on sharing her studio with visitors. Deborah put forth her response to my invitation to participate in the ISBP as a comment to the original post. I've included this comment because when I conceived of the idea for the ISBP, it didn't occur to me that there would be folks who wouldn't want studio visitors. I interpreted Agnes Martin's quote, "Never let anyone into your studio" as merely a quirky quote from the famously paradoxical artist. I appreciate Deborah's thoughts so I've included them here:

"This posting came right at me, like a ball that is thrown at your face without warning. From Agnes Martin's warning to your warm account of a successful studio visit with artist peers, I was caught in the crossfire of my own very oppositional feelings.
On one hand I have an artist's curiosity about how these issues are felt and dealt with by other artists. A studio is after all a fascinating place and so revelatory. And there is a little bit of voyeurism in me that is operational as well. Who can resist looking behind that curtain into the kitchen?
But at the same time I feel an intense need to protect the rag and bone shop of my own creative life. I gave up doing the popular open studio thing years ago because I feel so strongly about choosing who comes in to my space, and when. It's almost like some energy in my space is running around butt naked, and asking it to cover up and put on clothes is really, really offensive.
And yet I can imagine my attitude changing. It doesn't feel like a truism for my creative life, just a proclivity that is in full swing right now. It could change next year. Who knows?
Your challenge is an interesting one. Given my current subterranean, sub rosa mind set, I'm probably not a good candidate to participate. But I am curious about the response it engenders.
Thank you for this thoughtful and provocative posting."

Lou Storey is a New Jersey artist who is also a social worker. Lou currently works with people with HIV/AIDS. I met Lou last year when he took on the herculean task of curating and organizing an exhibit of art by social workers for an annual social work conference. The exhibit was a very popular feature of the conference, which draws several thousand social workers over a weekend in Atlantic City. Here's what Lou has to say about his studio:

"I’ve had plenty of studios (30+ years of them) and this one, built in the unfinished basement of my new home, is a keeper. I never intended to paint the floor, but the guy that helped me with the lighting insisted on the walls, ceiling and floor being white, which I hated. I need to see colors. I tried the white room for about two days (or was it two hours?) and went stark raving mad. I had some left over cans of paint from painting the walls upstairs, so I just went at the floor and a few hours later I felt the studio become livable.

Regarding letting people into my studio, I now do it carefully. Years ago a critic came to my studio (I was thrilled) and I am sure she said lots of nice things and helpful things, but all I can remember is a strange statement she made: “My, you have an unusual relationship with yellow!” For years after that when I would pick up the tube of yellow I would hesitate. But that was years ago, and it is no longer a problem, although when I pick up a tube of yellow now I am apt to say, “Well, hello there yellow, you’re looking scrumptious today!”

Bring Hope

2007

28 x 36

Acrylic, wood, cast plastic shapes

Thanks to both Lou and Deborah. Check back in the next few days for the next installment of the ISBP. There is no deadline for this project. I'll continue to post contributions as they come in....pass it on!

Studio/Work Interactive Blog Post

2008-11-23T19:14:00.004-05:00

Thanks to those of you who responded to my post inviting readers to send in jpegs of your studio and your work.

I plan to post the first installment sometime soon after the Thanksgiving weekend. I'll be away visiting friends in the wilds of beautiful Bedford, Virginia.

Hope all y'all have a great holiday. Check back soon!

"Never Let Anyone Into Your Studio"

2008-11-14T18:53:00.014-05:00

I've enjoyed the recent interactive postings on Color Chunks and Thinking About Art, and thought I'd offer a similar opportunity. But before we get to all that, I thought I’d offer the following post to share the genesis of this interactive project.

Some years back, artist Susan York wrote an essay published in the NY Times Magazine about the relationship she had formed with Agnes Martin. At the time, Ms. York was a young artist finding her way. They met for many years for tea or dinner, but the relationship started with a visit by Ms. York to Martin's studio. During that first visit, and just before ushering Susan York into her studio, Agnes Martin made the pronouncement: "Never let anyone into your studio."

To most of us, this idea would seem preposterous; having certain people--other artists, gallery owners, curators, collectors, etc.--come to our studios is something we hope and work for. We want our work to be seen in the cradle of its creation, in its original context, where we have borne it through our blood, sweat and tears, in our most private space, usually away from others and other parts of our lives. A separate space, a room of one's own.

Not too long ago, I had a wonderful opportunity for a studio visit by artist friends Joanne Mattera and Janet Filomeno. After spending time at the Hunterdon Art Museum opening reception for Material Color to see Joanne’s work, meet other artists and take in all the amazing color-based work, we made a spontaneous trip to my studio, which is about 10 minutes away. I did this knowing full well that my studio, which is a 16 x 20 outbuilding in my backyard, was an utter mess.

The studio was in full bloom, so to speak, an explosion of stuff everywhere: paintings, wax, paint, tools, materials. I had several series going and every surface was covered. This is not what it would have looked like for a planned visit. I would at least have made room for visitors to walk through without having to worry about knocking into something. I might have put away all but a small sampling of work so visitors would be able to view the paintings in groupings that made sense. Depending on the visitor or the purpose of the visit, I might even have scraped wax off the floor and whitewashed the walls.

However, I was grateful for the visit, and enjoyed the interaction very much. Joanne and Janet poked around, asking questions, offering comments, exploring various possibilities of arrangement and rearrangement of work. Joanne took some pics, both of the work and of the evidence of art making. While all this was going on, I said to them: "I feel like you're seeing inside my head!" Which, of course, they were. In addition to seeing my work, my friends were seeing my mess, my jumbled process, my id, the stuff that gets kicked around before being perfected (or at least completed). Presentation-ready or not, meant for public consumption or not, it’s all me. Exposed to two very accomplished artists whose work and careers I admire tremendously.

In What Painting Is, James Elkins includes a chapter entitled "The Studio as a Kind of Psychosis".

”Working in a studio means leaving the clean world of normal life and moving into a
shadowy domain where everything bears the marks of the singular obsession.”

Elkins talks about the artists’ studio in terms of the alchemy of art making:

“Alchemy is the best model for this plague of paint, for the
self-imprisonment of the studio and for the allure of insanity.”

OK, I know. This is rather dramatic, perhaps a tad romantic. But when I think about the mess my friends saw—and enjoyed—I can’t help but think about how incredibly personal it all is. Not just the work, but where the work is made, and what that place says about its inhabitant.

So…now for the interactive part: I invite you to send me 2 photos: 1 of your studio or workspace (in jpeg format please) that represents your process or you as an artist, and 1 of your work, with the work labeled by title, medium, size, etc. The images can be accompanied by a 50 word statement if you wish, and the URL to your website or blog. It matters not to me if you work in a full-blown mega-industrial space or at your kitchen table. I’m just interested in seeing what you feel your workspace says about you. I’ll post these over the next month or so. Please email me at pfarrell13@comcast.net

Please feel free to forward to your artist friends.

All photos except Lacuna 23 courtesy of Joanne Mattera

Artists on Words

2008-09-06T19:31:00.009-04:00

On his Color Chunks blog, John Tallman has offered artists the opportunity to respond to a wonderful list of words he has on his blog by writing a piece connecting one of the words to your work. Along with the written piece, John will also post a jpeg of your work.

Among the thought-provoking posts are writings by Joanne Mattera, Steven Alexander, are Kate Beck, on arrangement, effect, and chance, respectively. All the posts have been interesting and provide insight into the artists' process and approach. You can see my post on reveal.

If you are an artist who likes to think about and write about words in connection with your work, I highly recommend participating in Artists On Words.

NB: Here's John's email: moahksan@yahoo.com

Artists Review Artists...My Turn

2008-08-18T20:04:00.009-04:00

I've enjoyed participating in JT Kirkland's current project, Artists Review Artists on his blog Thinking About Art, and it's been interesting to read the reviews and see other artists' work. This past Friday, JT posted a review of my work, written by Daniel Mafe, who lives, works, and teaches in Brisbane, Australia.

I found his comments insightful and helpful. The painting I submitted to be reviewed was very new, and much different from my previous work. It's larger, more colorful, includes drawing elements, and is in oil rather than encaustic. This painting reflects another (and very different) approach to ideas about lacunae, a concept I had focused on in earlier work. I feel that I took some risks in finding this other approach, and I appreciate the opportunity to receive unbiased feedback on it.

Lacuna Yellow No. 1 oil on panel 36 x 48