Pain

Day 3 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

I was a lot more focused today than yesterday and the day before. Which doesn't make any sense really because I had only four hours of sleep last night. But I didn't feel tired during the day, just not very friendly or social. I had lots of coffee and many kind bars. They are kind, so that's okay.

I am quite pleased with this piece. I think, the colors are good and the composition is right, and I delivered my message.

The figure is from an 80's book about body fitness, I don't quite remember what it was supposed to demonstrate in particular. But to me this person looked like she/he was ready to face pain, to deal with it, and wear it like a gown.

So I cut out a few hundred O's, and each one of them may stand for a certain kind of pain, from a surprising little discomfort to that severe emotional pain that most people will know, sooner or later.

I used one O to make a mouth. There is so much pain everywhere, it has to come out and be shared and be heard.

"Pain"
Mixed media: acrylics, clippings from books and magazines, on cradled wood panel, 11"x14"

Femme Fatale

Day 2 of the 30-in-30 challenge.

What can I say about this one that isn't obvious already. Poor guy, I think he's got a headache.

Mixed media: acrylics, ink, book clippings, on cradled wood panel, 10"x10"

Science Fair

Things happen.
For example, I did my annual ART ON 45 fundraiser in March, had a show at FW Gallery in Baton Rouge soon after, then went to see my family in Germany, came back to teach five weeks of summer art camps and workshops in my studio, and now it's September, the month when I do thirty paintings in thirty days.

So this is Day 1.
Inspired by the fact that school is back on, I made a piece about science fairs, where kids get prizes for the fancy projects that their parents made for them, in the name of love.

In "Science Fair" a white male torso in a strait jacket is mounted to a little table. Yes, this man stays put. No more uninvited exploration, no more meddling in other people's businesses, no more overstepping boundaries. A nifty little invention, yet long awaited. Clear winner, hands down.

Mixed media: acrylics, ink, book clippings, fly leaves, edges of book pages, thread, on cradled wood panel, 11"x14".

Baton Rouge, again

Tomorrow my family and I will go an a little road trip to Baton Rouge to deliver my work to the FW Gallery. It's been fun to discover this city. We never had been to Louisiana's state capital before last December, even though it's only a less than four hours drive from Ruston. Now this changed when my piece "Life" got accepted into the "Surreal Salon 11" exhibit at Baton Rouge Gallery:  We went to drop it off, a few weeks later attended the reception party, and finally went back to pick it up when the exhibit was over.

So the owner of FW Gallery noticed my "Life" at BRG, and now I am having another exhibit in Baton Rouge coming up, only this time I will be able to show 22 pieces. This is quite wonderful indeed! The beautiful works by mixed media artist Cheri Fasy will be there as well.

Opening is next week, come by and say hi, if you happen to be in the neighborhood!

No Need to Cry

 

The faucet has just released some rain onto that pitiful little dog, and the clouds are full of tears, too. Why bother and cry when the whole world is crying already?

"No Need to Cry"

Mixed media: acrylics, edges from yellowed book pages, storybook clippings, ink, on canvas panel, 8" x 8"

Cold Butter and Dead Wood

I'm working on new pieces. I thought, this time I would stick with a certain theme and make a coherent series. A big allover theme feels more grown-up and advanced than singular images.

But my brain just doesn't work that way. I have all these different matters, issues, concerns, moods, thoughts in my head, and they need to manifest themselves simultaneously and immediately.  That's hard enough.

"Straight Up"

I have several recurring themes and some are just developing. I think, I will continue to make my pieces in whatever order they are coming to me, but I also will start sorting them under certain names until I have several coherent series of twelve or so.

One of the series would be titled "Cold Butter," you know things that slightly annoy you and happen all the time but are not big enough to make a big deal out of it. "Is That You?" could have been in the Cold Butter series but I sold it already.

"Dealing with the Past"

Another series would be "What Does Life." It's a terrific title and I paid $20 to my son Jacob who came up with it. I have done many pieces that would fall into this category. For example, "Life" and "I Love You I Need You" and "It's Not Too Late". I have just finished "Straight Up" to go with them.

Okay, how about "Dead Wood" for a series? This will be #1: "Dealing with the Past"



"Straight Up"
Mixed media: acrylics, edges of yellowed book pages, 1940s paperdoll clothes, clipping from vintage anatomy book, ink, on canvas panel, 12"x16".

"Dealing with the Past"
Mixed media: acrylics, ink, clippings from various books sources, ink, 12"x12".

In the Making

"Feeling Lucky"

Those art things are moving along nicely.

A few weeks ago I received the wonderful offer to show my work at the FW Gallery in Baton Rouge.

Opening reception is April 26th.

I am quite thrilled, to say the least.