Dakota Art Workshops

Wendy and I leave for LaConner today where we'll do a four day workshop based on my variation series. This workshop is especially juicy and rewarding to do. We'll get to the heart of doing a deep focus on a subject and repeating it; what this invitation can do for you as an artist and how it can inform all of your work. I spend time talking about and demonstrating how and why I did over a hundred pieces of the same simple composition. The demonstrations will be straight ahead pastel and mixed media demos. All will incorporate pastel as the predominant media. All will be playful explorations. I usually have a bit of either a color idea or a value set up before starting a demo piece, but I let it take me in an unexpected direction if that feels right or I'll consciously make a broad change if something isn't working or just isn't all that exciting. I learned to trust this process and trust myself as a painter. I now give myself the benefit of patience and let a piece unfold or reveal itself, teasing out the special parts without tons of judgment along the way.

Wendy and I will see friends and family, eat wonderful breakfasts at the Queen,(the B&B), maybe paint a little ourselves, weather permitting. For sure we'll take lots of photos. AND.....I get to pick up my new car on the way home. Yes, the car I don't have to share with teenage boys!!

Mostly, we'll get to meet all of the artists taking the workshop. It's always a pleasure and an honor to meet everyone and learn about what they are doing as an artist, how each person incorporates art making into their life and what it means to them. I can't wait to meet them!

On Friday evening, at 7pm, I'll be giving a short presentation at Dakota Art in Mt. Vernon. I'll be giving a power point that is a tour of my studio. I'll discuss the work space and how both my husband and I use it, how we've adapted it and enhanced it over the course of many years. I'll also answer any questions about my work, studio or the business end of art making. Please join me if you happen to be in the area on Friday evening.

Pastels and Mileage

I've been in the studio working on a new grouping of pastels for my upcoming shows, the first show in Astoria, OR in June. I'm trying to balance my need to have a given number of pieces for the with a great desire to experiment with some new subjects. I've managed in some cases to kill two birds with one stone by introducing some structures in a few pieces. I'm happy with the results. However, I've also done a few figures in interiors with result that I don't feel are quite ready for prime time! It's difficult to do both; explore and produce. I hate to put it those terms and reduce my work to production. That's not quite how I think of it, but at least for me there is a reality that when I'm making a living as an artist, I have to make a certain amount of art. So, I press on trying to find that balance and I can't ever find anything bad about the act of just painting, so it all seems to work out in the end.

Here is one of the new pieces. It is are based on a trip I took to Fish Creek, Wisconsin where I taught for the Peninsula School of Art,(I'll be there next year too). I was attracted to the soft evening light. This is the cottage where I stayed while I was there. It's a very peaceful and private place and I really wanted to paint it for a long time. The piece is done on Wallis museum and it has a fluid acrylic under-painting that was done with really saturated color. I used a ton of different greens on that foreground over a very red under-painting. I relied heavily on Terry Ludwig's neutral greens and some Nupastels for the bright/saturated greens.

Reserving Judgement

One of my Colorado workshop students sent a box with an object in it. I'd received it several days ago and when I got it, I was really excited to see what she had sent. Upon opening the carefully packed box, I was a bit deflated. Although the vessel she sent was a beautiful object with a lovely story attached, (more on that for the exhibition), I'll admit that my first reaction was how was I ever going to paint this lovely thing and do it justice? It's shiny, black and has an intricate floral design on it. Plus the shape is all about ellipses, one of the hardest things to draw and paint. So, of course I put off painting it. Major procrastination!! But I was finally motivated by the reality that I really wanted to get it back to Sue in good shape since it has sentimental value to her. It scared me to have it!!

So I just started. As usual it's the hardest part. I pre-mixed some blacks with burnt umber and ultramarine blue and some greys, both warm and cool. I decided to say the floral design really simply. Keep it simple, stupid, Marla!! I didn't ry to put all the design elements in and just try to say the essence of the vessel.

My husband happened to walk into my painting studio, which he doesn't do very much just as I was about 90% done. He looked at it and said "Oh, that's cool!" I said, "Yeah, I know!"

You have to start, then give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Give yourself a chance. Solid drawing, simple painting choices. Don't try to say everything. Poems, not novels. Thanks so much, Sue. I loved painting this!!!

Nicodemus

My mom picked this little figurine of a robin for me to paint. It's been in our house since I was a little girl when we lived in Ohio for a year. It was on the mantle or in some other prominent place for most of my years growing up, so it's very familiar to me.

When I  set it up to paint it, I decided to paint it from a little more challenging perspective just because its shape is so familiar to me. It turns out that the perspective is perfect. My mom is a very direct and straightforward person, so painting Nicodemus straight on, seemed right for her too.

This project is teaching me so much about painting! I really have to slow down and look carefully. Color mixing is one of the areas that I'm strengthening with this work. I also find that it is working my drawing skill, just to do these simple objects!

Again, this was painted on Wallis museum paper with oils.