Patrice Lynne Young

Remember me?? I've missed being in touch so -o much!

2012-01-30T13:40:00.005-05:00

Elvis waiting for email...

It's been over a year since I had to give up my land line/internet service (or risk not being able to pay my mortgage). At the time I thought it would be a couple of months - HA! That was in fall of 2010. But 2011 and 2012 have been kinder to me and my budget. The economy must be better as I'm getting calls for artist services once again. I was also able to refinance my property with a lower payment and no balloon, so my financial stresses are greatly reduced.

Thank you to all my followers/friends who have stuck by me. I am eager to meet and catch up with everyone so I'll be visiting each of your sites really soon.

The daffodils are blooming away!! Photos to follow...

Just a HEY!!

2011-04-13T17:11:00.002-04:00

I know all my friends online think I've left forever - but it's only the economy... Had to take the only job I could find - and I hate it... Hope to be back soon... I can be emailed at patricelynneyoung@gmail love you guys!!!

Back to the future...

2010-08-14T21:55:00.008-04:00

Just when I got my head around having time for painting... the Census called me back!

It was only for a few days, however, and I finished my assignment today, so tomorrow it's back to working on the shop/studio in the morning, and then spending the afternoon on my next large canvas.

In the short time I had between Census gigs, I did complete one small painting as well as making numerous drawings and getting that large painting started. So - all in all, a very good week!

Distant Rain, 10 x 14, acrylic on panel $125.

While I was out and about, small storms were springing up all round, with very scattered showers. Since my pastures were parched, I tried to capture the rain and carry it home to paint. In the past, I've had some pretty good success conjuring up a downpour by painting the rain to come (heh). If I continue to be successful in this endeavor, I shall have to patent my "rainpainter" process...

And for a heartwarmer - this is Lorelei, one of the amazing four-horned Jacob ewes who was part of my foundation flock years ago when I raised these wonderful wool sheep. I apologize for the photo quality, as my scanner doesn't work and I photographed the photograph. Lorelei struck up an amazing bond with a blind Giant Leghorn hen that I found bleeding and near death in the middle of the highway. She'd fallen from one of the coops used to transport these longsuffering creatures to the packing plant in Gainesville.

Did you know chickens don't qualify under cruelty to animals protection laws because they are designated as "produce" or a "crop" rather than animals? The coops - piled six to ten high - on huge flatbed trucks are in such poor repair that the roads into Gainesville are littered with the bodies of chickens who fall through broken and bent bars. It's horrible - but probably no worse a death than they would experience at the processing plant.
"Lulu" had been caged all of her brief life and didn't seem to know how to walk once her injuries appeared healed. She had such a serious head injury that she was blinded permanently. I used to keep her in a large pen that could be moved about the yard. I often let some of the older sheep graze the yard and one day I noticed Lorelei standing head to beak with Lulu. They stayed that way for a long, long, time - seeming somehow to be calmed by one another. It was uncanny. It was as if they somehow communicated with one another. Perhaps Lulu followed the sounds Lorelei made as she walked around, or maybe she could discern her presence by other means. All I know is that they were pals until Lulu passed on.

This is Chaps

2010-08-08T21:23:00.007-04:00

This memorial portrait was painted for a wonderful animal loving couple who've commissioned several other pieces from me and other artists.

Chaps, 12 x 12 acrylic on canvas (commission)

Though Chaps is no longer with us, he had, for a brief time, the best home a rescued weimeraner could hope for. We'll miss you, Chaps...

I finished Chaps portrait a few days ago, and had to take some time off from painting to work on getting the shop/studio going. My artist friend Carol and I slaved all weekend (and Friday, too) schlepping furniture, wood and lumber, tons of boxes, trash, collections and assorted crap/junque just to make room to work.

We've a long way to go (as is obvious from this "before" photograph) but the plan is to be open sometime in September. By utilizing a building right here on the property, we can save enough to afford some advertising.
The first load of trash and recyclables went off this morning! That big tangle of vines on the electric pole is yellow jasmine - I hate to do it, but I'll have to cut it back. I'll keep posting our progress.

Jeepers creepers, where'd she get those peepers? Yes - once again h-e-e-e-r-e 's Molly! I just love this photo of her sweet tabby face. Molly has the biggest eyes of any cat I've ever seen. And if you think is something, you should see her impression of Yoda (coming soon in a future blogpost...)

Please don't hate me...

2010-08-03T21:52:00.006-04:00

I am but a lowly artist jus' tryin' to survive...

Okay that's all the whining you're gonna get for today.

So Fragile A Fire, 30 x 20 x 3, mixed media, $365

Not much time for making art the past several weeks. I had to count all those peeps... but now the Census is finished and it's back to seeking commissions and work, work, work of any kind... and ... getting the work out there.

A Singular Path sold at the "Appalachian Life" show at Sautee and went off to Virginia to its forever home. Coincidentally, the photograph that inspired the painting of the meandering pathway through the woods was of the Appalachian Trail. I was struck by the twists and turns of the path which seemed to be arbitrary and very indirect. I thought: why doesn't that path take a more direct route? But then - who wouldn't want to spend as much time as possible in the Appalachian Mountains?

And here is one of my studio assistants: the fabulous Molly Flopover. Molly came to me many years ago via the local farm feed store. The last of a "wild" litter, Molly walked over to me one day as I was loading horse feed and made it clear she was ready for a change. Her name comes from her habit of walking just ahead of me and then kerrrrr - flop! Right down she goes, seeking attention, praise and a tummy scratch (for which she bites). Her record is seven flopovers between the grain shed and the house. And when she goes for it, there's no hesitation. You can hear a thump and oomph as the air is expelled!

Another Altar and small works

2010-04-23T23:27:00.012-04:00

Here's the next in my series of Altars: Raven Temple, 30 x 18, $265

Tomorrow I am demonstrating acrylic landscape at the Sautee Community Center Gallery from 10 am to 1:30 Raven Temple is in the current show along with a few other paintings and mixed media pieces including my last post: A Singular Path. I look forward to painting all day - but the forecast is for thunderstorms, so I'm not expecting many folks. The good news is that I'll be painting indoors!

As part of my small series (5 x 7) and the Art for Shelters Project - here is Jojo, a resident of the Habersham Animal Shelter. He's a beautiful tabby who has spent four months waiting for adoption. Heartbreaker...

And What Cat's Think... also 5 x 7 $18.00 (Sold)

Aunt Edna, 5 x 7 $18.00

And a tiny portrait of a friend: Max, 5 x 7 $18.00

And here are the two altar pieces on display at the Sautee Center Gallery's latest show.

I found out I've been called back for the Census!! Yay!! Paid work!! Income!! Mileage too - and I hope to once again post a series based upon my travels...

Another "Alterpiece" or Alter Altar

2010-04-11T11:56:00.007-04:00

My internet was down for a bit. I wish I could say it was a storm or a technical problem, and I suppose it was in a way. Technically, I couldn't pay the bill on time and... poof. But I'm still here - living on my edge of the universe - holding on tight.

Got some good news. Next month I'll be working for the Census again, so if I can just make it through April...

While hustling for work and doing my gigs at the Heritage Center, I finally finished a piece I've been working on for the past month. It's a combination of so many ideas and influences that it defies categorization. Definite folk influence. Architectural references, fiber sculpture and basketry background showing through, too. A landscape painting in the middle, and evidence of my custom finish work on the perimeter.

A Singular Path , 28 x 20 mixed media Sold

A while back I found a photograph of a section of the Appalachian Trail. I was intrigued by the way the path (trail) meandered through the trees as if those who had hiked there had wanted to prolong the journey, and indeed, I'm sure they did and do. After all, the point is not how fast to get there, but the journey - the experience - itself, right?

I decided to paint it in sepia tone, or tone-on-tone and frame it in one of my altar/architectural frames A forlorn but sacred path with all of the twists and turns of a life well spent in experience and observation. The little figure? Can you see it? (Click to enlarge and he/she becomes more obvious.) I debated about the figure. But for once, the landscape seemed a bit forlorn and in need of what? humor? Perhaps just a lightening up. After all, a journey should not be a colorless trail devoid of mystery - nor should it be so dour.

More from the "darkside"

2010-03-12T23:47:00.014-05:00

I've been having such fun lately, painting a series of small faces from dark places. These are late night creations conjured up from the subconscious or perhaps from faded memories. I often realize after finishing one, that it's reminiscent of dream images - or someone from my past. I don't take them too seriously. I just let them happen. And to Jeanne at Artit, the winter of our/their discontent shall now roll into the spring of our content. Did that make sense to anyone besides me?

#1
(each is less than 8 inches square)

Most of my artist friends hate them! I've carted them to a few places, and then finally displayed them as alter egos at a recent "meet the artist" event for a local arts guild. Surprise!!! I sold two of them and the man who bought them said he is displaying them next to a large landscape of mine he purchased last year. Weird juxtaposition - but hey - why not?

I'm not titling them, instead I will number them ala Jonathan Borofsky, another of my favorite artists. I still remember what a profound experience it was to enter his one man show - an installation at MOMA in NYC back in the late 70's. Definitely an experience rather than a viewing.

If you're wondering where the missing numbers are, they were either sold or given away before I thought to photograph them (my bad). I can't believe I did that...

#4
(yeah - this one is truly scary)

#8
(This one grew a frame...)

Here's the official website for Borofsky, with tons of photos of his various installations. But no photograph can possibly do justice to his art which is multi-media: drawings and sculpture, projected images, kinetic pieces, sound and changing imagery. He truly creates an entire environment - a universe of Borofsky.

Here's a short video that offers just a taste - a tip of the iceberg so to speak - of one of his major installations:

A landscape - and images from my dark side

2010-03-11T23:26:00.012-05:00

Run for Cover, 12x18, acrylic on panel

Shortly before displaying this one, I asked an artist working in the gallery to give me a title. She asks "What sort of titles do you like?" to which I replied: "I like ambiguous - almost arbitrary titles." Run for Cover was her first offering and I like it. This is another landscape from my Midwestern photography collection. I love that flat horizon and the strength of the trees against (for me) a flat sky. The values are true to the original photo, but I took liberties with the palette.
Here it is in a cut down recycled frame that I bought for $1.50. Sometimes you get what you pay for... ha ha.. I may do a larger version on one of my deep cradle panels as I'm not wild about it framed, but as it was done on a flat panel - and, well you get the idea.

...from my new alter egos series... #008, 5 x 6 acrylic on panel, donated to Currahee Artists Guild Miniatures Fundraiser

Also from the alter egos series: Ode to Georg Baselitz, 9 x 12 acrylic on mounted wood panel

I've always loved the quirky work of Modernist Georg Baselitz (below) who often turned his subjects ass over tin cups (upside-down) - well - he turned the paintings upside-down that is. His influences range from classical art to art brut, and he has often depicted angst ridden characters and ghastly scenes - but my favorites are the primitive carved wooden busts and inverted heads.

I love the pattern here - and how it seems to overwhelm the face, like an attack of polka dots... It's titled: "In the Forest" and it was painted in 1992.
Here's one of his carved heads: "Sonderling" done in 1993. Such pathos.
And one more... titled "Cubistic Gas Mask"

An altarpiece of sorts...

2010-02-03T22:26:00.005-05:00

Every year several of my artist friends hold a Christmas gift exchange. We each bring something we've made and wrapped and then draw numbers to choose gifts from under the tree. Several years ago I designed and built several "altar" frames with the idea of embellishing each in a completely different manner. I sold quite a few as mirrors, each with turned "pillars", varied finials and painted finishes. I did this one just for the gift exchange as I was stumped for something unique that was more than just a painting. I neglected to get a photograph before I left for the party, and today was the first chance I had to see it again at the "winners" home. She graciously allowed me to take a snap. (Thanks Eugenia!)

The Madonna of Our Season, 18 x 28, mixed media

I'm planning on putting several more together - each with a different theme. I like the folk influence and architectural references - and they're just plain fun to work on!

I'll have to find the old 35 mm photos of the ones I did as decorative accents so that I can show the wide variety.

The new work - (and a yay)

2010-01-25T20:17:00.009-05:00

Here's to losing ones mind - and finding things: Hoo-rah! Yeppers... my camera was not at the gallery after all. Just because my last memory of having it was at the gallery, did not mean that was where I last actually had it. I got a call early Wednesday morning from a client who found it at her house. What a relief!

So here are a few new pics:!!!

The Forgotten, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel, $525

I know I gave this a title when I delivered it to the gallery, but for the life of me, I can't remember it. Am I the only artist who can't remember titles until I write them down several times? Poor short-term memory. Such a pain in the butt. So I made up an apropos new title... (heh)

Je mais reviens, (I will return) 6 x 12, acrylic on raised panel door, $135.

This is a much better photograph of this small painting. Lots of interest in this one at the show - but no sale so far... in fact, considering that I am one of the three featured artists this month, no sales is quite a come-down.

The two pics below are from a pre-Xmas show at an "open house" event at a nearby subdivision. My gallery group from the Heritage Center was asked to exhibit en mass and I set up several paintings in the space allotted. Unfortunately, my area was backlit from the huge bank of windows making it difficult to see the art. It was cold there too! (Not a very good advert for selling the house.)

A woman walked up and looked closely at my paintings for a minute or two and then loudly proclaimed: "These are really expensive!!" Now I've been around arts festivals and exhibits and painted in public many, many times - and I've heard all sorts of crass remarks, but never have I heard anyone come right out and say that. Add to it that I believe my work to be moderately priced at most, and one might understand the little flash of anger that nearly caused a smartass-ed response. I held my tongue, and asked: "Well, how much do you think they should be?" She responded: "I really don't know." She had that right...

Small paintings...

2010-01-18T10:21:00.009-05:00

I Will Return, 7 x 11, acrylic on raised panel $135.

(part of my show at Sautee-Nacoochee this month)

For the past month, as I stewed over not having a vehicle, I couldn't seem to get myself working on anything but smaller pieces. I think (subconsciously) I needed to know I could accomplish something every day - and working in smaller formats allowed me to feel productive in the face of uncertainty.

After nearly a month and having replaced several parts as well as the engine or main computer, the problem with my formerly trusty van turned out to be a short under the motor mount that sent surges and/or low voltage to the various electronic parts, eventually ruining most all the switches and a motor or two. It was a bear to find, obviously, as it only occurred during the sort of driving that would cause the motor to rock in the mount (steep hills, hard braking, or revving the engine really high) - none of which I do if I can avoid it! The diagnostic equipment only finds obvious problems - rather like having an x-ray for a metabolic disorder - it ain't gonna show up...

And now after a couple of days of driving about in a rather preoccupied state, I have lost my camera!! Granted it's not the best camera - but the last thing I need right now is an expense, especially one due to my own carelessness.

Carelessness - now there's a word that really doesn't apply - I care lots! I'm just absent minded and easily distracted when there are lots of people around. I remember being very insulted as a child when I was admonished for carelessness. It was usually a matter of focus, just as it is now.

And without my camera, I cannot post the photographs of some of the newest pieces - so here are a couple I've not posted before...

Black Bird/Black Wind, 12 x 12 drawing in crayon and graphite (nfs)

And this little painting is titled "Renaissance Chick". This was a case of having this funny little ornate frame with only a postcard sized opening. So I painted the chick to go with the frame, thinking no one would ever buy it - and yet, someone did!

Back to painting I must go. I've a deadline for a commission coming up fast.

Finished commission

2009-12-06T18:06:00.005-05:00

Here's the final version. After much considering - and input from others - (thanks again, all!!) - I decided to first finish the areas that I felt needed more work, i.e., deepening and adding more blue purplish tones to the shadows around the dogs and in the foreground. I also softened that left post, added some warm tones to it and misted the greenery in the background so that it receded a bit more. Then I re-evaluated once again.

Portrait of Sassy and Katie, 36 x 48, acrylic on canvas. Private commission.

Among my friends, I'm known as a painter of "empty" spaces and lonesome landscapes. It's true that I like a certain austerity of composition for the most part. Formal compositions according to the book just, well, bore me. I like a certain tension - and I like to lead the eye by various means that won't be too obvious. By deepening the shadows and carrying those deeper colors down and off the left foreground, I feel there is interest without having resorted to a status quo solution. At least that's how I see it!

The client loved it - and let's face it - that's really important.

I've been enlarging some photos as I post them - but the proportions don't always come out perfectly, resulting in slight blurring. I'm going to leave this one alone, so to see more detail, just click to enlarge.

The original posting (before changes) is shown below:

Wide open spaces and a commission's progress

2009-11-27T20:45:00.016-05:00

What Remains, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel

Finally found some time to get back to a larger painting. I'd photographed this pine a while back with the intention of painting it just as was in reality, i.e., with its full quota of needles. I loved how its asymmetric branches reached to either side and up and away. As I began to fill in the needles, I realized it made more of the statement I had in mind as is, with just a crown remaining.

It's symbolic of the struggle against all odds: timbering, old age, pine beetles, and extreme weather. This will be part of my "Branching Out" show in January. It's a little out of focus, as I photographed it in the house with only incandescent light, so I'll replace this shot with a better one tomorrow.

Portrait of Sassy and Katie, 36 x 48, acrylic on canvas.

This commission for a portrait of two dogs is a large canvas - 36 x 48 - to go into a big timber frame home. I've still a ways to go on the shadows and highlights and both dogs' feet, but it often helps me to be more objective when I post things online. I'd love to hear any feedback or responses anyone has. For one thing, I'm wondering if the post on the upper left needs more softening? Wha'd'ya think?

Two Small Pieces

2009-11-21T21:28:00.012-05:00

Draped in Fur, 3 x 18, acrylic on vintage chair harp (sold)

I'm working on my next large commission, so I've only energy enough at night to sit on my couch and paint small things for myself. Here are a couple I painted this past week. The chair harp pieces seem to sell as fast as I can paint them. If I can't find a source for the harps, I'll have to start cutting out my own shapes on the bandsaw. The only problem with that is the vintage harps are shaped in a shallow "S" curve to fit a person's spine. This shape adds much to the character of each figure. My pieces would have to be cut from flat wood stock.

I took this to Sautee Gallery for the Holiday show - and it sold the same day.
If only that were always the case!!

Sitting Pretty will go to the Heritage Center tomorrow where I'll be demonstrating and working the sales counter. I'm borrowing a friend's car as mine will be staying home waiting for my mechanic.

Sitting Pretty, 10 x 12, acrylic on panel $58.00 (Sold)

Not Lavender or lavendar - but Equiangular

2009-11-16T20:31:00.020-05:00

Toto 2
With your dangerous beauty you
are like unto a tornado,
touching down,
laying waste to trepidation...
I am drawn, into your world,
seeking an Oz of my own.

Let me trade silver
for your ruby set in gold.
I look for you in the yellow moon -
while the wind and City keep you,
I keep this to hold.

... for Peter, 2006 c. ply

Logarithmic Spirals, 24 x 24 - Acrylic on deep cradle panel

My fascination with storms and whirlwinds likely has much to do with growing up in "Tornado Alley," an area of the Midwest whose borders shift with ever changing weather patterns. Though I now live in the foothills of the Appalachians, I long for a big, big sky, full of mystery and the promise of a story borne on the wind in whispers and murmurs - and deafening roars.

The images I paint arise out of stories read and weather footage viewed, as well as memories, dreams and imagination. Sure, the Wizard of Oz is a fantasy, but as a child I fully expected the next tornado to carry me to a place where horses changed color and creepy monkeys carried off little dogs! (To this day I can't abide monkeys...)

The science of twisters fascinates my left brain as well. Tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes, galaxies, and the Chambered Nautilus are all examples of logarithmic spirals, which often appear in nature. Spira mirabilis, "the marvelous spiral" was first described by Descartes in the 1600's. Marvelous spirals, indeed...

The "Pop" art of the 60's, classic " hypnosis wheels", the boinging eyes of cartoon characters - each made much of spinning spirals.

Wow - Four equiangular spirals (hurracanes) seen from satellite orbit.

And my personal favorite spiral done by an artist?

Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty, 1970

And here - by way of Stu's comment, is a piece by another of my favorite conceptual artists: Richard Long.

Lots of circles, spiral and targets...

Lavender again...

2009-11-13T21:39:00.005-05:00

Lavender Tangles, 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas

I'm never painting another complicated tree again... until the next time. I had to make a grid out of string because I kept getting lost. The string thing worked well though - only had to scoot the string aside to join up the 2 x 3 grid squares as I finished them. I now have some lovely painted string, too, as I didn't always scoot in a timely mannner.

Actually, though the tree was a challenge, the entire rest of the painting was repainted at least twice. For me, the original design was just too busy, and believe it or not, this is the pared-down version. Some of my artist friends said "It doesn't look like your paintings" or "where is all the empty space"? I still think it's too busy- too much competition with the tree. I'll take it with me on the Arts Tour tomorrow, and perhaps make some changes.

More Landscape

2009-11-12T19:42:00.004-05:00

Along the Levee, 18 x 24, acrylic on canvas

I came across an old photo taken somewhere in Southern Illinois years ago. The color in the photograph had faded to dull blue-green, but I liked the composition with the great sweep of water reaching toward the foreground. I decided to improvise my own palette. The end result is this combination of soft and vibrant color.

And just for fun, here's a look at some of the commercial work I used to do. For nearly ten years I designed painted furniture for a few small - and one large high end - furniture manufacturers, during the 1990's heyday of painted furniture. The design end usually meant painting a sample board or panels which were submitted to the company for consideration. These samples were then returned to me and I would copy my own work - or farm out the painting to artist friends for completion.This is one such sample.

Ruth's Stats, 28 x 28, sepia tone acrylics on hardboard, framed

I did a series of sports-related designs including this one depicting the statistics of Babe Ruth. It was intended as the top of a side table or small trunk, but could be adapted for other pieces. I painted quite a few of these!

I came across it as I was cleaning out my workshop and it is for sale. ($185) Here's hoping some baseball fan will like it enough to take it home. Me? Not much of a big-league baseball fan - though I enjoy the often slow pace of a minor league or even high school game. Give me a volley-ball game any day! I used to be the setter on a Philly YMCA team and I had a mean roundhouse serve. And yes - I was the only woman on the team. (heh) Momma didn't raise no fool.

Three small paintings...

2009-11-08T18:36:00.010-05:00

Click on images to enlarge detail...

Lavender Fields, 10 x 10, acrylic on panel, $125.

It's been a busy - and good week! Sold three pieces at the Sautee-Nacoochee Gallery within the first couple of days. None of them were among the three here, but these are also in that show.

Deep Dusk, 10 x 12 (framed), acrylic on panel, $125.

Each of these captures a certain mood - a time and place less of this world than that of the dreamer. In Deep Dusk, I left the panel as a "mat" around the very small painting. I liked the tones of the wood grain with the background's gold and purple tones. I happened to have the perfect frame in my stash - and voila!

Deep Dusk, sans "mat" and frame...

Heading Downstream, 7 x 12, acrylic on painted door panel, $85. (sold)

I received a new commission - a cat portrait for an artist friend's family. He saw the large one I just finished for a client and thought it would make a neat and unique Christmas gift. Hoo-rah. I'll do that one this week.

Here's a photo of the commission I finished and delivered last week. That's Tippy on the Windowsill, 36 x 48, acrylic on canvas. The client will be placing this above a large bookcase on a windowless wall, thus a faux window, complete with cat and everlasting plants. I have two more commissions from the same client: her two dogs, and then a portrait of their three horses. I really enjoy doing animal portraits - as opposed to those of the human variety... unless of course I can paint the sitter as I please - rather than to please...

Assemblage: Making things from other things...

2009-11-04T22:01:00.021-05:00

... a few of my recent collage/assemblages...

I'm still producing as many small works as I can. Artwork priced under $100 is still selling slowly, but steadily. I price these between $38 and $90, depending upon size, treasured items, and (heh) effort required.

Emile, 8 x 10, mixed media and drawing
click to enlarge for detail

For some time (years!) I've been collecting stuff. Bits of metal, pieces of wood, odd little toys, broken jewelry, bones, hardware, wire, keys - a treasure trove (at least by my standards) of fabulous found objects. This stuff is my flotsam and jetsam collection, raw materials for recreation and recombination into images, allegorical, mythological, enigmatic, personal - and yet - only recently have I dedicated a room for doing the actual assemblage.

Most of my assemblages have one or more concurrent themes (my thoughts as I worked). I often write little ditties to accompany each.

The Flight of Apollo Friday the Thirteenth, 7 x 10, mixed media
Apollo's uplifted - left his blues behind.
Laughing and twisting, he's blooming on high.
Crazy with sanity

It makes all the difference to have a space where I can surround myself with all the choices within reach, and be able to close the door on unfinished works. The door is important, as it prevents all those little pieces from becoming cat toys!

Absolute Contrasts, 10 x 10, mixed media assemblage

A Pony For Me, 10 x 10, collage

I have always been fascinated with the work of Joseph Cornell, an artist who made "boxes" filled with objects that confound and inspire due the juxtapositions of objects inside. There's a fun site for admirers of his work here, and another with many of his collages and assembled boxes here.

Below are some of my favorite Cornell assemblages:

bebe-Marie

1942, untitled

Solar Set

Untitled (soap bubble set)

Untitled (Cockatoo and Corks)

A sideways glance...

2009-10-03T10:52:00.014-04:00

If you've ever raised chickens, no doubt you've seen how they cock their heads from one side to the other. Perhaps their eyes don't allow the best view straight on; after all, their faces are so pointy, they end in a beak! Or maybe - like me - they have a "good" eye and a "bad" eye (without corrective lenses, my vision is 20/400 in my legally blind left eye). So, perhaps chickens check things out with a far-away eye and a close-up eye, just like me - but unlike me - they must roll their entire head from side to side to size things up. Now I know a chicken has a tiny little head and a tiny little brain perhaps the size of a pea. My brain has to switch from the right lobe (eye) to the left lobe (eye)to "decide" which image to process. Do chicken brains have lobes? Split-pea takes on a whole new meaning.

Giving 'em the eye, 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas

My two disparate eyes send wildly different images to my brain - one much more in focus than the other, depending upon distance. I can almost feel my brain switching eyes much as one shift gears: pause, shift, go. Most of the time this happens subconsciously, but there are times when this becomes uncomfortable - as when one's focus shifts from an entire room, to friends across the table, to the small print on a menu. Because the lenses in my glasses are so different, the size of the corrected images differs enough so that once again my brain must choose the best (sharpest, clearest, most meaningful) image. I usually just remove my glasses, thus eliminating distance vision - and making the near (left eye view) world of friends and menus the only options available .

I read with my (bad) left eye, too. Even though I am distance blind in that eye, my close focus is superb - vastly better than that of my astigmatic right eye. So whenever I read, or do closeup work on a painting, I'm lenses free. But if I need to walk about or look out of the windows, I must grab my glasses once again.

Sometimes I think my extreme visual orientation is precisely because of my impaired vision. I value that which I can see more than anything, because I know that without corrective lenses, I would be severely handicapped. I don't want to miss out on the world around me, so I look and look and look until I can see clearly...

Meta-painting...

2009-09-25T21:17:00.010-04:00

Someone once told me that bloggers who blog about blogging are meta-blogging. I'm borrowing that term to describe my process of re-painting The Poplar Line in an alternate style. So to me, it's a painting about painting.

Poplar Jazz, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel

Though this version (below) eventually grew on me, I needed a more expressionistic version - more about color and movement - and, well, - paint.

The Classical Poplar Line

And because the gallery was organizing a show themed Music, Music, Music, I titled them to suit: The Classical Poplar Line and Poplar Jazz.
This is how they are hung in the show - with Changes Coming above. I like how the placement of Changes Coming above and "behind" the others works with its view of the poplars off in the distance. Kinda surreal.

Sometimes I feel so close to something I make or paint, that I don't want to part with it. That was true of this painted chair harp. This actually was the first one I did a few months ago. I needed something to trade at an artists' gift exchange so I did this quickly the day of the event, wrapped it and watched it go to someone who clearly was less than thrilled. I was miffed as I'd like to have kept it. I later learned the recipient thought the imagery disturbing to her fundamentalist beliefs. (!!!???) Another artist (unbeknownst to me at the time) -

loved it so much that she proposed to custom-make and trade one of her fabulous stained glass pieces for this one. I recently attended an all-girl poker party at her house and voila! - there was Crow Madam hanging on the wall! I apologize for the quality of the photos - after all, it was a party!

It meant a great deal to me for someone to appreciate and want something I made enough to go to so much trouble. It means even more that a piece I feel so connected to resides with someone I like and admire - and who appreciates the work.

Funky Leghorn Strut...

2009-09-13T20:49:00.013-04:00

Funky Leghorn Strut, 11-1/2 x 13, acrylic on panel

This matronly hen will go on sale at the Heritage Center this week unless she struts right out of the picture.
It's been a pretty good week. I sold When Trees Bleed, and Poised, and the two little Tuxedo Cats painted on tin - and - A Bear Board; literally two bear cubs painted onto a wonderful old weathered board that was 12" wide.

It was fun painting this. My goal was to keep as much of the natural texture and color of the board itself. I painted only the parts that weren't part of the "tree" or bears. I love the fractured ends and the actual holes left were knots fell out. I don't know how old the board actually was, but it will endure yet as another form of "tree." Size is approximately 42 x 12. Tres rustic...

Clouds - and Appreciation...

2009-09-08T08:55:00.008-04:00

I sent a few images to The Cloud Appreciation Society yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I received an email this morning that they were already posted!

They do such a wonderful job there of featuring artists' works that are based upon - or related to - clouds and cloud formations. They also post the most amazing photographs of weather as well as the most up to date information about the weather on our blue planet . Weather isn't the least bit droll or boring when one is talking to someone wise in the ways of meteorology.

Due to my fascination with storms, cloud formations, tornadoes and atmosphere, this has been a favorite - and inspiring -site for me to visit. Take a look!

And a work in progress...

The Poplar Line... 24x 24 . acrylic on deep cradle panel

This is the painting Elvis was so critical of in a recent post. After much agonizing and looking and looking and looking, I decided to finish it - and go right on to repaint the image on another panel. A sort of before and after critique, if you will - and if there is such a thing as a series about "meta-painting" (painting about painting), I guess that's what I'm doing. I need to do this again, less "real" and more true. I like the asymmetry of the trees and the hint of the winds that have shaped them, and I want to emphasize this in the next version.

As for Elvis... He passed out on the printer from exhaustion after all his efforts to have me paint this one out failed. I mean really; he hasn't any credentials, he's all about instinct - and his are quite primitive.

I think he's trying to send me another message - when he grows tired of my surfing, typing and emailing - and of his attempts to edit same, perhaps it's time to retire !

Black Croad Langshan Rooster

2009-09-04T10:28:00.003-04:00

Black Croad Langshan, 15 x 20, acrylic on panel

This is the one I painted for another Heritage artist. Lucky for me he left it to hang in the gallery for a bit so I was able to photograph it. The Black Croad Langshan is an endangered livestock breed. Originating in China, this feather-footed fellow is entirely black with iridescence in the hackles and tail feathers.

Painting chickens is pure recreation!

A few small works - and a critique...

2009-08-30T13:08:00.014-04:00

For the past couple of months as I did my stints at the Heritage Center, I noted that almost all of what was selling was priced under $100. (with the exception of jewelry). I determined to paint some small pieces to sell as I cannot even justify the cost of the gasoline unless I'm selling something. I love painting chickens, and I can do them fairly quickly. I was commissioned to do a rooster for an artist friend - and here is the hen to match. It's a Black Croad Langshan - and yes, it has "feathered feet". It's painted on a wood panel, about 9 x 12 inches, ready to hang and for sale at $48.00
This one (and the one below) is painted on tin panel/s that I found at a yard sale. These are folksy tuxedo cats painted in acrylic and ready to hang. About 10x 10,$28.00 each.
Amongst my collections of parts and supplies I had a few chair back harps. These are shaped into a delicate curve and cut with slight variations in overall design. To me, the shapes suggest figures - so I channeled the Pre-Raphaelite painters of the turn of the century to come up with my "Blackbird Maiden."
She measures about 8 x 22 - and she sold for $45.00 twenty minutes after I hung her in the gallery! Yay! There's gas money! Now I need more chair harps!

Here's a detail of the blackbirds...

And finally, The Critic. The is my latest larger painting in progress. Elvis realized as soon as he saw it that help was needed - and he was blunt. He looked closely...

He checked each area...

He nosily pointed out how boring and flawed the coloration and composition...

And when he had exhausted himself with explanations, he determined to hide the offending painting completely. Right now I'm in agreement with him. The painting is accurate, well drawn, realistically colored - and boring, boring, boring!! Y'all might be seeing it after it undergoes a bigtime overhaul.

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get... and a new show...

2009-08-13T20:05:00.010-04:00

The Solitary Life... 24 x 24 acrylic on deep cradle panel

It's been a couple weeks of racing (driving) about - doing little paid jobs here and there and trying to get in my demo hours at the gallery while still being creative and productive. I always err on the side of "creative" - in that if I'm on a painting roll, I hate to take time out to faux a wall or paint a commission. Thus I fall behind even though I am constantly working. Ah, choices, choices... But the time always comes that ca$h is needed - and then I buckle down and do what I must rather than what I want.

I did manage to finish a painting and I decided to take a color departure. I've had these tangerine and terra cotta hues following me around lately. I felt the need to see/have more of them around me, thus the evening sky. It's not a literal sunset - more of a timeless dusk. What I really wanted was to paint a room one of these warm colors, but no time for that right now.

The color is a bit more accurate here - showing the panel edges too. Had to finish this one quickly and send it off for a show themed: "Secrets". The secret here? See how the branches of this lonesome pine reach out and up? It's not lonesome at all - just solitary. I firmly believe that solitude is under-rated. Some thrive on independence. Some require room to grow and space to expand - or just to call their own. No - I'm not advocating isolation, just balance. And the measure of what creates balance differs for each and every living thing.

A detail - to show that the tree is not solidly black.

I was invited to display a group of paintings at the Mountain Valley Community Bank branch in Cleveland, GA. The program is administered by the Sautee-Nacoochee Community Assoc. Gallery and features a different artist every two months.
The cool part is seeing all the work displayed together. At most gallery shows, only one or two are hung, and rarely in close proximity. None of my walls at home can accommodate more than a couple, so this provides a unique perspective for me.
Sure could use a sale this month, so I'll think positive. After all, it's a new audience for my work!!

And just for fun, here's my Night Blooming Cerius - the day after. It bloomed the night of the full moon and I missed it! This is the one given to me while I was doing the census canvassing. I figured it would be years before it flowered, so I wasn't even aware it had developed two buds. Apparently I was lucky in my choice of location (mottled shade under the pear tree) and it happily obliged by blooming! I went out to water plants and there they were; still pretty - even closed up.

Powersources - and collaboration!

2009-07-31T00:20:00.013-04:00

Powersource, the final version. I made very slight adjustments to the foreground and distant ground.

And as happens from time to time, a connection via internet brought me to the blog of Stu Hatton, an English poet, writer, editor living in Australia. And there I came across this perfect poem. Stu graciously gave me permission to post his words with my image - and in January 2010 to post A train, outbound (2007), next to the painting in my show as featured artist at the Sautee-Nacoochee Gallery.

A train, outbound (2007)

It takes minutes to leave the city. But to leave the city, mentally…
There are always nervous questions prior to departure. You must peel these off.
See this industrial district? It has fled nature.
Likewise I sometimes believe writing is an avoidance; you opt
for a conversation with yourself. Living very far apart.
The houses have satellite dishes as standard; ears to the wind.
Powerline towers, like posts of an enormous fence. These are and are not life-conductors.
Fields in which to expand, cease? As if cities were centres of forgetting.
Gazing out the window, I swim the wild grass.
- Stu Hatton Published in Shadowtrain #23, October 2009.

Powersource 24 x 24 acrylic on deep cradle panel

I'm thinking rain. I'm wishing rain. We're needing rain. If I paint it, will it come?

Apparently so... After nearly six weeks - and with rain all around me - finally a few showers overhead. It's tough to see anvil clouds, hear the thunder and drive through rain within a mile or so - only to arrive home to the same old dust and dusty drab brown, brown grass in one's own yard and pasture. But it began to rain here yesterday not long after I finished this painting...

My photo above sort of cut off the bottom so here's a "fisheye" shot with the entire panel. The tilting of the pole in the distance is a trick of the camera. I swear it's not like that on the actual painting. I'd love to get a better digital camera - one that can do close-up and details and not cause so much distortion. It's on my wish-list along with a new van, a trip to the beach, and enough treated lumber to build a pergola. (heh)

I'd love to hear whether anyone thinks I need "stuff" in the distant landscape. The artists at the gallery were giving me a lot of grief about that vast empty horizon. I'm unsure. This one will cure while I contemplate.

Any suggestions?

A Midwestern Icon: The Lombardy Poplar

2009-07-18T22:27:00.011-04:00

Changes Coming, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel

I've been photographing, drawing and painting these stately trees for some time now. I finally had to look them up as I couldn't remember the name of these familiar windbreaks of the Midwest. I love their shapes and the way they bear the scars of storms past, while retaining a solemn dignity.

Detail of Changes Coming showing the Lombardy Poplars...

Poplars in Italy... Someone at the gallery asked if I was painting a Tuscan landscape. Apparently only those who have traveled through the Midwest know how many of these were planted in the 1940's and 50's to slow the howling winds.

Russian Poplars depicted in the 19th century...

An early textbook illustration...

These wonderful trees just beg to be painted - so much personality, great lines, and the ability to bend and yet endure. Would that I could be more like a Lombardy Poplar.

What Lies Beyond

2009-07-15T23:10:00.004-04:00

What Lies Beyond, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel

I painted this one a couple of weeks ago for a theme show entitled "Magical Mystery Tours." If I am working on a series, I don't like to jump away to indulge a thematic whim, but I've learned that one can usually find a way to work within a theme by keeping an open mind and not becoming too literal in interpretation. Literal is often so banal, anyway.

For me, the painting sets a certain mood as did Standing Stillness - and the next in the series which I will try to get posted later today.

Standing Stillness

2009-07-14T22:13:00.009-04:00

Standing Stillness, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel

Yeah, it's been a while; apologies to my fellow bloggers. Hope to see more of y'all now.

I've been keeping myself together, being a sort of "art job" detective - painting when I can, and painting for others to keep the critters and me fed. Whew! It's tough out there!! Did a faux job, a few pieces of furniture, some decorative painting and a floor (Gawd, I hate painting floors!) - and bid on several things that didn't materialize. Folks are playing it very close and often backing out after due consideration - even with my offering to cut prices. In June I noticed a slight increase in calls and contacts - and I sold another painting - which helped a lot. Onward and keep painting!!

Here's the first version, with four trees standing, and slightly differing coloration. But the old compositional adage holds: odd numbers work best - at least for me.

As y'all know, I've not been online much this past month. Today I was checking out what came up when Googling my website (www.patricelynneyoung.com), and I saw that The Cloud Appreciation Society had posted one of my paintings, "Early Warning." Wow, how cool is that?!!

If you like "atmospheric landscapes" they have many posted there featuring artists who love the complexities of clouds and weather.

I've another painting to post tomorrow - forgot to photograph it before delivering it for a show. I've a turtle adventure to post as well on the rabbit hole... so off to bed for now...

Had to get this one out of my system....

2009-05-24T19:41:00.005-04:00

When Trees Bleed, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel

I'm a Midwesterner by birth; raised in the flat plains of Central Illinois where the wheat and soybeans and corn often stretch as far as the eye can see - and well beyond the curve of earth's crust. To this day, I'm convinced that my early impression of so-much-sky is for me the ultimate symbol of what landscape is. The photograph below is one of many taken on a trip "home" a couple of years ago.

I had rounded a curve coming off the interstate when I glanced over and saw this little row of very green trees standing as sentinels in the triangle between onramp and interstate . My immediate thought was that the trees had bled onto the grass. My second immediate thought was that the trees had dropped red leaves in June...

My third immediate thought was that I had to photograph these guardians of red phenomena. By then I had realized these were poppies - and that it was the angle of my approach that magnified the intensity of the red. There was no way to (safely) capture just what I had seen from my van - but the image was imprinted on my memory and I've known I had to reproduce it. Thus the title comes from that first impression and my own commitment to the trees of our earth. We cut them, burn them, destroy them and replace the diverse species with concrete, blacktop and genetically engineered facsimiles. Do they not bleed? Do they not bleed for us?

Keepin' on... and a squirrel tale...

2009-05-24T11:48:00.013-04:00

What's this? My latest painting? My latest subject? No to all three questions. This little dear is my most recent rescue. Driving back from the plant wholesaler, I spotted the squirrel hunched up on the double yellow lines of the two-lane highway. From her (?) posture, she might've already been dead - they usually are if hit by speeding motorists. But she might possibly be just stunned and about to be finished off by the next busy cell phoning driver swerving over the no-passing lines. Traffic was doing 60-ish so I slowed to look closer, passed and turned around. I parked in an adjacent driveway, grabbed a thick towel and waited an eternity for passing traffic to thin. I ran out and as I scooped her up, saw she was breathing - and that there was blood on the road under her bowed little head. (You can see the affected area on the side of her face in this photo.)

She spent the next few hours wrapped in the towel, shocky and barely moving. The best thing for an animal in shock is dark and quiet - especially when there is no veterinarian available. Later, at home I put her in my still empty collage studio room with bedding and water - and I attempted to give her a tiny bit of Pedialyte to combat dehydration. I still thought she would die at that point.

Two days later, she was scuttling about the small room and eating shelled nuts and apple bits. Her face was terribly swollen on the impact side and I feared she would lose the eye.

By the fifth day she was able to climb into the windowsill. You can see the injured side here, and while the swelling was way down, and the eye improved, she began intermittent circling, and was knuckling on her front paws - clear signs of neurological damage. I feared she'd never be able to be released.

But amazingly, she continued to improve, eating and moving better and better, and by the end of a week I no longer saw her circle or move in an abnormal way. I began to think about releasing her way up on the back of my property, well away from my cats and dogs - and the established squirrel population in my yard. (Squirrels are quite territorial and will fight an interloper.) Problem was, I needed to put her where there were good sources of food or where I could continue feeding her, as she'd have no food buried from the year before nor would she know where to find new sources until she acclimated.

I made two mistakes. One was opening the window, the second was underestimating her desire for freedom!

Glancing out my front door two days ago, I saw a squirrel in the pear tree just outside. That's not unusual in the early morning, as they come to grab a few bits from the bird feeders. But it wasn't early morning - and something about this squirrel was "off" a bit. I thought it must be checking out "my" squirrel lady who likes to sit in the windowsill not eight feet from the tree. I went outside and looked over at the window - and there was the freshly chewed hole of escape. The squirrel in the tree was my little rescuee.

I rounded up all the cats and Freda (a notorious squirrel-chaser) and then watched as my former charge explored the pear tree, then ran to the very large oak across the driveway. Keep in mind, I had never tried to tame or handle her (more than necessary for Rx) so I was happy to see she was moving away from me and the house.
She stayed in the oak for some time, and I made sure she watched me place food (nuts and slices of apple) for her to eat or store away. Each morning I replenish the supply - and though I've not actually recognized her(she has some fur missing from part of her tail), someone is gnawing open the nuts and taking the apples. I've not heard any squirrels quarreling, either, so for now I'm assuming she's doing fine out in the big world. At least she'll not run the risk of highways and speeding autos here.

And some great news!!!

I sold one of my large paintings at the Sautee-Nacoochee Gallery yesterday!!

Selling paintings is a mixed blessing. I'm so fond of this painting I wish I could keep it - but dang, I sure need the money. I hope the buyer will like it as much as do I.

Blue Yonder, 35 x 36, acrylic on deep cradle panel

I framed one!!

2009-05-20T22:25:00.007-04:00

Life is really getting in the way of art these days. I finally finished this large (30 x 36) acrylic painting.
It's not as if the composition is all that complex, but for some reason, the background just would not settle. I couldn't even bring myself to post my progress as it was a mess - and an embarrassment of murky shapes and strokes that just weren't working. I learned a great deal by pushing through the bad stages and forcing myself to paint and rework until it felt "right." Not sure where those backgroung colors came from - the terra-cottas and rusts are quite a departure for me - but I'm happy with the results.

And here it is framed:

It's painted on Masonite which I've found to be a really good surface for acrylics. Masonite is inert, and will not bleed through paint, though I use a heavy gesso ground anyway. I found the huge ornate frame (originally an off-white color) complete with the panel at a Habitat thrift store. Glued onto one side of the panel was a horrid reproduction of some famous painting that I'm certain is wonderful in its original state - but I could tell that instead of just cardboard, there was a reusable painting surface. Jackpot! (I'm always appalled that people will pay hundreds of dollars for crappy reproductions when there are so many wonderful originals out there in every size, style and price range.) Frames like this are incredibly expensive, and I was thrilled when they only asked $10!!

I could use some help with the title. I happened to finish this just in time for the newest show at the Sautee-Nacoochee gallery and I was trying to come up with just the right title as I drove up to deliver it today. I decided on someting and put it on the card but I must not have chosen a very good one - as by the time I arrived at my next destination, I'd forgotten what I wrote down!

When I arrived at the gallery with my moos (heh) I found this note: It says: THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR PATRICE'S COW. I cracked up. My cow had reservations.

You see: yesterday I went to pick up paintings from the last show and deliver some new work. I happened to have the then unframed bovine painting with me and the gallery director said he'd like to have it for this show if I could bring it this morning. He measured the painting including the large frame to be sure it would fit on the display panels. There was a crew hanging the show, but a great space was reserved for "Miss Moo" as this is the panel that faces the entryway to Gallery II. (Thank you, Jim!)

Here are a few more of my paintings on display this month. The color is off somewhat here, but as it's a show about spring florals and seasonal color, I'm letting it slide.

other folks' artistry...

2009-05-04T22:13:00.012-04:00

I have a large painting in the works, but it's too rough to show yet. So instead, I'm posting some things I came upon while working at my temporary job for y'all to see. I just had to share these!

For Wizard of Oz fans like me...

I found this wonderful tin can man in a small yard in a small town. He's about 6 ft. tall.

And look here! There's also a tiny tin man (about 14 inches high) adjacent to the big tin man!

And spring colors abound in a hands-on house...

I met a delightful Mennonite family who were decorating their newly built house with faux finishes they created themselves. These cheerful colors just sing "spring" - and each of the family's five children contributed hand printsfor the central border.

Here's another of their finishes - a soft color wash in pale greens

The sad news for the week is that the client who contracted the mural for their River House's foundation called to postpone or perhaps cancel the mural due to the economy. It's not definite one way or the other as of yet. I did get a deposit, and I've already visited the site twice, taken photographs, worked up the drawings, and submitted them for approval to the clients. I won't refund the deposit at this point, as it will cover the work done to date, but I will honor it if they have the mural done within the year.

I was counting on this job after the temporary census job was over (sigh). I will be bidding on a couple of art jobs this next week so all is not lost - and as I stated on my rabbit hole blog, My friend Carol and I will be investing some of the last of our monies buying plants and pots wholesale, repotting them artistically, and selling them at our shop/gallery space. We paint designs on the pots as well as add funky bits of wood and found objects to make each one unique. I'll post some photos next week. I need to thin my flag iris as it's taking over the tiny pond, so some of the posts will be little water gardens.

Go with the flow...

2009-04-19T09:38:00.011-04:00

First version... above - Below: the third

Two weeks have flown by, blown by - and I - like a leaf or bit of flotsam have been carried along in the maelstrom. I painted this one evening and felt wonderful about it. It actually gave me a little thrill each time I looked at it. Next day I felt a few tiny changes were in order - and I "ruined it" !! Then I wasn't able to get back to it for a few days. Finally, yesterday, I spent time trying to regain the freshness of the first draft, so to speak - and made it worse.

The lesson? Don't be so eager to be working (painting, finishing things) that you overwork and lose the very quality you sought. I should have started another rather than changing what I had. My excuse? Since starting the "job" I've not had time to prepare more panels... Well, it's a reason, but not a good excuse.

Today I'm looking at it anew - trying to be objective - and it's not so bad, it's just different from the first version. Like I said, I wish I had both interpretations That's the beauty of working in series. One gets to see a progression and to explore so many options without the burden of thinking there is/was only one way to make that painting.

Today I'll take it to the Heritage Center and just look at it while I work on something new. It's 24 x 24, by the way.

And good news...
I was juried into the Sautee-Nacoochee Arts Center Gallery this past week and they took four of my large paintings for the current show! I went to the opening reception last night though I was dead on my feet. Being in this gallery has been a long time coming and I wasn't about to miss my first showing there. Yeah, there's a story there, but I think I can finally let some hard feelings go. The current director is a charming and knowledgeable artist with a broad view of the arts and an eye toward balancing the scope of the gallery between quality professional work, and a venue for area artists and students of the arts.

It's a spring of blue and lilac for me. I've always been drawn to purple, lilac and blue flowers, favoring violets and purple phlox and deep dark clematis and iris.

So here's Winkle, my only "exotic" kitty - a blue-point Siamese, accompanying me on a stroll to the pond. She coordinates quite well with the lilacs - though it's the little fishies in the pond that she is stalking here...

Another quick post - kinda nostalgic...

2009-04-01T20:14:00.011-04:00

A self-portrait of sorts, done about thirty five years ago when I actually looked like that.

An ironic note: at that time, I lived in a loft in Philadelphia and the sheep images were taken from visits to the petting zoo adjacent to the Zoological Gardens. Many years later, I raised sheep of my own on my very rural 43 acres.

Whaddya think? Any resemblance?

And below - that's me in my then-studio with Fred, my white Shepard. In the background is some of the fiber/fabric art I was doing back in the 1970's and 1980's.

What always strikes me about this photo is how frail and waif-like I appear. Even my hands look small. Now, after years of building things, mending fences and handling livestock, my hands are strong.

In the 1980's, my right hand had to be "rebuilt" with bone grafts after a benign tumor destroyed the bones in my index and middle fingers. The surgery was performed by a "hand specialist" from Buffalo, NY. Who'd have thought there were hand specialists? He did a great job, and within a year, I had full use of the hand again.

I guess I'll tell the rest of that story quickly. I had a terrible horseback riding accident in 1986. Even though I was wearing a helmet, I suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs, and severe contusions to my hands, as I was apparently dragged through some gravel on a blacktop road. (I don't remember.) Small stones and grit had to be removed from the backs of my hands. and arms.

About three years later, when I was all healed up and playing tennis, I began to have terrible pain in my right elbow. My doctor diagnosed tendinitis and I was treated accordingly. Months went by and the pain remained, until one night I dreamed that I had to have my right arm amputated due to bone cancer. Now I am about as right-handed as a person could be. I panicked; called the doctor and went for a bone scan. That's when the tumor in my hand was found. It had been pressing on nerves causing the "tendinitis." Within a few days or weeks, the bones would have been beyond repair as they'd have separated completely.

The dream thing? Runs in my family. It's one of those unexplainable things that is what it is

Sweet dreams, all. I'll be retiring at 10 pm to be up at 6!!

Spring peeps... plover chick...

2009-03-29T18:35:00.014-04:00

It's going to be an interesting couple of months... Last Friday I went for training as a "Lister" for the 2010 census. It's temporary work (I hope) to help tide things over and I'm happy and lucky to have been chosen. It will probably mean a lot less painting - but I'm going to keep to a schedule of painting in the evenings. Likely they'll be smaller works like the one posted here. I hope to be able to work four ten hour days so that I can be working on the outdoor mural job two days a week. The clients are not in a hurry, but I want to finish before hot weather, and in Georgia we see the 90's by mid June.

In addition to my Black Bird series, I've got a thing for little chicks. I think it stems from having raised several of those poor little dyed Easter chicks as a child. My dad used to bring a few home each year much to my mother's distress. That was in the days before folks were aware of how awful things were for the baby chickens. Ours were relatively lucky, as my siblings and I knew how to care for them. I still remember how they looked as they feathered out with those outrageous pink, blue or green pastel tips on their feathers.

I've been gathering up references and working on a few of these here and there - and last night I completely reworked this one. I changed the background color and the shading of the down feathers further away from reality and more toward the lavender, periwinkle, and russet colors that felt right. I just love the huge feet of baby chicks. They look a bit like children wearing their parents' shoes - or, in this case, feet.

This little painting is 8 x 10, acrylic on gessoed panel. I'll be posting it for sale on buypatrice.

Cute Kitten Picked On By Baby Chicks - The most amazing bloopers are here
And then, just for fun, I found this video of chicks and a kitten. All too small to know they could be enemies... It reminds me of the time I ordered six dozen chicks from chicken breeder catalogs - and fifty of them turned out to be roosters... So much for "random selection."

And for irony: Here are a few more of my favorite chicks: And if you like that one, try this one.

Tough day... with bright spots!

2009-03-25T22:46:00.015-04:00

I'd been dreading today (Wednesday, the 25th). I had to be up and coiffed and on the road by 7:30 for an hour-long drive in the rain and fog up into the mountains. Suffice it to say that other than my hair going flat, the appointment went okay - and I even got treated to a waffle for breakfast.

Normally, this would be my demo-day at the Heritage Center, but I thought I'd be tied up all day so I hadn't bothered to pack my art supplies. On the drive home, I stopped at the Center to drop off another of Carol's prints to replace the one she sold. When I walked into our exhibit area I noticed an empty spot. I sold another painting! Hooray! I took it as a sign to finally become one of the resident artists. It means working the gallery one weekend in addition to the Wednesdays, but it looks as if it will be worthwhile.

The sold painting: Calico Pie.

Silly - but I'll miss her.

Becoming a resident artist is part of my concerted effort to be better known in my immediate locale, something I hardly thought of when there was plenty of mural and cabinet work. Now that I want to make more of my living from paintings, I've found that success in one medium does not necessarily translate into clientele in another.

Another bright note: Yesterday I received an email from Dean of Deano's Den Gallery. Dean is a wonderful passionate painter himself who is passing on (what else?) the Passionate Painter's Award, originated by Kim Ratigan. Yes, I am passionate about painting! (forgive the incessant onomatopoeia...) Now it is my task to pass it on to seven painters who inspire me.

I know there are those who disdain "blogging awards," and I suppose it is possible for some to get carried away with the giving and receiving of same. But I regard an award from a fellow artist/blogger as the nicest sort of complement. It's an honor to be thought of in such regard and I would never take it lightly. That's why I was doubly honored to be chosen for the same award by another painter whose work I also admire: Irit Bourla. Her recent series on gallery goers puts a smile on my face at each visit. Colorful, expressive, and passionate... Irit would be my pick as well, for A Passion for Painting.

In addition to choosing painters who inspire me, I'm to list seven things I love. Now that is easy as there are infinite things I love. Choosing only seven painters is not so easy and I will take a couple of days to pass on the awards. Thank you!! to Dean and Irit for making me feel special.

Seven of the myriad things loved by me...

Morning coffee, best with a cinnamon roll...

My cat Snoochie's pigeon-toed walk, seen from behind... always gives me a giggle...

That amazing blue of damsel flies...

Standing in place while a dust devil or whirlwind passes over me...

The incredible audio recordings of the Harry Potter books by the genius of Jim Dale...

Puttering about in a hardware store...

People who smile with their eyes...

A Borrowed Bird...

2009-03-18T22:26:00.015-04:00

A few days ago, Roy Hilbinger of Roy's World posted a fantastic photograph of a perching crow . That crow was just begging to be painted and I asked if he'd allow me to render an interpretation. Roy generously obliged and here's my painting. It's small for me - 8 x 10 - as are most of my bird series works. My next gallery show isn't until December and I hope to have a whole flock of these small paintings to show together.

I ran off a copy on my printer to work from, but it didn't have the amazing detail of Roy's beautiful image. I didn't think that was a problem as I don't necessarily seek an exacting rendering - usually going more for a mood or an implied story. Today was my day to demonstrate at the Heritage Center so I worked on the crow, having only my print to work from.

Tonight is the first time I've put the two images side by side in this format, and I can see I've a couple of corrections to make. I've not gotten the beak just right nor the crow's feet, as I couldn't see the detail in my reproduction. I think the tree needs a little work too.

Obviously I've altered the background - and faked the tail. I love how this fellow looks as if he is gathering himself, ready to soar off into yonder blue.

March roars in...

2009-03-14T20:17:00.015-04:00

Toto 2 (for Peter)

With your dangerous beauty you
are like unto a tornado,
touching down,
laying waste to trepidation...

I am drawn, into your world,
seeking an Oz of my own.
Let me trade silver
for your ruby set in gold.

I look for you in the yellow moon
while the wind and City take you,
and the lies unfold,
I'll have this twisted ache to hold.

- patrice lynne young 2006

My fascination with funnel clouds and wild weather can be traced back to my Midwestern childhood in Central Illinois. and I've been working on several storm paintings once again. Two new ones posted here may be finished - but I'll live with them for a little while and check them out in different light before I seal them and prepare the panels for hanging. These are each 24 x 24. I've several more of these panels and I'd like to do at least six - preferably twelve - more of these to exhibit together.

I'd been working on the next Black Bird/ Wind paintings and thought that's what I'd be doing all this week. Ah, but painting mood changes sometimes to reflect events in life. Most of the time I love my rural solitude, but sometimes I wish I had better neighbors. After a verbal altercation with one of a family of bullies, I went from a fowl mood to a foul mood. I sat down to paint under a cloud of piss-ed-ness - and this is what appeared on my panel... Sometimes I'm really easy to figure out.

I like the first painting above most. It's fluidity of brushwork is closer to the wild, uncontrollable feeling I wish to portray. But there is something I like about the contained ferocity of the second one, too.

There is a fierce beauty in a storm, just as there is in life.

Blue Velvet Bay

2009-02-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

I'd come across this horse in a pen at the side of the highway and I was so taken with the amazing color of the horse and the brilliant red tin of the building, that I had to get some photos. Even then, I was picturing this horse with his glorious color and the red building in the background as a future painting. I posted one of the photos on my sidebar labeled (ha ha) Blue Roan? - making all the horsey people wince - and I wrote this about the photographs I'd taken.

I've been letting this painting percolate until this past week. On my Wednesday "demo day" I did two mock-ups (pictured left) neither of which pleased me compositionally. I felt the hues of the foreground were about right, but I wanted a more abstracted painterly look, not a classic landscape. In the mock-up, the red building was taking over - and for me this painting was all about the horse. I came up with the final layout while drawing on the panel in chalk, as I did not want to be doing a paint-over this close to show time.

I thought I'd finished - and even took photographs. And looking at the photos on my computer realized the eye, muzzle and head were too detailed and fussy, so I went back and changed them to the version seen here. It's another large one: 30 x 34, on deep cradle panel.

This is the last painting for the March show at the Heritage Center Gallery. The show will open Monday, March 1 and run through the 31st. Here's the original look at the horse and red shed.

Painting furiously... and saving on supplies...

2009-02-24T21:13:00.000-05:00

Color Study # 109. 24x24 on deep cradle panel.

I've a show next month (March) at the Heritage Center along with my friend Carol. I wanted to have all "new" work for this show - and with that in mind I've been working away at several paintings at once - as well as panel preparation. Panel preparation you say? No - not sitting in on a panel presentation, but preparing panels for painting... wow... onomatopoeia.

I'm always looking for ways to save money - not because I'm cheap, but because I must. I discovered the so-called deep cradle panels several months ago at a nearly art supply center - and I love them - but even with my member's discount, a smallish 16 x 16 panel is around $30. That may not sound like much to many - but it's quite beyond my means as I like to work larger. The panels equivalent to a 32 x 36 or so sell for over $100. Ouch. It's only plywood and Masonite. Could I build them myself?

I set about to try this, cutting 3/4" plywood strips and mitering the corners. These would be clamped and glued to Masonite cut to size. I made up a jig on a large table in my shop with boards and clamps in order to assure square corners. With trial and error, I made up a couple of these, but it took a lot of precious time.

I came up with an alternative that works well for the frame-less contemporary look I prefer. I've done several paintings on hollow-core doors over the years for myself and clients. They're lightweight, easily primed and prepared to accept paint - and way cheaper than the panels offered at art suppliers. Why not substitute these?

You'll need access to a table saw with extensions to support the door, and a really good blade, as only sharp blades with small cutting teeth are suitable to rip the door without shredding the thin plywood skin into splinters. I measure and mark the door, making sure there are no nails, brads, screws, etc., in line with the blade. Recycled doors especially need to be carefully checked.

When the cuts are made you can see the cardboard supports glued inside. These will also help support the strip of wood cut to close the open end/s of the door. I carefully measure and cut strips to fit, then glue all sides and tap into place with a rubber mallet. Edges are clamped using wood strips to even out the pressure.

When the glue is set (I like to wait 24 hours), I use wood putty to fill any cracks or holes, or to even out edges. When dry, I sand the entire door, keeping square corners and etching any primer or paint that might be there. It's important that everything be pristine. Again I inspect the edges and fill tiny imperfections with latex spackle. This is lightly sanded and then the panel is ready for primer or gesso.

If the door has been previously painted, I sand thoroughly and use a liquid sander to provide a secure bond between the old surface and the new paint. Completed paintings are sealed with two to three coats of a satin protective coating.

To hang the panels, I use small screws partly inserted along the edges of the door where the wood strips give good support. I add the wire, then screw down the heads to secure firmly. Lastly, I add small adhesive felt pads over the screw heads and at each corner. An alternative is to accurately measure along the top support and then carefully drill two holes which will allow the panel to hang flush on screws in the wall. Or I suppose one could add a toothed hanger - but I don't trust these.

Cost? I buy unpainted (mostly) doors at Habitat for Humanity for $10 - $15 each, depending upon width and condition. From each door I make two or three panels, which take about an hour to completely prepare. I use gesso to prime the painting surface as I like its opacity and texture. There will be texture from the wood grain of the plywood surface - but it's no more noticeable than the weave of canvas or linen. It is possible to layer two or three coats of gesso or primer for a smoother surface, but I've not found this necessary as I usually paint in a "plastic manner" (thick, with brushstrokes showing).

And I've had help - Snoochie the glow-cat kept poking me in the thigh with her sharp little claw while I worked on a new panel. I don't think she approved of the subject matter (another dang bird) - but she caught the edge of the panel and the photo tells the rest of the story.

More finished, nearly done, almost...

2009-02-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

Today I worked on "The Guest" (which is what I've titled the large Everglades painting) all day at my make-up day at the Heritage Center. It was interesting to go there on a different day from my regular Wednesday gig as there's a completely different group of artists on Mondays - all clay artists - who nevertheless had a field day giving me good-natured advice and opinions as to how I should finish. As it was a holiday for most, we had quite a few visitors, too, so rest assured I've had plenty of feedback. I enjoyed the repartee - and of course took it all in - but went on in my own way.

And last night after posting the drawing and photo of the newest Bird/Wind painting, I made several changes and here is the final version of Early Warning. The bill of the blackbird was too close to the far wing, and I made several color adjustments in the clouds. It looks " finished" to me now - and closer in spirit and energy to the original drawing.

I don't have time to be sick!

2009-02-15T22:51:00.000-05:00

I'm finally feeling almost myself. Geez, that was a terrible virus. I think it was actually two different bugs fighting over who would have my head!
Here's what I've been doing when I could get up a bit of energy and enthusiasm...
My continuing fascination is not just those birds but tornadoes/cyclones/thunderstorms, the amazing clouds formations therein, and the fury and drama they create upon this planet. In a continuation of my Black Bird/Wind themes, I spent one wretched evening working on the drawing below when I was too ill to paint. Last night and tonight I worked on the painting (above) and I think it's finished though I'll have to look upon it with fresh eyes in the daylight tomorrow before I can be sure.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a detail of a painting in progress, promising to post the entire painting. Here it is - still in progress, but much further along. The sky and background are nearly finished as is the water. I'm going for a swampy Everglades sort of waterway; the kind that are navigated by those fan or wind-propelled boats. I've still much refining to do on the three white birds, the crowned crane and the foreground foliage. My camera has exaggerated the colors, the actual background being more subdued.

I've not been the sort who plans out paintings; often not doing any studies beforehand; preferring to draw images or shapes directly onto the surface with paint. But for this painting, I actually did a small mock-up as the composition is deceptively simple and yet not at all classical. I knew I was going to paint it rather large
(it's 30x 35) and I wanted to be certain to get the proportions right - right being what was half-formed in my head before I started.
I'm working to capture a mood and to tell a little tale. Don't we all of us look askance upon an interloper - a stranger garbed in finery greater than our own?

I hope to finish this one tomorrow during my "make up day" volunteering at the gallery. Being sick for two weeks really put me behind.

And just for fun, look what sprang out at me from the thrift store: A bobble crow! Nothing sinister about this fellow. He's made of painted stuffed cloth, an old bedspring, and a block of wood painted with the pithy saying: A wise crow reaps what you sow... and images of corn and watermelon. I didn't know crows had a fondness for watermelon?

I had to have him. Pensive fellow, isn't he?

And February made me shiver...

2009-02-07T08:37:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week here at home. Now that's something of a rarity. Mostly the time rushes by and away like wind slipping through your hair. Weird metaphor, but as I am still somewhat delirious with the mother, father and grandparents of a headcold, I can't

be held to accurate - or familiar - homilies.

So here's what I've been up to during the brief hours of consciousness, and between boxes (yes, literally) of tissues: Painting. Wow. Big surprise. Another in the Black Bird series, but this time the fellow is resting. Perhaps like me, he had a headache and just needed a break. I put this little painting together from various references - and the slightly surreal quality makes that apparent. He's not quite sitting down as my old art teacher would have said, meaning that either the shadowing was wrong or non-existent. But I liked the shape of the bird so much - so aerodynamic, even just sitting there - that I like it as is.

And someone else likes him too, as he was sold just minutes after being posted on another site! That's a first! Gave me a nice warm feeling - which I badly needed in my chillblained state. I think I may actually go out in public today; lifting my self-imposed quarantine to post her painting off to her. No wonder he wasn't really sitting there; he knew he'd be bound for the western skies.

Full circle...

2009-02-01T11:29:00.001-05:00

I thought it might be interesting to post some of my older work to see how it compares, stands up to, resembles or differs from what I'm doing right now. Easier said than done, as I had to poke about my house for pieces I could photograph with my digital camera. I have old slides and photos - but I've not conquered scanning them into my computer.

The large ( 36"x48") painting: "Beadie's Back" was painted in 1987. The year before I had suffered a fractured skull and severe concussion in a riding accident which meant months of slow recovery. When I returned to my job (grants writer and program director for a NY arts council), I realized I was fast approaching terminal burn-out. I had made only three paintings in ten years! I couldn't stop thinking about how my life had nearly ended, and I'd never really been the artist inside me.

The summer of '87 I was able to spend two weeks at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina having an art and life choices R&R. The class I wanted to take was full, so I ended up in a non-traditional basketry group, but I quickly learned that it didn't matter what the class was, however, because the entire atmosphere at Penland was charged with creativity. I never spent two more enjoyable weeks in my life. Everything about the experience was wonderful from the people I met to the fun of staying in a dorm to the food, to the breathtaking mountain setting. (There's a link to Penland at right under "cool sites." If you have the opportunity to go there, don't miss it. It's a magical place that I highly recommend.)

Back in New York, I began to paint and draw like mad. Changes were coming.

The bird drawing is the beginning of my black bird obsession. It's colored pencil and crayon and measures about 12x12". If I'm asked why I began doing them, I can't really say, but the urge to do them has stayed with me all this time.

I began to experiment with capturing allegorical happenings from my life, especially those I found disturbing. I had a Dwarf Netherland bunny named Ernie who was the most gentle of pets. Then one day when I went to pick him up, he bit right through the flesh between my thumb and forefinger and wouldn't let go. I literally had to shake him off. Poor Ernie, as it turned out, had developed a brain tumor. I couldn't get that image of him clamped onto my hand out of my head - so I drew it, painted it, and purged it from my psyche. Shown here is one of the drawings in colored pencil and crayon.

Looking at these twenty-year old pieces made me realize that personal style comes through no matter the subject, no matter the influence, no matter the size or medium. How 'bout that?

2009-01-28T21:27:00.000-05:00

The Watch
acrylic
9 x 14

Birding continues...

It's Wednesday, and that means it was my day to be a volunteer/demonstrating artist at Heritage. It's an opportunity to support the gallery, socialize with other area artists, meet the public - and still get a lot of painting done.

I am sometimes conflicted about aspects of trying to survive as an artist living alone. Most of the time I treasure my solitude, but there are times I wish for someone else to worry about the bills, or the laundry, or the vehicle maintenance. It's easy to forget the trade-offs. I was reminded today of the value of my independence. Three of the five artists there said that their dream was to have time alone: take an art vacation or go to a retreat. There was a note of desperation from one artist - just to be left alone. I kept quiet. Why rub it in?

Here are a few more of the ongoing Bird/Wind series. I'm posting a detail of another "bird" piece - it's unfinished, but it's also different - much more moody and as much a landscape as a study of birds. I like the "fuzzy chick" look of the white birds, though they are in fact, White Herons. The painting is allegorical, though I leave the particular story up to the viewer. I'll continue to post my progress, and a view of the entire painting.

Fledgling
acrylic, 9 x 12

Moult
acrylic, 9 x 12

more from January...

2009-01-25T18:25:00.000-05:00

I find myself painting birds one right after another... Like many artists, I am especially drawn to black birds: crows, ravens, and of course - blackbirds, and red-winged blackbirds. But I like the shapes of starlings, grackles and other sleek avian specimens as well - and expect to see them all flitting and sitting on future canvases and panels.

Birds on a wire strike me as omens; sentinels, guardians... each waiting to be called to action. Birds on the ground are more playful, active, busy with the business of bird-ness. Birds in flight are either at the mercy of the winds or masters of the atmosphere. I do not see birds as threatening, though my large abstracted Black Bird/Wind series (two shown at right) often give viewers pause.

January paintings...

2009-01-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

I apologize or the blur of this photo - and the color's not quite right either... So I'll re-shoot it this week. Sometimes my digital camera just won't focus properly when the zoom is in use - or when attempting close ups. I hope to invest in a better one someday.

This little painting was done for a theme show entitled "Daisies Don't Tell" at a local gallery. It was a hoot coming up with something that wasn't too literal... while still experimenting with color.

I have committed to showing at this same gallery along with an artist friend beginning in March. We'll each need about ten new paintings for the space allotted, and I want to display mostly larger paintings (at least 24" x 24"). I've made up several deep cradle panels this size and shape as I find I am most often drawn to square paintings of other artists. I can't say why - just that I find it a pleasing shape - especially for unframed works which I also prefer. Perhaps one day, if finances allow me to purchase elaborate frames or have an expert make them, I'll change my mind. :-)

The blue roan photo... explained...

2009-01-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

I photographed that comely steed a few months back, but didn't download the photos until recently. I was quite taken with the blue-black sheen of the horses coat against the red, red, red of the freshly painted tin - and I immediately wanted to capture the image for a future painting.

At the time the photos were taken, I couldn't get very close to the fence or the horse because he was penned adjacent to a bridge reconstruction. Heavy equipment had rendered the road and berm impassable so I took the shots from my vehicle window using the maximum range of a telephoto lens. When I finally looked at the photos on my computer, I was distressed to see the very tight halter that I had failed to notice in my excitement over colors and compositional factors.

A halter should never fit tightly. In this case you can easily tell this horse would have great difficulty chewing his feed as the halter would make it nearly impossible for him to open his jaws! A halter should not be left on a horse in pasture in any case as it can snag on a tree, fence or another horse.

The location is thirty or thirty-five miles from my home - or I'd have driven right there to remove that thing. Instead I called the animal control for that town who referred me to the "livestock agent" for that county who referred me to "the equine guy" who referred me to an Atlanta office! Four phone calls later, I was assured someone would "look into it".

I think I'll take a drive tomorrow...

On The Trail of O'Keefe

2009-01-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

Everyone has talent at 25. The difficulty is to have it at 50. - Edgar Degas

This is a small colorfield landscape representing a creative journey; influences of favorite artists.

It's only 12 inches square but I like it enough that I plan to do it larger. Can anyone guess by looking who some of my artist muses are

Painting in a cartouche: Mr. Moose

2009-01-05T22:00:00.001-05:00

These photos show a small landscape (approx. 12" x 18" painted on an oak trunk. Painting on oak is not something I recommend as the grain will swell with the moisture of the paint, even if sanded between painting sessions. This trunk was stained and sealed prior to painting, and still the grain shows... Not a huge problem, but I'd never choose oak for a detailed piece or for portraits!

Moose are fun to paint.!

Recent work...

2009-01-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

2008-12-02T18:18:00.001-05:00

Calico Pie

Acrylic on Masonite
11" x 15"
195.00

A long, long time ago, when I lived in Philadelphia, I wanted to adopt a kitty. I decided to go about the adoption in a sort of "chance operation" mode - so I looked through the must find home ads in the classifieds. The color or breed of cat made no difference to me as I believed there were no bad cats.

The first person I called was a charming young lady with a strong Hispanic accent. She had found a young female tabby and brought her into her home only to find that her two fully grown cats hated the newcomer to the point of physical battles. After a few weeks and no improvement, she put the newcomer up for adoption.

When I went to her house to pick up the kitty, she told me that she loved cats above all other animals and felt that they were so sweet that they should all be given the last name of "Pie". Samantha Pie, Tabby Pie, Fluffy Pie... etc. When I told her this would be my only cat - or first cat in Philadelphia, she said I should call her Una Pie, or number one pie... And I did...

Una Pie lived to be a fine fat old tabby cat, and all of my cats from then on have been sweet as pie.

2008-12-02T18:15:00.001-05:00

August Fields

18" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
225.00

It's too bad I didn't photograph the first version of this little painting. Just behind the second hayroll was a tree. It was there in the original landscape I worked from - but in the painting it just didn't feel right. I showed the painting locally and it was then that I realized the tree had to go.... Instead, the arched branches of a tree out of the frame offer better balance of line and the opportunity to carry the rusty colors aloft.

The haunting...

2008-12-02T18:10:00.001-05:00

Frosty - and His Best Friend...

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"
private collection

This is an old painting and I post it here out of a strange motivation. I think of myself as a very level-headed and pragmatic person, not given to superstition or unreasonable anxieties - and yet - I find that I rarely paint my own cats when they are alive. I rarely even photograph them. Somehow it's as if loving them too much will jinx them. So many times in the past it was always my favorite cat who went missing - or developed some rare disease. Is there guilt involved? Surely. I've been a rescuer and fostered cats all my life and because I've always tried to love them equally - and failed - do I somehow think it's a punishment? No - but...

Perhaps it's due to just missing them, perhaps it's the desire to offer a form of immortality; perhaps it's all of these things and I over analyze. This image of Frosty with a favorite toy says much about my need to think of him as having companionship out there in the great hereafter. And so, like Colette, I memorialize them when they are gone. (Colette used to recite the names of her dead cats - or she wrote of it - I'm not sure.)

2008-11-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

Blue Tornado
16" x 20"
acrylic on canvas

"Sometimes the painting starts to relate very directly to either sights seen or experiences felt, other times it just goes off on a tangent that you really can’t articulate. - Susan Rothenberg

2008-11-10T21:42:00.001-05:00

Ghost of a Blue Sky
16 x 20
acrylic on canvas

2008-11-10T10:43:00.000-05:00

Blue Yonder
36" x 36"
acrylic on deep cradle panel
$875.

2008-11-10T10:39:00.001-05:00

Color Study #108
16" x 16"
acrylic on deep cradle panel
$375.00

2008-11-10T10:27:00.001-05:00

Two new paintings:

Blue Sky with Fire (above)
acrylic on canvas
18" x 24"
(private collection)

The Red Trees
6" x 9"
acrylic on panel
$125.00

2008-10-08T13:05:00.001-04:00

Headboard (detail) and painted shelf and oar. Also shown: print of "Desperado".

Photo from my studio/gallery located in Clarkesville.

Headboard: $595.
Shelf: $195.
Oar: $125.

Framed Print: $145.

2008-10-08T13:00:00.001-04:00

Rustic door, two moods; one landscape.

Acrylic on old wood.

For sale: $425.

Black Bird/White Wind

2008-10-08T12:27:00.001-04:00

Black Bird; White Wind

36" x 42", acrylic on deep cradle mount

private collection

Feet, what do I need them for
If I have wings to fly. - Frida Kahlo

2008-10-08T12:24:00.001-04:00

Pair of custom bedside chests for a rustic mountain cabin. Each small landscape is a view from the client's home.

2008-10-08T12:12:00.001-04:00

Custom painted to reflect the client's love of their dogs and cats - and contemporary folk art.

Mural for Gainesville Bank & Trust

2008-10-08T11:35:00.002-04:00

Mural for Gainesville Bank & Trust.

Shown is one section from a themed mural to depict Mexico and South American vistas.

Mural is 28' x 5'.

2008-10-08T11:33:00.001-04:00

Sepia tone trompe l'oeil still life.

Painted on fly rod fishing rack.

Even the wood grain is paint.

2008-10-08T11:29:00.001-04:00

Custom painted corner cabinet.

60 x 72"

2008-10-08T11:24:00.000-04:00

Tropical Respite, 32 x 74"

Painted door.

Prices for doors range from $300 up.

2008-10-08T11:19:00.001-04:00

Painted Chest with detail ... Can you find the turtle?

2008-10-08T11:16:00.001-04:00

Black Bear cabinet door... (shown with client)

Emmisaries

2008-10-08T11:09:00.000-04:00

Emmisaries, 9 x 12" acrylic on board. n.f.s.

2008-10-08T10:59:00.001-04:00

Commissioned screen for Toccoa-Stephens Public Library.

Shown here: screen & detail (above)

2008-10-08T10:57:00.000-04:00

Little Blue Dog; acrylic on canvas 8 x 10"
available... $125. unframed, $175. framed

Henfeathers, acrylic on canvas 18 x 24

2008-09-17T22:06:00.000-04:00

Henfeathers... available $575.

desperado

2008-07-14T15:31:00.000-04:00

acrylic, 4" x 6" on board. $175.00. To purchase, email me for details.

This might be one of my all time favorite paintings. The surly expression is certainly indicative of the little fellow's thoughts about his future...

Painting.... and painting and painting...

2006-10-20T23:40:00.000-04:00

Detail of a 12' x 24' mural
Private Home
Sky Valley, GA