Dawn Sagar's Studio

Landscapes, Human Spaces

2012-01-27T19:25:00.000-08:00

When we think of landscape, I think our minds automatically jump to images of the romantic era--great sweeping vistas, ideal views, the simple calm beauties of the pastoral, the great impressive fervor of the romantic sublime. But the translation of landscape has changed as much as our relationship to place has changed. We are no longer removed, no longer remote from these places. We know so much more about the nuances of our immediate environment. Landscape is where we live: it is where we work, pay rent, and commute. It is our community, both natural and human-made. These things have been on my mind lately, which brought about this series of the industrial landscape in my town. They are fascinating both emotionally and visually. I particularly love the boat yard at night or in the early dawn--there's so much that happens down there, from people lifting boats out of the water, welding, varnishing, rebuilding vessels of all types. It's a fascinating place.

This is not the entire series, and you can see more of it next month at the Port Townsend Gallery where I will be a featured artist along with fiber artist Ginny King. Come and talk to us about our work next Gallery Walk on Saturday, February 4th, from 5:30 – 8:00 pm. Port Townsend Gallery is located at 715 Water Street www.portownsendgallery.com

Cheers!
Dawn

"The Last Horizon"

2011-10-17T13:03:00.001-07:00

Here's another piece in my recent series, where I'm exploring thinner layers of color over an underpainting of sepia tones. It's giving my work a looser, more gestural look as well as building up layers of light.

As with "Odyssey", I began this piece with burnt sienna mixed with a glaze, then wiped out the highlights to begin feeling the composition. Subsequent layers deepen the dark tones and add highlights to the light areas.

This is from a trip to the Oregon coast earlier this month. It was one of those amazingly beautiful days, and a rare one in the Pacific Northwest where the beach was warm, sunny, and there was no wind.

The title comes from our constant push to the west as North Americans; we were always looking to the west and striving for the hope that it represented. The horizon is a place of desire and hope; no matter what is going on in our lives, there's something different right over that horizon, if we can only get there. We long for it, we strive for it, but can never achieve it. The horizon remains a distant wish. It's the joy and myth of travel, the idea of adventure and, most of all, arcadia.

Wishing you beautiful autumn days filled with light.

Dawn

Odyssey

2011-09-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

This piece marks a solid change for me, in the fact that is is made up of many transparent layers and gestural brushstrokes instead of the thicker, more solid layers I generally use. It brings the excitement of my experimental drawings into my oil paintings, something I've been working towards for years.

"Odyssey" used techniques from my watercolor and drawing background, resulting in a fresh approach. I usually begin my oils on black gesso and draw the light out of this surface. This piece started on a white canvas, followed by a glazed out transparent Italian Burnt Sienna, into which I wiped out lighter sections with a paper towel. Next I added highlights, still with glazed out layers, then followed by pushing the darker tones, also with the glazing.

I'm very pleased with the liveliness and freshness of this piece overall, and the joy of working in a style I have not used in years.

"The Odyssey is a 90’ yawl designed by Olin Stephens for Mrs. Barklie Henry, a Vanderbilt granddaughter. Built in New York in 1938, the Odyssey quickly proved herself as a winning member of the racing community of Long Island Sound. The family enjoyed cruises to Cuba to visit Ernest Hemingway, and also to the Galapagos Islands. The US Navy commandeered the boat for the duration of World War II, where she served our country in radar, sonar testing, and echo sounding studies. After the war, she continued to serve the Navy as a research vessel out of Woods Hole, later in San Diego, and finally in the recreation program. The Odyssey found a new home with the Pacific Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 1978, and now serves as a sail training vessel with the Sea Scouts of Tacoma." Sea Scout Odyssey

Yakima River, completed

2011-09-05T19:20:00.001-07:00

So here's the finished piece. I'm pleased with the overall emotion and composition. Even though there was a lot of back and forth in my mind on this piece, the overall resolution works for me. It reflects the spirit and emotion I felt when I stood on that bridge over the river at a point in time last July, with a storm moving in from the west. A sense of still energy; moments of quiet heaviness before the rain began to fall.

Yakima River

2011-09-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here are a few images documenting the progress of this painting. It's still a work in progress, but I'm pretty close to resolution I think. The mood is almost there: a storm moving in over this mighty river, an image from last July.

It could be the Colorado, or the Snake, or the Green River. There's just something about a river, particularly when you live in the West. It's a blood vein, a refuge, a lifeline.

I'll post the final outcome on this sucker. It's 36"x60", oil on canvas.

Dawn

Painting is a Lot Like Training a Dog...

2011-06-24T05:52:00.000-07:00

So when you train dogs for basic obedience or agility, it's important to focus on your intent. You want to have a clear vision of what it is you want the dog to do, then use your body language as well as the command to communicate that to the dog. This clarity is also important reinforcement of alpha-dom; anytime the dog thinks it might be the one driving the bus, so to speak, your ability to keep the message clear and simple makes a world of difference.

Before I begin a painting I always have a focus; a mood, an atmosphere, a focal point, whatever it is I want to achieve with that piece is at the top of my mind. Occasionally it's so clear from the beginning, like with this piece, that it is difficult to figure out what the next step might be. The under-painting had such dynamic marks and mood to it, but it was not finished. Taking it to the next step was really tricky because I didn't want to lose that freshness. Somewhere along the way I lost the focus and that dog ran away from me. After repeated calling and a lot of treats (for the artist in this case...) I got it back. I had to spend about a week without painting, re-focusing, thinking about what the core of this piece was about.

In the end the painting is somewhere in-between: it isn't as fresh and as raw as it was initially, but it is defined enough to feel finished.

I will never be the kind of dog person whose dog is always well-behaved and orderly. I think that obedience is necessary for good dog citizens and for their own safety and well-being; but I also like them to be dogs and have fun. This is so true of my art as well. There are some 'rules' that help make a painting successful, but you have to understand that at some point that sucker will run away from you, chase a seagull down the beach, and find something stinky to roll in before coming back to you.

Title of this piece is "Elwha Maples." Oil on canvas, 36x48". The top image is the under-painting, the bottom is the finished piece.

Storm King

2011-06-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

New painting! 36"x60", oil on canvas.

This is from a hike I took a couple of weeks ago at Lake Crescent, one of the most amazing places I have ever been. It's the Washington State version of a fjord. The water is this weird blue; it has a lot of nitrogen which inhibits algae. The true depth of Lake Crescent has never been established; a glacial lake created by an ancient landslide/ dam. And truly magical.

This is Storm King Mountain (does every mountainous state have a peak named Storm King?) reflected on the water.

My biggest challenges in this piece had to do with the reflections on the water. There is a drama and still a subtlety to them that kept me on my toes.

Hope you have some great hikes and paintings going for you as we slowly roll towards summer!
Dawn

Whale Bone Drawing Session

2011-01-27T19:32:00.000-08:00

The Marine Science Center in Port Townsend has one of the very few intact orca skeletons in North America, owing to the fact that orca bones sink. This adult female had many health issues, and died on the Dungeness Spit 7 years ago. The remains have been in the process of cleaning since then.

Scientists and volunteers are about to articulate the skeleton. They invited a few artists in to draw individual bones before they are put back into a whole.

As a person who has drawn many bones in her life, I was truly amazed by the beauty in the form of these. What an amazing animal.

Dawn

Irondale Beach

2011-01-01T07:44:00.001-08:00

Irondale Beach is a beautiful little spot where Chimacum Creek runs into the bay. It is being remediated by various groups owing to contamination from a very old steel plant that was on the site. Friend Deanna, who is involved with the remediation, gave me a great tour of this unique place on a beautiful day in winter. I caught this magical light just before it disappeared over the hill for the day.

The painting is 18x36 on stretched canvas. The first step is my initial outline with oil paint, basically a drawing with a brush. I gridded this initially to make sure I had the proportion correct; I really wanted this piece to recede to the horizon in a convincing way. The second step is the underpainting, looking at value and composition. The third step shows some local color being introduced, and by the time this is done I see a composition flaw. Towards the right hand side of the canvas here you can see a structure on the horizon; this is the military base Indian Island. Unfortunately this is too far to the edge of the canvas. As the shadows all point this direction it has the effect of taking your eye off the edge of the canvas instead of having a contained motion within the picture plane. So I moved it. You can't see it well in this photo, but there is still a faint structure on the horizon, moved in about 6 inches to the left. This keeps the motion more circular.

One of the many reasons to be a painter: you can move whatever you need to, including military bases, in the quest for good composition! Ah, power....

Happy New Year, and happy painting!
Dawn

Seriously?

2010-11-07T19:13:00.001-08:00

So I fought and fought and fought with a trio of paintings this past week. Today I set them aside and began a new painting which painted itself.

My muse, she's a humorist.

So this new work is 16x20 in size and is, as yet, unnamed. I am open to suggestion. Thus far possible names include: Seriously? Was That Really Necessary? and Sigh.

I have no process images of this one as it painted itself. There is a looseness to this one I am hoping to achieve in future paintings.

Sigh.
Dawn

Mount Townsend

2010-10-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I had about 4000 things to accomplish, so instead I went to the mountains. I hiked Mount Townsend, at least until my fear of heights kicked in (almost at the summit, alas.) It was a beautiful day, a beautiful hike, and it kicked my butt. (20% grade--yowza!)

This is an image from that hike. I took more time with this one than I usually do, and really contemplated each step and what it brought to the work.

In step one I am, as always, looking mostly at value and composition, laying in fields of color.

In the second step you can see the layering in the sky and mountain. At this point I am very enamored with the thick line at the horizon; it emphasizes the horizon in an interesting way.

The third layer shows what that layering looks like drawn down over the entire painting. This stage is technically pretty good. However, I feel I have lost something in this. It lost some interest, part of its spark.

The fourth step shows me working to regain that interest. You can see I re-worked the sky, lightening it towards the horizon plus adding several glazed layers of various colors to add depth. I also added more color to the mountain and the water.

Stage five. Alas, I had to kill my beautiful horizon line, subdue it. It was too bold and was hindering the sense of endless sky and water I was trying to achieve. I also added more rosy-peach color back in, as somewhere along the way I had lost that color of wildflowers.

I am still not satisfied with the foreground, but need to live with it for awhile. Let me know if you can tell me what I need to do to reconcile it!

Happy painting and hiking!
Dawn

Thomas Moran Studies

2010-09-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Top: "Atmospheric Perspective,"(after Moran’s “In the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming”)
oil on canvas, 20"x10"

Middle: "Romantic Sublime," (after Moran's "Grand Canyon in Arizona")
oil on panel, 16"x20"

Bottom: "Isle del Walpe," (after Moran's "Sunset, Pueblo del Walpe")
oil on panel, 10"x8"

Port Townsend Gallery is presenting a Faux Show in the month of October. Each gallery member chooses an artist to focus on, then creates a body of work inspired by that artist.

I have spent some time studying the Hudson River School of American landscape painting the last year. Thus I chose to look at work by Thomas Moran, one of the masters of the romantic landscape.

All of our myths of the West were embodied in the late 19th century. As Rebecca Solnit states, the West was not so much discovered as it was invented. These artists came west with the survey teams and presented some of the first visuals of the continent to the masses back East, all part of the agenda to sell the idea of the west.

The last half of the nineteenth century was a world on the cusp. The world view at the time was that wilderness was boundless, that nature (and God) would provide whatever we asked for. It was, of course, part of our entitlement, our manifest destiny.

There is such a seductive power in these works, and understand that I truly enjoy the romantic school of art. They are beautiful both in aesthetics and in content. The ideals of the time are lovely, sublime, and unattainable.

I wanted to create a body of work that both honors this aesthetic and, at the same time, intentionally pulls the viewer back out of the pastoral landscape. This is the purpose of the text in "Romantic Sublime." In "Isle del Walpe," I used Moran's composition but changed it from a desert landscape to a seascape. The last piece is a work in progress. I intend to add a map element to “Atmospheric Perspective," drawing attention to the journey to the unattainable West.

I would love to hear feedback on this body of work.

Please join us at Port Townsend Gallery for the Faux Show, up through the month of October. The opening reception will be Saturday, October 2nd, from 5:30 to 8:00. 715 Water Street, Port Townsend Washington

Untitled

2010-08-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

New work! This is a 60"x48" oil on canvas. The image is from a storm cloud in Northern Colorado last June; not an epic storm, just a pretty one.

I have spent much of my life watching these thunderstorms grow over the plains of Colorado. It was very nice of the weather to cooperate during my family visit last June; lovely weather overall and a small thunderstorm.

This shows the underpainting (used to lay out the composition, establish value, and as a tool for layering) and the finished piece. This piece is not yet titled.

Dawn

The Need for Solitude

2010-08-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

"Solitude" mixed media, 16x20 on illustration board

I've been spending a lot of time walking this summer, particularly through the woods all around Port Townsend. The rhythm of walking, the quietude, the sights to be found: all these things quiet my mind like nothing else can.

This piece began as a failed watercolor; it was not very interesting. I added layers of charcoal and clear gesso to the piece which gave it depth and the illusion of having detail. The final coat is an oil glaze to further enrich the surface.

Happy walking and painting,
Dawn

Birth of a Tree (drawing...)

2010-06-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

So here is a drawing process for you. I have been experimenting in the studio with drawing effects and have come up with a mixed-media approach that is making me very happy. The final surface is rich with process and almost patina-like effects. I have been very inspired by the work of Larry Thomas in California; he has a series of monumental drawings that are amazing. Johanna and Shirley at Akamai Art here in Port Townsend were instrumental in helping me figure this out.

The first three images are straight up charcoal on watercolor paper. At this point I realize I have made a critical compositional error in the diagonal branch at the top right hand side of the piece, which detracted from the overall movement. Image 4 shows how much I was able to erase but, by image 5, I have employed a layer of Acryla Gouache (Holbein) to cover the mistake. Aaah, gouache. The artist's whiteout.

Next I fixed the holy living hell out of it so that I could apply a layer of clear gesso without lifting the charcoal. Clear gesso has tooth to it that colored gesso does not, a perfect layer to seal in the first layers of charcoal and be able to work more layers on top. This is fundamental as the next multitude of layers include more vine charcoal and oil washes. I used about 10 layers of oil washes, which involve a little tiny bit of paint in a ton of pale drying oil and mineral spirits. This serves to encase the charcoal and gives the drawing that luster I mentioned.

This process is very happy-making. It feels like encaustic as you are sealing in various layers; both watercolor and oil painting; and drawing.

The last image is a detail, in which you can kind of see what a cool surface this is.

"The Grove" is 25"x38" in size, available unframed for $125.

Dawn

Drawings

2010-06-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

New work, done as part of my graduate studies. I have been thinking about trees a lot, easy to do when you live up here.

When I was finding myself again last summer, I went to visit my friends in Novato, CA. I spent hours walking the dry California hills above their house, delighting in the isolation, the views, nature above giant tracts of humanity. I also delighted in the trees. Weird, oddly shaped trees, trees I was not familiar with. These trees make me think of European myths and about dryads and tree entities, beings being trapped in trees or becoming trees, trees becoming people. Some of their forms are so surreal they look like mythical beings. Some of them just Feel powerful.

Inspired greatly by Larry Thomas, I began some larger drawings on good paper. It feels great to be drawing “seriously” again.

This first image “Lost and Found” (top) is supposed to be non-representational, though I began with source photography. I fought the image of the bird that kept reemerging until, finally, I realized it needed to be there. This piece is charcoal and pastel on Stonehenge paper, 22x30" in size.

The second piece, “California Trees” (middle) is from a very complicated image, vast patterns of branches. I remember at the time thinking about the patterns of light and shadow as a language spoken by nature. Also charcoal and pastel on Stonehenge, 22x30" in size.

“Offering” (bottom) is a looser quicker image, influenced by the joy of a new paintbrush (Liquitex Freestyle Paddle brush = too cool!) The immediacy of ink and concentrated watercolor and a springy brush gave me freedom. I did not draw this out ahead of time. The focal point of the lighter branch resembles a dryad, she and her tree. This was not intentional but fits. "Offering" is on Rives BFK, 22x30" in size.

Each of these drawings are available unframed for $100 each.

Dawn

"Vessel"

2010-05-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

My new painting is titled "Vessel." I began this piece during my oil painting class, and my students commented on how the under-painting looked like a ship. This was complete serendipity. As I have spent so much time drawing and painting boats in the course of my graduate work, the structure of the boat unintentionally manifested itself into my under-painting of trees.

I, unfortunately, did not get a good picture of this under-painting as I was anxious to finish the work. If you look at the overriding structure of tree trunks and branches, though, they kind of resemble masts.

When I started thinking of this image I was on a walk through the woods contemplating the power of becoming a vessel, of allowing yourself to step aside and let higher powers move through you. It is counter-intuitive that, in relinquishing your own ego and sense of yourself, you become more powerful. You allow yourself to become more than you can possibly be just on your own two feet. The trick is in getting yourself out of your own way!

Thus "Vessel" is a play on words but is very much on my mind on all counts.

The piece is an oil on canvas, 24" x 48" in size, and my ego is allowing me to sell it for $995.

Happy painting, walking, and contemplating to you as we head towards June!

Dawn

The Birds Go Pirate

2010-05-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well I tried, but the the birds have their own agenda. After painting them and drawing them in their little canoes repeatedly they decided they wanted to evolve in the grand scheme of nautical history.

They pirated these ships.

I am not proud of this, but they are particularly driven in their need to find and claim new migratory routes. Plus these boats are more stylish.

The first image is the first pirated vessel. The pieces that follow are part of a series depicting the fleet. You will not see the birds on these ships as it is an issue of scale. The boats are huge, the birds are busy.

What I like about these two ensuing images besides the conceptual component are the lines and the flat washes. Frankly, they remind me of the children's books I grew up with in the days before full-colored illustrations were affordable. The fresh linear elements excite me. The layered sense of space came about through transparency, as if you could see through all the ships to the horizon. It is meant to create a sense of limitless space and ships innumerable. All of these pieces are mixed drawing media and tempera paint on watercolor paper, 22x30" in size.

I am a bit afraid of what the birds will make me do next. At the moment they are in their pilot quarters pouring over maps...

Manifest Destiny

2010-04-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

One of the series that came about through my graduate work at Goddard College. This entire series is tiled "Manifest Destiny." It is a combination of the academic research I am engaged in, which involves the Romantic artists of the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. What fascinates me about these artists is that they were scientifically oriented, they traveled great distances to create their images, and they were obviously blown away by the landscapes they found in the American West. The dichotomy is that, in creating these paintings of the wilderness that so inspired them, they actually aided in its destruction.

This series began with the sculptural element: birds in boats (scale is 4" to 15", media is ClayShay(r)). The birds came to me. It is partially based on perceptual imagery from the Pacific Northwest, namely the fact that I often see a line of birds resting on a log out in the Strait. These are usually cormorants or gulls, but it inspired the idea of migratory birds building boats and heading West, looking for better migratory routes they could monopolize. I love these birds, but there is a seriousness about them that cannot be denied. Their ultimate goal is to take over the world...

From the sculpture came the drawings, which are all mixed drawing media on various paper. Their scale ranges from 11x14 to 30x40. I like the fact that they have a textile feeling to them, which speaks to the historical element. It is a big step for me to work perceptually from a conceptual element.

The birds have big plans--watch for their latest escapades here!
Dawn

The Harbor

2010-02-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

New painting! In fact it is still quite damp... This is from an image I saw several weeks ago. In real life the bay was not nearly as interesting, it was a flat grey day with this random ray of light. The light is what I was after.

The bay is different each and every time I see it. Within an hour the light, the waves, the tide, everything changes. I could spend the rest of my life just watching the light change out there.

With this piece I was trying to capture a sense of longing and isolation I felt when I saw these boats looking towards the far horizon.

"The Harbor" is 24x36, oil on canvas, and is for sale for $795.

Horizons Art Show

2010-02-12T07:13:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from the art show at The Art Mine. It's a nice, big space and a little hard to convey just how it feels. I have 27 images up to give you an idea of the scale.

The art opening went really well; there was a good turnout and I met a lot of people. It was a great introduction of the range of my of art to this community.

As far as I know the art show in Colorado was also well attended; my art friends back there tell me it was a great opening.

Back to the studio; I am working on a 24x36 landscape this week. It should be ready for viewing by the end of the weekend. Yay!
Dawn

2010-02-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

February is a crazy art month for me! I have two shows opening some 1500 miles apart from one another.

The show in Washington is at The Art Mine in Port Hadlock. The show will be open for viewing from Feb 2nd through March 20th; the opening reception is Sat Feb 6th, beginning at 5pm. It is an eclectic show featuring many new pieces including some of those I have previously blogged about.

The show in Colorado will be at The Art Center of Western Colorado in Grand Junction. The dates for this show are Feb 5th through March 15th, opening reception Friday Feb 5th from 7pm to 9pm. Alas I will not be able to attend this show opening as I have not figured out how to be two places at once... The work for this show features my black and white pastel series, including several large pastel diptychs on wooden panels. Here is a link to their website: I am showing with an amazing glass artist, Andy Martin, who ironically lives in Seattle now!

http://www.gjartcenter.org/exhibits_upcoming_2.html

And other than that I start grad school at the end of the month as I start to chase down the elusive MFA. Art art and then more art--life is good!

Let me know if you make it to one of the shows; I would love to hear feedback. Thanks! Dawn

New Series: Washington Miniatures

2010-01-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

I am enjoying working on some smaller panels at the moment; these are 9x12 oil paintings. The subject is direct from my birdfeeder; these are two of the feathered beasties who are currently eating me out of house and home. The first is an Oregon Junco, the second is a Black-Capped Chickadee.

This is a fun format; the small scale works with the images. I am planning on working on more 9x12 landscapes as well (see "Crescent Lake" in a previous post,) and hanging them together as a mini-installation, alternating landscapes and birds.

It is almost like a sketchbook in oils; these are images I want to capture quickly as I explore and navigate my new home.

Any of these are available for $200. Happy painting, hiking, and birding!
Dawn

Murder Complete

2010-01-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

The murder is complete! This is the piece I started 3 weeks ago; I had to tone down the value shifts a bit to pull it off but, in the end, it has the subtle shimmering light of the Sound I was after.

Please note: the first image here is my underpainting which, as we remember, looked like a poorly formed pterodactyl. The final image here shows you the birds in detail with a little more finesse.

The title is "Murder in Progress." It is an oil on canvas, 30x40", selling unframed for $995.

If you look close you will notice that the birds are not reflected in the water; this is because the birds are spiritual entities. Ravens are very powerful symbols. In this case, to me, they represent ethereal transition.

Dawn

2010-01-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

I was travelling this past week so do not have a studio image to share; that being said here are some sketchbook pics for you from my travels. Here's the problem with hanging out with graphic designers: you begin to think that the way you lay out a sketchbook page makes a difference. Here's the really annoying thing: they are right. I am liking the text as an element on these pages. The most challenging pages were the 'cloud studies' page, which I drew from a plane window at 36,000'. You have to work fast on those suckers. The other challenging page is the 'red-breasted nuthatch' page as it has a lot of design elements. I actually hand-painted each letter on the title.

I have missed my studio this week so should have some paintings to share soon. So now go draw something, then obsess over the text layout. Or just go draw something like a normal person...

2009-12-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

Check out this little bastard! It was one of those paintings that painted itself. Some paintings seem to just flow like magic while others fight for it. My friend Ginny came over to paint with me yesterday and the painting just emerged. It is a 9x12 on a panel, the name is "Crescent Lake," the unframed price is $175. The subject is a beautiful glacial lake in Olympic National Park, captured one evening in October as the sun was setting. My friend Melissa and I were returning from the coast and I almost wrecked the minivan in the process of pulling over when I saw the light on the lake.

Among my other works in progress now I am hoping to work on a small series of miniatures about this size. I'm thinking birds and landscapes alternating for a small installation.

The murder continues--it is on the verge of being genius or being overworked, once again it is hard to tell. ("Murder in Progress," my previous post involving a painting of crows.) I will show and tell when it is finally done.

Happy Holidays!
Dawn

Murder in Progress

2009-12-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

Bwahahahaha! Murder on the Sound! Ok, so I'm inordinately pleased with my blog title. (Wasn't "Murder in Progress" a Goya painting?)

Yes, I am in the process of painting a herd of crows which, technically, is referred to a murder. After the last piece ("Bird, Reborn") I felt the need to bring more birds into my recent landscape series. I superimposed various crows over the landscape image, working to create movement and direction in what is otherwise a very still piece.

This is a work in progress. As you can see from the detailed pictures the birds are still very rough. I particularly like the last image I posted here because they look like poorly formed pterodactyls painted by a two year old. Yay!

The refinement process involves me working on the birds with some detail then pushing the negative space into the birds to help shape the contours. It's the taffy pull of oil painting, that back and forth in the figure ground relationship.

(See what I mean about these birds? It takes a skilled and creative artist to call these little lumps of paint crows, but no fear. We are, in fact, on track with these buggers.)

Bird, Reborn

2009-12-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a new technique for you. I wanted to work on a different underpainting technique in response to my new environment; basically I wanted to start with less chroma in the underpainting and keep adding subtle color layers as I built up. In other words completely different than my usual underpainting which starts out technicolor and gets toned down with each layer. The result is this quiet introspective piece. I am very pleased because the emotion and atmosphere are exactly what I was reaching for.

To add to the newness of the technique I used a new-to-me product by Holbein. It's one of their foundation colors, a fast drying line of color they make just for underpainting. This one is Foundation Greenish. Holy crap--this stuff was made to paint the light effects of Washington State. (And, presumably, those of Japan as that is where Holbein is produced...)

I did not take pictures of the process--sorry! I will try to do so next time I employ this technique: I was just so excited by the results I plowed right through.

Title of this piece is "Bird, Reborn." If you look closely you will see a little bird sitting on one of the poles; it was a total accident of paint that made it appear, or, spiritually speaking, the bird wanted to be in the painting so it appeared. In any case, it made the piece. The bird is a very powerful image for me right now; the fact that the bird is reappearing as a living entity is a very good thing for me to see and actualize.

18x24" on archival panel

PT Gallery

2009-11-29T07:10:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my seascapes hanging at Port Townsend Gallery. It is always good to get the work out of the studio and into the public sphere; it changes the work when it is no longer exclusively mine. This works when I post things online as well, but it is interesting to see the work in different lighting.

I am currently working on an underpainting that is exciting but I don't want to jinx it so will wait to post! Heading out to the Pacific again today to get more inspiration and images.

Dawn

I love being a painter

2009-11-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about this idea! Okay, so this is a diptych titled "We Begin to Remember." Usually when I use photo reference to create panoramic images, I take two pictures side by side, then use my artistic prowess to smooth out the edges where the two images will meet. In other words I fudge it so that it becomes one united piece for the painting. In this case, the waves were coming so fast that by the time my camera recovered so I could take the adjacent shot, things had changed drastically. Here's where the cool idea comes in: instead of smoothing it out so that it would look like one solid image when I went to the painting, I kept it separate. Look at the waves as they go from one panel to the other and you can see that they do not sync up exactly. To me it speaks about the power of the waves, and the element of time.

My work is all about fleeting moments. What is exciting about this piece is that a.) it is still about capturing a fleeting moment, and b.) totally speaks to how impossible it is. Caught in the web of time and all that jazz.

This piece is unified by the sky, but it is a chaotic piece. The image is from the trip to LaPush a couple weeks ago. In the next piece of this series I am going to completely change my method of underpainting so as to bring the chroma down a bit.

Exciting! Excited artist here!

Dawn

oh yeah, this piece is on archival cradled panels, each piece is 18x24 so total overall size 18 x 48

2009-11-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

One day this past week I was working on the computer when the power went out; I decided to lay in an underpainting instead. I opened the blinds as far as they would go on a darkish rainy day. I laid in the entire underpainting; the power came back on, and I realized that I had the values down perfect but some of the most bizarre colors I have ever mixed. The biggest challenge in this piece was trying to get the colors toned down to neutral as I had the light where I wanted it. Finally succeeded! This is not the most flattering picture of this piece as I took it at night and was relying on artificial light.

The subject matter is from LaPush Washington. Record waves that day; there was an atavistic component to my emotions that I was wanted to capture with this artwork. LaPush is on a rough edge of the Pacific, a small town, the home of the Quileute Tribe. Typical little box houses you see on so many reservations; this little village huddled on the edge of nowhere. It is hard to imagine life in this small town during the storms of winter. The title is "We Begin To Remember." It is 36x60" in size on canvas.

My Landscape Has Changed

2009-10-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hello--and greetings from the Pacific Northwest! I needed a change of scenery so this summer I decided to move to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. The water called me up here--as did the trees and the mountains.

Finally got the studio set up to work; here is a new piece titled "Breathing." When I walk along the seashore and listen to the waves, it is the sound of the world breathing. Where two worlds meet; very powerful place.

Breathe! Paint!

Dawn

Troubled Waters

2009-05-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

Deconstruction of a painting... Beginning with the finished piece and working back through the process. Post-modernists should love this.

This is a very emotional piece for me. When I began it I was feeling fiercely jubilant and wanted to create a piece celebrating life and wonder. (I was listening to Beethoven's 6th at the time, that symphony usually has that effect on me!) Life events occurred in the meantime as I was working on the piece and let's just say I finished it listening to Mozart's Requiem. Basically the piece conveys an array of emotional upheaval in my life and, thus, is a bit confused. It is kind of subtle but what I like about the finished piece is that it has both sides. At first it feels like a happy little landscape, but if you look closer it is actually a little disturbing. There are not a lot of quiet moments in the piece.

The title is "Troubled Waters" and it is 30x40 on an archival panel.

Wax Job

2009-03-30T11:05:00.001-07:00

I have had so much going on in the studio lately I have not been able to keep up with my computing! I'm posting a little encaustic work I did awhile ago to keep things moving until I can post more of my process-oriented articles. I have two new large-scale sepia toned pastels I am in the process of finishing right now, as well as a brand spanking new don't-brush-up-against it oil painting. Another large oil painting on the easel as well--like I said, lots to do, lots to do!

This little encaustic is about 9x12. Encaustic is one of the oldest media, combining pigment with beeswax. It is a fascinating mercurial pursuit, combining all of the elements in exciting and sometimes infuriating ways... (will talk more about studio accidents later... actually that could be its own blog.)

Now get off the computer and go draw something!

Dawn

Rocky Mountain PBS

2009-02-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

So a couple weeks ago I got a call from our local PBS station. They have a feature called "Western Bounty" where they interview Colorado artists; apparently it runs several times during a month and I am their February artist. You can also view it online (if I did this correctly, anyway...) by following this link or by going to rmpbs.org and putting my name into the search engine on their site.

http://www.rmpbs.org/panorama/?entry=392

The image I was working on at the time is a big train hub here in Grand Junction. It was very difficult to work on while being filmed, even worse than painting for a demo because of the lights and the big freaking camera! Also, I work very quickly, layering the entire substrate rather frantically. At one point the camera man asked me if I could "just stay still for a minute." He was having difficulty focusing...

The Four Directions

2009-01-24T05:48:00.000-08:00

This is a new work titled "The Four Directions," part of the traffic series I've been working on. I like the formal elements of this composition as well as the idea behind it, that we subconsciously pay homage to the Four Directions whenever we drive a city that is laid out on a grid.

The bigger studio news of the day was that PBS came out to conduct an interview and take footage of me working yesterday for a segment they'll run in February. I believe it will be on statewide for Rocky Mountain PBS here in Colorado but I don't know for sure yet. I will post the times when I know them, as well as a copy of the video itself I hope!

Other than that I am teaching at Mesa State College again; we started last week, as well as a few classes at St Mary's hospital (the Pastel Society of Colorado teaches classes there for people undergoing cancer treatments and their caregivers--always a terrific bunch of students,) and a watercolor class at the Art Center. I'm also conducting a workshop on pastels at the Art Center which is going great! All my classes have fun people; that helps.

Happy painting!
Dawn

The Marina at Stillwater

2008-11-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hello there: here are a couple of pics from my new work titled "Stillwater." In retrospect as I title this blog posting, "Marina at Stillwater" would have been a better title, but so it goes. It's easier to keep the current name than to scrape the painting down in order to re-name it!

This is from my trip to Minnesota last summer; it was a very hot July day and the sky was an amazing shade of blue. My sister and I drove out to Stillwater just for kicks and I was quite taken by the St. Croix. I live in the desert--give me a decent body of water and I'm infatuated with it.

It felt good to paint in oils again. I've been doing a lot of drawing, pastels, and watercolor lately so it felt good to get back to my main medium. This painting is a little more raw than some of my other work. It is looser and has less layers than some. I attribute this to my work in watercolor lately (watercolors make you leave them alone unless you want a muddy painting.) This looseness works well with the emotions I have from this particular summer memory when my sister and I had nothing better to do but to sit by the water and watch boats go by. I may take another wild childish stab at oil painting again this weekend.

Paint on!
Dawn

It was a dark and stormy afternoon...

2008-11-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

I don't have a title for this painting yet, but I think "Dark and Stormy Night" is taken, by Snoopy. The painting is from a day we were up on the Grand Mesa when a major summer thunderstorm moved in. It rained so hard so fast that on the way back I had to get out of the car and walk across an area of the dirt road that had water running across it. We couldn't tell how deep the water was or if the road was being washed out yet, so I forged the stream ahead of the car. Brought back some glory days from the farm! Anyway, the clouds were fascinating.

This is a watercolor on 300# Canson. You can see in the first pic that I have a few of the bright whites masked out with masking tape (gives a nice torn edge as opposed to masking fluid.) The first step after masking, which I did not get a photo of, was to lay in a fairly flat solid wash of French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna (one of my favorite landscape neutrals.) When this field was still wet but just with a light sheen to it (nearly dry) I dropped clear water into the wash and let it bloom. This is why I love watercolor--I could watch paint bloom all day, it's fascinating. Anyway, I lifted the paint from the middle of the blooms, then let the whole field dry, removed the mask, and started laying in layers of paint to push the values farther and define the clouds.

The foreground was painted using wet-on-wet washes initially with a salt texture--again, I let this define where the values of the foliage would lie rather than dictating it from the beginning.

This piece reads very well close up, but is a little lost from a distance. I will sit on it for awhile and see if I need to do something more to the foreground to make it more interesting compositionally.

My thought for the day: go buy yourself a tube of watercolor paint and some cheap watercolor paper and play with paint blooms. It's very therapeutic!

Dawn

More Water

2008-10-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

This is a new watercolor, titled at least for now "December, Eagle County." I started this piece as a demo painting for my watercolor class at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts--amazingly enough I did not completely destroy the painting as I usually do with demo pieces! It is 19x25 on 300# Canson 100, my favorite heavier weight watercolor paper. (It has a great dual surface--rough and smooth, is slightly smaller than most full sheets, and is not terribly expensive.) There was sheer joy in painting this piece. Some of them are just like that.

My main body of work right now continues to be the monochromatic full sized pastels but this is a nice side work; I will always be fascinated with running moving water whether or not it is part of my current series.

Dawn

Shameless Self Promotion

2008-10-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

So here is cute little old me teaching my watercolor class at The Art Center. This class has been a lot of fun so far; we've been looking at a huge variety of landscape techniques from painting foliage to how to paint realistic water in different settings.

I have a show scheduled at The Art Center (technically Western Colorado Center For the Arts: www.gjartcenter.org) in 2010, the exact date is yet to be decided. Yes, they are booking that far out! I am enjoying painting with watercolors on a regular basis again. I just like to keep things mixed up.

In other class news we are halfway through the semester at Mesa State: woo hoo! I have two good classes over there but it's that time of year when everyone begins stressing out. Plus I am looking forward to more studio time over the holidays.

Happy painting!
Dawn

Hiawatha

2008-10-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

And finally we have some new work posted. This is "Hiawatha;" the subject matter is a big old grain warehouse on Hiawatha Ave in Minneapolis MN. Some of these images look like they were uploaded incorrectly but I actually laid this one out upside-down. I'd like to say it was for some great artistic purpose, like working on the right side of the mind by utilizing non-traditional compositional techniques, but what really happened is the paper was a little too large for the board I had it taped to and by the time I laid out my grid I realized the overhang on the paper was on the bottom. When I put it on the easel right-side-up it buckled terribly. I was too impatient to wait to fix it so I worked on in upside-down until I had the underpainting right. I calmed down enough to fix it before I righted it.

This is 24x36 pastel on Wallis sanded pastel paper.

Other Stuff I Do

2008-08-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, in addition to the artwork and teaching art one of my many hobbies is agility training which I do with Millie, our Rat Terrier Extraordinaire. I have yet to compete with her, but have taken several classes with her. She is athletic, smart, and agile, so I mainly do this in the hopes some of those traits will rub off on me. These are the graduation pictures from our last class, Agility Handlers Class, which we took through Dashing Dog Sports. Amy was a terrefic instructor and I learned a lot.

So because I was taking the pictures there are none here of Millie the Wonder Rat. The two pastels at the beginning of the pictures are of Millie (they are 6x9" works on paper.) She truly is an amazing little mutt and we are happy to have her with us.

Classmates: I am so sorry I didn't get fabulous pictures of each and every one of your wonderful dogs. Frankly some of you are just too fast for clear images, plus my batteries were running low which means the camera takes more time to focus. I particularly enjoy the one of Piper doing the weave poles. That dog runs like she's being filmed for a dog food commercial.

In other studio news: yes, I have been very busy working on a new series of monochrome pastel pieces, largely of urban subject matter. It's been a great series for me and I will post the process soon. School started for us again last week so I have been busy getting ready for that. I have 2D Design again as well as Foundations Drawing; both classes are full and it's been a hectic week. I will also be teaching watercolor at the Western Colorado Art Center largely because I am insane. Inertia, however, dicates that my body must stay in motion if I want to get anything done.

One other sad piece of news is that Chloe, my one and only studio cat died this last summer. She was my constant companion for the past 12 years and always had lots of advice in the studio (i.e. she was mouthy...) It's been difficult working in there without the commentary ("Mrow! Meh Mrooow!") while I was painting. Getting through it but I still miss her terribly. You can see a good picture of her under the "contacts" link on the website.

Until next time--go to your studio and make stuff!

Dawn

New Encaustics

2008-06-04T05:35:00.001-07:00

Two new encaustic paintings: these are exciting to me as they are the first pieces I have finished successfully using this new-to-me media. The black & white is titled "Mesa Feed," it's an old feed mill (still in operation) in Grand Junction. This piece is 16x20. The other one is, as yet, untitled. It is small, 8x10 in size. I am going to try to make my own encaustic medium tomorrow--it is time consuming, toxic, and fiddly, so I've been putting it off a bit. Oh, and the raw materials are expensive to boot. Send good thoughts my way!

Dawn

And...we're done! mostly...

2008-05-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yea--the final step! I think, anyway. As you can see I killed some of the highlights and generally brought the tone of the entire piece down a notch (it was too light in hue overall.) I may need to bring it down another notch but at this point I'm going to leave it be, live with it for awhile, then see if anything is still bugging me about the final composition. If so, I'll try and fix it, if not, we'll call it done. This is a little-known but well-used part of the creative process for artists: the "can I live with that?" stage!

I will post my encaustics for your perusal tomorrow. Until then, get out there and paint something!
Dawn

Phase 4

2008-05-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

The next step: I have finished filling out the main forms of the piece. Right now it has a lot going on; I need to think about it for a bit because something will have to be sacrificed in order to pull it off as a successful composition. I think there are way too many highlights, for one, and the light source seems a little harsh. We are very close right now, though! Time to fine-tune the piece then call it done.

Dawn

Phase 3

2008-05-24T10:44:00.001-07:00

So now we're starting to get somewhere! Here I'm starting to flesh out the rest of the painting. I'm still underpainting this image, trying to build it up layer by layer while constantly pushing the values where they need to go. This kind of image with all its linear structure is very intriguing to me; I like to lay down lines then make them disappear then find them again and so on. The final piece should show that back-and-forth, highlighting the process involved.

I started an encaustic painting of another old building in town--will post it when it is finished as well. I think it is safe to say I am on another series, this one using old buildings as subject matter. Will elaborate on the content in another post--back to the studio!

Dawn

Phase 2

2008-05-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's the second major step in the art piece. The initial layout has a lot going on: lots of lines and grid marks. I decided to lay in the sky first to give me a sense of atmosphere and help define my negative space. Sometimes the best way to begin a work is by painting the spaces you are not trying to define; "painting what isn't" as someone once told me. You can't see in the photo, but the sky has multiple layers of various shades of grey, whites, and iridescent silvers so it has a metallic sheen mixed in.

The building is up next: I am painting this (pastels are called paintings, by the way... even though it's a dry media it works more like a painting than anything) in curvilinear perspective, which is a method of linear perspective used when you want to convey a large space. I think it will add another dimension to the piece in any case.

Dawn

Ah, Summer at Last!

2008-05-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Yea! School is out, which means I finally have some uninterrupted studio time. I had an interesting semester teaching 2D design, which is a basic pre-req for all art majors plus a gen ed course for other majors. It comprises a bunch of little projects designed to teach basic composition, color theory, that kind of thing. It was fun but exhausting, and it's a really good thing to be back to work on my stuff!

So here's what I'm shooting for: I am going to post this particular piece step by step as it unfolds. Everyone keep their fingers crossed that this sucker turns out in the end; otherwise this will be a lesson in what not to do! The subject matter is a really cool building for Grand Junction Steel, a local plant. It is still in operation (as you will be able to see with the high-security gate they have in place!) It is a pastel on a panel I made myself using a wood panel, Kitty Wallis sanded pastel paper, black Bombay ink, and a lot of cussing. It is 48" x 18" in size.

The cussing came into play because I was using 4 sheets of 12x18" paper to cover the wood, the idea being that the seems where the paper meets will be another interesting element in the final piece. I also painted the Wallis paper first using Bombay ink: if you want a nice strong color for a background on Wallis, Bombay is the way to go. It tints it very nicely and doesn't kill the tooth of the paper. Anyway, I adhered the first 3 sheets of paper to my board successfully using Yes Paste, a great product that is a nice, thick, archival kind of paste. It's also a pain in the butt to use when you are dealing with thick, somewhat curled paper that doesn't want to be glued down, thank you very much. So I did these piece by piece, saturated the back of the paper with the paste, forced it into place, then weighed it down for 12 hours or so. I had paste covering my arms and legs by the time I got through this (so I'm not very tidy in the studio, so sue me...) I had this brilliant idea to use PVA (Poly Vinyl Adhesive) for the last piece--also a great glue known for its archival properties and its flexibility over time. Aha! Much easier application! The consistency is more like Elmer's glue, so it was easier to spread and I had a little longer working time. Oh, brilliant me! Yeah, well the other thing Yes Paste is known for is not wrinkling your papers. Yep, 3 of the sheets adhered nicely, the 4th was all lumpy. Sigh. I was able to force it into place eventually but it was a trial.

Okay, here is step one and we'll go from here, assuming that the worst is behind us now!

"Chasing Down the Sun"

2008-04-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

So here's a new piece from the studio. This piece is 30x40" in size on stretched canvas, and I was trying to capture a certain effect of light we notice along this stretch of I70 pretty much every time we come back home from the Front Range of Colorado. We usually hit this area, no matter the season, at the peak of sun glare, yet it is beautiful. This piece of highway could be anywhere in the western United States. From this vantage I swear I can feel the continent falling away to the Pacific Ocean. As usual, I've posted both the underpainting and the finished version.

Elemental

2008-03-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some images from "Elemental," my current show at Planet Earth & the 4 Directions Gallery located at 524 Colorado Avenue here in Grand Junction CO. The show looks great; please stop by and check it out. We're having a huge Earth Day Dance Party on April 22nd; art show opens at 7pm and the music starts at 8pm. Charles King, who also teaches at Mesa State College, and his band will be playing. It should be quite the event! Caole Lowry, owner of Planet Earth, has gone to great lengths to make my art look terrific in her space. Thanks, Caole! Dawn

Pentimento Epiphany!

2008-02-24T16:18:00.000-08:00

Wow--so there is a series of work that has been floating around in the back of my mind for at least a year now but has never made it to the studio because I haven't found the right execution for it yet. It stems from wanting to take my drawings to another level and not being proficient enough in printmaking to make that happen yet. It also has something to do with subject matter. I've always enjoyed drawing from small natural objects and trying to abstract them somewhat in the process (bones, especially skulls, wood, etc.) So, there I was last week, home alone and channel surfing, when I came across a short documentary titled 'Pentimento' which is about an artist in New Mexico named Fran Hardy. (It's still showing now and then on PAEC, the Pacific Education Channel, as well as some PBS stations if you have a chance to catch it.) It was one of those true "AHA!" moments--her technique was exactly what I had been looking for. So here's the scoop: Fran does these amazing very tight botanical illustrations on large (4x5' or so) panels in graphite. She then layers an abstract / non-representational color field on top using oil pastels, and then scratches through to the original drawing without knowing exactly what she's going to find. This is it--it speaks of process and time and a certain spirit about the subject matter, exactly what I've been looking for.

Here are some of my first experiments with this--it's a drawing of a bevel fungus that I've applied the technique to.

Off of the Subject...

2008-02-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

So here's a classic de-construction of an image, starting with the finished piece and working backwards through the underpaintings to the initial outline. This piece is titled "Unaweep Ranchers," it is an oil on canvas and is 36x48" in size. I laid this one out a little differently than I usually do. Since I wanted the final image to be very low-key in color, I rendered the underpainting monochromatically using only Burnt Sienna and its tints and shades. In other words, my underpaintings are usually pretty technicolor, but for this image I used a more subtle technique. Actually this is a traditional technique used by Renaissance artists, only those guys, being infinitely more patient than myself, would lay out an underpainting in Burnt Sienna mixed with a nice oil medium such as linseed oil, let it dry for a month or two, then proceed to the next level (oil based mediums tend to slow the drying process in already-slow-to-dry oil paint.) Since I have better mediums available to me, and I am the world's most impatient oil painter, this sucker took me a week to complete. The image is from a treck we took up the Unaweep Canyon last September. It was one of those beautiful Colorado days where we had had a light dusting of snow, but the fall color was still on the trees. It looked like a black and white photograph where certain areas had been hand color-tinted. This is, in fact, from the same trip where I got the source material for "Living Waters."

So this is a hiatus from the water series. I started teaching art again this semester, and by the time I could get back to the studio I had lost the thread. I will pick it up again, but I felt I needed a gear shift just to get me started again. I think I have things balanced out enough that I will be able to get some real work done in the studio (finally!) Happy early spring to you,

Dawn

Watercolor-a-Rama

2008-01-04T17:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, the next piece in the ongoing series is a watercolor (gasp!) It has been awhile since I completed a serious watercolor, or at least one I took seriously. This felt really good--this piece is 20x30 on 300# Canson 100 paper. (If you have never worked a watercolor on this paper you have to try it: it is not terribly expensive. This paper has two distinct surfaces on either side, one smoother than the other. This painting was painted on the smoother side, which is not as smooth as a hot press or as rough as a rough press.) The title of this piece is "Roaring Fork," named and based on a tributary of the Colorado that runs through Aspen. I'm still working on a better photo of the last image on "Upstream Downstream," my previous triptych. Sigh.

As I slog through "Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice" in preparation for the next class I am teaching at our local college, I at least have a good quote to share which is not attributed. "Color gets all the glory...but value does all the work." I would not have believed this as a younger artist as color has such an intrinsic emotional punch, but there is nothing more important to any art piece than its value, which is to say the feeling of light and dark in a work. You can fudge a lot with color, but if your values are off there's really no point in proceeding. Pick a light source and stick to it, that's all I'm saying.

Dawn

Upstream Downstream

2007-12-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

Here are two pieces of a triptych I finished up before the holidays--oil on Claybord (archival panel,) the long narrow piece is 10x30 inches and the other two (one not pictured) are 16x20 inches in size. These are part of the running water series I've been working on; the third panel is finished but is not being photogenic enough to post at this time! I also have a series of pics of the underpaintings on all of these. I will try to get those cropped in and posted soon.

It's always difficult to work in enough studio time this time of year, between the holidays and year-end taxes and everything else. I am hoping to pick up the thread on this series and finish the other images I have been thinking of and then go on to something completely different. This series came about because of my endless fascination with running water. There is something magical about streams and rivers. The way the light refracts off the surface and also illuminates the bottom of the stream as it moves constantly, calling out its own music; it seems to have a life of its own. The many organisms that share this environment are also part of the allure. With these paintings I am attempting to capture some of that living motion in a still media; a moment of time frozen but hopefully still fascinating.

I will keep you posted (bad blog pun, sorry!) on the rest of the series as it progresses!

Dawn

Living Waters

2007-11-19T17:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a piece from my latest series, which is all about moving water. This is the first presentable piece, titled "Living Waters," an oil on Claybord, a type of archival panel I'm very fond of. This piece is 18"x36" in size, and comes from a car trip we took up the Unaweep canyon on the Uncompaghre Plateau. Unaweep is Ute for "canyon with two mouths;" it is a very unique canyon in that the creek that created it has it's own divide; halfway up the canyon the waters split, so that the creek feeds into two different tributaries on each side of the divide. This is of West Creek (as opposed to East Creek; so the English names aren't nearly as poetic as the Ute...) The day we headed up was one of those weirdly beautiful days only Colorado can create; the fall color was still in full force but there had been a light snow which dusted everything in pearly white and diffused the light both above and below the horizon. At this point in the journey I had just disturbed an American Dipper, a small bird which fishes in rivers and creeks in the Rocky Mountains (the only bird which does not have hollow bones because of it's diving proclivities, just FYI...) (The dipper I disturbed was quite annoyed; they hang out on rocks in creeks and hunt for small fish and insects. I was in the way.) It was a truly magical afternoon; expect more imagery from this trek.

Here's a completely unrelated quote I just found in a book I'm reading titled: The Desert Is No Lady, Southwestern Landscapes in Women's Writing and Art, edited by Vera Norwood & Janice Monk.

The desert is no lady.
She screams at the spring sky,
dances with her skirts high,
kicks sand, flings tumbleweeds,
digs her nails into all flesh.
Her unveiled lust fascinates the sun.

Pat Mora

Desert thoughts for you during the last vestiges of autumn!

Dawn

In Lieu of Cake

2007-11-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

Above: The Red Brick Art Center with a few of my pieces showing. Here's the ski slope in Aspen Colorado, shortly before the snow falls in earnest! We have a terrific show up at the Red Brick Center. Aspen is the place to be for Halloween, by the way. I have never in my life seen so many people in costume and in character as well... People come from all over to be there. That being said, we had a poor turnout for our opening on November 1st, largely because the entire town was hung over. If you are in the area please come by and see the show; my colleagues are amazing and the space itself looks terrific. The downtown galleries in Aspen also had poor opening nights--the entire town does an Artwalk on the first Thursday of every month and apparently the commercial galleries had the same problems we had.
The Adjunct show at Mesa State came down today; after this I have a long break from shows and, as of December 7th, I will be done teaching for a little while. This is good as I have a lot I'm hoping to accomplish in the studio this winter. Actually I have a lot I'm hoping to accomplish in the studio this weekend. As always I will post anything worth posting!

Dawn

Aspen Show

2007-10-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

"The Myth of the West" finished piece
30x40" oil on canvas

"The Myth of the West" underpainting

Here are a couple images of the same painting: the first is the completed piece and the second is the underpainting. All my work begins with a technicolored underpainting; I let some of that layer and each consecutive layer show through to add interest to the piece. The underpainting is necessary to establish the composition, begin the values, and set the overall tone for the piece--I find if I don't have a firm underpainting it isn't much worth pursuing the rest! Sometimes the underpainting is the most interesting thing about the piece and I wish I could leave it there, but so far I have more to say than that. What can I say, I'm a chatty person.

So Aspen is right around the corner--we're going up there on Halloween to hang the show and it opens on November 1st. This is one of the new pieces for the show--I have a few others I'll try and post soon; one of them is not finished yet so it may not make the show. Now I have a bunch of framing and varnishing and all the work that goes into getting ready for a show: so, of course, all I want to do is paint! Oh well, I should have time for that soon.

Come up to Aspen in November if you have a chance--should be a great show!

Dawn

Update-a-rama

2007-10-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

Red Brick Art Center
Aspen, Colorado

Woo-Hoo! "It's Always a Matter of Time" took 2nd place at Glenwood in the professional pastel division. I also sold a piece today in the "Grand Tribute Show," ("Cold Shivers") which opens today (Friday, Oct 5th.) The Western Colorado Congress, a not-for-profit group dedicated to water conservation over here asked if they could use the image from the sold piece for some posters as a fund-raiser. I'm offering them a limited license to use the image for that purpose; it's a good group and I'm a.) happy to help them out and b.) glad they chose my piece out of all the images in this show as the one they'd like to use to promote their cause. Now it's all about Aspen: the Mile High show has opened at the Red Brick and I need to get focused with what's going up next month for our big show. No worries--only teaching 3 classes 4 nights a week plus working at our business The Coffee Studio 6 days a week.... not stressed out or anything!

I will let you know what's going to Aspen as well as other fun things from the studio. Cheers!

Dawn

Calendar of Upcoming Events

2007-09-17T13:30:00.001-07:00

"We Are Far From Home"
pastel on paper
22x26"

This is one of the two pieces that were accepted into the Mile High National, a pastel exhibit sponsored by the Colorado Pastel Society. It will be hanging at the Red Brick Center for the Arts in Aspen, Colorado from Oct 5th-Oct 31st, with an opening reception on October 5th from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. Red Brick is located at 110 East Hallam Street, Aspen CO 81611.

Other upcoming events: The Art Project, a small art group I belong to, will have a show also at the Red Brick through the month of November. That show opens on Nov 1st with an opening reception from 5:00 - 7:00 pm, and will be up until Nov 29th.

Glenwood Springs Art Guild's 45th Annual Fall Art Festival runs from Sept 26 - 30th at the Ramada Inn and Suites (I-70, Exit 116) in Glenwood Springs, CO. I have two pieces entered in this show, one of the best juried shows in the region.

Mesa State College will have a faculty adjunct show in October. The show is open Oct 22nd, and the opening reception is Friday Oct 26th from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. This show is up untio November 8th, and is at the Johnson Gallery in the student center at Mesa State College, 12th Street and Elm Street in Grand Junction, Colorado.

I have several pieces in the Mountainside Miniatures exhibit, sponsored by the Mountainside Art Guild. This show is at the Foothills Art Center, 809 15th Street, Golden CO. It is up currently and runs through October 28th. As the name implies, it is a juried show for small works, 5x7" or smaller.

A Grand Tribute Art Show will be held Sept 25th - Oct 28th at several venues throughout the Grand Valley. This show is "a community effort to preserve the unique, unspoiled natural landmarks of the Grand Mesa and Grand Valley. The focus of this show is artwork that personifies the aesthetic wilderness beauty, wildlife habitat, pristine water resources and recreational opportunities of this area." In other words, it's right up my alley. They accepted 3 of my pieces, it is a juried show, and I'll let you know when they let me know where my pieces will hang.

It's a crazy year and a crazy time of year, but keeping my artistic self in motion keeps me motivated!

Autumn in the Studio

2007-09-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

"These Bleaching Bones"
oil on canvas
24"x48"

This piece is almost finished; I'm going to go back in with a few glazes and tweak the light just a bit. (Official Artspeak: "Light Tweaking.") I've been working on several large oils, but also spending quite a bit of time on the business side of things this month. I'm in several upcoming shows, which involves working on art presentation (I do most of my own framing) as well as meetings and meetings and then, just to shake things up, a few more meetings. Ah well, it gets the artwork out there in the end and that's all for the good. I'm also teaching at Mesa State again this fall, a watercolor class this time, and teaching some smaller classes on the side. We've got a pastel class and an oil class lined up for the next few months; will probably do drawing in the spring. The students keep me on my toes and I feed off of their youthful artistic motivations. Lots of great art energy building up; I'm excited about the upcoming shows and classes and excited about the images currently piling up in my brain. The old sketchbook has once again become a log of what I want to do when I'm back in the studio. So enjoy this sole image for now and expect more soon! Dawn

New Work, July 19

2007-07-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple new pieces from the studio this week. I'm trying to build some stock back up for the upcoming regional shows. These are both pastels on Wallis sanded paper. The first is titled "Bright Morning" and is 18x24" in size. The second is, as of yet, unnamed; it is 12x18" in size.

New Work June 2007

2007-06-27T16:25:00.001-07:00

I apologize--it has been pointed out to me recently that I need to update the blog. In my defense, I've been quite busy in the studio. Here are some images I've been working on lately. I'm still working in the print studio, but as of yet my two plates are not worth sharing. In fact, I liked both of them better about two steps ago. I'm still hoping to pull something off that's worth posting--will let you know. In any art one of the most difficult challenges is knowing when to stop. It's even more difficult with a media you're unfamiliar with; I honestly don't know if I've killed the plates dead or if I just haven't pushed them enough yet. Yikes!

The other work I've been doing this summer so far involves my black and white pastel images. I really like this series; they are really flowing for me. They are from part of myself that I cannot explain verbally.

The other main project I have going is a watercolor study series. Way way back when I was in school one of our ongoing assignments was to paint studies of famous paintings of the past, images of our choice to be turned in every Friday. I hated it. And yet... You can learn so much about composition, color, etc. by this method. I was so inspired by "Twentieth-Century Watercolors" by Christopher Finch that I started some small studies of the images he chose for the tome. As you can see, these pics are straight out of my sketchbook. It's a little manic, but nothing as to the Great Intaglio Project! (Intaglio: miscellaneous printmaking techniques including etching and engraving. Josh could explain this much more clearly to you...)

Hope you enjoy the new work. I will try to post more regularly!

Dawn

The Aftermath of Art

2007-05-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

"Painting a picture, doing a dance, writing a poem, any act of art can be a magical ritual, the doing of which has nonlinear effects. Seen in this way, most acts of creation are private rituals done in personal caves. What we usually think of as works of art are the aftermaths of art." Frank Moore

In preparation for a watercolor class I'm teaching in the fall, I've been reviewing some of the history of art I once knew. (I feel at this point in my life I would like to review much of what I once knew...) In Watercolors of the Twentieth Century, Finch wrote that while Cezanne felt he was honestly depicting his reaction to form, color, and composition, what his youthful followers were most interested in was his ability to get away from form, color, and composition. (I'm paraphrasing here.) He was one of the first artists to highlight the picture plane itself as a compositional element, to point at the paper itself while still creating the artifice of the painting.

I was thinking of this a lot yesterday. My friend Josh is teaching me some basic printmaking techniques. I'll admit that as a younger person I never had the patience to really learn printmaking. The process always seemed to get in the way of the art. With painting you have that instant gratification of knowing exactly what a brush stroke looks like at the time you paint it. Printmaking takes a little more faith. You make a mark and you think you might know eventually what it's going to look like on the paper. (Okay, real print makers have a clear idea of what it's going to look like--I'm a beginner so it's more of a blind jump for me.) What really intrigued me is the disconnect between the art (the act of drawing, scraping, etc.) and the substrate it will eventually rest on. It points to the process of art more than any other media I've ever tried--truly by the time the final print is pulled it is the aftermath of the artistic process.

It's all very intriguing--I went home yesterday with my brain full and spent all night in my dreams pulling prints. If I get anything vaguely worthwhile I'll post the results. Maybe I'll post them anyway for comedic purposes...