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Friday, August 27, 2010
FLASHBAGS, Carry A Conversation™
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Fit to Print
Orlando Arts Magazine was kind enough to publish a two-page spread on Exquisite Harmony today! Many thanks to the efforts of Editor, Cindy Bowman LaFronz and Managing Editor, Jessica Chapman for all their hard work and efforts in producing such a beautiful layout.
You can pick up this publication of United Arts of Central Florida locally at Borders, Comma Gallery, Gallery on First, Leu Gardens, and Dexters of WP to name a few.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Flamenco Feet
All the Flamenco music I have been listening to lately has inspired me, and all the compliments on the dancer made me want to do one more in this genre. I have been saving photos of dancing feet for a while, in hopes of capturing the spirit of dance.
My dear friend Barbara Dunham, the president of the Atlanta Collage Society, has been encouraging me to consider an abstract approach to my style for quite some time. Barbara is a wonderful abstract collage artist herself. She said, "Elizabeth, I'm not asking you to change your style, just to consider experimenting with adding an abstract edge to it."
Well Barbara, this one is for you. I was thinking about your advice and the recent sample of Derek Gores (another FL collage artist whom I have had the pleasure of meeting and seeing his work in person) work you sent this week when I was collaging this Flamenco skirt!
Now, does anyone speak Spanish? Need help with the title...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Flamenco Dancer Complete
Its Finished! Now what shall I call it? Something to do with vibration, undulation....
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Music to My Eyes – a Progression
In progress, I have completed the dress and now working on the sleeves. I have been collecting paper doilies but have not used them for fear of a "country" look if not used in just the right place. Here I took advantage of the lace-like quality they offer since you can see the colors through them. To make them appear less like doilies, I have torn out the circular pattern and used it in pieces and parts rather than whole. I felt they added a fluffy lacy feeling to her sleeves, enhancing the undulating movement of her dancing.
Having completed the dress and sleeves, the next step is the face and neck. This is a challenge because I'm not feeling like my variety of flesh-toned papers is very large, but it's rainy this weekend and setting up to paint papers (outside) is just not looking like a good idea. I will have to struggle with a minimal palette and really challenge myself.
Its's been quite a while since I have done a person. I am enjoying this piece!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Music to my Eyes Under-Painting
I have under-painted the flamenco dancer (yet to be titled) and I am experimenting with applying opposite color. This means, where it is green, I will add red paper, where it is purple I will add yellow paper, and where it is orange I will ad blue paper. My plan is to leave a little bit of the under-painted color showing through between collage pieces, allowing that opposite color to visually vibrate with the collage papers.
We'll see how it goes!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A Wonderful Portrait Artist
I met Jami Childers when she took my Paper Paintings collage workshop in Jacksonville. Jami did a portrait in collage and it was fantastic, it was then that I learned just how great of a portrait artist (and barber) Jami is.
We have stayed in touch, and recently I commissioned her to paint portraits of my kids. What can I say? They are fantastic!
Visit Jami's website here, you might like to consider commissioning your own painting for the holidays. Jami worked from iPhone pics I emailed her of my kids making funny faces while we were out and about doing our daily routine. As a mom, I can tell you that this is a fantastic gift.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Student Work
It's been a while since I posted some student work! First, Carla worked so hard on this bathing suit piece and her apple exercise from class, and then she gave each one to each of her daughters. What a great gift of love! I think she had great success with the water, very thin horizontal pieces make the water in the distance appear far away, larger flowing pieces in the front give us a feeling of close up.
Carol had purchased my DVD and just yesterday purchased my PDF book download here on the blog (right hand column) She said she was very excited about trying her hand at collage. I love the loose quality of this bird, very feathery feeling to me!
Great work by two great students. If you have purchased the DVD or PDF book download and would like to share your work, email me.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Music to My Eyes
For those of you who have been following my work for Exquisite Harmony, my solo exhibition at Maitland Art Center, this is the final piece that I am working on for the show. Delivery date is September 5. I have been adding hanging hardware and labeling the pieces as I go along, so there will be no final rush to prepare works for the gallery the night before. I have also been creating the art cards and have typeset the Bruce Adolphe poems to go along with the 13 Carnival of the Animals collages.
I wanted to include dancers as representatives of music from the beginning, but I saved her for the end. I'll be listening to flamenco music on Pandora as I create this piece. I might even have to eat some Latin food to help me get into the rhythm of things!
Once again, I'll be looking for a title for her when she is complete, as I have nothing in mind at the moment. I just have always loved the color and intensity of these dancers and their costumes.
She is started in my typical process, a pencil sketch on birch gallery boxed panel primed with Liquitex clear gesso. I prefer a Faber Castell 9000 series pencil, as it has some varnish mixed in with the graphite and tends to smear less when I apply the clear gesso over the top of the sketch. Experience has brought me to the point of sketching directly on unprimed wood, and then priming over both sketch and panel before creating my acrylic under-painting.
Typically I had been working on un-cradeled panel which I framed in barn wood hand-made by my frame maker in Kentucky. For this show, I decided to use the gallery boxed panel so as to keep the look clean and contemporary. I felt that this would lend itself to the variety of subject matter that makes up this body of work.
So, be thinking of a title as we go through the process of this final installment to Exquisite Harmony, on display at the Maitland Art Center in Maitland, FL from September 10-October 24.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
100% Pure Florida Exhibition
I am happy to announce that I have been accepted into the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery's 100% Pure Florida exhibition again this year. Three years ago, one of my collages won Best of Show there. That's a tough act to follow, right?
I am feeling pretty good about having been selected, as there were 240+ pieces submitted for consideration from 100% Florida artists, and mine was chosen to be among the 64 pieces of artwork that will be included in the exhibit.
This piece was one of six finalists in the 2008 Sport Art Competition for the U.S. Olympic Committee. The kid looking through the Olympic rings is my daughter, Emilie. My husband took a fantastic reference photo with his underwater camera housing!
The quote is by Wilma Rudolph, an absolutely amazing athlete who overcame incredible odds.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Birch Trees Need A Title
Once again I'm looking for some help with a title for this diptych. A departure from my normal style, I am enjoying creating these abstract landscapes. I did the sketch for this piece on the couch while watching TV back in the middle of June. I am so impressed with myself for not losing it before I actually put it on the wood panels and made it into a finished piece!
I painted the black outlines as part of the under-painting with black gesso and decided to leave them painted, not collage over them. I also have an under-painting of a gray blue that shows through some of the sheet music pieces that form the tree bark. This was an experiment with leaving the underpainting showing through, and using different colors under there. A departure from my typical style of painting the same color underneath that I intend to collage on top.
This diptych will be a part of my solo exhibition "Exquisite Harmony" at the Maitland Art Center. Show opens September 10, 6-8pm and runs through October 24.
What do you think?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Cool Coffee Cup
Remember, all proceeds go toward online purchase of art supplies.
Quantities are limited at this point, if they do well I will order more
August Altamonte Workshop
Joyce took the class with her good friend and kids book illustrator Loreen Leedy who also blogged about her experience in preparing for my mini-class in Altamonte.
I thank both of these women for offering me some great TESTIMONIALS! Something I was lacking a link to before.
In the second photo, the group is hard at work with paper everywhere!
A good time was had by all.