George Tooker - Egg Tempera artist extrodinaire

Just when I discover egg tempera, we perhaps our best modern egg tempera artist, George Tooker, who died last Sunday at the age of 90. I've always loved his work, and watching this 3-part video makes me realize he was as wonderful as his paintings. Check out his egg tempera set-up, and his work, which will give you chills.

 

The Goodyear Welt

 Here's another memento from the shoemaker's shop, a 1945 manual of the Goodyear Welt Sewing Machine.

I love the elegant engraving of the machine, a nice contrast to my own interpretation.

• • • 

The weather is getting warm enough to wander outside on my lunch breaks, and last week I stumbled on a couple of good exhibits on College Hill. Both have a good representation of paint on canvas, rather shocking in this day and age.

The first, "Extreme Scale",  is at the Providence Art Club. Among the large pieces is Sue McNally's  "Paradise at Night" which I first bowled me over when I saw it at the Newport Art Museum last June. On the other end of the scale one of my favorites is a beautiful sculptural rendering of a tree trunk in frosted glass and wood by Kat Ely.

Just a few blocks away, The List Gallery at Brown has their Student Exhibtion. Despite the obligatory pile of stuff in the corner and annoying flat-screen TV spewing static, it also has some pretty nice paintings.

The shows will be up for about another week and a half, so if you're in the neighborhood, they're worth a look.

Discovering Cindy Tower

In my random time-wasting/procrastinating/web browsing I stumbled upon this great site that has video of interviews and studio visits with artists that are really well done and not nearly as pretentious as some I've watched where either the videographer can't get out of his own way, or the artist is deified to a laughable degree.

The video above is about a fascinating artist - Cindy Tower - I'd never heard of, but plan to find out more about. I want to go paint with her! Enjoy...

Kirsten Hassenfeld's paper whites at Bell Gallery

I saw a great exhibit last week by artist Kirsten Hassenfeld at the Bell Gallery at Brown University last week. These pristine and monumental constructions were made entirely of paper and foamboard, with surface textures like bleached white sheets, fresh set plaster, eggshells, or a piece of fine drawing paper. The curves and lighting were elegant and simple, but the pieces were full of surprises. The longer I looked, the more I saw. Intricate little paper figures, impossibly tiny paper chains, cameos beautifully drawn in layered paper and a little paper spider. And as I looked at them in the quiet gallery, they slowly turned on their suspended wires, which made the floor seem to shift under my feet. But so subtly that it was relaxing, rather than disorienting.

In a way, they reminded me of seeing Lee Bontecou's mobiles at her 2004 MOMA retrospective. Hassenfelds's work though, while capturing some of the weightless presence of Bontecou, is so meticulously crafted that the wonder of how it was created almost distracts from the overall work, while Bontecou's pieces have a quality of always having existed. But then I'm so biased towards Bontecou that a comparison is almost unfair.

I then distanced myself from the aesthetic quality of the work in order to see if it were true, as a reviewer stated, that she used

"many of the same materials you might find in a grade-school art class: heavy-duty construction paper, translucent vellum (also a kind of paper) and lightweight poster-board, along with a bit of tape and glue to hold it all together. Add up the cost of everything in the Bell show and you’d barely have enough to pay for a typical opening-night party at a New York gallery."

Reading this before I saw the show, I found it hard to believe that Hassenfeld would put the effort into these pieces using such impermanent materials. On inspecting the work, I could tell she used archival material throughout, not a trace of construction paper, poster board or tape. In reading the catalog, she stated that she was only able to fabricate the massive pieces of thick archival foamboard by using a computer-guided laser paid for by a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. In other words, this installation costs significantly more than an opening night party. Good to know that though she may be a bit obsessive to make those tiny little chains, she wasn't crazy enough to make them out of paper that was bound to fall apart. We want these lovely objects to stay around for awhile.

The exhibit is up until November 1.

The elemental things - Sue McNally at the Newport Art Museum

After reading a review of the Sue McNally show in the local paper, I decided it was time to weigh in with my impressions of the show now up at the Newport Art Museum.

The first painting I saw on entering the gallery was Paradise at Night. Across the room the white spotlight effect of the moon on the dark canvas was definitely a Strange Attractor. I took quick glance around the gallery and was at first sorry that there were only 3 of these large paintings, along with 3 smaller ones. But, although the gallery is huge, it could hardly contain the energy of any more.

As I approached I discovered that, not only are the large paintings composed of 3 panels each, but within those panels are many other paintings to explore. This is not a quick show to see.

In the center of Paradise at Night, a speck of a buoy in the column of moonshine seems very tiny and far away, floating as it does below the luminous and translucent clouds that rise above it. Although diaphanous, they are clearly part of the immense atmosphere. A tiny line of breaking surf brings me back to earth and stylized waves pulse into the concave coast with a pattern like the ridges on a clamshell.


Unfortunately this is not a very good representation of the painting, but will give an idea of how it's laid out

In another painting, The Last Valley, Paradise Rocks, she succeeds in her stated goal to "place the viewer within the scene". The feeling seems more authentic because once there you encounter a barrier of brambles and thickets. It's passable, but not without planning a careful path, even then it's still a scramble, except maybe for a path over the rocks on the right side that leads, not down to the ocean, but to a side overlook which will give a different perspective on the valley.


Within this painting there are many more. In one, slabs of rock rise from the reeds and I get the impression that there is a frenetic activity going on there, perhaps small animals moving over its surface and burrowing about in the brush.


The brambles are also wonderful paintings in their own right.

I really enjoyed spending time with all the energy and color of this show. Somehow much more rewarding than the sterile, one-ironic-idea installations that are being served up to a "world ...sick to its thin blood for lack of elemental things".

The show will be up till August 12 at the Newport Art Museum.

Must see - Sue McNally at the Newport Art Museum

I just came from a tremendous show of large and beautiful oil paintings by Sue McNally at the Newport Art Museum. It's up until August 12 and well worth a trip over the bridge. More later...

Artist as collector

I did something I've only done once before. I went to an opening last month and bought a painting! It's a strange experience to be on the other side of the checkbook, but feels nice too.

I know artists who have large collections of art objects and paintings, either traded or purchased, and their homes look great. I also know artists whose home ends up looking like extended studio space. I am one of the latter. Although my studio is detached from my house, I bring my work in to hang on my limited wall space so I can look at it in a different light and state of mind. So my walls are usually badly hung with half-finished paintings. I also have very little wall space to work with, due to an abundance of windows and doors in my little house. But now I've somehow acquired some really nice pieces, mostly from the generosity of other artists, and am going to have to think about finding permanent wall space to do justice to them.

The painting I bought? A Primiano of course, that I've been eyeing since I posted it here

Opening this Saturday - Paintings by Don Primiano

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Click here to see a slideshow of the work, narrated by the artist
Opening this Saturday, April 25, 6 to 10 pm.
The Art of War - WWII Drawings and Paintings by Don Primiano
Works from 1943 to 2008
At the West Side Arts Gallery, 745 Westminster St., Providence
MAP

Open every Saturday, April 25 to May 25 11 am-2 pm. or by appointment: jyllethiermullen@gmail.com.
www.westsideartsgallery.blogspot.com

Still employed, thank goodness for lunch...

It looks like I've survived the latest round of layoffs at my job, but 100 of my co-workers didn't, about 20% of the company. I don't know how it's going to go once the dust settles, but I wish everyone who was let go a more interesting future than they would have gotten if they had stayed.

I guess I'm relieved. Money is good to have. Time is better. Money plus time would be the best, but hard to arrange.

So I'm still coming into Providence every day, and still get a lunch hour. I took advantage of it today to mail off a couple of applications for national park residencies and take in RISD's faculty biennial.

I enjoyed the biennial more than previous ones I've been to. The work seemed more interesting, not as sterile or contrived. The extra space is really luxurious too, now that the Chihuly show is down and the full extent of it is visible.

I was immediately taken with a painting by Todd Moore "I Rest on the Way to Church Point". It's a large painting and loses something in the photo, but when you see it in person the space is kind of skewed, the big rock at the top seems to move forward, giving the boulders weight and presence. It has a gritty feel that reminds me of the feel of stones crunching under my feet as I walk the shoreline.


Another piece which I found intriguing was John Supancic's photo of the Johnston Landfill. I recognized his name on the label because he's been a stringer at a few newspapers I've worked at and was also my (excellent) wedding photographer. So I was surprised to see what looked like a painting next to the label. On closer inspection I could see some photographic details, but thought for sure he had overpainted the image. I looked even closer at the "brushstrokes" and was surprised to see that they were actually bulldozer tracks. It's more obviously a photo when it's reduced to the size you see here, but at actual size (about 30"x34") it's beautifully brushy and expressive.

I also liked a video by Dennis Hlynsky that showed birds in on wires and in flight, with motion trails that looked like charcoal drawings.

It's up until March 13 and worth a look.

Following leaders - Don Primiano and Barack Obama

The opening at Imago for Don Primiano was packed, and to talk to the master himself one had to get in line. There is still plenty of time to see the show, its up until Jan. 31, details can be found HERE.

"Don Primiano, now 84 years old, started Don's Art Shop in 1955. Despite opinions that his business would never get off the ground, his business had an incredible flow of local artists and those who wished to become artists. He taught numerous classes, offered a wonderful array of art supplies, and offered a comfortable setting for people to come, even if it was just to visit. Don Primiano is an icon in Warren. His outgoing personality and friendly approach has won him hundreds of friends. " READ MORE...

And don't forget to check out an audio slideshow of Don's war paintings, narrated by Don, HERE

• • •

I meant to post a detailed report on the inauguration, but after reading my fellow traveler Mary Grady's impressions I realized I couldn't say it any better, so will LINK to her's. I watched the acceptance speech last night again, and it gets even better the second time around. If only the country can live up to it. I wish I could be sure.
Above is my quickly edited video of the long cold journey from the Greenbelt metro stop, where the bus dropped us off, to the Mall. The exercise kept us warm though, and the high feelings kept us cheery. A good time was had by all...

Don Primiano at Imago tonight!

If you are anywhere near Warren, RI, stop in to the Imago Gallery for the opening reception of paintings by Don Primiano. Check out his work here. The gallery is at 16 Cutler St., Warren.

Hello 2009

Well, so much for temperatures in the 60's. The new year is starting with fresh snow and freezing temperatures. But it's all good. It's time to plot new explorations and the indoor months of January and February are a good time to do it.

New Year's Day is a wonderful unstructured holiday with time off but no mandatory rituals. So today I had the luxury of time to think about how I'm going to approach fulfilling my Artist in Residence obligation to Mesa Verde. I need to send them a picture, but Mesa Verde is very difficult for me to make my own somehow. The park has such an identity with the people of the cliff dwellings, their architecture and pictorial language. I mean, how can I hope to express myself as well as Pueblo native Verda Toledo does in her fabulous pottery (I was lucky enough to by this from her while I was there).

It's going take some thinking about, that's for sure. And it's good to shift my focus from the shoe machines and stretch my mind in another direction. I may even try to interpret the park through printmaking, and finally book some time in AS220's printmaking studio.

Openings and beyond

The first opening (I suspect that's redundant. Should I call my next opening a Re-Opening?) of my show St. Hugh's Bones was last Saturday, and it went very well. Despite a torrential rain and street flooding the gallery was filled with friends and family. It was actually appropriate to have the storm drains backing up, as the subject of the photographs also being exhibited in the gallery, the Combined Sewer Overflow tunnel, is now open and a big celebration party was also being held that night at another location. All the water that would usually cause the system to back up into the bay during a heavy rain was now diverted into the tunnel until the treatment plant could catch up.

Hopefully the weather will be better for my (re)opening on the 29th, when I will have delivered the remaining paintings from the St. Hugh's Bones series. Until then I am still working on the final big painting. This morning I stopped in my studio before heading to work and couldn't resist taking off my gloves and painting out an errant cloud, trying to keep paint off my coat. Hopefully I'll wrap it up this weekend.

The gallery is also opening this Thursday for Gallery Night Providence.





As I mull over what direction I am going to head in after the machine series I'm getting inspiration from two fabulous painters, Sue McNally and Gregory Amenoff. I had seen the work of Amenoff for many years and always have felt the pull of it. I recently have been exploring his website. Very cool stuff.

I discovered McNally's work last year when I went to a one-night exhibit at Castle Hill in Newport. Her work is large and the room was packed, but I squirmed my way through the crowd many times to see the work. I missed her show this year because I was so frantic about getting mine delivered on time, but I'll have to be satisfied with visiting her excellent website.

Why I married him...

Here's a video I took last night of my husband's band at the Blackstone. That's John playing lead guitar. They didn't go on until midnight, but it was worth the wait.

Grant me

Once again, I made my yearly trek over to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts on deadline day (Oct. 1) to drop off my application for the RISCA artist grant. RISCA is cool in that they anticipate the last minute rush and set up a table just inside the door of the Capitol Building where the Council has its offices so that one can just park in the drop-off lane and rush in with the application. Us busy artists appreciate that! I also appreciated seeing my friend Liz Keithline, a fine artist herself, behind the table. She is perfect for the arts council, seeming to know everyone and everything going on in the arts community in R.I. (and beyond) and having a curiousity and excitement about all of it. (and she has nothing to do with actually choosing the grantees -- so I have no ulterior motives here!)

As I was chatting with Liz my eye was caught by the large and intricate paintings The Atrium Gallery behind her. The exhibit was of paintings by Augustin Patino. I didn't have a lot of time to look, but the more I did, the more I saw in the paintings. The work was full of detail without being fussy, the best being the piles of wrecked cars spreading in fungus-like patches over the apocalyptical landscapes. It's a show a show definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

The mysterious D.W. Britt

Going to the Tamsky gallery a few weeks ago started me thinking about a painting I bought in an antique store in Bristol many years ago. I don't really collect art, which I know is hypocritical of me, but I guess it's because my walls have always been full of paintings, even if they are my own. Something about this portrait really got to me though. I love the look of intensity on the woman's face, the saturated red color, and the way the space is broken up. I imagine she is working in an art school in the forties, but I really don't know. I also get a kick out of her accessories. The handful of brushes, the lit cigarette and pack outlined in her blouse pocket, the red lipstick and turban, and her engagement ring. The signature says D.W. Britt, and the canvas is signed in pencil on the back and on the stretchers, another clue that it was done in school (in defense against arts school stretcher thieves, I fell victim myself a few times). I haven't been able to find out anything about the artist, and whether it's a self portrait or done by a rebellious classmate who chose to ignore the still life assignment and paint something really interesting. The shop didn't know either, but they were very sorry to see the painting go!

Odds and ends

Well, June is over and I didn't do too badly as far as studio time goes. The first two weeks got away from me, since I had catching up to do after my trip, but a lot of x's towards the end of the month make me feel better. It's always nice to pick up that paint covered black marker and plant a big x on the day.

I started a movie documenting the progress of my big painting that I will update as it progresses. It's like watching paint dry, I know, but I found a more entertaining movie about painting by Karin Jurick, who also has a fine daily painting blog.

I'm still researching whether my titanium white is really toxic. This is what has me wondering now...the main ingredient for Winsor and Newton Titanium White is zinc oxide. According to W&N it's not toxic to humans, but dangerous to aquatic life. But it's also the main ingredient in many sunblocks. And, according to Wikipedia, also makes a great breakfast cereal! Go figure....

Nice paint at the Providence Art Club

I caught a couple of good shows yesterday at the Providence Art Club. I went to see an old RISD teacher of mine Dean Richardson's work. I enjoyed the lushness of the paint, although I found the spirit of them as opaque as he seemed to me, a 21 year old transfer student, as a teacher.

In the other gallery (in the old art supply store "Oakes on the Hill" where I spent many days trying to earn my way back to art school) I was taken with the work of Melissa Brown.

I was not surprised to see by her statement that her images are based on nature, as I think the best abstractions are. Both through May 16th.