The Size of a Robin's Egg

photograph of progress at the easel - a smaller piece

The support (prepared paper) is laced - with thread - to a scrap piece of Plexiglas - through 8 tiny holes in both the paper (two in each corner) and the Plexiglas (correspondingly.)

For Years to Come

For Years to Come, oil on paper, 17.75 x 14 inches

Progress; Easel and Palette

photograph of today's progress

The black line in the lower right is one of two ribbons placed under the glass palette to help lift it out when need be.

Divergent Scales

photograph of new supports - both large and small

A Time and Place for Drying

photograph of my new (mouse-free) drying system for oils on paper

You can read about the mouse, and see the little foot prints, that inspired me to make this hanging system here.

A Studio Intruder

detail of And then Take his Leave (including mouse tracks visible on the margin)

This painting finally dried enough for me to scan it and show you the evidence of my studio intruder. I've since worked out a system for hanging these works on paper - something I may have put off without the 'incentive' this mouse provided.

If you click on the image above, you can see, in even greater detail, the little prints.

In Such Company

In Such Company, oil on paper, 17.5 x 14 inches

"Have a sort of pouch made of pasteboard, or just thin wood, made large enough in every dimension for you to put in a royal folio, that is, a half; and this is good for you to keep your drawings in, and likewise to hold the paper on for drawing. Then always go out alone, or in such company as will be inclined to do as you do, and not apt to disturb you. And the more understanding this company displays, the better it is for you." - Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (c.1370 - c.1440) in The Craftsman's Handbook "Il Libro dell' Arts" translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr.

Cool Day in the Studio

Photograph of Today's Progress at the Easel

Today's Items of Note:

It was 51 degrees (Fahrenheit and above zero) in my studio today.

It was 22 degrees (Fahrenheit and below zero) when I let my dog out this morning.

The beckoning-blank canvas in the photograph above is 50 x 40 inches.

The white tape marks are so I remember where to stand - they align with my toes.

The space heater in the lower right of the photograph keeps those toes warm.

A mouse tip-toed all over this painting when it was lying flat on a table to dry. This experience inspired me to devise a hanging system today to dry these new oils on paper. (I'll post the mouse foot prints as soon as the painting is dry enough to scan - they're adorable.)

Another Mannequin; Within the Limits

Within the Limits, oil on paper, 17.5 x 14 inches

" You have only one scale from black to white to work with, only one octave within the limits of which to compose your tone symphonies. There are no higher and lower octaves as in music to extend your effect. So be very sparing with your tone values when modelling the different parts." Harold Speed (1872 - 1957) in The Practice and Science of Drawing

Oil - in Progress - on Paper

photograph of today's progress (the four black circles are magnets mated with four more on the back of the board to hold the paper in place)

And then Take his Leave

And then Take his Leave, oil on paper, 20 x 16 inches

"There is seldom any excuse for standing upon the sidewalk, to the inconvenience of passers by, and even when two gentlemen meet, and wish to converse, one should turn and walk with the other until the business in hand is disposed of, and then take his leave." from THE MANNERS THAT WIN. COMPILED FROM THE LATEST AUTHORITIES. - Buckeye Publishing Co., Minneapolis, Minn., 1880

Edited 1.12.2009 with a new image that includes the edges of the painting on paper.

Virtual Studio Visits

On November 14 of last year, the artist Pamela Farrell, who also keeps a fine art blog, wrote a post titled Never Let Anyone Into Your Studio. With this post, she began the Interactive Studio Blog Post project - a series of virtual studio visits posted in installments on her blog. I was very fortunate to be chosen as the 10th installment and thereby violate Agnes Martin's advice to "never let anyone into [my] studio." You can read more about Martin's quote and Farrell's ideas on the studio visit here.

If there are artists reading this who would also like to partcipate, Farrell is still taking submissions for her project. The information on how to participate can be found in her 11.14.08 post.

Save when there are Living Eyes to See It

Save when there are Living Eyes to See It, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

"Yet color has no actual existence. It is only by courtesy that we can use the word. Nature is a monochrome save when there are living eyes to see it. The trees are not really green, nor are the flowers red and yellow and blue. Each object simply reflects rays of light which vibrate at a given rate of speed; and these rays, smiting upon the sensitive retina of the eye produce the impressions which we know as color." Birge Harrison (1854 - 1929) in Landscape Painting

Continuing Progress - Above and Below

Photograph of the Easel Tonight; with a painting in progress above - and a blank canvas below

The blank canvas is special archival paper prepared for oil painting. It'll be a real treat tonight falling asleep thinking about it.

In Progress - Another Mannequin

photograph of today's progress at the easel - (you can see some student work of mine from 2004 in the background; a self portrait from behind set in the still life room of the Minnesota River School of Fine Art)

Mannequin Series: True Aspirations

True Aspirations, charcoal and chalk on paper, 19.75 x 12.75 inches

"Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you." - Epictetus (ca. 55 - ca. 135) in The Art of Living (a new interpretation by Sharon Lebell)

Mannequin XVIII; A Matter of Impulse

A Matter of Impulse, graphite on paper, 8.5 x 11 inches

"Painting is a matter of impulse, it is a matter of getting out to nature and having some joy in registering it. If you are not going to get a thrill, how can you give someone else one?" - Charles W. Hawthorne (1872 - 1930) in Hawthorne on Painting