Monday, March 31, 2014

Spring Art Show

collage, cadmium yellow hue, burnt sienna, papiers coupes, paper cutouts, mosquito
Regarding Insectivorus Botanikos
Every spring The New Zone Artists Collective http://www.newzonegallery.org/ hosts a non-juried show which is then featured in the First Friday Artwalk. This season I've chosen to submit this collage (above) I recently made.

Some of my all time favorite artists, like Hannah Hoch, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso all utilized 'papiers coupes', or paper cutouts in their works, and I am fascinated when pouring over books featuring their works.  My own journey through the world of memory keeping led me to this fascination with collage; an old magazine, a pair of scissors...


SHARE:

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Spring Gardening

The Willamette Valley can be a grey place.  For most of the year the entire valley is cloud-covered and it rains frequently.  So when spring time comes around, and the sun begins to shine, I love to get out in my garden, see what's happening, and give it some much needed attention.

strawberries, tulips
























Last Saturday was just such a day.  The strawberry and tulip starts above were added to beds that were established a few years ago.  And I recently received several seed packs as gifts:

yellow wonder wild strawberry, tomato green vernissage, zinnia
Some seeds went directly into beds, and others I planted in trays.  It was a great pleasure to be outside in my garden after the long winter.  Another of my favorite activities when I am in my backyard is to observe things like birds, worms, or some kind of bug.  On this day I found that some old cut logs have this beautiful shelf fungus growing on them:

shelf fungus
Do you like to garden?  What are some interesting natural phenomenon that you've observed in your garden?


SHARE:

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Wallace M Ruff, Jr. Magnolia Arboretum and Neighborhood Park

Last Friday after work we went to see the magnolia trees at this park.  There are hundreds of them, along Cedar Creek, in various stages of spring budding and blooming.  Not only were these trees stunning and fragrant, but the timing was perfect because it was the magic hour...

Magnolia denudata, white magnolia, cedar creek oregon

Magnolia denudata, cedar creek oregon
Magnolia denudata, cedar creek oregon
Magnolia denudata, cedar creek oregon
Rosa, Cecile Brunner, cedar creek oregon

Rosa, Cecile Brunner, cedar creek oregon
Rosa Cecile Brunner, cedar creek oregon
cecile brunner, cedar creek oregon
magnolia salicifolia, cedar creek oregon

magnolia salicifolia, cedar creek oregon
magnolia salicifolia, cedar creek oregon
magnolia salicifolia
magnolia denudata, forest pink, cedar creek oregon

magnolia denudata, forest pink, cedar creek oregon


magnolia denudata, forest pink, cedar creek oregon
magnolia denudata, forest pink, cedar creek oregon

Magnolias are the first flowers, emerging about 100 million years ago, before birds and bees, and are pollinated by beetles.  What interesting and unique natural wonders are in your community?
SHARE:

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Atmosphere

painting, collage, acrylic paint, prussian blue hue, indian yellow, cadmium yellow deep, awagami paper, amate weave paper

"Without atmosphere a painting is nothing." -Rembrandt

When I first began to pick up the paintbrush a few years ago, I came across the idea that the atmosphere of a work of art is an essential ingredient in depicting the overall theme of the work. I thought that if a work of art could evoke a certain feeling or mood of space and time, that this could be an expressive foundation for the work itself.  It seemed an interesting jumping off point to literally create a mood that was, in itself, an atmosphere.

Another idea that caught my attention in a painting class is color vibration, or the interaction of colors placed side by side.  I decided to combine these two concepts, using my favorite (acrylic) color combination of Prussian Blue Hue, Indian Yellow, and Cadmium Yellow Deep.  (There's something intriguing about using colors straight from the tube - they seem so honest that way- I read that Van Gogh used 'pure straight colors'.)  And since collage is an obsession of mine, I used Awagami paper for my (somewhat elliptical) shapes on the left, and Amate Weave paper for the vertical shapes to the right.

It's all about the process, right?  Of course the concept is not just limited to a work of art - dance, music, a walk in the park - they can each have their own atmosphere.  What are your thoughts on creating atmosphere?


SHARE:
© Under The Plum Blossom Tree | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Created by pipdig