How Life Influences My Art--River Tapestry #4

In this new series of paintings, I wanted to find a way to incorporate all the fabric of the rivers I love into art. The water is the most obvious piece of the experience, but the river canyons are carved in rock. Plants and animals soften the harsh edges of the rocky canyons. On many of the Northwest rivers, we find petroglyphs and pictographs—the art and history of the Native people.

River Tapestry #4

14 x 20

These paintings are a combination of those threads of the river canyons creating a tapestry. The stamped patterns come from stamps I’ve made using Native American images I’ve seen on the canyon walls. I use many media including paints, pencils, collage, ink and gesso. By painting, stamping, and mark making; I intertwine the river with the other pieces of the canyon to create the whole.

I now realize these paintings also could be an analogy of my upbringing. My father was an outdoorsman, exposing me to the rivers, lakes and mountains of Oregon. My mother was a homemaker and seamstress. I can’t remember a time in my childhood that didn’t include fabrics, patterns and sewing. I can’t remember a time in my childhood that didn’t include camping, fishing and boating. I celebrate the weaving of my life into my art.

This painting and others in this series will be hanging in the Pearl Street Cafe, 842 Pearl Street, Eugene, Oregon November 4 through December 8.

A Busy Week in the Studio

I finally ordered more cradles (wood panels) for framing my River Tapestry Series. I think this clean and contemporary style of framing really suits these paintings.

So some of the first part of this week has been spent finishing the sides by staining and top-coating with water based polyurethane.

Because I will be hanging art at Pearl Street Cafe (Full City Coffee) soon, I've put effort into some small creations. I have used these pieces to try out some techniques and ideas I might not use in larger paintings, but appeal to me as a way to connect to a critter and make an interesting backdrop. Learning to use acrylics with more skill is a benefit, too.

These varnished paintings will be framed in 7x7 inch traditional frames, no need for glass.

The script in the background is taken from a little poem about a frog jumping into a cup of tea.

















Behind the bear are translations of many names given to bears by other cultures, including Native American tribes. The outer area is decorated with my take on a NA petroglyph bear paw symbol.

I love using stamps, so used my Man/Woman stamp which fits very nicely in the 7x7 inch frame.

I wanted to create something that speaks to my large paintings, but is more whimsical. I'd love to hear thoughts from my readers.

New Painting--Stamping and Enhancing the Stamps

In my search for new paths of sharing my river experiences in my art, I've created a number of stamps based on the many petroglyphs and pictographs I've seen along our travels. This Man/Woman stamp is inspired by the pictographs we saw this summer on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho.

I had originally thought I would use it in the background of other pieces, but it turned out to be too demanding of attention. That led me to feature it as the centerpiece of a piece of art.

This image to the right shows the piece in it's middle stage. I've stamped a frame with another petroglyph inspired stamp, and used a similar stamp to create texture and interest in the background.

To finish this piece, I looked for the most interesting areas of the background to enhance with color and play with creating other areas of interest. To connect this piece to my River Tapestry series, I added threads to weave the painting together, top to bottom.

Rather than a traditional mat and frame, this painting will be mounted on a wooden cradle. How to Mount a Painting to a Cradle

River Tapestry #3 Man/Woman

11 x 14 inches

Awards--A Message to Continue On

As an artist, I am often looking for signs that I am on the right path in my own art journey. I am susceptible to self-doubt. I see another artist's beautiful work and achievements and wonder if I should be doing something different. Could I, should I change direction in my art and go faster and farther?

You would think it would be a simpler task to follow my instincts and paint what I know and love . . . but it isn't. Like all art forms, a painting is part of the artist, a child if you will; and the acceptance or rejection of that painting is, in a way, interpreted as an acceptance or rejection of me, the artist.

One way I can get indications that I am on the right path is getting awards in competitions. This past week-end my work was recognized in two large competitions. Blue Moon Heron II was given second place in the Watercolor Society of Oregon's Fall Exhibition--a representation of the best aqua-media artists in the state of Oregon. And Yosemite Trickster was given first place in watercolor at the Springfield Mayor's Art Show. My thanks to Juror Linda Doll at the WSO Show, and Ruth Armitage and Beth Verheyden who juried the Mayor's Art Show.

Blue Moon Heron II
23 x 18 inches

Yosemite Trickster
21 x 18

So for now, I have been given a "go ahead." What I am creating is personal, well painted and strong enough to stand out in a crowd. The Universe is not against me!

You Never Know Where or When a Painting Will Speak to Someone

In 2005, this painting of my husband rowing on the Rogue River was in a Watercolor Society of Oregon Exhibition in Roseburg, OR. I painted it quickly, the day after we returned from a raft trip down the Wild and Scenic portion of the Rogue. At the time, I felt it really expressed something about our appreciation of the scenic beauty of Oregon and our relationship with each other. I ended up donating this painting to a fundraiser for the Umpqua Valley Art Association, and never knew where it ended up until I got an email last September.

A woman had seen the painting "A Moment of Reflection" in a dental office and connected with it. She told me about her husband's devotion to fishing on the Umpqua River and that she would like to give him a painting as a gift. The problem was getting a good photo for me to work from. After a few email communications I didn't hear from her again until last month. She had finally gotten a good photo and was ready to send it to me.

I spent time last week working on her painting, being very particular about the figure and the boat, because I know how important a good likeness of her husband is to her and how important the accuracy of the boat will be to him. She loved the image I emailed her, expressing her appreciation of my style and overall presentation of the figure and boat in the landscape. Today I packaged it up and mailed it to her, very happy that I could successfully paint a commissioned piece.

Commissioned Work

11 x 15, Transparent Watercolor

Why Go to Critique Groups? Before and After

There is a conflict for me regarding getting other artist's opinion on a piece of art. On some days I feel that I should be able to look at my own paintings and make my own decisions regarding my own art. But I have learned over time, that, as the creator of a painting, I can be blind to a problematic part of a painting. A new set of eyes can see something that allows me an opportunity to improve a painting.

So thank you to my art friends who speak up at a critique and lead my eye to something in a painting that is a bit off.

Such is the case in the painting featured today: Catch, No Release.

Catch, No Release, Before

Catch, No Release, After

The obvious change is the dark strata above the heron, which enhances the upper wing of the bird, and makes a bolder statement. Thanks Ruth!

The other major change taught me something really important. Even in a piece like this, that is mostly abstract, the realistic part needs to me exactly that, realistic. A critique group pointed out that the legs disappearing behind the pile of rock was confusing. and worse than being confusing, the heron appeared to be at a different place in the water from the fish he had just caught.

When using mixed media, certain things cannot be changed. The collage pieces could not be removed easily, leaving nice paper underneath. But I could lift the paint creating the heron's legs and position him further out in the water. What a difference!

With a few more color additions, reds to create a bit of a strata separating the two dark stratas, and adding more color to the collage pieces to help them "pop," I think this piece is finished.

Catch, No Release, 22 x 17, Aquamedia

And THAT'S why I go to critique groups! My art friends teach me to be a better artist.

Transforming a Piece of Paper--River Tapestry #2, Step by Step

Every artist has them--paintings that just don't work. But the challenge and joy can be in transforming a painting like this into something creative and vastly more interesting.

Although I really liked the idea of the water painting (so much so that I did two of them), the results were not to my liking. I didn't toss these two paintings, but put them in a drawer. Occasionally I would pull them out and take a look, eventually seeing beautiful parts that led me to transform them into my new series, River Tapestry.






The first step was locating and isolating the parts of the water that I thought were beautiful. I then glued rice paper on to the painting leaving windows of the river painting. I painted the rice paper with acrylic paint.

Step two was choosing some more rice paper, this time pieces that I had painted previously, to collage on the new surface. This determined the accent color as well as the division of the rectangular shape of the paper

After adding both mauve and blue rice paper pieces, I used one of my stamps to put patterns on the piece. This is the beginning of the "tapestry."

Once the painting was at this point, the challenge was to incorporate all the elements into a flowing piece. I wanted to enhance the water flow across the painting, and create color harmony. I adjusted colors, neutralizing the blue with a grayer color. I added more orange in the water as a lovely contrast to the blues. I began to "weave" all the parts together. All of this part is just an intuitive process. I would do something to the piece, prop it up and step back. This way I would see a problem and solve it. Then another problem would draw my eye and I would resolve that. 

The final work was applying small lines using ink, colored pencils, acrylic paints applied with a small brush. My final step was adding the ghost-like figures of a heron and three fish, a very personal touch!

River Tapestry #2
Aquamedia 15 x 21