Framing! This Artist's Pet Peeve

I'm waiting for my frames to arrive for my upcoming solo exhibit at The Bridge Gallery in Shepherdstown, WV. While I wait for the frames, I've already begun painting for my next solo exhibit. Included here is a picture of a painting in progress of a little barber shop in Frederick, MD.

I'm so grateful for my framer. He'll ship me the frames, glass, and all equipment needed, so that all I will do is secure my paintings into each frame, seal the backs and put on the included hardware. I've already matted my paintings and they're ready to go.

My framer makes my life easy.

I usually cut my own mats, and I now cut them as I complete each painting. It's easier for me to self critique my work with the mat on it, and it's necessary to critique as I go. I once cut off part of my finger while cutting a mat. I can get sloppy and I'm often matting at the last minute. That's another good reason why I now try to cut mats as I complete each painting: I'm more organized and there's less rushing.

Watercolors are more expensive to frame than other mediums: we use mats and glass, along with the frame. I'm always receiving comments about frames, but I do my best to select something unobstrusive that will at least add to the work, and not detract from it.

Can you feel the energy coming through the work as I rush to get my show completed? And, after this exhibit, I have another solo exhibit at the Delaplaine Visual Arts and Education Center in Frederick, MD, beginning in May, 2012. Work, work, work!

I Have Four Paintings Lined Up

Yes, I have four paintings lined up in the studio. I've been pouring on three of these pieces, so they've been drawn, the paper was stretched and dried and masking fluid applied to the paper, to protect my whites. I've poured staining paint onto prepared, moistened paper three to four times (in my white bathtub). I have to wait at least twenty four hours between pours. Once I'm satisfied with my "pours," I begin hand brushing paint. I try to keep this to a minimum, because I don't want to lose the gorgeous colorful washes that are created by pouring paint.

On one painting, you can clearly see the masking fluid and the staples stretching the paper along the top. This painting has been poured three times, with earth colors being incorporated in the last pour.

The other picture, which is further along, has been poured four times, with earth colors being used in the final pour. You can see where I've begun my brush work on top of the poured washes. I must remember to keep brush work to a minimum. I want to allow the viewer's eye to complete as much as possible.

I'll be presenting all new work at The Bridge Gallery in Shepherdstown, WV: the opening reception is Saturday, March 31.

A Day Off

I took a break from work on Saturday. I had a long informational meeting with students who will be going to Italy with me, and I had a multitude of errands to run, and then I went to yoga class to de-stress. I had dinner with friends that evening and a much needed night off.

I do need time off for relaxation, so that creativity can flow.

Last week, I shipped a painting to the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Show in Grand Junction, Colorado. That painting is posted here. I used several unusual techniques to create this piece. I'll ship a painting of Radda, Italy, to NYC next week, for an exhibit there, and I just found out that "Round 'n Round" was selected for the annual Virginia Watercolor Society State Show in Norfolk, VA, this spring. These national and regional shows are very competitive, and usually have 600 or so entries and about 85 paintings are generally selected. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I am accepted into these exhibits.

It's 8:59 am on Sunday and I'm headed to the studio now to continue tweaking a painting with dappled light and clothes on a clothesline and to begin another one. The paper has been drawn on, stretched and dried...so, it's ready to go.