(re)Members at Washington State Convention Center

My participation in the EDGE program through Artist Trust took place three years ago. I traveled to Fort Worden in Port Townsend for a full week of intensive training on the business of art. It was a considerable amount of important information to take in during such a short period of time but has a significant impact on my career as a professional artist. While there, I also developed enduring friendships with other professional artists.

For the first time, Artist Trust has brought together the work of EDGE graduates in a curated exhibition now on display at the Washington Convention Center through October 18. The opening is September 7 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. My mixed-media painting, Instrument, was selected for inclusion in the show. You are personally invited to stop by and see the show.

Brice Marsden Up Close

Several months ago while in Chicago and visiting the Art Institute, I was struck once again by the lyrical paintings of Brice Marsden. This is a close up of one. Marsens' work has always been equally mysteriously simple and compelling to me. Recently I began, or rather returned to, a series of woven line drawings and prints that have a hint of Marsden. It wasn't until I looked back over photos taken on the Chicago trip that I realized where some of my ideas may have begun to germinate. Influences often exert themselves in mysterious ways.

Another in a Series

Unbound, 8"x8.5", monotype, 2012

This is another print from one of the series I've been working on in class this summer. This palette of blues, greens and orange has resurfaced after being in hibernation for some time. Maybe it returned because printmaking is just not as comfortable as my old friend painting, although they are certainly related. Maybe it's just the time of year and because the sun is finally here.

The process of pure printmaking is new enough to be very challenging but it is also an exciting and fun way to work. The mystery of what happens under the pressure of the press is a compelling thing and reinforces working intuitively. The stack of prints is slowly growing. More to come.

Printmaking and Process

This summer I'm excited to be taking a works on paper print making class at UW. It is a critical element in a process that I used several years ago with the Monolith Series. It is by no means unique to me and involves taking the forms from my paintings and creating maquettes. From there, the  imagery is taken back into 2-D space both in the print studio and through drawing and painting. Here's how it goes. Below is a painting, Stitched, that was made at the very end of 2011.

 

Stitched, 18"x24", 2011, mixed-media

Here is one of the small-scale sculptures that was made recently in my studio, followed by a recent print.

Going back and forth from 2-D to 3-D, between techniques, and also between more controlled and less controlled imagery keeps my ever restless nature very happy. While the wet and cool weather in Seattle this summer has put a damper on the moods of some folks I am not one of them. It may be a result of being a native Northwesterner and my choice to move back here after living away for almost a decade. It is often under a brooding, gray sky and the rhythm of the rain against the roof that my best work is created. Maybe because I am now settled here, most likely for good, that my restlessness comes out visually. Whatever the reason, this summer is proving to be a good one.