painting in the barn

more nest building

2012-02-06T18:14:00.000-08:00

here's a look at how things begin

these are small, 6x6"

I am using a metallic ground again as a base layer- its a dark bronze

I love the creamy white on top, almost edible

monday morning

2012-02-06T04:37:00.000-08:00

pink skies behind the old sugar maple at 6:30 am

words for a wednesday

2012-02-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

starting a painting is like starting a road trip without a map

blue at Åarhus Gallery

2012-02-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

nesting.1, nesting.2

6x6"

quick snap shots (sorry for the glare) of two little ones going into the show, blue, at Åarhus Gallery in Belfast this month. The larger painting in the previous post will be joining them there!

sketchbook

2012-01-31T05:55:00.000-08:00

nesting

2012-01-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Just a snapshot of the finished piece. This is a bit of a departure from what I've been doing with my paintings, but I decided not to force it into the usual familiar territory, and to just let it be. Could be the start of a whole new year, good timing for January! I'll have to wait and see where it takes me.

a days work

2012-01-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

We had a snow day today, which turned into a rain day, which turned the snow to slush so I hid out in the studio under a pressing deadline while listening to the raindrops beat a constant rhythm on the skylights overhead...

24x24"

so far acrylic and oil on panel

progress tomorrow?

a little blue morning

2012-01-26T11:09:00.001-08:00

a sketch, some panels, thinking about empty nests...

words

2012-01-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.
Lucian Freud

January thaw (not cooped up)

2012-01-24T17:32:00.001-08:00

the thermometer reached 51 today

the back yard is an icy muddy slushy March-like mess

some of us enjoyed a break from cabin fever

have you met my girls?

abalone

2012-01-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

sketchbook

2012-01-19T09:32:00.001-08:00

its a wrap

2012-01-17T18:11:00.000-08:00

sunday morning

2012-01-15T07:08:00.001-08:00

a day on the ice

2012-01-09T05:23:00.001-08:00

Hosmer Pond, Camden, Maine

update from the print shop

2012-01-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

Occasionally I make the trek down to Damariscotta to use the press at Midcoast Printmakers. I have been working on some plates with drawings from my late fall bike rides. Passing fields of spent queen anne's lace silhouetted against the clear blue sky...I miss my bike.

tiny, 4x4" drypoint on plexiglass plate, printed on Reeves bfk

6x6" copperplate etching, printed on lenox

put a bird on it

2012-01-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

September Sky

24x24"

This is a piece I made for the Belfast Poetry Festival back in October. I was paired with the poet Richard Miles from Harrington, Maine. Over the course of about 8 weeks, we corresponded via email- exchanging working images from my studio and bits of writing from his. It was the conversation between the two mediums that produced this painting and the following poem by Richard.

A goddess spoke the word gold, her breath

passing over water, transforming it.

Before color, first seeds out of the explosion

set out on their long path to perfection.

Possessed by flowers and blackbirds,

I wait on a stone and observe.

The birds shriek and the flowers click open

spreading their fragrance wide.

I shall make gardens this way

with syllables and floating digits.

All belief and liberating wind:

our essence in process

will be gently coaxed out,

uttering its own name, a-shine.

-Richard Miles

birds of a feather

2011-12-09T13:44:00.000-08:00

etching on copper

drypoint on plexiglass

waiting for winter

2011-12-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

on the multi use trail Lincolnville, Maine

(taken during a bike ride two days ago)

murmuration, I just love that word

2011-12-07T07:51:00.000-08:00

This video has surfaced on the web and you've probably already seen it, but I think the imagery of the starlings in flight is stunning. Birds in flight are popping up in a lot of my work lately. I will post images soon.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

June Exhibit

2011-06-06T04:44:00.001-07:00

glittering dusk, 16x16"

hope springs, 16x16"

light fragments, 16x16"

These three pieces are on exhibit at Åarhus Gallery in Belfast, Maine through the end of June.

all that glitters

2011-02-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

its up

2011-02-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

the bones of winter

36 x 15 x 70"

paper, mylar, metal, silk, cotton, linen, twigs, glass, wire, silver leaf, silkscreen fabric, thread, beads

Here is a photo, taken by my phone, from outside the gallery. I hope to have some better images when I return with a real camera.

I had the idea a while ago to make a three dimensional version of one of my paintings. For the construction, there are ten dowels which suspend all the various elements on monofilament- these are spaced about 1" apart. Each of elements that I created either represented mark making that I use in my work or a form found in nature. I owe great thanks to a rotting oak leaf which served as my muse throughout.

'the bones of winter' is what remains when the light has fallen, when white covers the garden, when the world is still.

This piece is part of the WHITE show at Aårhus Gallery in Belfast, Maine this month.

weekend update

2011-01-24T05:46:00.001-08:00

some close ups of work in progress

and 'little red', our latest houseguest

window panes

2011-01-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

white pen on mylar and other stuff in the studio

tools of the trade

2011-01-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

paint is taking a hiatus this month

multiples

2011-01-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

tracks

2011-01-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

back yard subway maps

winter whites

2011-01-02T07:31:00.000-08:00

parts to the whole

spending january 1 in the studio=auspicious beginning to the new year=peace of mind

imagine

2010-12-08T04:55:00.001-08:00

ps- i take no credit for this photo. it was found on the web

one more little piece

2010-12-07T04:39:00.000-08:00

gouache, watercolor, ink, etching/monotype, silver leaf, with yupo and rag paper

@5x5"

this month is busy

2010-12-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

I am proud to provide the 'paint' for this small group of midcoast artists. I will be showing some smaller framed pieces on paper and a bunch of oils on panel. The show will be held in the beautiful upstairs space of High Mountain Hall in Camden on December 17 and 18.

My three roofing slates will be at Waterfall Arts in Belfast this month for this show curated by Britta Konau.

I also continue to show at Åarhus Gallery in Belfast. 'Extravaganza' is our holiday show featuring smaller works by all the artists who have shown with us throughout the year and a bounty of Maine artisans to round out the show. You can see a slide show of the gallery by clicking on the link.

3 easy pieces

2010-11-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

I am getting some smaller works on paper together for a weekend exhibit in December. These are three that I've completed so far. The first two are only about 3x3" and the last one is about 5x5". All are watercolor, gouache, ink, metal leaf and collage on paper mounted on board.

studio visit

2010-11-21T12:17:00.001-08:00

my daughter took some photos in my studio the other day

sneak peek

2010-11-16T07:43:00.000-08:00

in the planning stages for an installation project

borscht

2010-11-16T07:41:00.001-08:00

the color is so beautiful, you don't know whether to eat it or paint with it

roofing complete

2010-11-10T05:22:00.000-08:00

slate roofing tiles with mixed media

here comes the rain again

2010-11-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

mixed media on slate roof tile

fall and nostalgia

2010-11-02T05:19:00.001-07:00

a fall morning in Maine

Paul and I found this and another old white cup while hunting around in our graduate studio building about 18 ! years ago.

black and blue

2010-10-21T05:44:00.001-07:00

mixed media on roof slate, in progress...

every time it rains, my irrational mind waits for the roof to leak

fall in progress

2010-10-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

detail of 16x16" panel

out of the chaos

2010-09-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

working on some smaller pieces, thinking about some bigger ideas

mixed media on paper, 8x11"

artscope magazine

2010-07-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

In the July/August issue of artscope magazine there is a feature written about my work by Britta Koneau-and that's one of my pieces on the cover!

stitching while sitting

2010-06-22T04:07:00.000-07:00

things I do while gallery sitting

its not easy being green

2010-06-10T02:52:00.001-07:00

early June palette and details of new work in progress

drifting

2010-06-04T04:55:00.000-07:00

12x15"

the skies are blue today
i am not
46 on 6/4

debris

2010-06-04T04:51:00.001-07:00

one of the three

2010-05-25T05:22:00.000-07:00

fallen oak

2010-05-10T05:22:00.000-07:00

installation view of fallen oak, 1-3. oil on panel

These are part of the Åarhus Gallery show called, Patterns of Nature. See more here.

a room with a view

2010-05-08T05:20:00.001-07:00

Its hard to stay indoors on this kind of a day, so I re-situated my workspace.

Portland, Maine

2010-05-07T04:31:00.000-07:00

oops! the names are in reverse regarding the paintings-my piece is on the lower right!

I-95 Triennial

2010-04-27T04:48:00.000-07:00

The University of Maine's Museum of Art is hosting the inaugural exhibition I-95 Triennial: A Survey from Four New England States. The show runs until June 12th and it is in Bangor, which I know is far far away from just about anywhere! The show looks great, I had three pieces selected for the exhibit, and am in very good company. Thank you UMMA! Click here to learn more.

a rare snapshot at the opening

on your newsstands now

2010-04-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

when the bough breaks, 14x14", oil on board, 2009

I posted this piece earlier last fall, but it is being featured in Maine Home + Design Magazine this month! Suzette McAvoy wrote a flattering piece in her monthly column called THE CANVAS. The other artists joining me in Suzette's piece entitled Fertile Ground are fellow Maine artists Mary Barnes and John Knight. Thank you Suzette!

flowering quince

2010-04-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

nature's perfect design

2010-04-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

water drops

2010-04-08T04:40:00.001-07:00

finishing touches

2010-03-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Details from the most recent 9 panels for Grid Works opening at Åarhus Gallery, April 2nd.

field trip: Unity Maine

2010-03-15T16:44:00.001-07:00

The eternal question: How does one leave their mark?

may be answered by Belfast artist, Mark Kelly.

The Blink of an Eye: Drawings and Other 2-Dimensional Experimentations

is on display at Unity College until April 9th.

a collection of mixed media drawings

Golden Ratio, Test 1, burn marks on paper, 11x15"

mixed media drawings include but are not limited to such materials as charcoal, pencil, tea washes, ink and tar

Mark is a founding partner at Åarhus Gallery in Belfast, Maine. He will be presenting at Pecha Kucha this Friday the 26th at the Lincoln Street Center for the Arts in Rockland.

possibilities on a grey day

2010-03-15T16:42:00.001-07:00

a photographer's nightmare

2010-02-26T13:29:00.000-08:00

Some (not great) studio shots of a grid piece in progress. You can see how differently the ground looks depending on where the light hits. I love the changing effect in real life, but it is really hard to get a good photograph of them all together.

I am ending up with nine 6x6" panels that will be shown together

an earlier stage of six panels

want to know more?

2010-02-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

Maine Art Scene is an on-line arts website here in Maine. I mentioned in an earlier post that I have two pieces on view in their virtual gallery, they have interviewed me here.

field trip-nyc

2010-02-23T04:29:00.000-08:00

El Anatsui

Really no photos can do justice to the scale, complexity and grandeur of this work. Each piece of discarded scrap metal is meticulously sewn together with wire to create undulating folds of drapery that fall into the tradition of quilting and fabric weaving of his native Ghana.

detail

here is a closer detail

detail

If you are able to be in NYC, go to the Jack Shainman Gallery to see these monumental works in person. The show is on display until March 13th. If you can't get there in person, certainly check out the installation photos on line!

And then on to MOOD

With all the choices of colors and textures, it kills me that I am not a better seamstress! But, with great intentions to create an original look for summer, my daughter and I bought two yards of organic cotton knit....

remembering a forgotten project

2010-02-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

recycled print, solar plate, gouache, gold leaf, found debris in NYC after 9/11

A project coordinated by Jessica Stammen

layering

2010-02-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

Shadow cast by the dried oak leaf. I am also using some old print plates to inform marks, and beginning to build layers on the six little blocks.

An earlier stage with my favorite studio mug made by George Pearlman.

announcing

2010-02-03T05:01:00.000-08:00

I am a proud new partner of the Åarhus Gallery in Belfast, Maine.

today

2010-02-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

new beginnings

2010-01-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

working with metallic paint again and using oxidation washes for a primary layer of marks.

planning on a series of six

Depending on the angle of view, the gold ground can look reflective and light or appear matt with a more subdued hue. The oxidation marks range from a warm brown to a true oxidized copper green-almost spring like!

greenpeace

2010-01-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

a january day

2010-01-07T05:09:00.001-08:00

waterfalls of ice-melt

dripping from the eaves

bright sun

blue skies

a new year

full of possibilities

december... glitter trumps paint

2009-12-21T16:58:00.000-08:00

field trip

2009-12-14T05:14:00.000-08:00

I took my twelve year old daughter to DC for the weekend. We spent a morning at the Phillips Collection, revisiting some of my old favorites from my graduate school days. I will never forget the first time I saw all these pieces for the first time in real life. It was magical. The thing that struck me most this time seeing all the artwork was the way the rooms were hung. Not by particular artist or year, but by some other element which enabled the pieces to work together as if in conversation with each other. Especially beautiful was a room in the old wing where the light filtered through a scrim silhouetting branches from a tree outside. The light perfectly mimicked the light in this little Degas.

Where to see more this month in Maine

2009-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

I have a few small prints at Aarhus Gallery for their holiday "Extravaganza" show in Belfast Maine, and there are two paintings hosted by Maine Art Scene's first online exhibit-that's something new and different.

take home message

2009-11-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

We must give birth to our images, for they are the future waiting to be born.

- Rilke

Read at a beautiful performance last night of poetry song dance and art created by two friends, Kathryn and Kristi.

all set

2009-09-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

fall comes early, 11x14", oil on panel

All ten pieces are dry and ready to hang. If you happen to be in Camden, Maine this month, stop into Zoot to see my latest pieces! There is plenty more happening in our little town in October-Camden International Film Festival, Harbor Arts, Pop Tech, and of course, absolutely beautiful fall weather-(that event is free!)

watching paint dry

2009-09-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

when the bough breaks, 14x14" oil on panel

This is the last piece I finished for a small exhibit at a local cafe this month-it is another recycled painting. I like the history of the surface when working on old used supports. It is funny what you hang on to and what you discard once you start over. I think there is a life lesson in there somewhere...

still blue

2009-09-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

watch over me, 14x14" oil on panel

resurrection

2009-09-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

giving new life to an old surface

glass

2009-09-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

isn't it beautiful?
more info at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

where was I?

2009-09-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

living, breathing, working, here all along...

back from its photo shoot

2009-08-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

two panels @ 18x10"

painting the town

2009-08-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

8x 10 oil on panel

This is a one day painting I did for a paint the town fundraiser benefiting the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland.

early august

2009-08-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

monhegan

2009-07-28T15:19:00.001-07:00

We traded main land rain for island rain this weekend. I haven't been out to Monhegan Island since I was a girl, and while it is hard to remember my time there, I do know that I have been trying to get back there for most of my adult life. It is remote, untamed and mysterious in a way. We walked most of the island's 17 miles of trails in the mist and rain and brief glimpses of sun. We encountered many plein-air painters along the way. Its hard not to feel pressure to join the history of all the artists who have sought the island's beauty for inspiration. I brought my watercolors and did this sketch of the garden where we stayed.

the boys went fishing

2009-07-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

My husband and son were up in New Brunswick last week at a fishing camp. They didn't come home with any salmon, but they did take a few good photos. I like this one of the water, it looks like a paint by numbers picture to me.

naomi's cards

2009-07-23T05:35:00.000-07:00

I have known Naomi since we worked together at a bakery in Saratoga Springs when we were barely 20 years old. We have kept in touch off and on throughout the years. Naomi always remembers my birthday and above are a few of the cards that she makes and has sent me.

acrylic/oil on panel 10x10"

The card I received last month had the note, " I am glad you are still painting, add a dab of purple for me", so I did. Well, it is a pinkish purple.

could it be?

2009-07-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

A break in the rain,

and three finished paintings!

Summer moves along...

June's workspace

2009-06-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

I am trying some different things. One is to draw directly on my paintings from botanical sources. I draw in sketch books from nature, but not so much in my painted work, so this is a change. I still want to maintain a layered effect of my work and not paint a straight forward branch for example, so I began thinking about alternative ways to alter the surface beneath the drawing.

I am experimenting with some old metal plates I found from my printing days. I have painted with copper salts to change the surface. Then I thought that would be neat to have that type of surface as an under layer to my paintings, so I tried painting the support with metalic paint and got this.

Now I am painting over the surface with oils. You can see the undercoat of 'bronze' paint, brushed with copper salts and the blue oil line drawing on top in this detail.

spread the word

2009-05-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.whodoesshethinksheis.net/

peas and paintings in progress

2009-05-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year when I feel most productive and also most distracted. When I am in my studio I think of being in the garden. And when I am in the garden I think of being in the studio. Luckily they are right next to each other so I can easily go back and forth. Unfortunately I track mud into the studio and get paint on the gardening tools.

two of three panels still in progress

any guesses?

2009-05-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I think these vein like lines are gorgeous and the color so intense while hidden within the pulpy shrunken pod. It is nutmeg! (courtesy of my Mom's friend who brought it back from Jamaica). The red and gold covering is the mace, also a spice, and beneath there is a thin shell which cracks off and you are left with the nutmeg for grating. Beautiful.

in the pink

2009-05-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

gelatin print on mulberry paper

some smaller ideas on wood

2009-05-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

some small ideas on paper

2009-05-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

nursery update

2009-05-01T02:27:00.000-07:00

we returned home from vacation to find the eggs had hatched!

a fine line

2009-04-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

In early spring on my walks I notice that the silhouettes of trees and shrubs are sharpest against the clear blue sky. The tips of the branches are beginning to swell with life. Leaves and blossoms are soon to arrive. I am drawn to the trees' complexity that is visible while they are still barren. Each branch takes its own distinctive course through space. These are details from some panels I have been working on. I am building layers of line as if looking through a web of forest. It is a quiet meditation to paint in such a slow methodical way.

I'm a mom too

2009-04-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

4x6"

My son made this the other day, I think it's pretty cool. The origami birds are about as big as my thumb nail.

Easter Eggs

2009-04-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

We've been watching a pair of busy birds, maybe purple finches (??) construct this nest on our front porch over the past two weeks. It is built on the top of a Christmas wreath (that I had neglected to take down and now I can't for obvious reasons). Today it is Easter, and when I peeked into the nest this morning four little pale blue eggs had been laid. They look just like the speckled malted milk candies I've eaten too much of this morning.

thinking BIG

2009-04-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

carving the floors

Anna Hepler, Andrea Sulzer and students from Bowdoin College collaborate in carving and printing on a really large scale. More views and videos of the project here.

good little soldiers

2009-04-02T13:30:00.001-07:00

Here they are, all standing at attention, the first signs of spring in the yard.

This is why my back hurts-and also why I skipped a day in the studio. The mercury rose past 40 degrees, even reaching 50 in the late afternoon. SO, out came the rake and I cleaned out last fall's muddy leaves from the big perennial bed behind the house. It doesn't look like much now, but there promises to be loads of color in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

the dog watched

altered states

2009-04-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

detail of proof

I have been back to the print shop, and was introduced to Pronto Plates- a polyester lithograph plate. It is a process which I know nothing about. SO back to square one. My first few proofs were so-so. I ended up using them as foundations for drawings with gouache, gesso, ink, transfers and the rest of the materials on my worktable. Here's one I am working on-it's about 12x18".

reworked proof, maybe still in progress