Clown Collagraph Process

Some time back I was making a small collagraph plate.  It's just 4 inches square.  I had been playing around with some fun foam prints of the image but wanted to make a collagraph of it.  I'm not happy with the final result but like everything you learn by doing.  To make the features on the face I coated it with gloss medium and then drew the facial features into the wet medium.  This creates lines into the medium where the ink collects like intaglio. The gloss medium also wipes quite light which allows the inked lines to stand out.  What I don't like is how the face is a bit patchy and also that there is not enought texture in the hair. I will address this when I make another plate.  In the three following photos you will see:

1 The plate finished but not yet coated with sealant.

2 The plate after sealing with shellac.

3 The printed collagraph. You will notice that they print in reverse.

Great Video of Self Portraits
I found this on Twitter and wanted to share it as I thought it was pretty neat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8U6jD6lKRs

New Painting

This "Musical Painting" is the same design as the previous one called "Golden Notes" but it's a painting I did while I waited for the ink to dry on the experimental printed piece on board. I quite like to try doing the same thing in several different ways. This is in a high colour key, a play on words too, which is a nice change from the many red coloured paintings that I seem to have been doing lately. It's also a playful piece with more fluid brush work.

Please let me know what you like hearing about in this blog and I will try to oblige.

In and Out of the Studio

The last few days have been spent applying to upcoming art festivals and planning a new kitchen to replace the very old one in our apartment. It's all very time consuming. One of the festivals required actual printed photographs and after working perfectly for months my printer decided to play up. It took me the better part of six hours and lots of good paper to get the six required photos! Hardly a good use of time.

Today I will be printing up labels and getting organized to hang a show on Monday at a very nice local restaurant called Insomnia here in Toronto. Restaurant shows are very big in this city. I was also contacted yesterday about having a show in Ottawa in March/April 2011 at the Ottawa Folk Center. They have a huge gallery space with ongoing shows and this will be a perfect venue for my musical paintings.

I am posting a photograph, not a very good one unfortunately, of the full sized work on board that I have been working on using printmaking as a basis. The oil inks have finally dried so that I can begin painting in the central area. Now to decide what ccolours to use.......

Test Run for a New Painting

I have been thinking for some time of combining printmaking with painting and working on board. Last week I did a test run on paper first to see how it would work out. The paper size is not as big as the final painting will be and so both sides, and some of the most interesting parts, are cropped off. I have a big board, 24 in x 30 in, ready to print the full size work on. Some time back I did a piece called Golden Geisha using the same sort of method, block printing, but I want to take this further by moving onto wood panel instead of paper. This will enable me to do quite large pieces that are not under glass. Please let me know what you think.

Back to Art

After the last non art related post I am back on the art theme again. It's the time to apply for art shows and organize my art life. A week or so ago I received a very nice invitation by way of facebook to show my musical paintings in an exhibition called "Something Jazzy" in Illinois. Because my work is large I decided to find out the shipping cost before sending off the forms and was very discouraged to find out it would be over $350 each way including insurance. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that to send from Canada to the US requires going through customs however I can't justify spending that on shipping so unfortunately I will have to decline.

I spent several days last week preparing images and info for applying to local art fairs coming up in the spring and fall. It's a very time consuming activity and I have another couple to do this week. In April I will be showing my work in an Ottawa coffee shop gallery right in the area where we used to live so that will be fun as I will be able to reconnect with lots of friends and neighbours. I will also be showing in several other spots in Toronto.

I have also been working on a small collagraph print to submit to the Ottawa School of Art printmaking exhibition. At 4" x 4" it's quite a challenge for me as I usually do much bigger works. I hope to be able to ink it up and run it through the press later today and post it here but now I am off to life drawing at the AGO.

Health Care

With all the debate going on in the US about health care I thought I would add our perspective after experience with both the US system in Atlanta and the Canadian system in Toronto. In our brief two years in Atlanta we unfortunately had two major uses of their health services. On the first occasion my husband had to go to emergency to check to see if he had a blood clot in his leg. He has a blood condition and had had one once before. He had first class service, they checked absolutely everything, found nothing, and we ended up with a bill for $10,000. Fortunately we had insurance through his employer where we had to pay the bill, send in the info to the insurance co, and get reimbursed. Just prior to paying the bill at the end of the month, my husband received a phone call from the billing office at the hospital who told him that if he paid the bill by the end of the month there would be a 50% discount! He thought he was hearing things! Because we were what they consider 'self pay' they were concerned that they would never get their money and so were trying to encourage us to pay by offering the discounted rate. Evidently the insurance companies get the discounted rate so we were getting offered the same deal. What really bothers us about this is that the people who don't have insurance are usually asked to pay the full rate. Once we knew about this discounting we then asked for, and generally got, a discount each time we went to the doctor or dentist. Even though we were insured we were always concerned about using medical services in case we were declined on claims or even dropped. The second event was when I had to have a small operation. Once again good service but very expensive, with separate bills coming in for weeks afterwards. The doctor, anesthetist etc bill separately. All this time the debate on healthcare was going on in the US. We felt that there was a lot of miss-information with regard to a government plan that covers everyone. There is also the idea that Canada, with it's universal care, is a socialist country and that to many Americans is bad. We live in the province of Ontario and each province has a slightly different government healthcare system. Since returning we have been very impressed with the care we have received. Because we were new to the area and didn't have a GP doctor we used the local walk in clinic for a couple of prescriptions etc. Within a few weeks the doctor there had us sent off to specialists get all the tests he felt we should be up to date with here in Canada. Then my husband cut his arm and ended up in emergency and had to return a week or so later to get a tendon reattached and then visit the hand clinic for multiple follow ups. We now have a GP within walking distance who we really like and who gave us the most comprehensive initial consultation we have ever had. All this and not one medical bill and the service has been fantastic. We also don't have to worry that we may not be covered or that we may be dropped from an insurance plan. If you need a hip replacement you may be put on a waiting list and be done according to need however if you have an emergency you are treated immediately. Some wealthy people may decide they don't want to wait and pay to have it done in the US but then that frees up the system for the less affluent. Our perspective is that if you are with a big company in the US and have great healthcare plan then it may be ok, however we feel it's pretty dreadful that a country with all that wealth doesn't have universal health care and care for it's less fortunate. I can't imagine how worrying it must be for all those people who have lost their jobs and benefits and cannot afford healthcare at all. Sure we pay considerably more taxes in Canada for all this but we feel it is a far more caring system. Just to add to this, we also lived in the UK from 2001 until 2007 and found the free healthcare there very good too. If you haven't watched the film Sicko you may find it interesting.

Link to My Art Page on Facebook

Here is a link to my new art page on Facebook. Please take a look. Hopefully now that I have a better idea of what I am doing everything should start working properly.

Yesterday I had fun playing in my studio. I am figuring out a few things in preparation for some paintings I want to do in the New Year. Here is an example of what I was up to. It's very simple printmaking using foam, and not the subject matter I intend to use in the painting but just a quirky fun piece.

Now On Facebook

You will see I have put a link to facebook on this page. All part of finally getting up to speed with Social Media. I actually found it difficult to set up a page there for my art as opposed to a regular facebook profile. I'm not sure why the instructions for facebook pages are less intuitive to use. Anyway please visit and leave a comment. After all this effort it will be nice to have some visitors!

Golden Sax Slide Show

When I posted this I didn't realise that music came with it. I never have the sound on on my computer so when a friend mentioned the music I checked it out, didn't like the music and turned it off. I now have to add music if I want it.

No Naked Walls:
Golden Sax Art Slideshow.

As you can see I have posted an art slideshow of my painting Golden Sax. A lot of people ask me how I go about creating a painting and because I actually remembered to take a series of photos while I was painting this one, I thought it would be fun to create the sideshow and let you see the process. There are all these amazing applications on the web that do fun things and I think that www.Slide.com is a great one for artists to use. Let me know what you think.

"Social Media:"
The Way to go for Artists?

Over the last week I have been learning about social media and Twitter. According to some predictions: In 2009, there will be 18 million U.S. adults who access Twitter on any platform at least monthly. That represents a 200% increase over 2008 levels. Usage will reach 26 million U.S. adults in 2010, a further 44.4% climb.” That's pretty amazing. But is social media and twitter of any use to artists and will they need to use it in the future? It appears that social media is a great promotional tool for artists but that at present, not many people actually buy art online. Here is one online gallery owners opinion. But then I have also heard several gallery owners say that they do sell online and that they are moving more to internet sales however they have actual physical galleries, a reputation and customer base to start from. Perhaps there is some information out there that will help the self representing artist decide. Check this one out. Reasons why the majority of artist are failing online.

I would love to hear comments from other artists on their feelings and experience with twitter and social media.

Drawing the Nude

Life Drawing at the AGO

The last few weeks I have been going to the drop in life drawing session at the Art gallery of Ontario. It's in a really super space. The room is huge with a very high ceiling and they have several classes going on at the same time and the life drawing is at the centre of it all. What I like is being able to walk around during the break and see what the people in the painting classes are doing. It's a great atmsophere and I have already met some very nice people.

My life drawing is pretty rusty but even after a few weeks I can feel it starting to come back. I have posted a photo here of one of the pages from today's session. Because the poses are very quick, the average lasting around 5 mins, I like to do several on a page. I'm not concerned about making something pretty, it's just a matter of getting something down. You may wonder what all the marks are across the figure, well it's just to break up the shapes and if I do a lot of images on the same page it starts to build interesting patterns. It's great to be back drawing again after all the goings on of the last few months.

No Naked Walls-

and now twitter

I spent yesterday getting myself on twitter. Everything I have read says that it is a must to be on and that social media is going to be huge in the coming years. I'm not yet convinced but I thought I should dive in and see where it leads. Doing a custom page, which the experts say you really need to make it stand out from the millions, was quite difficult for me and I found it hard to find simple instructions on how to go about twitter customization. Most of the instructions on the web assume a pretty good understanding of photoshop however after a day of playing around I learned a lot. I used the painting Jazz 1 as a backdrop but this may change. Any comments would be appreciated plus your feelings about the use of social media. Oh, my twitter page is susanneclarkart

Painting and Printmaking:
My New Studio Space

It may be on the small side but it's still great to have my own studio space. My first project will be to try printmaking on board instead of paper. I have primed a nice smooth board and I'm working on what I want to put on it. It's been hard to get into the studio with so much else going on since we moved here. Our non paying tenant in Atlanta finally left and we have re-let the house so now we can move on with our life.

Creative Block

I have my studio set up again and I have everything ready to go but I am finding it hard to get the creative juices flowing.

Our life has been very stressful since leaving Atlanta. The woman to whom we let our lovely home when we left, and who we thought was a very nice person, promptly stopped paying the rent and would not answer emails or phone calls. It turns out that despite the reference checks we did that she is a real con person, liar and thief who has been ripping people off for years. She has been served a dispossessary 16 times in the last eight years for not paying rent but has evaded paying any money back by knowing how to play the system. She told us one lie after another and now owes us thousands of dollars and yet she is still in the house and will not leave. We are in the process of evicting her and have a court case coming up in a few weeks time. She has a good job and can afford to pay but just takes advantage of people instead. She has a daughter of 17 and when I told my kids the story they were horrified at what a bad mother she is and what a dreadful example she is setting for her daughter. As they said, no matter how smart she thinks she is, in her quiet moments the knowledge of what she has become will always be there. It's very sad.

So all of this has made it hard to focus on being creative. I am hoping that it will all be over in a week or so and that I can get on with my life and art making. I did buy a fun winter hat today and found a $10 note on the way home so I took that as a good omen!

Paint, Paint and More Paint!

I have been painting solidly for three days but not the sort of painting that I like doing. The house we have moved into has a laundry in the basement and it was very messy. I have spent the past three days cleaning and scrubbing everything, scraping off old paint on the concrete painted floor and then giving the floor three coats of paint. It's difficult when you have to work around a washer and dryer and a huge shelving unit. For the walls, I started off using some paint that was left here in the house. I was trying to be ecologically green and not throw left over paint into the garbage but I got more than I expected! It was a green that I thought would look fresh however once I got it up it on a couple of walls I decided it was an awful shade and would make me really mad every time I went down there. That's the thing with acrylic paint. It always dries darker than it looks when wet and being an artist I should have remembered that. There was only one solution, add in lots of while and redo the two walls I had already done. It looks a lot better now but still a bit greener that I would have liked. By tomorrow it should be finished and I can get into my studio and do some real painting

Queen West Art Crawl and the Art Show in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Everything came together for this art show. The weather was absolutely fantastic bringing huge numbers of people out into the park to enjoy the art, food and atmosphere. The quality of the art shown was very good and there were really interesting food vendors. Just across from me was a stall selling spring rolls, dumplings, fish balls and meat things on a skewer. They did a roaring trade. Alongside was a very theatrical popcorn maker who continually had crowds around him as his huge pan began popping up a storm. There were also musicans playing in various areas around the park and they had chosen them well. My favourites among the people who played near me were the gypsy band with it's feverish music that had everyones feet tapping and a couple who played great jazz. I took some photos of the two jazz players as reference material for some future musical paintings. I met some great people and was honoured by the ones who decided to buy my work. I would gladly do this show again.

Tent Broken Into at Festival

I forgot to mention in my last post that someone liked my paintings so much at the Junction Art Festival that he broke into my tent overnight to steal them. He got away with one and dropped another as he made his getaway. Because I was the only artist targeted I have decided to take it as a compliment!

Trinity Bellwoods Art Show

This art festival is where I will be this weekend. It's part of the Queen West Art Crawl in an exciting gallery area of Toronto. It's a big show with some 250 artists participating. Taking part in these three shows has been quite exciting and has taken my mind off all the things that have gone wrong during our move back to Toronto. It has been an extremely stressful time with all the usual problems that occur when you move from one country to another plus being let down by someone we really trusted. However in the greater scheme of things we are really lucky and shouldn't be complaining about things that will pass. The weather looks as if it will be great and my eldest son will be here for a visit.

The Distillery Show

Last weekend I did the show at the Distillery in Toronto. It's a wonderful place with loads of atmosphere. There were huge crowds of tourists and locals enjoying the wonderful weather. This weekend is a major one for festivals all over Toronto and we also had the airshow going on for three days. It was pretty dramatic but noisy. We met some really nice fellow exhibitors and had a pleasant weekend but the buying energy was pretty thin for all of us. Most of the crowd were not there for the art but for lunch and coffee. I had lots of great comments on my art work and the other artists were very complimentary about it. I even sold two works to one of them. After our busy few weeks moving it was actually nice to be able to sit and watch the world go by for a few days. This weekend I am at the Junction Art Festival. It will be interesting to see how this compares.

New Art Studio in Toronto

Finally I am in our new home in Toronto and setting up my art studio again. It's small but I think I can make it work. When I first started unpacking I was overwhelmed by the amount of art and art materials that I have and need to fit into the space. It has taken days and I still haven't finished.

There is so much happening in the art world here so I think it will be an exciting place to work. To get started I have three art festivals coming up in the next month.

Artisans at the Distillery Art Show
Sept 4 - 7

The Junction Arts Festival
Sept 12 & 13

Trinity Bellwoods Park 2009 Outdoor Art Show & Sale
Sept 19 & 20 (11:00am � 6:00pm)

Toronto Art Festivals

I have now applied, and been accepted into, three festivals in Toronto in September. The Artisans at the Distillery Art Show, The Junction Art Fair and Queen Street West Art Crawl. This should keep me busy for the first month or so. Toronto is such a vibrant city with lots going on and I am excited about the art possibilities there. It always takes about a year to begin to make new friends and find out what is available in a new place but at least with this move it will be more permanent and I won't be leaving just as it all starts to come together.

Small Musical Paintings and Abstracts

I have been working on some small musical paintings, 6 x 6 and 8 x 10, which is a real challenge for me. I like really big you see. Anyway it has been a good exercise to do and I now have a few pieces that I quite like. I also did some abstract works a month or so ago and I find that the way I painted those has filtered through into the latest of these small works. One is posted here.

I have been busy getting ready for our move to Toronto. We should be on our way in mid July. I have applied to three art festivals there that will be held in September. I have been accepted into one, Art at the Distillery, and I am waiting to hear about the other two. After finding out about which ones are good or not in the Atlanta area I now have to sort out the better shows in Ontario.

What a Difference a few Weeks Make

Life becomes pretty hectic at times. I have been busy with several at fairs over the past few weeks and the weekend of May 16 and 17 I will be showing at the North Atlanta Art Fair on Peachtree at the Forum and then Memorial weekend I will be at the Atlanta Jazz Festival. On top of all this we have now decided to move back to Canada so there is lots to do to prepare for that. It's exciting though and it will be great to be back with our family. There won't be a lot of time for art making over the next month or so but once in Toronto I will be eager to get into the local art scene knowing that for a change, we will be living there for a long time.

Wooden Bones

So I'm a proud mother! I wasn't going to mention it on here but I can't help myself. My middle son Todd is the singer songwriter in a Canadian band called Pilot Speed. On April 28th they release their new CD, "Wooden Bones," in both Canada and the US. It has been a long time in the making and it's fantastic. Well naturally I would think so being his mother wouldn't I. We are very proud of him and all the work that he has put into this creative effort. The whole process of creating is the same for all of us. We just have to trust the process and then put it out there. How it is recieved is another thing but I do hope the world embraces his wonderful music. The first single from the CD is now out with a rather artsy video. See the video of "Please Put the Phone Down" on youtube. It's pretty crazy and during part of the making they had Todd attached to a rope flying around in the air which made him feel quite ill.

Alpharetta Art Festival

Last weekend I did the Alpharetta Arts Festival. I can't say it was a successful show for me however I did manage to cover my costs and have enough over to buy us both dinner and a few wines. I'm not complaining though. It was actually really fun and we met some wonderful fellow exhibitors. We also learnt a lot more about the whole Art Festival Process which was very helpful. One of the most interesting things though, was seeing what work was selling well at the other booths in the show. My husband was almost incredulous at the success of some of the work but it just goes to show that taste differs and that's a good thing. As for me, I was really inspired by the amazing work created by many of the people.

To put a nice end to the story, I just heard that two of my collagraphs sold at Rev Coffee.

Toilet Art

My art is in the toilet! This is not a depressing thing. Actually I feel quite happy about it as where else do people have a few moments alone and time to actually look at art without any distractions. The painting I am talking about is Golden Sax, a very vibrant work in reds and golds and on the deep red wall in the toilet, it looks fantastic! The painting is in a show at Rev Coffee in Smyrna, just out of Atlanta. This is a fun coffee shop with an eclectic feel. They have lots of art on the wall and at night there is live music. The show opening last night had a really good feel and the coffee they make there is some of the best I have had.

Exhibition Update

The next few weeks will be pretty busy for me. I have the opening of the Dogwood Show at the AAC tomorrow, April 11th 1pm, and I also have some work in a show at Rev Coffee in Smyrna. This is a fun coffee shop with an eclectic feel. They have lots of art on the wall and at night there is live music. The art opening for this is at 8pm Saturday 11th. Next comes the Alpharetta Streetfest, 18th and 19th April, and then the Wesleyan School's "Joie de Vivre"on April 30th and May 1 and 2.

I am now working on some very small musical pieces. They are 6 inches square and at that size the smallest work I have ever done. I am having fun with these though and really enjoying the challenge. Once I have a few finished I will post them here. I hope to keep the cost at under $100.00. Sunlit Sails above, is one of my newer works. After a lot af red paintings it is refreshing to do something in summer colors.

Atlanta Artists Center

The "Dogwood Show"

I received a nice surprise this week. I entered several pieces into the local Dogwood Show at the Atlanta Artists Center in Buckhead and received an Honorable Mention for my collagraph print called "Under the Hot Sun". My acrylic painting called "Abstract in Red" was also accepted. The opening reception will be held Saturday, April 11 from 5-7 PM at 2979 Grandview Ave. Atlanta, GA 30305. The exhibit is on display from April 7 - May 1. Hours Tuesday - Saturday: 10 am - 4pm.

The Painters Keys

After writing yesterdays blog I received an email newsletter from "The Painter's Keys" . This is an interesting site developed by Robert Genn a Canadian artist. The email was about recent research on artists incomes to which I will post a link. This is a wonderful site to subscribe to and the click backs, or replies that come in from all around the world, are often really good reading. Artists can also have a free listing on his site.
http://clicks.robertgenn.com/art-income.php

Art and the Recession

If you have been following my blog you will know that I have been working on a group of abstract paintings for a local gallery who were going to exhibit them in March/April this year. I have enjoyed the process of doing them but unfortunately the gallery has been badly affected by the recession and they have decided it's not worth the risk of staying open. The same week it was on the news that one of the major galleries here in Atlanta has also decided to close after twenty years or more in the business. I'm sure there will be more to follow. Tough times.

We hear a lot about the difficulties affecting other industries but no one ever mentions artists and how hard it is for them. I think it stems back to the idea that it's not a proper or real job however, for many artists it's their sole source of income and the coming year will be challenging.

Last year I made the decision to take part in some local Art Fairs this summer. The applications for many shows have to be in months in advance. Well, what a bad time to start! My optimistic husband made the comment that "Oh well by the time the economy comes back you should know what you are doing". The first one is the Alpharetta Streetfest on April 18 and 19.

Portugal

Portugal was wonderful especially the areas away from the built up tourist areas. The old towns with their winding narrow streets and alleys are so lovely to see. I took quite a few photos but here is one that I really like. It was taken in Silves inland from Albufeira in the Algarve which is in the southern part of Portugal. There is a lot of decorative tile work but I loved the way this one was set into a doorway. I shall post a few more photos in the next post.

After such a nice holiday I am eager to get back into my studio again.

Revitalization of the Creative Spirit

On Monday I am off on holiday for two weeks. The last four months have not been the best in our lives and I think my creative spirit has suffered from the anxiety and general stress. Now that the health issues that landed unexpected on both of us over the holiday period have been resolved, we are ready for some fun.

So where are we off to you are wondering. We are going to Portugal to the Algarve. We have been to Spain several times before when we were living in the UK and really liked it so I am sure we will enjoy Portugal too. One of the really nice things about the trip is that we will be meeting up with another couple from the UK who we went to Spain with last time. My friend is a wonderful artist and we used to spend many hours together in the UK visiting art galleries and attending painting courses. It's so nice to have friends with similar interests and I especially miss her company now that I am in Atlanta. That is one of the sad things about moving so often, you leave wonderful friends behind.

I hope to take some photos of the beautiful beaches on the Algarve and to see some great art and local crafts. I also hope to be inspired and revitalized so that when I return in a few weeks time I am ready to plunge into my art with renewed gusto!

Go Figure

Go Figure is the name of an exhibition that is currently showing here in Atlanta at the Spruill Gallery. It's a really good exhibition with a variety of work focused on the figure. A couple of weekends ago they held an event where three of the artists whose work is on show, spoke about their work. It was very interesting and one of the best events of it's kind that I heve been to. I got there early as I thought that there would be quite a crowd however there were only the three artists, the gallery director and assistant and less than five visitors! I was amazed and I think they were too. I think they had expected a lot of local art students to attend along with other members of the public. I'm sure it was very disapointing for them however they may need to look at their attitude to the public. When I first arrived in the area I went in to see an exhibit and then went and asked the person on the desk where I could find out about local art events or classes. He was very abrupt and not at all friendly or helpful. Every time since then when I have been there to see an exhibit I have found the staff very unwelcoming. I have never been greeted with a hello or welcome to the gallery and if I made a comment about how nice the show was I only got a curt reply. Prior to the Go Figure artists talk I met a friend and we went to see the exhibition. Once again we were not greeted and the gallery director came in and started talking to the assistant and ignored us. My friend mentioned to the assistant, as we were about to leave, that she thought it was a lovely exhibition to which we got no reply. Once outside my friend said to me how she thought that the girl was quite rude for not even answering and that she had found them very unfriendly whenever she had been in the gallery on previous occasions. Exactly my own experience. I find people in the area very helpful, polite and friendly and I can't understand why it's so bad at this gallery. Perhaps that's why they didn't get many visitors for their talk.


Just to brighten up this post I will attach one of my small abstracts.

Collagraph Artists Proofs

I have just pulled another collagraph print of 'Breathe'. This one is a much brighter version. I now have four options to submit to the 'Trees in Art' National Exhibition here in Atlanta and I have to decide which one to go with. I would have liked to do a painting to enter but somehow this print just asked to be done. I only hope that the judges actually realise what I am trying to say and don't just think it is an odd looking little tree. Here are the last two variations.

The Green Version

After printing up two or three versions of my 'lung tree' in blues I decided to do a green version which is probably more in keeping with the ecological idea. I think my name for this piece will be 'Breathe'.

Which one do you like best?

Trees - Lungs of the Earth

I have just spent the morning printmaking. There is an upcoming exhibition with the theme "Trees" and although I don't usually do trees I thought it would be fun to have something to submit. I also wanted to create a piece with a slight ecological twist and because trees breathe I decided to combine lungs and a tree shape and put it into a landscape. Here is the result so far. Below the image you will find the process described.



The picture doesn't show up all the colours that well however after proofing it twice I am now reasonably happy with it. Here is the process I used for making a collagraph print.

After drawing out the design on mat board I cut into the trunk and branch areas where I wanted the shapes to be raised. Remember that in the printing process everything is in reverse. Anything cut deep into the printing plate becomes raised after printing and the raised areas of the plate become deep, plus the image is reversed. I then built up the landforms and added carborundum where I wanted the very dark area. Once the plate was finished and had been covered with shellac to seal it I was ready to ink it up. The first colour was deep blue which went over the whole plate filling all the cracks and branches. After wiping off most of the blue ink then I rolled over the whole plate with a transparent green and then followed up with another roll of light creamy orange. This last colour I will make stronger next time I print it to bring out the definition more and to warm the whole thing up.

I need a good name for this work. Any ideas ?

Just as an afterthought, I have trouble deciding how to spell things in these posts. Should I use the English spelling of words or the American way now that I am living in the US. Somehow I just couldn't bring myself to write colour as color today. Perhaps another time.

Saxophone Print Winner

Finally I have done the draw for the free Saxophone print that I offered in November. I will be contacting the winner today. I won't give the full email address here but it starts with Rott, so if that's you make sure you look out for the incoming email.

So it's a new year and I'm ready for some new work. I have been asked by a local gallery to create more of my abstract works to show in a few months time. I actually really like working in less realistic manner. It always amazes me how the shapes flow from the unconscious and the fascination that happens as I work with the imagery. Strange but very interesting. The new pieces have a lot of underlying pattern and texture. I have attached a picture of the largest piece which is 48H x 36W inches and another smaller work. As you will see they are quite different from the saxophone and cello paintings I have posted here. I would be very interested to get your comments

In The Art Studio Again

I finally made it back into the art studio again today. I started preparing for a Simple Printmaking course that I am due to give at the Atlanta Artists Center on January 17th although I just found out that they haven't posted it on their web site yet. With peoples holiday costs, the late listing and the economy I'm not sure that we will get enough people for it to go ahead but I will do the preparation anyway.

I find printmaking very seductive. The effects are exciting and there is always the compulsion to try just one more print to see how it turns out. I am eager to do a lot more printmaking this year now that I am all set up with the press and fantastic inks from the UK.

The holidays were both enjoyable and stressful. After having surgery a few days before I left for Toronto and then not feeling the best while I was there, took a bit of the fun out of it all. I was actually quite happy to be back home again, however Toronto was heavily blanketed with the wonderful white stuff and not very cold so that was lovely.

With the unexpected surgery and the holidays I am way behind on updating my blog and sending out the winner of the Nov free gift. I will post that in the next few days.

Life's Irritations

If you have been wondering why I haven't been posting to the blog the last few weeks it's because I haven't been in the studio working but instead fighting a very resistant sinus infection. After three or four lots of antibiotics I finally got to an ENT person this week, had a CT scan, and found out I have to have surgery. Right on Christmas too! I had a tooth out back in April/May and since then have had pain in the same area followed by a very nasty ongoing sinus infection. Dental x-rays showed nothing but the CT scan showed what looks like a little piece of bone or tooth lodged up in the sinuses. They are going to try and hunt it down and remove it. Once that goes I should get rid of the infection and feel normal again. It's very hard to feel creative when all your teeth and face aches. The one good thing is that in another day and age, or even a country without dental or medical care, I would probably die from the infection going into my brain. I think I should count my blessings and not complain.

November Free Draw

I know that it is late in the month to write about this but the free draw for November, for signing up to receive email updates to this blog, is a giclee print of the cello painting posted here today. Remember you have to be in to win!

You will find the box to sign up just down a little and to the right. Do it NOW!

Abstract Painting

I feel this piece is finished although after a few more days I will probably find something I want to change. Next week I will be back into printmaking. I have some ideas I am eager to try out.

I have finally set the dates for my two printmaking workshops at the Atlanta Artists Center. The first one, Simple Printmaking Without a Press, will be on Saturday January 17th. In mid March I will do the Collagraph Printmaking Workshop which will be two full days. The dates for this are March 22nd and 23rd. I'm really looking forward to doing both these workshops. Once all the info is up on the AAC web site I will put a link here to it.

Abstract In Process Sailing Along

I have been busy in the studio again today. I had this nice sized canvas just waiting for something to be put on it. It's 30 inches square so a good size to work on. I wanted to work in a more abstract way again and while looking through a magazine I saw some pictures of sail boats. They have lovely swooping lines which really appeal to me. I seem to have a fixation for lines and flowing shapes.

Inspired by the sails I drew out a few shapes and then started adding lines and shapes that flowed organically from one to another until I got a basic design that I liked however I kept extending and deleting lines as I went along. Before I laid out the design on the canvas I made a messy underpainting with lots of colors and drips etc to get me started. I then began to block in the shapes by painting around each shape with color.

I have posted two photos of the process up to where I am now. I have lots of transparent layers ready for the next stage which is to start using more opaque paint You can see a couple of places where I have started this already. It's always exciting to see where the process leads and if it is successful or not.

Abstract Work

I have been taking a break from printmaking to play around with some more abstract work. I used to work this way a lot but recently my paintings have been leaning towards a more realistic look. It has been fun and I am eager to experiment with more of this type of work in the future.

I had a tidy up in my studio last week although looking at it this morning you would never think that I had. Part of the clean up included pulling out lots of work and trashing some of it. Every six months or so I like to have a throw out. I keep things for a time as a record of what I was doing and to see if there has been any progress. A few pieces I have kept for years and others only a month or so. Lots go in the bin the day I do them especially the work from the life drawing session I try and attend each week.

This week at the life drawing I decided to work in oils instead of just drawing. The pose was quite stiff and unnatural looking but the girl had this wonderful curly orange hair. The session was only a couple of hours so it's unfinished but I've posted it here, along with one of my abstracts, to show you the two different kinds of work I have done this past week. You can see how strange they look together. The "Girl with the Orange Hair" painting is likely to be trash in a week or so too.

Musical Collagraph Update

I ran another print from the musical plate. I think it's better than the first two but I still think the colors could be improved. If you feel like making a comment or suggestion that would be great.

Musical Themed Collagraph

At last I have been able to get back into the studio and do some printmaking. You may remember, if you have been following my blog, that I spent some time building a set of four musical themed collagraph plates to print as one image. I printed up a couple but then got busy with some paintings and other stuff and never got to printing up all four together. Yesterday I pulled two prints from them but was pretty disappointed with them both. I was experimenting with viscosity roll ups starting with an intaglio in dark blue, followed with a hard roller roll up in red, followed by a soft one in yellow. The idea was for them all to overlay and create some beautiful greens and purples as well as the colors that I used however that didn't happen. While doing the first one I was interrupted and the paper dried out a bit and the inks too, so the image isn't as sharp or dense. Also the yellow didn't blend with the blue in many places and so is just too bright. The second one I did in the same manner but used a cad yellow and cad red to try and dull it down a bit but it is still too bright. The great thing about all this though is how much you learn each time you proof a plate. The other challenge with this print is the size relative to the size of my press. The image is 32 inches long and the press bed is only 36 inches so it was difficult to get the paper trapped under the roller, get the plates tucked in close and then have some room left at the other end to hold the roller on the print bed once the print has been rolled through. I think I will have another attempt to print this plate but ink it up in my usual way and then see how it turns out.

Art Festival Madness?

Although I knew the economy was in a bad state I decided a few months back that I was going to take part in some local art festivals next summer. I have done Open Studios and a few small art festivals in the past and what I really enjoyed about doing them was the people contact. It's great being able to talk to people about the art and get feedback. This is something that doesn't happen when work is in a gallery. Last weekend, in preparation for next years festival season, I had a practice run at a very small new festival. It was very small, as I knew it would be, with very few patrons however it served it's purpose for me very well. After squeezing everything into two cars we arrived at the festival and managed to get the tent up along with the display walls. Everything worked and looked great. We met a couple of other artists who were also showing and they were really nice so it made for a pleasant day. Sales were bad for everyone but I did manage to break even and was lucky enought to win an honorable mention and cash award for one of my paintings. I now feel prepared for the larger shows next summer. Lets hope the economy picks up a bit by then.

Collagraph Printmaking Workshop

I have just finished writing up the info for a collagraph printmaking workshop that I am going to give early next year at the Atlanta Artists Center. The dates are not set yet but it will be a two day workshop on a weekend in either January or February. I am quite excited about doing this as I really like to teach and I think collagraph is a fantastic form of printmaking. What is particularly great about it that even absolute beginners get wonderful and exciting results that look very professional. Once everything is confirmed I will post the info.

Exhibiting at Art Festivals

and Open Studios

When I was living in Ottawa, Canada, I took part in several Open Studio events and art festivals. I really liked the Open Studio format. I opened my home and showed my art in a normal house setting as opposed to a formal gallery environment. People really enjoy seeing art this way. They get to see inside someone's house or studio, see art, and meet the artist. I like going to them too for the same reasons. The Ottawa event I took part in was exceptionally nice. There were about fourteen artists and the tour was walkable as I lived in a fantastic inner city neighbourhood. I have had people ask me why I would do Open Studios as surely I would run the risk of being robbed or how could I enjoy having people snoop into my house. I have always found that people who are interested in art are not generally likely to rob me and are in fact extremely respectful of my home. I actually find it very enjoyable thing to do. I did several Open Studios in the UK when I was living there. They are a fairly new idea in the UK but seem to be spreading. My house there was ideal for holding such an event as it was very open and bright and had a gallery like feeling. At the second event I did there I asked a friend who was an amazing potter to join me. That made it really nice as our work complimented each others. In the photo above you can see her work, which has sea colors and applied shell shapes, and my painting of shells.

I also took part in a couple of art festivals in Ottawa one of which was "Art in the Park". It was started up by a local artist, a real character called Bhat Boy, and I was one of the organizers for a couple of years. It was a very laid back event and pretty basic but I believe that in the six or so years since I left Ottawa it has grown very large.

Here in the US art festivals are a big thing and there seem to be several going on most weekends. I have decided it's time for me to put up a tent and become part of them although it's not actually a good time to start with the economic climate being what it is. My first one is the "Seven Springs Arts Festival" in Powder Springs near Atlanta. This is the first year the event has been held and so I have no idea what it will be like however it is close by and I need to have somewhere to try out all the new gear that doing a festival requires. I live in a condo so I don't have anywhere to set up the tent and try it out at home so I hope I don't look too silly the first time I put it up at the festival. It's a one day event on October 18th. Details. I am now getting organized to apply for more events in 2009.

Washington DC

I have just spent a few days in Washington DC. I was very impressed and so glad to have had the opportunity to visit. I actually didn't go to the White House but only saw it from a distance. I was more interested in the Smithsonian Museums and the monuments to Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington. I found the monuments especially compelling after recently watching the TV series John Adams. Coming from New Zealand and only having a fairly basic understanding of American history I found the series wonderful. It was very well acted and really bought the personalities to life for me.

The Smithsonian Museums are fantastic. I am envious of the people who live in the area and can go and visit them whenever they wish. I was able to see some wonderful art in the many museum galleries and in the Newseum, a building that is a work of art itself.

I also checked out an art festival that was on over the weekend called "Arts on Foot". It was very disappointing. Most of the booths looked very amateurish in presentation and the art was much the same. There was a lot of crafty stuff and an abundance of jewelers, a couple of whom had very nice work. I thought that an art festival in downtown DC would be of a high standard so I was suprised to find otherwise. The tents provided by the city were good looking and the entry fees were very reasonable so all in all a great pity. The vendors in the show did look to be selling though so perhaps other people liked it more than me.

Art Studio Clean Up

The last few days I have been doing lots of art related things but no actual art making. I feel a bit of a slob as I have spent lots of time on the computer and didn't go to the gym or get any exercise which I like to do. My husband has been away so we haven't even been out walking each day.

He got really angry with me last week. When we meet new people and they ask me about my art work he says I should have a small portfolio to show them what I am about. Sort of a little granny brag book, something else I don't have even though I now have a lovely little granddaughter. Anyway I feel funny about pulling out one of those but I have been reading about artists having a brochure that shows a few pictures and tells about the artist and their work. So today I decided to put one together. I have this old Corel program called Corel Printhouse that is wonderful for things like that however it won't run on my laptop so I had to sit down at my old computer and work there. It seemed to take me all day by the time I wrote it and proofed it several times. It's amazing how many mistakes and writing changes that need to be made. I'm quite happy with it now and I know I will feel ok about giving one to anyone who is interested.

I am also in the process of making up a large portfolio with all my kimono collagraph prints in it. They will benefit from being in one as they get handled a lot and this will keep fingers off the paper and still allow people to flip through them and see them. They look very nice in there too with the black paper backing. I think I will make a smaller one as well for my other printmaking work so that I have exampes to show when I start teaching basic printmaking.

Part of all this is the big clean up I have been doing in my art studio. I still have more to do but the art work in my plan chest is all sorted and tidied up. I'm not sure what a plan chest is called in the US but it is an architects set of drawers large enough to hold plans. Mine is huge and holds two full sheets of paper side by side. It's one of the best art things I have bought.

Tomorrow evening is the opening of the Atlanta Artists Center National Exhibition. I have never managed to get to one of the openings so I am looking forward to it.

My next post will have some photos instead of all the blurb!

You Too Could Be a Winner

Each month, people who sign up for email updates to my blog, have their name put in for a draw to receive a free gift. Last month the draw was for one of my Kimono collagraph prints. After emailing the winner I discovered that it was someone I had recently met at an art society meeting. It was quite wonderful really as she had lived in Japan for some time and winning a piece of artwork based on the kimono shape was perfect for her. Eva has written about winning the print on her blog so do visit and read about it and also check out her great artwork. Often when I visit an exhibition and look at all the pieces the work I like the best ends up being one of hers.

Last months winner for a free classical CD with my artwork on it is reddwine. Watch out for an email from me so that it doesn't disappear into your junk mail folder..

It's always exciting to be a winner but you have to be in to win. You too could be a winner if you sign up now to get my email updates.

Collagraph Printmaking Workshop at AAC

After showing several of my recent collagraphs and printworks at local art shows it has been suggested that I give some workshops at the AAC or Atlanta Artists Center. I really enjoy teaching and so I am really enthusiatic to go ahead and do this in the near future. My intention is to give two workshops. One will be printmaking using processes that don't need a press and the other will be a two day basic collagraph printmaking class.

In the past I used to teach classes in art for personal development and enhanced creativity. I did this for nine years both in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada. It was great and I met some wonderful people who over time became very special friends.

Once I decide on dates I will post the info here. Meanwhile, I have work on show at Heaven Blue Rose Gallery and will have my piece Golden Geisha in the upcoming AAC National Show.

Art with a Musical Theme
"Musical Collagraph in Blue"

I have been working on a musical collagraph made up of four plates. You may have seen two previous posts with photos and info about the process. In the first post I show the plates in the very beginning stage. The second post shows the plates when they are finished and sealed. I have now made one proof of two of the plates together and will try out a test proof of all four together this week. After all the time involved in making the plates it is interesting to see how they look when I print them. It's not always a happy moment. Sometimes it's very dissapointing. These look ok but I need to improve the way I have printed it. It's printed up in blue hence the name "Musical Collagraph in Blue."

I seem to be hooked on a musical theme at present in my paintings and art work. Every now and then I have fun doing some more abstract pieces and I am working up to a series featuring figures.

Last months winner of a free print is awindchimer. I will be emailing you to get your address so I can send it to you.

If you would like to be in for the chance to win something sign up for email updates to my blog.

New Collagraph Print
"Under the Hot Sun"

Called "Under the Hot Sun" this carborundum collagraph print was done for an exhibition called 'Parch -Thirst of the Earth' which opens August 21 at the Heaven Blue Rose Gallery in Roswell, north of Atlanta. I was trying to convey the 'parched' theme of the exhibition.

The actual image is 14 inches square. It was first inked up in red in the intaglio manner and then wiped. Next I carefully added a rubbing of deep blue in selected places followed by a roll up of bright yellow. I then charged the roller with a light whitish blue ink to which I added extra blue to one end of the roller to give a graduated color roll up. The yellow roll up mixed in parts with the deep blue making greens and with the red making some purple shades. It looked great on the plate but I was eager to see how it would print. After all the time it takes to ink up the plate I am always anxious to see how well it has printed. I was really pleased with the result this time especially as this was my third proofing attempt to get the plate to print in a way I would be happy with. The name "Under the Hot Sun" seemed appropriate.

I also printed up another small piece called "Red Rain." This will also be in the exhibition.

Saxophone and Bass Painting

I have family visiting this week and yet I have actually managed to get some painting and printmaking done. I had fun painting a very colorful saxophone and bass picture on a 24 inch canvas. I may make a few changes but I think it is pretty much finished.

I also wanted to work on a print for the new exhibition 'Parch, Thirst of the Earth' which opens on August 21st at the Heaven Blue Rose Gallery in Roswell where I am represented. With global warming and a drought here in Georgia it seems a very apt theme for an exhibition. I have been trying to create a collagraph print that evokes the idea of a parched and dry cracked earth. I made a plate with an interesting textured surface and pulled two prints from it today, one of which I quite like. I'll post a photograph of it in a few days time.

Atlanta Artists Center National Exhibition

I have just had a piece accepted in the Atlanta Artists Center annual national exhibition called the "National View at Grandview". There were 78 pieces chosen from 35 states. The exhibition at the AAC in Buckhead runs Tuesday, August 26 - Tuesday, September 30, 2008. The opening reception is Saturday September 6, 2008 (6-8 PM).

For those of you who live in the Atlanta area it should be an interesting exhibition to visit as it appears that the juror, Paula J. Katz, assistant Curator of Art at The Columbus Museum in Columbus, GA, chose a wide variety of different media to be shown.

I have been waiting for a very exciting printmaking accessory to arrive. It's a large roller which is used to roll on a final layer, or more, of ink to a printmaking plate that has been previously inked up in the intaglio manner. This is called viscosity printing because the inks are of a different viscosity, meaning stickiness or oiliness. Where the oily ink is on the plate it resists the sticky layer of ink so it makes for an interesting effect on the final finished print. I am eager to get rolling and printing all the collagraph plates I have been working on over the past few weeks.

Collagraph Printmaking

I have been working on a series of plates for a music based collagraph print. A few weeks back I posted a photo of the collagraph plates in the progress of being constructed. In that photo the plates were whitish in color because they were unfinished and they hadn't been coated with shellac. I am now one stage further ahead. In the photo below you will see all four plates, one of which has been inked and run through as a test print. The others have a yellowish color which comes from the coating of shellac that is put on to seal the plate and help protect it. I am not happy with the test print at all but I have added a photo of it so that you can see the process.

You will notice that the letters are back the front. That is because in printmaking, things print in reverse. Also what is high on the plate will print deep on the paper and the other way around. You will see this in the photo of the test collagraph print below.

If you want to see more of my collagraph prints go to my web site http://www.susanneclark.com/ and check out the collagraph printmaking gallery page.

Kimono Collagraph Print is the July Draw


I have been having trouble with the subscription info on this site but I now have it working properly. Some of you who previously subscribed will have recieved another email asking you to verify your subscription. Please do this if you still wish to be on the mailing list.


This month one of my Kimono collagraph prints will go to the person whose name I draw from the email subscriber list. If you are not on the list and wish to be, sign up now with the subscriber button on this page.


I have been working on a new collagraph print with a musical theme. Because many of my paintings recently have had a musical theme I thought that it would be interesting to take that over into my printmaking. I am making four plates 8 inches by 12inches, that will, when all printed together, make a wide narrow print that is 32 by 12. In the picture you can see that I am at the beginning stages and still trying to decide what textures and shapes to add to the plate. Once I have finished adding stuff I will coat the plates with a shellac finish, ink them up and then print by running through my press. I have the option to make prints using the whole four plates or as few as I like. There is always the possibility that I may not like the way any of them print and so then I would have to discard them but hopefully that won't be the case.









The dark areas on the plate are made by putting glue where I want it and then sprinkling carorundum grit over the glue. The grit is a black sand like substance and when inked up for printing, it prints very dark. Where I paint with acrylic paint the ink will wipe off more and print lighter. Every type of paper and substance collaged onto the plate prints in a different manner so it's exciting to try new materials.

In my next post I will show you how this is progressing and also post a photograph of "Tempo in Blue" which now has it's bow in place.

Cello Painting "Tempo in Blue"

I couple of postings back I showed photos of the process of painting Tempo In Blue. As I said in the post I wasn't sure if the painting was finished or not, but that I needed to spend time looking at it to decide. It's so funny because I kept looking at it and thinking something was wrong and that it wasn't quite finished but I didn't know why. All of a sudden I realised I had hands playing the cello but no bow! I had forgotten to put it in. I am now in the process of adding the bow and I'll post the finished painting in a day or so, along with a photo of the Kimono collagraph print that's this months draw for subscribers to my blog updates.