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.

Winner of the June Draw

The June draw for the free CD featuring one of my musical artworks, "Fractured Cello", now has a winner. People who sign up for email updates to my blog are eligible for the draw which will take place each month. In my next post I will let you know what the draw will be for July.

After finishing my last painting, "Tempo in Blue", my studio looked really messy so today I spent time getting it cleaned up. I thought it would be fun to do a video of the studio to post on the blog but first I have to learn how to do it. I actually know how to take the video but I have to work out how to edit it and then post it. With all this new technology there is always so much to learn.

New Musical Painting

"Tempo in Blue"

Some paintings come together easily, others have to be dragged into being and this is one of them. The early stages went well but then it all changed and it got darker and darker. A lot of my recent work has been very red so at least a blue painting is a nice change. I like the idea of "Tempo in Blue" but I'm not sure how happy I am with the final result. I am taking a break to look at it a lot and decide what, if anything, I need to do to finish it.

The top picture is where it is at the moment but if you scan down I have included photos of many the stages it went through.

First of all I put in a random background wash.

Next the image of the cello and hands were added in red oil pastel. This will resist the acrylic paint and enable me to scratch back to it if I want.

I start painting in and around the image and pattern of the wash. This is where the fun starts.

After this it went very dark and I forgot to take a photo. Since then I have lightened it up and the photo at the top is where it's at now.

The Golden Saxophone is Finished

I feel this Saxophone painting is finished. It's rather busy with all the patterned underpainting showing through but I think it makes it more interesting, in fact, I have enhanced the pattern in many places by backpainting around and into it. You can see pictures of the process, right from the start, in previous posts. If you like musical paintings check out my web site http://www.susanneclark.com/ and go to the musical page where you will find lots of cello and saxophone paintings with a few pianos thrown in.

If you are interested in receiving updates to my blog drop down and read my previous post and read how you can be in a draw each month for free goodies by just subscribing. Hopefully I will have some fun items for you.

Free, Free, Free!

Wouldn't you like something for free? Sign up now to my mailing list and be in for a draw each month to receive a free gift. This month it's for a copy of the CD "Strauss and Rachmaninoff - Sonatas for Cello and Piano" with Ruth Sommers, cellist, and David Oei, pianist, and featuring one of my paintings as the CD's artwork. Ruth is the director of Festival Chamber Music in NY. It's a great way to keep up with my new work and get an insight into the daily work in the studio.

You will be in for the draw each month you are on the mailing list. Gifts over the coming months will be CD's, collagraph prints or a reproduction of one of my musical paintings. As they say, you have to be in to win. My daughter knows all about this principle. She enters lots of things and has won some great prizes over the years. One was dinner and a baseball match at the Sky Dome in Toronto for 12 people plus team merchandise. I can't match that however!

Subscribe in the box to the right of this. You can have your name removed at any time by emailing me and I certainly won't give your email address to anyone else.

I will be posting a picture of the finished Golden Sax painting in a day or so. You can see pictures of the first few days work in a previous post.

"Mystery Mountain" Wins Award

I just found out yesterday that one of my recent collagraph prints, Mystery Mountain, won second place in the Atlanta Artists Center current exhibition. The exhibition called "Saturation" runs through to the end of the month.

I was quite amazed when I got the call to say that Mystery Mountain had been selected because when I dropped off my three pieces for submission to the show there appeared to be a huge number of entries. I was therefore very pleased to get all three accepted and win an award. A nice surprise.

The Golden Saxophone
An Update

The Golden Saxophone is turning out to be a very glowing picture. I have used bronze, gold and silver paint on the sax and with the overpainting of other colors it has lots of metalic glints. It's rather busy with all the textured pattern showing through but I quite like the effect. Tell me what you think.

I should be finished in a day or so so check back to see the finished result in the next update.

The Golden Saxophone.
A New Musical Painting.

I started a new painting this week. It's another in my ongoing musical series. What always amazes me is how a painting can take on a mind of it's own. I decided on the composition and then started to put a wash on the white canvas, as I usually do, to get it started. I textured the wash and then that's when it began to happen. The pattern of the textured background started asking to be enhanced and the saxophone demanded to be painted in gold paint! I wanted this painting to be quite abstract with the subject matter blending into the background but with all the pattern I feel it's going to be a bit overwhelming. I have added a couple of pictures showing the process so far.

This is the canvas with the textured wash and the basic outline of the composition drawn on it. You will have to look hard to see the drawing of the sax and cellos.

Here you can see where I have started to add the gold and bronze paint and begun back painting into the texture in red, in the background on the left hand side.

This shows the pattern and detail. I will simplify it all as I go along. Check back over the next few days to see the progress.

The Kimono Prints

A few years back I began a series of collagraph prints based on the Kimono. It's such a wonderful shape and great to work within. I felt like a dress designer putting these together and could go on and on thinking up new designs. Now that I have my own press I am able to start making them again and yesterday I was in the studio pulling one for a friend when I thought about posting a few here.

The Kimonos are signed with my name and the Japanese characters for my name. The colors are vibrant and the image is impressed into the paper by the press embossing it which unfortunately doesn't show up in photographs. I have added a detail picture so that you can see a close up.

There are a couple of beautiful Kimonos framed up at the

Heaven Blue Rose Gallery

in Roswell north of Atlanta however if you are interested in this one you can contact me or the gallery. I will post more in coming days. You can also check out my web site http://www.susanneclark.com/ and look on the gallery page for collagraph prints.

"Signs of Life"

Here is the latest piece I have been working on. It's a collagraph for an exhibition with the theme "Evolve" starting soon at Heaven Blue Rose Gallery in Roswell, north of Atlanta.

Five basic shapes occur in the art of all cultures; the circle, the cross, the triangle, the square and the spiral. According to a twenty year study by anthropologist Angeles Arrien people in different cultures give similar meanings to these shapes. The circle symbolizes wholeness, the square stability, the triangle dreams and goals, the cross relationship and the spiral means growth and evolution.

According to the study, the order of preference in which a person places the symbols, shows which of the five universal processes of change and growth is being experienced most intensely by that person at that time.

The spiral symbolizes the process of growth and evolution. It is a process of coming to the same point again and again, but at a different level, so that everything is seen in a new light.

Art of Music Exhibition

Well I have gone and done it again! Every time I start a new work I intend to take photos of the process to post on my blog but once again I got into the studio, started working and forgot all about it.

Because I am excited about finally having my own press I am focusing on printmaking and trying out a lot of different ideas and techniques. There is an exhibition coming up soon at the gallery in Atlanta where I show my work and the theme is "Evolve" so I am working on a piece with that in mind however I have a friend visiting this week and so I've been busy going out and not doing any work.

Last week I had notification that I have had two pieces accepted for the "Art of Music" exhibition at Mills Pond House Gallery in Smithtown in NY state. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend the exhibition which is a pity as I would love to see the other musical works being shown. This would be of special interest to me as musical instruments have been my main theme over the past few years. The two pieces being shown are posted below. They are "Dynamic Duo" and "Well Conducted"

Later in the week I will be back in the studio.

Experimental Paintings

Yesterday I went to my weekly life drawing group at the Atlanta Artists Center. I really enjoy it especially when the model is interesting as she was yesterday. I like to either just do a charcoal drawing or if I am painting I want to try something different and work in a way I don't usually do. These are my experimental paintings and I am not really interested in trying to make a pretty painting. Yesterday I worked in oil pastels on a board that I had painted with the left over acrylic on my pallet. The board was very textured and the paint very random and messy. Most of the colors were primaries so it was very bright. The oil pastels sat up on the textured surface leaving much of the underlying pattern showing. It's certainly not a neat finished looking painting but it was a fun experiment. I will add a couple of pictures showing the detail so you can see the effect. I called it "Looking to the Future"