After my first oil and cold wax class at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology concluded on July 3, the staff at Sitka lugged all of my stuff from Smith Studio up to the larger Boyden Studio. I spent the evening getting set up for my second class. I love preparing the studio for teaching.
Evening of July 3: all set up for class to begin on July 5.
I spent July 4th enjoying the quiet of the Sitka campus. The office was closed, and no one was around, so I wandered, rested, and puttered in the studio. On July 5th, I was ready for the artists to arrive.
Distance view. I have three big tables to work on.My working and demo space.
Like my last post, Teaching at Sitka – Part I, I feel that photos tell the story better than any words that I cobble together. I’ve made comments on each of the photos, so it tells a bit more about the week than just sharing the photos. But I will say, this group was hardworking, productive, energetic, talented, and supportive of each other. All the ingredients for a fantastic workshop.
Side view of my space.So many techniques to share.Demo using solvent to scrape off paint.Getting paint on the boards.Everyone deep into the process.Tissue for blotting.Mixing up paint.Words matter.A table of work in progress.Work in progress.From above.Love the swaths of color, interrupted by marks.An active scene.A glorious pile of paint.Work in progress.Spreading swaths of thick, juicy paint.Work in progress. Done? Perhaps.Pink! Work in progress.More pink! Yes, please.Early layers.Work in progress.Hard-working class.A lovely, abstracted landscape.Scraping a grid composition.Using wonky chunks of driftwood to make wonky marks.Lunch in the courtyard.Painting. Layering. Scraping. Contemplating.More dots and such a great example of complementary colors.We all thought this piece would make a fantastic album cover!Framing discussion.Margaret and her beautiful series using a limited palette.I’m crazy for stripes and swaths of color – Carol nailed it.I wanted to call this a “Carnival of Color,” but that’s just me.More bands of color and marks.An active workspace.So many ways to apply paint and make marks.Sharing work.A thematic series of work.Such crazy and unique marks.Work in progress.I love the collegial nature of a class.Applying paint to a very textural and three-dimensional piece.A vibrant series of work.I’m always crazy for dots.An excellent example of a strata composition. And then there’s the color . . .A successful and colorful grid.Work in progress. Done? Hope so.An energetic work in progress.A beautiful series of lines, marks, and colors.Such sexy curves.A lovely and simple abstracted landscape.A thematic series of work.Pulling tape and revealing nine little paintings.I love the solitude at the end of the day.The peace at the end of the day.All but one in this class photo!
I have received such wonderful feedback from the artists in my class and I want to share two of the comments. Reading these inspiring and positive words make my heart swell and it is why I love teaching.
The first one from Carol:
I was so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a student in this class. It was amazing to meet Dayna in person, and to be present in her instruction. She provided a manual, many supplies, demos, readings, and many examples of her work in various stages. She was very engaged and provided such positive suggestions and constant energy. It was truly a great pleasure in an incredible setting. . . . I am still processing all that I learned and felt, and continue to feel so grateful. Thank you, Dayna. Terri
It’s that time of year when galleries like to offer smaller pieces of art at a price point that people can purchase original art as gifts — I have always loved this idea, whether for gifts, or for personal collections. I am excited to be sending small pieces of art to my three galleries: Guardino Gallery(in Portland), Salem on the Edge (in Salem), and RiverSea Gallery (in Astoria). I thought that rather than just sharing photos of the art that I have created for these three galleries, I would first share a bit of the background in creating these pieces.
When I teach my Oil and Cold Wax Abstracted Landscapes class at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, we do warm ups throughout the week using Arches Oil Paper, which we tape (using painter’s tape) onto large sheets of butcher paper or newsprint. I give verbal prompts for things to do on these small squares of oil paper and while giving these prompts, I also follow along and do the prompts on my own squares of paper. By the end of the class, we all have several completed paintings as well as several fun starts for finishing in the future. Here are some examples of the taped down pieces of paper at various stages.
This year, I took several of the sheets of taped down paper pieces, and started tackling the small squares one at a time, adding layers, marks, creating compositions, and resolving issues, working on them while they were still taped down with six paintings per sheet of paper.
Once I resolved the paintings, I removed the tape (WATCH FOR MY NEXT BLOG POST WHERE I SHARE WHAT I DID WITH THE PEELED UP TAPE!), trimmed the edges of the paper where the tape had been, and then glued the painting onto a cradled wood panel. I applied a final layer of cold wax and varnished the edges. By the time I had completed this process, I had 26 paintings, six were 5×5 inches, and the rest were 6×6 inches.
Fast forward to today. All of the pieces have been waxed, buffed, varnished, wired, titled, photographed, inventoried, and boxed. Deliveries will begin happening over the next couple of weeks. Whew. Here are some of the completed pieces heading to my three galleries.
“The Blur of Memories,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Smoldering Silence,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Reflecting Sunlight,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Out of the Silence,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Happy Silence of Mind,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“In the Silence of the Evening,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Fearless Love,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Coastal Riptides,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“A New State of Wonder,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Untethered in Space,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Along the Tideline,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Stirrings of Enchantment,” 6×6 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.
In addition to the 21 pieces headed to the galleries, priced at $100 each, I have five of the 5×5 inch pieces available on my website. The 5×5 inch pieces are $70 (and include shipping).
“Currents of Cool Wind,” 5×5 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“A Place of Peace,” 5×5 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“A Field of Peace,” 5×5 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“A Thin Fog of Moonlight,” 5×5 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins.“Fistfuls of Sky,” 5×5 inches, oil and cold wax, on cradled panel, by Dayna Collins
NOTE: The beautiful graphic painting at the beginning of this post, was created by Salem artist, Sloy Nichols.
