The Journey Home. My three paintings were accepted into Salem Art Association’s annual Radius 25show, a show open to established and emerging adult artists living or working with a 25-mile radius of Salem. The theme for this year’s show is Walkabout: Paths, Journeys & Destinations. I immediately knew that my theme would be The Journey Home, the journey home for my dad, who died May 17.
I decided to use a previous painting (that my mother has hanging in her kitchen) as my inspiration. Here’s a page from my working art journal.
We were asked to write a process statement, describing our process and subject matter. Here is what I submitted:
My three Journey Home pieces were created by painting cradled wood panels with acrylic paint, applying a layer of plaster for texture and interest, sanding, scraping, then staining the plaster with watered down acrylic paint. All of this was in preparation for painting, which I did using a mixture of oil and cold wax applied with a putty knife. The subject matter is a further exploration of working in layers and its relationship to memory, something I began experimenting with over and year ago in response to my father’s descent into dementia. My dad lost his battle with Alzheimer’s just a few weeks ago and these pieces were created in response to his death.
Lots of layers and contemplation went into these three pieces.
The finished pieces.
“The Journey Home: Without a Pang of Remorse,” 18×18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel.“The Journey Home: Caught in an Undertow,” 18×18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel.
“The Journey Home: The Ease of Slumber,” 18×18 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax, on cradled panel.
The show runs from Friday, July 11 through Friday, August 29, at Bush Barn in Salem, Oregon.
It takes courage to cover up a completed painting, but it’s something I have learned to do. The question is why do I do it. In one instance, it was because of a technical problem: the black paint wasn’t drying and when I went to put on the final coat of cold wax, it began lifting the paint and the painting was ruined. That board was put into the pile of available boards for use in the future.
“Searching For His Lost Life,” formerly a painting.
Searching For His Lost Life became Where the Road Ends.
“Where the Road Ends, 24×24 plaster, oil, and cold wax on cradled panel.
This piece made it into my Slightly Off Kilter show last year, but when the show came down, I realized I wasn’t in love with the painting, so once again, it went into the available boards pile. I recently completed yet another painting, Something More Was Required. Yes, something more was required and I think that painting has come full circle. With the initial layer of plaster and multiple layers of oil and cold wax, this 24×24 piece is getting pretty heavy. From Searching For His Lost Life, to Where the Road Ends, it is now Something More Was Required.
“Something More Was Required,” 24×24 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax on cradled panel.
Another recent transformation came when I took an 8×8-inch piece, To the Center of Silence, and transformed it into A Dark Curtain Against the Sky. I liked the original well enough, but it was a bit too yellow and wasn’t dynamic enough.
“To the Center of Silence,” 8×8 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax on cradled panel.“A Dark Curtain Against the Sky,” 8×8 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax on cradled panel.
Then there was Beachcombing. I loved the little niche filled with treasures, but it read a bit too precious. And the colors were a bit jarring.
“Beachcombing,” 24×24, plaster, oil, and cold wax on cradled board with niche.
So, I scrapped and dug out the found objects and sea shells, sanded the board, and transformed it into Things Still Remembered.I haven’t filled the niche yet as that takes a whole different level of creativity. What is tucked into a niche is very powerful.
“Things Still Remembered,” 24×24, plaster, oil, and cold wax on cradled panel (with niche).
Finally, one more example. I did a couple of pages in my art journal, which I liked and thought would translate nicely into a painting.
Initial inspiration in my art journal
So I loosely painted it onto a 30×30-inch cradled panel (after painting over another painting I had been working on for awhile – look at the big panel behind me in the first photo of this post – that’s what was on the board before I took the journal page and painted it onto the panel). It sat for a long time and I thought I liked it. In fact, it was ready to go to the gallery.
On the easel, thinking it was about complete.
But something was niggling at me, so I took it back into my studio and began revamping it. It became something entirely different.
And then I kept going.
In transition.
And going.
Detail from a “Stoking a Small Steady Flame.”
And going.
“Stoking a Small Steady Flame, 30×30 inches, plaster, oil, and cold wax on cradled panel.
Stoking A Small Steady Flame was born and now hangs at Guardino Gallery in Portland.
I’ve just returned from spending four days with my Salem Art Group at a cabin in the woods along the Metolius River. We left on Thursday morning — I took a small suitcase with clothes, a big suitcase with art supplies, my espresso machine, some food, my art journal, and a half case of kombucha.
Arrived. A sweet cabin located on US Forest Service land.
The view from my corner bedroom.
Everyone worked on their own projects. Tory won the award for most versatile, especially when she whipped out her harmonica and started playing a blues tune.
The rest of the gang: Nancy, Katy (it was her cabin), and Kathy in the photos below (and Joanna, who was inside the cabin with her sewing machine). A lot of oil and cold wax was being spread . . . . and even a little gelli plate action.
We had a visit from a Forest Service Ranger who was looking for a water line using a water witching technique with two pieces of a wire coat hanger. Of course, we had to give it a try.
I worked on several projects: oil and cold wax on 8×8 and 6×6 cradled wood boards and I also did some acrylics on watercolor paper for making cards. (I finished the cards, but not the boards.)
It wasn’t all art all the time. On Saturday, we walked to the headwaters of the Metolius River and then to Jack Creek.
Just what I needed. Several days of making art, laughing, eating healthy, going on daily walks, and getting plenty of sleep.
I’m home from a five-day intensive workshop with Robert Burridge. The workshop, Abstract Acrylic Painting and Collage, was held in Bend and as Bob so aptly said: We will be covering five years of art school in five days. We sort of did, at least the Cliff’s Notes version.
Over the course of the five days, I took 22 pages of notes and Bob gave us multiple handouts. During the first two days of class when Bob was delivering oodles and oodles of general information, I felt conflicted with wanting to get going with painting. We painted a bit on the first day, but I figured we would be painting more on the second day. Well, we did paint more, but still not all that much. I was torn between wanting to sit at the feet of Bob and absorb all that he was so generously sharing about his 22 years of daily painting, and wanting to get my hands dirty. I finally came to the conclusion that what Bob was giving us was invaluable information and I would have plenty of time to paint when I got home. Of course, we did paint during the week and more as the week went on, but the information I collected is priceless. I’ve already gone over my notes twice, circling, marking them up, and making notes for artists to investigate, books to read, and changes I want to make in my studio. Did I mention that Bob is funny? Hilarious. I was continually writing down Bobisms –pithy little sayings. No topic was off limits, making it an entertaining and rich week. For sure you’ll want to check out his website: Robert Burridge Studio
I won’t share the details of what we learned because that’s Bob’s information to share. But I will skim the surface with a listing of some of the many topics he covered just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this class. The following list is in order and then again, in no particular order, because sometimes he circled back.
Risk-taking/working in series/learning to paint our own stuff/painting materials-traditional and irreverent/gessoes/paints/glues/varnishes/Citra-Solv/rubbing alcohol/paper/substrates/panels-mats-frames/copyright/color theory/developing concepts/structure-composition/warm-ups/texture/contrast/production/gray scales/value/drawing/figures/negative space painting/inspiration/artists & writers/landscape styles/naming and signing paintings/marketing/creating a body of work/galleries and festivals/themes/concepts/shape-size-color/pros & cons of making prints/commissions/photographing art work/inventory/resume-bios-artist statements/drip trees/pricing/shadows/travelling with art supplies.
We did paint and I’ll share photos from my week. In order and not in order. Bob gave us warm-up exercises and assignments during the first few days, then left us to do whatever we wanted while he circulated or worked on paintings himself. We could paint, we could watch him paint. It was all pretty great. One of my best painting classes ever – and I’ve had some great teachers.
We started with black and white then graduated to color.
I finished a few, and I’m still dabbling with several. Here’s a teeny tiny taste of the workI did during the week, some finished, some in process.
I was working on some new concepts and ideas and it was great fun to experiment.
My new show, Slightly Off Kilter, opened Friday night at Lunaria Gallery. I’m sharing the gallery show with Deborah Unger, who has carved figurative wood sculptures using paint and cloth to create quiet scenes, often with an underlying sense of unease. My portion of the show includes vibrant, textural paintings using oil and cold wax to create layers of luminosity and interesting intersections of lines. (I also have a few new Funky Junkyard Birds for sale and the SOK Blocks I wrote about a couple weeks ago.)
Onward with the opening . . . .
The opening on Friday night was part of Silverton’s regular First Friday event and the gallery was filled with a steady stream of friends and art lovers.
And from the street as the gallery was closing for the night.
I’m one of the featured artists in a new show at Lunaria Gallery in Silverton, Oregon., opening Friday, August 2nd. The artist reception is part of Silverton’s First Friday event, and runs from 7-9 pm on August 2nd. The show, Slightly Off Kilter, features my art along with the art of Deborah Unger. Here’s a little blurb from each of us about the show:
Deborah Unger: Figurative wood sculptures using paint and cloth to create quiet scenes, often with an underlying sense of unease.
Dayna Collins: Vibrant, textural paintings using oil and cold wax to create layers of luminosity and interesting intersecections of lines.
In addition to Deborah’s wood sculptures and my oil and cold wax paintings, I’ll have a selection of Funky Junkyard Birds and something new: Slightly Off Kilter Blocks.
I’ve been working on a new series, Carnival of Landscapes. This new series of paintings have been done in oil and cold wax on wood panels (some have an underlayer of plaster) and reflect a vibrant, rich color palette. Seven have been finished and will be making their way to Lunaria Gallery in Silverton in time for First Friday, June 7th.
The Journey Home. My three paintings were accepted into Salem Art Association’s annual Radius 25 show, a show open to established and emerging adult artists living or working with a 25-mile radius of Salem. The theme for this year’s show is Walkabout: Paths, Journeys & Destinations. I immediately knew that my theme would be The Journey Home, the journey home for my dad, who died May 17.
We were asked to write a process statement, describing our process and subject matter. Here is what I submitted:
