by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life, Uncategorized |
I bought a couple of birdhouses tonight. Bright. Colorful. Perfect for the garden. Generations of birds will line up to call them home.
But not these birds. They’re too fancy to live in my garden. They just fly around once every year at the Miners’ Foundry, a repurposed foundry from the 1860s that’s now the cultural center here in Nevada City.
A better view. Looks like a party…and it was. A hundred artists and members of the community donated birdhouses (and other bird related art) to an auction to benefit the Neighborhood Center of the Arts. We’re in the process of building a new website but this will give you a general idea of who we are and what we do.
We do some pretty amazing stuff. I say ‘we’ because I’ve been teaching there for so long my feet have grown roots right through the floor. Must be why I’m still there after all these years.
Been there long enough to understand that it’s better to see people for their abilities rather than their disabilities.
And now…it’s been a long night. I’m off to bed.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Remember Steve Martin in The Jerk? The scene where he jumps up and down shouting, “The new phonebook is here! The new phonebook is here!!” Well, that’s how I felt when I came home from work and found THE PACKAGE on the front porch. Felt like jumping up and down shouting,”The new paint sticks are here! The new paint sticks are here!!”
For all I know, maybe I did. Sometimes I just black out from all the excitement. I do recall racing down to the studio and tearing open the box. Because a few days earlier I indulged, that’s right–I treated myself to TWO sets of R&F Pigment Sticks. Two sets. Because. I. Am. Worth. It.
Oil Bars. Paint Sticks. Pigment Sticks. If you’ve never used them, you owe yourself. They make oil painting a hands-on experience. And if you’ve never tried R&F, you owe yourself big time. Because they are, without a doubt, the MOST FUN way to paint.
And they’re not paying me to say that. I just love ’em so much I want to spread the word to all my art peeps.
I bought the portrait set, which is a wonderful collection of earthy tones, and the translucent set. They came packaged in cutle little pre-gessoed cradled boards. In other words, there was no excuse not to dive right in.
So I did. Look at that yummy lusciousness. Like lipstick.
Easy as using a crayon. If the crayon was made of soft yummy butter.
Rub some on, then squish with my fingers. Or palms. And yes, I wear gloves. Couple of reasons for the gloves–safety and cleanup.
I had no plan, was just playing. Might tone the colors down a little before the wax. Then again, might not.
Here’s another little one I had lying around. It was boring. Turquoise background with gold/beige square in the center. But a couple hits of translucent yellow and one of the earthy reds and I’m much happier.
Tomorrow: More paint. Maybe some wax.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
More works in progress. These are all oils on cradled board. Plastered first. I consider these the base paintings for layers of encaustic (hot beeswax). The wax will be incised, scribed, carved, added to…whatever moves me at the time. It will add layers of depth, like looking through clear water.
At least that’s the plan.
It will be a week or so before I can wax these. have to wait until they’re dry. Which is okay. I have six or eight others that are ready that I’ll get to this next weekend. Meanwhile I have a day job and a studio to clean.
Because after the productive frenzy of the last couple of days Studio Grande is a MESS.
Without further ado……………..here’s what I’ve been up to the last couple of days.
Two parter (diptych for my art peeps) First panel is 1’X2′. Second panel is 2’X2′.
Diptych # 2. Same size as # 1 Or maybe it will go as two separate paintings when all is said and done.
May add more to this. Ran out of time but like what’s there. Leave a lot of room for what I do with the wax. 2’X2′
This one was so much fun. The first of several that have a landscape feel. 2’X2′
More landscape feel. Big sucker, 2’X3′. Thinking it’s too busy, may go back and simplify.
And again. 2’X3′
I’ll post before and after photos as I finish these. Should be interesting, especially since Ms. Muse has been dropping hints, little AHA! twinkles but, umm…no real game plan.
And I splurged and ordered some R&F pigment sticks. Love love LOVE those things. Like painting with soft butter. They should be here in a day or two and that could change EVERYTHING. Like giving a teen a can of spray paint and a blank wall. So works-in-progress are just that, subject to change at the creative whim.
Stay tuned for more.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
I made a couple of enchilada casseroles tonight, enough so I don’t have to cook for a couple of days. Just toss together a salad and we’re good. I popped them in the oven and went down (because it’s downhill) to give the horses their ‘bucket’.
The bucket being their nightly dessert of beet pulp, senior chow and supplements. Mmmm…yum.
Well, it is to them.
I wish I’d brought my camera. It was dark, the only light came from the hay shed. And it did wonderful things. Outlined the ponies’ backs. Cast long shadows. Long, like fifty feet. Or maybe only thirty. Really, I’m just guessing.
Leaves were dropping in the woods. At first I thought it was pinecones because they were so loud. But there were too many of them. One right after the other. And then one crispy leaf landed almost at my feet. Amazing how much noise such a fragile little thing can make.
Lots of sounds. Horses munching. A dog barking somewhere down the canyon. Those leaves. Peepers in the meadow.
I leaned against my boy, belly to belly while he ate. We’ve been together 16 years now. Old friends. Comfortable. It was chilly and his warmth felt good. From the corner of my eye I could see a bat swooping after whatever bats swoop after, disappearing in and out of the light. It always surprises me how fast they move. And how erratic. I’ve learned not to flinch but just ignore them.
Thirty minutes of quiet down-time. Thirty minutes to breathe deep (ah, smell the ponies!) and unwind. Thirty minutes to just be. Like a meditation.
It’d been a good day in the studio. A couple of paintings. A bunch of prep work for more paintings. And now I was done with art for the day. Really. D.O.N.E. Pony time was a nice transition. And after that…dinner. And family.
Even if they were watching football.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
OK, got the photos from yesterday. Remember–said I was on fire. Said I nailed it in the studio. But I didn’t have my camera. You had to trust me because I wasn’t going to brave the wild beasties and things that go bump in the night just to snag a few photos.
So here they are, oils on cradled panels. Some cradles plastered. They’re the under-paintings for encaustics so technically they’re works-in-progress. Which is a fancy way of saying not done. I can’t wax them till they’re dry. Or almost dry. That gives me time to figure out what I want to do.
Then there were the little ones, three 6X6. They didn’t make the photo shoot. Probably napping.
Got this thing going on about doors…or are they windows? In my mind I’ve been calling them ‘portals’. Mama had a thing about red doors. We had one on our house when I was growing up.
This is something I worked on tonight. I think it’s 20X24. The plaster was heavily textured. Too much, felt like I was fighting a texture I didn’t want. Did a lot of scraping. My favorite tool tonight was a paint scraper that had to be 6 inches wide. Got it at the hardware store, one of my favorite places for art supplies.
Didn’t have much studio time today because life got in the way. I’ll have to look at it tomorrow and see what I think. Tomorrow…when I can spend ALL DAY in Studio Grande.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Quick look at what I’m doing right now. Oils, mostly on plaster. Works-in-progress, every one. Early days. This is my favorite:
It’s oil on plaster. Think thin coats of oil paint, colors over colors with lots of scratching. And then there’s the heavy texture of the plaster underneath. But this is just the beginning. As soon as it’s dry enough I’m going to go after it with wax. Layers and layers of hot wax with who knows what in between. I think this one is 12 X 16.
This is also my favorite. It’s a mom thing, got to love ’em all equal. Warning: the photo doesn’t do it justice. It’s also oil on plaster and I’m seeing this with handwriting in the wax-that-has-yet-to-be-applied. Soon. This is 12 X 12
For some reason I’m into rectangles these days.
And scribbles. I love scribbles. This is a little one, 6 X 6. And down below is a lineup of a few more.
Like I said in the beginning, it’s early days for these guys. It’ll be a good week before I wax ’em, the oil base is already tacky but time is my friend here. Meanwhile I’ve got some big cradled panels in the works. Should have lots more to show by the weekend. Maybe even some finished pieces.
Finished pieces are good. Especially with a show in three weeks!
