by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
Big, big sigh of relief. Show hung. Postcards out. Last minute details done. Look at that picture over there (to the right). Sister M and her coffee. We actually SAT down this afternoon to eat. OK, so it was fast food. Thing is we sat. We savored. Slowly. We lingered over coffee. Chatted. Imagine that, just chatted. Like we had nothing better to do. We talked about growing up. About our grandmother. About the family summer cottage on the Long Island Sound.
About my new haircut. Very nice, by the way. A total stranger came up to me in a store today and told me how much she like it.
We did NOT talk about art.
But this is an art blog so let’s talk about art here. A little tease with a couple more photos. Things I finished the day before the show. Nothing like cutting things a little close, eh? Well, they were almost done, just needed the words. And more wax. They started life as oils on cradled wood. There’s some plaster involved. They’re from the “Portals” series.
Crappy photo alert. Should’ve adjusted the color. Too green.
“Chronicles”
“Messages from Home” Or maybe it’s just “Messages”. I don’t remember….
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
Last night I got an email notification from twitter. New follower. New follower??? NEW FOLLOWER!!! Backflip time. Handsprings even. Because I’m new to twitter. Don’t have a lot of followers. Umm…let’s put it this way, between my fingers and toes I can count them all. And I may not need both feet. So a new follower is a BIG DEAL. Like the new phone book. Or the UPS truck with a box of pigment sticks.
A BIG deal. And hey, if you want to follow me I’m slporterpaints.
So I checked out this new follower. Went to her blog. Her name is Tracy. She’s a mixed media kindred spirit artist from Australia. AUSTRALIA? Yes, that place. The one where things are backwards and it’s spring right now. Imagine that…spring. Lucky lucky them. And that’s not to say Aussies are backwards–although I’m sure some of them are (as everywhere else). I’m just saying their seasons are confusing to me. Especially when I’m huddling in front of the wood stove and she’s taking pictures of all the new plants in her garden.
But back to Tracy. I like what she had to say.And all the links that I don’t have time to follow right now. I did follow one though, to her Facebook group, Magically Mixed Art Community. Which I promptly joined. Check it out. There’s over 1,500 members. I scrolled through a bunch of posts, commented on a couple and then jumped in and introduced myself.
I felt that at home.
And people welcomed me like I was a long lost friend. Imagine that–total strangers from all over the planet welcoming me into their midst. Fellow artists. Turns out I recognized a few names from the hot wax class.
Just as I recognized some names in the hot wax class from the plaster class last summer.
I was thinking about this today. Thinking that as my contacts are expanding, the world is shrinking. What does it matter if someone is halfway across the planet when we can communicate in real time on-line.
It’s a small, small world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKt_o6AflbI
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
It’s 10 PM and I want potato chips. None in the house, not a one. And that’s a good thing. Or so I keep telling myself….
Now, back to the blog. Do you remember this from yesterday?
Today it became this. (Crappy photo alert)
Oh, that’s a closeup. I just want to show the surface treatment. Today I discovered–with ALL the happiness in my heart–how wonderful yummy luscious my new R&F Pigment Sticks work on wax. You have to wipe them down pretty thin. Can’t have big globs o’paint sitting on the wax. And then you have to fuse WITH A TORCH. Don’t even try using a heat gun, no no no, please! You have to have the gentlest of flames, low and soft, and just lightly kiss the wax. Move on as soon as it takes on a shine. Quick, quick or everything will run and distort. Do a couple of light fusings until the oil has become one with the wax. You know that’s happened when you can rub your fingers across and nothing comes off on them.
Then use some clear medium and do another layer of color. Repeat as much as you want.
And wear a respirator because who knows what’s in those paints. I wear one all the time when working in wax. Makes me look like a grasshopper. But. I. Don’t. Care. Because I LIKE to breathe. And I’d like to keep on breathing.
So just before packing up for the night I was playing around with a 6X6 board. I’d been experimenting with the flat iron (don’t like it) and then decided to use some pastel pencil scribbles as a transfer. Well, then that led to paint. And more scribbles. I just wanted to see if inspiration might strike.
Low and behold, it did. YAY!!!
In the form of a boat. Just the start but I’m liking it.
Liking the idea of a red boat sooooo much I started another.
And then, just before I turned off the light and shut the door because really, it was getting late…
I turned this one on it’s side. Hmmm…maybe not a window. Maybe a shelf. With a boat. Maybe….
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 |
That’s about it. Oh, and breathe.
