pop...art

I installed paintings at the popsicle shop as part of this weekend's Open Studios. The concept of 'open studios' is interpreted widely in Beacon, as many artists choose to show their work in a variety of locations (including parked moving trucks in a pop-up 'city'), rather than in their actual workspaces. Grouping together makes sense, cuts down on visitors' legwork and increases foot traffic, hopefully. That's what I'm anticipating, being on Main St. Popsicle proximity is a bonus, as well as a ringside view of the Beacon Barks dog parade Sat. 

 The pop paintings in the window are a piece I did for Windows on Main a few yrs ago & he left up, as people seem to like them. Inside, some recent (and a few not-so-recent, but appropriate for the theme) paintings on the chartreuse wall. Also some on the white wall opposite. 

 

 It may be clear I am having a bit of trouble with the format of my blog. Text and photos in some random configuration is about all I can handle at the moment. Back to the paint. Spent yesterday afternoon helping to finish a friend's big dog sculpture for the parade float.
One of my paintings, Riviera Marquee, was accepted to the Art Along the Hudson show, opening next month in Cold Spring.

truckhome, icebox

 I'd wanted to make a painting of this for a long time, ever since I hastily photographed it through the windshield (this time I was safely a passenger, not driving). I wondered if it was actually a little house built into this old truck. 6"x8" acrylic on canvas.

 

Here's the oil-on-panel, 11"x14" ice machine (I'd done a small watercolor). I decided to make it particularly icy-snowy in a very white landscape, but a bright day.

roll playing

 Last night I went roller-skating with friends for my birthday. Here are my feet in striped socks & skates and my friend Faith's feet in dainty shoes (she declined to skate, and remained alongside the rink for support and laughter as we careened around). Fun!

Bathtime, 6"x6", acrylic/collage

 I had painted this 1800s bathtub over a year ago, but it had a dark plain background and never really clicked for me as a complete piece (it was for a show themed "Submerged", so I thought "Tub" but didn't think beyond that). Needed a patterned wall (painted) and floor (collaged), and a little clock. For some reason I am more satisfied with it as an environment.

Window Letters, 20"x24", oil

I'd posted a close-up of the letters recently; here's the finished painting, a storefront on a bright sunny day. I didn't need to do much to the composition as I found it interesting and vaguely strange. I did simplify the lines of the building as I felt it seemed to fit better with the letters.

birthday

today's my birthday.

for the birds

This is not a new painting, but it just found a home, so I thought I'd post a photo. I painted it for a 2010 show I was invited to be in, called Architecture for the Birds. A friend who lives upstate knew someone who built interesting birdhouses and sent me some pictures of them, so I painted this trio (acrylic, 11"x14")

Little did I know that the following year I would have the opportunity to sleep in a birdhouse myself! But I've posted photos of that already.

That's all for now, I plan to post a couple of new paintings in the next few days. Mostly what I've been painting this week is somebody's wooden fence, literally. Closest I'll ever get to a white picket fence, that's for sure.

some days just gleam

I awaken with this thought. Yesterday was one of those gleaming days, it seemed to stretch on and on, the way clear warm spring days do, and I close my eyes and sink into the memory. I spend the day close to home (Beacon-at-large being my home, since I still have no fixed residence), first waking early and feeding my friend's wonderful dog and cat whom I took care of the past two weeks. Later, at the house of other friends, I help weed and plant in their garden. In the afternoon, I pick up the dog and meet someone in town to take out lunch from Homespun and eat it by the falls. We wander over to a music event happening nearby, mingle in the crowd. Then we go down to Madam Brett Park and walk the trail along the creek and the marsh, which comes out by the train tracks. We cross over and scramble up the steep slope connecting to the other side. We continue on the river trail and climb the hill back up to town. I have carefully planned our long route to ultimately pass the ice cream shop, so I get us a couple of cones and a water bowl for the dog. Main St is lively with people strolling in the early evening light. We stop by galleries and chat, plan to meet a couple of friends for dinner. Later, we settle around an outdoor table, order beers and food and talk for hours. Another friend joins us, the night wanders on. We linger late on the sidewalk laughing loudly over anything.

I love warm days when I am nearly constantly outside, when I can smell the air and the sun in my clothes, my skin. Today, I repainted part of a painting to make the sky a deeper blue, and bought fresh milk and eggs at the farmers market. This moved me to make cookies.

I think I'll have a job at a nearby farm, but it won't start til June. Until then I am being resourceful, gathering bits of work like twigs and string for a summer nest.

oil and water

pansy. watercolor, 5"x8"
aqua dodge truck. oil, 4"x5"

I paint at least one pansy every spring. I usually plant a bunch, too, but being currently gardenless I contented myself with filling a couple pots with the cheerful little faces and giving them to friends. The wee truck was mostly painted last week; I managed to dab away at it for another hour today. It is a truck I found parked next to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. I am starting to feel nostalgic for that time, as it is coming up on a year since I was there. Yet I am glad to be here for spring in the Hudson Valley, swooping down Main St on my bike or walking around Dennings Point by the river on a sunny morning.

those dummy light shirts

I just reinvigorated my Beacon dummy light t-shirt marketing, such as it is. I started making them a little over two years ago, encouraged by friends after exhibiting the painting, above (8"x10", acrylic). "Will people really buy them?" I wondered. I quickly sold out of the first run of 100, which I had printed right in town, and since then have been steadily releasing them out into the world. Mostly the local world. Though when I had them at my table in the city, I sold a few to European tourists, which tickles me. This week it finally occurred to me to post purchasing info on the Facebook pages of a couple of groups for longtime Beaconites, former or current, and received a flurry of orders. I have liked hearing about the word-of-mouth publicity the shirts generate, but a little enterprising never hurt. This spring I also have my new Texaco-crew shirts, which are less of a sure sell, but I think they may appeal in a similarly offbeat way. As explained in that post, the image represents another piece of Beacon's past (or rather the surrounding region). Spring is here and it's t-shirt time again. It makes me want to do more, like ones with a truck on them, but I need to generate more sales first, and then it's just a continual cycle and I suspect I never actually make any money from these ventures. Beyond a quiet satisfaction.

assortment

We have eased well into April since I posted last. This collection of photos includes:

~Easter egg cookies I made & decorated for a local cafe this week.

~A portion of a painting I've been working on, which is a 20"x24" version of a small (6"x8") picture I did a couple years ago. Letters in a storefront. I will post the whole image upon its completion, but this is one part I particularly like.

~A little watercolor of daffodils.

~A window display in Mt Morris, an upstate NY town near my brother, with vintage faded aqua theme.

~I actually had a stacking job the other day, and as I went back and forth, the longtime customer came out with a delicate cup of cappuccino, topped with a dollop of foam and chocolate sprinkles, and placed it atop my wheelbarrow. No, this does not happen often.

When I look at these photos they seem kind of weird together but that is what my life is like, bits of all different things.

I have been making a few prints and getting some work ready to show at the upcoming Beacon Open Studios, April 28-29. This time around I will be in a space on Main St (the beloved popsicle shop), not in my studio, which should be more conducive to visitors.