A Rainy Day

This morning plans were all set to paint plein aire but lo and behold it was raining.  Again.  So, Sandy and I set up in the Summer Studio and worked there listening to Ottmar Liebert's flamenco guitar and the falling raindrops. 
We both worked on finishing paintings we had begun earlier and decided that the rain was a really blessing in disguise.  Here's the acrylic which I started way back in March, finished at last!

"Sap Buckets on Calendar Hill #2"

acrylic on canvas - 14" X 18"

Sydney Writer's Festival installation

During my stay in Sydney earlier this year I had the great fortune to join Sydney Book Arts Group (BAG).  What fun to spend a couple of hours each month sitting in a circle of interesting, creative artists whose passion is to make books!
While I was there the group decided to create an installation, a joyful piece called Life Cycle for the Sydney Writer's Festival 2013 (which took place in May).  743 pages from abandoned books were each individually made into a piece of art, then attached together and hung from a Hills Hoist clothesline, one that is found in backyards throughout Australia.

 I made a small contribution compared to the other artists as I had to return to Vermont.  But it was great fun to participate and then see the photos of the finished piece.  Wish I had been there to help put it all together!

Ladybugs greet me!

So, back to Vermont and settling into the studio again.  Hundreds of ladybugs were hanging out there, ready to welcome me home.  It's so good to be back to this beautiful part of the world!

I returned with a duffle bag full of work in process and lots of packages of joss paper.  I don't think there is a source any nearer than Boston's Chinatown to buy more, so I came home prepared.  I believe I have just about reached the right length on this book made with the yellow joss paper made in the shape of a large coin.

Back to the tea bags, I am continuing to create small boxes out of two bags sewn together.  There are now over 100 pieces to the collection and I still haven't figured out how they will come together as a work, but eventually I'm sure the idea will surface.

This week I also completed a piece that I had started in December before I left.  I need to decide how the two separate pieces will attach to one another....for now I have used large paper clips to hold them together.  I also may want to use some gloss medium on the piece to finish it, so there are still decisions ahead.

I like the combination of working with the joss paper and the tea bags.  It gives me a little more variety
  rather than working with just one medium.   But clearly it is the joy of manipulating paper that is holding my interest.

Sap Buckets on Calendar Hill

I just completed a painting which you can see below in an early stage. Here,  the landscape has been brushed in quickly.

As I continued, I brightened the sky and added details to the under painting.  I decided to balance the composition by adding a limb so that the tree would seem to "pose" for her portrait.  This is the finished painting, now exhibited at ArtisTree Gallery in their annual "Mud Season" show....

"Sap Buckets on Calendar Hill"

acrylic on canvas - 14" x 18"

Below is the photograph I used for the painting.  As you can see, the background differs substantially from the photo.  Instead of the gray winter skies of my "Posted" series I cropped out the background and changed the mood with a blue sky.

There is a great advantage to working from photos--when it is too cold to paint outdoors, I can work in the studio.  As always, the landscape is open to interpretation.  I look forward to getting out to paint en plein aire soon as spring really arrives and the weather warms up.

"Fuchsia" - black clayboard engraving

This is my latest scratchboard etching.  To see all the versions which led up to this final, see my art blog at   http://emerlyearts.blogspot.com/2013/03/fuchsia-black-clayboard-engraving.html

Joss Paper Explorations

For the past several weeks I've been exploring a new kind of medium, Chinese joss paper.  It is sold in large packets in most Chinatowns and used in ceremonies where it is burned to honor departed ancestors.  I first used it many years ago in mixed medium works and recently constructed a piece using the joss paper and tea bags:

When I went back to buy more of the paper I wasn't able to locate any of the same size and color, so decided to buy what I could find and do some investigating.   I bought several kinds, different shapes, sizes and colors:

It seems to be a good material for book making and I am enjoying exploring ways to tear and fold the paper.  Here are some examples of some of the work that is evolving:

I'm still working on some large tea bag pieces, but the joss paper work is giving me something else to focus on and I'm enjoying it!

Posted on Cobb Hill

I've been working on landscapes that speak winter and mud season here in Vermont.  Often we drive by trees sporting posted signs and these signs make a colorful statement in the cold and gray scene.  This is my second painting in this series.  Last week this is how it looked:

After removing an errant branch, cleaning up others, adding darker values to the sky and finishing the sign, this is the finished piece....

"Posted, Cobb Hill"

acrylic - 14" x 18"