First Painting 2009

Looking back, I (subconsciously) seem to change things up in January. I always look over my work in the beginning of a new year: materials, direction, statement etc. and generally think it over. I usually know exactly where I am going with a painting, even before I begin. I am planning ahead, and can almost see the finished piece in my mind.

This painting was different - on purpose. I wanted to work more loosely, and had only decided on the main figure and color scheme, but what else was going to happen in the picture, as well as a title, I did not know.

As I went along, I painted these water lilly-like flowers, very quickly and with runny watery paint. I started to think of the painting as “Water Lilly”. But as the flowers appeared, and also covered the dress, I realized that it was a different painting I was working on; instead of it being “Water Lilly”, it suddenly turned in to “Wallflower” instead. Very interesting I thought - and very unexpected.

I clearly like to be in control of my work, know where I am going and to have (at least some kind of) an idea of the final outcome. But it is also very exciting when the painting leads you.

Another change in this piece (as well as in the next two pieces I am currently working on) is that the canvas is covered in a plain white paper collage, purely for texture, but there is no additional collage involved.

I’ll keep playing, and should perhaps be more open to letting things happen as I go and listen to the painting, instead of just listening to me.

MoMA on a Winter Wednesday

I decided to go to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) this morning - a freezing cold winter day in NYC. I was looking forward, there was an exhibition on that I was very curious to see: Marlene Dumas -Measuring Your Own Grave. The show was intriguing, and I spend a lot of time walking the galleries, looking at her work. The museum was nearly empty - most quiet I ever saw it anyway. I guess a wednesday in the middle of January isn’t exactly high season.

To me, going to the MoMA is a way of seeking peace; the place is so full of good (and naturally very creative) energy. Walking from room to room, seeing and sensing the art is recharging my batteries like nothing else! I am so happy and at peace there, just dreaming of going home to my studio, my own work and get back to it.

It still feels like such an overwhelming luxury to wake up, and any given day be able to decide to go to the city, go to MoMA. When I grew up, NYC was on the top three of places I’d love to visit some day, now I am here, and have lived here for three and a half years. We have been lucky, not being here as tourists, where you need to fit in as much info as possible in a week or two. Instead we have been able to take it in, a bit at a time, digest it and go back a couple of weeks later. I am very grateful for that. I am trying to take as big and memorable a bite of the big apple as possible, but not eat it so fast that I can’t remember the taste. I want to be able to remember the galleries from numerous shows, varies trips with several friends and seeing the city in different seasons.

New Year - New Thoughts

Happy New Year! It is January once again, and the beginning of a new year always inspires me to look over my work, and kind of sum up the year and consider new ideas & thought that have fallen into my mind the past few months (for me, it seems fall is time for thoughtfulness and reflection - much more so than the rest of the year)

I was recently looking through my art books, I have so many of them and I noticed how different the art and artists was. I look at different artists for very different things. Art that may not seem connected, somehow finds a connection for me. Some artists I look at for creativity or spontaneity, some for their use of color or patterns. Some are masters of the craft or amazing collage artists. Or they (literally) have their way with words, visually. So many amazing artists - my personal inspiration list is long and - quite possibly - endless and varies, depending on what I am working on. But, here’s just a few names that popped up, during my recent “curiosity check” in my library as well as some new names I have recently come across - in random order:

● Clayton Brothers

● Frida Kahlo

● Tony Fitzpatrick

● Elizabeth Clayton

● Paula Rego

● John Corrin

● Sabrina Ward Harrison

● Tine Helleshøj

● Kehinde Wiley

● Nicky Hoberman

● Bo Bartlett

● Hung Lui

The 40th Face

Back in summer I made a few paintings, based on 1940s photos of women from LIFE magazine. I painted the faces from looking at photos, and then surrounded them with heavy pattern wall paper from roughly the same time period. I enjoyed making these small portraits with smiling or surprised faces, often taken from soap or toothpaste ads. They all measure 8” x 8”.

Overtime they became various studies of faces, and I started using more modern photos, which changed the feel and expression of the paintings.

Just this week I completed portrait # 40. I didn’t know I was going to do this many or how they would change overtime. I like them as individual portraits, as well as put together in a big block as the above photo. For now, I have decided to take a break, but may return to this format the future.

Happy Holiday

The Danish postcard company Go-Card is currently publishing a series of my images, entitled Playdoh Greetings and they all feature my Boston terrier Playdoh.

Four of them are already out; Get well Soon, Happy Valentines Day, Bon Voyage and Happy Halloween. And I have just received a message that the fifth one (Happy Holiday) now is out as well. That means it can be picked up for free, in 400 cafes around Denmark, as well as in all McDonalds throughout the country (except for Herning).

This is the second Playdoh series published by Go-card, the first one Playdoh the Muse, came out last year. Back in 2002 I had my very first series published on Go-card, it was five images and text pieces, taken from Life of Young Ursula Winther.

For more information, or to send an e-card, please visit there their website www.Go-Card.dk

Art Class Shows work at the Library

Yesterday I went to the Metuchen Public Library and hung my students art work. They had all brought me a stack of work they wanted to show, and there was a lot to choose from.

But, the exhibition space was rather limited, so I had to pick out a few pieces, and hung them in themes. There was a lot of good work that I unfortunately had to leave out, but I think it still gives a good idea of what we have worked with the past 12 weeks.

The art work will be on display in the Library until Dec. 14th. 2008

# 12 Art Class - Acrylic on Canvas

It was our last week this semester. Unfortunately only two students were able to make it for this class. It was time to paint on a stretched canvas - acrylic on canvas. Last week I asked if they would prefer to paint from their imagination or look at a still life. Still life was the clear answer, so I made a little arrangement with a vase w/ dry yellow flowers, a book, a pomegranate and a (lit) candle.

The atmosphere was very calm and focused, it was cold and dark outside and very cosy inside. Both boys worked concentrated - I really tried to force them to LOOK at the arrangement, not just assume. To use their pencil to measure the different objects to each other, and also pay attention to light and shadow. They took their time, changed detail when they realized it wasn’t right. A lot of work and very little giggle! The two hours were spent well, we had perfect time to finish the pieces, talk about each one afterward, and we even had time to play with Playdoh the dog, who was not happy about being placed in the basement while the class was going on. He came up to say hello!

Later this week or early next week, the student’s work will be on display at the Metuchen Library.

I will offer two make up classes in the beginning of December, I will post into on the themes at a later date.

# 11 Art Class - Still Life

This week was an “open week”. I wanted to keep one week available to add a sudden idea for a project or a surprise. I had asked the students if there was something they would be interested in doing in particular... A few mentioned that they like to finish up older pieces from previous weeks, but none of them actually brought anything along when Tuesday came along. I had a feeling this would happen, so I prepared a Still Life class, using color pencils combined with water color.

I have noticed that they like working with Still Life - they enjoy having an object/arrangement to look at, rather than making something up. I think that is great; they have to look and observe - great for bettering their drawing skills, as well as their focus.

I made a very traditional set up with a bowl of fruit and one of my personal treasures: a Royal Copenhagen Jug. I gave them a sheet of water color paper and they started drawing the arrangement. When the drawing was done, they added a bit of color with the color pencils and as the last step, they put water color on top. This created an interesting effect. We talked about how the two materials affected each other, how the pencils were great for shadow and the watercolor worked wall for the lighter part of the painting.

As always the results were very different, they each approached the subject as well as the materials very differently.

We only have one week left of the entire semester. Next week is a painting on a stretched canvas. After Thanksgiving I am having two make up classes.

# 10 Art Class

This past Tuesday was Election Night, which meant that a couple of my students were away for the week. So, on this dark (and later history changing!) fall Tuesday only two kids came for art class!

According to my lesson plan were were going to draw faces, and we started out talking about proportions of the face, and they did a couple of drawings of each other... But pretty soon it became clear that it was hard to do with only two people that kept on drawing each other. (I was planning that they would take turns, all drawing one person at a time, just like in the figure drawing class.) So, we decided to change the plan a little - I had a big pumpkin outside my door that I broad inside, along with a handful of beautiful orange/brown leaves that covered the ground outside my house. Initially I wanted them to draw faces with pastels - so we stuck with that medium ( -which we had not actually used yet- ) and the drawings were very vibrant - we talked a bit about complementary colors, and they tried to make oranges and browns pop, by surrounding them with ‘opposite’ colors.

# 9 Art Class - Egg Tempera

It was time for the (among my students) most anticipated week - egg tempera! They just couldn’t wait to mix the paint! Almost every week, someone would ask me: ”When are we doing the egg thing??” I decided to give them each a primary color (unfortunately one student couldn’t make it, so we were only three). They each got a tile and a piece of marble to turn a color pastel into powder. It was a pretty tough process - breaking the pastel turned out to be more difficult than expected. They mixed the fine powder with egg yolks, and it turned into some very clear and vibrant colors.

They each painted a small painting with the tempera, it was very different than regular paint; sticky and very transparent. They could still mix the colors, lighten the red and blue (-or green as the egg yolk changed it into). After making one painting they were more interested in mixing more paint, than actually using it for painting! We had a bit of time before everyone was being piked up, and one of the students suggested that they spent the time drawing each other - like they did in week # 3. I thought it was a great idea - we are going to draw faces next week, and this was a good exercise to return to, before next week. So I quickly found paper and charcoal and they worked on figure drawing until they got picked up.