Art Prints

Recently I have started making a few prints of my work, matted and framed. It is not something I have ever even thought of doing before, but Filamore Alcon at the Guam Gallery of Art mainly sells prints, and he suggested I should look into it. It is still a project and a thought in the making, but I like the idea. Especially since I was able to get great quality prints made - it has GOT to be good quality. So far a few prints are available in the Guam Gallery of Art, but in the near future they should also be available at the Gift Shop at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Ideas In Transit

I always, always carry a little black moleskin book with me. Just in case an idea suddenly jumps into my head, I want to be able to capture it there and then, or chances are it disappears into thin air. In this book I have a long list of ideas for titles, motives and color combinations. Many have been in there for years, just quietly brewing, some I use the minute they enter my head. But I like to have this little personal “library”. Sometimes I can’t remember then, where or why, and then they obviously get erased from the list. Others I like instantly, but don’t instantly have a plan for, and I am just waiting for the right moment and the right painting.

A few years ago, we were painting our (then) brand new condo in NJ, and we took a lot of trips to Home Depot. I collected a bunch of color cards and brochures in the painting department. And this was one of them, on the left. I just LOVED the color combination, kept it, knowing that eventually I would need it. And I did - just a few weeks ago, here on Guam, the color scheme fitted perfectly into this painting...

Island Time

My husband and I went to the Infusion Cafe recently, and came across the new issue of Island Time, a quarterly magazine about life on Guam - sport, entertaining and dining.

I flipped through it, while enjoying my tea and looking out on Tumon Bay. It had an ad montage over a few pages, presenting foods at different restaurants. On page 32 my eyes fell on the ad for “Sugar and Spice”, the great restaurant I currently show my work - and the picture was obviously taken after I hung my art on the wall. Pretty fun to have my work (kind of) featured in a Guam tourist magazine...

The Perfect Guam Quote

There are a lot of quotes out there, and once in a while you come across one that sums up your life, your situation, or both. I usually don’t look for quotes, but I do wonder if I was meant to stumble upon this one:

“Do what you can,

With what you have,

Where you are”

To me, that is the perfect quote for Guam Living (and probably for living in a lot of other quiet places). Here you are left to your own devices in many respects, and it is up to you to get the best out of it. NJ is busy, busy, busy... On top of that we had NYC around the corner: entertainment and activity was (almost literally) thrown in our laps. The same was the case while living in Tacoma. Everything was at your fingertips, all you needed to do was to reach out and choose between the options and enjoy. Life on Guam takes more effort. You create your own life here, you look inside, and take a step back. This goes for life here in general, but also for art and painting. I no longer have NY’s Art Museums as my cornucopia of inspiration whenever I choose. And perhaps that is a healthy thing to try. It certainly affects the way I live, work and think. It is time for reflection...

On Guam you are surrounded by flowers year round. Exotic, colorful flowers. This photo is taken in our garden. Suddenly they have found their way into my mind and my work...

In the past I have never really been that interested in flowers in art! While still living in NJ I did make a couple of paintings before leaving that, contained flowers. I don’t know where they came from, but somehow they fitted in with the theme and feel of my work. I wonder if my mind was slowly trying to get used to the idea of living on Guam...? Here on this tropical island, you are surrounded by flowers year round: Easter, Christmas - midsummer. Makes very little different in the flower department! Nature is full of colors, often in the shape of flowers on the ground or bushes. Perhaps it is seeing all these stunning nuances and gentle shapes around me - maybe the view from my studio - or simply the heat? But whatever it is, I have gained an interest in the world of colorful exotic flowers in painting... And of course, when I realized this mind shift, the first artist I went to explore was Georgia O’keeffe. I now own a little art pocket book with one hundred of her flowers.

I was always aware my work changed with my surroundings. Never the less - I never really saw a flower chapter coming...

Georgia O’Keeffe has recently moved into my art library...

How Long Does A Painting Take?

I am often asked “how long does it take you to make one of your paintings?” It is one of those questions that are absolutely impossible to answer! In the past - years ago - I tried to time the process, just for fun, and to (possibly) get a general idea. I quickly learned it was an impossible task, and there is no point. Every painting is a different journey, and the canvas size often has very little to do with it. The last two paintings I worked on, seemed to be working against me in different ways and different areas. But what they had in common: they both took me days, weeks, months...

Recently I wrote a blog about the process of the painting “Wannabe”. And although the piece took a disproportionate amount of time, and I was extremely frustrated, I refused to give up. And (luckily) it was worth it, I do like the result.

Seen in that light, today was very surprising, as I had the opposite experience. I went to my studio this morning, eager to start a new painting, after being stuck in there for so long, in front of the same canvas. By the end of the day, I am very surprised to find myself with a finished painting. I can’t think of the last time I finished a piece in one day... Must have been decades! With the exception of my small women studies, it has always been unthinkable to start a painting in the morning, and be done at night. It was fun and refreshing. And once again I am intrigued by the process, and how my work seems to have a life of its own. At some point the painting closes, and you can’t find your way back in. I try to listen to the piece, and I read it as a sign it must be done.

Extended Art Show

On January 20th, I hung a small show at the Sugar & Spice Restaurant here on Guam. I have stayed in contact with the owner Joe, who told me from the beginning on, I had free hands to do (basically) whatever I wanted with the walls. At the time, I only had enough pieces for one side of the restaurant, but over the last few weeks, I have worked on a few new pieces. Finally I felt I had enough to hang another grouping of paintings. I did so yesterday... So for all of you on Guam - please stop in whenever you have a chance, and check out this place. The staff is nice, they serve GREAT food, and have recently started serving wine - definitely worth a visit.

The restaurant’s name is

SUGAR & SPICE

and is located in the Star Building on Marine Drive (across from St. John's School)

in Upper Tumon, Guam.

Please call 671-647-7423 for more info on opening times etc.

Cleaning out the Studio

Cleaning my studio was long overdue. It wasn’t dirty, nor messy really, just disorganized!

Ever since arriving in Guam, I have worked between my things, without having a true space for each item. We were so busy arranging the rest of the house that when I got to my studio, I just wanted to PAINT. But last week, I finally decided it was time to do just that: arrange my studio to make it work better on every level.

I took everything out and started over. I got rid of things I know I would never need again, and it felt good to see the get-rid-of pile growing, and all the extra space I didn’t even know I had.

Over time I have collected boxes and folders full of pictures, photos, cards etc. The hardest part was to sort through those. And actually, I must admit I gave up and kept most of them. I remember where and when I got most of them, and the story behind each card and image. And (my best excuse:) they don’t take up THAT much room!

Another nice addition to the studio is that I now finally have all my art books around me. That had been my plan all along, but until now they had lived on a shelf in the living room. I like them them upstairs, with everything else ART related!

By the end of the day I felt so good - the studio was clean and organized. And seemed much roomier. And best of all: I now actually know where everything is.

The Stubborn Painting

Recently I finished this painting, titled “Wannabe”. It has been a very long time in the making, and there were points in the process, I thought I may never be able (or have the patience) to actually finish it.

I started the painting this past fall, in September or October. As (basically) always, I had mentally planned ahead, and knew exactly how I wanted the piece to turn out. At least I had a very good idea... But along the way, I came across one obstacle after another. Mainly they had to do with the face of the woman. I am not sure of the number of faces - I gave up counting, but this may be the fifth one, which ended up working for me. The other faces just weren’t right, they didn’t work with the whole feeling and expression of the piece. For a long period I left the painting in a corner, looked at it out the corner of my eye, as I worked on other things. Although it annoyed me, sitting there in the corner, I could never entirely desert it. I am not sure why this painting worked against me to this extend, I can’t remember it ever being such a long and continuously changing process before.

A few times I was very close to give up, break down the canvas and start over on the perfectly good stretchers: new motif, new story, fresh air! But I just couldn’t let the painting win. I kept going, changing, starting over, and although the painting was almost more stubborn than me, I kept going. When I finally decided that this is it - it is done, I had a mishap in my use of the final varnish, which meant that I had to make even more - unplanned - changes.

I am happy I stuck with it - I like it, and having the (numerous) half finished attempts in my mind, I know this IS it, it was the right direction to take this - indeed - very stubborn image.

The Arrival of a new Art Book

”Painting People - figure painting today” by Charlotte Mullins

When I went to the base this morning, and checked my PO Box, I got a pleasant and very anticipated surprise: the ART BOOK I ordered on Amazon months ago (”Painting People - figure painting today” by Charlotte Mullins) had finally arrived!

Guam is in many ways a different world, so isolated and remote, and somehow it takes the mail months to get onto this island, and into my PO Box... But anyway - I got my book, and couldn’t wait to get home, make a cup of tea, put some great music on and open it... I still haven’t, I am trying to hold on to the excitement just a little bit longer...

A new art book on Guam is my closest substitute for an Art Museum. Since here’s no MoMA, Guggenheim, commercial galleries, or anything remotely close, this book will be my next art experience. The Internet is also invaluable, for inspiration, art news, brand new pieces of works, shows, etc., But there’s something extra special about a book. Better go make the tea, and put on the right kind of music...