Art Movies

I love movies about artists and their lives! At least some of them! Over time I have build up a small library of these type movies. I like them for very different reasons...

My absolute favorite is FRIDA, about Frida Kahlo. I think the creativity that went into this movie is mind blowing, and I think Selma Hayek is very believable as the artist. The explosion of colors and the beautiful scenes in this movie are overwhelming and so esthetically pleasing. (And then I do love Frida’s work as well!)

Another favorite of mine is POLLOCK, about Jackson Pollock. I think Ed Harris is great as the main character, and so is Marcia Gay Harden, as the artist’s wife. I am not a huge fan of Pollock’s work, but the movie tells a truly fascination story about an artist and a very troubled man.

The movie CARRINGTON about the British artist Dora Carrington is also among my favorites. She is part of the Bloomsbury Group, and both the bohemian sense of this group and the time period are told very well through this movie, I think. I have more, but these are just a few...

One movie I have, but that I am not crazy about is MODIGLIANI. I very much like the artist Modigliani, but I just don’t think Andy Garzia is the right choice for the character. I keep being taken out of the movie, it doesn’t come together for me. Perhaps that’s just me?!

Now that I sit here on Guam, fairly isolated from art, museums and galleries, I enjoy to watch one of these movies once in a while. The stories are from different times, from different places in the world, and depict very different artist’s visions and lives.

Canvas As A Playground

As mentioned before on my blog, I was given a very large canvas a couple of years ago, as a gift. At first I felt very intimidated, as it was far larger than any work I had done in the past. At the same time, I was extremely exited to get started. My first attempt didn’t work out well, and the canvas stood in my studio for a long time, quietly waiting for me to try again. I’ve had many ideas, but none of them have made it all the way from my mind to the canvas. Until this week, when I tried again. I don’t know it is is due to the size, and the unfamiliar feeling of this huge format - but I felt inspired to play with the surface, experiment with color schemes, shapes and expressions that are entirely new to me. I work a little at a time, then look at it, trying to take it in, and then change elements or continue a few days later. As I am writing this, the canvas is on my easel, patiently waiting for me, as I am playing and hopefully find out something new about myself and the way I work. Generally, I am attracted to (and inspired by) abstract work, but I am such a structured person that I find it hard to be spontaneous and not plan out every little detail before even starting. But this time I am determined I do it differently, and I am trying SOOO hard, not force the my ideas and pre-thought visual plans onto the canvas...

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.