art: oil pastels for breakwater inn

I had the great honor of being asked to create art to spice up the white bare walls of the Breakwater Inn restaurant last weekend, so I spent this last week creating a series of oil pastel drawings. I took the opportunity to practice large (18"x24" - large for me!) compositions. I intend to keep up the practice of drawing large with the intention of painting large. Here is some of what I created this week:

education: penland

A few weeks ago I got a letter stating I have been awarded a full work study scholarship to attend a figurative sculpture workshop at Penland this August. I am so thrilled! I will be studying with Seattle artist Tip Toland. I have been practicing bringing some of my 2-D work to the third dimension - first with some miniature sculpey creations and now (with the help of our fabulous Joyce Payne) paper clay.

Sculpture by Tip Toland

Sculpey Figures

Unfinished first clay sculpture

art: herald the heron (and harriet too)

Below is my submission to the Alaska Hummingbird Festival Juried Art Show for April 2010 (poorly scanned in). It measures something like 5.25 x 9 inches and is acrylic on heavy watercolor paper. I re-painted the background about 5 times before letting it go. :P I mounted it in an all-glass frame with a dark red wood border. Unlike two years ago, I actually took a picture of the piece I created (I am still disappointed about the fact that I have no photo-record of "Snow Goose Gilbert" though the money he brought in remains a pleasing consolation).

process: oil (portrait) painting

Tonight I completed my first ever portrait painting (in oil, too)! We had about 2 hours to paint from a model & I took pictures during the breaks. I look forward to 2 more sessions later this month... I have a loooong way to go. :)

process: oil painting

Hooray for oils! I have been painting with acrylics for the last forever, and after watching some Bob Ross courtesy of Josh Carter, I have felt inspired to try oils. I don't like Bob's paintings all that much, but I am in love with the way he uses his tools and how the paint blends when applied wet on wet. I bought some supplies and have been at it for hours! Unlike Bob, I think my paintings will take days. In the past I have had trouble working big, but I am finding that working from sketches instead of from my head has proved a great help, and my compositions and color choices are coming out great!

Below are some pictures of the first stages of my painting. More coming soon :D

sketches: Jan/Feb 2010

I am excited to report that I have recently felt a surge of creativity and have been experimenting with new mediums, exhibit ideas, and thoughts about my future. Over the holiday it became clear to me that my next step in education should be an MFA. This year I will work on preparing my portfolio so that I can have a solid shot at some good scholarships. I plan to apply to several schools (yet to be determined) and whichever school offers me the most money is where I'll go. I am still undecided on low-residency vs. full time. I am leaning towards full time, so that I can really soak up my learning experience, build a strong network, remain more focused than I might otherwise, etc.

Part of building my portfolio this year will include applying for a Penland scholarship so that I can attend one of their fabulous workshops sometime this year (I think I have a solid shot at it). I will send in my application on Tuesday. I am also applying for a Rasmussen Grant in the hopes that I can experience exhibiting my work in some place other than Juneau.

Below are some sketches I've been having fun with: