by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
Last night I got an email notification from twitter. New follower. New follower??? NEW FOLLOWER!!! Backflip time. Handsprings even. Because I’m new to twitter. Don’t have a lot of followers. Umm…let’s put it this way, between my fingers and toes I can count them all. And I may not need both feet. So a new follower is a BIG DEAL. Like the new phone book. Or the UPS truck with a box of pigment sticks.
A BIG deal. And hey, if you want to follow me I’m slporterpaints.
So I checked out this new follower. Went to her blog. Her name is Tracy. She’s a mixed media kindred spirit artist from Australia. AUSTRALIA? Yes, that place. The one where things are backwards and it’s spring right now. Imagine that…spring. Lucky lucky them. And that’s not to say Aussies are backwards–although I’m sure some of them are (as everywhere else). I’m just saying their seasons are confusing to me. Especially when I’m huddling in front of the wood stove and she’s taking pictures of all the new plants in her garden.
But back to Tracy. I like what she had to say.And all the links that I don’t have time to follow right now. I did follow one though, to her Facebook group, Magically Mixed Art Community. Which I promptly joined. Check it out. There’s over 1,500 members. I scrolled through a bunch of posts, commented on a couple and then jumped in and introduced myself.
I felt that at home.
And people welcomed me like I was a long lost friend. Imagine that–total strangers from all over the planet welcoming me into their midst. Fellow artists. Turns out I recognized a few names from the hot wax class.
Just as I recognized some names in the hot wax class from the plaster class last summer.
I was thinking about this today. Thinking that as my contacts are expanding, the world is shrinking. What does it matter if someone is halfway across the planet when we can communicate in real time on-line.
It’s a small, small world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKt_o6AflbI
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Got boats on the brain today. Remember this? The ‘dead zone’ work-in-progress. (Two days ago)
Turned into this? (Yesterday–and yes, I am most definitely getting the miles out of these photos. Shamelessly so.)
And then today…ta ta…went on a creative rampage. Before I could stop myself I grabbed some sharp and pointed instruments and did this:
Oh! Oh! WHAT HAPPENED!!! What were you THINKING Susan?
THIS is what happened. And THIS is what I thought, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh….”
Here’s another one. This is a little guy, 6″X6″. For my wax savy friends there’s accretion going on in here. And intaglio. And oil bars.
And now my back is screaming at me for standing on a slab floor while quasi hunkering over a workbench for the better part of the day. I’m going to go stretch out. And then I’m going to have a cuppa tea. And some brownies.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
It’s 10 PM and I want potato chips. None in the house, not a one. And that’s a good thing. Or so I keep telling myself….
Now, back to the blog. Do you remember this from yesterday?
Today it became this. (Crappy photo alert)
Oh, that’s a closeup. I just want to show the surface treatment. Today I discovered–with ALL the happiness in my heart–how wonderful yummy luscious my new R&F Pigment Sticks work on wax. You have to wipe them down pretty thin. Can’t have big globs o’paint sitting on the wax. And then you have to fuse WITH A TORCH. Don’t even try using a heat gun, no no no, please! You have to have the gentlest of flames, low and soft, and just lightly kiss the wax. Move on as soon as it takes on a shine. Quick, quick or everything will run and distort. Do a couple of light fusings until the oil has become one with the wax. You know that’s happened when you can rub your fingers across and nothing comes off on them.
Then use some clear medium and do another layer of color. Repeat as much as you want.
And wear a respirator because who knows what’s in those paints. I wear one all the time when working in wax. Makes me look like a grasshopper. But. I. Don’t. Care. Because I LIKE to breathe. And I’d like to keep on breathing.
So just before packing up for the night I was playing around with a 6X6 board. I’d been experimenting with the flat iron (don’t like it) and then decided to use some pastel pencil scribbles as a transfer. Well, then that led to paint. And more scribbles. I just wanted to see if inspiration might strike.
Low and behold, it did. YAY!!!
In the form of a boat. Just the start but I’m liking it.
Liking the idea of a red boat sooooo much I started another.
And then, just before I turned off the light and shut the door because really, it was getting late…
I turned this one on it’s side. Hmmm…maybe not a window. Maybe a shelf. With a boat. Maybe….
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Got a late start in Studio Grande today. Things to do, none of which (in hindsight) were really necessary.
I believe it’s called procrastination.
I understand why. Been rolling with the oils lately, like second nature. But today it was wax. That was the plan and I was sticking with it. And I did. I started small, a couple of 6″X6″ and one 12″X12″.
But I didn’t follow the plan exactly. In fact, except for the wax part, I didn’t follow it at all.
Instead of using the oils as a base, I began with a blank board. Blank except for some smudges. But smudges were OK because my new found plan was graphite drawing. Except there wasn’t a pencil to be found…in an art studio. Go figure.
Well I probably could’ve found one if I actually looked. But the charcoal was RIGHT THERE. On the counter. It was a sign, I’m telling you, a sign.
I started out with a couple coats of clear wax medium. Then I took some soft charcoal and scribbled a goodly mess. Then a quick fuse. Then I scraped some lines, bringing out the white, covered the whole thing with a couple more coats of medium and did it all again. And again and again and again. A couple layers up I began adding color via pastels and grownup artist crayons. Eventually it developed into a landscape although that was not the plan when first begun. Remember–no plan.
Looks much better up close and personal. Much. You’ll have to trust me on this. This one is close to finished but not quite there.
I got a couple more little ones going but no photos. Maybe tomorrow. Then I started on a 12X12.
This is the base oil painting. Started with a couple layers of clear wax medium. Then I incised some scribbles, brought them out with a glaze of burnt umber oil paint. Added some pastel. Made a total mess. Fused it. Covered the whole she-bang with a couple more coats of medium. I was really getting into it but oh man, it was getting late. So I decided to stop.
Here. In the dead zone. Artists know what this is. For my non-artist peeps, the dead zone is similar to when your kids are adolescents and you begin to think there’s no hope. You stick with them and eventually they turn out just fine. For dog people–just remember what it’s like when the puppy is five months old.
I think that explains it rather well.
Tomorrow I’ll show the finished piece. I’m looking forward to getting back to it.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Arty Inspiration, Everyday Ordinary, Photography |
I spent the day in Studio Grande. Show hangs a week from Monday and I’m in the final lap of the gettin’ ready race. It’s not as frantic as it sounds, just a lot of loose ends to tie up, paintings to finish, STUFF TO DO. That’s all. And when sister Margie Ellen arrives from Norway on Thursday, Studio Grande is going to feel not so grand. Gonna feel a wee bit crowded in fact. Two artists doing last minute prep while Studio Quat winds around our feet.
Mrrrrrurow…. Purring. Shedding. Being a cat.
I forgot to bring my camera today so no shots of current works-in-progress. Instead I’m going to share some artsy-fartsy photos from last night. I took lots of pics at the event but I also took some just for potential painting possibilities. Potential Painting Possibilities–I like that. Could call it 3P. Or P3.
Note: 3P/P3 photos are not concerned with focus or other technical details. They are for inspiration only. Because I’m NOT a photographer, just an artist with a camera.
I snagged a parking spot behind the foundry last night and had to hike around to the front. There was still some daylight and I had my camera. This is the winery next to the foundry. The back end of it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this same sight but last night I swear the winery called out and said, “Take my picture!”
So I did. I mean, really–look at all those luscious nooks and crannies. That yummy texture. The rust. I could spend a day there with my camera and still not get it all. Especially if I go inside and taste some wine first. Umm-hmm…indeed.
Then a quick zoom.
Aye-aye-aye!!! Is that a 3P/P3 or what? In fact as I’m writing this and looking at this I’m thinking I may have just solved a problem I was having with a diptych today. Well, what’d’ya know….
Then there’s the foundry. OH. MY. This is an old gold mining town and the foundry is where they forged the mining equipment. In fact the first Pelton Wheels were manufactured in this very building.
Maybe even in here, The Stone Hall. Love this room. Stone walls. Big fireplace. Old beams. And an iron door like something from an old castle.
Hmmm…another candidate for my ‘Portals’ series.
