I have made the decision, for now, to transfer my blogging endeavors over to my artist website, Libby Fife Fine Art. That link can be found right here. I hope those that are still following will hop right on over to my website to see what is going on. I will still be sharing my new work, the reasons why I made it and what inspired it. Additionally, I will try to share information about my process and what I am up to, artistically. Please join me as I try something a little new.
Thanks,
Libby
email: libbyfife@ymail.com
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Sunday, June 23, 2019
New work: The Not So Peaceful Garden
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| The Not So Peaceful Garden Image size 16" x 20" painted paper collage on matboard |
The title of the above piece comes yet again from something that I read in my book on evolution (Carl Zimmer). In the book, the author references a quote made by Darwin to the effect that while we love to hear the birds singing happily in the garden and their music signifies the presence of life, we must also remember that the very life we hear is also bringing death to the worms and the insects being eaten by those birds. I thought those two ideas held together simultaneously merited some real thinking on my part. That's an important idea not to be missed.
I admit that though that while I am making these pieces, I have nothing much in mind to start with. For example, I didn't set out to make a piece of art about life and death occurring simultaneously. It is just what I happened to think about as I was working away. What actually got me going was another idea from awhile back and that can be attributed to a Stephen King short story called Chattery Teeth. Based on that reading, I had made a little paper sketch of a pair of orange "chattery teeth" and I liked that so much that I really wanted to use the imagery at some point. Well, this piece became that point! I knew too that I wanted to use some flower images. Earlier in the week I had seen some wallflowers while on a hike. I loved their four petal formation and bright orange color. (Plus, who doesn't love a wallflower?) So, on to the piece they went. The two blue shapes that sort of resemble a bird and fish were "accidental" in that I had cut several shapes earlier in the month and these two shapes evolved from those other shapes. Nothing was planned, in other words. It just evolved! (How fitting, no?)
Admittedly, at some point, I felt that a kind of "garden" theme was emerging. Not a peaceful, relaxing garden but a garden with a somewhat sinister subtext. I like that idea a lot (too much time with Stephen King) but if I had set out to do that at the beginning this piece would never have been made. I mean to say that I am not sure if I could make a second or third piece and make this a series. I couldn't be deliberate. It's likely though that in the future this idea will crop up again. I don't think ideas or creative impulses really ever go anywhere. We always circle back to them eventually in one way or another.
Alright, I really hope everyone has had a productive week, creatively or otherwise. Thanks for reading and commenting. Or emailing. Emailing works just fine:)
Thanks,
Libby
Sunday, June 9, 2019
New Work: Endless Forms Most Beautiful
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| Endless Forms Most Beautiful 15" x 18" painted paper collage |
I have to admit though that I deviated significantly from that practice sketch. I was trying to duplicate it and that just wasn't working for me. So, I put the sketch away and just forgot about copying it. I am so happy I did because I never would have made this piece otherwise.
I am lucky too because I just happened to come across some images in the last several weeks that have generated some new ideas. Not fully formed ideas but fragments of things. I so much want to make more organic shapes and combine them with the rectilinear shapes. But how to do it? What could it look like? Well, there has to be source material for starters. I have recently been looking online at old anatomy charts and also perusing our anatomy reference book. I have looked at (and sketched) plenty of flowers over the course of the Spring and I have been sketching oddball animal shapes based on the exercises in Carla Sonheim's book, Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals. It is slow going but ideas are beginning to emerge. I don't want to jinx myself so I will leave it at that.
Incidentally, the title is based on a passage from Charles Darwin's book, On The Origin of Species. The full quote is referenced often and sums up nicely what Darwin felt about evolution and natural selection (not an easy topic to sum up)!
OK, thanks for reading. Leave a comment or send an email.
Libby
Thursday, May 30, 2019
New Work: I Spy Blueberries!
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| I Spy Blueberries! 11" x 14" painted collage papers on wc paper |
Every once in awhile an image will pop into my head and I know right away that it is something that I will incorporate into my work. For the above piece, I very clearly remembered the blueberry farm that I went to last summer. The blueberries were such beautiful colors and the woman who owns the farm had planted several different varieties which all tasted a little different from one another. Picking the berries was a great experience for me and I can't wait to do it again this year.
The other thing that appeared in this piece are some organic shapes that are a kind of experiment. I thought I could use portions of them and blend them with the more rectilinear shapes. I think that they work and I will continue to try and incorporate them. It's important for me to not have these pieces be "sectioned". I want them to have an overall-ness so it's a challenge for me to get all of the shapes and colors to play well together. As I place shapes onto the paper I look for a directional flow and it's this flow, among other things that I think helps make the pieces cohesive. Anyway, that's what I think.
In other news, I am still perusing my Carla Sonheim book that I mentioned in my last post. Though I am not drawing any finished animals as the book suggests you do, the exercises are providing prompts for drawings which then lead to paper cut out shapes and completed figures. I hope to be able to show some photos of that work soon. My thought is that even if those shape/figures don't show up in my work they are still helping me to work with color, line and composition.
OK, that's it for now. Hope everyone has had a good month. It's warming up here which is good and bad. We'll just see!
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Libby
Friday, May 24, 2019
New Work: Right Way Round
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| Right Way Round 14" x 18" acrylic painted papers on mat board |
Such was the case with the above piece. I made this one using regular mat board as my substrate. It worked fine and I am in fact thinking of trying some more pieces, maybe larger, on more matboard. The paper is no more warped than other watercolor papers that I have used as substrates. I got super frustrated (again) because some watercolor paper that I had soaked and stretched ripped right down the middle. That led me to trying the mat board. See, anger is beneficial and healthy!
I didn't have too much on my mind for this piece other than some lyrics from a Jackson Browne song referencing the disappearing ozone layer. That's what the yellow and blue shapes are about. But, I liked the idea of a cascade of shapes falling through the piece and so I tried that out with the half circles. When I got to the last shapes I pictured Atlas holding up the world. I ended up liking this piece a lot-maybe not in the same way as some of my others-but still in a good way nonetheless.
I also bought a new book for myself. It's from Carla Sonheim and is called Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals. I was initially concerned that this was yet another rabbit hole that I was going down. She says though right at the beginning that sometimes the things that you do creatively that don't make much sense eventually end up informing your work in some way. That's reassuring to me so I am going to proceed. (My friend Carol told me essentially the same thing. Two people can't be wrong can they?)
BTW, the title of the piece refers to my idea of how I make art. Does the idea come first and then the art follows or is it visa versa?
OK, hope everyone is having a nice Friday. Thanks for reading anc commenting.
Libby
Monday, May 20, 2019
New Work: Party Hat
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| Party Hat 12" x 12" painted paper collage on MDF board |
I am noticing a difference in the outcome of these pieces. Some are more structured than others, almost like they are being designed on a kind of grid. Only a few of the pieces I have done so far this year have been more "unstructured", meaning that I use the shapes I have at hand and don't worry too much about placement. They almost have more of a circular or organic quality to them. It's hard for me to describe and I can't intentionally duplicate this second way of working. That tells me that there is something that I am doing that I am not aware of yet. I only know that when I start a piece I can tell right away if I will get something that is normal for me or something that is a little different. My thought process on color and shape and line are the same but there is definitely another factor in play that I have not yet identified. This brings me to my final point.
Is there anyone out there reading that likes taking classes? I admit that I have only taken two before and they were drawing classes. I have watched instructional videos, read plenty of books, and tried to emulate different styles while incorporating other people's ideas into my way of working. I am asking because I very nearly bought a book the other day on drawing imaginary animals and characters. The idea is to keep your eyes open for everyday clusters of objects/marks/images that can be turned into figures. It looked fun but kind of dangerous. I am very hesitant to take in new information at this point. It's taken me such a long time to hear a little tiny voice in my head telling me what to do with my art. I don't want to turn a deaf ear to that voice while I am listening to someone else tell me what to do. Anyway, I am curious to know if anyone else has had this experience or something similar to it that they want to tell me about.
Alright, thanks for reading. Leave a comment or shoot me an email.
libbyfife@ymail.com
Libby
Sunday, May 12, 2019
New Work: Whirligig
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| Whirligig 14" x 18" painted papers collage |
Such was the case with the piece above. I came up with some solutions that I thought were pretty solid. The moves I was making seemed good. At the end though, I was searching for the last couple of shapes and colors that would tie the piece together and make it cohesive. There were several areas that were just too busy and that made other areas look too stark. The answer, as I found out (again), was not to add more shapes to balance out the piece but to remove some shapes and then assess the situation. Once I did that, I had room to breathe and then the next and final moves became more obvious. Removing some pieces that I was super in love with helped me to better evaluate things. You have to be willing to destroy a bit in order to gain.
These collage pieces are such a challenge for me. What do I want them to be? How can they be taken seriously? What kinds of design ideas guide me while I am making them? The first two questions are maybe not answerable. The third question though is one that I can somewhat address. I know that for a long time now, several years at least, I have been refining my ideas regarding some design "principles". They are the following: repetition, variance, and proportion. I look for ways to repeat and vary shapes and to figure how much of that is needed. I also try to apply those ideas to color, value and chroma. It's sounds boring and academic but to me it's like having a limitless toolbox.
Each time I make a piece I work with those above ideas in some way. They guide me and help me come up with solutions. I usually too have some sort of "ah ha" moment of clarity when I figure out something that I am after. This time I was able to really hone in on what I think of as "surface tension" within the picture plane. I kind of envision a piece of strong and stout netting that is pulled taut. All of the squares within the netting are pulled equally, all sides are pulled strongly and no one part of the net is weaker than the other. (It's not the scientific definition of what surface tension is but more of a visual.) There is an overall cohesiveness of the piece and an equality of shape, line and color. Not one element is more important than another. This is a tall order to fill but just to verbalize it (or write about it) is critical for me.
With all of that in mind this piece is done and I am happy. Today is kind of a paperwork sort of day in my studio but I hope to start a new piece next week at some point. In the meantime, Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there. I hope the day is going well.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Libby
Monday, April 29, 2019
New work: Coevolve
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| Coevolve 16" x 16" painted paper collage on wc paper |
In any case, the above piece was inspired by a couple of things that I read. First, I didn't know that birds have a poor sense of smell but can see well in color. Many flowers are colored red, for example, so that birds can see them to pollinate them. I can attest to this fact since I have a fuschia colored salvia bush outside my window that is frequented by humming birds. Insects cannot see in color but have a good sense of smell and gravitate towards pollinating flowers with a strong aroma. I also learned that there is a particular flower (somewhere in South America?) that has a 16" long shaft with the parts to be pollinated deep inside that shaft. A moth exists that only pollinates that flower. He has a curled up tongue that becomes filled with blood and unrolls to be 16 inches. Imagine that!
You may have guessed that I am on the chapter in the book that deals with co-evolution. I have certainly heard of parasitic relationships but the concept of two things evolving together in tandem is kind of new to me. Very fascinating. So, literal soul that I am, for my piece I pictured unfurling tongues and flowers! I also read about Mendel's peas and his experiments to discover the secrets of heredity. I learned about the evolution of vertebrates and all about how genes and chromosomes worked. I pictured a cell breaking apart from a group of cells. (I also recently studied a little bit about how cancer starts.)
In all honesty, I can't say that I start any of these pieces with specific images in mind. The pieces in fact start with just some very general shapes. (You can probably tell that by looking.) As I am working though my mind wanders to whatever it is that occupies it: reading material, words I heard, something I saw on TV or noticed while I was on a walk. I'll often jot down a little image in my sketchbook of whatever it is that I am imagining. (Lately I have a lot of flower sketches so out came that idea!)
It's taken me a good long while to get to this point, the point where I feel I have something for myself, art wise. I know perfectly well that for most of my friends and family the artwork does not appeal. It's OK. I could paint bad landscapes I guess but then where would I be? I just can't concentrate my efforts there and would rather spend my time enjoying the work of others who are much better at that genre. So, that's where I stand. I like having my own thing.
Here's to hoping everyone reading is off to a good start this week. And may you all have your own thing too!
Thanks for reading,
Libby
Thursday, April 25, 2019
New Work: Here and Gone
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| Here and Gone 11" x 14" painted acrylic papers on wc paper |
This piece was started just after I returned from Palm Springs and was finished late last week. I am reading a book by Carl Zimmer called Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea. It's a good read, a little over my head in spots, but overall very understandable. I am currently reading about the extinction of species: why it happens, how it happens, and its general impact. It's disturbing, to say the least. So, some of the shapes above are inspired by my reading and some of the shapes also came from sketches that I have done this month and last. The sketches are fun because they use bits and pieces of leftover shapes. I never know what is going to appear or if the sketches will prompt something in my larger, finished pieces. Making art is sort of like chain smoking (at least I imagine it is). One cigarette or idea begets the next, and so on.
In other news, I sold two paintings to a friend of mine. They are older pieces which I really like and I am happy that they have gone to a great home. Though I enjoyed this series and feel like it helped me to get used to working with shapes and color, I just wasn't sure how to continue doing it. Looking for landscape ideas was not working for me and I couldn't see how to expand on what I was doing. Fortunately, I think it was at about this time that I started learning about Matisse and his paper cut outs. And though I know that most people I interact with like landscapes and relate to them better, I also know that the genre just isn't for me. I would much rather appreciate them and marvel at the painters who make them rather than try to make one myself. I do believe strongly in listening to your creative ideas even if they don't sell or aren't liked as well by friends and family members. Unless your living depended on making a specific type of art, what would be the point otherwise?
OK, I am kind of excited. I ordered some art supplies (paper) and I haven't done that in awhile. I am going to try out some new marking pens. I have been enjoying my little pen sketches so much and have been adding color to them but my markers are not quite what I want. (They are Crayola kids markers and are fine for having fun but I would like to try an artist grade product.) I have also been painting some papers to use in future work. This takes a little bit of time to do. So, just kind of putzing around I guess.
Hope everyone has had a good and productive month. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Sketches and Some Ideas on Said Sketches
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| A just for fun map of the way up a hillside on one of our hikes |
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| Table Mountain, Jamestown, CA |
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| Some of the first wildflowers I started to record |
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| Testing out some very inexpensive and basic colored pencils |
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| Testing out some inexpensive felt tip pens, Crayola Brand |
I am not so crazy about having crappy photos on my blog but I did want to show what I have been up to, art wise, in the last several weeks.
About a month or so ago I bought a small travel sketchbook. The idea was to record what I saw while I was hiking or walking. The sketchbook's purpose is a little different than my main sketch book which serves as a spot for sketching but also as a personal journal where I record thoughts, feelings, and ideas. My travel sketchbook is meant to be a separate and distinct thing. It would be nice to track what I see over time; to note what is blooming when and where; how the landscape changes, how the weather is different from time to time; and just any general observations regarding my environment. And I can hardly remember about my hikes from year to year so this sketch book helps with that aspect of things too.
I'd like to mention the obvious too. I don't draw well at all. At best, I have a rudimentary grasp on capturing a small likeness of something. And guess what? I don't care! It's taken quite a while to get to this point, the point where I don't care, and frankly, it makes me happy. I am more attuned to how my hand holds the pen, the line it makes, and the observations that I can garner and write down. Can I get close to a likeness of something? Yes, I can. Is it perfect, of an illustrator's quality? No. Is my perspective off at times? You betcha! It's all good though as far as I am concerned and I am going to tell you why.
The reason my efforts count is because, well, my efforts count! I taught a series of classes several years ago called Get Started Sketching in Nature. All of my students were people who had been away from their art (and their creative side) for quite awhile. Uniformly, they all wanted to improve their drawing (or learn to draw). And, straight across the board, they all said they wish that they had more time to draw, could do what I did, could draw better, etc., etc., etc. I heard a lot of wistful comments that upset me. The sketches above are not complicated, like, say, rocket science is complicated. The hurdle isn't the sketching itself but all of the mental baggage that comes first. And I think it is necessary baggage to "unpack", as they say these days. It's pertinent that you get over the embarrassment of what things look like and the only way to do that is to sketch. A lot. And show those sketches to people if you can. You have to spend the time doing it otherwise, as they say, if wishes were fishes...
And that brings me to my main point. What I do matters no matter what it looks like because it's me that matters. Me. Those sketches and observations are an extension of Libby The Artist (even if the sketches are a little sketchy!). That's what I think the students mentioned above were missing. For whatever reasons, their creative efforts didn't translate to a value of themselves. And because they hadn't been consistently working at things, the "me" value was missing.
So, I hope that those reading will check out the observations and comments in the sketches above. I stand by what I taught in the above mentioned classes: basic observations start with who, what, where, when and how (and perhaps why). Taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing, and instinct-these are all recordable and valid ways of observing and can serve to get ANYONE started with a sketchbook or notebook. It's a way to be engaged with yourself and the world around you.
I'd point out that what I write down isn't earth shattering. Usually it is just things like the weather, the hike location and who I was with, what I saw and what might have been unusual. If you are a flower person you might notice all of my naming mistakes. I am using an app called INaturalist. It's helpful but without a knowledge of the underlying structure of the plant and all of the terms that go with that (taxonomy I guess), it's a little garbage in, garbage out. But again, no problem. It's the effort that counts!
Please, leave your comments. I am sure they will provide a good laugh for both of us. Thanks for reading!
Libby
Sunday, March 24, 2019
New Work:In Dialogue With Darwin 1 &2
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| In Dialogue With Darwin 2 11" x 14" painted papers/collage |
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| In Dialogue With Darwin 1 11" x 14" painted papers/collage |
It's somewhat coincidental that I am now reading a book called Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea, by Carl Zimmer. For someone who isn't very science-y I am certainly drawn to science-y ideas: books, movies, documentaries and podcasts. I can't say that I always understand the topics in an in depth way but I am good at getting the general idea of things.
These two pieces were made simultaneously and side by side. I intended for them to go together, to sort of talk with one another. I can't help but think of prehistoric creatures, plants and animals rising up and being destroyed, water, land, fire and air coming and going, swirling together to help to create life in one form or another. It's heady stuff and honestly, I know precious little beyond Darwin and his famous voyage on The Beagle. What I do know is that the shapes I make and put together often end up looking like some kind of "form" other than just a circle or square. Maybe a person, a plant or another animal? Who knows! I am often pleasantly surprised when a little "story" emerges and isn't that the point of art? Being surprised?
OK, back to work. I have been off for a week or so getting ready for vacation and being on vacation. I'll be writing a seperate post about that on my other blog, The Curious Housewife.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Libby
Monday, March 11, 2019
New Work: Full Spectrum
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| Full Spectrum 18" x 18" painted paper collage |
I admit to being super pleased with this design. Specifically, the circle of circles around the circle (!!!!) was something that I was not expecting. And at the last moment, when I felt things weren't finished, I hit upon the idea of the waves of smaller circles. I am a big fan of repetition and variation. I haven't the imagination to make stuff up but I can certainly look for recurring elements and vary them to create interest and congruity. Early on, when I was learning about the work of some famous artists, I read a book about Georgia O'Keeffe. There was some sort of quote to the effect that once she learned about the elements of design, how to manipulate them, she saw that the possibilities were endless for making every kind of painting that she wanted. I have to agree with that one and the idea of that has guided me ever since.
While making this piece, I had some things on my mind. It's no secret that I love rainbows. Ever since I was a kid I have loved their vibrant and clear colors. They have many meanings and can represent different ideas for different people. I am aware of this (and of the potential controversy of the symbol) as I use the rainbow imagery in my work. The other thing I was considering is the word "spectrum". I recently had a conversation with a friend about the reproductive rights of women. I have always had a clear stance on this subject but listening to my friend, I realized that the scope of my opinion was very limited. I felt that I had failed to embrace the "full spectrum" of available options. (Love and tolerance are not always easy.) In any case, those are the items that likely influenced the above piece in some way.
Currently I am working on two smaller side by side pieces. I had such a good time with this several weeks ago that I thought I would try it again. I have also started taking my sketchbook with me on my hikes. It has been fun making sketches of flowers and the landscape, noting the appearance of new growth and changes that I see. I stopped doing this practice as I distanced myself from representative art but I think that circling back to it is a good idea. I can't always predict what will feed my art making process so I may as well try whatever I can.
Alright, If you have sunshine in your neck of the woods, go outside and enjoy it! Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
New work: Eyes To The Sky
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| Eyes To The Sky 14" x 18" painted paper collage on wc paper |
Many of the pieces that I have made have some kind of an internal narrative to them. What I mean is that the "story line" of the piece is personal to me. It's what I am thinking about while I am working. The ideas just come to me because the shapes or colors remind me of something that I have read or seen or heard about. I make some kind of association with something and that takes the work from being purely abstract to something with some personal meaning.
I mention all of this because I am now going to write some things that are silly but honestly, they are what I was thinking about and what prompted some of the shapes shown above. To start with, I am reading a book by Loren Eiseley called The Star Thrower. Eiseley was an anthropologist and naturalist who lived for the majority of the 20th century. He was a sensitive and introspective person, someone who was a keen observer and who had a real natural curiosity about the "why" of the world. One of the essays in the book touches on the figures at Easter Island. How did the statues come to be? How did the inhabitants of the island come to be there, to live and to die? Eiseley wrote about Darwin also and how he developed his theory of evolution while still retaining a sense of awe for the unknown. I couldn't get those ideas out of my head. But because I am me, I jumped over to an episode of the Flintstones called "Fred's Island." Fred gets the whole family stranded on a fake island, complete with exploding volcanoes, dinosaurs of course, and the token "savage." The whole piece began to feel tropical and prehistoric to me somehow.
The notes from my sketchbook, which I write down as I am working, remind me about what was on my mind at the time I was working. I was definitely considering primitive man and his emotions. We assume early humans were inhuman but that doesn't seem to be the case. I have read of elaborate burial sites indicating that early man must have felt love and loss; he must have had a range of very human emotions. I also had just watched a NOVA special on volcanoes (aren't those things frightening?). And lastly, here and there, I have learned a little bit about Charles Darwin. A fascinating person to be sure.
Many of the shapes that came out remind me of things: mountains, exploding lava, a giant Ronald McDonald foot and a person holding up an Easter Island statue. I stuck in some water there too and had to stop myself from adding sharks!
I think what pleases me the most, after reading the above, is that the work is a mix of silly and serious. I am not ever going to be the kind of artist who is capturing raw emotion or making grand statements about the condition of our world. My work won't change the course of human events. But I can learn about things and learn about myself in the process and I think that matters just as much.
The title of the piece comes from one of the names for Easter Island, Mata ki te rangi, which means Eyes Looking To The Sky. I thought about how humankind has always looked for answers to overwhelming questions. It's usually science that guides us in those explorations but that wasn't always the case. Early man didn't have science, didn't have tools and technology to help him. He looked to the sky for answers. I believe that this is still a viable way of doing things. There is something beyond science, beyond exploration and technology. Where else can we look but to the heavens to explain the unexplainable?
Thanks for reading and commenting. Now go outside, look up, and be in awe!
Libby
Thursday, February 14, 2019
New Work: Just in Time
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| Just in Time 16" x 16" collage on paper/painted papers |
The title of the piece is twofold: it refers to the fact that as I was taking this photo, it was starting to rain (again). I got the photo and got inside in the nick of time. The title also refers to what I have learned about editing and why it really is an important skill in art making (and life in general). I nearly overdid the piece with details but stopped myself (I hope) from doing so just in time.
I only have my own experience here to draw on so I can just say this about editing: it's personal and it is internal and it is essential. Everyone has their own tolerances for just how much and what they can stand in a piece of art. Too little here, too much there and someone gets upset. It's why I dislike and don't agree with group critiques. It's not that you shouldn't listen to others but while doing so, you should keep in mind that they are just giving an opinion. It isn't the gospel.
Over time, I have come to understand that my own view of editing is just that, my own view. I can apply it to someone else's work but it hardly matters. It's their work. Only they can decide. (This doesn't mean I have to like the work however. I can still say what I want about it but not force that idea onto the other person.) I have also come to believe (and rely on) my own intuition. My little voice tells me when there is too much detail, when I am adding a bunch of separate and unrelated shapes, when the piece is crowded or too austere, when it isn't zesty and it is just too flat. I always ask myself why I am adding one shape or detail and I try to be honest about it. And I try to not be married to one move so that just in case, should I have to abandon that move, I can do so with impunity. You have to be ready to destroy the piece and start over.
To me, learning to edit on my own terms, even if I developed those terms through listening to someone else, is essential. It's the only thing that brings the piece to fruition. Yes, editing can help others to understand the work or see it clearly or enjoy it I guess. But at the end of the day, editing give you a kind of energy to bring the piece forth. It gives a specific direction when there wasn't a direction before. Editing leads the piece where it needs to go and it allows the piece to tell you, the maker, what it wants. I can't make decisions about what to do next unless I can ask questions and see what is in front of me. You really do need to be ruthless.
And the irony here of course is that even as I write this post, I am editing but not quite sure I am getting my ideas across! Have I said what I wanted to say in as few words as possible? Maybe just in time.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Libby
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
New Work: Walking in Memphis (Blue Suede Shoes)
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| Walking in Memphis (Blue Suede Shoes) painted acrylic paper collage 14" x 18" |
The title of my piece references the song, Walking in Memphis, originally written and sung by Marc Cohn. The X-Files episode's closing scene features a Cher impersonator singing this song. (It's a great closing scene, btw, and one of the real reasons I love this episode.) I didn't know anything about Marc Cohn actually so I read up on him via Wikipedia. The article is worth a read because his search for a hit song, which takes him to Memphis, is a great instance of the randomness and the pulling together of threads that exemplifies the creative process for me. I have never found an answer for what to paint or do creatively when I was directly looking for that answer. The solutions have always come to me in the form of other experiences, often that have nothing to do with art making. Stephen King talks a lot about this in his book, On Writing. For the most part, the ideas for his books don't arrive in his mind fully formed. They are snippets of experiences and thoughts gathered together over a period of time, often unrelated, but pulled together loosely to form an idea or really, a question: what if? I find that my work evolves in the same way, roughly.
The above piece started with the idea of blue suede shoes, referencing Elvis I guess. I wanted to add the shoes, which turned into boots, but still didn't know if the piece would be about anything. As I worked, I added some shapes here and there which eventually coalesced into some definite imagery for me. The green triangle shapes are the grasses in Memphis, the red bridge shape with the water exemplifies the general flooding that takes place in that area of the country, and I added the blue "propeller" to signify a flying plane. (Listen to the song I guess or read the lyrics.) I added the orange grid because I like grids but it could also stand for the layout of city streets. And lastly, I added the circular shape with a kind of golden "crown." (Elvis was The King, afterall.)
None of the above was planned, mind you, but came together as I worked. I just pulled random things out of my hat, so to speak, which is what happens for me (and others I suspect) during the "creative process." Had I set out to make an Elvis themed piece or an X Files piece, I would still be staring at a blank piece of paper. I couldn't do it. In any case, I am happy with the above results and at the end of the day that is all I care about.
Hope all is well with anyone reading. No snow here in my little town as predicted but that is OK with me! Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby
Sunday, January 27, 2019
New Work: Joyland
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| Joyland 16" x 16" painted acrylic papers/collage on paper |
In any case, I hope the piece appears happy because it certainly made me happy while I was making it. I started by simply gathering up leftover bits of painted paper in various sizes and shapes. I had laid them on the floor in a pile kind of haphazardly. I liked the look of that pile of pieces so much that I felt I could take that randomness and make a collage from it. My rules for the piece were not to create on the grid but to simply place shapes wherever they seemed to want to go which to me, was the way that they appeared to be in their original pile. Well, once I got going I abandoned the notion of copying what had been in the pile (how it looked) and my old ways of question and answer took over. The piece came together quickly and many of the shapes used were used "as is", meaning I didn't cut them except maybe to straighten them out. Other shapes were "cut to fit" which is fine. I added smaller details last which kept me from getting too fussy too soon.
Overall I am quite happy with the results. The question for me will be whether or not this way of working is repeatable. There are lots of ways for me to start a piece I guess and I admit that I am always trying to get away from a "gridded" look, if that makes sense. I hate having to try and line shapes up so that they aren't crooked. It's very hard, actually, and so it was nice to simply place shapes in a way that seemed natural rather than too tied to horizontal and vertical lines. Though some vertical lines are needed, I think, to kind of corral the other shapes. I am after a "built structure" with my work. I want the shapes to coalesce into one object rather than be just bits and pieces randomly strewn about the picture plane. They all need to be tied together in the end.
Alright, hope everyone is having a good weekend. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby
Thursday, January 17, 2019
New Work: Ode to Ellsworth
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| Ode To Ellsworth painted paper collage on wc paper 15" x 18" |
He died several years ago but prior to his death, he gifted the concept of a building design, called Austin, to the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas. The article link is worth a read if only to learn just how much faith and effort went in to completing Kelly's "chapel" design. It isn't a religious space so much as it is a space to contemplate spirituality, if that makes sense. He meant it to be aesthetic only but after seeing the spareness and beauty of the colored light coming through the windows, I can't help but wonder how anyone couldn't be moved by the non spiritual/spiritual experience.
In any case, I was drawn to one of the windows in the chapel which looks like a rainbow burst of light. I made my own version of that window as a sort of centerpiece of the above work. I love any kind of a chance to use rainbows in my work and so my own "Ellsworth window" satisfies that need.
As always, I wish I had another artist's sensibility. (I have my own which is fine but still.) Kelly's thought processes and execution of his ideas seems amazing to me: to be able to distill something complex down into something simple and pleasing. What a gift.
This is my first finish of 2019 . It feels like a solid start to me and I am hoping I won't falter or stray too much this year from my own ideas and perceptions. Here's to a good year!
Saturday, December 15, 2018
New Work: The Here and Now
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| The Here and Now 18" x 18" painted paper collage on canvas |
In any event, I did reconnect with some part of myself recently to come up with the above piece. I had been on a hike with some friends and saw something across the lake. What I actually saw was that bottom left blue shape. It was sort of the negative space above the hillsides that I saw in the distance. I held on to that image and used it for the starting point of the piece. Everything else flowed from that idea. I should mention too that all of the shapes and things have some kind of basis in reality; my reality, that is. They all remind me of something I have seen or they reflect some idea I had. For example, I follow an artist on Instagram named Tom Harold. He makes rolling ball sculptures and if you don't know what those are you want to hop on over to his site to check them out! He uses all sorts of marbles in his work that roll around on these metal tracks. His constructions are very inspiring. I love to think of lines and shapes and objects sort of traveling around, waiting to fall into place with one another. They are all independent but also interconnected.
The title of the painting comes from something that I just recently put my finger on. Subject matter for art is always an issue. What is the art about? I waffle between art that has some meaning or looks like something recognizable and art that is purely emotional or gestural, perhaps even without meaning. It's both ends of the spectrum and frankly, I don't do either of them well! I don't paint well enough to paint realistically and I lack the impetus and energy to get emotional on the canvas. I am just in the middle somewhere. I finally decided, that for me and for being in this middle ground between subjective and objective, the work is grounded in something, but that something is different for me and different for the viewer. For my part, I tend to deal with things that I have seen or ideas that I have. I am looking around me trying to notice things. Hence the title of The Here and Now. I wait for images and ideas to present themselves. I take those ideas and visual fluff and put them with the colors, shapes, lines, etc. Or it could even be in reverse. I might see a shape I like and it reminds me of something. It's just hard to know what is going to come up and be useful. I can accept that.
Alright, thanks for reading. Hope everyone is having a lovely and gracious holiday season.
Libby
Thursday, November 15, 2018
If You Build It... New Work
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| If You Build It 20" x 20" Painted acrylic papers on canvas collage/mixed media |
The title of this new piece is of course taken from the movie with Kevin Costner, Field of Dreams. I liked the many ideas that the title conjured up in my mind as I was working, chief among them that a wall to stop immigrants from entering our country would only cause a greater influx of people wanting to come here; trying harder in other words. I also wanted to include some specific imagery, namely the fenced enclosures that I had seen on the news a while back. Refugees were being held (still are I believe), separated from one another by these fences and the law. It seemed awful to me.
Immigration is a very complex issue. I admit that I don't know a lot about it. A cursory search turned up lots of information of course. I like this site here. During the course of making this piece, I read a book by John F. Kennedy, titled A Nation of Immigrants. It's a very careful and idealistic view of our nation's history of immigration. Our former president reminds us all, in a kind way, that we are a nation that was built on the idea that people could come here to seek a better life; that our country has always valued the skills and contributions of immigrants; and that our country is what it is today because of this beautiful blend of people from many nations. He calls for reform to a broken quota system and makes some suggestions for how we can improve as a nation.
As I worked the piece, I realized that I very much wanted to include a portion of the poem by Emma Lazarus that is at the base of the statue of liberty. Are the words still relevant for us today? And I included the portion of Matthew 25: 35 (RSV) that was quoted by JFK in the above mentioned book. Those words, I believe, are absolutely relevant today. Regardless of how one feels about immigration and immigrants, it's important not to lose sight of the fact that we are talking about human beings, people just like you and me. These are people that are hurting and at a real disadvantage, caught in the cross hairs of our political system. If our President was listening, I would tell him to keep his eye on the ball.
Alright, thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Libby
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