Undulating Terrain

I have always enjoyed sewing and it was fun for me to combine that with my passion for painting.  These canvases were completed for the "Be There and Be Square" Exhibit at The Artists Gallery, a cooperative in Virginia Beach that I have belonged to since 1996.

The canvases were cut apart, stitched back together with some areas backed by cotton muslin.  A small slit was made in the areas that are backed and those areas are stuffed with polyster filling and the slits stitiched back together, sort of trapunto quilting style.

 
The canvas is then stretched onto a stretcher frame and each area painted with oils using shading and highlights to make each area appear three-dimensional.  The trick is that some areas are actually three-dimensional and some areas are flat, but are painted to look three-dimensional.  Each painting was placed in a floater type frame and they are meant to be hung as a group. 

Frida Kahlo

I have always admired and been intrigued by the art and life of Frida Kahlo and loved teaching my students about her.  Unfortunately, all some people remember about her is the uni-brow or the fact that she was the wife of Diego Rivera. 
I admire Frida for her stamina and courage to pursue her passion.  She endured much pain and sadness, which would have been overwhelming for most, in her life.  She was studying at the National Preparatory in Mexico City when that horrific streetcar accident occurred, but she always said that was not the worst accident in her life....Diego Rivera was much worse. 
Painting was Frida's salvation and a visual diary of her life.  We, the viewer, can see and feel her pain, caused by everything from childhood polio to the streetcar accident to a problematic marriage to the inability to have a child and to finally, the consent to have her leg amputated.  Gradually, it just wore her down.
The fairly recent interest in Kahlo has been the impetus for large exhibits of her work, including one in Philadelphia that I had the privilege to attend. 
For these reasons, I chose to copy one of Frida's portraits for our "Fabulous Forgeries" Exhibit at The Artists Gallery.  The one I recreated is entitled "Self -Portrait with Thorny Necklace and Dead Hummingbird", painted by Frida in 1940 after her marriage to Diego had ended.  Life without Diego is expressed in her downtrodden expression....heavy eyelids, the hostile cat and the monkey that tugs at her thorny necklace.  The dead hummingbird is a symbol of woe and echoes the arc of her eyebrows and her exaggerated mustache. 
For further information, there are many books about the life of Frida Kahlo.  I recommend the book, Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver which has a great deal of information about Frida and Diego's life in Mexico. 

Creating a Painting

Stuck inside with frigid temperatures and a winter cold is a great time for getting some painting done.  Recently, that was my predicament and I began a four part canvas, each panel 12" x 12".  The Artist Gallery that I am a member of is having a show this month entitled " One Foot Square".  I began the paintings by covering each with a neutral grey gesso.   I had recently taken a workshop with John de la Vega on "Improving Your Painting in Two Days" and that was one of the things that I adopted for my own paintings.  The grey value allows me to visually identify light and dark values and color intensity as I begin a painting.  Generally, I work from a  photograph as I did in this particular case.  When I work on a large canvas, my photograph, which is often cropped or in some other way altered, is divided into four sections as is my canvas, facilitating more accurate transfer of information.  The image is then drawn on the canvas with a brush and a reddish-purple oil color mixed with liquin.  Sketching the image with a brush is very important to allow freedom of movement and a sense of spontaneity and rhythmic quality in the final painting.  A thin layer of paint is applied to establish the color values and develop forms in the painting.  This is the most exciting part for me as I become totally immersed in the process.  The subject of the painting is completely forgotten and only becomes evident as the process precedes.  Subsequent layers of thicker paint are added layer upon layer.  Every stroke is important and has meaning for the final finished painting. 

My Forgery

The exhibit this month at The Artists Gallery is "Fabulous Forgeries", where artists re-create the work of the masters by using the master's style, or taking the master's work a step further, or re-creating a master's work with a touch of humor to pay tribute to that master.  My own style most closely resembles that of Georgia O'Keeffe, so I always choose one of her works as my tribute.  I had the privilege of visiting the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe several years ago, affirming my belief that she is one of the great American painters of the 20th century.  I am in awe of her intimate relationship with nature and her unique ability to capture that on canvas.  Her work is so compelling to me that it is never far from my mind and heart.  This year for my painitng, I chose to create an original compilation of her paintings by including a portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe taken from a photograph by John Loengard, along with four of her paintings.  They are Red Amaryllis, Sky Above Clouds III, Near Abiquiu, New Mexico, and Grey Cross with Blue.  Copying another artist's work is not only a learning experience but a kind of spiritual connection like no other.

Celebrating Women in the Arts

The Artists Gallery in Virginia Beach is hosting an exhibit of local women artists who have dedicated their life's work to the arts. This exhibit is in association with the Virginia initiative for celebrating women in the arts entitled, "Minds Wide Open". Art has truly been the passion that has sustained and nurtured the eleven women who are participating in this exhibit.