"Blue Canter"

from the "In Search of the Superlative Horse" series

Mixed Media on Paper

I am enthralled with the nonverbal communication between species. I know that we never fully understand what an animal is conveying to us, but do we ever completely understand each other?

I feel blessed to have had the animal bonds I have had thus far and look forward to each ones I shall have in the future.

Back To School

First attempt at Serigraph

I am taking a Serigraph class this summer and quite frankly I am having an enormous amount of trouble.

First I had a few registration problems. My hinges had become to loose on the board they were mounted to. Then I was tightening my clamps enough. All well enough, as now I know to check those things.

Then I had a few problems with the right squeegee angle and pressure. Problem solved!

I understand the ink as it is a water based acrylic. I have a good handle on which paper I am using and why. I don't have many problems with the other elements of the this process and when I do I understand where and why I have gone wrong.

So why am I having such a hard time?

I am having to shift my paradigm. As an artist I primarily work intuitively. I rarely plan out a painting or collage. I allow it to unfold like a dancer moving to unknown music. Sometimes it is brilliant and sometimes it is something that I struggle with. However, I never feel as thought I have been set adrift in uncharted waters. For me, serigraph is a large dark lagoon. Things appear to be familiar, but they aren't and this makes me very, very uncomfortable.

So today when I go to class I will be finishing the mess I am creating. Twelve colours in an edition of 10. After that I will softly and quietly have a chat with my self. There will be no more trying to make an image. Instead I will just open myself up to creating a consistent group of abstract colour studies.

Mixed Media

from the "In Search of the Superlative Horse" series

30" x 22"

Mixed Media 

on Paper

$1500.00

I love making art and all that goes along with it. This means that my studio is a virtual archive of every art supply shop I have ever entered and every supply catalogue I have ever browsed. So it seems only fitting that I would create quite a lot of mixed media art.

I love the weight and the feel of Saunders Waterford Watercolour paper. It's still made in England, and although I've never been and seen this for myself, I've been told it's being made the same way it's been made for 100's of years. Anyway, it's lovely paper and I always start is with a whole sheet. I lay down a sheet of paper and mist it with water. Once it is damp I apply a veil of watercolour. While it is still damp I may throw a handful of salt or lay cling film over it to create a pattern. I repeat this process until I think it is ready for to be drawn upon.

When I draw I use a variety of pencils and pen & ink. Ink is amazing stuff. Waterproof or not, some made with shellacs, some made the same way for centuries. All have different qualities and react quite differently. One of their virtues is that I can't control them.

And so I draw. The surface of the paper helps me to decide what to draw and where. Once the drawing  starts I will bounce back and forth between it and more watercolour.

At some point I start adding bits of paper, acrylic lifts, and or 23 karat gold leaf. The gold leaf needs to be of a high karat so that it will not tarnish, which in itself would not be a bad thing, it is just that the change in color would effect the balance and intent of the painting. The gold comes in a variety of colours too, ranging from a deep reddish gold to a pale almost silver.

I sometime work on a painting for several days, sometimes several weeks. I work on different paintings at the same time so there is no way for me to ever know exactly how long each one took to create.

This painting is the result of just such a process.

A Quick Note

"Iberian" I & II

I received this email on Saturday regarding the purchase of a print of "Iberian" II. It completely made my day. I love it when a client or patron takes the time to drop me a note.

It is also a good reminder to me to be a bit more thoughtful with the people I do business with.

           Hi Tanner!

Your beautiful print arrived today in perfect condition.

It is even more stunning in person!

It will be fun to pick out a frame for it and the perfect spot to hang it.

Thank you!!!

Jennifer S.