Gathering Textures for Monoprints

Autumn in Maine is all about color and texture. As I work on putting my gardens to bed, I'm gathering leaves, dried blossoms, stems to store away and use as textures in my monotype prints this winter. I use a gelatin plate which is very receptive to the finest of textures which transfer easily to the paper with simple pressure of hand rubbing. So, I don't need the use of a press.  I will make the gelatin plates the day before and spend the entire day, sometimes two days, printing with abandon and without intention. Then the next few days are spent assessing what prints work best. The most pleasing are almost always result of happy accidents.  Those that don't work as stand alone pieces, I will cut up and use in collage.  The first piece below is an example of one of those wonderful happy accidents.  The second one is a collage made from combining elements of several different prints.

7 February 2010 - Now Showing

These two pieces are currently exhibiting at the Bangor Art Society's Members' Show, at Bangor Public Library through February. The result of several very loose gouache sketches that I did this past autumn at a friend's farm. Working on canvas this time, the work feels very different from those I've been doing on panel. Looser and lighter, with a more conservative use of paint. Leaf Peeping Time I and II. Oil on gallery wrap canvas. 18 X 18"

December 8, 2009 - Sketches yield surprises

I was going through a pile of little gouache sketches I did back in October while visiting a friends farm. My intention was to use them as inspiration for larger paintings, which I will still do...but after not seeing them for a couple months, I found some of them really intriguing on their own. The color is quite vibrant...not like my pastels or oils, and the total abandon with which I did them yields a fresh, abstract expression. I am going to mat and frame these three for sure. The first two I may mat and frame as a diptych.

And, I have know clue as to why the images won't line up. Never had the problem before. Annoying but I'll keep on trying.

October 9, 2009 - Maine Farm

Another piece in my Maine Farm series. I came upon this view, driving along the tractor road to the lower fields. I just loved the grasses and cattails against the bright reds and oranges.

6 X 6"oil on panel.

October 7, 2009 - Leaf Peeping

The rains this week will surely finish off the brilliance of the foliage here in Maine. Fortunately, I've been out and about sketching and painting, and also taking lots of photos to reference for ongoing pieces. I spent a couple different days hanging around the farm of a friend which provided some wonderful colors and compositions. I am doing a series of small daily paintings - Maine Farm series - to post as they are completed. The Lower Field (bottom) is the first, accompanied by another that came from my general wonderings about. I just love the lusciousness of this season.




Foliage 1 (top): 6 X 6" oil on panel
The Lower Field (bottom): 6 X 6" oil on canvas
Both available at http://mainepainter.etsy.com

September 18, 2009 - Thinking autumn

The crisp cool air brings thoughts of autumn, and that always makes me think of the wonderful coastal blueberry barrens in their brilliant crimsons and oranges. They aren't there yet, but will be soon. I used to paint them a lot, and then stopped because it seemed so many Maine painters were painting them...but now, with a commission for one in hand, I decided to make a few small studies in preparation for the large one. In doing so I remembered how much I loved the views. These are all 6 X 6" on masonite panel.

September 15, 2009 - Seeing the same landscapes in a new way

At a recent art talk by Connie Imboden, she talked about her creative process over the decades. She's a photographer but her process and thoughts on creativity cross all disciplines and media. I felt she was speaking to me and my endeavors, and I'm sure every artist in the room felt the same way. She said that in our process we don't need to find new landscapes (for example), but find new ways to see the same landscapes. That is exactly what I strive for in developing my new work. I had just completed these little pieces before attending the talk, so I felt really great! These are small pastels of familiar places reduced to large shapes of bold vibrant color.