Wet

This painting, "Hive,"  sold today! 

"First Freeze of Autumn" will be for sale at Art East's garage the first week of February

There hasn't been a lot of wet paint in my studio this month.  I realize I've been gone 2 weeks out of the last 4.  When I'm here, I paint.... and prep for workshops.  There is a rhythm to my life. 

I wake up, meditate, stretch, eat, do Pilates, yoga, or bike.  I start work at 10 and work until 4. 
It's not all paint and brushes.  I often sit and look at a painting with my eyes in soft focus, turn it different directions, take a picture and play with color saturation and value on the computer, or block out a part of the piece and see what it feels like to me. I design workshops as wild as I want them to be.

If I didn't do these little side trips, I'd be stuck.  My thinking would stop me from using the brush as it wants to be used.  Sure, thinking plays a part in all of this "creativity".   The thinking I want to use is "mindfulness".  I'm working from a place of intuition and energy rather than forcing a concept onto the canvas. Sustaining that flow is the crux of the process.

Honestly, I catch myself in the "I CAN'T DO THIS" attitude quite often.. Then I know I need to turn on FLASHDANCE or GET READY by Rare Earth (YouTube) and drop the rigidity. Dance!

 Does that mean I have no intention when I begin the piece?  No.  Does it mean I give up and start over when I feel lost?  No.  Essentially, it means I want to walk into a piece connected to my breath, my body, and a sense of "honest expression". .


 In March I'll be going to Homer, Alaska for two weeks to do an artist in the schools residency. I'll bring this painting back with me. It's odd how a piece can seem mundane when I do it, then 6 years later it has value. I bring this up because it's proof of  how important it is for me to paint exactly what's impressing me at a particular moment in time. "Honest expression" is painting what moves me. Now.

Mt. Augustine from the Bayview Bluff on Kachemak Bay

Namaste, Gail

New Year. New Day. New Moment.

Fullness.
Emptiness.
Questions I have today are emerging in paint and clay.
Photos here are about the juxtaposition of emptiness and fullness.  In my meditation practice, I experience emptiness as fullness. In the work the subject and ground are interchangeable.

If we're here, we assume we're present. Maybe not.  It seems we want to get to the NEXT thing, the NEXT idea, the NEXT connection.  For me, the deepest connection to  anything is stopping to find out what's here, not what comes NEXT.  It's not easy. This piece reminds me of the yin and yang symbol, although it's a flat picture plane with a floating dark form.  If you can enlarge the photo, you can see the sprout inside the dark, cold sphere.   It's part of a series of 5; 4 are on the table (in process now).

My dad told me it's better to be able to do many things than to do one thing well.  That question comes back when I find myself looking for descriptions of my work for the almighty Google search engine.  If I want more exposure, I need to describe what I do succinctly.  I have no clue.  I do many things.

My intention for 2013 is to paint from a place of deep connection to physical feelings and emotions.  Because my mom is becoming more frail each day, I have no idea where this will take me.  I want to be open and strong. 

The classes and workshops I offer are intended to give you tools to take your discovery practice farther.

You're invited to the next Acrylic Painting Lab ...... exploration in acrylic paint, collage, and watercolor as acrylic paint.  Where? in the community room here at Orchard Grove.  The next one is January 25, Friday, from 9:30-3:30.  You're invited to paint.  Register with you intent to show up at gailbakerartmaker@gmail.com.  $35 or pay what you will. 

 Painting in the Spirit of Helen Frankenthaler at Art East in downtown Issaquah on January 13, Sunday from 11-4. Go to http://arteast.org/2012/11/pt1-painting-spirit-of-frankenthaler/

Touch Drawing Full Moon on January 27, Sunday, from 5:30-8:30 pm at Gail's studio.  Silence, color, touch, sensation, vulnerability. Donation for materials welcome. All materials provided.    gailbakerartmaker@gmail.com    Soup and bread shared.

Welcome, Winter!

                                                                                                    Summer Garden

Good Morning!  
It's  a gray day here in Washington.  Solstice is here. We celebrate on Friday with Touch Drawing.

After months of painting, I can finally get excited to show what's been born.  Thanks to Michael Johnson for the photos and lack of  room in my apartment, these pieces are already in a show at Vetiver Organic Hair Spa (also a gallery). It's behind The Egg and Us (across from Issaquah post office) on Gilman Boulevard. Kristina and Richard have offered their space to me this time of year for 4 years now.  I'm grateful for the invitation. You're welcomd to go in to see the pieces.  Check the website to see their hours.  http://vetiverhairspa.com/ 

Higher resolution photos on website on December 20..

                                                                                                        Undulation
 

  Winter garden asleep.

                                                               Ascension.



Borage takes over my small garden plot. The blue flowers attract bees by the hundreds.  July, and August are perfect for watching them work  because I can get as close as I want. They don't care. What surprises me is humans' fear of bees.  I've been stung. I know about allergies. However, bees are a primary part of our lives.......... pollinators. If we poison them, we poison ourselves.  See the YouTube video Queen of the Sun. These paintings are in honor of bees and their struggle.

This painting, "Hive," now has gold leaf added  to exaggerate the reflection from bees' wings.  I wanted to get the feeling of the "buzz" in the hive as well. First question asked about this piece is, "What is that textured stuff on the left side?"  Packing paper stretched and attached to the canvas with polymer medium.

                                                                                                                          Hive





 
The garden inspired work about stones, too.  These 2 pieces are at Vetiver.
They're textural, painted in layers of thick gesso, paint, and polymer gel 
mediums. I'll be teaching this process in the Intermediate Acrylic Painting 
Class at Art East this next quarter. 

 

 

And the joy of creating.

 May you feel the joy of being alive this season.  

I am blown away by this high desert country in Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree! This is not the dry, barren place I imagined it to be.  It's alive with birds, coyotes, bats, stars, wind, and blue blue sky. The rock formations are unbelievable.
http://www.joshuatree.org/

I'm staying at my son, Gabe's. Today, in his back yard,  I started a 4'x 4.5'painting of how I feel here.  It's a sense of space and freedom I haven't experienced for a long time. What a great place for a group painting retrea!.  The temps are in the 40's at night and high 60's during the day in November and December, through January.  

Interested?

 

Remember this painting? The Banana Fairy? 

This is how it began...... a collage warm up for the sake of play. 

Never throw away the crazy stuff.  You can't tell where it may fit! 

And this one?  "Try to See It My Way"

It came from a section I removed from another, larger painting that never satisfied me. 

That panel looked like this....

The reason I share this is that painting is a PROCESS.  It's not a formula. 

The mystery of it comes through as I move the paint and let it move me.

Frozen Bristles

Ice on the car windows, frozen paint brushes, and cracking tubes of paint. 
No more leaving class supplies in the car!
It's cold enough to leave the heat on when I'm home and to wear a sweater under my paint smock.
I've been reading my friend Christina's blog about working as a volunteer in Rockaway Beach, Coney Island and all around the city.  http://tinastraveltales.blogspot.com/2012/11/for-joe-in-far-rockaway.html     I'm grateful to have heat and a place to paint and sleep.  Read some of her blog stories.  We don't see it every day, but the people there are still desperate for help. If you feel moved to donate to the Red Cross, they're passing out hot food and supplies. 

Today at Timber Ridge the class "marbled" paper with shaving cream and food coloring, a project I've done with little kids as well as big ones.  My camera broke, or I'd have pics for you here. It was a blast!  The small 4"x6" marbled pieces are glued on to cards.  Actually, they are abstract expressionism at its finest.  True!

The bee painting is finished and the small pieces are hopeful. I'll post them as soon as I get to take pics.

Tomorrow I deliver paintings to the show at Ida Culver House in north Seattle for the show. "Walk the Line".   Go to    http://www.eraliving.com/communities/broadview to find out more about the venue.  The show is up from November 14 until March 9. 

Today, I trotted 5 paintings over to the Kirkland Art Center Gallery at Parkplace on 85th NE. 

And this Friday evening, November 16, is the opening of our ART EAST Small Works show.  I'll have new pieces in that show.  I always like this holiday show because the work is small, imaginative, and affordable.

I'm headed to Homer, Alaska in March to do an artist residency.  Hope we get to do masks again!  Like this:

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Blogger: Gail Baker Art - All posts

Blogger: Gail Baker Art - All posts