Artist's Journal

Scarlett

2009-06-02T16:40:00.001-07:00

Scarlett
Oil on Panel
22x30"

I was really pleased with this one - but I think I'll be a lot more cautious with the colour of the background cloth in future. The highly saturated red was really difficult to reconcile with the model's flesh tones. The porcelain-skin effect is definitely aesthetically appealing, but treading the fine line between 'china' and 'undead' is challenging. Oh well, art's supposed to be a challenge isn't it?

New Website

2009-05-12T15:07:00.001-07:00

www.shelleyhocknell.com

This is why I've been wondering around with a glazed look for the past couple of weeks. I'm happy with the result though, all shiney and new with a proper guestbook, thumbnail portfolios and everything! It's made with an online program called FolioLink, which I really like. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Figure Painting Class

2009-05-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

Kirsten (i)
Oil on Panel
30x20"

Here's one of my recent paintings from Phyllis Shafer's Figure Painting class. I didn't get to finish it unfortunately, but I was pleased with most of it - especially the face. Isn't it always the way....the section which took the least amount of time and effort was the bit which worked best.

In my opinion anyway.

It's easy to overwork something, or overuse a trick I've picked up that works. I feel like I'm still very much finding my way with these figure paintings, but the common theme of my practice seems to be: Stay loose, stay back, take breaks. The minute I start 'noodling' or trying to use a small brush when a bigger one could be used to make one clean, precise mark, is when I need to have the discipline to stand back for a few, take a breath or two, and look properly at the entire painting. Then I look at the painting upside down (head rush!), and also refer back to my subject by flicking my eyes back and forth between the painting and the model. This often reveals the mistakes I need to correct (i.e "oh my god the head is tiny!! how did I not see that?!!")

Then back to work.

More Drawings...

2009-04-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Three Pastels

2009-04-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Untitled Nude (i)

Pastel on Rives BFK Paper

22x30"

Untitled Nude (ii)

Pastel on Rives BFK Paper

22x30"

Untitled Nude (iii)

Pastel on Rives BFK Paper

22x30"

These are some of the drawings I did last year whilst on my mission to do thirty drawings before I started painting again. I've never worked with pastels before, so it was a bit of a revelation. This process really helped me to start understanding colour - both in terms of temperature and composition. I found myself 'weaving' the colours together to achieve the hue I wanted in that particular area. I had a lot of fun!

Process

2009-04-16T09:25:00.001-07:00

Process
Oil on Panel
24 x 48"

I'm teaching a class at Lake Tahoe Community College called 'Portfolio Development', which is great for me to do because it's forced me to take stock of my portfolio, resume, artists statement, etc. I've deliberately taken a step back from the more 'commercial' aspects of making art for a while to focus on painting for the sake of painting - which is a luxury. However, I felt that in order to teach the students, I had to undertake all the exercises and assigments I'll be giving them myself.

It's been good, it's helped me to verbally crystallise what I've been working through visually. I still felt like a rabbit in the headlights when I had to give them a Powerpoint presentation of my work, as a model for their final. Eww, I hated it, I have to say.

I've given presentations before in all kinds of different environments - usually a tipsy crowd of rock climbers, or other artists. I 'opened' for climber/author Paul Pritchard at the Ape Index lectures many years ago. Niall Grimes had organised this cool series of lectures at a pub in Sheffield, and it was a big honour for me. I was nervous as hell and drank several strong G&Ts before I went up there. It probably showed, which was bad, but it took the edge off. This time I had no such veil, and the experience was startlingly real.

Details of The Illusion

2009-04-16T09:19:00.001-07:00

The Illusion

2009-04-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Illusion
Oil on Panel
24x48"

I haven't been posting much of my art lately because I've been working on paintings I wasn't sure I was ready to share yet. But I am now, so here's the first of three I'll share over the next few days. I've become very interested in mark-making as an expression of the inner workings and experiences of the mind. I wrote this in my sketchbook:

History is indelible:
It is written in hard lines on our bodies
and on our faces.

I'm using a combination of oil paint and pencil, with sandpaper to scratch or expose layers. I'm also using a knife to distress the surface in parts. It's an interesting process, moving between layering and revealing - pushing and pulling the medium until I'm satisfied with the surface - and then standing back to assess the results - perhaps then going back in to rework.

From a distance, the paintings look quite smooth and traditional; closer inspection reveals flaws, scars and unsightly marks.

Also - this is handy - I think I've found out what kind of art I'm making...it's called Expressive Realism. I found a lengthy description by another artist, and although my work looks nothing like his, the ideas are the same. It's about treading the fine line between realism and expressionism. I'm a big fan of the German Expressionists, but I was never entirely happy with that extra step away from representation. I love abstract art, and the Renaissance is the root of everything I feel about art, but I've never been entirely comfortable with either of those schools either...so a combination of everything I love about all of those styles is what I'm working towards.

Body Image

2009-03-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

I found a really interesting blog this morning, by film maker Jesse Epstein - The Body film Project.
She produced a video op-ed piece for the New York Times called Sex, Lies and Photoshop - well worth checking out. It's about how magazines re-touch models bodies in Photoshop, and are actually aware that they are damaging people's perception of body image. Sinister stuff.

Also, this short documentary on making mannequins I found fascinating - especially the interviewee's comments on fashion being the 'new religion'.

Meditations

2009-03-01T08:57:00.001-08:00

End
Oil on Panel
12x24"

So I am reminded again that timing is indeed everything. It turns out that when I was painting this earlier this week, that my lovely artist friend Melissa Gregory died. Melissa was my first artist friend here in Tahoe, and she introduced me to almost all the artists I know here. I will remember her through my relationships with my women friends, my continued commitment to art, and through a critique group with other artists to share ideas and support each other.

I can think of no more fitting tribute to our friendship.

Melissa's sudden death has come as a wake up call to make more effort to not allow everyday busy-ness to interfere with the important contact you have with the people who love you.

I've been thinking about all the women I have been friends with over the years, and how geography, life, work and family has been allowed to divert our contact. I want to let any of you know that I haven't spoken to in years, that I still think about you, and that my paintings are embedded with memories of you and the fun that we had.

If Karen Rozier, Alex Franklin, and Sophie Hold are reading this, or you know them - please get in touch.

Timing is everything...

2009-02-16T16:01:00.000-08:00

How bizarre..after writing my blog this morning, I came across this little video via a blog I just subscribed to: Art Studio Secrets

I came across Lisa Gloria's fabulous work whilst perusing You Tube for artist demos...check her out, she's amazing.

In this video, Jill Bolte Taylor gives a talk on TED about what her stroke taught her about how her brain hemispheres function.

The Price

2009-02-16T09:19:00.001-08:00

The Price
Oil on Panel
12x24"

I'm not going to explain, or reveal the full title of this piece, I'd rather leave some room for imagination.

Lately, my poor old brain has been working overtime, even when I'm painting - which is sometimes a rare respite from the 'mind monkeys' throwing around ideas and dialogues. It's nice to have artist friends who I can talk to about this, who go through similar mental assault courses in the pursuit of art.

It's funny, I Googled 'busy brain' recently, and found that lots of people from all walks of life have an internal theatre going on, which they can't really control, but can result in lots of creative energy and ideas.

When I'm a bit calmer, doing Yoga, meditating, climbing, that sort of thing - I still tend to have an internal monologue giving me a running commentry on what I'm seeing, hearing and remembering. This is annoying when I'm meditating - something along the lines of "I'm concentrating on my breathing, oh yes I'm, I'm not thinking about anything, yay that's great, I'm not thinking about anything..." which defeats the object really.

Right now, it's less of a monologue and more of a forum. I wake up with a different song playing in my head every night. It's like someone left the TV/s on and I can't find the remote. My heart races and my neck aches.

However, I'm feeling artistically charged in a more consistant way than I've ever done. It's a common thing among artists, and I can take a stroll down the corridors of art history to confirm that I'm not alone. Lots of creative people have 'mind monkeys' of some kind, to greater and lesser extents, and this is what fuels the restless urge to make art. I know I should be grateful - when I'm too content and calm, my art goes down the pan. A quiet night's sleep would be nice though...

Three More Oils

2009-01-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

Love
Oil on Panel
24x12"

Expectation
Oil on Panel
24x12"

The Future
Oil on Panel
24x12"

Charcoal Drawings 9 - 10

2009-01-30T15:28:00.001-08:00

Joel
Charcoal on Paper
22x30"

First time drawing again for a while, feels good!

I didn't get to finish this one, unfortunately. I thought I'd post it anyway - it was a great pose, very challenging!

I'm looking for female models in the Tahoe area - either portrait or full body. No cash involved I'm afraid, but I'll exchange your time for a free portrait in charcoal. Email me at art@shelleyhocknell.com for more details.

Group Critique at The Rock

2009-01-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

Mixed Media Artist Carol Sesko hosted a group critique last week at The Rock in Truckee, where she is currently exhibiting her paintings. It was my second critique with Carol, and I loved it. It's soooo helpful to be amongst creative people for a couple of hours, talking about your processes, hopes and fears, marketing, exhibitions, techniques...and so much more.

What's interesting is the diversity of our output doesn't make a spot of difference when we're discussing the emotional and practical aspects of making a career in art. We had a poet, a few painters of different styles, a couple of mixed media artists, and an illustrator.

The format went as follows: we each bring a piece of work to show the group, which we might need help or encouragement with. Each member introduces their work, and the group gives feedback. That's it. And it's great.

This blog actually helps me to organise my thoughts about my practice, more so than a private journal, because I have to consider my audience, as well as dig into my own soul to provide some sort of context to my work. I know a lot of artists don't agree with talking about the 'craft' of art, but I've found the internet to be immensely helpful in improving my technique and studio practice.

I've become especially fond of YouTube artists demos. The main thing I've learnt from that is that it's OK for a painting to go through a period of looking a bit crappy, because you work through that, and your 'ugly duckling' can become a swan if you stand back enough, evaluate your painting, correct the mistakes, be willing to wipe it down, and have faith in your ability to make it the best painting you've ever done.

Something which came up in the critique which was a relief to me (to know that others share my slightly schitzoid tendancies), was that looking at other people's work, often we go home and try out their style. If that happens often enough, it gets really confusing, and suddenly you don't know who you are any more. I wrote about that recently on this blog, illustrating it with my unmovable image of Derek Zoolander looking in the mirror going, "Who am I?"

The conclusion I've come to, is that if you're not disciplined enough to maintain your style in the face of all the other exciting styles out there, just incorperate a little tiny bit into your work, and see where that goes. You can't not have influences, we don't live in isolation from the world, history, other artists, etc., so I think if you're particularly chameleonic, (like me) the best you can do is try and stay true to yourself - having learnt from others, and absorbed the best and most relevant lessons to you, go back to the drawing board, and forget everything.

A Vienna influence

2009-01-17T10:11:00.001-08:00

Echo
Oil on Panel
12x24"

I was really trying to capture the delicateness of this model - she's tiny. I've been lucky enough to have two models with this kind of girl-woman physique. I've also been reading a great book I scored from a hidden second-hand book store on the art of Vienna at the time of Klimt, Schiele and Kokashka - some of my favourite artists. I think some of the emotional weightinness of those artists came through, which I'm happy about. I'm intrigued by the somewhat abstract narrative which emerges when I let myself go in a painting. If I don't try too hard, and just focus on a strong image, allsorts of things come out.

Another Portrait

2009-01-16T15:27:00.001-08:00

Kristen
Oil on Panel
12x24"

I'm really into this format - widescreen!

I've been reading a useful book: The Simple Secret to Better Painting: How to immediately improve your art with this one rule of composition by Greg Albert.

The rule is short and sweet: Never make any two intervals the same. The rule refers to composition, value, marks, everything - and is incredibly effective. It has really made me think about what I do (I've been doing a lot of thinking lately), and has helped me solve some of the issues I've been scratching my head over in my work.

Four great arty stores in Truckee

2009-01-13T09:45:00.001-08:00

I love this place - it's an artist run gallery in Truckee, California. It's a hip, happening place full of creative energy and very well made objets d'rte. I have a few little paintings there too! check them out:

riversideartstudios.com

And this little gem is right next door! They sell gorgeous jewelry and clothes, as well as some very unexpected arty items (I got my husband a great Christmas pressie there)...brilliant place.

drakeandlulus.com

A fine place to discover handcrafted goods from all over the country. Many of our artisans specialize in sustainable, recycled, and all natural materials.

Organic skin care products, recycled metal & glass work, furnishings made from FSC certified & reclaimed wood, finely crafted jewelry, vintage findings, and healthy gifts for kids. Just some of the fun you will find at The Feather's Edge.

thefeathersedge.com

Located in the Downtown area of Truckee, California, Fair & Green's goal is to be a center for responsible consumerism by providing unique, quality products of a fair trade, organic and/or ecologically sound nature.

Fair & Green looks to serve consumers who want to look beyond the chain stores and who are looking to make a purchase that help people sustain a better life through Fair Trade. In addition, Fair & Green will strive to educate their customers on Fair Trade and Green Trade practices.

fair-and-green.com

Finding yourself

2009-01-03T16:47:00.001-08:00

I had one of those eureka! moments watching Finding Neverland the other night. I often get inspired by particularly 'painterly' films, like The Piano, and Girl with a Pearl Earring. This is inspired by a still from Neverland, of lovely Kate Winslett. I got my sketchbook out as soon as the film ended, excited and impatient to capture the image with seemed to be a crystallisation of what I've been restlessly striving for.

I've been struggling with this concept I have for portraits of women - they've just been coming out crap. I think I was confused about what I wanted to achieve - I wanted 'feminine' and I painted 'girly'. I want to paint something which speaks about women as people - emotionally and psychologically different from men, but also I want to capture something of the human condition, in an unspoken narrative.

I've also been stuggling with my 'style', such as it isn't. I've had this rather unappealing image of myself as Derek Zoolander standing in front of a mirror, going "Who am I?"

I want to paint loosely, and then I get all uptight because I'm all excited about ideas, and forget to let it flow. The studies came out great, nice and loose, lots of energy and clean paint - and then when I try and transfer that to the real thing...well, not good. Maybe I shouldn't do studies, I never used to. Maybe all the energy is spent after I've painted it once. I have learnt a lot though, about colours and the type of space I want to create, so all is not lost.

Anyway, I'm really happy with this Kate Winslett painting, and I think it's opened the door to a lot more. Yay!

Painted Ladies #1

2008-12-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

Blue Orchid
Oil on Panel
30x30"

Holiday Painting Sale

2008-12-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

Click to Enlarge

I'm having an 'open house' art sale on Sunday from 11 till 4pm- lots of inexpensive little paintings will be available, as well as some larger pieces for as much as half price. I'll be baking mince pies (yum!) and making a batch of mulled wine to warm everyone up. Here's directions via mapquest.

So I've been 'tagged' by two artists, Nathalie Davis and Carolyn Finnell. Here's how it works: I tell 7 interesting things about myself and tag 7 other people, linking to their blog and tagging them in a comment. I've been racking my brains for days trying to think of anything anyone else might find interesting about me, and I can't so I'm just going to wing it and see what comes out.

Here's to navel gazing (clink glasses with imaginary reader..)

1. Lots of people know that I packed up and left my life - within a month - in the UK in 2005, but only a few know that I made myself a kind of tick list of things to learn on my travels. Surfing was on there, which I tried, and failed at. Turns out I'm much more terrified of the sea than I thought. I still haven't learnt to play the guitar - so if anyone in Tahoe wants to trade skills, I'd be well up for it.

2. I'm not shy. People think I am because I'm quiet, and I used to be when I was young so perhaps I do a good impression. I am often intimidated by loud people, and abhor being shouted at. I won't tolerate bullies and liars. A story I told my younger sister when she was being bullied at school: There was a girl who used to bully me and try to make me feel small and worthless all the time. One day she pushed me too far and I just saw red. I didn't hit her, but I grabbed her by the hair and held her down until the mist cleared. I let go when I saw the horrified face of her cousin. I didn't hurt her, but she was pretty terrified I think. None of the girls spoke to me for a while but the boys thought it was great. I never got bullied again. Moral: If you demonstrate your strength just once, most times you won't have to do it again.

3. Until recently I didn't like the colour green. It was a colour I didn't like to wear, and I wouldn't paint with unless I had to (i.e grass, trees etc) Even now, I tend to lean my greens heavily toward brown, yellow or blue, otherwise I think they look cheesy and obvious. Wales is incredibly green, with all the rain, so landscape painting can fall into a very 'postcardy' trap if you're not careful - and never was one for the 'pretty landscape'. I think my shift in attitude has to do with Taylor, whose favourite colour is green. He's a redhead, so certain greens are delicious on him.

4. I knew Taylor was 'the one' the moment I saw him. That sounds like a lie, but it's true. He was slacklining in a park in Squamish with his Scottish friend Craig, and I just went up to him and asked if I could have a go (told you I wasn't shy!) That's never happened to me before, so I knew it was true. We've been together pretty much constantly since that day in 2005.

5. For years I shunned colour. The majority for my work for my degree was in black and white, and for a couple of years after I graduated, I worked solely in black, white and gray. I just didn't feel like I could express myself in colour, it was a language I wasn't fluent enough in. Even now, when I allow myself the indulgence of monotone, I think my work speaks more directly to the emotions.

6. I'm a chameleon. For someone so fiercely independant this surprises me about myself constantly. I pick up accents, painting styles, mannerisms and fashions faster than I can check myself. When I realise what I'm doing, I tend to re-establish my own personality and absorb these things into myself, with a subtler influence of the new (if I like it).

7. I love learning new things, and this is why I think I'm a chameleon. I like trying on new images and ideas, to see if they mean anything to me, and whether I can use them to understand more, or create better art. I'm also an avid reader - I love words, verbal imagery and recollections of a person's life. I'm curious by nature, and value openness in others - partly because I'm very open myself, and it makes me feel more comfortable to be with my own kind.

Phew! that's it - ok here's my lucky 7:

1. Melissa Gregory
2. Greg Shores
3. Kristen Boles
4. Jeanne Bauer
5. Donald Neff

6. Penny Shrawder

7. Bonita Paulis

Two Oil Sketches

2008-11-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

Remember not this sins of my youth nor my acts of rebellion
Oil on Panel
12x12"

I've done two quick oil sketches this morning, and I'm so excited I had to post them straight away. I loved the echoes of Degas, Schiele and Toulouse - Lautrec's women in this model, (and maybe a hint of Marie Antoinette...? ) and so dressed her up accordingly (just ankle warmers, and stockings for some pictures) I wanted to capture something reminiscent of older paintings, with a distinct stamp of the now declaring it to be contemporary. The model has piercings in her cheeks and belly, as well as the very cool tattoo you can see on her back. The quote is a slightly tweaked passage from Psalm 25 in the Bible.

Untitled study
Oil on Panel
12x12"

So I'm really feeling the looseness I've been striving for in my painting today. It's exciting, it's like the penny has dropped, finally, and I feel freer. I think it's a combination of the observation skills I learnt with the painting a day project, and regular life drawing with Phyllis Shafer.

What's slightly irksome though, is that these weren't done from life (I took photographs). I tried to paint when the model was here, and I painted this horrible, muddy, stodgy piece of crap which is now of the studio floor, destined for the bin.

I think there are a few reasons/excuses for this: a) I was using a scrap of unstretched canvas, which despite the extra primer, was still really absorbant, and b) I was feeling a bit overwhelmed to be painting a figure from life, despite the fact that I've been drawing from life for weeks now. It's weird, sometimes I worry so much about the model being comfortable/warm, etc., and that I want to produce something quickly that does them justice, that I just lose it. I think I'm over this stuff with drawing now, so hopefully with practice I'll be able to relax enough with a brush in my hand to achieve the same loose painting from life.

Thought for the day...

2008-11-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

It's never too late to be what you might have been.
George Elliot

Charcoal Drawings 8

2008-11-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

This is white charcoal on black paper - a really interesting exercise we did in class recently. You have to kind of put your brain in reverse - pulling out the highlights instead of the shadows. What I'm enjoying about these studies is that it's really challenging me to rethink what I 'know' about drawing, and I'm learning so much through the process of experimentation, doubt, failure and success (not necessarily in that order).

Something I was thinking about today was how hard, even in an academic environment, it is to not to contrive a narrative of some kind into my drawings. I do have something of an active imagination, it must be said - I have very vivid dreams and nightmares, and my brain rarely stops for breath, so to speak. Maybe that's a female thing, maybe an artist thing, or both. I've talked before about my habit of anthropomorphosising inanimate objects I paint in still lives - same thing.

Anyway, I thought this model had a kind of medieval quality about him, with the beard and earrings, which lent him a kind of dignified authority - like a king or a warrior from ye olden days. I liked that idea, it gave the drawing an energy I think. We were drawing a female model who fell asleep today, and the character was completely different. I think it's important to tap into what's going on around you to channel into your art - as long as it's stuff you can handle. Sometimes I think that kind of sensitivity can make you vulnerable if you're not aware how much you're taking in.

A Painting Study

2008-11-16T17:07:00.001-08:00

I so enjoyed painting this! It's a study for a large oil on canvas - part of a new collection I'm dreaming/obsessing about right now. I want to integrate elements of design and drawing with painting. I'm also into the idea of big hair and kooky hats for these...such fun! My classmate Kristin Boles posed for this, such a pretty girl - and willing to let me mess up her hair in a cross between Amy Winehouse and a 60's Prom Queen..much back-combing and hairspray to create this huge style - Thankyou Kristin!