Painting It

Great Newspaper Article

2009-07-04T14:27:00.006-04:00

I was in the paper last week!
Check it out: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090627/ARTICLE/906269951##

Read the article from the source, or from the copies here.

Click on these photos to see large enough to read.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090627/ARTICLE/906269951##

Back Again!

2009-07-04T13:37:00.005-04:00

After a lovely combination of three week vacation and major kiln repair, I am finally able to post some new work! After a major overhaul of wiring, and 2 element replacements, I made a test batch of tiles and a big bowl, to see if things were back to normal.

A happy sight indeed!

Not only that, the kiln seems to be getting it all done about a half hour early.

Great efficiency. Thank you, kiln.

Now that I can depend on proper firing, I can re fire the plates I had to re do after a horrible amount of breakage, just before I went off on holiday. (See previous post).

I cant say I minded running away from disaster.

So today, I am happy to report very spiffy looking plates, and as is often the case, the re dos are even better than the originals.

I now know to never, never fire during very damp conditions, like rain storms....that is in fact what probably broke all the plates in that fateful load. It was raining cats and dogs that night. If the temperature in the kiln was also inconsistent, before the repairs, then that surely didn't help either.

This week we had a lot of rain too, and I waited until an entirely rain free day, firing in the afternoon, just to make sure.

I waited to re fire this lovely pitcher that was under fired in one of the firings before the repair...thank goodness it didn't fit in that final load.

I have 5 more plate re dos to fire yet, and a few new pieces, including some soup bowls that will have fish and orchids on them...I feel so relieved to have the kiln working. I was all traumatised by that broken stuff, and was afraid to fire the re dos! Now I can relax , I think.

More Pottery- Florida Native Plants

2009-05-19T23:05:00.010-04:00

I have a commission to do a set of plates depicting Florida Native Plants, and ones that are found easily in our area, SW Florida...The rims and backs will feature my typical borders and patterns: .. ..the centres will feature 1 or 2 native plants in a natural setting, sort of botanical, with a Florida landscape depicted in the background. Charming!
This is a Loblolly Bay:

The larger plates are quite big 11.25" and the smaller ones are 8'' or 10" I think, which nestles nicely inside the larger, and the 2 rims complement each other.

Bomba is SO helpful.

This is a fun project, and the plates are turning out really well.
You can click on some of these images to larger!

Coco Plum:

The much loved Black Eyed Susan:

Wild Sunflower

Railroad Vine and Beach Morning Glory (unfired):

Horse Tail:

Lizard's Tail and East Palatka Holly!

This is Coral Honeysuckle:

The Beauty Berry plate turned out particularly well...here un fired

And here, fired.

Sadly, in the firing, there has been some breakage... I am extremely upset and don't want to talk about it.
However, that's pottery! Firing is a crazy thing, and I have always been very fortunate, and consistent with my results...

and I don't get much breakage.... maybe I will learn something from this event....in the meantime, I take a deep breath, maybe several, and prepare to re-do a few of these beautiful plates, and in the end, look forward to it, since they are most agreeable to work on. It's not really the end of the world, like I thought it was at first.

Pottery update!

2009-05-19T22:50:00.003-04:00

Its been a very busy couple of weeks....I have been too busy MAKING to take time to WRITE.. and more importantly, to PHOTOGRAPH. These are very quick and casual photos... I haven't had time to slow down and set up a nice photo for this pottery... I will later! I always regret later, not taking to time to document the work as it gets done. But it is tedious.

In these photos you can see a mixture of projects from these fresh water fish vases (the one with the handle formed into a hole is very exciting... a perfect set up for water and fishes... think SURF!

And here are just 3 of the pretty pastel and bright bowls made to add to an existing collection... I have painted many of these this fortnight!. Check back soon for more pictures of them!

And here are the teapots, and the butter dishes in the same style and colours... the butter dishes were painted to match pretty much exactly the existing one, as shown in the previous post... well, I think I managed that quite well.

Pottery Projects Finally Get Going

2009-05-06T23:25:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned some months ago, I have a large variety of pottery projects planned since December. Finally I am able to get around to them!

I have been looking forward to this work. I love painting the pottery, mainly because its so exciting to fire and see what comes out, hopefully something planned for.

This bowl is one of several to match the bowl in the photos, painted by me some time ago for a client.
The teapot is a variation on a previous teapot, (you can search 'teapot' in this blog and maybe find the one I mean)
The butter dish is being painted to exactly match the one shown in the foreground.

These are little tapas/snack plates for a set of 12.

They will have a bright green background when fired.

The faithful Bomba is always there to help me with my pottery.

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Well, no he's not. This is his table most of the time, when I am busy in the other studio, he gets the whole place to himself. I have to negotiate the space with him now. He looks resigned to it. I am too.

Painted Planters

2009-04-23T13:27:00.012-04:00

Here is an interesting project :paint up these terracotta planter pots to give them a little pizazz. I used paint for painting cement, which should offer some extra adhering qualities.I also used some cool metalic in the recessed areas of the pots, to add to the sense that these are now objects of great antiquity, made of fantastic enamels, glazes and precious metals(!) You can see many of these pictures larger by clicking on them.

It was a lot of fun working with the bas-relief areas, layering a lot of paint, and making it look like mineral build-up, and drips.

These pots will be outside, most of them under cover, on patios, but even the ones out in the weather should hold up fairly well...and as they endure the elements, further weathering will probably only make them look more interesting.

I was particularly pleased with this sideways leaning pot. It was more of a challenge, since it didn't have any raised areas, so I had to do much more to make it interesting. And it now has a lot of character.

Some of the pots had cement screed dropped on them, from construction on the site where they where kept before I got them to paint. I was able to knock some of it off, but the cement that would not knock off, I painted brilliant gold, and then "aged" it, so that it looks like real gold was carelessly dropped on them.

Artwork On Paper To Complement Table

2009-04-11T14:29:00.007-04:00

I was commissioned to also produce a set of three artworks for framing for a wall in the same room the game table will go. I didn't want them to match exactly, but to be be more colourful and fanciful than the table. They will work as a progression of three ideas, tryptich style.

Many of the elements from the table are included, such as the black and white checks, and the cheerful fish...

Working on paper seems to inspire a looser more florid style... or maybe it was just me.

I wanted a different feel from the table, as mentioned...Also wall colour form other rooms, and a colourful cotton print covered sofa will be complemented by the three paintings.

I finished the edges with gold, after I removed the tape from stretching the paper. The paintings will be floated on the mat, for framing.

I hope to have pictures of the whole room, decorated and pictures hung, to show the whole effect. its very difficult to show these paintings out of that context. Check back later in the summer!!!

Painted Game Table

2009-03-28T21:51:00.011-04:00

Here is the sketch: I actually ended up making the squares 2 1/2 " square. Better proportion

This table will be in an area designated for kids to play in, but still part of the main part of the house, so I didnt want it to be to "Childrens Furniture" in style.

The only colour in the room at the moment is the fabric on a couch, and thats where the colours for this table have been drawn from.

Here is some nice detail developing...

I used a very thin coat of gold , almost just a ''dusting'' of gold, to liven up the dark squares. It also unifies the whole, since the fish have reflective and interference colours on them.

Here is the table completed. Varnished.
I love using interference and metalic glazes on fish, to make them sparkle and look iridescent.

Adventure Pets Strike Again!

2009-03-24T20:30:00.005-04:00

Here they are again, that intrepid duo, no extreme pet sport too daunting for them...

Of course it's the CAT who notices they are flying too low.

Or is he just getting carried away trying to chase the string?The dog is having a blast, unconcerned. Either way, its a wild ride.

You can click on some of these pictures to see them larger.

I can hardly wait to see these made into pillows...what fun its been painting

them.

Dog & Cat Adventure Pillows

2009-03-23T00:24:00.017-04:00

Who says dogs and cats don't get along?

I hope nobody is going to tell me the technical reasons why the dog's equipment is never going to work..I know! But short of putting her in a diving bell, I decided to go with the wishful thinking model. (!)

Here are the VERY LOOSE pencil sketches for the two pillows....hilarious, and there were many other really cute ones, maybe someday they will make it out of the sketchbook and onto pillows too....Here is the next one, Hot air Ballooning. Further below you can see it on fabric just barely blocked in today....

Below is the chalk drawing work that I do before painting. Obviously I had to do a lot of figuring out on this one...I made them standing, since the floating legs didn't fit into the square format...

I had fun depicting them standing on each other's fins, which, if you have ever done any scuba diving with task management like loading lobsters into a bag, you know this is exactly what happens as you try to keep your balance, and work with your buddy, while you both try not to float all over the place.
Here are the backs:

The pillows are for a very special room that serves as guest room to 2 little granddaughters of the people who commissioned these pillows. In a subsequent post, I will show some of the painted furniture in the room that i did some years ago. these pillows should fit right in...and obviously the dog and the cat are modeled after real pets in the household. You can see Kona, the dog here:P.S. - Pillows Delivered sitting on my pillows back in June 2008. And The cat is shown here, on tile: Cat Portrait Tiles

Here is the Hot Air Ballooning one, just barely started, ...you will see it completed in the next post, in a few days!! In the meantime, don't try this on your pets! Unless they could maybe really bring you back an extra lobster.

Fine Arts Society Art Show

2009-03-13T00:36:00.005-04:00

This weekend I am participating in a Sarasota Fine Arts Society event that includes a gallery show along with a tour of artists' homes. It's a nice event. Tonight was the opening party, well attended.

It runs all day Friday and Saturday

As I have mentioned before in this blog, I enjoy shows and parties like this, involving my work; its always a lot of fun to meet people and talk about my work. Of course, sell things too!

It has also been a lot of fun to set up this display, in a gallery setting. I have particularly enjoyed the gallery lighting.

Washing The Fabric

2009-03-08T12:16:00.004-04:00

After the fabric has air cured for 3 days, and then been heat set in a very hot dryer or hand ironed (depending on size of piece) I soak the fabric briefly in soapy water, and hang out side on the line. Then I rinse the soap off with a hose.
I wash the fabric mainly to remove particles of dried paint that stick to the back of the fabric and to wash away any left over chalk marks from the drawing process.

By the time the fabric is washed, usually most of the chalk has been wiped away by me as I paint, or its been painted over, or even sort of incorporated into the art work: sometimes the brighter chalk colours can add an interesting outline , or "shadow" if they become mixed with the fabric paint and made permanent. Its hard to notice, but I like it.

As a companion piece to her two bird pillows, The client has asked for a smaller (18") pillow with fish on it. She will choose one of these:These are the backs for the fish pillows:

Back Pieces For New Bird Pillows

2009-02-26T10:12:00.005-05:00

Here are the other 6 backs for the bird pillows shown in the previous posts.

Really nice colours.

Here the birds pillows await heat treatment, washing, rinsing and being made into PILLOWS!

Lake Bird Pillows Continued

2009-02-23T20:26:00.005-05:00

Here are the next birds!

I decided to make one ''back'', for the set, in the mix. So there will be 7 pillows, not 8.

White Egrets make me laugh. They seem to have a harassed windblown look sometimes.

I added a very effective brownish blue shadow outline around each central area (containing the birds) on the finished pieces, and included it in the newer ones. Its a perfect touch, creating more depth and mood. Adding that outline had a magical effect on the work, bringing the bird into more prominence, and making the background deeper and richer. Amazing what a simple thing like that can do. I am glad it occurred to me.

Compare these pictures to the ones in the previous post to see the effect of the better ''framing''.

I like it!!

Freshwater Wading Bird Pilllows

2009-02-22T20:46:00.005-05:00

Here are the results of the new bird pillows....these are water birds, from freshwater environments...lots of earthy ,water , lake colours!
Remember, you can click on some of the images to see them bigger! The four on the other side of the table are actually almost done, but I didn't take pictures yet.

When these are all done, maybe tonight, I will begin the fabric for the corresponding back sides of the pillows, which will be geometric patterns, same colour palette.

Big Catch Up!

2009-02-15T11:55:00.015-05:00

I have had a very busy and distracting 3 weeks or so....my main computer broke about 3 weeks ago. Luckily, the data was saved, but all of my contact information and recent photos are on still unavailable until I get the new computer organised; it still hasn't been delivered!

Also luckily, I have access to a laptop which I am working here, now, and I was able to cobble most of my life together with it. No addresses, no pictures, no regular graphics programmes; its been tedious to cope.
Interestingly, the operating system doesn't support my beloved camera! ARGH. I had to get a usb camera card reader just to down load the pictures you see here now into the laptop. The sense of trauma and anxiety have passed somewhat, but I still have trouble locating where the pictures GO when I download them, and the filing system is just DIFFERENT. I don't like DIFFERENT on my computer, I want it just the way I had it, which was easy and quick. Oh well..... sigh.

Also this week, and just to add to the hilarity and chaos, my car broke, definitively. Not worth fixing. So all week I had to look for a suitable car replacement. Ugh. Really hard work. In the end it worked out OK, and I got a decent car...but what another big waste of valuable creative time, and it's all made my head throb.
Phew.
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In the meantime, one's work MUST continue....!
Here are some pictures showing the painting and sealing of the edges of the floorcloth I was working on at the time, it seems about 100 years ago:
Here are the two floorcloths rolled up and ready for delivery, along with some of the fabric samples I used for this and the tiles project......................................................................................

Also at this time I completed a project I began with two fabric window coverings Fabric For Window Treatment ...this is a piece of wood that will embellish the area above the shower door in one of the bathrooms.

Here you see the beginning of the layout, in chalk. Chalk is great for making lots of quick changes. After I establish the design in chalk (easy to correct over and over), I block it in with paint right away, and begin the process of finessing it into something finished.

Here it is finished. I hope to have a picture of it installed to add to this post someday!

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The next projects are about fabric. I have several fabric pillows to paint for a variety of clients. Here I am putting down the base colour to stretch the fabric for a series of bird pillows.And here I am blocking out the area for each pillow square. About 22" square each. Some of these will be backs and some will be fronts..

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And finally, the delivery of the floorcloths. You can see the tile back splash in some of these pictures. Also see : Tile Installation Day! They look great!

The weather was rather chilly for here, that week, (maybe about 58 F) and the floorcloths were stiff from the cold as I laid them out. They will flatten up over the course of the day. On a hot day they are soft and would just flatten out immediately. On a REALLY cold day, a hairdryer can soften a floorcloth perfectly, and allow it to lie flat right away. These floorcloths actually heated up quite well in the car driving to the destination in the sun. They were floppy when I took them out of the car. By the time i was in the house they had stiffened up a lot! Interesting material, isn't it?

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This is the platter shown un fired in an earlier post:

It didn't fit in my kiln, so I had to bring it to a commercial firing place and they fired it beautifully.

This platter will go in the same kitchen as the floorcloths and the tile back splash shown above.

As you might be able to see, its been hectic!...not only did my computer break, and then my car broke, I had a variety of disparate projects to start and finish the whole time. Maybe that's easier than a big long one. I don't know! But in the end all the work turned out great, and all that other stuff is OK, with setting up the new computer still looming as soon as IT arrives...

I will make a separate post for another event I participated in earlier this week. Stay tuned!!!

Floorcloth Process

2009-01-18T11:02:00.005-05:00

Here is a quick look at the processing of the floorcloth once the main art work is done, and its all varnished....I use the trim and seal method of finishing the edges. Traditionally, the edges of floorcloths were folded over to form a hem and either sewn (18th century style) or glued. This results in a raised area all around the floorcloth. I don't think it's as clean a look, and over time the raised area can get scuffed and look messy. I really like my method, the floorcloth lays flatter on the floor this way too. Trimming is nerve wracking work. The blade has to be very sharp, to make a clean cut. Any mistake, if the knife slips into the artwork part, cutting on the wrong side of the ruler ( I did that once a long time ago:ARGH!) are totally the end of the world. Its a good idea to be able to really concentrate on this job.

On a later post, I will explain and show the sealing part. For the moment, I am eager to get the new piece on the table and primed.....

I prime the stapled down "back" 3-4 times, and when its dry, turn the whole piece over stretch and staple it down and prime the ''front'', (art work side) 3-4 times too, and then begin to paint up the background for the artwork. The primer is a very flexible acrylic gesso, with lots of PVA in it...similar to what theatre stage scenic drops are made of. Theatre drops get rolled up and dropped down over and over, any paint work has to be able to stay put and flexible during all that activity. PVA based paints are used for many painted theatre props , so they can survive getting knocked about without too much chipping or cracking.

These same materials ensure floorcloths can be rolled up, and stay flexible, and adhere well to the floor surface.

And they really do hold up well. I have come to realize over the years that floorcloths painted in this way are extremely durable, and endure even heavy traffic, getting wet all over by weather or washing, and can be out of doors, (under cover, mainly to prevent fading of the artwork. )

Here is the the start of the companion floorcloth to the one just finished. It will go at the sink, in the kitchen. (Tile Project Revisited )

First Floorcloth Of Two, Completed...Almost

2009-01-17T22:42:00.007-05:00

The art work part is done, now I will protect it with 3-4 coats of satin (in this case) acrylic urethane. Then I will pull the staples and trim and seal the edges.
However, my main goal this weekend is to get this piece off the table and begin priming and painting the 2ND floorcloth in the set. These two floorcloths are going into a kitchen to match the tile back splash I painted last year.( Tile Project Revisited )
The floorcloths will be at the stove area, and at the sink, in a loose L shape arrangement. The fish turned out great. Walking on these floorcloths will be like walking on water (!).

Leaves float on the tranquil surface of the water.

Tropical Fish Pond Floorcloth Continued....

2009-01-15T23:18:00.003-05:00

This floorcloth is just about done...more pictures tomorrow!But here you can see the fish looking like they are pretty happy swimming around....

Floorcloths

2009-01-13T20:48:00.008-05:00

Here are the sketches for 2 floorcloths that will go in the kitchen that I did the lime green, seaside themed tile backsplash for...(See Blog Post June 8, 2008 : Tile Project Revisited )The canvas is primed, on both sides....And the work begins.....

More soon!!!

You can see previous floorcloth projects evolve step by step, by clicking the link to floorcloth (8) floorcloths (8) on the index list on the lefthand side of this blog.

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Just a little more pottery....?

2009-01-13T11:38:00.006-05:00

This is a specially comissioned teapot, and will also be matched by a set of bowls later, probably in March when I get back to more pottery work I was particularly happy with the way the dragonflies turned out. I didnt want them to be heavy or "scientifically" real looking.

They are just stylised enough, and very expressive.

The colours on the teapot give it a vintage, 19th Century look I really like.
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To fill up the kiln when I fired the cat tiles and the teapot, I painted a few large pieces and a handful more mugs with some rather exciting results.....

I love the graphic feel the colours and the thick enamel look of the glazing give these mugs.

This big jar was particularly fun to paint, and I am very happy how it turned out.

Its actually quite large, well, bulky anyhow...the pictures here make it look small. (?)

This platter is a commissioned piece, and is actually too large to fit into my kiln, its 18" long, I think. I will get it fired somewhere else.

When fired, the colours will look a lot like this bowl...

That is the end of a very very long pottery painting season.

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Now I have floorcloth and fabric projects...however, when those are completed I will be doing more pottery, probably in March....as the winter pottery frenzy spawned more commissions! Hurrah!

Cat Portrait Tiles

2009-01-11T18:36:00.008-05:00

Here is a set of 5 specially commissioned 8"x8" cat portraits on tiles.....oh yes, and a geometric one I did to fill up the tile stacker in the kiln!Click on the pictures to see them larger.

Here you can see the tiles before firing....And after....The likenesses are very good. I am amazed , and very pleased, at how well they turned out! Likeness is a tricky thing....

Before.....

After...... Before....After....

I am startled at how much this looks like the real cat!!

Before firing.....

And after.

These tiles will join others installed on the walls of an outdoor patio; a veritable Rougue's Gallery of cats. Later, I will have pictures of that on this blog.
And also better, less blurry, pictures of these tiles...

Atomic Holiday bazaar

2008-12-27T20:57:00.002-05:00

Atomic was a great success...I had a wonderful time, there were a lot of very cool people who showed up to experience the event, and I look forward to next year!!!

It's Here! Atomic Holiday Bazaar!

2008-12-13T18:31:00.004-05:00

I set up a mock display on my work table to see how it would all fit. The shelves and pottery are arranged within the dimensions of the table I will have to work with tomorrow.It all more or less fits! I spent the rest of the day packing it all up in boxes, printing business cards, painting the shelves white, assembling the lights, extension cords, tape, blu-tac, snack food and all the other important stuff I don't want to forget tomorrow.
-a lot of work and anticipation for a one day event! But always worth it.
Come to ATOMIC HOLIDAY BAZAAR, tomorrow, December 14th, Sarasota Municipal Auditorium to see and purchase this pottery!

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Here is an interesting item- a lovely covered dish that i didnt get around to featuring in previous posts. it turned out very nicely.

Mugs For Days Of The Week

2008-12-10T22:40:00.005-05:00

This is a special commission to paint a mug for each day of the week!
What great idea...and I had a lot of fun trying to sum up on a mug something that would"mean" a day of the week..some were easy. Like making Saturday and Friday really bright and exciting looking! Of course, Monday looks very serious and businesslike...