The Habit of Painting

by admin on September 18, 2009

“Habit is more powerful than will. If you get in the habit of painting every day, nothing will keep you from painting.”
-Irwin Greenberg 

"Enduring Dance" 40" x 40" work on canvas

"Enduring Dance" 40" x 40" work on canvas

The change in the weather and the change in the household inhabitants has encouraged me to re-establish my studio habits and focus on the upcoming fall events. Starting with a good scrub down of the space and an inventory of what is needed, I have happily fallen back into my workday habit. I am not sure that habit is really the best word to describe what I do, it is more a passion, drive, need, desire, necessity or all of the above. I have a long established pattern of the workday week. I choose to keep the weekends free for family time. I get a lot done and I allow myself time to regroup and renew on the weekends without the inner voices telling me “I should be painting”. It works for me. I do have to admit, that I did sneak out and go to the beach for a few hours this past week - it is just too beautiful not to catch those last few waning days of summer. I see that beach time as a gift and nourishment for the soul. Hey, isn’t that the beauty of working independently?

I have a lot of exhibitions on the horizon. I just was asked to be a part of an invitational abstract show on Martha’s Vineyard called “Vineyard Artists’ Abstractions: Creating New Perspectives”  will take place at the Louisa Gould Gallery in Vineyard Haven, MA, October 3 - 18, 2009. I am also slated to be in a show titled “Heavy Metal, Metalwork and Abstractions”  at the Water Street Gallery in Douglas, Michigan. This show opens October 10, and runs through November 11, 2009. There are also 3 festivals that I will be participating in this October; the 48th Annual Armonk Outdoor Art Show, in Armonk, NY, October 3 & 4. The 28th Annual Outdoor Arts Festival of the Bruce Museum, in Greenwich, CT, October 10 & 11 and The Gracie Square Art Show at Carl Schurz Park in New York City, October 17 & 18. Things are busy here and that is always a bit of a motivating factor. More important for me is getting into the habit of painting again. Summer is wonderful, and I do get things done, but real focus time seems to come in the fall. I look forward to the adventure…

“Painting is an adventure to an unknown world. New ideas and concepts develop along the way.”  -Ratindra Das

Painting is available .

More information on shows listed checkout my exhibition schedule.

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Different Methods of Expression

by admin on September 4, 2009

“Different themes inevitably require different methods of expression. This does not imply either evolution or progress; it is a matter of following the idea one wants to express and the way in which one wants to express it.”
-Pablo Picasso

I don’t generally participate in a lot of themed shows. Shows that have a specific theme are often a bit tricky for non-representational work. Interestingly enough, I found myself working this past summer on pieces for two such shows - both will open in September.

The Twitter 140 Art Show

I am pleased to be a part of the Twitter 140 show which debuts at Grandon Art Gallery, Flagstaff, Arizona, with a reception this evening September 4, 2009. The Twitter 140 show is a collection of 24 international artists from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The show was the brainchild of Sheree Rensel whom I met through the twitter network. She has worked tirelessly to pull together this eclectic group of artists for this exciting and unique exhibition. Ms. Rensel states, “We have organized a diverse and unique group of artists whose work reflects technology and the use of Twitter. Twitter messages have to be 140 characters or less. Therefore, all works in our show are 140 square inches or less. The same with each artist’s statement and bio. All contain 140 characters or less.” Visit the Grandon Art Gallery site to view the works of this interesting group.

Grandon Art Gallery
20 N Leroux St
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Opening September 4, 2009
Exhibition: 4 - 30 September 2009

A BOOK ABOUT DEATH

deborah-colter

Another fascinating show that I am pleased to be a part of is taking place at The Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery in New York City. As stated in the open call for this exhibit: “A BOOK ABOUT DEATH is an open, unbound book produced by artists worldwide. Artists are invited to create a “page” in the form of a postcard about death – any aspect about death. Works can be of any design, personal or conceptual, color or black and white. A BOOK ABOUT DEATH takes its inspiration from the late, underground American artist Ray Johnson (1927 - 1995). Ray Johnson’s unbound “book” of the same title was mailed to his New York Correspondence School “students” and included pages in his idiosyncratic style that were funny, sad and ironic “one-page essays” on death.  With the A BOOK ABOUT DEATH project, artists are invited to plunge into subject in creating their own pages that score the dramatic final dance of death.”

deborah-colter-1Through the process of putting together a piece for this show I found the feelings surrounding the loss of a loved one to be overwhelming and complicated. There are many, many facets of this difficult subject and to create a piece that had the deepth of meaning for me was a huge challenge. The confines of the postcard format and the simplicity of typing his story lead to the piece I am contributing.

There are some amazingly powerful works in this exhibit and they are all on view at the Gallery and online. I hope to be able to get in to New York to see the Show.

Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery
537 Broadway
New York City, New York 10012 USA
Opening, Thursday, 10 September 2009.
Exhibition: 10 - 22 September 2009.

“Selecting a challenge and meeting it creates a sense of self-empowerment that becomes the ground for further successful challenges.”
-Julia Cameron

*Thank you to Moshe Mikanovsky wrote an article mentioning this post! It has been published at EmptyEasel.com and on his Art Blog 9/28/09.

10/7/09 - I just found out that the MoMA (New York) now has a complete set of the works from A Book About Death. The pieces were compiled for the Museum by Deven Marriner.

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In Search of a Reality

by admin on September 1, 2009

“In the process of making a painting in an abstract way, the painter is in search of a reality. Not one of realistic objects, but of the complete end result. The painting is experienced as a whole, and must evoke in the painter the absolute conviction that this is how it should be and no other way.”
-Paul Burlin

"Making Things Happen" 36" x 40" work on canvas

"Making Things Happen" 36" x 40" work on canvas

“What do you think about while you paint? Or are you transfixed by the process? Do you daydream? If so, does it affect the painting? When you say collage, do you mean you apply objects like paper to the canvas before you paint? I’d also be interested in what inspires you to choose colors each time. I love these colors. The blue is special in this one. Is it cobalt? I think cobalt has special power to affect the emotions.” Diana Maus recently posted these questions in a comment from an early blog post (6/13/08) of mine. Well Diane, here goes… 

What do you think about while you paint? When I paint I think about everything and nothing at the same time. I try desperately to empty my mind of the day to day mundane stuff that piles up (my everything thoughts). To free myself as much as possible from the constant brain chatter (another blog subject) and allow myself to be transfixed on the process. Not easy - as I am sure you know. I don’t believe we can ever truly shut out what is happening in our lives, but when I am painting, the process does consume my being and yes, it is an astonishing experience. 

Do you daydream? If so, does it affect the painting? Daydream - as a verb daydream is “to indulge in a series of thoughts” Yes, I daydream. I believe that I do indulge in allowing my thoughts to wander freely as I work (my nothing thoughts).  I allow myself to transcend to a level of consciousness that frees me to paint without inhibition. I think this level of daydreaming does affect my work in a positive way. There are days when it is easier to reach this consciousness level than others of course!  

When you say collage, do you mean you apply objects like paper to the canvas before you paint? I incorporate paper - cut & torn, canvas, screen, etc. all through the process. Collaging, or applying them into the surfaces as I work. Before during and occasionally at the end. Some are buried and some stay visible - it really depends on the piece and it’s needs. 

I’d also be interested in what inspires you to choose colors each time?  All color is an inspiration to me. What inspires me to choose a color is often a process of challenging myself within the work. I choose colors at random and deliberately. Putting a color next to another color will change the whole balance of a piece. I love that surprise and it offers me the challenge of resolving the work through process of painting with even more color!  I love these colors. (Diane was asking about “On the Edge” shown below)  I too am in love with color and the power that it has to stop me in my tracks. The blue is special in this one. Is it cobalt? I think cobalt has special power to affect the emotions. I believe there is cobalt blue in this painting along with many other colors and shades of blue. I think all colors have that power to affect the emotions.

"On the Edge" 60" x 48" work on canvas

"On the Edge" 60" x 48"

I bet a lot of people would be interested in what goes through your mind in the studio. As I’ve said before, your work has an emotional impact. I’m curious if that comes from you indirectly or if you are purely working in the abstract?  Not really sure where to go on this question Diane. I am flattered that you feel people would be interested in knowing what goes on in my head. Personally, I am not sure I want to know! I am afraid there are somethings that just can not be put into words. I paint; it is what I do. I would like to believe that my work is an extension of my soul. That the paintings  I create, directly or indirectly,  are the experiences of my soul and they will speak of my absolute conviction that this is how they should be and no other way. 

Thanks for asking Diane!

“What you do when you paint, you take a brush full of paint, get paint on the picture, and you have faith.” - Willem de Kooning 

Paintings are available.

“I can’t always reach the image in my mind… almost never, in fact… so that the abstract image I create is not quite there, but it gets to the point where I can leave it.”  
-Chuck Close

 

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Live Each Season

by admin on August 19, 2009

“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, 
and resign yourself to the influences of each.” 
- Henry David Thoreau

"Bits and Pieces" 30" x30" work on canvas

"Bits and Pieces" 30" x30" work on canvas

It hardly seems possible that the summer season is coming to a close. Our oldest son returns to College tomorrow and the youngest leaves in a week. The house will quiet down. We will no longer be subconsciously waiting up to hear that everyone is home safe. They will resume their lives with their college friends and continue on down the roads they are building. It is hard to let go and at the same time, it is time. They need to go and find their own ways. There is a lot of growing up to do out there! 

I have been quite scattered lately. Feels like bits and pieces all over the place. It has been very hot and humid and life gets quite crazy on Martha’s Vineyard during the month of August. It is a test of patience, sanity and nerves dealing with throngs of tourists, traffic and the heat. And then, it is over, things quiet down and the seasons shift to a slower pace. It all seems to happen quite unexpectedly, and yet, it happens every year pretty much the same way. It just doesn’t seem possible that this time of change is already creeping up on us.

The commission work is going well. I shipped my piece for the Twitter 140 Art show at the Grandon Art Gallery. I have an opening this Saturday on Martha’s Vineyard at the Cousen Rose Gallery that coincides with a book signing by Gwen Ifill that I am thrilled about. The Island is quite abuzz with excitement because an important family from Washington DC will be vacationing on the Vineyard starting this weekend as well. There are fireworks and the annual Ag Fair, and our boys are leaving. It is all a part of the end of the season, changes are on the way, I will breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign myself to the influences of each change.

Painting is available.

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If you don’t love something…

by admin on August 7, 2009

“I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true - hard work pays off.
If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. 
If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.”
- Ray Bradbury 

Inspired Radiance 30" x 30" work on canvas

"Inspired Radiance" 30" x 30" work on canvas

I love what I do. I paint on a regular basis. I practice, practice, practice and some days it really does pay off. I continually challenge my own sensibilities with new colors, patterns, lines, etc. I paint not because I want to be good - it is more that I  want to be capable. Capable of creating work that is exciting, refreshing and interesting to an enthusiastic audience of at least one ( …or one at a time). Okay, maybe that is the definition of good, but capable sits better with me. 

I received a commission for a large piece that is going to go into a new restaurant opening in the fall. The client really liked one of my paintings but it was not big enough for their space - could I make it bigger? Now, I know that many of you might be offended by this request, but I actually love this kind of thing. It is a challenge to “recreate” on a different scale, different composition, a piece that is equally as exciting as the original the client has fallen in love with. Of course, an original painting is always unique in it’s own right - it has to be. I have to make the work feel the same and yet uniquely stand on it’s own. The same but different. There is something about painting a piece again that takes the work to another level for me. I can hear somewhere in the recesses of my mind the words “now you have painted it well, so paint it again.” I wish I could share with you where those words are coming from but it is lost to me.  Perhaps all that practice, practice, practice really does pay off. Yes, I have heard it a thousand times before, and when a project like this presents itself and I am capable of rising to the challenge, I am grateful for all that perseverance and practice.

“For any artist to persevere, they must have an enthusiastic audience of at least one.”
-Stuart Davis 

Work is available.

 

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Making Something Out of Nothing

by admin on July 25, 2009

Art is making something out of nothing and selling it. 
-Frank Zappa

"Sea of Tranquility" 48" x 36" work on canvas

"Sea of Tranquility" 48" x 36" work on canvas

I often find when dinner time rolls around that there is nothing to make - the fridge looks empty, never the right ingredients for recipes on hand, too wiped out to run to the store - the possibilities are bleak, but I always manage to somehow pull together “something out of nothing”. I have come to joke about this talent, if you can call it that, and even suggested it might be a good final inscription when the time comes. I am aware that I have been making something out of nothing for a very long time. This is really what I do every day. Art is making something out of nothing. Tubes of paint, mediums, charcoals, ink, papers, canvas, all bits and pieces of nothing really, until they are molded by the artist. The collective accumulation of a whole lot of nothing suddenly becomes that wonderful something and the painting takes on a life of its own. “Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.” 

Pleased to report that the “selling it” part went well this week too. Once again the Cousen Rose Gallery came through for me and the show looked  wonderful, sales were made, and I am now looking forward to returning to the studio where I will continue on my mission of making “something out of nothing”…and selling it!

Opening July 18, 2009 Cousen Rose Gallery

Opening Reception 7/18/09 Cousen Rose Gallery

“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.”
-Pablo Picasso

Painting is available from Cousen Rose Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard.
  
Coming up in August:
Saturday, August 22 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm 
A Book Signing and Art Exhibit
Gwen Ifill - Moderator and Managing Editor of Washington Week  and Author of
“The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama”

 The Gallery will feature work by Janice Frame & Deborah T. Colter

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Commitment, Confidence & Continuity

by admin on July 11, 2009

“There is a wonderful feeling when you walk into your own exhibition. You see the work as a true extension of yourself. Win or lose, your interests have led you to an accumulation of your personal expression, signed lower right, 
mounted to best advantage.” - Robert Genn

"Comfortable Bliss" 30" x 30" work on canvas

"Comfortable Bliss" 30" x 30" work on canvas

Next week my work will be featured at the Cousen Rose Gallery in Oak Bluffs. Owner Zita Cousens has exhibited my work since 1997. We met when I was waiting tables and she and her husband Mike used to come in for dinner on a regular basis. They always came late after Gallery openings and the other wait staff wanted out - I always volunteered to stay. After a time Zita found out I was a painter and asked me to bring in some of my work. From the beginning she believed in me. I was working very much off the beaten path of the other local artists who primarily sell representational work. She has stood behind my artwork through all of its growth and changes without ever questioning where it was headed. The Gallery celebrates 30 years of business this summer and in a constantly changing retail environment on Martha’s Vineyard, that is a remarkable accomplishment! Congratulations Cousen Rose!

Next Saturday night my work will be up - some new pieces and some earlier work not shown here before, and  I will walk into the gallery reception and Zita Cousens will have outdone herself in the modest space she has to present my work. For a few hours we will celebrate the exhibit and win or lose, sales or no sales, I will walk away knowing that the work is a true extension of myself, an accumulation of my own personal expression, represented by a Gallery owner who has always believed in me. What more could I ask for?

Cousen Rose Gallery
Martha’s Vineyard
71 Circuit Avenue
Oak Bluffs, MA 02557
508-693-6656 

Exhibit runs from July 18 - July 25, 2009 [work will remain in Gallery all summer]
Opening Reception Saturday July 18 5:00-7:00pm
Also this summer:
 
Saturday, August 22 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
A Book Signing and Art Exhibit
Gwen Ifill - Moderator and Managing Editor of Washington Week  and Author of
“The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama”

 The Gallery will feature work by Janice Frame & Deborah T. Colter

Above painting is available from the Cousen Rose Gallery.

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A Million Ideas Worth Painting…

by admin on June 29, 2009

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. If we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
-Anne Bradstreet 

"Treading Water" 40" x 40" work on canvas

"Treading Water" 40" x 40" work on canvas

Here in the northeast we have just had one of the worst spring weather months I can ever remember. It has been a month of rain, fog, rain, clouds, and more rain. The tomato plants are not happy. It has been cold too. Now, I am not usually one to be bothered by weather but this is really getting old! Then today, just when it felt like it would never end - the sun came out. It is absolutely blinding! Beautifully blinding! The  dismal greyness of the last month seems to instantly be lifted. “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” If we had not been mired in rain and fog, the sun would not be so bright!

“At times there seems to be a million ideas worth painting. However, there are days when it’s a challenge to pull any idea together. On these days I go to my studio, leaf through an art history book, and tell myself that I am part of this great tradition.” 
- James Dean

James Dean says [I believe this is James Dean the painter and not James Dean the actor] “…there seems to be a million ideas worth painting. However, there are days when it’s a challenge to pull any idea together.” Boy is that the truth! I find myself bouncing from one thing to another right now and the ideas are bouncing around like ping pong balls. I just can not seem to grab on to one at a time. I know from past experience that this is a time when things are usually changing in my work. Change and growth are good things. I am never quite sure where the next step will take me and I begin to feel like one of those ping pong balls. I battle the visual elements, the paint, the brushes. I cut things up, paint over pieces, change things, and then change them again. Nothing comes easy and then, like the sun coming out today, it does. Somehow the struggle gets me to another level. It’s just such a challenge to pull those ideas together when I am going through this process. As difficult as it is, trusting the process is something that I have learned to do in my work. Yes, the sun does eventually come out…

“…When I’m stuck a day
That’s gray
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh
The sun’ll come out
Tomorrow…”

- Lyrics from “Annie” by Martin Charnin

Painting is available.

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Diagonally Parked in a Parallel Universe

by admin on June 18, 2009

“The growth that an artist seeks is a fine combination of mastering craft, garnering an audience, maintaining one’s mental health, and working mightily from a ever-expanding base of experience.”
- Eric Maisel

"Collective Harmony III" 21" x 21' work on paper

"Collective Harmony III" 21" x 21' work on paper

I have been trying some new things. Really they are old things that I am refocusing on. Drawing is a basic necessity of creating art. I have to admit I have not been drawing very much of late. I love to dive right into the tactile pleasures of the paint. I’ve found that the spontaneity of the brush to canvas has been inspiration enough. Now don’t get me wrong, I do use line, liquid acrylics, pencil, conte, charcoal all faint and scribed within my pieces.  I have done this in my work for a long time. I love quality line work. I would like to incorporate more black line into my work - I will draw more…

When my son came home from College this spring he had to ship back his art supplies. He shipped home a giant bottle of India Ink that of course leaked [kids! - oops - I mean young adults!]. Fortunately he had put the ink in a plastic bag so the clothes were spared [ I must have taught him something somewhere along the line]. In cleaning up the mess, I was reminded how wonderfully black India Ink is. It was an inspirational moment disguised as a big mess! I filed that one away in the thought banks.

Last weekend, I was in Philadelphia exhibiting at the Rittenhouse Square Art Show. I was close to another painter pal of mine Joyce Stratton. I love her work and suddenly there it was - Joyce had used India Ink in her paintings! Is the universe hitting me over the head with this or what?? Joyce shared with me some of her tools - I showed her the lines I have been working with. Long story short, I am now way out of my comfort zone, experimenting with ink drawing, and ‘working mightily from an ever-expanding base of experience.”

Not quite ready to post new pieces, but stay tuned…

”Sometimes I think I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.” - Diana Britt 
 
"Vibrant Perspective" 14" x 21" work on paper

"Vibrant Perspective" 14" x 21" work on paper

“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”- Brian Tracy 

Both artworks are available in the Martha’s Vineyard Decorator Show House and Gardens 2009. Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard is the beneficiary of all tickets sales and a portion of the sale of the furniture, accessories and artwork through out the house. Click here to see my works in the Captain Thomas Mellon House.

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I have been influenced…

by admin on June 11, 2009

“I have been influenced by paintings I have seen in books, and in museums, not because they defined success but because they suggested possibilities.”
-Eleanor Blair

"Calculated Dream" 24" x 24" work on panel

"Calculated Dream" 24" x 24" work on panel

The artist Irwin Greenberg said, “Add new painters to your list of favorites all the time.” When Lisa Pressman began her new blog she invited readers to e-mail her their top 10-15 artistic influences with the intention of creating an interactive blog. Lisa asked me to send in my top 10. Ok, this challenge should be easy and fun! I soon realized this was not quite as easy as I thought it would be. More than once I asked Lisa to add another name! How could I have forgotten Joseph Cornell, Cy Twombly, Willem de Kooning, Paul Cezanne, Robert Motherwell, Jasper Johns, etc. You get the idea. I wanted to include some of my contemporary painters as well as the established favorites. I guess Mr. Greenberg is right, I will always continue to add new painters to my list. The “Other Artists/Friends/Websites/Blogs” list on the right names a few of my contemporary favorites. Here is the list I gave Lisa, a sampling of a few artists that have influenced my work [in no particular order]…

Robert Rauschenberg for his continual work with collage and paint
Richard Diebenkorn for his use of space and line structures
Mark Rothko for his use of color
Pablo Picasso for everything he created
Vincent Van Gogh for living, color, line, passion, energy, emotion
Jackson Pollack for his desperate joy
Henri Matisse for his spirit and color
Amedeo Modigliani for his odd quirky portraits
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec his oils and lithographs 
Alberto Giacometti his sculptures of walkers
Paul Klee for his whimsy and composition
Tony Magar the space paintings for his depth of color, texture and energy
Sharon Booma I love her use of color & balance
Glen Ossiander for his freedom, emotion & joy in the work
Paul Baumer especially the cityscapes for his whimsy and color 
Doug Trump for his incorporation of line, color and composition

Thank you for highlighting my work this week Lisa. What a great way to start your blog by asking this question! It is fun to see the different responses you are getting. It is also a good reminder to step back once in a while and remember the painters and people that have influenced my work. Thank you for giving me a chance to do this! I encourage you all to visit Lisa’s blog and enjoy her works along with the works of other artists she features. Send in a list of your own - you might find it is not as easy as it sounds!

“All artists are influenced not only by what has been painted before but also by what one’s contemporaries are doing.” - Raymond Leech 

Painting has recently sold to Private Collectors

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