The daily dose of art TUSCANY ON CLAY

The iconic Tuscan landscape is almost impossible to forget, and even more difficult to stop painting it after visiting the region.  I found this out first hand, after spending  week in Tuscany in 2008.  Seven years later and I'm still at it.

The following paintings were all done on "scraps" of clay prints with pastel:

Only in Tuscany

Tuscan Countryside

Tuscany in clay

 Tuscan Country side id approximately 12x36" and is available, un-matted and unframed.  Contact me for price and details.

The first thing I got to do is slow down

I’m getting ready to wash the breakfast dishes, standing at the sink, when I realize I left the ceiling fan on in the studio.  I quickly run across the breezeway into the studio, turn off the fan, and hustle back to the kitchen.  Why?  Why did I move like I was facing some time deadline?  There was nothing I absolutely had to get done and nowhere to go; the entire day was ahead of me, to do or not do whatever I wanted. I catch myself rushing to get somewhere or complete some task all the time, and it is not just physically hustling...it is mental.  I’m always hurrying to get some little thing done.

I am convinced that life would be so much better - more enjoyable – if I would learn to mentally and physically switch to a lower gear and remain mindful of the fullness of each day, grateful for the opportunity to design it as I see fit.

WILD EYES...CLAY MONO TYPE....20X14"

DETACHED,

bothered, and bewildered, am I.  (With apologies to Cole Porter)  Strange things happen in my head when I escape the familiar comfort of my routine, as I have done fro the past 6 days.  I suddenly find myself harboring an endless bounty of ambition and energy, dedicated to pursuing one great idea after another that flows ceaselessly from my brain.  I can do anything and everything once I get back to the comfort of my home and studio. There will be no stopping me. 

Unfortunately these insights? Fantasies? notions? Must be shared with others, derived from the same separation from routine:  Am I really an artist?  Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?  Am I spending too much time on facebook and my blog?  I should travel more…do I want to travel more…I spend too much time away…and on and on and on.

A lesser man than me would become undone by this torrent of rumination, but fortunately I am a tiger, and experience has told me that this too will pass.  I will return home soon to my loving wife, nine happy dogs, and a studio just waiting for my attention.  All of the questions, well…most of the questions will disappear, and sadly, so will most of the ambition, and things will pick up just as the were when I left.  And life goes on.  I will leave again sometime in the future, and the cycle will repeat itself, and there is a sense of comfort in knowing that.

 Wild Eyes...clay mono type...20x14"

This has nothing to do with the narrative.  I simply like to have an image for readers to look at.

IN THE MEANTIME...

while I try to find my way in this maze called a studio...I work away at my drawing table/station, hoping the muses will come and lead me into the chosen direction. In other words, what the hell should I be doing? I'm not complaining, because I really enjoy doing these mini paintings and drawings.


Yesterday several clay mono types that had been out on loan were returned to the gallery...this in one of my favorites and measures approximately 14x7".

And completing this post is a view of my "drawing station" taken with my iPhone. Everything I need is within arms reach.

STILL PLAYING...

I have not been able to walk away from this latest series since I started it over a week ago. It began with a series of small abstract clay mono types and later expanded to enhancing the prints with applications of ink and/or acrylic washes. The latest twist has been resurrecting old prints that have been tucked away in the file drawers and making them into more than were.

First...a triptych from a newly pulled print:





Next...2 older prints "updated":




All of the prints will share the same fate...mounted on cradled hardboard and finished with several coats of a cold wax medium. They may eventually become part of an exhibit of new works at Gallery 5.

ALMOST DONE...

I was hoping to have the wc finished before I leave town tomorrow for about 10 days, visiting family and friends back home. But this is as far as I've gotten. Only a few details remaining.



Yesterday I pulled these 2 clay prints, each measures 12x30":





I've packed my sketchbook and pens, hoping to get some sketching done.

WHAT IS A CLAY DRAWING?

Recently I’ve received several queries asking what exactly is a clay drawing and how are they done. I will try to describe the process in this post.

First, a description of the process of clay printing, as developed by my friend, Mitch Lyons.

A slab of stoneware clay 3/4 to 1 inch thick is pressed into a firm framed base mounted on a solid support table or bench. The surface is smoothed and leveled with the edges of the frame and is allowed to dry overnight to a “leather hard” consistency. There is no “correct” size: it can be small and portable or permanently situated in the studio. This clay base will act as the “plate” in the creation of the mono type. My current clay plate is 30x40” and is 8 years old. By keeping it covered with wet paper and plastic drapes it will last indefinitely.
Liquid clay, known as slip, is produced by mixing water and kaolin powder in a blender to a light pancake batter consistency and several coats are then brushed onto the clay slab. This slip also becomes the “paint” by the addition of pure pigments, dry or liquid, and is used to create the image by its application to the clay slab. The final result is a flat slab of clay in which the image is embedded.
A moistened support, fabric or paper, is placed on top of the clay and pressure is applied using a roller or brayer. The support becomes impregnated with a thin layer of the clay resulting in a transfer of the image.
The resulting one of kind images have characteristics unlike those produced by any other method. The variety of techniques that can be used in this process is limited only by the imagination and curiosity of the artist.
All the materials used in this process are archival and the pigments share the same light fastness as other tradition pigments. The finished print can be framed under glass, or given a protective coat of varnish and stretched over a canvas stretcher.


My clay "plate" is about 3/4" thick and measures 32x40" In the lower left corner is a series of 3 colors I applied to create one of my drawings. Below is a close up of the same.


The next step is to print this on one of variety of supports. For the series of drawings from Italy I have been using Reemay, a non-woven fabric, as well as Pellon, and other interfacing materials available at the fabric store. This next photo shows a number of such prints.

Now all that remains is the drawing. For this I've been using a variety of pens and markers, primarily Faber-Castell, Prismacolor premier, Micron, and Pilot...all using water resistant, lightfast ink.

For dramatic highlights I may add one or more touches of acrylic to the drawing, as in the umbrellas in this piece.

It is NOT relaxing!!!

How many artists out there have had to smother the urge to yell NO...NO..NOOOO! whenever someones says, "that must be relaxing"? They mean well, but for me, making art is not a form of relaxation; to the contrary, it is stressful and frustrating. But I would quickly add...stress is good, distress is bad. I view the stress and/or tension that accompanies the work as seasoning, like garlic and salt, they make everything else better.

Here are 2 of the early clay mono types I pulled shortly after returning from Italy. I was trying to capture the soft colors and the patina of age that is present on the older architecture in the city.



untitled clay mono type aprox. 20x20"

I love the texture and softness of this piece, but continue to think I need to do something else...add lines, or markings, or whatever, but can't decide what. I've been looking at it for 2 months and have yet to determine what I will do...maybe nothing.


clay mono type...aprox. 14x20"

Now this is a constant source of frustration. I like everything about this print except...the damn profile of Snoopy in the upper right. I cannot look at it without seeing Snoopy, who has nothing to add to the work, and THIS IS DISTRESSING.

CLAY...CLAY...CLAY

I'm taking a break from the watercolors to play with clay. Below are several more recent mono types, with the focus on the colors of Bologna. I haven't quite accomplished what I set out to do, but feel that I'm making progress. Will continue with the work over the next few weeks and allow it to evolve. It is in striking contrast to the tight watercolors I've been working on...but that's what keeps the days interesting.

IT'S BACK TO WORK

after a brief one and a half day trip to Lousiville. As I promised myself, I have begun working on 2 acrylics, one 24x24" and one 24x48". Both will be scenes from last years Italian journey. Too soon to have anything to show you, but I do have to Clay mono types that I am adding to my collection of miniatures. Neither have a title.


7x4.5"


6x5"

RUMAGING IN THE FILE CABINET,

which I tend to do at times, usually when I'm not in the mood to do anything else, uncovered a series of drawings from 3 or 4 years ago. They were all done on clay mono types that had been printed on paper, rather than the non-woven synthetic fabric I usually use (trade name - Remay). I have always been rather fond of these, but it seems an affection shared by few others. I tell myself that some day I will give them a proper showing, but for now they are consigned to the drawer.


drawing #1 12x12


drawing #21 9x8


drawing #14 9x12


drawing #11 9x5

MIXED MEDIA MINIATURES

I love the sound, the alliteration of the title; the sound is pushed off the lips. Mixed media miniatures. OK, enough of that. These 2 5x5 pieces once were part of one creation. Over time I became less than enthusiastic about it and in the end decided they were destined to be what you see now, two small examples of a clay mono type enhanced with acrylic.


Dunes I clay mono type 5x5"


Dunes II clay mono type 5x5"

ROUTINES

This time of the year I walk my dogs early, usually around 7:30 AM, give or take 15 minutes, and every morning I see a new neighbor sitting on his porch with coffee and newspaper. We have never formally met but have exchanged pleasantries every morning for the past 2 months. This morning he chided me - in a quite friendly manner - about my routine, and how he avoids them. I thought he was kidding, but when I pointed out that sitting on his porch every morning certainly was a routine he looked surprised; he never thought of it that way. He thanked me for my honesty as we both laughed. About 15 minutes later, walking along the river park, I saw him approach me on his bike. He passed by and told me he was breaking out of his routine.

I have several routines, none of which I am inclined to surrender: I usually get up about one hour before Patience and the dogs and spend that quiet time on the computer (e mail, news, etc.) and writing in my journal: I eat lunch every day at noon, you can almost set your clock on that: At 5 PM, weather permitting, I am sitting on our front porch with a glass of wine and some reading material: And if I’m cooking, it is almost always with a glass of wine at hand.

Sadly, I also have some routines (not very many!) that I would love to abandon, but that is another story.

How about you?


Clay mono type...Utter Chaos..30x14... the opposite of routine $500

WE'RE BACK!

LEIF AND CLEO


LEIF, CLEO, AND GRANDAD


BETH, CARL, ME, CLEO AND LEIF

I can't believe it has been five days since my last post. But I have a good excuse...we have been preparing the house for a visit by 2 daughters, husbands, and 4 grandchildren. Beth and clan arrived late Wednesday, and Amy and her family mid-day on Friday.

Thursday we spent several hours in the studio making clay mono types.


Cleo's

Leif's

Carl's

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Overwrought- clay mono type (this was the actual title I gave this piece when it was created 5 years ago.)


How do you spell Tuesday? D I S A S T E R! That defines yesterday for me. I awoke yesterday morning anxious to get to the studio...having just finished reading ART AND FEAR, a most affirming book about making art, I was prepared to go to work claiming my own art. Instead the only thing I claimed was two botched canvases!

The biggest botch job was the 24x48” canvas on which I was planning to create a deep, dark moody sky for the “skyscape” series I’ve been working on. After the first failure to achieve my goal I took a break from the canvas and applied what I thought would be the finishing touches to a smaller piece. Camel poop!!! It didn’t work and in fact ruined the whole piece; the entire foreground would not have to be re done. So, it was back to the big one and a chance to redeem myself. But that was not to be, and the second attempt ended up no better than the first. In frustration I smeared the entire canvas with the remaining paint on the palette with a large palette knife and did what any reasonable person would do...walked out of the studio and did not return for the rest of the day.

OK, I am in the house with my coffee and a pile of reading material where I will simply chill out for the rest of the day. But that too was not to be. Patience calls me to say the upstairs smoke alarm is chirping - the battery needs to be replaced - one of my least favorite things to do. It means hauling the ladder up our mean spirited, winding staircase and climbing to the very top to reach the alarm on the 11 foot ceiling. The older I get the more I do not like heights, and this ladder is now at the top of our staircase, so from the top I can see all the way down to the first floor, which surely must be 50 feet away and just waiting for me to fall allllll the wayyyyy down, a feeling that gets stronger with each rung I climb. But, thanks to my steely nerves I safely reach the alarm, remove it from it’s mooring, and replace the battery to stop the incessant chirping, only to discover that at least one of its wires has become disconnected and there is no way I am going to fix that. I should have stayed in bed!

ON OCCASIONS...

On occasions I find myself rummaging through the drawers of clay mono types looking for ideas or inspirations, hoping to see something I may have overlooked in the past. This usually happens when I'm in the throes of inertia, unable to pick up a brush and start something new. One of the results of trying to harness this restless and unfocused energy has been a series of collages created from the clay prints.


Behind Black collage aprox 10x10 $150


Orange Moon collage aprox. 10x7 $125

ONLY IN PADUCAH

OK, I will admit it publicly, I am a incurable procrastinator. I put off doing things I know I will have to do, and that I only make things worse by putting them off. Every year, I swear on 15 bibles and 7 family graves that I will complete my tax prep by March first! And every year I get this done later and later. This year was the absolute worst. Every night for 10 weeks I went to bed telling myself that all I had to do was spend maybe an hour getting things together for the accountant (I had already completed most of the work), and every day I managed to avoid it. Yesterday I had no choice, and I spent less than an hour completing the task, and flushed with embarrassment delivered the package to my accountant. If I could, I would have paid someone to do it for me. The receptionist was wonderful, telling me no problem, they were used to this behavior, and they would do their best for me.

Today at 4 PM they called to say the tax returns were ready, and just like that I can now find something else to stress over!!


CLAY MONO TYPE APROX 14X26 $400
Wild Eyes clay mono type. I thought this would go with " procrastination", don't ask me why.

CLAY MONO TYPES...UNADORNED

At Linda's request, here are several examples of unadorned clay mono types.


Nocturnal landscape aprox 12x5" $100


Hilltop 30x14"$600


Utter Chaos 30x15 $600


Color blocks 30x15 $600