Carol Nelson Workshop ~ Metals and Mixed Media ~ Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"A Hole in One"
7" x 3 1/2" Mixed Media on MDF board

I loaded up with Google Maps and my GPS (Sugar Foot) and made it to Denver for the Carol Nelson Workshop on Friday and Saturday. (See the two previous posts on this blog.) She is a very kind and generous instructor and she had to keep reminding me about restraint and simple themes when she was presented with something like the above.

Carol: "Don't incorporate all the techniques you've learned in one piece". (said with a very kind voice.)
Nancy: "OK..Carol." then I'd proceed to do just that in this small piece. I brought my hammer and I was determined to use it and did by putting 3 copper nails at the top and if you use a hammer and nails then you first get to use Carol's drill to drill baby holes to get the nails started. I find it impossible to see a drill on a table without wanting to "drill" something.
We were supposed to dip the nails in the Yes glue before nailing and I forgot this step. I left my nails partially extended so I could add a little more bling and curly-Q's with some copper wire. And I did get a lot of techniques in this one piece with some Tyvek at the top with a HOLE in it (too much heat), some burlap for texture, and Gold Leaf accents. Does anyone have a spare tassel I can hang from the center?

Carol referred to these small studies as bozzettos, an Italian term for a small scale model in preparation for a larger work. See Robert Genn article from The Painter's Keys.
Oh, I love this word "Bozzetto". These are just small studies to get us warmed up and Robert Burridge would refer to them as his "little gems" and they help teach him how to paint and get warmed up for the day of painting. Myrna Wacknov in her Creativity Journey blog has several posts on the bozzetto.

Tomorrow I'll post our assignment piece. Carol thought we might be a little scattered and gave us some specific guidelines to follow. I can do that but I can't help saying.... from a Bobette and a Bozzettoist.

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ARLINGTON TEXAS ~ ARTIST NANCY STANDLEE ~ DAILY PAINTER ~
CONTEMPORARY ~ WATERCOLOR ~ ACRYLIC ~ COLLAGE ~ GOUACHE
ABSTRACT ~ EXPRESSIONIST ~ ART FOR SALE ~ FIGURATIVE ~ MIXED MEDIA


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"Small Gifts" an Acrylic Painting by Texas Daily Artist Nancy Standlee

"Small Gifts"
22" x 30" acrylic on paper

In most of the workshops I take there is a small gift from Cheap Joe's. Sometimes there is a white eraser in a clear plastic bag, a 3B pencil with his name on it, a pencil sharpener, a sponge that when wet swells up to mattress size. I love these freebies and use them and look forward to a Joe surprise. In one of my orders I received a little square coaster that is imprinted with one of Cheap Joe's own watercolor images of a red barn, some sheep and trees. I see that he paints trees better than I do. I've become very attached to this coaster and use it to sit my morning cup of coffee on and sorta freak out if it's not around. That early morning sound of my mug hitting the table is just nicer muffled with one of Joe's coasters.
Someday I'll go to Boone and meet Cheap Joe and tell him how much I enjoy his small gifts and his catalogs and most of all ordering his art supplies. I'll tell him I think he's a very lucky man to be able to sit in all of these Boone workshops with all of the famous teachers. But, Joe, for the rest of us please keep sending us these small gifts. I love surprises.
The above painting was done recently in the Lana Grow workshop in Granbury. See blog post HERE.

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BLOG.............Nancy Standlee Art Blog

WEB SITE ........Nancy Standlee

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Daily Painters of Texas

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TEXAS CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST FINE ART DAILY PAINTER
NANCY STANDLEE ARLINGTON, TEXAS ART FOR SALE ACRYLIC

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Glory ~ Art Couture Gallery ~ Art Journal Pages ~ CO.

"Glory"
12"x12" abstract on gallery wrapped canvas on a gold gesso base
After the Robert Burridge workshop I wanted to try to paint an abstract with his method and I had about 2 days before I left for a Colorado trip. During the workshop I did two pieces on gessoed paper but to reinforce the techniques I wanted to try it at home. The small work above is my effort and it is in the Art Couture Gallery in Dallas.


This is Bob in the workshop holding his abstract demo that I purchased and it is now in my studio. Thanks Bob and Kate for a great week and I love my painting. They will post some photos from the workshop on their web page soon.

Art Journal page 85
This covers the week from April 6-10 and has an acrylic abstract on the page. Watercolor just didn't have the qualities to do the negative painting used by this technique. Included is two of my favorite "Bobisms" "Love what you do and pass it on" and "It's all been done before, but not by you."

Art Journal page 86
Trying to unpack and pack and taking care of business but wanting to paint gives you a left-right brain duel, going to the Tony Saladino critique and on to the Art Couture Gallery, and then the LLS Gala (see a previous post), then lots of weather and driving through rain, sunshine and snow and making it to Raton NM on the way to Breckenridge, CO. Some quick sketches of roadside signs and one in particular, FREE 72 oz. steak if eaten in one hour near Amarillo at the Big Texan.
Art Journal page 87
Trying another map as Danny Gregory suggests and I'm reading The Creative License, and going to about 9700 elevation from about 650 in Arlington, whew! It's usually not a pretty site for a few days while I'm trying to breathe and walk at the same time. Drew the coffee cup I purchased at the Brown Burro Cafe in Fairplay where there were foot long icicles hanging from the roof. Going from a low at night of about 50's to the 20's, brrrrr.


Art Journal page 88
Ski season officially closed this day and enters into mud season, tried the art walk in Breckenridge and most galleries were closed. I painted my face green because it was hard to walk all bundled up and I hadn't adjusted to the altitude yet. Leadville's Western Hardware Antique Mall is always a must see. Seems like a lot of people like to decorate with roosters and chickens as in Zichittella's Italian in Leadville. Later I'll make a slide show of some of the photos along the trip. At first I thought I had the wrong camera setting as several were in black and white and then realized it was cloudy, snowy and there wasn't any color.

LYLAS 5 ~ "BARBIE" ~ Contemporary Abstract Figures

SOLD
LYLAS 5 "Barbie" Acrylic
9" x 12" Gallery Wrapped Canvas, 3/4" profile black (depth)
LYLAS is Internet slang for Love You Like A Sister and it gets used a lot in the emails that fly back and forth between the nine Canvas by Canvas member collaborative group. Since I don't have a sister they all fill that special sibling spot. See the post on April 13 to read the whole story and the one day workshop I gave for the Lylas at the Upstairs Gallery.
Yesterday as I was posting and updating my web site, one of my "painting sisters", Maryann, emailed the question, "Aren't you going to give each of the Lylas one of our names?" Great idea, MAS.
And now, here she is, the one and only "Barbie"..our Barbie, Barbara Hackney.

Abstract Acrylic ~ Awakening ~ Upstairs Gallery

"Awakening"
24" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas, 1 3/8" depth gallery wrap, black edges

This is one of four abstract paintings I've completed for the Upstairs Gallery Show and will deliver them today. I wasn't planning on painting abstracts anytime soon but a chance encounter changed all that. Yesterday I "awakened" way too early after a painting dream and my mind was racing about how to get down on canvas some of the ideas in my head. Blank canvases had been sitting for months in the entry hall and I started gathering up supplies and clearing off the kitchen table. (I have a painting room upstairs but it's too cluttered, too far from the water, snacks, and cd's). This one is abstract #1.
Several things just came together - meeting Jonas Gerard at Southlake, visiting with Maureen Brouillette Sunday about seeing his performance art at Artizen, and it could have been the buffet dinner the previous evening at the Dallas Museum of Art.

The Farewell Party for Corinne Sunday at the Upstairs Gallery, Maureen front right in yellow:



Monday evening at the DMA was Arts and Letters Live and Texas Bound, stories connected and "bound" to Texas. Four short stories were read by Sally Nystuen Vahle, Ash Smith, Raphael Parry and Judith Ivey. Authors were Bret Anthony Johnston, Tim O'Brien, Sybil Raney, and Steven Salzman. (Tim O'Brien has been hailed as "the best American writer of his generation" by the San Francisco Chronicle." The buffet before the program is always fabulous. Copies of Texas Bound I and II can be purchased here.
The previous evening's food and stories could have played a part in this early morning rising and painting foray but I think it was a convergence of events that just shouted "Do it now..now is the time." And it resulted in an all day affair with some abstract paintings.
Next on the agenda, watch for Canvas by Canvas to sally forth and see what happens when 9 collaborative artists try their hand at an abstract. Stay tuned.

Pear Acrylic Painting ~ Pat Dews Workshop

"Pear" 1 of 9 10" squares Top Left To see the rest of the painting, click here:
Canvas by Canvas Whats on the Easel
I painted with the Canvas by Canvas group today in one of the member's garden room as Doug Walton was teaching at the Upstairs Gallery. Because of the 3 recent workshops I'm behind and most were painting on our Tuscany scene but I'll get to that one next week. The pears are a little more impressionistic than what we usually do and we'll have to see how the painting is received by the public.
It made me think about some of the paintings done during the past week in the Pat Dews workshop. I've also been going to thrift stores and the kitchen departments looking for "texture" stuff since class on Friday. We had a great time comparing and sharing items to make texture on our watercolor and acrylic paintings. Pat creates experimental water-media on paper and canvas and she paints the abstract essence of nature and it is very complicated. However, she treated our large class like we knew what we were doing and started our assignments with full sheets of watercolor paper and to cover the first one with texture. Don't worry about it being too busy and just try out our stuff - bubble wrap, saran wrap, newspaper, wax paper, stamps, stencils, sgraffito, collage and you just name it. Someone was always under their table scrambling for that perfect texture. We unloaded and carted mounds of supplies and laughed at the thought of Pat's bags being searched at the airport knowing what they'd find. The second sheet was more planned with white spaces and then we prepared 4 quarter sheets. Pat told us "Starts are easy, finishes are hard." We all agreed. The rest of the time we were putting on more paint, removing it or altering the painting in some way. Later in the week we all worked on a cruciform design with white space. We used inks, atomizer, watercolor, and acrylic, and brayer. Another project was to take a viewfinder and locate designs in magazines and translate those into paintings. I don't have a painting finished and ready to show yet as mine are still in the "start" stage. She uses paper plates for her palettes and when the sponge applicator isn't fast enough to apply the paint, Pat will turn up the paper plate and pour the color on. The workshop was held at the Artist's Showplace and it was a great creative environment with each member intent on their abstract work and losing themselves in the activity. Pat was great to demo and then walk around and give us personal attention and it was a learning experience to see her work and change her plan often and it takes a long time to paint a completed painting. Pat is the author of two books and a dvd, Designing Great Starts with Texture and Form, can be purchased from Cheap Joes.

Hover mouse over the slide for the caption. Some of the photos are reversed when taken in the overhead mirror but you will get the idea.