TATU

 One of the guest speakers that inspired me a few weeks ago on our live sessions at Cold Wax Academy, Sara Post. She showed a technique that really caught my attention. She works with collage in a novel concept. Not adding collage to a painting in progress but starting with a substrate where collage pieces were glued and using paint in a reductive way. Cool. After doing one, I started 3 more and decided that this will become a series. 

Collage

Cold Wax layers, oil sticks, 

Mark Making

My new Favani organic paper various colors 350gm

Squeegee, brayer, palette-knife +

Limited Palette

TATU

Mainly art papers I made with acrylic with my Gelli Pad. Some on transparent papers and some using newspaper as a substrate. Made a coat of gloss media between the collage pieces before mark-making and added oils with cold wax. This allows me to go back to the first collage layer. 

The word TATU was part of another word that came from a huge newspaper I got from an exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum about Jerusalem Called Status Quo. It has no real meaning on its own, just a mark or shape. Don't know if this is really finished will put aside awhile.

Basic Collage
14" x 20"
Collage
Oils and Cold Wax

Stage 4
14" x 20"
Collage
Oils and Cold Wax

Stage 6
14" x 20"
Collage
Oils and Cold Wax

TATU (WIP)

14" x 20"
Collage
Oils and Cold Wax

So good to get back into blogging. So good to be back with our weekly workshop, with our mentor Ariel Asseo

Study in Orange

Purposely left a small piece of cut canvas taped to a kappa-board on my worktable.  It called out to me. 

Cadmium Red + Yellow Ochre  Paynes Grey, my new black, white, and Buff

Ice Cream Anyone

15.5 x 15.5 "

Oils on Cut Canvas

Another underpants

 Work seems to come in spats... than a lag.. then another push.  As I write another cut-canvas awaits on the table and a few watercolor sketches also waiting to be finished or not. Too much time and not enough PUSH! So here I am instead of painting, writing!

Looking Toward New and Greener Pastures

Oils on cut canvas 21.5" x 15.5"

Collage

Decided to choose two colors of the same hue for my main color choice along with Paynes Grey, instead of black, white, and buff. The orange is an oil pastel. Felt good with this one so gave it a title influenced by Milton's Lycidas

And now the Sun had stretch'd out all the hills,

And now was dropt into the Western bay;

At last he rose, and twitch'd his Mantle blew:

To morrow to fresh Woods, and Pastures new

Hard to Decide

 Back to working on cut canvas and oils. I based this on BP#1. When I finished all the prompts, I felt it was a disaster.  Like I usually do. Thought that after a year I would have learned to accept what comes out.  Put it away because I knew I had to stop and not continue. It will continue to be a WIP until I give it a title. Did get a good review from Joan.

WIP

Oils on canvas 19.75 x 29.75"

Just a short rant. I know it is a difficult time for all, especially artists that usually have one to one workshops. But sometimes it gets to be a bit too aggressive. Not going to mention names, but I do expect that a free webinar on zoom be live and have more content than just selling.  

Sharing a Visit

This pandemic has been a difficult, trying and frustrating time, but I find it is teaching us some valuable lessons. One such lesson is, don't take things for granted.  Before the pandemic, I would make weekly visits to my daughter and grand-sons.  It's a fairly simple drive, half an hour on the major highway to Jerusalem. I took these outings for granted. Tuesday morning was art workshop day, Wednesday visit Yael. When they were much younger my weekly visits were helpful because that was the day Yael had evening classes to teach and I had to make supper, see that they took their bathes, and read before bedtime. It was a sleepover when they were still living in Aminadav, outside of Jerusalem. Since their move to Neve Shalom two years ago, the visits are easier, I can drive, and Yael usually is at home, so we enjoy a coffee together while catching up. The kids don't "need my help" but my presence is important to them. 

This changed with Covid, lockdowns and visiting restrictions.

So when I can make a visit WOW what a treat!  Noam wasn't at home because his school allows him to take part in their boarding school, two weeks at school, two weeks at home, but I had an enjoyable visit with Uri, 11, and Yael. Maybe next week Uri will start school. It was good to get out of the house in the fresh air! 

  

View from the deck

They built the house around the tree!

Zoom homeschooling

Caught Uri in the middle of his class, later went out on the deck to paint. A lesson in intuitive painting!

My creation

Gouache + oil pastel 

Uri's drawing

Uri's painting with a view of the garden

Uri's painting closeup

Gouache

Not going to take these visits "for granted."

New Work

WIP

Cut Canvas 19.75 x 27.5 "

Graphite Mark Making

WIP

Cut Canvas 19.75 x 27.5 "

First layers using prompts

colored pencil oil pastels oils

Love for Carmine and Turquoise

 With a few new cut canvas pieces from my friend Traudi. Back to oils and prompts!

Hidden Face. Adorned with happy flowers!

Oils on Cut Canvas

10.5" x 15" 

Traveling. Through Floating Galaxies and Stars

Oils on Cut Canvas

10.5" x 15" 

In Middle of the Night

Intuition comes very close to clairvoyance; it appears to be the extrasensory perception of reality. (Alexis Carrel)

Our weekly workshops have started, masks and all. So great to meet with my artist friends. We are so fortunate to have a huge space for our meetings and having a relatively small group. I hope it won't be cut short with this second wave, which is totally out of control here!

Took a cut canvas, my prompts, and oils. Great to work in oils again. This is what Joan calls the underpants. That is no editing after the prompts! As usual, I took it home and placed against my chest of drawers, guess I must have flipped 180. Looking at it fresh this morning I saw that my friend Jen had crept into my painting in the middle of the night!

A Secret Visit in the Middle of the Night

17.5 " x 25"

Oils on Cut Canvas

Detail

I Try

A Home for the Soul...The pleasure of the soul appears to be found in the journey of discovery, the unfolding revelation of expanded insight and experience. (Anthony Lawlor)

I try to go to each painting with an open mind. I hope that each painting will somehow bring out what is hiding inside me. I try to recognize in the painting the signs that are reaching out. I try!

Art-itude xi Start

20 x 20"

Collage and scribbles

Art-itude xi WIP
20" x 20"
Oils over collage on cardboard

Archie II

I am not a mystical person. Capricon has me pretty grounded! But I do have a treasured deck of Oracle cards my late sister designed.  She always dreamed of publishing them but sadly it didn't happen. I received copies in high resolution from a close friend of hers and did print up several decks for family and friends. I also have her written guide describing all the cards. I like to play around with them and have come to the conclusion that every card will and can touch everyone in one manner or another whether consciously or unconsciously. So, in that way they work, getting one to think about issues in a new light. I also like reading her guide as some sort of connection. Pretty mystical for a Capricorn! Today my card was luxury!

Meaning: To have joy and take comfort in the things that one has is not a sin. As there are always those who have more than us and there are always those who have less, our enjoyment must come from the experience itself. A man who has lived in the streets will find luxury in a simple clean home. So it is more the perspective you bring to the situation then the situation itself that causes one to call a thing luxurious.  Asha

Flying to Outer Worlds

21.5" x 15"

Oils on cardboard

Off to the luxury of our community pool!

Please forgive me Archie

Archie was a neighbor. Archie was a friend. Archie was an artist, mainly sculpture but did paintings, sketches in lots of media. I inherited a lot of substrates, drawing blocks when the person that bought his house from his son, started cleaning his attic studio and threw them in the street. In some of his drawing pads, there are still some lovely charcoal sketches. On one of the boards, there was an abstract acrylic painting. I didn't have the heart to throw away. At one point I did cut it half and found one half and decided to use it as a background. It will still live on as part of new work. I am sorry that I didn't photograph the original. Now, where is that other half?

Started a few art-itude prompts Palette teal, chromatic black, white, and buff. Orange oil pastel for my first marks. Background Archie Talor! haven't really decided on its orientation,

WIP

21.5" x 15"

Oils on cardboard

Art-itude IX Castles in the Sky

 " Studio Ghosts: When you're in the studio painting, there are a lot of people in there with you. Your teachers, friends, paintings from history, critics...and one by one, if you're really painting, they walk out. and if you're really painting, you walk out." Audrey Flack Art and Soul

Re-posting this quote. Yesterday we discussed in feedback something on that line. I said that sometimes I don't know who is doing the painting, and he replied that's a great state to be.

Great day at my workshop yesterday. Finished a piece, at least till I decide to fuss some more. Separated diptychs, Reuven agreed that divided and with a small mat they are best and made a new start. So grateful to be able to have this workshop. Meeting my artist friends and working together.  We may continue in July!

I Want to Fly to the Castles in the Sky

Mixed Media

Acrylics Oils Oil Pastels Graphite Pencil

20" x 20"

Light cardboard

Don't know what came over me the other day! I was in the middle of an art-itude and was cleaning my palette of some dark grey with water and decided to pour it over like a milky wash. I didn't like the drips so with my roller went over the whole mess. Desaster! It was like something took over kept going with oil pastels, smudged with oil, and graphite pencil. Finally, put it aside.

Took it to workshop and discussed it with Reuven, who usually doesn't like to make suggestions referred me to an Israeli Painter by the name of Moshe Kupferman who uses flat painted areas to contrast busy sections

Diptych in Purples

Art is a rare pursuit where participants have to learn to ring their own bells.

Robert Genn

When working in oils I usually work one two or more pieces. This allows me not to get bored or wrapped up in one painting or in one section. Putting work aside and looking at it even after a few minutes often allows a fresh look.  Sometimes in my workshop when I take a coffee break, way across the room, and look at the work really from afar I also get a new perspective. So I worked the green diptych together with the purple one using the same color palette. Only the underlying collage pieces were different. The color palette is Azo Gold, as close as I could get, black, usually chromatic, white, and buff titanium. These were the colors given by my "bossy" instructor!

WIP
Each panel 6" x 18"
Oils on cut canvas
Collage
Digitally Framed

Collage Start

WIP

Still unseparated

Diptych Greens

Had some strips of long narrow cut canvas and decided to make a Diptych. Taped them with a border on cardboard in order to work with them together. Started with collaging with some colored blobs from my stack of acrylic palette papers that I save, I use regular sandwich paper.  Then started working  with prompts in oils

WIP

18" x 6"

Oils on cutcanvas

Collage

Digital Frame

Collage Start

Still Taped WIP

Reuven suggested that I keep it as one so I separated them in PS and added a frame to see how they would look. Thoughts

One plus Eight

More Corona Isolation Paintings

Taped 

Free

After cutting my large sheet of paper into a square format the remainder I cut into smaller pieces around 8" x  10". I taped them to heavy cardboard and painted them as one piece. After separating them I trimmed them to the same size so I could play with their orientation.  These were then digitally framed with a neat program called Fotosketcher.

 

At the same time painted on a quarter sheet.

WIP

13,75" x 19.75"

Acrylics on 240 gm Cartridge Paper(Bristol)

Click on images to enlarge.

PS Have made an online shop on Blogger. Thoughts and suggestions, please!

Art-itude VI 2

Finished the prompts plus... sometimes I can't stop fiddling! Blame Cookie! Where do these figures come from? Reuven says don't go with them but I sort of like them! The yellow is not so ochre, it's more of a dirty greenish yellow. I will try to capture a better shot with my better camera.

WIP

Oils on cut canvas 

19.5" x 27"

Reminder

Got rid of that hair!

Art-itude V oils 2

Finished all the prompts, not in the same order because of the oils. Have to make compromises. Looking back I can hardly recognize that this is the same painting. Happens!

WIP

Oils on heavy brown board

20" x 20"

Reminder

Art-itude VI Oils on Canvas

 " Studio Ghosts: When you're in the studio painting, there are a lot of people in there with you. Your teachers, friends, paintings from history, critics...and one by one, if you're really painting, they walk out. and if you're really painting, you walk out." Audrey Flack Art and Soul

That is how I feel sometimes, mostly after I have been working. I look and ask who did that?
However not with this piece!

WIP

Oils on cut canvas

19.5" x 27"

First marks Oil Pastels

Not a happy camper with this piece. I think I'll start all over again. I have been staring at it all week and somehow escapes me. Maybe I will let Cookie have a free hand!

Art-itude V Oils

"The object isn't to make art. It's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable." Robert Henri

How wonderful it was to go back to my weekly workshop.  Brought 2 substrates to work on, one heavy brown paper board and cut canvas wrapped around cardboard. Not all the prompts are compatible with oils so I had to compromise but getting back to oils, the creamy consistency and smells were delightful. Loved working on the paper, less on the canvas. Both are still in their first stages, only did half the prompts, so hopefully, on Tuesday I will continue.

WIP

Oils on heavy brown board

20" x 20"

First Marks Graphite Pencil

Oils on heavy brown board

20" x 20"

For the first marks, about 69, one for each day in isolation, I was inspired by the simple drawings of Paul Klee.  Done with graphite on the paper and oil pastel on the canvas. I like the minimalistic feel about this painting. Probably won't do much, but at the same time I don't want to get attached. Hard sometimes to distinguish between attachment and work done!