Icons of Christ

These are two small icons of Christ. I've learned a lot about painting faces and layering paint from this process, I've also been able to really think in depth about the redemption story as I painted this holy face.

RECENT ICONS

I've spent much time recently painting and meditating and working on a group of icons. This is the Hodagetria. The first is a small version (9x12) I just finished and the next is a large (12x16) that I did last year and just put the finishing touches on.

Lakeside

Another nostalgic lakeside image. Lake Michigan is an amazing gift!

BAPTISM 2

This piece is hot off the presses. It's pastel and oil pastel on gray paper. I think it will fit well into the Children of the Covenant show we're having in the ARTery at Church of the Servant during Advent.

BAPTISM 1

This image is from a few sketches that have been done during church (yes, I was also listening while I was drawing). This was the wrong size for a frame I already had and so I thought I'd do it again.

Lakeshore

Just a little 5x7 sketch to mark the official end of summer. [SIGH]
It's been a good one!

A new favorite painting

This little 6x6 painting is MINE! I have to look at this for a long time.
I wish I could keep all my work this fresh and fast!

BARACK!

This isn't normally a political blog (don't get me started!) My daughter saw Barack Obama yesterday at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado and was very impressed, that's her on the left. They got to sit in the 7th row! What a great opportunity. I'm reminded of seeing RFK when he was in Grand Rapids in '68. I was a Kennedy 'girl'. I still have the pictures somewhere!

and yet more letters...

This is the fourth and last in the series. I still don't have an adequate title for them.

and more letters...

Another finished piece in the series.

more letters...

I think this one is done. I'll know more when I get a chance to revisit it in my studio next week.

The show in Grandville Library came down today and now all my artwork is home to roost except for the pieces at the Fire and Water Gallery. Now I have to start gearing up for the show at the Terryberry Gallery in December.

There are many new pieces waiting to be photographed. That will come soon.

Letters...

I haven't blogged in a while. We've had great times vacationing and I have a lot of irons in the fire that are midway. This is one of them. I have a series of pieces with random printed letters, some on acid free tissue. Right now they are 'marinating', waiting me to look at them and know what the next step will be.

OUR LADY OF THE BURNING BUSH

This isn't a particularly good photo but you get the idea.

This icon is the product of a five day workshop at the Franciscan Center in Lowell. This is a meditative process, not an artistic one. There are layers and layers of paint and we all proceeded through the steps at the same time. It was a great group of people, lovely weather and a wonderful place to be.

Icons are done in semantic language- symbolic, not literal. This icon reflects Mary's status as the vessel that held the burning coal of God and was not consumed. The burning bush that Moses saw prefigured the Incarnation of Christ through Mary but it is an apt symbol and I think the image is a beautiful one. The week was full of prayer and reflection. Our teacher, Diane Hamel was patient and Spirit filled. It was a great week. She reminded us often to make each brush stroke a prayer. If I know you personally there's probably a brush stroke and prayer incorporated in this icon with your name attached. If you're just randomly reading this post- there's a prayer for you too, because I knew I would post it on this blog. Blessings on you.

Fall Camp Tosebo Trunk House

I just developed an old roll of film- Walgreen's had a deal where they'd develop one roll for free. It's been sitting in my old camera. This was the only shot worth anything, but I think it's a doozy. This is the Trunk House at Camp Tosebo in the fall. Can't wait to be up there again!

CRANBROOK MORNING

This is yet another painting I've reworked this year. I just put a couple of hours into it and I like the result. This one is destined to go to Colorado. My daughter had custody of this one for a number of years and then it came 'home'. Now it will follow her out to Golden, Colorado.

LAYER UPON LAYER 3

LAYER UPON LAYER 2

new finished piece- LAYER UPON LAYER 1

This is the result of some painting experiments done over the last year or so. Layer upon layer.

REJOICE!

This piece is 7"x9" and has been waiting for a few years to be finished. This is it.

Layers of life- people's choice

This piece, BLOODLINES, (40"Wx30"H, mixed media) was one of the people's choice award winners in the Layers of Life show at the Franciscan Center. I just found out about the award today and I'm still a little amazed!

We also had to write a paragraph about it. Here's what I wrote:








Blood lines is built over layers of former paintings on a canvas I’ve owned for twenty years. Some areas are textured and impastoed with a variety of materials. It’s collaged with fabric, tissue, and photos of ancestors layered over a grid of horizontals and verticals with bits and pieces of debris from my studio life. The varied shapes and lines create a kind of map of territory that evolved over time. It is a continuum of history arranged in an intuitive composition.

Reception in Lowell on Saturday, July 19, 5-7

I was honored to have a nice article written about my show at the Lowell Chamber of Commerce by Emma Palova of the Lowell Ledger. I've tried uploading this article six different ways for it to be readable, but you get the idea. If you'd really like to read it, click on the image and it will open readable in a new window.

Emma took the photo too. I thought she did a great job!

There's going to be a little reception for my show at the Lowell Chamber of Commerce
on Saturday,
July 19, from 5-7.
The show isn't large (18 pieces) but the venue is lovely- right across from the showboat on the beautiful Flat River, behind the Flat River Grill. The Chamber is at 113 Riverwalk Plaza in Lowell. (To get there- M-21 turns into Lowell's Main Street and just over the bridge past the Flat River Grill you can turn left on Washington and another left right away into the parking lot behind the chamber.)

It should be a nice time to visit and share some wine and snacks on a summer evening on the river. Lowell's also a lovely place for a stroll. If you've never been to the Fire and Water ART Showroom at 219 West Main where I am among a stellar collection of 25 artists gathered by 'local art guru' Kathleen Mooney, you could see more of my work there. The showroom is open until 6 on Saturday, so you could get two art experiences for the price of one!

new business cards

Just another aspect of being an artist. I spent time creating these today on Photoshop and also making labels and an artist's statement for a show at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in downtown Grand Rapids. I'm hanging that tomorrow.

nothing new

no new art to post, unless you want to see a photo of my bathroom. I'm painting some of it gray that used to be white. woohoo!

or I could post work of students I've taught or business cards I designed for a friend... time to spend time in the studio and do my own painting!

GATHERED TOGETHER #1

This piece was purchased by Pine Rest Christian Hospital after my show with Mary E. Andersen in the Postma Worship Center's, Leep Gallery. It's always fun to see where these pieces go on their journey after I create them and frame them. Some stay with me a while before they find their true home. I hope this piece is a blessing to the people who see it in the context where it is finally hung.

Saint Theresa's Prayer

This was sent to me as a prayer by St Theresa, but I can't attest for the provenance.
It is, however, a beautiful prayer and worth sharing, I think.

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

SHAPE JOURNEY #4 +5

These are the finished pieces ready for framing.

WIP= works in progress

Works in progress- they already look very different. New post soon.

DAWN OVER 96

This painting was also recently revisited, reworked and framed. I'll be hanging this at the Lowell Chamber of Commerce building at 113 Riverwalk Plaza (across from the showboat). The show will feature 10-13 of my acrylic paintings and my dancer photos. It runs June 15- September 5. The title is appropriate for this venue because 96 runs right past Lowell. This painting is 30"x40".

Lowell is a great little town! and the Chamber is just a short walk down the street from Fire and Water ART! at 219 West Main where I'm honored to be among 25 talented artists who have their work on display.

CHANGE

I guess I'm in a time of change- I saw this piece in a frame and popped it out to add some lighter elements. It was called MORPHING COMPOSITION, and now it's called CHANGE. I guess it kept morphing! and it still could change!

BACK YARD POPPIES and BACKYARD IRIS

Once upon a time in 1993 this was one painting. Today it became two paintings and I like the result!

WALK IN THE SPIRIT

The bottom image is 19x24 (the other parts are closeups). It was inspired by Pentecost and the languages and people who share in the heritage of the Christian faith- all walking in the Spirit! The languages were from iggogle where you can type in a phrase and have it translated into many languages!

quotes from the Painter's Keys

"Rest not! Life is sweeping by; go dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

This is the latest inspirational quote from Robert Genn, a Canadian artist who send out a Twice Weekly email letter about art. Each posting has a clickback where you can tread selected responses to the last email. I find it fascinating and so do thousands of other artists. The man is a power house and full to the brim with ideas and her has a staff the helps him with the labor involved. What a gift to all the artists who read his work!

arise and shine

Someone called with interest in this piece...just after I'd taken it out of Uptown Gallery in Grand Haven! If you're checking this site to see this piece again (you know who you are) it is still available. You may want to search the blog to see earlier postings about it. There's a great quote that goes with it.

We could negotiate a price without frame and glass and I could ship it to you carefully wrapped with the acid free mat and foamcore. Thanks for your interest. Call me or email me through my website listed under links.

SHAPE JOURNEY #2 +3

These are tough to photograph because they have so much texture and sheen. They are the same composition rendered in different colors and orientations. They mirror each other.

MEDITATION #7

This piece is a continuation of the Meditation series I started in 2008.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

Another recently finished mixed media piece.