Palette Painting #3
Acrylic, collage and Styrofoam on canvas/ 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Weekend Finds
The table is solid wood and still has a functioning early 60's Singer sewing machine inside it that flips up when you open the top. We paid $10 for it. I've not yet decided whether I will paint the whole piece out a lacquered white or just refinish the top (there's a small spot where the finish worn). I guess it depends where it ends up at our next place.
The mid-century lamp needs to be rewired (easily done) and I repaired a hairline crack in the paper shade (it's at the back on the bottom and not something you'd even see when displayed).
We paid a whopping $6 for it.
The mid-century lamp needs to be rewired (easily done) and I repaired a hairline crack in the paper shade (it's at the back on the bottom and not something you'd even see when displayed).
We paid a whopping $6 for it.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Stamped Pendants
I recently received a request for a pendant with a leaf-less tree design. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to collage an image of a tree or paint it (freehand) onto the pendant. Then I remembered my pile of barely used lino-cut materials and decided to carve out this little tree stamp to introduce a new element to the Abstract Pendant designs.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Weekend in the Country
We took mini road-trip (about 5 hours) to our old stomping grounds in Northeast PA over the weekend. We stayed with our dear friends Gwen and Art in Milford, where we co-owned an art gallery with them. Milford is a historic little 1-light town (there is literally only one traffic light in the entire town) on the Delaware river.
Milford is a mellow place. It makes for a lovely weekend trip (you can do pretty much all there is to do in town in about a day and a half; two and a half if you venture out for some canoeing down the Delaware LOL). This was our first visit in about 5 years. While not much has changed, it was nice to see a few more art galleries and art-inclusive shops in town.
Crossing the Delaware.
Our gallery was located in this building; historic Forest Hall.
Gwen and Art's storybook stone house.
Breakfast in the back garden was a true B&B-like treat.
Milford is a mellow place. It makes for a lovely weekend trip (you can do pretty much all there is to do in town in about a day and a half; two and a half if you venture out for some canoeing down the Delaware LOL). This was our first visit in about 5 years. While not much has changed, it was nice to see a few more art galleries and art-inclusive shops in town.
Crossing the Delaware.
Our gallery was located in this building; historic Forest Hall.
Gwen and Art's storybook stone house.
Breakfast in the back garden was a true B&B-like treat.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
More Minis
These guys are not Palette Paintings, but relate to them in size and display.
Each is an original acrylic and collage piece. They are a great way to add a tiny and affordable (only $22!) touch of art to just about anywhere. Miniature art is a great option for those with limited wall space. Great on a desk, display shelf or mantle; even a window sill!
Code
acrylic and collage on canvas/ 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Sonic
acrylic and collage on canvas/ 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Each is an original acrylic and collage piece. They are a great way to add a tiny and affordable (only $22!) touch of art to just about anywhere. Miniature art is a great option for those with limited wall space. Great on a desk, display shelf or mantle; even a window sill!
Code
acrylic and collage on canvas/ 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Sonic
acrylic and collage on canvas/ 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Palette Paintings
I've been wanting to do something with my used palettes for quite some time. My original idea was to use sections of them in larger abstract compositions. The more I played around with the palettes the clearer it became to me that they should be the stars of the show rather than supporting players.
I've decided to salvage parts of them by sectioning off 2 1/2" squares that appeal to me and creating abstract compositions by embellishing these sections with collage elements. I think it will be a fun ongoing side-project.
Palette Painting 1
acrylics/collage and Styrofoam on canvas
Palette Painting 2
acrylics/collage and Styrofoam on canvas
I've decided to salvage parts of them by sectioning off 2 1/2" squares that appeal to me and creating abstract compositions by embellishing these sections with collage elements. I think it will be a fun ongoing side-project.
Palette Painting 1
acrylics/collage and Styrofoam on canvas
Palette Painting 2
acrylics/collage and Styrofoam on canvas
Monday, August 9, 2010
New Abstract Pendants
New abstract pendants (and more in the works!) are now available through A Show of Hands (703) 683-2905. Each pendant measures 1 1/4" square inch and is a one-of-a-kind miniature acrylic and collage painting. Each comes with a sterling silver chain.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Purple Romance
Three new abstract pendants have been added to my Etsy Store.
Into each, I collaged a piece from the dedication in back of an old photo I came across. The photo itself was ripped and too far gone to save so I decided to give the words a chance to shine in a new form and on their own right.
Love Letter
Roses
Untitled
Into each, I collaged a piece from the dedication in back of an old photo I came across. The photo itself was ripped and too far gone to save so I decided to give the words a chance to shine in a new form and on their own right.
Love Letter
Roses
Untitled
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Not Your Mother's Decorative Art: Interview With Martha Marshall
Martha Marshall is a full time professional artist who works closely with the corporate Interior Design trade and private collectors throughout the US and abroad. Creating stunning custom works while retaining the individuality of her strong artistic voice has been the key to her success in a market that is often overlooked by many artists.
Haiku36
acrylic on panel
8" x 8"
JG: In 1997 you left the corporate world behind to become a full time artist. How did that world influence your style?
MM: I don't think it had much influence on my artistic style, but being in the corporate world did influence my approach to the business side of being an artist. It gave me a very practical grounding in marketing my art, keeping good records, and presenting myself professionally.
JG: You are a self-proclaimed "decorative" painter and say your pieces are "meant to be more experienced than analyzed". How so?
MM: My work is nonobjective. I like to have viewers bring their experience to it and interact with it without a lot of prompting. It is not art with a message. It comes from a more emotional place, expressed in colors, subtle shapes and textures.
Regarding the word "decorative", I also present work for the interior design trade. That's the commercial side to what I do, which pays the bills. But there's a separate body of work that isn't commercially driven but reflects my own explorations and creative growth every day in the studio.
JG: I, personally, find it refreshing to see the word put out there by a fellow artist, actually. There is snobbery, I think, about the word because many feel art is supposed to only be raw and temperamental and couldn't possibly be real if it caters to a specific decor. I just don't buy into that school of thought. Design and decor are very real markets and yet so easily dismissed by many artists. It just makes for many missed opportunities, in my opinion.
MM: I'm so glad you brought that up. It reminds me of something a soap star said years ago in an interview. He said there are two kinds of actors: employed and unemployed. I have taken that wise counsel to heart. I'm not a snob about my art, and am thrilled that I can enjoy some income from it.
Elements 7
acrylic on panel
8" x 8"
JG: Your most recent work is executed almost exclusively on cradled panels measuring 8"x 8". As a faithful reader of your blog, I know just how excited you get when a new shipment of panels arrives at your door. What is it about panels (vs. canvas or paper) that bring out the child-on-Christmas-morning in you?
MM: Practically speaking, I like the panels for their rigidity. Their uniformity of size allows them to work in all kinds of configurations as groupings. I love to work in multiples, so it is exciting when I have plenty of them around. Maybe it's because I know that out of a dozen tries I will get a fair percentage of successes.
Their creative appeal for me is that each small square is a little window into some imagined larger world, or may suggest a fragment of something discarded, aged, or worn down by nature and the passage of time.
JG: In your paintings, texture certainly does not take a backseat to color. Is there much planning or do you work instinctively to achieve these rich variations?
MM: I try to be as spontaneous as possible and not over-think the process. That's one reason I like to work on several at a time, to keep from getting "stuck." I keep moving from one to the next improvising as I go with texture, color, and marks, and then if the process slows down in any way, I leave that one and come back to it fresh later.
Haiku 34
acrylic on panel
8" x 8"
JG: There is a beautiful "grit" in a lot of your work, yet the overall effect remains quite chic. How do you achieve this balance?
MM: I think that balance is exactly what I am going for all the time. It just isn't something I can push too hard. It's a matter of starting out in a big bold way with a wide brush stroke or a strong textural passage, then responding to that in a way that builds on and deepens the richness of the surface. There may be many subtle layers going on between that big stroke and the final surface of the painting, allowing it to peek through. I love lots of translucency and patina. The more layers, the more mystery.
Martha Marshall shares much of her artistic process through her wonderful blog, An Artist'sJournal and is represented by various galleries, including Michael Murphy Gallery in Tampa, FL.
Haiku36
acrylic on panel
8" x 8"
JG: In 1997 you left the corporate world behind to become a full time artist. How did that world influence your style?
MM: I don't think it had much influence on my artistic style, but being in the corporate world did influence my approach to the business side of being an artist. It gave me a very practical grounding in marketing my art, keeping good records, and presenting myself professionally.
JG: You are a self-proclaimed "decorative" painter and say your pieces are "meant to be more experienced than analyzed". How so?
MM: My work is nonobjective. I like to have viewers bring their experience to it and interact with it without a lot of prompting. It is not art with a message. It comes from a more emotional place, expressed in colors, subtle shapes and textures.
Regarding the word "decorative", I also present work for the interior design trade. That's the commercial side to what I do, which pays the bills. But there's a separate body of work that isn't commercially driven but reflects my own explorations and creative growth every day in the studio.
JG: I, personally, find it refreshing to see the word put out there by a fellow artist, actually. There is snobbery, I think, about the word because many feel art is supposed to only be raw and temperamental and couldn't possibly be real if it caters to a specific decor. I just don't buy into that school of thought. Design and decor are very real markets and yet so easily dismissed by many artists. It just makes for many missed opportunities, in my opinion.
MM: I'm so glad you brought that up. It reminds me of something a soap star said years ago in an interview. He said there are two kinds of actors: employed and unemployed. I have taken that wise counsel to heart. I'm not a snob about my art, and am thrilled that I can enjoy some income from it.
Elements 7
acrylic on panel
8" x 8"
JG: Your most recent work is executed almost exclusively on cradled panels measuring 8"x 8". As a faithful reader of your blog, I know just how excited you get when a new shipment of panels arrives at your door. What is it about panels (vs. canvas or paper) that bring out the child-on-Christmas-morning in you?
MM: Practically speaking, I like the panels for their rigidity. Their uniformity of size allows them to work in all kinds of configurations as groupings. I love to work in multiples, so it is exciting when I have plenty of them around. Maybe it's because I know that out of a dozen tries I will get a fair percentage of successes.
Their creative appeal for me is that each small square is a little window into some imagined larger world, or may suggest a fragment of something discarded, aged, or worn down by nature and the passage of time.
JG: In your paintings, texture certainly does not take a backseat to color. Is there much planning or do you work instinctively to achieve these rich variations?
MM: I try to be as spontaneous as possible and not over-think the process. That's one reason I like to work on several at a time, to keep from getting "stuck." I keep moving from one to the next improvising as I go with texture, color, and marks, and then if the process slows down in any way, I leave that one and come back to it fresh later.
Haiku 34
acrylic on panel
8" x 8"
JG: There is a beautiful "grit" in a lot of your work, yet the overall effect remains quite chic. How do you achieve this balance?
MM: I think that balance is exactly what I am going for all the time. It just isn't something I can push too hard. It's a matter of starting out in a big bold way with a wide brush stroke or a strong textural passage, then responding to that in a way that builds on and deepens the richness of the surface. There may be many subtle layers going on between that big stroke and the final surface of the painting, allowing it to peek through. I love lots of translucency and patina. The more layers, the more mystery.
Martha Marshall shares much of her artistic process through her wonderful blog, An Artist'sJournal and is represented by various galleries, including Michael Murphy Gallery in Tampa, FL.
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