the other hand

20 x 16, acrylic on panel

When the aprons become people, it's only natural that the strings become arms. One "Hand in My Pocket," Alanis Morissette.

The other hand can do something else altogether. What freedom!

value

through the red plexiglass

To help me evaluate how a painting is working, I sometimes use a value tool called a "Color Evaluator." (Click on the name for a link to one source for this product, but I'm sure your local fabric store has something similar on the shelf.) Designed for quilters, the tool is a set of one green and one red piece of plexiglass. When I hold the plexiglass up to my eye and look through it to view my painting, I can see how my values are working. The only trouble with this is that the color of the plexi affects the read on the same color in the painting. That is, the red plexi tends to cancel out the red in the painting. The green plexi cancels out the green.

through the green plexiglass

Notice how the red in the painting disappears in the top photo where I used the red plexiglass. With the green plexiglass, the red becomes visible but the green fades.

So what? By looking at the painting through both colors of plexiglass, I get a sense of how the values are working, or not working. I decided that this painting had adequate darks and mid-tones, but was lacking the lightest lights.

"Something I Said?" 22 x 30, acrylic on paper

I added some very light areas in the apron of the figure on the right and I was more satisfied with the value range of the painting.

There is a saying that I hear often among artists:

"Value does the work and color gets the credit."

Not a bad idea to check the values. I do.

"Something Stupid."

one subject, many ideas

24 x 24, acrylic on panel

Cadmium Yellow, Quinacridone Red, Phthalo Blue (green shade), Titanium White, Mars Black. That's the limited acrylic palette I've been using since Bill Park's workshop at the beginning of January. I am amazed and intrigued by all of the color mixing possibilities of these few colors.

Speaking of limitation, I have been working with a single subject for all of these paintings, too. A printing apron (courtesy of Bill Park, thank you!). One subject, endless ideas.

John Entwistle, "Apron Strings."

act on the intuitive impulse

24 x 24, acrylic on board

Lay in paint. Respond to what the paint's doing by spraying, blotting, scraping. Stand back and look. No, don't look, SEE. Act on the intuitive impulse. And never worry that you will overwork the piece. 

New in the studio. And getting stronger with practice.

that's just some people talkin'

30 x 22, acrylic on BFK

Back in my studio, I struggle to hold on to the new ideas and energy from the workshop. My old ideas keep talking louder and drown out the awakening voice of the new ideas.

Carrie Underwood "Desperado."

workshop with Bill Park: don't stop me now!

22 x 17, acrylic on sketch paper

I know I have been to a good workshop when I come home alive with energy to paint more.

After Bill Park's five day workshop, "Painting with Pleasure, Seriously," I want to paint and never stop. I am not sure how it happened, exactly, but during the course of the five days I felt a door open inside me and I not only stepped through, I have taken a few steps to the other side.

Words seem to limit the experience, so I'll just share a few images of my new work and let them speak their thousands of words.

30 x 24, acrylic on canvas

30 x 24, acrylic on canvas

Queen "Don't Stop Me Now."

New Year's Day culling the herd

"No" on the left, "Yes" on the right.

With 534 paintings to sort through, my annual "culling the herd" day took a long time. Every New Year's Day I go through the work I've done the previous year and decide which paintings are successful (the "Yes" paintings) and which will be hosed off (the "No" paintings).

The "no" pile is always larger than the "yes" pile.

And that's okay with me. It means that I am trying things that don't always work out, but I continue to stretch for what is beyond my reach. An artist's reach should exceed her grasp, at least I think that it should.

2013. It's gonna be a great year!! "The Beat Goes On" by Patricia Barber, don't you know?

woodblock print

Penn Cove, woodblock print, 6 x 8

While working with printmaster Sharri LaPierre, I have enjoyed learning about a variety of print media processes. Most recently, I tried my hand at woodblock. Above you see the results of my first attempt.

For this print, I carved four blocks: one for the black lines, one for the yellow sections, one for the red sections, and one for the green. Carving was meditative and serene. It wasn't until I ran my first "proof" copy that I realized I needed to remove much more of the waste wood.

carving lines block

After I carved the blocks and proofed them, I printed them first on Speedball printing paper, then on Rives BFK.

The design of this print comes from my sketchbook from this summer. You can see the page below. The bold, bright colors were inspired by Hans Hoffman, whose work I saw at the Crocker Museum and Blanton Museums. I also read a biography of Hoffman by Cynthia Goodman.

sketchbook 2012 Summer Boat Trip, K. van Schoonhoven

As I look through old sketchbooks now, I wonder how the various drawings might look in woodblock! I foresee some more experimenting ahead. I'm ready!

You can watch a video about woodblock printing here.

experimentation

pastel, 7.5 x 11.5

 As the year rushes to finish itself, I am busy cleaning up from the holidays, getting rid of "things" I no longer need or want, and looking back on 2012. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

More than two months ago, I prepared the painting surface you see in the piece at the top of this post. I used molding paste and acrylic pastel medium on Rives BFK paper. It was not until yesterday that I knew what to paint on it. The texture grabbed the pastel in unexpected ways and I enjoyed skimming the pastels across the ridges with contrasting value marks.

"The true method  of knowledge is experiment." William Blake

Auld Lang Syne by the Leonard Trio.

monotype

Monotype, 30 x 22

I have been experimenting with Akua Kolor and a Pin Press to create some monotypes. There's always a magic, breath-holding moment when I lift the paper to see the results of the printing process.  This one reminds me of Franz Kline.

Franz Kline.