The Art Blog

I have been painting night and day these last few weeks as I finish up the work for my upcoming show, Trespassing,  that opens in only 9 more days.The painting featured above is titled Witnesses and is based on the surveyor's term: Witness Tree. This refers to the trees close to a section corner. The surveyor blazed them and noted their position relative to the corner in his notebook. Witness trees are used as evidence for the corner location. I think it sounds like poetry. This show is inspired by the idea of crossing defined boundaries in an attempt to discover new territory so some of the work is titled after survey and land use terms. Work is starting to pile up in the studio. Several very large-scale encaustic works will be featured in this show and I hope you’ll join me at the Pacini Lubel Gallery for the opening event on February 3rd from 6 to 8. Once I wrap up all the art and finish my pre-show details I will share some additional work images and post my...

  I am just back from a magical holiday retreat to Costa Rica and I feel compelled to share some of the amazing modern art I discovered in the capital city of San Jose. One of my stops was a  visit to the Costa Rica Museum of Art where they allowed me to photograph a few of my favorite images. This museum is housed in what was once the country's first airport and the works are focused on the contemporary art of this charming Central American country. In this photo you can see the control tower that was part of the original airport and is now home to the Costa Rica Museum of Art The collection is small but rich and enticing and well worth the trip. I gravitated toward these soulful portraits all created by Costa Rican artists over the past century. At the top of this entry is a detail from a larger work created by Fernando Carballo Jimenez in 1980 titled , Custodia , and is my favorite piece in the collection. Below are...

Last night I attended the Annual Open House event at the Equinox Studios   located in the south Seattle industrial area known as Georgetown . Even the torrential rains did not keep art enthusiasts away and the place was packed. The studios here are filled with some very talented folks in a wide range of creative disciplines. One of my favorite aspects of the evening was the poetry readings. The first took place on an improvised platform appropriately called the Fork Lift Stage .    Poet, Greg Bem, climbs high on the Fork Lift Stage.  Poetry was blasted throughout the warehouse setting and a small crowd gathered to listen. FORKLIFT POETRY included poems read by: Kim Ionesco, Deborah Henry, Richard Lemmert, Greg Bem, M. Anne Sweet, emcee - NIGHTSHIFT POETRY included poems read by Sasha Goodwin, Alex O. Bleecker, Paul Nelson, Jack Remick, M. Anne Sweet, emcee  Painter, Melinda Hannigan, in her Equinox studio. Artist, Gail Howard, discuss...

A flash caught my eye as I was getting out of my car a few days ago. Something stood out against the grays of the urban landscape and as I bent down to inspect it I discovered this amazing red leaf. The spotting and discoloration reminds me of a ribcage or spinal column. “Such beautiful decay.” I thought to myself as I scooped it up and brought it into the studio. This leaf has stirred something but I am not sure what the results will be yet. Right now it’s just a feeling, that flutter of inspiration mixed with intuition that comes before the act of creating. The next step is to translate all of that into an image. Perhaps it will just manifest as a color pallet in reds, golds, tobacco…or as a simple composition. It’s quite possible that by the time the work is completed the leaf's influence will be so far removed that it will be imperceptible. Still, it represents a wonderful jumping off point and I am feeling the pull of this tiny red leaf as it waits for me in the studio. A ...

 Knowledge is Power! Encaustic Workshops are starting soon and I have structured a special program specifically for the passionate beginner. Classes are held in my working studio with full access to all of my equipment and materials. This also means the number of students per session is limited. Smaller class size will result in lots of individualized attention for each participant. The classes are set up as  2-day immersive workshops designed to get you started and build your confidence or simply regain your enthusiasm for working with wax. Day-1 We will cover all the basics and get you familiar with using the materials. This includes safe studio practices, demonstrations and supplier resources. Day- 2  The second day will feature demos of specialized techniques and some of my secrets for creating unusual effects. Space is limited so contact me if you wish to participate. First workshop takes place Dec 4 & 5 , 2010....

I don’t know where to begin… Last weekend’s opening event at the INScape Arts Building was an overwhelming success. Nearly 3000 visitors walked through the art studios, installations and corridors of the historic INS building. The Seattle Times featured a front page article highlighting the event and public radio station KPLU interviewed many of the participants (including me). This project has attracted some amazing and talented artists and performers who are making their own history and breathing new life into this 80 year old landmark. Too many to list them all but here are just a few worth mentioning: The image above features dancers from  Manifold Motion . The dancers are moving in a room filled with fresh soil. They occupy three spaces on the main floor where they will be performing until the end of November. For performance times and ticket information check out manifoldmotion.com . Scroll down to see more of the art and installations on display. Artist Jen M...

OPENING EVENT  - this weekend! Sat OCT 16TH - & Sun OCT 17TH , 2010 Art in the former INS building: sculpture, painting, dance, installation, video, sound, light, apocalyptic golf, live music Saturday: Noon - Midnight Sunday: Noon - 6pm Free Admission 815 Airport Way S. www.InscapeArts.org PASSAGES For the first time since its opening in 1930, you can tour the entire building, exploring the Passages installations as well as visiting the studios of more than 30 artists working in the building and breathing new life into these spaces. PASSAGES ARTISTS: Amineh Ayyad, Barbara Robertson, Chris Buening, Christian French, Danse Perdue, Demi Raven, Evan Shauss, Gail Howard, Helen Gamble, Jacob Fennell, Ju-Pong Lin, Katy Krantz, Ladan Yalzadeh, Manifold Motion, Meg Hartwig, Meghan Trainor, Michael Lyons, Nickolus Meisel, Romson Bustillo, Sidney Ji, Smash Putt, Sol Hashemi, Tim Marsden and more... OPEN STUDIOS Alicia Tormey, Anthony Weathers, Bonnie Foster, Caroline Kapp...