Mini 9

A factoid about me - I wrote a Master's thesis on winged figures in art; so I've seen a lot of winged figures, and many of them (even the not so good ones) now occupy my mental real estate for better or worse. Mini 9 is the largest mini to date, coming in at the specified maximum size limit for the project, 5 x 7 in. Like Mini 7, it uses a gray scale + gold palette (another favorite of mine). I'm still thinking this one through, trying to decide if I'd like to produce a larger scale work along this line. I have a 36 x 36" canvas gessoed and ready and hope to start working on it tomorrow, so I'll have to think fast!

Miniature #9 - September 18 - 24, 2011, 5 x 7 in, mixed media on canvas

Westobou show and Mini 8

Firstly - upcoming group exhibition as part of the Westobou Art's Festival in Augusta, GA (Sept. 29 - Oct. 8)! Check out the show, "Ancora Imparo" and the rest of the Westobou calendar of events at: http://westoboufestival.com/festival/events/visual.html

Ok, now that I've done the self-promotion thing like a good artist :), onward to Mini 8 ->

I had a lot going on this week personally and professionally, and I thought for about 2 seconds that I'd have to use the "emergency week," the week of no mini, which I built into the project originally (50 miniatures a year, not 52, the other mini-less week being the week between Christmas and New Years). The idea of a week with no mini made me sad, and I was able to focus and produce Mini 8 (which is 2-sided after all that.) I enjoy this piece and have already worn it. The motif comes from some of the work I did over the summer, currently on display at Estel Gallery in Nashville (see previous entry or online at -http://www.estelgallery.com/exhibitions.html).

Miniature #8 - September 11 - 17, 2011, 2 x 1 in, two-sided, ink and color pencil on paper

Mini 7

So 7 weeks into this project, I feel like I may be starting to get the hang of this (somewhat, a little). Working on the same scale this week as mini 1 (3.5 x 2.5 in), I am feeling more comfortable with the tiny scale and have also benefited from some specialized equipment - thank you Mom for the magnification light! After the extreme neatness of mini 6, I needed a change, and so I made mini 7 with a different technique - one which involves wiping the whole image out over and over. It's a layering technique which involves some erasure, and I'm really liking how gritty and dark the image got. The bird is actually metallic gold and a bit shiny. The whole little painting looks a bit to me like the love child of a Brancusi sculpture and a Francis Bacon painting. While I say that jokingly, I used to be a gallery guard in a museum which had works by both artists (as well as by Cornell, another favorite), and I revisited this collection for the first time in years over the summer, and so I do think that maybe it's been rolling around in my mind ever since. Lastly, for those keen observers out there, that is mini 2 that I'm wearing as a necklace in this painting.

Miniature #7 - September 4 - 10, 2011, 3.5 x 2.5 in, mixed media on board

Mini 6

I present to you mini 6. No need to adjust your screen saturation, the palette for this work is black and white with just a hint of color. It's a palette I particularly like and have come to think of as "gray+." This week's mini is mixed media on panel and presented some challenges in that I ended up spending much of the week preparing the panel; however, I think the added prep time ultimately paid off - though it's difficult to see in the photo, the finished surface is almost perfectly smooth! While it may seem odd that I'm so excited by a quality that basically comes down to neatness (yes, the '!' was intentional), it's actually taken me years of guess and check to arrive at the technique for obtaining this type of surface. A hint on my methods - it necessitates much sanding, some cleaning of the environment, and occasional removal of dust which has dried into the surface with a scalpel, then even more sanding. While I do find the surface satisfying, it was a push to finish this one in time (as my friend and neighbor can attest, my studio lights often burn into the no-longer-so-wee hours of the morning), so I while I haven't decided yet what next week's mini will be, I'm pretty sure it won't be on panel.

Miniature #6 - August 28 - September 3, 2011, 4 x 4 in, mixed media on panel

Show at Estel Gallery

Not about the minis, but exciting news none the less - for all my Tennessee people - I'll have three prints on display in the show "Elvis and Other Kings" at Estel Gallery in Nashville. For those who can't make it, the gallery has also put together a digital showcase:

http://www.estelgallery.com/exhibitions.html

Unfortunately, I won't be able to make the opening, but I'm excited about the show. I've shown work in a juried show at the gallery before, in 2009, and think it's a jem, and I'm very happy to see some of my work is making it's way out of my studio and into the big wide world!