tenth & howard

Took a walk at lunch...brought the iPhone of course because you never know when that moment will come up - that perfect image or event that you just have to catch. The there are the ordinary shots that can be really interesting too. Tenth and Market is a truly an ordinary corner. It's a working class neighborhood with car repair, storage units,  a coffee shop here and there...so here are a few photos...made a little better with Camera+ and Instagram.

bikes and more

I'm so excited about Bike share coming to San Francisco so this morning when I saw the actual bike stands and the beautiful aqua blue bikes lined up I just had to do a little Instagramming. (is that a word?). Bike Share works great in Paris and NYC - even Dublin Ireland so want not hilly and oh so lovely San Francisco?

so here's today's photo.

and then...what do you get when really watered down paint dries on a plastic lid? You get this.

black and white

I've always been a huge fan of black and white art. I devote entire pinboards on Pinterest to this them and I make b/w art. There is something so calming about creating art that is completely absent of color yet is just as artful in composition and style.
Here are two pieces that will be ready shortly as fine art giclees. I could have waited till they were actually available but - I couldn't wait.

Floating leaves

That's not the title of these two images - I can't think of anything that really fits. So for now...floating leaves. Acrylic on wood panel. 8x10 & 8x8. This is one of the images that the negative space defines the subject. I painted the watery blue background first then painted the background on top of the foreground. Weird sequence but it works. 

I will be uploading these shortly as fine art giclees when I get my new retail site working - should be very soon! Watch this space. 

from neolithic to modern

I submitted a piece to a juried show. This is a first for me - an application...an application fee (bummer)...photos...artists statement. Seriously-this is the real thing!

The event is the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley - where all things art just happen. The name of the show is: The Making is a Remaking. What are Worlds made of?

"Not from nothing… Worldmaking starts from worlds already on hand: the making is a remaking."
Nelson Goodman (Ways of Worldmaking, 1978)

And here is what I submitted: Waiting for Solstice.

and my artists statement here that describes this piece.

When I was a little girl I often imagined that I lived in a small world in a contained space

and I was part of a bigger world and was being observed by this bigger alternate

universe. I took this fascination in later years to assembling miniature worlds and

creating works of art that were always smaller than everyone else's. In college while my

classmates worked on large canvases I drew in spaces of about 6x6 inches. For this

project I used my love of miniature worlds and assembled my version of a neolithic rock

formation. Having recently traveled to Ireland I saw many of these and loved and learned

from each one. In 2000 I traveled to the Surrey Plain in England and walked around

Stonehenge - fascinated by the precarious balance of the beautiful blue stones. While I

did not have access to stone-age rocks I did have a pile of beautiful driftwood I recently

purchased. These small pieces of wood...softened by the forces of nature were a perfect

replacement and so I assembled my own miniature neolithic world. The very small rusted

metal part I picked up on the side of a road is reminiscent of the Heel Stone - where the

midsummer sun rises when viewed from the center of Stonehenge. Painted stripes add

color and interest and bring the piece into the modern world and the riverbed reminds

the viewer that the driftwood once floated in water.

a day at the park...

Hubby and I went to see the Diebenkorn exhibit at the De Young in Golden Gate Park and it was such a delicious soft and foggy day that it was just perfect for taking photos and then manipulating them, adding borders, adjusting light and then posting that I just had to share. a few were posted on Instagram - so take a look there and follow too!

Lyrical florals

I love the idea of painting a background first and then painting over the background leaving clear only the space that is to take shape. In these two pieces I started with an abstract background on wood panel. When dry I painted over the background leaving open the shape of a very loosely designed flower. Once that that was complete and I went over the who piece with conte crayon where I defined the shapes and added texture and definition.
8x10 and 8x8. Fine art prints here on Imagekind and Artist Rising.