Sketchbook Selections

Left: after Hiram Powers, National Portrait Gallery, DC
Right: after Edwin Dickinson, Helen Souza

Left: After drawings from Fifty Figure Drawings
Right: After John Frederick Peto, An English Breakfast

Gestures from Open Figure at Manifest Drawing Center and planar analyses of the head after George Bridgeman

Left: Figure studies from Manifest Drawing Center
Right: After Hiram Powers, Anna Sinton Taft

Zote, Dickinson, and Post-its

(before)

(after)

Today was my semi-annual brush-cleaning day in the studio. Pictured above is one of my favorite soaps for cleaning stubborn oil paint out of tired brushes. You can find Zote at just about any Mexican grocery store. One bar costs about $1; it works far better than the "brush cleaner" you might have seen at the art store, and it lasts much longer. 

This quarter I'm teaching a class on master copies at Manifest Drawing Center, and today was our first meeting. It was interesting to see the artists that my students chose to copy... and there's nothing like starting class with an impossible assignment: to make a faithful copy in under three hours. I worked alongside my students on this study after one of my favorite Edwin Dickinson paintings. 

Last month was pretty teaching-heavy, but I'm optimistic about having more dedicated studio time this month. Here's a small detail of a painting I wrapped up in the studio this week. More to come...

Recent Exhibitions

Excavation, 2018

oil on canvas, 20" x 20" 

private collection

I'm honored to have had paintings in two exhibitions at Manifest Gallery in the past month: SINKS & CHAIRS and, currently on view, ONE SHOT. Manifest shows are always special, and these were no exception. It's always a pleasure to meet the other artists and see so much interesting contemporary work in person. 

(above photo credit: Jason Franz) 

If you're in the Cincinnati area, be sure to stop by the gallery! Also on view are OHIO, KENTUCKY, INDIANA (Regional Showcase), FRAGMENTS: paintings by Mihee Nam, and OTHER SELVES: Painted Trompe-l'oeil Constructions by Ron Isaacs. The exhibitions run through April 5th. 

Finding Colors

new work-in-progress

I spent a good portion of last week cleaning and reorganizing my pastels. It was quite a process... multiple boxes, upon opening, were full of sticks that all appeared to be the same dusty grey-violet. Meticulous cleaning revealed colors I didn't know I had. I was surprised to discover an abundance of the same five or six colors. Apparently I'm drawn to the same handful of neutral tones each time I go to the art store. There's something about mars violet that just speaks to me.

With my materials in order, I'll be able to draw more efficiently and make better color choices. I have a couple of shows coming up later this year, and I'm excited to have the next few months to focus intensely on making new work. Stay tuned for upcoming experiments in composition, color, and subject matter.

"To express what is nature, in the visible world, this is what matters the most to me...
However, I believe that there is nothing more surreal and more abstract than reality."
- Giorgio Morandi

January Studio Vibes

Sketchbook (fin)

It's the end of an era. This has been a particularly special sketchbook. It spanned seven years, three cities, and two countries. It was never been meant for public consumption, and many of the pages are not worth looking at. But it has been encouraging, at the end of the year, to take a minute to reflect on where I came from before continuing to move forward. I'm a different person now than I was when I started drawing in this book, and while some of the pages are cringeworthy, I'm glad to have this as a record of the steps I've taken towards becoming a better artist and, I hope, a more empathetic person.

Drawing is a process of correction. It's a record of time spent in the studio, a record of things seen and things remembered. Drawing is a way of understanding the world and how to move through it with grace and compassion. Drawing is the root of everything. Drawing is always the answer. Resolve to draw more.

These are a few pages that made me smile today. I hope they do the same for you.
So long, old gal.

MEA Season 10

The Manifest Exhibition Annual for Season 10 has arrived! I'm thrilled to have two pieces included in this beautiful book alongside so many good friends and fellow artists. This is a special publication, as it's the first complete document of Manifest Gallery's entire season - meaning, every piece in every exhibition is recorded in this single volume. It is a lovely slice of time and a testament to the support that Manifest continues to offer artists of all media, style, and subject matter.

top left: Pair, 2014, oil on canvas, 30x30", included in Master Pieces 8

bottom: Abbraccia, 2014, oil on canvas, 18x24", included in Nude 6