The Cats: A cave painting breakthrough:

The WARM Show

The WARM (Women's Art Resources of Minnesota) Mentor-Protege Show is coming in October, but the catalog picture and info deadline is August 1. Hence, the race to produce something that either sensibly represents "work-in-progress," or approximates "finished."

Three of the Five Panels

Cats, Parrots, and Owls in Progress

The Lost Cave Paintings of Saint Paul piece will have five panels: Owls, Parrots, Cats, Some Random Birds, and an Elephant. (It's my cave, so I can populate it at will.)

The Owl and Parrot Panels are not quite finished, but the images are all recognizable owls, parrots, and the border hummingbirds (top), and frogs (bottom.)

Cave Cats In Progress

The Cat Conundrum

In life, I answer to two cats, so it would have been impossible to keep cats from the cave walls. But what image(s) to use?

 If you know my work, you'll recall dozens of cats of all shapes and sizes.  I searched my image file and found one that I had used on two of my earliest paintings, Dot Cat and Striped Cat. I made three different sized templates, and "ghosted" them onto the panel with one of the most useful of watercolors, Winsor Newton Davy's Gray.

An organizing principle? A theoretical construct? A plan!

Because the Lost Cave Paintings of Saint Paul are whimsical historical documents, it seems reasonable that the Cat Panel would depict some of our current cats' ancestors. Who is to say that the Great-great-great-great-great-great-great (etc.) Grandpa of an orange-striped tabby didn't have a green stripe?

Other Markings' Research:  

The Small Friends' Research Institute, (sponsor of the bulk of my research into whimsical creatures and publisher of The Small Friends' Chronicles and Meet the LLLamas) tasked its entire staff with emergency research into the markings on Ancient Cats of Minnesota. I expect a report this afternoon.

Related posts, retail outlets, and a web link

Lost Cave Paintings Progress: On to the next level
Lost Cave Paintings of Saint Paul: for the WARM Mentor-Protege Show

Cave paintings are available at The Art Shoppe at Midtown Global Market (Minneapolis) and at Three Sisters' Eclectic Arts (Saint Paul), and from my website.

nanoscapes' Small Friends declare independence in new website

After working in the shadow of the geometric abstract nanoscapes for more than five years, 38 small friends have declared their independence and moved to a website all their own. Find them in individual galleries for amphibians, birds, cats, fish, LLLamas, and mammals.  31 LLLamas appeared in Facebook in May, and all but Rainbow LLLama left abruptly on the first LLLamaWorLLLd Tour. Rainbow stayed behind to represent them at this new website.

Moose on a Hill: the 1st small friend

 Their first principle is WE WERE FIRST. Before the first nanoscape kaleidoscope or molecule, the Alaskan Moose on the Hill and the the first Musk Ox appeared on post cards that I made as souvenirs of my first visit to Alaska in 2003. One copy of the Moose remains in the archives, and the all of the Musk Ox are lost. These friends were painted on Arches and Canson post cards with watercolor pencils and brushes with water reservoirs. 

In 2006, shortly after taking my first watercolor class, a few extra cats showed up in my studio for portraits. I wasn't surprised because I feed, water, and obey Flying Tackle Phil and Darwin, Felinus Emeritae. Ever since, there has been a steady stream of whimsical creatures either visiting (Mary-Anna Musk Ox) or making their home in my studio. Fortunately, they don't eat, and even the largest (Darren Dragon at 32 feet) take up no physical space. 

Their second principle is USE GOOD TOOLS. They are all proud to have been painted on Arches, Fabriano or Canson papers with Daniel Smith, Winsor Newton, Holbein, Sennelier or Dick Blick watercolors using Daniel Smith sable, Winsor Newton Series 7 or one tiny Jack Richardson brush.

Their third principle is PAINT INDOORS. In our whimsical world, we share an aversion to heat, humidity and bugs. 

Their fourth principle is SMILE. The small friends are proud to stand up for whimsy, to support smiling, and to encourage 10 belly-laughs per day.

Still Point Gallery: Selections from 2010 Exhibitions

100 Buttons

With 100 Buttons published in the Still Point Gallery: Selections from 2010 Exhibitions, I am now "pictured" in the dictionary under "grinning from ear to ear." I am eternally grateful to Christine Cote, director, curator and creative genius behind Still Point Gallery.

Unlike many nanoscapes which are part of nano families, 100 Buttons is an orphan.  Its inspiration was a black and white line drawing in an ad for a Manolo Blahnik shoe that was loaded with thread-covered buttons.  My Manolo knowledge was limited to having seen the full run of Sex and the City. I've not worn heels since 1982, when I had a slipped disc.

The ad sat on my work table for a while until I said "I can do that." Using my collection of French and American coins, I traced lots of shapes -- more than 100, as I learned later. Working with nanoscapes' Painstaking Exuberance, I painted over the pencil with Winsor Newton Davy's Gray, painted each shape multiple times until I achieved the right color, painted line-by-line the "threads" that covered each of the buttons, painted around each shape, and finally painted around the whole piece.

Somewhere in the middle of this engrossing activity, I counted the remaining buttons, and learned to my surprise that having finished with 45, that there were a lot more to go. This painting is the purest expression of Painstaking Exuberance: line-by-line, shape-by-shape with lots of pigment and not a lot of water.

Linked Blocks #1 is related to 100 Buttons

Other than its relationship to a drawing of a Very Famous Shoe Designer's covered button shoe, the real story of 100 Buttons is the way in which it seemed to take forever to paint.  Tracing the U.S. and French coins, painting the Winsor Newton Davy's Gray outlines of the coins and of the centers of each button (two circles for each button), layering in the button colors, painting in the "threads" two or three times, painting an outline for each button and center, and then stopping to count. When I was certain that I was half finished, I found that I had painted far more than 100 buttons, and that I certainly was nowhere close to being finished.

The story of the formerly nameless traveling nano is grows more like 100 Buttons every day.  I drew the nameless shapes, painted both the shapes and the little links that connected them with Winsor Newton Davy's Gray, painted the colors into the shapes, outlined each of the shapes with Daniel Smith Deep Sap Green, and painted colors into the links between each of the shapes. For the two days that I worked on the little links, I thought that they would perform their linking function without an outline between the between each shape. Although I haven't (and won't) count each shape, it is clear to me that each of the little links needs an outline.  And yes, there are far more little links than there are "big" shapes.

This is quintessential Painstaking Exuberance.  Gotta outline. Gotta get to work.

Long Rings 2010 - more connections

Although nanoscapes are no longer tiny, my Painstaking Exuberance keeps me focused on small spaces.  The nearly completed Long Rings 2010 is 15x23" and its long rings encase tiny spaces.

The image on the left is very early pencil-and-Davy's Gray stage.  I started with the largest Rings and began to sketch in some nano designs which just flow.  Can't explain it.

 
The image on the right is well into the Davy's Gray stage.  The one ring with color is a reminder that I can't resist new things, even if they throw the painting process out of order.  I'd gotten a tube of Daniel Smith Cobalt Blue Violet and couldn't wait to use it on this wonderful 300 # Arches  paper.  It is very thick, and feels like painting on felt -- very welcoming felt, that absorbs paint like a sponge and holds the color.