at ArteFacto: Exhibit in Palma de Mallorca Spain

I will be hanging an exhibition this week at a new gallery space here in Palma. Feel free to come by if you're in the neighborhood!
The show will consist of mixed media paintings that explore the theme of destroying and buildings homes, many pieces include the moving stories contributed by friends and anonymous contacts. Thanks to you all.
The show will feature some new pieces...which I'll post those here when the show is up and running.
Look out as well for images of the opening night.

Can you guess what inspires me?

This is like the "Where's Waldo of paintings...



I am preparing for an exhibition and up to my old tricks again. Namely, reworking paintings I claimed to be finished long ago. El Castillo is almost done (again); I took it out to photograph as I often do to gain some objectivity during the process. But, look how great it looks on my terrace! The likeness is uncanny.

Open Walls, Peeling paper

Open Walls, V
8.5 X 10.5 inches (21 X 27 cm)
Mixed media collage on wood




Open Walls, VI
8.5 X 10.5 inches (21 X 27 cm)
Mixed media collage on wood

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been experimenting with more fragile layers of paper on top of my heavily layered walls. In works such as these, the original written story has become deeply buried in the background; papered-over, if you will.

Views of my studio

Here are some views of my unusually tidy studio where I work my magic. It's in the center of Palma de Mallorca, in a building built in 1918. I've probably said this before, but working in this space is very romantic: the floors, the carved wood, the high ceilings, the cacophony of competing musicians on the pedestrian street below...


I found a giant lizard living under these IKEA shelves that I muscled around from a near-by office to the painting space (I foolishly only removed half the contents!). I didn't get a photo of Mr. Lagarto, though...not sure where he is right now, I hope he doesn't surprise me in the night!


I spent most of today changing the distribution of the furniture in the apartment. Doing so required some re-organizing of the studio. It was a good excuse to dust and vacuum and take pictures before I make a glorious disaster of things again.

Inspirational walls in the Gràcia district, Barcelona

These two photographs were taken on Calle Verdi in the Gràcia district, Barcelona, this past weekend. Yummy, huh? I have seen this construction site a few times over the last month or so, and now I realize why I couldn't get it out of my visual memory: Above, it's the delicate falling paper (not to mention the wrinkle pattern left behind by the adhesive);


and here, it's the red-topped steel posts, adding rhythm and color to the composition.

Look for these inspirations in new work to come!

Paredes Abiertas III / Open Walls III

Paredes Abiertas III / Open Walls III

mixed media and collage on wood
21.5 X 27 cm (21.5 X 8.5in.) 2010

Pátina

Pátina

mixed media and collage on wood
60 X 80 cm (23.5 X 31.75 in.) 2010

Open Walls Series

Paredes Abiertas I, II / Open Walls I, II

mixed media and collage on wood
30 X 30 cm (10.75 X 10.75 in.) 2010

Ascención (...a mi mateix) / Ascension (...to myself)

Ascención (...a mi mateix) / Ascension (...to myself) 2010
mixed media on wood
100 X 70 cm / 39.5 X 27.5 inches


I haven't been blogging of late, but I have certainly been painting. Now I've got lots to post for your perusal. I'll start with a commission I just finished, above.



The paint is thinly applied in this piece with many, many layers of text from a truly inspiring Moving Story (español) written in Catalan that I received from an anonymous donor. Thank you, "Buster Keaton".
You may recognize the stairs drawn in perspective from an earlier post.
And a special thanks to Joan and Miquel for adopting this one. You two inspire me.

Unfinished Business: What to do with old, unresolved work!

I have been organizing the office and studio in my new home, coming across so many unfinished pieces of artwork from series past, spanning ten years of work. Practically, this is a great way to see if there are any hidden little gems I can post in my soon-to-be-complete Etsy store.

But, finding a big collection (you see a sampling above) of work that was left unfinished has got me thinking about the nature of my work and of changing thematic gears in general. If you haven't already noticed, my style and approach is broad and varied. This has its pros and cons. I love variety and use whichever materials I feel best express a given idea. However, I do sometimes feel fragmented, not sure which project to work on some days (Hello, Gemini!). In addition, more than one gallery owner has told me my work is not 'cohesive' enough. Business and marketing aside, I know it's important to learn from the steady growth of an idea over time.

One of the reasons you can see so many different styles is directly related to stopping and starting work in the studio due to moving house or other big life changes.
As I have mentioned before, I have moved 17 times in 21 years. Thus my persistent curiosity in stories about moving, renovations, packing, nesting, etc. When I have had to pack up and relocate, then get through transition times, I would often interrupt a series of artwork. Then, when I was ready to work again, I wanted to respond immediately to my new surroundings and sensations, leaving the previous body of work 'boxed'.

These days I seek continuity. One of the mantras from Yogi Bhajan I repeat to myself daily is: Consolidate, Concentrate, Be YOU. So, in this consolidation process I am determining whether some of the unfinished artwork should be finished and presented, and some should be recycled forever. Part practicality, part 'letting-go'.

There are also only so many hours in the day, so for one month, my daily paintings site will be dedicated to finishing and posting almost-there works. It's practical, but also sort of an experiment. would like to see what the common denominator in my varied bodies of work of over the last ten years is, and then how it connects to what I am currently exploring.

Thenot's Practical Perspective

What a find. A friend gave me this book years ago. I have been cleaning/reorganizing my office this weekend and it leapt out at me. I already have plans for these images...can't wait to share them with you.

Panoramic view: Loose Cables

Here is the piece posted below as it looks displayed as a diptych.

New Diptych: Loose Cables (Cables sueltas)

Loose Cables (Cables sueltas)

2(80 X 40 cm) mixed media on wood.

This is actually meant to be displayed in a panoramic composition. I'll hang it and photograph it that way today and post it; it will also provide a better sense of scale. It's very similar to some works I did called Reformas about two years ago when I started depicting these stripped-down building facades.

On Daily Painting: at times a humbling discipline

Look what is cropping up in those cute daily paintings everyone is enjoying so much!

Yes, this newer series is bright and colorful, incorporating my daughter's drawing; surely the shift must be a harbinger of Spring?

This is true, in part. Daily paintings for me are quite auto-biographical, they can't help but be so, given the nature of the project. I paint intensely for a few hours without thinking too much. The work emerges from intuition and I have learned not to question it. I save such scrutiny for my larger works and series that I create and exhibit over time. Both bodies of work inform each other.

The other day, I caught myself trying to avoid the inevitable self-expression that emerges within the constraints of size/materials/and time. I wanted to change the subject. But I didn't really have a good reason, was I avoiding something?

Sadhana means daily discipline and in the Eastern tradition, it is often carried out in increments of 40 days, the time believed necessary to break old habits and mental blocks so that new prospects can emerge. So, this is just the challenge- push through the boredom, the awkward outcomes, uncomfortable moments to see where it leads me.

Then seemingly innocently enough, two pieces came out using writing of my daughter (who couldn't spell at the time of making the drawings) with the word 'ira" Spanish for ire, or anger, then MAD. Was this the part I was avoiding, showing the darker side of this moving story?

Stay tuned.

Molding Display: How did I miss this one?!

Yesterday I spied this little treasure through a rip in a canvas-covered, tall barrier in front of a demolished building here in Palma de Mallorca. How did I miss this treat?! Must have been a shop selling such decorative moldings.

I would love to just take this whole composition and re-install it in my house as a work of art on the wall, salmon colored background included. Do the contractors have guilt pangs when they finally build over such visual delights?

Plaster relief, 3 steps forward, one step back...

Taking a new look at my approach to working with plaster relief. It's been a long time, but the weather is finally good for casting again. Above is an example of some surface play. The electric hand-sander is the best art tool ever. That's why I say, 3 steps forward, one step back - I love over-working a surface, then boldly eliminating most of it in one swift pass, seeing what surprises lurk below.


What you see here is an image from the Castillo Bellver in Palma de Mallorca. The walls on the roof of the castle are covered with graffiti from prisoners from 1400 to 1900. Seeing these surfaces for the first time a few years ago has been lingering in my visual memory, along with the other aging walls that are so prevalent on my blog.
Can you imagine taking the time to carve letters with a serif!? Well, I guess they had plenty of time on their hands.

From Palma to New York City

Slooowly but surely getting back into the studio.
Here's a piece I finished (?) recently as a going away gift for a friend taking an adventurous sabbatical from Palma de Mallorca to New York City for several months.

The moving story excerpts are from "Leaving Lisbon" by Evan, thank you.

In the meantime...Sadhana Yoga Palma

I know, I know...Where have I been?!
Well, in addition to making art, I teach Kundalini yoga and meditation. So, in addition to the big changes of moving house and art studio- I have re-opened my new yoga center: Sadhana Yoga Palma. Above you see the space. It was originally the formal dining room in my 1918 Palma apartment. Tempting, isn't it...first class is free, come on over!

Now that the center is up and running and new students are coming in, I can get back to my other studio!
Thanks for your patience.

Across the Bridge

Here is the diptych I recently completed, Across the Bridge.

It's a 'moving story' (Español) about making big changes that includes writing in English and in Spanish about both the fear and relief that comes from this process. Thanks to Kristen and Xavi for providing the story excerpts. I am always looking for new stories to illuminate, so click on the links highlighted above or instructions. Thank you

Sweet Relief, back to work!

Wow. What an amazing feeling it was yesterday to finally start painting again! It has been over a month since I began the process of packing up my former residence and moving into the center of Palma de Mallorca. Here I have ample space for my art studio, a big office, and my yoga center.

The holidays are about over (are they ever really over in Spain?!) and guests are gone; so yesterday I re-aquainted myself with my materials to work on a commissioned diptych.

Words can't express the liberty that making art brings me. Ahhhh, sweet relief.

Keep looking for progress and new works on this site and a new series of Daily Paintings on my sister-site coming soon.