First Day of Spring

Although I haven't been completely dormant the last 2 months, my personal production has taken the backseat to commission work (I'll post stuff when it's all said and done). Sunday night I returned from a Spring Break trip to NYC with a great group of Flagler students. We saw a lot of AMAZING art, and the trip worked, I walked straight into the studio last night after taking a long nap. Here are the results...the surface is 20" x 24", the background color was inspired by a Jenny Saville painting in the MET.








Plum Gallery Winter Exhibition




Click this link to make the links below interactive:

http://www.icontact-archive.com/OBEMGylzLCWYyTrC6ic6g6sB16xRRoAJ?w=4





opening reception

Friday, January 6, 2012

5-9 p.m.

"Birthday Cake" 16x20" oil on canvas

Sara Pedigo

New works will be on display by Sara Pedigo. Sara is a painter living and working in Saint Augustine, Florida. Pedigo spent her childhood in South Carolina and Florida. Her paintings and drawings are most associated with figurative realism, capturing and interpreting moments of her family history and southern environment.

She is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant and has exhibited throughout the United States. Most notably, she was included in the 2006 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and in exhibitions at the Cue Foundation and the Naples Art Museum. Pedigo received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Flagler College, her undergraduate alma mater.

"Treetops" (Cumberland Island, GA) 32x32" photography

M.H. Myers


For years now, Michael has spent a large part of his time in the woods and marshes of North and Central Florida, and the Southeastern United States, producing images such as this one seen here. Having been born and raised in one of the fastest growing states of the union, he has witnessed the continuing destruction of much of its natural beauty and attempts, through his photography, to preserve some of that beauty for others, and future generations, to enjoy.

Working with large and medium format film cameras, Michael combines the traditional with the contemporary for what he feels is the ultimate black and white photograph. By using film as the source for the image, the depth and rich quality of traditional photography is retained. Negatives are scanned on state of the art equipment and digitally printed on museum-quality papers. The images are never manipulated beyond what could be achieved in a traditional darkroom. That is, Photoshop serves only as his means for controlling aspects such as contrast and density, and burning and dodging particular areas of a print.

"Clear Day" 24x24" oil on canvas

Sydney McKenna

A Florida resident since the age of 11, I am inspired by the environment of my home state. In particular, I am fascinated with evaporation, and how it impacts not just the flora and fauna, but our daily lives as well. It reminds me of the spark of life; a lifting of the physical, into the spiritual. I love the humidity of our southern region, and I am intrigued by how the many transformations of water tie us to other places physically and metaphorically.

Sydney McKenna holds a degree in Visual Arts from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, and attended graduate studies in 1996 at the Cortona, Italy campus of the University of Georgia. She is the recipient of many competitive awards, and her paintings have been featured on the covers of numerous magazines, including “Florida Living Magazine”. Sydney’s paintings are found in corporate, public and private collections, including Capital One’s corporate collection of American art, (McLean, VA), The Museum of Florida Art, (Deland, Florida), The Contrarian Group.

Barbara Cornett "Bo Peep" Assemblage David Haradin "Domingo" Kinetic Sculpture

Featuring Found Object Sculptures By Barbara Cornett and Kenetic Sculptures by David Haradin

Working with both found objects and clay offers endless possibilities to me. My assemblages begin at a point that most people would call “the end” - a trash heap. Collecting discarded things like bits of wood, fibers, plastic and rusted metal objects is as fascinating to me as is constructing them into a figurative sculpture. The process is similar to playing “Eye Spy” while simultaneously building a three dimensional puzzle. I want to disassociate the original purpose of these found objects and emphasize their inherent beauty in a minimialist manner. Frequently a specific character or subject emerges as the building process takes place, influenced by past cultures, specific historic figures, by-gone eras, or popular culture.

Barabara is an award winning mixed media sculptor, ceramic artist and art instructor who exhibits internationally and has work in private and corporate collections.

Most of David Haradin's pieces are large, outdoor kinetic sculptures. His fascination with creating kinetic art derives from his interpretation of how different life forms exist in the natural world. His pieces embody life-like characteristics as they are affected by changes in the weather.

The development of abstract art forms began when David studied architecture and fine art at the College of Environmental Design at the University of Colorado, Boulder. It was there he gained a greater understanding of spatial patterns, design, and also how changes in the climate affect every type of life in the environment. David won first place in a outdoor sculpture competition at the university in 1989 with his first large-scale installation. From that point on he was driven to pursue his love of art and the outdoors. Upon graduation Dave traveled for a year studying art and architecture around the world. His work is inspired by his travel experiences and enthusiasm for the outdoors.

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Jewelry Artisans

Pamela Fausset, Kathryn Crawford, Peggy Ward, Karen McGovern

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PLUM GALLERY

9 Aviles Street
Saint Augustine, FL 32084

904-825-0069
www.PlumArtGallery.com

Hours:

Thursday 11-5

Friday - Saturday 11-8

Sunday 11-6

Monday-Wednesday by appointment


Hooray for Cider Press Review

In other REALLY EXCITING news...one of my paintings is going to be on the cover of Play Button, a book of poems written by my colleague at Flagler College, Liz Robbins. Liz's poetry is exemplary. I heard her read excerpts from her previous book of poems, Hope, As the World is a Scorpion Fish, and fell in love with her writing.  Liz's blog can be found here. Additionally, a link to a wonderful interview can be found here, and two poems can be read here.

To read the Cider Press Review link shown below click here. I am extremely excited to have my painting on the cover of Play Button.  


The cover painting, Beach Standoff, was created specifically after reading the manuscript for Play Button. I knew that I wanted to make a painting that captured the tension found in so many of Liz's poems. I hope the image does the work justice. Congrats to Liz Robbins, and a special thanks to her and Cider Press Review for including me in the process.




Hooray for Folio Weekly!!!!!

Below is the article in this week's Folio Weekly. To read the article on Folio's website, click this link.
I would like to personally thank Dan Brown, the Arts and Entertainment Editor, for the writing such a thoughtful and considerate article. 

I would also like to thank Dan Brown for passing my name onto Cabeth Cornelius, who is curating an upcoming group show titled A Woman's World. That exhibit will feature the work of Louise Freshman Brown, Megan Cosby, Sara Pedigo (that's me!),  and Amy Vigilante. The exhibit will be at C gallery @ Daryl Bunn Studios in Jacksonville FL. The Opening Reception is on Thursday, November 17, 5-8pm and the show runs through January 2012. 



and then...

I made more. Lots of things are brewing. I have some new tiny-smalls and several 5" x 7" paintings that I tried to make a little more suggestive. This boils down to making PG13 versus PG...or PG versus G. Sometimes I worry about being too boring in this respect, but I also think wonderful things can come in accessible packages. Speaking of accessible, I was interviewed by Dan Brown the Arts and Entertainment Editor at Folio Weekly this weekend. The interview should come out in the Oct 25th issue. 


tiny-smalls 138-146














 5" x 7" PG paintings?

Sitting Roadside

Patriotism

Beach Standoff


Plum Gallery Presents...

Starting this month and running through December, my work will be featured at
Plum Gallery.

I hung the show today and wanted to share a couple of the installation shots. The lights still have to be adjusted, I will post more from the opening this Friday. One thing I am really excited about with showing here, is that I will get to change out the work each month. Also, if any Tiny-Smalls sell, the buyer can take them at that time....so it will be a good excuse to keep me painting. 




                    


See you soon. Happy Painting!


Tuesday Update

backyard conversation in process

birthday cake in process
The newest batch of Tiny-Smalls












beginning a vertical group painting

Okay, I am trying to post in time to take a shower and have lunch with Marc before I head to school for the afternoon/evening. I teach Figure Painting once a week, it's a thrill and really informative for my own practice. My opening at Wynn Bone Gallery this weekend was fantastic and I plan to post photos of the space with my paintings in the next couple of days.

Today I did a lot of studio house keeping, a little work on the newer "group paintings," and I started a third painting that is VERTICAL in format. I can't remember the last time I tackled that format in a non-tiny-small. It is completely ridiculous how unconscious habits can become "laws" that inadvertently limit creative choices. Below is the new start and images of the "group paintings'" respective photos (they are single source paintings).





Group Paintings and Groups of Paintings

Here are a couple of updates for the group paintings. My Paw-Paw ended up getting painted out of the left side of the board-game painting. Everything seems to be darker and warmer, I am curious to see if they stay relatively flat or if some thicker paint will make it's way to the canvases.


board game, 12" x 12"

birthday cake, 16" x 20"
I have also been busy making more tiny-small paintings, aka the groups of paintings. Checkout the newest batch of tinys below.











Crowd/huddle/Group Paintings

Recently I started setting aside photographs with groups of people clustered around each other, as opposed to lined up parallel to the photograph's edge. I love the way they create an intimate space and a sense of anticipation. So I decided to paint a couple of single source paintings. I also recently bought some NEW brushes with long handles that range from 1/2" -1 1/4", I think they are game changers. I am really loving the way they move the paint around. Below are the two paintings:





The top one is getting closer to being finished. I am always thankful when a hunch turns into a start. Here are a couple of links to the brushes:


            

Also I purchased a copy of Daivd Shevlino's DVD Painting Loosely. I think watching other painter's paint might be one of my favorite activities, outside of talking about painting, looking at paintings, and eating cheese. 

rePainting and painting as knitwear

I have been up to lots of good, but the kind that causes headaches. I just sent off a group of paintings that will be included in a Solo Exhibition in Annapolis, MD, at Wynn Bone Gallery during the month of September. I will share more information about this in the near future (I promise). As a sneak preview, the title is 92 Days of Summer. With less time than I would have liked, I decided to change two of the paintings in my stock by essentially repainting them. The results were very similar paintings with easily definable differences. Check the out below:
old  neighborhood lake
new Neighborhood Lake

old Playing in the Surf

new Playing in the Surf
The paintings in my house should grow accustom to the notion that no painting is safe, I seem to be constantly tinkering with everything. Continuing that thread, I am currently working back into the Carport painting.
old Carport
Current in Process (again) Carport

Outside of repainting paintings, I also have some very exciting news in relation to the ocean painting, Playing in the Surf, located above. My good friend Kristine Orme used an image of the painting in progress, from this blog, as color inspiration for a really amazing versatile knit garment for her MA thesis. She was nice enough to send me color swatch:

The dress/skirt/cape/everything looks like this:

To see more details of this amazing outfit click HERE or kristenmakes.wordpress.com! 


Reflections on the ONGOING Reflective Driveway

Here is a limited journey into the last year of this paintings life. I am terrible at keeping track of time, but the first pictures are dated from July 7th, 2010 (and my hair is much longer now). I have declared it finished many times. I have threaten to cut it up into 1 small painting or burn it just as many times (in front of the painting no less). Now that I have declared it finished, once again, I will post this post! Who knows what the future holds for this canvas but for now lets take a look at the past.














sanding everything down!


 


DRUM ROLL PLEASE...


This is the "final" product. I could say more, however I fear that my post would turn defensive or apologetic so in the end I will leave it alone (something I am not good at). Or, now that I am looking at the final photograph I think my brother's face on the left looks a little smushed so I may be headed to the studio right now to try to unsmush it. Happy Painting Everyone!

Final update, post-unmushing. 



Introducing the NEW TINY-SMALLS!

As promised, a while ago, you can now see the latest Tiny-Smalls that everyone is waiting for. Just as a reminder...all of these paintings are oil on panel and measure 2"x 3.25" or 3.25"x 2".
















































one week later...

...I am updating some of the progress in the my studio. In addition to this work I have many new tiny-smalls that I will post once I have a big batch done. Currently there are 9 new tiny paintings, I am hoping to have another 50, 60, or maybe more done by the end of summer. I kinda imagine them as a little army of paintings...lining them up reminds me of being a little kid a setting up rows and rows of little plastic toys. I like to think of them in groups because they begin to fulfill my need to collapse timelines and mix moments from the past. However, I didn't take photos of those this morning, so lets move on to what else has been brewing in the studio over the last week.

After a great suggestion from my sister-in-law, I am going with Afternoon Snack-Time for this painting. I am calling it done today...but that is always open to change.


From the previously posted drawing of the Sunbathers in the Park, here is the small color study and resulting painting. Again, I think this one maybe done as well...but only time will tell.



Due to the high volume of green that I have mixed recently, I also did a very characteristic move of painting on a painting that has been "complete" since last fall. The original painting titled Green Lawn is still green, but a different hue and chroma. I have no idea if I actually like it better, but sometimes I just can't stop myself from tinkering with things. 

                                      before                                                  after

Finally, I started the drawing for a new 24" x 36" indoor painting, taking a break from that crazy hue GREEN! (Imagine me shaking my fist..."GREEN")






I am pretty excited about this drawing, I have transformed my sister's drinking cup into a string-telephone and constructed a tent in the living room. Much to my sister's chagrin this space is loosely based on my mother's parent's living room (to us Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw). I am planning on painting in wood floors and have added wainscoting to the walls, taking away the wood paneling. She always mentions the changes I make and points out where there is missing furniture or a fictional outfit. I enjoy this greatly, because she is the only person who notices (and cares about) the liberties that I take with the photographs. Below is the final photo to post, it is the canvas that is about to get the living room drawing projected onto it. I switch up the canvas color, and am going with a neutral middle tone gray this time. 


new starts

As stated before in a previous post, I am working on planning or solving some problems before jumping in to the painting process. With this plan in action, the basic compositions are now being solved in drawings before any paint is touched. Below is a drawing, a small 5" x7 "color study, and the current painting (16"x 20") that is 80% done (maybe 90%, or 20% you never know).






I am having a difficult time coming up with a title for this painting. Currently I am thinking about the tv-dinner trays that are part of it. So possibly... backyard lunch, afternoon snack-time, or backyard with tv-dinner trays...any suggestions?

I am also starting a new painting today based on the drawing below.


a very nice review!

Rhonda Ervin, a writer at examiner.com wrote a very warm review of my current show at Fifth Avenue Gallery. I talked with her for some time at the opening, and am thankful that I conveyed my thoughts about the paintings in a coherent manner. Creating the work is one thing, talking about the complex and often illusive nature of its meaning is quite another. That is why I am so thankful for her verbal articulation! To check it out click here.

Opening Reception Photos.

Friday June 3rd, was the opening reception for my show: Leaving the Screen Door Open at Fifth Avenue Gallery in Melbourne, Florida. The opening was great, steady traffic, nice complements, and a few tiny-smalls sold! On Tuesday, June 7th, I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed. The days in-between the opening and the oral surgery were filled with anxious waiting. The majority of the days since have been filled with aimless sitting while watching bad tv, a little reading, and waiting for the glorious chance to eat solid food again. My husband and my friend R were instrumental in keeping me pacified with food and company, thank you! So, without further adieu here are some shots of the opening. Many of them are minus attendees because I forgot to get Marc to take any until we were walking out the door (at least I remembered at all).












Above is my awesome mother-in-law(to the left) having a great laugh with close friends.
Below are two fantastic photos of my sister Martha and I. I think love them so much because we are so obviously sisters, if there were sound added it would be even more comical.