patience

I subscribe to various newsletters, one of which comes through The Painter's Keys.  

Here are some interesting thoughts on patience and the art of making art.  Reading this gave me one of those "aha" moments - you know how it is: you already begin to know something in a back-of-the-mind/heart kind of way, and then someone puts it into words, and then you realize that you know it a little, and then you want to know it better.

Thinking in particular of the rock painting disaster, the last one I did during our recent trip.  Perhaps the thing to do is to just sit and observe for at least 10-15 minutes before beginning to paint a landscape.  

Yes, already I do take a moment to look around and think about how the landscape looks and feels before I begin, but perhaps I could spend longer on that part.  Perhaps the sitting and observing could be more important than the painting, the primary goal in fact, so that I might just sit and observe without making a painting at all sometimes...

Hmmm.

slowing it down

A friend and her mother and I recently went on a 3-day hiking and painting adventure in the Kananaskis.  The lodge we stayed at is located just above the Lower Kananaskis Lake, about an hour's drive from here, and the mountains are a completely different environment from the prairie barely-foothills of home.

How great to slow it down, spend a few days out of range of cell phones and internet access!  This was a relaxing and productive trip indeed.

Day 1 - around 8am.

A last-minute dash to finish gesso'ing a few small canvases in my studio.

Day 1 - around 1pm

Acrylic ink on gesso'd sketchbook paper, 9x12 inches

 View to the left of our lunch spot on the lake below our cabin.

Day 1 - around 3pm 

Acrylic ink on gesso'd sketchbook paper, 9x12 inches

View to the right of our lunch spot.

Day 2 - around 11am

Oil on canvas, 12x13 inches

A short drive from our cabin, near a different, smaller lake.

Day 2 - around 1pm

Oil on canvas, 10x10 inches

View from the other side of the Lower Kananaskis Lake.

Day 2 - around 3pm

Oil on canvas, 10x10 inches

View in the opposite direction from above.

Day 2 - around 10pm

portrait of M, china marker on paper, 9x12 inches

Day 2 - around 10:30pm

portrait of J, graphite on paper, 9x12 inches

The third day I forgot to photograph my paintings in front of the landscapes which inspired them, so here are a few photos to show how it was:

Day 3 - around 1pm

Painting perch on the rocks of a mostly-dry waterfall.

Day 3 - first view

first painting, photographed later in my studio

This is my favourite painting of the trip.  I like that I used a small, very old and worn-down brush to scratch through the paint layers to get the lighter bits in the trees.  Much more delicate mark than a "good" brush will make.

Day 3 - around 3pm

same perch, different view

second painting, photographed later in my studio

This is my least favourite painting of the trip.  But what the heck, I certainly don't always make great work so here it is, my rock painting disaster, haha.

And a few more photos from our trip:

leaf day

The weather this weekend was so warm!  Feels like spring is really here: buds on the trees, birds building nests and temperatures around 20C.  

Way too nice out to be working indoors, so I took my gear outside and set up in a corner of the yard.  First time I've worked on large canvases outdoors.

Working under the open sky brings such a feeling of spaciousness!  
Instead of the ground-level view from my basement studio windows, I could see a lot of street lights, utility poles and wires, a few rooftops with furnace vents and other bits... and I didn't have to move carefully to avoid hitting the ceiling when moving my paintings around.

In one fell swoop, I have become a convert of outdoor painting, haha.  
True, I have been painting landscapes en plein-air for a couple of years now, but this - large canvases, semi-abstract, imagined urban imagery - is totally different from making 10x10 studies of rivers, fields and trees.  

Not sure how it will be when the temps hit 30C, but for now I'm planning to work outdoors as much as possible.

After an intense weekend of almost non-stop painting, my husband and I went for a walk last night - and look, the leaves are out!!  

It's finally leaf day!

:)

"E" is for Energy to Enable Everyone

A little while ago I agreed to make a letter for Canadian Artists for the Poor.  Today I finished painting it.  Here it is, from beginning to end:

And here's what it looks like outdoors:

The purpose of these letters - each letter painted by a different artist - is to make a banner for their summer artwalk events.  I'm curious and eager to see what the other artists have done with their letters, and how the assembled banner will look!

this is then

Thursday morning, 11am: corners protected with cardboard, pallet-wrapped, ready to move to the gallery.  

When they leave the studio I feel bit of nostalgia for the paintings, most of which I will not see again - but also a sense of lightness and freedom.

Monday morning, 7am: jump into the clear, clean studio!

I have not painted much in the last month and so this feels incredibly good, feels like I'm home again.

press

A bit of press about my exhibition in the Downtown Calgary blog:
http://www.getdown.ca/2013/04/19/a-visual-reverberation-of-a-downtown-immersion/

Thanks Shannon!

looking out

Varnishing the Skin - photographed while varnish was still wet, so it looks quite glossy in the photo below.  I like the way the stitching is defined from a sharp angle.

When dry the varnish gives a really nice almost-matte surface, perfect for skin. 

Last few days it snowed again, and the fence paintings have taken on the air of a portal.

I like this!

http://estherwoolfson.wordpress.com/

forever

The last two weeks have been pretty busy for me.  Among other things, I'm getting all the last-minute details in place for my upcoming show, and got all my tax stuff finished!  Very productive, feels good.

After a full day of paperwork last week, I poured myself a glass of wine and had a good sit in the yard.  There was a fair breeze and the fence paintings were billowing gently in and out.  They looked alive almost, and I was filled with a sense of well-being.  

Some years ago I made a painting which I titled "Everything Has A Life Of Its Own" and as time goes by I seem to understand that sentiment more fully.

And, look: the first tiny cracks are appearing!  After 9 and a half months or so hanging on the fence through seasonal weathers, this is quite exciting.  I had been wondering when these paintings would finally begin to fall apart.

Nothing can withstand the forces of nature for long.  Although I take every care to make my work as archivally-sound as possible, I am also very drawn to the ultimate intransigence of matter. 

We humans seem to possess simultaneously a deep desire for "forever" and a deep knowledge that "forever" does not exist however we may try to create it.

Speaking of intransigence: this year I have finally begun the exhaustive job of pulling all the grass out from around the stems of the roses!  Yay me!  Really, it's a huge job.  This yard was neglected for over a decade before we came along, and that grass is well-established, ha.

The roses when they bloom are yellow, my favourite.  These poor bushes have been struggling along and I hope that my grass-removal efforts may ease their existence a bit.

A robin likes the fact that I'm digging up the soil and loosening the worms and bugs!  He hangs out in the apple tree, waiting for me to finish so he can take his meal in comfort.

And the seagulls wheel overhead, and life is good.

well spent

I've been thinking I need to get out and see more art.  To that end, my husband and I drove to Banff to go for a mountain hike and to check out Linda Wilder's exhibition last weekend.  

I have been following her blog for awhile, and I must say that her paintings look great online, and even better in person!  It was really good to talk a bit with Linda, too.  She's a lovely person, very relaxed and open.

"Griffith Woods Stroll" was my favourite in the show, and my husband really liked a small street scene which I cannot now find an image of...

... and I did not bring a camera, so I have no photos of the woods, the misty mountaintops, the moss glowing green in a light drizzle, and other lovely things we came across.  Oh well, next time.

All in all it was a weekend well spent.

Art World Fame

So here I am, trying to learn how to use the internet more effectively.

I've decided to go back to using this blog to some extent, and so I have updated some of the things in the sidebar, like adding a "follow by email" button, and links to a few blogs and websites, and also posted some things about my upcoming show - see previous post.

Right after the post about my upcoming show, I find this article on the death of the gallery show.  The last bit intrigues me, because it is a positive take on the machinations of the Art World.  I am certainly not in the echelons of Art World Fame, nor do I want to be, all things considered.  While I am happy to sell my work, I also hope that some of my paintings may inspire thoughtful conversation.  

And here is a photo, because happy eyes are as important as thoughts and ideas:

                              EXHIBITION ADVISORY

For Immediate Release

April 1^st, 2013

Axis Contemporary Art presents “Tintinabulation”
new urban abstract paintings by Calgary artist Verna Vogel
Saturday April 20^th – May 4^th

Calgary, AB:  The walls Axis Contemporary Art will be alive with the patterns, rhythms and colours of our urban environment later this month as Calgary artist Verna Vogel shows new paintings in a series called “Tintinabulation”. 

Known for her vivid colours, textural stitched canvases and abstract motifs that suggest dense urbanization, Verna’s new series reflects a subtle shift in the artists’ perspective. For many years, Vogel both lived and painted in the downtown core of Calgary. Now, a move to the suburbs has altered her artistic vision. This series of paintings is her “tintinnabulation”, a visual echo of her late experience of urban immersion.

Visitors are welcome to “meet-the-artist” at the 
Opening Reception, Saturday April 20^th from 2 – 5 pm.  
Axis Contemporary Art 2^nd Level Art Central
#203 – 100 7^th Avenue SW 

For Media Info, Interviews and High-Res images Contact:

Rob Mabee

Axis Contemporary Art

403.262.3356

rob@axisart.ca

Additional Information:

Links to view the artwork

Verna Vogel website – http://www.vernavogel.com/tintinabulation/

Art Central tenant site – http://artcentralcalgary.com/events/

Axis on Facebook – (log in) https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.555450614488379.1073741825.189104764456301&type=3

  

Tintinnabulation  tin-tin-nab-u-la-tion n. The ringing, jingling or tinkling sound of bells.

In the inner ear, there are tiny hairs which vibrate in response to sound waves, part of a

process which transmits sound to the brain, allowing it to register, filter and define sounds.

This, as we all know, is called “hearing”.  Over time, the hearing process changes. Gradually, some of those tiny hairs are no longer able to stop vibrating, and will continue to vibrate even in a complete absence of sound. The speed at which this change happens is directly influenced by how much sound – how many decibels and for how long – the ears are exposed to.

The brain registers these unchecked vibrations as a kind of electric buzzing or bell-like ringing

noise.

Verna Vogel studied art at Capilano College in North Vancouver, and received a scholarship to study Chinese ink painting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for 1 year.  Following her studies abroad she spent 5 years honing her visual perception and rendering skills through an intensive, self-directed study of the human figure.  In 2001, and she began directing her energies towards painting abstractly, focusing on urban and natural landscapes, creating imagery from memory and imagination.  She calls herself an experimenter and inventor who uses paint, brushes, canvas and a sewing machine to make vibrantly original works of art.

Axis Contemporary Art is a commercial gallery that opened in Calgary’s Art Central building in 2005 and shows original artwork by professional artists working in different mediums.  The gallery focuses primarily on Canadian art and looks for work that is fresh, engaging and dynamic.  In additional to its representation of fine Canadian artists, the gallery also presents exhibitions for international artists such as iconic celebrity photographer Douglas Kirkland, and The Glasgow Print Studio.  Axis has also participated in arts festivals such as Exposure Photography Festival and OYR’s High Performance Rodeo. 

LINKS TO PREVIEW THE SHOW:

Verna Vogel website –

http://www.vernavogel.com/tintinabulation/

Art Central tenant site –

http://artcentralcalgary.com/events/

Axis on Facebook – (log in) https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.555450614488379.1073741825.189104764456301&type=3

Rob Mabee

Axis Contemporary Art

#203 – 100, 7^th Ave SW Calgary AB

403.262.3356

Visit us online at:  www.axisart.ca
We are located in: www.artcentralcalgary.com
@RobMabeeAxis on Twitter

stepping up

Many of you reading this will already know that I am no longer using blogspot because I have switched over to using my website blog, which I call my "studio journal".

Here's a link to my site:
http://www.vernavogel.com/

And here's a link to my site's studio journal:
http://www.vernavogel.com/studio-journal/

You can easily leave comments on my journal posts, and my website also has a "contact" page if you would like to contact me.

Thanks to you all for your continued interest in my work - we artists could not survive without our admirers!

:)
V

night painting!

Another website journal post, click for more images and my thoughts:

http://www.vernavogel.com/once-upon-a-night/

get back

http://www.vernavogel.com/get-back/

Got four large-ish paintings back from one of my galleries today, which I intend to re-work a bit.
In these older pieces I was playing with the idea of allowing the raw, unpainted canvas to show rather than “hiding” the stitching under layers of paint.  Show the stitching process, keep the painting process very minimal kind of thing.  
Here’s a link to the first raw canvas piece I made, in 2011.  
After that one, I made some more - remember these?

Out Of Sound, 51x45 inches

Sky Light, 45x51 inches

Horizons, 62x35 inches

Connection, 62x25 inches

Problem is, raw canvas is pretty much all the same colour.  When I was making these paintings, the colour of the canvas became quite a challenge: how to work with this predominant beige – how to keep things simple but interesting?

I spent part of 2012 working on how to keep the raw canvas look while making the finished paintings more visually appealing.  I called this body of work “Spatial Awareness”, because keeping some of the raw canvas visible while creating a dynamic painting required a much more thoughtful approach to the underlying composition of each one, since I didn’t want the option of simply covering up visual discrepancies.  
Here’s a link to some of those efforts.

So now the plan with these returned works is to, yes indeed, cover up some of that raw canvas colour!  I still want to maintain the original idea of carefully considered space and minimal colour – just not the same same same raw canvas beige.  The changes I intend will be simple but (hopefully) effective.

Wish me luck!  :)

up and running!

Woo-hoo!!  Bells and whistles and big smiles!

Here it is, finally, my new website blog!  On my website I've called it my journal, which sounds prettier.

For my first post I used a couple of old-ish photos that I've posted here before, but those images do seem to encapsulate how I feel.

I'm sorry to say I don't know how to set things up if anyone wants to follow it or anything slick and posh like that, I am just now very happy to have finally made a blog post via my new website.

The website needs a bit of work still, and gradually it will be looking better and perhaps functioning better too.  Baby steps, right?  And I am one impatient baby, ha.  But quite happy tonight.

:)

skin

In between working on my soon-to-be website, I have made this:

 The paint is a skin that covers the bones of the stitched canvases...

People quite often tell me that I am very calm, very laid-back, nothing flusters me, etc.  This month that calm is only my skin, and underneath I am comprised of a lot of impatient, inarticulate bones!

There is so much to learn in getting my website going - and Kim has done most of the difficult work already! - still I'm finding it rather frustrating to sit in front of this screen for hours at a time when what I really want to do is paint.  

*sigh*

But I am too impatient with the computer - I must not lose my focus, I must keep telling myself that it will be worth the effort in the end, and meanwhile, in between things I am still painting a little to keep myself sane.

And, isn't my painting lovely?  I really like this piece!  :)

news from the front

I just made a facebook page:
Steel Sky Woman

This is a sort of practice for a website.  It would seem that the time is nigh for me to have a website, so that all my things can be under one roof so to speak, and so that ownership of my "stuff" will be more firmly in my hands.  

This is where I will go to set up my future website:
artbiz.ca

Kim is pretty cool.  I met her briefly in person when she did a presentation at the ASA gallery at Lougheed House here in Calgary.  
Checking out artbiz online, it seems like this may be a good choice for me.  I know a few artists who have worked with Kim and they have glowing reports about setting up their websites with her help.

2013 is setting up to be a year of forward changes for me.  Nothing too big since I tend to move slowly through life, but some exciting progressions are in the works.  

Stay tuned!

a sense of scale

Ink paintings coming along quite nicely.  
I just spent some time looking at photos of artist studios and was inspired to take another photo of my own studio, and why not put me in there too.
:)