August 30th, 2010
So, I’m hanging my show at Secession in less than a month! This show is going to be up til the end of November, and will coincide with Open Studios (our weekend is Oct 9-10). Today I’m designing the postcard I’ll use to promote my newest work. If you’d like to get a postcard from me, please email me your address.
The photo is of a piece that I just finished and haven’t gotten professionally photographed yet. I have a few more pieces I’ll have to get shot before I hang them at the end of September. This painting, “Superb Tanager”, is the biggest one I’ve done in this series (24×36″), but I’m hoping to finish a 30×30″ for the show, too.
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August 1st, 2010
Show at Variety Screening Room
Originally uploaded by basmatiheather
Show at Variety Screening Room
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July 27th, 2010
I’ve been able to spend a lot of time in the studio over the last month or so, and that’s good, because I have a lot of painting to do! I’m getting something more than a dozen completed paintings photographed this Friday in preparation for my Open Studios show, which goes up September 27 and stays up til the end of November.
I also have a show of my Earthly Desires works going up this weekend at the Variety Screening Room - the reception will be Thursday, August 5, I believe 5-7pm, and the show will be up for August and September.
This photo is of my favorite brush, which I’ve recently retired but haven’t been able to get rid of completely. I call it the Velveteen Rabbit brush, because it’s been so loved that it’s pretty much not there anymore. I guess that makes it real. I wish I could buy brushes pre-aged (maybe not this far gone, but not nice and shiny-smooth). I like when my brushes are on the roughened side, to give some texture to the paint - I do a lot of dry-brushing and really scrub at the surface and generally maltreat my poor brushes. I try to wash and condition them well, but eventually they do wear out and become useless.
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June 22nd, 2010
I’ve been using a much larger variety of acrylic mediums in my new set of paintings and it’s really opened up a lot of possibilities in texture for me. Very exciting to experiment!
I worked on this painting yesterday. For the washes and drips I added some Acrylic Flow Release to thinned liquid paint - it gives a completely different feel to the wash, a much deeper stain, than just plain water. I’ve been doing lots of stains and drips and layers of medium (I’ll add a thick layer of gloss gel to this at some point, which separates the layers of color and gives a lot of depth to the painting).
The only disadvantage to doing all these layers of medium is that it takes so long to dry in between layers. You can hurry it along with a hairdryer, but that can lead to cracking and other possibly-undesirable effects so I try to avoid it. It is hard to be patient!
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June 8th, 2010
bullfinch-canary mule
Originally uploaded by basmatiheather
bullfinch-canary mule
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June 7th, 2010
I’ve been working away like mad on my newest pieces: embroidering and crocheting when I’m not in my studio, and painting when I am. I’ve been working on something like six or seven pieces at once, because the techniques I’m using involve a lot of layers of medium, and each layer requires a fair bit of drying time in between. So I flit from painting to painting - there’s always something do to.
I’m hanging several of my newer pieces at Arrivederci Cafe, 11 G Street in San Rafael, CA. They’ll be up June 26 - August 12.
Also, on Monday, June 28, I’ll be participating in Arrivederci’s weekly Salon, organized by Angar Mora. Join us if you can! I’ll be presenting a short talk about my latest work and techniques, along with some other performers (details to come). There is a $7 cover charge, which includes a 25% discount on dinner orders - make a reservation for 5:30 with the restaurant (415) 453-6427 if you can, mentioning the salon.
For more information about the salon events, take a look at this Examiner article.
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June 1st, 2010
Hawfinch in progress
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May 29th, 2010
embroidery painting, "Hawfinch"
Originally uploaded by basmatiheather
embroidery painting, “Hawfinch”
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May 24th, 2010
Painting on linen
Originally uploaded by basmatiheather
I’m in that working mode where it feels like I’m thinking about art constantly, whether awake or asleep. I want to be in the studio all the time, though of course I cannot.
I did get a chance to be in the studio a little bit this weekend, and so I painted this design on a piece of linen that has an old embroidery pattern on it, complete with instructions printed on the linen itself. I got several vintage patterned linens recently on ebay - some were even partially embroidered. I’ll be using them in my work this summer for sure.
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May 5th, 2010
Yesterday, I hung up pretty much all of my remaining “Earthly Desires” paintings at On Mars, a hair salon in the lower Haight. Actually, since I sprained my shoulder a couple of weeks ago and am not able to do a lot of heavy lifting, I recruited a friend to do most of the hard work. Thanks, Bob! The walls in the main part of the shop are bright orange-red and the paintings look extra dramatic against that background.
Earlier this week, I got five recent Net and Nest paintings photographed to put on my website and Facebook page. One of the paintings had already been sold, but came back to me briefly so I could sand and finish the edges properly. I took the opportunity to document it. Getting photos taken of my work always makes them feel more like real objects to me, somehow.
And I’ve already signed up for this falls Open Studios. My studio neighborhood is Weekend One again this year, which means October 9-10. My art will be up on the walls at Secession for October and November.
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