art couple

an embarrassment of riches

2012-01-14T05:46:00.000-08:00

Studio mate Joey brought me a great album of old photos a few months ago that touched off an all out photo buying free-for-all at the Grushovenko household. Over the course of a week or so I 'won' around a dozen ebay auctions for large lots of old pictures. Boxes of hundreds of new images began arriving at our house. For the first few days this was almost unbearably exciting, followed by days of mild excitement, followed by a few days of 'eh', followed by a feeling of mild nausea as if I had eaten too much sugar. I became so overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities that I basically had to hide them all from myself and turn back to some tried-and-true references for a while.

It's been long enough now that my image indigestion has abated and I have begun pulling out my new babies and working them into our repertoire. Here is a newbie, "Three Boating".

30" x 40" oil on linen, $1800

And here is "Four Layered Lounge"...my new favorite.

36" x 36" oil on linen, $2200

Many of our new purchases didn't make the cut for use in our work, and some of those have gone into a 'wallpaper' type project at the gallery:

Paintings in this photo are by our good friend Melinda Clair.

Greenville Open Studios

2011-11-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

Hi all! This weekend is our very first 'Greenville Open Studios' weekend. We are incredibly excited to be a part of this fantastic event. Our visit here for the 2010 show was the clincher in our decision to make the move to the upstate. Over 100 artists are opening their studios and homes this weekend for the public to come in and see their work and their process.

Here are a few pictures of our space, featuring 30 new pieces from myself and Genna, new paintings by Steve Frenkel and Melinda Clair, and fabric art by our Nastiya.

Hoping to see everyone!

1203 Pendleton Street, Greenville SC 29611
Saturday 10-6
Sunday 12-6

grushovenko gallery pics

2011-08-12T16:39:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody! We're two weeks open at Grushovenko Gallery and I finally got around to taking a few photos. They start from the outside and proceed more or less from the font to the back. Genna built the wall just inside the front door facing out that has the bathing girls painting on it. It's on casters so it can be moved around the room and also provides storage for our extra pieces (Genna is a genius). The last few pics are of our neighbor Joey and his studio. Our spaces connect through the west wall.

Pics are clickable.

Grushovenko Gallery is open every Friday and Saturday from 10-5 and every first Friday of the month from 6-9. We're at 1203 Pendelton Street, Greenville.

tapeworm

2011-07-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

The opening of our new gallery has progressed in my mind from 'place to park our inventory while we're not traveling' to 'all I can think about'. Don't tell Genna, he thinks I still have everything in it's proper perspective.

Thursday we moved in furniture. This morning I started bringing in all of what I like to call 'the giblets' (my nonsensical term for accessories). I drug in a full car load of pots, quilts, art books, and rugs and then met with my gallery neighbor Joey Bradley to work out the design for our new signage.

We'll have a vertical 'art gallery' banner hanging above the front door and window vinyl with 'Grushovenko Gallery, fine art and craft' on the window. I picked out this font:

which I thought was really au courant. Joey informed me that OCR A Extended is embarrassingly 2009 and totally gauche (my words, his sentiment). He basically told me that he could not be associated with such a loser, so in the end we settled on the font that Ed Ruscha uses in his paintings:

It's called 'tapeworm'

and Mr. Ruscha refers to it as:

and that's exactly what I was going for, so...perfect. Hopefully it will still be in vogue by the time the signage goes up next week. (I kid Joey. He was very sweet and helpful and I always appreciate his excellent advice.)

I had no idea that designers had such strong feelings about fonts. I did, however, know that most people have grown to hate comic sans with a white hot passion. My good friend Kathrine Allen-Coleman had a fantastic, foul mouthed little movie about the poor fellow on her facebook feed today. Enjoy! (Unless you're not a big fan of cursing, then please ignore.)

I'm Comic Sans, Asshole from joehollier on Vimeo.

triple crown!

2011-07-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

Genna and I are back home after nearly a month on the road. This was our longest trip yet...3500 total miles driven. We'd like to say a huge thank you to all of our friends and clients in DesMoines, Omaha, Denver, and Madison that made this our best tour yet.

Here we are at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha:

Same place, Genna with a giant hypno head:

Same place, me riding a pencil:

Genna running from a T-rex on his birthday (I wish I had video of this as right after this moment his funny face turned to a fearful face as he went running out of control down the hill, eating it at the bottom. He wasn't hurt.):

and us in the Rocky Mountains:

I'm also delighted to report that we won an award at all three of our festivals! Genna's calling it the 'triple crown'. Best of show in DesMoines, Juror's Award in Denver, and an Invitational award in Madison. The best thing about this is that we're now jury exempt for those shows next year. All of my festival friends out there will know how much this means. The jury process for these shows is so competitive that it's not at all unusual to have a great show in a city one year and then wait several years to get back in. So, yay!

Our other big news is that while we were away, a full studio opened up at the Flat Iron Studios building here in Greenville. Our good friend and artist Kent Ambler had graciously offered to split his space there with us so we already had plans to join the Flat Iron family, but we're even more excited that we'll now have a full gallery/studio space to play around with. We'll start our move in process tomorrow so I'll have lots more soon about our new partners, future plans, and the before/after of our new place.

Engine # 6

2011-06-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

Every once in a blue moon, we make something that I step back and see and say "that's exactly what I had hoped to do". I finished a piece this week that was one of those. She's called 'Steam Engine' (oil on linen, 36" x 48"). Mine and Genna's layers married just right here and I think additionally I broke some new ground with my treatment of the foliage in the upper right quadrant. It's also a lot of intricate work that I think reads as easy and whole. Yay!

I just looked up how often a blue moon is and it says approximately once in 3 1/2 years. So, maybe I make something that really tickles me two or three times in a blue moon!

Here's the last piece that made me really happy:

'New Truck', oil on linen, 36" x 36"

I made it about a year ago and have it hoarded up hanging in my living room.

"Memento" at Wynn Bone

2011-06-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to gallerist Wynn Bone who is hosting our solo show "Memento" through the end of this month. Wynn's gallery is a lovely, light-filled, second floor space on Main Street in downtown Annapolis. If you're in the area and looking for the show, you'll find it above the fine jewelry shop 'Casa Nova'.

Wynn did a beautiful job installing the show, giving each piece plenty of room to breathe. My favorite part of the show was the treatment of the small works. Due to the tiny amount of real estate we're used to having at festivals, I'm used to seeing my little babies in clusters of as many as 15 at a time. Wynn hung only 3 of the 6 or 7 small pieces we brought, giving each one plenty of elbow room. I loved the effect of this...making each little piece seem like a jewel.

We've been working with Wynn for over a year but this was our first time at the gallery. I was really taken with the stable of artists he has put together. Each artist seemed entirely different on first glance, yet there was a strong connection amongst them. It's hard to say exactly how to name this connection, but I think it has to do with technique and surface quality. Each artist (figurative, abstract, landscape) had a unique process for layering a lush, deep surface that hooks you into long-time-looking.

Building a strong 'artist family' at a gallery has to be in the top 3 most important jobs of a gallerist. Several clients at the show mentioned to us that they collect from almost all of Wynn's artists and that they trust Wynn to bring the goods every show. Check out his artist catalog online at www.wynnbonegallery.com.

Kudos, Wynn.

P.S. I loved his dog.

art closet

2011-05-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've made about 8 mid to large sized paintings in my new studio...'fondly' referred to as my 'art closet' due to it's massive size...and the jury is still out. The former owner of our house was an accountant who worked from home and the studio was her office. Counter tops wrap around the room on three walls leaving only about 4 or 5 feet of floor space in width. This means that I have to stand with my canvas parallel to the long side of the room and re-orient the canvas over and over to get out of the room or to step back and see what I'm up to.

If you're a painter, you understand how important the stepping back is. Its almost impossible to see what you're up to if you can't get 10-15 feet back from a large piece. I think if we rip out all of the counters and take off the studio door I'll be able to get enough distance by stepping out into the hall. That's all on my to-do list but might have to wait until winter!

Here's a peek at my art closet. And yes, if you look hard enough you'll see Oprah, Hank Hill, and the Cake Boss.

In the Greenville Journal

2011-05-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to Cindy Landrum at the Greenville Journal for this great article, and Art & Light owner Teresa Roche for putting us together. We had such a great talk with Cindy that I forgive her for quoting me as saying that I'm a lazy painter. (I really did say that, I should have just prefaced it with 'this is off the record'! I say that to people constantly so it was just a matter of time before it became public record.)

The article is also about Artisphere, which was a great show for us...including a second place ribbon. Congrats to our good friend and art crush Lisa Norris for trumping us with best of show.

By Cindy Landrum
MAY 12, 2011

After Signe and Genna Grushovenko became partners in life, they really didn’t set out to become partners in art, too.
That’s something that began to happen gradually a couple of years into their marriage.

Because Signe Grushovenko was used to drawing with pastels on colored paper, she did not want to paint on a white canvas.

Genna, who was stretching and preparing the canvases that his wife would use, began underpainting. Soon, he began to turn the underpainting into more than just a bottom coat of color. They became abstract paintings in themselves.

He turned the canvases over to Signe, who uses her collection of a couple thousand vintage photographs ranging from old family photos to flea market and antique store finds as inspiration for the scene she paints over Genna’s colorful abstract canvases.

The Grushovenkos, who moved to Greenville in February, will join 10 other local artists chosen for artist row for this year’s Artisphere.

Artisphere, which is rated in the top 20 for art festivals in the United States, runs Friday through Sunday.

The 120 visual artists were chosen in a blind-juried competition from among a record 784 applicants. Half of the artists, including the Grushovenkos, are participating in the three-day festival are new to the festival.

“That’s exciting,” said Kerry Murphy, Artisphere’s executive director. “We’re excited that many artists want to come to Greenville.”

The artists represent a variety of mediums: ceramics, drawing, glass, jewelry, oil painting, acrylic painting, watercolors, photography, printmaking, sculpture and woodworking.

The artists aren’t the only things new.

The festival will feature artist demonstrations by local artists. Festivalgoers can watch a potter throw clay pots, an artist painting with wax and a blacksmith tying an Appalachian broom.

Gone are the food and beverage tickets, as cash will be accepted for the first time at all the food booths. The food vendors are using recyclable paper products, while beer and wine will be sold in recyclable cups.

Returning to the festival is crowd favorite, Brian Olsen. Olsen uses his fingertips, elbows and up to three paintbrushes at a time to create large paintings of pop icons during a single song.

Musical performances are highlighted by Sonia Leigh on Friday and Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons on Saturday.

The Artists of the Upstate juried exhibition is hanging at Centre Stage.

Signe Grushovenko said while Genna’s part of the paintings got more complex, hers got simpler.

“I select what portion of his work to feature,” she said. “I am harnessing moments in his very free creative process.

Genna, who is from the Ukraine and completed compulsory service in the Soviet Army, said he has no preconceived notions of what his underpaintings will look like when he starts.

Sometimes, Signe tries to tell him what colors or patterns she needs.

“That’s the only thing we fight about anymore,” she said.

Genna said his painting is a “jazz-like process.” “Sometimes, it’s hard to control,” he said. “Any restriction on my creativity does not serve me well. It’s a very fluid and spontaneous process.”

Sometimes the process creates an underpainting that Signe doesn’t originally think she can use.

“It pushes her to make some difficult decisions,” he said.

Genna said it’s difficult to duplicate the process because he paints outside and weather conditions can affect his results because he uses very thin paints.

“The unpredictability is part of the fun for me,” he said.

Signe said she is drawn to vintage photographs because of the patterns created by the groups of people, including the shapes between them and the repetition of arms and legs.

“Signe selects a photograph for a feeling,” he said.

Signe’s first painting from a vintage photograph used a picture of her great grandparents.

“I felt a real resonance with black and white photos,” she said. “They give me freedom of color.”

She doesn’t base many of her paintings on family photographs anymore.

“Some of the photographs I use once and some I go back to over and over,” she said.

She likes early century photos because “people made such great shapes in their clothes.”

Signe, like Genna, doesn’t know exactly where she’s headed when she begins a painting. But she knows when it’s finished.

“I’m kind of a lazy painter. I like to be done,” she said. “It’s easy to overpaint.”

The Grushovenkos are looking forward to their first art show in their new hometown.

The move first came up when a pair of very close friends moved to Spartanburg. There was nothing left to keep the Grushovenkos in LaGrange, Ga.

The first time they came to Greenville – for Open Studios – they were convinced to move.

“We were thinking it would be a long process, but we were here in within three months,” she said.

Although the move added some travel time to their outdoor art show circuit which is usually around a dozen art shows around the country, the move has been a good one, Signe said.

“Coming from a town where we were the only full-time artists in town to here, where there is a talented group of artists who were very welcoming, I was blown away,” she said.

Art & Light Installation

2011-05-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

We've been busy beavers since my last post (two months ago...embarrassing). Two trips to Texas, one to Kansas City, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember right now. The one bit of doin' I'm most excited to report is that we've just opened our first exhibition here in our new hometown of Greenville SC.

I was in Art & Light the first time last November when Genna and I were just considering our move. I was so impressed with the quality of the artists and the clever, current style of the displays that I figured Greenville couldn't be half bad! Gallerist and designer Theresa Roche presents her artist's works alongside carefully chosen mid century furniture and lighting. She has an awesome eye and a great sense of humor (uber important to good design).

So, we were incredibly honored that our G'ville coming out party took place at Art & Light. Theresa visited our studio a few weeks before the opening to preview the work in order to chose furniture and accessories as appropriate accompaniments. The result is one of my favorite installations of our work ever. My favorite part is the vignette in the rear of the gallery featuring our 'Secondary Class Portraits I & II' (24" x 72" each panel) and 'Pre Poker' hanging above the 100" 60's Henredon sofa. The fabric on the sofa is original and converses brilliantly with the underpainting in the class portrait.

If you're in the area in May, go by and check it out. Also on site are our good friends Joey Bradley and Kent Ambler and many other fantastic local artists. For gallery hours and other info, visit A & L online at www.artandlightgallery.com.

swagger

2011-03-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

I'm noticing that all of my new fave subjects have 'swagger' in spades. I've been obsessed with painting pants for years now and I'm thinking that the swagger factor is actually the underlying interest there. Here are my newest boys:

"Power Play", 48" x 36" oil on linen (farm house swagger)

And stepping back through the last few projects:

"Prowd Owner", 24" x 48" oil on linen (20's swagger)

"Sunday Drivers", 36" square oil on linen (cruising swagger)

"Buff Beachgoers", 40" x 30" oil on linen (pantsless swagger)

"Swaggering Foursome", 30" x 40" oil on linen (slow-mo walk swagger)

& "Plain White Tee", 36" x 48" oil on linen (Rebel Without a Cause swagger)

Sexy, yah?!

'peek-a-boo'

2011-02-12T08:23:00.001-08:00

About a year ago, my good friend and fellow artist Cora Waterhouse turned me onto to Robert Genn's twice weekly email letter. Mr. Genn is a brilliant painter and writer who consistently offers thought provoking insights on all topics art related...the craft of painting, sources of inspiration, the natural world, work habits, art book reviews, brain science, art world politics, etc., etc. I read the twice weekly letter religiously and it has ALWAYS been worth my time.

The second letter of this past week was fantastic and shed light on something that I've always felt to be true about my own work but couldn't explain why. This is the idea of 'equivocation' or intentional ambiguity. There is a magic balance in abstract/representational painting where you reach a point that something is 'just enough'. Stepping over that line for me can absolutely ruin a piece; connect too many dots and the picture disappears. Here's what Robert had to say:

"A few minutes ago I was watching a young couple staring at a huge abstract painting in a commercial art gallery. The painting was mysterious, dark, tentative--with perhaps, only perhaps, the whisper of a female figure. Previously, when I'd daringly checked out its very high price, a gallerista swept by and assured me, "We sell a lot of this man's work."

Now I'm sitting on a bench eating coconut ice cream while keeping abreast of brain science on my iPad. V.S. Ramachandran is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, San Diego. Looking into various brains, including the brains of people who look at art, he's come to the conclusion that things are better when they are less visible. He calls it "The Peekaboo Principle." In his research, it seems that girls in scanty clothing are more appealing to the average straight male than girls in the buff. To be fair, these findings have been challenged by every frat house west of the Pecos.

According to Ramachandran, concealment works because we are hardwired to solve puzzles. People get turned on by problem solving.

Further, curiosity is more arousing than the part where you get the message. This is how Ramachandran explains the popularity of abstract art. It seems our tiny perfect brains are forever on the lookout for wizardry. He thinks we are hardwired for what he calls "ultranormal stimuli." Yep, it's a bit like religion--many people crave the possibilities of the transcendent, the divine, the paranormal."

To subscribe to Robert Genn's free twice weekly letter, follow this link. It should get you to the current letter, then there's a 'subscribe' button towards the top. You won't be sorry!

in the paper!

2011-01-17T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Our gallery changes were featured on the front page of the LaGrange Daily News last week. They did such a lovely job with the article, I thought I'd post it here. With our move progressing quickly, things are constantly happening I'd like to tell everyone about but just don't have time! More soon.

Studio gains new faces as artists bid farewell
By Trey Wood Staff writer LaGrange News

Robyn MIles / Daily News

Artists in Residence founding members Signe and Genna Grushovenko are preparing to leave LaGrange for new artistic ventures in Greenville, S.C. To their right are some new faces and some familiar ones who will be leading the art studio. From left are new members Sandy Cox and Dawn Douglas, longtime members Terri Codlin and Guthrie Killebrew, and new members Connie Wilkerson and Cora Waterhouse. Not present is longtime member Melinda Clair.

Founding members Genna and Signe Grushovenko are preparing to move to Greenville, S.C., where they will work from home as painter and potter, and collaborate together.

It was a tough decision. LaGrange is their home. It’s where they met, fell in love and married.

She is a LaGrange College graduate who made the community her home, and he has been a mainstay in the local art scene since fellow Artists in Residence founders found him working janitorial services at LaGrange Mall after moving to Georgia from Kiev, Ukraine.

It’ll certainly be a change in landscape.

“Friends of ours went with the most recent Milliken move to the Greenville area, and we are godparents to their kids and we’ve been friends for a really long time,” Signe Grushovenko said.

The couple didn’t think they had the ability to pick up their lives and move, but, “Here we are, I think it’s only three months later, and we’re on our way,” she said.

The love between Signe and Genna Grushovenko has been a collaboration of both art and life. The two come from completely different backgrounds – she from Michigan and he from Ukraine, but together they’ve helped shape a thriving art community built from pots and paints, mixed media and oil.

Now, 12 years later, they’re leaving that community as a thriving and living organism. They’ll take their art on the road, continuing their practice of participating in festivals all over the country while having studio space in their house.

“The big shift is that Signe has been here. She’s been with (Artists in Residence) for 12 years, but she’s really been the driving force in many ways in this whole co-op,” said Cora Waterhouse, now managing partner and painter at Artists in Residence. “I’m taking Signe’s place.”

Waterhouse and the new additions to Artists in Residence have big shoes to fill. Besides being heralded artists among indie scene followers for their collaboration oil paintings, the Grushovenkos are LaGrange mainstays. They’re teachers and artists. And Signe Grushovenko is co-director for the Visual Artists Alliance of LaGrange, another group of local artists.

“We’re going to have to shift around a good bit in the Visual Artists Alliance as well,” Waterhouse said. “We have done a lot of work over the last four years, and a lot of that’s been Signe, so it’s going to be tough – tough working without her.”

Waterhouse will be joining Melinda Clair, Terri Codlin and Guthrie Killebrew, along with new additions in Sandy Cox, Dawn Douglas and Connie Wilkerson.

A few of the new artists, including Waterhouse, are teachers at LaGrange Art Museum and will bring those classes to Artists in Residence, ushering in a host of new faces, along with utilizing the studio space for other ventures.

“The biggest shift is in people, and that’s a huge shift,” Waterhouse said.

Overall, Signe and Genna Grushovenko are leaving Artists in Residence as a well-oiled and well-maintained machine. Its wheels and gears will continue to turn, even without some of the founding members working in its hallways.

“The thing I’m most thankful for about this move is Artists in Residence is going to continue on without us,” Signe Grushovenko said. “This has just been such a great growth experience for me and my husband. We’re just really thrilled that we have four new people coming, and this place is still going to be healthy and happy when we go.”

Artists in Residence will give the couple a send-off with a farewell party from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday in the studio at 300 S. Greenwood St. There also will be a reception for new members joining the AIR fold.

The occasion will be called Fresh AIR, signifying a breath of fresh air into the studio with a host of new artists calling the place home, and a breath of fresh air for two of the studio’s founding members.

“We’re leaving this place in good hands and ready to move forward and start something new, start something fresh,” Signe Grushovenko said.

my most prized

2011-01-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of packing up my studio, Genna's studio, and our house. We've been 12 years at our studio and 8 years in our home and it is SHOCKING what a person can accumulate in that amount of time. I've been particularly freaked out about the gallery...each time I think I've got a handle on it, I open a closet or cabinet door and SURPRISE!

I'm not here to complain, though. I love nearly all of my things and they are well worth the time and hassle it takes to properly pack them and carry them across state lines. What I want to tell you about today is how much great stuff I have!

We've been living in the middle of a construction site for most of the 8 years we've been in our house. Half of it is now lovely (restored hardwood floors, crown molding, high ceilings, period details) and the other half would still look at home in a cracky trailer park (cheap fake wood paneling, ancient oatmeal colored carpet, sway-backed dropped ceilings). Because we never finished this project, I've never properly displayed much of our art collection, accumulated through purchases, gifts, and trades since I started college in 1992. Packing it up I've been seeing it with fresh eyes and falling in love all over again.

I'm going to show you one thing today...my very most prized possession...and then maybe a few more things from our collection later on. Here she is:

She is an untitled original watercolor on paper made by our good friend Keith Rasmussen in 1975, just a year after I was born. This piece hangs in our bedroom on the wall to my right as I lay looking out. It's like a master class in painting laying and studying it each morning.

When I met Keith, he was the director of the Chattahoochee Vallery Art Museum here in LaGrange. I was honored to have many opportunities to see him work over the 10 years or so that I knew him, and each time it was like absolute magic. I've seen him draw and paint and work on lithographic plates and never once saw him make a stray mark. He could look at his subject and render it seemingly effortlessly.

This particular composition is made up of a girl, two intricately detailed baskets, and a black bird (amongst other things). You know I have a thing about black birds, right? The bird brings an unexpected, allegorical flavor to the otherwise everyday scene.

You can see many more examples of Keith's work and read his story at www.keithrasmussen.com. Keith died of pancreatic cancer in 2006 but his lovely wife, my good friend Mary Ann Rasmussen, continues to represent him and his work. Take the time to check it out, I promise it will be well worth your time.

ps...Here it is in it's place!

signe's holiday wish list!

2010-12-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

Genna and I are not exchanging gifts this year since we're buying each other a house (although I secretly ordered myself a gift of new china today...shhh!). We're also scaling back on gift giving with family.

We've always been crazy Christmas gift givers with a full-on orgy of presents on Christmas Eve and Santa bringing gifts for ALL, young and old, on Christmas morning. This year we've gone to 'kids only' and I unfortunately don't qualify at 36 (our 20 year old Nastiya made it just under the wire, lucky girl).

So, my December spending bonanza has been brutally curtailed and I'm suffering from a little shopping withdrawal. Looking for relief from the retail d.t.'s today I decided I'd do some online searching of my favorite artists and share with you what I would be asking for if I was asking.

ENJOY!

This is the 'birthday suit candy dish' by one of my new art idols Jenny Mendes. I found Jenny at the Kentuck festival in Tuscaloosa and bought her quirky, sweet, subversive little bowls for all of my studio co-op partners. She has scads of new pieces in her etsy store that have all my chakras spinning.

"Wallflower" (24" square) is my most recent fave by Kathrine Allen-Coleman. I love every piece from this series, but this one also hearkens back to my 70's childhood wardrobe. One of you should snap this up to save me from myself...if I run across it in person at one more festival I'm going to have to bring it home. Kathrine wrote about this particular piece on her blog.

"Midnight Gathering" by Kent Ambler. I have a thing about black birds, bare branches, and smoky teal, so this is ticking all the boxes.

"Bottles" from Greg Turco's 'Ruins' series. I have 3 or 4 of Greg's beautiful photos that I've never had room to hang. Maybe they'll finally make it out of storage in our new place.

Mmmmmmm. My friend Scott Coleman posts a beautifully rendered little cupcake painting every day. This one is from back in October but there are also lots of great holiday ones to choose from.

"Knack" in Greenville specializes in re-contextualized furniture and 'found goodness', but they had me at 'moose head made out of old newspapers'. I discovered Knack through my new friend Theresa at Art & Light gallery in Greenville. Theresa is an excellent gallerist and curator who always has a fantastic collection of artists and mid century mod furniture on display.

OK, my eyes are tired now. Maybe more wish list later. Anyone else want to share their holiday handmade gift dreams?

Last. Mini. Ever.

2010-12-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

I spent this weekend with my last ever batch of minis...a set of eight little couples, each six inches square and framed in black. Why no more minis? They're a pain in my ass. Each one takes easily as much time and effort as a piece nine times it's size, plus I have to hold my breath with each stroke to keep the brush steady enough for such tiny strokes.

All that said, these are some charming little buggers! Regularly priced at $150, these are $120 each through February with our 20% moving sale discount. Shipping is free as always. See the whole series plus a dozen new small pieces at www.grushovenko.com.

"Moving Sale" works are going fast with nearly a dozen pieces sold since we started it yesterday so check it out quick!

on the move!

2010-11-29T15:36:00.000-08:00

Genna and I are just back from Gerton, NC where we spent a lovely week on the side of Bearwallow Mountain with my folks for Thanksgiving. On our way there, we stopped in Greenville, SC and BOUGHT A HOUSE! Here we are in front of our new place:

We're closing in mid-January and beginning our move in early February. We are both excited ane terrified. For those of you who don't know us well, Genna and I have been partners in a co-operative gallery and studio facility in downtown LaGrange GA for more than 12 years. Our artist partners have become like our second family and we've all grown together in our lives and careers. Upon our move to Greenville, we'll be working from home. Anyone out there who works from home and has advice for me on how to make this transition, my ears are open.

We'll be making an effort to whittle down our personal art collection through adopting out some of our babies and our art inventory by way of a big moving sale, so stay tuned!

an oldy...hopefully goody

2010-11-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

I think I've mentioned before that sometimes as my 'artist skillset' evolves, I don't only gain things but often lose things, too. I look back at drawings from my highschool days and long for the laser focus I could hold for hours on end, rendering scenes with photographic precision. Nastiya still has this skill in spades, so maybe that has something to do with stage of life.

Before Genna and I began collaborating, I was creating texture and interest in my work with heavy 'impasto' style brushwork. As Genna brought me increasingly complex and nuanced 'start points', my painting style became increasingly flat and broad. This shift made images that used to be no brainers a huge challenge for me. I revisited one such image last week with "Logsled". Here is a 'pre-Genna' version, circa 2003:

(Logsled, oil on canvas, 85" x 65")

Each log end is a single, heavy brushstroke where the brush was loaded with multiple variations of the taupe color. The edges of some strokes are ragged and stuttering, a technique I have completed abandoned for now.

Here we are circa 2006. Simplification had begun but the underpainting process had not fully matured:

(Logsled, 40" x 30" oil on canvas)

And here's the current version, circa last week:

("Logsled", oil on linen with metallic acrylic underpainting, $2600)

Different, no? Check back in five years and I'll make it again!

my new favorite things

2010-11-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Last month I met ceramic artist Jenny Mendes at the Kentuck Art Fest in Tuscaloosa. I had seen her work there the year before and had despared at having not purchased any of her lovely, strange, sensitive little bowls then. Jenny had probably 100 of these enchanting little guys on view at the show and then further confused me by bringing me behind her booth to sift through a box of probably 100 more.

Her intimately sized creations would make lovely holiday gifts! Check her out at www.jennymendes.com.

gia miminoshvili

2010-10-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

This is a sculpture by our winter 'artist in residence' Gia that was completed while he and Genna were working together in Ukraine. I'm not sure what type of work Gia will be making while he's with us as he is both potter and painter. Please see the previous post if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

two month catchup

2010-10-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

It's been so long I don't even know what to tell you! Our fall schedule is nearly over and we're delighted to be back home. Our shows were all great (well, maybe more like 3 out of five!) and we took second place overall at the Bayou City show in Houston. Bayou City spring and fall have been consistently strong shows for us for three years and our win means that we're jury exempt for both installments in 2011/2012. What a relief to know at least one show we'll be in next year! To attend 15 shows in a year we generally apply to 30 or so.

Sausalito was FANTASTIC. I've never spent so much money to do a show before and it was absolutely terrifying but ultimately worth it. Genna was right about the big class portrait paintings. We brought two 4' x 5' versions and found new homes for both of them.

I came home thinking about the three months unfurling ahead of me with nothing to do but whatever I feel like. That lasted about a week before I hear from Genna that his good friend Gia Miminoshvilli got approved for a visa to come visit. Gia was one of Genna's early artistic mentors in Ukraine who helped him learn his craft as a potter. Originally from soviet Georgia, Gia now lives in Kiev (where Genna's from). Gia will be here at least a month, living and making art with us. At the end of his visit we'll be launching a show for him somewhere. Somewhere. Then Gia wants us to come to Georgia (the soviet one) to do a three man show with him there. Oh, and Genna's mom is going to come visit for two months this winter. The unfurling of my boundless free time has halted and begun refurling! [If you're reading this, Gia, we're totally stoked that you're coming...I just enjoy complaining.]

Here's Gia and Genna outside Gia's Kiev studio in 2006:

and in the studio, doing what they do in the studio (shooting vodka):

and with him and Genna's brothers Sasha and Costya once the singing started!

That's what our studio will look like through December!

feeling strangely fine

2010-08-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

We're about two weeks away from launching our fall travel schedule...7 shows in two months. We've done it before, 7 shows in 7 weeks last fall, but all things considered this is definitely the most we've ever had at stake. First up is the Sausalito Art Festival in early September. Just getting ourselves and all of our goodies there and back is one of the trickiest (and priciest) numbers we've ever taken on. Shortly after that will come The Plaza in Kansas City which we've been shooting for for years. At the very end of the season will come Savannah, which has been our best of the year two of the last three years.

What work I complete by next Thursday will be all we have for the fall season as we won't have time between shows to create new inventory.

Am I freaking out? I'm totally not! or maybe just a little bit. I have enough work to fill at least four booths, but I always worry I don't have exactly the right thing. The right combination of work so that it presents cohesively, the right type of work for the area we're traveling to, the right balance of large and small, the right color for the moment, yikes.

I'm trying to practice my 'allowing' and be OK with what I have. I'm going to post all of the new work next week before we hit the road, be sure to check out the sneak preview!

(Ya, that's me with a big shark. I thought it would be a good metaphor, like me taming the savage beast that is my fear of inadequacy. I actually have a painting I want to show you, but maybe I'll get around to that tomorrow.)

genna knows best

2010-08-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Genna nearly never tells me what to do...in our art and in our life..so when he does I pretty much have to do it.

He's been pressuring me lately to make some more images in our "Yearbook" series. These are images created from old yearbook contact sheets from the 1950's. For some reason, I just was not feeling it; probably because I'm lazy and they're a bit more work than our other series. I finally broke down and began one late last week and am SO GLAD I did. I think I sparked something new here and am already headed on to another.

Here is "Pete and Repeat Class Portrait: Soft Plaid", oil on linen, 60" x 48":

long tall drive, finished

2010-07-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the completed "Long Tall Drive", 60" x 36".

Also hot off the presses, one of my new favorites, "Five Lounging", 24" x 48".

These and two other newbies just posted on the website.

long tall drive, in process

2010-07-21T14:28:00.001-07:00

After a tricky week in the studio (I'm not going to show you what I made as I don't want to prejudice anyone against my 'problem children'), I think I'm finally on a roll again. I haven't done a post showing the stages of a painting recently, so I decided I would today. Then I forgot what I was doing...so the first half of the piece wasn't documented.

Oh well! Here is "Long Tall Drive", 60" x 36":

I'll post a better photo of it was soon as we have a day with good light.

Have a great day, everybody!

the lacuna

2010-07-15T17:53:00.001-07:00

Hey!

Check it out...my 'bathroom to be' has floor joists...

and a floor!

Here's my hard working man in our 30' dumpster full of old room,

and if you look behind him here you can see a little of the 'archaeology' of our house:

What I don't have pictures of (because it's too depressing) is the damage we found upon our return from Wisconsin from the leaking plumbing in the ceiling of ONE OF THE TWO ROOMS IN OUR HOUSE THAT ARE ACTUALLY FINISHED. Or it was finished. Now it has a full corner (including walls/ceiling/floor) that needs repairs.

des moinesian progress

2010-06-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

Executing a move that could now arguably be called 'pulling a Signe', I brought us to Iowa for the Des Moines Art Festival a full week ahead of schedule. Now I think it's maybe a tiny bit funny, but the moment of discovery was truly horrible. I'm not a careless person by nature...I never miss a deadline and am rarely late...but I'm HORRIBLE with dates. I couldn't tell you right now when my anniversary is (don't tell Genna).

I told Genna this could have happened for a reason (meaning, like, karmically) and he said "Ya, because you're a crappy organizer." Two-shay. Luckily for me, it's World Cup time, and Genna forgave me as soon as he figured out how much soccer he was going to get to watch.

Since we hadn't made it ALL the way to Des Moines, we cooled our heels in lovely downtown Peoria IL FOR A WEEK. Here's Genna and Jerky at the riverfront...

and Jerky and me in the same spot:

That is a festival behind me, but we weren't in it for once.

Here is our Des Moines booth (a week later):

Nice, right? And here's my view of the newly opened John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park from the back of our booth:

Genna behind the booth with his nice new haircut (thanks to the JCPenney salon at the Peoria Mall), next to my current drug of choice, the Diet MtnDew...

...and here's me:

Here's the backside:

Sunday morning we decided to switch it up and change to a big wall of smalls in the front:

Next time I take show pictures, I'll show you more of the 'ugly truth' part instead of the 'dressed up pretty' part shown here. Des Moines had more of the 'ugly truth' part than most shows. Weather during the first two days was scorching. Friday and Saturday ran to 10pm, by which time crazy grumpiness had set it. Overnight both Fri. and Sat. there were terrible, windy storms that had us awake and wondering if our work would be there the next day. Saturday morning brought a pulled apart booth, complete with nearly top-less tent and wet work. Sunday was windy enough to give me stomach pains. Ah, the care-free life of the artist!

So, two more weeks (I think. Maybe I should check?) and we'll be headed to Wisconsin. Wish me luck!

what Genna's doing

2010-06-14T07:55:00.001-07:00

See that giant hole Genna's standing in? That's my house!

We (read: Genna) are/is in the process of renovating our Nastiya's bedroom and our second bath. The giant lacuna he's standing in used to be the bathroom and hall, through the wall behind him is Nastiya's room. As usual, the demolition stage went quite a bit farther than we had planned. When the rotten bathroom floor was removed, the joists underneath looked like they had been cobbled together from junk found on the side of the road. Also, we could see that the foundation was not level and needed extra support in some areas.

He has about three work weeks available before Nastiya arrives for the summer, so wish us luck!

ordering chaos

2010-06-04T17:46:00.001-07:00

After leaving nearly my entire inventory of work at Bennett Galleries a month ago, I've been double-timing it in the studio. This is fairly standard practise for me as we are on the road in 'seasons' where I might not hold a paintbrush for months. It's always exciting to see what happens after a solid three or four weeks at the easel. I think I passed my 10,000 hour mark (Outliers, anybody?) a few years back and since then haven't felt like I was starting over each time I've been away, but it still takes me that month or so of intensive work to reach what feels like a new step in development.

All that to say that I've stepped into something new in the last few work days. I'm finding myself drawn to increasingly complex images, many of which include machinery (which I've never liked working with before). I'm employing a gridding system in order to get the most accurate possible drawing before beginning the paintings. Like this...

Here's that finished piece:

What's exciting me most about this is the challenge of creating a cohesive structure with many elements atop Genna's chaotic, free form underpaintings that still has a solid composition.

Wonder what's coming next week?!

(top image: "Smithy Fishers", oil on linen, 36" x 48", $2200
bottom image: "New Truck", oil on linen, 36" x 36", $1800)

artist a day

2010-05-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Check it out! We were featured today on the artist a day website that can be selected as a daily google homepage offering.

I was a little scared to be featured as some regular readers tend to be a little harsh with their critiques, but I must say this was an energizing experience. Not nearly as painful as expected. Here's an idea of the range:

Frightening images of America. Amid signs of prosperity the faces are blank! No one home!

Comment by herb — May 22, 2010

I truly love her work of art the paintings are simply beautiful The family is the most precious thing anyone can own and longs for deep in the persons soul. Whether one is single or married it is the beginning we all started somewhere family crosses all cultures and speaks all languages. And the paintings of the girls makes me feel like I am back to my roots Pennsylvania my love for my people. I would like to meet her someday.

Comment by Anonymous — May 22, 2010

I love that our work is open enough to invite both of these comments!

Please go vote me a 5 to drive up my score and protect my fragile ego.

"the art of love"

2010-05-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

We had a great conversation with Columbus Ledger Enquirer reporter Annie McCallum a while back (between Magic City and Brookside...whenever that was!) and the resulting article ran on the cover of last Sunday's Living section. I thought she captured perfectly the nature of our collaboration (so much so that I had to cry a little bit when I read it. Then I went back into the Barnes and Noble, bought all remaining copies of the Sunday paper, and bragged to the cashier). Here's the link to the article:

The Art of Love, Columbus Ledger Enquirer, Sunday May 16, 2010

I'm not sure how long that link will work, so here's the text just in case:

Sunday, May. 16, 2010

LaGrange’s Signe and Genna Grushovenko create together

By ANNIE MCCALLUM - amccallum@ledger- enquirer.com

LAGRANGE, Ga. — LaGrange artists Signe and Genna Grushovenko describe themselves as “partners in both life and art.”

How Signe (originally from Michigan) and Genna (from the Ukraine) met, married and made art could be described as kismet.

Genna, who got a job in the United States at the LaGrange Mall, met a contractor there. The contractor was one of the original Artists in Residence gallery partners. LaGrange College grad Signe was also a co-founder of the downtown LaGrange gallery.

The two met at the gallery’s opening (where Signe recalled telling her mother that Genna was cute) and later married there. [Signe's note...my mother actually told me that Genna was way too young for me, which stung as he's actually about 6 years older.]
Now, almost 12 years later, their time together has influenced their artwork and, in turn, their careers.

Most recently they have been collaborating on paintings that depict old photos with blocks of color laid over detailed, multi-colored underpaintings. The paintings, which the couple have been creating for the past five years, have been wildly popular.

Recently the works were featured in the Magic City Art Connection in Birmingham, Ala. where they won the Award of Merit and Atlanta’s Dogwood Festival where the couple earned Best in Category. The festivals mark the beginning of one of the couple’s rigorous travel seasons, which happen in the spring and fall.

The work created by the two is better experienced than explained. But if someone were to articulate how they create their works, it would go something like this:

Genna creates the underpaintings on his own by applying oil pigment and mineral spirits onto the canvas standing. Then it’s rotated and more layers are added.

Once Genna is finished, the pieces dry and then they’re in Signe’s hands. She selects an underpainting and then chooses an image that will “mesh well.” Referencing that image, Signe begins to draw in oil pastel and later completes the painting in oil.

And voila. The finished product. Only it wasn’t always that purposeful, the couple said.

“It’s not like we decided to do that,” Signe said, later adding it was a gradual process that linked their skills together.

Signe, who always preferred to work on a colored canvas, said Genna was initially just helping her out but soon what he was doing crept into her work.

“The underpaintings became more and more complicated until it became part of the finished piece,” she said.

Though the evolution of their collaboration hasn’t been all smooth sailing. And really what married couple works together perfectly without a few bumps in the road?

“It took some tweaking,” Genna said. “She tried to manage me.”

Joked Signe: “I try and tell everyone what to do.”

Seriously though, Signe said, partnering with her husband has changed her work.

“Because what Genna does is so meaty and visceral and rich, it has pushed my style in the other direction. It’s very blocky, flat plains of color,” Signe said. “It was never anything I intended or happened in the front of my mind.”

The two said the result has been recognizable, popular work. Although, they said some people question why there are no faces depicted in the works. They explained the faces are nondescript so people can bring their own history and reaction to the pieces. It allows people to make a connection with the work.

“They’re almost like a brain puzzle, a social puzzle. Who might that have been? A lot of people say, ‘Oh, I have a photograph just like that,’ ” Genna said.

On the other hand, the couple has also gotten a different reaction.

“People say, ‘Look at those; those are creepy,’ ” Genna said.

The two smile and joke inside Signe’s studio at the Artists in Residence facility. Completed underpaintings fill the hallway between Signe’s work space and Genna’s.

Working together has made careers as artists viable for the couple. They are able to travel, sell works and make money. Gone are the days of children’s paint-your-own-pottery birthday parties at Artists in Residence.

In fact, last fall Kia commissioned Genna to do some ceramics work. He was tasked with creating 1,000 pots that were later used as corporate gifts.

“It turned out to really be a career changing job for us,” Signe said, quickly joking,

Signe helped to package and mail all the pots and wound up cooking for the team that helped her husband.

Strangely, the couple explained, just how Kia found them was all happenstance. Signe said Kia execs up Googled Georgia potters, found Genna and sent them an e-mail.

“I guess it was kismet,” Signe, said, “just meant to be.”

accidental vacations

2010-05-15T13:20:00.001-07:00

While Genna and I are on the road almost constantly, we rarely vacation. We're gone so much that I tend to want to stay put when I can. Genna will say, "Let's take a break and go on a trip." and I say "I'm too tired to go anywhere, let's just stay home and not work for a week."

Obviously, this is a flawed plan. I go in to the studio for this or that little reason and the next thing I know I've worked another full day...or there's cleaning to do at home...or somebody's calling for VAAL business that needs attention.

So, the only way I actually take vacation time is if the universe interveens for me. Last year, we pulled up to the show site for the Port Clinton Art Fest in suburban Chicago to find that the show was to be the following weekend. Oh oh. Genna was in the middle of his huge Kia project, so he had to fly home for the week. Nastiya and I got the accidental vay-kay...we drove to my grandmother's in Michigan and had a blissfully peaceful FULL WEEK away from the studio. My mother flew in and took us on a canoe ride down the AuSable River (she grew up in a canoe livery on said river). It was the very best trip...lots of girl talk, bonding, sharing, make-overs, pillow fights. I hope Genna isn't reading this because he had to go home and work the whole week and still might be just a little mad.

The reason I've brought this up now is that the universe just handed me an even better accidental vacation. Genna was waiting online for Nastiya to get home(home to her Ukranian home)on Thursday so they could have their weekly Skype chat. While waiting, he decided to check in with a high school friend whose kids were waiting for work and travel visas for this summer. Turns out that their visas had come through just the day before and they were on their way from Kiev to Atlanta the next day.

Long story short (too late, right?), Genna offered to pick them up at the airport and drive them to Destin, Fl. Voila, week at the beach here we come!

exhibition installation photos

2010-05-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots of our exhibition at Bennett Galleries in Knoxville. They have a great, HUGE space there full of fine work. Its definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Our show, "Americana", alongside painter Charlotte Terrell will be up through the end of May.

Big thanks to our Bennett contact Ginger and all the rest of the Bennett gallery family for taking such wonderful care of us and our work!

i think i can talk about this now...

2010-05-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

I've repeatedly referenced my 'secret commission' project recently in an effort to keep you all on the edge of your seats. You don't know what I'm talking about do you? Oh well, hold on to your socks 'cause I'm breaking my silence...

I was approached in January of this year by Allison Davis, head of marketing at West Georgia Health Systems here in LaGrange. WGHS is at the tail end of completing a major addition ("In addition to providing a new “front door” to health system, the four-story South Tower will include expansions of West Georgia Health System’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Cardiovascular Services, Labor and Delivery and the Emergency Departments"). To honor the architect of the expansion plan, hospital president and CEO Jerry Fulks, Allison and the executive board were interested in commissioning a large public work for the new lobby.

After lots of back and forth concerning image, size, placement, etc., our work was installed this week, just in time for the South Tower grand opening. The image is "Groundbreaking", oil on linen, 48" x 72" and will hang on the second floor of the new lobby, looking down onto the ground floor. CEO Fulks is the figure standing the farthest forward in the darkest suit.

While I wasn't originally super excited about the reference photo we used...

...a longer look brought me alot to get excited about. While each of the figures is basically upright, there is lots of great 'physical personality' here from man to man. I also love the slightly shifting repetition of the hands, shovel handles, and hard hats which create a quirky, stuttering rhythm across the composition. We used the plaid underpainting as a tongue-in-cheek reference to men's suiting material. All in all I'm very excited about how it turned out.

We were honored to take on this project and honored further still by the artists we will be hanging beside in the hospital. WGHS has gone out of its way to feature original art, mostly by local and regional artists, in the new wing. We will be sharing walls with Guthrie Killebrew, Melinda Clair, Maragaret Reneke, Lamar Dodd, Keith Rasmussen, Vee Brown, Terri Codlin, and many more. In addition to purchasing local work and presenting works from the hospital's own coffers, they will be partnering with the LaGrange Art Museum to feature works from their permanent collection. While some states require that a certain percentage of the cost of new public building should go toward art, Georgia is not one of those. Kudos to WGHS and Ellerbe Beckett for going above and beyond.

gallery opening, Knoxville

2010-05-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Our show with Bennett Galleries in Knoxville TN opens tomorrow night, Friday from 5-8pm. We'll be exhibiting our newest work alongside painter Charlotte Terrell.

Shown above is our "Side Yard Garden" (oil on canvas, 65" x 85")and a piece of Charlotte's I lifted from somehwere on the internet! Those of you super familiar with our work know that this is not a new piece for us, but it's definitely a favorite of mine. The image was taken form a beautiful photo of Genna's father Peter in Ukraine when he was a young man. When I saw Charlotte's work, I knew I wanted to show this piece alongside hers as it's a better fit for her more subtle pallette. (I promise everything else is new!)

Hoping to see some of you there. Genna and I are splitting our 'couple' so that he can travel to Jackson GA to set up for our Saturday show, so I'd love to see some friendly and familiar faces. I'll be meeting Genna in Jackson on Saturday where the show runs until 3 pm. Details on the Jackson show can be found on the website of the show promoters/artists Scott and Kathrine Allen-Coleman.

recent acquisitions

2010-04-27T15:43:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things about traveling the 'art fair circuit' is the opportunity to add to my own little art collection. I thought you might like to see who I brought home from our last outing. The pictures are not of exactly what I bought, just works by that artist.

In Atlanta I picked up a charming little watercolor of a woman mooning a penguin by Rhode Island funny man Greg Stones. Its title is 'penguin, woman, bum'. This one is 'penguin, sock monkey, death'...

In Birmingham I made two purchases and two trades. My buys were a little drawing/mono print piece by Mark Traughber (this is my actual piece)...

and a sculpture by Joan Rasmussen whose website is beautiful and won't let me steal her pictures.

My trades were a fantastic robot with a spy glass by Anthony Pack (who I couldn't find a website for). His business is called 'Urban Folk Art' if you'd like to google him.

and a large painting by my all time art crush Kathrine Allen-Coleman.

Check them out so they won't be mad at me for using their images here without their permission!

show updates...we won!

2010-04-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Many thanks to all of our new friends and dedicated collectors that made our 'Dogwood' and 'Magic City' great shows. We were delighted to be honored with awards at both shows...best in category for the former and a merit award for the latter.

Special thanks to our friend David D. in Atlanta who took home my personal favorite from our most recent collection, "Masters of the Universe" (oil on linen, 48 x 36). David is the best.

Magic City was a challenge as Saturday's forecast called for 'strong storms with the possibility of damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes.' Huh. Show director Eileen made the very wise decision to shut the show down for Saturday, so Friday night we packed it all up. Sat. we went to the art museum (excellent) and the movies (date night, also excellent) then Sunday we had to set everything back up again for the day, work the show, and then break down again that night.

I'm tired.

We're finishing up a project today and tomorrow that I can't tell you about yet. It's a secret...maybe next week. Then we're on the road again for a whirlwind trip...Asheville to pick up work, Kansas City for a show, Knoxville to drop off for a gallery show, home for two days, back to Knoxville for the reception, on to Jackson GA that same night to set up for a festival, then home. Holy cow...beer me stamina.

Hoping to see you all somewhere soon!

OH, OH, OH Ps. I forgot to tell you that Genna and I are headed to Sausalito CA this September for our very first west coast show. I have no idea how to do this, so if you're an artist and you've done it before, I'd love to hear any advice.

new neutrals

2010-04-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

I know its hard to tease out from our work what is mine and what is Genna's, but if you can you realize quite quickly that my palette is actually quite restrained. Most of the cacophony of color in our pieces emanates out from the underpainting.

In a few of our newest pieces, I am employing an almost completely neutral over painting. For example, here is our new "Upright Tarpon" (48" x 24"), finished day before yesterday:

If you look closely, my layer is almost entirely grey, black, tan, and taupe.

Another new one from this week (Boy Line, Bike Tangle, 48" x 36") sports a brand new color that I don't think I've ever touched before...a soft, peat-y, bunny rabbit brown that I think everyone will be seeing more of:

Have a beautiful day everybody!

reservoir dogs

2010-04-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

In Houston at the Bayou City show a few weeks ago, a prospective client told me that my newest piece, "Striding Plaid Foursome" (oil on linen, 36" x 60"), reminded him of Reservoir Dogs. I can't tell you how much I loved this comment as the reference for this work made me think of every cool, slow-mo 'guys walk toward the camera to an awesome song' movie scene. Those get me every single time, from R. Dogs to The Right Stuff to Swingers to my recent favorite, Paul Rudd and his rag tag groomsmen in I Love You Man.

Did I just tell too much about myself?

Anyway, I came back from Houston and had to make another. Here is "Boardwalk" (oil on linen, 36" x 60", $2800):

and here is the progression of the plaid foursome:

back in the saddle

2010-03-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Finally...finally today I had the stamina to get in a full day of painting. I don't know how long this is for other artists, but for me its around four hours. That sounds kind of wimpy when I say it out loud, don't tell my parents.

So, I'm pleased to report that I was able to reconnoiter my 'fig tree confidential' diptych to my satisfaction. As I mentioned in my last post, I thought I was finished with the diptych on Friday but was not happy with the results.

The layering process that Genna and I use doesn't allow for a lot of 'adjustments'. If I lay down an image and it doesn't work, I generally have to re-gesso the canvas and start over. Foggy as I was, I didn't think to photograph my 'disappointment diptych', so here's the verbal gist: I booh-boohed the composition by making up a bunch of shapes in the left hand piece to mirror the forms in the right hand corner of the right hand panel. It was super boring. The beauty of the inspiration photo was in the dramatic amorphous mass of leaves behind the couples.

I considered scrapping the left hand panel altogether and finishing off the right one as an independent work, but Genna suggested 're-underpainting' the background of the left piece and going again. So that's what I did. Here it is re-underpainted,

And here it is completely finished:

I hope I've done Mr. Buchanan's original image justice. My homage is "Fig Tree Diptych", two panels each 36" square oil on linen framed in black, $3500.

fig tree confidential, panel 2

2010-03-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor yesterday for the first time in about 12 years. It was nearly as fun as I remembered. They gave me a steroid shot and a z-pack scrip (which seems to be the treatment for just about everything anymore) and today I would say I'm back up to about 60% of myself. Such a relief after wandering around at about a 30 for a week!

But enough about me, you're here for the 'amish sexy' diptych update, right?

Here are the two underpainted panels, each 36" square linen:

That right hand panel is actually an "underpainting's underpainting". It's the acrylic wash step before Genna adds the oil wash layer. I liked it so much at this stage I snuck in and took it from his studio before he could take it any further.

Here if you click it and look closely I think you can see the drawing:

And then here is the progression of the right hand panel:

I actually finished the left hand panel today, put them together, and said 'bummer'. I think I have the solution figured out but don't want to show you until I fix it! Maybe Monday.

amish-y sexy

2010-03-16T12:54:00.001-07:00

Hi all. After a week long struggle with a nasty chest cold, I'm kinda sorta halfway back in the studio. My energy level is around a 5, but I'm level 10 excited about my newest project.

I'm embarking on my third diptych which I'm calling 'Amish Sexy Diptych' in my mind but will actually probably be "Fig Tree Diptych". The inspiration image shown above is from the fabulous book "The Picture Man", edited by my friend and fellow artist Ann Hawthorne. Ann is a talented and much respected photographer who researched and then befriended NC itinerant photographer Paul Buchanan before his death. She obtained permission to reprint his beautiful photos from their original negatives and has put together a stunning book and several traveling exhibitions with the results. Mr. Buchanan traveled throughout rural North Carolina from the 1920's through the early '50s photographing locals for a little money or for barter. While they were not meant at the time to be art photos, their art is undeniable.

Anywho. I find this particular image wonderfully sensual. It's two embracing couples, but they're also posed in front of this mass of fig leaves, mimicing their entwined arms. I google image searched 'fig leaves' and all kinds of sexy stuff popped up...twisted branches and leaves, cut figs (ahem.), naked statue's covered up privates, and for some reason a bunch of ladies in lingerie. But these folks are dressed from head to toe, so 'amish sexy'.

If I can hold it together for a few more hours today, hopefully I'll have the progession of the right hand work for you tommorrow. I wonder why I always start with the right one?

reconcilliation

2010-03-03T08:25:00.001-08:00

Here we are with the unified diptych. Yay! The process of bringing the two images together consisted of 2 days of wandering around the studio staring at them and maybe an hour of actually working on the canvases. I've posted the 90% finished works paired together below so that you can see the differences.

Basically, I simplied some of the shapes in the left hand bushes, carried a little of the buttery yellow over to the right hand piece and brightened the lower right shape on the right hand piece to help 'hold up' that side of the composition.

I'm tickeled with how this came out. I think it shares the spirit of the first "Main Street Diptych" while bringing its own new goodies to the table.

I forgot to mention the original inspiration for this work, which will hopefully become a new series. In collecting old pics, I often run across sets that are obviously taken one right after the other (a daughter holds the camera to shoot Mom and Dad, then Mom does the same for father and daughter). I love studying these little pairs and seeing how much the overall flow, rhythm, and spirit of a scene can change from one moment to the next. This set (image posted below) had a shift in perspective from one to the other. It's also sort of like those picture puzzles in kid's magazines where you have to find the 12 things that are different. I love that.

I know I'm talking too much and most of you have already given up, but one more quick thing...my client related reading these posts to watching a surrogate carrying her soon to be born twins. Isn't that the best?

diptych left

2010-03-01T09:29:00.001-08:00

So, here is the progression of the left hand panel of the new diptych. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, see Saturday's post!

Today I will be 'reconcilling' the two works into their final, paired composition. Look out for the finished project Wednesday at the latest.

"Main Street Dipytch" panel one, 90% complete.

diptych dos

2010-02-26T13:51:00.000-08:00

A lovely prospective client that met us at Brookside in Kansas City has asked that we revisit our image "301 Main Street Diptych" (shown above). I was delighted to do so as this was one of my very favorite 2009 works.

The challenge in this piece was to make a piece in two parts where each part could stand alone as a painting but together make one cohesive work. Also, I began with two extremely different underpaintings...different both in palette and in orientation. The one on the right was horizontally striped and the one on the left was vertically striped. Each piece was brought individually to 90% completion. Then they were hung together to finish the final 10% of the process, developing rhythms and harmonies and between the two. Voila.

What I like about these two as a diptych is the way the composition in the left hand painting funnels down into the right hand painting. The brick walk on the left mates up the curb on the right, creating one strong horizontal line that travels through both.

I'm documenting the building of the new piece here, probably in two or three posts as it developes. I'm beginning with the right hand panel.

Here are the two pieces drawn out and just begun:

And here is the progression of the right hand panel from beginning to 95ish% completed. (If I was more clever I could have presented it as a little slideshow...but I'm not.) ((Also, please forgive the photo quality as I shot these indoors right on the easle.)):

Stay tuned...

newly wed (couple a day #23)

2010-02-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I forgot about you guys yesterday. Genna and I left for Miami yesterday morning and you just slipped my mind! We've made it here safely and with little trouble thus far. Last night we slept at a Holiday Inn that smelled just like the inside of an ashtray. We finished our set up today just ahead of a crazy nasty storm...excellent timing!

That's not what I'm here to tell you, though, right? Tonight I am posting my last 'couple a day' painting. I thougnt it would be appropriate to make it the only wedding couple I've ever painted (and may ever paint) since it's the eve of Valentine's Eve. This piece is from our "Inspirations" show that just wrapped up at 16 Patton in Asheville. There is a lovely little story about the couple that I'll tell you when I get home and can look it up.

See the hidden heart?

Happy Valentine's Day, all.

"Newly Wed", oil on masonite, 10" x 8", $300
available from 16 Patton Gallery, Asheville NC

Emerging (couple a day #22)

2010-02-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Today's offering is another version of our "Emerging" image. This one is a biggun, though.

"Emerging", oil on linen, 36" x 48", $2200

We packed up the whole studio today to head to Miami for the Coconut Grove show. 61 pieces in tow! Wish us luck...

On the Lawn (couple a day #21)

2010-02-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

This little one is another of my oft' visited images. I believe I've called it "On the Lawn" each time I've made it. What I'm drawn to here is the big silhouetted tree shape up top and the great little chair that is always executed by carving in the negative shape.

Very WASPy, no?

"On the Lawn", oil on linen, 10" x 8", $300
I apologize for the yucky photo quality, this is much tastier in person.

porch sit (couple a day #20)

2010-02-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

OK, everybody. I'm going to have to fudge a little this week. I had a call last week from my Kansas City gallery, Prairiebrooke. They are planning to feature us at their February 19th open house and need some new work. So, I've laid my couples aside and gotten to work for them (I'm photographing what I made for them tomorrow or Wed., I'll share). Prairiebrooke is a fabulous, family owned gallery...if you live in the area stop by and see Mike, Brooke, and daughter Megan.

I'm posting a couple today anywho. This is a favorite of mine that was out at a gallery for a while and has recently come home. It's underpainting free but is instead painted on a little cherry wood laminate panel. We had some flooring left over from our recently renovated library/guest room and broke it down for small paintings.

I love the color of this wood as it works perfectly for shadowed skin tones. I don't love it as my library floor, though. I've told Genna we're going to have to rip it up and make 2,000 little paintings. He loved that idea (ha ha ha).

"Porch Sit", oil on cherry, framed in black, 7" x 6", $220

cliffside (couple a day #19)

2010-02-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

Today's couple is another tiny one. I'm too tired to chat about it, so have a great weekend!

"Cliffside", oil on linen, 7" x 5", $200

azalea portrait & green thumb (couple a day #18)

2010-02-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

Today's couple is actually another pair. This is a new format for me (5" x 7") and I am loving it. By the end of the day today I think I will have made twelve this week. We're trying a new frame as well...they'll be gallery wrapped oil on linen presented in a 'floating' black frame so that you see a little of the painted edges.

I'm calling them "Singletons" in my head because the shape and size work best for single figures. Yesterday I was fantasizing about a whole show of singletons, maybe 200 or so, in a beautiful, clean gallery space. I'll let you know if that actually happens.

Girly is "Azalea Portrait", oil on linen 7" x 5" $200
Fella is "Green Thumb", oil on linen, 7" x 5", $200 (sold)

buff & beachcomber (couple a day #17)

2010-02-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today's couple is another 'two-fer', a pair of 7" x 5" canvases. These are mine alone with no Genna flavor. Seeing these gives me a really clear idea of what Genna brings to the table...these are more subtle and settled without the jazz of the vibrant underpainting. I must admit that they're far easier to make! I draw on the white canvas instead of over a patterned ground then wash the drawings with color that I know will work with the final overlay of paint. It almost feels like cheating not having to wrestle the underlayers into submission!

The guy is "Buff", oil on linen, 7" x 5", $200
The gal is "Beachcomber", oil on linen, 7" x 5", $200 (or $350 for the pair)

blending in (couple a day #16)

2010-02-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

So, this is the piece I was telling you I was really excited about last week. You're underwhelmed aren't you? Perhaps I oversold it.

The good and the bad about pursuing the same basic style of work for an extended period is that (for me anyway) changes come slowly. I have lots of time to fully explore and expand upon the set of ideas and parameters I'm working with. Day to day I see little change in what I'm doing, but year to year I see lots. For that reason I get really excited when I'm able to recognize even a small shift in thinking in a new piece.

So what's different about this one, right? I'm not quite sure yet. I believe it has to do with the overall porousness of the edges of the forms. Working on an active, mid toned ground pushes me to use super high contrast shifts to delineate shapes. Here I think I've managed to define the figures and separate out the levels of space without 'screaming' them into place. Maybe more about that later as I organize my thoughts.

"Blending In", oil on masonite, 16" x 12", $375 (sold)
(I don't love this title and am open to suggestions)

striped newlyweds (couple a day #15)

2010-02-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

There are two full work weeks left until Valentine's Day and I'm nearly 'coupled' out. Ten couples left to go. I have to say, though, that this has been an excellent exercise for me. It's gotten me into the habit of posting, my posting habits until now have been sporadic at best, but better than that, it makes me think more about my work. It's helpful to be forced into applying a little verbage to a purely visual medium now and again.

Any-who. Today's offering is "Striped Newlyweds". As with many of the couple paintings, the actual subject matter here is entirely static...a little upright pair of figures with a horizontal horizon and some rectangular architecture behind. All of the action here comes from the big patches of underpainting, serving as organically shaped swatches of cloud and ground. While all of the elements in the composition are fully articulated, the spice is in the many purely abstract moments allowed to blossom all around.

It looks like they're standing on a rainbow.

"Striped Newlyweds", oil on masonite, 16" x 12", $375

on the rails (couple a day #14)

2010-01-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

Today was a terrible day for pictures, but I think you can get the idea. This is "On the Rails" (oil on linen, 10" x 8", $300 (sold)); a study of wedges, rectangles, and stripes on stripes.

I finished something yesterday that has me tingly all over...something new I think. I'll post it tomorrow or Monday but I want to think about it a little more first.

gentlemen farmers (couple a day #13)

2010-01-28T10:18:00.001-08:00

Today's couple is "Gentlemen Farmers", lucky number 13. The posture of these two characters is what drew me to this composition...they're both sporting a very natty, casual attitude. My favorite thing, though, was the guy on the left's tie tucked into his overalls.

Genna's underpainting on this one is a subtle gem. Well, the color isn't so subtle, but when you get a good close look at it has an overall striping underneath the soft oil wash layer that unifies the whole surface. Click on it for a larger view and check out the right guy's hat brim and shirt and the bushy areas to the right and left of their boots.

"Gentlemen Farmers", oil on masonite, 16" x 12", $375

emerging (couple a day #12)

2010-01-27T10:37:00.000-08:00

Today's couple is an image that is easily in my top five most visited compositions. Sometimes I call it a variation of "Emerging", sometimes "Native Azaleas". It's been as small as a postcard and as large as a barn door, vertical and horizontal, chaotic and staid, peaceful and frenetic. Today's is particularly perky and energetic.

The reason I visit this composition so much is it's an excellent vehicle for improvisation. The couple is a little visual anchor surrounded by space that can be shaped and colored any which way. I also love the thought that they're a naughty little couple caught emerging from the woods.

This one is "Emerging, Entergetic", oil on linen, 20" square, $600 (sold).

luminous poolside (couple a day #11)

2010-01-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

OH NO! I forgot to post my daily couple yesterday. Pretend today is Monday.

This is "Luminous Poolside", oil on linen, 36" square, $1800 (sold). I love this woman. She is so fan-tas-tically shaped.

I'm running behind today, so tomorrow we're going to pretend it's Tuesday.

striped in the alley (couple a day #10)

2010-01-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I make something that somehow I'm a little uneasy about. Maybe it's different in a way I can't quite identify, or maybe it's a little 'edgier' than the main body of my work. Sometimes those turn out to be ones I just never like and they get painted over. Other times they turn out to be pieces that are the beginning of a new direction. I think this may be one of those. I wasn't quite sure about it when I made it but it's growing on me steadily.

One thing I know for sure I like is that the couple has no paint whatsoever (what so ever?) on their flesh but are instead little people shaped windows into the underpainting. I love when that happens.

Happy weekend, everybody!

"Striped in the Alley", oil on masonite, 20" x 16", $450

leggy on the water (couple a day #9)

2010-01-21T08:50:00.000-08:00

As promised last week, here is another study of my beloved 'leggy lady'. This one is "Leggy on the Water" (oil on linen, 20" square, $600). I've always been fascinated with this photo and how much tension is created with that flexed, extended leg. I want to take it on on a bigger format someday but haven't worked up the courage yet as it's one of those pieces that has to be JUST RIGHT or it won't work at all.

In this woman's defense, I do have some very demure shots of her, but they're just not as good!

Also, I posted the more professional pic. of "Boys of Summer" on the website this morning.

hottie vaca (vay-kay) couple (couple a day #8)

2010-01-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today was absolutely nuts, but I still have a 'couple' for you. I made a version of this piece as a gift for Genna Christmas 2009. I think they're my sexiest couple ever! This one is "Hottie Vacation Couple" (oil on linen, 10" x 8", $300).

Our Kia Canada contact came to visit this morning with her COO (I have no idea what that stands for) and wound up at the studio at the same time as another client I had there discussing a commission. I can't tell you about the commission as it's currenlty a secret, but it's a much bigger thing than I originally realized. A few minutes before all of these people stormed the studio, I dropped a big plastic jar of clear gesso and it shot all over my pants/shoe/bathroom/in my sock. Tah-Dah!

friday couple (couple a day #7)

2010-01-19T11:47:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have come late to the party, I'm posting a painting of a couple every weekday from now until Valentine's Day. Today's offering is "Friday Couple" (oil on masonite, 11" x 14", $375).

I've worked with this image several times before and always enjoy it. It's an excellent showcase for a big swatch of softly striped underpainting up top and features lots of tiny little figures in the periphery that I like to arrange and rearrange from one piece to the next.

Tomorrow is a big day...I have a client meeting at 10, brown bag lunch at the studio with some artist friends, and our Kia Canada contact is visiting sometime during the day to see Genna's setup and choose some pieces for the Kia Korea president to take back to Korea. Whew! I'm still going to squeeze in a 'couple', though, so see you tomorrow!

into the woodwork (couple a day #6)

2010-01-18T11:17:00.001-08:00

Today's studio time has been a bit of a failure thus far. I just spent an hour gridding out and drafting a brand new image on a 24" x 36" canvas before figuring out that it just wasn't gonna work. Drag.

However, I banked a few 'couples' at the end of last week, so today I give you "Into the Woodwork" (36" x 36" oil on linen, $1800). This was my first large scale piece of the year, and it felt pretty darn good!

I've been thinking about why I enjoy painting couples so much and have come up with a few ideas. Because my figures have little detail in their faces, their main method of communication is body language. That is what attracts me to a photograph...the tension between figures and between those figures and their surroundings.

When there are only two figures in a composition, that tension is totally pure and draws much more focus. In today's piece, for instance, the gentleman is leaning back just slightly into the woman. In a more complicated, multi-figure composition, that would most likely be lost. Here, it's the crux of the whole image, echoed over and over again in the trees and other forms behind, all leaning into the middle.

I know I said a few ideas, but that's the only one I want to talk about right now.

I'm crossing my fingers and heading back to the easel (easle?). Wish me luck!

enough about me (or) kia pots update

2010-01-18T09:12:00.001-08:00

It occurred to me that I never let everybody know how our Kia US order turned out. We shipped more than 630 pieces to almost as many seperate addresses with NO BREAKAGE thanks to one of my new favorite people...Mike at the LaGrange UPS Store. What a pleasure to do business with someone who consistently goes above and beyond. Mike himself came to the studio and transported all of our babies to UPS where they were carefully packed and shipped. Many, many thanks to Mike.

Anyway, Kia was very happy with their order and have already followed up with an order for a large vase they gave as a gift to a visiting Korean dignitary in December. They wouldn't tell us who it was, so I'm guessing the President of Korea (aim high, right?). Here's what we sent them:

Funny story about that. We were at my parent's place for Thanksgiving which is in the middle of the woods and gets horrible cell reception. Genna got a call on his cell phone. Listening to his side of the conversation, I could tell it was a telemarketer. After struggling to understand her for several moments of a really bad connection, he says (in a not very nice, actually pretty mean tone of voice) "You know what, this is really not a good time for me. You're gonna have to try me another time." Then he listens for a few more seconds with an irritated face before going completely pale and launching into the 'I'm so so sorry' talk. It was Kia America President Ahn's executive secretary calling to thank us for a gift we sent him and trying to place an order. HA!

So, Kia America was happy enough with their order that they recommended us to Kia Canada for a similar project. Genna is a few days away from finishing up throwing 230 vases for them. Here is a sample of what the finished product will look like:

If we play our cards right, maybe we can just work for Kia from now on! It's definitely easier than the Art Fair Circus.

boys of summer on the easel

2010-01-16T11:20:00.001-08:00

Hi guys! I'm on a 'couple' break for the weekend but still in the studio. Before I left yesterday, I began a new version of my grandpa and his navy buddies on the beach. It's a big one, 48" x 60", with a beautiful 'sunset striped' underpainting courtesy of Genna. Here's what it looked like this morning:

I like to paint the lightest lights and darkest darks first thing so that I can see the overall composition through all of the screaming underpainting. My first thought when I looked at this this morning (which actually was more like noonish!) was that I loved that stuttering blue stripe running through the center of the figures and wanted to hold onto that if possible. To play that up, I painted in a similar blue between the bottoms of their legs:

After separating their figures with some changes in skin tone and filling in the shirt and towel shape, I believe I'm about 95% finished:

I'll post the properly photographed finished piece on the website next week. I'm tempted to call this "Smokin' on the Beach" as they're all hot and holding cigarettes, but cutesy titles make my skin itch. So, she's either "Boys of Summer" or "Sunset Quintet Redux". Probably "Boys of Summer".

saucy duo (couple a day #5)

2010-01-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

Today's offering isn't technically a couple, but I think they share enough of the same spicy attitude, palette, and compositional similarities to make a really great diptych. Check out that shape echo between his elbow and her leg, yum!

The photo I used for the lady piece ("Leggy", oil on linen, 10" square, $300(sold)) was from a large lot of photos I bought on ebay years ago. I have many shots of this same woman and she REALLY liked her legs. I'm working on another couple that features her leggy-liciousness today.

The male half of the duo is "Harley Guy", oil on linen, 10" square, (sold).

take five (couple a day #4)

2010-01-14T11:32:00.001-08:00

It occurs to me that I've committed myself to something like 26 'couple' paintings. Yikes.

Today's is "Take Five", an oil on linen, 10" x 8", framed in black for $300.

I'm starting to itch for a larger format, so maybe next week there will be some bigguns to see. Have a great day, everybody!

bushes portrait (couple a day #3)

2010-01-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

We're at T minus 23 work days and counting to Valentine's Day, and I give you "Bushes Portrait" (oil on masonite, 9" x 12", $350).

I am so in love with the composition of this piece that I think you'll see it much larger some time this year (maybe 30" x 40" or 36" x 48"). I like the way the branch shapes mimic the shapes in the gentleman's jacket.

Now, these guys could could be brothers, father and son, neighbors, what-have-you...but it's two figures so I'm counting them as a couple for the purposes of my exercise!

patterned couple, (couple a day #2)

2010-01-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hi guys,

Here we are with my 'couple a day' numero dos...counting down to Valentines Day. I've been sitting on the reference photo for this one for ages and finally felt like I was up to the challenge of her striped dress (which is really the whole point of the painting). I'm into the patterning thing right now, reference yesterday's "Beautiful Music".

This is "Patterned Couple", oil on masonite, 16" x 12", framed in black, $400 (sold).

See you tomorrow!

my funny valentines, or 'a couple a day'

2010-01-11T12:26:00.001-08:00

Hi everybody! I just gave myself what amounted to almost 3 weeks off from work and am now struggling back into studio life. Hope everyone had a brilliant holiday season!

Sometimes when you've been out of the 'creative loop' for a while, it's tough to get back in. I'm starting off this week with a number of new couple paintings. Pairs of figures are absolutely my favorite thing to paint...married couples, mother & child, siblings, father & son, whatever. I figured I'd ease back into the painting groove with some small couples (8 x 10 or so), and just in time for Valentines Day!

Borrowing loosely from my friends Scott & Kathrine's brilliant 'cupcake a day' idea, I'm going to try to post a 'couple a day' from now until Valentines Day. I have no idea if I actually have the self discipline to pull that off, but I guess we'll see!

So, Day 1 Couple is "Beautiful Music", oil on particle board, 10" x 8", $300. Genna treated this board for me by forcing paint into the grooves in the wood, sanding it smooth, and sealing it with a clear gesso. I love, love, love the look of the particle board between the shapes and how it plays into the patterned nature of this little couple.

I'll be posting the 'couple a day' paintings soon on our webpage or you can email me anytime at admin@galleryair.com to make a purchase.

Congratulations to "Inspirations" Winner!

2010-01-01T06:50:00.001-08:00

A much belated congratulations to Kimberly Beavers who won the painting "Trike Girls" (30" x 24" oil on linen) at our 16 Patton opening in November. We were thrilled to meet Kim at our reception in Asheville and to find out that she was already an enthusiastic supporter of our work, having purchased two pieces previously through Danna at 16 Patton.

I think it was fated that Kim should win her painting. The photo she submitted was of her mother as a child with a friend on a tricycle. Her mother was a twin (although she wasn't with her twin in the photo), and Kim recently gave birth to twin girls. Kim's girls are blond and brunette, as are the girls in the painting. Kismet, no? Kim's friends and family were as charmed as me by all of these connections and she won the email vote by a landslide!

Many thanks to Danna Anderson at 16 Patton. Danna is a model gallerist...professional, friendly, hard working, consistent, and pro-active. An article she solicited about the show in the Asheville Citizen Times was my favorite ever written about our work. Unfortunately, it's no longer on their website. I'll try to get it to share with you guys...

coming up for air

2009-10-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

We're entering winter...usually the time when Genna and I both kick into coast mode, slow down our travel and rest after our fall season. Not so this year! Genna is still up to his eyeballs in pots 12-13 hours a day (540 down, about 90 to go) and I'm still going full steam in preparation for Telfair in Savannah, the Christmas commission season, and our solo show at 16 Patton.

Speaking of which, thank you to everyone who sent in submissions for our second installment of the "Inspiration Project". My fave image so far (above) was made from my friend and fellow artist Steve Frenkel's submission. I'm calling it 'Railmen'. It's a 20" x 30" oil on linen. Voting for everyone else's faves will begin in a few weeks. Here's one of Steve's fantastic acrylics that I'm proud to say is part of my budding collection:

It's a 12" square called "Hourloupe Dry Cycle". Steve and I met while we were both showing at Opus One Gallery in Atlanta. He is an incredibly talented and dedicated artist. Check out more of his work online at www.stevefrenkel.net.

I have so many more things I wanna tell everyone about...Nastiya's first commission, Genna's pot progress, my first festival experience without him (I hope it was also the last!)...but right now I have to get back to work. Cross your fingers for me.

win a grushovenko!

2009-10-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Last call, everybody! Our solo show at 16 Patton in Asheville is opening November 21st. The concept is this...all works in the show will be made from photographs sent in by our friends and clients. The paintings will be posted online and put to a vote. The painting with the most votes will be given to the owner of its inspiration photo, free of charge.

We will continue accepting submissions for the next few weeks. You can email scans of your photos to admin@galleryair.com. Make sure to include your contact information in your email.

We did this at our gallery in LaGrange this past winter with wonderful results. We had nearly 300 photos sent in and completed better than 50 works for the show. A few of my favorites are "Boy Line, Bike Tangle" and "Good Mama" above. Both photos were sent in by LaGrange folks. You can see the results at www.galleryair.com/inspiration.htm.

pete and repeat

2009-10-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Lest you think all I'm doing is putting pots in boxes all day (this is almost true), I offer you my latest..."Pete and Repeat Class Portrait".

This is only the fourth or fifth time I've worked with the basic idea of yearbook picture contact sheets and it still holds alot of mystery for me, which is awesome. I don't know about any of my full time artist fellows, but for me it's easy to feel the bloom is off the rose when I feel 100% confident and comfortable about what I'm making.

This image was made by transfering individual portraits from a 1950's yearbook and then flipping them and using each portrait again (henceforth the pete and repeat title). When the time came to apply paint, I made no effort to match the pairs or make them unique but instead let each unit speak individually. I love that each character has his or her own essence and personality even without any facial features. My favorites are actually some of the units that are silouhettes only.

The exciting thing about this idea for me is making something dynamic and rhythmic that basically repeats the same basic form over and over. The palette I used was also quite narrow, relying on Genna's underpainting color for variety.

Here's a detail:

If you want to see a larger file of "Pete and Repeat", I'll be posting it on the website tomorrow along with a dozen or so other new pieces.

Headed for Houston next week. I think Genna will be thrilled to be driving the car instead of making pots 13 hours a day. Everything's relative, huh!

the baker's dozen(th?)

2009-10-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

So here's my plan...I won't post anything here for maybe a month to six weeks at a time and then I'll post 8-10 times over the course of a few days. Just trying to keep everyone on their toes.

The piece above is the baker's dozen of my "Purdy Dozen" kia pot faves. Check out the first twelve on Genna's webpage.

All twelve are high fire stoneware with temoku glazed necks, copper wire wrap, and one of two glazes on the body...dark green or robin's egg (shown above). Can you tell which ones have which glaze?

first 100 fired

2009-09-30T09:42:00.001-07:00

Hello, all! Our largest project ever rolls on. Genna's Ukranian friends/assistants/saviors have both gone home for a time while we await the final count on our order. Currently we're holding at 560 total pieces. Of these, I believe Genna has nearly 400 thrown and about 150 completely finished (bisqued, wrapped, glazed, glazed, and fired).

We took 100 of our faves out to see a little sunshine Sunday on the back steps at the studio (first & second photos). I was TERRIFIED that I would knock one over on the top step and they would all go down like dominos.

Interesting to see in the second photo the range of color and texture in the glazing. We're using only two glazes, a robin egg blue/green with a subtle speckle and a transparent dark green. Slight variations in glaze application, kiln temperature, and kiln spacing create the amazing range of color you see here.

Photo three is of a particularly interesting firing. We cracked the lid and said 'Holy dingbats, Batman...what's going on in there?!' The upper level of three was a showstopper and COMPLETELY a surprise. The mid and lower levels were as dissapointing as the upper level was pleasing and we wound up with nearly twenty unusable pieces. As best we could decipher, the kiln was overpacked and caused a seriously high, too hot overfiring. One of many lessons learned along the way thus far!

I shot a dozen of my faves studio portrait style on Monday night, watch out for those soon.

they're everywhere, they're everywhere!

2009-09-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Wow! Genna has received two commissions from Kia Motors America...our new West Point neighbors. The first order was for 160copper wire wrapped vases, the second is for the same object and is currently at 400 pieces and counting. As of today, we have approximately 280 thrown, so we're about half way there.

In addition to being a wonderful reason for Genna to get back into the pottery studio full time, this project has created an excuse for us to invite his good friends Natasha and Tigran for an extended visit. Both were fellow potters in Ukraine...Natasha his studio mate and Tigran his very first pottery teacher. Natasha is now living in Toronto and Tigran in Detroit, and they will both be in and out lending a hand until the project wraps. They are on the right in the first photo, Genna and his lovely daughter Nastiya are on the left. Nastiya is putting her genious hands to work on the wire-wrapping portion of the process. (You don't see me there because part of my job as logistics manager was to take the photograph!)

Cross your fingers for us folks! This is the largest single commission either of us has ever taken on.

Kudos to Kia for selecting a local artist for this exciting project! The vases will be given as gifts to journalists and dealer at several events this fall.

the daily cupcake

2009-09-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Our good friends and fellow 'art couple' R. Scott Coleman and Kathrine Allen-Coleman have launched a new blog featuring a 'cupcake a day' by Scott. They are both incredible talents and great folks. See the blog at www.scottscupcakes.blogspot.com and both of their works at www.thespringgallery.com.

favorite. commission. ever.

2009-09-09T10:32:00.001-07:00

No offense to anyone else for whom I've made custom work, but I recently completed my favorite commission project ever.

My friend, client, and fellow artist Debbie Bruce came to me this past spring with a request to make paintings for her son Taylor's fall wedding. The idea was that there would be a small painting on each table at the wedding supper and that afterward, they would all go together as an 'installation' at the new couple's home. The images I made were of photos from the bride's and groom's childhoods. Sweetest thing ever, right? In addition to it just being a really lovely concept, her son Taylor is a good friend, as well as a writer who penned our Southern Living Feature. It was doubly an honor to be able to do this for him.

So, there are twenty pieces in the set, but I'm showing here 4 of my favorites..."Swiss Family" of the bride (henceforth known as Robin...cause that's her name) and her family on vacation, "Buff Boys" of Taylor and his friends as pre-teens, "Beach Beauty" of little Robin in her swimsuit, and "Dock" of little Taylor with a fishing pole.

I think I've listed them in backward order, but I'm sure you can figure it out. Enjoy!

variations on a theme

2009-07-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have been a professional painter, working within the same basic thematic parameters for the last dozen or so years. While I am constantly looking for new found photos to treat as paintings, there are a handful of images I have returned to over an over during this time. I've come to think of these as 'touchstones' for me...familiar compositions within which I can concentrate purely on new techniques or palettes.

I was looking through the 'archived' (read: sold) painting files on my computer today and decided to visit one of my 'touchstone' lines all the way back. Wow. I can't believe how much my work has changed. I suppose it's like watching your children grow. Each day they're a little bigger, so you don't notice so much until you see a picture of them 5 years before, or maybe try to put on their winter shoes from the year before.

Here are some of my "Communion After Confirmation" paintings, in roughly chronological order, oldest first.

I believe the first one was made around 1999? The most recent was just made withing the last two months (she is the still available "Dinner on the Grounds", oil on linen, 24" x 30", $900!). Genna's participation kicked in around #5.

As you can see, there is a huge stylistic shift between #'s three and four. I think the main reason for that is that I changed from sketching with paint and a brush to sketching with charcoal, allowing for a much more accurate and angular drawing.

Working with Genna also brought on another big change in my working habits as I went from creating texture and interest with brushwork to 'harnessing' the visual texture already there with the busier underlayers. My technique has become much crisper and cleaner overall.

There are techniques in the earlier works I sometimes wish to have back, but I suppose it makes better sense to look ahead to what's next. "Communion After Confirmation" 2015 will likely be a much different animal!

on the easel, eggplant brunch

2009-06-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

I've something new on the easel.

As it often happens in my collaborative process with hubby Genna, he recently offered me up a batch of new underpaintings at which I turned up my nose, and now I'm eating all of my critical words. Genna makes my oil wash underpaintings only once a month or so, lots at a time. Two times ago, there came a whole set that seemed almost unbearably 'prime'...basic yellow, blue, and red.

On closer inspection, they're loaded with goodness. Lots of sublte, dark, shifting patches of purple and teal, punctuated with tasty little orange blobbies.

I put a big one on the easel on Thursday, 36" high and 60" wide. It's deeper and richer in tone than alot of what I've been working with lately. Several of Genna's recent 'batches' have been really crisp & tart. Here's the new piece at the beginning:

The image I chose for the new 3'x5' was this one:

I thought that the deep wash would work well in an image with lots of architecture & landscape...lighter on the figures. About a third of the way through, I was struck by how much I subconsiously pick up and use the colors of the underpainting. This far in, nearly every color I had applied was a nearly perfect match for a patch of underpainting. I can't remember ever having used that eggplant color before. Thus is the beauty of working with a partner! I never know what I'm going to get and what I'm going to do with it.

So now it's Saturday, and I'm wrapping it up. The last few hours tends to be spent in what would look like walking around drinking coffee to the untrained eye. I leave the room, positioning the piece so that it's visible from the hall. Then I wander from my desk to the computer (soduku and email) to the kitchen (coffee and peeks in the fridge), around and around, sneaking glances at the new piece out of the corner of my eye. It's important to sneak up on it so that I can see what it really looks like.

So, a few more subtle adjustments and this one should be finished and framed before we leave for DesMoines on Tuesday. She's "Poughkeepsie Brunch", oil on linen, 36" x 60"...

Oh, one more from the 'prime' set:

Gee's Bend Homage: Easy, oil on linen, 36" x 60"

bearden/kahlo inspiration

2009-06-16T09:37:00.001-07:00

Last Friday night was the opening reception of "Reaction", new works by the Visual Artists Alliance of LaGrange created in reaction to a work of art by a favorite artist.

Each artist's work (20 artists, 40 works in paint, glass, collage, clay) was accompanied by a small reproduction of the inspiration piece and a statement explaining their inspiration.

The show is taking place at the Cochran Gallery on Lafayette Square, downtown LaGrange. The gallery usually showcases the collection of local collectors Wes & Missy Cochran, who have a world class collection of graphics (focused heavily on Andy Warhol) and works by African-American artists. My favorite of their collection is a fantastic 1975 aquatint/photoetching by my American Idol, Romare Bearden, entitled The Family. Here it is:

The Cochrans graciously agreed to allow me to hang the Bearden next to my offering for the show, Alfresco, Family Table...

She is an oil on canvas, 55" x 72". I made her in collaboration with Genna. My thought process was that the juxstaposition of Genna's flowing style and my broad, crisp panes of color create a similar feeling to Bearden's collaged (or in this case, collage like) images.

Our featured work for the show was created by my VAAL co-director Cora Wooley Waterhouse. Her painting is Adaptation:

Inspired by this photographic portrait of Frida Kahlo by Nikolas Muray:

I loved what Cora had to say,

"Photographs of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo remind me of my own Hungarian grandmother, Anna Schreier. Both women were proud and exotic, brave and deeply independent. Last year for my birthday, my daughter gave me a book of fantastic photographic portraits of Kahlo taken by Nikolas Muray, one of her many lovers. I chose the cover photo as inspiration for my self portrait.

For my piece, I wear a heavily embroidered vest, homage to my Hungarian mother and grandmother. The necklace is a favorite of mine, found in pieces at the old LaGrange Antique Mall shortly after we arrived here. The azaleas and maple leaves for my hair are from my own beautiful springtime yard. There is no place that blooms more beautifully than Georgia in spring.
I painted myself on a camouflage fabric ground. The idea that a fabric can help a person blend into their environment adds a wink of irony to my Adaptation and gives a nod to the patterned wallpaper background of the original work."

Kudos, Cora! Check her out online at http://www.corawooleywaterhouse.com/.

If you're planning to be in the LaGrange area, you can see the show Wednesday-Saturday from 1-5pm at the Cochran Gallery, E. Lafayette Square until July 2nd.

welcome!

2009-06-15T19:15:00.001-07:00

My very first blog...how exciting! Welcome all.

I'm Signe. I'm a thirty something (5) painter,

married to a fourty-ish (one) potter. My husband Genna (here he is, isn't he cute)

and I are partners in a co-operative gallery and travel widely showing our work and servicing galleries that feature our work. Genna's beautiful and talented daughter Nastiya is with us in the summers. Here she is,

Beautiful, no? She's also very smart & talented. She lives in Ukraine with her mom and just completed her second year of study in interior design. She also draws, paints, and can do every handcraft the first time she picks it up (knitting, pottery, beading, sculpture, etcetera, etcetera. It makes me absolutely green with envy how 'intelligent' her hands are!).

Anywho, this blog won't be about my family...just thought you'd like a little backstory. Visit me here to see 'what's on the easel', to hear about our art festival exploits, and to keep track of our newest inspirations. Looking forward to it!