New Work and A Follow Up

Last week, in a flush of inspiration and do-no-wrongism, I finished these two pieces within a half hour. OK, it might have been longer if I allow for fiddling time. But anyway, it was damn quick after these pieces had been kicking around the studio for a while and refusing to cooperate with me.

"In Transition", encaustic and mixed media on panel, 16" x 16", 2010

"Lying Beneath", encaustic and mixed media on panel, 16" x 16", 2010

So I sent images of them off  today to the Lake Oswego Art Show in Oregon that is happening next June. That is a big encaustic show that many members of IEA (International Encaustic Artists) are working on. Somehow they forgot to actually invite me, so the only way I can get in is to be juried in. It would be nice to be in the show because I have some relatives out there that might go to see it as they live nearby.

Along with the two pieces above, I added a diptych that I completed last year. I thought it rounded out the trio.

"Prologue", encaustic and mixed media on two 16" x 16" panels, 2009

A plethora of panels

Yes, it's true that I thought it would be a good idea to make my own painting panels, and I still do, but it turns out that I am a lousy carpenter. My table saw is too feeble for ripping (cutting lengthwise) in a sustained way and I am too unskilled or impatient or something to cut the cradle pieces so that they actually meet up or match up with the plywood on top. So I ordered a big batch of panels in different sizes and brought them up to my studio today. It's so enriching (I mean that I feel rich) to see them stacked there all ready to go, not needing cutting, gluing, sanding, etc, etc. What a relief! So it did cost me, but it was worth it. And to celebrate, I went ahead and started a piece on one of them as soon as I had unloaded everything. It was a pleasure.

No, no, Nanette
If you are a regular reader, perhaps you will remember back in November when I posted the three images of oil paintings that I had submitted to my alma mater, Mass. College of Art, for their auction. The auction is juried and you can submit three images for them to choose from. You blogees seemed to like them and selected your favorite, but unfortunately I learned tonight that the auction jury committee did not agree with you, and they rejected all three. It's never a good feeling to have your work be rejected - even if it's something that you are donating - because it feels like you personally are being rejected. In this case, I had actually thought that I would like to keep these three pieces because I liked two of them and one I wanted to repaint. So it really doesn't matter - except that it does.

These are the two I like.  The first one needs repainting. I hung it in my livingroom and I've been staring at it for months. It's always something.     

Luxuriating in Color

Before I fell for encaustic, I used to paint with oil. I still love the gooey mess of oil paint and the aphrodisical smell of it. So I dug out the oil paint to rework three paintings to submit them for jurying into the MassArt auction. (See my earlier post about it.)

"Sticky Situation", 24"x24", oil, cold wax and oilstick on panel

"Conjunction", 24"x24", oil, cold wax and oilstick on panel

"Glory Passed", 36"x36", oil, cold wax and oilstick on canvas

I did have fun playing around and obliterating the (failed) work underneath. It was a treat to see red and yellow again after all the somber browns and blacks I've been surrounded with. But it did make me appreciate all over again how easy cleanup is with encaustic.

Which one do you think they should pick?

A Little Out of the Ordinary

Every year I participate in two art auctions: one for my alma mater, Massachusetts College of Art, and the other Icons+Altars for the New Art Center in Newtonville, Mass.

The MassArt auction is now a Very Big Deal with expensive tickets required for admission to the auction, a festive buffet with wine, a well-known auctioneer and prime collectors attending. The auction is actually juried and requires that three images from each potential donor be submitted in advance so that one of the three may be selected if the artist is allowed to participate (i.e. donate). Both an online and a printed catalog are prepared, and images must be submitted in November for the early April event. I made three (reworked) oil paintings to submit for jurying but haven't photographed them yet. I'll show you when I do.

Home Sweet Home, encaustic with mixed media and found painting, 16 1/2"H x 6"W x 1"D. (In case you can't quite make them out, those are aligators or crocodiles swimming in the pool below the tranquil scene.) (And that's plastic lace so it shouldn't need laundering.)

But meanwhile, I sent off my piece above today for Icons+Altars. This event is not actually an auction because all the works are sold for one fixed price. (This year $250.) When you buy a ticket, you are entitled to draw a number which indicates the order in which you may select an artwork from the 107 pieces that have been donated. The work is supposed to represent either an icon or an altar and the size is to be kept fairly small, but after that, anything goes.

I usually spend an inordinate amount of time making the piece and get way too involved. This year wasn't too, too bad because I came across that saccharine painting in the cardboard pseudo-wood frame when I was clearing out my mother's apartment. It is actually 3D with dimensional mountains, birches and fence, and it looks just like our sweet little home (nestled close to the western Mass. Alps, on the shores of Lake Superior). It's truly an icon, representing both the idyllic vision of home we all have and the more realistic pool of aligators we find ourselves in after we own the damned thing.

Boostering the MassArt Auction

OK, I'm off politics for the moment and thinking about art again. (I actually never stopped thinking about art, just posting about it.) So anyway, here's my selected painting:

"Over the Rainbow", encaustic and mixed media on 3 joined panels, 12"H x36"W x 1.75"D, 2008.

This piece will be offered for sale at the 20th annual Mass. Collage of Art benefit auction on Saturday, April 4th. It will be part of the silent auction, not the live one, and was juried in from more than 1000 pieces submitted by alumni and others.

Unlike many auctions, at MassArt artists can actually share in the sales revenue, being able to receive up to 50 percent of the sale price. The minimum that can be offered by a prospective buyer for a piece is 50 percent of the price listed by the artist. So if a piece is priced at $3,000, for example, a buyer could offer the $1500 minimum by writing their paddle number in on the sale ticket for the piece. If no one else makes a higher offer before the silent auction closes, the proposed buyer would be able to purchase the piece for $1500. I, as the artist choosing to receive 50 percent of the sale, would receive a check for $750 and the college would gain the other $750. In essence, I have donated $750 to the college.

While it is true that the $750 that I theoretically receive is 50 percent less than I would receive if the piece sold for its real retail value of $3000, I have the benefit of donating to my alma mater and of having extra exposure for my work. I think it's a worthwhile cause and have participated in the auction since I graduated in 1988 - more than 20 years ago. In the past my work didn't always sell, but for the last five or six years it has and for more than the minimum. I consider this a success for me.

I think that the MassArt auction has really improved over the past 8 or 10 years by making several changes:

• Jurying entries, making for a better selection of work


• Raising the minimum offer from one-third of the price (where it was for years) to one-half of the price, making it less of a bargain hunt


• Classing up the event by raising the ticket price and getting everyone to dress up, creating a feeling of art patrons gathering to collect quality work

For as long as I've known about the auction, Karen Keane has presided over the live action. She is CEO of Skinner, a regular participant on Antiques Roadshow and a master of the gavel. I am unable to tell if she will participate this year (note to MassArt: why not have the auction on your alumni site?) but if it's not her, I'm sure it will be someone equally adept.

All the work for sale will soon appear on the auction website and you'll be able to preview and even bid in advance, I believe. So go to the auction, buy my painting (or someone else's), go home happy with your selection after a wonderful night of art, great food, and hobnobbing with the cognoscenti.