Surprised by Fog

The whole experience of Lubac, Maine and Campobello Island, New Brunswick, was surprising and effecting.  On the scene, I was reaching for colors and grasping for concepts that are uncommon in my studio practice.  The shimmering color, the fugitive quality - not only in the permanence, as in an archival quality, but also in what is seen and unseen or seen and then lost quickly.

Once back in Vermont, the effect was as though a veil had been draped over my vision.  This is not to say the brilliance of color had subsided, but rather that the color shimmered next to its closest mates.

Here are three pieces that attempt to capture that quality.  They are drawn over very pale monoprint ghost prints from spring in my studio, ironically that had nothing to do with the ocean side scene when originally printed.  (These are terrible photographs, but will be updated.)

Buttermilk and Fog

15" x 15"

pastel over monoprint

Sorbet and Fog

15" x 15"

pastel over monoprint

Shore and Fog

15" x 15"

pastel over monoprint

Eating Stars

One of my favorite lines in A Hundred Foot Journey refers to Gandhi "eating stars."   When I heard it, uttered by Om Puri on the screen, my memory was propelled back to these recently completed pieces in my studio, all of which came out of my head, but were intended to have something of a celestial connotation.

This has been a summer of moons and stars and fireworks and celebrations in the sky, real and human-made.  The sunsets have been dazzling, and the sun rises offered quiet meditations on the power of color to make a day even as it was just beginning.

These 2 pieces began as hurriedly made prints in my studio at home with no idea as to how I was going to follow up on them.  Sometimes those are the best pieces.  They make themselves.

Super Moon

15" x 15"

pastel over monoprint

Dancing Stars

15" x 15"

pastel over monoprint

 

High Tides

These 16 x 9 pieces began as monoprints last Christmas (2013) in the print studio at Vermont Studio Center.  Along with several other pieces printed that week, they languished in the "unfinished" drawer of my studio for months, only to see the light of day during my 2014 sabbatical.

It is perhaps ironic to say that they each began as simply studies in blue, and came to a conclusion after a week in Lubac, Maine (July, 2014.)  It is as though the monoprints in December anticipated the vacation in July, where the dramatically rising tides and fogs determined the days.

There are a total of 7 of these pieces, of which 6 are shown here.  Titles and in fact better photographs will be forthcoming.

Back in the Studio

How unexpected is this?

Prints arive in Madison

The prints arrived in Madison today, and I am elated to share with you an email from Valerie Kazamias, President of the Madison Print Club that commissioned the project. "My God...they are great!!!!Thank you, thank you. I am speechless, they are all so beautiful...WOW. You should be VERY proud. Thanks, Valerie" I am so excited I'm taking tomorrow off from work, and settling down for a long, spring nap.

The Last Shall Be First

It's a sign of how tired I am at this point that I'm not even sure I can explain the irony of this piece. It was one of the first I printed, and one of the last into which I drew, bringing the project to 140 images. . . . .but wait a minute, it's not over yet. We still have the trip to Madison to present the series at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. There will be lots more to share, so please return to this blog. The above image shows the dimensions of the sheet size - 26" x 20".

12-7-09-7

This was one of the last prints into which I drew.