July 25, 2004
A 30 Hour Painting

That would be my painting.  We will see just how long it really takes, but I'm already way past 2 hours.  On this day, the last day of vacation, I painted. I shopped and then painted some more.

I think perhaps this will not be a fool painting, but the second in the costume series. She doesn't look like a fool.  So now I need to figure out who she is and what she needs.  I think the border will use the stencil (pictured below) in some very subtle way, and a rubber stamp that I recently carved by hand that has some similarity in the shapes but is in a different scale as the stencil.  That would add some variety, depth and interest without taking focus off the figure. 

OK, so who is she?  Mrs. Carlysle?  High society, alternately ignores and criticizes her family, her domestics and her friends. She needs to learn a lesson or two.  So this play could be about poetic justice.  Or it could be a farce.  Fast moving, frills bouncing, doors slamming, mistaken identities. Think on this, it will determine all.  I think it is a comedy, and she is the wife who thinks her husband is seeing someone else, but she is wrong.  Yet she has to go through the play thinking the worst, and she gets a happy surprise in the end.

I'll sleep on that.

Yours, Lynette

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July 24, 2004
A 2 Hour Painting

Dianna Shyne, an extraordinary artist right here in Seattle, painted a beautiful, evocative acrylic on gesso coated watercolor paper in two hours, the space of time allowed for the workshop today at Daniel Smith. With her paints stored not in tubes, but in fishing tackle boxes, and a method for keeping paints wet that amounts to a simple but effective wet paper towel in a tray and a piece of palette paper on top, she masterfully talked us through this wistful painting of her friend at the kitchen counter. She laid down a Quinacridone gold background, then using rubbing alcohol as an eraser, the lighter areas of the composition were defined. From there, she built up the shapes of the lights and darks, cooling them and warming them to her taste. It's best to see her in person, and this is hard to describe, so I won't go on.  But it was amazing to watch this person who just KNEW what needed to happen next. 

I had already signed up for her two day workshop in August, and now I'm looking forward to it even more.

While at Daniel Smith, I purchased 3 inexpensive hake brushes and some watercolor postcards.  I can never leave without buying something. Plus it was air conditioned.

Did I mention it was still hot? No?  It was still hot.  I bought an extra fan, and dressed like Stanley in a Streetcar Named Desire.  I take that back--Stanley never wore a skirt.

Yours, Lynette

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July 23, 2004
Sizzling Blockbuster Film day

It BOILed down to this: the HOT topic of the day was film school. Today's plan was to take Katherine to the Arboretum--and draw stuff that we saw there, plants, people, whatever.  But it was (may I quote "Damn Yankees"?) just "TOO DARN HOT".  What?  Seattle over 100 degrees?  Yep.  So we SIMMERED and STEWED, and in the end decided to reduce our plans to just the necessaries.

Katherine, my 19 year old daughter, is looking at film school for 2005 or 2006.  SFI, Seattle Film Institute, offers a 40 week intensive course where the student comes out the other end of their studies with a portfolio of projects after a comprehensive dive into what goes into being a filmmaker.  Right now her target is to be an editor, though of course that could change after this total immersion course. We had an appointment at 1PM today with David Shulman who I would say is an entirely warm hearted, passionate individual, and who talks, ALOT. I'm glad he did, we learned ALOT about the program.  I can see why the film school has succeeded to it's current state over the last 10 years. It is located in a gray house on Capitol Hill, with another gray two story building behind it. The back building houses a lab/studio/equipment room and the offices.  The front house has the editing room and a newly remodeled classroom.  I say newly remodeled, but it's nothing fancy.  This facility is about pure practicality.  It's not impressive on it's surface at all. 

But what IS impressive is the work I saw coming out of the students. This is where it becomes remarkable. We attended a screening of 10 years worth of student work, followed by a feature film that one of the faculty just completed.  The student work ranged from old-timey Chaplinesque slapstick comedy to a fast-moving farce called "Rent's Due" set in a Laundromat where the dryers were apartments and schools, offices, etc, and the people were climbing in and out of the dryers, multiple children piling out one by one like so many clowns from a little teeny car, there was an eviction, a chase scene, and of course the eventual resolution. (I had to say that so as not to give too much away.  You may actually be seeing this one someday.)

I don't care if the facility is non-existent, if this school can make this kind of work happen, they are doing it right.

No pictures today.  And it's still HOT.

Yours, Lynette

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July 22, 2004
Good Art Hunting

For a full-time working artist, a day in the studio would feel like just another day at work.  For me, it felt like a breath of air. Katherine was gone all day to her math class, martial arts and her Irish dance teaching --so no interruptions for me.  I fixed that hand.  It wasn't as hard to do as I was making it.

Detail of Edgar and the Moth The found poetry says: Moths lit up like jet streaks like chalk on a blackboard they flickered around the blue church sky Here you can see some of the texturing and layers that are in this piece.  The acrylic medium is fairly thick after all the layers have been applied ala Barbara DePirro.

Another painting was started today as well.  I think it will be called Mrs. Carlysle's Inner Fool, to continue on my fool theme. The costume sketch on the right is by Susan Tsu for a show called She Stoops to Conquer.  I was a stitcher at (the now defunct) TheatreVirginia where I had the privilege of working with Susan on this show in 1990.  She was generous to let me keep the color copies of her sketches for several of the characters whose costumes I worked on.  I am using her pose for this one, though the character of Mrs. Carlysle will be very different, of course.  Placing a grid over a scan of Susan's sketch in Photoshop, I cropped it to work for my purpose and then placed a grid on the canvas to transfer the image.  Already the characters diverge. We'll see where this one goes. Yours, Lynette

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July 21, 2004
Edgar and the Moth

Edgar saw a moth flickering across the blue-church sky like chalk across a blackboard.  He tried to catch it, but it got away.  Seemingly, the moth was nothing but light and vapor, yet for Edgar, the meaning of the moth was puzzling.  

Here's the development of this painting:  The first layer consists of silk samples: velvets, burnouts, chiffons, georgette, raw silk, jacquard.  These are painted over, and a general cruciform composition emerges.  Gel is scooped onto the surface with a palette knife and then stamped into with a bee stamp.  A few collage elements reinforce the cruciform shape that I want to emphasize, and paints are used to begin defining where the dark areas will be and where the light areas need to go.  The second layer (not dry in the pic) is actually just a thick layer of gel spread onto the surface.  Some stamps were used to create the squares in the upper right and the lines in the upper left quadrant.  Once the gel dried, paint was applied and wiped off in a sort of antiquing manner.  More collage elements were chosen and some words from a book to form the poem about Edgar and what he saw.  This piece should be finished tomorrow. This is the first time I have worked on a gesso'd board.  I like it, but now I wonder how to frame/finish it.

Using the techniques that Barbara DePirro taught on Saturday, layers and layers of texture and medium, gels and paint are giving this more interesting depth than I have ever had in any of my work.  I am so glad I took the Saturday workshop.  Once it is dry I will scan it so you can see some of the details.  

First layer	Second layer (Actually more like 10th layer)

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July 20, 2004
Figure Drawing

Tonight I took my daughter, Katherine with me to Daniel Smith in Bellevue, where there is figure drawing with a live model on Tuesdays.  A model stand took center stage, with the model in the wings as we walked into the room.  We each took a black drawing bench and laid out our pencils.  The pace was swift.  Starting with 1 minute poses, I was trying to remember how to draw again.  Katherine had it--she was doing gestural drawings and not trying to get too many details into the shorter poses.  Once we got into the longer poses, I was more comfortable.  Still, I see where I made a body part too big or too small, or angled wrong.  I knew I would learn something new.  Katherine had worked with a female model once before, but never a male model, so she learned so much about anatomical differences--how the hips are narrow, and how a man is less curvy in many ways.  At one of the breaks we talked briefly with our model, who said it was interesting to watch us draw. I didn't know he was looking!

Here we go!

One to Three Minute Studies:

Three to Five Minute Studies

Ten to Twenty Minute Studies

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July 19, 2004
The North Cascade Loop
or, Going North with Fred

It's all about trees and water up here where Seattle City Light has 3 dams along the waterway that cascades down through the Cascade Mountains. 

	Wet rocks think they hide, but I see them clearly.
	The geese and I had a zen moment together as Fred read the paper.  They let me photograph them close up.  Surprising that the adults were not more protective.  Perhaps they could sense that I was no threat.
In the week before our trip was a landslide just north of the visitor center that closed off one lane for about a quarter mile. They were moving a big boulder at this time, an operation that caused us to stop and turn off the car for about 30 minutes (that happened on the way back too). As you can see, the scenery was worth the wait on both ends of the trip.  We drove across the top of the dam, and then got out and walked to the middle of it and looked down.  The wind was blowing straight up the face of the dam into our faces. I was sort of wishing for a chance to redo my hair, but then I let go of that silly idea altogether.

It's a bit of driving, but Fred was willing and seemed happy to drive the mountain curves.  He was remembering little tidbits from school field trips to the dams up here, like "the water is so green because of the glacial silt" and "this is where they do a controlled spill of the water if the dam gets too full."  I like stuff like that.  Plus, he knew where to go for good views and walks and interesting things to see.  Too tired now to write more, I'm going to bed.

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July 18, 2004
From Value Village to Edmonds Beach

I ducked into Value Village on the way to the beach because, wouldn't you know it, the rain decided to fall just as I was driving south on route 99.  That's ok, it was a good time to find things with interesting textures to use in my artwork.  I didn't mean to spend so much time there, honest!  An hour later....

I'm watching the ferry unload from just south of the loading ramp.  The tide is so low that the ferry has to back up and try again to get to the dock. There must be a deep channel between those gigantic dark pilings because the water's edge is only about 30 feet from the ferry. 

A sand bar appears when the tide is this low.  I'll get photos of barnacles and kelp before I go today.

texture of barnacles and sand on deteriorated metal	Seaweed attached to cement pilings	More seaweed attached to cement pilings

In the low tide I found two moon snail egg cases.  They look like molded pale gray foam rubber. I feel a reverence at low tide, and walk gingerly among the seaweed beds.  Low tide is the time when the creatures at the water's edge are most vulnerable.  There are not very many people down here today.  Probably better that way.

At the beach it's not usually the big things that call my attention, but little details--textures and creatures that live between other things.  I'm interested in finding out what the seagull is eating now, how a crab claw works, and what the push and pull of water does to the sand.

I stand very still and listen.  This is what I hear now:  the thrill of kids conquering a geoduck under the ferry dock, boogie boarding boys to my left, an approaching motor boat, and it's sky equivalent, a pontoon plane.  Overhead, in no danger of colliding with the plane, seagulls whine for more food.

But I came to take a walk too, so now it's time to do that.

The marina is one of my favorite walks, and the flowers are particularly fabulous today.  I'm not really a flower person, I'm not taking these photos to put them into my artwork, it's just that they are so beautiful in person, and I wanted to take their beauty home with me.

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July 17, 2004
Workshop

Today was the Mixed Media workshop with Barbara DePirro.  'Twas remarkable in it's thoroughness, but I'll get to that in a minute.  Arriving an hour early because I thought the traffic would be terrible, (it was not), I waited outside and sketched her neighbor's house.  I parked my big bread-box van next to the Baptist Gospel Mission where a funeral was in progress.  The hearse just barely cleared me as it passed by on the street, and then I watched four well-dressed men unload flowers--followed by a very beautiful shiny white casket that would make anyone feel important, if they could still feel.  Later during the workshop, while we were playing with our paints, we could hear those harmonies that only happen in black churches.  I wish every church had such sincere music.

The neighbor's house

As a Golden Paint working artist, Barbara generously shared detailed and  valuable information about acrylics. Using Golden products in the workshop, we learned all about grounds and mediums, gels and paint colors.  We explored each for it's absorbency, transparency, opaqueness, surface texture and strength.  It was also a technique workshop so we worked on boards with the different grounds and mediums, trying for interesting texturing methods using throwaway items like bubble wrap, lace, stencils, stamps etc.  Barbara is really good at finding a use for everything.  I think she is descended from the original recycler of all time.  For lunch I brought a salad from McDonalds which comes in one of those two part black-bowl/clear-top containers.  She even recycled that.

Barbara will be teaching at Artfest in 2005--I highly recommend her classes.

As I left Barbara's neighborhood I missed the entrance to the freeway (the way there is not the way back--you know, city planning), and ended up in downtown Seattle.  I then proceeded to play at least one game each of "Passing Street Theatre People",  "Bus Dodging", and also "Find the Freeway". 

Yours, Lynette

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July 16, 2004 
Vacation

Today I start my vacation.  The folks at work kept asking me where I am going. Trying to be mysterious, I say, “Wouldn’t you like to know” or “I’ll never tell.”  Truth is, I’m staying in town this time. I love where I live, and this is the best time of year to be here, so why leave?  The air is clear, the water is near, I can get down to the beach every day if I like.  I can stay home and paint, or sleep in, or take in a movie in the middle of a day.  When I dream about playing hooky from work these are the things I want to do—why not make it real?   

Tomorrow I’m going to an art workshop with Barbara DePirro.  It’s a mixed media class, and I will know at least one other person there, Carolyn.  It’s down in Seattle where the traffic will be heavy because of the “Bite of Seattle” and at least one Mariner’s game.  But I think it’s worth the effort.  I’m going to learn more about mixed media, and then I can go home and try it all out all week long.   

Sunday I just want to paint. 

Monday Fred and I are going toward the mountains.  That’s all I know.  I’m wondering what I should wear.  Maybe hiking boots? 

On Tuesday, there’s a life drawing session at Daniel Smith in Bellevue.  It’s been a long time since I put pencil to paper with a model in the room. I’m curious to see if it’s like riding a bike, or if I’ll need plenty of warm up.  It would be good to have life drawing sessions closer to home that I could attend frequently. 

The painting I have to finish this week, perhaps on Wednesday, just needs a hand.  Literally—I have to paint a hand on this fool I’m doing.  Actually, he has a hand but it’s too small and too simple.  Not enough character. He needs some additional mystery and then he’ll be done.  Maybe that will happen on Wednesday.  Maybe once I’ve painted some mystery I’ll be able to tell others how it’s done.  I don’t know yet. 

Some options for the hand problem.  I think the solution will be somewhat different.  I had a co-worker hand-modeling for me the other day.

On Thursday, Katherine has the car, so I’ll probably stay home and paint.  It’s a welcome inconvenience, really, forcing me to focus.  No chance to leave the house without a car.  OK, I could walk.  Or take a bus adventure.  But I really want to paint.  So I’ll paint. 

Friday Katherine and I will go to the Seattle Film Institute for a tour.  She wants to attend classes there and someday be a film editor.  Keep your dreams alive, dream big, follow your chosen path, go for it, kid!  May she love what she does for a living.  I’d like to go to the Arboretum while we are down in Seattle.  Maybe just be there for awhile and draw draw draw. 

On Saturday, Dianna Shyne has a demo at Daniel Smith in Bellevue about painting the figure on paper.  I want to take a two-day workshop from her later this summer, so I want to see her work at the free demo first.   

I also want to put some things up for sale on eBay as well, though I guess it’s not the best time of year to sell things, so I may just write the descriptions for now, and upload later.  

Yours, Lynette

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