Journal
It has been a busy fall. It seemed once school started for the boys I would start painting up a storm, but recent discoveries in print-making led me to collage. It started with Gelli-plate printing. With short, infrequent bits of time for art-making I found myself unwinding by creating textured papers with my Gelli-plate.
After printing an assortment of papers, I cut and tore them to assemble abstract coastal landscapes, which I further embellished with watercolor crayon.
“Boiler Bay” by Elizabeth M. Higgins
These collages were so much fun to make. I ended up with nine of them, and they will be on display during the month of December at Village Gallery of Arts, 12505 NW Cornell Road, Portland, OR 97229. There will be a reception on Sunday, December 13, from 2 – 4 pm.
Today I found myself really missing my watercolors, so I translated one of my collages into a painting. “Cannon Beach” is shown below in two versions: collage on the left and watercolor on the right. Which one do you like best?
Awards, Journal, Shows
I was thrilled to hear that my painting “Grape Hyacinths” was awarded Third Place in Village Gallery of Art’s October Award Show, juried by Jennie Armitage. This painting was created on Yupo, a synthetic paper that is slippery and creates wonderful, unexpected results. Since Yupo is waterproof, it doesn’t absorb watercolor, so the paint can be moved around and even removed, as evident in the stems of the Hyacinths in this painting. I used some of my hand-carved rubber stamps to create texture in the border and also in the background.
“Grape Hyacinths” by Elizabeth M. Higgins
“Grape Hyacinths” is on display at Village Gallery of Arts, 12505 NW Cornell Road, Portland, 97229 until the end of October.
Journal, Lessons Learned, Shows
Last October I had my first art show. It was at New Seasons Market, and the space was large enough for ten 16 x 20 inch framed paintings. This October, I will be showing there again. I took inventory of my paintings this summer and found myself at a loss for what to hang there this fall. I recalled last year’s show and the factors that made it a success:
The ten paintings were all in a similar style (textured abstracts).
They had a similar subject matter (landscapes).
And they shared a palette of mostly warm colors.
Here is the display of last year’s “wax paper landscapes” at New Seasons Market.
I was very pleased with the appearance of this group of paintings, not realizing that it would set the standard for all of my future shows!
Last month, I found myself sorting through my paintings with this October’s New Seasons show in mind. I certainly have a larger body of work now (I have painted close to 100 more paintings since last October), but it was a challenge to find ten pieces that looked really great together, in my eyes. I’ve been taking classes and workshops and learning so many new things, and my painting portfolio represents all of these teaching influences. I have loose paintings, tight paintings, abstracts, florals, paintings in black and white, paintings with lines, paintings with shapes, and numerous color charts I’ve made. I have groupings of three, four, even five paintings that look good together, but a cohesive collection of ten paintings was proving to be a challenge.
I thought about those characteristics of last year’s show: similar style, similar subject, and mostly warm palette. I thought about the orange walls of the cafe area these paintings will be up against. And I thought about the food that people would be buying and eating in the space these paintings would occupy.
With as much ambition as I could muster on a hot July day, I decided I would paint ten still-life paintings of food for the upcoming show. Today I have finished number 8, and I am pleased with what I have learned.
I’ve learned the effectiveness of a limited palette.
I’ve learned that it’s ok to paint from a photo. In fact, for some of these paintings I actually enlarged my reference photo and traced it onto the watercolor paper.
I have learned that individually these paintings tell a small story, but together, in their grocery store setting, they will tell an even larger story.
And I’ve gained the satisfaction of meeting a challenge I created for myself, and sticking to it without changing my mind. As a painter who is always experimenting, it took discipline and focus to complete this self-imposed summer assignment.
All ten food still-lifes will be on display during the month of October at New Seasons Market, Orenco Station. I hope to see you there!
New Seasons Market – Orenco Station
1453 NE 61st Avenue
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Journal, Lessons Learned
This past weekend I attended a three-day workshop with Ruth Ellen Hoag, who travelled from Santa Barbara to Portland to show us some ways to use line in our paintings.
Standing over a large piece of paper and holding our pencil lightly at the end farthest from the point, we drew a still-life of kitchen utensils without looking at the paper or lifting our pencils. This exercise allowed the eye to take in information objectively, without judgement of what the line looked like. I have done blind contour drawing before and absolutely love it. After drawing the still-life Ruth had arranged at the front of the classroom, I made half a dozen blind contour drawings from reference photos I had brought from home. Here are the two that I later turned into paintings:
These drawings were traced onto watercolor paper, keeping two objectives in mind: to attach the subject to more than two edges, and to pay attention to the negative space created by the edges of the paper. We were reminded that negative space is as important as positive space and should be an opportunity to create interest in your painting. I chose not to refine my wonky line drawings, as I loved the personality they brought to my subjects. Here are the finished paintings from the line drawings above.
I am a shape painter, so I wasn’t surprised to see my lines turn into shapes. I did not alter my original blind drawings, and I like the personality of the lines that formed my son’s ear, the ice-cream cone, and the detailed flowers in the vase.
Here are some timed blind drawings I made last winter looking out the classroom window at Oregon Society of Artists.
Try making some blind contour drawings of your own and see where they take you. What will you do with the line in your painting? Develop your own personality and let line be your guide.
Awards, Journal
“Stay Out Of My Room” by Elizabeth M. Higgins
“Stay Out of My Room” was awarded Second Place in Village Gallery of Arts annual award show, held in April 2015 and juried by Ellie Rozendaal, photographer and art teacher at Sunset High School in Portland, Oregon. I would like to share with you the juror’s comments, which I feel accurately reflect what I was feeling as I created this watercolor painting (20″ x 14″ unmatted; 28″ x 22″ framed and matted).
Juror’s Comments: “I am drawn to the juxtaposition of imagery with messaging. Your painting “Stay out of My Room” tells a story of growing up, and portrays a respect and embracing of change for me. The tones are gentle and strong.” – Ellie Rozendaal
The painting is on display at Village Gallery of Arts through the end of April, 12505 NW Cornell Road, Suite 14, Portland, OR 97229.
Journal, Shows
Five of my wax paper landscape paintings are on display at the Shute Park branch of Hillsboro Public Library until April 30, 2015. These paintings were created with no preliminary drawings. Instead, splotches of thick watercolor pigments were flattened under sheets of wax paper to create the shapes and textures of trees.
