tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90858911922380098002024-03-04T23:25:23.178-05:00White RiverClairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-48305247734530545182020-01-08T14:25:00.004-05:002020-01-08T14:25:49.083-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the result of a stroke that sort of trashed three fingers on my left hand,<i> I have had to let go of weaving. </i>BUT, I am lucky in that I have painting to go back to. I am now experimenting with graphite, color pencil, and pastel.<br />
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I am also a member of the <a href="http://www.miltonartistsguild.org/" target="_blank">Milton Artists Guild</a>.<br />
<br />Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-80376164818666022572017-03-03T07:13:00.001-05:002017-03-03T07:13:52.845-05:00New Ventureit's been well more than a year since my last post. I am reviving this blog because I am becoming a weaver. Same old enticements got me to try this area of invention: color, design, breadth of possibilities.<br />
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Now that I've started on this path, I can't see the end, which is exactly the kind of path I like.<br />
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I will be posting an image of every experiment I complete (and experiments are what my projects will be for a very long time!).<br />
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The images are in the order created. The first<br />
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was just to relearn what I'd forgotten when I first tried two years ago. Not surprisingly I ran into many problems, but each one was a grand learning experience.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p3pFPWBIxoI/WLlarFH7yHI/AAAAAAAAAlU/z5vuh5ccpx4zhNC0rpCLKS_AVDKstU1OwCLcB/s1600/sample-on-loom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p3pFPWBIxoI/WLlarFH7yHI/AAAAAAAAAlU/z5vuh5ccpx4zhNC0rpCLKS_AVDKstU1OwCLcB/s1600/sample-on-loom.jpg" /></a>The second project was to try a pattern on a warp and once a chunk was finished I would change the treadling to see the effects. However, I was so enamored of this pattern that I just kept going but with a different weft each time. (Will post a photo of the whole thing when I can find it!)</div>
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I already knew that my real interest would be crackle and so having ironed out the basic weaving problems, I ventured into the crackle pit. I was pleasantly surprised by the regular irregularity of this piece.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbGvsWdxv4M/WLlaU-XU8dI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/CCG0iEnA008t-JGVWL4pmWwy_a3tqvmUQCLcB/s1600/second-crackle-complete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbGvsWdxv4M/WLlaU-XU8dI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/CCG0iEnA008t-JGVWL4pmWwy_a3tqvmUQCLcB/s320/second-crackle-complete.jpg" width="213" /></a>This is the second crackle attempt, and, while it has the fewest issues of anything woven so far, I like it less because it is so regular.</div>
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<br />Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-39043731283452346962015-12-08T10:45:00.000-05:002015-12-08T10:45:26.638-05:00Stonehenge Quarry Found<div style="background: #FFFFFF; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1em; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; padding: 0 10px 0 0; text-align: left;">
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Craig Rhos-y-felin: a Welsh bluestone megalith quarry for Stonehenge</div>
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<b>Mike Parker Pearson,Richard Bevins,Rob Ixer,Joshua Pollard,Colin Richards,Kate Welham,Ben Chan,Kevan Edinborough,Derek Hamilton,Richard Macphail,Duncan Schlee,Jean-Luc Schwenninger,Ellen Simmons and Martin Smith (2015). </b><br /><a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=AQY">Antiquity</a>, <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=AQY&volumeId=89&bVolume=y#loc89%3E%3Cbr%3E%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%20%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%20%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%20%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%20%C2%A0">Volume 89</a>, <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=AQY&volumeId=89&issueId=348&seriesId=0">Issue348</a>, December 2015, pp 1331-1352<br /><br /><a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=10057091">http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=10057091</a></div>
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<br />Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-19426866768803599422015-09-17T10:55:00.000-04:002015-09-18T05:18:21.588-04:00Resurrection . . .of me. Friends will know what this means. For others, it's immaterial.<br />
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I have been painting since mid-August. Since the workshop I took with <a href="http://www.susanabbott.com/" target="_blank">Susan Abbott</a> in August, I have been painting, reading about painting, making watercolor paints every day except one. I am still devouring information about pigments and binders.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDfTROyHsr1GX-gQYl642-fGetWRFs19OSPP18fvknKd780-NUB3Pjm8Jjy6TE-mG872iRgp4rAmLAGkEq-FEWczoPmm-G_Zd85-kQqla5v7yKJGCFYxjQ3qqqA6N9z5Bv0Lxbc8ywOoG/s1600/turquoise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDfTROyHsr1GX-gQYl642-fGetWRFs19OSPP18fvknKd780-NUB3Pjm8Jjy6TE-mG872iRgp4rAmLAGkEq-FEWczoPmm-G_Zd85-kQqla5v7yKJGCFYxjQ3qqqA6N9z5Bv0Lxbc8ywOoG/s320/turquoise.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><i>S.O.F. Blue plus Phthalo Green</i></td></tr>
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A particular search of mine has been for a turquoise that is deeply rich at full strength but still a clear turquoise when in a pale wash. I got it last week: S.O.F. Blue with Phthalo green. Liking it so thoroughly, I went back to <a href="http://www.earthpigments.com/" target="_blank">Earth Pigment</a>s to order more of the S.O.F. Blue only to find it discontinued. I wrote to them asking if they might still have some left, or knew of another source. They didn't, but are sending me a sample of a new blue they will be carrying though it is not up yet. I will test this as soon as comes to see if I can get a turquoise as happy as this one! I am impressed that they offered to do this for me.<br />
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Several months ago I worked a turquoise and ochreish red into this image, which I actually like very much.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL5xqloP1CpI3zNYHztElaDE2KtRzcy5y-JJoGnLkOabskv8h6RHl9wlEYveHU5nWXFT4bcP9taDnEsMvZ0vElh3yW9yxyN1hEW6KRpX10kaoiE24sTXKewiWGMzSyljLKn8W0wNQKhgP/s1600/turquoise-and-red-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL5xqloP1CpI3zNYHztElaDE2KtRzcy5y-JJoGnLkOabskv8h6RHl9wlEYveHU5nWXFT4bcP9taDnEsMvZ0vElh3yW9yxyN1hEW6KRpX10kaoiE24sTXKewiWGMzSyljLKn8W0wNQKhgP/s400/turquoise-and-red-web.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><i>Turquoise and Red</i></td></tr>
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Very recently my encaustic work <i>Backyard Bahamas</i> was juried into <a href="http://www.eainm.com/2015-juried-encausticwax-exhibition/" target="_blank"><b>The 5th International Encaustic Exhibition</b></a> in Sante Fe, NM. The show will be up for the month of October (2015). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GsxMl8Q-Tak/VfrP_nGdwOI/AAAAAAAAAjc/jG0su1lTzYo/s1600/backyard-bahamas-7454-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GsxMl8Q-Tak/VfrP_nGdwOI/AAAAAAAAAjc/jG0su1lTzYo/s400/backyard-bahamas-7454-web.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Backyard Bahamas</i> - encaustic on 8" x 8" panel</td></tr>
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I owe much to three friends who have helped enormously in my return to painting: Susan Abbott, Steve Weinert, Maggie Triggs. And for the constant support of my life partner Mary Jean who knows first hand the difficulties of the last few years.<br />
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Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-87288438213103995662013-05-14T07:55:00.001-04:002013-05-14T10:13:58.369-04:00The Hard Part of Being an ArtistYesterday I received an order for a button I had created about three years ago. It is my favorite button. And for a long time I did not put it on the Art Button Works web site. Instead, I placed it on the living room desk, flat, in front of a postcard that was closely related to it. Here is the Postcard: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZFYE3NVNFs/UZIQY4z8qyI/AAAAAAAAAgU/AAnKuo0latg/s1600/queen-elizabeth-II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZFYE3NVNFs/UZIQY4z8qyI/AAAAAAAAAgU/AAnKuo0latg/s320/queen-elizabeth-II.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>To be sure, this is an image which needs no caption. <br />
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When I created the button, I knew immediately that it was really quite wonderful. Reader: know full well that I am not given to self-praise; I understood that this was an exceptional experience. I had to give the button a name and so I sat back and tried to think of what would be suitable for this splendid object. Finally, I had a name: <br />
<b>For the Queen</b>.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXl72AEsd4o/UZIRT6jOhVI/AAAAAAAAAgg/78tPjApSU-8/s1600/for-the-queen-web.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXl72AEsd4o/UZIRT6jOhVI/AAAAAAAAAgg/78tPjApSU-8/s320/for-the-queen-web.jpg" /></a><br />
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I should never, ever have put it on the web site. I put a high price (for a button) on it. Yesterday it sold. I had forgotten that I had put it on the web site. The temptation to lie to the customer and say that through my inefficiency it was already sold but I had neglected to mark it so on the web site was, for one brief, dark moment, overwhelming. I did not do that. So, now, as of tomorrow, it will be gone from my world along with several other buttons. <br />
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The irony in all of this is that just a few days ago, we had decided to stop selling buttons online. It was way too much work and we were no longer making buttons. The site would have been disabled for online purchasing. (The buttons are still on sale in a local gallery, <a href="http://www.grandisleartworks.com">Grand Isle Artworks</a>.)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D-Db6Sbngs0/UZIjo_Hw4zI/AAAAAAAAAgw/bYi6pXIdvlM/s1600/egg-tempera-sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D-Db6Sbngs0/UZIjo_Hw4zI/AAAAAAAAAgw/bYi6pXIdvlM/s320/egg-tempera-sketch.jpg" /></a>I am experiencing a real sense of loss. It is even greater than when I sold a painting I was very fond of. The painting, though, had been in a gallery for several months. It was not part of my daily life as this button was. It even provided a taking off point for a sketch I did when I first tried working with egg tempera. <br />
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I actually have a history with Queen Elizabeth II. When I was nine and she was not yet Queen, I stood about 10 feet from the back of the train where she and Philip were standing and sang "The Maple Leaf Forever", a popular and patriotic Canadian song. I have never forgotten that experience. And, from that moment on I became a Royalist and an Anglophile. <br />
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Looking back over the years I realize now that Elizabeth was a woman respected and known to all the world. In the the early fifties and for many many years after that, this was a rare thing. Little girls did not have very many women to look up to which were in the public vision. Queen Elizabeth II has been in just such a role ever since I saw her. But my association went well beyond the person of the Queen. I hold an Honors Masters Degree in English Literature and the infamous A.B.D. in British Literature. I have a rather large and beautiful (though not valuable) collection of British stamps. <br />
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In addition to Her Majesty the Queen, the idea that women could do other things besides keep house, nurse, teach, cook, and look beautiful (all but the last are fine choices indeed but none of them appealed to me as a child) was created and maintained by the following:<br />
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Virginia Woolf<br />
Dinah Shore<br />
Judy Garland<br />
Dame Edith Sitwell<br />
Emily Bronte<br />
Edith Piaf<br />
Rachel Carson<br />
Susan Hayward<br />
Tessie O'Shea<br />
Ava Gardner<br />
Bette Davis<br />
Amelia Earhart<br />
Carol Burnett<br />
Beverly Garland<br />
Julie Andrews<br />
Rosalind Russell<br />
Katherine Hepburn<br />
Mae West<br />
Vesta Tilley<br />
Colette<br />
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There are others of course, but the list above (in no particular order) delineates those I knew about before I was 21. <br />
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Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-57691213879016022002013-04-09T06:12:00.004-04:002013-04-09T06:12:52.501-04:00An Encaustic Art Studio for the Starving ArtistJust published on amazon.com.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Encaustic-Studio-Starving-Artist-ebook/dp/B00C9EUB0E/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365500234&sr=1-15&keywords=encaustic+art" target="_blank">An Encaustic Art Studio for the Starving Artist</a><br />
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The idea for this book came from my own experience in setting up an encaustic studio on a very tight budget. Not able to afford even the least expensive "studio essentials" kit ($300-$360), I spent hours reading about encaustic art and researching tools and materials until I was able to put together a really good working studio for myself.<br />
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A few weeks after this was up and running, I began to think about the six months I had delayed doing it because I thought it would be too expensive. If there had been a book like this, I wouldn't have wasted that six months.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wlAQ4fjgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" id="main-image" rel="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71RCFTXsHTL._SL1500_.jpg" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wlAQ4fjgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" style="display: inline;" width="200" /></a>It is not a book about techniques: there are a number of those out there. This is about the nitty-gritty of hardware, pigments, panels, grounds, and sources. The dollar amounts are included and compared. Sources are compared as well.<br />
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In short, for less money than the cost of the cheapest kit, this book (also inexpensive!) will enable the reader to set up an encaustic studio comparable to the most expensive kit AND with more colors and more of them. <br />
<br />Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-29316217329225173482013-04-07T06:52:00.000-04:002013-04-08T13:23:08.083-04:00Absence Means the Heart is ElsewhereBeen a while since the last post. BUT, there are reasons:<br />
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<li>My involvement with encaustic work has been intense. </li>
<li>Much to learn and explore. </li>
<li>Serious illness in the family which, at the moment, is experiencing a reprieve. </li>
<li>Nearing publication of a Kindle book for those who want to do encaustics, but can't afford it.</li>
<li>Volunteer work on design and production of a juried Exhibition in Print for the <a href="http://www.international-encaustic-artists.org/" target="_blank">International Encaustic Artists</a></li>
<li> Teaching Web Design and Development at the Community College of Vermont.</li>
<li>Preparing for my solo photography show in White River May 17th - July 17th. </li>
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<span style="color: red;">ANNOUNCEMENT</span>: "New" blog for artists to follow:<br />
Susan Abbott, Vermont painter, traveller, and painting instructor has initiated her Saturday Posts. The first issue is out and talks about Watercolor Palettes. If you are a painter you really need to lock onto this one. Abbott's knowledge of painting (oils and watercolors) is broad and deep. Take advantage of it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.susanabbott.com/a-painters-year/" target="_blank">Susan Abbot: A Painter's Year</a><br />
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Two New Encaustics<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.clairdunn.com/p-thumbs/tn-dark-fiber-1.jpg" style="margin: 8px auto; padding-top: 4px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark Fiber</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.clairdunn.com/p-thumbs/tn_against-the-grain-7575.jpg" style="margin: 8px auto; padding-top: 4px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Against the Grain</td></tr>
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For proper viewing: <a href="http://www.clairdunn.com/painting.htm">http://www.clairdunn.com/painting.htm</a><br />
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For now, that's all folks . . .Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-37084903249990051562013-02-28T06:00:00.002-05:002013-02-28T06:02:13.325-05:00Sketch into EncausticLast week I sketched out a composition (<a href="http://whiteriverjunction.blogspot.com/2013/02/making-art.html" target="_blank">second post below this one</a>) and this week I moved it to wax. I learned a lot in this process, but it was the last thing I did that gave me pause. Because I had no Prussian blue pigment, I painted that section of the panel first with egg tempera and worked with wax on the rest of the piece. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWl1auMGi3iUfaMuJQuH3hd9B4DwXawk3RaLOf0ztt8bZ9Q7QPjvA9pmkcAVSbZUiiwTdwlWrd-IpJSy-SHVeDBjXUim1rZLdP52Z4GMQBJ2UBcLEOWQNVX1oqSl51drnZmSB79f0kIpPv/s1600/out-of-the-night-7496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image of encaustic composition on wood panel" border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWl1auMGi3iUfaMuJQuH3hd9B4DwXawk3RaLOf0ztt8bZ9Q7QPjvA9pmkcAVSbZUiiwTdwlWrd-IpJSy-SHVeDBjXUim1rZLdP52Z4GMQBJ2UBcLEOWQNVX1oqSl51drnZmSB79f0kIpPv/s400/out-of-the-night-7496.jpg" title="Out of the Night" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Out of the Night</i> - 8" x 8" on wood panel</td></tr>
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Well, the Prussian blue pigment arrived and I only had time to mix it with some medium and get it on in its proper place. That meant just getting it on there without any time to scrape.<br />
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And this morning the pause arrived. Parts of the rest of the composition are not completely scraped yet, but scraped enough to show up the contrast with the roughness of the Prussian blue.<br />
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I laid on the blue with no thought to brush marks as I would be scraping. Well, now I look at it and I find the roughness against the smooth appealing. I only wish I had planned the brush strokes.<br />
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And this is what fascinates me about encaustic. So many facets and possibilities lie within this medium that in the learning, doors keep opening and opening and opening. Reminds me of diving down into the Mandelbrot set--goes on forever.<br />
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I had planned to scrape this today, but now I honestly don't know what to do. Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-87099337638902232342013-02-24T08:32:00.002-05:002013-02-24T09:21:17.146-05:00Encaustic Monotypes for Starving ArtistsA week or so ago I watched a short video by <a href="http://www.paularoland.com/">Paula Roland</a> and decided I wanted to investigate creating encaustic monotypes. Not being able to afford a hotbox, nor an anodized aluminum plate, I thought--well, that's out. Until this morning.<br />
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In spending my Christmas money for things encaustic, I of course bought a pancake griddle. Non-cook that I am, I assumed they only varied in size. Not so. My lovely new palette had a surface criss-crossed with a recessed diamond pattern. Worked fine, except when I came to clean it. After a few weeks and rolls of paper towels, I decided I would put a piece of glass on it. And, that did it. Nice smooth, cleanable palette.<br />
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This morning I woke up realizing I had a hot box. I did a bit more reading and discovered a wonderful Montreal artist, Alexandre Masimo who very kindly wrote <a href="http://alexandremasino.blogspot.com/2010/06/encaustic-monotype.html">a most helpful post about encaustic monotyping</a>. That post and his work set me to work immediately.<br />
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I drew two rectangles (B in the image above) on a piece of ordinary printer paper. The outer one for the size of the torn paper I would use. The inner one (in red), the size the composed image would be. I slipped this under the glass (A is pointing to the glass which is invisible in this image.). You want that outer rectangle matched to the overall size of your paper so that when you want to layer pulls, you can place your paper in the same place each time in relation to the print area. (Before I started anything I checked to make sure the griddle was level--this is important as your pools of wax on the palette will run if the surface is not level.)<br />
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What you see on the griddle-glass hotbox is the remnant of wax after the print on the right was pulled. This one was done on a scrap of paper left over from my intaglio days. Those were so long ago I no longer remember the name of the paper, but is it some form of mulberry or rice paper, though not terribly thin. I used a hard acrylic roller with a sheet of freezer paper (shiny side down) between my print paper and the roller to keep the wax from bleeding through onto the roller.<br />
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On the right is the very first print I pulled just to see if all this would work. I had no blue wax sticks so into a bit of melted beeswax on the palette, I added some phthalo blue and titanium white pigment. Not fussy at this point as this is a test.<br />
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Alexandre taught me that because "normal" encaustic work occurs on a firm surface, damar resin is added to the beeswax to make the wax stiffer, but any stiffness is not good on flexible paper. All commercially produced encaustic colors are prepared with some amount of damar resin. I'm fine with that because I make my own medium and colors anyway. I have a few Enkaustikos sticks just to play with, but far more jars of pigment powders.<br />
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On the left is the second test print I did. I will be exploring ways to mix control with serendipity in this process. And, of course, exploring the latitude that multiple pulls will afford. It will also be interesting to see if I can make a straight edge with this process. <br />
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Even though I am deeply immersed in <a href="http://www.clairdunn.com/painting.htm">regular encaustic work right now</a>, I wanted to give folks who want to experiment with encuastic monotypes a way to do that without selling your firstborn. Obviously with this setup your work is constrained by the griddle size. Especially if you only have one griddle. Ideally two griddles would solve that problem--one for the "poor-man's hot box" and one for a palette. You could easily get a 9" x 12" print then. But, everything you can do with a hot box, you can do with this setup. Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-73413503576383238662013-02-22T09:21:00.001-05:002013-02-22T09:35:48.673-05:00Anatomy of a SketchI belong to an art group which meets every Thursday and often it is as valuable and as necessary as air. Yesterday was no exception. But this post is different in that it is the outgrowth of my answer to a fellow artist, one I respect immensely, who asked me how did I come up with the finished sketch.<br />
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Because I am working in encaustic I can't work with those materials in the group, so I bring a sketchbook and egg tempera paints. Sometimes I just mess with colors, and other times, like yesterday I started drawing with pencil.<br />
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First I drew the two yellow triangles and studied them. The parallel lines of the long sides invited thought. So I extended them. Then I drew the vertical and horizontal lines away from the leftmost point of the left triangle. At that point I wanted a frame, so I drew the enclosing square. That enclosure created most all of the negative space (the red ochre and Prussian blue). I then drew the arc at the bottom of the right triangle and knew I was done with the drawing.<br />
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I painted the two triangles first, left in yellow ochre, the right in Indian yellow. Then I drew what I knew would be the central focus of the image--the Vermilion diagonal. Next came the red ochre, and after that, the Prussian blue. Then I filled in the green rectangle (Indian yellow with Prussian blue). I knew the small almost triangle near the arc would be black, but the arc gave me pause. I eventually chose a blue green from a different mixture of Indian yellow and Prussian blue.<br />
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Only in considering the arc did any "thinking" go on. Each shape became its color without thought. I can't explain how this happens. But when I set it on a window sill to step back from it, I knew it worked. And, I can't explain how I know that either. And at this point, I don't know if the color of the arc will change when I move it to encaustic. Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-25135969997541974132013-02-11T09:25:00.001-05:002013-02-11T09:27:28.877-05:00Encaustic Exploration and One InventionI received money at Christmas which enabled me to begin working in encaustic. I've been at it furiously for about six or seven weeks now.<br />
I'm in it for the color. Encaustic is the "what you see is what you get" medium. The color of the melted wax in the tin is the color it will be when applied and the color it will ALWAYS be. For me, whose entire reason for painting is to work with colors, this is the Holy Grail of color. I make most of my own colors by adding pigment powders to the encaustic medium. I also make the encaustic medium. (I started out with store-bought medium and then after reading, decided I wanted to make my own--both clear and with yellow beeswax.)<br />
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And the natural yellow of the beeswax I have come to consider not only as wax for the medium, but as a color in itself. So far in my explorations, my primary palette consists of Yellow Ochre, Vermilion, and Prussian Blue. <br />
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Very quickly I discovered that I had to deal with a working space that is too small. Today I gained about 2 square feet on my work table with this simple rack. Not only that, my colors are right in front of me whenever I look up. More about those tins later.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ik3q-J_cBWQ/URj6B99G2_I/AAAAAAAAAdk/ZgYnxOM9Oxg/s1600/paint-rack-7457-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ik3q-J_cBWQ/URj6B99G2_I/AAAAAAAAAdk/ZgYnxOM9Oxg/s400/paint-rack-7457-web.jpg" width="295" /></a>Sorry about the image quality but I had to shoot against the light. </div>
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Now about all those glass topped tins. I was delighted to find them and ordered about twenty of them. Most of them were the small size you see here (2-1/2" dia.). Unfortunately the larger ones don't come with glass covers. Those are the ones you see at the right on the shelf below the rack. And they are just fine for mediums and beeswax. They can be ordered from <a href="http://www.specialtybottle.com/cleartoptincontainersmi.aspx">Specialty Bottle </a>in Seattle, WA. In addition to these, they have lots of other containers. But, the glass topped ones let me see my colors all the time and I am so lucky to have found them.</div>
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The rack is just a flat board with narrow strips of wood across and a board (about 5" wide) glued edgewise onto the back about 2" up from the bottom. This gives the main board enough of an angle to keep the tins on the rack. If you made that board on the back a little wider the rack would be free-standing. But since I needed table space, I made mine to hang on the wall.</div>
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If you are curious, you can see some of my recent work at the top of this page:</div>
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<a href="http://www.clairdunn.com/painting.htm">http://www.clairdunn.com/painting.htm</a></div>
<br />Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-49744483679970224302013-02-08T06:34:00.002-05:002013-02-08T06:43:44.008-05:00Painting Techniques of the MastersThis book is one I picked up a couple of years ago at a used book sale. Only now have I studied it. Notice the word "studied". Each double page spread has black and white detail shots on the top left with alpha labels. The right page contains a full page reproduction of the painting. At the bottom of the left page is the technical guide containing not only explanations of the specific details called out by the labels on the detail figures, but often general comments about the artist.<br />
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This book is truly astounding in its value to the aspiring painter and the clarity and simplicity of the writing. For those of us who cannot attend one of the great museums of the world accompanied by an exceedingly well-informed explicator of painting techniques, this book is a glory hole.<br />
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My copy is one of the Revised Enlarged editions of the early 1970s. Because of the often poor quality of the black and white details, the labels are almost lost to view, but a magnifying glass will help enormously. The book is long out of print—though I fail to understand that. Watson-Guptill is a respected publisher and should have known better than to let this one go. Thankfully there seem to be many used copies available.<br />
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Here is a brief excerpt from the text explaining this Cézanne Still Life:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">. . . He wanted to construct the composition so that it was a solid as a granite pylon. Now follow his thinking as he works out each part. The line of the wall at A competes with the jug, and therefore [he] fades it out. At B, however, the line of the wall is important, since it links two parts of the composition; therefore, it is strengthened here by a darker tone along the edge. The edge of the napkin at C is also important to the structure of the whole, and therefore [he] reinforces the contour here with a shadow behind the cloth. Now follow the line along the contour of the jug. The oval opening (D) is not drawn in correct perspective. If he had drawn it in perspective, the shape would have been too delicate and thin for the rest of the forms; therefore, [he] deliberately reforms it into a shape which fits the composition. . . .</span><br />
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Written by Hereward Lester Cooke, Curator of Painting, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. the book considers paintings by about 100 artists from Peter Bruegel the Elder to Picasso. Rich teachings were offered in the texts which explained paintings which had absolutely no appeal for me personally. It doesn't matter. The details described explain how a certain effect was achieved; that effect can live outside the work in which it occurs. One does not have to like a work to appreciate a technique.<br />
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If you are a painter—at any level, this book will give you hours/days of thought-filled pleasure.<br />
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I am entering a plea to any of the great publishers of fine art books: one of you please figure out how to rescue this treasure and reprint it with the best printing techniques available. It will of course require re-capturing all of the paintings which I assume are still in The National Gallery of Art in D.C. But, it should be done. Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-34014271375010359952012-11-14T08:04:00.000-05:002012-11-14T08:07:20.811-05:00Color in NovemberNovember. When, even on a sunny day, I do not expect to be stunned by color. I was.<br />
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These birdhouses must be one of the secret treasures of Grand Isle.<br />
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And there are dozens more on either side of this section. Whoever does this, I thank them. Very few outdoor scenes are at their very best in November, but this one is.<br />
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<b>P.S.</b> <i>This Saturday (17th) there will be a Closing Reception for Charlie Hunter and me at the Artistree Gallery in Woodstock. 6-7:30 p.m. </i>Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-71683062709731089572012-10-24T03:53:00.000-04:002012-10-24T03:53:01.935-04:00Two Really Difficult Weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There have been a number of deaths with which I am to some degree connected. These have all occurred within the last five or six weeks. The greatest of these has been the death of our family's matriarch--my cousin Grace Machia. She was born in St. Albans in 1926, grew up on the family farm in Fletcher and lived most of her life in Fairfax. Her mother and mine were sisters who both were raised on the farm which had been in our family since 1867. This was the homestead I was forced to sell a year ago.<br />
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Grace was a good woman whose main care in life was keeping the family together and I loved her very much. This is the end of an era. <br />
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Right now it is difficult to do anything. So, I am using my drug of choice--online games--until things settle down. I am grateful for my upcoming show with Charlie Hunter in Woodstock. That will be some positive medicine. Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-82644846230026816872012-10-18T04:42:00.001-04:002012-10-18T04:44:03.580-04:00Charlie Hunter - Clair Dunn Woodstock show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At the <a href="http://www.artistreevt.org/charlie-hunter.html">artistree</a> community gallery in Woodstock, Vermont. The opening reception is on the 27th from 6-8:30 p.m.<br />
<br />
CHARLIE HUNTER<br />
Charlie Hunter is a Bellows Falls-based Vermont artist, currently
emerging on the national level. In 2012 he won awards at plein air
painting events across the East, including Easton, MD (Best New Artist),
Wayne, PA, Cranford, NJ and Plein Air Vermont. This show of paintings
from Summer, 2012 captures Hunter's propensity for the drippy, begrimed
and neglected.<br />
<br />
"This is not the Vermont of fall leaves and covered bridges the
tourists come to see, but the Vermont of abandoned Plymouths, lost
industries and declining family farms. Charlie Hunter captures that
everyday beauty with realism and sympathy, his eye eager for the telling
detail, the unusual viewpoint, and the unexpected angle." – ART NEW
ENGLAND<br />
<br />
CLAIR DUNN<br />
Clair Dunn sees Vermont in black and white. Her rural images often
capture the result of abandonment while "rural urban" images depict the
very human and very comfortable scale of Vermont's towns. The former are
fast vanishing, the latter we still have time to think about. She lives
and works in Swanton.Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-91469107513424441532012-10-13T06:38:00.000-04:002012-10-13T06:39:28.990-04:00Painting ProgressI've quickly learned that when working in oil you need to have more than one painting to work on.<br />
<br />
As all Vermonters know, they make jokes about us sitting around "watching paint dry". Well, I've not been sitting around. I've been reading and watching videos. Two of those videos were so inspiring that I decided to break out another panel and go to my image library.<br />
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Before I get to the nitty-gritty, I want to name the two most inspiring videos I may have ever seen: The first--<i>The Art of Oil Painting with Charles Evans</i> was by a British painter and teacher, well-respected and often seen on British television. They are lucky. The second is by Alywn Crashaw--<i>Oils for the Beginner, Part I</i>. I watch it at least once a day. Good teachers are priceless, and alas, all too rare.<br />
<br />
After absorbing these two videos I went through my color shots, taken while I was out hunting for black and white subjects. I stumbled on one, taken of what used to be our pond across the road in early autumn. It was simple and clean and I figured it would be a good place for me to start.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bO_DhoPiLrGGEj9rzobWsZzzz0nJEqzdS9bVFNQo3ywctKUPIECrI6NAg9UCrzbXnKm82OQHEmQWOCcR3MIKk-uWA2HNJ9Qj7CnKbQGYi49IOG9-z4dfWxl-lMPDt_T7kRUEdzAcPt1-/s1600/pond-3519-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bO_DhoPiLrGGEj9rzobWsZzzz0nJEqzdS9bVFNQo3ywctKUPIECrI6NAg9UCrzbXnKm82OQHEmQWOCcR3MIKk-uWA2HNJ9Qj7CnKbQGYi49IOG9-z4dfWxl-lMPDt_T7kRUEdzAcPt1-/s320/pond-3519-web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And so I began--nervous and excited almost to the point of combustion. Here is the result. I have learned much--beginning at the beginning. This is not the way I want to paint landscape, but I need to learn how to mix, how to use the brush, how to do those two things to get what I want on the canvas. This time I wanted to get this image onto canvas. That's all.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7OOTVgw7unI/UHlBXlu1kOI/AAAAAAAAAbw/sJHPVqXBC0w/s1600/still-pond-web2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7OOTVgw7unI/UHlBXlu1kOI/AAAAAAAAAbw/sJHPVqXBC0w/s400/still-pond-web2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still Pond - Early Autumn, Fletcher, Vermont 8" x 10"</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I learned much doing this. Especially about mixing oils on the palette. I also learned that one needs to leave well enough alone at a certain point. (I did purposely set out to make this brighter than the photo because the part I was most interested in painting was the sky and I wanted a greater contrast.)<br />
<br />
And, to further inspire me, this morning on <a href="http://vermontartzine.blogspot.com/2012/10/middlebury-fleeting-momentsstolen_11.html">Vermont Art Zine</a> there was a post with two oils by S. P. Jackson. They are wonderful! I wish I could get to Middlebury to see them in the flesh. If you can get there, please go in my stead. What he said is what I want to do:<br />
<br />
"<i>...The title of the show comes from the fact I am not attempting to record
an exact representation of a particular landscape. It is the lingering
impression, the fleeting memory, that I want to capture and hold onto as
our lives speed by in time and space.</i>” <br />
<br />Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-79006257797769331632012-10-05T07:18:00.004-04:002012-10-05T07:44:42.052-04:00Swanton Under RainMy second sketch is not as good as <a href="http://whiteriverjunction.blogspot.com/2012/09/given-assignment-to-look-at-shadow.html">my first</a> but it did lead me to discover something. So that makes it worthwhile.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CEt8iUvrgFs/UG6_rzmAIZI/AAAAAAAAAa0/yzkJxMfsD8I/s1600/swanton-shaggys-sketch-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CEt8iUvrgFs/UG6_rzmAIZI/AAAAAAAAAa0/yzkJxMfsD8I/s400/swanton-shaggys-sketch-web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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It was raining and we were waiting for a pizza to be ready, driving around until I said "stop". And I did this sketch (admittedly while being very hungry). Fortunately the pizza was much much better than the sketch.<br />
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After we got the pizza in the car, I remembered that I wanted a photograph of the view I had sketched, so we drove back. Turns out we didn't stop in exactly the same place, but close.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i0DM03BwT_E/UG7Akj9OdWI/AAAAAAAAAbA/y6ZYYGfYedo/s1600/swanton-shaggys-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i0DM03BwT_E/UG7Akj9OdWI/AAAAAAAAAbA/y6ZYYGfYedo/s400/swanton-shaggys-web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The next day I looked at the sketch and the image and something about the two shapes of the pavement in the foreground triggered something and I immediately started drawing on a canvas board. A couple of days later I had this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9SsyfjWSBJo/UG7BMsqGMMI/AAAAAAAAAbM/T30_86HTTcg/s1600/swanton-rain-web-7194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9SsyfjWSBJo/UG7BMsqGMMI/AAAAAAAAAbM/T30_86HTTcg/s400/swanton-rain-web-7194.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Swanton Under Rain</i> - 8" x 10" oil on canvas board</td></tr>
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What I learned is that sketches aren't blueprints. They serve a purpose beyond the visual. I think the simplicity allows imagination a free range. If they've done their job, the transmutation happens quickly in the brain. Something snaps into focus that is not the sketch, but is of the sketch. The act of sketching makes us focus for just long enough that the brain absorbs its own vision of what we see and mulls it over, "painting" it with other images, other feelings, other pieces of ourselves until it becomes what it is we (in particular) really see.<br />
<br />
For me in this case, I can make some guesses as to what got thrown into this sketch: maps, aerial views, my love of shapes and colors, interest in roof lines, my fascination with the weather, among other things which even I can't now consciously remember.<br />
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Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-40216100578472804412012-09-30T15:49:00.002-04:002012-09-30T15:50:11.394-04:00Found ArtThe images below are the two sides of a heavy piece of metal about 2 by 3 inches that I found on the tarmac outside a St. Albans restaurant. (Smoking does have advantages.)
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yCMB6hvxjyo/UGihkX0V1PI/AAAAAAAAAac/wGgNqgdpG8k/s1600/metal-object.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="258" width="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yCMB6hvxjyo/UGihkX0V1PI/AAAAAAAAAac/wGgNqgdpG8k/s400/metal-object.jpg" /></a></div>
Sometimes you get really lucky and see something like this. Its jewel-like qualities are obvious, but to have a "hard copy" of oil on puddle is quite remarkable. I didn't do anything to it except wash off the dirt, take the shots, and hang it on my bulletin board. Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-14221439990586729912012-09-21T06:40:00.001-04:002012-09-21T08:24:10.831-04:00On the edge and on edgeSince my last post (which is an important one for "my teacher" to see), I've been experiencing serious unrest and upheaval about my involvement with color and with painting.<br />
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The pairing of the two images below is indicative of the shift which seems to be pushing me out of watercolor and into some other medium. I can hardly believe I just wrote that sentence. I think I'm realizing that the color that I love is the color I see on the watercolor palette, not on the paper.<br />
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The making of the <a href="http://whiteriverjunction.blogspot.com/2012/09/palette-squared-ii.html">400 squares</a> of saturated color offered a drumbeat of working with pure colors. The photograph of the squares in the sunlight threw some kind of a switch in my brain.<br />
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Here are the images which hold the key to my future work with colors. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IObHYb0M9M4/UFxAgrCi2JI/AAAAAAAAAaE/qXF9HYW-aX0/s1600/red-backyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IObHYb0M9M4/UFxAgrCi2JI/AAAAAAAAAaE/qXF9HYW-aX0/s400/red-backyard.jpg" width="378" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: two-color etching. Right: watercolor - backyard reduced to shapes</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The image on the left was made decades ago when I was wholly enraptured by intaglio. I was at the time trapped in a school which only offered a future in lithography, a medium that had absolutely no appeal for me. (It was at this point that I went on to graduate school in literature.)
So, here am I, almost 40 years on from that red, looking for <b><i>my</i></b> medium, a medium that will give me the color that I want.
Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-12201003396224518272012-09-06T14:59:00.001-04:002012-09-06T15:00:01.042-04:00From Sketch to Painting<p>Working with the sketch I posted <a href="http://whiteriverjunction.blogspot.com/2012/09/given-assignment-to-look-at-shadow.html">here</a> I translated it into watercolor.</p>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TvMx5kYJ4oY/UEjv-iiQ1DI/AAAAAAAAAZg/AKpZFVqdg4U/s1600/sketch1-ptg-1-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TvMx5kYJ4oY/UEjv-iiQ1DI/AAAAAAAAAZg/AKpZFVqdg4U/s400/sketch1-ptg-1-web.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><i>Palette: Permanent Rose, Transparent Yellow, Cobalt Turquoise</i></p>
<p>I then went back to my "assignment" and translated this to pure flat shapes.</p>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ECLTIOBdN_8/UEjv_K92-OI/AAAAAAAAAZs/pTl4Jh8flH0/s1600/sketch1-ptg-2-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ECLTIOBdN_8/UEjv_K92-OI/AAAAAAAAAZs/pTl4Jh8flH0/s400/sketch1-ptg-2-web.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><i>Palette: Permanent Alizarin, Cadmium Lemon, Cobalt Turquoise</i></p>
The first one is done on the same rough WC paper I've been using right along, and also with the same stiff brush. The second on is on Cold Press WC paper which, while not smooth, is considerably smoother. I also used a flat WC brush which is much softer and more flexible.</p>
<p>I think I'm quite interested in the second one. But looking time will have to pass for me to know what comes next. I know though, that I will try another triad with the same shapes. But where to move beyond this, I don't know yet.</p>
<p>I broke down and ordered a block of Hot Pressed WC paper. One of those things which artists have to live with: I can't afford it, but I have to have it.</p>
Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-47986733471260559962012-09-04T15:06:00.002-04:002012-09-04T15:20:54.173-04:00First SketchGiven an assignment to "look at the shadow shapes and negative shapes . . . base a painting on the empty space between the 'stuff' . . . crop down to a few shapes:"
<p>I've ignored most of that for now because I am still trying to deal with a previous assignment of sketching. For some reason I seem to be deathly afraid of sketching. I avoid it for days and weeks while the idea of it lurks in my mind, then today suddenly, I left the computer grabbed the sketchbook and lunged to the table on the patio. The image below is shot from the patio table after I made the sketch:</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPdEDaufkk7Y1FAFW7-JvWMBHi6cjUz_fiD_c1nSSXivl7jhe-MkfMk5c4-c4fL3Nb17AwkOEa1gceEhCnnHq1QphvZnOnOlvYA7WZvWTo4UUlcPWvXyru3b3oJpN_UbVoCvI-wlH3nqq/s1600/sketch-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="251" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPdEDaufkk7Y1FAFW7-JvWMBHi6cjUz_fiD_c1nSSXivl7jhe-MkfMk5c4-c4fL3Nb17AwkOEa1gceEhCnnHq1QphvZnOnOlvYA7WZvWTo4UUlcPWvXyru3b3oJpN_UbVoCvI-wlH3nqq/s400/sketch-image.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Unfortunately, my courage to sketch arose on a thoroughly grey day. So there are no shadows in the photograph. However, the sun broke through briefly as I was sketching so I had some idea of light.</p>
<p>Below is the sketch I made. It is the first real one I've done. (I got a very nice roof line in Stowe last week, but it was in pencil, and I haven't yet made it look good in ink.)</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh84hf42FKu_rLi4rMJtFGEtQtutr-mwWeeYeNwOQk8yJJKVdXB8ieEa9OE_Or1nXiP992qGXywPP4M1xFZndortKeqirezRHTNbjVaCMgOH9eSt-Sio1P7iJuSkqhehm9XWBDY8YuQXyR/s1600/sketch-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="282" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh84hf42FKu_rLi4rMJtFGEtQtutr-mwWeeYeNwOQk8yJJKVdXB8ieEa9OE_Or1nXiP992qGXywPP4M1xFZndortKeqirezRHTNbjVaCMgOH9eSt-Sio1P7iJuSkqhehm9XWBDY8YuQXyR/s400/sketch-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>In a slight nod to the assignment above, I cropped a section which I think can stand by itself.</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNhjuF-WFduY0oGPVGmgMA8rt-m-pQn7qpbqqo6Tl5r4Fy6g49wjspt_q0zjKocpvHV-sQny6sweOk-RC5iosCcJo5iFYAJxgFHnXTvQZ1hAgV1IOaPusLrnPsDTLb1QsUIOgKM3tFl32/s1600/sketch-1-crop-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="143" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNhjuF-WFduY0oGPVGmgMA8rt-m-pQn7qpbqqo6Tl5r4Fy6g49wjspt_q0zjKocpvHV-sQny6sweOk-RC5iosCcJo5iFYAJxgFHnXTvQZ1hAgV1IOaPusLrnPsDTLb1QsUIOgKM3tFl32/s400/sketch-1-crop-a.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>And then one more, which also works by itself.</p>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QtO9RfdEHRs/UEZNIjEny-I/AAAAAAAAAZI/IaXDTcLsEiM/s1600/sketch-1-crop-b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="295" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QtO9RfdEHRs/UEZNIjEny-I/AAAAAAAAAZI/IaXDTcLsEiM/s400/sketch-1-crop-b.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I'm fixated on my rather uninteresting backyard I think because, since the move, I've lost the yard I loved my whole life and am trying to elevate this feeble substitute to something substantial. So, I continue to look at it.</p>
Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-13738386569613924062012-09-03T06:25:00.000-04:002012-09-03T06:38:49.427-04:00Palette Squared II<p>A few weeks ago I posted an image of the <a href="http://whiteriverjunction.blogspot.com/2012/07/progress-squared.html">start of my palette chart</a>.</p>
<p>I finished it this week--all 400 squares. When it was done I saw it as a piece of art in itself--more than an exercise. I took it out in the sunlight to photograph and realized it could stand alone (beyond a technical photograph of the squares themselves).</p>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-syOE1pEPbPw/UESC3cFHchI/AAAAAAAAAYE/jTtp42tizto/s1600/palette-grass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-syOE1pEPbPw/UESC3cFHchI/AAAAAAAAAYE/jTtp42tizto/s320/palette-grass.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Even though my camera takes a huge image, I like the smallness here which makes the colors on the paper seem to blur and the whole more of an organic piece suited to a natural environment.</p>
<p>And, below, is the workaday image of the thing itself. </p>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-68xI7coNwqI/UESEprFpgmI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/npKera62H4o/s1600/full-palette-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="305" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-68xI7coNwqI/UESEprFpgmI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/npKera62H4o/s400/full-palette-web.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>In making this, my whole focus, of course, was on color. Some colors got me itching to see them side by side or superimposed one on the other. And this of course led me to thinking about color field painting. Something I've not thought about in relation to my own work. I may have some thinking to do here.</p>
Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-37546747063664014972012-08-15T05:31:00.000-04:002012-08-15T05:32:34.229-04:00A tentative step in the right direction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_VGwePS8GbUImFXbOO2ZJjKjWB1uAWp-cC-ouFCefv-rUz2SArUtMygq1jE8s7Ju8t8XqOQ1AjJGXz_J2SRZLQR7g4DJXsUEJjHCUbHwRUs9JR3psDEowm_LxdCKhWETppyNE4BH6IOj/s1600/backyard-1b-w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_VGwePS8GbUImFXbOO2ZJjKjWB1uAWp-cC-ouFCefv-rUz2SArUtMygq1jE8s7Ju8t8XqOQ1AjJGXz_J2SRZLQR7g4DJXsUEJjHCUbHwRUs9JR3psDEowm_LxdCKhWETppyNE4BH6IOj/s320/backyard-1b-w.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><i>Backyard I</i>, 4" x 6", watercolor on paper</p>
Something about working on the squares and looking at Dove again just pushed me to do this. This is the second attempt--too much was not right with the first. This is better, but after doing this I realized I was not happy with the brush I was using. So I spent some time trying out brushes. There will be another version, but for now I needed to get something up that pushes me in the right direction. Which this does.
<p>I don't yet know how to get full intensity watercolor on the paper without it being mottled; that's why I think it's a brush problem. When I get rid of the mottling, I think I'll be happy.</p>
<p> The palette for this was Cobalt Turquoise, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, and Cadmium Lemon. There is a tiny bit of Prussian Blue in the deep shadows.</p>Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-33445829708277649692012-08-14T05:07:00.001-04:002012-08-14T05:08:33.695-04:00Dove, Marin, and HopperI decided to post about well-known artists that make me sit still and look. Three of them are American.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kylIn4uKx2ATvDcpNlBcCyN1X92QP6Ff8esn7TYEy0lRk-GUUn3o3C76l5aXozN6je8kVfoIsvZo_mFJ0wBxEnjx8lZAEkC3VXhjJLExs0znJ_dP9L9IdnpK3Djz4AADs1tNWRNP3_SE/s1600/1955-265-dove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="230" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kylIn4uKx2ATvDcpNlBcCyN1X92QP6Ff8esn7TYEy0lRk-GUUn3o3C76l5aXozN6je8kVfoIsvZo_mFJ0wBxEnjx8lZAEkC3VXhjJLExs0znJ_dP9L9IdnpK3Djz4AADs1tNWRNP3_SE/s320/1955-265-dove.jpg" /></a></div>
Arthur Dove: Sunrise, 1937</p>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wZJN8EPFkPE/UCoO7fsFxXI/AAAAAAAAAW4/2oXmlmFFeyo/s1600/1989-61-4-dove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="248" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wZJN8EPFkPE/UCoO7fsFxXI/AAAAAAAAAW4/2oXmlmFFeyo/s320/1989-61-4-dove.jpg" /></a></div>
Arthur Dove: Untitled, 1942</p>
<p>How I found out about him is detailed in this <a href="http://http://whiteriverjunction.blogspot.com/search/label/Arthur%20Dove">earlier post</a>.
<p>Many years ago I saw Hopper's <i>Nighthawks</i>, and like the rest of the world, was stunned and fascinated by it. Since moving back into art I have educated that fascination and find his work mesmerizing.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigceuAssSh6YBEtQ3mRnTSRiZzmBN-Az2Shyphenhyphen2yB03Ao3MjRkW68ZAuhyitWSMhiouqIY1RbNXu9SlXFua1uTLJoa8rpjAG77XpskN13uK2OS5RSnImpFV6AzHc81OV-n5sagbMWMOHpI1L/s1600/hopper-ny-movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="258" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigceuAssSh6YBEtQ3mRnTSRiZzmBN-Az2Shyphenhyphen2yB03Ao3MjRkW68ZAuhyitWSMhiouqIY1RbNXu9SlXFua1uTLJoa8rpjAG77XpskN13uK2OS5RSnImpFV6AzHc81OV-n5sagbMWMOHpI1L/s320/hopper-ny-movie.jpg" /></a></div>
Edward Hopper: New York Movie, 1939</p>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EOBxT2l4niI/UCoQw5wOmcI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/15jSHUjjn_I/s1600/hopper-rooms-sea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="231" width="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EOBxT2l4niI/UCoQw5wOmcI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/15jSHUjjn_I/s320/hopper-rooms-sea.jpg" /></a></div>
Edward Hopper: Rooms by the Sea, 1951</p>
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And finally, John Marin--again revisited in depth where I discovered his landscapes as opposed to his bridgescapes and cityscapes.</p>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QI4Y9N5ZLwg/UCoRatgxkUI/AAAAAAAAAXc/6FAtC-EFyzs/s1600/cat-10FPO-marin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="280" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QI4Y9N5ZLwg/UCoRatgxkUI/AAAAAAAAAXc/6FAtC-EFyzs/s320/cat-10FPO-marin.jpg" /></a></div>
John Marin, Big Wood Island, 1914</p>
<p>
With the addition of Cezanne's landscapes and most all of the <a href="http://http://www.group-of-seven.org/">Canadian Group of Seven</a>, these are images which swirl in whatever part of my brain works with visual things. As much as I still love <i>Nighthawks</i>, I think, as an artist, I am more fascinated by Hopper's <i>Rooms by the Sea</i>: the shape of the light outlined by the shadows is riveting, that shape made even more powerful by what seems a simulacrum on the wall of the next room.</p>
Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9085891192238009800.post-17723349989512461242012-08-05T09:51:00.002-04:002012-08-05T10:08:37.682-04:00Merging of BlogsIn the interest of "getting it together" I have merged three of my other blogs into this one. If you were one of the few followers of
<br /> <br />
Vermont Directions (my Art of Action blog)
<br /> <br />
Vermilion Hue (my painting blog)
<br /> <br />
Clair Dunn PHOTOGRAPHY (my, duh, photography blog)
<br /> <br />
Their contents have all been moved to White River (you are here!).
I am posting this because I don't know if Google transfers the followers along with the posts.
My artist's web site however remains the same at:
<br /> <br />
<a href="http://www.clairdunn.com">clairdunn.com</a>Clairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09151298064598120697noreply@blogger.com0