Art Calendar Magazine changes it's name to Professional Artist Magazine

"Voice of the Tiger" has won 1st Place in Art Calendar's March 2011 Portrait Cover Contest. It is featured on the inaugural issue of the magazine with it's new name.

One of my paintings was on the cover once before, in January 2006.

This painting, “Fledgling Portal”, (Oil on Masonite, 38”x53”, 2003, Collection of David and Nicole Holcombe), was the third in my "Awakening Series". I did a total of eight pieces that explored growing up and life transitions.

In “Fledgling Portal” a girl stands wearing fairy wings; she is loath to give up the playfulness of her childhood. Behind her is a drapery with aluminum foil stars as the real world beckons from beyond. The clown is a reminder of scary things from our childhood that make us wonder what frightening things await on the other side of childhood.

This Awakening Series is not merely about one stage in life. I began this series as I was contemplating making the transition to full time fine art.

The young people in these paintings are stands in for every man about to embark on a big change in life, moving from one "stage" (the drapery with foil stars) to a bigger world beyond.

Symbols abound through-out the series, "Jet City" for getting there fast, a clown for scary things unknown, a goldfish in a bag, maps, empty nests, fast cars, and big cities.

It's like most of my work which is about life transitions, "change" which is the only constant for each of us. All these ideas came together in a very unconscious way, a percolating of ideas, the process that I love about making art.

“The Quickening”
Oil on Masonite, 40”x61”, 2003, from the collection of the artist

A young girl on the brink of womanhood...she is confident as she faces the world with her steady gaze and calm demeanor.  The lily is a Christian symbol of purity often associated with the Virgin Mary, but before that it was associated with the goddess Aphrodite, appropriate for a coming of age young woman. There are storm clouds on the horizon, a sure sign of the turbulence that must accompany all life transitions. 

“On the Wing”

Oil on Masonite, 40”x61”, 2003, from the collection of the artist

A young man is called by a world that is at once exciting, frightening, and unknown.  The boy is sure and confident.  The nest can have two meanings, the masculine role of builder, or the traditional image of the empty nest as a home left behind.

“New Frontiers”
Oil on Masonite, 38”x53”, 2003, Private Collection

Growing up and leaving home...  the young man is wearing a child’s cowboy hat in answer to the question “So, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Fences represent those things that hold us back but also protect us from danger. The goldfish in a plastic bag is in a temporarily safe yet precarious stage in his life. All could be easily lost in one small moment of carelessness. 

  

“Make Way”

Oil on canvas, 42”x58”, 2004, Collection of David and Nicole Holcombe

Godzilla and the boy are rampaging through the city with complete and utter abandon. “Look to it well and say you are well warn'd.”~ Shakespeare

 

“Pin-up”

Oil on canvas, 42”x58”, 2004, Private Collection

“Pin-up”, shows an independent girl who will walk her own path even as she is tugged by pressure to conform.

 

“Full Moon Flight”

Oil on canvas,  52”x36”,  2004, Private Collection

The girl is going west, strong and armed for the future  with keys, a map for direction,  and a rabbits foot for luck. Her destiny is as yet undecided, and the Magic 8 Ball reflects the uncertain  nature of life with it’s answers of “yes”, “no”,  “reply hazy try again". Future loves are symbolized by the valentine and the king of heart’s that is hidden away.

 

“Smoke and Mirrors”

Oil on canvas,  42”x58”,  2005, Private Collection

Danger, temptations, free will, secrets revealed, and fire as transformation, the magician divulges nothing.


The following are screen shots of the March 2011 issue of Professional Artist Magazine on news stands soon!

A journey by sea and land, five hundred miles, is not undertaken without money. ~Lewis Hallam

Of course it was more like 1300 miles and not really across the sea but you get the drift. Yikes! These boxes are expensive but the paintings traveled well and arrived unharmed and safely delivered to Peterson-Cody Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico by FedEx ground.

The boxes are "Strongboxes" and can be purchased from Airfloat Systems. They have a liner that is as puncture resistant as 3/4 inch plywood and foam padding all around that  you can custom cut to fit the work.

The paintings were wrapped in Dartek film that I first learned about from the Mobile Museum of Art when they shipped one of my paintings back to me wrapped in the stuff. It doesn't stick to the varnish in my experience. It can be purchased from University Products.

I taped the boxes shut with EXTREME amounts of Scotch "Extreme Tape", loaded them in the back of my Mazda and headed off to the local FedEx office, where I turned them over to a very nice man and held my breath for the next four days.

Shipping work across country is not for the faint of heart!

What the Heck am I Trying to Say?

I recently re-worked my artist statement, a challenge for all visual artists, but an important process as well. If we, as artists don't know what we're talking about who does?

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to relate specific pieces to different parts of my artist statement to see where I'm exploring what topic. I've done it here with work specifically that will be in the Figurative Group Show at Peterson-Cody Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, February 2011.

Using the human figure and still life objects I consider intangibles, challenging myself to capture small nuance in relationships, life, death,  and love. Much of my work is about transitions, whether it is a midlife juncture or coming of age as a universal truth. These paintings are decisions reflected and possibilities contemplated. 

(As in "Near at Hand", I'm dealing with symbolic walls that can appear in relationships or in "On With the Show" I was thinking about the continuum of time, the birds are flying into and out of the painting suggesting that the show must go on, WE must press on, as surely as time passes this too shall pass.)  

 I’m intrigued by the idea of a work of art looking like an old master’s painting but with a contemporary edge, as an artist I want to be a filter for the time I live in. 

(In "The Ascent", the figures are very classically rendered however the ladder is a modern aluminum one, or "Call of Duty", which has the feel of a Renaissance portrait but the imagery from Superman comics, my red haired model in "Dreams of Flying" brings to mind a Botticelli Venus but with the addition of the airplane there is no mistaking her for one) 

I’m frequently inspired by fairy tales, superheroes, or works of literature, and reexamine them in a contemporary way. Mythical characters may become a device to explore our responses to modern day situations, for example Superman becomes a symbol for the mighty dreams each of us hold close to our chests. 

(As in "The Call of Duty" and "If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On" which has it's title from the first line of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night play)

Recurring themes, of flying and birds, have been turning up in my work, kind of a surprise personal imagery and that I was not conscious of adding. My paintings are so long in the works that I'm delighted when I discover a surprise such as this.

American Art Collector Magazine previews the February Peterson-Cody Gallery Group Figurative Show

I'm delighted to be showing in Santa Fe! 

Be on the look out for American Art Collector February 2011 issue! They should be in bookstores near the end of January.  I'll post works by the other artists to be included as soon as I know what's up. My other paintings to be included in the show, besides the paintings listed in the article, are "Near at Hand" 47x32 and "On with the Show" 30x22. 

"The Activist" ~ The Incognito Project

This model is a mother of four boys, a business woman, dancer and artist. The ribbons represent causes that are dear to her. The painting is 24x18 and oil on panel.

I loved her idea of being stripped bare of everything except symbols of those things she is most passionate about, the idea came to her in a dream.  

 

Yellow is for missing children, pink for breast cancer awareness or breast feeding mother's rights,  orange is world hunger awareness, purple is domestic violence prevention, sky blue is child abuse prevention and ADD awareness.

She is also wearing her wedding ring and a cross given to her by her father. She has been married to her "soul mate" for 15 years and feels that Christianity is a big part of her being. Many thanks Laura for your participation in this project!

Bubble Wrap and Scarlett O'Hara

The studio exploded yesterday when a crew from Gadsden Museum of Art returned my work from the show. Today, basically I cleared a path and kept working.

I felt like Scarlett O'Hara off and on all day as I thought, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

On the easel and nearing completion is the next painting from The Incognito Project, "The Activist".  

  Here's a sneak peek at the painting about a week ago. 

 This is my progress as of today. It was a good day to paint!

Go West Young Man!...er woman

It's announced,  my new gallery affiliation with Peterson-Cody Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico!
The Gallery is located in the West Palace Arts District. Check out the January Art News Letter from the gallery.
  
From the gallery's website: "The West Palace Arts District is a diverse group of museums and galleries located between the Museum of Fine Arts and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum on West Palace Avenue and Johnson Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Representing over 250 nationally recognized artists working across all media and subjects, the West Palace Arts District Galleries offer collectors spacious and accessible venues to view the best in contemporary American art and fine crafts.

With more than 40 restaurants and 6 hotels in a 3 block radius, the West Palace Arts District is a "must visit" art destination for the experienced and first time collector."

Group Figurative Show Feb. 4th, 2011 to Feb. 28th, 2011

Opening reception Feb. 4th, 2011 

My sensible side says that with all the traveling I did for shows last fall I should stay chained to the easel but my ramblin' bones want to go out for the opening...

"If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On" Finalist in International Artist Magazine

I'm honored to have my painting in International Artist Magazine's Dec/Jan 2011 issue Challenge No. 60, People and Figures Competition. In bookstores now.

This painting will be at Peterson-Cody Gallery (Santa Fe, NM) in February as part of their Figurative Group Show.

“If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On”
oil on canvas over panel, 32x39
Excerpt from the magazine:

MY INSPIRATION:
The idea for “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On” came to me while on a walk beside a stream near my house. I have watched this clearing as it changes color and light with the seasons and time of day. No matter the situation it always looks inviting. I began to imagine a band of happy travelers stopping there to rest and enjoy a moment living in the moment. I wanted to do a painting that hearkened to a simpler time, a time of wine and roses, a halcyon days break from the daily storms of modern life. The title is the first line of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. 


MY DESIGN STRATEGY:
I did a few thumbnail sketches and collected props and costumes including an antique accordion that belonged to my husband’s grandfather. I imagined the clearing as the environment and background for the painting. My son, his fiancee and my daughter were home for spring break so I had my models, the weather was perfect and the red buds were in bloom. I took many digital photographs of the models dancing, playing instruments and in various poses and groupings. I just happened to catch on film my daughter-in-law teasing my son by stealing his hat, and knew that the mischievous look on her face would be in the final painting. I spent a week editing the photos and creating different compositions. I added my daughter in the foreground from another shot, as well as the empty stool which we’d taken out to the clearing. 


MY WORKING PROCESS:
I printed photo enlargements to use as reference and brought my daughter in for clarification of certain areas like the hands. I work on canvas stretched over a hollow core door and gessoed 3 times. I drew a light pencil sketch followed by permanent sepia pen. I then washed burnt umber over the landscape area of the painting and a cool purple blue over the sky area as an under painting. I began by painting the background first and then the figures, taking care with value, color, soft edges and correct anatomy. I paint over the entire piece two or three times making corrections and adjustments each time. Finally I glaze certain areas of the painting to emphasize brush strokes and push certain areas back. The painting took about 6 weeks working daily. After the painting dried for 3-4 months I varnished it using Winsor Newton Conserv-Art gloss varnish.

Hey, I Know That Place

This is a 3'x4' acrylic painting I did in college, my daughter, Carly, has the painting with her now at college. The painting was inspired by a trip to Florence I took my sophomore year. I just came across an essay she did about it for her Art History class a couple years ago and I'm sharing it with you.

Do you have a piece of art you grew up with and if so how do you feel about it?

 "Florence", 3'x4', acrylic and sand on canvas, 1980, Terry Strickland

Hey, I Know That Place

by: Carly Strickland

     The painting illustrates the Florence cityscape on a 4’ by 3’ canvas.  The buildings are made of pastel geometric shapes, a sharp contrast to the deep navy sky, and there is little in the way of three-dimensional illusion.  They have multi-colored windows and rooftops. They are crammed together properly showing the tight conditions of the city as well as creating an eerie two-dimensional, abstract design.  The artist chose to not use any lines, and instead relied on distinct and sharp color change to distinguish the different structures.
     The city crouches in the bottom half of the canvas, pressed down by the midnight blue sky.  The two pieces, the city and the sky, are anchored together by one dark building front and center.  Only two mathematically precise domes are brave enough to venture into the heavens.  They are the most detailed and the most realistic objects in the composition.  The larger of the two has circular windows around the top, as well as a delicate bell tower peeking out from behind it, identifying it as the Santa Maria del Fiore.
     The radiating chapels are shaded with a zigzag pattern, and not with the mathematical precision of the larger domes.  This confuses the eye, and they cease to be domes, but half circles.  The zigzags are the only organic shape in the paintings and distract from the geometry of the piece.  The acrylic paint used is mixed with sand, for a impressionistic look, but with a fraction of the paint that it would take to achieve the same texture with only paint.  The shadows of the sand create a flurry of movement in a serenely still image. Event the solid blue sky is moving.  The artist’s brushstrokes create a wave like pattern, reminiscent of the ocean.
    This piece properly depicts a city I’ve never been too, but can only imagine. The city is old and settled into place like an elderly man and his worn out, plaid armchair. He’s anchored in, and none of his grandchildren had better try and take his seat, or they’ll get a thump to the head. By no means is it dead, though. There’s still a huge amount of movement between the tourists, art conservationists, and the locals; whom I imagine complain about the other two.
    The painting hangs in my living room.  My mother painted it when she was in college and has been displayed in every home we’ve lived in.  Now it hangs in my college apartment, inspiring me that, yes, some day, maybe I can be great like her.  Maybe I can have a career making the art that I want to make, even if I have to start with a low paying job designing surfing shirts.  It reminds me of the effort I’m going to have to make, and it’s not going to be easy. 
     When I was a child, I didn’t realize it was a landscape.  It didn’t look like any place that I’d ever seen.  I first accepted it as an abstract.  Once my mother tried to explain it to me when I asked, but instead of “Italy,” I simply heard, ”Somewhere that’s not here.”  Images of Arabians, the French, and people in togas flooded the streets in my mind.  It became a made up place, a silly place where nothing was really the way it should be.
     The image of the main oculus has haunted my nightmares.  Its glaring pink eye has always been a source of unease with me.  It looms over my city of many cultures, keeping watch and order.  Did it watch me too?  It wasn’t until I came to college that I fully grasped the location of the piece, even after I had dismissed the Arabs.  I was bombarded with images of Florence.  After a week of being in class, nodding to myself, “I would like to go there someday,” I came home and sat on my couch.  My eyes drifted to the painting, and I said, “Hey, I know that place…” There’s no rush to go there, it’s come to me.
    As long as the sand and paint stick to the canvas, it’s going with me wherever I may settle. It’s my little Italy, and reminds me of everything I believe art stands for: knowledge, spirituality, the classics, love, and beauty.