Great Fun . . .

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

One afternoon this last week a quartet from the Seattle Dickens Carolers came by to serenade us. They are Wonderful! I highly recommend them.

painting a little more . . .

A little more paint has been added to the figures. I am standing on a box so I can reach the top hat on the tallest figure. I hope to post the rest of the images in a day or two.

Painting the Dickens Carolers

Several months ago I sketched four figures on 4 x 8' sheets of plywood. (Parts of two panels are shown in "A fun project . . . " posted on December 17, 2009)

When the figures were finished, they became part of a display used by the Seattle Dickens Carolers in late October and mid November this year. When I receive a photo of their final use, I will post it. I have put together a series of images showing the figures in the shop during the painting process and will post after they are turned into a short video.

A fun project . . .

In late October I painted four Dickens Carolers for a friend.

The project began by sketching four life-size figures with chalk on three 4x8' sheets of plywood. Next they were then cut out by Nathan Rodda, the model shown here. I might add, Nathan is the fantastic set designer for the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society and heads the Seattle Dickens Carolers.

When I figure out how to post images of the project in process, I will post that here as well.

"Orcus Sunflowers"

10 x 8"

oil on panel

These were down the road from an Orcus Island cabin rented with friends. We stayed and painted for a week. This was, of course, when the flowers were actually in bloom. It has been below freezing for a week and actually dropped to 17° one day, very unusual for the area. I decided to post something from a warmer day.

"Inside Out"

14 x 10"

oil on panel

Click image to enlarge

Juror: Margaret Bullock, Curator of Collections and Special Exhibitions at the Tacoma Art Museum, has chosen Inside Out, All Dressed Up and Fashionably Yours, for the group exhibition:

WPW at American Art Company in Tacoma WA.

"Inside Out" the left panel in the triptych, won the M. Graham Company Award last night.

Exhibition runs through October 10th, 2009

"Two More"

8 x 10 inches

oil on gessoed museum board

I loved the light coming through the glass bowl and the wonderful colors and patterns in cast on the table! The good news is - thse cherries can “model” many times and still be eaten. 

"Mahjong Cherries"

6 x 8 inches

oil on gessoed museum board

I found some cherries with stems still attached and had such fun, I ended up with a series of paintings. I will continue to add new paintings until the cherries are gone. Some have been painted five times before eaten! Such restraint.

Utopia, Limited

On the shop floor, shot from the top of a tall ladder. It is now on the wall in Act II of Utopia, Limited. The show opens a three week run at the Bagley Wright Theater in Seattle tonight. Show dates: July 10-11, 16-18, 23-25. Ticket information.

The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's photographer shooting during dress rehearsal for Utopia, Limited.

Shield Section for Utopia, Limited

The upper right section of the shield set out on shop floor.

If you click to enlarge, you will see the spattering over everything, the final step in coloring. This spatter softens the effect and makes everything appear more believable from the audience. In the larger image you can also see the chalk marks, guides for the person who will screw all the carved parts to the circle base, finishing the shield.

The set designer, Nathan Rodda, asked me to make the lettering casual, loosely Roman, not perfect. The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of Utopia, Limited opens Friday night, July 5th. For more information click here.

Alligator & Flamingo

A little more of the 'shield' for "Utopia, Limited." They are probably ready to deliver to the theater by now. The painting was finished on July 3rd. This image shows the carved characters before they were spattered, the final touch.

Shield Alligator

More Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society from the shop.

The alligator, carved by Mike Andrew, is made of styrofoam mounted on 1/4" plywood. Mike adds as many layers of foam board as need to make the required thickness for the various parts of the design before he begins to carve. He comes to the shop in the evening and works well into the night. I think he can make absolutely anything! He has also carved the flamingo and pineapple for the shield. I will post them in a day or two.

Nathan Rodda, the set designer, has everything painted black as a base. The white is added next, then the coloring layers which are made with a clear acrylic medium (house paint) with color concentrate added, just as you would have custom colors mixed to paint your house. We mix very small amounts in recycled plastic ice cream and yogurt containers.

Shield Center

Getting the center of shield ready for coloring. It is made from foam board mounted on 1/4" plywood. The lower portion of the carved pineapple can be seen in the upper right. It will be added to the center top of the shield.

Sketch for Act II

chalk sketch pattern for shield

10 x 6 feet

Next week the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society opens its 55th season with "Utopia, Limited." I have been at their shop working with the set designer and thought I would share something from Act II. This sketch was made several weeks ago. I went to the internet for reference photos of flamingos and alligators. You can see some of them here, scattered on the platform, which is also part of the set. The platform was painted and taken to the theater earlier this week.

"A Painted Breakfast"

9 x 13.5"

oil on gessoed museum board

This was my breakfast one morning. The shapes and colors were so exciting when I set this on the table, I ran inside for my paint box. By the time the painting was finished, the egg no longer looked so great. I fixed another one to eat.

I added the "painting in process" to show you the little paint box my husband made for me to take on an overseas painting trip quite some time ago. I like it so much I often use it at home as well.