So...off I went, into the woods....

Hmmm, it's been a while since I have sat to write.Life has been a roller coaster in action lately but the high points, have been worth the altitude! I disappeared a little into the realm of social media. I discovered a wealth of cool art people to speak with and share. I developed relationships and understanding of a large group of people, mainly woman, at once. It was a whirlwind and invigorating and is now informative and I am learning how to flow with it. It takes time but adds dimension. I've felt, like I have had company in my studio when I paint my current serries, akin to a party. All my new friends there in spirit. It's cool, something someone said in the forum comes to you, to influence while your working. even just the fact of knowing 'other's' are doing the same activity with the same passion, in another location. is invigorating to me. It's strengthening.

It's also a learning curve to navigate and boundaries to set, terrain to explore. I am expanding on many levels at present, literally and it's expressing in my paintings. It's a  24/7 pace, but it is such a good feeling, it hasn't been too hard to maintain. Imminent growth and a new mix of palette's to boot. Once again, a mix of the old and the new and yet it is a new vibration. Bright and radiant from with in. There are techniques and textures apparent through all panels, in different degree's.

I am waiting to photograph the paintings properly, to share. Meanwhile I am Happy to share studio shots, a taste of what is to come....

:)

Reaching out to other artists through social media.

I have just joined a newly formed 'closed' group for artists on a social network. It is like pigging out at a buffet after dieting for years! There are many different groups and I am a member of a couple. They all have their own flavour and I appreciate the friendships I have made and the inspiration and motivation I have received from other members, mostly artists too. It is an interesting time in history to be an artist well, just to be alive but in terms of art making, which is often a solitary pursuit in a studio environment by oneself (at least for me) I have found this medium of social networking an amazing boon to my self discovery and confidence. The groups I belong to are not just about posting your work hoping to get likes, in fact one of the groups doesn't allow posting except on a given day and only one share each, they are about opening up and sharing of oneself to get to know yourself better and to share with others on other levels. These groups enable us to share things we have learnt that may be helpful to others, whether it be practical advice on technique or marketing or how to build your website to better suit your needs, even just to  share a block in creativity in search of a way out of it. The best thing is the groups are focussed on positivity. Helping one another become bigger and better at what we do. Helping us to find our authentic voice. It takes time and like everything, has to be weighed up in terms of how much one allocates to it. I am still painting despite having discovered 300+ new 'friends' in one week that I wish to get to know better. I haven't vacuumed my house or mopped my floor but I have still fed my family. So it is about prioritization. Sometimes the world does have to stop for a moment. We do need to jump in the deep end and immerse ourselves in the experience at hand. Learning when you are hungry to learn works up an insatiable appetite. Sharing with other people who are passionate and likeminded is such good soul food it is worth having a dirty floor! So, to all those who may be afraid to join a network of new people I am here to say 'don't be', take a risk, give it a go. You might find in sharing yourself, you find a little bit of you  that you hadn't really noticed before. It may be you as a reflection from someone else or it may be in the way you find you interact with another or answer the questions they ask. What's the worst case scenario, you join , don't like the experience and leave the group? The best scenario is that you learn and grow and share. I have some wonderful friends I am truly grateful for and one day I hope to meet in person.

Meanwhile, I have a few paintings on the go in the studio. They are not yet complete but here is a studio shot of what is in the midst of creation.

'The Birds' Triptych found their new home for Christmas!

I began this work in 2011. It changed numerous times until mid 2013 when I chose to do some line work on two of the panels. That began as an exercise to free me up again with the brush. I had become blocked and things were not flowing as I would like. I decided to paint lines across two panels just to see what it looked like and because the movement felt good to my hand. After that layer had dried I applied Indigo abstractly with a palette knife for effect. The Birds were born and in flight!

I love it when an experimental technique works so well for a final finish. The outcome was NOT the purpose, the PROCESS was the goal and yet, here it is...complete. Another example to me of trusting each moment as it unfolds, not needing to know the destination, while remaining open to what reveals itself along the way.

I am happy to announce this Triptych has found it's new home here in Dallas in time for Christmas. It is in a beautiful new home with a lot of character and fabulous people. It joins other paintings in the collection with some reference to flight. I am so pleased all 3 panels are back together again! It took a few years to come together but it did!

Completed after months of layering...

Finally, after many months of play, this work is complete!Each layer requiring some days to dry before the next layers can go down.

I was asked by a client to document the process of layers going down on the canvas. I don't usually show work in stages but thought I would for this one, in the name of sharing. There are often many possible 'stopping points' along the way of constructing a work, some that would have held their own but often I am propelled to keep painting more layers just for the discovery of what might be.

This is one of those paintings. I know there were a couple of points I could have stopped but the intricacy of all these layers can't be reached in a short period of time and once the journey has begun it is so tempting to continue.

I may lose a couple of paintings in the process but a depth of layers can only be reached by continuing and for me, it is often just the play of dark and light that keeps me exploring. Each application bringing with it a new resonance that affects the way all the existing colors read off one another.

Here are some of the stages of the making of this work.

As you can see the orientation of a work can change throughout it's making.

There are a couple of stages I didn't capture along the way, but I hope this gives you a feeling of the trust process involved in each stage leading to the next. The final outcome isn't the product of a vision from the outset as rather a culmination of the footprint of the journey.

"The Woods" - Finally complete after months of indecision!

Last night I finished the final layers on 'The Woods'.

I have been working on this painting over the course of many months. I have a system of moving 'finished' paintings into the hallway for a month or two before I move them into the sunroom, (the viewing room). This time gives me a chance to evaluate whether they do infact need anything more or are truly complete.

Many times I feel a work is complete, only to change my mind a little while later. This 'resting' phase has become an important stage in the paintings life. It either moves forward into the sunroom, where it can be seen by people coming to have a look at what is new from the studio, or it gets reworked and added to in some way that hopefully enriches it.

Sometimes, I have overworked paintings and 'lost' them after deciding they needed something more but that is just part of the process of creating. If it feels like it needs something else and I didn't take it back in for a rework I would feel unsatisfied moving it to the sunroom.

It is worth the possibility of losing the painting along the way in order to feel it is truly complete. It takes walking past them on the way to the studio door and looking at them over time from different perspectives on different days, to know for sure.

This painting sat in the hall for some months. I would take it out into the sunroom, only to bring it back into the hall again. I am glad I did. The extra couple of layers really added to the mood and I now feel satisfied with the finish.

So, out to the sunroom she goes, ready for someone to find it a new home in theirs!

An experiment - A resurrection

I am undertaking a course on marketing for Artists at the moment and am learning many things. Not all of them are sitting comfortably, as those of you who are familiar with my work would know I am an intuitive painter. What that means is I don't have a preconceived notion of what I am going to paint before I pick up the brush and begin. I like it that way. It is very much a part of the journey of creating for me.

The idea of being marketable, at least from most Galleries perspective from what I am learning is producing quality and quantity of easily recognisable work, among other reasons I am sure. It is an interesting topic.

I understand from a business point of view it makes sense, if you invest in promotion and help build a brand to have the expectation that there is a continuity to draw on and build a loyalty to that brand and style. Then the consumer knows what to expect from a specific artist and the gallery can promote a certain aesthetic with confidence.

It works for many artists, I know it does, I have seen their work and yes there is a continuity of theme or style that one learns to expect from them. It means you might recognize their work before reading a signature and if you like their style, you may return for further purchases or be confident in recommending their work to others.

I also feel it has the possibility of making a studio into a production line based on the idea of sales rather than pure artistic exploration, which is fine too unless, like me, creating art is an exploration of self through my materials, as much as it is a means to create a painting of aesthetic value.

There are artists who managed to engage in a specific subject matter they wish to explore continuously and with passion without a production line tendency. Robert Ryman,  with his White Paintings for example. His approach to his subject was not the identification with color or image, rather the act of painting itself and the exploration of what various strokes, techniques and additives meant to the paint. The very fact he explored the physicality of painting itself produced a body of recognisable work with a recognisable theme of investigation into his materials. (See my blog post below, from May 13th 2011)

I consider my work to be a collaboration with my materials and what the paint teaches me along the way to a resolved piece IS the point to my time spent in the studio, it is the joy in the very act of painting that makes being a painter so fulfilling to me. A discovery of my personal qualities along with the qualities of my materials and how they interact.

A gallery perspective may be that it is 'safe' to change a style once a brand loyalty is established as long as there are underlying principles that run through the different variations, again making the work identifiable at a glance or at least having enough brand loyalty to inspire investigation into the new style of work. I really do understand this concept. Finding a way to achieve this with my own work is more challenging.

I experiment with layers of Glaze and Pigment, techniques to produce different outcomes and palettes that resonate over the build for a satisfying outcome. The colors differ widely depending on my mood at the time, often more colorful when I am feeling energetic and more neutral or earthy tones when I am seeking calm. I definitely feel affected emotionally and energetically by the color choices I make and consider my time in the studio a sort of 'life therapy' as much as an investigation into the properties of paint. The idea of even pre-planning the palette rests uncomfortably.

So where does this new approach to making art (in terms of a Gallery relationship) leave me in regard to my arts practice? The same place I was before I suppose but with a better understanding of why they do what they do and why I do what I do. Finding a compatible Gallery may not be as easy as it might be if I was to focus in on a particular style, if I stay true to my experimenting and intuitive approach but I am sure I will find one who relates to my work in the way I do.

Meanwhile, I have interpreted this dilemma- perhaps literally and over the past weeks of losing sleep and my creative urge in order to explore how I could apply this new found knowledge to what I do, I collected a couple of paintings from the studio, cut them up into little inch squares and cement glued them on top of another painting. This was a way of working through the thoughts about this topic while remaining creative but not committing brush to canvas in any chosen style. It was extremely cathartic and an enjoyable process. Each tile carries with it the vibration of it's origin and contributes to the new work comprising of many pieces coming together as a whole.

I am happy to say I like the end result as well, which is a bonus and I am choosing to explore it a little further in the process of repeating the process with varying sized tile and different styles of my work selected to deconstruct and reconstruct. I am going to call the series 'Resurrection'!

It's a metaphor for the resurrection of my faith in my own intuitive, creative process as much as it is in the resurrection of deconstructed works into something new. On with the journey!

Blog post May 13th 2011: http://www.deborahrhee.com/robert-ryman/

A new addition in the studio!

As it turns out, I now require reading glasses! It occurred to me that I paint a lot more than I read and should buy a pair to wear while in the studio. I only need them for short distances, so while painting I actually look over the top of them but they are perfect for when I am mixing my colors! I hope over time, the glasses themselves will be testament to the colors worked with while wearing them. If my Iphone and Ipod are any indication, my glasses will soon be an artwork too!

Simplifying!

I have had the urge of late, to simplify daily life and in the studio.I am still enjoying working with a vibrant palette, Cyan, Magenta and Cadnium Yellow  exude a positive energy but the Titanium mixed with a little Yellow Ochre added a spaciousness in which to move. It changes the way the color fields bounce of each other, almost exaggerating the resonance of each field. I like it- hope you do too!

"Biology of Belief" - A new painting, a new palette!

The month of July was challenging on a personal level.

I made an unexpected trip home to Australia to see my Step-Father in the ICU ward. He passed away a few days after my return to the USA.

May he rest in peace.

I began this painting in the days before leaving to Australia and completed it in the days before his passing, on my return. I was thinking a great deal about the Biology of our bodies and how our beliefs shape our reality  I thought about human consciousness, our cells and how our thoughts and beliefs in turn affect them.

The time spent in the studio with this work was highly cathartic and I like to think that although it was a time of sadness that this painting reflects more of a celebration of life In Gratitude!

The MAC's 2013 Annual Membership Show : "Delta"

'DELTA I'

Here is my entry to 'The MAC Membership Show 2013'!

Opening

Sat July 27th (6-8pm) 3120 McKinney Ave Dallas

The theme is DELTA. [The capital letter Delta, Δ, is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. The symbol is commonly used in subjects of science and mathematics, often to describe change. The triangle, the strongest of shapes, can also be a source of inspiration]

My life has been full of change of late and paint interprets this well;

As paints merge with each other, enticed by gravity, they create new pathways in their combined flow- just as a River Delta joins the sea. A metaphor for how each day shapes the next in life.

A joy to watch unfold.

Studio in July...

I started late last night but I made some headway with this new Triptych. With the warm weather in Dallas at least these layers will be dry to work on again tonight. I am feeling the pull of the Autumnal palette, there is something soothing about working with Burnt and Raw Umber's, Sienna's and White.

"Of Water I" has found it's new home...

I received this photograph recently of my diptych 'Of Water I' in it's new surrounds, in a beautiful home in Miami.

I love that it has been hung above the piano! Music and Water go together, there is a lyricism in the energy of flow they share.

I always love seeing the paintings in their new environments, hope you do too!

Miami bound...at least my paintings are!

"Texas Translated III" has found it's new home in Miami!

This work is heading off to it's new home in Miami, Florida.

I am so lucky to meet some wonderful people in the process of sharing my art. It is always rewarding when another person picks up on the energetics at play when a work was created. In some magical process energy is captured in a painting and remains to be shared.

It further validates my belief that there is so much more than meets they eye with art!

I am pleased to know it is going to a home where it will be truly treasured!

"The Deep End" (Msg 4) has found its new home!

"The Deep End" - (Series 1, Message no 4) from my Melbourne Exhibition in 2009 has found it's new home right here in Dallas, Texas! It may take some time but paintings have a way of finding their rightful owners.

I am always delighted when a work resonates with someone enough for them to wish to hang it in their home. It is very rewarding as an artist.

"Lest we Forget II" (Anzac)...the series is born

 

I have been having so much fun creating a series of work based on one of my first paintings from 2001 titled 'Lest we Forget', which is in memory of the Anzac soldiers that fought at Gallipoli in WWI.

I am presently working on a triptych in the same palette, using similar techniques.

It is a wonderful feeling to create a body of work based on an old favorite. The original painting 'Lest we Forget I' is not for sale but I am hoping the new series will be the basis for my next show. It will be interesting to see what comes through.

http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/

Studio space...

Seems I am outgrowing my studio space again! I migrated down the hall into the sun room and yet still here...no room to move!

It would seem I have come full circle and am creating a series based on a work I made in 2001 titled 'Lest we forget'. I was heavily influenced at the time by Mark Rothko and his division of the picture plane.

The red and orange here provides a base for which many layers of drips and swatches of color will be added in layers.

It is a happy coincidence that I have begun work on these paintings on the 25th April which is Anzac Day, when we (Australia and New Zealand) remember our troops that gave their lives at Gallipoli.

It was Anzac day when I finished the original painting in 2001. I remember finding an Anzac memorial pin outside the studio and placing it in the top of the painting, where it stayed for many years. It was painted in memory of the Anzac soldiers. I have been planning this series for a couple of weeks now and am happy to have begun.

This is the original Anzac painting titled 'Lest we forget' 2001

"Migrating Tribe"...A commission for an Australian client arrives safely

I recently was asked to paint a commission for an Australian couple based on an earlier work they had seen and liked. The end result had a similar palette but was very different to the mentioned work.

Every painting has it's own voice and although I may set out with a specific intention when I pick up my brush, by the time I have finished painting the work that comes through is often very specific to the person whom commissioned it. It is a trust process on both sides!

My client's wife (for whom the painting was a birthday surprise)  loved the hieroglyphs in previous works but when I painted on this canvas, they came out as a tribe migrating across the canvas rather than filling the ground.  I am pleased to report not only did the painting arrive safely but they love the 'tribe of hieroglyphs' that came through too, it reminded them of the Kalahari. I have found with commissions, it is safe to trust my intuitive process as the outcome often resonates with the client in a way I could not have predicted and with a meaning quite personal to them.

It was wonderful to be able to roll up a canvas with a bit of bubble wrap and send it in a tube pack via U.S Postal service. In the past I have always looked in to art-specific carriers for art work. It occurred to me I had a fabulous framer in Melbourne who also stretchers canvas on to support. It turned out to be much more cost efficient to send the canvas rolled and re-stretch it on delivery than send it as a finished work.

This is good news as it really opens up the way for sending work overseas , something that I thought of as too difficult or expensive to do in the past!

"Easter" : My latest painting

I have been painting this work for a couple of months but finished it over the Easter weekend.

It was a little hard to photograph as it has some 'water color' like washes. It is all painted in oil and glaze though.

I was asked this week if my 'crosses' are intentional. The answer is sometimes. They often 'pop up' whether I have them in mind or not. I think my hand likes the motion of making them as they are one of the consistent elements in my work.

As a symbol, the Cross means many things to many people. It is a powerful symbol and I like that 3 turned up in this work titled 'Easter'.

Hope you like it too.