Abstract Landscapes: It Begins With a First Layer

It is always a treat to spend time at Sitka, located at Cascade Head on the Oregon coast between Lincoln City and Neskowin. For my July visit, I'm taking a class from Lori Latham, an abstract landscape artist.



I arrived at the cabin on Wednesday (my friend Hazel lets me use her cabin, which happens to be conveniently located right across the street from Sitka) and got settled in. The cabin is secluded and quiet, with sweeping views all the way to the Pacific.





I'm always afraid I won't have enough to do or I'll want something I didn't bring, so I came prepared with my latest art magazines and books, a book of fiction, a couple of movies, and of course, my visual journal!




Day one of the four-day class started today, our work stations all tidy and promising.





Our goal for today was just to get color onto our substrates using a variety of tools and mediums: scrape, drip, drag, scrub, spray, squirt, blot . . . . over and over and over. It was such fun! Here's what I was able to accomplish by the end of today.







My new favorite painting tool? Damp cheesecloth!

Curious Elements: The Quest Continues

I spent several hours today working on my Curious Elements, doing everything from staining plaster on boards, to drilling and attaching bits to wood pieces. I also began auditioning elements on boards that will be used to showcase multiple Curious Elements. Here's a glimpse at how things are coming along.

A serrated blade to fray the shore . . .

I spent part of today getting myself packed for a four-day workshop at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. The class is titled Painting Abstract Landscapes and will be taught by Lori Latham (please check out her website - her art is amazing!). I met Lori last year in Judy Vogland's class at Sitka and fell in love with her abstracts then. The class doesn't start until Thursday, but I'm slipping away to the beach tomorrow morning to get myself settled and do a little ambling around Lincoln City.




I packed my notebook for taking notes in class (the covers are photocopies of pages from my visual journal).




I tossed in my little watercolor journal that I created while in Hawaii earlier this year. Some of the pages are landscapey and I thought I could use them for inspiration.



Of course I needed to take supplies for playing in my visual journal in the evening after class is over. What I packed for my personal journal was way more than what I had to take for the class itself!







I'll be doing posts about the class as it unfolds, but for now, packing was the order of business.

Sneak Peek: Curious Elements

I've been playing with several techniques, bringing them all together to create a new line of creations I'm calling: Curious Elements. I'm very excited about the endless creative possibilities and the many directions I can go, but for now, I'm sharing a glimpse into what I'm busily (and happily) working on in my studio. Today was a day of sanding, staining, plastering, and painting . . . as well as gathering from my fabulous selection of metal bits in preparation for assembling the mini assemblages.









The blocks I'm using are an assortment of sizes, each with a personal Curious Element attached. For now I'll show you two: