Home At Last

Upside Down Martini, 70" x 54" x 3"

Last week, I finally removed the painting from its shackles, filled the holes where the handles and eye bolts were screwed into the wood frame, stained and cleaned up the edges and sides. I decided to leave the painting flat on the work bench until delivery, to protect it from potential damage. The finished piece weighed in at about 60lbs.

Patricia Rovzar Gallery brought their van to transport the work to the customer. I covered the surface with glassine paper, and made some corners out of corrugated board for protection. We decided not to bubble wrap the piece, because the fit in the van was going to be tight. Two of us were able to lift and carry the work to the van. Thankfully, it wasnt that difficult.

"Upside Down Martini" now lives in its new home. The client loves it, and I'm a happy artist.

Tomorrow I'll add a post to explain the name, and talk about how completing this painting is taking me on a new conceptual journey with my work.

All Hung Up

The wall structure for holding the large panel in a vertical position was complete a couple of weeks ago. I was so anxious to get started with the paint application that I neglected to post my final entry about the construction project until today.
The image above shows how the panel rests on the steel and wood brackets. These brackets are bolted to channels, which in turn are bolted to the wall. I can slide the brackets up or down the channel to adjust the height of the painting.

I've intentionally blacked-out the painting because I don't want anyone to peek at the work in progress before it's completed and presented to the client. But you can see in this picture the full wall unit. A great additional purchase was a rolling scaffold with locking wheels. I can use it both for standing on to reach the higher areas of the work, and as a work table for my wax palettes.

One of the characteristics of the wax medium is how the color and textures seem to change with the light. So I was excited to discover a bonus to this new block and tackle setup. I can move the painting from the wall to another part of the room, along the ceiling (as shown in the previous entries), allowing me to view the work from greater distances, and under different lighting conditions.

The painting is really moving along nicely. I have about two more weeks of painting, and then I'll be finalizing the surface and finishing the edges. It delivers in mid-August, so stay-tuned for the posting of the finished painting.

Block and Tackle

The unistrut channels are now bolted into the ceiling and onto the walls, and the block and tackle is set up and ready to roll. It took a bit of work to figure out the best method to lift and move the panel, but luckily our friend Commodore David Anson of New Zealand was in town. Barry immediately put our navy boy to work. He set about designing a S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure). I'm very comfortable with lifting and moving the panel with very little effort.

The first photo above shows how the roller piece fits into the ceiling channel. Attached to the roller is the upper end of the block and tackle. The lower photo shows the second piece which is hooked onto a bolt screwed into the top of the panel. The blocks are called 'fiddlehead blocks'. One of the blocks would have a cam cleat. Typical brands would be Harken, Lewmar or Ronstan. You can find them at a Marine supply store.

This is me taking the panel for a walk across the studio. The commodore is enjoying a much-deserved beer. You can't see the hardware because the beam is in the way, but the line that I'm holding is attached to the block and tackle, and with a little bit of pressure, I am able to push the panel, allowing it to glide across the ceiling. We've attached handles to the sides of the panel so that when the wax and paint is applied I won't be touching the surface of the painting.

Commodore David demonstrates how to carefully lower the panel onto the horizontal work surface. The first few times we tried this, I was nervous and held my hand out to ensure the panel didn't fall too heavily. But now, I can raise and lower the panel without touching it. The locking mechanism and the cleat attached to the wall gives me the right leverage to ensure a safe and gentle landing.

I'm not sure if I'm raising or lowering the panel in this shot, but it's a good angle to see the lower mechanism attached to the door, and the upper in the ceiling channel. The line I'm holding wraps around a cleat attached to the beam above. This gives me better leverage for pulling the line to raise or lower the panel. My husband designed a special extension tool to make it easier for me to lock and unlock the line from the upper mechanism. (I'll post a photo of this in my next update). When unlocked, the panel can travel across the ceiling channel, and when locked, the panel is secure, allowing me to slowly let the line out to raise or lower the panel.

I still need to show you the wall unit that holds the panel vertically. We had to order some stronger brackets, so the vertical unit isn't functional yet. I'll post an update when its ready.

In the meantime, the panel is on the workbench, I've prepared the surface and am getting ready to apply my first layers of clear wax.

Heavy Lifting

sketch of constructed panel by Matthew Olds.

I love painting large, so when I was contacted by Erik Bennion at Patricia Rovzar Gallery for a commission of a 54" x 70" encaustic work for a private collector, I jumped at the opportunity.

Encaustic requires a good firm substrate that won't twist, warp or split under the heavy weight of the applied layers of wax. I've been using hollow-core doors for my large pieces. They are strong, lightweight, and I can cut them down to just about any size. Unfortunately, the largest panel comes in just 48" width, and a custom order from my millwork supplier came to a whopping $2500.

So, I contacted the talented and able Matthew Olds from HOLD Studios. Matthew is an artist who supplements his income through canvas and panel construction for other artists in the Seattle area. He designed a panel that would fit my needs (see sketch above), my architect-husband Barry made a couple of tweaks to the structure, and within 2-weeks I had a good solid substrate delivered direct to the studio, ready to paint for just over $300.

panel under construction at Hold Studios on Vashon Island

We decided it would be best to use 3" deep bracing, and we added a panel to the back side to help prevent torsional warp. It's strong and sturdy. And HEAVY. Weight without wax comes in around 50 pounds.

For these large pieces, I need to work both horizontal and vertical, but I was afraid I'd destroy everything in the studio, including my back, trying to navigate the heavy panel around the studio. So, Barry has been enlisted yet again to design and install a block and tackle system with a pulley across the ceiling. If all goes according to plan, I'll be waxing and painting to my hearts content within the week.

I'll be sure to post updates of the system, so keep checking back to see how we progress. Wish us luck!

Three Small Encaustic Paintings

These paintings begin as studies for larger paintings. Sometimes they just seem to want to stay small, sometimes I'll take them larger-scale, and sometimes I'll paint over them and come up with something entirely different.

"Path" (above) is currently on the boards to be scaled up into a large painting. The study seemed sweet, so I bolted it onto another textured wax background.

The image on this panel is only 4" x 4", mounted to a 9" x 12" panel that has an old study of intertwining branches beneath the surface. I enjoy the look and feel of these textured backgrounds, and am considering doing something a little more abstract, where the background becomes the object itself.

Anne Siems Animation

... between the lines a dream is hiding ... from Robert Campbell on Vimeo.

Animation of paintings by Seattle artist Anne Siems. Voices: Eva Grace Siems Eggert, Ulrike Siems, Jacques Koekoek

Anne Siems is one of my favorite Northwest artists. She never appears afraid to adventure into new territory with her work. I love the way this animation by Robert Campbell takes her paintings, reinvents it, and presents it to me in an entirely new light. Makes me want one of her paintings even more.

Wet Feet

"Padded Feet on Misty Meadows" 36" x 68"

Some paintings are more difficult to part with. I would have liked to have held this piece in my own collection for just a few weeks more, but it's destiny is elsewhere. It will be delivered to the Patricia Rovzar Gallery today, where someone will discover it and make it part of their permanent home.

May Shows Downtown Seattle

Gallery Walk last night in downtown Seattle was bustling with lots of people out enjoying the change in weather. Highlights for me included the Tyson Grumm show at Patricia Rovzar Gallery. Imagery is as delightful and full of surprises as always, and check out those frames! Full disclosure -- I have three pieces up this month in the gallery too, and more new work in the back room (ask to see it if you stop by).

Also, don't miss Deloss Webber's show at Pucini Lubel . He has some new large pieces in wood that are every bit as graceful and well-crafted as the bound rocks that we've seen from him in the past.

Finally, Kamla Kakaria and Ricki Wolfe at Shift Collaborative - Ricki has developed her dimensional installations to even fuller depth, elegance and whimsy and Kamla's dimensional work is so scrumptious I can almost taste it. I'm going to try to get back to see the show now that the 1st Thursday crowds have died down.

Two More

Breaking Through 32" x 31.5"

Last week I completed two more paintings from the Dogs Eye View series. I'm starting to get a little burned out with the color scheme, but I still have a few more images in my head that I want to get down on board before they disappear from my mind forever.

Roll and Roll and then Roll Some More 55" x 24"

Shawna Moore: Encaustic Painter

I had a visit with an encaustic artist from Oregon this past weekend who introduced me to the work of Shawna Moore. This video provides wonderful insight into the creative process.

A Dogs Eye View

"Ahhh, To Nap in the Tall Grass of Summer" 36 x 48

"Bound Through Uncut Meadows" 35.5 x 48

"Twigs Tangle in Feathery Tails" three panels, 6 x 48, overall 18 x 48

"Dive Into Scent-Covered Blades" 35.5 x 48

These are my current paintings from the Solstice Park series of work. My dog Rocky and I visit this park daily. He spends the morning in absolute bliss. The paintings are sighted in the low four-legged vantage point of a standard poodle. The titles are words from my talented friend Lisa Wogan's book Unleashed. I'm delivering all four pieces to the Patricia Rovzar Gallery today.

Studio Open House Tonight

36" x 48", encaustic & mixed media on wood

I have four paintings ready to deliver to the gallery this weekend. Stop by the studio tonight, April 8th, from 6pm-8pm to share a glass of wine and view the work before they leave the workshop. Or, head to the Patricia Rovzar Gallery in May where you can see them along with the few remaining pieces from my February show.