The Swimsuit Saga

Artweeks!

I'm going to be exhibiting in Artweeks this year -- Oxford's annual open studios event. If you're in the area, please pop in and say hi! I love to chat.

This is my studio, but actually I will be showing my work at the Headington County Library in Bury Knowle Park (because I don't want to invite you all into my bedroom). I'll be there from May 12 - 20, please check the library website for opening hours.

Lots more info and online galleries at www.artweeks.org 

Hope to see you there!

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abstracted

This piece started out as an abstract, and then it wanted to become a flower. It's funny how the paint leads the way sometimes.

Peony
51 x 61cm
oil on canvas

$450 (includes shipping)

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studio sale -- day 6

More hands! I used to draw my hands in Calculus class in high school instead of taking notes, so naturally I had to make a living at something involving drawn hands rather than advanced math.

This piece was inspired by my painter friend, Kozuki Watanabe, who does these washy fields of color with lovely contour drawing-esque linear shapes and figures... I gave it a go with some diluted paint and drawings of hands I already had, because of Calculus.

She also inspired me to be more thoughtful and deliberate about my titles, and this one captures my fascination with hands and their gestural intimate communication.

"A Human Instrument"

16 x 20 in

oil and mixed media on canvas

$550 $350 (+ $50 shipping)

studio sale -- day 5

I made this piece when we lived in Kyoto a few years ago. I was so taken with the color combinations of the koi fish in all the many temple gardens, especially the ones with red and black splotches on creamy white and pink. Perfect little swimming works of art.

"Ripen and Fall"

24 x 31 inches

oil on canvas

$750 $450 (+ $50 shipping)

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studio sale -- day 4

I started doing these color daub abstracts after some fitful portraits when I realized I liked the composition on my wiping rag better than what was on the canvas... I thought whoa, I can MAKE THIS THE CANVAS. 

It's so fun and so freeing to work with straight color in an unstructured composition. It's almost like a musical composition: the notes have to harmonize, there has to be lots of space, and the drama has to come at just the right moment.

"It's the Stillness That Wakes You"

18 x 21 inches

oil on canvas

$500 $350 (+$15 shipping)

studio sale -- day 3

This painting evolved over several years and many layers. I had thought it was finished, but I pulled it out of storage at one point and decided to go over it completely. I rarely work this way anymore -- nowadays I'd rather get something done in one or two sittings -- but I like that it's a documentation of my thought process. I like the idea of ideas accumulating and changing based on what's underneath.



The original layers contained lots of encaustic. I was learning, messily.

Collage, wax, oil paint, drawings of hands... it's a little bit of a lot of my favorite things.

"If You're Willing"

12x12in

mixed media and oil on canvas

Sale price $200 (originally $300)

+$10 shipping

SOLD

studio sale -- day 2

This is an abstract based on the design on a pottery shard I found in Kyoto -- I used to find them everywhere, the conspicuous blue and white peeking out from gravel and gray pebbles. They were like little winks, I see you, I'm with you.

"Talisman"

9x12 in

oil on canvas

$175 (+$10 shipping)

 SOLD

studio sale

I am clearing out the studio to make room for 2017!

Images on your screen are easy and abundant, but having original artwork in your home is special. Treat yourself, it's worth it!

"Then, Again"

12x12 in

oil and mixed media on canvas

sale price $200 (originally $300)

(+ $10 shipping)

(If you want to buy with a different currency, let me know! Happy to accomodate)

seed of the next

"... the seed for your next work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece."

-- David Bayles & Ted Orland, Art & Fear

Or, keep going. Or, experiments grow from experiments. Or, yes, more please.

experimenting

I am afraid of making mistakes.

I tell my artist friends, There are no mistakes! And then I'm still afraid of making mistakes.

So then I don't take risks and I stick to what I know, because the other option -- the possibility of mistakes option -- is so uncomfortable.

What a waste of time.
What a waste of paint.
This is not going to go anywhere.
This doesn't mean anything. 
What are you even doing.

I'M EXPERIMENTING.

An old friend of mine once said, "you'll know it's exciting because it will feel exciting."

Let the excitement be bigger than the fear. 

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contest winners!

and the winners arrrrrrrrrrrrrre...

4. Sreya Shepard

6. Alana

19. Becktoria

Congratulations! You've won an 8x10" portrait for the sale price of $150. Send some images to robindanely@gmail.com, and I'll get started soon.

Thank you to everyone who commented, and don't be shy -- the regular price for these portraits on paper ($250) is still a bargain! 

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