Progress on New Series and other stuff

New Work

"STITCHED IN TIME", Patterns & Signs Series, Diptych, 24'x48"x2.5"d (Black Sides)

"BLUE, FLOATING", Patterns & Signs Series, 48"x48"x2.5"d (Black Sides)

" THINGS ARE LOOKING UP", Patterns & Signs Series, 48" x48" x 2.5"d (Black Sides)

" DIRECTIONS #1- #4", Patterns & Signs, 12"x12"x2.5"d (Black Sides)

I have been most inattentive to this blog because I have been painting for shows. I apologize to those of you who have sent in comments to which I have not responded.

Dawn at abollafia, if you will contact me over my website http://www.maxineprice.com/ I will be happy to give you some specifics on oils and mediums.

I first learned to sew on my grandmother's treadle singer sewing machine. I have sewn all my life and even at one point did large fabric wall hangings and painted and stitched fabric paintings.

My new series is named "Patterns & Signs" and includes work inspired by the Gees Bend Quilts and other quilts as well as street signs and highway signs. I decided to combine the two because both are geometric images.

For my one-woman show coming up Nov.9, 2007 at Thornwood Gallery in Houston at their Birdsall location, I have completed several paintings in this series. http://www.thornwoodgallery.com/

The signs are inspired by street signs and highway signs that we see and follow daily but rarely notice. Most signs painted flat on the road that I have photographed are rarely just black and white but contain spilled things and dropped items that become imbeded in the surface. So rather than paint signs just in black and white I decided to include color. For this show I painted four small turning arrows, "DIRECTIONS #1-#4" that are 12"x12" in varied colors and two that are 48"x48" one in white with a black arrow and one in red with a black arrow. The larger arrows are quite dramatic because of their size and there is actually a lot of color and action inside the arrow shapes.

I have included two images above of the pieces inspired by quilts. They generally have more rigid geometric designs than I have used for other series. I have found it more difficult to paint the crisper lines with the palette knife. I have been thinking of trying more of this idea but beginning with acrylics so I can get sharper lines.

I began with thumbnail pencil sketches then transferred the design to my canvases using a t-square and ruler. Once I established the basic colors and designs I applied a thin layer of under colors which show through the top application of pigment. There is quite a bit of texture in the application of pigment with the palette knife. Although the shapes are simple, the balance is complicated and the contrast is dramatic. After the paintings were almost complete but still wet I scratched in fine lines which take away some of the rigidity of the design and have the feeling of loose or trailing threads. These also add interest to the rather large color blocks. The sides are black. In "BLUE, FLOATING, the small blue panel is quite startling against the black panel and seems to float above the surface, particularly under the gallery lights. I feel that the paintings in this series are more sophisticated in design concept than some of my other series. I will have more images posted on my website in a day or so. I welcome comments about these paintings and this new series.

You can contact me directly through my website,

http://www.maxineprice.com/

I still plan on a figurative series. Work in progress.

If you would like to see a youtube video from the Russell Collection Opening in Austin on Sept. 8 2007 please click on the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEqw_9m3DtM

Shows

The group show, "Femme" at the Russell Collection Sept. 8 in Austin was really well attended. Four women artists, myself, Jill Pankey, Vicki McMurray, (both very accomplished painters) and Kathrene Watts Martinez who had spectacular photographs of horses. Over 200 people attended. There were multiple sales for all the artists but most came before the actual opening. The opening was pretty exciting for me but the owner pointed out that it is difficult to sell art when it is so crowded because people can't see the work. People will come back however. My friend Gale Wiley did a cool video of the show. If you'd like to see it click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEqw_9m3DtM

By the time it was made I had talked to so many people that I had almost lost my voice. I don't sound like I have too much of a Texas "twang", however, so that is good. Then the next weekend my husband Frank and I went to Dallas for a group show at Thornwood Gallery. I've shown with Thornwood in Houston for about 8 years and this was the grand opening of their new gallery in Dallas. It is in the design district which has had a lot of galleries move into old warehouses that have been updated to make very cool showrooms. That day was also a gallery walk and there was good attendance at that show as well. One side of the gallery walls are of old brick and the paintings and sculpture look great against that background. See photo above.

I was sick for the last two weeks so have been slow painting for my next show which is Nov. 9 at Thornwood Gallery in Houston. Make me anxious but I have done a few pieces and finally got started on the new Black and White series that I've been talking about. As you know I've been collecting black and white designs in anticipation for this series. The idea first began in 2005 when we took a trip to Washington DC. I took a lot of photos of the streets as we were crossing. I have since lost the files because my computer crashed but those images have stuck in my memory. Also, as I have mentioned, in every publication I pick up lately black and white designs jump out at me. Another influence has been the quilts of Gee's Bend that I saw a couple of years ago and MOMA Houston. Such graphic images. So with all these things gelling I finally set out this week. Since I fancy myself to be a colorist, my idea was not to use stark black and white only but to have color coming from beneath, add a few smaller blocks of other colors and to use simple graphic designs. I am pretty pleased with the first piece which is a diptych, two pieces at 24"x24"x 2.5"d and now I'm excited to see what more I can develop with this idea.

The last three weeks

I'm thinking of changing the title and focus of this blog. Don't know just what or how yet.



I have been working on commissions for the last three weeks. Have completed two paintings that are 48"x48" each that are going to California and today I will finish up on a 32"x32" painting to go in a new hospital in Austin. I'd love to start on my new series today. We'll see how things go.

I woke up early this morning and went out to my studio while it was still dark to work on my newsletter some more. I discovered that I was doing things wrong and that my first attempt did not go out at all. I finally got it out today and hope the response to it will be good. Part of my problem is an old computer.



Two days from now, Sat., Sept. the 8th, is my show opening at the Russell Collection Gallery in Austin and I am excited about the show. It will be 4 women artists, Jill Pankey, Vicki McMurray, and Kathrine Watts Martinez. From the responses I am getting it will be really well attended even though it is on a University of Texas home football game night. Being UT EXs we will tape the game and watch it later and hope no one at the show tells us the score. Six paintings of mine from the show have already sold and there have been good sales for the other women as well. They are all very accomplished. I haven't seen the show up yet but my husband, Frank, went by the gallery yesterday and said it looks smashing. It is so exciting to walk in the gallery and see your paintings that have been in the studio for weeks hung in a gallery setting and with gallery lighting. I will try to remember to take my camera.

I am meeting a couple of collectors who are going to the game early at the gallery and then Frank and I are having an early dinner with a dozen friends before the show. I'll give a report on my next blog.
Max
www.maxineprice.com

Where Some Ideas Come From

I spent the last week and a half creating a newsletter and working on the mailing list. My husband Frank who retired a couple of years ago and is now helping me full time did most of the work in the mailing and we are just about ready to launch it.

In the meantime I have also been working on two 48"x48" commission pieces. I hope to complete the second one today and I have one more 32"x32" commission to complete. So--- I have not had much time to spend on my blog or on my new series. Now that the newsletter is done for the month of September and my commissions are about done I can move on to creating and posting the blog as I go along.

Since this blog is about painting and series development, I will talk about the things that have been going on with developing my new series. I stated my intent in my newsletter to develop two new series for my show in Houston coming up Nov. 8th. Whew! That's putting a bit of pressure on myself. I hope I can pull it off. I haven't been able to start on work yet or that show, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about it.

Here's how some ideas get started for me. I read a LOT of magazines including those on home decor and have probably become the catalog queen of my area. It seems everywhere I look there are black and white designs and I am really attracted to them. For several years early in my career I worked only in black and white pencil or ink. I think this is one thing which has helped me in the use of strong values in my work. Although one of my strengths is color I began to get the idea for a black and white series. My intent for this series is to have color in under layers but still have predominately black and white designs.

My other idea is for an abstract figurative series which I've been wanting to do for several years. I took 4 years of life drawing in college and in my prior artistic life I did detailed portraits. Since re-inventing myself as an abstract artist I have avoided doing the figure because I couldn't seem to break away from doing all that detail. I think now, after several years of painting abstractly, I am ready to give it a try even though it makes me nervous. Sooooo -- as I look through all my magazines and catalogs I have been pulling out tear-sheets on black and white designs as well as on figures and putting them in file folders. Along with this I have been doing some sketches. All of these things are kind of jelling in my mind as I work on other stuff so that by the time I can start them I hope to be raring to go.

I hope by next week I will have finished the commissions and will be ready to get started. I'll give some reports on the process and the progress.

Max
http://www.maxineprice.com/

New Painting

Well, as usual I got pressed for time and did not get photos "in progress done" although there is still some work to be done on this piece which I call "Bateman Hardware" for obvious reasons. I have straightened some lines since the photo was taken and I also plan to glaze the painting to give it a patina of age. I am pretty well pleased with it. The original wall was very wide and narrow so I had to change the composition. Also, the real colors were not only washed out but not pleasing so I referred to the earlier piece shown in a previous post and used those colors which I invented as well. When and if I get anyone looking at my blog, I will be glad to post the original image that I worked from if there is an interest. This painting is all done with a palette knife. The texture is very heavy and will be enhanced by the glazing.

Fortunately, I am prepared with enough paintings for my Sept. 8 show in Austin as I got calls this week wanting commission pieces and, of course, they want them right away. Two 48"x48" pieces for Atlanta needed by Sept. 20 and one for a hospital in Austin needed by Oct. 1. I have a little window of time right now to do them before I have to start painting for my November show in Houston. Since these pieces are both to be similar to paintings that are sold they should go fairly fast.

I want to try some new ideas for the November show and am anxious to get started on it. While painting the new piece, "Bateman Hardware" I decided that I am getting pretty good at doing lettering with my palette knife and got the idea to try some large pieces with words and symbols in them that are not based on actual store signs. I have also had the thought that I want to do some pieces that are primarily black and white. I'm working on some sketches. I seem to always have ideas percolating -- as Paul Simon says -- "in the back of my head, in the back of my head". We shall see what develops

Meanwhile we will have some fun tonight with our dinner club. Some of the members just got back from a trip to Africa so it will be interesting to hear their stories.

Max

www.maxineprice.com

Painting in Series

I work in oils and palette knife on canvas.



Right now I am painting for a show in Austin Sept. 8. I'm working on a piece for a series called "What Remains" that is inspired by old walls, alleys and signage on old buildings , etc. Shown is an earlier piece called "Delicious and Refreshing".

One thing that intrigues me with these images is the way the lettering has been over-painted and then weathered over the years so that the under-layers are revealed. Sometimes I can't make out what the bottom layers spell but I paint it as is which adds to the mystery of the piece. Tomorrow I will show a new painting in development.

First Day

Welcome to my Blog! This is my first day as a blogger and I have to confess that I don't know anything about blogging yet. My intent is to discuss how I go about creating a painting and have discussions with other artists about the creative process.