Women Painting Women, an honor to be included!

I am surprised and delighted that my pastel "Chains" is included in this stunning blog offered by my talented friend Sadie Valeri: Women Painting Women When I scroll down the page of this blog, I see works by many artists known to me who I have greatly admired, and some painters who are new to me that I'm excited to discover. I'm truly honored and a bit dumbfounded to be among such talent, compiled by an artist who's work I so respect.

Thank you Sadie!

33 Collective Resonance Exhibition pics

I had such a blast at the 33 Collective opening reception last night! Many of my friends and fans turned out to support the artists, the show looked great, and the sense of community in my co-op could not be better. We hung out well into the night after the reception in the Zhou B Cafe, talking art.

The Zhou brothers were surprised and amused that I did the portraits of them from their friend Steven Gross’s photos. I told them I am so impressed with their support for our gallery, and they humbly stated that they want to give as many artists as possible a chance at success and exposure. They are awesome!

Some of you asked for pics of the event, so here they are. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support these past few months while I completed the works for the show. Your kindness always makes my day. I’ll be continuing the Black Butterfly series for an upcoming solo show at 33 Collective. I’ll need many more pieces to fill up the 33 space.

Here’s what our gallery director, Sergio Gomez, had to say about the event:

“I hope you agree with me that last night’s opening was a great event and a fantastic kick off for Collective Resonance. When you think about the size of the space, we had a large crowd all night. I talked to a lot of people who were very pleased and impressed by the work selected for the exhibition. In my opinion, it is not the size of the space or the amount of works that makes a memorable group exhibition. Rather, it is the quality of the work and the diversity of ideas and styles that makes a group exhibition stand out from others. I thank you all for the hard work in bringing your best work and for making the opening a successful night.”

Daily Drawing: "The Transformation of Things"

From the Black Butterfly series. Portrait of DaHuang Zhou, charcoal on mylar drafting film with moonstone Canson backing paper, 18 x 18". From a reference photo by Steven E. Gross

I am a member of the 33 Collective Gallery located in the Zhou Brother's Art Center, Chicago. The Zhou Brothers have been generous to allow our co-op gallery to use the entire art center for our group show this month. The show opens Friday March 20th, 2009. The Zhou Brothers are always on hand at the center and are very supportive of the members of the gallery and of their artists in residence. I am fascinated with them, their persona, and their work and decided they would be perfect subjects to draw for my series, which always features creatives as models. DaHuang Zhou's older brother Shan Zuo was the subject for the companion piece, "I Dreamed I Was a Butterfly".

The butterfly is borrowed from a Chinese watercolor design, and the Chinese symbols stand for "passion-enthusiasm"

As noted in my earlier blogs, in this series the butterfly is symbolic of the artist's muse. The title of this work comes from the closing verse of this Chinese literature by Zhuangzi - [Chuang-Tse]

"One day about sunset, Zhuangzi dozed off and dreamed that he turned into a butterfly.
He flapped his wings and sure enough he was a butterfly...
What a joyful feeling as he fluttered about, he completely forgot that he was Zhuangzi.
Soon though, he realized that that proud butterfly was really Zhuangzi who dreamed he was a butterfly, or was it a butterfly who dreamed he was Zhuangzi!
Maybe Zhuangzi was the butterfly, and maybe the butterfly was Zhungzi? This is what is meant by the "transformation of things." - Zhuang Zi (369?-286? b.c.)


The Zhou brothers short biography:

The Zhou Brothers are one of the most accomplished contemporary artists in the world today renowned for their unique collaborative work process. They always work together on their paintings, performances, sculptures, and prints, often communicating without words in a so-called dream dialogue. Their thinking, aesthetic, and creativity are a symbiosis of Eastern and Western philosophy, art, and literature that informed their development since early childhood. Their indomitable spirit allowed them to leave behind their brilliant success in China, where they were hailed as national heroes for their early work, to step onto the world stage. They have since achieved international acclaim while continuing to work in the West.

The Zhou Brothers, Shan Zuo and DaHuang Zhou, were born in China 1952 and 1957 respectively. They studied drama and painting at the University of Shanghai from 1978 to 1982 and the National Academy for Arts and Crafts in Beijing from 1983 to 1984 where they received their MFAs. During the beginning of the 1980s they became leaders of the contemporary art movement in China. In 1985 they won the National Prize of the Chinese Avant-Garde of the Ministry of Culture and the Prize for Creativity from the Peace Corps of the United Nations. They were also honored as the first contemporary artists ever to show their work in an exhibition that traveled to the five largest museums in China, including the National Art Museum of China in Beijing and the art museums in Shanghai and Nanjing.

Realizing that the political and cultural landscape at that time would not allow them to expand their careers, an invitation to exhibit in Chicago in 1986 presented a timely opportunity to make the transition onto an international stage. The Zhou Brothers have consequently maintained their home and studios in Chicago while actively exhibiting their work nationally and abroad."

See previous blog for a video of the Zhou Brothers.

Daily Drawing: "I Dreamed I Was a Butterfly"

From the Black Butterfly series. Portrait of Shan Zuo Zhou, charcoal and white pastel on mylar drafting film with blue-gray Canson backing paper, 16 x 16". From a reference photo by Steven E. Gross.

I am a member of the 33 Collective Gallery located in the Zhou Brother's Art Center, Chicago. The Zhou Brothers have been generous to allow our co-op gallery to use the entire art center for our group show this month. The show opens Friday March 20th, 2009. The Zhou Brothers are always on hand at the center and are very supportive of the members of the gallery and of their artists in residence. I am fascinated with them, their persona, and their work and decided they would be perfect subjects to draw for my series, which always features creatives as models. Brother #2, DaHuang Zhou will be tomorrow's subject for Daily Drawing.

The butterfly is borrowed from a Chinese watercolor design, and the Chinese symbols stand for "inspired-dream-vision-revelation"

As noted in my earlier blogs, in this series the butterfly is symbolic of the artist's muse. The title of this work comes from Chinese literature by Zhuangzi - [Chuang-Tse]

"One day about sunset, Zhuangzi dozed off and dreamed that he turned into a butterfly.
He flapped his wings and sure enough he was a butterfly...
What a joyful feeling as he fluttered about, he completely forgot that he was Zhuangzi.
Soon though, he realized that that proud butterfly was really Zhuangzi who dreamed he was a butterfly, or was it a butterfly who dreamed he was Zhuangzi!
Maybe Zhuangzi was the butterfly, and maybe the butterfly was Zhungzi? This is what is meant by the "transformation of things." - Zhuang Zi (369?-286? b.c.)


The Zhou brothers short biography:

The Zhou Brothers are one of the most accomplished contemporary artists in the world today renowned for their unique collaborative work process. They always work together on their paintings, performances, sculptures, and prints, often communicating without words in a so-called dream dialogue. Their thinking, aesthetic, and creativity are a symbiosis of Eastern and Western philosophy, art, and literature that informed their development since early childhood. Their indomitable spirit allowed them to leave behind their brilliant success in China, where they were hailed as national heroes for their early work, to step onto the world stage. They have since achieved international acclaim while continuing to work in the West.

The Zhou Brothers, Shan Zuo and DaHuang Zhou, were born in China 1952 and 1957 respectively. They studied drama and painting at the University of Shanghai from 1978 to 1982 and the National Academy for Arts and Crafts in Beijing from 1983 to 1984 where they received their MFAs. During the beginning of the 1980s they became leaders of the contemporary art movement in China. In 1985 they won the National Prize of the Chinese Avant-Garde of the Ministry of Culture and the Prize for Creativity from the Peace Corps of the United Nations. They were also honored as the first contemporary artists ever to show their work in an exhibition that traveled to the five largest museums in China, including the National Art Museum of China in Beijing and the art museums in Shanghai and Nanjing.

Realizing that the political and cultural landscape at that time would not allow them to expand their careers, an invitation to exhibit in Chicago in 1986 presented a timely opportunity to make the transition onto an international stage. The Zhou Brothers have consequently maintained their home and studios in Chicago while actively exhibiting their work nationally and abroad."

"Allegory of Inspiration": new work

"Allegory of Inspiration"
From the Black Butterfly series. Charcoal on mylar drafting film with white illustration board underlay, 24×30”.

I started this 4 years ago, intending it to be an ink and watercolor wash
piece. I never got up the nerve to finish it – it is quite large and I
wasn’t very comfortable with watercolor. The references I used were
photos of myself and my husband in our early 20’s.

Symbolism:

My husband is a musician, and the butterflies in the series are
representative of the artist’s muse. All of the models for this series
are artists from various disciplines (actress Marilyn Monroe is
Aphrodite in one work).

In this piece, the lilies and the intertwining branches are taken from works by Leonardo Da Vinci. The lily is also a meaningful to me because of our sir name of White and it's meanings of peace and annunciation. The Celtic elements of triple spirals and knot work are symbolic of our three children, my Irish heritage, our intertwined lives and inspirations, and are also appropriate as a reminder of our journey to
Ireland this past year.I believe this piece was just waiting for this time in my career to be finished. I’m glad I waited. Funny I looked at it several times in my flat file over the years, and put it away. This time I saw it when I was pulling out some
mylar for another piece – and all other ideas fell to the wayside
because I just HAD to do this NOW, plus butterflies. It was drawn on
the illustration board I was planning to paint over, so that became the
backing for the mylar, and I could see the under-drawing right through,
no transferring necessary.

I've always liked symbolism in art and have used it often in the past. I think this will be a new direction for me. I was getting a bit bored with straight realism.

Daily Painting “Danaë”

Daily Drawing (painting today!) “Danaë” A rare-for-me oil on canvas study, 10×8” Painted over an old painting for texture. I’m still learning oils, this is just a fun monochrome study while I’m working on a larger drawing. I had an ornate gold frame for the piece, so I thought this a fitting title. I kind of like the concept, might have to make this one into something larger.

Original oil on canvas framed to 14.5 x 13.5” is available to purchase from the Argosy Gallery, Bar Harbor, Maine at $500.00

Daily Drawing: View to Croagh Patrick

"View from Achill to Croagh Patrick" pastel 6 x 8" $125.00, framed.




Small Daily Drawing, shown actual size. 6×8” pastel on sanded board.

I had a small gold plein air frame I decided to fill with something for my daily study. It will find a place at my current exhibition “Deep Heart’s Core: Ireland by 5 Chicago Artists” at the Beverly Arts Center in my neighborhood. The center will be well attended this week during the annual Chicago Irish Film Festival.

This is the view from the cliffs at Achill Island, Mayo, back to the holy mountain, Croagh Patrick.

Daily Drawing: Spread Your Wings

The next few Daily Drawings will be for the Black Butterfly series, as I have a show upcoming and I need to produce a few more pieces. I like these small works displayed in vintage table top frames. In the gallery they can be displayed on a pedestal as a sculpture would be. Todays piece is my smallest ever, the head of the figure is only 1 inch in height. That means it's not possible to get much detail. I am pleased with the rough effect that creates.



"Spread Your Wings" 6.5" x 4.5", 9 x 9" overall, framed. Charcoal and white pastel on myar drafting film, $150.00

Daily Drawing: Summertime in England

So, I laid in a supply of vintage frames and have decided to start a daily drawing series to compliment my Black Butterfly series of larger works. I hope to create something new nearly every day and post it here.


"Summertime in England" framed in signature vintage frame. 12 x 9" overall. Available for purchase at Argosy Gallery, Bar Harbor, Maine $500.00



"Summertime in England" from the Black Butterfly series, charcoal and white pastel on mylar drafting film with moonstone Canson backing paper. 10 x 8"