Greetings! I’m pleased to say that my watercolor painting Hang Up & Read Me A Story was juried into the Rogue Valley Biennial Art Exhibit!
Details About the Exhibit.
The exhibition is hosted by the Rogue Gallery and Art Center in Medford OR. It opened Friday, June 28th and runs through to August 2nd, 2019. There will be an artist’s reception on Friday, July 19th from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. The art center is located at 40 South Bartlett St. in Medford.
The artworks are hung in the Main Gallery of the art center. The exhibition is free to the public and all are invited to come view the works during gallery business hours. Hours are as follows:
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- 10am to 5pm Tuesday thru Friday
- 11am to 3pm Saturdays
- 5pm to 8pm Third Fridays
Show Statement for “A Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Art”
Per the Gallery, “this biennial exhibit features juried artwork from local and regional artists in various media. These new works present innovative, insightful and thoughtful expressions of current events, art movements or political issues”.
The Painting and Current Culture.
This painting is one of a series of paintings our cell phone culture. I attempt to make a gentle statement about how pervasive the cell phones are. So much so, that we forget to do without the constant companion on the other end of the phone. It’s like an extra person is invited to so many of our personal encounters.
As such, this particular painting was inspired by a conversation I had with one of my second cousins, Anne Shelton. She happens to be a librarian. Anne mentioned the distractions caused by the mobile phones in the libraries. And, thus, an idea was born. Within a short time, I had a concept drawing.
On Experimentation.
For me, creating a painting it is a process of experimentation from start to finish. And, the start point is the concept drawing. This is one of two drawings I created using this idea of cell phones in the library.
In any case, the value of starting out with a concept drawing is that I start to realize my idea. That being said, though, I give myself room to change.
As I start to build the painting, layer by layer, I allow myself to change the design. This may be a risky approach. However, I find that a small 5×7 inch drawing is quite a bit different from a 14×21 inch watercolor painting. That is, what looks good in graphite might not work just right for me in watercolor. Also, I like how the act of painting itself generates ideas.
I did say “risky approach”, though, you might notice. Such practices can go so wrong. But, it’s just a piece of paper with some paint on it. At least, that is what I tell myself when I am creating the artworks!
So, to reiterate then, I see my approach as being “experimental” in that I allow myself to explore or experiment the “what if” ideas that pop into my head.
Invitation To See The Exhibition!
To summarize, then, I am pleased to announce that I have been included in the Rogue Valley Biennial Art Exhibit this summer. If you are in the area, please do stop by and see the wonderful art works by my fellow local and regional artists!
Wow! Two important lessons in one blog post. One very difficult for the beginner/intermediate to understand and one very important for the beginner watercolour painter to learn early in their painting journey.
The second one first: “It is just a piece of paper. Turn it over and start again.” I was fortunate to have been gifted a 1/4 sheet of quality watercolour paper by a fellow student after only a couple of weeks into learning to paint. This lead to me being the point man for a bulk order for most of the class. I ended up with 100 1/4 sheets of paper. I never again worried about a risky start. Since that time, I’ve always been well stocked with paper so as to never worry about ‘spoiling’ as sheet of paper.
The first, and more difficult lesson you mention is about design and changing it as you paint. Once I found a design framework and a process to design my composition, older and wiser heads told me that it needs to allow for changes in the design as one develops the painting. I wan’t quite ready for that lesson. It took a couple of more years of painting before I was ready to learn that particular lesson.
Good on you for mentioning them. I have found that neither gets a mention in most “modern” watercolour instruction books/blogs/tutorials/youtube.
Hi James, Thank you so much for sharing your discoveries. Because, at least for me, part of learning is the little discoveries that we make first hand in our work. And, it is the encouragement of the “older and wiser heads” that plants the seeds of ideas to try when we are ready. Again, thank you for sharing and adding your own experiences!