The season is certainly proving to be an interesting one for observing change.  The mild weather, with a few bouts of snow, has created a situation in which the view of the pond changes daily.  This painting is done from a photo taken January 17th.  Here is what I wrote about that day:

1-17-12

I took an extended walk today. We had a few more inches of snow this morning, putting a fresh blanket over the park. Despite the snow, the temperature was agreeable. Again I was memorized by the quiet, desolate feeling just after a snow storm. However, I was not completely alone. There was a set of recent tracks, one dog and one human (I am guessing female by the shoe size). I found myself following the tracks inadvertently for most of my walk. I studied the straight pacing of the human in contrast to the meandering path of a dog. Tracks became one of the themes of this walk. I also observed squirrel tracks darting from tree to tree. Finally, later in the walk, I came across a set of human tracks that were oddly positioned. It was as if the person were incredibly pigeon toed. The feet faced away from each other to a great degree and the spacing indicated large wide steps. I tried mimicking this pattern for a while in my own tracks. I could in fact imitate them but found it curious why they existed in the first place. It certainly was not a comfortable way to walk.

By taking a longer walk today I had time to notice other minute details. For example, I was enchanted by the crackling music of ice and snow in the tree branches when a wind whipped through. The was almost a melody to it. Also, when the winds picked up I saw whirlwinds of snow lift of the ground and dance. There was a magical animation today, or maybe I am just in a fantastical mood. And yes, there was the pond, there as always. I feel like I am really just beginning to know it. The same is true for my paintings.

In regards to the pond paintings, I feel the past month is all that really counts. I imagine I will feel the same way two months from now about the paintings I am to make. In any case I feel like I have a long ways to go in achieving what I mean to achieve. I still sense that there is something I am not seeing or doing, a limitation I am placing on myself that is stifling this project. I can only hope that through repeatability and introspection I can resolve it.

Private Art Lessons

Come work in a creative environment with a professional artist for one-on-one sessions that will help you develop your skills, direction, and focus. Beki Borman graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design in 2004 with a BFA in painting. She has worked for years in both painting and drawing mediums and is well versed in tools and techniques as well as design and composition. Beki has taught classes and workshops at several locations throughout Southeastern Wisconsin and has experience with oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, graphite, and more.

No matter your experience, Beki will develop a plan and schedule with you to work with your goals as an artist. She will work with you side by side in her studio, offering guidance, feedback, while providing lessons and learning plans uniquely designed for you. There is no obligation, you pay by the hour and can cancel at any time.

Beki’s studio is located in Bay View, south of downtown Milwaukee, at the Hide House. This a community of studios and houses many wonderful artists! The Hide House is located at:

2625 S. Greeley Street

Milwaukee, WI 53207

Lessons start at $25/hr, students provide their own materials. For a travel fee, Beki can come to you as well. This fee will vary depending on distance.

To learn more about Beki and her work, please visit her website:

www.bekiborman.com

or contact her at:

bekiborman@gmail.com

I have not written anything recently, well nothing I have shared anyway.  It has been a busy couple of weeks.  I have some classes running, a new commission project, and two shows coming up.  Also, the Pond Project continues on, though I am a bit behind.  I have been self employed for 2.5 months and things are going more smoothly than I expected.  I enjoy the new challenges a full time artist life presents.

Last week was Milwaukee’s Gallery Night and Day. I held an Open Studio for Gallery night.  A snow storm is to blame for a slower evening, but still not too bad.  I appreciate those who made it out, and for those that could not I totally understand.  It was ugly out!  On Gallery Day I took some time to hop around downtown.  I was able to check out the Marshall Building, Tory Folliard Gallery, and the DeLind Gallery (I have two pieces on display at the DeLind Gallery right now for Winter, a group show).  During my gallery hopping I was really drawn to Jeff Darrow’s small oil paintings, on display at the Elaine Erickson Gallery.  There was lots of good stuff to see throughout the city.  I wish I could have made it to more shows.

Photo Credit: Anthony Sell

I will be having a solo show at the River Edge Gallery, in Thiensville, Wisconsin.  More than 25 paintings will be on display!

Dates:  February 17 – March 31

Opening Reception: Friday, February 17, 5-8pm

River Edge Gallery

Phone: 414 207-7444

Address:
184 S. Main Street
Thiensville WI 53092

Hours (during exhibitions):
Thursday & Friday 12-5 PM
Saturday 12-4 PM
and by appointment

oil on panel

8″ x 10″

$400.00 via PayPal
$10.00 shipping within US

oil on canvas

30″ x 34″

$600.00 via PayPal
$20.00 shipping within US

There will be other studios and events happening at the Hide House, so this is a great opportunity to see a lot of art in one stop!

The Bay View Hide House, 2625 S. Greeley Street Milwaukee, WI 53207

Journal excerpt 12/26/11

Image: Pond Study 18, pastel on paper, 7″ x 11″

The holidays have come and gone, but yet we wait for a significant snowfall. What dusting was received last week is now long gone. The pond has become bare and boring. I find myself waiting for something to happen- anything. The browns, grays, and dirty blues of this quiet winter are now mundane to me. A brilliant white snowfall would surely make the scene come alive again. So I have resorted to seeking out new visions.

The most obvious solution was to paint the park at night. I will confess upfront that I used a bit of photo trickery for this one. I took a nighttime picture, which as you would expect was pretty colorless. I took this picture a few weeks ago, and have already written about the quiet cold and silence of the evening. Now I will reflect on the art making process I undertook. Using Photoshop, I exaggerated the saturation and contrast a bit until the underlying blues and yellows of darkness revealed themselves. The streetlights made the sky glow softly yellow, and the silhouettes of trees become deep pthalos of blue and green. Sticking with this somewhat limited palette, I rendered the image twice. First in pastel and then in oil. I allowed myself a bit more color diversity in the pastel, pulling purples and reds out of the blackness. With the oil painting, as with most of them, the colors simplify. This is in part due to the size of the mark (a large painting knife edge) and to the process of mixing. I am aware of the ways in which medium contribute to the result and I find it informative to use both mediums in approaching an image. I have been exercising this processes for most of my works lately. The pastel drawings become a preliminary color study, though stand alone as works themselves. I wonder what if anything would change if I did the oil painting first and the pastel second? In any case, as I wait for snow I think I will attempt to capture more of the dramatic moments. I feel a little dirty about using Photoshop, but do not think I am sacrificing the intention. I want to make interesting paintings, and sometimes the truth of an image is boring. The artist’s job is to walk the line between adding interest while maintaining a connection to actual experience that is real enough for people to still care. I suppose novelists walk this same line in many ways.

7″ x 11″

pastel on paper

$250.00 via PayPal
$5.00 shipping within US