COMPOSITION AND VERTICAL SHAPE, FINISHED STORAGE SHELVES

 As yet untitled work in progress,  8 1/2" X 24",  Lori LaBerge  2016

Walking through the woods behind our house I spotted a lone tree and quickly made a sketch of it.  The tree had a bit of an odd shape to it and I'm hoping it will work in this piece without too much adjusting.  Sometimes what looks great in nature doesn't quite translate to an artwork.  

It is important to think about canvas shape when creating a piece.  This called for a vertical shape.  This shape shows strength and leads the eye upward.  Think about standing upright and proud versus slouching.  The rectangular shape presents stability.  These are aspects I wanted to stress about the tree.  Height, strength and stability.  This tree has stood the test of time through the 50 mph mountain winds that are common in our area. 

Think about what other subjects would work in a vertical format.  Waterfalls, telephone poles, roadways, full portraits, etc. 

If you read last weeks blog you remember the above as a blank space.  Pete and I worked on and completed the shelving today.  Nothing fancy, but oh so efficient.

The pile of boxes I used to dig through to find the right size waiting a bit of organization.

Here is the shelving with all the boxes now easily visible for use.  I plan on labeling the shelves with the various sizes of the boxes. 

Look around museums and galleries.  Try to find some vertical canvases and determine why the artist may have chosen that certain format or shape of canvas for their work and have a great day. 

SECOND RUG HOOKED ABSTRACT IN ROAD SIGN SERIES IN PROGRESS

 "Roundabout Ahead"  in progress 19" X 29"  Lori LaBerge  2016

The green section of the latest in the road sign series was hooked this week.  The wool was a bit rough which made the hooking process a bit longer than usual, but the roughness against the smoother texture of other wools will add more interest to the piece.  The arrows are a combination of pale yellows.

The rectangular format led to the decision to elongate the arrows so they formed an oblong shape rather than the expected circular shape.  The tips of the arrows were altered so each was a bit different than the others.

The two rectangles on the side of the green section will be dark turquoise.  The above wool was chosen to fill in the gray area beneath the green as there is a bit of turquoise, some light and some dark, in each one.  This will bring cohesion to the work.  

Pete was in the storage area this week and decided my method of storing boxes was not up to par.  He removed all the boxes from the area above, purchased wood before the storm hit and was in his workshop today starting on a storage rack.  It is amazing how many boxes I keep for shipping, gallery delivery and purchases in studio.  As works being created for exhibit cannot be sold, I hope to also have space to store them until delivered for show.

At least twice a year I go through the studio and storage area and reorganize. Organizing can be overwhelming.  Try to organize one section at a time rather than all at once, find what works for you and have a great day.

GEOMETRIC ABSTRACT RUG HOOKING "SWAY" AND BOOK BY FRANK STELLA

"Sway"  13" X 34",  Lori LaBerge  2015

I took a a rough photo of "Sway", a new work in the connection series, as frames are on order.  The work reminds me of how swaying bridges bring us from one section of land to another.  Many swaying bridges here in the mountains lead from traveled roads to the calmness and security of a home. Sometimes that change is not only physical, but emotional. 

"Sway"  13" X 32",  Lori LaBerge 2015

The piece may be placed in varying configurations due to the flexibility of the chains. The two sections can be placed closer or further apart as well as moved up and down.  The curves mixed with the straight and diagonal lines, all with varying widths. move one's eye throughout the work.  The chain leads the eye from one section to the other and back again.

"Working Space" by Frank Stella

This book is based on a series of lectures Stella gave at Harvard University.  I love Stella's early work (his protractor series is one of my favorites) but his premise throughout this book is the death of flat abstract painting and the lack of a direction for it to take.  He focuses on Caravaggio's use of the space on the canvas (the working space) and its bringing the viewer into an expanded world beyond the canvas.  He writes of trying to determine how abstract art can achieve this.  

The book is challenging in its concepts.  I find myself reading and re-reading paragraphs trying to comprehend exactly what Stella means by his words. That is not necessarily a bad thing as it has been forcing me to think more deeply about certain aspects of painting and art in general.   

Art has had many movements.  Stella 's point is that there has not been a great movement in art for an extensive period of time.  Where is art going?

If you are in the mood for some reflection on abstract art, and its relation to work before it along with academic thought, this would be a worthwhile read. 

Think about what the art you create means to you, reflect on the style you choose to use and have a great day.

COLOR DECISIONS IN ART

"At Bridge's End"  9 1/4" X 13",  Lori LaBerge  2015

It's back to work in the studio after a nice Christmas and New Year break.  The continuation of creating pieces for July's landscape exhibit have been keeping my design skills in use.  The above work is all about the color. 

There are many ways to use color in art.  You can use it to show a time of day or year, to depict mood or atmosphere, to experiment with specific color combinations, or to show light and shadow.  I tend to veer from realistic color in favor of using color to fit a mood or to exaggerate nature's palette.  I saw shades of lavender in the gray bridge and decided to emphasize this by making the whole bridge lavender/pink shades.  Quite bold, it is based on a bridge in Black Mountain, North Carolina. 

Here the compositional lines are drawn in.  The top and bottom of the bridge fit between the horizontal lines.  The top orange/brown, the edge of the lighter blue and the side of the red are spaced to touch along the vertical lines.  

Compositional lines are also separating out large areas of color.  Most of the blue is below the middle horizontal line.  This breaks the rule of splitting a picture in half. Some blue is carried up further into the bridge opening.  Most of the lavender/pink is between lines, the red in the lower right rectangle and the brightest of the orange in the two upper right rectangles.

More color planning was done this week:

These colors will be used in a tree in the woods scene.  The scene will be calming with browns in the tree, greens in the background, heather lavenders on the ground and a modest use of pink and off whites to contrast with duller colors.

  

This is a sophisticated color scheme for an abstract work in the road sign series. The grays along with the butter yellows have a neutral tone to them.  Neutrals are often used to emphasize shapes when the artist's intent is to put shapes before color in a piece.  The top of the piece will contain the green and turquoise.  A limited use of color rather than a vast mix of colors will tend to be more sophisticated.

The yarns and industrial felt above will be used on a multi-layered sculptural work.  I hope to create at least three or four of these types of works to be shown on pedestals at the landscape show.  The yarn colors definitely have a woodsy feel to them.  I hope to use them with embroidery and sculpting techniques to depict vegetation.

Think of how you use color combinations, through dress, interior design or other methods and have a great day.

GEOMETRIC ABSTRACT "SWAY" STARTED AND ARTIST BOOKS

First section of  "Sway", 11 X 11  Lori LaBerge  2015

The first section of a two part work for the Connection series has been hooked.  The greens are my favorite part of this.  It took a while to dye the colors needed, especially the mint shade of green.  Through a mix of multiple dyes, I finally achieved what I was looking for. 

I always receive some art related gifts for my birthday and, thankfully, this year was no different.

From my daughter:

Mark Rothko: A biography by James E. B. Breslin

Rothko's work is fascinating.  What appears to be three colors suddenly merges into layers of color when viewed up close.  It will be interesting to read about his early years as I haven't read much on his beginnings in art.

  Inside the Artist's Studio by Joe Fig

This book is set up in a question and answer format.  Joe Fig asks up and coming artists questions about their work, process, early interests in art, etc.  Love these kind of books as they don't have to be read in any specific order and can be easily read even when you don't have extended time to devote to reading.

From my son:

This is always a great gift.  A variety of drawing pencils of difference softness and hardness, charcoals, a sketching stick, erasers and sharpeners along with a sketch pad. I'm planning on using these with a drawing course I have ordered.

Have a great day, enjoy the holidays and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

"BREATHE EASY" LANDSCAPE, LITTLE THINGS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN DESIGN

"Breathe Easy"  13" X 9",  Lori LaBerge  2015

There are so many beautiful spots throughout Western North Carolina.  I've made sketches of some and taken photos of many more.  The work above is based on a photo I took in Montreat, NC.  Pete and I were on a walk and this area was a great place to stop and relax a bit.  

The bridge really caught my eye, but as I looked closer I realized what really interested me was the tree growing under the bridge and its relation to the curve of the bridge itself.  You can see this area in the lower left of the photo.  This is what I focused on when planning the design.  I changed the green grass to have more of a fall feel which felt better for the artwork with the lack of leaves on the tree. 

I often find as I work that little changes can make a difference in a piece.  

In the above, the lower left branches both touch the curve of the bridge.  My eye kept going directly to the rust spot on the bridge where the two branches appear to be clamping onto it.  It bothered me so I made a change.  I could have removed the rust area, but that would leave two rust sections on the upper left with nothing to balance them out.  A different change was required.  *Note:  I did not take a photo of the first version of the work, so the line touching the bridge is photo shopped in to show you how it looked.

Here you can see how I removed where part of the branch touched the bridge.  This opens up the area and leads to the branches following along a diagonal line more fluidly.  The edges of the darker green in the grass area lead you upward on the diagonal to the tree.  I find in looking at the final work, the section of the rust no longer dominates where my eye goes in the way it did when both section of the lower branch touched the bridge.  

Before making major changes, take time to look and see if a minor change can make a difference in how you feel about the piece you are working on and have a great day.

ABSTRACT REALISM LANDSCAPE, NEW ART BOOKS

"Winter Hideaway"  14" x 14",  Lori LaBerge  2015

Hooking is done, steaming comes tomorrow and framing is on order

The piece above is based on a building that is along the quilt trail in Western North Carolina.  The trail has become quite a project in the area with over 200 painted quilt blocks on buildings.  The block became the focus of "Winter Hideaway" with the blue center square drawing the eye to it.

During the meeting for our landscape show next year, we decided to have each artist create four of their pieces to represent the four seasons and this will be my winter scene.  It was just finished this morning and steaming will take place tomorrow.  I really like the contrast of the mix of deep browns and the ice blues.  The diagonals also work well in the composition.  

I think of this style as abstract realism, though there are some variations of a definition of this.  There is the obvious realistic component of the building, but color is exaggerated. The original greens of the lower grass and trees behind the building have been changed to an unrealistic blue to emphasize the feeling of winter.  Both abstract and realism have been combined with the work being not totally realistic and not totally abstract.

I also added two new books to the shelves:

 "Anselm Keifer Studios" by Daniele Cohn

This book is for those who love to look at photos of studios.  I could get lost in these photos for days.  Keifer has had many studios over time.  The studios (where he also tends to live while working) have included abandoned warehouses, attics, and even an old silkworm breeding factory among other places.  He leaves the buildings pretty much as is.  They tend to be rough, as his work is.  Some works contain items such as shellac, straw, metal, plaster, branches and broken glass.  To see some of Keifer's works click here.  

"Fiber: Sculpture 1960-Present" published by DelMonico Books and edited by Jenelle Porter

This is for those interested in the development of fiber art as sculpture over time. There is weaving with both on and off-loom work, installation work, rope manipulation, macrame, felt and mixed-media works.  Artists include Sheila Hicks, Eva Hesse and Lenore Tawney among others.  There is background on various artists along with sections that relate to the beginnings of sculptural aspects of fiber art up to 2014.

Try mixing two different art movements in a piece of art to see what develops and have a great day.