Author: Beki Borman

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Cedarburg Plein Air Event

The Cedarburg Plein Air Painting Competition is taking place through June 24th.  Artists from all over the country have come to Cedarburg for an outdoor painting event.  Finished work will be delivered to the Cedarburg Cultural Center and will be put on display for a  reception and sale Friday, June 22 from 5-7:30pm.  Works will remain for sale throughout that weekend.

I had a nice morning painting in a park called Herman A. Zeunert Park, just off of Hamilton Rd.  The only downsides were a lack of shade and an excess of goose droppings.  The sight of a large rock cliff across the lagoon was too tempting a view.  I have driven past here numerous times and have wanted to paint it  I am drawn the the various textures and colors of sky, tree, rock, and water.  I enjoyed my painting time today and am rather satisfied with the final piece.  I think I wil try to get out there once or twice next week also.

 

 

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Opening at Woodwalk Gallery

This Memorial Day weekend was the season opening reception at the Woodwalk Gallery.  My work is represented at the gallery along with numerous other artists.  This is my second year with Woodwalk, and once again they put on a great show.  Food, drink, great weather, art, and lots of people made this a fantastic event.  Sadly I could not stay long as the 3 hour drive each way makes for a long day.  It was totally worth it though.   I got to talk to fellow artists like Pamela Anderson and reconnect with old friends like Julia Bresnahan (my high school art teacher).  Big thanks to Allin and Margaret for including me in there gallery! For more info, visit the Woodwalk Gallery website:  http://www.woodwalkgallery.com/

 

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Art on the Walk

Ahh.. I had forgotten how fun art festivals could be.  I woke up this past Saturday morning around 6:00am and groaned when I heard the thunder.  Oh how I contemplated not getting up!  Who is going to show up to an art festival in a thunderstorm anyway?  But, like they say in Wisconsin, if you don’t like the weather- wait twenty minutes.  In this case it was three hours….

I drove to Menomonee Fals for Art on the Walk.  I set up my tent and display in a thunderstorm.  My expectations and spirits were low for the day.  By 11:00am however, the sun was out an so were the crowds!  While I didn’t see the sales I had hoped for this day, I had a great time talking with people.  It was a fun and easy festival so the lack of sales was something I could live with.  I will probably do it again next year!

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Critique

I feel very fortunate to have been included in MARN’s recent Painting Salon.  The show is hung at MARN’s headquarters at 5407 W. Vliet Street.  There are six artists represented, including myself.  Other artists are Ann Baer, Fred Bell, Jim Zwaldo, Michael Davidson, and Katherine Rosing.

We were treated to a full weekend of art conversation.  The show begain last Thursday with a private curator night.  Area curators along with special guest curator Scott Speh were invited to come and talk to us about our work.  I received a range of comments and found the experience incredibly useful and thought provoking.  Friday night was a public reception which was fun, social, and exciting.  Finally, Saturday morning peers and public were invited to come critique the work.  We had a small but thoughtful group.  Again, I left with a head full of ideas.

I know that this experience will change my work.  Plans are already in the works for a new series and I am fired up about the potential.  Maggie Sasso, who curated this exhibition, did a remarkable job of hanging the work and putting together a successful event.  The show will remain on display through June 16th.

To learn more about MARN: http://www.artsinmilwaukee.org/

 

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May En Plein Air

What a great week to be outside painting!  May now is feeling like summer and I cannot resist any opportunity to get fresh air.  Yesterday I went to Grant Park in South Milwaukee around 9am.  It seemed early but the sun was still hot.  I of course chose my painting spot in the middle of an open field with no tree cover so that I coud paint the tree line out in front of me.  I was also facing the sun.  Not ideal conditions… but I caked on the sun screen and made it work.  Three hours was about all that I could stand.  I had plenty of water and sunscreen but was still feeling drained by the sun exposure.

After packing up my easel I decided to cool off by dipping my feet in the lake.  It was one of those inspiring mornings that words cannot do justice to.  I walked the path through the park crossing wood bridges over shallow streams.  I didn’t know I was so close to the lake, but when I found it I saw it open up in fornt of me like it was waiting for me.  And best of all, there was no one else around!  I slipped my feet into the icy water and walked along the shore.  I enjoyed the sounds of birds and waves.  I found a few interesting rocks.  I thought about painting.  It was good.

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New Techniques

Over the past few months I have been refining my technique slightly.  I have continued to use a palette knife or painting knife as my primary tool.  However, I have begun to modify the painting with a brush once the paint is in place.  This allows my to create a larger diversity of mark making with finer details of the focal point or area of interest. The paintings, as a result, have become much more controlled.  This does not feel static or stale to me, but rather a more mature version of my earlier work.  I am also returning to color a as a primary subject matter (in some of my work I feel this intention had gone a bit off course).  With the festival season starting for me next week, I am excited by the prospect of clearing some space in my studio to make room for new development.  I have just finished gessoing a series of panels and canvases that I cannot wait to paint on!

 

Image: Approaching Storm (detail), oil on panel, 2012

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A Plein Air Morning

The weather has been phenomonal for March, so I could not resist getting out this morning for my first plein air session of the season.  I left my knives behind today and just did a good old fashioned brush painting.  It felt good.  I was right on a bluff overlooking the lake at Sheridan Park in Cudahy.  The sun was still low in the east, creating a dramatic light from the left.  I was inspired by the dark evergreens silouetted againts the bright eastern sky.  I enjoyed the fresh air and the freedom of capturing a passing momoent in time.  This is definately the best plein air session I have managed so far- can’t wait to do more.

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Head in the Clouds

Lately I have been painting and drawing clouds.  I thought it would offer a different perspective and fun change.  However, it has proven to be more challenging in oil paint using my knife.  The hard, rough, and aggressive surface created with the painting knife contrasts with the assumed feeling of soft fluffy clouds.  I am going to try to work with this conflict and see what I can make of it.  I also suspect I will be pulling out the brushes soon.  The pastels, on the other hand, are quite easy.  As seen in this recent pastel drawing, the pastels blend and soften easily into representational forms.  Is direct representation my intent?  I would still argue that it is not – though I enjoy making the more representational pastels before taking liberties in the oil painting.  This also give me a clearer sense of what I am doing when I manipulate, simplify, or translate in oil.