New Blog

Hey, thanks to all those who still visit this blog, I know it hasn't been too exciting of late because I haven't been posting pictures etc. I'm starting a new blog which I hope you'll check out here. Thanks for all your interest and support thus far!

I'd like to let anybody who still reads this blog know about an artist named Nick Stephens, I discovered his work recently when... well actually a while ago but I didn't realize it, but this past fall he got an award for a show that I was also a part of and I became better aware of him. I really like a lot of his work, especially the pieces he's got up in his mixed media gallery. Check him out.

One or two?

So maybe I've written about this before, but right now I'm getting applications for shows etc. ready and that means going through my work to decide what to use or how to represent myself. Applying to a gallery, with as few as three pieces to represent a body of work years in the making, it's really tricky. What's this galleries' MO? Do I even fit with this gallery? Which pieces best fit with this gallery? Have I ever made anything worthwhile? Did think these were great, why was that again? These are some of the things that go through my mind. It's a little like going to the optometrists for an eye exam, one or two? Which looks better and is there really a difference?
Or for a show opportunity, which series should I go with? Which might they show? Which pieces best represent the series? So many questions, so little certainty.
Anyway, I should get back to work.

Straight Lines

I remember Wulf saying in a class (probably an earlier drawing class) that part of being an artist in the days of apprentices, journeymen and masters etc. were expected as a part of their training , to draw straight lines and circles without the aid of rulers or compasses. Yesterday I was drawing out lines on graph paper and I was thinking about that. I tried drawing straight lines over the lines on the graph paper, they were mostly not so straight, maybe a little (or a lot) wobbly. I was wondering if it's actually possible to draw a completely straight line without a ruler etc. or if it's just another skill that's been lost over the years.
Oh yeah, thinking about all that also made me wonder, how did people ever make the first straight lines to make rulers or whatever? Also, what about the first 90 degree angle?

Thoughts as a juror

So this week I've had the opportunity to judge/jury an art show at a school where a friend from BYU teaches, we had some classes together, she was art ed and I was art just plain. It was really interesting to see all the projects that had been worked on K-9. It warmed my heart to see pieces where the kids seemed to really have grasped the concepts being taught, like watercolor washes, perspective etc.
The actually decisions were a little daunting at first, I don't want to crush young dreams, on the other hand, it was pretty cool to get to chose the pieces I liked, reward those that I found to have merit (I did take into account project guidelines where given). It was fun over all and I reakky do love art and what I do, so thanks for the opportunity Jordan!

Artist Bio

So I've been working towards some goals and in the process I've had to update my...pr materials(?). I generally don't like the thought of having to write an artist bio but it was required for something I want to do, so I buckled down and wrote one. I cannot say enough how helpful The Artist's Guide by Jackie Battenfield has been to me in several such occasion in helping me figure out how to market myself/my art. Anyway, here's the bio:

J M is a native of Utah.  After loving art growing up she studied painting and drawing at Brigham Young University and was fortunate enough to study with noted artist Wulf Barsch.  While at BYU M was introduced to techniques used by ancient Greek and Renaissance master artists, such as sacred geometry, the golden section and symbolism, all of which have become an integral part of her artwork.  Often M’s art draws inspiration from the likes of ancient Egyptian art, Classical Greek architecture, masonic art and symbolism, as well as Islamic geometric designs.

Since graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art in 2009, M’s work has been shown nationally in Connecticut and Georgia, and throughout the state of Utah in solo and group exhibitions including at the Springville Museum of Art.

Thoughts?

Check out the 28th Annual Spiritual and Religious Art Exhibition! I've got a piece in it and I'm so excited to be included in such a great show.

Oils?

So I've been wanting to get back to oil painting. I decided that with my current set up, if I was going to oil paint it would be better at this stage to use pre-streched and primed canvas (linen not cotton). Anyway there was a sale and I rashly went ahead and bought a beautiful canvas. Now I need to really get ready to use oils again and to not to ruin the canvas.

I just found about an artist through this interview, I quite like her work, check her out.

Terra Nova

I'm thrilled to have been asked to participate in the 10 year anniversary show at Terra Nova Gallery. It's great to be included with other artists in the area at this great gallery. Here's to 10 more years!

I've been switching off days lately of drawing and painting, and I've also started using micron pen for my drawings rather than pencil. It's been a good change for me a stretch if you will, When I draw I rely on shading but with the pen and ink it's always the same shade and so I have to figure out different ways to accomplish the same goal. It's a good challenge for me, gets me out of my comfort zone. I've been liking the results so far.

Drawing

I've been working on drawings lately. I don't know if I've brought this up before but I just don't love drawing like I love painting. It's harder for one thing. There's a lack of color for another thing. The results may not be as satisfying. There is a tedium in shading, and a frustration in trying to shade evenly. I had a classmate who could draw amazing photo realistic pieces, and I'm just not sure that I could do that, even if I gave drawing my very all. I can't crank out drawings the way I can some paintings, I can't really work on several drawings at once with out it taking the same amount of time as working on one at a time. I also was taught to draw on Arches 88, it's a paper meant for silk screening, it's very delicate, you can literally breath wrong on the stuff. But I'm drawing and I've got a deadline rapidly approaching for these drawings so here's hoping they can be worth the effort and materials.

Eight Fold Show

My eight fold series (a series of geometric/Islamic designs all stemming from one base pattern) will be on view at the Sprague Library May through July 2014! I'm very excited.
Here's the artist statement for the series:
I love drawing with a compass and straight edge. I was introduced to the art of compass and straight edge construction in college; it was amazing to discover all the different shapes, patterns and designs that I could create with two simple tools. My delight and discovery continued and I eventually found the beautiful world of Islamic geometric designs and a whole new type of designs and patterns that could be created with my compass. I have been studying and drawing these beautiful and complex designs ever since. Recently I was introduced to a pattern base used in many Islamic designs from which unlimited patterns could be produced; I’ve undertaken to create as many different designs and patterns as possible from this base. I’ve thought I’d run out of possibilities a time or two before but it’s been interesting to see how new ideas have come to me while I’ve painted other pieces.

The only problem now will be deciding which pieces to put in the show, there can only be 15 pieces and there's almost double that right now. 

Exciting Developments

There are some exciting things happening for me and my art, I can't wait to share more about them. Also on a not so exciting note, I have no idea when I'll actually get around to making that website.

Framing

Last night, later than I was planning, I framed two pieces that I'm entering in a juried show. Some day I hope that I can out source framing because I hate it, if nothing else I hope to have a mat cutter. I dislike framing because it's stressful for me, everything has to be perfect, as good as possible and if there's a mistake, you can't really go back from that, once you cut a mat it's cut, if you mess up then you have to go through the whole process again.
I did have a break through though, I used my compass to make the cut out and to make it square.
Still haven't gotten to the website yet. Someday.

So I'm working on getting an actual grown up website and a new blog to go along with that, but I'm not there yet.
Also a drawing tip, da Vinci recommended studying and trying to recreate the work of the masters. Lately I've been attempting to recreate some of da Vinci's drawn studies. The things I've drawn leave a lot to be desired from the originals but I have found a real appreciation for his use of line and shading, he used so little to create such beauty. I'm working to follow suit.
Update: here's my website  http://jmfineart.weebly.com/

Apology. Posting has not happened of late. There's been a snag in things and I'm considering moving to a new blogging format. But I haven't been very focused in my consideration. Hopefully I'll get things figured out soon, in the mean time, sorry!

Sacred Geometry: A Primer

As promised, here's the list of books that make up my library on sacred geometry.

*Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code by Stephen Skinner
*The Golden Section: Nature's Greatest Secret by Scott Olsen
*Sacred Geometry by Miranda Lundy
*Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice by Robert Lawlor
* Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music and Cosmology
*Islamic Design: A Genius for Geometry by Daud Sutton
* Ruler and Compass: Practical Geometric Constructions by Andrew Sutton
*The Power of Limits by Gyorgy Doczi
*The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry by Jay Hambridge
*Geometry of Design by Kimberly Elam (this isn't the version I have, I have the older version I guess.)

Those are my geometry books, I really enjoy the ones from the Little Wooden Books series, there are a lot more books in the series that I want to get. I like that they're divided into sort of small bites and have lots of good and helpful illustrations. They're probably one of the best places to start your geometry research.
Sacred Geometry:Deciphering the code is also a pretty good one to start with, it does seem to focus a lot more on number than I really care for, but it does make a pretty good introduction to the subject. I do feel that Mr Skinner, or his writing style, have a tendency towards pretentiousness but, over all it's pretty good. Geometry of Design was an interesting one to look through, though as I mentioned above, I believe I have the older version and I don't know how the two versions differ. It's been a while since I read either Sacred Geometry (Lawlor) or The Power of Limits, I got lost a bit and overwhelmed when reading both of them, I don't know if that was me and where I was at or them. I haven't made it all the way through The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry, Hambridge seems to be more about the numbers and that's daunting for me.

What I'm about

I recently finally bought two books on sacred geometry that I've wanted for years, I just started reading one of them (I started reading it years ago, then it went back to the library...) and found this quote that I really liked.

"At a more exalted level, geometry distinguishes between the domain of the sacred and the profane."

-Stephen Skinner, Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code

Be on the look out for a post on my library of sacred geometry books. Also maybe just a run down of my art books in general.

PS I don't know about anyone else, but once people start talking about numbers in regards to sacred geometry, I find myself quickly getting lost or wanting to skip. Sometimes I can figure out what it's all saying and feel proud of myself but that's not all that often. Anyway, back to reading.

Genesis

This piece is based on Abraham 4:9-10 and Genesis 1:12.

Watercolor
9x9in
2012
Genesis
Photo by Hawkinson Photography