Betsy Duzan @ Studio 8

Stages of Completion

2010-03-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Since I wasn't sure how I was going to combine the aerial and ground level views in my new multi-canvas painting, I started with the aerial view on all 4 panels in gray scale. Then I layered the ground view over the aerial on the 2 center panels.

I decided to keep the gray values in the "sky" of the ground view and completed the rest of the 4 panels with muted colors mixed with mars black, white, venetian red, and yellow ochre.

Hanging System

2010-02-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

Creating a modular grouping of canvases required a more secure hanging system than the wire that I usually attach to the back of my paintings. One of my classmates from my AIB critique group, Jeff, suggested a "french cleat" system". With the help of my neighbor and his table saw, as well as my husband's coaching on using his power tools, I have installed the hanging system at home to make sure it works before I start painting.

Ready to paint

2010-01-20T11:40:00.001-08:00

Decisions about materials and sizes are as important to me as the ideas and subject matter that I paint. I've been thinking about doing a triptyk with a square painting in the center and two narrow paintings on the sides.

My next multi-canvas piece will emphasize multiple view points by being composed of interchangeable panels that can be hung a variety of ways to show different viewpoints of the suburban landscape.

My thoughts about painting a triptych have evolved into painting a 4 panel piece, that will be composed of 2 images, each on 2 panels. The panels will be hung so that the center painting will consist of 2 panels together, with the other image divided and hung on each side. Instead of a square painting in the middle, the dimensions of each panel are 48x20, with the center painting of 2 panels being 48x40. This multi-paneled piece can also be changed to alternate images.

The flexibility allowed by stretching my own canvases has enabled me to choose the exact dimensions I want to paint and to design the hanging system as part of preparing the canvas. As I have already invested time and energy in these surfaces that same attention to detail will continue as I apply the paint.

ICA Boston

2010-01-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

Saw some interesting work today at the ICA Boston. Noriko Furunishi combines and collages her landscape photos to create surrealistic expansive landscapes.

http://www.artsmia.org/new-pictures/current.html

My approach is similar to this in that I am also using landscape photos and collage-like process to create new images. Unlike Furunishi, I paint the images after combining them.

This leads to the question my mentor has taught me to ask: what can paint add to the image?

Why not just enlarge these combined photos and simplify my process?

In the process of painting the image is transformed into something I have visualized. My interpretation of the idea becomes more evident as I work with the image and the concepts I am seeking to make visible. As I leave out the unnecessary and add in the parts that are missing, I make the painting more specific to my ideas, and less about the location in which the photographs were taken. The marks that I make with paint contain my thoughts in a liquid form. I can work with the extremes of light to dark and transparent to opaque. The application of paint can reveal not only the motion of the painter's hand, but also the attitude with which he or she has approached the painting. The intensity or carelessness of the artist's handling of the paint becomes another form of communication. It can also serve to emphasize the ideas behind the painting, which in my case, are the transformation of the land and the multiple viewpoints from which the landscape can be viewed. Can the new beauty of the urban landscape compete with the picturesque rural landscape? Maybe they are both present depending on your point of view.

Last Homestead in process

2009-12-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

My recent paintings are part of a series called Last Homestead. The title refers the home that remains in the center of construction along the bike path. Each painting shows either the house itself or the area around it from both aerial and ground level views. I am exploring ways to show the inevitable change that is now a significant part of our American lifestyle. There is tension between the disappearance of the familiar and the emergence of newer and better opportunities.

Three of these paintings are still in the final stages of the underpainting in which I used a limited palette of black, white, yellow ochre, and burnt sienna. While experimenting with oil glazes on the 20x20 I learned that I need to tone down my transparent oil colors to get the effect that I am looking for. That painting has since been re-painted with the limited palette.

Creation of the new vs Creation of the True

2009-11-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

Found this short essay about Truth in Painting.

Painting in Process

2009-10-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Encouraged to work larger, I am painting a 60 x 40" aerial view entitled Beyond the Bikepath.
I painted the monochromatic underpainting with acrylics. Now that I have blocked in the colors I think that the freshness of the underpainting is more successful than the colored version. I'm going to experiement with a limited palette and perhaps change the colors again once I have done these experiments.

Disjunctive Space Workshop

2009-10-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

I took a 2 day work shop with Melanie Authier this weekend. We discussed different types of space, and the effect of combining different or contrasting spaces in one painting. Our approach to the painting was through creating a collage with photographs and paper.

I asked Melanie about "contemporary landscape". She encouraged me to look at Dil Hildebrand whose paintings reflect his background in set design. She commented that contemporary landscape now often includes the influence of the urban environment.

Other artists she recommended are: Gary Evans, noting his process, which involves making sketches from his car and Monica Tap whose recent work involves the use of technology. Monica's series "One Second Hudson "depicts blurred images painted from a "quick time" video.

Multi panel paintings

2009-09-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

I have been looking at multi panel paintings and have found that this format is popular with abstract artists who break one image into vertical bands, each segment painted on a separate panel.

The work of Trine Bumiller is also one continuous design, but her panels are different sizes, so the view of the image is determined by the arrangement of smaller canvases that together make one large composition. Her subject matter is often plants or trees. Don Eddy's work is in rectangles and squares, or alter-like pieces with a round edge at the top--sometimes arranged in vertical rows, and other times in pairs with a large vertical rectangle over a smaller vertical rectangle. His images are related by color or theme, but do not carry over into adjacent panels.

Bonnie Steinsnyder works in diptychs and triptychs as well as multi-paneled pieces, all of urban themes. Like Eddy, these each contain different but related images. Karen Kitchell often works in a series of 5 or more--often square panels all on the same horizontal plane. Her subject matter is plants or animal life that is not traditionally noticed or appreciated. Luis Gordillo's multi-paneled consists of vertical panels with related but not continuing design.

I plan to do a multi-panel piece that is related but not a continuing design. I am thinking about doing a triptych, but would like to keep the format flexible so that the panels could be hung in a row as one large rectangle, or in a balanced but non-symmetrical order.

Contemporary Painter

2009-09-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

In looking at contemporary landscape painters, Sandy Litchfield exemplifies an artist who seems to enjoy nature as subject, but has developed a contemporary format for her work. Litchfield works on canvas, paper, and on the walls of galleries! Her work is very organic and includes painted collage-like areas of color and parts of images. The gallery website from her 2006 show describes her work as "map-like abstract paintings". I have thought of combining aerial and ground views, so I enjoy looking at how Sandy Litchfield solves this design problem. In describing her as contemporary, this article includes the following qualities: precise editing, a crisp approach to surface, broad array of technique, fresh, and suggestive.

Aerial Landscapes

2009-08-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

My ideas about nature have been strongly influenced by spending time in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Hiking, horseback riding, and sking in the vastness of open land with no visible manmade structures surrounded by 14,000 foot mountains has given me an appreciation for the beauty and power of the natural world. It is common to see deer and other wildlife in these places.

Near my home, the urban environment offers designated open space to preserve trees and small animal life. There are concrete bike paths to access the river, and many people walk, jog, rollerblade, and cycle along these paths. I accept urban parks as a convenient substitute for the more authentic experiences of nature in the "high country" especially since I can still see the tall mountain peaks in the distance.

Reynolds Landing I and II reveals the attempts that have been made to make "nature" available to everyone by creating a park along the riverbank. On the other side of the river is a golf course--another man-made park. These areas allow us to feel that we are in nature, yet the concrete paths and proximity to major streets are indicators of a controlled urban environment.

Viewing these places from the air has increased my awareness of the artificiality of these environments. In Platte River Pathways I have intensified and enhanced the colors to emphasize the unnatural attempts to immitate nature in small areas sandwiched between the streets and the river. At the same time, there is evidence of the river's influence on the urban environment in that the paths, streets, and structures have been built around it.

What is a Contemporary Art Museum?

2009-07-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Looking at the purpose of contemporary art museums seems to help further define the word contemporary. These museums seem to imply that their definition of contemporary is the recent past--this past year vs the past 3 decades. This is a description of the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston:
"The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is an idea and a place shaped by the present moment. The Museum exemplifies the dynamic relationship between contemporary art and contemporary society through its exhibitions, public and educational programs, and publications. The CAMH provides the physical and intellectual framework essential to the presentation, interpretation, and advancement of contemporary art; it is a vibrant forum for artists and all audiences, and for critical, scholarly, and public discourse.
The Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis has a similar goal:
"As St. Louis’s forum for interpreting culture through contemporary visual art, we connect our visitors to the dynamic art and ideas of our times. As a gathering place for experiencing contemporary art and culture, we push the boundaries of innovation, creativity and expression."

What is Contemporary Art?

2009-07-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Contemporary art has been defined as "the art of our time". But who are WE and what is OUR TIME? One writer from About.com describes it as art since 1970. This description also includes the observation that contemporary art seems to be more "socially concious"and connected to issues such as feminism, globalization, or multiculturalism than art of previous generations.

What IS "Contemporary" landscape painting?

2009-07-01T09:59:00.001-07:00

I've been looking at landscape shows hosted by art galleries within the past 5 years. Although many people like to use the word "contemporary" to describe their work, I have seen that there are varied opinions about what defines the contemporary landscape. Last fall, the Christinerose Gallery in Chelsea hosted a show entitled, From Above and Beyond: New Perspectives in Contemporary Landscape.

Painting and Photography

2009-06-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

One possibility for my research this semester is the relationship between painting and photography. In an 2002 article from Frieze Magazine, the writer explains how artist Robert Bordo explores this idea in his work. In 2005 he had an exhibit at Alexander and Bonin in NYC.
The New York Times reviewed an earlier show at the same location. Another more recent 2008 piece from the New York Art Beat describes how Bordo's work "hovers between abstraction and landscape". This article from the Dec. 2004 Art Bulliton (from Jstore aerial photography as subject) includes valuable information about the history of photography related to painting.

More ideas-nature as a reference

2009-05-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have been exploring ways to integrate my interests in tree reflections, the relationship between man and nature, and the open space that has been preserved in my urban environment.
I am still trying to understand the meaning of the falling figures. Since I have been thinking about how to do more intuitive work, I started tearing old watercolor paintings and these are the images that resulted from that experiment. They could be a way of discussing the ideas of freedom from the urban lifestyle that often requires accumulation of stuff and in many cases leads to discontentment and stress. By letting go of the intense desire for material wealth people can be set free to appreciate the privileges of life in a free country.
Meanwhile I have continued to work on the tree reflections, this time with acrylic paint to eliminate the problem of the slow drying time of the oils. Although this practical choice has resulted in more paintings faster, I think the overall quality of the image is still better achieved with oil paint.
I literally gained new perspective on the landscape around my home by painting from photos I found on google earth, and others which I took from the air.
My mentor has encouraged me to use nature as a reference rather than a subject. This new work does refer to nature, but hopefully gives the viewer clues that there are ideas behind this work beyond literal representation.
I don't know where these explorations are taking me, but I have met my goals for this semester by going beyond the typical landscape painting. My last body of work now in progress involves using these images in a different method of mark-making -- monotype printing.

New Studio Work in process

2009-03-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have started several different types of work:
1. Working with the idea of "escape" I have created figures out of a paper mache medium called clay crete. These are about 8" high.
2. I have also incorporated the escaping figure in 2 dimensional mixed media works with pastel over mono-type
3 Painting on gessoed paper: "Reaching" (40 x 32) and "Spring Fantasy" (18 x 24) depict reflections in water with the first layer dripped and poured on top of wet underpainting. Subsequent layers were added using liquin and transparent oil colors. These works incorporate the aspects of landscape that are most important to me--trees, sky, and water--in new ways
4. Urban Journey I (8x10) and Pedestrian Bridge I (18 x 24 ) are some new images that I am working with to explore the contrasts between the urban life and the unpopulated landscape, and transition from opposites such as darkness to light or ignorance to knowledge

Interview with Karen Gunderson

2009-03-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Karen Gunderson answers some important questions that relate to my research.

Visual Literacy

2009-03-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

I came across this essay on An Artists Perspective on Visual Literacy by April Gornick as I was researching the "New Old Masters". She presented this information to the New York State Art Teachers Assosciation in 2004.

Colorado Abstraction

2009-02-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

Attended a panel discussion on the new book, Colorado Abstraction, at the Center for Visual Arts in Denver. Interesting to hear that Colorado has an extensive history of abstract painting.
The contemporary artists in the book are showing at the CVA and Robishon galleries, and the historical artists' work is currently in an exhibition at the Vance Kirkland Museum. One of the co-authors commented that she has observed that the openness of the Colorado landscape has inspired artists to go beyond the boundries of their representational painting. The vastness of the sky and land inspired artist,... to seek the perspective of the landscape from a parachute as he jumps from an airplane! Lorey Hobbs, my mentor, is also inspired by nature.

Figurative Work

2009-02-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

After another round of critiques at the January residency, I have been caught between moving on to new subject matter and defending my choice of landscape. I've been thinking about other subjects that address either the same themes as landscape painting, or opposing themes...I have realized that my attraction to landscape painting is to escape certain aspects of urban life. Does our society have an awareness of how the external influences of modern life have on the health of our interior? Constant negative media coverage of every event in the world, and the barrage of advertising lead to pervasive feelings of fear and discontentment. I believe that exposure to this chaos has a negative influence on the mind and soul. As a result, many Americans though living in a free country, are imprisoned by either anxiety or apathy. They have become disconnected from the natural world and have lost respect and appreciation for the mysteries that surround us. My next body of work will focus on oil paintings, monoprints and collage of figurative studies that depict the desire to escape, the searching for contentment, and the fearfulness that seems to dominate our culture. At the same time, I will be using pastels to paint very optimistic colorful images of the sky that provide a stark contrast to the figurative studies.

Artists who Paint Water

2008-12-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

As I have been exploring ways of painting water, I have come across quite a few artists who have made water a central theme in their work. Laura Sanders, who was featured on the cover of New American Paintings # 77 has done a series of "Heads Above Water" as well as figures and animals in water. Jay Moore, a Colorado plein air painter is featured this month in an exhibition entitled "Water" at Saks Gallery in Denver. Gail Chase-Bien's show, Reflections, was at the Calvin Charles Gallery in Scottsdale in 2005. One of the most influencial artist on my work this semester is Forest Moses. I looked at his work at the beginning of the semester, and didn't realize how much I had incorporated his themes and abstraction of the landscape...until I completed my most recent painting.

November Notes

2008-12-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

One of my major tasks this month was getting ready for an open studio event at Arts on Seventh, my studio building. I attempted to transform my studio from a cluttered work space into a gallery! (I even installed some cheap track lights.) Although this took hours away from my painting time, it was a much needed break that allowed me to reflect on what I have accompished since June. It helped me recognize that the most resolved work from this semester, are my plein air paintings. In the past, the plein air work was experimental, and now these are some what in my comfort zone compared to the other processes I'm using! My experimental work--the memory paintings, and my work using the new techniques of layering and glazing are not ready for public viewing, although the most successful ones are posted here on my blog. I am currently working on 2 water paintings that have many revisions and layers of glazes and and a plein air painting in which I am glazing over the water areas and adding opaque layers over the grass and trees.

October Observations

2008-10-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

October has been a month of continued research, experimentation, and possibly, a new direction for my painting. I've continued to practice the techniques of transparent oil painting using glazed layers for glowing and reflective color. New kinds of brushes and painting tools have also expanded the possiblities in my painting process. My experimental work has consisted of memory paintings, created from outdoor places that I have been. I am integrating the transparent techniques and using mediums that allow the oil paint to drip down to the bottom edge of the painting. I have noticed that most of my memories include trees and water, and little or no sky. I have also used my memory paintings as subjects for new paintings by looking for places that resemble these memories and taking photos to use for future work. The idea of painting water and reflections of trees in water has come from my experimental work. With the help of photo references I plan to create new designs that integrate transparency, dripping paint, and reflections of trees in water.

Art in Nappa Valley

2008-10-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

We took a quick trip to Nappa Valley, CA last weekend. In between gourmet dinners and vineyard tours, I managed to enjoy the art there as well. The Christopher Hill Gallery in St. Helena is showing some very mesmorizing monotoned paintings by an artist named Jeremy Mann. Christopher has sold 27 of these paintings since June, and noted that this work appeals to American, Canadian, and European collectors. He explained that this volume of sold paintings to an international audience predicts a very promising future for this artist. Norman Foster was another artist whose work caught my eye. He paints landscape and abstract subjects.

The other show I discovered was at The Gallery at Cliff Lede Vineyard called "...on Beauty". A definition of "Beauty" written by each artist was posted next to their work. The variety and quality of work in this show, which included sculpture, photography, and painting, was a great reminder that there are many successful artists whose goal is to produce objects of beauty.One artist from this show that I'm learning more about is Gail Chase-Bien I discovered that her "Refections" paintings are the type of painting I have been planning to do for my new work!

19th Century American Landscape Painting

2008-09-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

In my research on messages in American Landscape painting, I came across this article, entitled "Images and Anxieties" . The author connects paintings and the cultural changes that took place in 19th Century America.

September Summary

2008-09-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

I have continued to create landscapes from memory, small plein air studies, as well as paintings from photos. I was surprised to discover that after carefully constructing a miniature landscape still life to paint, I had completely lost interest in the project as subject matter! It became just like the fruit and the goblet that I am using to learn transparent painting techniques: okay to practice with but not an inspiring subject to me. The miniature landscape is missing the elements of variety and color which are so plentiful in the natural landscape. Meanwhile, I began experimenting with glazing areas of my landscape paintings and have found several possibilities for incorporating these new techniques. My previous highly textured landscapes were created with palette knife. I'm going to use the palette knife work for the rocks and plants, and the layered transparent techniques for water. The sky is still present in these new paintings, but only as reflection in the water. I have also noticed that most of my paintings include water in some way. The next set of paintings I am working on are focused on water as the subject.

Influences on my new work

2008-09-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

I've looked at many landscapes over the past 3 months, and just realized that my memory paintings have some resemblance to a painting entitled "Sapling Forest, Cherry Pum Blossom" by Australian artist Clifton Pugh. This work was marked as one of my favorites from the book, 100 Paintings You Must See Before You Die and is one of the few 20th century paintings in the book that represent nature as a subject. I also found an interesting video clip in which Pugh describes his approach to plein air painting.

August Update

2008-08-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

After thinking, re-thinking, and over-thinking critical theory readings, I was able to summarize my thoughts to describes criteria for my new work in my Critical Theory I Summary. I began reading Landscape and Memory as well as Landscape and Western Art by Malcolm Andrews. Andrews delves into the "concerns" about landscape painting which I was introduced to during the June residency. Mentor, Jane Jones, has the experience to teach me transparent painting techniques. My entry was accepted into a show that opens next month at the Art Students' League of Denver, "Art on the River". I have taken on the challenge of not using photo references for some of my work. At first this felt like loosing an arm or trying to communicate in a foreign country...but it's the best way I know to "push myself" toward new possibilities! These are the types of work I will focus on this semester:
1. Plein air painting incorporating new points of view, new paint colors, and opaque palette knife techniques on small canvases
2. Experimental work based on landscape memories, using oils and graphite on gessoed water color paper. These are abstracted, blurry, vague images with memory as the only reference.
3. Layered oil paintings using photo references of places close to my home incorporating new paint colors and transparent techniques on larger canvases.
4. Miniature landscape still life painting created with a variety of the above techniques

Landscape Shows at the Wendt Gallery and Gallery 1261

2008-08-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a current landscape show at the Wendt Gallery that includes Denver artist
Kevin Weckbach. Kevin has taught at the Art Students League of Denver, and now teaches a weekly advanced painting class independant of the league. He exhibits work at Gallery 1261 in Denver which is also having a landscape show right now.

July Journey 08

2008-07-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have come a long way since the AIB Residency in June: I have reviewed my notes and voice recorded critique sessions to complete my first residency summary. This also involved exploring google and amazon.com for the suggeted artists and book titles to refine those lists. My work space at home is organized for research and painting to supplement my downtown studio. My blog is set up for communication and for easy access to links of artists I have been looking at and other documents. I have started 3 paintings with a new color palette, and I have read Edmund Burke's book on the sublime and the beautiful. I am ready to dive into the work of my first semester!

The Contemporary Landscape

2008-07-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

I came across this exhibition notice from Art News summer 2007. The show was at the Forum Gallery in New York June-August 2007. It included the following artists:
Robert Bauer, William Beckman, Stephen Brown, James Butler, Davis Cone, Linden Frederick, Gregory Gillespie, Peter Krausz, Holly Lane, David Levine, Craig mcPherson, Brian Rutenberg, Bernardo Siciliano, and Tula Telfair.

One of these artists, Bernardo Siciliano, recieved an unflattering review when his work was included in another show at the Forum Gallery, Urban Views.

In an interview by Nick Smith, artist Brian Rutenberg describes his views on the importance of abstract painting. Rutenberg's abstract landcape paintings were in a show at the Forum Gallery in 2005 entitled, Carolina.

In February 2007 The Forum Gallery in LA hosted a landscape show entitled Modern and Contemporary Landscape.

New Directions

2008-07-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

My first semester at AIB is about exploring new ways of working, selecting new subject matter, and synthesizing new information. I plan to continue my study of landscape painting while investigating contemporary themes.

My first set of paintings will focus on new ways of working: I will incorporate a few new colors, and use oils transparently instead of opaquely. My subject matter will be the same, although I am zooming in on a slightly smaller area of the landscape. As with the other paintings in my seasons series, I am using enhanced digital photos as references. I have altered the lighting and color in these photos to emphasize the design of the composition rather than the color. The intensity of the colors in my previous work seemed to take away from the themes of silence and contemplation that I was trying to convey. I hope to engage the viewer in the abstract qualities of the design.