Time Traveler

'Time management specialist' will be added to my resume after 'artist' and 'caregiver.' As a kid, I never kept track of time. I often got 'stuck'. Friends had to break my trance for me to stay current in our fast paced childhood world. I'm paying now for all that random dreaming. Glad to have the extra hour today! Never enough time is turning into a problem.

Wall assemblage tracking time at home  ©robinrkent

Viewing problems as creative challenges can be successful and usually fun. Here's my plan for rolling one solution for time and art together:
I want to create simpler art - whether assemblage sculpture (a la Marisol) or painting (Milton Avery). Being mindful of editing and simplifying might also take less time.    Bingo!

When asked recently 'how long does it take to make my art,' I described how some works can be unruly throughout. Not a linear process; many sideroads to get to the end envisioned. They thought differently recalling how they watched a family friend/artist start a huge painting and finish it the next day. Hmmm. I know artists I admire who can do that also.

I'll give it a try. Nothing to lose but some time.

Chapter 2, Fairy Tales

I've always been attracted to eastern European and Russian illustration. Must be from the connection to fairy tale illustrations, a childhood highlight. East of the Sun, West of the Moon, The Good Master, Andersen's Fairy Tales are among my favorites. And all that art originated from this locale. 

Detail from my Andersen's fairy tales cover

They were familiar but other worldly. I wanted the back story, not necessarily the fairy tale. 
When I enlarged and turned this cover illustration around, the illustrator had written:
'[Miss] Catherine Elizabeth, my darling grand daughter with love dedicate these kind and gentle fairy tales of the kind and gentle people of Denmark. Arthur Szyk N.Y. 1944' 
Interesting that 'kind and gentle' appears twice. He was born in Poland 1894, and died in Connecticut 1951, Surrounded by wars and unrest all his life, he kept painting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Szyk 

Fairy Tales and Folk Art

I'd like to do a whole theme of favorite fairy tales someday when there are no deadlines. Is that Neverland? Guess Frog Hollow's 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' show is still on my mind. (blog posts Sept. 8 and 15, 2012)

The new subject now for the Framers Market's Gallery show (November 2, '12) is 'Tweets.' Will it only be about birds?  Many ideas are flying, and I need one to land. In the meantime, I did this small painting that covers both:

'Fly By Night'   acrylic on canvas         ©robinrkent

The idea came from my memory of an Andersen's fairy tales illustration.
So convenient that my mother read while I stared at the illustrations. I looked forward to pages that displayed them.
I don't think being read to helped her goal of teaching me to read, but really helped my studio arts education.
The illustration style from those old children's books held me. They had a mystical yet ominous style I still love. Was life harder? Childhood short, and reality bleak. Maybe the candy colors of today are just illusions.

Marisol and I

Many moons ago I tagged along with a friend in the art world, and was able to show photos of my sculpture assemblage to a Gallery Director in New York City.
His comment was my work reminded him of Marisol.

Marisol Escobar's work

Marisol? I wasn't familiar with that artist. He suggested I look her up and when I did, I saw what he meant.
She immediately became my talisman. Having the same 'medium' and similar humor delights me. Since then, I've felt a connectedness to her, but at the same time, a need to declare I hadn't known her work beforehand. I had bushwacked my own way to this similar path, bumping along as I go.
Her world is multinational; multicontinental; multifamous.
Mine is small town.
But it did feel like a smaller world after finding her.

See her work by googling: Images for marisol escobar

Drawing A Blank

Sometimes a pause is good for the soul. Not actively creating art can mean the hardest work on the next piece has begun. (Or so I tell myself.) The process starts before the paintbrush. First to find a goal and mentally discern the connection. A hook that resonates within. Then, how to proceed: assemblage/sculpture or painting?

'Dog on Rug' wood/acrylic wall assemblage  ©robinrkent

Like a dog picking up a scent, once found, it's a link you are drawn to follow. With no end in sight. Entertain that thought, or spin off onto something else. You'll know when you've arrived. That's what the wait was all about.

Folk Art Diary: Twist her nose

I painted 'Literary Companions' in a 'quasi-serious style' a few years ago. It's a precursor to my current folk art style. You have to start somewhere. So this piece became an historical touchstone in my art timeline.

'Literary Companions'  Acrylic on board     ©robin r kent

My current work tends to be freer. 'Go ahead and paint a twist in her nose,' I say.
It's one reason folk art feels authentic to me. Quirks or gestures may be augmented, but still identifiable. We have seen people with these traits. Or think we have.
A collector said I shouldn't disown my previous style: an artist can have many and still be recognizable. Nice thought. I hope the sentiments displayed in whatever style translate as well.

My Folk Art Studio Tour...

...or The Shortest Commute I Know
I can paint just about anywhere. As long as I can concentrate to find my 'groove.' I've tested many areas around home and barn. Recently I've migrated to my bedroom. Figure I'll acclimate towards senior housing by setting up my easel here now. It's a north facing room with bed, bureaus, 2 windows, rocker, luxo lamps, desk, art books, paint. Some details:

A Folk Art Studio?  (It's messy, sorry Mom)     ©robinrkent

• Kitty litter boxes, sans the litter. Thought the leftover piece of linoleum from the downstairs bath would spare my wood floor, but the double bucket approach (rinse jar inside the kitty litter bucket) was foolproof. I rinse the brush in the inside water jar, then wipe on a hanging towel in one unconscious swoop.  

• The easel was a gift from Warren Kimble, our town's famous folk artist. 

• Acrylic house paint in jelly jars are easier to carry. Medicine vials hold paint for on location touch ups (on floor, right of chair)

• Sitting back or leaning forward in my rocker is automatic. 

Another nice spot to critique from is my pillow. It's about six feet away - the first thing I see in the morning is the work I did the night before. Really fresh eyes.