| Zayed University artist residency-- day fifteen |
[Dec. 27th, 2009|02:35 pm] |
I stumbled in after a lovely, slothful Xmas weekend all pumped up on
coffee and discovered 1) my 000 brush missing ("walked off" is the euphemism),
and that I forgot to bring more 2) Liquin, 3) acrylic medium, and 4) the adapter
with which to charge the camera batteries. Plus a Zayed field trip
to the Emirates Palace to see the Guggenheim show was scheduled, which
was a great excuse to bow out of the studio early if I even needed one.
So I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out the destiny of
this two-panel painting, and did some drawing and erasing
and plotting. Here is the worst ever photoshop job of the two
panels with some notes in vine charcoal. My camera was about out
of power and I had to beg it to take even these bad photos and then I
couldn't bother to merge them correctly. Post Xmas sloth is tough.
Believe it or not I feel like I know what is to happen with this one
now, so painting it might even go smoothly from here. Or not.
I also draped fabric over a new canvas, but couldn't do any gluing without
forgotten medium so there is nothing yet to show you.
Anyway, off to the Emirates Palace. I've seen the Guggenheim show either
three or four times now. This time around I got interested in
Asger Jorn's Green Ballet.
I can't find an image online of the piece, but here are a few detail shots
that show off some of the paint.
(angled)
I got to talk about Dubuffet
with some students. Specifically, we reverse-engineered one of his superchunky
paintings done on masonite. That was fun. Geeking out on technique with art students
is fun.
Can't find the Dubuffet we looked at online either, but it was from
this same series. |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day fourteen |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|03:03 pm] |
After yesterday's Day Of Horrid Painting Pain, today was easy and brisk and
awesome, the kind of day that makes me happy to be a painter. Brain works,
hand does what eye wants on very first try, materials behaving.
Yesterday I wore glasses and today, contacts. I think there is a huge difference
in eyestrain-- while contacts are superficially irritating, there is not the
reflection/glare/struggle to see past frames that I have with my glasses.
Students came and painted with me today, I worked on an abstract/experimental
canvas showing them various layering techniques with acrylic, but conveniently
forgot to take a picture. Just kidding, I actually did forget.
It seems hard (to me) to learn to mix color
in acrylic-- the color you mix is not what you get when it dries
because the binder is white when wet. Then they dry matte and dark,
so if your painting was looking just how you actually want it when you set it aside
to dry? Better take a picture. I know how to deal with the matte
problem (gloss medium) but anybody have any ideas how to help
students mix color better? |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day thirteen |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|05:28 pm] |
I had a late start and a gruesome day painting, vexatious brushes
all thumbs and and paint that was too sticky or not sticky enough.
I stuck it out because
I could not believe how rough it was going and was sure any minute
I'd hit a patch of flow. Never happened.
But I pronounce this done for now and that
almost consoles my achy feet.
 |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day twelve |
[Dec. 22nd, 2009|07:42 pm] |
Worked mostly on the men today.
A bit on the landscape-- green.
Really pushing to wrap this one up, but it needs probably two-three more
days. I wonder if I want it done to deflect attention from the two-panel
painting with the tiger, which feels like one big unanswerable question.
I trust my process and it will make sense eventually, but it really
doesn't right now. |
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| Back from Mexico |
[Dec. 21st, 2009|12:08 pm] |
Got food poisoning on the morning of my last day from lettuce. Still have it :( can't eat, even though i'm so hungry!!!
:(
good to be home though! |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day eleven |
[Dec. 21st, 2009|02:58 pm] |
Quiet morning except for a student interview-- some were assigned to interview
me for a class, to get a sense of what kinds of factors influence artmaking.
I've been interviewed four (?) times now and talked about different things to each
student. They will compare notes and wonder if they spoke to the same
person.
One thing is trying to pin down the magical moment: when
did you become an artist? No idea what criteria should apply. In '95 I was painting
pretty much full time and showing/selling so I just say then. But there were
a lot of milestones and battles before that, and it took something
to win them.
Part of the problem is the question: because my mother is a painter,
I knew painting as something that someone does, a verb. If you are
a professional artist, you also are coping with showing and selling.
There were various moments when I got clearer
that painting and showing/selling is what I wanted to do. But I never
had a magic moment where I looked in the mirror and saw the word artist
written on my forehead in glowing gold letters or something.
Anyway. I got in this morning and got busy and I do think maybe the content is resolved
for this painting. Now I just have to paint it in and make it all get along.
Many more changes stemming from conversations with students... interactions between
the various women taking on some tone, correcting false gestures
and adding in new ones. More work on clothing, still more to do
after this layer dries.
Decided that it is simply easier to accept comments and make the changes
than to try to rationalize not making the changes. How long does it
really take to sand down and repaint? Not that long. But rationalizing
and resisting = very hard work which is incidentally totally unproductive.
(This epiphany has to do with sanding off
and repainting the arm of the woman in red-- see above-- I originally put hand
on hip to introduce some energy and variety into the grouping. But
since she is in trad dress she is probably older, and students said
older woman would not stand that way. I wrote about this yesterday
or I meant to, was tired. Once I moved her arm I had to move her feet,
and then I had to... etc.)
I really love the camera and computer for getting distance on a piece. I used
to have to set things aside to see them fresh or turn
them upside down or look at them in a mirror but photo plus monitor
works better and faster for me. It's a good thing.
( Bigger image behind cut, for me to get a better look. ) |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day ten |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|06:19 pm] |
I really do not know what is happening with this painting! The
students increasingly offer a reading of this painting + the other one as
"traditional culture meets globalization."
The other painting is falling into place and I suspect 3-4 more days on it will
have it in order... it is missing two pieces. I figured out one of the two
in conversation with a student today, who made an excellent suggestion. :)
Nothing I would have thought of in a million years, which is why it is so good
to let people into my process.
I spent today working on the jalabiya and putting in the peacocks,
which still need a few more layers. Visited two classes and had many visitors
and two interviews, so a bit short on painting time. Saw some wonderful
student work.
Shopping for holiday prezzies at the mall on the way home? Downright relaxing. :)
It's all a matter of perspective. |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day nine |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|12:46 pm] |
Yesterday I was a paragon. Of what? Insert any virtue, it probably applied.
I painted a full day at uni and facilitated an impromptu painting experience
for a slew of students complete with You Can Learn Color Mixing in 45 Seconds.
"Here's a color chart! Don't use that red to make purple, it is actually red-orange
so (points to chart) you will end up with brown! Use this red instead! OK, go to it!"
I did two editing/rewriting jobs, helped celebrate a birthday, and remembered
to make the camera go. I even brought S. his lunch from home,
which he forgot, and supervised two puppy play dates for Heathcliff.
I know this would be a quiet day for some of you. But for me? Oh my.
Personally I credit the henna as there is not usually
much steam in my engine: something about looking down and seeing
that pattern makes me think I could pick up the back end of a car
if necessary. Let's hope it does not become necessary.
Henna on day two.
Where ALL the cool kids hang out.
Various changes made.
Got coaching on shape of sleeves, and student showed me the traditional trim
at top of her jalabiya. The place to go see/purchase the trad jalabiya, shoes,
salwar and burqas is Zayed Center, so I will try to get over there soon. I think
I've walked through it before but could not see the trees for the forest
of colorful and shiny; I would not have known what to look for.
Nazars gone. I'll let them show through this much as part
of the history of the painting.
I don't know enough about how they are received here
to use them as a symbol in a painting developed in the middle of
Emirati community. The blue glass nazars are widely imported
and I thought they would be familiar and innocuous, but that was naive on my
part. No unpleasant comments, far from it, but the nazars don't read easily
or clearly for the students and I need to understand what is going on
before I use them. The nazars are foreign and that means complicated.
This is the painting sitting on my easel at home, sadly neglected for
the last two weeks. I am very in love with it but don't know if I will
get anything done this weekend. I have some presents to work on. :) |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day eight |
[Dec. 17th, 2009|04:42 pm] |
I've been shown two very old Gulf henna patterns! The one you see here, and
(you can barely see in notes) the same fingers but a dot in the palm.
A third look is simply to hold a glob of henna in the palm and let it stain.
The student who sketched the patterns for me
offered to paint my hand so voila you see the henna
in process. For final result see tomorrow's entry. It took about an hour
to dry although I didn't wait for the thickest part in the middle.
I set it with olive oil once I got home, and only
then did I get to wash my hands. The color developed overnight from
shocking red-orange to brown.
Painting around the nails is good because the henna stains pretty deep-- you
can buff/sand it off but otherwise you will probably live with it nearly until your
nails grow out. Someone said nail polish remover can lift the stain somewhat.
Those bronze cones are the henna and every grocery store seems to carry them,
well, Spinneys (British chain) might not, but Carrefour (French Walmart)
does. No list of ingredients but this product seems to be what everyone uses
if they do their own henna, which not many do I don't think, they go to henna
artists at the beauty salons. I don't know what they use, it may be the same.
I can tell you from the lovely familiar odor
that they have a good bit of petroleum spirits in them, plus heavy
perfume to cover-- it was nice and fume-y around the table
by the end, as if I'd been glazing paintings.
I drew a long time trying to place that tiger! It will look like a tiger not a puma
when it is painted, inshallah. Collaged on the clothing on the clothesline,
and hung nazars from the tree.
Oh my ladies, I have learned so much from painting you, and I have had
to repaint you so many times.
The nose-rubbing issue continues. Actually, I gave in. See the two figures
greeting each other?
A committee of four students
sorted me out that a woman would only touch noses with a much older woman in her
immediate family, a grandmother. So I needed to age the figure
on the left. (The one on the right has contemporary hair and abaya/shayla,
I wanted her to stay college-age.) They supervised while I painted her older.
So she got grey hair and a softened chinline (her cheeks will not
stay that red-- none of these skin tones are final). You can still see a
little of the grey hair. But not much, because
she still simply ~did not read as old~ to the students until I covered her
hair.
On this issue there was no discussion: if she was older her hair would be
pulled back into a low braid/bun, and then a wide
black shayla worn over, but hanging straight down not wrapped. Young women
are incredibly diverse in terms of how they handle hairstyles and shaylas,
but grandmother? She did it this way. Another student
sat there while I made the corrections to get the length and drape correct.
So I really thought I had it made, after TWO rounds of corrections since my last
entry about this painting. Then another student walked by, stopped
in her tracks, complemented me on the painting, and said "but they would
not touch noses. ONLY men do that!"
So then I threw my hands in the air and painted AIR between the noses. Now
they might be going to touch noses, they might be going to kiss cheeks.
S. told me and told me and told me this would happen-- as you learn more
eventually you start getting conflicting reports, and that is actually good.
Because family and individual practices
simply differ.
And it figures. How often have you discussed with your school friends ~exactly~ how
you greet different family members? You basically know what you've seen
in your own family and figure others are much the same unless the newspapers
are talking about it.
Nobody picked on my burqa (2nd from right) and a couple of women liked it so it must
be OK. :) But I won't get my hopes up since this is my first try.
I'm not complaining. It's been lovely even if I am amazed at
how many times I can get it not-right. The students are unfailingly polite
and kind. If I hadn't solicited participation, I don't think they would
push comments on me, and it was a request to paint traditional dress that started
me down this path. If I'm going to do it, please let me stick it out and
get it right. This is what I don't want to do.
Actually, looking just now at those Orientalist paintings of women
(I saw the show itself when it came to the UAE)...
besides Layla's exposed decolletage and how the women don't work but
just kind of stand around strangely or lounge? The next weirdest thing is the
cinched-in belted waists. That is not part of how the clothes are worn now,
I doubt it ever was. |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day seven |
[Dec. 15th, 2009|08:01 pm] |
The daily progress shots are really important with this one since I can't
get very far back unless I sit on the steps and gaze through the banister.
At this point I would not want to give up my stairwell for anything.
Having a lot of fun and able to get people engaged with the art
just by showing up and turning on a light.
Continuing to try to get these figures right meaning coherently dressed
and interacting; it's impossible given the strange setting for them
but I carry on.
The two women greeting each other have been the toughest; one
of them needed to be much older for the greeting to make sense (grandmother
or aunt). So her hair needed to be covered. The icky white skin color is just while
the alkyd dries, overnight hopefully, and will get better tomorrow.
One of the figures needs to be wearing the
traditional burka so I need to get that painted on, get feedback on if I have it right,
then I can make it all work. The Gulf burqa is like this. A student today
told me that her grandmother told her that the burqa gets bigger each year you
are married. But this is mostly grandmother lore at this point.
Student henna painting! I brought in some henna cones to see if anyone
wanted to show me some patterns they knew. She said these were Indian style
patterns, very dense and intricate-- the photo above is bigger than
the original so you can see the henna. Gulf style is more like this.
My own attempts are lamentable but I'm starting to get the gist
of controlling the pressure on the cone. If you get lost and happy in making
pretty patterns, henna painting is for you.
The henna I have seen on students since I began asking about it! It just doesn't
stop. Students don't do their own but go have it done. Yes I'm getting
tempted, supposedly for just my hands figure a couple hours including drying.
My feet, with a book to read for the wait, might go better.
Just go look here.
While I was looking at henna photos on flickrivr I came across this photo
set and fell in love. Sigh. Her house, her painted bird eggshell tree, her henna,
all of it. <3
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/henna-und-mehr/ |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day six |
[Dec. 14th, 2009|02:48 pm] |
I worked some on the other painting but I'll wait another day to take
progress shots, not really enough change to show.
Major weather blowing through, near-record rainfall yesterday
with flooding in our bedroom and studio. Both rooms have French doors
that keep out birds and mosquitoes. Dust and rain however come right
in whenever they like.
So after I painted a full day yesterday, I came home with S.
and mopped and sorted soggy things for a couple hours (mattress wet,
most alarmingly, but no electronics harmed. Heathcliff thought it was
The Best since he prefers to drink puddle water, he had two whole
rooms to choose from).
Then today I painted a lot of little details on the painting I did not show,
and didn't spare the time to adjust my setup. So the painting was always either
too high or too low. This was an amateur move and I do know better, but I can
usually get away with it if I don't go for long.
I think mopping, wringing mop and then stooping to paint
today was a bit much for my back. Irritable. Plus barometric pressure
up and down and up and down. Irritable x 5. |
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| Zayed University artist residency-- day five |
[Dec. 13th, 2009|07:19 pm] |
Many wonderful visitors today offering much help-- I could hardly paint fast
enough, one sketched some corrections on a sketchpad for me.
Notes:
Traditional pants worn with shorter jalabiya are "salwar" (same word and same cut
as best I can tell as in India + Pakistan) with silver embroidery around the
lower calf and ankle, cloth imported from India (traded for dates). Not sure
if shorter jalabiya are still called jalabiya, but they are worn short
enough for the silver embroidery on the lower leg to show. Photo I was shown
was of silver embroidery on white.
Green cloth with little pink flowers
another traditional favorite besides polka dots-- figure in green will show
this look-- also with sandals with one strap over the top of the foot and
one loop for the big toe.
Some women felt it was less devout to wear the hair piled up high over the
top of the head with a flower clip, based on a surah from the Qu'ran.
"Some girls do it, but we don't."Therefore move hair/clip to back of head.
Had noticed no students wore the very high profile but had seen it
on Emirati women when out and about. So this is one of those tiny details
easy to miss that speaks volumes.
Also, shayla is not worn so as to define the nape of the neck in
profile-- it falls down from the back of the head. Both corrections
made to nose-touching figure on right.
Nose-touching figure on left read as male to students, why? Hair was
hanging down all to one side. Men wear long hair on either side, but
all hair to one side or the other. Fix by having hair fall to both sides, done.
Nose-touching "for very close family only, very close, an aunt."
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