But is it Art??

"Piled High"
24 x 20, Oil on Canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2014

I have greatly enjoyed working on my "Laundry Series" of paintings. I thought of this humble subject recently, when I read the following quote from Alain de Botton's new book, The News:

"This...is what artists do; 

They notice stuff;

The small and unobtrusive stuff that other people--

ploughmen and shepherds, you and me, and journalists in a hurry--

miss

and yet that is essential to halting our usual indifference

and callousness."

Open House Invitation

Would love to see you at my Studio for the Open House on May 2!

Spring Open House at Dilworth Artisan Station, May 2 View this email in your browser

Zinnias by Alla Ostrovsky Dilworth Artisan Station Spring Open House Friday, May 2, 6-9 p.m. What: 25 artists and other businesses open their studios. See original art, enjoy wine, music and more. Where: Dilworth Artisan Station, 118 E. Kingston Ave. in Southend. Map Parking: Lot beside the building, spaces on street and in overflow parking deck behind Carrabba's restaurant. Or use LYNX East/West Station. Make a night of it! Our Open House is part of the SouthEnd Gallery Crawl. With one stop you can visit many art venues, restaurants, night spots and the popular Food Truck Friday event on Camden Road. These studios and businesses will be open: (Click on name for Web site) Ada Shapiro - Alla Ostrovsky - Anne Neilson Fine Art - Caroline Hall Crossland Studio - Hodges Taylor Art Consultancy - Janet Lasher - Jeff Cravotta Jim Shannonhouse - Juliann Bannon - Kim Gibbs - Leonor Demori - Lesley Powell  Lita Gatlin - Miriam Durkin - Murray Parker - Pamela Freeman  Pamela Winegard - Paul Hastings - Sandvi Studio - Sharon Hockfield Terri Otten - Terry Thirion - Tony Griffin - Wingspan Performance

Lesley Powell Terry Thirion Pamela Winegard (Detail)

Copyright © 2014, All rights reserved.

Happy Easter!

"Thumper"
12, x 12, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell, 2013

Wishing you a very joyous Easter!

Laundry Series

"Ready to Fold"
18 x 18, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2014
SOLD

If you have been following this blog for very long, you may have noticed that I have a fascination with fabrics and how they drape and fall. It started with my Garments Series, and played out further with my Chair Series. Finally I decided to take the plunge and devote myself to a series focused purely on fabric drapery. I remembered a series of black and white photos I did years ago on a laundry basket motif, and became eager to revisit that theme.

"Yellow Sheets"
12 x 16, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2014 

I have loved this series and the challenges it provides. Nicolaides wrote in The Natural Way to Draw about a helpful hint in drawing drapery, He said it helps to see the three dimensionality of the fabric if you imagine a little insect---maybe a ladybug--crawling across it, and see that the bug will disappear completely at times beneath the folds. Great imagery!

"Laundry Day"
12 x 16, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2014
SOLD

I am not finished exploring this theme, so keep your eyes open for more to come. Meanwhile, you can check out details on these paintings here.

The Jullian Easel

High season for outdoor painting is upon us, so it seems appropriate to write about the most important piece of equipment for a plein air painter--the portable easel. I think it is a highly personal choice. Sort of like a wallet--everybody has their own favorite way of arranging credit cards and cash and coins--and once you find the perfect wallet configuration that works for you, it's hard to change.

Eugene Boudin

When painters first began working outdoors, they carried a paint box. This was a simple wooden box, which held tubes of paint and other materials, and which sat on the ground. The painter also carried a separate folding easel, which held the canvas. As you can imagine, there was lots of leaning over, back strain and inconvenience in this set up. (Or you could paint sitting down, which is also not very desirable). Plus it meant carrying a bunch of separate items into the field. 

Then came Roger Jullian to the rescue. Jullian was a French prisoner of war during World War II. While in captivity, he set his mind to designing the perfect outdoor outfit. His creation combined the paint box and the easel into one contraption. Voila! Easy to transport, and no more leaning over to the ground to get paint. The canvas rests on the easel ledge, and the paints and brushes go in the flat boxy part.

I love the fact that Jullian dreamt this up from a prison cell--imagine the hope and desire he must have felt as he worked out the perfect outdoor painting arrangement from his confinement. Jullian returned to France after the War ended, and formed the Jullian Company, to produce his newly designed easel. It is sill produced today, and is my easel of choice. It comes with hooks for a shoulder strap, and so I can carry it as you see below.  Very low tech, to be sure, but it has stood the test of time!

Here are a few shots of my trust Jullian easel out in the field with me. Looking forward to more ventures together!

Reducing Glass

Photo: Ewan McClure

I have written previously about about some favorite "friends" in the studio--tools that help me evaluate my paintings in process. The mirror and the camera, in particular, have proven to be trustworthy critics. They both help me see my paintings with fresh eyes.

Photo: Art Apprentice Online

Here is another tool along the same lines: a reducing glass. I have to confess, I have never used one, but the notion seems sound, and I am fascinated by the concept. I would imagine that seeing a painting through a reducing glass would be a lot like seeing an image of it on the small screen of a digital camera. Something about viewing the whole painting reduced in size to just an inch or two wide is quite eye-opening. In fact, many times I have photographed what I thought was a finished painting--but when I looked at the image on my camera screen, some obvious error came screaming out at me. Back to the old drawing board!

Photo: Art Apprentice Online

A reducing glass also allows you to see the painting as if you had stepped back from it. All painters know that you have to step back from your canvas over and over again as you paint, in order to see the painting as a whole. With a reducing glass, you can save yourself a few steps. Or so the theory goes.

I would love to hear from any of you readers who have used a reducing glass. Worth it? Or better to take a pass?