Connecting Water and Heaven - Tree Post V

The Infinity Tree, the tree bridge, merges water and sky through the realms of Ether.

Or so many origin myths allude.

This tree is the vision. We have the final drawing stage for this iteration, precursor to the painting, and a part of the Tree Bridge series.

I'm showing the final drawing, but also, I have some more conceptual roughs to shed some light on. These additional process sketches came out of the process for the painting, now beginning its fresh life on the studio board.

From the last tree post, IV, here's the rest of the development in rendering the drawing out:

"The Infinity Tree"

Final drawing with graphite and graphite wash on hot press, 10x15".

I do not have this framed yet, as the final drawing frame is a special project in itself. I'm building it out of not-so-standard materials for a unique finish. More for that along with the painting development!

I still need to make full size scans, as well.

Pre-Orders for art prints of the drawing are available now.

Contact me directly for interest here

But then there are those conceptual roughs that I peppered throughout the process of this drawing development.

To shake the creative process up a bit, and keep the blood oxygenated nicely along the way, these were done in mixed media on drawing paper, with the tempting gold leaf touch.

Here are some process and detail samples:

Notice, these concept roughs are all not only mixed media, but an abstraction of representational tree form, designed and gestural, each at approximately 5x7".

There will be more on the development in future application of these rough trees.

On to the Infinity Tree painting, for this project!

-Mairin-Taj

"Currently In Show" - "Little Saint" at the Sunshine Gallery Community Exhibition!

I have been so absorbed in producing latest works and process development, as well as attending these shows and other friends shows, that I've been forgetting to post about them!

Well, I participate in an annual community exhibition for the city of Lancaster held at the Sunshine Gallery, where 10x10" cradled wood boards are provided for each participating artist to do...something...with.

It was a fun challenge for me, as I've never worked on cradled wood before.

I've been developing thoughts, sketches, studies, and concepts for this recent immersion into the mythology and cultural history of trees, and I wanted to continue working with the subject for the show.

So I put this little chappie out there - A little "saint":

"Little Saint" - Mixed Media on Cradled Wood, 2016

Some look at the process of exploration playing this concept into a cohesive finished work:

Gold-leafing is the next step, followed by more layers of matte medium:

"Little Saint" is now available for purchase

-Mairin-Taj

"Currently In Show" - 'We're In This Together: the Work Behind the Work'

Exhibition Promotional, Sunshine Art+Design Gallery, Lancaster, PA

Just opened April 1st, for the duration of the month, is an invitational show guest curated by my friend and colleague Matt Allyn Chapman entitled "We're In This Together: The Work Behind the Work", featuring thirteen artists from Lancaster and Philadelphia, PA, demonstrating side by side their original final art (for sale) and their behind-the-scenes material (NFS), whatever they choose.

The exhibit is held at the beautiful Sunshine Art+Design Gallery on King Street, downtown Lancaster.

View gallery hours and location info HERE


My little contribution is the custom framed "In Her Hands", and my worn drawing/painting board with the process tape, notes, and scrubby bits of paint still on it from creation process:

"In Her Hands", custom framed, for sale, April 2016

Opening night fun, on my birthday!

Opening Reception, Sunshine Art+Design Gallery, April 1st, 2016

See how "In Her Hands" was made, with more information, HERE


Stop by and see the show until April 30th!

-Mairin-Taj

"In Her Hands" - Creating a Second for a Pair

First came "In His Hands", for an Orchid themed juried exhibition.

View and review the award-winning "In His Hands" process post HERE

See the exhibition show and award for "In His Hands" HERE

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Now I've done the partner to complete the pair!

With the twin find of a frame, 2016

"In Her Hands" is themed similarly within general Greek mythology, same size, with a asymmetrical twin frame (that I got months ago, just for this), and composed of the same conceptual features, the hands and a botanical element.

This piece references the pomegranate as a common icon in European and Middle Eastern mythologies, particularly as the fruit Demeter is represented by, whose daughter Persephone is taken to the Underworld and made to be the wife of Hades, thus giving the world the seasons... I won't go all into explaining that myth, it's very well known. Look it up if you are unfamiliar!

I wanted a flower or fruit that would well suit the female version of this little duo project, as the upright orchid and the myth of Orchis was rather phallic in theme. I wanted to match the mild and delicate sexual reference in the first one, as a potential addition viewers are welcome to explore through the lines, or not.

The pomegranate is a wonderful fruit with clear physical cross-over to the artful aesthetic of the female sexual organs, and held, cradled, or gently caressed within the woman's hands in the painting, the overall shape formed looks almost like the uterus.

Either way, here is some of my process in creating this second concept to reference and pair well with the first:

The goal was to balance "In Her Hands" standing as it's own creation and as a comparable piece to "In His Hands" in composition and approach to execution.

I started as always.
(View the similar scroll-down style process for "In His Hands" HERE)

Add caption

Roughing in the drawing of the hands over the wash

Finding the line variation and value notes for the hands 

More of the same...

Underpainting stage

....to painting

More painting and final touches....

I'm fond of this photographed detail:

Detail crop of the process towards the end here

And then jump at last to a photograph of the finish, after the final touches, signature, and varnish:

"In Her Hands", 5x7", Mixed Media, March 2016

I have to say I just greatly enjoy and find pleasure in drawing and painting hands. Working with my own strong hands to create new hands is a playful, simultaneously reverent experience. But that's just me.

Nature is an integral facet of my work, and more so as I evolve into the my process. I consider this work a success, the journey as much if not more so than the current, 'final' result.

Coming Exhibition:

"In Her Hands" is officially my contribution to an invitational show featuring work and their behind-the-scenes work of thirteen Pennsylvania artists based in Lancaster and Philadelphia, curated by my friend and colleague Matt Allyn Chapman. The show opens April 1st (my birthday!) and is held at the beautiful Sunshine Art+Design Gallery in downtown Lancaster, for the duration of the month.

"The Exhibition gives us a chance to see the surfaces, objects, and tools in which the artist uses to create their work, paired with the work it’s self. To an artist, their palette, drawing board, pair of paint stained shoes or their studio apron is just as important and personal as the work created from it. Showing these objects next to the artists completed work provides a deeper understanding of their studio practice and opens a dialogue about where the process ends and the art begins.

Guest Curator Matt Allyn Chapman studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia (MFA) as well as Lancaster’s Pennsylvania College of Art & Design (BFA). He has exhibited at: The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Gallery, Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building at PAFA, Philadelphia PA. Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia PA, Rothus Halle, Solothurn, Switzerland. The Ware Center for Visual and Performing Arts at Millersville University, Lancaster PA. Sunshine Art + Design, Lancaster PA."

Showing artists:
Emily Adleblute
Alicia Byler
Mairin-Taj Caya
Nicole Duquette
Travis Grant
Annie Keregyarto
Evan Kitson
Seth Madden
Kate McCammon
Jordan Morgan
Chris Otto
Justin Phillips
Hattie Sloane

Join us for ‪#‎LancasterArtWalk‬! And congratulations to all exhibitors!

-Mairin-Taj Caya

"What's Inspiring Now" - Contemporary Figurative Artists

Figurative art is indeed on the rise within popular appeal, yet again, and with a bit of a reboot in creative drive.

Here's not too short (nor too long) a list of contemporary artists that I have been looking at lately, inspiring fresh verve on new art projects and coming future creative investments.

Zin Lim's drawings are an expressive, gestural draw for me, pun intended:

saatchiart.com/Zinlim

Instagram

Figure#D04 - by Zin Lim

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Vanessa Lemen, enough said:

vanessalemenart.blogspot.com

Instagram

'Lady of Mermaid Inn' - by Vanessa Lemen - 2016

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Tyler Vouros:

tylervouros.com

Instagram

'Athena Owl' - by Tyler Vouros, 2015

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Stanka Kordic's artwork visits from between worlds:

stankakordic.com

Instagram

'Leila and the Wren' - by Stanka Kordic - 2016

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I've always loved graphite - I would say it is still as yet my favorite choice medium to work with - and I have discovered Mandy Tsung feels the same - On Instagram, of course.

Here's some Mandy Tsung for you:

mandytsung.tumblr.com

Instagram

"Feral Love" - Mandy Tsung - 2015

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João Ruas:

joaoruas.com

Instagram 

'Godiva' - by Joao Ruas, 2013

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Johan Barrios:

johanbarrios.com

Instagram

'Lo Efimero' - by Johan Barrios

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Frank Top:

franktopart.com

Instagram

'Bird Watcher' - by Frank Top, 2015

I'll close this inspiration-themed post with a quote I've found through more art means, about the practice of art in lifestyle:

"To capture through art a fragment of our collective experience. To discover deep meaning and deep thought, the joy of creative expression. We move through life with grace, ethics and spirituality, and relearn daily through our art to cherish humanity and our natural world."
—Valerie Kent

Happy creating!

-Mairin-Taj

Building Up "The Safe Place" - Painting Process from Roots to Rendering

Sometimes the term 'build' is incredibly apt in describing the process through which a concept and all its integral, multifaceted parts, come together into a cohesive image.

As artists, we might more often tend to use words like "develop" or "compose" a concept, a composition, and these terms are accurate, certainly. But this painting, as well as a lot of other recent works I've been working on, have been "built" more than anything, and a large part of that has to do with the finer points in the way they were constructed, from start to finish.

This piece, "The Safe Place", was quite directly built out of the 11x14" space which it is placed in on the 400 lb. hot press Arches watercolor paper.

I designed my domain to work in, I roughly knocked out a thumbnail for guidance, I arranged my reference material, and I built this tree from the ground up, in one week, start to finish.

Here's the process, with some breakdown description, from that start to finish week:

This is what the start of any idea looks like on paper, for me. Loose and fast; shapes in value within a frame.

If you follow any of my social media posts for process, or have seen my blog before, you'll recognize this as my typical rough sketch and/or thumbnail approach.

And the following is the immediate result of choking back on the soft graphite pencil, letting the relaxed, dancerly strokes find my vision through rhythm, internal contour, and layered structure. Building it up into a state where I can go back in and start better defining the constructed forms with committed, articulate line weight variation and swatches of value definition:

Click the image for larger view

A close up of the woman's form to see a little more of the tonal detail I smudged in and carved out with an eraser.

I built up the tree as you see it above, more into the rest of the branches and roots, detailing shapes and lighting with rather abstract, calligraphic line work through tone and erasing of tone.

And then, once the drawing was certain, I stopped pushing it at that stage, in that medium, and switched over to watercolor washes to give me a sense of the color palette and how I wanted to paint it:

Simple reds and greens.

Building up:

Acrylics, matte medium, colored pencils...

And then lastly, the little details, before a final coal of matte medium, and spray UV varnish coats...Some serious drying and handling time...

Click the image for larger view

Click the image for larger view

Click the image for larger view

With a custom framing job from my local art store that I am quite pleased to patron. It's great when you can support small, local businesses and receive not only solid work, but a good professional rapport.

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“The Safe Place” alludes to a Native American iteration of Woman as man-kind’s bridge to Nature, how she is humanity’s opportunity to cultivate a close relationship with the Wild, and how through her, the raw self runs free. Men, with their own unique value, take heed of woman’s distinctive bond to Nature in its ever-changing force. 

This piece is an interpretation of the place, the sacred space, where she might need to go to be alone, to be unburdened, uncovered, unseen by her male counterpart, and uncaught, as well. She rests, in the safe place, in the circle, at the foot at a strong, universal icon for the natural world. There is nothing else but the tree, and her.

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* "The Safe Place" is currently showing - February 5th - 28th 2016 - with two other original works of mine as part of a group exhibition showcasing local women artists in the theme of the feminine story - girls and women's empowerment, perspectives, and beauty - #ExtremeLove for #grlsgrlsgrls at The Discerning Eye Center for the Arts - the DECA Building, Lancaster, PA.

Also, art prints of the original painting are available to order HERE

For any questions or comments, contact me directly HERE


In the meantime,
Be well in this winter,

-Mairin-Taj