FigmentDC

this year was my second time participating in FigmentDC -- it was also the second time that it was offered in DC. Figment is a participatory, outdoor arts fair.

building on the "field of plates" theme from last year, this year i decided to take advantage of the wind along the Anacostia River and build a field of pinwheels. luckily, i had a lot of enthusiastic help from 5 Soundry alumni.

here are some photos from this year's event:

lots of participants:

  here's a before and after:

stand your ground

an inspiring model makes things happen.

swirl it

feeling the vortex.

oil & acrylic on canvas, 16x20.

love the twist

a great model who has not visited the Tuesday Night Group for a year or so is Tara. she always seems to do an amazing pose and often it is because of a twist she makes that puts tension in her body. here are paintings from two different session she did for us in july:

both are acrylic on canvas paper, 16x20

what to do with extra paint

i often end a painting session with excess paint on my palette. as someone who hates to waste resources, i often will smear it onto a blank canvas to use as a starting point for next time. this time, the color scheme made me think of a peaceful scene, so i made this:

it's thicker paint than i usually apply, but it was a lot of fun. it's not finished, but i will probably set it aside for a while before i am inspired to add to it.

oil on canvas board, 9x12

july 4th

i ran down to the studio on july 4th to do this:

oil on canvas board, 16x20.

multi-painting

one thing i am loving about having studio space is the ability to "multi-paint" -- work on multiple paintings in one session. with oil painting, since the drying time becomes a factor, i find that now that i have the space, i can add bits to several paintings in succession. in a recent evening, i worked on all of these paintings (plus one more that i started after snapping this photo):

it was mind-bending to be able to work on birds, bridges, abstract pieces, and a portrait all in the same session.