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The annual open studio tour in Central Phoenix will be next weekend and Another Gallery will be full of new work, including all new monotypes and more unframed work by yours truly to entice the savvy buyer.  There is plenty of parking and the north shuttle stops in front.  We will open Friday night, and Saturday and Sunday from 11 to 5.  I plan to be at the Gallery for most of the event altho I may be late on Saturday as it is also our neighborhood's annual yard sale and we have been saving lots of stuff to sell.

I will also have a few drypoint etchings to show you.  I have really started to enjoy the drypoint process and want to combine it with monotype and photopolymer etching.  This one, Green Sea Babies, is 7" x 2.5".

Art Detour is a great opportunity to get out and see a lot of local art.  I encourage all my friends and clients to come out and see what's new.  Maps are available at the Central Library, the Phoenix Art Museum, and of course at our gallery.

And for the those who only want to see fine art prints, this Sunday,  from 2 to 4 pm many of us Arizona Print Groupers will be at the closing reception of our exhibition at the Arizona Artists Guild's new building.  The address is 18411 N. 7th Avenue which is just south of Union Hills on the east side.
Posted by Wendy Willis at 4:59 PM No comments: 

More from Life as Women Artists

I want to share a much clearer insight and summary of the panel discussion in Tucson, sparked by my last post, provided by my friend and mentor, Marlys Kubicek:

Besides saying thanks, which there is too little done in that area, there were a couple of other points as well.  That these were three women who were successful in three completely different areas of the world of fine art.  Barbara Rogers makes beautiful decorative art, her love is gardens.  Bailey Doogan makes what our contempory culture regards as ugly beautiful, her love is the idea of words and images.    Julie Sasse is a curator, she makes art because she has to, for herself.  Each woman was able to find her place in the art world through trial and tribulation.  I think that the trial and tribulation is is still there for women artists. For women in any career it is always a choice.

There also was the fact that as an artist one feels that they are never ready.  I think most women artists feel this way.   All of these women at one time or another got involved in juried shows or competitions when the work was not finished or may not even thought of.  They had the confidence that they would be able to complete the work.  In other words they do not work in a comfort zone.  Another point was that it is a good thing to enter juried compositions as curators find work that way.  Both the curators (I went to a lecture at the art museum given by the curator of photography about how she found artists)  whose lectures I went to said that they found artists through juried competitions and from having the artist send them CD's and images for them to look at.

Another thing is that artists need other artists to have conversations with.  Many can find contacts through the internet, and going to openings and finding people whose work you love and telling them so.  I think this is a way to always keep your work fresh and interesting.   I think that human beings in general have a tendency to repeat; it is safe.  Yes, you can be influenced but it is a matter of confidence that you are your own person.  I feel that looking at other peoples' works and listening to others can cut your learning time down.  You would eventually make the discovery yourself but when.

And finally you have to give whether of your time, your work or your experience.  It is one way of paying your dues.  And no matter how you feel about it the world still works on paying your dues.  Paying your dues is also a way of building one's confidence and making connections and expanding your horizons.
Thank you, Marlys, for your feedback and allowing me to print it here.
Posted by Wendy Willis at 1:41 AM No comments: 

Life as Women Artists - U of A

Last night MK and I drove to Tucson to attend a panel discussion titled "Life as Women Artists."  I wasn't sure what to expect but with the panelists being Barbara Rogers, Julie Sasse and Bailey Doogan, I was sure I wanted to hear whatever they had to say.  They came out of time when women weren't allowed to teach at the university and had to fight for their places in the art world.  But all three are highly successful and last night, very generous, artists who shared their histories, work and advice for those who aren't there yet.  What I really liked was the advice to send notes to those whose who work you admire; thank you notes to teachers who have helped guide you.  And to the women artists like Barbara and Bailey and Julie, who forged a new territory for women in a man's world, say thank you for being the trailblazers.

So I thank them.  For their bravery and tenacity and individuality.  And the most heartfelt thank you's to Jim Bridwell, Nancy Reyner,  Joe Baker, Marlys Kubicek, David Manje, Pegan Brooke, Dan Welden, Ron Pokrasso and Nancy Willis, wonderful teachers who have all had impact on the artist I am today.  I hear their voices and see their influence in my work everyday.
Posted by Wendy Willis at 2:30 PM No comments: 

Old Dog/New Trick I have to fight the feeling that every print I make is precious.  Even the ones I don't care for much.  So I am trying to take the mistakes and "just a little off" prints and play with them or redo them altogether.  In Santa Fe two years ago I bought a handful of Caran d'Ache crayons and promptly never used them.  This week I broke them out and started experimenting with them and AKUA ink.  Several days ago I  drew on my plexi plate and rolled out the release agent and tried to print on top of an older print (on Arches 88) with dried ink.  The transfer didn't work very well.  So last night I started afresh.  I drew on plexi, rolled out the release agent and printed on unused Arches 88 paper.  It transferred nicely.  I added my monotype swimmer and then added more caran d'ache marks in a last pull and it also transferred.   Now I need to work on my mark-making.

MK and I are driving down to Tucson Saturday to attend a panel discussion titled Life As Women Artists.  Moira Geoffrion is the moderator and the panelists are Barbara Rogers, Julie Sasse and Bailey Doogan.  I especially love Doogan's paintings and I'm excited about hearing her talk about her life. For those who saw my header and was thinking there might be an actual dog item, here goes:  My little girl dog will be 10 years old this week.  She is sweet and cuddly and quite vocal.  She is half poodle and half pomeranian and weighs 11 lbs.  I call her my supermodel dog.
Posted by Wendy Willis at 11:53 AM 4 comments: 

Another Gallery Open This Friday, Saturday I will be at the Gallery this weekend, so please come by and see what's new.
Posted by Wendy Willis at 9:17 AM No comments: 

More Monotypes I am still getting to know AKUA inks and how they work in monotypes.  They have their good points, staying open on my palette for days, easy to clean up, and now I am learning how to predict what I will get when I roll out black for a black trap. In this Lilly print, I printed the skin color in the first pull.  Then I rolled out pthtalo blue with transparent base and wiped out the areas I wanted to remain lighter.  The result is above.  Then I printed the hair, goggles and swimsuit in the next pull using the additive method. (Right).
I wanted a little more definition in the figure so I rolled out pthalo blue and green mixed and wiped out all but the shadows and the pool tiles.  The elbow came forward but the back arm was too bright.  The face got lost in the chest.  (Forgot to take pic.) So I added a black trap (a layer of black ink rolled out and wiped to "trap" the color underneath.)  I changed presses and printed this one without gridlines.  So my registration was a tad off.  The ink came off lightly so I reprinted in the right place with a tighter press.  There is a bit of double edge-ing but what the heck.  The good news is the chin came forward, the back arm moved back and the elbow came closer.  It's really all just magic.
Posted by Wendy Willis at 12:36 PM 1 comment: 

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions

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