Back in the Land of Enchantment

Black on Black, 2012

Original Painting: Oil, alkyd on panel
20" x 20"
Collection of Bernalillo County Public Art Program

I arrived Wednesday afternoon in Albuquerque after a long but pleasant drive. Although there's much to do to get ready for the "What Remains" show opening April 6 at the Harwood Art Center, I thought I'd give my dear readers another preview of work I will be exhibiting in the show.

If you are familiar with the black-on-black pottery style invented by Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo, you will understand the inspiration for the painting posted on today's blog. The work of Maria Martinez and her husband Julian is a fascinating story that you can read about via this link: http://www.mariapottery.com/bio/bio.html

It was fun and a challenge for me to achieve in paint the matte vs. shiny surface quality of this world famous blackware pottery.

To bring out the rich black of the design I used a high gloss medium in my paint mixture, which I later painted over again with several coats of varnish to further increase the gloss. What appears as white dots was done with silver metallic pen.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your weekend.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Call of the Southwest: Part 2

Sherd Fragment: Ebony & Ivory

Original oil, alkyd on gessoed canvas panel
8" x 8"

Now that I have six(!) paintings based on potsherd fragments, it appears that I have a new series underway. Here's the second painting, completed in the past week.

The image is based on a potsherd found on private property near a pueblo in New Mexico. That kind of find certainly gives one a sense of history.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.

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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Call of the Southwest

Salado Fragment: Cathedral
Original oil, alkyd on gessoed canvas panel
8" x 8"

In just a few weeks, I will be traveling to New Mexico for a monthlong visit, to see friends, scout out the scenery, and get in some painting, of course! With the upcoming trip on my mind, I guess it's not surprising that Southwest inspirations would be showing up during my studio sessions.

Longtime readers of this blog may recall the small paintings of pottery fragments that I posted 'way back in 2008 and 2009, which culminated in the larger painting, "Stones & Sherds" (posted Feb 2, 2010). That was pretty much the end of that thematic effort for me, until this past week. Now there are three new paintings based on Indian pottery sherds and patterns, completed on an 8" x 8" format.

It's truly amazing to really look at the intricate patterns and skillful craftsmanship rendered hundreds of years ago by the Native American artisans, especially considering that their materials were all handmade and natural—no fancy brushes or manufactured pigments for these artists!

Then, too, there is a seemingly unlimited variety of designs and variations in Indian pottery (still today, too). I am reminded of Georgia O'Keeffe's design ideal "...of filling a space in a beautiful way."

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.

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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Mini-Abstraction

Red Fragment 1, 2008

Original, mixed media on panel
3.5" x 5" (approx)
Private Collection

Good morning, Dear Readers,

I hope all of you were fortunate to enjoy a festive and filling Thanksgiving dinner, and that the serious shoppers amongst us got the best bargains on Black Friday, too.

It was a busy Thanksgiving weekend for me, moving to a different studio on the second floor of the Harwood Art Center. The new space is better suited for my painting, having lovely color balanced, track lighting, and fewer windows (less heat and bright sunlight).

The bonus is a view to the West, which has already provided a gorgeous sunset of ever-changing colors over the West Mesa. (Did anyone else see the "fingernail moon" in Friday's night sky?) I am already looking forward to future evening light shows from my studio window.

While cleaning up and clearing out my old studio, I found a small panel I had underpainted with burnt sienna. I had just enough spare time to work up this "mini-abstraction" based on a small piece of Acoma Indian redware pottery. The white lines were made by scratching through the burnt sienna underpainting, down to the white gesso primer.

Even though the painting is small in size, I think the strength of the shapes gives the image a much larger feeling. And, it was fun to do, too!

Thanks for taking a look at today's image. See you Thursday. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Making the Deadline

Old Acoma
by Carol Adamec

Original, mixed media on gessoed wood panel
12" x12"
Donation to Harwood Art Center

Most of last week was spent creating the painting "Old Acoma" that is featured on today's post, to meet Friday's deadline. This piece is being donated to the Harwood Art Center for its 12x12 fundraiser on December 5, 6-9pm.

I had intended to submit a landscape, but I wasn't feeling "inspired" to paint one. So I turned (again) to the pottery of Acoma. My friend has several pieces of this pueblo's pottery, and I once again drew upon these wonderful designs as my inspiration.

For those of you in or near Albuquerque, you are invited to the Harwood event , which is free and open to the public. The evening will feature food and two galleries of 12x12s painted by area artists, with each artwork available for purchase for $144, going to the first buyer who pays/writes a check. Be there early to see them all and pick the one you really want! From what I've seen, there are some real beauties.

Many thanks for taking a moment to read today's post. See you Friday. ———————————————————————————————————————————
Image & text © 2008 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Finding Inspiration on the Shelf

Carol Adamec
Acoma I
Original, mixed media
on gessoed panel
14" x 6" approx.
SOLD



Below:
Acoma pottery








Last Saturday I had hoped to paint outdoors. However, the day was a windy and rainy—great weather for desert dwellers, but not so great for plein air painters. Still determined to at least begin a painting, I looked around the house for subject matter.

On a shelf in the living room sits a wonderful piece of Acoma pottery. (Acoma, one of the pueblos to the west of Albuquerque, is also known as "Sky City, since it sits on a mesa. It has a very interesting history and is still occupied today. A must see when you visit New Mexico.)

For some time, I've admired the design made of crisp line work and dense blacks on a white ground. Rather than do a "portrait" of the pottery, I decided to "deconstruct" the design—that is, use the various elements to create an abstract composition.

First I laid out the composition and design on a gessoed panel in pencil using a ruler and compass. Since the Acoma artist painted the pottery piece freehand, I challenged myself to do the inking by hand...and it was a challenge! Although my design is more precise, the original Acoma pottery painting is done with ease and flow...a characteristic that I would like to develop in my own work.

So Saturday was a good art day, finding inspiration—and a challenge—on the shelf.

Many thanks for taking a moment to read today's post. See you Friday. ———————————————————————————————————————————
Image & text ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Jemez Pot with Feathers, 2008

Jemez Pot with Feathers, 2008
Original painting
Oil and alkyd on canvas panel
7" x 5" unframed

SOLD

I like to poke around garage sales, flea markets, and Goodwill type stores for collectibles. (My 84-year old mother has been an Antiques Roadshow fan for years and it has rubbed off on me!) It's also a great way to find things to paint.

Just around the corner from my studio here in Florida is a Goodwill store where I found this small hand painted pot from the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico. I love the scalloped rim, the traditional butterfly design, and the colors. It's even signed by the artist, too!

Having lived in Albuquerque for 10 years, I've been to Jemez many times—a beautiful place with lots of red rock. So I was thrilled to find this piece of pottery, add the feathers, and happy to paint from direct observation. I was hoping that that I could complete this as "A Painting A Day" (a new challenge I've taken on this year) but it took me two days.

This original painting is available for purchase on Etsy: www.CarolAdamec.etsy.com.

Thanks for dropping by. Your questions and comments are welcome.

See you Wednesday!

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Images and artwork protected by copyright ©Carol L Adamec.
All rights reserved.

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