Day 20 at Peters Valley

Frozen Wetlands, Thunder Mountain, Peters Valley/Delaware Water Gap National Park © Jennie Traill Schaeffer

I had promised you two posts ago that I would show you some of the small sketches I've been working on.

Well, you'll just have to wait. I keep forgetting and am busy with refining Mixer Maesta. I know, I said it was done, but I organized a studio tour for the artists in residence on Friday night to see each others work.

In so doing, all of the artists unanimously agreed that the halos were problematic, not reading as halos but more like dishes. Being confronted with the painting every day, I didn't see it that way and was so glad for their feedback. Basically, everything in the painting is realistic, but the halos were painted in a flat, abstract shape. Towards the Renaissance, as paintings increased in depth and realism, so too did the halos.

I've decided to scratch out the halos, shift their perspective and make only a hint at a halo by using an edge and a thin transparent layer of gold paint.

I can't show you the piece yet, it's still not finished. Hopefully by the end of the week. In the meantime I painted another version of my wedding cake for my new web site to launch in February.

12/4/04, Oil on Panel, 11.5 x 16", © Jennie Traill Schaeffer

In the meantime, the photo of today shows a frozen over wetland on Thunder Mountain, a part of Peters Valley where the wood, photo, fiber, photography and fine metals studios are. I drove up there on Sunday to show my parents around. It's breathtaking!

Day 17 at Peters Valley

View from my studio at about 8:30 this morning

I woke up this morning and got to the studio early after having had a rare good night's sleep. It was just breathtaking in the Delaware Water Gap with the new snow. I had promised that I would share some sketches I've been doing of the landscape outside of my window, but I finished Mixer Maesta last night and thought instead that you're probably anxiously awaiting it, or at least I hope. However, in finishing it I realized I forgot to paint in the bolts holding the stool together. I will paint those in quickly today before the stool collapses. But, for all intents and purposes I am done with the first Maesta painting!

Mixer Maesta, Oil on Stretched Linen, 3' x 5', © Jennie Traill Schaeffer

Day 15 at Peters Valley

Mixer Maesta in Progress, Oil on Stretched Linen, 3' x 5', © Jennie Traill Schaeffer

As promised here's the latest installment of the Mixer Maesta. Yesterday was the fifth day of working on the painting. It was a pivotal day because I was frustrated with the shadow in the background. Initially it was bigger and more of a lavender left very open-ended with the palette knife. To my appreciation, one of the artist/teachers at Peters Valley stopped by yesterday and openly gave me criticism.

Kulvinder Kaur Dhew came by the studio to use the facilities and we ended up talking. We had met two years ago at an art show in Sparta. She's an accomplished artist, known recently for her sublime graphite drawings of atmospheric conditions that are metaphors for the busy lives we lead. I invited her into the studio to see my work and she immediately openly with criticism which she quickly apologized for. In the two and a half weeks I've been here, I've not received any comments on my work and so I requested she go on.

She pointed out things that I knew were problems, but couldn't quite pin-point how to resolve or specifically what the problem was. The shadow was problematic and she suggested I shift the tone down and emphasize the palette knife edging that I was working with. Additionally, she gave me some positive feedback about the subject matter, quality of my painting/brushwork, and color.

I was so relieved to hear constructive criticism. I'm always open to it to push my work and my ability. Sometimes you need to hear from an unbiased viewer. So above, you'll see the shadow as it's been changed and the painting is close to completion. There are some things I need to tighten up and the floor/shadows need to be finished. I'm hoping to accomplish this today, but alas we have a potluck dinner tonight. So I have to leave the studio early to be domestic and make my mom's macaroni and cheese.

I'll be posting some small landscape drawings I've been working on when I post again.

Day 10 at Peters Valley

My home away from home at Valley Brook dorm, Peters Valley

This bed remained empty last night. I've been heavily conflicted over the past two weeks about whether or not to apply to some upcoming shows because the deadlines were this month. In an ideal world, I would have planned in advance and had the applications ready in December before I left, but December turned out to be full of sales and left little time for anything else.

So, I hemmed and hauled and decided that if I didn't apply to these shows, I would be up a creek for the next few months without exhibition opportunities. This is a time when a laptop would come in very handy. The reason I had to go home was to retrieve image files that I don't have access to at the PC at Peters Valley. I had intended to return to Peters Valley last night after I finished, but it was after 11pm and my husband was very nervous about me driving back so late. So, I remained home.

Hence, this morning I'm exhausted from rising early to get back here before the rooster crowed. Being at a residency so close to home definitely creates a bit of conflict in that you're not supposed to go home. In the future, if attend another residency, I hope to have a laptop to ease modern-day communication and so my career as an emerging artist doesn't take a step back while being away.

And, you've been waiting for the latest work while I've been chattering away:

Castrocielo Street #2, Oil on Canvas, 6" x 12", © Jennie Traill Schaeffer

Stay tuned for the last Italy painting of my residency, posting on Monday! Then it's onto bigger things . . .

Beginning of a Residency

I'm back at the computer! I've been at Peters Valley Craft Center in Layton, NJ for three days now. Already in 2 1/2 days working in the studio I've stretched / primed two 3' x 5' canvases and finished a Wedding Cake Portrait that was sitting untended for months at my home studio.

I've never before done an artist's residency and I'm in love with the experience. It dawned on me the first day that I've also never, even in art school, had the opportunity to work solely on my painting. There were always other classes, social distractions, etc. I know I'm going to get a lot of painting done and in just the seven hours I spent yesterday on the cake there were so many things I saw to change and work on.

I hope to blog about three times a week while I'm here to tell you both about being in a residency program and to share what I'm doing.

To the left is a view of my studio taken yesterday. I'm working in the living room of a house that I have to myself. In the center you can see the two linen canvases. They are sized with rabbit skin glue to seal the surface of the linen prior to priming.

Finally Painted Again!

Deadlines are a wonderful thing. I work better under pressure; some call that procrastination, I call it economy of time.

Since the spring I've been wanting to paint a group of tiles for my bathroom inspired by the dogwood blossoms at my parent's home. It's a tree that is so meaningful to me now as an adult. So many memories are tied to the tree. It grew up with me. It was there for every significant photographic moment. I miss this tree. Lee and I planted a dogwood sapling and to our dismay it did not take. Thus I must enjoy my dogwood through my painting.

Monday I sat down to finally paint the blossoms, spurred by the thought of people sitting in my bathroom at my open studio on Saturday with nothing to ponder. I developed two painted tiles - one 8" x 8" tile and a series of 4, 6" x 6" tiles in a horizontal grouping. Japanese Renaissance artist, H'onami Koetsu and Western painter, Vincent van Gogh inspired my composition and treatment of the subject matter.

Check back later this week to read about the Blank Canvas.

Goal Achieved!

Since last writing, I've accomplished one of my goals -- applying to Peters Valley's Guest Artist Residency for '07/'08. I completed the application last night and popped it in the mail today; due on the 1st. Whew!

And now I've realized after listening to NPR today I'm just another statistic of Generation X-ers posting their life lists online for all of the world to see. Humph!

Today on Talk of the Nation, an NPR program, one of the stories was "A List of To-Dos Before You Die", stimulated by Alex William's article, "Ten Things to Do Before this Article is Over" in Sunday's New York Times. Apparently there is a growing movement or trend to write life goals. Not surprising considering our society is burgeoning with self-help, therapy, and coaching gurus. And, I am pro lists -- always have been. Ask any of my friends or family.

Also today I was listening to Sound Check on WNYC's 93.9 and John Schaefer's guest was Brad Warner, a Zen-Buddhist and punk rocker. Yes, you can laugh all you want, I'm an NPR junky. That's what happens when you don't have TV and you drive without satellite radio. Well, I don't care for punk rock, but I do practice yoga once a week and have grown to appreciate many aspects of Zen, the little that I know.

So you can see my tidy, anal self was crashing with the sensitive, mindful self in one day on the radio. I want to be focused, I want to achieve my goals and since writing them down I feel more directed. But, I want to be present, not loose sight of NOW, and be able to adapt when my goals don't come to fruition or they do in a different way. My personality has always been to want the best of both worlds, happy in the middle. Maybe I'll be the one to find a way to inner peace through my lists. Hmmmm.

In the meantime, check out my latest saint that I finished today.

St. Perker, Oil on MDF Panel, 12" x 16" ©2007 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

Photo Essay of an Opening

Photos © Lee Goldberg

There is much too much for me to write about this past Saturday's opening of ICON at Wired Gallery in Bethlehem, PA. And, I have too much painting to do to wax poetic on all that happened. But, briefly there was an energetic crowd, a loud, live band, and a Pop model from which I and other artists painted. The above photos were taken by Lee, my husband, and they give a very accurate portrayal of the exhibit. You must visit Bethlehem! And, Musikfest is coming up!

New Jersey's Newton

New Jersey's Newton, Oil on Stretched Linen, 17" x 30", © 2007

This is the result of really pushing the painting over the last few days since my previous post. I might be finished, but I need some time to let the painting sit and reflect on it with a fresh eye. Even seeing it in the digital form, I might want to change something. I'll let you know if this is finished when I know. Onto an opening reception for a Newton photographer, Sean Holzli.