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Gray Matter

“Updates from the studio of Mary Johnson”

July 4, 2010 New Finally

Sorry about not updating more! I’ve actually been very busy in the studio, and too exhausted when I’m finished to take any pictures and write about it!
However, I am posting several new pictures showing all the work in progress now.

I have almost completed the two smaller ones shown, with the yellow bridges and the one with the grass and dark sky. That one I have taped off the pampas grass I drew so that I could quickly wash the top in ink and later take a small brush and work in between each stalk.

I am working on one very large triptych, which will have a pool from a vacation to North Carolina, super-imposed on a night landscape from a old home I lived at for a time.


The show opening is getting closer and closer, I think last week it actually hit me that it was really happening.
Eric, my boyfriend, and I have been working on building the frames too, and will finish them in the next couple days. I’ll then prime and paint them, and mount the work, since it is on paper on them.
The postcards are now printed for the show, if you would like your name added to the mailing list, e-mail me at maryjohn@buffalo.edu

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June 17, 2010 Updates

I haven’t posted for a bit because I have been so busy in the studio working! But that means I have lots of photos to post, and will have some more tomorrow when I take them of the work I have done in the past 3 days. I feel that most of the work I have done recently is either completing the composition complexity of each painting or starting new paintings.

This painting is even more changed now. I have added a layer of acrylic medium on top of the tree foliage (because they are in oil) So that I could draw over them in ink. I am very excited about this development, and I will have more pictures of the finished painting tomorrow.

This next painting is finally finished, and I took the tape off of it last night. Such an exciting move.

This next diptych is approximately 48 inches long. I am creating giant waves and splashes of dial antibacterial soap, but with blue waves, reminiscent of Japanese prints. The windows are to move in a pattern, creating an up and down, jarring motion for the viewer.

Some of these pieces have come farther than the photos depict, and so you will see updated photographs within the next few days. Please check back!

-Mary

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June 10, 2010 Just Starting

I started a few new pieces recently, and wanted to show where some these paintings start, at the very beginning. They are on gessoed paper, which is then sanded smooth. I am starting now with ink, and then a pencil and pen and ink drawing. I am not adding oil paint until later.

It is interesting, because as I make small drawings of remembered scenes and objects, I start to remember more, and even when I am not painting. I am starting to jot down small sketches of tableaus on post it notes as soon as they come to mind, drawing upon them later in paintings.

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June 1, 2010 Thank You Louise

For years now, I have looked to Louise Bourgeois’ work as a wonderful example of the pointed combination of autobiography and a voice to viewers. It does not speak within a conversation to itself, directed in at all angles like the symbol for infinity, it reaches both outward and in, much like a spiderweb would. (And that is ironic, as she drew upon the image of the spider in her work, believed to be referring to her mother). As an artist that also works with the concept and mystery of memory, I have held onto Louise Bourgeois as an art-world hero. She died on Monday, May 31st at age 98, leaving behind a full life of moving work.

It was my birthday.

See the NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/arts/design/01bourgeois.html?hp

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May 30, 2010 Adding the Oil

The last few days I have been using oil paint over top and in between the collage and ink drawings, to add a more gestural approach to the delicate drawings that are on the paper. Its giving the paintings/drawings (whatever you want to call them) a lot more depth and substance.

I am also going to do something to that lime green piece of clothing in the closet to the right. I really don’t like it, I feel that its much too distracting.

Every time I think of new imagery to add to more works, I quickly write or sketch it out on post-its and stick them on the paintings, or draw right on the cardboard they are mounted to. I am now starting a very long dyptich that will be mounted together on board, and already have some great idea for that one. Look soon for some developments!

I also have been poking around the internet for some other artists work who might influence my own, and found this great gallery with some really wonderful work. http://www.searspeyton.com/html/home.asp
I am also going to go pick up the most recent edition of New American Paintings, which showcases some promising MFA students in the United States. (By the way, a first year UB student is in it! http://kylewilliambutler.com/menu.html)

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May 22, 2010 This past week

This past week I have been very busy in the studio (when I come home from my regular day job!). I have done more pen and ink drawings on the paintings. Specifically, in this one I have started to create more solid illustrations of the various objects I have chosen. Although there is still much, much more work to do!

Within the second piece I also started to collage at various points.

I am still working to create a transient appearance to each object, and connect various remembered scenes into a whole. A good analogy for this would be to take film negatives, cut the scenes apart, and then place them on top of each other. When the light comes through, only small bits of each scene would be seen.

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May 22, 2010 Glen Falls Park

This past Sunday I went for a long walk with a friend in Glen Falls Park, a small park next to a creek located really close to my house. Although these pictures aren’t really of my art, I am sure the fascinating details in each piece of nature are sure make their way into my work.



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May 15, 2010 Saturday Afternoon In the Studio

I took a good part of today continuing to work on two new pieces. After ink and watercolor washes, I sketched over them with graphite, and started to create detailed items. I am drawing small bits of memories that have occurred over periods of time and yet have a relation to one another and have placed them on the same picture plane. In this case, it is important to me to have traces of the drawings where I have correctly or incorrectly recalled placement and silhouette.

In between drawing and painting sessions I prepared some paper for a long painting I will be working on.


I am looking forward to tomorrow, where I will spend most of the day in my studio, and take a walk in Glen Falls Park. Hopefully, some of my pictures will be good resources for my paintings.

-Mary

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May 12, 2010 Hello Friends!

Hello friends!

I would like this blog to be like taking all of you into my studio and         showing you my work in progress, my processes and things I find          interesting that may find themselves somewhere in my work.

It also may be good for me to have some amount of accountability as     I work without the structure of school. So, keep me accountable! Let       me know your thoughts and feelings towards stuff, I will value and       take into account every bit of it!

For those of you who don’t know me, take a look at the “About” tab         on my blog, and you can read some more about my work.

More about the title of my blog: I am very fascinated with the connections between the neurosciences and the fine arts. I am currently reading Barbara Stafford’s book, “Echo Objects: The Cognitive Work of Images” Its a very dense piece of writing, but worth every minute of it. I would encourage all of you just to pick it up for a bit! It is showing me how powerful the image is and it is connected to every part of our lives, historical and personal.

Currently, I am working on a whole new body of work for my solo show taking place at 464 Gallery  (http://www.mindweb.us/Welcome.html) on Amherst Street in Buffalo. The opening is July 16th, so I have lots of work to do, but hope to see all of you there!

Today I am spending a good part of the day in the studio, so check back later for some pictures and discussions of my work.

-Mary

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