Blog Archives - Robyn Sand Anderson Art

Painting-A-Day: March 29, 2013

3/29/2013

March 29, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang

It's Good Friday. This for all people who have their own Good Fridays. Keep the hope.
This painting has SOLD!
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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: March 28, 2013

3/28/2013

March 28, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang

I love the shape of trees...their trunks and branches carve out the sky. One of the most valuable lessons I learned as an art major was to see the negative space...as a shape. The negative space is the space between real objects. When you are drawing something, and are struggling to get something to look right, look at the space between it and the next object as an actual shape. This will help you to see the angles of the object you are drawing without your brain interfering with its own interpretation. It's a magical tool. The feeling of being in the woods is also magical.
It has a calming influence. It creates a sense of peace.
This painting has SOLD!

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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: March 27, 2013

3/27/2013

Buxtehude Project: Membra Jesu Nostri - Ad Pectus (to the Breast) in process

I am working on painting six of seven for this project. Here are three stages in its evolution. I still have some work to do to pull it all together. I will post all seven paintings after I get them professionally scanned. This may have been the most challenging painting of the seven, as far as coming up with ideas. But, I didn't have time to wait, so I began with just a small part of the idea. I tried to be at peace with it, trusting that it would come. The 11th century lyrics begin in 1 Peter 2:2-3, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk of reason, that by it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good." I made a choice early on in the project to create a focus point by taping off a rectangle within the painting. I used the rectangle to draw the viewer's eye to the part of body that is the focus of the music. So, today's body part is the breast. I wasn't really going to just have a breast inside a box...so I moved to symbolism. Always the safe choice. Ha! I decided to focus on a woman, nursing her child. Literal, but also symbolic. I liked the choice because I do not have a woman in any of the paintings. And I like the image of God as the one who nurtures, who loves, who gives us all we need. The song is also about yearning, longing, and searching. I use a lot of nature motifs in this painting. God has given us God's Self and all we need from day to day.
It's all here. We are fed.

Painting-A-Day: March 26, 2013

3/26/2013

March 26, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang

I've said in the past that "discipline" is not my middle name. But I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised. Maybe it is my...nickname. I used to work in spurts, according to whatever commissions or exhibits I had on the docket, with long breaks in between. This Painting-A-Day practice pushes me to work and believe me, some days I am literally pushing myself into the studio. That feeling usually has to do with a problem that is temporarily stumping me. Procrastination. It's an art. An art I am familiar with. This daily practice helps me push through that avoidance dance. Once I jump over the obstacle, I don't have to fight myself to get going in the morning. Yup. So. The life of an artist...this artist anyway. Who knew it would be a struggle sometimes. It seems like it should be all fun and games. Happy, happy, joy, joy. But, not so. I try to tell people that sometimes it is really hard, but they kind of look at me like, ahuh...sure. Relatively, though, it is all fun and games. I try to remember this, because I know that some people never have the luxury of doing work that they enjoy or find meaningful. Today's painting was inspired by a walk on the beach on Lake Michigan's eastern shore as the sun was setting. Deep, deep colors reflected on water and sand. The lower left corner on the original is a little less white and more toward a warm gray/brown...like sand.
This painting has sold!

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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: March 25, 2013

3/25/2013

March 25, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang
(This painting has been changed slightly and is now posted under April 3, 2013)

Today's painting is dedicated to my Grandma Mae Luella. She was a genius with begonias. Her brick built flower bed, guarding the living room window, always celebrated color and shape. The bed came to waist height, the ideal place to plant and weed and water without having to get down on your knees. I hadn't really noticed that she and I had a mutual love of color until reflecting back on my childhood. The color of her carpet was a blend of bright blue with flecks of green. Holy fjord waters! And how she loved her begonias. Every year without fail, a new blend of color and type. What a joyful greeting as you entered her house. I think of her now, every spring, as I find myself attracted to these begonias. No wonder, I think. Look at that deep pink and white and yellow...and the variety of shapes. It's just a pleasure, isn't it? When you are trying to choose flowers for your beds, take a few minutes to really take in the crazy miracle that they are.

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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: March 23, 2013

3/23/2013

Buxtehude Project: Membra Jesu Nostri - Ad Cor (to the Heart) in process

Sometimes it is so hard to take the first steps. Performance anxiety I guess. You don’t think of a visual artist having that kind of problem. But the day I started painting #5 out of seven, I found it very difficult to make that first brushstroke. Within the blue taped box this time, is the human heart, the wounded heart. I had really taken a good amount of time to think this one through, to plan the execution of colors...where they’d go and in what order. I had it all planned out, so why did that big piece of white gessobord seem so intimidating? I think it was the expectations connected to it. My expectations. My perception of others’ expectations. The pressure to make these seven paintings hang together as a series (see previous posts to catch up on what this project is.) Measuring up to expectations can be paralyzing. And what good does that really do? No good. I had to let go of whether this painting would come together in time to finish the last two in two weeks. Sometimes deadlines really work well for me. It pushes me to perform. But I am discovering that when the parameters are too tight, that’s not so good. What could I do but dive in? I was at the end of the diving board, with a big line of people waiting behind me. It's just better to take those steps and jump in. The water's not too bad.

Painting-A-Day: March 22, 2013

3/22/2013

Original Watercolor on Arches 140lb. Coldpress WC Paper, 13 x 8-1/2"

I am working hard today on my commissioned work, so I am posting a watercolor I created for Anchor Wallace, a national company that resides about 11 miles from my home. I have been painting illustrations for them for probably close to 10 years. I am thankful for that work, because it pushed me to interpret texts, which helped bring me to my current commission interpreting music and lyrics with visual art. I like that challenge...and I have this thing about art that means something. Not that it isn't fun to just create things for the sake of creating things. I have grown to appreciate those creations as well.

This painting is a watercolor that will need matting and framing.
Original Watercolor is $100, Shipping and Handling $12

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Painting-A-Day: March 21, 2013

3/21/2013

March 21, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang

I used squeegee-like tools for today's painting. After laying each color down, I used the tools to lift off color to reveal the color underneath. It is like uncovering hidden treasures. It hurts when you lift something off and regret it. Too late... ahhh, well. It may seem like a waste of paint, but it is the only way I've found to get the fresh, crisp edge on each color shape. I would say that the red I see on my computer is a bit more of an orange-red than the actual color on the painting...which is more of true red. The red-violet is also a bit more intense than the picture shows. I am especially happy with the muted green swipe. Love that! This painting was fast action. Can you tell I am a bit enamored with movement? It would be interesting to have some psychoanalysis regarding the need for movement in my paintings. What does it mean, Alfie??

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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: March 20, 2013

3/20/2013

March 20, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang

I think I have figured it out. I HAD to paint a 12 x 12" original acrylic today. I have been immersed in the darker side of life with the Lenten Buxtehude Project (see previous blogposts) and before I jump into the next one, the fifth of seven, it was crucial that I take a break and dive into some heady, vibrant, colorful relief that requires no deep thinking. It really has a cleansing effect. It soothes my soul. The color, the movement, the silence...the blending of color with brush and the blending of color with transparent layers. I want you all to feel what I am feeling when I paint. And, I suppose you do...if you are able to do what you love once in a while....what you were meant to do. If not in your life work, then in your life play. It's what we all want, really...food, shelter, work, play, love from family and friends. I wish we could just all do that, and stop the fighting over it all. Is that too much to ask? :)

This painting started out as wild blends of vibrant color. It was lovely. Then I painted a white flower on top. But when I was ready to post it, I wasn't satisfied with it. The flower didn't work for me. Sometimes things don't work. For the first time since I started Painting-A-Day, I poured rubbing alcohol over the whole thing and scrubbed it down, taking most of the paint off. What I had left of the color was kind of intriguing though, it looked weathered wood. Rough and sketchy. So, I thought, I am going to make something of this "mistake". And here it is. I like it. Really different than anything I have done with acrylic. But that's the point, right? Experimenting, creative problem solving, making lemonade out of lemons...or in my case, an abstract out of a different abstract.

So, although I am in a tight time squeeze, I have discovered, as an artist, that I need to listen to the ebb and flow of what the paintings require of me and what I require to accomplish them. I need some time and mind space to be ready for the next painting. I have learned to be patient with myself so that I am "ready" to jump into a painting. I have learned the hard way that when I jump in too early and have not thought things through, things do not go as well.
Sometimes that means intensity and frustration as part of the journey
and it ends up taking even more time.
But for me, the silence and the rest and the space is essential to success.
This painting has SOLD!

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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: March 19, 2013

3/19/2013

March 19, '13 "Refiner's Fire"
Acrylic on Fabriano Artistico 140lb. Hot Press Paper, Art: 22x30", Matted Acid-free White, Non-Glare Glass, 1-1/2" Black Metal Frame, Ready-to-Hang, $1200

"Refiner's Fire" is a painting I created for my exhibit at The Nina Bliese Gallery in downtown Minneapolis last November-December. When trying to figure out a title for the show, I feared either getting overly serious, or overly trivializing. Fear, fear, fear. It is paralyzing. I feared how people would react to having "suffering" in the title. I didn't want it to drive people away. I didn't want to make light of people's actual suffering.
I chose the title "The Suffering of Becoming", because I personally have been working on this idea, this reality of human suffering....it's commonality. I have had deep suffering with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis and when I was deep in it, I thought about all the people around the world who suffer. What good can be taken from this terrible experience. What can be learned? At my lowest points, when I could do nothing to take care of my family, house...I could not even paint, I let go of it all. I thought, if all I have are my family and friends. Okay. That is all I need. So this exhibit was about what I learned from several years of physical pain and suffering. I have been very lucky, I am in remission. No more crippling of my joints. I can paint again. When you think of suffering, you probably think of dark and somber colors. You will notice, however, that these paintings are full of vibrant color and light.

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Painting-A-Day: March 18, 2013

3/18/2013

Original Watercolor on Arches 140lb. Coldpress WC Paper, 13 x 8-1/2"

This watercolor is an illustration I painted for a company. As you can see from yesterday's post and today's, I painted in a more representational style as requested by the company or individual. Much of my earlier work as an artist has been commissioned work. The client would give me an idea of what they were interested in, I would usually render some sketches to see if we were on the same page. I would indicate the feel or style I was thinking of using and we would bounce ideas off each other.

The abstract acrylics I have been creating in the last three years are essentially the first time I have been able to paint what I want to paint, what is from my gut, or heart or head. The exhibits I was invited to do helped me to get at it. Deadlines are a great motivator. Artists usually have to have some kind of other work to support their passion for painting, or writing or acting. I was lucky enough to find work creating illustrations. I was glad to be able to paint and get paid for it. I have had plenty of other part time work that has nothing to do with art, so I am very appreciative of the work that came my way. I still do commission work and am happy to do so. I was a high school art teacher for about 4 years and then was laid off. Loved the kids, but not the required paper work, grading and rules. But painting is my love. I was telling a friend today that the act of painting is a gift to me. I consider it a privilege.
This painting has SOLD!
These paintings on watercolor paper will need to be matted and framed.
Original Watercolor is $100, Shipping and Handling $12

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Painting-A-Day: March 17, 2013

3/17/2013

Original Watercolor on Arches 140lb. Cold Press WC Paper, 13-7/8 x 8-7/8"

I have painted in watercolor for about 30 years now. When I had the opportunity in the early 90's to study with a watercolor artist, I came home every day of the workshop on a "color high." I learned that you can get vibrant color from watercolors. People are still surprised, expecting watered down pastels. I recommend studying with an artist if you want to accelerate your abilities. Since then I have studied with four other artists, some workshops funded by local grants. I am very grateful for that and attribute my successes to those experiences. I have painted illustrations for a local company that sells nationally for about 10 years now. They use the digital files for printing and I retain the original art. Today's painting is one of those illustrations. It is painted on watercolor paper and will need matting and framing.
This painting as SOLD!
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Original Watercolor is $100, Shipping and Handling $12

Painting-A-Day: March 16th, 2013

3/16/2013

Original Watercolor on Aquabord, 14 x 11"

This watercolor was inspired by a picture I took of gladiolus plants I came upon one day. I love their shape and variety of color. Because this flower was white, I was free to make the background a vibrant blend of wet-in-wet colors as a contrast that makes the white stand out as the star of the show. Aquabord is an absorbent textured surface that receives water-based paints much like watercolor paper. It plays a little differently on the surface, but you can essentially use the same techniques. The nice thing about using aquabord is that when finished, you treat it with a varnish and do not need to have a mat or glass. You can usually find a reasonably priced standard 11x14" frame to place it in.

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This painting has SOLD!

Painting-A-Day: March 15, 2013

3/15/2013

Original Watercolor on Aquabord, 11x14"

This is a watercolor I painted a while back, inspired by the rolling hills surrounding my hometown in NE Iowa. I love the play of light on golden fields after a rainstorm has passed through. I am working on my commission today and thought I would post some previous paintings until I am able to do the 12x12" daily paintings again. Aquabord is an absorbent textured surface that receives water-based paints much like watercolor paper. It plays a little differently on the surface, but you can essentially use the same techniques. The nice thing about using aquabord is that when finished, you treat them with a varnish and do not need to have a mat or glass. You stick it in a frame and that's that!
This painting has SOLD!

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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: March 14, 2013

3/14/2013

A brief interlude...

Deeply Rooted

Original Acrylic, 36x24" on Archival Gessobord with 2" birch sides,
Ready-To-Hang, $725

I had an emergency run to my printer today, about a four hour drive, round trip. I had planned to paint today and do the run tomorrow, but I happened to notice the weather late last night and there is an expected rain, snow, ice mix tomorrow. I am too buried from reality in my studio these days. It's nice to make a break for it and see how the world is moving along. I am currently sitting in a coffee shop in Buffalo, MN working on this blogpost. I overhear the staff chatter. The burrista just admitted that she's been making one of the drinks incorrectly for years, as she trains in a new person. She laughs it off. Someone's been getting a cinnamon bonus every time they come in. Sometimes it's good to notice the little bonuses we encounter daily. My bonus today is some thinking time. As I drive home I will visualize my next painting...the steps I need to take to achieve what I am seeing in my mind. It rarely turns out the way I envision it. I have to go with what is happening, and adjust my reactions accordingly. But it's nice to have a roadmap of sorts...to move in the general direction to get the feel that I want.

Textures. Today I have posted a painting where I used tissue paper and molding paste to create actual textures that rise off the surface of the painting. It was a blast to play with the molding paste...I used my fingers to create the texture of the tree trunk. It took me back to finger painting as a kid. It was surprisingly soothing and fun. The sky beneath the branches is tissue paper scrunched and applied with polymer medium. The texturing was done pre-painting. Trees have always intrigued me. They are as demonstrative as hands. For me they are especially vocal when framed by sky. There is a lone tree at the top of the hill in my town and every time I drive up that hill the sky is different. That is a bonus!

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Painting-A-Day: March 13, 2013

3/13/2013

Buxtehude Project: Ad Manus (to the Hands) Finished!

I am on to the next painting for this project. I have four paintings to paint in four weeks. I have to factor in time to get them scanned which is a four hour round trip, and time for shipping them to Durham. I will tuck this painting away now for a day or two and bring it and the other two finished paintings out for a last viewing and tweaking, before taking it up to my printer to be professionally scanned. I will then send the jpegs out to Duke's Chapel Choir, so that they can use them for advertising, posters, programs, etc. I was able to listen to Duke's Chapel Choir last week, directed by Dr. Brian Schmidt (originally from New Ulm, MN and a former member of my church) which plays livestream from Duke's beautiful chapel at 4:15 CT on Thursdays. It looked like the choir had about 18-20 people and wow! They sounded beautiful. The voices and acoustics were amazing. I am very excited to hear their concert on April 21st. They will be using each of my paintings to accompany each cantata, as a way to deepen the experience of the audience. I will go out a few days early to talk to a couple of classes about my work and these paintings in particular. It is an interesting experience to be creative without much brain-rest. Tiring in a whole new way and hard to explain. So, we'll leave it at that. I am thankful for the opportunity and only need to whine every once in awhile....for good measure.

Painting-A-Day: March 12, 2013

3/12/2013

March 12, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang

I am re-posting this painting that I created in February, because it is still winter...and I am celebrating! Yay, Winter! I love your great wind blowing the snow around, whistling through the trees, melting and freezing and teasing us with your second melting and then...wait... no! It's not over, it is ice again. Thank you, Winter, for helping us to let go of our need to control and giving us time to practice our penguin walks. Can you tell I need to get out more often? Ha!
I really like this painting. Color in the midst of winter gives us hope, right?
Here's what I wrote the first time I posted this, for those of you who didn't see this one.
"I had so much fun with this style of painting that I decided to play with it again. As a watercolorist for almost 30 years, the first steps were reminiscent of the layering I used in a wet-in-wet watercolor painting. You have little control with this technique. It took me many years to learn how to let go, which matches up with how my life has played out. Why is it so difficult to let go, to let yourself float? Beautiful things can happen when you let go of the need to control every aspect of life. But, oh...it is so hard. This painting is a fun blend of watercolor technique where you let the white of the gessobord shine through the transparent layers
and acrylic opaques laid on top, defining the chaos."
This painting has SOLD!
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Painting-A-Day: March 11, 2013

3/11/2013

Buxtehude Project: Ad Manus (To the Hands)

I am close. When I am close to the end, when things need to tighten up, it becomes more and more difficult. When it is difficult, I have to fight to stay with it, to stay in it. I will hopefully have the finished painting in the next two days. I may need to get completely away from it for a day to see it anew. Then I am able to see any problems or come up with new innovative thoughts and ideas. I feel like I am running a marathon of sorts, though I've never run a marathon...just using the imagination here. It helps me to look at it on the computer. I can see the bigger picture, like I am standing far off from it. Thoughts?

Painting-A-Day: March 9, 2013

3/9/2013

Buxtehude Project: Ad Manus (To the Hands)

Here are the first layers, the underpainting, of Ad Manus, To the Hands. This painting is inspired by the music and lyrics of Membra Jesu Nostri, a commission, which speaks to the suffering of Christ, and so...to the suffering of all people. The concentration today is on the hands of Jesus..."What are these wounds in the middle of your hands?" goes the lament, "...wearied in agony, tormented on the cross...". Suffering is a subject that is socially uncomfortable to talk about. We don't want to have to think about it. It's hard to acknowledge the suffering we see in others. When I was diagnosed five years ago with rheumatoid arthritis, I was literally in agony...unending physical pain. One afternoon I remember thinking about Jesus on the cross, and all people who suffer greatly. I had a small glimpse into that event as my whole body screamed in endless pain. So this painting is very personal for me. I wake up with great stiffness and pain in my hands. I look at them and lament a little...and then thank God I can still paint. There was a time early in my diagnosis when I had given up that I would ever paint again.

Everyone suffers...or has suffered in some way, whether it is physical, mental, or spiritual. When you look at someone, remember you might not know their whole story. In this, we humans are connected. I have been concentrating artistically on the subject of suffering for the last 3 years or so (you can see two of my exhibits under the Acrylics tab). Why would I do that? Because I guess I like to bring things like this into the light. I don't like that people have to suffer silently. It is a terribly lonely thing.

Painting-A-Day: March 8, 2013

3/8/2013

March 8, '13 , Acrylic on Gessobord (3/4" birch sides) 12" x 12" Ready-to-Hang

This painting is a study in creating textures. I start with warm colors - yellow-orange, oranges, and reds. As I apply each color, I apply texturing techniques, uncovering the color beneath it. I did not have anything particular in mind. I study it to see if anything suggests itself to me. The first cool color applied is the teal color (this looks aqua on my computer, but it is sort of between aqua and teal...perhaps tealqua?) The brown/caramel color on top of the teal creates a warm olive green tone. Nice. This pleased me greatly. I love the feeling of tapestry that emerges in these textured areas in the background. The red and orange really pop in contrast. At this point I start to see a landscape, but a stylized landscape. I needed something outrageous and unexpected to liven this up...ahhhh....rich, moss green. Finished!
This painting has SOLD!

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$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Now I will turn back to my commissioned work...interpreting music and lyric with paint.