Blog Archives - Robyn Sand Anderson Art

Painting-A-Day: Oct. 31, 2013

10/31/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

Sometimes we need a little definition. We need something to stand on when all else seems like swirling waters. I've noticed this in myself. My four brothers might attest to the fact that I was a mess growing up. Well, my room was a mess, a massive pile of clothes and books and projects. My bed was the only thing to stand on, or rather lie on. I still am a mess for the most part...I get lost in other matters and my surroundings take the back burner. I have noticed, however, that when I know that someone else is going to witness this behavior, I hop to it and clean and organize. And....I like the results. I like the structure it gives my chaotic life. So I picked up this painting from August 29th and thought, too much mystery perhaps? As I looked at it, I felt like there was no place to stand, to rest. Diagonal lines create a sense of unrest. Today I added some geometric shapes in the corners to give this painting a little more structure. Horizontal lines give a sense of stability. I think it helps. Sometimes there is more clarity when looking back. It's good I have company once in a while. I just wish I had a magic genie who would take care of the cleaning for me. Is that too much to ask? I think not.

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

Painting-A-Day: October 29, 2013

10/29/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

Two days ago, I prepped this gessobord with molding paste, applied with m'fingers. Today I had fun applying paint. I started with light yellow and light turquoise with sun and sea in mind. I hesitate to tell you what I have in mind, because this painting can suggest many different things or...nothing at all. Some people enjoy knowing what the artist has in mind, so if I ruined if for you...sorry! There are always decisions to be made whether to texture the paint or blend things smoothly. I love the way the paint rides on top of the molding paste suggesting three dimensions. I must play some more with the molding paste....maybe using tools to texture it. Hmmmm......

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

Painting-A-Day: October 28, 2013

10/28/2013

Prepping Gessobords, Playing with Molding Paste, & Molding Paste Results

Today is my day to prepare, mentally and physically. The picture on the left shows the next gessobords. I treat the birch sides with varnish and let them dry overnight. It protects the thirsty wood and if a little paint would happen to seep under the painting tape, there is a pretty good chance I can remove it. I also prepped a 12x12" gessobord with some molding paste. This is the consistency of a thick frosting and I apply it with my fingers giving some 3-dimensionality to the painting. It is nothing short of a blast! If fact, I'd like to try it on a very large canvas sometime. You can see the results in the picture on the right.

I am also working on a commission today, designing it in my brain ...which begins on that larger gessobord (24x24") tomorrow. I feel some trepidation about it as I am not totally clear about where I am going with it. I needed today to let it ruminate.

The other thing I am working on is preparation for my Studio Open House Nov. 9-10. More details to come!

Painting-A-Day: October 25, 2013

10/25/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

Today I had two goals...to use analygous colors and to use collage items to add to the painting. Analygous colors are colors that are neighbors on the color wheel. So, Yellow, Green and Blue in this case. I attached two objects to the painted board...a square of paper with Gold Foil on it and a piece of homemade paper. I took about an hour trying different items taking a picture and studying to see if it worked. I like the organic vs. man-made shapes. They nicely contrast with the organic shapes dominating. I know what this says to me, but what does it say to you?

This painting has SOLD!

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Painting-A-Day: October 24, 2013

10/24/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

Autumn landscapes. Whenever I have to drive somewhere I am soaking up the colors of whatever season we are in. October and November in the Midwest is a constantly changing palette. There is brilliant color, but also subdued, muted color. They contrast nicely next to each other. It's never boring. Every season holds its beauty. I love stormy gray blue skies up against gold fields. The deep, dark brown dirt in the fields near my home is so rich. Muted red-violets and red-oranges pop against the calming colors of the earth, grass and skies. Love it!

This painting has SOLD!

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

Painting-A-Day: October 22, 2013

10/22/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

What is happening in my life affects my painting. Surprise, surprise. To be successful with a painting, my "mindspace" needs to be emptied (not difficult for me, you might say? Hahaha! Funny!) When my mind is cluttered with something that is bothering me, I am distracted from being truly present in my painting. It makes sense that many artist-types are introverted. It seems to be a necessary personality trait. You have to be able to shove everything else on the back burner. Little did I know that that skill would come in handy some day! I had some trouble with the tech/business side of my work yesterday and I struggled to set that aside in order to paint. It helps that I can choose a later daily deadline time if needed. Today I had a clean slate and a clear mind. Nice.

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

Painting-A-Day: October 21, 2013

10/21/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

I am not a patient person but this Painting-A-Day challenge forces patience. I have no choice because I refuse to give up when it comes to making a painting work. I go into a Zen-like state. It's either that or the tantrum of a two-year-old, which is cleansing, but takes up too much time. The challenge today was that I had a heck of a time getting the colors correct when I tweaked them in Photoshop. I choose my colors very carefully when painting. It's a big deal to me. So it really bothers me when I cannot get close to the real effect after photographing my daily painting and uploading it into my computer. What I ended up doing is tweaking the actual painting adding paint here and there to create greater contrast where needed. This seemed to work. Glory, hallelujah!

I have been working on a mailing list to send an occasional newsletter or in this case, an invitation to a Studio Open House Nov. 9-10. I used to do this every year, but haven't since my diagnosis in 2008. I feel I can do it this year, although every other hour I want to hyperventilate. I need a personal assistant! It takes so much time to advertise, plan, order needed materials and clean the house in preparation for an open house. Are you joining in my hyperventilating? If you would be interested in receiving an occasional newsletter or invitation from me, please send your email to RobynSandAnderson@gmail.com or send a private message to me on Facebook. Thanks, all!

This painting has SOLD.

If interested in purchasing, hit the Painting-A-Day Purchase tab and then hit the Etsy widget.
It will take you right where you need to be to purchase the painting of your choice. Thanks!
$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: October 18, 2013

10/18/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

I am so excited! Today I used a new technique and it was challenging in a new way, a good way. I put dabs of several colors in different areas of the painting and then spread the small areas of color out, allowing the colors to blend where they crossed paths. I had so much fun with this. About two-thirds of the way in it started to suggest a prairie-scape to me with the suggestion of a house on top of the hill. I showed it to my husband and he said, "I sort of see a ........" (I would tell you, but then you'd be searching for it...) to which I replied, "Seriously?" Ahhh, the beauty of art. It can be what you want.

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

Painting-A-Day: October 17, 2013

10/17/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

I was thinking about waves and the sea today. The beauty of the blues, greens and violets, but also the dark and deep waters. Someone asked me recently...how do you know when you are done? Exactly! I might be done with this one, I might not be. It was a challenging puzzle. I'd like to show you the stages. I am sometimes struck by how a tiny change in direction or color can make a huge difference. Basically it is instinct. But instinct born of 56 years of experimentation and practice. There ya go, then...as we say in Minnesota. Cereal for supper! I'm exhausted!

This painting has SOLD!

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Painting-A-Day: October 16, 2013

10/16/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

Early Sunday morning I drove two hours north to do a presentation. As I reached the edge of town, I came down a hill and was greeted with morning sun shining through low-lying fog. The fog hugged the hills with subtle fingers of mist. It was stunning. Today I wasn't intending to paint as I am working on the details of hosting an art open house in November. It's amazing how much work that is...mailing lists, advertising designs, printing cards, packaging prints, determining prices. But I found myself needing a break from working on the computer. I didn't have time to start a new painting, so I took one of my previous paintings from August 23, turning it over and over to see if it might hold something interesting from a different viewpoint. And...I was in fog...and early morning sun on rolling hills. I added a few layers to the sky and enhanced the fog. Mmmmm. I really like this one!

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Painting-A-Day: October 15, 2013

10/15/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

It's hard to explain my relationship to the maple leaf. Suffice it to say, I probably should have been a Canadian. I love looking at a bright red-leafed maple tree. I sometimes stop on my walks and pick up an especially beautiful leaf. Do you still do that? Do you notice the subtle change of color on each leaf? I guess I have that same visceral reaction to any vibrant color. Takes my breath away. Kinda weird, but I'm rolling with it. Take time to really notice things, especially nature. It is extraordinary and yet it comes back year after year to delight us.

This painting has SOLD!

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Painting-A-Day: October 14, 2013

10/14/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" Birch Sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

On my drive to St. Peter the other day, a massive storm was rolling in. The winds were high, pushing me around the road. It was a battle. I came around a curve and saw one of my favorite landscapes. Distant sunlit yellow gold wheat fields hugging the horizon, butted up against a blue violet stormy sky. It was stunning! I couldn't keep my eyes off of it...which was slightly problematic because of the high winds vying for my attention. I couldn't stop, didn't have a camera, but memorized it in my mind's eye. Many people don't think that October and November landscapes are very pretty. But I find it's spareness has its own beauty. Deep dark dirt and corn stubble, a farmer's work done. The golds, rusts, red violets, red-orange sumac and deep browns are beautiful, really beautiful. (The browns in the foreground of the painting are less red-brown than is shown in this image and more a neutral dark brown.)

This painting was altered and SOLD!

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

Painting-A-Day: October 11, 2013

10/11/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord with 3/4" birch sides, 12x12", Ready to hang!

I didn't plan to paint the Crucifixion, but this is where today's painting took me. Crucifixions were brutal instruments of torture for those who threatened the power of the Roman empire. We haven't changed much, unfortunately. Some progress over centuries, and then, not so much. We still use violence to establish power.

I started with an underpainting of gold, with the next layer of an aqua color. Red violet, a new pigment I picked up at Dick Blick last weekend, was layer number three. Purple is both the color of royalty and of bruising. I will soon be working on an exhibit for this coming spring that is about violence/power and peace, wreckage and beauty.

This painting has SOLD!

If interested in purchasing, hit the Painting-A-Day Purchase tab and then hit the Etsy widget.
It will take you right where you need to be to purchase the painting of your choice. Thanks!
$100 for this original painting, ready-to-hang, plus $15 shipping and handling.

Painting-A-Day: October 10, 2013

10/10/2013

Acrylic on Archival Gessobord (cropped from original 16x20" commission)

Glad to be back in the studio after a week long hiatus. I took my 86-year-old mother to her 65th college reunion. Two of her three roommates were there and I can't even describe to you the joy they expressed in seeing each other after all of these years. Suffice it to say, I teared up. I wondered who these three women were back in the mid-forties. What did their world feel like as as they studied to become teachers and librarians as WWII ended? Sweet stories and lots of laughs filled the room.

I am finishing up on a commissioned piece and you are looking at a cropped area from that painting. I am struck again by the process of creating an abstract painting. It is definitely a puzzle to be solved. There are moments where I feel like I am butting up against a wall. It usually helps to walk away from it for a few days so that I can see it with fresh eyes. Oftentimes the answer will come to me when I look at it later. I also took pictures of it so that while I was away I could stare at it once in awhile and work on the next steps in my head. I've heard that studying right before you go to bed is a good idea, because your brain continues to work on it. So, I throw that in for good measure, looking at my painting right before bedtime with instructions to come up with a visual answer. There is some trust involved here, that my mind will be able to figure it out. I try not to panic as the deadline looms. Panic never helps. Anxiety never helps. I lean into trusting the skills I've learned, the instincts I have regarding color choices, movement and meaning. It seems to be working. New 12x12" paintings on the horizon! Coming soon!

Painting-A-Day: October 2, 2013

10/2/2013

Progress One Step at a Time

It's always a wild ride! Diving onto that blank gessobord with its smooth white surface is always a pleasure. Whether I know the direction I'd like to go or not, it is one of the few places I am willing to take a risk. I am working on a larger surface this time, 16x20". The rectangular shape is a different problem to solve than my usual square 12x12" for this Painting-A-Day project. I am layering each color, texturing it with different tools and letting each layer dry before the next. I have something in mind for this painting, which you won't see until I am finished. Oh, the anticipation, right? Well, I can't wait to see what happens myself. I often think of my cousin, The Writer, Gary Amdahl, when I am explaining my process. I think there are similarities, one being that we pretty much don't know where our creation is going until we get there. It is a matter of listening. He uses words. I use paint. I remember feeling very unimaginative in high school and as I entered college. I hadn't developed that "muscle" yet. It takes desire and practice and openness to be an artist. And it helps if someone helps with the bills. Thanks, Jon!

Painting-A-Day: October 1, 2013

10/1/2013

The Aftermath...Revised

I wish I could remember every day how good it feels to lessen the clutter, to have things in order. Maybe I'd do a better job of maintaining my studio. But I kind of lose myself in the present moment when the paint is flying. If you look at yesterday's post, you will see the "before" picture. I should have given you the full scope of the studio yesterday, so you could really fathom my joy. It is amazing how cluttered your mind can feel when it has too many details to take in. Sensory overload. It's not good for anybody. I always feel refreshed when I clean up after a few weeks of craziness...and by that I mean crazy busyness. That, too, is not so good. Balance. Balance. (I am knocking myself on the forehead.) You know, a painting really doesn't work if there isn't a sense of visual balance. We might not be able to put our finger on it, but sometimes when we view a painting, we know something just isn't right. I think we all know when our life is out of balance, too. But do we listen to it? I think we might feel some o' that unfathomable joy if we did.