Happy New Year's Eve.

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I've edited this post like 3 times in an effort to end the year on a positive spin. And maybe it is. But in leu of getting terribly excited about the usual ups and downs, I'll just redirect you to Dave Hickey's resignation from the Art World last year.

So long, 2013.

 

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OPS Studio Notes 12.26.13

I'm not scheduled for field work until after the New Year, hence Studio notes. I'm not sure why I've justified the messy and time-consuming process of actually making my own linen panels from scratch, but indeed, this is what I have been doing among other end of the year tasks. In preparation for my project (OPS) I had already cut, primed and sanded a half sheet of birch ply. I was ready to go. But no, not good enough. I suddenly needed these panels to be linen. Fair enough, but why the 1/4" panels? Why not just go on and stretch them on stretcher bars? Good question. Theoretically, these are supposed to be studies, only they're not. They are alla prima paintings. I figured if I kept them on flat panels, I'd be more spontaneous. Mind games.

I also think it was a ploy to prolong the inevitable year-end avalanche of paperwork.
They've turned out quite nicely.

Step 1: Cut panels

Step 2: Prime wood

Step 3: Cut linen, allowing about 1/2" for overlap 

Step 4: I used Gac 100 to glue the linen to the primed wood. 

Step 5: Working fast, squeegee out any air bubbles on front and back and wrap edges neatly on back. 

Step 6: Clamp or weight linen panels, preferably overnight.

Step 7: Gesso linen. Two coats.  Allow to dry between coats.

Step 8: Lightly sand.

Step 9: Apply a third coat of gesso and sand, if you are picky. If you're like, whatevah sister, that's a bunch of friggin work for your silly ass au plein air panels, then you can skip steps 2-9. 

I FINALLY sutured an old Gap Sweater that unravelled several years ago after only three months of normal use. At that point it became a favorite studio sweater. I love it even more now and consider it now fit for public outings. 

OPS Field Notes, Day 1:

I announced a new project the other day. Working title: Other People's Stuff. (OPS). Practical and to the point. I'll be dedicating some posts to the process and its evolution. 

Dec 18th, 2013: 

I packed my plein air bag and gear the night before, but had to make a phone call first thing in the morning. At the last minute, I decided my hair was simply too dirty to go out in public and I gave it a quick wash. Less then two miles from my house/studio I got busted by radar for speeding.

The set-up was easy. I brought exactly what I needed. I thought I might spend more time wandering around or being curious what people had hidden in the closets and drawers, but after painting still lifes in my own space, I decided nothing is more interesting than something else. It's more important to just paint, otherwise I'll start making judgements. 

I settled on the bedroom. Once I started painting, I lost track of time, but I worked for about 3 hours until I got to a stopping point. I continued working on the painting back in the studio. 

Once home, I primed panels for the next session and finally started working on the large painting.

In less than four days, I've booked three new sessions with two more to be confirmed. I am excited. I like the detachment and no-nonsenseness of it. This is my dream job. I need a uniform. 

Read it and weep.

According to my iPhone, I was in Miami for Art Basel and several other fairs this year. And even though I was hiding behind a documentation device, I was totally present and in the moment.

Thanks to Sharon Butler over at Two Coats of Paint for my guest correspondence gig covering this year's fair:

Art Basel Miami Beach #1

Art Basel Miami Beach Roundup

And to the Nashville Scene's Arts + Culture Blog, Country Life, for the real estate to share even more coverage of all things fair in Miami. 

The Miami Art Fairs are Decadent and Depraved
Miami Day 2 
Miami Day 3
Day 4. Be patient. I'll link after it's posted. 

a rose is a rose is a rose

Art Basel and the Miami Countdown. T-2

 vs.

Almost there. Almost. 

I already missed the opening performance of the Marina Abramovic piece at Untitled last night which I would have chosen to miss, so I'm still on track. I am getting jealous of all the beach shots I'm seeing. 

I will, however try and stop by Aqua where artist Tim Youd will “retype” Elmore Leonard’s classic novel “Get Shorty” in room 218 of the Aqua Hotel (1530 Collins Ave.) from Wednesday to Dec. 8 where artist Tim Youd will “retype” Elmore Leonard’s classic novel “Get Shorty” in room 218 of the Aqua Hotel (1530 Collins Ave.) from Wednesday to Dec. 8 where artist Tim Youd will “retype” Elmore Leonard’s classic novel “Get Shorty” in room 218 of the Aqua Hotel (1530 Collins Ave.) from Wednesday to Dec. 8...

And then there's this: 

Learn how to draw from skater-punk-turned-contemporary-pop-artist Ryan McGinness, dubbed "a Warhol for the information age." He's teaching a class at The Standard Hotel following the launch of his new book "Sketchbook Solutions", which will be available for purchase. He'll also give a lecture an hour before the class begins.

December 6 from 8-11 pm at the Standard Hotel and Spa.

I'm so there. 

Art Basel and The Great Miami Countdown. T minus 3.

It's Sunday. I had to run out to the mothership yesterday and purchase a brand new usb cable for my iPad. The dog ate the connector off my not-so-old one.

I'm going to be covering the art fairs for a couple of other artblogs this year. I thought it time to branch out, develop a broader audience. Deets to follow with links of course.
I'll also be tweeting live at @maryaddhackett.

Meanwhile as prep work, I made it through maybe 2 hours of online Basel yesterday before experiencing sensory overload. I filtered "painting." At least I think I filtered painting. At a certain point I wondered what I would wear and began looking at random images of previous fair-goers. Lest you think I am an uncultured rube, I've averaged one art fair a year, more or less steadily since I was 26. Leaving a margin of error for exaggeration, that put's me at about 15 art fairs. Still, when the fair is 4 blocks away from your workplace or 2 miles from your studio, it's like picking up a carton of milk on the way home. When it involves flying to Miami, I suddenly feel like I need a bikini wax and some gold-strapped sandals.

Back to Art Basel. The downloading of gargantuan files from the website prevented me winning the most patient blogger award. I switched over to the Art Basel app, which was still kind of buggy, but much better.

Nada Miami Beach is not to be missed. As a preview, I'm crushing on Club Paint, Jane Corrigan, Ryan Mosley and Daniel Heidkamp. I mistook a work by Ariel Dill for Charlene Von Heyl.

More tomorrow.

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