Posted in Abstract Art, Acrylics, Collage, Exhibits, Mixed Media, Social Media Series, WCA-NH, tagged 6 x 6 on October 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »
The different framework of these pieces is causing me to rethink how I’ll structure these paintings. What I was doing on the earlier pieces doesn’t seem like it will work on these, so I’m looking for other ideas. For this reason, the process is going a bit slower than I would like.
I miss the rhythm from those other pieces, but I like the more focused and colorful look of these. I’m hoping this will all work out. Time will tell.
Posted in Abstract Art, Acrylics, Collage, Creativity, Exhibits, Mixed Media, Social Media Series, WCA-NH, tagged 6 x 6 on October 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »
It’s time to get my 6 x 6 panels ready for our annual 6 x 6 exhibition and sale. The exhibit starts the first of November, but the work needs to be delivered shortly.
I thought you might like a sneak peek at the process. We all use the same panels – 6″ x 6″ MDF with a key-hole slot on the back. After prepping the surface, I painted the panels with a couple of coats of white acrylic paint.
And then I start to glue on pieces of paper – newspaper, phone book pages, pieces torn from damaged books, along with my normal selection of bits & pieces of discarded painting pieces.
To continue with the social media idea and to keep in mind the shape of the panel, I started with cutouts shaped like a generic icon (of a woman’s head) similar to what you sometimes see displayed when a user hasn’t provided a profile picture. These were glued onto a rectangular shaped colored background.
The initial pieces look like this –
I’ll be adding more Work-In-Progress shots as these paintings develop.
Posted in Abstract Art, Abstract Landscape, Collage, Exhibits, Mixed Media, WCA-NH on September 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »
I belong to several arts organizations and I must admit that WCA-NH, Women’s Caucus for Art – New Hampshire Chapter, is one of my favorites. (I need to tell you that story some day.)
This year we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary. Hard to believe! One of our celebrations is an upcoming exhibit in our capital, Concord, NH. We will have simultaneous exhibits in 3 separate venues. A couple of brave souls are going to sort out which pieces will go in each venue. (Glad I’m not on that committee.)
Anyway, I thought you might like a peek at what I’m submitting. I’m not sure if both pieces will be used as we’ve gotten a terrific response to this call. Once the venues are sorted, I’ll post the details of the exhibits. If you’re nearby, I hope you’ll be able to check out these exhibits. There are incredible artists in this group.
Posted in AAGNE, Artist's Life, Exhibits, Juried Shows, New Hampshire Art Association, Newburyport Art Association, WCA-NH on August 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »
It’s that time of year again. A couple of exhibits are ending and new ones are beginning.
Yesterday we drove to Plymouth to pick up my work from “Force of Nature – Exploring the Power of the Feminine” at Plymouth State University. It was sad to see this exhibit come down, as it was a wonderful exhibit with work from all across the country. I had hoped to get another day at the exhibit earlier this month, but the rest of my life was just too busy.
The exhibit at the Sheafe Warehouse which is part of the Prescott Art Festival will come down tomorrow. Just this weekend left to view it! If you live in the area and haven’t had a chance, it’s worth the effort to get in. Plus the location on the river is breathtaking.
Tomorrow we start another exhibit. The Abstract Artists of New England is having their annual exhibit at Newburyport Art Association starting Tuesday, August 25 and running through Saturday, September 5th. Tomorrow evening we’ll all drop off our work and let our hanging committee do their magic. Since the gallery is closed on Mondays, Tuesday will be the first day the exhibit is open to the public.
Posted in Exhibits, WCA-NH, tagged exhibit catalog, Force of Nature, WCA-NH on August 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »
I was very pleased to be included in the current exhibit – “Force of Nature – Exploring the Power of the Feminine” at Plymouth State University this summer. I can’t believe that the exhibit closes this week.
I got to see the exhibit twice – once when I gallery sat one evening and again when I went to the reception. It’s a truly wonderful exhibit and I had been hoping to get there again last week for another visit. Unfortunately, I was being very unrealistic about other items on my schedule and couldn’t make it work.
I suppose the next best thing to seeing an exhibit is to see the catalog. My copy arrived a few days ago and I’m pleased.
The exhibit organizers worked really hard on this exhibit and the catalog shows that. If you’d like to buy a copy, just go to the MagCloud website.
Posted in Abstract Art, Abstract Landscape, Collage, Color Blocks, Painting(s) of the week, WCA-NH on February 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I thought I had this covered easily, but realized that my production is a bit behind due to time lost to heating problems at my studio and losing a couple of days work with the storm over the weekend.
This piece is almost done. All the gluing is done, but the sides aren’t finished and it hasn’t been varnished or wired yet. As I mentioned before, I was beginning to think that these “strip paintings” were a dead-end. Now I’m not so sure. I keep having just one more idea and the run continues. I guess I’ll just finish up the pieces I have started and see where it goes from there.
What do you think of this piece? Although these aren’t my normal colors, I really like the combinations, particularly that lovely soft lavender/green/grey of the sky and the purpley notes in the middle ground. After posting the soft colors last week, I realized that these soft greys are actually coming from the winter sky, particularly at dusk.
Ethel Hills – Color Block #31 (6 inch panel) – Mixed Media Collage on Panel – 6″ x 6″
Posted in Exhibits, WCA-NH on February 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend last Saturday’s reception for the annual 6 x 6 show. I did however get over there earlier in the day. That gave me the chance to pick out a lovely piece of art for myself as well as see the exhibit before any of the panels were removed. Picking just one piece was a difficult task. There are lots of pieces to choose from, the quality is excellent and there is a lot of variety in terms of style, medium and subject matter. In the end, I chose one of Soosen Dunholter’s pieces. I’ve admired Soosen’s work for years, but this is the first piece of hers that I have purchased. I may still go back for more, but wanted at least one piece from the show. With a price tag of $66 and the small size of 6″ x 6″, these are perfect to tuck in a small corner of my studio. I love looking at the wonders that another artist can create.
Besides buying a lovely piece of art, I found out that two of my pieces have already sold and one was chosen by Art 3 Gallery in Manchester for the “Notecard Project”. I’m honored to be part of this fundraising project yet again. For a peak at all the pieces selected for the Notecard Project, check out the post on our Facebook page. Please click on the images to see the full image.
Here’s the piece of mine that will be included in the next set of notecards.
Ethel Hills – “Landscape Stripes #2″ – Mixed Media Collage on Panel – 6″ x 6”
Posted in Exhibits, WCA-NH on February 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I’ve done it again. I’m so used to Friday night receptions, I didn’t even notice that I had a conflict with the 6 x 6 reception until it was too late to change plans. The 6 x 6 show is one of my favorite events of the year. I love the diversity of this show, not to mention the very affordable price tag (just $66 for each piece of art). My husband noted years ago that it’s one of the exhibits where everyone talks about the art instead of just socializing. The work is always interesting and often different from the artists normal work due to the constraints of the exhibit. (All work is done on MDF panels that are 6″ x 6″.)
I hope you’ll go to the reception. It should be great fun. Unfortunately, I won’t be there to greet you. I apologize for missing this conflict in my schedule. Please tell me what you think of my pieces. They are somewhat of a departure for me and I’m interested to hear what others will think of them. For more information on this exhibit, click here.
Posted in Abstract Art, Abstract Landscape, Collage, Exhibits, Mixed Media, WCA-NH on January 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »
After a late start and a lot of anguish, I’ve finally finished my panels for WCA-NH’s upcoming 6 x 6 exhibit. These pieces were somewhat of an experiment. The idea was to build a landscape using strips (or stripes) of prepainted paper. Some of these strips were cut from older, unsuccessful paintings and some were cut from paper painted specifically for collages. I kind of wish that I had photographed them as they were in process. I had them all pretty well planned out before I started to glue the pieces down. Unfortunately, they just didn’t work the way I thought they would. One piece I was revising up until this week, with major revisions on both December 31st and January 1st. I’m glad that I stuck with it. I’m pleased with the way they come out.
Here’s a peek at this year’s exhibit.
Ethel Hills 