Artwork by Liz Walker
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Getting Across The Finish Line

5/17/2021

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How do we know when a painting is finished? It's finished when...
  • We decide we're tired of working on it
  • There's nothing we want to add, change, or remove
  • When our critique group says it's done
  • When it sells, and it's out of our hands
But what of the paintings that we put aside because we're not quite SURE what to do with them? My stack of "also-rans" are in a corner of the garage where I can easily access them. But why would I *want* to go back to an old incomplete painting after so many years? Because there's *something* there I haven't resolved. Like little sleeping beauties, these abandoned paintings are waiting to be awakened from their deep slumber. I find that the passing of time, and years of painting experience have given me the wisdom to know HOW to finally finish or revive these paintings! It's exhilarating to take these humble "starts" and reshape them into new, fully realized paintings.

My most successful "do-overs" are those in which very little of the original painting is visible in the final version. For whatever reason, I find it less intimidating to cover up an old painting than to face possibly "ruining" a fresh piece of expensive paper. A painting that's already in the junk pile can't get any worse, right? I've revived hundreds of paintings this way, and each one is a triumph of will----sort of like solving the Saturday New York Times crossword puzzle, but with a paintbrush.

Below is one of my recent makeover paintings---I transformed it from figures to flowers in the course of a day. It's all about knowing what to cover up and what to leave alone. And as always, I try to balance the color, shapes, and composition to create a pleasing finished piece. "Floral Trio #3: Blue Flowers on Orange"; acrylic marbling on paper, 13 x 13".


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Sharing Secrets/Teaching Others

3/29/2021

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From where I sit, there are no SECRETS in art----we just learn different techniques at different times. Everything is out there in the atmosphere, and we artists just reach out and grab useful bits and pieces as they float by--and hope we can use them later in our work. And if we're lucky, and we're paying close attention, we're able to replicate our particular kind of "magic" more than once so it's not just a fluke.

I came across something on facebook the other day, written by an artist who sounded so exuberant at having completed her first commissioned painting for a client that I immediately felt her joy:

I really just want to share my feelings of euphoria – it’s like a celebration. A celebration of what art does to us and also what it means to others. We don’t always end up with a perfect piece, and there are usually messes along the way that need fixing up, but isn’t it just the most amazing thing that we do? A celebration of learning, improving, developing, creating, serving others, and serving ourselves. --Anonymous artist on facebook
Most artists paint alone, but sometimes, we are given the opportunity to teach our art methods to others. Up until March 2020, I'd been teaching workshops in person for the past 20 years, but the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to that (at least for the foreseeable future). I held off on teaching painting classes online, because I wasn't sure I was up to the technology challenges. I did take a few ZOOM art classes in 2020 to see how others use ZOOM to teach art, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this method of learning. So I practiced, and bought a device to hold my camera over my table, and before I knew it, I was ready to give online teaching a go.

Last week, I taught my first-ever acrylic workshop on ZOOM, and at first, I was filled with anxiety about things that had nothing to do with teaching, like "will the do not disturb function on my phone do its job of blocking incoming calls? Will my internet stay connected for 3 hours?" (A call did come through, but I killed it, and thankfully the internet stayed up all morning). As soon as I began talking, painting, and sharing my process, my anxiety melted away. I showed 12 eager artists all of my "secrets"--the things I do with paint, stencils, negative painting, composition, color to completely repurpose a so-called "failed" painting. It was like thinking out loud while moving a paintbrush over the paper. The words (and paint) seem to land where they needed to, and I came up with some interesting paintings (still in progress, but close to being done).

Near the end of the session, I opened it up to questions/comments and students held up their paintings in progress so we could all see what they'd painted. There were lots of smiles on faces (including mine) and several students marveled that I'd so thoroughly shared my painting process with them. (As thoroughly as one can share in 3 hours!). I felt invigorated by everyone's enthusiasm as they talked about the techniques they'd like to try later on their own paintings. I plan to teach more ZOOM workshops like this one in the near future.   

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The painting before I repurposed it: acrylic/collage on paper, 10x 14".


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The painting AFTER I repurposed it (changing the bird into a figure) by adding paint around the figure. (You can still see the bird's beak peeking out on the upper left hand side of the painting). Still in progress, but getting close to being done.


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New Year's Resolution: Keeping Track of Your Art

1/10/2021

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It's a new year, and for me, it's time to update my art record book for 2020. I admit to being a little compulsive about recording every painting I complete in an official looking Record Book. Yes, the old fashioned ledger type book purchased from a "stationery" store has always been my  favorite way to keep track of my paintings. You can see from the image on the left that I cover over the word "RECORD" on the front of the book, and write the Volume number on the front. After 40 years of record keeping, I've just started in on Volume 5.

It all started in college when I was painting big abstract paintings in my Painting class. Somehow I'd gotten hold of a ledger book and began recording the titles, sizes, and dates of all the paintings I completed (maybe 40 or so the year I graduated). For whatever reason, I hung on to that book over the years, and when I resumed painting again at age 30, I continued recording my paintings in that old grey book.

Over the years, I've filled several of these books (each book is 150 pages, so I combine 4 years into one book, separating each year with a post-it note tab). I love the feeling of writing the title of each finished painting, one by one, into a lined notebook.

Each painting is logged in order of completion; I use a red marker to record the painting number (1 is the first painting of the year, etc.), and I write the date, size, medium, and any other notes I want to make about the painting (especially if it immediately sold).

Needless to say, I take a high resolution photo (on my iphone) of every one of my paintings (sometimes while in progress, but especially when I've signed and completed the painting). I put those images into folders on my PC labeled DigitalArt/[year], and I rename each file with the title of the painting--I shun nondescript file names like DSC0700! It is much easier to search for images using words from the title. From my PC, I am able to print out images of my work, or upload an image to a website when I enter a show online, for example.

While I do have a software program (MS Access) that I enter painting titles into when I need to make labels for a show, this hard-copy book allows me to paste things into the pages--such as my favorite paintings of the year. (I print a "contact sheet" so that the images are 1 x 3"). I cut out each small image and glue stick it onto the pages of the book--I sometimes arranged images by technique or theme.

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In addition to recording each painting, I do one more important thing. At the end of each year, I assess my artistic progress and I write about:
  • Workshops and classes I've taken (and what I learned from each instructor)
  • New methods/materials I’ve tried
  • Art/artists who have influenced me or showed me how to solve a problem
  • A “top ten” list of my own best works—and why they are important
  • Shows I’ve entered (accepted or not) and awards received
I haven't included any photos of the pages described in these bullet points because they are almost like a diary--too personal to share online. But they mean the world to me, because they inform my work and I hold myself to the task of writing them each year. Writing about my art in this book is a labor of love, and it shows me where I've been and (maybe) where I'm headed artistically.
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Entries in the record book
What do YOU do to keep track of your artwork and take stock of your artistic progress? Everyone has a different system, and there's no "one size fits all". However (or if) you do it, tracking and recording information about your art can become a satisfying end of the year ritual--and ONE resolution worth keeping.
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Reworking a Painting: "In The Bubble #1"

1/5/2021

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Sometimes, we artists say things like "I just got lucky" upon successful completion of a painting. We should give ourselves more credit for the work it took to whip that painting into shape! Is it mere luck when we see an opportunity and seize on it?

My painting "In the Bubble #1" started one way, and finished another--because I saw its potential and refused to give up on it. In one afternoon, I transformed this piece from "potential junk pile fodder" to finished painting.

If you click on each image in the gallery below, you'll see a step by step explanation of my process. Step 5 is the final image of the painting. "In the Bubble #1" is acrylic marbling on paper, 11 x 15".

It's a good art day when I go from thinking “this is not working” to “I think I’ve fixed this!”.
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A Sign of the Times

11/3/2020

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 It is Election Day here in the U.S., and what better time to talk about the importance of art?

Since 2008, I've made a point to buy a piece of original artwork on or close to the November presidential election date. Call it a good luck charm or a declaration of hope and happiness, but I believe in the power of art (not to mention supporting the work of fellow artists). Artwork I purchase prior to a presidential election becomes (for me) a personally meaningful symbol of that election.

My best art picks were in 2008, when I bought several small paintings by Trish Grantham, and again in 2012 when I bought a painting by Carla O'Connor. Obama won both elections, and these paintings are extra special to me for that reason.

Alas, I had high hopes that Ms. Clinton would be elected president in 2016 but we know how *that* turned out. Still, in October  2016, I purchased a painting done by Savannah, GA artist "Panhandle Slim" (real name: Scott Stanton) depicting singer Helen Reddy and quoting her "I Am Woman" song lyrics. Scott misspelled "invincible" but that's part of the charm of this piece. This huge 36 x 24" painting on plywood hung in a prominent place in our house for a year---but then we moved to a smaller house in 2017 and had no big wall on which to hang it. Sadly, I hung it in the garage so I could at least see it when I went in there, but I had to figure out a better way to enjoy my Helen Reddy painting. Looking out my kitchen window, I wondered if I could hang it outside on my back fence so I could see it every day?

I realized the plywood painting would not be able to withstand repeated exposure to the elements (rain, wind, etc). So I went online and found websites that will print high resolution .jpgs on outdoor metal signs. I took a fairly good digital picture of the painting, and uploaded it to a website that offered heavy galvanized steel signs (with pre-drilled holes in the corners) MEANT to hang outside! The whole thing cost under $140 and they even paid for shipping. When the big box arrived, and I opened it, it was PERFECT. Today, I had my handyman come and attach the metal sign to the fence using weatherproof bolts. (I've included the image at the end of this post). The original painting is still in my garage.

We won't know the outcome of the 2020 election until tonight (if then) but, for the record, I did buy an original painting by CA artist Debra Abshear in October. In these uncertain times, keeping up certain traditions are more important to me than ever.
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Less is More

9/30/2020

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For those of us lucky enough to be "retired" from full-time paid employment (and still have enough to live on), the COVID pandemic has had a weird benefit: the gift of time and solitude. As an artist, this means fewer interruptions and more time to delve into my ongoing conversation with art. I call it that because I do more than JUST paint. I am thinking about and responding to what is on the canvas or paper---each stroke of paint I decide to put down is part of my "conversation" with that painting.

Late last year, I had a creative awakening that started when I placed a black swath of acrylic paint on white paper, which I quickly developed into a figure with auburn hair. I called this piece "Upon Closer Inspection" and it led me to create several other paintings in this series. As an artist friend said when she viewed the painting, "it's about what ISN'T there--the space around the figure is just as important as the figure itself." That's it exactly. It is easy to embellish and add more paint to a painting until we deem it finished, but it is much harder to show restraint from the get-go and let the sparseness of the neutral colors do the work for us. Less is definitely more in the case of these recent paintings (including my "Dispossessed" series, and my more recent "Keep Your Cool" series). In each of these paintings, I use a limited palette of neutral grey/black/white/sepia colors and I let the white of the paper show through (a rarity in most of my other paintings).

Something unexpected and exciting happened to me in September--my painting "Upon Closer Inspection #1" won First Place in the Rocky Mountain Watermedia Exhibit in Evergreen, CO. The juror, Linda Daly Baker, announced the awards in a live ZOOM meeting. I was floored that this simple, elegant painting stood out among the 65 colorful, skillfully executed paintings by nationally recognized artists. Maybe less really is more.
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Why Art Matters

7/6/2020

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Four months (and counting) in to a worldwide pandemic, we've had some time to ponder what's important to us and why. Our connections feel tenuous, and many interactions are now virtual/online instead of in person. It's hard not to feel lonely and isolated, and I fight those feelings by talking to friends and family on the phone more than I used to do, taking walks, reading books, and listening to NPR (especially their non-news shows, where I learn about things I never knew!).

As an artist, I still paint nearly every day---it feeds my soul and gives me a sense of purpose and order. It is both a discipline and a time to play and innovate, and I post my finished works on my facebook page, where I get lots of welcome feedback from art friends. I participate in 3 ZOOM critique meetings per month, and that gives me accountability and a chance to see what my fellow artists are working on. These are my people, my community, and I'm grateful to have them in my life.

As much as I love to paint, I admit that there are times when I ask myself (as all artists do) "why even DO art?". Apparently, I'm not the only one who's pondered this question. A friend just shared a wonderful blog post by artist Danny Gregory: https://dannygregorysblog.com/2016/01/27/why-art-matters/

Incidentally, Gregory wrote this in 2016, but it's as relevant now as it was then. My favorite part of his post "Why Art Matters" is this:

I don’t go to church, mosque or synagogue. I don’t read Plato or the Tao. But art teaches me the things that matter. Explore the values that endure. Remind me of the legends that have passed down through time. These are crucial truths to guide me as I travel through my ordinary life, riding the subway, sipping my tea. Vital lessons that never go out of style like: Nature is to be revered. Humble pleasures are the sweetest. Everyone is significant. We are all connected. Hope is eternal. Bad things happen. The road bends. Life should be enjoyed.

Where else can I get these reminders? In fortune cookies and this month’s self-help bestsellers? Or in masterpieces that have endured because they embody and transmit our collective wisdom?

The history of art is the history of what’s important to us as a civilization and as a species. That’s why we erect huge buildings to house and display these old pieces of cloth daubed with paint, why they are among the first things we must visit when we come to a new city. They contain the truths that we, as a civilization and as a species, know are to be treasured.

I believe in my marrow that art is not a luxury. It has been a crucial part of humanity since we told stories around the campfire and painted the ceilings of caves. Art is not just for intellectuals. Art is not just for museums or public television or vacations in Paris. Art is here to make us feel better and be better. To remind us of our humanity and our connectedness. To unearth and share our feelings. To remind us we are not alone. Art is forever and for everyday.

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Finding the Story (How To Carve Out a Painting From Marbled Paper)

5/22/2020

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I post my finished paintings daily on facebook, and the most frequently asked question I get is "how did you DO that?". The best way to tell you is to SHOW you, so I thought I'd post the step by step photos of one of my recent acrylic marbling paintings "Last Hurrah at Neiman's".

The title of this piece, by the way, was something my genius husband suggested, and it seemed fitting in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. While I'm not a Neiman's shopper, this couple looked like they might be having their "last hurrah" in a department store before socially isolating at home. They seem a little dazed and rattled!

In the Beginning: Marbled Paper
For me, it all begins with the piece of marbled paper. I hand-marble dozens of papers in all-day sessions in my laundry room about 10 times per year, which yields a LOT of marbled papers for me to choose from! It's a messy, laborious process that involves dipping treated paper into a big tray of carrageenan (a liquid, slimy substance that allows the acrylic paint to float, rather than sink to the bottom). I typically marble on top of an old watercolor painting (sometimes the white back of the paper, and sometimes the painted front of the paper); I like the paper to be at least 140# so that it's sturdy enough to stand up to further applications of acrylic paint and become a finished painting suitable for framing.

Process for Developing the Painting
The circular ovals in this particular marbled paper looked like small heads, and since I paint a lot of small headed figures, my eye is trained to start THERE and build the figure around the head. I treat the paper with matte medium before I begin developing the subject matter; after the matte medium is dry, I draw on the paper with water soluble crayon to sketch in my subject matter. From there, I mix up acrylic paint colors (using some opaque white gesso) to block out the parts of the marbling that I want to cover up. I pause between steps to assess what the painting needs, how the figures relate to the edges of the paper (I often put a white paper mat around the piece as I work on it so I can see where my "edges" are), and add touches of paint where needed. Because acrylic is so adaptable, I'm able to wipe off color as soon as I apply it, if I change my mind for some reason.

Without further ado, here are the images for "Last Hurrah At Neiman's"; if you click on each image, you'll see a caption that describes each step of the process.

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Wheel or Window?

4/8/2020

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Before social distancing became a way of life, I used to visit thrift stores to selectively purchase pre-painted canvases that had what I call POTENTIAL. The plainer, the better---maybe a light colored background or an abstract grid that would allow me to paint or acrylic marble over the entire canvas, rending it unrecognizable from its original state and turning into something new.

Such is the case for "Light in the Window" which began as a black on white printed "canvas" (actually heavy nylon/polyester of some kind, wrapped around canvas stretcher bars and varnished). These are the kinds of prints on canvas you see all the time at big box stores--very decorative but (in my opinion) also a bit bland. That's where *I* come in!

I took photos of this piece in progress as I transformed the subject matter from a bicycle wheel to an arched window with figures in front of it. The final painting "Light in the Window" is 12x12" on wrapped canvas.

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New Meanings

3/26/2020

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I tend to save old paintings in a stack in my garage and often revisit them years later to see if I want to salvage or repurpose them in some way. Several months ago, I dug this painting out of the "scrap" pile and made some modifications to it. Originally it was called "House of Cards" because at the time (10 years ago!) I was painting a series about luck. This painting has been sitting in my studio for a few months, but I picked it up the other day and had an "aha" moment. Now, in the midst of a worldwide corona virus pandemic, the painting seems to reflect our current social isolation (everyone is spaced far apart). Eerie, right? My paintings often tell a story, but I hadn't realized how the story can change with the passing of time. "Story" paintings can take on a whole new meaning when viewed in a different context.
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"House of Cards" 2009, 2020 (acrylic on paper, 14 x 20")
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    Artist Liz Walker

    I'm a painter/art instructor who lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

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Site Last Updated: 9/14/2023