It has been a delight to have our official “Artist Not In Residence” Patty Haller around the studios. She has been at the studio almost every day, and openly sharing her process with students and guests. Today, NPR news is playing from a little boombox on the floor. On the table, a single potted fern sits next to her palette. On the South wall, an intimidating picture of Gerhard Richter stares out amidst the posted references, and on the North wall her color studies multiply in circlets.
“This painting lightly assembles the visual complexity of a nurse log in an old growth forest, combining the enormous fallen tree with the delicate botanical growth it nurtures, a marriage of the epic and the puny.”
As I watched her paint, I marveled at her intricate work, and all the tiny decisions she’s making moment by moment. Patty is painting a 12′ painting with a 1/4″ brush. I can’t believe her focus.
“It will involve much of the same technique as my other work, but with much more planning and stamina to create the richness I’m seeking.”
[image_with_animation image_url=”2420″ alignment=”” animation=”None “[Here] my painting is in the block in stage. Working title is “12 Feet Wide” because, well, it’s 12 feet wide. Casein paint for now, oil comes later. Washes, stippling and alcohol drips to create visual texture to riff off of, limited palette to get dark/lights in. This all serves as armature to guide me in future oil layers.”
“These paintings explore the visual complexity of forests. I look into art history to see how others have organized the seeming chaos of organic botanical growth. I’m also considering big data and the analyst’s responsibility to let the data speak for itself, and not inserting myself too early by simplifying and classifying. My artistic inspirations include devotional art from the Northern Renaissance, the textiles of Mariano Fortuny and William Morris, and the paintings of Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.”
More paintings in the works at her studio in Magnuson Park:
Lately I’ve been noticing how many good paintings and drawings use repeating shapes within them, a motif. This motif seems to carry us through the composition, and give harmony and order to the shapes. I recently stumbled across this original drawing by Diego Rivera, posted on Facebook by Paul Hemminger of Bellingham Frameworks. It’s full …
I’ll be sharing my drawings on Facebook. I’d love for you to share yours too. Maybe we’ll get some people jumping in to join us. Post your pics on the Seattle Artist League‘s Facebook, or Instagram at SeattleArtLeague. #drawingaday #seattleartleague
Welcome to Day 2 of the 30SAL Challenge! To learn more about the 30SAL Challenge, click here. Today’s 30SAL Challenge is a creative idea from Seattle Artist League instructor Charity Baker. First, tone a piece of paper as dark as you can with soft willow charcoal. You might find that paper with some tooth or …
What would you do if you loved to draw, and then you went blind? For two years now, Kathy Paul has been a regular in my drawing classes. When she started in figure drawing, I admired her uncommon and interesting way of recording the forms. Then on March 3, 2019 Kathy suffered a stroke in …
Patty Haller in the Studio
PROCESS UPDATE:
[image_with_animation image_url=”2420″ alignment=”” animation=”None “[Here] my painting is in the block in stage. Working title is “12 Feet Wide” because, well, it’s 12 feet wide. Casein paint for now, oil comes later. Washes, stippling and alcohol drips to create visual texture to riff off of, limited palette to get dark/lights in. This all serves as armature to guide me in future oil layers.”
More paintings in the works at her studio in Magnuson Park:
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