ANNOUNCING...

www.rachel-mcdonald.com  

I finally got myself a website! Still a work in progress, but exciting nonetheless. Check it out!

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Maine cyanotype prints NOW AVAILABLE!

Hi all. As promised, I have finally sorted out getting prints made of the Summer 2011 cyanotype project thanks to a wonderful fine art printing company based in Westbrook, Maine just outside of Portland. The prints will be 11x14 in (the same size as the originals) on a nice, slightly-textured, matte paper. The link below will take you to a form that will allow you to pick what prints you are interested in. Please contact me for more information if I haven't already contacted you! (rachelizmcd@gmail.com).

Click here to order prints! 
Click here to browse images. 

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this seems like so long ago....

summer '11 struggles

finished!

so many failed attempts

A few updates!

This blog started out as an assignment for my Photo and Color class and ever since had remained
rmcdphotos.blogspot.com.  As I kept adding images of paintings to it, I started feeling weird about that. I have finally changed it to be more all-encompassing!  So, same blog, new url:  rmcdart.blogspot.com

I've added images of 9 out of 20 of my cyanotypes from last summer. I will add the remaining 11 soon and am working on getting prints of those, which will hopefully be available soon.

AND images of 6 of the many mini plein air landscape paintings I've done and sold this summer to Island Grocery customers. 6 more commissioned by customers and on the way!  Too bad I didn't start this back in June...  Ah well.

Other projects include helping a former classmate of mine on a public art project at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary in Brunswick for a couple weeks (see below)...

and painting a new sign for the Island Grocery (where I'm working) to replace the piece of printer paper that had probably been taped up for about 7 years. Pictures of it hanging in the store to follow soon...

Senior Studio Final Project: "Over Two, Up Three"

 At night, darkness abstracts familiar spaces into patterns of shapes and light. The color and glow of windows as they appear to hang in the night sky, intrigues me. Complex environments become flat and geometric, yet the little that is revealed provides an intimate glimpse inside, to another world. Whether or not the people and spaces inside are visible, illuminated windows suggest human presence. Each glowing rectangle implies someone inside going about his or her own life, the specifics of which the viewer can only infer or imagine. Within darkness, glowing windows can evoke a sense of security, the feeling of having someone to come home to, the knowledge that someone else in the world is awake, or, of course, the power of being an invisible watcher. Windows are transitional spaces that pierce the division between the interior and exterior. They offer the illusion of access from the outside, but still act as barriers; they are both inviting and isolating at the same time. I enjoy the tension between the sense of warmth, voyeurism, and longing that this type of view creates, and I hope to elicit this mood and dynamic through my paintings.

more progress

(in progress)

progress

I've decided to go with the copper because I like the warmth it brings to the pieces. I think it will be a fun challenge for me to work with painting on a different surface and experimenting with ways to make it work in my favor. Here are some of the things in progress...



goals:
take more source photos!
acquire more copper
play with different compositions

New Project!

<-- All works in progress...

Windows! (I've decided to embark on a project that explores the idea of looking from the outside in. I'll be painting lots of little images of windows from the outside, primarily at night. I love the glowing yellow patterns windows make at night when houses/dorms/rooms are lit up. I'll be working on fairly small paintings to emphasize the intimate nature of such a view. If I get carried away (likely...) as I gather source images for the paintings I may begin to treat the photos as final products for this project as well.

Goals:

1. Figure out what surface I'm painting on and order a bunch of it! I've ruled out canvas because the grain is inhibiting when working on a small scale. I'm testing wood, gessoboard, etc. Currently painting on a copper plate is winning out (I tested it on one of the painting below) because the warm color and shine of the surface have the potential to add a lot to these sorts of images. I'm also contemplating testing out plexiglass but have various thoughts about how the glass surface/window imagery would play out...

2. Do some more serious gathering of photos and set some up in order to get people silhouetted.

(painting on small copper plate)