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. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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)

Senior Sem, Crit (part 2)

So after being totally discouraged by the first part of the blitz crit I met with my second artist. She clearly knew I was frustrated and was trying pretty hard to help me out. Her advice was to figure out what it was I really liked about what I was doing or what I wanted to be doing and really hone in on that. She suggested making a list of what I want my art to be about/how I want it to come across. If it's a mood, she suggested picking 10 adjectives (and then narrowing it down to 5) describing the mood that I wanted the art to convey. She also mentioned that when she needs to be making art but can't figure out what to do she'll make art about what she wants to be doing right then. For instance if she wanted to be watching a soap opera she'd make a painting about watching a soap opera. All interesting thoughts...

She was definitely way more helpful than crit part 1, so I left still confused about my plan, but a little less frustrated.

Again, to be continued...

Senior Sem, Crit (part 1)

I seem to never be at a point in my work, when we have blitz crits, where I'm happy enough with it, or far enough down a path I know I'm going to continue to be able to gain really valuable feedback from them. That's been kind of sad for me because I feel like we've had amazing opportunities to talk to successful and wise artists and I've butchered them because I'm never at a point where I have a lot to say about what I'm doing and can have a dialogue about it. Anyway, essentially I was liking my paintings ok. I knew I wasn't "there yet" but viewed them as steps along the way, and then the first guy I met with essentially told me I didn't know how to paint. Which, I know isn't true, but it made me look at the paintings I'm doing and try to figure out why he saw them this way. I'm experimenting with a new way of painting and was trying to work out the kinks, but the comments I received were entirely unhelpful. He just ripped on my use of color, said nothing was coherent within the painting, criticized my studio practice, etc, etc, etc. I think what confused me most about him was that I've seen his paintings and they are far from photorealistic or naturalistic. They have a distinct abstracted sort of messy style so I thought he would be more receptive or at least helpful in terms of talking about painting that way. I think the most memorable thing he said, when I was trying to explain my interest in both photography and painting was "A lot of people say photography is...death. And then painting is...about reiterating death." I can't remember the exact words but it was something to that effect. I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from that.

To be continued...

Senior Sem Pre-Break, Pre-Crit

So this is all long overdue but I figured I might as well document it as I begin to settle into whatever I'm doing for the rest of the semester. Back before break, the day before our big blitz crit I had this idea involving glowsticks, prompted by some pictures on my phone I'd taken the night before. At something of a standstill in my painting, I figured why not embark on an impromptu photo project that was somewhat related. Also, my roommates were extremely gung-ho about modeling--volunteering themselves before I even knew I was doing this--so I figured I better jump on the chance.

I ended up taking a series of pictures of them moving in the dark with glowsticks around various joints and parts of their legs. I thought it was really interesting how this connected to some things involving movement and color that I was exploring in my paintings. Unfortunately, due to timing of my class schedule and classes scheduled in the digital lab I was unable to make decent prints of these photos for the critique and had to be content with small prints made on an average color printer. Oh well. It was just sort of for fun anyway, but I think it was a cool experiment and I'm happy I seized the moment and did tried it out.

work in progress...

This is my latest painting. It's still in the works, but I'm really liking it and hope that continues. I hope to do some more paintings along these lines. I'm transitioning away from dancers in favor of ideas of body language in general and what it can convey...

I'll post higher quality photos soon but for now this cell phone pic will have to suffice.

newest dancer painting

Here's another one-sitting dancer painting I made on monday. I like it a lot better than the first. it helped knowing it was just going to be done in one sitting meaning I was a little more intentional with my marks.

also...as soon as I starting working on the above painting I had some vague image in mind that it was reminding me of and I couldn't place it at all. Yesterday, it finally hit me....

Goals #2:

my waay overdue goals...

1. finish Katy portrait before critique on Wednesday.

2. continue work on dancer painting...working with the ideas of color and movement.

3. be better at using my blog.

Some things I've been looking at (and will continue to for inspiration):

and others...I seem to be on an Italian Futurist kick...

and also the last dancer painting I did that inspired this one...

Progress Pictures...

Portrait #1:

start of new dancer painting:

First Goals for Second Semester:

1. Finish self portrait that I will begin in class today....use it to get back into practice painting faces and people after a semester of landscape painting.

2. Plan and begin a new/larger painting involving multiple people that focuses on developing relations between the people and the relationship between the people and the space. Perhaps something from the outside looking in.

3. Go to coffeeshops and other places around Brunswick to sketch people in various spaces. Begin thinking about ways to move away from simply using photos as reference material.

4. Stop stressing....it's just art. :-)