Praeterita

  Beginning in June, I went back to my sketchbooks in search for inspiration for a new path for my painting. I've always carried a sketchbook with me, particularly on my frequent travels (I still have a few pages from sketchbooks from the 1980s!). So the new paintings were derived from drawings that have one foot in something observed. Landscape, even. But my drawing style has always been very fluid and quick, consisting of lots of looping strokes of the crayon and overlaid colours. That's what I've tried to carry over into oil paintings: a sense of energetic movement as the eye looks around and the hand tracks what the eye sees. Here is one of the videos of work in progress that I've posted on my YouTube channel:

  Body Female - A Self Portrait, 2012 The Tucson Museum of Art is currently displaying works by Monica Aissa Martinez in an exhibition titled Nothing in Stasis. The description of the exhibition states Martinez uses line, shape, space, and color to represent the complex connections between body, mind, and spirit. She is drawn to the language of myth and symbol, feminine and masculine, emotion and logic, circle and line, horizontal (heavens and spirit) and vertical (earth and body), finding beauty in the systems and organization of living things. Which seems to cover every possible way of making art. The things that are most immediately applicable from the museum-speak are the technical means of making the pieces - huge banners of paper covered with intricate spiraling and crossing lines, and washes of pigment - and the systems of living things. The central figure in each piece echoes the anatomical cross-sections of medical textbooks. But the internal structures are overlaid with p...

  Empty Dreams, etching, aquatint, softground, experimental technique, 15 cm x 10 cm, 2018 Part 46 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Saeedeh Golriz is an Iranian printmaker, living in Iran. She mentions that she once wanted to be a chef --- appropriate to the art of printmaking, which is a similar process of combining different elements in often long recipes to produce the finished piece. Both are a form of alchemy, and as you can see by Saeedeh's work, she is an expert printmaking alchemist who makes haunting and accomplished prints. You can see more of her work here . PH: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? SG : Printmaking, more specifically etching and aquatint, I enjoy the creative parts of it, both when I am in control of the process and also the unexpected surprises that come along the way. I can plan the whole design, but there will be unpredicted elements to it, which is perfect for my taste. PH: What piece are you current...

  Allsorts , marker, ink, flashe on 6-inch-square birch panels Part 45 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Stella Untalan, an artist from Philadelphia, is someone who epitomizes the possibilities of abstract art: rigorous formal repetitions of elements, the grid as a basis for the exploration of two-dimensional space, and the beauty of color , line, and texture. You can see more of her work here . Philip Hartigan : What medium do you chiefly use, and why? Stella Untalan : Paper is my favorite surface. It is sexy in every way. The surface responds to everything you offer it  — at each touch it reacts and I react back. My work for the past few years falls into two categories: Small works on paper, and drawings on painted panels or MDF. I’m currently using various graffiti-based markers by POSCA, Montana, and Krink. I mix some custom colors for the refillable Montana markers. The work is on paper, museum quality board, or synthetic papers like...

My wife, Patty, left Tucson for the Midwest in May to spend the whole month directing and teaching at writing retreats in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. Seeing as I was alone at home for all that time, I decided to use the four weeks as an at-home artist's residency. A real residency, of course, means you go to a location where you are given the use of a studio for a period of time to spend almost all of your time working. The advantage of such a retreat is that you leave the routines of your daily life behind and concentrate on making your art. The at-home residency, while I still had to do some freelance work and do the shopping and chores each week, is an opportunity to tune in to the same state of mind, if not from the same state of semi-isolation. My goal was to see if I could find a new path forward from the Crow and Hands series I've worked on for the past three years. The image at the head of this blog post is one of the first results: using the same imagery and mar...

  During my recent trip to Barcelona in Spain, I took the opportunity to revisit some places associated with the year that I lived there (1993 to 1994). Back then, I did a postgraduate degree in painting there, through a UK art school that ran a satellite "study abroad" program in the 1990s. The school rented two buildings for the twenty or so artists: one in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, steps away from the Museo Picasso; and one in Poble Nou, a working class district on the eastern edge of the city. The first photo above shows me in 2022 in front of the building in the Barra De Ferro, a narrow side street between Carrer de la Princesa and Carrer Montcada in the Gothic Quarter. The building accommodated an office for the course leader, a printmaking studio with press for the printmakers, and small partitioned studio spaces for artists. In common with most of the buildings in these narrow medieval streets, it was constructed with thick stone walls, a heavy wooden door, and...

Manhattan Sky , oil on canvas, wax and gold leaf, 24 inches x 48 inches x 2 inches Part 44 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Lorelei French Sowa is a painter located in Florida, USA. Her paintings, whether they refer to landscape, birds, or abstract patterns, are marked by a strong sense of shape, bold execution, and multilayered textures of paint or collage. You can see more of her work here . Philip Hartigan : What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Lorelei French Sowa : Paint is my primary medium, but within the scope of 2D, I vacillate between acrylics and oil. I love the problem-solving that 2D provides. The world is full of depth and shapes, and organizing that space on a flat panel and understanding the limitations and the possibilities of the medium paint requires intense creativity. The problem of how to depict something is an interesting one. There are a thousand and one ways you can go about it. There's no set rule. Philip Ha...

 I was visiting Barcelona, Spain, between April 26 and May 5 --- my first return visit since I lived there in the mid-1990s. The occasion was for my wife, Patty, and I to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary. I could write many blog posts about this trip, from the waves of nostalgia that swept over me, the return to familiar haunts, the new things I saw and did with Patty as we created our own memories together (it was her first time in Barcelona).  For now, I'm considering the work I saw in the Joan Miro museum, and in particular his prints. I've never been much of a fan of Miro's work --- the whimsy often obscures the inventiveness for me --- but I remember being struck by the lithographs when I used to come to the museum a quarter of a century ago (free entry with my student ID). Seeing them again, I was still as taken with them as I was back then. The selection in the museum consists of about 40 framed prints, arrange in two groups of 20, installed on the walls s...

  Artist and designer Beverly Fisher has recently moved to Tucson, Arizona, from Philadelphia and she is working in a beautiful old adobe building in the Barrio Viejo. The space is a classic structure from the middle of the nineteenth century, with thick walls to keep the fierce summer heat at bay, and an interior of whitewashed walls and flagstone floors and a high ceiling with exposed beams and rafters. In addition to making her own work in the structure, Fisher exhibits work by herself and other artists in a space which seems tailor-made to display abstract work in the best possible environment. Beverly Fisher, A Passage Series , ink on paper on board, 20 ins. x 20 ins. x 2 ins. 2021 Fishers's work consists of ink drawings on paper. Their linearity implies a high degree of formal organization and an imposed structure, but on close inspection it's clear that the final image is arrived at by a process of exploration. In the piece picture above, what appears to be a grid is in...

Boudoir II , 40 inches x 48 inches, acrylic/charcoal/collage on panel, 2022 Part 43 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Leslie Peterson Sapp is a painter and printmaker based in Oregon, USA. She makes painting and prints that call to mind mid-twentieth century magazine and book cover images, and film noir mystery. You can see more of her work here . Other interviews on this blog are available here. Philip Hartigan : What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Leslie Peterson Sapp: I use acrylic paint and paper. This is because I enjoy being able to collage paper and combine it with paint. Back in college I used oils, which are a far more sensual experience. But oil rots paper, and once I started working with collage and drawing, I switched. Now I am accustomed to the short drying time: it has a completely different rhythm than oil paint. PH : What piece are you currently working on? LSP : I’m working on a piece I’m calling “Boudoir”. It’s a ...

“ It's Not Black and White ”, (interior/open), Book board, mulberry paper, used typewriter ribbon, canvas, hemp cord, 2021 Part 42 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Debra Disman makes sculptural objects from a combination of materials that can be read as fiber art, yet also imply book forms. Her work is  a mesmerising combination of materials, textures, and forms that are combined with exceptional skill. You can see more of her work  here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Debra Disman : At the present time, I am working primarily in what you might call fiber: cloth/fabric/textiles/, including canvas, jute, lace and ribbon; and thread/string/cord, along with book board, paper, such as watercolor and mulberry papers; acrylic paint and adhesives. I interweave other materials such as used typewriter ribbon, varnish and plaster gauze into the works---whate...

Leaf Stack #43 , 2021, hand dyed fabrics, thread, 24” x 18” mounted on stretcher bars Part 41 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Lisa Flowers Ross is an Idaho-based artist working with fabrics and other materials that she combines into pieces that emerge as semi-abstract recollections of natural forms, or as more formal abstract pieces. Lisa has been awarded several artist residencies including at Playa in Oregon, Brush Creek in Wyoming, Flathead Lake Biological Station (through Open AIR) in Montana, and in May 2022 she will spend a couple of weeks at the Holly House in Shelton, WA. In June 2022 her work will be shown in Baker City, Oregon, and in 2023 at the Visions Art Museum in San Diego. You can see more of her work  here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Lisa Flowers Ross : Currently, my main medium is fabric. I started creating artworks with fabric in...

Chain of Events , encaustic monotype on Sumi-e paper Part 40 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Michelle Hernandez, based in New Jersey, USA, works with encaustic to create monotypes and mixed media work that take full advantage of the rich range of mark making and depth of surface made possible by those materials. You can see more of her work here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Michelle Hernandez : My primary medium is encaustic painting and encaustic monotype printing which I then turn into mixed-media collages (usually). I practiced as an interior and industrial designer for years and wanted to embark on a medium which really fed into my need for tactile manipulation. I’m a very hands-on person. As I researched different mediums, the encaustic process intrigued me; it’s a 4,000 year old medium once used by Romans and Egyptians in various forms. It’s a...

A Consolation , acrylic on panel, 12 inches x 18 inches, 2022. Part 39 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Anna Wetzel Artz is an artist and educator based in the Seattle area. Her visual art, inspired by nature and landscape, consists of accumulations of beautifully spare and sensitive marks that suggest natural forms while retaining a keen semi-abstract sensibility. You can see more of her work  here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Anna Wetzel Artz : I move back and forth between painting and drawing, mostly acrylic on panel and ink or colored pencil on paper. I’m interested in creating layers of expressive marks that evoke natural textures and landscapes, and appreciate materials that dry quickly and allow me to attend to several pieces simultaneously. I also create out of my home studio, working around teaching and parenting roles, so it helps to have ...