Two Artists Together

2012-01-21T14:41:00.001-07:00

As the link to this from my last blog failed, here is the recent newsletter announcing Awakening, evidencing an obvious though primitive solution to the blog/nl conflict - do either, then cut & paste!

I proudly announce the completion of my thirteenth sculpture, previously presented as Lady Longlegs in clay, now titled Awakening.

Awakening was inspired by this past summer's session with a young woman, a New Zealander. Her height and slender body presented a significant challenge, yet her ability to assume and hold this difficult pose and her naturalness and ease made completing this piece inevitable.In working with her in my studio, first in clay and then wax, I came to think of her not as folding into herself, but beginning to unfurl, to awaken, as a blossom does.

As you probably know, not all of my clays go to completion in bronze. Making the choice of which to finish is an emotional and intuitive response - I am starting to understand that this lovely little bronze symbolizes the beginning of one's recognition of one's own particular beauty.

Happy 2012!

Marianne Hornbuckle

Watch for Expectation, coming this spring!

Blog or Newsletter - always a coin toss,,,,

2012-01-16T21:55:00.002-07:00

It's always a confusion, and a challenge, and almost a barricade, choosing between blogging and sending out a
Newsletter and it seems hard to do both, and paint, and keep up with everything else.

Indian Summer, 16x16,ac/board c MHornbuckle201

My newsletters are not scheduled, as I don't do workshops, or publish books, or feel that I regularly have something significant to say - they evolve out of something accomplished, a new painting (or a series), a sculpture brought to fruition, something to celebrate that might be of interest to those interested in my work, or in my husband's sumi-e. Likewise my blogs are also not scheduled, though I have promised myself to force a choice this year, and to attend to each more often.
If you'd like to see my newest sculpture, click on newsletter above. Here are recent paintings, which spawned, or were spawned by (not sure which) each other, their purpose to get me back to painting in these quiet cold days of winter, now that "Expectation" is off to the moldmaker (see NL).. and it'll be some time before I can start her waxes. This is my usual pattern, painting or sculpture having its turn, sometimes with a difficult entry period filled with avoidance and multi-tasking and feeling disoriented and scattered for a few days. I know if I am patient, this will pass and so the direction and creativity will finally present itself, and take me on the next journey! The little ones will have to wait, as I've just discovered how badly I photographed them and will have to try again tomorrow ....Marianne

GASP!!!! BIG BLOG GAP!!!

2012-01-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

At SFSA Art show, September?

Clay of Lady Long Legs

So embarrassing to be claiming to have a blog, and not have posted since August, and I'm sure I must have had something to say in all that time! Newsletters were posted, activities were attended, obligations were met, responsibilities were reckoned with, new work was completed, and our house didn't turn into a hoarders' heaven (my secret fear). Looking back, I see a half-finished blog from mid-September just before the Pojoaque River Art Tour, one of our yearly marking points here in the Pojoaque Valley in northern New Mexico. Think I'll just stop here and publish that one first.........

Most Equinal - September's always a turning point!

2012-01-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

In a few days the 18th Annual Pojoaque River Art Tour will be upon us! As its original founders back in 1993, we anticipate this event eagerly every year, and then it's over and gone - another marker passed.
A somewhat difficult summer, with drought and fires followed by a local monsoonal downpour that flooded our acequia (and the carefully graded driveway) with a foot and a half of sand , and a Mercury Retrograde period marked by major computer repair, necessary new fuel pump in the "dump" truck, and the demise and replacement of our 40-year-old Kenmore range, we're not mourning its passing.
All the while, the art-making goes on, and my show season downtown resumes after our studio tour weekend.

After a summer of works on paper that loosened up my painting considerably, I moved to my usual support, cradled
masonite panels to see if the change was sticking - voila! To the left is a 24x24," Turning". Infrequently I am moved to do an to the ubiquitous aspen paintings, and and this is it. To the right is a 16x16"abstract I have called "Equinox". The seasons here have always had importance for, perhaps a response to the lack of discernible "seasons" on the Texas Gulf coast of my childhood.

Coming around the corner, summer, sports, and Art Shows!

2011-08-01T16:37:00.000-06:00

I blinked, and missed July somehow. When showing every weekend (four in a row), I try to pace myself, and not cram too much in between the weekends - thus, no blog .
Was a good month though, with the sale of a sculpture to a retired physics teacher (who just sent me a wonderful physics book with his 2nd payment!), a painting to an early collector of my abstractions, and several new works on paper to three sisters! Meanwhile, the NFL strike did get settled, and the Democrats and Republicans came to financial agreement, just in the nick of time. Plantings have struggled with the heat and little water, the fires in the mountains east and west of here have subsided and been contained, their smoke is no longer choking the valley. Summer has reached its apex, and the rufous hummingbirds have appeared, signalling the beginning of at least some monsoon season. Another inevitable birthday has come and gone. Life does go on, especially while you are not looking!

Reverie - bronze sculpture

On the second weekend, I showed my new sculpture, "Reverie" for the first time. My pieces now number 12, and my wax work has certainly improved over the four years I've been casting. Reverie is up on my website, where you can view her in the round. She's truly beautiful!

Ariadne - tinwork and watercolor - 1995

She reminds me of a tinwork shrine I made in the 90's called Ariadne. Her lover, Theseus, sailed away while she slept, even though he owed her his life. (She had provided the thread to guide him out of the labyrinth after he slew the Minotaur.)

Changing Times Ac/board 12 x 36"

The last painting I completed before July was influenced by a Golden medium I had begun using with the works on bristol paper, light molding paste. Long ago I tried it and did not like it at all, but as my work has grown more textural (not just visual, but tactile texture), I find myself loving it. I call this painting, "Changing Times" - very appropriate I think!
I'll blog about Bill next time...
Welcome to August!
Marianne

What does Baseball have to do with it?

2011-06-18T09:00:00.000-06:00


Celestial Flight 6 - 10x10 AC/Bristol Paper (19x19)

Celestial Flight 4 - 10x10
AC/BristolPaper (19x19)

Just what? It seems that baseball will be the last sport standing this year! With the strikes dooming the football and basketball seasons, it appears that baseball will finally recover the fans it lost when it had its own strike some years ago. It so happens that the baseball season coincides with our SFSA "art" season here in Santa Fe and as a veteran player on this field, I see some parallels. The winter training season has always been a really productive time for me, and excitement about the games to come continues almost unabated. The season starts slowly, is a little boring and allows time for making adjustments, trying new pitches,and building energy for the high season starting in July. That's when the fans really come out - the ones who love art and want to take it home to enjoy all year - not just as souvenirs, but outstanding hits! I've prepared a number of new "approaches" this year, some of which you've already seen, and now, another, works on paper.Two of them are here; all are up on my website. These are like the base hits: maybe they're not home-runs, but they may get me around the bases all the same. . I'm not a bettor, but I'm betting that by the play-offs in the fall, some big hits will have happened - check out Paintings-2011. Also not absolutely sure if a works-on-paper series called "Celestial Flight" has a place in my baseball metaphor, but take a look and see if you think it might!?
Til next time, Marianne

The Mavericks won the NBA Championship!!

2011-06-12T22:48:00.000-06:00

Celestial Horizons - 303x30 Ac/board

What does it mean for t seasoned artists who tend to watch the playoffs of most sports,when the unexpected, unpredicted, happens? even as far afield as basketball? It's an affirmation that anything can happen!!! Though the winner this year (only temporary of course. but,,,) is only that til the next season, the veterans, the team players, the contributors, who have persevered, practiced, held it together through adversity, uptick and downturn, hold for all of us the promise, the hope, the belief that it will ultimately work out. Making your best effort, year after year, practicing, growing, accepting the challenges, persevering in your visions, ignoring the hype, the marketing, the next great thing, does mean something, To all of those of us who fall into that category, hurray for us! and the Dallas Mavericks!!d

Expansion & Inclusion- Hornbuckle's Latest Work

2011-06-08T09:47:00.000-06:00

SFSun Series10 - 10x10

The promise of spring is always exciting - fresh new ground to till, seeds and starts to plant, and always, new things to try - new varieties, new garden plan, new energy. But not just in the garden! The focus during this time in the studio has been on pushing forward in my work with new colors, new mediums, and new approaches. Some pieces are ideas that have been simply pushed further; others, pieces where earlier means have been abandoned and new ones incorporated. The results to the left are finished paintings, full of the potential and promise of beautiful future paintings. What is so great about abstract painting is the way new possibilities emerge from the act itself - one could not think one's way there or visualize it either.

SFSunSeries 9 - 10 x 10

I am now painting a series of works on paper(10x10's) with the same exciting color and fresh but bold application-nos.5 & 6 are taped on their boards. As I write this, I think of the summer-time daily occurrences of my fortunate life here in New Mexico - the flashing blues of the lazuli bunting and the blue grosbeak under the feeder, the sound of the acequia making its run past my window into the orchard, and the smell of locust blossoms in the early morning. I expect all and more to show up in the new works. Til next time!

Marianne Hornbuckle
June 2011

Celestial Horizons I - 30x30"

If you are interested in purchasing a work of art, request a print-out via e-mail so you can see the actual colors - monitor color varies.

As always, please call me if you are visiting Santa Fe, and would like to come out to our home/studio north of S.F. for a visit !

Acceptance

2010-12-17T23:04:00.001-07:00

Santa Fe Sun Series (1 of 11 5x5's)

Early this year, a well-known art marketing -teleconference coach told me she found my main website confusing. It includes both abstract painting (and monotypes) and figurative sculpture listed in categories with portfolios by year. Adding to the confusion is my homepage, which shows examples of both. She suggested that I separate them into two websites to be more clear. I haven't yet done that, as I have been bringing a third website, my watercolor portrait site, up to speed. I have collectors of either paintings or sculpture who have been confused by the presence of both genres in my outdoor show booth here in Santa Fe, and who definitely prefer one or the other, but not both, usually.

Commission-3 sister

Imaginary child(workshop)

Her confusion brings me to reconsider the idea that a mature artist (me) should have focused only on, become known for, one genre. Certainly numerous artists become very successful commercially doing that, but if it's not in you, it just isn't. To me, that one genre idea goes along with the idea that one should develop a career as a fine artist only through the gallery system. Generally galleries bring an artist in with a particular body of work, and expect the artist's production to remain focused on that one vision, particularly if the gallery is successful at selling it. Some artists find
security there and are able to maintain their interest and output, but for a certain kind of artist, that's very limiting, and exploring the next avenue of expression, though risky in terms of one's galleries, collectors, and livelihood, is irresistible. Sometimes, moving on (in genre, gallery, means of marketing, etc.) is a matter of circumstance, a combination both of unforeseeable events out of the artist's control and the choice to explore and grow as an artist. Certainly the committed average artist ( not the superstar or shining light) who is actually trying to support himself with his art, and unable to rely on a spouse with steady and adequate income, will make different choices at different times in his career, and not always to his own ultimate benefit.

Liquid Graphite brush drawing

That said, and at this late point in my career as a self-taught fine artist, I find myself now having a number of things to offer those who love original art and want to have it in their lives - not because I have continually searched for the next best thing to present, or because I was trying to figure out what the fickle public might like (maybe when I was a much younger artist), but because my skills and interests have led me organically from one thing to the next. At this point, I think the best thing for me is to accept that this is who I have become as an artist and do the best I can with presenting it, within the accepted notion, or outside of it. Perhaps I should add the watercolor site to the abstract painting and sculpture site, and include a separate section for drawings? I continue to think that my potential collectors have enough intelligence to figure it out! and if you feel up to it, check out my painted pony on e-bay!

Knock at the Gate -Great teaching and Sumi Classes

2010-10-27T11:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I put together a sumi e-mail encouraging interested students to schedule a three-hour class this fall or winter. In doing so, I began to think about what makes Bill's classes so exceptional.

Having talked to them about their interests, skill level, etc, before each class Bill prepares extensively for the students by reviewing methods, preparing copies of lessons, thinking about their specific needs. The classes is very hands-on, as he observes the student, making sure each concept is fully understood and oversees practice of the strokes until the student has the experience to build a sumi-e vocabulary.

Sharing resources, his own work, and material from his wonderful library gives the student marvelous insight into the vast possibilities beyond the traditional sumi-e.

Many of his students have said the three hours was "transforming" and they will never "look at (...sumi-e) things the same way again." I say - this is what makes a truly great teacher!

See more work and class descriptions (guidelines only- you can ask to learn specific things) at www.inkpainter.com.

You can e-mail Bill at williampreston@inkpainter.com

Fall is Falling

2010-10-05T19:26:00.001-06:00

Here it is October already! The 17th annual Pojoaque River Art Tour was a grand success for us, given the blessings of Ganesh, and we met many wonderful people, enjoyed some cash flow, generated some opportunities, and generally had a really good time! That's what showing up all the time is about, I think.
I re-sandbagged the studio door just now. After three flooding rains in August and September, the drive area which in a heavy storm receives much of the water from the road and hills just southeast of us is higher than the studio floor.The succeeding storms deposited muddy water and debri into the studio, each time going back further on the slab.The last flood covered 2/3's of the 800 sq. ft with water and silt, so you might understand my concern. In this storm, the heaviest cells seem to be passing west and east of us, as verified by the accuweather radar picture. (Computers have some great uses, and for me, this is one of them!) We'll have to have work done to improve the situation, but of course that won't happen until after these kind of seasonal storms are behind us.

Primary Variations I

Primary Variations II

Primary Variations III

I'm pleased with three new small (10x10) paintings done in September. Titled Primary Variations I, II, III, they feel to me like the movement from summer to winter that autumn represents here. I love that we have actual seasonal changes (I grew up on the Gulf Coast, if you didn't know ). Bill is working on reconciling his monocular vision with his studio set-up, having discovered recently that he needs to be over his paper and brush, rather than in front of it. It's full chamisa season now - a major hurdle for New Mexico allergy sufferers (Bill among them)- ending only with the first frost, which seems to be somewhat delayed this year (average date is early October).
My friend Shawna Moore has some wonderful new encaustics at Rachael Darnell Fine Art through October. I think she's one of the best encaustic artists around, and you can see her work at shawnamooreart.com.
The SFSA show season is winding down - the poor economy has impacted me negatively, not so for the many photographers showing with me. I'll be glad to hibernate and just work this winter! Looking forward also to a short trip to Tucson later in October and am contemplating doing portrait busts of my grand kids as they each reach 8 years old. Only one has at this time - and I think 8 is great! (so are the other ages...)
Right now Bill is looking forward to my absence, so he can enjoy using the computer (a new and recently acquired skill) and seeing what is going on the the world of sumi-e.

Back in the Game

2010-09-12T22:30:00.000-06:00

The Pojoaque River Art Tour, here north of Santa Fe, always the third weekend in September, one of very many studio tours (now) in northern New Mexico, is in its 17th year! Bill and I founded the tour in 1993 by asking the 3 artists we knew then to invite any artists they knew to meet at our house to discuss the possibilities. Here we are, 17 years later, and I think it still offers possibilities! For one thing, it's a yearly goal to show new work,.present a fresh face to our friends, and the community, to meet new artists who've moved into the neighborhood, and to see what happens.

This year, Ganesh, my favorite Hindu god, of recycled materials, will preside at the gate. Ganesh is the god of Abundance, and this is his festival time in India. Too, he is the remover of obstacles, and given the realities of this summer , I evoke his blessings on this endeavor!

Two Artists Regroup in a Down Economy

2010-08-23T08:57:00.000-06:00

Though I did put out a NL in late July (actually thought I had done a post then) just before the Loveland Sculpture show on August 7 & 8, that has now come and gone, with no sales, but results still pending. Bill and I are rethinking what we might do to generate income given that his sumi dojos, my usual summer venues, and the sculpture show too, have not yielded the customary results.

Until things (the economy especially) change, we'll not only be watching expenses, but investigating previously unexplored avenues for getting work out and making sales. Bill's shop is finally up on Etsy (just sumi-landscapes for now), with cactus, and bugs to follow. He is now offering 3 hour dojos, easier on the student's pocketbook, and on his own energy and eyesight.

I'm starting to scout alternative possibilities for a solid body of sculptures, now that I have clarity about the work. I wrote the following just before the sculpture show in Colorado:

" I make sculpture to express the special beauty of imperfect and unique individuals. in a culture where the ideal body is so idolized that many starve themselves, work out obsessively, and undergo surgery to achieve society's concept of perfection, the simple beauty of ordinary beings goes uncelebrated. I work to celebrate the diversity of that beauty. "

In case you haven't seen the last pieces finished before August, here they are. View them in the round on my website. Meanwhile, please forgive the consistent misspelling of Rubens!

Ruben's Muse

Daydreamer

We both have older work from other periods in our lives as artists - maybe a foray into e-Bay? There are many possibilities - we've spent intermittent evenings brainstorming ideas. In any case, we'll let you know what's happening and tell you of offerings of interest!

June Review

2010-07-04T11:01:00.033-06:00

Well, Texas was just plain fun! Between fishing with my brother, eating seafood and game, and seeing high school classmates- it was actually grand. I used my new Flip video camera extensively, recording for a dear friend who couldn't be there, and then for the first time had to find video editing software for my PC, and learn to use it! After one or two ineffectual attempts, my first 3 minute movie is up for private viewing on YOUtube - pretty rough and only those involved would enjoy it, but look for future videos that may BE of interest - especially if you like sumi-e. I want to also say the program I found was pretty good, not too hard to learn, and not too expensive - check out AVS4YOU software - it's fairly new I think, and you can try it for free (30 days?) and then buy it if you like it. Next thing you know I'll be inserting video in these blogs! Meanwhile, Bill fended for himself and kept the garden alive during what seems to have been the hottest days of the summer here in New Mexico - hardly fair, I'd say! Now it's back to the SFSA shows in downtown SF - will be there through July and then go off to the Loveland Sculpture Invitational, for the "biggest sculpture show" in the country - am working on the peripheral materials, postcards, business cards, etc. While on this topic, have you checked out gotprint.net for this kind of stuff? They do great work and have the best prices on the web..

The Wine Festival at EstrelladelNorte was fun, and pretty successful for the first time out of the gate - I enjoyed showing, with Bill, all that we do here at home - paintings, sculpture, sumi, t-shirts, and we met some interesting people, especially the couple, she, a writer, he a graphic designer, who run Burning Books, primarily a collaborative art books venture.

Bill had a lovely sumi-e student (an art teacher) from North Carolina last week who came to him through our Santa Fe Creative Tourism connection, I think. Janet took the last "full day" class he will give - he is shifting to shorter half day classes (3 hours), having decided the intensives are intense enough without the length, and his eye will welcome the shorter time span. She was an "eco-tourist" foodie and also took a tamale-making class while here (her husband played the Black Mesa golf course while she was at our house - he said it was really tough!).

Everything was in bloom for most of the month, peonies, poppies, roses, daylilies, clematis, daisies, larkspur, overlapping one another, and now the best hollyhocks ever. In review, I'd say it was a beautiful June, balanced, restful, relaxed..... and things that didn't get done, well, can't remember exactly what they were....

Tying up the Loose Ends

2010-05-30T17:54:00.007-06:00

Whenever I'm about to travel, I become frenzied about finishing up at least some projects, so I won't have to face them immediately upon returning - things like going to the dump (yes, here in Pojoaque we deal with our own garbage-creation, storage, and disposal), preparing the newly planted tomatoes and seeded annuals to survive five or so days of benign neglect, and getting the last of the weeds pulled, or mowed/hoed. And that's just in our maintenance department.

The marketing department has to address some tasks delayed until my grasp of their mechanics is steady enough to address them - i.e. the newly added e-mail subscription suggestion on this blog. As a webmaster/blogger who barely understands the in and outs of all this, but is willing to try, one of my favorite sources of how-to (for-try-to-do-everything artists) in this department is www.emptyeasel.com - with easily accessible articles about many areas of virtual marketing and great links that are just what you need to know when you need it. The last thing in this area is to create a Facebook event and send it out for the P/H/Fine Art Fan Page. While at it, marketing COULD reorganize the sculpture pages and create a DRAWING page on her website.

The art department has to clean up after a sketchy, somewhat haphazard week-long monotype session, put the waxes somewhere where they won't melt as a June morning heats up the studio, finish and photograph some of the drawings that will accompany the sculptures in her display at the Loveland Sculpture Invitational and finally, leave her studio table in the house clean so the other artist can do some matting and framing for the EstrelladelNorte Wine and Music Festival coming up 4 days after her return.

Two more days, and the social department is off to Texas for a 50th!!! class reunion, fishing with and visiting her twin brother, and a respite from maintenance, marketing, and art-making. She knows she should stay another day, and do some ART business in Houston or something, but six days is one day too long to be gone from her interesting life here!

Marianne

Where Have We Been Anyway?

2010-05-23T17:52:00.002-06:00

Could a month have passed since I last looked at this? Time to blog again and lots to cover but will try for succinct! With two chilly art shows behind me, and tomatoes planted and row covered, off Bill and I went to Arizona, Canyon de Chelly, and then Phoenix, via the Salt River Canyon, for respite and inspiration (with a three day car trip and 1300 miles, not for relaxation). I'll show, not tell.

The following sumi Bill painted on returning:

A search for blooming cactus almost failed, till we landed at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Globe, AZ, east of Phoenix (thank you Google!) which is at the northernmost edge of the Sonoran Desert - finally we had come far enough south, and low enough, to find cactus in bloom!

Canyon Flight - 19x18" Sumi-e

and the resulting sumi/Chinese watercolor-

After dinner that evening with an old friend in Phoenix, we whipped back home on the third day in time to celebrate in succession Mother's Day, our 28th anniversary, and 3 days later, Bill's 80th birthday, a very sweet and small affair, which required as much preparation as any huge party - perhaps failure to clean regularly? It finally had warmed up and what we call grass here (foxtails and cheat grass) had grown a foot everywhere, including flower beds, and needed aggressive action.
I dressed waxes for delivery to the foundry guys, down from Colorado -

and several waxes of a colt for a fellow painter who has taken up sculpting. They'll be back in June with the "metal",the first of the editions of Reuben's Muse, and Passing Time and hopefully my guy Brian will have his shop up and running for chasing and patinaing so these are ready for the Loveland Sculpture Invitational in August.

Meanwhile, we'll be getting ready for the 1st EstrelladelNorte Wine and Music Festival in Nambe on June 12-13. Bill and I will share a booth, show something of everything that we do, including his newest T-shirt, dubbed the "Bee T" , and are looking forward to a great time! After travel to Texas early June for a class reunion and some great salt-water fishing, the wine festival, and some more weeding and watering, I'll return to the SFSA shows in downtown Santa Fe in late June. The grass is out of most of the flower beds, and meanwhile I've got a (maybe) great run of monotypes going! Guess there's good reason I haven't blogged in a bit.....

Torn

2010-04-18T13:37:00.000-06:00

Always, each spring, I think it will be different, and somehow, no matter what I've done to manage, rearrange, pre-organize (is that a word?) it's really just the same. Torn between all there is to do, I jump haphazardly from the middle of one thing to the end of the next, or the beginning of something else, abandoning, adapting, reviving and renovating in turn in no particular order -planting, painting, weeding, sculpting, cleaning, showing - my own private annual anarchy.

After a false start monoprinting (it usually takes 3 focused days to even begin to get somewhere)a second mold arrived, a particularly challenging 5-part one, and cleaning up the ink, I cranked up the wax pot again. Next weekend brings the first outdoor art show of the season here in SF and I'll be there with new sculpture, and a good number of new paintings and some waxes to work on for the next foundry run.
The last painting completed is called Cere's Dream, and is about the return of Spring after(for me) a long, focused, productive winter. If you've forgotten(or never knew) your mythology, Ceres(Demeter) was the Goddess of the Harvest - Her daughter Persephone disappeared, and for six months Ceres wandered the earth mourning, while all the trees and plants withered and died. Learning she had been taken to the Underworld, Ceres begged the gods to rescue and return her to earth. Unfortunately Persephone had eaten a few pomegranate seeds while there, so in compromise she was allowed to return only for half the year - thus we have Spring and Summer.
I love Spring, and I'm always torn...

Running in Place

2010-04-12T14:27:00.002-06:00

Much is being accomplished, but with so much to do, it feels like running in place! These three paintings are 16x16, Empyreal Zephyr I, II & III, my annual tribute to Spring! and an additional two words increasing my vocabulary... There's a fourth larger painting, 24 x 24, but I'll save that for another time. Spring always brings new energy, and the activity to match. After finishing the fourth larger painting, the mold was ready a week ago today for a new sculpture I'm titling Reuben's Muse and a wax had to be made in time for the monthly pickup for casting (Madd Casting, Berthoud CO) comes to SF mid-month to deliver "metal" and pick-up waxes (this past Saturday). While waiting for delivery of a second mold, what to do? Clean up the yard some more, plant some pansies, compose and send a first Newsletter for Bill and his collectors, start on a new group of monotypes - yes, all of the above! Aries'energy is both strong, and abundant - thanks, Aries!

Around in Circles

2010-04-02T16:43:00.002-06:00

Now that I've given up and will find some other way to blend blog and website, I'll backtrack and catch up a little.Here are the two other sculptures that should have been posted in February.

With the first piece of each of these now ready to show, it was time to move on. Two more clays were finished and went to the mold maker. Now(early April), the molds are almost finished and soon it will be wax time again. If they are to be ready for the 19th Annual Loveland Sculpture Invitational in early August, they'll have to go to the foundry in mid May. Wish me luck on that one! The gaps in the process were spent painting, with 6 smaller works, and one larger piece, just finished yesterday. I'll post them all in the next blog.

Amidst all this, my husband/sumi painter William Preston, had a very successful showing at the Santa Fe JIN's fourth Matsuri (Spring Festival) which I assisted,(and it was absolutely great fun), and I determined to expand this blog to include his doings (since they are part of my process as well). His new work is presented on his website, inkpainter.com and he has a wonderful new t-shirt, which we call the "Bee-T", or "Circle of Bees" available in S,M,L and XL.

I've created a Preston/Hornbuckle Fine Art Fan Page on FB , if you'd like to follow us. You can do that by finding our badge on the page, and clicking on the Become a Fan link at the bottom of it. I often post photos of newest work there before any where else. The image for the Fan Page Badge looks like this.

Somewhere in all this we signed up to show together at a local wine festival in June in Nambe (the next little community to the east). More information here ( go to Events)- it's a beautiful spot and should be gorgeous in mid-June! Enough for now!

Back to Square One

2010-03-31T12:39:00.000-06:00

After struggling now for a week to have my blog and website show up together (and the instructions seemed so clear and simple, and the techs at GoDaddy were helpful!), I'm giving up and will try some other way - that is, after my website leads back to the original pages, not in a circle with the blog, and my blog just leads to my blog. I'm telling you this on my blog, because typing any version of the website URL takes you here. If this can't be rectified soon, guess I'll be blogging a lot and linking to that.

Frustratedly yours,

Marianne

Figurative Sculpture to the ForeFront!

2010-02-08T10:47:00.001-07:00

Juggling two concurrent threads in my art life is challenging and fulfilling. Though current thought says "multitasking" is inefficient, I probably won't stop anytime soon. There are gaps in the process of creating a bronze - after a clay is finished, time when the mold is made and delivered, again after the wax is cast and goes to the foundry, and again after the "metal" is delivered, time for chasing, patina and mounting. Since the "gaps" can be as long as a month, they are a perfect time for me to move forward with painting.

I delivered the bronze above to her new home last week. It was a commission, and I will be able to make an edition as well. Their baby is now three months old, and her mom sat for the piece at six months pregnant. (From the initial posing to the final bronze takes about 6 months). I'm not bragging, but the parents were really blown away and thrilled about the outcome, and I completely jazzed by their response. Though they had asked to see two new paintings, and kept one, they just called and have decided not to buy just yet- oh well there is always another day! The painting pictured is the last painting of that size (I've used all the panels!) of the Pond Series - perhaps a square "Pool" series is next!

When is a painting Finished?

2010-02-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

After a week or so of looking at one of the Pond paintings, I began to see that something was missing - the painting was too much in a middle value range. One of the problems with working with orange-red/blue-green complimentary colors is that of all the complimentary pairs, this combination is closer in "value" than the other pairs (yellow-purple, orange-blue, etc.) and though beautiful mostly cool neutrals were created and juxtaposed against their accents, the painting still was in the mid-value range. What was missing was some real darks(and/or lights) to set off the neutrals. To the right is the end result of further painting - if you look back at the last blog, the before is shown. What do you think? Isn't it better?

As I last said, next up is (finally a better title than "six months pregnant standing nude") - "Lady in Waiting" or "In Waiting" or "Mother-to-be" - what would you choose? When the sky clears and light returns, I'll photograph her and post it,,, "Day-Dreaming" and "Reading" -my working titles -are in the rough chasing stage at my guy's shop and should be out soon too..

Following the Impressionists' path with Abstracts

2010-01-21T13:30:00.014-07:00

In a post this fall, I described pursuing a painting direction inspired by Shady Lakes(lily ponds north of Albuquerque called by another artist the Giverny of New Mexico), and showed you the first painting of a new series, Pond I. The series explores a more Impressionistic palette, each painting limited to 5 colors + white. Here are three more of said series(the 3rd may not be finished yet) using basically the same colors - what I find most appealing in this process is the creation of delicious neutrals using compliments, near-compliments and white, and of course, the experience of working with more subdued, less "Southwestern" colors.
Next post will be the finished sculpture of a pregnant young woman who has since had her baby, a little girl, and a red-head at that, I hope!

art Chickens come home to roost

2010-01-03T20:42:00.004-07:00

A wonderful and amazing thing happened today! An old and rarely remembered art-debt was acknowledged and is being paid! Probably 20 years ago, I agreed to a reduced price, and sold a fair number of early watercolors from my AWS days, done ten years earlier, to a dealer from a town nearby, receiving payments for some years, then none for a good while, and finally, as it would come up mentally yearly (or when economically stressed), forgetting about it mostly, the w.c.'s being in the past, and my having moved on (in my own art work and life). Said dealer died recently, sadly, and his partner contacted me today via e-mail (a time to have gratitude for the expansion and complication the internet brings into our lives) to ask about and settle the debt - how honorable and wonderful of her, and for me - an affirmation of faith in the integrity of many of those we deal with in this art life.

Marianne

The "off" season....

2009-10-30T19:48:00.005-06:00

When one's life choices come to rest, making art one's sole source of income for 25+ years is a risky business, and a rewarding one. For the last 6 years I have enjoyed primarily representing myself, an independent artist past mid career, selling my own work through a juried group, S.F.Society of Artists, who show weekends through the "season" in downtown Santa Fe. My partnership in a cooperative gallery, Artistas de Santa Fe, also a beneficial experience, ended at the beginning of 2009.
These new venues for a former "gallery artist" have been a wonderful experience. I have met interested potential customers (they don't stop before my work unless interested) and learned to talk about and sell my own work, as well as others. I have gotten to know diverse artists with divergent goals at various levels in their careers. I have learned to accept my outcome, either positive or negative- setting up at 6am on Saturday and sitting for two days, often with unknown results, breaking down on Sunday at 5:30. I have collected many addresses, snail and e-mail, handed out many postcards and business cards, and grown enormously in the area of "marketing." I have contributed to my organizations with work, worry and wisdom (I am old, after all!)

Today I was rewarded with a visual record of that effort and growth, and a documentation of where it has all landed - weekends now spent talking to interested persons about painting and sculpture, interacting with my colleagues, young and old, and working on clays and waxes, a perfect and absorbing activity for those weekends. A fellow artist, Doug Earp, a wonderful traditional black and white photographer who works in the darkroom to produce his images, took pictures during the almost last show of the season. I wanted to share them with you and also his work. I googled him to find his website, and discovered he is listed on LinkedIn, but has no web address, so I can't share his work (sorry). Get busy, Doug, it's winter, and we all have work to do!

R-inspiration

2009-10-07T08:06:00.007-06:00

Fall does not come quietly! Many tomatoes and squash to be dealt with, the annual fall art tour here in Pojoaque, weekend art shows to set up and take down, waxes to be created and dressed to replace the bronzes sold during the summer (yes, sold!)and have ready for the monthly delivery(of bronzes)/pickup (of waxes)of the great guys at Madd Casting in Berthould, CO. Add to that the clays that need attention to be readied for mold-making. In all this activity,there is the waiting, for the inspiration of a new exploration/direction in which to take my paintings.

September passed quickly, and at the very end, a little day trip to Shady Lakes near Bernallillo sparked that inspiration. Described as the Giverny of New Mexico by another artist, the lakes are little gems of lily and fishing ponds fed by the ditches in the bosque of the Rio Grande. As we drove up, a small flock of Canadian geese lifted away in one pond and fish disturbed the surface in another. A morning spent there in the dappled light of cottonwoods quieted my mind and stirred up some new ideas for paintings. Why not leave the bold color for a while and explore the palette of the Impressionists? Having never been a true "representational" painter, I found this a novel idea, so completed a new painting within that same week. Though designed and painted as a vertical (it's 40" x 20") I find I like it as well in a horizontal format - it's titled Rebirth I -never thought I'd be "born" again!

August Revelations!

2009-08-06T18:41:00.006-06:00

Inevitably, the summer seems to start at a reasonable pace, like the first blossoms of the squash plants in your garden which bear no fruit. Then suddenly, in August, the rains come, the beat quickens and it's almost overload time! This summer is no exception, a cool June of long overdue cleaning of the studio, a random July spent making and dressing waxes to be ready for casting, and now in August a return to the process of painting that I enjoy so much.

Above is the second version of "Shift", a 36 x 36" painting that lived in Chicago for a season and then returned to momma. Two years is enough space, and growth as a painter, to see the problems of an earlier painting, and have no fear in attacking it again - in fact, an opportunity ripe with promise, just like that squash recipe! I've decided it "tastes" really good and may revise some other "old recipes" as I see the need. What do you think? The "old"version of this painting is below. If this blog is to be about my process, I have to reveal the whole thing!

Two NEW sculptures

2009-07-05T15:02:00.008-06:00

The latest additions to my sculpture series Life Drawing/Contemporary Classics are finally finished and up on my website. See Cher II and Syri - both larger in scale than the first four (the exception, Cher I) The process still intrigues, but with my mold-maker/chaser/patina guy already working full time and buying a house and all those other life things people do it seems to take a long time! I do love the clay and wax modelling and have found I can work on both while showing my paintings and sculptures at the SantaFe Society of Artists' shows on the weekends. Everything goes with me in a cooler(though we've had an unusually cool June) and time in the booth passes quickly. Having examples as well as finished sculptures right there generates opportunities for discussion with those who venture into my "gallery".
The Salon Mar Graff show "June Open Call Exhibition" into which I felt honored to be accepted with three paintingshad two openings, June 25, 26, which I enjoyed attending. John Mar Graff's food is always the best, the show was beautifully presented, with very diverse and beautiful work, and there was a good crowd. Thanks for continuing your fine effort,John.

Last of all, in JuneI began cleaning the WHOLE studio in which the sculpture and monotype work take place along with painting storage and shipping materials- first real effort in over 15 years! Previously studio transformations took place in sections when I was either taking on a "new" interest or discarding an old one and needed the room...

A color explosion! New Monotypes!!

2009-06-01T10:09:00.007-06:00

This years' first monotype session has to be declared a grand success!!! The response at my weekend art shows has been phenomenal. Successfully channelling the later work of Esteban Vicente, I found color that I previously could only dream of! Color both bright and subtle, color that can only be created by juxtaposition and the layering of multiple plates of etching inks on beautiful damp BFK Rives rag printmaking paper sprang forth in over 40 prints, and is now posted on my website. I'll be in there again tomorrow for a second round. These prints are one painless way to start collecting original art, to own an original Hornbuckle - details on the second page of monotypes on the website - keep watching - I'll post to the website as I go....

Making Monotypes -Color Experimentation

2009-05-03T11:16:00.009-06:00

Having had a Belgium-made etching press since moving here in the early 80's, my monotype experience is vast, and I should say, unschooled. Could be a good thing, maybe not. I do print runs about 2-3 times a year for a couple of weeks, avoiding winter, when it costs $$$ to heat the studio and the etching ink is really stiff. This year's first run coincided with the previously mentioned "vacation" from shows and the usual, and I decided, out of economic necessity, to make small prints to sell at shows (my low-end originals)and make it an opportunity for real experimentation! After a week of low enthusiasm, stale ideas, and little success, I finally am starting to get somewhere. Pictured is the last one I did - I am really happy with it! Hope to continue successfully in this way moving to larger prints next(the print pictured is 6"x6"). I'll post as I go, until my happy vacation screeches to a halt in two weeks. By then, the waxes will have become bronzes, and life will resume in a slightly different direction. And on a really positive note (**) my artist husband's one good eye is recovering from retinal surgery, has been pronounced fantastic! by his very circumspect doctor - it appears his sight will be better than before when all is done - we are both (he
especially) very grateful!

Off the ArtTrack

2009-04-20T13:05:00.006-06:00

It is said life is what happens while you're making other plans. With eight new waxes ready for the foundry and the outdoor art show season and publicity for that underway, spring revving up with new energy, and my monotype ink table freed from waxes for its original purpose, life has changed my mind and course for now. The foundry guy became ill and left town without picking up the waxes, my artist husband (already blind in one eye)had emergency surgery for a torn retina and is temporarily blind (now both) and has to keep his head down for two weeks solid, and I've had to cancel the first two shows I planned to do. What to do? anything I can, here at home. That means actually readying the garden for planting, finishing the back garden cleanup (new growth is already 6 inches up through the winter's dead stuff and debris) after all, and doing some monotypes! I'm so charged!
Didn't know this is what I had in mind, but it sure sounds good!

Exceptionally well-done Molds

2009-03-31T15:06:00.004-06:00

Exceptionally well-made molds make beautiful waxes - the rubber molds are uniform and not too thick, the plasters have enough keys and bubbles to fit together precisely and the result (if the wax application is done well) is waxes that require only a little dressing because their seams match perfectly! I'm still learning the dressing process and gradually improving, but kudos to my mold-maker, Brian Honeycutt, Santa Fe - I would never attempt that step of creating a bronze!

Accessing Progress- Any, Little, No, Some?

2009-03-24T09:34:00.006-06:00

To think I thought this blogging would actually be easy! and I'd always have something to say and time to say it. It's almost April, and I last posted in early February - what have I been doing all that time? Though it feels like nothing, when I run down the list it's not - two medium-size paintings, 3-4 waxes for the next run, finishing taxes, spring-cleaning of our section of the acequia, a trip to Seattle (with two days of good weather,Pike Market, wonderful museums, grandboys, and a ride on the tour "duck"!), a Southwest airlines virus upon returning, my artist-husband suffering temporary blindness last week, it's a pretty full list! But like all of us after an interruption in our normal workflow, I'm having trouble getting back to work! where to start? In my case, it is the flow that keeps the flow going, so I try to imagine suggestions another artist might have for sparking the flow when halted - looking at old Art in America's, revisiting my sketchbook, making a list of titles, trying to remember all those ideas I had and didn't write down?.. will let you know when it happens. Meanwhile, think I'll photograph the last two pieces, Summer Dreaming and End of Winter, so you can see them....that way, I won't have to get down to work yet!

Complexity confusion !.?*x?/&!

2009-02-15T14:13:00.008-07:00

Yesterday as I finished the seemingly endless process of preparing images of sculptures, putting them on my website and uploading it to the Internet and fixing the glitches and e-mailing a first link to my friends, I reflected on the good ol' days when galleries marketed their artists and at most the artist (besides delivering the framed named work) might share the expense of, say, the mailing for a show and you would sent postcards to your friends and, when you next saw them, show them pictures.

How things have changed! Even the artists who are fully supported by their galleries are much more involved with their own marketing now and that world is much bigger and more complex with computers and the Internet. It is a struggle to balance the time, the photographing and preparing and uploading, not to mention completing the actual work, thinking about the endless next steps and planning new work and then adding in blogging and facebook , and now tweeter- the more I simplify my outside obligations, the more "other stuff" flies in to fill the small gaps! How do the rest of you do it all?

Visiting the Present Reality of a Past Event

2009-02-08T10:42:00.004-07:00

Longevity as an artist usually means you've done many different kinds of art-related things in the past and changed genres a few times. Sometimes one of those things pays a return visit! In 2001 I participated in the Trail of Painted Ponies in Santa Fe and created Rosie the Apparoosa for the project, which led to a commission, and eventually a "collectible" replica. Last week I drove to Phoenix to sign a second collectible, "Night Pony" for a lovely signage sum. Sometimes one gets lucky! Signing MHornbuckle 325 times was a breeze(ponies, certificates and books), and Rod Barker, and Karlynn Keyes (Pres. & V-Pres) and their whole staff were just great. What a treat to have such a good time in addition to getting paid!! If any of you out there have a horse-crazy friend, aunt, cousin or someone in your family who "collects" things, check out out their great website. My second collectible is pictured in the Valentine's cycle on the home page (nice!), but more than that, this very creative small business deserves support! You could pass along the link too!

Solution to finishing painting found!

2009-01-22T15:12:00.004-07:00

In my last post I showed an unfinished painting. With a side trip to Photoshop for possibilities, and a return to the work table, here's the final result (I think) - my signature will a compositional element as well and has to be considered.

Coming up.... finally the bronzes, and a party to celebrate!

Process, process, process

2009-01-17T16:33:00.004-07:00

The 16x16" paintings I am creating now are intended to be experimental for me - and for me that means starting without a sketch or a plan. The first two started with the same color (red). Opposite is one of the two at the point where I cannot decide how to finish it. My process then is to photograph it and take it into Photoshop to play with the possibilities. In my next blog, I'll show you how I chose to finish it!

Yearly Series about the Seasons in New Mexico

2008-11-16T10:20:00.009-07:00

Revisiting a yearly series
Recently I have done painting series each year attempting to describe the changing of the seasons here in New Mexico - I especially enjoy those changes, having come here from the two-season Gulf Coast of Texas. Since I am trying to integrate meditation into my daily life(not just talk about it), I decided to make them as meditative as I could. (See Paintings 2007 on my website for the non-meditative explorations of the seasons!) I display the first three of the four paintings - the fourth is just begun and I can only guess what it will be- what do you think it will look like? I'll display it when it's done! Next week I'm going to Shidoni on Saturday to watch the pour of my first four bronze sculptures (12" nudes, three female, one male- watch for more on that later....)