Exactly.AI
I’ve got to share some of these images that I’ve been making with Exactly.AI (Durer.AI)
I was able to train a model on my paintings using about 15 images + a language component (describing the art that I’m uploading for training).
Here are some generations from the first model I trained. It’s kind of fun to play with the prompts as a parameter in regard to generations from my own models. This is something you can do with current LLMs (Large Language Models), where the GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) or CANs (Creative Adversarial Networks) have used no prompting.
I’ll show you more of why this could be fun, but first, this first set of images was prompted using words that were very close to the words that I input for training, making them closer to the actual style of what they were trained on.
This next set is what happens with the subject (above is abstract botanical), when the prompt changes from the original input.
Here, I switched out parts to add different subjects like palm trees, crows, gnarled trees, birch trees, coral, cacti, landscapes, skulls, and cats.
Artists can use this kind of thing as a study to see how one style might transfer to a different subject, or to explore different variations on their work before they set to it with paint.
One subject that this model is really good for is leaves - since so much of the work it was trained on was botanical abstraction. I loved how these came out. The prompts included much of my original text that described the style, material, and colors, plus the description of leaves falling and blowing in the wind.
I trained another model with some newer paintings, and here is what they look like:
Again, I kept the prompts close to the original prompt used when training, and that keeps the results looking like mine.
For me, using AI art tools contributes to a process of reflection, contemplation, and integration.
I’d be curious to hear how other artists who paint intuitively have found the process of training an AI model on one’s own work.
Radical Hope Blooms
It was at least 2 years ago when I digitized a loose collection of my botanical abstract paintings in all kinds of traditional media, and used them for training an artificial intelligence model in Playform. I’ve worked with these images off and on, never really clear on what their outcome would be. Recently, I selected some generations from Playform and blended them in Midjourney, loved what was happening, and then finished them up.
Radical Hope works this way - a trust that a future goodness will exist, despite not knowing how we get to it. 🖤✨
I selected the options available to print these on with a few things in mind - my favorite papers, the acrylic blocks and prints that I’m obsessed with, and some other prints that are more affordable. If you like this series and want to get a print or a few (they look so so good in a grouping!) let me know if I can help you pick out the best options for you.
/describe
There’s a new feature in Midjourney, called Describe. You upload a photo and give the bot the /describe command. It gives you 4 descriptions the uploaded image. I’d played around with it with some images I had saved while testing the new rating system and voting on images from the new version (version 5). It was pretty cool to get descriptions about the art, especially because it links to any artists it mentions. It’s a neat way to explore styles and come up with new prompt mixes. I uploaded my own art as well, and it didn’t turn up artists I thought it might, and turned up some that haven’t influenced my work, but that I could see visual similarities in.
You can test out these new prompts by clicking the 1, 2, 3, or 4 buttons below, that correlate with the prompts above.
For testing these new features, there are places within the community where you can chat about them, give feedback, etc. Of course, someone uploaded a selfie, and the results were quite funny. It made me wonder… and I ended up quite enjoying results of my own 😂
The results were ephemeral, so they didn’t stay around and I didn’t realize it to get screen shots, but I was excited to see the terms “nerdcore” and “health goth” (I’m not sure what that is, but it sounds appropriate), as well as “apron with hair” and “distinctive nose” …. that’s right, all my Jones nose fam out there, it calls it “distinctive”!
But I wonder what “teethcore” is, and what “in the style of focus on joints/connections” even means?
AI is SO weird, and I love that…
Please enjoy these alternate versions of me, generated with all the weirdness that is a health goth, teethcore, dinopunk, socially minded, genderless, extremely gendered, deconstructive, light hearted, master of ink, cripplepunk, humanistic empathy, smilecore, photo taken with provia, woman with purple hair and a distinctive nose…
And, as for the links to artists:
It’s a super cool feature, because I am a nerd who loves art and art history, and one of the first things I geeked out about with AI text-to-image stuff was how much interest is being created in art history, and making it so accessible to people it wasn’t accessible or interesting for before! EVERYONE LEARN ART THINGS!
I wonder if other traditional artists have tried this out with their own work, and what results they got about artistic influences? If you use Midjourney, have you tried out /describe yet?
Dispelling Misinformation
I started using AI in my art practice a few years ago. I came across an article about Playform, and joined their artist studio. I had no idea how much I would love it, I was moving towards a glimmer of something catching the light, to see what it was. It felt reflective and magical, and it fit right into my work.
My affections towards technology are at least partially genetic. When I look at the familial lineup of mechanics, tinkerers, technology enthusiasts, information lovers, and wonder seekers, I shouldn’t be surprised. Many of the people close to me weren’t afraid of technology or people or ideas. And I mention this because it did surprise me when people reacted with fear and suspicion about my use of artificial intelligence in my art. (this was even before 2022 and the text-to-image cultural phenomenon)
As of now, everyone has pretty much heard SOMETHING about creative AI tools - but what they’ve heard is mostly misinformation and clickbaity opinion pieces aimed at getting a reaction. As a trained professional artist with a master’s degree, and with education in art therapy, art history, everything studio art, fine art, design and photography. Traditional media and new media, analog, digital, philosophy of art, ethics… and decades of experience, I’m absolutely qualified to speak on this.
I feel like I’m shouting facts into the wind sometimes, but then someone listens in and gets it, and it’s AWESOME. Because these tools are full of wonder, they are great for exploration, reflection, and I believe they have an immense capacity for healing and moving us forward.
One of the things I’m shouting - creative AI tools don’t “steal” other artists’ work and implement them into a kind of collage. That’s not how the AI tools work at all.
To explain in a relatable manner how they do work, I want you to imagine an art student, going with their class, to a museum, to study impressionist paintings. They look, they make sketches, they study them to figure out what makes them impressionist paintings, how the paintings were made, what they were made with, when they were made… they learn the concepts of what makes up impressionist paintings. Now, all of those students leave the museum and go to a painting studio, where they’re told to paint something in the style of an impressionist painting. Do they pull out paintings and copy them? Do they look at photographs of paintings and copy them? Or do they draw upon the concepts that they learned in order to make choices about color, composition, materials, etc.? When they reference these concepts, are they infringing upon some artist’s rights, living or deceased? No.
Another example - If you handed a group of people all some crayons and asked them to draw an apple, they could probably do it. Some might be red, some green, some more round, or some with spots, but everyone understands the concept of an apple. No one draws a bird or even another fruit. Those things are not part of the concept of “apple”, and the concept of an apple is so well trained in our minds that we don’t need an apple to be present to draw one.
Training isn’t stealing, and the original pieces of information that were studied are no longer present after training.
REPRESENTATIONS
As part of the @thrivetogethernetwork, and the Taking. Up. Space. global grassroots initiative, #takingupspace2023 I’m seeking submissions for a collaborative project, set to debut in May. This project is called “Representations” and the intent is to educate and encourage womxn to take up space and affect the future at the intersection of art and technology. All of the collective work will be used to train an artificial intelligence model, which will be used to generate a new body of work reflecting the collective. I’ll be sharing the process of creation through live sessions and videos, and the final body of work will be available as free-to-collect NFTs.
Call for art ends: February 26th, 11:59pm EST
A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT ENCOURAGING WOMXN TO TAKE UP SPACE AND AFFECT THE FUTURE AT THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND TECHNOLOGY
As part of the Thrive Together Network and the Taking. Up. Space. global grassroots initiative #takingupspace2023 I’m seeking submissions for a collaborative project, set to debut in May. This project is called “Representations” and the intent is to educate and encourage womxn to take up space and affect the future at the intersection of art and technology. All of the collective work will be used to train an artificial intelligence model, which will be used to generate a new body of work reflecting the collective. I’ll be sharing the creation process through live sessions and videos, and the final body of work will be available as free-to-collect NFTs.
Eligibility: Project participation is open to all women-identifying and non-binary artists. No knowledge of NFTs, Cryptocurrency, or artificial intelligence (AI) is necessary to participate!
Submissions:
Work must be submitted as a JPG or PNG file. One artwork is to be submitted by each participant, please select something that you feel represents your individual perspective or artistic style.
AI Art School
Curious about AI in art? Want to learn how to use AI in your established art practice, or to use AI for creative expression with no prior skills required? Join me…
I’ve started teaching classes about how to use AI in your creative practice! I’m really excited about this, because I want to share the magic that I sensed with AI in my own art practice with other artists, and develop the use of creative AI as a tool for reflective practice for anyone.
I’ll be teaching these first classes with a newly formed AI Art School, and if you’re interested in learning, there are two courses right now - one for fine artists, who already have a body of work, and one for anyone who wants to learn to use AI as a tool for creative expression. These are beginner level courses, so if you’re totally confused, or curious but don’t know where or how to start, these are for you!
The link below will take you to Rebecca Tolk’s website for further information and check out, don’t be alarmed, this is correct! I’m teaching the evening cohort of the AI for Creative Expression course, so click on that sign-up link to learn with me as your guide!
ON::VIEW Residency Finale
I’m so grateful for having been able to spend the past month in residence ON::VIEW at Sulfur Studios! Connecting with people, sharing my process, and how I use artificial intelligence in my work has been a great experience. Everyone comes at this with a different perspective, so I’ve gotten a lot of practice talking about the work and bringing people into my process from where they are.
During the residency, I held open studio hours, inviting people in to participate by painting with me. Participants were given the option of learning a little about how waves are physiologically calming, and creating a waveform painting, or doing a meditative prompt about body awareness and creating an intuitive abstract painting. With 30+ paintings in each series, the works were digitized and used to train two separate artificial intelligence models. These models then generate more work, that is a combination of everything it learned from that dataset. I comb through thousands of resulting images, and work with them further to create a final collection of images and video clips.
Here are some of the intuitive abstract results:
Here are some of the waveform series results:
It was cool to see people come back in for the finale reveal that had worked on the project with me, or checked up on its progress over time. I really liked having all the work hung from the walls as it built up, and still on display with the video pieces being shown on screens in the same space. It really gave a sense of the entire project.
The month flew by! I was too engaged in conversation all evening to get photos with people in them, so here’s one last shot of the studio before I moved out.
There is an NFT to collect for free from the project, and I’ll be sharing more from it going forward. You can collect those here: https://jenpalmerart.cent.co
I’ll also be making more prints available from this work, make sure you’re subscribed to get updates when those become available.
Thanks! 🖤
The Artist & The AI
This is a presentation adapted from a talk I gave during my residency at Sulfur Studios last month, a little about me, my work, and how I came to include AI in my creative process.
( Fast Evolving Tech Disclaimer: The data in the presentation was up to date when made, but could be different at the time of reading this)
In Residence…
I’m liking the cyclical rhythm that the Thrive Together Network is creating. Previously, in the Red Tent, we talked a lot about these things, how the seasons affect us, and how we can use that information to our benefit. I have needed more of this in my life! The entire community just came off of a general sabbatical and into planning for the virtual residency, which started or starts for most of us this week. Coincidentally, I was offered the opportunity to be in residence at Sulfur Studios, pretty much the same as the virtual residency - I’ll get to check in with the TTN community the whole time☺ For the virtual residency, I just figured in all the other things I’m also working on during this time - like the storm drain awareness painting project with the city, reading, and keeping up with my research and applications. So I get an extra layer of accountability (Hello, Obligers), and support 🖤
The ON::View Artist Residency Program at Sulfur Studios interested me when I heard about it, because I was seeking opportunities to work in a more public setting, with community, and for this, the whole point is that it’s ON VIEW. I’m thrilled to have the support of Playform going into this as well, so I can share my methods and do more demonstrations of the process. Read more about the ON::View Residency below, subscribe to my newsletter, and follow on the socials if you don’t already 🖤
“What are the possibilities for NFT’s beyond Bored Apes and Pudgy Penguins? Will artificial intelligence turn on us - their human creators - and create a dystopian future of Terminator cyborgs controlled by Elon Musk and Skynet? Jen Palmer may have an answer to these important questions!
Jen Palmer moves beyond the tired stereotypes of NFT’s and AI (artificial intelligence) to explore the possibilities that this nascent technology holds for the intrepid artist. Palmer combines meditative reflection, traditional media and technology in her art practice. During her Residency, she will be working with mixed media and inviting the public to participate using simple meditative prompts as a guide. The works created will become part of a dataset of images to train AI. From that output, Palmer will develop a set of images and create short videos that will be shared through projection on-location in the Residency space, and as freely collected NFTs. Through the window, passersby will be able to view the work being made from the datasets, as well as the projections of work created collaboratively with artificial intelligence.
Hailing from rural Southwestern Pennsylvania, Jen Palmer currently lives and works in Savannah, Georgia. She works across various mediums, using her artistic process to hold space, make connections, and create expressions of radical hope.
Open Studio Hours: Thurs - Sun, 12 - 5 PM - Pre-registration via calendly is encouraged!”
OBSERVANCE
Review of my recent exhibition: OBSERVANCE
OBSERVANCE was held in conjunction with over 60 other exhibitions taking place in the month of May as part of the inaugural Taking. Up. Space. Initiative. After the opening, I was honored to speak with the Thrive Together Network about the exhibition and the work. I also held a live Q & A session on Instagram discussing my process, working with artificial intelligence, and creating a virtual exhibition. There were over 200 individual visitors to the exhibition, and I’m grateful to each of you who spent time in this space.🖤
“During a month-long residency, I practiced holding space for myself using mindfulness and creative expression using traditional materials. This practice has been developed through my studies in art therapy and personal trauma recovery work, with the phenomenological knowledge that these expressions are tied to our bodies. We can not create anything that does not come from within us. AI is the same, it can only give us back what we teach it. I use it as a tool for reflection in meditative practice, where I observe the AI rendered images with curiosity and non-judgment. The works that come from this practice serve as reminders to the viewer, of self-acceptance, of acceptance of others, and that we can create these spaces for ourselves and each other.”
The exhibition consisted of work available as editions of one, in print format, or for the video work, as an NFT.
This next series of images is presented as a slide show to demonstrate the placement of still and video works together. In the exhibition, as you “approached” the video pieces, they would start playing, and loop continuously.
Below are some more screenshots of the exhibition space. During the exhibition, you could navigate the rooms using the arrows, your mouse, clicking on a piece to view it up close, or by using the menu to tour piece by piece or travel to a specific artwork. Clicking on an image would take you up close, and the works could be purchased from that screen.
Thanks for taking a look at OBSERVANCE. If you want to make sure you get notified about my next exhibition, sign up for my newsletter here.
Pro-Art Filter Walk Through
I made a walk through video to answer some of the questions I’ve been getting about using the Pro-Art Filters on Playform. Let’s collaborate through AI!
Playform Pro-Art Filter Release
“Playform is excited to introduce a new selection of artists’s works as part of the release of Playform Art-Filters. Included in this selection of artists are Albert-Abdul Barr Wang, Allan Linder, Andrew Tricaso, Hana Gauër, J Rosenbaum, Jeff Brice, Jen Palmer, and Uli Ap.”
I have been having a lot of fun with these filters, testing which artwork worked best with a variety of images, so now you can go apply them to your art or photographs and get some really beautiful results! I would love to see what you make, so share and tag me on Instagram @jenpalmerart, on Twitter @jen_palmer_, or email to hello@jenpalmer.art
Made with a photograph of a magnolia flower, applying the Brightforms Pro-Art Filter (using the “fine” setting)
Made using the Brightforms Pro-Art Filter, applied to a sketch, using the “fine” filter setting.
These results aren’t upscaled, but if you create something you love and want to print it or up the resolution, you can also do that on Playform!
Creating with AI is wild! Let me know what you think in the comments <3
REMIX
REMIX Exhibition promotional by Playform
I’m excited to be participating in REMIX an exhibition by Playform, exclusively on Rarible. The NFT art works will be available on Aug. 9th, and some of the artists, including myself, will be participating in an artist talk. If you want to hear more about making work with no code AI, NFTs, discussion on mashup, and new technologies, here’s the link:
About REMIX
Appropriating, amalgamating and collaging have been prevalent artistic methods throughout history. Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain '' and Warhol’s “Botticelli” are some examples of re-contextualizing throughout the art historical canon. Inspired by the artistic concepts of sampling and mashup, Playform Studio presents a Studio group exhibition, “REMIX.”
Defining new ways of creating in the age of AI, “REMIX” explores the ever-emerging relationship between technology and art. Works from “REMIX” will also be available as NFTs, exclusively on Rarible.
Featured artists include:
Carla Gannis, Chris Trueman, Andrew Tricaso, Trygve Skogrand, Jen Palmer, Nathaniel Stern, Albert Abdul-Barr Wang, Roxy Savage, Katya Grokhovsky, Irina Raicu, Michael Pierre Price, Yeli Rodriguez, and Witold Riedel.
YOU CAN PLAY TOO!
Play with REMIX Artwork in Playform Stylize
The exhibition release is in affiliation with Playform’s Stylize feature which offers Playform users to apply the style of their favorite artists onto any photo, image or sketch. The final works featured in the exhibition are options of “Pre-Defined Style” within the Stylize feature. Playform users are invited to "remix" their own images with these new styles!
Here are some of the images I've remixed with my own Pro Art Filter! (click to view them in the lightbox)
Screenshot of Playform, featuring an image with my REMIX Pro-Art Filter applied
Screenshot of the Playform Stylize Interface.
You can use Playform from a mobile device or computer. You select your style, then upload your image. You can choose which process, and how much style and composition affect the result. Just go to https://playform.io/jen to check it out! Oh, and share your stylized images with me on Instagram or via email!
Pinspiration Project
I started taking screenshots of my Pinterest feed a while back. I'm not sure what I was even going to do with them, I just was interested in the way the algorithm shows me things that I like, but also creates some sort of connections between the images it's showing me. A black bird. A tattoo of a bird and berries. A berry cobbler recipe. A lady with short hair. A drapey layered outfit in shades of black. An abstract painting with blotches of purple. There is something similar that the algorithm is picking up on. These connections somehow relate to my taste. What is it? What does it say about me? What can I learn from this information?
I've used Pinterest since it came out, finding it a positive space to explore ideas. Using boards to pin my project inspiration, plan parties, collect quotes, connect with people who liked these niche things, or experienced chronic illness.
For this project, I took the screenshots where I found interesting connections, and I separated the images so that the software doesn't implement the grid form of Pinterest - I'm interested in what happens between the concepts of these images.
I fed these 200+ images to the Playform platform, and am currently waiting to see what happens!
Can machine interpretation give us useful information about ourselves? Will it reflect something of my values back to me? My tastes? My interests? What form will these take? ...
Let me tell you about my new romance…
I joined the virtual studio at Playform, and am currently working on a project based on recent collected works. I was truly excited to discover this platform for creating AI art, and maybe have previously underestimated my love for all things digital?
In thinking about it, I realized that I can trace my digital art-making back to my video painter, and maybe back to those days in kindergarten when we had computer class, and got to make art on the Macs? I'm one of those millennials who didn't have to be tech-savvy - we didn't have the internet until around when I went to college. I didn't even know I was tech-savvy until somewhere in my 30's and I realized I was giving out a lot of help, and it was surprising to me that people didn't understand it. Now, I would definitely consider myself an early adopter. It makes sense that I am because I feel ridiculously excited about the potential I see. Partially because exploring that potential gives me such a sense of joy. I think this is deeply related to radical hope. It's not something that exists here yet, but I can feel its existence. I noted that same sense of joy was frequently present when editing photographs, playing with texture and color, layers, versions...
These explorations are my way of studying, understanding something more. It feels like a word I can't recall, a place I can't remember my way to - It is so strong, but it is also emptiness. The matter is in the relationship, in the space between. The Playform platform is a tool to help me explore this space!
How does it work? There are computers that the platform is connected to, and I uploaded around 50 of my works of art. The computers essentially then learn those images, the forms, lines, colors, etc., and create renderings of new work. Those renderings can be further developed, mixed, and used in ways I haven't even discovered all of yet.
Developing models on Playform
I'm (obviously) enthusiastic about this new digital tool, and how it truly fits into my work.
Case in point - The other day, I was just sitting in my studio, smiling to myself thinking about Arthur Batut and his ideas on virtuality.
"To reproduce with the help of photography a figure whose material reality does not exist anywhere, an unreal being whose constituent elements are scattered over a certain number of individuals and which can only be conceived virtually, is it not a dream?" - Arthur Batut (translated from French)
Ah, so thrilling! Did I mention Batut lived from 1846 to 1918? What would he even think of something like Playform? We can't know the answer, but I'd love to hear yours!
The #100DAYPROJECT
I’m participating in the #100DAYPROJECT this year!
For my project, I'm choosing to focus on words. It fits with a couple goals I have for the year, crafting a great artist statement, and sharing expressive content more frequently.
Also, I've always found typography enjoyable - from learning to hand letter and create type, to finding the perfect font to fit a project.
I believe that words have power. They have energy and can be used to create or destroy.
I think, because I love them so much, I often over-complicate my thoughts and end up not sharing my own words online. I know that if I want anyone to connect to or understand my work, I need to talk about it, so this is an exercise in sharing my perspective with words.
The power of words is enhanced by their form, just like all art, there are decisions to be made about shapes, sizes, colors, arrangement... it brings me joy to see a phrase perfectly illustrated to fit it's own energy.
I thought about keeping my words only to do with injustices, as this is something in me that has needed expression, but I wasn't sure if I can hold such a heavy focus while I feel so overwhelmed by what is happening with COVID-19. I might need much lighter words some of these days, so I decided to keep it open.
Some artists I'm influenced by who use words in their work:
Jenny Holzer
Barbara Kruger
Robert Montgomery
Here are a few images from my first week of the #100DAYPROJECT:
I’m sharing my project daily on my Instagram stories, and will post them all to a highlight on my Instagram: @jenpalmerart
Visual Language Exploration: Portrait Pink
If you find a photo of me, any time before I was like 12, I’m probably wearing mostly pink. I thought all little girls loved it, but apparently people actually remembered that I wore so much of it. Maybe it was my light blonde hair and pink hair accessories that went with my pink winter coat and my pink my little pony lunch box?
No matter, I was out of the pink phase for a very long time. I remember a few different color phases, like this pale frosty blue that went with shimmery makeup and lots of glitter. It reminded me of ice and magic and the sky. Or the bright yellow of my great grandma’s vintage sweaters phase. Oh, and black and I have such a relationship... We’ll dive into those depths another day, because as it is, I’m in love with pink all over again .
So this is where I’m starting the discussion on the exploration of my visual language - with pink.
Color theory was one of my favorite classes in art school, and then, when I was in graduate classes for art therapy, I got to study color a whole other way. While we all pretty much have favorite colors, or colors we don’t like, many people don’t give a lot of thought as to why. A funny thing is how parents are concerned when their kid likes black - but often times kids LOVE black because it’s bold and stands out. They’re not associating anything with it that their parents are.
There are universal associations to color, line, shape, etc., but there are also deeply personal ones, and our own languages are a web of both. It was incredibly interesting to me to look at these through the lens of an art therapist. I learned to see how color connects us as a whole, and defines us as individuals, helps us tell our story.
Here’s an interesting read on the history of pink - from how it switched from being traditionally a boys color to being associated with gayness because of labeling by the Nazi regime, and to being a calming or demeaning color used for control in prisons.
For me, I think I’ve reconnected to using the color pink so much in my work because of my associations with it as a color of sensitivity and vulnerability. It is a color connected to our bodies, scars, tissue, inner things. It is connected with my inner child as well, whom always wears pink, and with whom I am healing. As to whether or not pink is calming, it entirely depends on the shade and intensity. Portrait pink is calming for me, it’s deep enough that I find it grounding, connecting to my inner self within the world. It holds the warmth of bodies. It feels like breathing, slowly. It pairs well with a soft cream blanket, or my closet full of black. I think it connects me throughout my existence, grounding me in my experiences, a thread through time. Oh, and I also love it’s juxtaposition to red. I feel like it was a rule somewhere, that you weren’t to wear red and pink together. I guess it’s dangerous if you don’t know how to choose your reds and pinks? But there’s a boldness in that combination that establishes something solid. Let’s channel Molly Ringwald for a sec. You feeling it?
It makes perfect sense then that I’ve been painting so much with this in my color palette, because my work is so much about holding space and growth, which require vulnerability. The process requires acceptance and not judging what comes into the self and the work. It’s treated with a softness that says - this is just what is, and this is okay. I’m sitting across from a very visceral painting right now, where deep red womb-like shape drips with heaviness upon a field of pink. It acknowledges the heaviness, the bleeding, growth, pain, etc. all with acceptance. The field is soft, and it’s okay to be there.
I think we’re also having a cultural moment that is resonating with this color, as part of women’s rights advancements, and the collective energy of women coming forward, using their voices, and claiming space. Probably for a lot of the reasons I listed for my personal use of the color. There is a connection from the micro/within to the macro/external, and it’s color is portrait pink.
Delicious and dreamy and only a little spooky...
Be still, my pastel goth heart. I was working for hours the other night, a little on one piece, a little on another. Starting some layers on a bigger canvas, but not really getting into the flow of any one thing. That’s just how it is. Sometimes, I like a piece, it’s not finished, but I’m sort of afraid to ruin it because I’m not sure what it needs yet. So I let it sit, and think about it, and see if anything ever becomes overwhelmingly evident.
I knew what I wanted to do with these when I started them, but they were so pretty in their sherbet and salt water taffy colors that I knew I needed just the right thing to seep down through. I’ve really been liking the fluidity of alcohol ink, and how it can move around the textured forms more freely, and transparently than the other fluid mediums I’ve been trying. But the seeping couldn’t be taken back… but I did it, and it was exactly what I wanted. <3
These paintings remind me of the deep dark nights of summer in my youth, sharing my grandma’s sherbet, with it’s sweetness and refreshing tartness. The warmth and the cool coming together. The damp grass, the lightning bugs (in Noctilucent). As an adult, the breeze and heat and sand on Tybee Island, eating organic peach sorbet from the farmer’s market - just before I had a major breakdown. (in Sherbe(r)t Nocturne). These pieces contain the physical sensations of moments of joy, and the contrast that is brought by illness, pain, and the intermingling of these that define family and being human.
goals + growth mindset.
One of my goals has been to write a good artist statement. I’ve been trying to do so for like the past year, and haven’t been able to get it out. After trying to force it for months, I realized, I can’t just sit down and write this statement. I had to change the goal. So now instead of trying to master craft this statement, I’m just writing about my work, ideally every day, and seeing where that takes me.
Even though my current work ties back to things I was making in the early 2000’s, it’s not a clear path. I reminded myself that to come to my previous artist statement, I went through grad school, I defended that work with those words and came out on the other side. This is not the same. I’m doing something slower, more kind, and rewriting scripts that have been with me for at least a lifetime. This art work is about the work I’m doing. This process is internal and external, and incredibly difficult. My art process is part of it, inextricably, and I’m learning how to be my authentic self and share that.
Having a growth mindset helps me acknowledge that attaining the goal isn’t always the, umm, goal. I’m going to write more on that soon, as I’m really excited about reflecting on the year and planning for the new one - but for now, it’s back to my private art ponderings.
Alcohol Ink on Yupo Paper.
In the flow with alcohol ink on yupo paper.
Oh my gosh, I’ve been really enjoying making work with alcohol ink on yupo paper. I’d only previously used alcohol ink with encaustic medium. I liked it then, and have missed making encaustics, which is one reason why I wanted to try working with these otherwise. My encaustic studio has been out of commission since we moved here - just before Christmas, and this will be the 3rd Christmas here - clearly, I need to figure something out to get my encaustic studio space going again. (Rental - carpet- and I get wax EVERYWHERE)
In the meantime, I’ve heard buzz about yupo paper. I was all, what now? But it’s this synthetic “paper” that works really well for alcohol ink. It doesn’t absorb the liquid, and you can just keep working on it. I made the mistake of using my regular heat gun - too hot, don’t do it - a hair dryer is just fine. I see why everyone is all yupo, yupo!
Over the past few years, my work has developed to have these lines, that are usually informed by the shapes of the paint under them. I got really excited about the way the ink moves to the outer edge of the shape with alcohol ink, and the way you can put the alcohol on it to make it spread out more, carrying it further. There’s a lot of play with alcohol, and a lot less ink than you’d imagine. So, I’m getting these shapes that are part of my language, with a new medium. *SWOON*
LACHRYMA LINEAGE
I KNOW I’m this super-sensitive, emotional creature, but sometimes, waves of emotion still take me by surprise, which is what happened with a few of these pieces I’ve been working on. I hope that you’ll feel them too. <3 I’ll be releasing this series, along with the one featured above, to my email list first - they’re all affordably priced 5 x 7’s, so get thyself on that list below!
Do you like to try new things? If you’re an artist, have you ever worked with alcohol ink or yupo paper? Tell me about your adventures in the comments!
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