2013 New Work Emerging!

30x30, oil, paper, plaster, Growing Together    

When I paint more naturalistic art, I pretty much know where I will end up. With my mixed media collages I must rely on a quiet mind and a lot of trust; I do not know where I will end up. My process is one of cultivating a rapport with the emerging forms,  as though there is some special frequency desiring to be born and I am the tool being used.

In this recent painting, one might see transparent human shapes comprised of horizontal branches, falling stars, and simple flowers growing within a quiet landscape, a landscape balanced by both bright light and dark night.  There are many possible metaphors, but the only important story is the one you the viewer finds relevant.  When viewing art, it doesn't matter as much what the artist had in mind, more importantly, what does the painting say to you?

As I travel the country teaching workshops, I find that students not only want to learn skills and techniques, but they want to uncover their stories and develop their own perspective.
http://www.joanfullerton.com

End of April 2010

This is one of 14 mixed media collages I worked on this month while at Kanuga Watermedia Workshops in Hendersonville, NC. After doing a presentation for attending students and instructors Monday night, I had 3 days to just paint. I was provided with a large studio in the grove across from my new friends, "the girls", aka Allison and Elizabeth, and near the classroom of the fabulous art instructor Mike Bailey, from where the laughter (real and faked), punctuated the silence. Given the generous work area, I lined up blank canvases and drew simple space divisions with vine charcoal. With vigor, my acrylic-loaded brush splashed color chords into designated areas. After painting 4 or 5 canvases simultaneously, I put them in the sun to dry while working on the next group. Once during this rotation, my canvas count was off and I suspected "the girls" may have kidnapped one. (I thought there might be retaliation for my "borrowing" something from the raffle bucket.) But my suspicious nature was mistaken...I had merely messed up counting to 10. Anyway....after the painted backgrounds dried, I glued papers, transfers, stamped patterns, and drizzled Venetian Plaster over the color. And now I am back in Colorado and will soon be back at my Taos studio ready for the slower process of resolving these many beginnings into completed statements. As I contemplate the textures and shapes created, like analyzing a dream, I will discover a theme or a flavor to enhance. Often times the placement of my favorite symbols, trees, birds, houses or a human face or figure, will suggest a metaphor or a context of meaning. Juxtaposing abstract and more literal images entertains me, I think it offers mystery, (the literal symbols seem to connect me and pull me "into" the composition). Sooooo will this featured abstract composition be resolved after days of trial and error? Or will a few well-placed, significant shapes quickly find their places? Stay tuned here for the rest of the story. What will happen? I'll let you know.

Meanwhile....aside from the art-making, I have been learning and implementing more social media. I have a fan page on FaceBook....look for Joan Fullerton Art, and click on the "like" button to get in the loop. I am also planning to do some summer workshops. What a wonderful antidote to the solitude of the studio! I intend to lead students toward better composition, reveal new techniques and materials, and help them find their way to personal "content" in their art. It is so great to be around creative souls who like to "play". July 11th to the 16th I am teaching for Taos Art Experiences. And I will soon post workshop dates for my small (only have room for 6 students) in-my-studio-workshops. Life is supposed to be fun! Join me.

Deep Roots

Deep Roots mixed media collage 14x11

Images of trees have captivated me for many years. Trees remind us that when reaching toward the heavens, we have an advantage if we are strongly grounded. Realizing that my life improves and that I can achieve much more, when embracing the aliveness of being in a human body, I connect my awareness to the Earth. It is about having our physical awareness with Mother Earth, as we send our dreams toward Father Sky.

This collage began with thin acrylic washes on tin foil...a technique creating luminescence. Upon this background I added transfers and oil glazes. It pleases me to see the layers of process peeking through and I am enjoying the textures and subtle hits of color. Recycling workshop demos around the studio helps me clean up my space!

I am contemplating doing a small daily painting like my good friend Dawn Chandler does. (www.TaosDawn.com) This endeavor might help me with my tendency toward procrastination. My procrastination originates from a perfectionistic nature....so I am thinking a discipline of "small scale" production would keep my brush active. Being a rebel...as soon as I consider a "rule" about small, daily paintings; I want more than anything to do a large scale, long-term painting!!!

What shall I focus on? Landscape, abstracts, botanicals, collage? See my website: www.JoanFullerton.com and offer me your opinions.

February Collages

Layers of HerStory (Mixed Media 14x11)

I have been traveling back and forth from Taos to Denver since Thanksgiving. I am enjoying the contrast of the NM quiet beauty with the urban activities in the Mile High City. Before my last drive north, I put together a couple of collages in my Taos studio. Comprised of pieces of workshop demos, layered images are glued to canvases with Venetian Plaster borders.

This first one titled Layers of HerStory, has brown paper, ink jet transfer, silk tissue, musical score, metal hanger and envelope clasp. It is glazed with a burnt siena oil glaze. While putting it together I thought about how and why people construct stories of their identities, and how we are limited by our stories.

My Art Ventures archive

  http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs047/1102561677920/archive/1102567750809.html 

This is 12x8 mixed media piece was done a couple of years ago.  I titled it "Night", and scratched the title into the black band under the Bear.  (You cannot see it in the photograph.)  The image came from a childhood memory of when I was about 3 or 4 years old and my father moved our house on a flat bed truck to the ranch he purchased.  In rural Wyoming this was not the norm, but it wasn't all that unusual either.  However, it was strange for me as a child to see my home on a truck going down the highway ahead of the car I was riding in with my mother and brother. Much later, in my late forties, I dreamed I was standing on top of the house being pulled by a truck, and my father was swerving, trying to knock me off the roof.  In addition, there was a bear below the house.  Interestingly, it was not a nightmare....it was only fascinating, and it required me to "balance".

The end of April.

In December I set up this blog, really just to see how to do it.  I didn't really announce it to anyone, and I didn't post anything again.  Now that it is Spring and I am finished with my winter hibernation, I am ready to communicate. In fact  I may actually tell people about my blog and do regular postings!

Monday morning I will hang work at the 1st Community Bank lobby in Taos, NM.  It is right on the Plaza and so it gets quite a bit of traffic.  There isn't a great amount of area for art, so I will hangs smaller landscape work, about half watercolor and half oil.  

After attending a marketing conference in L.A., I taught myself how to publish an e-zine.  It took awhile for me to set it up, given my technology weakness, but I am hopeful the next attempt will be easier.  Mostly I did it to advertise 4 mixed media workshops I intend to have in my studio this summer.  I will have to learn how to link up my e-zine email to this blog!

The workshops are 2 days and limited to a maximum of 6 persons.  The dates are:  June 12th and 13th, June 19th and 20th, July 17th and 18th, and July 24th and 25th.  Since announcing the classes this week, the first class is nearly filled.

Giclee Prints are available

From my August Exhibition I have created a few prints.  In December I am offering the image of "Standing with Family" for $250. plus shipping.  Email me if you have interesting in purchasing it. To see more of the work from this collection view my website:  www.JoanFullerton.com 

Learning to Blog

I am jumping into the pool of internet blogging.  It will definately be a learning experience and hopefully will be an effective tool for providing clarity about my art journey.  I am happy to share with anyone who has interest, my view of creativity, art techniques, and new ways of thinking about life. Attached here is a photo of my Aug. '08 exhibition at Stables Gallery in Taos, NM. Among the 35 paintings, I was pleased to present 12 oil paintings based on the ideas expressed in Echardt Tolle's book, The New Earth.