Simple Beauty

Signing Off

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:01:00 +0000

This post is my blogging good-bye. I've really enjoyed writing this blog but I am currently working as a curator at a museum and teaching three classes in the art department at a nearby college. When I am not working I'd like to be with my kids or painting.

Please visit my website, www.ShanBryan-Hanson.com, which lists current studio news. I'll also continue to send out an occasional studio newsletter. You can sign up to receive it, via email, on my website.

I've enjoyed sharing my creative moments with you and will continue to visit your wonderful blogs as time allows!

Enjoy 2008!

#14 Snow on Cone flower

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:15:00 +0000

Snow of Cone flower, Oil on Canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I love the way the snow sort of plops on top of these flowers and forms little balls. I'm not sure I captured it exactly, but I like the painting all the same. My favorite part of this painting is that little dark mark on the lower left of the stem leaves. It's an actual cone flower seed that accidentally fell on the painting while I was working on it.

Ebb and Flow

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:32:00 +0000

Time got away from me again. It's been over a month since my last post. Life has been, well, busy. Good busy, but busy all the same. I've been working a lot at the museum and catching up on a few commissions (A--your poppies are on the way!).

Outside of the "must get done" painting, I haven't been in my studio much this past month. And I can't really blame "busyness". This quiet time is part of my process, a time for "taking things in". I have several periods of "ebb" each year and thankfully, I have come to realize they are usually followed by periods of intense painting.

I have two new paintings started that I hope to finish and post this week. I'm also updating my website (finally) and will publish it by the end of the week.

Thanks for staying with me! Your comments always make my day.
Shan

# 11, Thistle on Purple

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:42:00 +0000

Thistle on Purple, Oil on canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

This is my second thistle painting. I love the thistle as subject matter. I love its contradictions--soft down and prickly thorns.

#10, Sea Shell

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:29:00 +0000

Sea Shell, Oil on canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I'm a collector of shells and rocks and things like that. This shell was in a small bowl of shells on sitting on my piano. It caught my eye and I painted it. The photo image isn't great because I haven't had a chance to photograph the piece in daylight (even, overcast sky is my chosen light for photographing paintings) and I really wanted to post tonight.

I 'd like to say a big thank you to Teresa for inviting me to be a guest artist on gallery crawl night in Green Bay, which was last Thursday. It was a stormy evening so the crowd was light and I got a chance to visit with Teresa, which was a treat. I actually got a good start on a painting, which I hadn't anticipated as I'm not always able to focus on a painting and chat at the same time. Sometimes, when I demonstrate (which is rare) I feel like I'm fake painting. This one, however, was real and I look forward to finishing it.

Sue and her husband, Gary, stopped by in spite of the storm. It was, as always wonderful to talk with them about art and life. Sue posted a photo of me painting on her blog, Artful Adventures. Thanks, Sue!

# 9,Thistle

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:19:00 +0000

Thistle, oil on canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I've recently received several new comments on a post about art and titles I wrote in 2006. I thought I'd revisit the subject and hopefully get a conversation going. Here are my thoughts on why I think titles are important. On this subject I offer my perspective as both an artist and a curator:

1. Titles are a courtesy to your viewer. Used well, titles offer a portal into the work. This is especially helpful with abstract work which many people find intimidating. Though visual art is a non-verbal medium, we live in a language based culture and are taught to learn about art, music, dance through both experience and interpretation. Interpretation is, by and large, done via the written language and discussion. Think of a title as a bridge and the work of art as the land on the other side of the bridge. The title doesn't propose to reveal the land, but it does help you reach it.

2. Titles are an immense help when documenting your work. Even more importantly, they help others document your work. As I've said before, ten years down the road a list of works labeled "untitled" can be confusing, especially if your visuals (slides, digital images) aren't excruciatingly well organized.

3. Titles help curators, gallerists, and journalists identify and promote your work. If I send a press release to a newspaper about an artist's work the art images that go with it are either submitted as attachments or separate email files. The titles and image information is listed at the top of the release. The first thing the editor sees is the written release without images. Compare "Photo images: Untitled, Shan Bryan-Hanson, oil on canvas, 2007 and Untitled, Shan Bryan-Hanson, oil on canvas, 2007" to "Thistle, Shan Bryan-Hanson, oil on canvas, 2007 and Dandelion, Shan Bryan-Hanson, oil on canvas, 2007". While my titles are not necessarily more exciting than "Untitled", they are more descriptive, thus helping everyone match the proper information to each image.

HD, whose recent comments inspired this post, asked the following:

"...In response to my naive questions about art and titles, a local newspaper columnist/reviewer informed me that �??art is whatever you can get away with, and the same applies to titles�?? - any thoughts on that? As someone new to this business, I suspect the word �??art�?? labels a process more than it does a product. HD"

I strive for authenticity in my art so I wouldn't want to "get away with" anything. That said, I'm admittedly a bit of a purist in this department. There are very successful artists who practice the "art is whatever you can get away with" theory. Only you can decide what your art is and means to you. Your art and title choices will reflect what you see.

When I look at art I generally examine the artwork first, then glance at the title. There have been times when that glance has taken me back into the work, perusing new paths and interpretations I greatly enjoyed and would have otherwise missed.

With my own new series of contemplation paintings I'm using titles in a simple, descriptive way because, for whatever reason, it feels the natural way to title this body of work. Also, in reference to HD's final sentence, for me art is both process and product, with process taking up a bigger chunk of the pie.

# 8, Half an Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:19:00 +0000

Half an Apple, Oil on canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I like slicing apples horizontally because it reveals the star pattern the seeds make. It's not always the most practical way to slice an apple but it certainly offers the most magic.

I'm off to look at some images of Cezanne's work because it's virtually impossible to paint fruit and not think about Cezanne.

#7, Milkweed Pod

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:25:00 +0000

Milkweed Pod, Oil on Canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I found this milkweed pod on a hike last week and brought it back to my studio. I was so looking forward to painting it but had to wait as too many other things were demanding my attention. The painting surprised me a bit, heading in a direction I didn't intend, but I followed its lead and am glad I did.

Apparently, I am currently drawn to fluffy stuff. A lovely little thistle plant also sits in my studio, awaiting its turn in the model's seat.

While continuing this project, I am reading a lot of Mary Oliver. Here is a wonderful poem for your Monday, The Dovekie.

# 6, Maple Seed

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:04:00 +0000

Maple Seed, Oil on canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I have been enchanted by maple seeds ever since I was a little girl. I love the way they flutter to the ground, making their way to where they need to be. My current yard has two large old maple trees. On top of that, many more maple trees live in our surrounding neighborhood so what seems like a non-stop succession of maple seeds find their way to our grass and garden where they get raked away, or manage to take root only got get plucked out or mowed down. They don't give up, however, and new maple seeds fall by the thousands every year...like a never-ending succession of possibilities... I love that.

#5, Dandelion

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:57:00 +0000

Dandelion, Oil on Canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

Here is the latest meditation painting. As you can see, I used an abundance of my favorite cobalt teal (# 787 on the chart). Speaking of which, it's about time to order new paint--one of my favorite activities.

Since beginning this "100 paintings" project I've discovered that I've really been seeing again, noticing the tiniest of details on the objects around me. I've always been a person who really looks at things, which sometimes finds me meandering off on side trails (wasting time, some might say), however, this summer life got very busy and I didn't spend much time looking.

Even though I completed a lot of tasks this summer, I felt I missed out on something. Hence, the contemplative painting project.

I'm happy to report that it's working. It is, so to speak, giving me my sight back.

Waste some time today. You'll be glad you did.

# 4, Chinese Lantern

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:24:00 +0000

Chinese Lantern, Oil on canvas, 10" x10", 2007

The moon is full and beautiful tonight and would be fantastic to paint but I'm just too tired. Maybe it will be there for me tomorrow. Instead, I'll post this recent painting of a Chinese Lantern plant-- the delicate, bright orange fire of an autumn garden. It makes a nice substitute for the moon, I think.

#3, Lily

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:45:00 +0000

September Lily, Oil on Canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I love the garden in September, when flowers are simultaneously blooming and fading. There is a beauty there that is hard to name.

#2, Money Plant

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:10:00 +0000

Money Plant, Oil on Canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

I really love this painting. I'm not usually comfortable making statements like that, about specific pieces, but there it is anyhow. Sometimes paintings do exactly what you want them to and other times they put up a bit of a fight. I think of this one as a visual haiku.

I enjoy the delicacy and simplicity of money plants and love how they seem so completely at odds with their own name.

Painting #1, Tomato

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:57:00 +0000

Tomato, Oil on Canvas, 10" x 10", 2007

It's been quite some time since I posted last. My summer was good, fast but full of good art. At my day job at a local museum, I curated an exhibition of Henry Moore's graphic works, an exhibit of huge abstract expressionist paintings by local artist Emmett Johns and another amazing painting exhibition, Craig Blietz: Spaces Between. I also soaked up the paintings created by 36 artists at the Peninsula Art School's plein air festival. I was teaching there just after the festival took place and wandered into the gallery, which smelled wonderfully of fresh oil paint, to look at the paintings at every opportunity. I also managed a trip to Chicago where I took in the Jeff Wall exhibition, which was fantastic, as well as an exhibition of contemporary social sculpture from Mexico.

Looking back, I realized I really looked at, on a fairly intense level, a lot of diverse art this summer. My own, artistic voice, however was a little quiet, maybe overwhelmed by all the various styles and mediums.

Somewhere in the middle of all this I was listening to NPR and heard Mary Oliver read her poem, The Kingfisher. It struck a deep chord in me and I began to think about all that exists in perfect form, effortlessly, while I struggle to make sense of things, and reach and reach for that ever-illusive goal of perfection.

This poem is a catalyst for a new series of paintings. They are meditations of sorts.

I've changed this blog a bit to reflect the upcoming posts, which will be a series of images without many words (in spite of this long-winded post). My goal is to create 100 of these paintings, each in a quiet, contemplative way. My only rules for the pieces are as follows:

Each object I choose to paint must hold a sense of that kingfisher perfection (perfect in itself) that so moved me in the Mary Oliver poem. I know that's vague, but I can't find better words. The second rule is that each object must be painted from life.

Each painting will be done on a 10" x 10" canvas (I'm back on the squares) and painted in oil. I'm going to try to post these with regularity, though it's not a daily painting thing. Most paintings will be for sale, at $500 each, though that won't be the focus of this project. The focus is to really observe the world and to narrow my paintings down to a sharp focus point and see where they take me.

A break from blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:40:00 +0000

My life is brimming over, in a wonderful way, but something's gotta give. In regard to my professional life, I've decided to focus on my painting and my museum job and limit all of the extraneous stuff. So I'm taking a break from blogging and plan to use the time to dive deeper into my painting.

I will continue to post occasionally so please keep your subscriptions active and you'll get an email whenever I do. I will also send out an occasional email newsletter. To subscribe send an email to Shan@ShanBryan-Hanson.com.

Thanks for reading. Shan

Seeing

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 03:08:00 +0000

An artist has to be good at seeing. Not only seeing with eyes and mind, but with something deeper and undefined. Take a walk today. Notice the color of the grass, the way light falls on the side of your house, or a crack in the sidewalk. See the world in a grain of sand (Whitman?) or a seed or a flower. Find beauty where beauty isn't readily available.

See.

Fine Art All Over Sunset Park

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Fri, 25 May 2007 02:44:00 +0000

Come see me at the Sturgeon Bay Fine Art Fair this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, 10-4. I'll have big paintings like the one above (Yellow Blanket, Oil on Canvas, 24" x 24") and little paintings like the one below...

(Single Poppy #4, Oil on Canvas, 4" x 6")

...and a bunch in between.

Enjoy the holiday weekend. Shan

Thinking about dead artists

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Wed, 23 May 2007 12:47:00 +0000

Yesterday, at my new job, I spent some time with a collection Henry Moore lithographs and etchings. While reveling in the fact that I was up close and personal with his work, I started thinking about how art travels, from place to place and time to time. Work created in England in 1950 is here in Sturgeon Bay in 2007.

It's one of those things we take for granted, in a way, but it's quite remarkable. Art moves organically, in and out of time, and speaks a language that translates from one century to another.

I often wonder what Van Gogh would think about all the hullabaloo over his work today and how Monet would feel about having his own web page. And then I begin wishing that there were more women artists to wonder over. Then I wonder if it really matters anyhow? Women were out there making art, some painting, some quilting, some weaving baskets, and the language has been passed down through process, even if many of the objects no longer exist.

A name is just a name, an object just an object, but process is, I think, truly alive.

I've stumbled upon some good blogs...

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Tue, 22 May 2007 00:26:00 +0000

Come in and chat a bit.

No wait, I forgot it's a total mess in here. Wish I could say it's controlled chaos but, at this point in time, I'm not so sure...

Let's go outside, where it's calm and green...at least on this side of the yard. The other side is filled with plastic toys, baseballs, bouncy balls and other things that multiply in the night.

Sit a spell. Now that I've got you all relaxed I'm going to introduce you to some blogs I've been meaning to add to my sidebar for quite some time now. Here goes (now be polite and check them out):

Christine Kane's blog--Her blog is great. Her music is even better, though I didn't convince her that there wasn't a self-doubting bone in Picasso's body.

Posie Gets Cozy --Jam-packed with joie de vivre. Plus, the author actually has more library fines than I do.

Anna Maria--This girl has so much energy it make my head spin, but her blog oozes creativity.

Weathered Goods --A whimsical shop (in Green Bay on Main) and a whimsical blog. Check out both!

Creative Everyday--A beautiful spirit shines through here. Leah is also one of the authors of Finding Water, a great place to begin a creative journey this summer.

Day Dreaming --An new blog with an old soul (and a talented painter).

The Colorist --I just discovered this blog, but Casey always has interesting things to say at the ArtBiz Discussion Group and I look forward to meandering around his blog (you know when the studio is clean and organized and time is abundant...)

I'm fairly certain I've forgotten a few good ones but that just makes for another post. One of these days I might get ambitious and put them in alphabetical order.

There's good stuff here. Enjoy!

Surprise Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Sat, 19 May 2007 23:19:00 +0000

Don't you love it when your garden flowers bloom? This time of year everything seems to grow several inches a day. It's amazing to watch. Earlier today my husband and I were sitting on our tree swing, in the rain, and we both swore we saw the leaves on the hosta plants uncurl and open up for the rain.

Perfect inspiration for a busy week in the studio.

Here is a photo for the bleeding hearts reading this post:

Notice the pink tulip hiding behind the bleeding hearts. It popped up all on its own, probably carried there by a rabbit or squirrel. We practice the art of random gardening around this house and hope for something of a cottage garden look. At the very least, there are always a few lovely surprises.

Bury a few surprises for yourself today. You could:

1. Plant four five dollar bills in winter coat pockets, occasionally used purses, your cookie jar or whatever. Then, when you find them later on in the year, treat yourself to a latte or a magazine or some other small treat.

2. Buy season tickets to a theater or opera house or poetry reading series.

3. Set aside a few completely free hours, start driving or walking, without a plan, and explore your community.

Other ideas are welcome. Have a great weekend. Open up to the rain. Shan

Vintage Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Fri, 18 May 2007 00:19:00 +0000

This is a photo of some small flower paintings I'm finishing up. I'm calling this my Vintage Flower Collection. They are inspired by things like the cups below, which I love because they are pretty and old and have been somewhere else before they came to me.

I'm scraping back paint and using a yellow glaze to give these paintings a vintage look.

Tomorrow I'm going to get some photos of another series of small paintings I'm finishing, my Meditation Flower Collection. When I shoot some good photos I'll post both of them here. In June I may start selling some of them here, at my unused Etsy shop.

Buzzzzzzzz-i-ness and Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Tue, 15 May 2007 14:37:00 +0000

Things are buzzing in the studio. I'm finishing paintings, framing paintings, folding a batch of my Gourmet Greeting cards, building a checkout counter for my art fair booth, and stepping into the garden whenever I need to quiet my mind.

I love how fresh and fast plants grow this time of year and the vivid greens and pinks and blues of the garden just after a rain.

Last night was warm and balmy and quiet lightening lit the sky as I sat outside with a group of people who have come to mean quite a lot to me. The air was dreamy and lovely and crackled with the possibility of change.

I love those kind of nights.

The juggling act that is the life of an artist

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:01:00 +0000

I wrote this post yesterday but didn't publish it. After I wrote it I had a stressful day and followed none of my own advice tips. Later in the day, I began to realize that I might not be stressed, but actually sick. And, today I can confirm that I do, indeed, have a bug of some sort as someone else in my house woke up with it this morning. So read on, try the tips, but if nothing works, be gentle with yourself. Larger forces might be at work. Sometimes we just have to ride things out. Here's the original post:

My busy life just got busier.

I recently accepted a contract position as exhibition coordinator at a local museum. It wasn't a tough decision to accept this opportunity as I'm going to have my hands on some really incredible art this summer. More about that later, though.

What I want to discuss today is how to do a good job at a number of different jobs and still be healthy and happy. It is very common for artists to wear many hats, to juggle art with teaching jobs, waiting tables or any number of other things. And, within the job of "artist" are many small business tasks--entrepreneur, art creator, financial manager, event planner, and so forth.

We wear a lot of hats. Here are a few tips for keeping those hats on straight:

1. Be mindful. Be where you are at any given moment. When you are in your studio, make sure your mind is there with you and when you are teaching really be with your students. I've slowly tried to reduce the amount of time I spend multi-tasking because I'm much more productive and effective when I truly focus on one thing at a time.

2. Do your best and then let go. Doing our best does not mean doing everything perfectly. Usually our best is not perfection, but it's almost always good enough.

3. See the big picture. I have a tendency to obsess about details. When I find myself doing this I have two tricks that help me chill out a bit. One is to remember something I stressed out about a year or two ago. When I look at that event, say it's preparing for an art fair, from my current perspective, I can no longer see what all the emotional hoopla was about. I try to bring that awareness to my current situation.

My second trick is to visually zoom out from my situation. I imagine looking at myself wherever I'm at, say my studio, from up above, and I zoom further and further out until I am mentally viewing my situation from an aerial perspective. I look like an ant and I see all the other ant size houses and people scurrying about and my stress about trivial things really does seem trivial.

Those are my tricks. I'd love to hear yours.

This Day

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Tue, 08 May 2007 13:23:00 +0000

Haystacks, Oil on Canvas, 24" x 12", 2007

Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, it is already in the 60's and the birds are singing away. I have a ton of stuff to do. I figure I could:

1. Freak out all day and emotional exhaust myself, or

2. Blanket myself in this beautiful day and be in time, rather than up against time.

I choose number two.

Have a blissful day. Shan

Finishing Paintings

noreply@blogger.com (Shan) — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:11:00 +0000

My new work is at the same stage as these tulips, near bloom. My paintings are created with multiple layers of oil paint and it's always the final layers that really bring a painting home for me.

I currently have a lot of paintings at this stage and am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I counter this by trying to stay present and enjoy the moment but, occasionally, I look at all the paintings in my studio that need to be finished and my head starts spinning.

So I dive into one painting at a time and know, in my heart of hearts, they will be done in plenty of time for:

May 26 and 27
Sturgeon Bay Fine Art Fair. Sunset Park. Sturgeon Bay.

June 2007, Opening Reception: June 8, 6-8pm
Here and There, Painting and Photography by Shan Bryan-Hanson and Frances Holt.
Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art, Sturgeon Bay,WI

June 21, 5-9pm
Featured Artist, Weathered Goods, Green Bay Gallery Night.
I will be demonstrating my painting process at the gallery. Weathered Goods, 1242 Main St., Green Bay, WI.

More events in July, but let's just take it one month at a time. Here's to having everything we need, right now, in this moment.