E.Gilmore

Little Black Sketchbook

2012-01-26T10:49:00.000-05:00

It is the best feeling getting to the end of a sketchbook. More often than not I'll prematurely start working in another one because I want a new size paper or paper texture, or I just lost the last one I was working in. This little black sketchbook has actually stuck around for a while (although it was originally abandoned for about a year with only a couple pages filled). The majority of it has been filled with notes I took while working in the studio as well as interning at Fuller Craft Museum. The past month or so I've been filling it with sketches. It feels so much better to have art in there than notes but with the combo of the two this sketchbook is definitely going to be a keeper.

Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art

2012-01-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

Had a great time at the MFA the other day but unfortunately we were not able to see the new wing at the Gardner. They were closing in 20 minutes and would not let us in. We could have seen at least the space in that amount of time, but they were right to not let us in because I'm sure it is amazing in there and we would have lingered and eventually have to be shooed out.

Going through my images from the MFA I found myself continuously coming back to this:

I liked these two pieces and remember reading something about them being contemporary comments on the 18th century Rococo movement. But... there was so much to see and I rushed past only stopping to take a photograph and look more closely for probably 30 seconds. I've searched a bit for the artist information for both the chair and the ceramic sculpture but have not found what I am looking for. I believe that they are located within the Jeanne and Stokley Towles Gallery.

Here in an installation view of Kiki Smith's Lilith. Kiki Smith is such an art goddess for me; her work is beautifully morose coupled with a deeply feministic soul.

Detail view of Lilith
1994
Silicon Bronze and Glass

This piece by Smith refers to the Jewish folklore where Adam and Lilith were made by God of the same earth and were husband and wife. Lilith did not stick around though because Adam would not view her as an equal; cue Eve being made out of Adam's rib.

Lilith was long viewed as a spirit dangerous to men and children but has been more recently reinterpreted as a symbol for female strength and independence for obvious reasons. If you think this piece is a little creepy, then you haven't seen anything yet. You really need to see this one in person, when you get up close, her eyes give you a real jump. All that bronze, and then suddenly incredibly lively glass eyes.

After the MFA Jasmine and I headed over to Thaitation for some birthday lunch! Yes we were out to see some great art, but on my end I was also keeping Jasmine away from home where a surprise birthday party was being set up for her!

Me trying to get work done first thing in the AM = not happening according to Winston Churchill.

MFA

2012-01-19T06:00:00.062-05:00

I'm pretty excited about seeing the new Contemporary Wing at the MFA tomorrow with a good friend of mine. After the MFA, Jasmine and I will head next to see the new wing of the Isabella Stewart Gardner which has just recently opened. It is such an exciting time for contemporary art in Boston. Now we just need to get more places like YES.OUI.SI where artists are taking control over the exhibition space and organizing to show their work in new spaces.

Pieces I am excited to see at the MFA:

El Anatsui, Black River, 2009

Lynda Benglis, Wing, 1970

A sketch for the now completed Gardner expansion and preservation project by architect Renzo Piano:

A piece by my good friend Jasmine:

Memories

Mixed Media on Canvas

Jasmine K. Fanning

Peers

2012-01-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

Here is a minute sampling of some of the work by artists who I am honored to consider my peers. Please click their individual names to direct you to more of their work.

Alejandra Atares Abad

Alejandra Atares Abad and Irene Alvarez Blazquez

Adrian Alvarez

Elizabeth Geanoulis

Tumblr.

2012-01-13T06:00:00.003-05:00

I started a Tumblr account a while back but never had the time to use it. I am now making the time and it seems like it will be a great tool for me to keep up with different things going on in different artistic venues.

Tumblr.

Business Cards

2012-01-09T13:08:00.001-05:00

Deadlines always kick things into high gear. That is something I definitely need to keep on top of myself with, creating real deadlines. I'm newly working on keeping better to personal goals for myself which seems appropriate, it being January and all. I've never been much of a competitive person even with myself so real deadlines just have that extra boost that allow me to ignore things like the dishes and cat litter.
The deadline that has been helping me ignore daily responsibilities most recently is the upcoming opening reception for the show I'll be exhibiting in at McGladrey Gallery in Charlestown on February 8th. Earlier this week I got my website up and running and today I submitted an order for business cards. I've had two sets of business cards before but these newbs will definitely be the best ones yet. The first ones I had printed up included incorrect information, making them no good as of the second I got them, and I threw them immediately away. I made the second batch of cards by hand using a brushstroke of paint from the palette I was using for an artsy detail. I liked the second group because I like the idea of a card made by hand (handwriting, not using a printing press although hand printed cards rock) but I don't think I nailed it and therefore did not give them out as often as I should have. This new group of cards I am really proud of and will actually be giving these ones out.

Front

Back

Second attempt at having a decent card

Here is the site I used to make my new cards:

https://www.printsmadeeasy.com/

There are lots of weird animations on there but I got 100 cards for free (I payed $3.95 I think for the slowest shipping) and the company will not print any of their information on the product... good find.

Website

2012-01-04T10:29:00.001-05:00

I've spent the past couple of days working on a website and wow, do I have a lot of unedited images! Every picture is warped and needs to be squared off because I am nothing of a photographer. I have to admit though that I love the excuse to play around in photoshop for hours at a time. The only color editing I ever do is to correct a shadow or something like that in order to make the images as close to the actual pieces as possible.
Hopefully the site will be up and running in the next month or so once I get all of the kinks worked out.
Here are a couple images I've excavated from the Spring of 2010 when I was doing all of my sketching digitally.

Fall Process

2011-12-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

This Fall I have been using a new photo-collage method throughout the beginning stages of my work. I call my use of photo-collaging "mapping," and I see it as just that; exploring a land and visually recording my findings. I focus on composing shape, color and space to effectively describe my fragmented understanding of what I understand to be a completed imaginative space. This space has been built up over time from a compilation of all things visual that I find intriguing. Through the mapping process I am able to view the land from different perspectives and for greater lengths of time.

Process shot of "Landscape on Paper 2"

Landscape on Paper 2

Oil Paint, Oil Pastel and Charcoal on Paper

18 x 24"

Yellow Earth

40 x 50"

Oil Paint and Oil Pastel on Canvas

Fall

2011-12-12T23:39:00.001-05:00

Here is some of my work from this Fall.

Click on images to enlarge.

Honeymoon Drawing

Charcoal on Paper

26 x 32.5"

Honeymoon

Oil Paint and Oil Pastel on Canvas

42 x 56"

Earth Slope

Oil Paint and Oil Pastel on Canvas

36 x 48"

Landscape on Paper 1

Oil Paint, Oil Pastel and Charcoal on Paper

18 x 18.5"

Process Post

2011-07-09T13:07:00.000-04:00

Here is a post I've been working on all week. I've tried to take photos at each decision point. Of course not EVERY decision point, but highlighting the important ones.

I still have to measure this one but the sketchbook resting to the left of the canvas is about 12" long for reference.

This one is close to being finished. Next time in the studio I will be lightening up my darkest dark blue and adding some glazes to my gray mid-tones for added depth and texture.

And here is "Earth Hole with Hidden Shape" again. I thought it was much closer than it actually was to being finished when I posted it last time. In really good lighting it looked okay for me but out of that something was lost. I decided that a minor shift in light can't be to blame for an entire painting failing and that it actually was kind of dirty looking, so I got back in there.

(This last one is a little warped because of the angle I took the photo)

Summer

2011-06-29T08:56:00.002-04:00

"Earth Hole with Hidden Shape"
30"x48"

It has been quite a while since my last update, as usual, so here we go.
I've been turning my attention to a closer investigation of color and how it changes without a shift in pigment; meaning how colors change depending on what other colors are near by. I believe that I have finally come to this part of the painting process after spending the past two years figuring out shape, viscosity, and illusions in perspective (among other things!) in relation to my interpretation of the landscape.

Shown here is a photo of the painting I am currently working on titled "Earth Hole with Hidden Shape." I have worked on the painting since but this photo was lit the best.

Breaking Through

2011-01-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

"Two Holes"
Oil on Canvas
48"x60"

"White Spheres"
Oil on Canvases
Diptych 2- 24"x30"

"Glow with Green"
Oil on Canvas
36"x45"

New Work, New Photos

2010-11-28T16:33:00.000-05:00

Well I've finally begun to take advantage of the fabulous photo studio at MassArt which I just found out is available to all alumni as well as current students, set for life.

Lately I've been getting very excited about drawing and have been doing some intense small pieces which are not shown here but are very much happening. I did a watercolor on a whim as demonstration during a class I was teaching but I ended up really liking it. Perhaps I will push this a bit further in the studio.

Here are some new pieces with some old pieces but all are photographed well. There is still a warping happening, you may notice, although not nearly as bad as when I photograph my work on my own.

"Drawn Collage Landscape"
30"x22"
Charcoal and Graphite on Paper

"Line Landscape"
30"x22"
Charcoal on Paper

"Charcoal Landscape"
30"x22"
Charcoal on Paper

"Bright Landscape"
36"x22"
Oil on Canvas

"Horizontal Landscape with Flesh"
26"x32"
Oil on Canvas

"Landscape with Flesh"
32"x26"
Oil on Canvas

"Red Hill"
13"x11"
Oil on Canvas

"Wave"
13"x11"
Oil on Canvas

"Red Sky with Cliffs"
36"x28"
Oil on Canvas

"Watercolor"
12"x9"
Watercolor on Paper

Heading into Fall

2010-10-13T11:52:00.002-04:00

It’s been a while; I’ve moved out of one studio and into another, my position as the art teacher at a summer camp has clearly ended and new work is in progress!

Here is my fabulous new plant that I am very excited about. I’ve had it for a week or two now and it grows these beautiful little orange flowers that look like goldfish. I think it may need a transplant soon, what do you think?

Here are two paintings that I am currently working on. I think they’ll be done soon. I’m very excited for a couple new colors these two have each added to my palate.

Cobalt Teal mixed with a bit of Cobalt Blue (plus a little Titanium White and Cadmium Yellow Dark mixed in places) is giving me some exciting new blues in the center of the second painting. I am also happy to put my Dioxazine Violet to use with Yellow Ochre and Burt Sienna to get a new and rich fleshy tone which you can see underneath some glazing in the bottom right area of the first painting.

Recently I have been taking drawing a lot more seriously. Here are three completed pieces and one work in progress (shown with source material). All are approx 27x21” but really that is a big estimation, I never trust my mental measurements!

Here is a tiny sample of my sketches and source material used before and throughout a piece.

A few artists I am currently looking at:

Cristi Rinklin

Arthur Dove

Thomas Moran (Big Yellowstone painter)

Nancy Friese (A temporary faculty member at MassArt, I saw her artist talk a couple weeks ago and spoke with her afterwards, amazing work!!!)

Opening

2010-08-04T20:03:00.001-04:00

Had the Eskimo Sister's Gallery Opening on Saturday! Wooly Fair was a blast and I had a bunch of friends and family come for support which is always fantastic. Above is a pic my aunt Kathleen got of Jeff and I playing with our friend Pete's dog Jackie (who was wonderfully behaved all night long despite the crowds and heat)

There was amazing artwork everywhere you looked

Such a fun vibe to be a part of

I wish I could give all of the artists credit for the beautiful work I'm showing but there was stuff everywhere; besides I feel that they were more interested in beautifying than getting a nod (which they would doubtlessly get from everybody!)

However, I do know who this artist is because this was one of the pieces in the gallery with my work. Marguerite Keyes made this amazing and tiny piece called "A Slight Tug." Unfortunately I did not get to meet her but fortunately her website is fabulous and there is plenty more to see there.

This is half of Alexander Barton's "Preach & Practice" that was painted with pigs blood!!! Intense! Again, didn't meet this artist but he has a superb website that should definitely be looked at!

Shot of my "Vertical Landscape" with the cupcakes

One of the cupcake choices was "Mexican Chocolate" which Jeff made the mistake of trying... only a mistake of course because he isn't into spicy food and that think had a KICK!

Wooly Fair

2010-07-29T20:33:00.011-04:00

Here is my ridiculous version of giving you all directions.

Pretty much you want to go to 532 Kinsley Ave.

If you take the right onto Eagle St. like your directions will say to, you'll see a white building on your right... that is where all this awesomeness will be located.

But if parking is your concern then you'll want to continue straight on Atwells for a sec through the intersection and pull into the strip mall style parking on your right. Then follow my very clearly drawn polka-dotted directions to the gallery.

Here is the link to the Wooly Fest peeps LINKLINKLINKLINK

There you will see that there is a cover that will go to the Steel Yard (Read about them! They rock their community left and right!) but you can still get a few bucks off if you pre-order.

I love you and be sure to ask me for one of my fancy shmancy professional lady business cards because I killed the muscles in my hand making them!!

Doors for the gallery are around 5

P.S. You didn't hear this from me but byob!

P.S.S. Watch this!

<3

Visual Arts Camp

2010-07-28T17:51:00.002-04:00

We're really getting into the meat at Visual Arts camp now so I thought it would be a good time to share what my students have been up to.

Above you'll see the inside of the Emilson Arts Center which is where we are setting up for this week and next.

Unfortunately once it is finished being built (note the unfinished walls) in two years it will only be a theater :/

At least it is a REALLY nice theater. That huge stage entrance covered in plywood will be a big glass door that lifts in a week or two when they are finished cutting the glass.

These are the dollar store bins I am very pleased with myself for setting up. I feel that it gives the students a sense of belonging, especially at a camp where everybody is constantly toting EVERYTHING around with them in backpacks.

The first day we made sketchbooks and went outside to try out some nature drawing. It's kind of hard to see but the sketchbook on the bottom right is titled "Book of Wonders" so good.

Yesterday we began a weaving project, which blends in with the unfinished wall here, but is strips of brown paper hanging vertically from the stick for our warp and two more at the top and bottom for our weft. The brown paper has timelines drawn on them and the students could pick any period or amount of time they wished. This was a great project idea I got from my professor Melissa Chaney at MassArt and served as a perfect intro to weaving.

Later we moved on to more intricate weaving using six strings for our warp and one piece for the weft which zigzagged back and forth. (Note the nuts looking branches we decorated earlier in the Summer)

This was a frustrating project for many of the students as the warp pieces kept crossing and getting tangled. You can see above that I ended up having them fix the warp in place at the top and bottom for added stability.

Here is an example of one that was started yesterday and finished today, I should have taken more pics this afternoon while everybody was finishing up. There was something lacking from my teaching strategy for this project because I had several students who kept calling me over because of confusion or they thought they were doing it wrong... but they were actually doing it right! Is this normal? Any suggestions on what I could have added? There must be an in between step that could have helped transition from the Woven Timeline to this project. I did draw out a diagram and also started one for them to see and touch before we got started.

Today when everybody arrived to continue on with their weaving project it clicked a lot faster, maybe they just needed to go through that rough figuring it out patch yesterday. Everybody seemed to zoom right along and we had time to start planning for a big sculpture coming up as well as get into watercolors!

Although we are always talking about the color wheel today I really pushed it by only giving them the primaries on their palette. I didn't even get one complaint about this and was thrilled to see the imagination in color as well as subject matter.

It's hard to see in these photos but a lot of these paintings have salt on them so it will be fun to see the kids again tomorrow to watch them brush off the salt and reveal the surprise visual texture below!

The great thing about art camps like these are that the kids WANT to be there making art so I haven't had too many issues keeping people on task. When students finish early I offer them either an extension of the project they finished or to work in their sketchbooks. Probably once a day there is a point where students are running around but they are ages 8-11, I have them for three hours and it is Summer camp.. so a little running around is okay with me, it just cues me for a transition time.

Back to Nature

2010-07-25T20:01:00.002-04:00

Well I just dropped off some paintings with the lovely ladies at Eskimo Sisters Gallery in Providence this afternoon. The gallery is FILLED with artwork ready to be hung for the July 31st opening. Not only will there be a fabulous opening but there also happens to be an amazing fair being put on by The Steel Yard! Check out the links below, it is going to be so much fun, I hope to see you all there!

Eskimo Sisters Gallery
Wooly Fair
The Steel Yard

Other than preparing for this show I've been working on the difficult task of balancing art making with art teaching. I've been fortunate enough to have Scott Ketcham's studio to work in for the past two months and have a couple new pieces to show along with many sketches and ideas for more.
It's all about the routine. My first few weeks of teaching equalled almost zero art making but once I got into my groove I was able to work my routine into the new schedule. Some days I would get there and just draw from life (always a good task for skill sharpening) knowing that even if I wasn't feeling a big painting -or just oils in general- I could still give myself a sliver of that accomplished feeling.

Little Sketch

All day I've been trying to align my email and websites so they are all at ElizabethMGilmore.com. Hows the web address looking at the top of your screen? If I can figure out how to sign into my domain on Enom then I should be able to use the email Elizabeth@ElizabethMGilmore.com pretty soon which would be very exciting for me. Too bad I started my handwritten business cards last night already with all of the old info! Oh well, I suppose if I end up doing everything correctly people should be forwarded to the new addresses anyway.

frontback

And FINALLY!!!! There is a new addition to the family!!!!

Winston and I would like to welcome....

King Evelyn Champaign!!!!

New Work

2010-04-12T12:35:00.000-04:00

This guy is finished now, some changes at the top, will post update soon(-ish)

"One Stop Shopping"

"Protester Protesting the Protesters"

What I've been up to in the studio

2010-02-18T17:34:00.002-05:00

Visual Update

Images 1-6 are on 10x12" canvas painted with oil

Image 7 is on approx 40x26" stretched canvas painted with oil

Image 8 is on 16x20" canvas board painted with oil

(Don't know why this guy is washed out, probably because I need to work on my photography skills.)

(In progress)

I've got some more things going in the studio but you'll have to check back later for those!

Amy Bennett

2010-02-15T18:01:00.004-05:00

Been out of the studio for a couple days focusing on my Education textbooks so here are a few paintings from Amy Bennett who I just discovered surfing around art websites.

Trespassers, Oil on Panel, 18x18"

Evening News, Oil on Panel, 8x10"

Cold Compress, Oil on Panel, 12x16"

Stopped by Home Depot today to get some supplies to build a 4x5' stretcher so I'll be back in the studio working on that and other paintings tomorrow.

Forward Moving

2010-02-12T13:51:00.006-05:00

Forward Progress!

Here is a fresh sketch for a new piece I'm about to start. I can't wait to get into the studio to try it out with some oils. I'm thinking I'll throw it out on a 16"x20" panel. More on this later.

My landscape series is continuing on, I have 10.5 out of 14 of them completed. As I work on finishing those up over the next week I'll be stretching a big guy (4'x5') to paint a large version of one of them. Can't wait to post the pieces I've completed recently. I'm proud of this series and have to give a shout out to my girl Arlee who's paintings are a great inspiration for me. I just checked around for pics of her work online but couldn't find anything, I've put a request in so hopefully we can see some soon up in hur.

14 Paintings Progress

2010-01-31T16:24:00.006-05:00

I've been painting pretty hard this week, even at the studio now on tired Sunday! I'm really pushing myself to get 18 hours/week of work done for this project.

Each un-stretched canvas is 10"x12"

As you can see some of the painted edges come to a sharp and distinct edge while others are a little more loose. I began working with the tighter edges but decided to see what would happen with the visual tension if I was less focused on the hard edge and more into letting the mark making show itself.

I have a deadline to have the whole group of 14 to be done by February the 8th (which sounds a lot further away than it is!)

I really thought I would be blowing through these but I had a very tentative start. Each piece seems to be coming out a bit quicker than the last.

This one will be finished this evening and after that I'll be adding some Damar Varnish I made into my medium mixture. I'm very excited for this as I've never worked with varnish before and am looking forward to seeing the results once the pieces are dry.

Went out with friends last night and had a really fun time... ended up eating my friend's pizza and then almost an entire box of mac and cheese out of the pot with a spoon, always a sign of a good night. So now I am tired and don't really want to work, but I suppose that is part of the professional practice, working a lot and meeting deadlines instead of just doing it whenever.

It's just me, my coffee and coco puffs.. I think we can do it.

p.s. all of these colors are a bit more bright in real life.

New Ideas

2010-01-26T19:30:00.007-05:00

Here are some new sketches I've been working on for new paintings.

I'm using a new process which begins with doing digital sketches then printing those out and spending time with them in my studio.
Physical edits are made, worked on digitally further if needed and then on to the painting process.
This group is nearing the end of their editing phases and one is being worked on with oils in the studio.
These are to be seen as reference and only time will tell how closely they stay or far they move from these sketches.
More sketches are being worked on and aside from these I have a completely separate body of work developing:

I'm embarking on a journey into politically themed work. Hopefully I will be able to find some humor within all of the passion for change I am often consumed by while maintaining my message, I have things to say!

Stay tuned for further painting updates, this should be moving along quickly with all of these ideas moving around :)

In other news about getting my painting out and into the world, I stopped by The Better Bean Coffee Co. this afternoon in Bridgewater, got a killer Cafe Latte with Jeff and dropped off my information to be given to the owner so we'll see where that develops! Jeff has been going there for years and the place really seems to be developing every time I've stopped in there. Always new artwork showing and sandwiches now too! ART AND SANDWICHES!!!

If anybody has any more suggestions on places to get my paintings shown, please let me know!

New Paintings

2009-12-12T12:18:00.009-05:00

The last few months have been very busy for me in the studio. Every time I start to feel like a pro, I begin to learn all sorts of new things which reminds me that I am still a student and learning so much all the time... something that I hope can continue for a long time.

I've been focusing on still life as far as my painting is concerned. There are a couple others that belong here; one I haven't photographed and the other is in progress. Also, I've begun working with the landscape in fabric. More photos to come soon!

I plan on adding in dimensions for these pieces here but nothing is bigger than 19" to give you some sense of scale. These are not my professional slides either which I say so that you know all of the canvases are put together nicely, not warped as they may appear below.

I have opened an Etsy site: Painter E Gilmore There is absolutely nothing on it right now!!! But please be sure to check back as I am planning on putting

work up by mid-January.

Solo Book

Oil on Canvas

Study In White

Oil on Canvas

Seated Nude

Oil on Canvas

Pink Pot on Book

Oil on Canvas

Reclyning Nude

Oil on Canvas

Paint with Jar

Oil on Canvas

African Mask Against Book

Oil on Hardcover

Can With Shadow

Oil on Canvas

Can on Book

Oil on Hardcover

Books with Metal

Oil on Canvas

Apples with Pot

Oil on Canvas