A Long Long Night

No worries about snow tonight, a rare day when temperatures were far above normal rather than the far below we've had for months and months. The crowd was a little slow to arrive- several of our regulars present, but some not available tonight. However, we had a few new people, some of whom may be back again in the future. Because we started out with fewer than our usual number, a decision was made to not use the timer and just let the conversation flow. Of course, that's why we started using the timer in the first place, but we'll get to that later.

We opened with Michelle's piece (above top), a sideshow style banner that fits in with the circus/carnival theme that she's been exploring a lot lately. We then moved across the displayed items (2nd photo), discussing Tara's mixed media painting and Tim's abstract drawing.

From there we moved out into the hall, where Adam had installed the pieces above, his latest variation of using materials from tires. Also in the hall were the ink drawing below, from Molly. Although it was not her intention, many people present saw them as having associations with various water based disasters, such as the BP oil spill and the recent tsunami in Japan.

Back in the Studio we discussed Vince's latest figure piece (top photo), late arriving work by one of Molly's students and a friend, and then we finished with my piece.

I put out both the first and second proofs of my latest print to get some feedback. The overwhelming favorite was the newer incomplete one. Mostly they liked all the flesh tones and felt that the all the other colors in the first proof were completing too much with the figures. Many calls for moving more cool tones into the architecture, and we also discussed the advantages of various more neutral colors or darker colors in these areas. Because so many new people were present (maybe 8 more connected with Molly's classes) I had to explain the series yet again (everyone liked the concept) and when I quickly showed the complete set, they acknowledged that my color choices for the shower print do make some sense in connection with earlier prints, if not for the scene itself. A few questioned whether this print itself has anything to do with the boardwalk concept and if it should even be part of the series. It's true that there is little in the image to say that this scene has to be at a boardwalk, but the same could be said for a few others in the series, and I think it will work in the context of the whole series (some agreed with me about this). Since I'm not particularly satisfied with the first proof, it makes sense to consider what came up tonight, and maybe experiment with some different color choices on that first copy before I do anything more with the okawara proofs.

Anyway, with the late arrivals adding some art to the mix, and the longer than usual discussions that went with each artist presentation, we didn't finish until well after 10 pm. Still a very productive critique session, but maybe the timer comes back next time.