Upcoming shows from others...

I've been neck-deep into my own work this summer preparing for my upcoming show, but of course, I'm not the only one keeping busy. Here is a partial list of new shows and one new website by some fellow artist friends...

Current

Renowned photographer Tony Ward has unveiled his new website, featuring new works.

Steven Baris at Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE, through November 3rd

Upcoming

Lisa Pressman at Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Joanne Mattera at Arden Gallery, Boston, MA

Rebecca Saylor Sack at J. Cacciola Gallery, New York, NY

Deirdre Murphy at the Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA

Timothy Gierschick II at the University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA

Studio Visit: Rebecca Saylor Sack 12.08.10

I caught up with painter Rebecca Saylor Sack at her studio in the Crane Arts Building recently. We talked about a number of things, but one thing that we had a good laugh about was that the work of painters, especially those who work with abstract imagery, progresses because we wind up making problems for ourselves. 

I know that whenever I begin to feel too comfortable with some aspect of what's going on with my work or if it begins to feel too "easy", it's very likely that I'm going to find some kind of wrench to throw into the situation-changing sizes and kinds of supports, trying different media to paint with, bringing different forms into the work, etc...   I feel like if I don't create challenges for myself, the work will stall and feel stagnant. 

Rebecca seems to keep her work fresh just from the balancing act of using abstraction that closely references landscape, but stops well short of being exactly landscape painting. However, like myself, she has deemed it necessary to mix things up a bit over the past year or so by bringing mark-making strategies, like spray paint, to the work that mixes well her very capable paint-handling skills. 

Rebecca Saylor Sack is represented by the Nicelle Beauchene Gallery in New York. 

Artist website: Rebecca Saylor Sack.com

line in sight

Got a bunch of paintings out of the studio this morning to be photographed. From there, they'll go to the gallery. The best thing was being able to get a 60" x 72" piece down the stairs and out of the door. Had it been any wider than 72", I would have had to deal with lowering it out of the window, like I did for "All That Could Be", which is 60" x 84". I don't think I'll be working on anything much larger.

Speaking of canvas sizes, every now and then I'll try out new combinations of stretcher bars to see how that size feels when worked on. For a while, it was 36"x36". Lately, for some reason, 28"x32" has been a favorite.

For the most part, what's going to be in the show is done, but I'm still working on a couple of more canvases which should be done in the coming two weeks. Now that this is wrapping up, I'm turning my attention towards work that I'll do for the show at the Philadelphia Art Alliance in the fall.

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Recent paintings by Rebecca Saylor Sack

Yesterday, Rebecca Saylor Sack stopped by for the second leg of our studio visits. We talked shop for a bit, trading comments about my recent works, art in general, and galleries. We went back and forth with comments about the latest paintings, always a good thing for me at times like this since my nose has been in them for the past few months. Along the way, she mentioned that she was chosen to receive a Fleisher Challenge exhibition for this year, so big congratulations to her on that accomplishment.