Experiments with “Calligraphic Still Life”

Sep 1

Exploring a new idea with "Calligraphic Still Lifes" using crayon, oil pastel & watercolor © Laurie Doctor Sketchbook

I promised in my last post to share ideas about these “calligraphic still lifes.” Many of you will have experimented with these tools, but perhaps not all together on the same surface, or as an exploration into still life. It’s only the beginning. I plan to go much further into abstraction, and into lettering and landscape. My aim is not to have products, but to play. This is working (I mean the part about playing.) My other aim is to have my students playing with tools they may not normally use, and to have tools that fit into my carry-on like crayons, oil pastels and watercolor. (I am sticking with my Mary Poppins effort to have all my clothes and tools and cosmetics for three weeks in Italy fit into one magic bag. At the moment I am in a room with art supplies, clothes, notebooks, journals, pen nibs, thread, soap, vitamin C and shampoo scattered across all surfaces.)

I made a couple short videos to share my process of experimenting with calligraphic still lifes:

I also mentioned in my last post that I had an imperfect pile of paintings in process for my upcoming exhibit. Now I have some that I have proclaimed done. See them here.
To purchase a painting contact the gallery owner, Frankie York | New Editions Gallery

Next time I will show you some images from my class in Tuscany, Italy. If you have been following A Silver Fraction, you know how inspirational my students are, how students and you readers are fuel for my work. This is just now reminding me of a phrase whose source I have lost:

Give your gift with a sense of holy obligation.

No excuses. I’d love to hear from you.

Featured Artist | Maya Huber

Have you gotten to see what a great resource our featured artists are for ideas? Do you wonder how to talk about your work? I am inspired by the writing as well as the images of these makers — how Maya ties together struggling and thriving, and Suzy, our artist from last month, titled her book “The Book I Would Make if Nothing Else Mattered”.

Making like nothing else matters changes everything.

You have all heard me say how I am humbled by who shows up, by how much I learn. Maya Huber is our celebrated artist this month. Enjoy her images, the writing about her process and the strangest thing in her studio! Her work is compelling, beautiful and unique. To see her featured artist page click here: Below is a series of her large banners. This is only a taste, for more of her work click here.