Where There's Smoke . . .

This is a pen and ink drawing of a couple of objects I found at our cabin site. Sometimes two things seems to want to go together. It's a visual pun, I'm sure you will get it! It is currently on view as part of my solo show at Torchon Bistro in Anchorage.

Where There"s Smoke

7.23" x 10.5"

Pen and Ink on Paper

For more information, contact me at 

info@carollambertarts.com

The Way Things Work

Here is the commission I mentioned in my last post.  My patron provided the props, each has a personal significance. There are a few messages in the arrangement, you might be able to find some of them.

The Way Things Work
Oil on linen panel
12" x 16"

SOLD

Differential with Japanese Banner

It helps, when one is a still life artist, to understand the secret lives of things. Objects can be quite lively when you get to know them. This differential, for instance, persuaded a fit young man to carry it 12 miles out of an abandoned junk pile somewhere in Alaska, despite the extra weight. When he left the state, he put it on the grass to one side of his yard sale, where it attracted me. Since then, it has been waiting patiently in my "heavy metal" box, all the while exerting a kind of tug on my awareness. In another part of my life, I was exploring old Japanese textiles. I did not realize this banner would have an affinity with the differential, but there it is.

Differential with Japanese Banner
16 x 20

oil on linen panel

For more information, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

Herpetology Text

These things found their way to each other on the studio table, and just seemed to go together. I found the page of text in an old book shop, loved it, and have always intended to get it into a painting.


10" x 8" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

Cosmos

In the middle of winter, it's nice to see some color.

12" x 10" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

Jade Loon

Here is my first post of 2010.
I have a number of paintings in process, I will post more as soon as I have the photos ready.
Best wishes for the new year to everyone!

8" x 6" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

The Tin Sheep

This is the second painting from the Peter Van Dyck workshop. This time I used a linen panel. The surface stayed a bit oilier, but I liked how it went.

This is the same flowered napkin featured in the Russian Sugar Bowl painting (see the August 1, 2009 post). Quite a contrast, isn't it? I was worried it would steal the show in that little sugar bowl painting, so I made it more uniform. But in this painting I found that the sketchier treatment had more visual interest for me, and it didn't steal the show.

I found this tin sheep (or is it a cow??) at a yard sale full of funky stuff in Seattle. August is a great month for finding cool still life stuff! I was really attracted to the strange colors of the rust and wear on this object.

8" x 10" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$480 plus shipping, unframed

Shoemaker's Forms

My partner Paul found these in a market in Argentina. They are for a child's shoe, the mark says size 6. I love the feel of old tools like this, I get a sense of connection with the persons whose craft went into making and using them. This is the first painting I did at the Peter Van Dyck workshop I blogged about last time. This painting is actually oil on treated illustration board, a different surface for me. I enjoyed using it, it grips the paint, and invites a looser, more free brush stroke.

I apologize for going so long between posts! My desktop computer blew up just before we left for our painting trip to Denali National Park, so when I got back I had the task of recovering what data I could and getting set up with something new. I decided to switch to an IMac, which was difficult at first, but I don't regret it one bit! My photo editing software took forever to get here, but it arrived today, so I am back to the blog. Thanks for your patience!

9" x 12" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$410 plus shipping, unframed

Hand Drill, completed

Here is the final result of some months of work on the hand drill painting. Below are a few more photos of work in progress since my last post.


I took this as I began to finish the lower part of the drapery and the drill.


Going a little further to refine the drapery and the values.

I began this painting in November 2007, put it aside for quite a while, and picked it up again in December of 2008.

Yes, I had the set up in my studio for all those months! I needed to move it a few times, so the drapery was disturbed from its original position. I rearranged the drapery as I worked.

If you compare the finished piece to the "in progress" photos in this and the previous post, you will see changes in the drawing, the edges, and the drapery of the lower half.

Normally, I try to keep all parts of a painting moving forward at the same pace, but this one had "arrested development." For all these reasons, the top and bottom parts of the painting were completed at different times.

Thanks to everyone who gave feedback on the "in progress" post!

24" x 12" oil on linen panel

No price on this one yet, but if you are interested in a purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

Insulator with Railroad Hardware and Raven

Here is a rare red insulator my friend Paul bought in an antique shop in Bisbee, Arizona. While I was painting this piece (one of my demonstrations at Charlie's Club 25 Cafe Gallery) a gentleman offered an explanation for why insulators were made in different colors. Seems the telegraph people were trying to find the best way to keep bees and other insects from nesting inside them (a hazard to workers) so they tried different colors to raise the internal temperature. Indeed, many of the clear insulators in my collection have the remains of insect nests inside!

I found the spike next to the rail line in Whittier, AK, and the old bolt in a pile of hardware left over from someone's campfire. They had burned some railroad ties and these things were all over the place. That was near Seward, AK.

The raven was a gift from my friend Jessica, years ago. I like him a lot, and he turns up in a lot of my work. He is the ultimate observer, as Edgar Allen Poe knew so well. Ravens are smart, wary, and comical. I always figure they know stuff.

8" x 10" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact 2 Friends Gallery
907 868 4648

Teacup and Damask Napkin

This is the painting from last Friday's demonstration at Charlie's Cafe and Gallery. I found the beautiful Rosenthal teacup in a Goodwill, the napkin and spoon are family items. I thought this would be a colorful and festive image for the season. Happy Holidays everyone!


6" x 8" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact Fireweed Gallery
907 235 3411

Woman with Orca and Sea Glass

This piece is a little fantasy, you can make up your own story to go with the image. Several Alaska references here, the orca of course, and the sea glass, which was collected on Kodiak Island. The rocks and the shell come from the beach at Homer, Alaska. The little woman figure has been in the family for years, I have no idea where she is from, but I like her attitude!

6" x 8" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$280 plus shipping, unframed

Glass Insulator with Telegraph Wire

Here is another Alaskan found object, from the days when communication along the rail lines was by telegraph. Those copper wires were strung for miles alongside the tracks, and the glass insulator allowed the electrical current to flow smoothly. These beautiful objects, now in disuse and fallen from their posts, lay in the brush alongside remote sections of the Alaska Railroad.

Many thanks to my friend Paul for lending this specimen. They are hard to find with the wires still attached!

This painting was last Friday's demonstration piece for my appearance at Charlies' Club 25 Cafe and Gallery, in Anchorage at the corner of 4th and D Streets. I will be there every Friday through January 2nd, so I really hope you will come by to visit! I am set up and painting by 9AM, and I generally stay until the painting is done, usually around 6PM.

8" x 10" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact Fireweed Gallery
907 235 3411

Apple Harvest

This is the painting I have been working on for the last month, which has taken time from daily paintings, but when the apples are ripe, you gotta go for it. Thanks go out to my friend Katie, who allowed me to pick from her two trees. Homegrown apples are visually more interesting than the ones one can buy in the store, and they come with leaves! These eventually morphed into a delicious apple crisp. The fruit dish is about 150 years old, and has been in my family for generations.

11" x 14" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact Fireweed Gallery
907 235 3411

Glass Float and Bed Spring

Here is this past Friday's demonstration piece. Both are Alaskan found objects: the float was found on a remote beach by my friend Lynn, and I found the bedspring among a pile of trash outside an abandoned cabin in the Talkeetna mountains. I love spirals.

10" x 8" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$515 plus shipping, unframed

Old Measuring Spoons

These spoons are old family items, much used, now in honorable retirement.
To purchase, contact 2 Friends Gallery
907 868 4648

8" x 6" oil on linen panel