In the Studio | House Portraits

I delivered another house portrait to a client this week! Such fun. I consider my house portraits to be little painted love letters. These homes shelter the hopes and dreams of the inhabitants and my goal in rendering them is to honor those dreams. They're are painted in acrylic on high quality archival paper, and they're usually commissioned to commemorate a new home, or sometimes even the selling of a home.  Learn more about my house portrait commissions HERE.

Storyteller Series | Cécile McLorin Salvant

Cécile McLorin Salvant has been playing in my house all week. My husband read a marvelous article about her in the New Yorker and we've been listening ever since. I am obsessed with her music, her tone, her wisdom, and her storytelling. And I have to also add that for me as an actor and theatre artist, I so admire Salvant's ability to completely embody a lyric and create a whole world with a song. Watching her sing is like seeing a masterclass in musical theatre. Wynton Marsalis said about Ms. Salvant, "You get a singer like this every generation or two." I must agree. She is a genius and I cant. stop. listening.

Dayspring: A new series

My solo art exhibition opens tomorrow! Its not in a gallery or in a traditional art space. Instead, the exhibit is being featured in a Unitarian sanctuary - a first for me. And as many of you are not local to the DFW area, I'm sharing the work with you here.

If you are in the Dallas area, please feel free to some see the work in person and attend an artist reception next Sunday, May 28th from 3-4pm. We'll be in the sanctuary at Horizon UU Church in Carrollton and its open to the public. The pieces are all for sale and can be purchased in my online shop. Here are my artist's notes for the new exhibition, DAYSPRING:


In his poem simply entitled "Spring", Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, 

"Nothing is so beautiful as spring—

What is all this juice and all this joy?" 

Each year, spring's special magic renews the human spirit on a cellular level - no one, no matter their origin, habitual proclivities, religion, or state of being, can escape it.  

Thank you to Horizon Unitarian Universalist Church for creating a contemplative space for my newest series, DAYSPRING. The pieces included in this exhibition celebrate the spiritual nourishment - all of the juice and joy -  that comes from living in right-relationship with nature. 

DAYSPRING is a meditation of color and pattern inspired by the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins and landscapes from both my native Central California and Ghost Ranch at Abiquiu, New Mexico. Inhale the smell of verdant earth and listen deeply for what Hopkins calls "A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning." Heaven is not in the hereafter. Heaven is HERE and NOW. Walk softly.    

"Let Him easter in us, 

be a dayspring to the dimness of us, 

 be a crimson-crested east."  

    

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

WHERE: Horizon UU Church
LOCATION: 1641 Hebron Pkwy, Carrollton, TX
DATES: May 21 - July 2, 2017

Time's Vast Womb  |  36 x 36 inch acrylic on canvas

Dappled Things  |  24 x 48 acrylic on canvas

Sun-steeped  |  36 x 36 acrylic on canvas

Kingdom of Daylight  |  24 x 48 inch acrylic on two canvases

Deep Decree  |  36 x 36 acrylic on canvas

Bent World, Bright Wings  |  24 x 24 inch acrylic on canvas

Her Earliest Stars  |  24 x 48 acrylic on canvas

Morning Mesa 1  |  36 x 36 acrylic on canvas

Morning Mesa 2  |  36 x 36 inch acrylic on canvas

Settling Into My New Studio

It's been crickets here on the blog. I've been single-mindedly moving into my new studio and prepping for my upcoming solo art show. As of this week, I'm all moved into the studio. I cannot quite express the feeling of having my very own space. It has been delicious. Yes... delicious is the word.

Tomorrow, I'll be loading in my exhibition at the Horizon UU Church in Carrollton, TX. But tonight I thought I'd check in here at La Maison Boheme and share some snap shots of the studio and some of the paintings that are part of the show. If you're in the Dallas area, please come see the new work! The church is hosting an artist reception for me on Sunday, May 28th from 2-3pm. Its open to the public and you can read all about it HERE. 

Studio Work Table

I'm looking to build a studio work table. I want something that's waist-height and provides plenty of storage bellow for canvases and materials. However, I'd also be open to something that resembles a big long farm table. And of course, it must be on casters for mobility around the studio. There seem to be a million ways to accomplish this task, but I thought I'd start with inspiration photos that look functional and generally attractive.

Painting Live During Easter Services

This weekend I tried something entirely new for me. I painted live during Easter services at First Unitarian Church of Dallas. For the past few weeks our ministers have been delivering sermons that focus on creativity. Our need to process life's experiences - the joy and the pain, the abundance and the lack - by transforming it into something expansive and filled with beauty and meaning, is what makes us human. So First UU decided to put an artist on the chancel for Easter to bring that message home. It was a thrilling experiment. 

My paintings were made in tandem with gorgeous hymns from our Sanctuary Choir and also some poetry readings, one of which I've included below. I painted a 48 x 48 inch piece for each of the two services during the hymns. While it's difficult to "finish" a huge piece of art in 30-40 minutes, I enjoyed the freedom of knowing that it was, by nature, an impulse-driven exercise, more concerned with process than product. Many of those in attendance filled my inbox and Facebook feed with kind messages about the service. I'm so grateful to First UU for asking me to the party. It was an Easter I won't soon forget.

Easter Exultet 

By James Broughton 

Shake out your qualms. 

Shake up your dreams. 

Deepen your roots.  

Extend your branches. 

Trust deep water 

and head for the open, 

even if your vision 

shipwrecks you. 

Quit your addiction 

to sneer and complain. 

Open a lookout. 

Dance on a brink. 

Run with your wildfire.  

You are closer to glory 

leaping an abyss 

than upholstering a rut. 

Not dawdling. 

Not doubting. 

Intrepid all the way, 

Walk toward clarity. 

At every crossroad 

Be prepared to bump into wonder. 

Only love prevails. 

En route to disaster 

insist on canticles. 

Lift your ineffable 

out of the mundane. 

Nothing perishes; 

nothing survives; 

everything transforms! 

Honeymoon with Big Joy!

Here are the pieces I created during the first and second services:

Here All Along, 48 x 48 inch acrylic on canvas

Trust Deep Water, 48 x 48 inch acrylic on canvas

Feedback from Congregants

I can't begin to tell you how privileged we felt this morning watching Sarah paint during Easter service. I admire her courage, generosity, inspiration, and talent. What a beautiful complement to Daniel's sermon. ~ Janine Fields

Watching Sarah work today was the greatest gift. We don't make it every Sunday but when we do it's always very worth the trip and the crazy... On this Easter Sunday...I am being gifted the privilege of watching Sarah Greenman create and that renews and lifts my soul in a way I didn't expect today. ~ Barrett Nash

Sunday morning was an artistic wonder - painting, music, and a sermon that was poetry. Life does not get much better than that - nor does an expression of spirit that reaches depth and wonder. ~ Charles Vorkoper

We were treated to the beauty of live painting during the service from Sarah Greenman today and a wonderful sermon about becoming awakened and "woke" and how that can change lives and the world for good. ~ Shelby Eidson

ARTWORK as a part of Easter! I can't find the words to express how much I LOVE this, so I'll just explain what it is: Sarah Greenman is painting a new piece in each of the two services this morning - painting during the musical portions of the services - whatever inspires her, and improvising. All of this is an incredible example of the creativity, openness, and joy within First Unitarian Church of Dallas and the people who are here. Huge bonus: The rich, powerful, gorgeous singing of Jonathan Greer in the solo portions of "Easter," from "Mystical Songs" by Vaughan Williams. His voice and Sarah's art are both such a treat for the ears and eyes and heart. ~ Dana Lynne White

8 Must Haves in the Studio

It was almost a year ago that my studio mate asked me to share a space with him at the Continental Gin Building in Dallas. Before that time, I created a studio space in my own home. Having my own dedicated studio, separate from my home, has been revolutionary for my art practice. When I sit down to work now, I'm more focused. I'm able to approach the work with greater clarity. And when I'm painting, I can completely disengage with the narrative of wife, mother, house-manager, schedule-keeper... it all just fades away because I am literally in a different space.

Now that I've been in my studio for 11 months, I've become dependent on a few key elements. For some artists, they need a certain amount of light or square footage or a particular kind of brush. Today, I'm going to outline some things that have become my "must haves" in the studio.

1. White Walls

I only have a couple of windows in my studio and they are covered with vining foliage, so to better reflect the natural (and artificial) light in my studio, I think white walls are best. 

2. Storage

I like to keep things tidy in my studio. I work quickly and I like to have all of my tools within reach. I don't have a fancy set up like the one below, but I'd like to!

3. Rolling work space

The table legs pictured below are from Ikea and they are the same ones I use in my space. All artists need a workspace, but it also needs to roll out of the way for studio visits, classes, and art openings. Putting your work table on wheels is the easiest way to accomplish this.

4. Task lighting

My studio, while well lit, doesn't always fit the bill. I use clamp lights and swing arm lights to illuminate spaces on the fly. My studio mate also uses this kind of lighting to light models when he hosts figure drawing classes in our studio.

5. Protective clothing

I am a super messy painter. I spatter and drip and use my fingers and wipe my hands on things. So, I need protective gear. I use good old fashioned canvas aprons while working in the studio. 

6. Golden Acrylic Paints

I work almost exclusively with Golden Acrylic paints I like both the fluid and heavy bodied paint textures. My favorite colors are always on hand.

7. Dark accent wall

I know, I know. Number 1 above was white walls. But I also like having one dark wall to provide contrast for my artwork. I like placing my work on a dark wall for perspective. I have one black wall in my studio and I love it!

8.  Space to hang my work

Its also really important to me that my studio be a place that clients and students can visit and view my work. I don't need a ton of wall space, but I need at least one clean white wall to display my work. Here's a shot of my display wall in my studio.