Peace and Love Art Friends! And may I add a…BRRRRRRRR! WOW, Mother Nature has really decided to Chillax this winter! Ahhhhhh, but don’t let that bother you too much! There is plenty of warm stuff to do inside. Like, for instance, Attack the White coming up on this Friday!  

All of my fellow studio artists from The Artists Upstairs Studio Group will be working up a sweat and attacking a 4’x15’ canvas! I am SO excited about this event. Sure, the weather outside is indeed frightful, but the event is going to be just delightful!! Eight plus artists, each of their own discipline and design all spontaneously working off of one large canvas with music pumping in the background…wow, I say Let the paint fly! We will be attacking this canvas with no forethought or pre-designed notions. We are just going to let our emotions, our talents and our ‘what the hell’ instincts kick in. We will be responding to each other, the music and the crowds. At the end of the evening we will either have a complete mess, or a beautiful and collaborative work of art! Nothing like this has been done before to my knowledge, so I think it is going to rock this conservative little mid-west place on earth!
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What excites me the most about it is the collaboration with the other artists. We are going to all be working together and just letting it happen as opposed to being hidden in our studios all snug within our comfortable little worlds. Many of the artists have mentioned to me how they are going to have to put aside their inhibitions and fears and break outside of their comforts zones. That, to me, is just cool as hell.

So…if you are in the area, and are looking for something to do, and a warm place to break the cabin fever winter blues – then consider coming out and witnessing ‘Attack the White.’ You can click HERE for Directions. You can also click HERE for other stuff going on as part of the on-going 2nd Friday events!
Below is an article that ran on the front page of the local paper about the event!
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On the Easel – I have been working away at some new work in my studio. I have finished a couple of pieces. The first I am calling “Dead Dreams.” It is a mixed media piece with the primary media being pastel. I used to do quite a bit with pastel, and it felt really good to go back to it. I have to admit that I was very much inspired by an exhibition I went to at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Spain of the work of Paula Rego. Seeing her work up close and personal really inspired me to get back into pastels, especially on a larger scale.
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The next piece I am calling “Re-Born.” This piece came about in my continuing journey with textures. Constantly working with new material ideas, the combination of materials and the resulting textures is so exciting to me! This piece involves for example the result of some studies that I did involving carpet glue, wall paste, concrete, cat litter, marble dust and tile grout. I know, I know...I can’t help myself. As you can tell, a walk through Home Depot takes on a little different meaning in my world. But after working with the various materials, I have come upon some textures that I find visually exciting and fun to explore. So as you look at this abstract piece, I hope you will see how they have all worked together to create a motionless emotion.

I also have some other pieces in concrete that I am still working on. They are not quite ready to reveal yet, but I am getting close! One I am going to call ‘Taking Control of Horizons’ and the other I am debating between ‘Drip’ or ‘Don’t get Wet’ I can’t decide. Perhaps in my next blog I should reveal the painting and let you decide the title! That would be cool. I think I’ll do that! Be ready to put your thinkin’ caps on!
And lastly on the Easel is a portrait painting of the beggar lady that I discussed back in an April post. (http://www.cagneyking.com/1/category/april%20show/1.html). I have FINALLY gotten back into it and have started blocking in some colour and will soon begin on my skin tones. She is up on the easel in Studio 8 – so come by and check her out! And, since she is in what we artists call the ‘ugly’ phase you can go ahead and paint on her at this point to if you want! Just ask me and I’ll hand ya a brush…just don’t be upset if I cover it up laterJ 

I hope everyone has buckled down and is ready for a whole new year!

I hope to see everyone very soon! Keep your e-mails and comments coming…I just love it!

Until next time – Rock on!
 
 

Yes indeedy doody! A finished painting...I think. Ok..yes. Maybe...alright...we will go with yes! At least I think so. OK...final answer - Yes. 

You see I always go through this little battle with myself that I have truly pushed each painting to its conclusion. To me it is a fine balance between just right, and overworked! I may get caught up in the moment after a painting session and step back and say "YES! She is alive!" (of course this is with wide eyes and fist and brush in the air and a full exclaimation at the top of my lungs...just like you are imagining) then on the next trip to my studio I walk around it, I stare at it, I sit on a stool and have a chat with it, and next thing I know...I have a brush in my hand and I'm back at it and hours have gone by...so who knows. For now however, regarding "Poetry Pants" I believe I have finished. The fun thing with this painting is that because I have been giving you updates along the way...I found myself with a plethora of tiny little footage clips that I took at various advancement stages of the painting. SO...I have put together a little video for you. Don't judge me by the shaky camera work...as most video was taken after long painting sessions which meant there was probably some alcohol involved and I wasn't the most steady on my feet! That aside, you should be able to see her come together none-the-less! I will be taking some better photography using a better camera so that I can add her to the gallery, so you can get a lookie-loo there too!

In the meantime...enjoy "Poetry Pants" A painting, 36x72 - Mixed Media. While you check it out, I will begin plans to get at the next painting on your list of paintings for me to finish...which is: Keep it clean! I will just need a tiny little break to switch mind sets.

Until next time - Rock ON! and I hope you like the painting!

 
 

Hello Artist friends and neighbors!

Well, the Holidays are over (whew and yeah!) and it is back to business! I would like to wish everyone a Happy and prosperous New Year and I look forward to sharing all the fun things that will be happening in Studio 8.

I’ll start off with the year’s first radio installment. I have to say that I think this was the best one yet…a lot of fun! So be sure to set aside some time and check it out.

WHBU - Cagney King - January Show

A really major project that has been on my plate is illustrating a children's story. WHEW! What a job! Between the planning, the learning curve and the character development, I worked on that project for nearly a year! Now that I have that done I can really not find any excuse not to really be working in studio! If I can get permission, I will see if I can share some of the illustrations and the story with you! I had never gotten to try my had at illustration, and certainly have a very healthy appreciation of the illustrators that I studied and admired in preparation for this journey. Now that the project is over, I can say that I really learned A LOT, and might just try my hand at illustrating some of my poems in the future.

Things have been rock’n in Studio 8 and progress on Poetry Pants continues! I now have the first few layers of paint on the background and once the last layer dries completely will continue to build it up! Keep your e-mails and comments coming! I really love keeping in touch with everyone! Until next time…Rock on!

 

Cagney King : King Studios - 2 West Main St., Greenfield, IN. 46140