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Broken Flowers III ⓒ 2008 Michaela Harlow – (16″ x 16″ – Oil on Panel)
My painting, “Broken Flowers III” is featured on the cover of “Chaos is the New Calm” by Wyn Cooper, from BOA Editions.
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Category Archives: Studio
A window into the ice painting process, continued…
An update on the ice painting, as I continue work on the second piece in this series. The debris, (branches, bits of pine cone casing and needles), and the ice itself form interesting organic shapes and loose geometric patterns frozen in water. The paintings, inspired by close examination of the ice, are comprised of many layers. I have several pieces going at once, reworking them as they dry. I began by sketching out the linear shapes in oil bar over transparent washes on the panel. From there I painted in the colorful chips, (inspired by the debris), and semi-opaque layers of white-washed oil bar and oil paint. I notice the ice forms change daily… sometimes clear and sometimes milky. The most beautiful appear to be a combination of both. Looking at the ice each day as it changes, I am reminded of a kaleidoscope, with shifting pieces of colored glass.
For a larger view of this second piece in progress, click on the thumbnail below…
(ice painting two, 24″ x 24″, oil on panel)
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After the storm…
The end of a long day…
Back to back storms brought two feet of snow to my studio in southern Vermont.
The wind, between 20 and 30 miles an hour most of the day, created some
very impressive snow drifts.
I have been plowing and shoveling all day long!
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Columbus Day weekend at the studio…
Dorothy Gail had a good point………
honey bee visiting lavender mums
the autumn garden
views from the studio to the north, west and south… with fall colors
(click on any thumbnail to enlarge)
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Open Studio This Weekend – October 11th & 12th
Autumn Open Studio
The studio will be open to visitors Columbus Day Weekend
October 11th and 12th
12 – 5 pm
Marsh Land Series 2008
Please email or call for directions and further information about the open-studio…
michaela@michaelaharlow.com
802 380 3840
this event is not open to the general public
*directions to my private studio can be emailed to you upon request*
The studio is also open on weekends throughout October and November by appointment.
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Solstice Celebration 2008
The “Broken Flowers” series continues to develop…..
Broken Flowers III
16″ x 16″ oil on panel
(this one is nearly complete in this shot)
Heavy rain has given me more time in the studio today. I started work early this morning in an effort to complete the first three pieces of the “Broken Flowers” series over the next few days of inclement weather. The color quality of these images is of course limited by screen capability, but in general, they are pretty accurate representations of the work.
Raw umber and burnt sienna dominate the under-painting in these pieces. My second layer of work from the weekend, in hues of mars red and violet, built structural forms. Today, loose drawing, brush work and washes in carmine red, naples yellow and buff titanium began to breathe life and movement into these pieces.
Some of the debris I encounter in gardens at this time of year is jagged and linear. Other remains have delicate and ghostly blossoms, leaf skeletons and hollow pods bleached by winter. The more fragile remnants become animated with the slightest breeze. You will find evidence of this delicate motion in the buff and naples yellow hued points on the right in the piece above. Stems and hulls are represented by the broken angles and arching geometry on the left hand side, sweeping through the composition in mars violet, orange and carmine red. In other pieces, the uppermost colors shift to buff and chalk tones as I draw in lines to represent dry, boney-hulls, stalks and tattered blades of grass.
Below, Broken Flowers I and II still in progress:
Broken Flowers I
16″ x 16″ oil on panel
(this one too, is nearly complete in this shot)
Broken Flowers II
16″ x 16″ oil on panel
(this one is still coming about)
With more rain forecast over the next few days, I should be able to make headway on the second part of the series as well.
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Composition in the new series… and the story beneath the story.
Today I continued work on the series I started last weekend… the panels are now in a second under-painting phase.
In my “other” life I tend to gardens. When springtime comes around, I use my pruning shears and rake to clear away the debris left behind from last year’s growing season. The decaying and often skeletal remains of the year gone by are pulled back to expose new life emerging from the ground. Although there is much rebirth and beauty revealed in this process, my job brings me face to face with death as well. The broken and crumpled flowers I remove each year are a stark and hauntingly beautiful reminder of endings in the midst of all new beginnings.
I am calling this series of paintings “Broken Flowers”. I will post more as the series continues to progress…
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remnants of sedum and spurge… some inspiration for the series.
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A new series begins… and at last, the perfect day for a gesso-fest
A new 16″x16″ series, “Broken Flowers”, began today;
here pictured with the raw umber under-paintings drying in the sun…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the terrace…
This tarp has lead an active life this week.
It has hauled debris out of several gardens, and now it protects stonework while I gesso panels outdoors….
Later… the 12″ x 12″ panels hard-off in the studio entry….
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A close up look at surface… and what lies beneath…
These close up shots really show the surface texture of my oil paintings. They also show the under painting and subtle washes of color beneath the surface.
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Process
The process….
Create. Destroy. Create. Repeat.
It is always all about the journey.
March: inside the studio
Some prefer to shovel and some prefer to sleep…..
She must be dreaming of spring…..
January 18th: Inside the Studio
works in progress, 3′ x 3′ square
Red Oxbow 2007
oil on panel 32″ x 32″
finished and drying
January at the Vermont Studio
The Studio from Above
December – Thank you
Southern Vermont has received over two feet of snow this month, and here at the top of the hill, you can see that just about everything is buried beneath a beautiful new blanket of white. In New England, when you live on top of exposed ledge at nearly 2,000′ … you get a lot of snow and even more drifting.
After two solid days of clean up last week, I found myself sitting quietly, (and exhausted!), by the wood stove, thinking about the year gone by. I am far more apt to spend my time doing than resting, especially in the warmer months, and so I truly appreciate this season for its ability to focus my energies inside the studio.
But before the creative chaos truly takes hold, this season of gathering with friends and family brings me to some important thoughts I would like to share.
To my collectors and supporters, my long time friends and new fans, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you. Your enthusiasm and encouragement push me forward at all times and remind me that what I do, working alone in my studio, has a needed place in this world. Words can not express how grateful I am for your audience.
To my family and the people I love, I feel the deepest gratitude. Thank you for believing in me, and for supporting my dreams. Your love is the greatest gift of all.
I wish you all a very happy New Year!
November at the Vermont Studio
A cast iron stove warms the studio from November to April, and this year there are three extra rows of wood stacked on the back terrace. Early November seems like it is always filled with annual chores to prepare for winter. Even Oli helps out in his own way…although he seems more interested in chewing on the wood than stacking it.
November 8th, and the gardens continue to provide late season color.
The Blue-Green Dragon, standing sentry at the secret garden entrance, has just recently turned a spectacular shade of Chinese orange. This is a late season event I eagerly anticipate since planting this, my favorite Japanese maple, three years ago.
Bird’s Eye View – Vermont Studio
Early October at the Vermont Studio
October 1st: The calendar says that it is October, and yet the weather feels much more like late August in the daytime. The nights here in Halifax have been cooler, but still no frost, and so the studio gardens continue to provide food for bees and late monarch butterflies.The contrast between the day and nightime temperatures has made for some beautifully foggy mornings, with just a hint of color in the valley.
secret garden walls and all stone work: artist Dan Snow
August New Work on Paper
Jeff Baird has just finished photographing twenty pieces from June, July and August: all of the pieces posted below are painted with soft pastels, pastel pencils, solvents and wet fixatives. There is another large body of work, all oil on panel, drying in the studio. Due to the humidity, the oils on panel are all too wet to move and photograph professionally. I aim to post some of my own shots, (as soon as I am capable of getting a couple with good quality), until I can have them photographed professionally. Those of you who know me, know that my photography skills are very, very limited. Keep checking back, I will be posting more over the coming weeks!Here is a peek at my recent work….
All photography: Jeff Baird
In the Studio May-June 2007
Saturday, June 30, 2007, 05:54 AM
This spring I started working the larger square again. It feels good to go back to the larger size and get my whole body involved in the process. Over the winter, I was working primarily in dry media on paper, and the sizes were relatively small. The techniques I found in pastel involved scraping and moving the pigment with objects. I also tried several new techniques with fixative and solvents to achieve more painterly qualities in the pastel. Now I am translating some of the layering and scraping experiments from the dry work into oil. Oil paint has a naturally luminous quality, and the glazed layers create a stained glass quality on the gessoed panels. I am having fun with this..in spite of the increasing humidity.Photo thanks to J. Baird