October Wrap-up to Open Studios

 

Thanks for visiting my studio!

I’m so grateful for the good turnout last weekend as I opened my home to art lovers who were touring Washington County studios. The weather was great and interest was high. Thank you for coming out and supporting me. Most of you know that I have two spaces in my home set up as art studios: the original one at the back in what might otherwise be a master bedroom, and the messier area in half of the garage. People had a look at much of the art I’ve created in the past 5-6 years and I’m happy that many pieces went to their forever home. Visitors expressed many times how they were inspired and motivated to be creative after seeing how I fit art into my everyday life. Great! That’s exactly my intention… to inspire others to be creative. Collaborative Painting Ahead of time, I set out six 12-inch quarter-inch thick birch panels on the painting table. Every guest was invited to take a non-brush tool and leave their acrylic mark on the boards.... creating the foundation for a collaborative work of art. At day's end the boards were covered with highly saturated paint, applied by each visitor using non-brush tools... a mess, for sure. But this is exactly how I like to work these days, putting down layer upon layer of often unrelated paint. Early Monday I restored the garage to its normal function and reclaimed the parking spot, itching to tackle the 6 panels. I pulled out an old book and glued the pages to the panels using acrylic gloss medium as glue and on top to seal and let the whole shebang dry overnight. It’s hard waiting for glue to dry…. The next day I pulled out my palm sander and went to work.. sanding down the panels, removing much of the paper while leaving the transfered text and some of the paper, and this was the result. It’s hard to see detail, especially if you’re reading on your phone, but believe me that some of the details on each of these boards are achingly beautiful, especially with a coat of gloss medium to pull out the colors.  And then…. I cut some bamboo stems from my garden, sat down at the table and drew. and drew. and painted with titanium white, and this is the result of work…. …..We did this together I’m sure it’s not finished but I wanted to show you what we accomplished together on a fine fall weekend. And thanks to all of you who added the beginning layers.  Try it yourself. Work this way in your sketchbook. Work on a sheet of heavy watercolor paper. Simply play and have fun. There are always surprising things to learn and do when you visit an artist’s studio. Plan on touring next year… the third week in October. Please follow me on Instagram, @joreimer, where I post frequently.  Let’s keep in touch!