Tuesday, December 29, 2009

new ceramics

The horseshoe crab is on a large platter. The cardinal is part of a plate set.


Sunday, December 27, 2009

new plates




The Sandhill Crane is painted on a large platter. The pigeon plate is lunch size and one of a set. 


Saturday, December 26, 2009

before and after

This top image shows one of my plates after bisque firing and in the process of painting the design. The lower photo shows the plate after the final high firing. I fire my ceramics to a stoneware finish of cone 8. The temperature in the kiln gets up to something around 2000 degrees for cone 8.


Thursday, December 17, 2009

pottery

150 lbs of clay = thrown, bisqued, white glaze undercoat ...ready now for decorating. Many tedious firings are needed because our kiln is so small. The good side of this is that I don't feel rushed when painting the designs.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Cara Black

Murder in Paris is Cara Black's speciality. Fun and informative reading. Now I'm engrossed in Dennis Lehane "the Given Day" set in Boston after WW1. With all the construction of a new mansion close outside my studio window, I find I'd rather be somewhere else. Luckily, our pottery is set-up on the other side of the house. I've been making plates and bowls. I've gone through almost 150 lbs. of clay now. The next step will be to make the glazes.
Christmas packages need to be sent off...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

November studio

Rosate Spoonbill painting in progress...Waterlily painting being revised with larger flowers.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

holiday bazaar

Sat. and Sun., Nov. 21 and 22, 2009 10-4
MacMillan's 2660 Cardinal Dr., Vero Beach
I'm part of this event with my new Cafepress items as well as some my pottery and small paintings. It should be fun.  I've also assembled a calendar for the year 2010 of just my paintings of birds.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Friday, October 9, 2009

back in Florida

Some of my pots were fired in the Museum's gas kiln over the summer.  It's a different look.  Glazes are more mature.


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

"Artist's Chair"

Acrylic 44" x 48"
Now that I see the painting on this post I've noticed that I haven't put the design on the center yellow stripe. Sometimes, just when I think the painting is done, I see something else that needs doing.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

"Side by Side"

Silkscreen print on Arches 88 with oil based ink, hand printed by me. I've often chosen chairs as subject matter. These two were at the family cottage in Ipswitch, MA.  I did silkscreen prints for 10 years before switching to painting.  With a print the artist is locked into a single image for a whole month during production.  I found it restricting. 

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Chair painting progress


Watch the development of my newest painting in this short film. It isn't finished but here you can see some of how it is developing.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Starting a New Painting


Starting a New Painting by Janvier Miller. A video on a new painting that starts with an underpainted canvas. Follow Jan as she develops this new artwork

Friday, September 4, 2009

"Black Swan"


46" x 50" acrylic on canvas

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

"Shirley Poppies" - "Asian Peonies"

46" x 50" acrylic on canvas

48" x 56" acrylic on canvas
These two large canvases are finally done. I had a loss of art focus this summer. Natural to have some times be more productive than others. These paintings are not square. I haven't mastered how to have images posted more accurately.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Korean pot

Saw this wonderful pot at the Boston Museum of Fine Art yesterday. It's Korean with a finger drawn design through white slip. Because of museum construction work, the ceramic plates were off the walls, laid down. Bowls were turned upside down. Small sandbags nestled around bottoms of pots. It was a pleasure to view the new angles.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

progress

It's been an exciting day. Beautiful weather and painting work coming together.
I'm half way through the peony painting.  A roll of new canvas came today so I can stretch a fresh surface. The first two paintings this summer have been over old work.  It'll be a treat to paint on a fresh  new surface. Tomorrow I'm off to Boston's Museum of Fine Art for inspiration.
I've been reading some good books:
The Man Who Loved China by Winchester
Longitude by Sobal
Botany of Desire by Pollan
The Future of Life by E.O. Wilson
River of Doubt by Millard
Thunderstruck by Larson

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Cardinal

12" x 12" acrylic
Cardinals and hydranges in our yard.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

restarting

Finally getting back into my studio after travel. Once again flowers seem to be what I enjoy painting. I'm drawing with charcoal on the underpainting to work out the composition. Our gardens are full of flowers.  I like this beginning look almost more than how I develop it further.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Peru + Bolivia

Trip of a life time! Machu Picchu and Cusco in Peru.  Then on to the Heath wildlife refuge in the Bolivian rain forest.  From the Amazon we went to stay at Sandoval Lake lodge back in Peru. Finally, Lima and home on the night flight under a full moon = all clothes dirty, wet and smelly. In this photo I'm standing next to what they call a "walking tree". When the tree is young it puts down roots toward open sky. It can reposition itself 2' in a year to get into a more favorable spot. As it matures it's stuck where it is.


Friday, June 19, 2009

summer travel

Peru and Bolivia. I'm gathering brushes, small torn watercolor paper pieces. To document the trip I have a small moleskine fold-out notebook. The Inca were able to build walls with Huge stones artfully fit together. I'm hoping to get to a museum to see their pottery and gold work. The Southern Cross will be visible. It's winter there so I'm taking a fleece jacket. - leaving soon.

It's time to order more canvas and stretchers. As I get older I've been making my canvases smaller. They're easier to lug up and down the stairs to my studio and easier to pack into the van. I'm starting flowers again but more as over-all pattern. Always new challenges and the hope to do a really good painting at some point.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

reassesment time

It has taken me two weeks to settle into this Northern studio.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

transition time

We head north for the summer next week. I'm finalizing the paintings I've been working on here. The change of studio locations marks the end of each period of work. Our New England cottage is small. There are paintings stacked next to the bed, 10 paintings leaning against the wall in the living room and then those in the basement and studio. I always miss the space we have here. We were laughing the other day that in 2 years for our 50th wedding anniversary we should have a take-away party. Guests would have to take something with them when they leave.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

glazing

Color washes are metallic oxides such as cobalt, copper, iron. The kiln will fire the ceramics to over 2000f. I use a base coat of white with color wash drawing on top. We take ashes from our fireplace, wash and sieve them. This solution works as a flux making the glazes more fluid. I spray it on in controlled areas. Now, waiting for the gas kiln at the Museum to high-fire the work.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

"Beach at Vero"

48" x 54" acrylic on canvas Things still to be done. Shadows, more color on the figures, thicker fishing poles... To solve the water from dominating the painting I enlarged the area of beach.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Paint Room

44" x 48" acrylic on canvas This painting is of Gus' studio here in Florida. His wood shop is in the garage. Below is midway -changing chair, table top, floor.....
Below shows the new canvas after the first few hours work. The clutter here is collage materials.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

research

Some porcelain pieces have been bisqued and are ready to glaze. Two favorite books for inspiration are listed here. Seto and Mino Ceramics from the Freer Gallery of Art, U. of Hawaii Press. Mimbres Pottery Hudson Hills Press, NY.

Monday, April 20, 2009

ceramics

8:30 a.m. Gus and I are listening to Ron Carter's jazz. Ceramics has taken me out of my painting studio. I'm working in porcelain throwing bowls and plates.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

the "Season"

Busy time of year here in Florida. The Museum docents came for a visit. My Kappa Alpha Theta alumni group came for a luncheon. The Art Chixs group that I'm in meets here tomorrow. We will be making collage pins. Finally, there's construction next door. Busy. The painting "Western Light" just sold. The patron also bought Gus' dog sculpture to place on their table in front of the painting. The money will go into our granddaughters' college expenses.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

spring evening dinner party

Some good art books: Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
Omega and After Bloomsbury and the Decorative Arts
by Isabelle Anscombe
Objects of Desire by Thatcher Freund
Making the Mummies Dance by Thomas Hoving

Some other books I've been reading: Longitude by Sobal
The Man Who Loved China by S. Winchester
The Future of Life by E.O. Wilson
River of Doubt by Millard
Thunderstruck by Larson

Monday, March 23, 2009

"Western Light"

44" x 48" acrylic on canvas

Our home since 1985 is on the market for sale. I'm doing paintings of some of the spaces we know so well. All my work over the years has created a visual diary. My husband Gus worked on this canvas, too. He finalized the painting of his building sculpture in the corner and his steel dog on the table. He and I have enjoyed a great life in art together. We had a show in Melborne, FL, last year titled "Together".

Friday, March 13, 2009

Lunch and Learn

The Vero Beach Museum of Art has a "Lunch and Learn" program. Today I did a brief talk there about silk screen printing. Two of my prints are in the current show.

"Beach at Vero"

48" x 54" acrylic on canvas I'm thinking about what to do. People don't like the roughness of the water. They're right. It doesn't really go with the way the landscape is painted.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"Vero Dune Grasses"

44" x 48" acrylic on canvas This painting slipped back into a more tightly controlled surface. It seems to be what I do unless it's a quick en plein air painting. Over working is an easy trap to fall into.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

work in progress...


"Bridge Pond Lilies"

44" x 48" acrylic on canvas First painting finished in the new year.

new computer

I'm struggling with new programs on our computer. I find myself painting instead of facing its' challenges. This photo is by studio visitor and friend, Ellen Fischer.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Art in Bloom - "Cut Flags"

Art in Bloom is an exhibit this week-end in conjunction with the Vero Beach Museum of Art's show "Contemporary Still Life from the Permanent Collection". A garden club member chose my silk screen print as her inspiration.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

February

Im working on several canvases, trying for interesting paint quality.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Art By The Sea, Vero Beach Museum of Art


"Art By The Sea", at the Vero Beach Museum of Art was a fun night for all us local artists with food, music and our art.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

before revision

"Cut, Paste, and Paint" 40" x 46" acrylic on canvas

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

reworking a subject

"Cut, Paste, and Paint" 40" x 46" acrylic on canvas -final state
To start the new year I pulled an old painting out of storage and reworked it. I pushed the over- all design to be more important than the imagery.

Friday, January 9, 2009

STARTING FRESH

To start the new year I've been spackling, sanding, painting my studio walls. I put a fresh coat of stain on the floor and stairs. Finally, I put the framing stripping on the 3 new flower paintings, filling the nail holes, sanding, painting, and ending with steel wool to smooth the surface.