Day 100: I See You

Something completely different on the last day ... and yes, there were morning and afternoon teas involved in the process.

I was invited by an american friend to attend a artists' workshop by Webinar centered on 'finding the artist within' where one of the outcomes was that, through the analysis of your work, an artist could come to develop and build their personal artistic statement. To ensure that analysis achieved 'viable and self fitting outcomes', there was a practising psychiatrist, and art critic and a gallery owner as some of the programme leads. Run from the University of California, the core team numbered 6.

40 artists from around California attended and I found the two days interesting and, given the time difference, at times challenging but I survived the process. There was plenty of time to complete the mental exercises, questionnaires, discussions and meditations, but in order to meet the time frames for the completion of the paintings, you had to work fast.

I decided before I started that whatever the final piece of art I worked on was, it would be the one I would use to finish this project. My last painting, as were all the others, was totally different to those completed by the other artists taking part. Their work tended to feature shafts of light, clouds of billowing colour and rotating spheres and circles floating like planets in starry vistas. Clearly, my meditative, investigative and free thinking exercises led me on an alternative path.

At the end of the process, and following some word adjustments by the team leads, my completed artist's statement read as follows:

By examining the ambiguity and origination via variations, Debra tries to increase the dynamic between her audience and herself by objectifying emotions and investigating the duality that develops through different interpretations.

Debra's paintings directly respond to the surrounding environment and she uses her own everyday experiences as a starting point. Often these are framed instances that might go unnoticed in their original context. 

Her paintings do not show the complete story. This results from the fact that she can easily imagine her own interpretation without being hindered by the historical reality and her understanding that the viewer brings their own story to her work. Through the use of aesthetics, she seduces the viewer into a world of ongoing equilibrium and the interval that articulates the stream of daily events. Moments are depicted that exist to find poetic meaning in everyday life.

Compared to some of the statements for other artists in the group, mine finished in quite a readable format and, according to the art critic, was 'one of the most refreshingly straight forward and honest' Artist Statements he had seen in some time - and I thought it was a bit over wordy. Perhaps for New Zealand it is. Different cultures = different norms.

Medium: Windsor & Newton acrylic paint on Fredrix Artist Canvas

Time to complete: 1 hour

Day 99: Zebra Teapot

Day 99 and only one more to go. I was struggling to find something to do that excited me. I scratched around amongst my art supplies and found an old piece of tatty lino and my problem was solved.

A quick check confirmed that I did not have any printing ink, my lino cutting tools have been lost somewhere over time and I could not find the right sort of paper - but I felt impelled to improvise. My heart was set on a lino print.

A raid of the garage provided some tools I could use for cutting; the ink is an acrylic paint mix; the paper is low grade watercolour paper. Voila!! What fun. A one off lino cut print.

Medium: Lino Cut print with Acrylic paint on Watercolour paper

Time to complete: 40 minutes

Day 98: Plastic Mug

I have never used this mug before. I decided to choose a mug from the collection of drinking vessels in the house that I would normally avoid to draw and this is it. One of the plastic variety.

It is designed to be light to carry, unbreakable and keep your coffee warm.  There has been, I accept, a lot of design and engineering work that has gone into creating the perfect plastic moulded cup. People have slaved over drawing boards, calculated the perfect plastic consistency and measured the perfect density for moulding  However, the product of all that hard work does not impress me at all. I don't like it. I don't want to drink from it. Give me china, pottery or porcelain any day. Yes, I know that many china items are moulded these days but I much prefer the chink of china and the smooth feel of it in my hand.

Now ... where is that cup .... I put it down somewhere. Tea time.

Medium: Pencil on Sketchbook paper

Time to complete:  30 minutes

Day 97: Japanese Teapot

This little pot doesn't belong to me. It lives in the home of a friend ... but I wish it was mine. It has lovely earthy colour tones and a bamboo handle which has a softly aged patina.

The pot is only used to make green tea, which was the perfect accompaniment for the home made salmon and vegetarian sushi. They were made for each other.

I remember when green tea and sushi was not as popular here as it is today. With the merging and assimilation of cultures, we have gained a bounty of new flavours and I am grateful for it.

Medium: Pencil on Sketchbook paper

Time to complete: approx 25 minutes

Day 96: Mugs

More mugs ... I did not realise until I started this project how many cups and mugs I actually see in a day. I pass through the day and these common every day objects play an important role, but I had hardly noticed them. They are mere background noise in my world.

Every day they fill spaces around me. At home, at work. at cafes, at restaurants, walking down the street ... I see cups and mugs. The diversity in the shape and size of them staggers me. They are painted, screen printed, turned into advertising media, shaped into all sorts of interesting objects and yet their core purpose remains unchanged. They are vessels to hold liquid so that we can drink fluids easily. Simple as that.

Medium: Winsor & Newton Acrylic paint on Fredrix Artist Canvas

Time to complete: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Day 95: Apples in a Bowl

These juicy apples came from an orchard in the Hawkes Bay. They are just as I like them - sweet and crisp.

I like to core and slice them and put them in a bowl and drizzle orange and lemon juice on them. If you let them sit in the fridge for 15 or 20 minutes, the citrus flavours infuse the apple slices. A very healthy snack and absolutely yummy.

My favourite apple dessert would be apple and blackberry pie. My mum used to make it with apples from the trees in the back yard and blackberries we gathered on rambles in the country side. Her pie had this sweet tangy taste and the smell was divine. Sweet memories.

Medium: Pencil on Sketchbook paper

Time to complete: approx 30 minutes

Day 94: Still Life with Guitar

The composition was accidental. It is the scattered remains of a celebratory afternoon gathering. The champagne and water bottles are empty. There are not remnants of nuts left in the bowl. The leis draped behind the guitar are discarded ... but will keep for another day.

This is the first piece I have not had time to finish on the day. Life has intervened and I must put this piece aside and finish it another day. It deserves a background. The items need to be placed on the table, the guitar needs strings and the leis need some colour on their petals. I will work on it later this week, finish it and sign it off.  If I have time, I will repost the picture.

Medium: Winsor & Newton Acrylic paint on 350gsm paper

Time to complete so far:  2 hours and 20 minutes