blog archive

musings from the studio and beyond ~

dawn chandler’s reflections on art and life. . . .

the rhythm of the heat and creative holiness in the outback series

Aug 8, 2014 | abstracted landscape, mixed media landscape, Oregon Outback, peter gabriel, Playa, the outback series

and find what i need ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 10″ x 20″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

The most recent paintings in The Outback Series are among my most favorite, for they were created in a perfect storm of intense, passionate and focused creativity. Over the course of a recent week these were the focus of my existence, as I moved back and forth for hours each day between these six canvases laid out on my work tables. The underlying collages of printed and glued words I had done months before — way back in January, actually, before I had decided to move. Then the canvases sat in my studio — until, quite unexpectedly, the “storm” hit.

There’s something thrilling and deeply satisfying when that kind of creative passion takes over; everything just seems to align and it’s almost as though you are a mere a vessel — a conduit — for an authoritative and generous Muse.

I remember the first time I experienced this, I was in graduate school in Philadelphia, working in my studio on the third floor of the old turn-of-the-last-century art building.
It was late spring, in the late afternoon, and most of my peers had left for the day. I was working on a series of enormous paintings — 9′ tall x 3-1/2′ wide. They had been a struggle, for these were among my first experiments in trying to ‘abstract’ the landscape, and, though I couldn’t really grasp it then, I really was a novice with color and scale and so much else.

The theme of my work was the Grand Canyon — a place I had recently toured by backpack for the first time. I had struggled through several of these paintings, but that late afternoon as I worked into evening — my studio window open, a warm spring air faintly breezing in the window — as I worked on the final couple of canvases, everything just seemed to come together. I remember I was listening to Peter Gabriel’s album Security — this was in the days of cassettes and Walkmans — and in particular the songs The Rhythm of the Heat and San Jacinto, just seemed to conjure the experience of the west for me and electrify my muse. As I pushed paint and color around, music blasting, I felt utterly radiant, utterly joyful, utterly and exquisitely present. ON FIRE. Totally in the moment.

My graduate school paintings. Before moving west, I needed to dispose of these paintings, so my parents and I decided to display them on the walls of our “old garage,” where for 20 years now they have drawn attention from passers-by. Faded and worn by the elements, they are now pretty much destroyed. But I can’t think of a better death for art.

What I experienced in creating these recent paintings was something akin to that perfect storm of creative holiness I first witnessed that spring evening in my west Philadelphia studio so long ago. Here’s hoping for more “perfect storms.”

nothing is harsh ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 10″ x 20″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

to be a life ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 10″ x 20″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

inside out ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 10″ x 20″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

secrets drifting ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 10″ x 20″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

mourn no fear ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 10″ x 20″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

The Outback Series: Mixed Media Paintings Inspired by the Western Landscape by Dawn Chandler is on view from August 2 – September 12, 2014 at Salon X, 226 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, New Mexico, 87571

going BIG ~ large scale and intention with the outback series

Aug 4, 2014 | abstracted landscape, mixed media landscape, Oregon Outback, Playa, text in art, the outback series

i realize now the rewards ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on canvas ~ 48″ x 48″ inches ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

Without a doubt, the most exciting paintings for me to produce in this series are the large works — a diptych (two panels) measuring 48″ x 48″ and a single painting measuring 36″ x 60″.
There’s just something freeing — liberating — about pushing paint around on a large canvas. Frequently I have to lay the painting on the floor and paint from a kneeling position on the ground, leaning over and pushing large brushes as I dribble and splatter paint.

Looking at a large painting creates a different experience for the viewer, too. Rather than being on the outside looking at this small precious image that you can hold in your hands, with a very large painting you’re presented an experience. If the scale is large enough, you feel as though you can enter into the painting; it becomes an intimate experience.

“I realize that historically the function of painting large pictures is painting something very grandiose and pompous. The reason I paint them, however . . . is precisely because I want to be very intimate and human. To paint a small picture is to place yourself outside your experience, to look upon an experience as a stereopticon view or with a reducing glass. However you paint the larger picture, you are in it. It isn’t something you command!” — Mark Rothko

In the real scheme of things, these paintings of mine really aren’t that large. But compared to the tiny 8″ x 8″ panels I’d been doing (or the 5″ x 7″ plein air sketches) they feel colossal. I love creating them.

and what you see ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on canvas ~ 48″ x 48″ inches ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

The night of the show opening (this past Saturday), people were drawn especially to these large paintings. One friend asked if my Artist Statement is posted on-line, so I offer it here — a refinement of my initial blog post introducing this series:

The Outback Series of paintings are the direct result of my desire to merge my two distinct painting styles of ‘traditional landscape’ and ‘mixed media-abstraction” into a new visual language for myself; a language that conjures the experience and memory of landscape, without being overly literal. Memories and impressions of flickers of light, deep shadows, textures, patterns, the calligraphy of bird flight, shifting horizons, reflections of sky and of self come together as a collage—a patchwork—of passages and expanses of color, of bigness and smallness, of sight and silence.
Incorporated into these images are words, inviting one to pause and ponder. Echoing memory, some are ghost-like, some are clear. Some are nonsensical, others, poetic.
The text I’ve used are the responses to my query: What have you learned from your experiences in nature? Over the course of the past year, people of all ages and from all over the country have responded to this question posed on my website as well as on postcards that I distributed. A good many of the responses came from teenagers—participants in Philmont Scout Ranch’s Rayado Program, an intense three-week backpacking experience similar to Outward Bound.
Why not use my own words, my own answer to the question? Partly because I was curious to see what kind of a response such a query would elicit. Partly, too, I knew my own words might be too subjective–too precious–and I therefore might be reluctant to disrupt them. Further, I hoped that others’ participation in this process would inspire me, and infuse the work with a soulfulness different than were I working from my imagination alone.
My work on this painting series began in earnest in November 2013 when I was an artist in residence at Playa Creative Residency program in Summer Lake, Oregon—the heart of the dramatic, desolate Oregon Outback of central and eastern Oregon. For five weeks there I watched the sun rise each morning, and then walked toward the sun, enthralled by the immense clouds and curtains of dust that formed above the always-changing alkali Summer Lake. I watched the sunlight across mud flats and prairie grass and mesa-like ridge-lines; watched crows and hawks and ravens and geese and gnarled orchards and golden willows; watched deep purple shadows lengthen and recede and golden light cut across reflected blue sky. If you think I’m mistaken and am describing instead the landscape of my New Mexico home, you’re not far off. For I was stunned to discover these two states more than 1,200 miles apart are akin in their breadth and majesty.
Each morning I began my studio practice by painting a small “traditional” landscape based on the views from my studio window. These are collected together in the work, Outback Meditations. From there I sought to “abstract” the landscape based on the views I’d seen on my walks, out my window, in my memory and in my mind’s eye, incorporating into them the words of the responses to “What have you learned from your experiences in nature?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a full heart I thank ~

My family, My Good Man, and my friends ~ for their constant love and belief in me.

Playa Creative Residency Program and my Playa family.

Philmont Scout Ranch.

Taos.

Delta & Salon X ~ for the opportunity and great style.

My patrons & followers ~ for the support and enthusiasm.

And especially, my friends and fellow artists Shawn Demarest [shawndemarest.com] and Joan Fullerton [joanfullerton.com] whose warmth, insight, artistic excellence and intelligence never cease to inspire me.

Dawn Chandler
August 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many thanks to everyone who turned out for my show opening Saturday August, 2. Such a wonder and delight to see so many friends turn out to support me. Thank you. Your presence there means the world to me.

8.2.14 ~ from the outback series: expanding horizons

Aug 2, 2014 | abstracted landscape, mixed media landscape, Oregon Outback, Playa, text in art, the outback series

And now to go bigger.

The horizontally configured rectangle was working for me.
Despite some very abstract elements, the horizontal format helps to suggest landscape, if even only sub/consciously.
I was digging these paintings, and was itching to go larger; paint bigger. So I did:

beyond where we thought ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on canvas ~ 16″ x 36″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

where i had gone ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on canvas ~ 16″ x 36″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

allow us so that we can ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on canvas ~ 16″ x 36″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

At Playa, I was limited by the size of art I could get into an already full car.
At my old place here in Santa Fe, I was limited in scale due to a cramped studio.
Moving into my new loft space this spring has allowed me to open up and expand my painting in all sorts of glorious ways — including scale.

always be my home ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on canvas ~ 24″ x 48″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

then i find myself ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on canvas ~ 24″ x 48″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

This show opens tonight. I hope you can make it.

8.1.14 ~ from the outback series: beyond the square

Aug 1, 2014 | abstracted landscape, mark rothko, mixed media landscape, Oregon Outback, Playa, text in art, the outback series

The square proved limiting.

Compositionally the square is hard to work with. I knew that. Which is partly why I was thinking I’d work with it — I’m kind of drawn to those kinds of challenges. But the truth is — though I made some neat images — the square wasn’t really working with my vision for what I wanted these paintings to be.
I realized that after a couple of great studio conversations with some of my fellow artists at Playa.

So.
I gathered up the less successful squares, glued them in pairs onto rectangular panels, and with paint started merging two squares into one horizontal painting.

it’s learning what is real ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

just to stay ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

edging on knowing ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

And in some, I began to push the abstraction more.

the coming of winter ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

of sunrises and alkali lakes ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

No. 61 ~ oil on linen ~ by Mark Rothko

Here’s the thing: for me — to my eye — just about any time you have a horizontal line, I see a horizon. I don’t care what anyone else says or sees — you are always invited to see what you see — but for me, a horizontal line is Earth. Call me an incurable land-romantic; a dyed-in-the-wool landscape painter no matter what form or expression my art takes. He’s surely rolling in his grave with this statement, but Mark Rothko’s paintings to me have always been about landscape.

So all those horizontal lines here and there in my paintings? Horizons. Shifting horizons.
Memories of horizons. The sweep of land, of distant water, of far off vistas. Of land and sky.
Of breaking day and fading light.

water’s edge, i ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

water’s edge, ii ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

of land and sky and water ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

7.30.14 ~ from the outback series: interpretting my world in 64 square inches

Jul 30, 2014 | abstracted landscape, mixed media landscape, Oregon Outback, Playa, text in art, the outback series


outback meditations

Playing. That’s how this all began.

First I painted the land literally. Every day. Each painting was a pair of two pieces of paper — a diptych — each measuring 4″ x 8″ and paired to make a 4″ x 16″ image.

Why that size?
Because that’s all I had.
The larger “art board” I’d ordered hadn’t arrived yet, and the only other paper I had with me those first couple of days were 8″ x 8″ pieces of watercolor paper. I knew I wanted these ‘literal’ studies to be small. But 4″ x 8″ felt too limited.
That expansive horizon line demanded a longer proportion!
So daily 4″ x 16″ diptychs it was going to be.

13 november 2013 ~ from outback meditations; detail ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media on paper ~ 4″ x 16″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

And then I began to “play.”
Just let loose with paint and ink and let the landscape emerge over the printed words.
I don’t remember why I began these as squares. I think maybe I thought a horizontal rectangle would be too obviously “landscape,” and since I was already going to use landscape features in these paintings, I was reluctant to be too “obvious.”

capable of so much ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

the view was fleeting ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

quiet and vast ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

the limit beyond ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

You may begin to notice a few new symbols emerging in some of these: the black scribblings — my attempt to capture to the flocks of black birds that flew back and forth over my studio between the old orchard and the pond (and who are frequent callers on my walks in New Mexico, too); and that thin blue-grey-silver-white-lavendar-pewter horizontal line — a line that haunts me still: The distant mirror-line of Summer Lake.

willow ravens iii ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

when i escape ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

understand where we confide ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

wind swaying down softly ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

beyond myself and i~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

and then it came~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

a new sense of vastness ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

joy wonder soul ~ by dawn chandler ~ mixed media ~ 8″ x 8″ ~ copyright dawn chandler 2014

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