Winter Open Studio, Dec 1-2, 2012

Please join me at my Open Studio Saturday December 1 and Sunday December 2 from 11am to 2pm at Studio 330B, ICB Building, 480 Gate 5 Road, Sausalito. 70 artists studios will be open and there is free parking

I will be showing my latest series, Across Space and Time. The series continues my exploration of imaginary interactions of people from photographic images, this time expanding to include the tribes of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia. I was so inspired by these people that I'm going to visit them in 2013 for further inspiration.

I'm also trying to get the larger version of my 16 panel work completed. The existing piece is composed of 16 8"x10" birch panels.

I'm working on doing this same piece using 16 canvas panels, each 16" x 20". So far I've completed half of the panels. Will I get the rest completed by November 30?

And a final surprise will be two collaborative pieces painted by Thompetch (a six year old male Asian elephant) with me and Tom Russen. I'll be talking about the process at my show. You can see how the two pieces differ, depending on the artist who collaborated with Thompetch.

Hope to see you at my open studio, December 1 and 2 from 11am to 6pm. And I'll also be open Friday night from 6 to 9 pm. Address is ICB Building Studio 330B, 480 Gate 5 Road, Sausalito. 

Here's a video of Carol painting with Thongpetch
http://youtu.be/AHwrUGKDQqo

Elephant painting

I finally did it! I made a collaborative piece of art with an elephant. From the first time that I saw a youtube of an elephant painting in 2009, I was inspired to witness the process first hand.


 After my 2010 trip to Maese Elephant Camp near Chiang Mai, Thailand to watch elephants paint, I found out that the camp offered Basic Mahout Training Camp. Mahout's are the people who train the elephants. In 2012 I arranged to go back to stay at the elephant camp and do a collaborative piece of art with an elephant




Here is Thongpetch and me with our finished piece.





An elephant has to be trained to paint. To find out more of the process, read When Elephants Paint by Vitaly Komar. Thongpetch, a six year old 'modern' elephant could not only paint but play soccer! After spending three days learning elephant commands, riding and bathing Thongpetch, we were ready to paint together.

Step 1 is placing a paint filled brush into his trunk.

Because I was asking Thongpetch to paint in a style he was unaccustomed to (he normally paints dots), I had to use my finger to point where I wanted him to make his strokes.












This is Thongpetch applying the final stroke which was a dot. He was really focused during the entire painting process and his trunk quivered sometimes with his intense concentration.

Way to go Thongpetch!!

Chance and Choice - Delhi Night # 2

My first night in India I was driving through the streets of Delhi and saw this small child begging. At first I was shocked by the sight. After two weeks in India, I came to a difference awareness of the people and culture of India. There is such a strong spirituality in the country and strong sense of community and I saw the strength in the child. Delhi Night # 2 is my interpretation of this feeling.

Chance and Choice - Imprisoned

I have been using Photoshop as a composition tool for many of my latest works. Imprisoned was made using Photoshop as a design tool during the painting process.

I painted a 10" x 8" oil on canvas sketch about sexual slavery. My intention was to create a 5' x 4' painting of the sketch.


Because the 5' x 4' size was still intimidating me, I then took the lower right part of painting and did a version of it on a 30" x 24" canvas.

Holly
10" x 8" Oil on Canvas





As a painting, I felt this was too derivative of Gauguin. I also wanted to something bar like to give a feeling of imprisonment. So I took photos of trees in my yard and of the painting and put them together using layers in Photoshop.









I was happy with this image, so I painted tree trunks on the original 24" x 30" canvas.








The final piece:



Imprisoned
23" x 30"
Oil on Canvas