A Certain Place of Indecision

The Road Not Taken- by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

A Certain Place of Indecision- Oil by Jenny Wantuch, 2011

When I showed this painting during Open Studios, someone told me how it reminded him of the dilemma that Robert Frost  describes with his poem "The Road Not Taken". We all recognize this place. A place we will come back to "ages and ages hence".

Improvising an Animated Story

 Novelty creates excitement by discoveries from exploring the unknown. Last week I walked into my artist studio to paint only to find myself uninspired to pick up where I had ended the day before. Instead I wanted to make a short animated story and play with new ideas.

In 4th grade we used to draw figures on each page on small notepad and by quickly scrolling through the drawing sequence the figures appeared to be moving. That was fun, and could have been a good creative outlet even now. But "pen and paper" just wasn't safe for the time being. "Pen and paper" are tools for a Serious Artist with a Sudden Critical Voice. A clever way of getting rid of this serious artist with a critical voice, is to improvise and through it off by introducing a novel tool. And it worked!

I began a simple line drawing using my index finger on the screen. It was like drawing with my left hand (another great technique). The iPad app, Animation Creator, was easy to use. Acting on positive impulses, trying new possibilities and feeling free. Stepping into the unknown, what an exciting place to be! What a scary place to be! But I wasn't scared. I was having too much fun, and joy kills fear.

A bird appeared and it was exactly the bird I didn't know I was looking for; playful, fearless and cool. I now had a stage (my screen), one character (a bird) and an audience. Yes, I created this audience because I needed them to help me move things forward. They wanted action: "Hello! We want to watch an animated improvised story. We want to see it now. We really don't need for it to be perfect, and we don't have time for you to edit and delete and have a better idea or fix every flaw you see!"

A few improv techniques helped to keep the audience content and the creative flow going; setting a time limit, "first thought, best thought", accepting offers from your animated figures and letting go of mistakes. The audience response was fantastic! They cheered, they laughed, they accepted every new move. And when it was done they wanted to see it again and again. Nothing was perfect and so everything was perfect.

Here is the fully animated, totally improvised story titled: "The Bird Who just Wanted a Clear Sky":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQFgkVU1lc

Postscript:
If you take time to analyze the story a bit, it is interesting to see that the Cloud resembles the Serious Artist with a Sudden Critical Voice.
She didn't make it in the end. But what happened to the bird? This is a Foreign film so the ending is left sad and obscure. But I can tell you the bird is enjoying the clear sky and can fly and dig that Euro techno music, any time she wants.

Landscape Painting Trip

I am leaving for a very exciting trip to Skagern and Ystad (Denmark and Sweden respectively) to paint and see great art. Skagern, the most northern part of Denmark, is known for its beautiful light, beaches and a place where two Seas meet.

Many artists in the late 1800's came to Skagern to paint the landscape. The artist Anna Ancher (born Brondum), 1859-1935, was born in Skagern and chose to paint intimate interiors instead. She was the only artist working in Skagern at that time that was actually born there. Maybe she was bored by the landscape, thought it was too cold, or just loved painting interiors? (My reference is the book "1880-tal i nordiskt maleri" by Amos Anderson, Helsingfors, 1986)

I am looking forward to see her paintings and others at the Skagerns museum.

Well I am not going to be bored by the landscape, perhaps cold, so I am bringing lots of warm clothes.

When I painted "Davenport" (on the California coast) recently, I was also painting what I anticipate to experience on my trip to Osterlen in southern Sweden. A place where I haven't spent much time since I was a child, but still have memories of smell of the sea weed and salt in the air. And it is also a place I dream will be very soothing and peaceful and full of creativity. Will see. Pictures and paintings will be posted when I get back!

Davenport, Oil on wood, 9 x 12 inches

Spring Open Studios

YOU'RE INVITED!

SPRING OPEN STUDIOS 2011

SOMA ARTISTS STUDIOS

689 BRYANT @ 5TH

FRIDAY NIGHT RECEPTIONApril 1st 6pm - 9pm
SATURDAY & SUNDAY April 2nd & 3rd 11am - 6pm

30+ artists will be displaying their work in an incredible variety of media, including jewlery, collage, glass, drawing, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture,and more!
As the SOMA neighborhood has expanded and matured, other artist groups have moved into the area culminating with more than 100 artists participating in Open Studios this year. Come and support your local artist! We have art for every taste and for every pocketbook. Affordable art for the home, the spirit and the soul.

PARTICIPATING ARTIST
Louis Bording Shuhwa Chen Linda Sanders Colnett Flora Davis Renee Eaton Anna Efanova John Fitzsimmons Kat Flyn Keiko Fujimoto Jeremie Garza
GETBIZI Jeremy Gray Tama Greenberg Jana Grover Wesley Ito Martine Jardel Russel Kiehn Kue King Wendy Tremont King Erika Meriaux Margaretha Miglo
John Mickelson Richardo Norte Kristina Quinones Judy Reed Nanci Price Scoular Janet Seifert Anne Subercaseaux Kim Uno Jenny Wantuch Jonah Ward Elena Zolotnitsky

My studio show from Spring Open Studio 2010

Figure in Landscape II

This painting is also in my series of contemplative figures in landscape. It is titled "Longing" and was juried into Gallery Route One's annual juried show. This year Rene de Guzman, senior art curator at the Oakland Museum of California, was the juror. http://www.galleryrouteone.org/

The painting was inspired by a visit in Sweden in the fall, I walked around a lake with my dear friend Petra (http://www.petra10001.blogspot.com/). I took many photos from the walk and this painting was initially inspired by one of the photos of Petra looking over the water. I wanted to make it a self-portrait, and so I took another picture of myself in the same pose. Well, Petra's daughter says "mom" when she sees this and for people that don't know Petra, they believe it is a self-portrait.

I realized it doesn't really matter, the "self" in this, is the memory of feelings in a serene landscape that I think most of us have within, at least that is my wish.

"Longing", 30 x 40 inches, Oil on canvas prepared with fiber ground

SOMA Artists Studios

SOMA Artists Studios was established in 1989, and selected “Best of the Bay” Best Artists Collective in 2010, SOMA Artists Studios include artists who are both established and emerging in their chosen fields.

http://somaartiststudios.com/

I moved into Studio 18 at SOMA Artists Studios in August 2010 after I participated in OS in Spring 2010. It is a great creative space, and 35 other artists have private studios here. We participate in Open Studios twice a year. Spring Open Studios is coming up soon, April 1-3, 2011.

Studio 18 Moving-in-day, August 2010


Getting ready for Fall Open Studios, October 2010.


A cityscape sketched out to the right, and a landscape painting ahead. I love the skylight in my studio!

Preview Show for SOMA Spring Open Studios 2011

ARC Studios hosted a preview show for SOMA San Francisco, Spring Open Studios, called SOMANIA, earlier this spring. Below is a snapshot of artwork by artists from SOMA Artists Studios, 689 Bryant Street. My contribution was an abstract figure painting, painted from a live model (third from left, top row, and also the one he is pointing at:).

Artwork from SOMA Artists Studios at the SOMANIA show Spring 2011.

Abstract Figure No. 4, 11 x 14 inches, Oil on panel

Group Show at San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau

I am participating in a group show at San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (SFCVB) during Spring 2011. The other day I walked in to take a peek at the show and found my paintings in their main lobby.

The Main Lobby at SFCVB

SFMOMA, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

SEACLIFF, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches

Costume Extravaganza

A few quick paintings from yesterday's Costume Extravaganza event .




Bellydancer, 8 x 10 Oil on panel

Serafina, 8 x 10, Oil on panel

Figure in Landscape

My latest series of paintings are inspired by romanticism. Depicting a single contemplative figure in nature.


"Wanderer on the Beach", Oil on canvas, 22 x 24 inches