Installation at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg

Installation at the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Fl

Lisa Pressman  Vision    8@ 24 x 24 encaustic and oil

more to follow

Getting to say thank you

Jake Grossberg and myself at his 80th birthday party

A few weeks ago I received an email from Di Grossberg inviting me to  
Jake Grossberg's birthday party. She  had found my post about him here and was inviting past students to come to his surprise party. Of course I said yes, wondering how any teacher could remember their students from year to year never mind 30 years. When I walked into his house there was a house full of  former students plus friends already there and that was at the very beginning of the party. It was quite a testament to his influence on so many of us. When I walked up to shake his hand he looked at me and said " Lisa, are you still painting" ( I think I heard him say I still looked that same but that might have been wishful thinking) But oh what a great question!!

I hung around for a while, talked to other students and traded stories, wrote a note in the book Di provided and left. I did have a chance to thank him for all the wisdom he shared and to let him know I am passing it on to my students. It was quite a day. Thanks, Di. 

Sculpture by Jake Grossberg

From" "Bubele, you are not making bombs here-it is just art" May 2009

Still on the subject of influences, I was thinking about artists that I know or have known personally who have the ability to help my work grow and change. One teacher comes to mind quite often and I repeat his advice to my students every time I teach and occasionally to myself when I am fussing around on my work. Jake Grossberg, sculptor, was trying to show me something with Plaster of Paris and I was very hesitant and timid. He looked at me and in his Jewish grandfather way said

"Bubele, you are not making bombs here-it is just art"

Later after I had graduated he was encouraging me to go around NY with my work and I told him I wasn't ready.His words were "Do you think you will ever think you are ready? He suggested that I think of promoting my work like I was selling salami's. Some people like salami, some don't." He taught me to separate my work from myself and get into a different mind set when promoting......invaluable advice. Thanks, Jake

Images from show at s.h.e.gallery (supportinghumanequality)

 

 

Installation at s.h.e. gallery, Boonton, NJ.  March 2 31st

Rainy Day 1 and 2 16 x 16 wax and mixed media

Installation

Chapter 6 26 x 26 encaustic

Leap of Faith 30 x30 oil

The Chair 16 x 16 encaustic, That Crazy Dream, 16 x 16 encaustic

From There to Here 36 x36 oil

Journey 36 x 72 oil on board

Upcoming Show March 2nd-March 31st

 

 Here is the full image of the painting.

The Rooms of Anais  Nin  28 x  38 encaustic L Pressman

Have you seen this painting?

FOUND!!!   It was with a consultant and neither of us had the paperwork. I am  working on it!

July 4 28 x 39  encaustic on canvas on panel

Yesterday I saw a facebook post by Joanne Mattera  saying she was busy doing inventory. 

Inventory, a huge thorn in my side.

For years I had a book with titles, info, inventory number sold or not but what good did that do me? Not much. Now I have folders on my computer that show the images; where things are, where they are going, if they are home and if they are sold. What is this doing for me? Not much, apparently.

( I do have an account with one of the online programs but when I went to  enter the information I was overwhelmed. Did anyone say I need an intern????).

July 4th was in my home folder but it is not in my  home, studio or racks. When I realized this, I traced it back to some paper work which placed it at my solo show at the Center for Visual Arts, fall of 2010. I know I brought it home and it may have made it out to a local venue after that....one that didn't have a folder on my desktop. I don't have a record of selling it. I keep going back through my racks thinking it is hidden amongst the  graduate school paintings.

 I sent out some feelers with an image but all said they didn't have the painting.

You know, it is not like my keys or cell phone that will show up  in my garbage, under the bed or in my back pocket. It is a painting!! It is somewhere.

Ok. I confessed.  I have misplaced a painting. Not my finest moment.

Anyone else? Probably not.

Working on my inventory is top on my to do list.

So the next question is which program do you use to keep track of your work?

And if you see July 4th somewhere please let me know. 

Sue Post and her art influences

I've Loved You All Your Life
2010
oil on canvas
60 x 60"

I haven't done an artist influence post in a while and I forgot how much I enjoy doing them. Finding the links and images for all the artists is such a great way to revisit old and new favorites. This is Sue Post's work, an artist "friend" on Facebook. I see her paintings floating by and always stop to take a look. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

A Different Kind of Line
2011
oil on linen
20 x 20

Natural Light
2011
oil on linen
20 x 20

"I find ways for paint to “behave”, in work marked by simultaneous contrast and ambiguous space, with surfaces that are both flat and deep.

My paintings are animated by what they look like, not what they resemble. Pivotal decisions – mostly about edge, color and value -  determine how the paintings come alive, and locate where on their surfaces this magic occurs. Painting interactions of color feels authentic and clarifying to me in ways that making pictures of things does not. 

My latest work is based on an irregular grid or weave, a “plaid” composed of four colors and two different sizes of bounded area. Each patch or strip of color serves as part of two distinct vertical or horizontal structural elements, and every part hovers between figure and ground." Sue Post 2011

Rainbow Sherbet
2011
oil on linen
24 x 24"

 A historical list  of  Sue's influences:

Courbet,"L'Eternite"

 Vincent van Gogh,(La Crau from Mont Majour")

Edgar Degas"Cafe Singer"

Frank Stella

Howard Hodgkin,"View From Venice"

Helen Miranda Wilson (a teacher in grad),"Americauna"

Sean Scully,"Angel"

 

Edouard Manet

Gerhard Richter

Jonathan Lasker

Elizabeth Murray (a teacher in undergrad)

Sue will be having a show at the Painting Center, NYC

January 31, 2012- February 25, 2012

Serape
2011
oil on muslin over board
16 x 16"

Fuse: Art in Motion

I spent some time with artist Sara Mast back in June of 2009 when we were included in the New Talent Show at Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia. It was an instant lightening strike of friendship and artistic partnership.

I use the word lightening for a reason. There is a crackle, a synergy in which ideas become reality when we are together. When she came east again in January of 2010 for our shows at Rosenfeld, we were shopping for wine when we came across a wine called FUSE.

"FUSE explodes with the aromas and flavors of a much more expensive Napa Valley wine. The name derives from the inclusion of a significant portion of Syrah, adding an exotic, spicy twist to the blend...igniting the senses! It also refers to the friendship of the partners, whose fusion of passion and experience inspired this wine......"

I showed the bottle to Sara and of course, we bought two! We decided on the spot to call our workshop FUSE. The fusing of artists, mediums and the actual fusing when you use encaustic.

Turn the calender to June 2010 when she is back east to attend the 5th International Encaustic Conference in Provinceton MA. Before we left for the conference I took Sara to a Niyolates@ Class. Niyolates@, created by Rolin San Juan, is an expressive fitness and awareness movement program. It combines the dynamic poses of yoga, the explosive power of the martial arts, the grace & spontaneity of modern and ethnic dances and the stillness & concentration of Tai-Chi. When we were done she looked at me and said, “Now I understand where your paintings come from…” It was true, but not just my paintings. Movement and connectivity with the body can free up energy and stress to allow anyone’s creativity to flow in new and dynamic ways. So that is the story of how Fuse: Art, Body, Motion was born.
 
Both Sara and I have taught drawing and paintings for many years (see bios below). This small, team-taught workshop will be an individualized experience for each participant. We will cover all basics of encaustic as well as move beyond technique to explore the expressive potential of wax and a mixed media approach. Our goal is to guide each participant in finding his/her personal vision.

The Studio in Montana

The workshop will be held in Sara's studio just east of Bozeman, nestled in the foothills of the Bridger Mountains. This valley was named the Valley of the Flowers by the Native Americans who gathered here before the European settlers arrived. It represents a peaceful meeting place where indigenous tribes worked together to share their dreams and visions, nurtured by the natural world that surrounded them. The beauty and serenity of this special place will inspire your work and delight your senses.

 An example of what a day might include: 
  
8:30 Pick up in van for commute to Trail Creek Road studio
9-12:30 Demos/worktime
12:30-1:30 Lunch (provided)
1:30-4 Demos/work time
4-5 Niyolates@ Movement & release after an intense work day
5-6 Relax in the beautiful surroundings of the Gallatin Valley or take a hike or horseback ride...
6 pm Van to the hotel – dinner on your own in downtown Bozeman

Each day of the workshop will be guided by the interactions of the group and by the instructors' response to the needs and desires of each participant. Possible areas to be covered include: encaustic and mixed media demos; use of pigment sticks, printmaking, and experimental drawing; art career advice on how to expand your creative research, get the work out, write an artist statement, apply for grants and residencies…and more.

Here are videos of Sara and myself talking about our work at the Rosenfeld opening.
 
BIOS 

Sara Mast is a widely exhibited artist whose paintings are included in over 30 public and private collections in the United States and abroad. Her work is included in Joanne Mattera’s book Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax. Exhibitions in 2011 include As Above, So Below, a solo exhibition at Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia, PA; Repertoire, a group exhibition at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery in Chicago, IL; and Night Visions IV, a juried exhibition at Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, AZ. Sara lives and works in Bozeman, Montana, and is a co-chair of the Drawing/Painting department at Montana State University.

 
Lisa Pressman’s paintings incorporate oils, collage, wax and other mixed media to create works that allude to a personalized time and space. The work is the physical embodiment of the slow and gradual process of realization and transformation.Recent and Upcoming exhibitions include: Kindred Spirits, Schiltkamp Gallery at Clark University, Wooster Mass and Confluence: Medium Meets Message at the Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL in 2012.Pressman’s work was exhibited in Making the Mark at Susan Eley Fine Art and at the Affordable Art Fair with Anelle Gandelman Fine Art, both in New York City. Her paintings were also featured in The Balancing Act, a solo show at Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia. She is currently an adjunct at the Art Institute of New York and teaches painting privately and around the country. You can find her teaching schedule here  Lisa Pressman lives and works in West Orange, NJ.