Magnificent Alaskan Glaciers

Glacier 1, watercolor on paper, 14" x 11".
Artwork is copyright protected by the artist. All rights reserved.  Do not copy image without the artist's permission.

For one week in July we traveled the Inner Passage waterway of Alaska -- seeing magnificent glaciers, whales, fjords, millions of evergreens, eagles -- and marveled at the splendor of it all.

Our group consisted of 20 family members of all ages from different parts of the United States.

Upon return I started to paint the glaciers that I saw -- always reminded of the fact that they are receding at a rapid rate. As a matter of fact we witnessed a huge glacial segment that tumbled into the water with a resounding thunderous sound!

Here are two more watercolors that were inspired by this trip.

Glacier 2, watercolor on paper, 14" x 11".
Artwork is copyright protected by the artist. All rights reserved. Do not copy image without the artist's permission.

Glacier 3, watercolor on paper, 14" x 11".
Artwork is copyright protected by the artist.  All rights reserved. Do not copy image without the artist's permission.

To view more of my paintings please visit my website at www.maryloudauray.com

Summer, Painting and the Flip-flop

"Flip-flop #4",  oil on 300 lb. watercolor paper. 
The size is 27"h x 51"w.

This time of year is my very favorite because of the long days; beautiful blue-green twilights; and the realization that summer is just around the corner.  These thoughts bring me to the topic of those lazy, hot days of summer years ago when I relished putting on my simple, cooling flip-flops. Times have changed and nowadays one sees people all over the world wearing these thin rubber shoes not only in the summer but all 12 months of the year, night and day, and in hot or freezing weather!

Flip-flops, in most developing countries, are the least expensive footwear available and they are being massed produced in countries with low-cost labor.  As you can well imagine, that means lots of flip-flops are being worn..and then they are tossed, anywhere.  "Most of the soles of these flip-flops are constructed from polyurethane, which is yet another plastic derived from crude oil.  This means that they are going to be hanging around the environment for a very, very long time once discarded". (www.greenlivingtips.com)

As some of you may already know, I have been painting a series of trashed flip-flops using my reference photos taken during a walk on a beach in South Vietnam.  This current series is the latest in a multi-year process of illustrating, through art, my nervous concern about the very negative effects of global garbage pollution.

I am currently working on this oil painting on 300 lb. watercolor paper and titling this work "Underwater Flip-flop with Overwater Reflections"!

The size is 27"h x 51"w.

If you look carefully, you will see a lost, trashed and forgotten flip-flop under the blue water--floundering in the deep!  I have really been struggling with this painting, and it is not quite finished.  I chose to post it anyway because it is work in progress...and this blog is essentially about my painting experience.

One of my artistic wishes has always been to paint a water surface that reflected shimmering light -- a la David Hockney!  I feel he created some colorful and personal work, and I distinctly remember a painting he did of a person peering at someone swimming near the bottom of a turquoise pool in Los Angeles.  Light was bouncing all over the top of the water!  I thought it would not be too difficult to create the same sparkling effect.  Well, I was wrong!  Depicting an over-layer of moving water reflections, while at the same time showing something quietly submerged, has been quite the challenge for me.  I usually feel more comfortable working in an abstract style so painting these rays of light is slow and somewhat difficult.

What I would also like to suggest in the painting is the fact that sunlight on water can contain a surprise hint of magic rainbow colors. In this regard, I was inspired by a photo I took in my kitchen this morning of sunlight beaming through clear crystal.  Question is:  how can one render in paint such intensity and luminosity?  Mmmmm?


Here is the rainbow picture:

I wish you all a light-filled and fully creative summer!  

From Visits to Hawaii, New York and Montgomery, Alabama

Hawaii Visit

Bird of Paradise 

    Watercolor

During the last two months I have traveled to beautiful Hawaii, exciting New York, and experienced a memorable weekend in Montgomery, Alabama.  I decided to devote this blog to the paintings I did and photographs I took which relate to these three places.  I still continue to work on the paintings which reflect  my concern about global warming and pollution of the ocean (see past blogs).

While in Hawaii I painted three small watercolors (about 5" x 7").  The Bird of Paradise above and the water and tree you see below.  I have always wanted to paint a Bird of Paradise with its strong, intense coloration, so I really enjoyed layering the oranges, blues and purples while doing this beautiful flower.

Water on the Rocks 
Watercolor

This water scene was my first attempt to try to capture the feeling of  bright white spray surging up against the dark lava rocks in Hawaii.  Maybe someday I will try a more abstract version of the scene!

My Favorite Tree 
Watercolor

And, last but not least, the tree you can see in the painting is my favorite tree in all of Hawaii.  A natural umbrella,  I feel protected walking under it while being graced with the sweet aroma of hundreds of flowers decorating the leaf-filled branches.

New York City Visit

"Nut"

The hightlight of my New York visit was experiencing a Modern Garage Movement dance performance, "Nut"  at the Kitchen.   Please check out www.moderngaragemovement.com to learn more about the exciting work the group is doing.  This photo of the stage was taken with my iphone which now captures shots with a distinct blur.  I spilled some turpentine on the phone and consequently all the photos have a smudged look to them...rather interesting, nevertheless.

Montgomery, Alabama Visit

"until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream" 

words by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
fountain by Maya Lin

Rosa Parks Bus Boycott Plaque

These two pictures were taken in Montgomery, Alabama.  I was fortunate to attend an inspiring celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Southern Poverty Law Center which is one of the most important and effective  centers in the United States, or anywhere for that matter, dedicated to "fighting hate and bigotry and seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society". (from the SPLC newsletter)  The beautiful fountain at the Civil Rights Memorial was designed by Maya Lin.  Please help contribute to this center's most admirable work at www.splcenter.org.

Continuing with the series!

As some of you may know, I have recently begun a series of paintings based on photos I took of trash washed up on a small section of beach in South Vietnam.  One of the purposes in my doing the paintings is to spotlight the disturbing accumulation of waste (most of it plastic) which is polluting our oceans and beaches.

The following image shows the second in this series.  I have not yet finished the piece.

                  

An idea came to me to create the third painting in the series with a background of different colored sand--with black sand.  I took one of my reference photos, played with it in photoshop, and created the following picture:   

                                       

This image was made one day before the occurrence of the devastating Japanese earthquake.  After I looked at the transformed photo, I realized that the flip flop appeared to have been made white with radiation--and the sand seemed dead.  

Here is the painting based on the above photo and it is not yet finished. As I work on this piece, I silently pray for the many thousands of people who have been traumatized by the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear disaster. 

                      

Another Step Forward

Yes--many are stepping forward right now--standing tall for what they believe in.  Step by hopeful step--and I return to working on my painting--wondering what can I do to let my voice be heard?
So I continue putting brush to paper--glazing, spattering and choosing colors.  This second flip-flop that I am doing steps forward...is moving on.  
Today, I began to read an insightful book recommended by a very perceptive art teacher, gail McDaniel.  The Art Spirit, by Robert Henri, was published in 1923 and his words are helping me feel as though I am part of a greater group.   He says "through art mysterious bonds of understanding and of knowledge are established..."
I recommend this book to all artists and I plan to include more of his comments in future blogs.

Another step forward on my second flip-flop painting--days four and five!

Starting Again!

First day of painting with color

Second day with burnt sienna oil color added

Reference photo

Here I go again, painting yet another flip-flop based on one of my reference photos (shown above). This work is the second in a series of paintings I am doing that portray some of the trash I found washed up on the beach near Hoi An, Vietnam.  

I started this new work by brushing white gesso onto a 55" x 55" piece of 150 lb. watercolor paper and did a first pass of color with thinned ultramarine blue oil paint.  Next day I brushed on (with a huge fun brush!) some burnt sienna.  The dark spots you see in the photos are areas that did not have much gesso and as a result the oil paint soaked more deeply into those places.  I like the added texture!

Yesterday someone remarked that they liked my first flip-flop painting (see my February 24 blog) better when I had barely begun the piece--about the third day through.  Well, I did mention in one of my earlier blogs that I welcome all comments and advice!!! and I do appreciate the thought given to my work.   So I pondered the remarks and ultimately came to the conclusion that I felt the early stages of that piece were too decorative and lacked inventiveness and mystery.  As I continued to add more layers of paint day after day on the first painting, two footprints in the sand quietly appeared--indicating to me a sense of going forward and a desire to overcome tragedy.  Maybe that work ultimately is not as exciting at the end as when I first started it?!  I do not have an answer to that question.
Now I am on a new journey with this second painting of another poor, deserted and trashed flip-flop!  We will see what happens.

An Artful Heart

Love this heart!  I bought this wonderful work of art (which is approximately 6" x 6") at the Santa Fe, New Mexico, flea market from a vendor who only made creations using recycled materials.  Sadly, the last time I went to the Sunday flea market, she was no longer there.  Actually many of the vendors either closed shop or moved to a new flea market area.   I hope she is continuing to create and making more of these hearts saying "Life is Good...Art is Better!"

The Work is Finished

FINISHED PAINTING 

Reference photo

It is obvious there is a notable difference between my finished painting and my reference photo....two almost invisible footprints have been added in the painted piece!  Here is the story of why I put them there-----

Garbage is being dumped every day in our streams, rivers, and oceans and I am compelled to record this situation in my current body of work.  The particular oil painting you see above is based on one of more than 100 photos taken of trash I found along the beach outside of Hoi An, Vietnam. As I quietly painted, I realized that there just has to be a story to tell about each of these remnants of plastic, rubber, and other such waste.  
When I first began the painting on a blank 55" x 55" piece of gessoed watercolor paper, I intended to paint just a shredded flip-flop stuck in the sand. As I neared completion of the work, the news of protests emerging from Egypt, Libya, Wisconsin, etc., and also reports of some of the protesters dying in the Middle East, became incredibly disturbing and created in me an immense sense of sadness and loneliness.  I began to also be aware that my painting was lacking something and was empty except for the one flip-flop in the center of the page.  

Slowly, I conjectured a story surrounding the black flip-flop I was reproducing on paper.  It could have belonged to someone who died for a cause.  I then felt compelled to add the two faint footprints in the sand heading to the bottom of the paper--thereby implying that the person who had worn this tattered flip-flop could stand up and walk away to reclaim her/his inalienable right to freedom. 

Left Alone

These last few days distractions were more appealing to me than continuing to work on my painting of the lonely flip-flop left alone on a beach in SE Asia.  I am not sure why it is such a major challenge to be creative--to make something out of nothing!?  Seems as though it is so much easier to do familiar tasks:  washing dishes; organizing a drawer; driving someplace, talking on the phone, etc.  Nevertheless, when I finally hunkered down and began to splatter hundreds of drops of oil paint on the paper with my huge brush,  I became energized and forgot about the distractions.
The drops represent the sand but I chose not to cover the entire 55" x 55" piece of paper with these drops as I wanted to leave some mystery lurking on the perimeter of the work.  While painting,  I listened to lots of Leonard Cohen!
I finished the underside of the lone rubber flip-flop and really liked the result.  The colors used were those on my reference photo--blues, greens, yellows, black, brown, white, etc.  I figured all these colors were there because,  despite the fact the flip-flop had been tossed in the seas for what must have been a long time, colorful seaweed and other living organisms attached themselves to the sole and went on a journey with this piece of deserted trash.  My imagination went along for the ride!
At the point that I stopped working in order for the oil paint to dry,  I stepped back and ruefully noticed that the entire design on this large piece of paper seemed non-eventful.  My eye went only to the flipflop--and that was it!  Nothing more--something was missing--something was lacking.
My next blog will show you what I did to help allay the feeling of emptiness and aloneness.  For now, here are two photos of what I did recently.

Here is the full painting at this point:

Here is a close-up of the bottom of the flip-flop!

Patterns in the Sand

While working on my painting depicting a lonely flip flop found on a beach near Hoi An, Vietnam, I found myself having a dialogue with the natural elements.  For example:  "Sand, why did you half bury this tattered shoe?  Why do you have subtle patterns flowing around you?"  "South China Sea, did you toss this lost shoe all around during a violent storm?  Did you ever wonder what happened to its owner?  Where did you fling the mate to this flip flop"? and on and on....
The other day, I showed my earlier blog about the beginning of this particular painting to a person who said she began to ask similar questions about the singular flip flop tossed upon the beach.
My hope is that the painting, when finished, will be strong enough to evoke a sense of wondering and questioning.
Today, I brushed on a wash made up of varnish and turpentine mixed with the colors of indigo, white, and burnt sienna oil paint.  Sometimes when I look at sand on a beach, my eye just barely notices the overall color.  But today, after really studying my reference photo, I saw numerous linear patterns caused by the water and air movement in and over the sand.  I wanted to include these in the art work, so I added some directional lines.  After putting on the very wet wash, drips began coming down on the paper and I liked that effect.  For now, the flip flop drawing is still covered with a resist plastic which will come off at some point to reveal a white space.  Later on I will paint that area black.
The photo of the painting you see here was taken while today's work was still wet.  The view is from the side of the piece so you could see the paper actually hanging on the wall.

The challenge of writing a blog about creating this painting helps me to examine more intensely my entire creative process.  It is so interesting how many thoughts quietly appear while making art.  It is a meditation. This is especially so today as rain has been steadily falling all day and there is also a rare dusting of snow on the mountains nearby.  The grayness adds to the mystery and beauty of it all.

New Painting-New Direction-New Series-New Year!

For the past three years, I used oil paints, watercolors, and even plastic collage pieces in my artwork which was inspired by a brief and exciting trip to Iceland.   Realistic landscapes and figures were the predominant theme early on in the series, but gradually the compelling and majestic beauty of Icelandic glaciers, and the surrounding deep blue waters, became the subject matter.  The work, as it progressed, evolved into larger abstract pieces.  During those many quiet moments of painting, when my thoughts roamed here and there, I became more aware of, and concerned about, pollution and the melting of glaciers due to global warming.  In the very last paintings of what I called The Iceberg Series (which numbered 35 pieces), I adhered pieces of painted plastic on the icebergs--reflecting a worry that maybe someday all the millions of pounds of minute plastic trash now collecting in the oceans would eventually evaporate and fall back to the earth as snow or rain.  We could then have icebergs made of plastic!  I realize that this is a hypothetical situation--but that is the direction where my artistic imagination carried me!
A reason for the ending of my Iceberg Series is largely because of my recent visit to Southeast Asia.  Part of the trip included travel along the coastal waters of the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and the Mekong Delta.  I was disturbed by the omnipresent plastic trash I saw floating in all those waters.  Garbage, always wrapped in plastic bags, also decorated the shores and waters of the great inland lake in Cambodia--Lake Tonal Sap.  Furthermore, my stay along the beach near Hoi An upset me because of the huge quantity of trash strewn everywhere along the sand.  I took more than 100 photos of this trash--most of it plastic--in less than 200 yards of beachfront.
So now, upon returning home, I have started a series of paintings based on the photos taken of this trash. Sadly to me, I will not be using my favorite blues I brushed on in my iceberg work.  I am changing my palette entirely--a big challenge to me.  We will see what happens!  I am hoping that maybe, some day, a few of my paintings will help focus attention on the menace of the ubiquitous presence of plastic and its improper disposal.
The first painting, which I will probably title "The Deserted Flip Flop" is being painted with oils on gessoed 150lb watercolor paper, 55" x 55".  The top photo you see on the blog is my reference photo.  The bottom one shows the result of my beginning two days of painting.  I initially put a light coat of ultramarine on the paper, and then, after it dried, I brushed on a burnt sienna-yellow ochre mix.  The flip flop is there, but barely discernible at this point.  Right now it is a piece of plastic stuck on the paper as a resist. You can tell from the reference photo that the flip flop is mostly black, and eventually my painting will have a black one one in it!
Welcome to my journey in this new series.  Let's see where it will go!

Art as an Engine of Change

“In most successful movements for social change, artists are in the vanguard”,  says Adele Stan--who further states in an important article titled “Culture Manifesto:  The Increasing Importance of Art as an Engine of Change” (http://www.alternet.org/story/149258/) that “when the going gets tough, the tough make art.  And in America today, there’s some tough going ahead”.  Lastly, she suggests that “as we head into a new year, let’s renew our spirits with an injection of creativity.  As Emma Goldman told us, "a revolution without dancing is not worth having”.

I am posting this because I hope that in some small way the art I have recently done will help promote environmental awareness.  As I painted my “icebergs with plastic” pieces during 2009 and 2010, I simultaneously began to develop an increased consciousness of the reality and dangers of global warming and plastic pollution. In addition, I learned about the rapidly expanding global artistic community addressing these concerns. There is no doubt in my mind that this important community helps generate increased attentiveness to these problems through a variety of creative ways.

Below is my oil painting done in 2010 incorporating painted plastic pieces glued onto a 55" x 55" piece of gessoed watercolor paper.  I created a number of these works and now feel as though my series of these plastic iceberg picures is complete.  The works are my hypothetical explorations of what could happen to the alarming increase of plastic waste particles accumulating in the oceans.  I have imagined millions of plastic nanoparticles slowly evaporating into the atmosphere and then gradually falling back to earth as rain or snow.  Ultimately, some of this toxic precipitation would create glaciers and icebergs. 

The paintings are in some ways beautiful to me—especially because I love exploring the depths of the color of blue. Yet the pieces also represent my alarm and my worries about the destruction of our planet.  

Everyone has a talent or two.  Please use yours to help jumpstart social change.  In addition to this important job, you will also feel better when you engage your creative juices and as Ms. Stan says, you will “renew your spirit!”

Laughing on the Outside but Crying on the Inside

Today I painted my first self-portrait (based somewhat on the photo that is on this blog!) I know, I am smiling/laughing in this picture...the way I normally like to appear in the world--hey we all need more smiles.  But, in the painting I started and quickly completed this morning, I inserted a big, heavy, dark plastic tear falling from my eye.  The horrible shooting that happened yesterday in Arizona makes me cry--for the deep sadness that the families, the friends, the state, the entire country and the world is experiencing because of this senseless act.
I thought, what can I do?    The only immediate answer was to take brush in hand and paint my inner response.  Here is what I did:

and by the way, if you want to be informed about extreme hate groups in this country, please check out the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama.  (www.splcenter.org)  This organization monitors these groups and is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry.  The center needs all the help you can give it.

Moving along with painting!

In yesterday's blog I showed two photos of a large piece (4 1/2' x 4 1/2') that I am working on.  Since the oil paint was not dry today, I decided to paint on a smaller piece of paper (20"h x 30"w) that had a quickly rendered old painting on it..a waterfall of sorts.  
After painting for a few hours today, this is the result.. a waterfall that has turned to a mix of ice and water flowing.  Many years ago I started doing geometric, hard-edged watercolors and I think that some of this edge detailing is evident in this painting.  Here is the new one I painted today which is titled "Flow" (until I can think of a better name)!

Next is one of my earlier watercolors where there is some sharp edge detailing.  This picture is entitled "Australia 1"--a memory of a visit to the area around Uluru-Kata Tjuta--Ayers Rock in central Australia--where the shadows were deep and the rocks red..a very powerful place.

Getting back to painting--Jan 3, 2011

The first week of 2011!  Art Time!  During the recent wonderful holiday season I did not put brush to paper at all.  But I was thinking about the work a lot.  I felt that I needed to turn my piece upsidedown, with the heavier, darker part going on the bottom instead of on top as I had originally planned.  I also convinced myself that I wanted to do a lot of drips.
Well, here are the results of working on the piece yesterday and today--no drips, one iceberg and a sunset in the background!..not exactly how I had originally imagined the piece.  Maybe my next painting will have lots of drips!
This piece feels almost finished.  I did put plastic in it, but less than what I have been doing.  I still plan to incorporate plastic in my future work--a visual reminder of how much this material surrounds us. This is what I did on January 2nd.

Here is January 3rd...with more emphasis on what is under the iceberg!

Hope everyone has an art-filled New Year!