The Forest of Forgiveness

This is the first destination I have visited on my journey to illustrate the places on my favorite places map.

My bunnies are on a journey to climb Mountains of Joy!

 

Illustration and developing a style

Over the past year I have thoroughly enjoyed being challenged and having my art ego kicked on the quest to develop a bankable illustration style. I am still at the gate and not even on the race track yet but I am very grateful for the time and guidance I have been lucky enough to receive from the Lilla Rogers Studio School. Below is a selection of some projects that I have completed inspired by Lilla's school.

Next week I start another Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells course. This will be my 3rd and I am signed up for the monthly bootcamp assignments next year. Yep, I'm excited. The courses are all consuming or at least that's how I roll with them. I am looking forward to seeing if I can crank up some pace to get on the freelance illustration race track. I feel particularly inspired today seeing the 3 finalists from the Global Talent search. Congratulations Kate, Katie and Clairice. You work is stunningly gorgeous and very inspiring!

Global Talent search entry 2015 - Round 1

Global Talent search entry 2015 - Round 1

MATS Home Decor course 2015 - design for ceramics.

MATS Home Decor course 2015 - design for ceramics.

MATS Home Decor 2015 course - video competition entry.

Grateful For Unexpected Gifts

Last week I was contemplating 20 long years without my deeply loved mother, Bridgett Helen Byron. Mum died way to young at 55 from breast cancer. On this 20th anniversary of her passing I received such as wonderful gift, especially as mum was my biggest fan all those years ago.

The Nails In The Wall Gallery (Linda Vonderschmidt-La Stella) had used a picture of “The Girl Of All That Is” in their advertising material for their upcoming group exhibition. The theme, EarthAirWaterFire: Elements/Sacraments, is integral to my work so I had to enter and was overjoyed to be accepted. To then have the NY Times feature this image and my name in the Metropolitan section was a crazy surprise! It’s an immense lift to the artistic spirits.

Now to get some art in a gallery in New York City!  

EJM_NYTimes2015

Bye Bye Winter Queen

So thrilled to sell my much loved Winter Queen, her steely, determined gaze has helped me adjust to these extreme NJ winters. The Winter Queen knows there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothes.

On Sunday I participated in the local studio tour event. I decided not to host it at my house as my studio is in an attic room and a logistical nightmare over a 6 hour time span. Sure good exercise but really not practical. I exhibited in a group space and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity to show my work and be able to receive such wonderful and affirming feedback from the people that dropped by my stand. Seriously, thank you!

Exhibiting in community events is such a great learning curve in so many ways and fantastic to be able to have conversations about art.

Next stop the Maplewood Art Walk - Sunday, September 29.

I hope to have new work ands some inspired from a 3 week holiday in Ireland. I am looking forward to that! 

Copyright and the fear of Goddess Anne

In a previous blog I made light of the fact I have used images from fashion magazines in my mixed media work. In actual fact it is something I take very seriously and know there is the rampant, bull raging issue of copyright associated with this act.

Making, reading about and looking at art is my life long passion. I take the idea of “artist” and the role they play in society, for one, as reflectors of the times, very solemnly. Hence my fascination with the power of popular culture and it’s definition of women.

I find it immensely disturbing that as an artist, and a female one, the vast cultural monster that produces fashion magazines is off limits as fodder to work with and comment on for fear of breaking the law of copying. Fortunately for me it is not a big deal as I don’t sell much work…yet. The point being that who cares what you do until there are vast sums of money involved i.e. Jeff Koons and Richard Prince.

I am not suggesting, for a moment, saying someones else’s work is yours or copying other’s work for the simple act of making money is ok.

Copyright law is a huge, nasty, labyrinth of a topic which is difficult for anyone to really understand. It’s not a fixed idea and not attached specifically to any one media it’s amorphous and evolving. Of course it all goes back to a woman, Queen Anne of England and was granted Royal Assent on 5 April 1710.

"The new law prescribed a copyright term of 14 years, with a provision for renewal for a similar term, during which only the author and the printers they chose to license their works to could publish the author's creations. Following this, the work's copyright would expire, with the material falling into the public domain.” 

So bored already.

Imagine all the layers of clauses and sub clauses, legal stuff and thingese precedences squishing down on top of that original law. And now we live in a time were fear of Goddess Anne rules. Where there are some pretty crazy rules and regulations quashing artistic freedom….”and it’s all about money, ain’t a damn thing funny” too right Grand Master Flash.

Despite the tedious legalese copyright law is fascinating. How did it get to be so intertwined with the do's and don’ts of making art. 

As artists with the intention of social comment and fair use of culturally bound material should we really fear the wrath of Goddess Anne?

More to follow...

Portrait from the school of John Closterman, circa 1702

Portrait from the school of John Closterman, circa 1702

Inspiration, challenge and focus

In the name of diversification and fun... something completely different...

I have just signed up for a 5 week Make Art That Sells course www.lillarogers.com/school

I have been contemplating this course since it first began a couple of years ago but the timing has never worked. March 2015 fixed that "it's time"!

I am looking forward to mashing graphic art skills, illustration rambles and my surreal mixed media style to create work that hopefully melds my heart and mind to create images of joy and wonder. If nothing else I am looking forward to being inspired and challenged to create more art.

Having said that I believe the course is pretty tough especially as there are weekly deadlines involved  (I think I remember those from many years of graphic design a small child's lifetime ago). 

Wish me luck!

P.S. and now I have something to Blog About!!


Evolving mixed media process

When I first started making collage visual art all I used were images from magazines, magazine paper and glue (unfortunately poor quality glue) see “Face II” - 1992,  below. Over 20 years later (ah excuse me?) my process has evolved to embrace mixed media see "Transmogrify”- 2014, below. The evolution is due, mainly, to having more time and space to create and use paint and a desire to develop portrait skills. The process intention is to create lavish, colorful images that skirt between the appropriated and the artist made. The intellectual intention I will speak to, a lot, another time.

Briefly and generally, to be followed with related posts, my current process involves:

  • Creating a central figurative image usually done in acrylic paint but can be pencil "Muse In Iceberg Dress" 2013.
  • Placing magazine collage around the image glued with archival quality glue to the board or canvas.  These images are either ripped* straight from magazines or picked from boxes of  images I have accumulated over the years.
  • The paper images are then integrated with the artist made central image using acrylic paint and sometimes pen.
  • To finish I use varnish with spray or paint usually gloss.

*Did I type “ripped”. Yep, shamelessly stolen from glossy fashion mags. You know ladies, the ones that tell us how we should look, act and where our "image" attentions should lie. Those fabulous, seductive, sacred, fashion advertising bibles. The ones I still find so alluring and have done from a very young age. The ones we are not really meant to question. It's only fashion. It's fun, right?  What's more, the central image in my work has usually been stolen right from those pages. GGN! GASP!  That's subversive and criminal! How dare I! Haven't I heard about copyright infringement? If I go to jail will they make a TV show about me? "Paper is the new Paint" or "The Collage Criminal" or The Incarcerated Copier?". Help me out with a title anyone?

More on this next time.

EJMunro "Face II" 1992 

EJMunro "Transmogrify" 2014

EJMunro "Transmogrify" 2014

Inspiring Work

I really enjoyed seeing Judy Pfaff's work at the Pavel Zoubok Gallery in Chelsea on Saturday.

I especially liked the work Udaipur 8, 2014, Encaustic and paper collage on paper , 9 1/4 x 27 3/4 inches.

The melding of organic and man made is superb.