Day of the Dead Altar IV

The Altar is Almost Complete.

More work on the altar is bringing it close to completion. The cut out shapes of eagles, snakes and lizards have been painted to match those in the painting which is the back drop and focal point of the altar.

Painting the eagle shapes.

An adventure into the desert provided a variety of rocks which now fill the baskets sitting on the altar and symbolize the desert in which these basket weavers lived.

Rock filled baskets.

Additional small canvas board paintings were created and now join the other small cactus paintings on the altar providing symbolism of desert plants.

Altar Cactus

8 x10

Pink Barrels

5 x 7

The altar is almost complete, ready for installation. The various components have been assembled and the altar set up in my studio.  Now it will be deconstructed, boxed, made ready to be moved to the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Photos of Coachella Valley Basket Weavers

Detail of Altar

The Palm Springs Art Museum is hosting a Day of the Dead celebration, Sunday, October 30, 10-5.  This altar, honoring Guadalupe Arenas and other indigenous basket weavers of the Coachella Valley will be on display.  Hope to see you there.

Day of the Dead Altar III

What is Day of the Dead?

A few nights ago I was asked by a friend, 'what's going on in your studio?"  I launched into an enthusiastic description of the altar I am creating for Day of the Dead at the Palm Springs Art Museum and after quite a monologue she asked another question, " What is Day of the Dead?"

sketch of the altar 

Interesting question, and one I thought I would answer here. Day of the Dead is a multi day, Mexican holiday that focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.  It is Dia de los Muertos. Among traditions connected with the holiday is the building of private altars honoring the dead, and the Palm Springs Art Museum celebrates the holiday annually with a few altars scattered through out the museum.  I have been asked, by the Artists Council of the museum to construct an altar.  Typically skulls, marigolds, favorite foods and beverages of the deceased are on placed on the altars.  

  A typical altar

If you follow this blog, you know that the altar I am building is not necessarily typical;  no marigolds, no foods. It does, however, have skulls, flowers and decorations that pay homage to Guadalupe Arenas and other native basket weavers who lived mid 1800's to mid 1900's and whose baskets are revered and collected today. The women to whom the altar is dedicated lived in the Coachella Valley, location of Palm Springs.  

Guadalupe Arenas, Snake Weaver

48 x48 original acrylic painting

This painting is the basis, background and inspiration for the altar.

Items on the altar consist of design elements in the painting such as the lizards, eagles and snakes. These are also some of what was used as designs in the baskets created by these women.

Lizards, before they have been painted, crawling up and over the flowers.

Eagles, before they have been painted, flying up the altar and over the baskets.

Snake skins cascading and undulating over the altar.

Small desert plant paintings that will be displayed on the altar to represent the desert environment.

The altar is under construction, and continues to be a creative endeavor for me.  There is more to do to accomplish the completion and install the altar on October 23rd in the Palm Springs Art Museum. There is also a Day of the Dead Celebration in the museum on October 30, 10-4.  Hope to see you there.

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Day of the Dead Altar II

This Requires Some Shopping.

Sketch of Proposed Altar

Though I inventory loads of STUFF in my studio, the creation of an altar for Day of the Dead at the Palm Springs Art Museum requires some shopping.  After visualizing and sketching the design it was apparent I needed to make forays into the land of retail. Some of my ideas call for items I just don't keep around, and restrictions required by the museum dictate dried and imitation materials which mean: Retail therapy time!!!

First stop....computer,  for some on line sourcing of snake skins, because baskets woven by Arenas frequently incorporated snake designs. You remember I am creating an altar to honor and bring homage to Guadalupe Arenas, member of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians who was a basket weaver.

Though this altar will not be typical, it will have skulls which were purchased on line. 

This retail shopping was frequently spontaneous, purchases made on a whim.  I felt like I was being guided, allowing unexpected items to catch my attention and find their place in the shopping cart.  Amazing that I found this bird skeleton to represent the eagle theme found on baskets woven by Guadalupe Arenas.

Second stop....several shops for basket and floral needs. This altar should have plant materials that represent the plants collected and used in the basket weaving process, and I was able to find fabulous paper, dried and imitation floral goods in the desired palette.

An unplanned stop yielded two stately candelabra.

Then back to the computer for frames and photos of women who lived in the Coachella Valley during the late 1800's - mid 1900's, basket weavers.  Oh, these beautiful faces.

Next I begin to assemble the altar in my studio so it can be fine tuned remembering to follow my desire to create, not only an altar to Guadalupe Arenas and her fellow basket weavers but a work of art following ideas of composition, line, texture, color.   Check back to see the progress.

Mark your calendars for the Day of the Dead celebration at the Palm Springs Art Museum on October 30,  10:00 - 4:00.

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Guadalupe Arenas VII

When A Painting Nears Completion

Guadalupe Arenas portrait, near completion

Filled with time consuming detail, this canvas has been on the easel for over two months.  Finally it nears completion, and for me that requires a little bit of distance and a lot of critical observation to decide what small corrections and tweaks are needed.  For distance, I am leaving the studio today to make visits to art museums, planning to stop first at The Galen which its the Palm Desert location of the Palm Springs Art Museum.  Next stop the Palm Springs Art Museum where I will take time to look at a few of the baskets created by Guadalupe Arenas that are in the museum's collection.

Final stop will be at University of California Riverside Palm Desert Campus to visit the exhibition 'Artistic Expressions of the Coachella Valley'.  

This exhibition contains approximately 200 works by artists living and working in the Coachella Valley.  This will be my second visit to see the art.  I encourage you to make a trip to see this exhibit if you are in the area, and while there you can see my painting, Madame Butterfly, in person.  The exhibition remains through April 22.

Madame Butterfly

Acrylic on Canvas

40 x 40

6000.

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Guadalupe Arenas VI

Studio Work Continues.

While in my studio, whether or not it is painting or some other task, I frequently have time to let my mind wander.This happens especially when my work is something like painting on the lizards and eagles being added to this portrait of Guadalupe Arenas.

lizard shapes added to the portrait of Guadalupe Arenas

As I was painting these creatures my mind wandered to a recent studio visit and the conversation which took place. The visitor asked great questions about the canvas on the easel and a few other paintings in the studio.  Clearly she was interested and appreciative.

'

eagles added to the portrait of Guadalupe Arenas

My thoughts moved on to a recent article I had read about talking to an artist at a festival or in their studio.  We are moving into the Art Festival time of year, so this article in a fellow bloggers post may be of interest.  Artists love to talk about their work.  As you carry on a dialogue with an artist you will learn things about their work you may not see at first.  I encourage you to take a look at this:  How to talk to an artist

basket shape added to the portrait of Guadalupe Arenas

The details of lizards, eagles and a basket shape were added to the painting this past week.  Work continues.

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Guadalupe Arenas IV

When Art Becomes Work

My work continues on the portrait of Guadalupe Arenas which is the truly wonderful part of being an artist.  It's the work in front of the easel, the drawing in the sketchbook that we artists are driven to do, that we love to do, that captivates us, entertains us, frustrates us and brings us satisfaction.   I don't think one of us considers this WORK.  However if you are a serious artist there are other tasks to accomplish and some of those are considered WORK.  

Currently painting the diamond pattern on the snakes in this portrait of Guadalupe Arenas.

One of those tasks is the submission of our creative efforts to juried exhibitions.  A Call and Prospectus is received, read, reviewed, work chosen to submit.  Typically time is spent in front of the computer working with photos of the submitted work.   After all is done, sent off, it's time to sit back and wait for notification.  

Last month, because I am a member of the Artists Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum I was invited to submit to a juried exhibition titled:  Artistic Expressions of the Coachella Valley. Yesterday I was notified my work was accepted.  A collaboration between the University of California, Riverside-Palm Desert and the Palm Springs Art Museum Artists Council the exhibit will run from March 3 through April 22, 2016.  Additional time will be spent delivering the work, attending the opening (March 3, 5-7PM, UCR Palm Desert Center), retrieving the work at end of the exhibition.  But for now, it's time to submit to another exhibition and then spend time in front of the easel doing what I love to do.

Madame Butterfly

40 x 40

6000.

Accepted into 'Artistic Expressions of the Coachella Valley', an exhibition at UCR Palm Desert which runs from March 3 - April 22

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Guadalupe Arenas III

The Use Of Symbolism In Art

Following in the tradition of Symbolist's, this painting of Guadalupe Arenas surrounded by snakes, eagles, and soon to appear lizards makes use of unrealistic forms to bring the subject to life on the canvas and in the mind of the viewer.  

Since my last blog post about this painting I have spent many hours adding detail as you can see in the following photos:

Borrowing subject matter from the baskets created by Guadalupe Arenas, her serious look, and the palette are all symbols of a life led in harsh conditions while creating beautifully spectacular baskets.  Is she strangled by her situation? Certainly Arenas created her baskets as a means to finance her life while living in a harsh desert environment. The choice of the deep reds and golden tones mimics the actual materials used in her basket work. The soft,more feminine tones, inspired by the fact she was female, provide a sharp contrast to the rest of the symbolism.

The painting is not complete. I will continue to post photos as the work progresses, so please check back or follow my Facebook page:  pamelahuntlee  

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Guadalupe Arenas II

Inside the Creative Process

A portrait of Guadalupe Arenas was started a few weeks ago. Similar in design and composition to Madame Butterfly, this new painting is progressing and I thought I would share a few photos.  This first is the completed Madame Butterfly....

Madame Butterly

40 x 40

Acrylic on Canvas

6000.

The portrait of Guadalupe Arenas will have a similar palette and composition to Madame Butterfly, however the design elements will differ. Arenas wove eagles and snakes, as well as lizards into her carefully crafted baskets so those creatures will be represented.

The larger pigment areas of the canvas are applied.

An eagle shape, reminiscent of that used by Arenas, appears.

A darker area toward the bottom of the canvas is added.

Work begins on the snakes.

Additional work on the snakes.

This final photo is how the canvas looks this morning before I pick up the brushes and pigments to begin working again. There is much much more detail to be added that I am carrying around inside my head and appears in the sketches, so check back to watch the progress.

These portraits bring focus and attention to the women who lived in harsh conditions during the late 1800's into the early/mid 1900's, making the transition from traditional tribal life to the European influenced way of life. The beautiful vessels created under the tutelage of their mothers were originally utilitarian in use but became collector items during the Curio Trade in the early 20th Century. Guadalupe Arenas, member of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians,  was one of the basket weavers whose work has become highly prized and is included in private and museum collections.  

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Guadalupe Arenas

The Beginning Of A New Portrait

Welcome to 2016, a new year, and the beginning of a new portrait.  This painting is inspired by a chance meeting with a woman who owns two baskets woven by Guadalupe Arenas, and having the opportunity to see several baskets woven by this woman who lived and worked in the Coachella Valley during the late 1800's into the 1900's.  Her work is respected, revered, valued.  It is a wonder to see the intricate, tight, carefully crafted baskets she created which are rich with careful design.

Guadalupe Arenas Snake and Eagle Basket 

Guadalupe Arenas Snake Basket

After being invited into the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum to conduct research, I was able to come up with three photographs of Guadalupe Arenas which became the inspiration for the face on the canvas.

Guadalupe Arenas

Guadalupe Arenas

Guadalupe Arenas

These three photos seem to be from different time periods, so the challenge is to meld them into one representational, stylized face.  Having already selected my palette, it was a matter of layering on color, shadow, and some definition before moving on to other areas of the canvas.  This face is not complete, but it is a beginning.

Desiring to create a similar composition to my last painting, 'Madame Butterfly' (seen hanging on the wall in the photo above), I sketched onto the canvas with thin pigment various elements Guadalupe Arenas used in her baskets.

It is not my desire to recreate her designs exactly but to use her snakes, eagles and lizards, with my own interpretation.

With these portraits I want to bring focus and attention to the women who lived in harsh conditions creating beautiful vessels under the tutelage of their mothers. Baskets which were originally utilitarian became collector items during the early 20th century disappearing into private collections. Guadalupe Arenas was one of these basket weavers whose baskets are highly valued today. 

 This last photo shows some of the under and back ground painting that has been applied to the canvas.  Work on the portrait continues daily.  Welcome to 2016 and this new portrait.

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