posted on June 30, 2020 by

If you can’t make it to the sea this summer, follow me as I paint it.

The Cape Ann Seacoast, the inspiration for the painting.

Like many of us, I am drawn to the primodial pull of the sea. For me, it is not just any seashore, but the north Atlantic, with its harsh terrain, ice cold water, and thunderous crashing waves. Here, rocks are thrown to the shore by an unrelenting tide.  The rocks are stronger than the water, but the water can be fiercer and can move the rocks at will. This is for me the metaphor for our own lives: we long for smoothness of the water, but we are shaped by the steeliness of the rocks.  
Using an array of textures and colors to illustrate this metaphor, I will depict in my painting this emotional pull of the sea and tell my story much like a poet would use words. 
As you move with me through this creative process, feel free to chime in and ask questions. I have been sharing my process on Instagram live. For updates on live sessions, follow me at https://www.instagram.com/megblackstudios/
And as always, thank you for your support.
Meg

The Genesis of the painting: preparing the background drawing.

The yet to be titled painting at the end of the first week of work.
A black and white print of the image is laid out on the surface of the poured sheet. A sheet of carbon paper is sandwiched underneath. I use a bone folder to trace the image onto the poured sheet as a guide.
The painting in its early stages of completion.

Next week, the painting will be adhered to the frame. The final size will be 40 x 40 x 4 inches.

Filed Under: Meg's Updates, pulp painting, Uncategorized, Updates from Meg Tagged With: , , , , , ,
posted on April 24, 2020 by

Paper making at home with children.

This video shows simple steps to make paper at home with children. Paper making is the perfect creative activity for home schooling or during the pandemic quarantine.

Filed Under: Meg's Updates, pulp painting, Uncategorized, Updates from Meg
posted on January 26, 2020 by

Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People influences Rocks and Water Composition.

Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, is a giant painting in which the allegory of Liberty charges toward the viewer ahead of an angry crowd who tramples over freshly dead bodies as they make their way through the streets of Paris. We, the viewer, are clearly in her way, and given the gun tooting youth on her right-holding a canvas bag that had until moments before this action was captured, belonged to a then living soldier, had better move out of her path quickly. The composition used by Delacroix captured in his most famous painting is a simple triangle, a classic compositional technqieu used for centuries before him to highlight action and drama-perfectly incorporated here at the height of the Romantic art movement and its underlying philosophy of the sublime.

I chose this same triangular composition for my seascape painting, the working title of which is Resilience. By anchoring the rocks on the bottom of the painting’s composition, and capturing the image just as the rock in the distance is showing its jagged surface, I sought to create the idea of an anchor, rising movement, the coming of drama, and the idea of the sublime-one can smell the salt air, bust stand in this spot long enough and the waves will charge right at you, knocking you over, tripping you over the hard rock and uneven sandy surface.

It is this idea of the triangular composition, used so often in art history, that informed this painting. Like Delacroix, I seek to include the viewer in the composition from the angle of which they would be standing, the make sure they feel the tension and energy of the action, and to stand their ground or move out of the way. Either way, Liberty will trample over you, as will these crashing waves.

Filed Under: atlantic, creative art process, Meg's Updates, pulp painting, Updates from Meg
posted on January 22, 2020 by

Applying over-beaten abaca to the surface of the painting.

In this short video, I demonstrate how I apply abaca, that has been beaten for 20+ hours, to the surface of the rock and water painting, to give the illusion of pebbled rocks.

Filed Under: creative art process, Meg's Updates, pulp painting, Updates from Meg Tagged With: , , ,
posted on December 31, 2009 by

How to make handmade paper paintings-applying abaca

Overbeaten abaca refers to a fiber harvested from the inner bark of the banana tree, that has been beaten for approximately 20 hours.  Abaca is a gorgeous fiber, ivory in color, that will not disintegrate when wet, which is why abaca is used to make tea bags.  I strain some of the water from the abaca (the abaca is beaten in a hollander beater, which uses approximately 20 gallons of water per beating), and mix it with pure pigment, which will not fade.  I apply the abaca to the surface of the painting, shown in the pevious blog, with spoons and an old turkey baster.  
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Filed Under: handmade paper, pulp painting
posted on December 10, 2009 by

Latest Creations from my studio



My latest work is a wall relief based on the symmetry of Ancient Greek art. The Ancient Greeks created intriguing compositions by balancing and counterbalancing shapes, colors and figures throughout their pottery. These designs told a story, and the viewer was welcome to “read” it according to their ability to interpret Greek mythology. This four panel work balancing color and shape on either end with the middle panels both playing off the end panels and acting as a resting area for the eye. In this way, the concept of Ancient Greek art is being imitated, even though the subject is considered “abstract” or “color field.”

Filed Under: commissioned art, handmade paper, pulp painting
posted on August 14, 2009 by

Other News

I am excited to attend my upcoming gallery opening at Cove Gallery (ww.covegallery.com).  The opening is Saturday, August 15 from 6:00-8:00 pm.  I will be showing new works including seascapes and floral paintings such as the Hydrangeas painting shown above.  Hope to see new and returning clients at the opening!  Meg

Filed Under: creative art process, handmade paper, pulp painting
posted on August 6, 2009 by

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. The finished painting.

After the painting is completely dry, it can be tacked to a wall for closer viewing and inspection.  The painting can be worked on even in this stage.  I mark the areas with a colored grease pencil in which I want to make changes and then replace the painting back onto the flat work surface seen in previous blogs.  I add additional PVC glue to the pulp that I will now apply in order for it to adhere to the already dried pulp.

Filed Under: creative art process, handmade paper, pulp painting
posted on July 31, 2009 by

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. A work in progress.

Let’s pause and view the in-progress painting for a moment.  The purple toned background is created largely with over-beaten abaca and treated with a mixture of water and paper sizing to prevent the surface from absorbing stained water that might leak from the addition of any new colored pulp that is applied.  In the case of this painting, that would refer to the green toned pulps in the foreground, which are a combination of cotton and abaca, beaten for 20 to 30 minutes in a hollander beater.  The sky area is created with the same cotton/abaca mix, and pigmented in blue tones.  At this stage, the painting will be allowed to dry under weights for several days, at which point another review of its completeness will be determined. 

Filed Under: creative art process, handmade paper, pulp painting
posted on July 29, 2009 by

Handmade Paper Paintings: Process and Applications. Squirting the oops away.

Another way to remove colored water before it stains the surface of the painting is to squirt it back into the desired location with water from a squirt bottle.  Notice that the pulp I am using is green for the foreground of the painting (the green will eventually represent trees).  To accentuate the rough outline that trees would naturally make, I leave the edges of the green pulp jagged, in order to mimic the trees in nature.

Filed Under: creative art process, handmade paper, pulp painting
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