Valley Rowe | Art & Design -> pate's blog

Sorry, But I am Back

Submitted by pate on Thu, 10/07/2010 - 10:02

I am one of those bad bloggers that get a good start and then suddenly nothing. Sorry. I have a good excuse though, I just had my third child. Born September 15th, 8 lbs 1 oz and cute as can be. Should I put a picture of him up? So, I hope to get back to the painting and blogging soon. In the meantime, you can see my work up at Tumbleweed Boutique on Alberta http://tumbleweedboutique.com. If you haven't been there and you love beautiful clothes or just beautiful design, the store is exceptional, than you should check it out.

Old House on the Hill

Submitted by pate on Thu, 04/22/2010 - 10:58

Even though I love the bright and cheery feel of my work ideally there is some sort of darkness that lingers somewhere below the surface. Without this dichotomy I think the work would be boring. It is like the big old house on a hill idea--it is old and dilapidated but there are these details and a history inside and out that make it really powerful and beautiful. The dark victorian wallpaper and the undulating folds together with the bright and soft circular forms in the Old House on the Hill paintings create that feel and that bit of complexity that I am always striving for.

These Paintings are Revised and, Happily, I am Renewed.

Submitted by pate on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 17:00

Okay, so here they are “Cry Me a Beautiful River” I and II are now revised and renewed beyond recognition. I am not sure what to call them yet but I am pretty content with the new revised pieces. Recently, while painting I feel like I kind of lost “my” way. I look at other people’s work a lot and when I really love something I think I should be painting like that. Or, I try some new things that sound good to me at the time and when I look back on the work done in these moments I feel like I jumped ahead of myself or wasn’t true to myself.

"Cry Me a Beautiful River" Nevermore

Submitted by pate on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 19:34

So, “Cry Me a Beautiful River I" and "II" don’t exist anymore. These pieces were up at Gallery 815 where I show my work on an ongoing basis. Every time I walked in and looked at them I felt like they needed some more work. So I will post pictures of the works-in-progress tomorrow. More mellowed out color and less of the vertical petal feel. I think with my work I am too eager to finish a piece and move on and I need to spend more time with/on them. I am going to keep working building up the surface and making the color interesting but harmonious.

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Yes! The Modular Pieces Finally Exist

Submitted by pate on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 21:24

We have been working like mad to get two new "modular pieces" done for this First Thursday at Gallery 815 in the Pearl District and we did it. They look great and we are very excited to be able to present a whole collection here in the coming weeks. The modular pieces are groups of archival prints of our work reproduced on canvas and paper curated by us. The pieces can be hung as one larger complementary installation or they can be placed on different walls in smaller configurations creating a similarly compelling and consistent feel throughout a room or rooms.