Workin' on it

Thanks to a neighborhood of power tools I am preparing the ground for a new series of works.  There was a time when I thought a 12" square canvas was the perfect size for creating intimate paintings.  Well, times they are a changin' and I'm sticking to my American roots to see if bigger is indeed better.

Aspire to Inspire~ LongView Gallery DC, Dec 1st 6:30pm

Earlier, I showed you a sneak preview of the paintings I created for the CNHED'S Art In Action Event this coming Dec 1st at Longview Gallery in DC.  In hope to inspire you to join me as well as the other 9 artists and the DC area non-profits we are celebrating, I decided to show you a bit more...

Here are the two pieces I have up for auction this coming Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 pm and the stories behind their creation.

 

Birthday Cakes, oil on canvas, 40"x34", 2011 Megan Ryan  ~SOLD~

The juxtaposition of colors within the frame of the canvas is among the primary forces behind my work. Paired with editorial portraiture, the composition remains as important as the subject itself. My work focuses on people and their environments, how these environments shape and define them as a person and part of a culture as a whole. The inspiration I received in my meetings with the staff and clients at N Street Village was a resounding sense of comfort in a nurturing environment.  In Birthday Cakes, I celebrate the gift of self-empowerment and individuality. To me, birthdays are a celebration of life, shared amongst family and friends and I felt this reference appropriately highlights the individual attention N Street Village provides to their clients. In my meetings with the women, I felt invited to share and celebrate their “rebirth.”

Made Anew, dyptich, oil on linen, 26"x26"/16"x26", 2011 Megan Ryan    ~SOLD~

The crafting activities that members of N Street Village enjoy include painting and drawing, collages, and knitting and crotchet.  They most recently participated in the Hyperbolic Crotchet Coral Reef, a collaborative project exhibited at the Smithsonian this past spring.  Their participation in this event highlights their commitment to using new skills to represent themselves in society.  Made Anew highlights the honor of re-inventing and expressing one’s self via an artistic medium or craft.

Here are some photos I took while visiting the women at N Street Village that provide a glimpse into their nurturing environment and the inspiration I gathered while there.

What began as a nightly shelter to provide basic services for the growing homeless population in DC founded in 1972 by members of Luther Place Memorial Church  , N street Village has now evolved into a comprehensive continuum of care for homeless and low-income women sited in a 150,000 square foot facility at 14th and N Streets, NW in the Logan Circle neighborhood of D.C. 

They all chuckled at my obsession to photograph the vermilion hue of the punch bowl during a monthly activities session.  I told them that inspiration can come from ordinary objects, for everything has a spark.  During the session, the women cut and collaged pictures from fashion magazines, decorating a lifestyle they would like to represent.  I recognized that, no matter what your situation is, many women can't shake the need for shiny heeled shoes to represent their inner fashionista.

  Some of the other women collaborated on decorating a sign representing their community.

Others decorated their own footprint to promote their role in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon that took place on November 19th with a goal to provide nearly 900 homeless and extremely low-income women with access to our award-winning housing, employment, mental health, and addiction recovery programs.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Art in Action Event ~ Sneak Peak!

 As some of you know I am one of 10 local DC artists who were selected to become inspired by 10 local non-profits to illustrate the impact of community development in the DC area for CNHED's (Coalition for Non-profit Housing and Economic Development) Art in Action event held on Thursday Devember 1st, at the prestigious Long View Gallery from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  I wanted to take a moment to promote this show and invite you all to a wonderful event showcasing stunning artwork inspired by inspirational leaders advocating affordable housing in the DC area.

This is a one night event so don't miss your chance to tickle your senses and learn more about the movement to provide housing that is affordable for every person living in the DC area. If you currently live here, you are aware of the struggle many face to maintain this standard in an unforgiving economic climate.

I encourage you to purchase a ticket (http://artinaction2011.eventbrite.com/) to attend this event. Proceeds will be used to support the operations of CNHED. If you have any questions regarding the event or purchasing a ticket please contact CNHED’s Sr. Program Officer Stephen Seed at sseed@cnhed.org or 202.745.0902 ext. 206.

To entice you further, here is a little sneak peak into the pieces I will be exhibiting for auction as inspired by my partner organization, N Street Village. It was a difficult task to compose all the inspiration I gathered from them during my visits.  I hope to see you there to tell you more about why I created these works.

N Street Village is a community of empowerment and recovery for homeless and low-income women in Washington, D.C. With comprehensive services addressing both emergency and long-term needs, we help women achieve personal stability and make gains in their housing, income, employment, mental health, physical health, and addiction recovery.

what makes a bad day better?

coming home to find the New Yorker featuring one of my favorite painting mentors....  Wayne Thiebaud

danish modern revival -updates

Purchased at a community yard sale for $1 each, these Danish gems will be a nice compliment to our lil' dining nook.  All they need is a bit of TLC to make them sing again... after pics coming soon!

 Some more images of the process of refinishing these lil gems are below. I tried to do some research to see what colors these chairs were available in and if the paint was a later addition. These are the closest images I found so I decided to replicate the look. 

 They were in pretty bad condition when we bought them so I started off by scrubbing them down with an all natural comet like cleanser and a sanding sponge. Most of the paint came off instantly, thus I was determined to strip them further by sanding.  The back spindles and legs revealed a nice golden oak. The seat was made of particle board and plywood so I decided to repaint that surface and stain the other parts with a natural tung oil finish.  I used a can of enamel paint I bought at the paint store in the mis-tint section for $1.50. Lucky for me, it was a close match to the original color.   Here they are so far...

 

 finished pics coming soon!

into the woods- DIY wall murals

For the past couple months I have been contemplating what to do with the living room walls.  Since we live on the second floor of a cape cod style home, the angles of the room resemble an attic space. Ceiling lines are juxtaposed with windows and closet doors. I knew that I wanted to use a pale hue so as not to draw any more attention to the myriad of angles.  My first idea was to use a very pale cool grey complimented by a bold turquoise wall in the dominant corner of the room.  I had the paint swatches taped to the wall for weeks, still not able to commit.

I was also not yet ready to commit to dropping 30+ dollars on a gallon of paint that I may not be happy with in the end.  I am a sucker for doing things on the cheap and on the fly.  I often resort to perusing the "miss-tinted" section of the local hardware store, hoping to find a 5 buck gallon of paint to do the job.  On a recent trip to the Benjamin Moore store (a great place to find high-quality miss-tint paints), I came across a gallon of off-white eggshell interior paint that would allow me to mix in some of the darker grey I had used in the entryway in order to achieve that pale hue I desired.

Once I had committed to the gray color I hand mixed (closest match: Martha Stewarts' Heavy Goose MSL261) by painting the main wall, I decided to take it a step further. While saving some of the original white color to make room to mix, my idea for the living room changed.  I decided to use the white to do a subtle and simple tree mural on the main wall. I have always loved the way communities whitewash trees on city streets.  That look paired with my love of birch trees brought me to the following solution. 

Before

   With a small hand brush I quickly drafted the trees to build the overall pattern and then filled them in leaving a crisp edge.  After I was done, I used the gray color to clean up any rough edges and was satisfied with our new woodsy nook.  The window looks out into the wooded backyard so it offers a perfect blend! 

 After

 

A painted floor lamp and handmade palm leaf pillow add whimsical touches. The decorative pillows were made from some Africa wax prints I bought during my last trip to Togo. Coming soon..for sale.

where the wild things are...our lil' beast at home in his new domain

For more inspiration and  designer tips check out these examples below ....

 

warm neutral tones play up a nice herringbone pattern found on design sponge  Use painters tape  and a measure to lay out the pattern and go large scale so that the overall feel is not too distracting.

 Get wild with a non-uniform design...scattered lines represent this visual masterpiece found in a Metropolitan Home bedroom.

 I love the colors and expression of overlaying stencils and paint washes to mimic the patterns found in a cozy pair of muk-luks.

Incorporate wall units in a way that highlights the background design.

 Eric and Ammo went bold and organic showing the merge of both in this room highlighted on apartment therapy

 When in doubt ..go large and soft and use anything as a stencil from a plate to a bucket.

 

Who said paint pens were just for letters, Kelli used these to hand pattern a hallway.

Think art installation.  Sometimes wall art doesn't need to be bound by frame and nail.  Get a little funky and bold like  Brazilian artist Titi Freak did in his exhibition Vida Apaixonada.

Don't be afraid to be abstract.  If you are of the elegant sort, look to a soft blue link pattern with Restoration Hardware hues.  If you prefer the bold minimalist order, go wild on the wall and keep it simple on the floor by pairing simple furnishings and leaving the accent behind.

of oil and turp....

a little glimpse into my studio and the work in progress.....