In the Studio : New Paintings in Progress

In the studio:  Almost finished with this pair of paintings. Working on a new 

concept for a series called "Waterline" - happy with the direction these are heading.

Works in Progress - Studio View- www.heidicarlsenrogers.com 

Inspiration for the Waterline paintings - I could spend the whole day staring into 

the water - the rhythmic movement is so mesmerizing.  

www.heidicarlsenrogers.com

Color Inspiration: Purple Pansies & Orchids

A few of my iPhone "sketches".  I wanted to capture the vibrant colors & texture of these beautiful blooms.   The surfaces felt like sueded velvet.  I was really drawn to the delicate edges and their irregular yet perfect shape.   

These inspired the "Flower Portrait" painting below.

Flower Portrait (Pansy), 36"H x 48"W
Acrylic, Gouache and Pencil on Canvas
Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

www.heidicarlsenrogers.com

Thank you!

A big thank you to Ashley Batchelor of NWA Media for the write up in today's 

What's Up! section of the newspaper. A link to the article is here:                   

A Year In The Life

Facebook.com/HeidiCarlsenRogers

Late night in the Studio

I have been working all weekend in the studio getting ready for the show.  

A late night shot…pardon the dark lighting.  And of course, Delta decided to stroll  

by at the exact moment I was taking a photo.  :)

Facebook.com/HeidiCarlsenRogers

The New Story Gallery

It is such an honor to be the first artist hanging work at the new Story Gallery located 

in the Grace Point Church complex in Bentonville, AR.   This is a photo of the 

gallery space.  And yes…smack in the middle of the gallery is the painting

 installation "Scattering Seeds",  that I completed last year and is part of

 their permanent collection.  

                             https://www.facebook.com/ConnectingtheDotsBentonville
                                              Facebook.com/HeidiCarlsenRogers

Show Invitation - Join Us!

Join us opening night!  Would love to meet you. :)

Any art loving friends?  Bring them too! :)

https://www.facebook.com/ConnectingtheDotsBentonville

In the Studio: Flower Power

 Flowers = happiness.  My friend gave me an amazing bouquet as a gift  and I 

started obsessing about the colors as soon as I laid eyes on it.  It was drenched with 

an amazing range of pinks & purples with a perfect citron green thrown in.  Of course I 

dragged the flowers out to the studio to use as a color reference.

Installation Countdown: Today is the Day!

Guess what today is?  You know it...the long awaited installation day!

And yes, my generous husband took yet another day off to be my installer.  Love that guy!

Hanging Step #1:

Getting the template lined up.

Installation Day                             H Carlsen-Rogers

Step #2:

The first panel up!  (I did get a little teary-eyed at this moment.)

Installation Day                                 H. Carlsen-Rogers

Step #3:

Second panel up!

Installation Day                                 H. Carlsen-Rogers

Step #4:

Number three!

Scattering Seeds Installation                   H. Carlsen-Rogers

Yippee!  Here is your painting Grace Point Church.  See you on

opening day! :)

Installation Countdown: 1 Day to Go

Tomorrow is installation day and there is still more to do. :(   Oops, I meant a happy face. :)

One of the last two things on the list is painting the outer edges white.  This is kind of a sentimental thing for me.  It really marks the end of a painting, but I always kind of hate to cover up the drips and marks that end up on the edges of the canvas.  They are part of the artistic process and show a bit of the soul of the painting, so it kind of makes me sad to white them out.  

So here they are before I have to clean them up...

H. Carlsen-Rogers 

H. Carlsen-Rogers

H. Carlsen-Rogers

...and my friends, the absolute final step...the signature!  Viola!  Done.

H. Carlsen-Rogers

Installation Countdown: 2 days to go

We made it back safely from our scanning trip yesterday and are back in the studio today.  A few issues with the canvases came to light today, so there is some extra work to do.

Even though the canvases are really straight, they were not joining together as cleanly as we expected.   

Extra project #1: I had to trim and re-staple most of the corners of the canvases.  Very grateful to have a pneumatic staple gun...love that thing!

H. Carlsen-Rogers

Extra project #2:  I had to extend the shapes on the front of the canvas over onto the edges where the canvases joined together.  I normally don't do this as I'm not a big fan of how it looks, but had to make an exception in this case.  There was a slight gap when the canvases butted together and this was the best solution to make the painting look visually seamless.   

H. Carlsen-Rogers

Installation Countdown: 3 Days to Go

This morning we rented a UHaul trailer to transport the panels to the photographer where they will be professionally scanned.  My husband was very generous in taking the day off to be my art driver.  

Packing the truck took a bit longer than it should have mostly because I was micro-managing and over-padding everything!  :)

We should be back at the end of the day to un-pack!

Installation Countdown: 4 Days to Go

Done, done, done!  The front is done!  :)  

Just in time...tomorrow is scanning day.  

The front is done!                               Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

Installation Countdown: 7 Days Left

My painting is due to be installed in 7 days!   I was overly optimistic in my last post thinking that I could wrap this up in three days...not so!  :)  The third panel is not resolving as quickly as I would have hoped and all of the very thin layers of paint that I apply are take some extra time.  Keep painting, pushing, and smiling! :)

A late night in the studio.                  H. Carlsen-Rogers

Commission Update & Construction Photos

Wow!  I was able to walk through the new contemporary worship center for Grace Point Church in Bentonville, AR last week where my large painting will be installed in a few weeks.

The building is in the final stages of construction. It is hard to tell from the photos how large and airy the space actually is...floor to ceiling glass panels and soaring ceilings, it is just flooded with natural light.  Simply beautiful!

I have been working long hours in the studio painting, but this baby is almost finished!  Like 97% done.  I'm thinking 3 more full days of painting to do the final touches.  Yippee!  

We, I mean my super-handy husband, is installing the hanging cleats on the canvases this weekend.  Will post some photos of him in action.

Art Wall at Grace Point Church...waiting for my painting! :)

Art Wall and Hallway View at Grace Point Church

Commission Painting in Progress            H. Carlsen-Rogers

Works in Progress - May

Couple of super-bright paintings in progress!  

This winter was so drab, I started working in these very

saturated colors last month.  Sometimes you just have to

make your own sunshine, ya know?  :)

Works in Progress (paintings 2&3)         Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

Painting in Progress      Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

Commission Update

A few shots of the painting commission I am working on.  Starting to define &
clarify shapes beginning with the left side moving to the right.  (You can see the
left side of the canvas coming into focus while the right side is kind
of fuzzy & muted.)

Commission in progress                        Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

End of the day in the studio!  H. Carlsen-Rogers

Painting Commission in Progress: Carving with Paint

In the last update, I shared some photos where I was covering the entire canvas with color.  The next step in my process is carving out shapes from that field of color.  This is still just a beginning stage in my process, but it shows how the initial composition starts to come together.

Here is what was happening mid-day in the studio:

                                                     

At the end of the day, I dragged a panel in to look at it in better light.  I stood one of 

my 36" x48"paintings to the right of the panel to show the difference in scale. 

It makes that other canvas look like a miniature painting!  

Painting Commission in Progress (Step 3): More Painting!

As you might have guessed, we are going to be stuck on Step 3 for a while!  

Here are a few more pictures from the second day of painting.  I am laying down

more washes of color before I go back in to "carve out" the shapes.

And of course Delta, my trusty studio companion is hanging out to make 

sure I don't fall off the ladder!  :)

Painting Commission In Progress - Step 2: Gesso (3 Gallons and Counting!)

Starting with a gesso smile...

   

I have used three gallons of gesso so far to seal the canvas & get the surface ready to paint on- four coats on each canvas!  This painting will be 15 feet long, so it's kind of like painting a dining room wall.  :)  Almost finished with this part... can't wait to start painting!