Spring Color

Spring color study…I know this color palette will end up in

a painting at some point.

Thank You ETSY Buyers!

Thanks to everyone who purchased a print from my

ETSY shop from May 22nd - August 9th.  During that time, I

committed to donating 10% of my sales to help our human & animal 

friends who were impacted by the devastating Moore Oklahoma 

tornadoes. Your art purchase made this donation possible...thank

you! :)

Heidi Carlsen-Rogers ETSY

Opening Day at Grace Point Church

Thank you Grace Point Church for the opportunity to paint big and for supporting the arts. :) 

Congratulations on your new contemporary worship center and art gallery and to POLK STANLEY WILCOX Architects for designing such a stunning space. 

For updates on the opening of the art gallery visit: Art=Story

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

Customer Love: Art Installation Pic from New Orleans! :)

I had the opportunity to do a pair of custom art prints for a lovely client from New Orleans last month and was so very excited that she shared a photo of her installation.  Is that not a totally sleek & fabulous kitchen?!?  Really love that she used her under-counter space to hang art.  

 My prints found the perfect home!  :)

My ETSY prints installed in this client's gorgeous kitchen!      H. Carlsen-Rogers 

Print Featured on the Hunted Interior!

You know how you sometimes have a conversation with someone brand new and their

 loveliness & generosity immediately shines through?

Well this was exactly how I felt  after being contacted by the talented Kristin Jackson 

of The Hunted Interior about donating a print for a project she was working on for

 Room Service Atlanta.  Every year, this organization seeks out interior design

 professionals to renovate living spaces that will be used as transitional 

housing for young women in the Atlanta area.

Even though my contribution to her project was tiny in comparison to all of the time 

& hard work Kristin put into transforming the space, she was utterly gracious in writing a 

blog post about the artists who were featured on the gallery wall that she designed.

Heidi Carlsen-Rogers  
ETSY

Fabulous, yes?  

To see the entire transformation check out her May 20th post, and for images of the

artistically curated gallery wall, visit the post from May 23rd.   

While you are there, spend some time poking around....inspiration abounds!  :)

                                                                    The Hunted Interior

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

This poor guy needs a hug!

This is a photo that I took of the sculpture, Crying Giant, during a trip

 to the Kemper Museum of Art in Kansas City last year.

Don't you just feel him?  Love it.

Tom Otterness                         Crying Giant, 2002

Heading to Sunny Florida!

Okay, I confess.  I am not actually heading to sunny Florida, but this little 

framed print is!   

Little Print, Big Painting!      Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

Heidi Carlsen-Rogers - ETSY

Enjoy the weekend. :)

Happy Monday, Happy colors! :)

Some paintings that I was working on today in the studio...

Happy colors for a grey Monday!  :)

New Paintings

A series of small 12"x12" paintings on canvas that were photographed 

over the weekend.  They are studies for a new series I am thinking 

about doing...called Weightless.

It might be a while before I actually get around to starting a new series as my 

commission piece is at the top of my to-do list right now.

Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

Heidi Carlsen-Rogers

                        

These are posted on my website at www.heidicarlsenrogers.com if you want to 

swing by to take a look.

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!  

Spiders in the Studio! :(

Is anyone else completely terrified of spiders?  I know this is irrational and that spiders are beneficial bugs in nature, BUT, I almost injured myself today trying to run away from the giant spider that same rushing into my painting studio mid-morning.

Yes, I did step (or stomp really) on it eventually, but only after I tried to chase him back outside with my water bottle.  The poor thing was running towards freedom, when it turned and ran back towards me...at full blast.  I panicked and the results are below.

I was itchy and looking over my shoulder all day after my uninvited guest came to visit.

Pros of working with the doors open: fresh air and sunshine.

Cons:  see above.

Painting is a dangerous business people!