Collaborating part 2

The thing I like about collaborating is that there is a place to start from, instead of facing the empty white sheet of paper.

©O'Brien & Marx, Round & Round, silkscreen, colored pencils, petals, 17x14", $500. unframed

In this one, I drew a bit on Lesley's bees, and surrounded them with drawn circles and honey comb. I tore out a section at the upper left then glued the whole piece over a drawing I had started. Embellished with Hydrangea and Forget-Me-Not flowers.

Guest Post, Leslie Patterson-Marx, monoprints

Hello! My name is Lesley Patterson-Marx and I am happy to be a guest blogger for Kathleen O’Brien, with whom I am showing work in our upcoming exhibition at MS Rezny Studio/Gallery. Don’t miss our opening reception on May 9 from 4-7 pm. On May 10, I will be at the gallery from 12:30-3 with my small printmaking press, ready to demonstrate for you a printmaking process called “monoprint”. You will have the chance to make your own monoprint that day, and bring it back to draw on with Kathleen on May 17 or 24. Please stop by and try this simple process which yields beautiful results!

A monoprint is a single impression of a painted image or texture made from a repeatable matrix. Rather than printing multiple identical copies of an image, each monoprint impression is unique. At MS Rezny Studio/Gallery, I will be demonstrating the process applying printing ink to a flat surface and transferring it to paper. 

©Leslie Patterson-Marx

Step 1: In this image, you see that the roller is applying ink to the surface of a plastic plant that I found on one of my daily walks. It is also possible to make a monoprint impression of a real plant! Bring one of your own in to try if you like. The only rule is that it should be fairly flat.

©Leslie Patterson-Marx

Step 2: Once the texture has been rolled with ink, place it inky side down onto printmaking paper. The paper is now on top of the press bed. Cover with protective paper to protect the press blankets. In this case, I’m using newsprint. Fold the blankets down, turn the wheel and roll it through!

©Leslie Patterson-Marx

Step 3: Lift up the press blankets and unfold the protective paper to reveal your image!

I hope that you will stop by MS Rezny Studio/Gallery on May 10 to make a monoprint! Feel free to bring any small plants, lace, or other textures that you would like to try printing. I will have textures available, as well as all other supplies. This event, as well as Kathleen’s drawing sessions, are free of charge, but donations will be accepted. See you soon!

Giveaway Lesson from Turkey

In Jamie Sam's,  Medicine Cards, turkey is the giveaway animal, sharing everything so that life can go on. Her perspective on the creatures of the earth is so profound, I urge you to read her directly. she certainly influenced me beginning in the late 1980's until this day.

©Kathleen O'Brien, Turkey Feather Fan,
drawing on Twinrocker Linen paper, 20x15"

A fan is used with burning purifying herbs like sage. A dear friend gave me these turkey feathers when I was feeling very low and disconnected. Turkey extended her healing to me by realizing how much my friends had given me. As I made this fan, I gathered trinkets they had given me as symbols of their devotion in friendship to add to the yarns at the bottom. The process pulled me out of that negative space, and continues, 30 years later to remind me that we are all related.

coming soon, Birds of a Feather

In preparation for our show, birds of a feather, Lesley sent me a few of her prints for me to draw on. It's been a fun challenge to draw off her inspiration. The texture provided by the ink has such a different and enjoyable quality for taking pencil marks. She is staying over from Nashville to demonstrate how to make a mono-print at the gallery the day after our reception (see below for details) and visitors can make a print. I wanted to have some samples to show people who return to the gallery to draw with my pencils on two May Saturdays. This piece drawn on silkscreen turned out to be the one we're using for our postcard invitation.

©O'Brien & Patterson-Marx, Birds of a Feather, drawing and collage, mica on silkscreen, 18x14"

Birds of a Feather

works on paper and found object sculptures

Kathleen O’Brien & Lesley Patterson-Marx

May 2-31, 2014

Reception May 9, 4-7 pm

 ask about on site Mother’s Day weekend specials...

MS Rezny Studio/Gallery

903 Manchester Street, Lexington KY 40508

msrezny.com                  859 292 4647

Monoprint demonstration with

Lesley Patterson-Marx on May 10, 12:30-3.

Make a print to bring back and draw on with

Kathleen O’Brien on May 17 or 24, 12:30-3. 

Year of the Pencil

When I asked myself what I really want to do this year, art wise, it is to draw. When I count up my colored pencils it comes to 694. This doesn't count the graphite ones. I almost HAVE to draw.

©Kathleen O'Brien, a bunch of pencils & a waterbrush

Then my dear spouse disobeyed me and got me the Cadillac of the pencil world, Caran d'Ache Luminance for Christmas. The direction was cinched. In large part that was the impetus behind going to Twinrocker Hand Made Paper to get the best paper available in the USA.

©Kathleen O'Brien, Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils

I want to say a few words about my experience with different pencils.  For years my favored choice was Prismacolor. They still are in many regards except for the pesky tendency for the points to break upon sharpening. They are soft, waxy and blend easily. The Art Stix are great for covering large areas quickly.

I like to use Faber-Castell Polychromos when I need to keep a sharp line, as they are harder. One nice consistency between the 2 is the shaft is round. This helps to differentiate between them and the watercolor pencils, which are hexagonal. The Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils are very vibrant. It is exciting to activate them with a water brush. 

These new Caran d'Ache Luminance are really wonderful to use, even over other colored pencils. They have the highest rating on the market for light fastness. I also recommend Caran d'Ache Supracolor II Soft Water-soluble pencils and their Neo-Color II Water-soluble Crayons.

Please tell me about what favorite pencils you like to use. Must go draw now....

Twinrocker Paper

Last week during the arctic vortex we drove to Brookston Indiana, to visit the Twinrocker Paper Mill and store. It was a pilgrimage to see where America's most beautiful paper is made lovingly by hand one sheet at a time. Their client list has included the giants of contemporary art, such as Rauschenberg, Johns, Rosenquist, Motherwell and Dine.

©Greg Orth, Paper making room

The photo was difficult to take, as the front of the building was graced with light coming through glass block. Notice the shine on the floor. That is excess water from the paper mould after lifting out of the pulp vats. The 100 ton hydraulic press is the dark shape on the left. It presses water out of the post of couched papers.

©Greg Orth, choosing papers with Fran's help

We learned how a paper is hot pressed. It does not involve heat at all, but rather the paper is burnished between 2 pieces of metal. It makes the paper smoother, which I need for drawing.

©Greg Orth, Fran hot presses sheets of May linen for me

 Twinrocker makes many types and sizes of paper. They are recognized worldwide for their "Feather"© deckle edges - gorgeous.  I chose some smaller "Simon's Green" sheets.

©Kathleen O'Brien, Twinrocker papers

I have ordered their paper from New York Central Art Supply, but being there to feel it, see it and meet the dedicated people who make and sell it is a cherished experience.

©Kathleen O'Brien, Twinrocker papers, 100% linen, May linen, peach, lavender & Mica Rose