Echoes

"Echoes" 36 x 36 x 2 inches

One of my favorite paintings using encaustic medium and a photograph printed on silk.

Waverly Hall, GA

A ride along the railroad tracks. 

Dandelion

Lunch Was Excellent

"River Stones"

Video from the dk Gallery "figure and nude" exhibit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yskzs5EqFmc&sns=em. The link! Thomas James Spravka Imaging.

The Drawing Wall

More Signs of Spring

Spring is Near

Cleaning My Palette

Everytime I clean my palette, I am fascinated with the globs of paint left. I save that image.

Happy Valentine's Day

Exploring Abstraction: A One Day Drawing Workshop

On March 1, 2014, from 1PM to 4PM,  I am having a drawing workshop in my studio. So excited to conduct this workshop.

Over the years I have put together a series of challenging exercises meant to stretch the idea that most have about the definition of drawing. In this case it is mark making but in a purposeful and personal way. Most participants will find drawing to not only be fun but more easily approachable. And more often than not return to their own work with new ideas. And that is the idea, I hear so often the comment "I would love to loosen up". Here is your chance. All drawing supplies are included. Register at http://www.helenderamus.com . The cost is $100 due the day of the workshop.

Trip through Georgia

New Work Soon

Time to start new paintings. Boards ready for priming. Preparing encaustic medium.

On The Road Again

On my way to deliver art to S.h.e. Gallery in Boonton, NJ I got to be the passenger for a while and used Paper 53 to create drawings. Need to draw to stay sane. Really, the truck bouncing along helped me stay loose. LOL

Quick Shots

Everyday is an opportunity to see the the small beauties all around me.

Shaping the Landscape: Melted, molded paintings featured in JSU exhibit

Shaping the Landscape: Melted, molded paintings featured in JSU exhibit: In today’s on-demand culture, it’s easy to forget the process it takes to create good work. With easy access to top-of-the-line computer equipment, software programs, specialized applications and m...

Palette Fight

I'm fighting with my palette this morning or I should say this has been going on for more than a week. Yes it is possible to do battle. My main problem is that I have fallen in love with half of the painting. How could this be when clearly my mentor stressed continually "don't fall in love with any part of your painting". My students have heard that over and over. I did fall in love with half of the painting and thus I'm struggling to make it work. Good advice I received last night..."scrape it all off". Why am I hesitating to do this? The answer is I don't know so I am writing to find out why. For the last several days, I've journaled and still not found my path to the next step. Put the painting away for a while. Though also good advice, I discovered a long time ago just how stubborn I am. So I sit here and ponder and think the best idea is to pull out paper and draw. The battle will be over soon. My second option might be to look at the painting as it stands now on the computer screen and try for objectivity. I have a solo exhibit looming out there.. maybe a reason for turmoil to arise as I delve into questions I must face to continue.

More Blogs

I spent the morning accomplishing computer/blogging tasks...oh my, a new blog. Do I need one? Not sure since I haven't spent what I consider the requisite time required to be current but so what I'm back at it. The rest of the morning I spent time drawing. I've been drawing almost every day now since the WCAGA drawing marathon began in the spring. We'll be continuing the process through out the fall. Have I mentioned that I love to draw? Of course I'm drawing all the time when painting but what I've been doing is just purely for the fun of it. Drawing for myself and being pulled into that creative space that is like no other. It's wondrous.

A Fragile Life

Interesting work going on now. I'm catching up on details, finishing a painting for the Hambidge auction and finishing a three dimensional piece to continue the series "A Fragile Life". When my aunt died at Thanksgiving last year, she left me a number of books. Some were very old, she was 91 years old when she died. I didn't know what to do with them at first. Most titles were not ones that I would read or re-read but I couldn't part with some that friends had given her as a teenager. They were inscribed with the givers names and were important for that reason. Many were books of poetry; she like to write poetry. I realized that her love of poetry spanned a lifetime. So what to do? Not that hard to figure out really, I decided to preserve them with encaustic and the title for the series was born from her last years. I'm learning as I go. Although she had been full of wonderful energy for most of her life, her last years were difficult. Still to the end she stayed engaged in any way possible and I celebrate her.