New Blog Address

I'm continuing my blog at http://julie-devine.com/blog

Southampton Cultural Center

California Plein Air

Julie Devine and Suzanne Weller Painting, circa 1973.

Asian Pear

Julie Devine, Asian Pear, 2013
Oil on Canvas, 26" x 22"

Mascot

Julie Devine, Mascot, 2013
Oil on Canvas, 20" x 22"

I'm very fond of this painting. It came easily - two passes, and on top of another painting I scraped. I'm happy with the movement, the variety of edges, and the feeling of light.

Simon Mace Gallery Show

Julie Devine, June and June Field
Plein Air Paintings, Simon Mace Gallery
 

April’s show, Edge, Gage & More, highlights eight Seattle artists who are expanding their talents and careers with help from the 2012 Artist Trust’s Edge Professional Development Program, Gage Academy of Art and more. We are pleased to present Flynn Bickley, Elizabeth Copland, Julie Devine, Jody Joldersma, Terrell Lozada, Barbara Noonan, Tamara Stephas and Chandler Woodfin.




Simon Mace Gallery, April 2013

 

Simon Mace Gallery, April 2013



 



Max and Eva drawn to Flynn Bickley's Dolls
Simon Mace Gallery

 



236 Taylor Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368
Hours: 11 to 6pm, Thursday through Monday
Closed Tuesday and Wednesdaywww.simonmacegallery.com

 

360.385.4433



October Sky

Julie Devine, October Sky, 2013
Oil on canvas, 42" x 60"

World Cultures Mask Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last month I worked with the 5th grade classes at Lawton Elementary through a Visiting Artist Program. Each year Lawon students study and celebrate cultures around the world. This year, 5th grade classes studied various African countries and cultures.

 

The teachers were interested in doing a project with discarded materials inspired by the work of African contemporary artist Romauld Hazoume. Hazoume creates masks from discarded plastic containers.

 

 

Hazoume's Studio
 

Here are a couple of examples of his masks.

 

 

For our project at Lawton, we asked people to bring in large empty plastic containers. We collected a variety of them, ranging from juice containers, to milk containers, to large containers of laundry detergent.

I took these home, washed them out, and cut them (well, actually melted them) in half. Yep, melted. Dan, my husband, rigged up a hot wire over which I held each container and slowly moved it down to cut the container in half. For the wire, he took apart a hair dryer, and uncoiled the wire inside. He then strung it across two nails and attached a car battery charger to it.

 

Next, I rewashed the containers, then set them out to dry. When they were dry, my daughter and I spray painted the translucent ones with a variety of spray paints we found in the garage. The colored containers we left as they were. We ended up with a variety of shapes and colors of halved containers. Over 80 container halves in all.

 

Back at Lawton, I gave a presentation on Traditional and Contemporary African Masks, then showed a couple of container masks I made myself as examples.  I asked the kids to bring in discarded or found objects from home to use for their own masks.

With the help of two teachers and three hot glue guns, we glued the kids' designs together. What great results we had!  These are just a taste of the many colorful and interesting masks we made. The kids also titled their pieces and listed their materials and inspiration.  Very cool project! Great work Lawton 5th Grade!

Contemporary Masks, 5th Grade, Lawton Elementary
World Cultures Project



 

 



If Crow Would Come

 



Julie Devine, If Crow Would Come, 2012
Oil on Canvas, 20" x 22"

 

It's taken me a while to photograph this painting. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, so I turned it backwards toward the studio wall for a couple of months, then came back to it. I like it.

My son calls it "the white one" or "the one that looks like snow in the sky." It's another canopy painting. It makes me think of our wild friend, the crow, who's adopted our family and visits for food and entertainment. I check the skies for him and often see his black wings in the corner of my eye.

Paintings and Pastries

Tasty treats at Finn's Bakery
Magnolia Village, Seattle

For the month of February, you can find several of my  paintings hanging at Finn's Bakery. Finn's opened recently in the Magnolia district of Seattle. Good coffee, nice baguettes, tasty pastries! Thanks Finn's, for promoting local artists.

 



On View at Sassafras

A lovely new shop has opened in Belltown, Seattle. Welcome Sassafras on First and Bell!

 

 

Sassafras Open for Business
December 2012

Amy Tipton's sweet boutique specializes in locally designed clothing and goods. This is a great place to find unique, vintage-inspired dresses in a broad range of sizes.

 

 

Sassafras at Night

I am honored to have several of my paintings hanging on the walls in beautiful company. If you're in town, stop by for a visit. Signed, limited edition prints are coming soon.


Canopy II, 2012
One of Several Paintings Hanging at Sassafras
Julie Devine

Fall Abstract

This one is going to my parents as a gift.

Julie Devine, Fall Abstract, 2013
Oil on Canvas, 15" x 30"




Animating the Landscape - Van Gogh

Of all of Van Gogh's work, I find his landscapes most inspiring. Each part of the view is animated, as if it has a spirit unto itself. The sky, the trees, shrubs, and fields move in colorful, linear patterns.

I'm particularly fond of this drawing, which is one of his later landscape compositions.





Van Gogh, Olive Trees in a Mountain Landscape, 1889

Efference



Julie Devine, Efference, 2012
Oil on Canvas, 20"x22"



I'm happy with how this one turned out. I like the radial aspect of the form and how it breaks up as it moves into the sky. I also like the golden light falling on some of the branches and the contrast of this warm light against the cooler light of the sky. And, I like the brushwork.

For me, this painting has an optimistic, auspicious feeling.


Three Landscapes

Here are three paintings from the long weekend, each playing with the shapes and patterning of Pacific Northwest canopies. All were begun with a transparent earth red underpainting and wipeout, and all made the most of a cool red / warm green complement palette.

Julie Devine, November Woods, 2012

Julie Devine, Canopy II, 2012

 

 

Julie Devine, Canopy III, 2012

Diaspora

Julie Devine, Diaspora, 2012
Oil on Canvas, 48" x 24"

For this painting, I used source photographs taken of the forest canopy in Discovery Park, Seattle. The colors are exaggerated.

Diaspora is layered on top of a painting I did a while back - an abstract master copy of  The Abduction of Ganymede. It's a fantastic feeling to cover an earlier work that has served its purpose, and to let little pieces of it guide design decisions in the new painting. In a few places, the earlier painting is still visible.

Bloom

Julie Devine, Bloom I, 2012
Oil on Canvas, 20" x 22"

Joan Mitchell at the SAM

This morning I paid a visit to the Seattle Art Museum, knowing I needed to take another look at some of Joan Mitchell's work on display. Like so many of her paintings, this one is untitled, and I find it particularly gorgeous and haunting.

Joan Michell, Untitled, 1953-54
Oil on Canvas

Here's another painting by Mitchell. This one is titled Hemlock. The title give one more of a foothold. I love both of these paintings for the feeling of movement, the expression of intellect, and the visceral sense of the oil paint.



Joan Mitchell, Hemlock, 1956
Oil on Canvas

Canopy Abstract

Julie Devine, Canopy I, 2012
Oil on Canvas, 24" x 23"

Fields and Mark Making

I've been thinking a lot about visual fields and ways of communication patterns in nature using repeated and overlapping marks. Here are two artists whose paintings I've been looking at.



Gloria Tamerre Petyarre, Bush Yam Dreaming

Mark Tobey, Calligraphy in White