All posts by Diane Atwood
Lin Lisberger. Carver of wood
I think Lin Lisberger’s sculptures are mesmerizing. They draw me in and invite me to stay a while. One, in particular, wouldn’t loosen its grip. Letting Go is one of a series of hands Lin sculpted about the time my daughters were in high school. It symbolized feelings I was struggling with then. My babies had grown […]
Where two colors meet: That’s where all the action is
Our assignment: Make two identical compositions, each at least 10″ x 12″. Use the exact same colors in both compositions. You want to have clear foreground shapes and clear background shape. In composition A, you will create normal interactions between the foreground shapes/colors and the background shapes/colors. In composition B, the foreground shapes will be […]
Kevin Mizner. Inspired by Norman Rockwell
Every time I post another profile of a Maine artist, I learn something new. From Kevin Mizner, who lives in Pittston, I learned about patience. This from a man who says he has “the patience of a toddler.” It is Kevin’s inclination to dive right into a painting without thinking things through. It is his practice […]
84 shades of gray: Exciting, beautiful, rich and yes, lusty shades of gray!
I spent a lazy Sunday mixing shades of gray. And you thought this was going to be an erotic post! There is something sensual about playing with paint, I think. And there is something exciting about mixing colors. I remember the first time I mixed a gray instead of using one straight from the tube. […]
The final drawings: Building on our own momentum
As usual, it’s hard to believe another semester has whizzed by. We exhibited our final drawing projects at an open studio reception, which was fun. I was blown away by the work my fellow students did, so decided to focus on some of their projects instead of mine. These are images from the reception and […]
Ellen Babcock. Inspired by Maine history, this artist celebrates Portland’s working people
A history lesson comes with this profile of artist Ellen Babcock. Ellen lives in New Mexico, where she is an assistant professor of sculpture at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She got her BFA from the Portland School of Art (MECA) in 1984 and makes regular visits to Maine to visit her family. Ellen’s […]
Lucy Ellen Smith: Artist who teaches us how to draw to learn
Lucy Ellen Smith is not only an exceptional artist, she is an exceptional teacher.I met her several years ago when she and her husband Carroll moved to Maine from Chicago to take care of her mother Fran. Thinking about that, I need to add that Lucy is simply an exceptional human being. She and Carroll […]
How we are leaving our marks on the world
One night after class last week, I went for a leisurely stroll along the Presumpscot River in Gorham. My drawing professor, Michael Shaughnessy, had told us to be prepared to spend our next class making as many marks as possible using graphite on a large piece of paper. At the beginning of my walk, I […]
You don’t have to be a little kid to have an awesome first day of school
New classroom, pencils, notebook, lunch box, outfit, shoes, things to learn. How I always loved the first day of school and here it is again, only I’m not a kid anymore. At least, not according to my chronological age, which is 67. I usually hesitate when it comes to putting that figure out there, but […]