Monday, December 19, 2011



It's been a while since I posted. In September all the artists from the 619 Western building had to move out of our studios because they were closing the building for retrofitting and viaduct demolition. Everything went into storage except for some acrylics, drawing supplies and watercolors. I've had to work out of my little 375 sq. ft. apartment and it's been quite an adjustment.

Slowly, I'm getting back into a regular practice, focusing more on exploring various mediums. This is the first painting I've completed since moving out of my work space. It's a little painting for a group show being held in Antartica. This is where I learned of the call for art.

I'm not comfortable with acrylic paint but am pushing myself to work with it because I can't imagine painting until I access new studio space.


Antartica, 8"x10", acrylic on canvas


Saturday, August 20, 2011



from the "Studio Series", oil on canvas, 14"x11"


from the "Studio Series", oil on canvas, 24"x12"


from the "Studio Series", oil on canvas, 36"x18"


Wednesday, August 17, 2011



"The Sophia Room" from the "Studio Series", oil on canvas, 60"x36"

Monday, August 15, 2011



from the "Studio Series", oil on canvas, 24"x30"

Sunday, August 7, 2011



from the "Studio" series, 28"x22", oil on canvas

Friday, August 5, 2011



from the "Studio" series, 22"x28", oil on canvas

Wednesday, August 3, 2011



My recent paintings are scenes from my studio in the beloved 619 Western Arts building.

28"x22", oil on canvas


18"x24", oil on canvas



11"x14", oil on canvas



24"x18", oil on canvas



18"x242", oil on canvas



www.mariegagnon.com

Wednesday, May 18, 2011



from the Viaduct series, 12"x12", oil on canvas

Wednesday, May 11, 2011



approx. 10"x6", charcoal and wet brush on paper



approx. 10"x6", Ebony pencil on paper



approx. 10"x6", Ebony pencil on paper

Tuesday, May 3, 2011



11"x14", oil on canvas


11"x14", oil on canvas


11"x14", oil on canvas


11"x14", oil on canvas

Thursday, April 21, 2011



14"x11", oil on canvas

Monday, April 18, 2011



12"x16", oil on canvas

Wednesday, April 6, 2011



30"x40, from the Viaduct series, oil on canvas

Wednesday, March 30, 2011



60"x60", oil on canvas


It was the final day of my month long sabbatical and I had a huge hankering to work large. Pulling out an older painting, I tipped it on its side and began to paint. Work in progress.

Thursday, March 24, 2011



28"x22", oil on canvas

Sunday, March 20, 2011




18"x24", oil on canvas


18"x24", oil on canvas


6"x8", acrylic on paper


22"x28", oil on canvas


11"x14", acrylic on canvas


18"x24", acrylic on canvas



8"x10", acrylic on paper

Thursday, March 3, 2011

playing catch up...


Some paintings I've been working on since January...


11"x14", oil on canvas


18"x24", oil on canvas



18"x24", oil on canvas



18"x36", oil on canvas



22"x28", oil on canvas



10"x10", oil on canvas



10"x10", oil on canvas



11"x14", charcoal on paper



18"x24", oil on canvas



18"x24", oil on canvas

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

some thoughts on my studio in the 619 Western






Pioneer Square has a rich tradition in the arts including the fact that the first Art Walk in the U.S. began in the Square in the mid-seventies. Our 619 Western Arts building has been a haven for artists since 1979.

When I began looking for a studio space in June 2007, I had two hard limits. Or so I thought. I wanted a private space and I did not want to be in a studio that opened to the art walk. While looking for work spaces I saw the ad in craigslist for my current studio: share with 3 other artists and part of Seattle's largest monthly art walk. I read it and tossed it.

But that ad haunted me for the next few days and I couldn't ignore it. I made an appointment with the artist to view the studio. Arriving early, I waited outdoors and walked around the building. Without stepping inside I powerfully knew I had to be there. It was my space.

When I walked in with the artist, the energy in the studio cemented that fact. It was a refuge. The sign above our studio door says "The Sophia Room".

Wisdom.

The studio has been a holding tank for creativity and for intimacy. Powerful moments and conversations have taken place not only at art walk but in private studio visits. It's been a safe space that offered healing. I've experienced and shared in not only my own but also others' internal openings.

Potent personal conversations.

I've witnessed joy. I've witnessed tears. I've watched bodies melt as aspects of shame fell away while viewing work.

During private visits, I've seen many someones sit on the little couch and given time, sink into the calm and allow themselves to relax in a manner they admitted was not often accessed.

In some of my most grief-stricken moments, the space would call to me. I'd lay out large white pages on the floor, get on my hands and knees and as tears fell, filled the sheets with big black charcoal marks.

I remember the connections shared at Art Walk with people where their intimidation that came from being surrounded by art began to be dismantled. For many visitors, the 619 building is the first step to connecting with art and artists.

I'm captivated by the unsettling and yet sexy crack that runs down the wall above each door on the north side of the building. I'm infatuated with the stairwell, the old elevator with its grate and the massive beam that runs the width of my studio. Every time I climb the stairs I smile and think of the history because each step is beaten in and deeply worn from many who tread its path.

The two large windows with their deep red paint call to me whenever I'm stuck with a painting. I can sit on the couch and look out onto the viaduct, paying attention to the sound of the traffic. Every once in a while I'm blessed by the smell of salt air that wafts in through the windows. It brings back powerful memories of my New England coastline.

And it's been a place for my painting to flourish and grow as I slowly continue to work toward a level of maturity. Learning to submit to my deeper self. I used to be very private with my work and this studio and special community has provided a safety net where I began to peel away the veil and reveal not only completed works, but the process. It was a letting go of a pride that required I only show my best which I knew was an impossible task and a set up for failure. This studio played a large part in revelation. Revelation of myself to others. Revelations of others to me. And most importantly, revelation of myself to myself.

Sanctuary.

An era is ending.

With the viaduct coming down in the next year or two, I knew that at some point all the artists in the 619 Western building would be required to leave. In mid-December the SDOT met with the artists and gave their time frame. The 619 artists will be evacuated in March 2012.

We have 15 months notice, which is a blessing. I'm not going anywhere for a while. But the idea of 100 displaced artists attempting to find inexpensive work space is heartbreaking.

The loss is pronounced because the official word is fresh and it's one more sad art item.

In addition to all that's happening in the world, there has been much distressing news in the art segment. The inexcusable censorship at the National Portrait Gallery, the economy that is challenging for artists to live their passion, the culture wars filled with a cacophony attempting to silence the critical importance of art in our lives, individually and as a community, and so much more. I haven't been able to write about it because the feelings run too deep and honestly, touch upon personal wounds.

Everywhere I look I see a society more entrenched in fear than in discovery. A culture ensconced in suspicion instead of invention. What happened to our imagination? Where is our striving for individual voice and personal excellence instead of settling for mediocrity?

So what do I do?

I work to try to keep my heart open.
I attempt to seek out the beauty while not hide from the ugly and the painful.
I continue to create.

And regardless of where my next painting home is, I will never forget the 619.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

new website

I've created a new website for the work.
Check out mariegagnon.com