Last chance to view Invasives at University of Puget Sound

If your in the Tacoma area my show at University of Puget Sound is up through Saturday February 11th. Critics Pick in the News Tribune so be assured it is quality.

Easel upgrade. That poor easel on the left has been with me for many years. It was surprisingly resilient at holding 50lb panels!

Gallery talk and demo reminder

I will be presenting a gallery talk followed by a demo of my studio practice tomorrow at University of Puget Sound. Meet at 4PM in Kitteredge Gallery.

Elwha

Elwha. egg tempera on panel. 40.5" x 72"

Solo show at University of Puget Sound

Stream Rehabilitation. egg tempera on panel. 40.5" x 72". 2011

Kittredge Gallery Showcases Contemporary Works in Egg Tempera

by Artist Nathan DiPietro

Jan. 16–Feb. 11, 2012

Tacoma, Wash. – On view at Kittredge Gallery in January and early February is an exhibition of work by painter Nathan DiPietro. Titled Invasives the exhibition explores a new Northwest where the lush overgrowth of the native landscape has been replaced with neatly platted developments, leveled fields, and manmade greenbelts. In their regional focus and tight linear detail, DiPietro’s works are reminiscent of early 20th-century American painters such as Grant Wood, but in contrast to those warmly nostalgic scenes from everyday life, DiPietro’s images have the air of stage sets—uninhabited and artificial. In some instances, the artist focuses on the plants that often serve as our contemporary urban “greenscapes”: blackberry-covered fields, ivy-infested slopes, and replanted forests of monocultural trees.

DiPietro works in egg tempera, a centuries-old painting medium created by mixing powdered pigments with egg yolk and water. The resulting paints dry quickly to a matte finish and allow for thin, smooth layers of color and tight control of details. DiPietro will offer a demonstration of this technique following a gallery talk on his work on Feb. 2, at 4 p.m., in Kittredge Gallery. This event is free and open to the public.

DiPietro received his B.F.A. from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, in 2003. He has had solo exhibitions at Woodside/Braseth Gallery and Punch Gallery, Seattle, as well as at galleries in Ellensburg. His work is currently included in the group exhibition Yesterday’s Tomorrow at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Wash., and he has participated in group shows at The Evergreen State College, Olympia; Western Oregon University, Monmouth; and Eastern Washington University, Cheney; as well as in galleries in Washington, Los Angeles, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. DiPietro recently was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, and received grants from 4Culture in 2010 and 2011. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, The Stranger, The Seattle Times, and on artsjournal.com, and can be found in the collections of Swedish Hospital and University of Washington Medical Center. He is represented by Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle.

Kittredge Gallery serves as a teaching tool for the art department and a cultural resource for both the university and the community at large, exhibiting work by noted regional and national artists. Exhibits and talks are free and open to the public.

Opening Reception:

Jan. 25, 5 to 7 p.m., Kittredge Gallery

Gallery Location: University of Puget Sound, N. 15th St. at N. Lawrence St., Tacoma, WA

Directions and Map: www.pugetsound.edu/directions

Regular Hours: 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Mon.–Fri.; noon–5 p.m., Saturday

Website: www.pugetsound.edu/kittredge

Trompe l'oeil artichoke

I occasionally work directly from photography in a trompe l'oeil style to keep my visual skills honed. I've recorded the process below.

 I arranged and photographed a artichoke, adjusted the file to life size, and printed 2 basic photos. For larger jobs I've had them printed at a nice print shop. This was close enough that I just joined together 2 8.5"/11" papers.

 Joined.

 Printed a gray scale copy on card stock and then cut out the main shape.

Placed the gray scale copy over tracing paper. Taped it on the gesso panel where I'd like it.

 It takes a bit of force with a stylus to make a mark through card stock. I don't want too much graphite on the panel.

 India ink under painting.

 I used the card stock cut out to mask the artichoke while I painted the back ground. The card stock holds up well to repeated washes of egg tempera.

Less than 10 hours of work at this point. If I desired a more finished piece I could make a mask of the background, and combined with the mask I already have, apply some unifying washes and scumbles to both the fore and back ground. This would be followed up with more thin washes of color to bring the local color back out. A similar technique is done in icon painting. Important icons can receive many layers of painting in this unifying/local enhancement method. 

Group exhibition at Northwest Museum of Art

I'll be exhibiting five egg tempera paintings in "Yesterday's Tomorrow" at the Museum of Northwest Art.  Running January 7th to March 14th. The opening is January 7th with a panel discussion I'm participating in at 1PM. Opening runs 2-5PM. Here is the link.

Culdesac. egg tempera on panel. 35" diameter