[salonlb.] is proud to present a solo exhibition by Chicago-based artist, Renee Robbins titled “Simple Pleasures and Silver Linings: An Unseen Universe”, opening Friday, December 16th, with a special reception from 7-10pm during Bridgeport’s Third Fridays gallery walk.
Read MoreParticles on the Border details
Particles on the Border, 52” x 60”, acrylic on canvas, 2021.
Details of Particles on the Border
Subatomic Particles- Neutrinos
One of my favorite subjects, subatomic particles like neutrinos have inspired several artworks of mine over the past decade. I wanted to collect and reflect on the work as a group together here on my blog and to show how this subject has inspired my work in different scales and media. The neutrinos are part of the unseen universe and their behavior is extremely fascinating to me. It’s difficult to detect them and there is much that is still unknown about them. They are elusive and very abundant in our universe and travel near the speed of light but are actually not faster than the speed of light. They have very little mass, and are particles with no charge or energy. The marks in these artworks derive from imagery originally taken in a bubble chamber. The lines and curves create a language that is exciting to invent with in the artist studio. I take a lot of artistic license here in drawing these marks. Imagining the trails and behavior that these particles create fascinates me. Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe and billions of these particles can travel through us at any time. Considering what is happening in the unseen universe all over our human landscape is very inspiring. My mind moves in many directions as I enjoy thinking about the invisible as a starting point for my imagination. The mystery and ambiguity of these particles is part of the appeal to bringing them into my art. In making these marks on a small drawing or in a large mural they take different forms. When taken out of their science context into the poetic lens of art, we can dwell on a horizon that is in us but completely out of view.
Golden Ratio, 30” x 42”, 2014, acrylic on canvas.
The main structure of the composition blends a macro view from an airplane at night with the micro view of subatomic particles trails.
Detail of Fullerton Mural, 14 ft x 110 ft, acrylic on concrete, 2017.
Almost Faster than the Speed of Light, 12” x 12”, acrylic on panel, 2019
Point, 12” x 12”, acrylic, string, and sand on panel, 2005.
Faster than the Speed of Light, 10 nanoseconds, 6” x 8”, ink and colored pencil on paper 2011, Daily Drawings: Week 27
Faster than the Speed of Light, 20 nanoseconds, 6” x 8”, ink and colored pencil on paper 2011, Daily Drawings: Week 27
Faster than the Speed of Light, 30 nanoseconds, 6” x 8”, ink and colored pencil on paper 2011, Daily Drawings: Week 27
Faster than the Speed of Light, 40 nanoseconds, 6” x 8”, ink and colored pencil on paper 2011, Daily Drawings: Week 27
Faster than the Speed of Light, 50 nanoseconds, 6” x 8”, ink and colored pencil on paper 2011, Daily Drawings: Week 27
Faster than the Speed of Light, 60 nanoseconds, 6” x 8”, ink and colored pencil on paper 2011, Daily Drawings: Week 27
Faster than the Speed of Light, 70 nanoseconds, 6” x 8”, ink and colored pencil on paper 2011, Daily Drawings: Week 27
Daily Drawing Project TAKE TWO in 2020
Beginning on April 1, 2020
Studio view with Daily Drawings / Color Meditations Nov 2019 - March 2020.
Since this past November, I have been thinking about bringing back my Daily Drawing Project from April 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012. I self-published a Daily Drawing book on blurb—if you are not familiar, that was 9 years ago and not 10. Recently, I chatted with artist Philip J Mellen on AHTCAST where I talk about this project in a two part audio interview. Get excited!
I have been pondering how I would do this project the next time, what would be different, and what would be the same. Mostly I wondered if I really wanted to do this project ever again. I think that I do but have been carefully thinking about how to approach it. There are positives and negatives to the project—more positive than negative, but it tends to take over the amount of larger pieces that I have energy to create in a year. My studio focus has been larger paintings over smaller drawings. But that can change if I want. I listened to this fantastic podcast called I LIKE YOUR WORK with artist Erika B Hess where she interviews San Francisco based artist Lisa Solomon. Check out the interview here. Solomon wrote a book about watercolor meditations. Anyway this podcast was special to me, as I really liked how Lisa would practice color meditations for 30 minutes to begin her studio practice each day. I even bought her book a few months ago, although in true confessions I have not read it yet. I DO plan to read it shortly. I’ve only paged through it so far but very much looking forward to reading it.
Additionally, I have always wanted to get more into blog posting but I’m lazy and would rather make paintings instead of write. I do have a blog with 4 years of blog posts but my last blog entry was in 2014. It’s mostly photos of art but there are some blog posts and essays on my work. I published the daily drawing project on the blog so you could see the work without being connected to me on social media. I would like to figure out how to move this to my website or if I can do that without having to move each blog entry individually. That is another project for another day. For now, I’m just going to use the blog template on my squarespace website as it’s much easier to update, and for older entries I will link to the old blog.
The photo above is a pile of daily drawings/color meditations that I’ve worked on since November 2019. I don’t really want to show people these, as they are not what I would consider finished works. These pages are a place to let my mind rest from noise of the world. These are also preparatory works or warm up exercises that allow a place to meditate and experiment. The daily drawings are a way to begin painting right away when I don’t really want to paint or would rather do absolutely anything else but paint. They lighten the mood and give me permission to begin right away instead of puttering around the studio and staring at everything for hours. Puttering around time can be useful but sometimes it’s debilitating. It’s all part of the artist journey. The time to be quiet and look inward is now. Lots of time for introspection and self-awareness in a studio practice. Sometimes it is good to just begin even if there are strong feelings of failure or blocks that discourage working at all. Sometimes it’s good to patiently look and let the artwork tell you what to do next. Both are appropriate solutions and ways to move forward.
April 1, 2020: Daily Drawing No. 1
EXCITING NEWS!
I’ve decided to start my Daily Drawing project again on April Fools’ Day in 2020. I’m not sure how long I will do it but I started today. Since I’ve been having a lot of trouble concentrating in my studio, I needed to put additional structures into my practice and life. I have to allow for moments of joy without pressure. Since I’m the only one here there is only myself to count on.
Project Parameters:
1. Format of 8 inches x 10 inches (Whelp this is big and that freaks me out!)
2. Watercolor media (Can use other media later but base starts with watercolor)
3. Start a new one each day and consider approximate time limit of 1 hour.
4. I can work on one from the prior day as long as it’s within the same week of drawings. Once a new week begins I cannot go back and work on the last weeks drawings. At the end of the week I will sign each of the finished drawings with a date on the back. The works are finished at this point and I cannot go back into them. I can however choose to destroy them later.
I can add new parameters for each week to allow for change but generally follow the 4 rules above. I start on April Fools’ Day to give myself permission to stop at anytime as a joke. Keep it light, airy, and fun. That is after all the entire point of maintaining a studio practice as an artist. Sometimes being an artist is not fun especially as you get older and the business parts and intense rejection pummels you down on a daily basis. It’s important to work hard to forget about all of that junk and try to make it fun again. Maintaining joy in my studio is #1 right now, which is very hard to do. I might not post these everyday on social media and still have to figure that portion out. Perhaps I’ll post weekly on my blog website or even monthly. I look forward to sharing more as I figure out this new project.