The extended life of my jeans

A few of my jeans on the floor of my studio.

All of my jeans (and the ones of my daughter) have a second life. I wear them when I paint, so I don't have to be cautious with the paint. I wipe off my hands, palette knifes and brushes without having to think. I can splatter with the paint, I can feel free to do as I please. The textile is thick, so the paint doesn't get through it and ends on the skin of my legs.

As you can see on this picture, after a while thick layers arise. Sometimes it feels like leather. Anyway, it's a nice rough skin. They can be washed in the machine, no loss of colors! Great quality, the paint I use! I continue to wear a pair of jeans until they get too heavy. I'm very glad my daughter is convinced that she's got to wear the latest fashion models, so I never run out of new old jeans.

Mess

Although it's summer, today I was spring-cleaning my studio. It had become such a mess! When I'm at work the only thing I've got eyes for is the painting I'm creating. I don't notice where I put the pot with paint after using it, I don't care on what things I wipe the paletknifes and brushes, I don't mind that the paint splatters around... I'm not aware of these things because I'm concentrating on my painting. That's nice... but the consequence is that I often have to search for the things I've lost, not knowing where I put them. Quite annoying when you need it to continue painting and you were just doing fine. It's not even a question of remembering. Like the palette knife I was just holding, but where is it now? Where did I put the titan white? Oh #$%&#, I forgot to put the brush in water, now it's all dried up and I cannot use it anymore... Because I am like I am, that behaviour will not disappear with a spring-cleaning. But it's nice that everything is in order now. Ready to start again after a satisfying summer break.

Every artist's dream: Herb & Dorothy Vogel

HERB & DOROTHY Trailer from Herb & Dorothy on Vimeo.

Special thanks to The Gallery Diva of Monkdogz who pointed me (and the other followers of Artblahblah.com) to this ordinary/extraordinary couple. I cannot wait to see this documentary!

DailyArtFixx

Lately I keep getting more mail from art lovers and artists, writing they like my work. I'm really very flattered every time and again. Everybody likes to receive compliments and so do I.
A few days ago I received a message from a Belgian fan with a link to DailyArtFixx.com. This is a blog from Canadian art enthusiast and artist, Wendy Campbell, residing in both Tokyo-Japan and Toronto-Canada. At the end of June she published a blogpost about my work.

http://www.dailyartfixx.com/2009/06/29/esther-barend-abstract-art/

I appreciate this very much. Especially because, after seeing the blogpost she's written on other artists, I feel privileged to be amongst such good company. Wendy's got an eye for art and great taste!

I recommend her art blog: http://www.dailyartfixx.com
I'm going to read it every day from now on!

Who would you pick?

So give your opinion on http://artblahblah.com/?p=749

A very interesting art blog anyway!!! created by Monkdogz Urban Art Gallery (http://www.monkdogz.com)

Jo Baer

Jo Baer, courtesy of Petrovsky & Ramone

Last Friday I visited the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven with my friend (and visual artist) Ameli Viaux. The museum it self is every artists wet dream to be able to exhibit in. Enormous and (sometimes extremely) high white walls, big enough but not too, so it gives you the feeling of intimacy. The classification of the area is very playful and everything besides the floor is white.

There were 3 solo-exhibitions of female artists and one of them, Jo Baer (born in Seattle, now living in Amsterdam), to me was the eye-catcher. She was born in 1929 and started exhibiting when my parents still were children. But what she's created in all those years and recently, definitely is of all times. When I look at her oeuvre I feel just like a rookie, still wet behind the ears. With this exhibition you travel through a selection out of 50 years of her art which changes from abstract expressionism to extremely abstract minimalistic to radical figuration. Being on top of her success in 1975 she dare to turn away from abstraction and started examining and experimenting with figurative forms. Her goal was to connect social reality and illusion.

I endorse her statement: "All of the so-called abstract artists always have a tissue of meaning. I always did certainly... I meant layers. I meant boundaries. I meant very specific things always” Jo Baer, 1987