Drawings

A few recent drawings - more can be found on my Instagram and Facebook pages.

Pen Drawings

Pen drawings, 4" x 6", December 2016

Just sitting down with some pens to see what happens. I love stripes and checkered patterns, stars, deer, and birds. Lately I love red and white stripes and blue (nothing politically inspired, I assure you). I think more of the circus, of shabby chic, of the marriage of patterns, like a human body with the marriage of organs - all working together, feeding off of each other to thrive.

 www.lisaalbinger.com

Time and Again

                               

Time and Again

Oil on wooden nutcracker

19"h  x  4"w

I have an affinity for nutcrackers, every holiday season adding more to my growing collection. Year round they are displayed as I see them more as a Wise Council than merely holiday decorations. Last year I came across white nutcrackers and am now in the process of turning them into works of art.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to part with them.

The first one, Time and Again, will be on display at MOWA, the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, WI from Nov 19, 2016 - Jan 8, 2017.

Time and Again is about movement and the crossing of thresholds. The window acts as a threshold between the inside and outside worlds. Tools guide us to a different destination - the compass points us while the ladder supports us as we journey upwards or downwards.

Boxing Day

Boxes hold our belongings when we move across the country, food we purchase at the grocery store, and gifts we give one another. The idea of a box holding personal secrets, wishes and dreams is often called a God Box. It is a vessel that takes your worries and hands them off to 'all that is', perhaps the great Oz himself.

My tools included pen, cotton swabs, coffee and a 6.5"x 8"x 3" box. The images are mystical animals pursuing magic, weaving their webs of life. They are intuition, the all knowing, the all seeing, all that is. They reside in silence, in less words and more observation, in solitude and introspection.

This box now resides in Brooklyn. A gift. There will be more, in time.

Lid Top

Lid Inside

Box Inside

Side 1 with lid

Side 1 without lid

Side 2 with lid

Side 2 without lid

Side 3 with lid

Side 3 without lid

Side 4 with lid

Side 4 without lid

Please Pass the Coffee

My work has always been very intuitive and it is rare for me to sketch out ideas. I prefer to sit down at the easel and bring out whatever image is already 'there' in the board. Maddening, yes. I like the challenge of creating something meaningful out of happenstance. Isn't that what life is all about? When I drip coffee onto paper and move it around, I haven't the faintest clue what will appear. There's a bit of anxiety in it all. There's a bit of expectation. What if I draw a line that goes nowhere and I regret it? Make it happen. Figure it out. Turn it into something else.

Such is the story for these creatures below. Each one represents a facet of my creaturehood. Each one appeared when I followed the pen. I have been posting drawings daily on my Instagram. Follow to see each one. Lisa Albinger on Instagram

Lisa Albinger, 2016

Lisa Albinger, 2016

Lisa Albinger, 2016

Lisa Albinger, 2016

What a Hoot! show in Oregon

Azure Fine Arts Gallery in Corvallis, OR asked me to produce 100 drawings for an exhibit.

I gasped. 100. I cut 100 pieces of paper. No mistakes allowed. Coffee was poured on each

piece of paper and from there the characters appeared.

They grouped themselves into categories: The Men, Owls, Flower Children, Birds, Rabbits, and Misc. People

Now showing, March 15-April 12, 2015

Opening is Thursday, March 19, 4-8pm

Azure Fine Art Gallery

341 SW Second Street, Ste #3

Corvallis, OR 97333

zurefineartgallery@yahoo.com

Email Deb with questions and to purchase work.

Each work is about 5"x7".

Connecting the Dots

The espresso was made, waiting patiently as I picked out that perfect piece of chocolate from the gifted box of chocolates. I would sit down with my delicacy to ponder the direction of my art, obtain a grand artistic idea, and drink the espresso while it was hot.

But the phone rang.

I quickly chose a piece of chocolate and scurried to the phone in time for the fourth ring.

“Oh shit!” I exclaimed as I saw the name of my dear friend of 20 years. An artist. I knew why she was calling and I had to fess up. I answered with, “I didn’t do it, I didn’t do anything, I failed.”

A week ago we agreed to hold each other accountable of making art every day. By today I was to have 7 drawings completed, alas there were none. Now, the assignment for this following week is to create a self-portrait every day. Size and medium doesn’t matter. I know as the days progress my self-portraits will morph into animals and the like, however today I started out with a pretty standard drawing including polka dots which I adore.

Looking at my face in the mirror and drawing it brought back memories. I remembered back to when a band member of Poison gasped, “You have a beautiful widows peak” which is something I had never heard or thought of before. Being a big fan of Marilyn Monroe as a teenager I always wanted a mole above my lip and now as an adult I’ve somehow acquired one in that same spot, however with less enthusiasm than a 15 year old. And to my surprise, my lower lip has an indentation I’ve never noticed before.

Your body tells so many stories. Look at yourself in the mirror and read some of them. Remember the stories of your past as they make up the you you are now. What is your body telling you? What information and messages does it have for you?