Stegasaur

Stegasaur
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x12"

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This is Taylor climbing a boulder problem called Stegasaur in Hueco Tanks State Park, Texas. It is an amazing, thought provoking problem, which involves climbing wave type rock features under the roof of a cave. None of the holds are positive, and Taylor performed some incredibly gymnastic moves to emerge from the murky depths. I spied this quite revolting vantage point from the outside of the cave, and despite the copious rat and bat scat, crawled in to capture this image. I'm glad I did now, because I think it's one of the most successful climbing images I took out of our whole road trip - and that's saying something - I've got thousands of digital photographs, drawings and paintings from the 18 months or so we were traveling for.

A common theme is emerging from both my paintings and photographs...light. Dramatic light, usually from a single source, is becoming the defining feature of my work. It's strange, I've always been interested in light effects, chiaroscuro particularly, but I'm only finding now that my compositions are just organically trending 'toward the light'.

This is a study, as most of these daily paintings are, and I'll post the final painting when it's done...it's going to be HUGE!!

Taping up for Babyface

Taping up for Babyface
Oil Canvas Panel, 4x6"

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This is a painting of my husband Taylor, inspired by our climbing trip to Hueco Tanks, Texas. 'Taping up' refers to the practice of taping the fingers prior to rock climbing. We use white zinc oxide tape, and it helps protect the tendons in your fingers. When climbing, especially bouldering (which is an intense form of climbing without ropes), there is an immense amount of weight borne on the fingers, and injuries are common.

Taping up can also become part of the ritual prior to attempting a hard climb - preparing yourself mentally and physically, might involve chalking your hands, cleaning your shoes to achieve maximum friction, and visualisation - of the moves, of success.

I loved this image - I think it's both personal and universal. Most people have little rituals they perform (often unknowingly) before they do something important, or stressful, or momentous...like exams, flying (if you're scared), first dates, etc. Before I start a big painting I have a series of things I have to do before I'm ready - eg. organise my space, make sure there are no distractions, and wake up knowing that I'm going to paint that day - all those little things which help to focus on the task at hand.

Washing Brushes

Washing Brushes
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x4"

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So I'm finished painting the Kokanee for the Foyer Gallery exhibition - I did already have enough work but I just wanted to make a set of really loose mixed media pieces to work with the photos I had, (which have been sitting in the hard drive since last Fall..) so I can get some ideas for larger oils - I think they'll be very dramatic!

I've missed doing my little daily oils, but I have gone back to the easel with fresh enthusiasm and ideas. This study is part of the ongoing theme of 'Home', inspired by both the physical location we live - with it's fabulous light and angular construction - and the sense of place I've found in my life. The morning light in our kitchen is amazing, and the window looks out over an evergreen tree line, and the sky..which throughout the day changes from white to blue, and blooms with colour in the evening. It's a great distraction when you're washing dishes (or brushes!)

Breaking away from the herd

Breaking away from the herd
Mixed Media
11x14"

$300

If you would like to buy this painting, it will be available from the Foyer Gallery from April 11th 2008. Please email me at art@shelleyhocknell.com for more details.

The mixed media I am using is watercolour, pastel, and inks. They are great fun to create, and you can generate a lot of movement really spontaneously. I used a coloured paper for this one, and the pigments react differently to it, creating an unpredictable environment, to an extent, which opens up lots of possibilities for 'happy mistakes'.

Kokanee Photo

I thought it might be interesting to show one of my photographs of the Kokanee which I've been working from - especially for people who haven't seen them before.

Art Review on EmptyEasel.com!

Thankyou EmptyEasel for a really cool review! Check it out at emptyeasel.com

Kokanee studies

Visit my online store at eCrater.com!

This is a detail from a series of mixed media paintings I'm working on for my forthcoming exhibition at The Foyer Gallery at Lake Tahoe Community College. The theme of my show is inspired by the spawning Kokanee Salmon, found here in Lake Tahoe.

Mixed media works are great fun, as they allow me to experiment with marks and colours in a more immediate way than oil painting. I use watercolour, pastel, inks and charcoal on heavy watercolour paper - which I stretch in advance to avoid buckling and to create a uniform, stable surface to work on.

Many of these Kokanee paintings have a metaphorical significance for me, and I find the repetitive nature of the designs liberating. There's so much energy and movement in the images, which makes for a dynamic which is visually exciting, as well as thought provokingly open to interpretation. On a pragmatic level, the images are dealing with the life cycle of fish. The kokanee return to the same place they were born (Taylor Creek), to lay eggs and then die. During the spawning they change from silver with a blue stripe to bright pinky-red with blue heads. The spectacle of hundreds of brightly coloured fish 'treading water' in a shoal just beneath the surface of the clear Tahoe water is breathtaking.

The poetic nature of this visually striking display is hard to dismiss. The joyous writhing is soon replaced by death. The luminous colour turns to grey, upturned fish litter the stream - a hearty meal for the bears, beavers, coyotes and birds who inhabit this picturesque landscape. The fertilised eggs are buried in the streambed, and hatch 100 days later, to start the whole cycle again.