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Thursday, May 16, 2013

New Jennifer W Mark art web site is finally up!

Hello everyone, I hope you will all get a chance to pop over to check out my new website designed by the talented Michelle Mark ( yes, she is my daughter and a great designer!)
Finally I got the chance to get a new site up after my last one was stolen away!  I love to experiment with so many art styles and media and different painting techniques.  Check out the whole collection of my latest studio sessions. My new web site has a great sampling of all my favorites. 

My business partner at Open Eye Art, Juliet Moran and I  just recently posed for a photo shoot and ended up with some great pictures for our Open Eye Art site.

This is definitely my favorite. 

My good friend and amazing photographer, Sue Kieth spent the afternoon with us so we could get the perfect shot.

Open Eye Art is keeping us busy working with  unique clients on some very exciting creative spaces.
We are actively researching what aspects of spaces trigger creativity and ideation. We are exploring exciting art installation ideas that will helpget across the idea of environmental sustainability and community commitment. Lastly, we are digging deep to design an art project that has the potential to engage 3000 teachers  while  they are sipping on a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir . These are the kinds of challenges that Juliet and I have a blast working on. 

I am currently working with the Randall Children's Hospital and Emanuel Hospital.  We are in the process of  finding the perfect art pieces to complete both hospitals. The great part of this project is that I get to visit a lot of artist and galleries in search of the perfect art works.  I recently came across Alison O'Donohue's work down at the the Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem.  I am so inspired by her fascinating style that I am going to commission her to do a piece based on CREATIVITY.  I cant wait to see what she comes up with.


While we were down in Salem we had to stop by and see my friend Gerry Frank and try the delicious cakes at his Konditorei.  I highly recommend that you have lunch there if you happen to pass through Salem Oregon.


This is an illustration by my daughter, Laura Mark.  She is planning on attending the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts in the fall.  We should be seeing more wonderful illustrations like this in the near future!





Next month check out my hand lettering. It seems to be my next "fascination".

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Painting with Chocolate

 Chocolate Painting by Jennifer W Mark 2013

I promised after my "The Delicious Art of Painting with Chocolate" talk at this year's Portland Chocolatefest that I would post some of the painting techniques on my blog.  There was high interest in this technique for kids projects and a lot of people loved hearing about the unusual history of chocolate.
The above portrait is of young Queen Victoria who loved chocolate so much that she gave over 30,000 tins to each of her soldiers fighting in the Bohr wars of 1900 in South Africa.

How to paint on Canvas with Chocolate 

  • Mix dark unsweetened cocoa powder with an egg yolk and a little water until it is the consistency of light cream.  Once this is mixed up it should be good to paint with for several hours, but no longer because it is a raw egg yolk.
  • I make sure my eggs are organic, very fresh and I clean the outer shell with vinegar to kill any bacteria that might get in the egg yolk
  • I separate the egg yolk from the sack by gently puncturing the sack and pinching  on to it as the yolk spills out.  If you wish to learn more about painting with egg tempera it is a fascinating technique and very ancient.  Egg tempera is one of the most durable painting processes known!
  • I use regular watercolor brushes to paint with on gesso covered canvas or  gesso covered cardstock 

Chocolate Painting by Jennifer W Mark 2013
Cortez   actually discovered cocoa in the new world and chose to plant a cocoa plantation in present day Mexico.  After cultivating his crop for 10 years he finally brought all the cocoa pods and tools back to Spain to share the ddelicious discovery and make his fortune. Drinking chocolate with sugar added became a big hit with the royalty of the time. It was very expensive and exclusive.  They loved chocolate so much that they actually kept it as their little secret for over 100 years until the secret spread to Great Britain in the late 1700's.

 

 Chocolate Painting  on white chocolateby Jennifer W Mark 2013

 

How to Paint an Edible Chocolate Art Piece

  • When painting on white chocolate I first temper the chocolate. Here is a link to David Lebovitz great post on exactly how to temper chocolate and why it is important.
  • I also add what are called crystals ( which is basically palm kernal oil) to the chocolate to give it body and gloss
  • I draw the image on with an edible pen. (you can buy these in the baking section at any craft supply store such as Michael's) 
  • I then fill in all the darks using a good quality synthetic acrylic paint brush
  • Place the piece in the freezer for 10 minutes and it should set up and be ready to wrap up as a gift or place on a dessert
  • You can trace anything onto your white chocolate, but I find these strong light and dark images are the most effective.

Join me this spring for a special "Chocolate Lovers Unite" creative workshop 

at Sweet Wares in Portland.

 

What you will learn-
Join us for a fun, informative and creative class where we will focus exclusively on  white and dark chocolate and how to use it as an edible art form.   We will share secrets on how to create chocolate  creations that are not only beautiful, but taste amazing. We also will pass on some a simple tips for making everyday desserts look incredible. We will finish up with a chocolate tasting paired with a glass of local Pinot Noir. You can discover for yourself the subtle differences between some very special local craftsman chocolates and what truly brings out these chocolate’s greatest qualities.

Menu-
White/dark chocolate art piece you get to take home , chocolate dessert embellishments , tasting of a variety of wines and chocolates and a special Baker and Spice surprise.

Price- $85

Sweet Wares




Chocolate Painting on white chocolate by Jennifer W Mark 2013

Monday, December 24, 2012

Just finished my butterflies.....



                                                       Original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark
10" x 8"
$150 framed


 Original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark
10" x 8"
                                                                                                    $150 framed
 Original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark
10" x 8"
                                                                                                    $150 framed
 Original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark
10" x 8"
                                                                                                    $150 framed
 Original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark
10" x 8"
                                                                                                    $150 framed

 Original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark
10" x 8"
                                                                                                    $150 framed
Original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark
10" x 8"
                                                                                                    $150 framed

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

What is coming out of the studio this month....

Original Chocolate painting by Jennifer W Mark 2012



Another example of some of my experimentation with chocolate as a painting medium
I will be demonstrating my technique at the upcoming Chocolatefest in Portland OR.
Jan. 18-19-20

Original acrylic on birch/collage by Jennifer W Mark 2012
 Part of a new series I am working on using birds to express some thoughts and
ideas.


Original paper cut 24" x 42" by Jennifer W Mark




 I've been dying to try a papercut similar to my favorite artist Nikki McClure.  This is
taken from a photo of an old guy holding a pen...I changed it to my Open Eye Art logo.

Original oil pastel on birch by Jennifer W Mark 2012

This was from an amazing photo of a beautiful little German girl

Original Chocolate painting by Jennifer W Mark 2012



I was inspired by J Waterhouse and his amazing women.

My recent work for the upcoming PortlandChocolatefest

Original acrylic painting by Jennifer W Mark 2012
Original acrylic painting by Jennifer W Mark 2012
Original acrylic painting by Jennifer W Mark 2012
Original acrylic painting by Jennifer W Mark 2012

Collaborative painting that Michelle and I are working on for her condo.
The canvas is 40 x 60...it is huge!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Some of my latest projects....

 Painting installation I completed for the Oncology Staff Lounge at 
the Randall Children's Hospital .
The sqare vases are for holding found stones and sea glass.
The lower shelf is for holding the stones that have been chosen to represent the many beautiful patients that come through the oncology department.
The painting was suppose to be a calm and peaceful retreat from the hectic pace of everyday life on the Oncology floor.




 String Art Experiment for upcoming workshop..

Juliet and I had fun figuring out the "ins and outs" of string art.  We have given it the new and modern of twist of stringing all the "negative space".  This project is designed to help a large group connect better.  We cant wait to try it out on them.

 

Two of my design ideas for the upcoming button show at Hand Eye Supply

 

original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark





                                                                                   original watercolor by Jennifer Winship Mark




Friday, August 24, 2012

New Paintings around town....

 Open Eye Art 
Collaborative art created at the Butterflies in the Wine Country Workshop


Collaborative Painting Created with Open Eye Art and the
participants of the Butterflies in the Wine Country Workshop


We delight in the beauty of the butterfly,
 but rarely admit the changes
it has gone through to achieve that beauty
.
 ~Maya Angelou



Open Eye Art gathered a fun group of artist together at  Art Elements Gallery in Newberg, Oregon Saturday July 21st.   The goal was to create two colorful and meaningful collaborative paintings for the Oregon Community Foundation's offices in Porltand!
Each painting was created by a team of 4 individuals during our five hour Open Eye Art’s Creative Encounter. The cool aspect of this art is that they have hidden messages under the silhouette paint that includes hopes, aspirations and advice for OCF .  These wishes are an integral part of the pieces enabling the art to be playful yet meaningful.  I will share photos of these "embedded intentions”  in a future post.

The staff at Oregon Community Foundation work long and hard to make our community and our state an incredible place to live.  Open Eye Art and these talented artist felt that it was time for OCF to receive a little thank you back from the community !

                                                                                                  Open Eye Art 
Collaborative art created at the Butterflies in the Wine Country Workshop





Collaborative Painting Created with Open Eye Art and the students at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon

 
 Open Eye Art's and Lincoln High School's International Studies student's collaborative painting
created for the new Oregon School of Oriental Medicines new building in Portland Oregon.

This amazing 48 x 48 acrylic painting was  created by the International Studies students at Lincoln High School in Portland,Oregon.  Every year I help organize Art's Beat event in the school's cafeteria .  It is an enlightening gathering of musicians , artist, dancers and volunteers that believe in sharing the cultures of the world in a creative and interactive way.
The theme for this year's event was Asia.  My contribution was to create a collaboration between students and the volunteers from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.
Close to 100 students learned about the concepts taught at the College. They took their new found insights and added their artistic touches to the art piece creating the abstract painting you see above. The intriguing  part of this piece is the variety of symbols and techniques that the students resonated with after they learned more about Chinese herbs and practices.  The painting will be presented  and installed in the school on October 5th during one of OCOM's opening ceremonies. We know that the students of OCOM will appreciate the detail and energy of this wonderful collaborative work. 
 Graham paints , a generous local company that produces small batches of high quality paints was kind enough to donate their incredible acrylic paint for the project.  In fact they were so generous that the left over paint will be used in the many community projects we embark on this year.
Open Eye Art is a big supporter of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine,
 the students at Lincoln High School and we are dedicated to giving creative opportunities to people that enable them to "get their hands dirty", so this collaboration was dear to our heart on many levels.

I highly recommend you check out the new Oregon College of Oriental Medicine  
when it opens to the public next month. The new building is amazing on many levels.  My favorite aspect of the space is the fact the a renowned Feng Shui master, Alex Stark made sure that every classroom, gathering space and office was put in the perfect location containing the right elements to enhance harmony and beauty. 

Feng shui is based on the teachings of Daoism, founded by Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu in the sixth century B.C.. It is an increasingly familiar interior design concept in the West, and is commonly used in China to site buildings and design spaces to maximize the potential for success. Like Traditional Chinese Medicine, feng shui is based on the principles of yin-yang theory and focuses on the harmonious balance of the five universal elements – water, earth, metal, fire and wood. Feng shui “treats” the built environment through the use of things like strategically placed mirrors, greenery, crystals and color, while TCM focuses on bringing balance to the human body through acupuncture and herbs. These principles, whether applied to building or individual, seek the same result: the creation of prosperity, health and success.

 






Ocean Painting Created by Jennifer Mark for the Oncology Staff Lounge at the New Randall Children's Hospital in Portland Oregon


Acrylic painting by Jennifer Winship Mark 48 x 48