July Reflections

Pier Reflections with Lilac. 12" x 60". 

Pier 1 Reflections. 12" x 60".

My studio work for the month of July has been all about reflections of pier structures - I have completed six paintings of different sizes and formats. 

Reflections - Fort Mason # 2
36" x 30"

All of the paintings began with a collage of street posters. In the past, when I have painted over the collage, I have left only small glimpses of color and text showing to enliven the painting and offer unexpected discoveries to the persistent  viewer. With some of these new paintings I have allowed larger areas of poster to remain uncovered as the water effect breaks up. I'm enjoying the play between the two layers of imagery which pulls the viewing focus back and forth and reminds the viewer that it is, after all, just paper and paint.

Reflections with Raft. 48" x 36".

Reflections with Barrels. 30" x 24".

Reflections - Under the Pier. 40" x 18"

 

 

Morocco Travel Journal 2014

The story of my recent trip to Morocco, told in sketches:

Two days in Marrakech:

Entrance to Maison Tiskiwin

Arch detail in Bahia Palace

Then my travel companions and I set off on a three-day driving adventure to Guelmim before joining a drawing group in Essaouira. 

Day One - Marrakech to Taroudant over the High Atlas:

Driving over the Atlas mountains - an enterprising cafe
owner has positioned an old van to hang over the cliff.
 Naturally travelers stop to take pictures and have
refreshments in the cafe.  

The Hotel Palais Salam in Taroudant is set into the walls
 of the Kasbah.

Day two - Taroudant to Guelmim:

Breakfast by the turtle pool at the Palais Salam.

Evening meal at Maison Nomades in Oasis Tighmert,
 just outside Guelmim.

Day three - Guelmim to Essaouira:

Early morning visit to the camel and livestock market in
Guelmim which is close to the border of the disputed
territory of Western Sahara. There were traders from
several countries and tribes.

Traders wearing Jallabas

Lunch at Chez Josephine, just North of Agadir.

After our arrival in Essaouira on the Atlantic coast we had six whole days to draw and have fun:

The Port of Essaouira - from the sea wall.

The old jewish district in the North West corner of the medina.

Fishing boats

Fishing boat

Fishing boat

Paint and steel on the side of a boat

Hand painted - small fishing boat

Courtyard in the medina

View from Cafe Glacier towards the mosque.
(This was done on a pre-prepared page with Moroccan
 newspaper and sprayed henna design.) 

Camel waiting to give a ride to a tourist like me.

Drawn from the back of my moving camel:
team leader Diane on her trusty steed. 

The back of my (moving) camel's head.

Boz riding ahead (done from my moving camel).

Boat being painted

Early morning on the harbor: a fishing boat arrives with
 a catch of sardines. The crew stand in a semi-circle to
pull and stack the nets.
No photos allowed - my sketchbook is the only option!

Another view of the fishing net action: the nets are being
carefully pulled over the winch and stacked.

A new fishing trawler being built. The wooden ribs on
 the underside are still visible.

Looking down from the raised sea wall: fishermen hook
the bait for the next voyage.

Moroccan tea. The strange padded figure is in fact a
heat-mitten for the hot handle of the tea pot. Drawn on
paper used for wrapping large cones of solid sugar.

Young men at Cafe Glacier 

A camel sticker, purchased from a stationery store in
the medina, applied to a piece of vintage wallpaper
pre-pasted into my sketchbook.

The Portuguese architectural style of the port.

Then back to Marrakech for two days:

Dar Mouassine - the cool dipping pool.

Dar Mouassine - terrace detail

Dar Mouassine - shadows through the window grille

Final night in Morocco - dinner on the terrace at Dar Mouassine.

Moroccan Updates

Unfortunately the tablet I will be travelling with does not seem to like Blogger.com and will not upload images. So to see my daily sketches you will have to view my Catherine Mackey Studios page on Facebook.

I will be sure to post a selection of my work here on my return so watch this space!

Preparing for my Moroccan drawing trip.

Sketch from Rooftop - Essaouria 2012. Colored pencil and collage on paper

I'm leaving for Morocco soon. It's two years since I last visited and I'm really looking forward to joining a group of artists in the coastal town of Essaouira for a week of sketchbook work.

My packing is mainly working out which art materials to take with me. I'm having some fun prepping one of my sketchbooks with collage and washes.

Click here to see my sketches and photos on my Studio Facebook page from May 28th. 

Spring Offerings

Well, the daffodils are out and the sun is shining so I guess it's time for my 

Spring Open Studio

Saturday April 26th and Sunday April 27th

Noon - 6.00 pm

1890 Bryant St. #204

San Francisco, CA 94110

Preview: Friday April 25th 6.00- 9.00 pm

Interiors

Industrial

Piers

 
 

Posters from Foreign Lands

Posters from France

As many of my readers will already know - my paintings are almost always done on a collage base created with posters "appropriated" from the streets. In past years I would find most of my material on plywood hoardings around building sites in the Mission district of San Francisco. With the gentrification of the neighborhood and tighter city laws governing illegal postings and graffiti clean-up my supply of posters started to dwindle. At the same time a very good friend started to bring back posters from the streets of France after her annual visits. This has kept me going for a long time - thanks Diane!

About six months ago I met a couple who were interested in my work and were inspired by the story of my French posters. They subsequently did some travels of their own to places including Turin and St. Petersburg and decided that they would contribute to my stash of international posters.

(At this point I feel I have to tell you that I am not talking about a young twenty-something couple Inter-Railing around Europe with their backpacks. The couple in question are older, sophisticated, and very respectable. They shall be known here as Jean and Rod) 

Posters from Russia, Germany, and Italy.

This adventurous couple recently came back to my studio bearing posters, one of which was very large and several layers thick. Apparently, while attempting to peel this off a wall in Turin, Rod was disturbed and threatened with the police, at which point he jumped off the ledge on which he was perched, rolled up the detached poster, slid it down the back of his shirt, jumped on his bicycle and made his escape through the narrow streets. 

Part of a Russian poster makes it's way into an under-painting.

A big Thank You! to all my friends and followers who go to great lengths to bring me posters. 

But please - don't get arrested!

Bicycle Jigsaw Puzzle

After an absence of approximately thirty years I have re-entered the world of doing jigsaw puzzles!

As some of you already know one of my bicycle paintings was turned into a puzzle by Heye - a German puzzle manufacturer. I recently received my free sample and decided to test the product. I had no idea that it would take over my whole weekend! Every time I tried to leave (go to bed, do chores, buy groceries etc.) I spotted "just one more" piece that I could place and an hour later found myself still at the table. It was fun, addictive, and absorbing. But please....to all my friends out there: no puzzles for future presents - I have a life to run!

Here are some progress shots of my exciting weekend (the tulips in the background offer a sense of time elapsed):

As yet the puzzle is not available on Amazon but can be purchased from puzzle distributors and stores.
For those of you in Europe it is available from Heye.
In the US it can be ordered from Puzzle Warehouse.

Anyone who would like to have their puzzle box signed by me should bring it to my Spring Open Studio on April 26th and 27th.

Enjoy!