Happy New Year!

As you prepare to say good-bye to one decade, and hello to another, I hope you enjoy taking a look at what I've been up to recently. The following are a selection of images from the First Year MFA Exhibition. I tried to include some of my classmate's work that I thought would translate well at this scale (sorry to those I didn't include!).


Here's the roll call.


At the opening reception.


By Erin Dunn.


By Gabbe Grodin.


By Tom Raggio.


By Alan Prazniak.


By Eileen Behnke.


By Summer Baldwin.


By Erik Schoonebeek.


By Liv Aanrud.

It's been quite exciting as I've dug into grad school. After having my first year review, and several interesting studio visits with visiting artists such as James Hyde and Sarah Oppenheimer, I've been understanding what I make in new ways. This process is helping me gain perspective and focus as I explore new ways of working and plan my next projects. Here are a few of my most recent paintings:


Night Park Study, oil on canvas, 45" x 12"


Tree at Night, oil on panel, 16" x 12"


Dark Road, oil on canvas, 36" x 24"


Studies after a painting by Albert Pinkham Ryder.


Sketches & works on paper temporarily propped up in my studio.

My professor Marc Handelman organized a day of artist talks/studio visits. Here are a few photos from that day.

Studio visit with Marc Handelman.


Studio visit with Jessica Dickinson.


Studio visit with Dana Schutz.

In addition to studio visits with my class, Tyson & I went into the city recently to see some great exhibits at the Met, including the Samurai exhibit with lots of expertly crafted blades; Georgia O'Keeffe at the Whitney; David Hockney at Pace; and Gerhardt Richter at Marian Goodman.

Besides visiting NYC on a frequent basis for art, Tyson and I have also been visiting with Amy & Kevin ( Laundromat ) and recently we went to a Holiday Party hosted by Ethan and Leah. Such great times!!!


Images from the train ride from NYC back to Highland Park.


NJ...


More NJ...


And I couldn't resist taking pictures of our first real snow!!! This is just outside our apartment the evening the storm hit.


And the morning after!


White cloud blanketed in whiteness.


Tyson throwing snow at me.


Snow in the forest.


Vultures feeding on something in the snow...deer maybe?


The river partly frozen.


Happy Holidays!


Lobstie making a snow angel...


Our Christmas swag, doubling as a wall-mounted tree.

In conclusion, we've had a lot of fun celebrating the holidays with my classmates (we recently had a progressive party that included three different hosts and locations), as well as friends in the area. But it is difficult being so far away from family and friends in California--the holidays just aren't the same without you guys back home. We will be coming back for a short visit in mid-January right before the spring semester begins for me. Tyson will be staying on in California for 6 months for his residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts, and I will be returning for a busy semester of school as well as teaching a painting class (water media) through the extension program at Mason Gross. So, a lot of interesting new paths for exploration for both Tyson and I!

Until the next time, wishing you and yours all the best for what the New Year holds,
XO

October = Awesome!

Much has happened over the past five weeks. Before writing too much about anything else, I have to tell you about the First Year MFA Exhibition of which I am a participant:

First Year MFA Exhibition
Reception: 5-7pm, Thursday, November 19th
Location: Mason Gross Galleries, 33 Livingston Av, New Brunswick, NJ
Map: link
The show runs November 12-December 11, 2009

Here are my latest paintings, two of which will be in the show.


Night Park, oil on canvas (diptych) 32"H x 120"W

Twilight on Mill Valley, oil on canvas (diptych) 24” H x 96” W

Porch Dynamics, oil on canvas, 20.5” H x 40” W

Between my classes, working in the studio, working at the Brodsky Center, and the random delicious Paella party with my classmates, I am keeping quite busy! Luckily, I've had a chance to visit some new places and do some exploring too.

Earlier in October, Tyson and I drove over to visit with Nancy (my mom's cousin) and Keith in Doylestown PA. We had a delicious brunch at their house, and then went to see Fonthill, the Michener Museum and the Mercer Museum. A very interesting look into the life and work of a local artist and the legacy he left the community.


Fonthill castle, built by Henry Mercer


The Mercer Museum, also built by Henry Mercer

We also had a visit from Tyson's Aunt Gail later in the month, who made a day trip down to New Brunswick while visiting her son Travis (Tyson's cousin) in NYC. We greatly enjoyed brunch with her at Old Man Rafferty's, and then gave her the tour.

I've been out and about checking out shows recently, and have enjoyed openings at the Laundromat (Kevin Curran and Amy Lincoln's art space in Bushwick), Yvonne Jacquette at Mary Ryan Gallery , Josephine Halvorson at Monya Rowe Gallery
and Tim Eitel's Invisible Forces at PaceWildenstein especially.

I'm reading a couple of books right now, recommended by professors, both of which are really good: "Because I Was Flesh: The Autobiography of Edward Dahlberg" and "Landscape and Power" by W.J.T. Mitchell.

The Brodsky Center hosted a "spooktacular" Halloween party, and then this past week, participated in book fairs in Chelsea and Philadelphia. The EAB Fair in Chelsea was a lot of fun to help out at--I met some interesting people, and saw a lot of contemporary print and book art. Good times! Here are some images from the opening night party, and night photography I did along the way home.

Kristyna (Assistant printer), Randy (Master printer), Dennis (Director of Marketing) and Ann (Paper maker) at the Brodsky Center booth at the EAB Fair


Walking along 10th Av.


Almost makes me want to play Grand Theft Auto...




Shooting out the window on the way home (Thanks for the ride, Sandra!)


From the minivan window



Well, until the next time!
XO Caetlynn

September: A Fast Month Passing

As has probably been your experience as well, much has transpired during the past month. This is an update describing some of my adventures, as well as how I have been spending my time since school began in early September. I hope you enjoy reading and looking. XO Caetlynn


Before I had made new canvases to work with, I decided to explore ink and watercolor on paper. I made the images above during mid-September.


This diptych is my first painting in oil (other than a portrait of my classmate, Paul DeMuro that I finished for a group show at Nexus in Philadelphia--sorry, no image right now!)


Being a graduate student at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers is awesome! My classmates and professors are amazing, as is my studio (pictured above), the resources, the proximity to NYC, etc.... I'm biking to school every day, and my work study assignment is at the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions ( www.brodskycenter.org ). I'm really enjoying helping with art marketing at the BCIE--and it's very conveniently located in the same building as my studio and all my classes. This semester I'm taking four classes, three that focus on painting and group and individual studio visits with my classmates and professors, and a Visiting Artist class. Two weeks ago, the visiting artist was Josephine Halvorson , a Brooklyn artist whose paintings are worth taking a look at. She gave an inspiring presentation about her work and philosophy, and provided me with some great feedback about my own work.


I thought I'd throw this image in as an example of some of the lovable bits and pieces at the Civic Square Building where all this magic is taking place.


This is the view when exiting the building at night--the hotel across the street in downtown New Brunswick.


One of the best things about living in Central Jersey is the NJ Transit line that drops you at Penn Station in NYC in 45 mins. if catch the express. (There are some other things too, but this is pretty high on the priority list). The following are some photos taken at The New Museum during a recent visit.




Tyson. Head on.


Tyson. From above.


Tyson. From below.

And the Met!!! The following are a small sampling of some paintings that caught my eye recently.

Unfortunately I don't have the journal with me that would reveal the name of this artist, but I loved this strange arctic composition.


And this detail of "The Heart of the Andes" by Frederick Church--intimate dappled view of nature's nooks & crannies.


Unknown artist.


Who paints better than El Greco? In my opinion, no one.


NYC. On our way to NYMOMA to see the James Ensor show. Fantastic.

On another note, recently, classmates Jessica Bottalico and Alan Prazniak and I ventured into the wilderness of the park along the Raritan River for a night drawing session. The following are photos captured along the way.



View of New Brunswick at night.



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But I won't pretend that the transition has all been easy. Both Tyson and I have had many nostalgic moments about the home we left in SF (below are pictures from our back porch), and long to see our many friends and relatives again soon, hopefully for the holidays.





Lastly, yesterday, Tyson and I went into NY to galleries in Chelsea. We saw too much to mention everything (like 20!!!), but one of the best was Amy Stein at ClampArt . Check it.

I will try to post at least once a month, and am working on some larger paintings now, so will include them in the next one, as well as reviews of more gallery shows that strike my fancy. Until next time, XO CJB