en route | art by rachel forte

jump-start

2012-02-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

i needed to get back into the rhythm of my thesis, and i think this quick painting did the trick. i want to start doing larger work again, back in the 6ft range, but sometimes i need to work out the kinks on a small scale. i also feel obligated to occasionally try working with colors that i don't particularly like, hence YELLOW, but i think i'll ignore that impulse and go with favorites for the next one. acrylic on canvas, 24x36 in.

new business cards!

2012-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

my new business cards came yesterday! my last batch was pretty depleted after the show, but i also needed some that have my new website information.

website!

2012-01-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

my website is finally finished! i'll still be editing it a bit but at last it's online so please have a look! of course i'll continue with my blog as usual, but my professional portfolio will be here.

www.rachelforte.com

mini painting

2011-12-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

towards the end of the semester i started to play around with a couple of smaller paintings, since my work is usually fairly large. opposites are always nice to try, though i think overall this really just made me miss my big canvases. here's my favorite one, it's about 20in long, and acrylic on canvas. also, i'm in the process of coding my website, and i'm hoping it will be finished in the next few weeks!

(potentially) never-ending drawings

2011-12-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

thought i'd share one of the three potentially ongoing drawing projects i've been working on this semester. this one in particular is graphite on separate sheets of bristol, a combined 38x72 in (19x24 in each). i've included a close up of each sheet, mostly as evidence of why my hand and back are giving out. i was reminded of how many ridiculous ways artists can injure themselves doing the most mundane things with this one, not to mention the other two that i'll try and post soon! as different as these are from my paintings, it was a really nice parallel to be working on them at the same time, i think they really informed each other a lot.

solo show

2011-11-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

here are a few snapshots from my solo show, "Retrospections"! for any locals (or not!) the show is hanging in The Gateway, at 1601 Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore MD, 21217. the show opened on november 18th, and will be open through december 9th, so make your way over in the next couple of weeks if you're able!

thesis #4

2011-11-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

been trying to be as diverse as possible with my color palettes recently. this one was definitely way out of my normal range, and regardless of how it came out i'm glad to have worked with it. during my thesis review boards i was told this was a more "whimsical" direction to move towards, so i'm still pondering what the adjectives are that i really want my work to be. all input is appreciated. despite meticulous tweaking in photoshop, the colors are definitely not how they appear in person. c'est la vie. acrylic on canvas, 24x48

thesis #3

2011-10-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

another thesis piece! this one is much more similar to the work i did last spring. i've been trying to refine which forms i like using most, and now getting to really explore surface possibilities, as it makes all the difference. i discovered a couple new glossy glazing mediums that really make this one glow in person, so that was ever so satisfying! acrylic on canvas, 30x40in

commission!

2011-10-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

here's a commission that i just delivered today! it gave me a good excuse to visit everyone from my internship at MPA! acrylic on canvas, 24x48

thesis #2

2011-10-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

another thesis piece! this one also has a subtly glossy surface that makes it a little brighter in person. acrylic on canvas, 30in x 40in

thesis #1

2011-09-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

just finished up my first thesis piece! the effects of the glossy finish that it has translate a little strangely in a photo, but it didn't reflect too badly. another large one, it's 48x60in, acrylic on canvas

commission!

2011-07-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

here's a commission that i just finished up! i really wanted to work on some subtlety with my larger paintings, since i usually am all for the lack of space. the colors are a little more vibrant sitting in a naturally lit room, the yellow and little spots of red shine a bit more, and like always i tweaked the photograph for too long and was never satisfied. but it'll do, and i really had a lot of fun with this one! acrylic on canvas, a little over 60in long

giant #2

2011-06-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

so here's another one of my giants from the spring semester. i worked on it on and off for a few months being indecisive and am trying to decide if i think it's finished. about 70in horizontally. acrylic on canvas.

more obsessions

2011-05-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

here's another one from my Obsessions class. not sure how i feel about it being so monochromatic, i might go back into it this summer, we'll see. acrylic on canvas, about 3 1/2ft wide

giant #1

2011-04-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

here's one of my junior independent giants! i'm calling it finished as far as the semester goes, but i might come back to it in the future...it changed so many times in the last few months that i'm still not sure which version of it i liked best. hopefully i won't sound like a broken record when i say that it looks so much better in person. acrylic on canvas, about 70in long

due from february...

2011-04-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

this was a little-ish painting i did for Junior Independent back in january/february, it was what prompted the rest of the bigger ones that i'll post in a bit. it's a little under 40in tall, acrylic on canvas

obsessions!

2011-03-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

first larger painting for my Obsessions class! have updates to come from Junior Independent soon. click for better/larger view, 28x48 acrylic on canvas

stipple, stipple

2011-02-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

as an exercise for my Obsessions class, using an old photograph that i took, i used an extremely small brush to stipple the paint in the exact same repetitive motion, as we've been discussing obsessive processes. for a tiny painting, it took some patience. acrylic on canvas, 10x16

balloons

2011-01-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

this was one of my last from "d-painting" last semester that i never got around to posting. the background was an edited photo that i took, but the balloons are all painted with acrylic on top. acrylic and photo on canvas

color abstraction

2010-12-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

last piece from my color abstraction class! really hoping my color calibration is behaving and portraying the right colors, thought it might still be a little washed out... acrylic on canvas, about 40in

media combination

2010-11-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

here's another project from "d-painting". one of the choices on our list of subject matter was "age". i did a triptych on a walk through life though aging shoes. the backdrop is all digital, but the individual shoes which stand out are painted in acrylic. i also ended up doing a piece for my creative writing class based on this which has been one of my favorites so far, so i was glad for the inspiration! digital and acrylic on canvas, 10x30 each

color abstraction

2010-11-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

here's another piece for color abstraction! after a drawing marathon of having to creating 40 abstract compositions in 2 hours, i based this one off of one of my favorites. acrylic on canvas, 30x48

peter and the wolf

2010-11-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

this was a painting i did depicting a progression of moments from peter and the wolf for "d-painting". the only place that i chose to add a digital element was in a transparent under-layer for the green forest in the background. everything else is drawn and then painted in acrylics. photographing it created a slight loss of sharpness, especially in the line work. this was a really fun project, and i'm looking forward to having it hanging with our class's show coming up. 15x36 on canvas

systems abstraction

2010-10-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

the premise of this project was to create and abstract a system for myself, from which this evolved. i tried to keep a balance between its chaos and organization, and working with so many layers was wonderful (though i wish the depth was more apparent in the photograph). acrylic on canvas, 40x40

baltimore buried

2010-10-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

for one of my assignments we had to combine traditional painting with elements of a photo. i ended up filling almost the whole canvas with paint, and only leaving photo elements in some areas in the trees since i wanted to teach myself more about realism in the rest of the painting. i definitely learned a ton of lessons from this project and really want to do more of it!

improv.

2010-10-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

for my color abstraction class we did an assignment with improvisation using a dominant hue. this was mostly an experiment of techniques, and i definitely discovered some new methods that i'll continue to use! this one is a bit larger, around 40x48, acrylic on canvas. had a little difficulty getting the camera to justify the textures.

little color abstraction

2010-09-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

here's one of four small abstract paintings i did for my color abstraction class. it was the most successful i think, but i'm going to keep working on the others to post later on. i really liked doing these a lot, and am really excited to start making bigger ones for the rest of the semester. acrylic on canvas, about 10x12

commission

2010-08-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

here's another commission i had over the summer. "trees" was the specific request and i've always loved painting them, so i really enjoyed this one. i focussed on being a little more textural than i usually am using more layers and mediums. it made me want to go back into acrylic again since i seem to use it a bit more freely than oils. bummed that the photograph can't do justice to looking at it from a bit of a distance. acrylic on canvas.

cityscape

2010-06-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

this was actually done for my "abstraction/representation" class from the spring, but i never posted it. just was touching up a few things since being home but i think it's probably finished now. did the underpainting with brushes but everything else is palette knife. oil on canvas (click for larger image to see more detail since the canvas was fairly large)

flowerpots

2010-06-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

this was a fun little painting to do. it seems like i'm getting farther and farther from anything real, but the surreal is just as interesting to experiment with right now. oil on canvas

experiments...

2010-04-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

this was a totally experimental painting that i did, mostly to try and incorporate some of my figurative doodles into a painting. i doubt i'll ever do anything like this again, since i prefer being much less flat than this, and i'm not sure that i really like the way it ended up. oil on canvas

abstract expressionism?

2010-03-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

got an assignment for an abstract expressionist painting. this was my first attempt at anything like this, so it was definitely an interesting experience. oil on canvas

beach evening

2010-03-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

wanting to loosen up a bit, i used a photo that i'd taken as a reference to practice being a little bit less tight. oil on canvas

conservatory

2010-03-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

be sure to click for the enlarged version which is much sharper. this was a quick response to a trip my "inside/outside" class took to the conservatory. it's acrylic paint, ink, pen, and oil pastel on canvas.

corpus christi

2010-02-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

a small one session oil painting for my "inside/outside" class. corpus christi on mount royal was one of our first outings.

studies from life drawing

2010-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

just a handful of the numerous bone and muscle studies for my life drawing class last semester.

oil pastel alphabet of foods

2009-08-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Alphabet of Foods; A for Apples

Alphabet of Foods; B for Bacon

Alphabet of Foods; C for Cheese

Alphabet of Foods; D for Donuts

Alphabet of Foods; E for Eggs

Alphabet of Foods; F for French Fries

Alphabet of Foods; G for Grapes

Alphabet of Foods; H for Hotdog

Alphabet of Foods; I for Ice cream

Alphabet of Foods; J for Jelly

Alphabet of Foods; K for Kiwi

Alphabet of Foods; L for Lemons

Alphabet of Foods; M for Muffin

Alphabet of Foods; N for Nectarine

Alphabet of Foods; O for Olives

Alphabet of Foods; P for Pizza

Alphabet of Foods; Q for Quesadilla

Alphabet of Foods; R for RaspberriesAlphabet of Foods; S for SubAlphabet of Foods; T for TomatoAlphabet of Foods; U for utzAlphabet of Foods; V for VegetablesAlphabet of Foods; W for WatermelonAlphabet of Foods; X for "kisses" (xoxo...)Alphabet of Foods; Y for (Yoplait) YogurtAlphabet of Foods; Z for Zucchini