White Rooster Studio

America in the Making at the Addison 102626

October 26, 2026 whiteroosterstudio

Admittedly, I originally was not planning on visiting America in the Making – Addison Gallery but after I saw a recent review, I revised my plans and stopped by over the weekend. And I am so glad that I did as I finally had the chance to view some of my favorite artist’s work.

The exhibition is set up chronologically so for me the really fun stuff was located on their 2nd floor which was mostly contemporary art.

Frank Stella’s “Juam, 1997”

Top left: Betye Saar, A Different Destiny, 2024, Bottom left: Carrie Mae Weems, All the Boys (Blocked 2), 2016, Right: Kara Walker, unfortunately, the photo I took with the name of this piece was too blurry to figure out what it says.

Left: Andy Warhol, Cambell’s Soup II (Oyster Stew), 1969, Middle: Andy Warhol, Execution Chair, Left: Roy Lichtenstein, Sweet Dreams Baby!, 1965

There was not a lot of sculpture represented, but the pieces below allowed me to finally see Smith and Moholy-Nagy’s work in person.

Left: David Smith, Structure of Arches, 1939, Right: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Twisted Planes, 1946

Left: Georgia O’Keeffe, Wave, Night, 1928, Right: Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Lines, 1919

Left: Karl Zerbe, Chinatown No. 2, 1952, Top Right: Hans Hoffman, Black Demon, 1944, Bottom Left: Adolph Gottlieb, Untitled, 1953

Irene Rice Pereira work has always fascinated me, but until now, I have not had an opportunity to see her work. Light is Gold, 1951 looks into “the relationship between light, space and perception” and really needs to be seen up close so you can see how it was assembled:

John Graham’s name pops up in virtually every book about the New York School/Abstract Expressionists, yet I have never seen any of his work in person – until now Nature Morte, 1929-30 (right), Left: Joseph Cornell, Cage, 1949

Maud Morgan and her husband were part of the New York art scene in the 1930s before she was a teacher at Phillips Academy in the 1940s and 50s and somehow, I missed learning about her. Her painting Triptych, 1949 absolutely dominates the room and is one of the most captivating paintings I have ever seen.

Left: Hedda Sterne, Untitled, 1989, Right: The Irascibles: William Baziotes, James Brooks, Fritz Bultman, Jimmy Ernst, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Weldon Kees, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Richard Pousette-Dart, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, Hedda Sterne, Clyfford Still and Bradley Walker Tomlin.

Ms Sterne is the only woman in the group and is standing in the back, if you wish to know more about the Irascibles, please see The Irascibles – Wikipedia

This is the first time I have seen any work by Hedda Sterne and the photo really does not do it justice, it is quite powerful and I found myself going back to it several times.

It is rumored that Jeanne Reynal created Servants of the Sun, 1950 “after reflecting on the suicide of a close friend (possibly well-known painter Arshile Gorkey, who died in 1948).”

This is another artist I have long heard about, but have never had an opportunity to see her work.

Alma Thomas currently has an exhibition on view Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum | Smith College Museum of Art until January 10, 2027. I have not had a chance to see it yet, but it is on my Must See list. The beautiful paining below is her “Ruth Kainen’s Amaryllis”, 1976

Was very happy to see Louise Nevelson represented with “Untitled”, 1958 (left), as well as Florine Stettheimer, My Birthday Eyegay, 1929 (right). I only discovered Florine last year and since then have been on the lookout for her work, I love the way that this painting on first viewing looks so simple, but the layers are really what makes it special.

Sol Lewitt, Wall Drawing #1065: Bars of Color (Addison), 2003

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Studio Update: 100626

October 6, 2026October 6, 2026 whiteroosterstudio

I have been kind of all over the place the past couple of months trying figure out what direction I would like my work to evolve into so there has been quite a bit of experimentation going on, some good, some not so good but all worth at least trying out.

After the completion of one of my projects, I had a surplus of paper that was ~10×22 inches and decided to use that size for experimentation purposes.

I started with Untitled 022226 (see progress pics below) but got stuck towards the end of completing the picture as I couldn’t decide on how I should do it, so it is currently taped to my studio wall. I am happy to say that I believe that I have figured out a solution and will be taking it off the wall soon to see if it works 🙂

Next, I worked on Exquisite Corpse Totem 041026 (left) and Asymmetrical Totem 080526 (right) mostly trying to shake things up a bit and try to move away from the predominately symmetrical work that I have been doing. I am still a bit stuck on Exquisite Corpse Totem 041026 (using Surrealist rules of the game), but believe that Asymmetrical Totem 080526 could be the next picture to come off of the wall 🙂

If you are not familiar with the Surrealist drawing game The Exquisite Corpse, please check out: Exquisite corpse – Wikipedia for explanations/examples. I find it to be a wonderful way to shake up my work and have used the idea on several experimental pictures.

On a side note, I recently viewed the Legacies of Surrealism: Works from the Museo de Arte de Ponce at D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts Springfield, MA and they had a station set up for visitors to play the game.

Final note about the Exquisite Corpse game: Helen A Harrison wrote a wonderfully fun art mystery series starting with An Exquisite Corpse (Book #1 in the Art of Murder Mystery Series) set in 1940s NYC that uses some real artists as characters. Check her out:

I believe that part of the issue I have with actually “finishing” pictures is: I actually really enjoy the way the pictures look in their “outline” state and when I add color or other markings, I am simply not as in love with the idea any longer. I haven’t gone any further with Untitled 081925 simply because I love the way it looks now:

I do believe that I am getting closer to what I am looking for with Counterpart Asymmetrical 20×16.25 090726 and even though I feel that there are some sections of this picture that do not work as well, I will “finish” it as I believe that that this work is a bridge to what I am trying to get to:

*@2026, Jenn White,* Counterpart Asymmetrical 20×16.25 090726

All of this experimentation brings me to Asymmetrical 45 degrees 091226. I am really enjoying working on this picture but have found myself stumped at how I would like to finish it. I LOVE how the top portion of the picture came out and feel that there is something lacking overall, so this is now taped to my studio wall so I can try to puzzle out a solution:

*@2026, Jenn White,* Asymmetrical 45 degrees 091226

*@2026, Jenn White,* Asymmetrical 45 degrees 091226 (Detail)

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

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Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina at NBMAA

August 24, 2026 whiteroosterstudio

I made my first visit to the New Britain Museum of American Art in CT this weekend and I honestly cannot wait to return! The museum is absolutely amazing and the staff are incredible! Special shout out to the extremely patient lady who checked me in and took the time to review the spreadsheet I brought with me listing the exhibits I wanted to see (yes, I really did bring a spreadsheet) and marked where all of the rooms were so I wouldn’t miss anything 🙂

Sculpture at the NBMAA entrance, love the penguins

My interest in the NBMAA began with the notice of the Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina | NBMAA exhibit. I have been a long-time fan of Nevelson’s but was not as familiar with Esphyr Slobodkina. After viewing the exhibit, I am now a fan of hers as well!

Esphyr Slobodkina (left) and Louise Nevelson (right)

Selection of Louise Nevelson’s work below, including one of her amazing Dream Houses (top right in black):

Louise Nevelson’s jewelry and clothing:

Selection of Esphyr Slobodkina’s work:

There is still time if you are in the area, the exhibit will be on view until November 01, 2026.

I also checked out the Faith Ringgold exhibit, some pics below:

The NBMAA also had some favorites: Helen Frankenthaler, Kay Sage, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Betye Saar and always fun to see: the Guerrilla Girls!:

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

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Studio Update: 080426

August 4, 2026August 4, 2026 whiteroosterstudio

Ouch. My last studio update was over two years ago.

Since then, I have been working steadily in my studio, tried a LOT of ideas, some more successful than others… but nothing felt “right”.

So, I didn’t post updates.

And next thing I knew, two years had passed.

In hindsight, I suspect that one of the reasons I wasn’t posting any studio updates – both on FB and on this page – was because only SECTIONS of pictures “worked”, that overall, I felt that nothing I had worked on was a successful innovation.

It had been suggested to me recently that I should try to get back to basics, just play. Let go of the project/series obsession (for now) and try something new, perhaps asymmetrical. Honestly, the idea intrigued me and I am eager to experiment with this idea, try out new picture sizes, see where this takes me.

But I have one more holdover idea and there is a part of me that cannot let it go just yet.

Recently I revisited a small project I started in 2019: the Baugua Project, eight pictures, 17×22. The first round of pictures not quite successful, but there were elements in each picture that were, so I thought I would give it another try. I started Li/Fire in March of this year and I will admit that this is the one picture I have been happiest with in a long time:

I have always been drawn to larger works on paper, but regardless of how hard I try, I have not been as successful as I would like yet… BUT, I think I may be onto something. I thought: what if I took a 22×30 sheet of paper and add 2 versions of Li/Fire to it and invert them? And, what if I added the ink blot designs that I had been experimenting with to the overall design?

Overall, I really like the result… but was having some issues with the ink blot overlay. So, I thought: what if I recreated the essential design on a 22×22 piece of paper and see what happens?

@2026, Jenn White, Counterpart #2 080126

I am SUPER happy with this design so far and am really looking forward to completing it, but I really feel that I need to look at this on my studio wall for a couple of weeks and focus on asymmetrical studies for now.

I would like to say that I will post more projects and work in progress, but knowing me, I have the best intentions… and then I forget. But I will try.

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

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Adventures with Basil: Long Pond, Henniker, NH / July 19-25, 2026

August 2, 2026 whiteroosterstudio

Our annual week-long vacation at the lake is now over.

We absolutely love the choice we made a couple of years ago to simply have quiet weeks away reading books, making art and poking around in used book stores or check out a couple of local sites instead of spending it running around only to arrive home again even more tired than when we left.

During our time away, I read Stan and Gus: Art, Ardor, and the Friendship that Built the Gilded Age by Henry Wieneck, which got me thinking: I have been to Trinity Church in Boston multiple times but I cannot remember actually going inside and both Standford White and Augustus Saint-Gaudens worked on it. Basil and I now have a mini Boston trip planned sometime in the fall to visit inside Trinity Church as well as stopping in to view the John Singer Sargent murals and the Boston Public Library across the street.

I also read We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something by Amie McNee. For any artist looking for some inspiration to get out of a creative rut or work on their artist block, this is an amazing book.

I have issues with both from time to time and McNee’s ideas, prompts and projects are extremely helpful identifying issues and getting back on track. The chapters on procrastination, perfectionism and burnout especially hit home for me and the suggestion of starting a two-week challenge to jump-start your work habits is one of the big things I will be trying to incorporate into my weekly art life.

If you have a chance, please check it out:

We spent time every day doing at least a little bit of art. Some things worked, some didn’t, and that’s OK. The point is: art was being done:

We spent an afternoon looking at local covered bridges, unfortunately there were not a lot of places for Basil to pose on this trip, but we will work on some ideas for the next one:

On our way back to the cottage, we stopped in at Yankee Farmer’s Market in Warner, NH for some bison steaks. We had tried bison when we visited Wyoming years ago and this was an opportunity to try it again. We had a great experience, unfortunately we didn’t see any bison, but were greeted on our way out by a couple of friendly goats:

Our vacation property this year had a great little beach, which Basil enjoyed:

We are already thinking about where to visit next year and dreaming about another quiet week!

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If you enjoy the projects, pictures and posts, please see free to comment – feedback is encouraged and is always welcome.

Please check out White Rooster Studio:

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