I MAKE KILLER APPLE PIE.

Passing priceless knowledge on to the next generation.

Bridge #17

This child’s rocking chair is the seventeenth painting in a continuing series of bridges. All of my bridges address our impudent will to conquer natural barriers, act as a metaphor of the ambivalent, suspended state of mind and revel in the level of trust required to cross bridges one didn't build. This one in particular is also influenced by the joy and mystery of childhood.

I painted this little kid's rocking chair for the Chair Affair--an auction of chairs created/altered by artists. The money raised goes to childrens' art education.

It was a blast. I'm going to do more. Lemme know if you want a custom piece!

RANDOMLY GENERATED INTERVIEW

Q: If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A: My name's Counsel Langley. I'll keep it.

Q: In what hour of the day do you function best?
A: The Eleventh. a.m., p.m. and the proverbial...

Q: What inspires your color choices?
A: Unnatural lighting, urban sunsets, asphalt and concrete grey juxtaposed with neon signs and garish advertisement, safety indicators, warnings, decay, shining steel and reflective windows, rock-n-roll, glaciers, liz taylor eyes, that bathing suit i had when i was 12, bardot hair, 70s auto interiors, james bond movies, inclement weather, japanese anime and japanese folk tale illustrations, our digital world of little blinking lights, pinball, roller rinks, casinos, outdoor stadium events at night . . . I enjoy and deliver beauty, but not easy beauty. My colors reflect this--I seek combinations that are unexpected, yet hold some sort of meaning to me. Through these imposed meanings I've developed a code with which I can tell a story. My colors choices reflect moods, atmosphere, and my own personal little rules about what a color "feels" like. Some are"on" others are "off," this one is "full" that one is "void," hot and cold, dirty and pristine, bossy and submissive, floating and dense . . .

Q: What is your favorite aroma?
A: Vanilla.

Q: If you could have lunch with any artist, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Leonardo DaVinci. Hands down. I mean he is the man isn't he? He did it all and did it well. I love people who have many interests and skills--specialization is for insects; passionate curiosity is magnificent. No one epitomizes this type of life like DaVinci. My only concern is that he'd be one of those "We should get together sometime!" -but-always-just-too-much-on-his-plate-to-ever-pin-him-down-for-a-date-people. So, since Leonardo can't commit I'd go with Albrecht Durer. He is sheer brilliant talent in a meticulous way that appeals to me. Also, he's, like I am, a painter whose early training was in metalsmithing. Plus, I have this idea that he'd be real chatty.

Q: When you went to school you did mainly metalsmithing. How did you end up painting?
A: I was drawn to metalsmithing, and repelled from the painting department, because of the seriousness of the metals students. You can't bs your way through a metalsmithing curriculum. Also, I was attracted to the wealth of tools available to students of metals. Aspects of working with metal that I embraced include the attention to small-scale detail, the rigor required in terms of proper use of tools and respect for your medium, the rich finish of surfaces. However, as graduation approached I began to find that patterns and plans I was drawing for objects I would later build were more intriguing, more beautiful and mysterious to me than the completed 3d object. So, I began to paint the 2D plans and haven't looked back. The work I am doing now evolved directly from this.


Q: Do you have any plans/ideas about expressing your style through other mediums?
A: I'm so glad you asked! Yes! I am very excited about three things: 1) Going back to my metals/3D roots I want to begin creating relief works using various rigid materials, such as sheet and wire metal and foam core. The basic visual language will be the same as that I have been developing in paint, but the effect will be more sculptural. 2) One of my best friends, brilliant fashion designer Erin Sherry, and I have begun a collaboration. We are developing one-of-a-kind clothing and housewares based on my visual imagery and her clothing designs. The items we are creating include, but are not limited to dresses, pants, skirts, shirts, bags, bedding and throw pillows.

3) Electricity! Light and movement! I plan to create paintings using my existing visual language, but in place of painted dots there will be actual switches and knobs. These will be linked to lights and motors. The circuitry will be both functional and arranged so that it will be visual pleasing in the same way that I arrange paint.

Q: What word in the English Language do you wish you had invented?
A: Serendipity.

Q: Do you generally plan out your works ahead of time or do you let them evolve organically as you work?
A: A little of both. Generally I'll have a mood, color pallette and subject matter in mind at the outset of a painting. Along the way I allow the unexpected to occur and make adjustments in reaction. Sometimes this can dramatically alter my intended course, other times the finished work is quite close to my original conception. You know, when you decide to climb a mountain the eventual goal is the top. You plan ahead, choosing the day, reacting to the weather, planning your ascent via a particular trail. However, it would be insane to plan each individual step of your foot, intake of breath, gaze at tree or beast. If you were not flexible and open to react to the unforeseen and make adjustments based on new information you would not only make for a dangerous hiker you'd also miss out on the major reason for embarking on the climb at all. When all is said and done you, like me and my paintings, might still make it to your intended goal of the summit despite all the meandering and unplanned details navigated along the way. Or you might be rained out, or come across a something so wonderful that the original plan no longer holds sway.

Q: What is your favorite flower?
A: The one which is given unexpectedly.

Q: What or who inspires you to be your best self in any situation?
A: I believe that there is always room for improvement and that it is honorable to be doing your best to be your best self, so the answer used to be myself, but now that I am a parent my kids motivate me far more than I was able to on my own.


Q: What affect has having children had on your art?
A: Having children was the final straw that moved me from cool chick talking art in the bar to someone who makes art every single day. They taught me the meaning of discipline and the value of five minutes. I have my family to thank for the progress I've made in the past few years.

Q: What do you miss about your childhood?
A: Magic.



Q: Are you ever influenced in your work by mythology or legend?
A: Hm. Yeah, i think I am, but it is buried pretty deep down. There's a part of me that wants to say 'we are all influenced by our myths and legends and this comes across in what we produce,' but to avoid a cop out I'll try to answer in terms of my work specifically. Looking at my general approach to making paintings I think my sense of story telling via metaphor and codes is a mode of communication absorbed from reading myths and folktales. I feel the desire to make my own. I have begun a series I'm calling Captivity/Captivate. This series is more openly inspired by myth. It is about mythical creatures and how they represent pieces of our psyches; our urge to examine and define The Other; why it both fascinates and frightens; how we cage and are caged by that which we deem to be oddities.

Q: What's the biggest mental hangup you've had to overcome as an artist?
A: That I need to live in a big city and have a cool hair cut to get my art seen.

Q: What do you listen to when you work?
A: MUSIC. I CAN NOT OVERSTATE THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC TO MY WORK, HELL TO THE CONTINUED PUMPING OF MY HEART. I am indebted to musicians. I consider the immediate emotional response that music produces to be among the essential tools that I employ to do what I do. Music aids my memory, my ability to focus, reminds of what I love best about being alive, and creates a direct route to my sense of self worth.

Q: What is the main fault in your character?
A: I take stuff too personally. (Sadly, this, in my view, breaks down into a whopping THREE faults: egocentricity, paranoia, and a tendency to get bummed out for no real reason.)

Q: When was it that you first realized that art was taking a hold of you in a way that you could no longer ignore?
A: Honestly that realization came somewhat recently, sometime in the past few years, long after art had already taken hold. Probably came during some quiet moment while the coffee was brewing, the weather was calm, and my mood was serene. The realization would have just floated up into view and poof there was awareness where a moment before there was none. I was already a ways down the road and chose not to turn back. I'm certain it was a supremely satisfying realization.

Q: What is the first quote that comes to your mind?
A: "Success is loving what you do." So says my coffee mug.

Q: Where and what do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
A: Further along the same road. Painting and parenting . . . my kids will be older and my paintings will be better.

Q: Finish this sentence with one word: "Happiness is ......
A: Self-actualization.

Q: Are you happy?
A: Very.

###

How this came about:

I wanted to try a new approach to the bio/artist statement. So, I asked friends and family for a question with the plan of answering with spontaneity and then putting it altogether in interview format. The volume responses made this very fun and challenging! Thanks to everyone who participated in my Randomly Generated Interview. Although, in order to avoid repetition and preserve a certain tone, I did not end up using all of them I appreciate all of your questions.

SWEET 100

November and December, Suite 100 Gallery exhibits 100 works of art by 36 artists (including me), perfect for the gift-giving season. This eclectic salon-style show has something for everyone, from oils and acrylics to gouache and ink, from photography to screen prints. SWEET 100 draws from the best in a variety of mediums.

Additionally, 10% of Suite 100 Gallery's proceeds will be donated to the Child's Play Charity.

Best of Show

Rock-n-roll!

Cityscape #14 (Resources) was awarded Best of Show at Northwind Arts Center's Annual Northwest juried art exhibition.

Thank you to juror Lisa Van Doren and all the fine folks at NAC.

REVIEW

URBANITY: Opening night

Thanks to everyone at Suite 100 Gallery for a fantastic opening night!
OCTOBER 12th 2007

DJ Noisemaker, BEATCON

More images and video >> URBANITY

URBANITY

PARTAKE IN My Urban Obsession

"Suite 100 Gallery is proud to announce a show dedicated to Counsel Langley's urban obsession.

'Urbanity' features works inspired by memories of urban spaces and the effects they have had on the artist. In this show, Counsel Langley experiments with new perspectives -- from a airplane, amid skyscrapers, particular districts, exposure of a vast underground upon which the city is built, along with others. Regardless of the perspective, there is always an element of these contrived environments interacting with the natural world, whether in antagonistic tension or pristine balance.

Counsel Langley also presents a suite of bridges, illustrating a fascination of the impudent will to conquer natural barriers; the metaphor of the ambivalent, suspended state of mind; and the level of trust required to cross bridges one didn't build.

Together, this body of work illustrates the complexity, intricacy and magnitude of urban life."

GOING GOING GONE

"JUST ART"
The 4th Annual Art Auction & Cocktail Party
To support the Seattle Men's Chorus & Seattle Women's Chorus


Jonas Jensen Fremont Studios
155 North 35th Street, Seattle, WA 98103
Friday, September 28, 2007, 6 to 10 pm

Fun night, great art, good cause! This piece is up for grabs:

Cityscape #19: Floating
2007 · acrylic, ink, glitter · 12 x 12

ART PORT TOWNSEND 2007

Cityscape #14 (Resources) has been selected to be included in ART PORT TOWNSEND - EXPRESSIONS NORTHWEST, the Northwind Arts Alliance and Port Townsend Arts Commission's 9th Annual Juried Art Exhibition.

Show runs October 13-28.


















Juror, Lisa Van Doren, who is a freelance arts consultant in Bellingham, WA and served as Curator of Art at the Whatcom Museum of History & Art, from 2002-2005, selected 80 pieces from 514 works of art submitted from Washington, Alaska, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, and Montana. Further info at www.northwindarts.org OR artporttownsend.org.

URBANITY at Suite100Gallery

Urbanity
October 12th thru November 2nd
Featuring TONS OF NEW WORK!!!

[we have pretty picture now....see above]

Suite100gallery ROCKS and is located in Downtown Seattle
2222 2nd Ave Suite 100
Seattle, WA 98121
206.956.3900

My Kid's an Artist Too

"Emerald's Process"
video by Jeane Myers
music by Emerald



"I'm not finished...JUST GETTING STARTED!!"

LIFEDOTDOTDOT

MAY & JUNE
OPENING RECEPTION
SATURDAY, MAY 5TH, FROM 5 TO 8PM

Life Dot Dot Dot. As in Life etc. As in life and all the rest of it. That and there will truly be a veritable smorgasbord of dots to feast your eyes upon when Artisans on Taylor brings together Tom DeGroot, Zach Hixson, Counsel Langley, and Eric Olson, four abstract painters whose work captures and encodes nothing less than the stuff of life.

LIFEDOTDOTDOT is an opportunity to see work by three artists,
Tom, Eric and I, whose work is included in
Visual Codec's One Shot (see previous post)!

AOT is located in downtown Port Townsend at 236 Taylor Street.

p.s. I designed the announcement . . .
if you want one email me with your mailing address.

Visual Codec's ONE SHOT

Hot off the presses! I've got my copy.
THIS BOOK RULZ!

One Shot features work by 100 regional artists selected in a blind jury process. Includes many Northwest heavyweights--I am honored to be in such good company!

"One Shot is a thing a of beauty -- an elegant 5 1/2" square volume of images with a silver pistol printed discreetly on its embossed black cover. The reproduction quality is of the first order and the represented artists include many favorites and a few surprises. Years from now, I suspect, historians seeking a document that reveals the essense of our present moment will lean heavily on this textless tome. It will go on my shelf beside Charles Cowles's Northwest Traditions and Bruce Guenther's 50 Northwest Artists, but will compare favorably with them in terms of style and intent."

Jim Demetre
Artdish Editor

Cityscape 14 (Resources)
acrylic, ink, glitter
36 x 36"
2006

Visual Codec’s One Shot–-a locally published book featuring work by 100 regional artists working in the visual arts. Visual Codec, published a monthly online magazine from February 2006 to February 2007. Its core focus was in-depth coverage of the vibrant regional contemporary visual arts scene showcased by three pivotal Pacific Coast cities: Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Online archives of the magazine can be found at: www.visualcodec.com.

In conjunction with the magazine, Visual Codec spearheaded One Shot, a book project intended to showcase both emerging and established regional visual arts talent drawn from Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

One Shot features work by 100 regional artists selected in a blind jury process. Each artist/team was allowed to submit only one work of art, and, while up for review by the jury, each entry was presented with only the medium it was created in, the title of the work, and the general knowledge that it was created somewhere in the region. No artist names, gallery affiliations, cities, resumes, or artistic statements were presented to the jury.

One Shot Book Specifications
- Custom cover foil-pressed on cardstock
- Internal pages laser CMYK on 28lb Bright White
- Dimensions approx. 5.5"w x 5.5"h x .5"d
- Locally conceived, designed, compiled, printed and bound

One Shot Online Availability

The One Shot book is now available, to Washington, Oregon and Vancouver BC residents, direct from Visual Codec to OR, WA, and BC residents via PayPal. Books run below cost at $20USD plus any applicable tax and shipping/handling. No PayPal account is needed to purchase via PayPal. Please allow 1-2 weeks for shipping. All sales are final; no returns or refunds.

BUY NOW

Online sales everywhere else (nat'l and int'l) will be handled by www.powells.com (coming soon)!!

One Shot In-Store Availability

In conjunction with the release events we are also working hard to make the book available via select retailers in PortlandOR, SeattleWA, and VancouverBC.

Powell's City of Books has confirmed status as our Portland retailer, Wall of Sound will be handling Seattle in-store sales, and we are still working on confirmation with our Vancouver retailer.

Updates available as retailer stock becomes available...

NEW WORK

Cityscape 17 (Start Over)

Acrylic, ink, glitter | 36 x 36" | 2007

More new work in the PORTFOLIO

Featured on JUXTAPOZ.com!

First week of April two pieces featured on JUXTAPOZ.com













Cityscape 12 (Bright Night)
Archival inkjet print
2006













Cityscape 15 (Leaving Town)
acrylic, ink, glitter
12 x 12"
2007

Go see: JUXTAPOZ.com