Jeanne Williamson Ostroff

New Work: 12 x 12 x 12 September 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:56:56 +0000

New work, 12 x 12 x 12 September 2026. In the middle of this painting are photos of the individual Dahlia's I received in a CSA share each week for five weeks in September and early October,. The rows above and below the flowers are from a photo of red leaves on and under a shrub.

I created acrylic skins of the photos and collaged each photo, or pieces of the photo, inside each "hole" in the grid of the texture of a monoprinted construction fence. This fabric painting is very stiff and heavy with multiple layers of skins, paint, and matt medium.

Palindrome

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:22:33 +0000

Last week I walked a palindrome of steps by the thousands, something that has only happened once or twice before in my eleven years of documenting the number of steps I’ve walked everyday.

More New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 17:51:30 +0000

Over the past few days I have been struggling to get my 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026 painting the way I thought I wanted it, entirely with collaged acrylic skins of photos of the individual flowers I got in the 5-week Dahlias CSA share I was gifted. It became obvious it was not going to work in a similar way as my 12 x 12 x 12 September painting which had photos of blue water access covers I saw on the street while I was walking in my neighborhood.

Last night I was talking to a dear artist friend, trying to explain my frustration. She suggested turning it upside down but that wasn't going to work because it's symmetrical, but I did turn it 180 degrees and went to bed. I woke up this morning with a solution I think will work, so I am making more skins, this time with two photos of fallen leaves on a shrub to collage on the surface. While this is a totally different idea from what I initially wanted to do, I think it'll work. Fingers crossed.

More New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 11:34:31 +0000

Work in progress on my 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026 painting.

I am collaging acrylic skins of photos of the individual flowers I got in the 5-week Dahlias CSA share I was gifted from a local farm when I retired from my day job a few months ago.

I was planning on filling each square on this fabric with flowers, similar to how I made my 12 x 12 x 12 September painting which had photos of blue water access covers I saw on the street while I was walking in my neighborhood, but now I am rethinking it, which is part of the process. To be continued.

More New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:17:39 +0000

I started removing the paper off the back of the acrylic coated paper with photos of the individual flowers I got in the 5-week Dahlias CSA share I was gifted from a local farm when I retired from my day job a few months ago.

These photos show how I removed the paper from skins and how the color appears as the paper is gone. It's a slow and gentle process where I wet the paper and rub it off the back acrylic photo with a sponge, and try to not rip the acrylic skin.

When the paper has been removed from each of the skins, and they are dry, I will cut each flower into the correct size and shape and collage them on a piece of fabric that has the texture of a gridded construction fence for my 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026 painting.

This painting will be similar to how I made my 12 x 12 x 12 September painting, which had photos of blue water access covers I saw on the street while I was walking in my neighborhood.

More New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:21:13 +0000

Today was the last week of the 5-week Dahlias CSA share I was gifted from a local farm when I retired from my day job a few months ago.

Every week I took a picture of each individual flower. Here are screenshots of five of the flowers from today. Some darker flowers, which are rich and beautiful, are printing very dark so I decided not to use them on my 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026 painting.

I coated this printout with matt medium to create more skins that I will cut up and collage, along with the first print of flowers I already shared, on a piece of fabric that has the texture of a gridded construction fence. It will be similar to how I made my 12 x 12 x 12 September painting, which had photos of blue water access covers I saw on the street while I was walking in my neighborhood.

New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 21:34:42 +0000

I was gifted a 5-week Dahlias CSA share from a local farm when I retired from my day job a few months ago. Since early September, I have picked up 4 beautiful bouquets and I pick up the last one tomorrow. Each week I take a picture of each individual flower.

Photos of the Dahlias are the inspiration for my 12 x 12 x 12 October 2026 painting. This picture shows a grid of 25 of the flowers. I printed out 4 copies and coated them with matt medium to create 4 skins that I will cut up and collage on a piece of fabric that has the texture of a gridded construction fence, similar to how I made my 12 x 12 x 12 September painting, which had photos of blue water access covers.

More New Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 11:57:25 +0000

I have blocked the dates out for October on my Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026, a year-long painting where I document the number of steps I walk each day with different icons representing each 1000 steps. I'm always a little concerned that I will make a mistake so I use tape to mark around the area I need to paint, and I pin the calendar on the painting so I can refer to it as I paint.

More New Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:25:31 +0000

Here is the month of September on my Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026, a year-long painting that documents the number of steps I walk each day.

The picture above shows how many steps I walked in last month. The yellow icon shows when I walked over 20,000 steps, red icons show the 16 days I walked 10,000 to 19,999 steps, and the 13 black icons are for up to 9999 steps.

This amount of walking I did the last few days in the month (except for the the last day) was limited because we got a rain Nor'easter which resulted in about 6" or so of rain and high winds over three plus days. We were visiting friends on Cape Cod and it really wasn't "walking weather" so I walked circles in our hosts' basement to get a few thousand steps in.

In the picture below, you can see January through September with plenty of room of the rest of the year.

New Work: 12 x 12 x 12 September 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:29:28 +0000

12 x 12 x 12 September 2026 is based on photos of blue painted water access covers that the Water Department in the town I live in used as markers on the street in my neighborhood to find and replace the water old lines.

I created acrylic skins of the photos of the covers and collaged each photo inside each "hole" in the grid of the texture of a monoprinted construction fence. This fabric painting has been stiffened so it is more like a piece of paper than fabric.

More New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 September 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:41:07 +0000

These pictures show four stages of multiple copies of acrylic skins of photos of blue water access covers cut to size and collaged on the grid of monoprinted construction fence fabric for my 12 x 12 x 12 September 2026 painting in progress. Next is cropping the fabric down to 12" square and finishing this painting before the end of September.

New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 September 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:58:25 +0000

The Water Department in the town I live in has been painting water access covers blue at the houses in my neighborhood that are in need of updated waterlines. Over the past week or so, workers have been digging in the street to find and replace the water old lines.

Photos of the blue water access covers are the inspiration for my 12 x 12 x 12 September 2026 painting that I am currently working on. This picture shows a grid of 20 photos. I printed out 4 copies and coated them with matt medium to create 4 skins that I will cut up and collage on a piece of fabric that has the texture of a gridded construction fence.

Looking back on September 11, 2001

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:42:03 +0000

Looking back on September 11, 2001 and events through December 29, 2001, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, this is an updated post that was on my blog on September 10, 2011.

Like I said 15 years ago, I (still) hesitate to post anything 9/11 related since there’s so much in the media, and it was and still is very overwhelming, but because my contribution was visual I decided to do it again on this 25th anniversary.

Until around 2008 or so, I quilted my artwork, and part of that included my making a small art quilt each week from 1999 through 2005.

Out of the 356 small postcard size quilts I made in 2001, the twelve I made from September 9 – December 2001 were about what was going on in the world, but also a little about what was going on in my life combined with my thoughts about what was going on in the world.

On the back of each quilt I wrote notes about what it was about, but I think if you look at each image, you will be able to see and remember much of it (starting at the top left), from the World Trade Center being hit, the patriotism people displayed in response, "Operation Enduring Freedom" and the bombings in Afghanistan to target al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban regime, the letters laced with deadly anthrax spores that were sent through the US postal system, how our military looked for the terrorists while they were hiding underground and in the mountains, and the shoe bomber (remember him?!?!).

More New Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:35:14 +0000

September is blocked out on my Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026, a year-long painting where I document the number of steps I walk each day with different icons representing each 1000 steps.

More New Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:12:24 +0000

When I retired from my day job in July, I changed the daily background color to Light Ultramarine Blue on my Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026, a year-long painting that documents the number of steps I walk each day.

The picture above shows how many steps I walked in August. The red icons show the 19 days I walked 10,000 or more steps, and the 3 black circles are for 9000 to 9999 steps. This amount of walking (especially in the summer when I don't like the heat) is a huge increase over last August when I was juggling working, walking in the heat, and whatever life events that didn't give me time to walk as much as I would have preferred.

In the picture below, you can see January through August with plenty of room of the rest of the year.

New Work: 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:27:38 +0000

This is 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026, a mixed media painting created with the monoprinted texture of a construction fence with large squares, hand stamping, collage, machine stitching, and stiffen it so it doesn't sag. I make one 12" x 12" painting each month as a time to play or experiment with an idea or technique.

Street Markings as Art

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:24:22 +0000

Recently there was an article in the NY Times entitled "Behind the Mysterious Symbols Spray-Painted on Our Streets," with the subtitle "All over New York’s sidewalks and sewers, colored markings hide in plain sight, telling construction crews where to dig and creating accidental art."

I was so excited to read it because I have been curious about the symbols and colors for a very long time, and even made a few small paintings about the markings I saw on my walks when I was working for a nearby city, and as I walk in my neighborhood.

Below is a screenshot from the NYT times, and below that three of the paintings I created in 2021.

There are new markings in my neighborhood now, and I am considering a new larger painting that incorporates my old and new photos of them.

Screenshot from the NYT times

Future AT&T Work #1, mixed media on 6” x 6" board, created in 2021

Future Utility Work #2, mixed media on 6” x 6" board, created in 2021

Future Utility Work #1, mixed media on 6” x 6" board, created in 2021

Micro Gallery 01760 Exhibit Ending soon

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 22:41:45 +0000

Saturday is the last full day to see my exhibit of eight small paintings at the Micro Gallery 01760 in Natick, MA. The gallery is outdoors on the wall on Adams St, in Natick Center, close to a lot of public art. The interior dimensions are 12” high, 29” long and 13” deep, which is perfect to exhibit eight of my nine Sewer Covers and the Sealed Crack Lines Around Them.

The paintings incorporate photos of sewer covers in my neighborhood and the sealed crack lines around them. The sealing of cracks is meant to help prevent further damage on the street.

Some neighbors described the process of crack sealing as loud and as less than desirable to look at. I see it as mark making and find them inspiring.

The paintings include acrylic skins of the photographs collaged on monoprinted, painted and stitched construction fence fabric, painting, stamped dots, and more stitching on 6” x 6” board, created in 2021.

Electrical Boxes and Smart Meters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 18:52:42 +0000

I painted this electrical box and a second one a foot or so behind it in May 2016. Now that they have new Smart Meters, and I have a lot more free time, I think I may give both boxes a good cleaning and try to remove years of dirt and the stickers people put on them.

Last New Work in Progress for 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:19:59 +0000

This is my last new work in progress post for my 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026 painting. I have some more work to do, but as I am close to finishing it, my next post about it will be when it's complete.

More New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:15:02 +0000

After sketching different ideas for next steps in Photoshop last week, I painted the green lines around the large "squares" from the construction fence pattern for my 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026 painting, and then I trimmed it down to 12" square. I could call it finished but I am going to do more painting. It'll be finished sometime before the end of the month.

More New Work in Progress: Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:34:05 +0000

In July, I retired from my day job, and changed how I document the number of steps I walk each day on my Dates in a Life Walking Project 2026 year-long painting. Starting then, the background color behind all icons for the rest of this year is now Light Ultramarine Blue. Each month, I am pre-painting the days of each month, month by month ahead of time, and each week I collage on the icons for each day walked.

During the brief time I stopped working but was still on the payroll, the background was Light Phthalo Blue. Up until my last day in the office, I was painting Florescent Magenta on the days I was off such as weekends, vacation, personal, and sick days.

In this picture, you can see the August 1st icon is already in place, a little section of July to the left of August, a little of the Light Phthalo Blue in the diagonal upper right of August. and the Florescent Magenta background paint before that.

More Ideas For New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 12:23:24 +0000

Yesterday I coated what I had done so far on my monthly 12” square painting, 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026, with 50/50 watered-down matt medium. When wet, the bottom row was very badly puckered and I was considering cutting it off and replacing it with a different piece of fabric.

While it is a fabric painting, and fabric does pucker, the amount was really bothering me. Thankfully it's reasonably flat today after drying overnight.

While it was drying, I played with a few ideas about next steps in Photoshop. Here are two sketches. I think I'm going to use the idea in the first photo and do more after that.

While I like the idea in the second photo, and might try that in a different piece, it wasn't the right thing to do with this one.

More New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 20:33:38 +0000

I started working on my monthly 12” square painting, 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026, combining a piece of monoprinted and painted fabric of a construction fence from many years ago and a piece of fabric that has many layers of fabric paint from hand stamping the icons for my yearlong walking painting. I cut and stitched as you can see in these photos, and now I’m paused while I think about my next steps.

New Work in Progress: 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:38:47 +0000

I’m considering using some of these fabrics for my monthly 12” square painting, 12 x 12 x 12 August 2026. I think I may collage parts of the bottom left and/or top left fabrics which have paint from the icons I stamped for my walking painting, on to the blue and red stitched piece on the right.