CJBemis Artist

Studio Today


Studio Today
This is my second queen sized quilt that I have attempted to create. I was able to quilt this heirloom in a matter of weeks instead of the several years for the one I made for my parents 43rd wedding anniversary.
Thursday, 11th January 2024
Studio Today
After a pause I worked on this piece over the course of two days. Taken from the freak snowstorm that took out power for two days in November. Lots of inspiration though with the heavy snow. 5 x 7 scratchbord
Monday, 11th December 2023
Studio Today
A variation on a theme. Copper, aluminum. squares about 3 inches.
Wednesday, 6th September 2023


Studio Today
I'm actually a decent photographer. Because I take a lot of photos for what becomes eventual paintings, I already know what to look for before snapping that shot. Its all about the eye. And lately all I have needed is my cell phone camera to get the images I want. Technology is just awesome.
Wednesday, 16th August 2023
Studio Today
Here's another I snapped, driving across the middle of Michigan. (Don't worry, I wasn't driving.) Talk about getting some emotion here.
Wednesday, 16th August 2023
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The idea was to create a piece of furniture that combined two different styles by architect Richard Meier and furniture designer Eileen Gray. It was part of the class assignment. Wood, Plexiglass. 2001
Thursday, 3rd August 2023


Studio Today
So, not a great photo. But here is the completed piece of Red to Black Shift NO. 1 on the wall.
Thursday, 20th July 2023
Studio Today
I do a bit of drawing, it just happens that I do it on metal and then etch it for more permanent functionality as in metalworks. This is a piece I am working on as a sample to show to the students at Interlochen on what is possible to do with basic drawing elements and some elbow grease of sawing and soldering. So the idea was to show the students an example of how to make a bezel for a stone and then suddenly a whole new series of work just materialized. I love it when the work just jumps to the next level without really having to stress out; it just happened spontaneously. This is etched bronze, copper with granulation. Soon I will make a chain for it to join its cousins.
Friday, 7th July 2023
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This was a commission for a friend that wanted a piece to join her four other pieces she had commissioned me do of her pets. Sadly, two of the rats had passed on. Because the photos were separate, I had to get creative to put the trio together as a cohesive unit. This is a combination of gouache, watercolors and ink. 8 x 16
Thursday, 13th April 2023


Studio Today
A throw back image to a few years ago when i was quilting like mad. something tactile about working with fabric and its challenges. this piece ended up as a wall hanging. sort of architectural abstract.
Wednesday, 1st March 2023
Studio Today
Some wire fish. playing around with colored wires, beads and found objects. sort of just letting my mind wander. sometimes one just needs to play around with material to get to that ah-ha moment. so, soon i'm planning to fabricate a school of fish that will become a mobile. playing with the idea of plastics to embed leds, create glowing fish and will have crocheted wire hanging around them to simulate the ocean's environment. its also a project i've planned for the kids this summer at Interlochen.
Wednesday, 22nd February 2023
Studio Today
Bear No. 1 and Bear No. 2 side by side. The first one is almost done with its coat, just layered on a coat of FGR in the hopes to get a really nice, hard, smooth finish. The second one is now in its second phase of being papered with strips dipped in glue to create a waterproof seal for the subsequent layers of plaster later. More building is needed for the hips. Probably Tuesday. Then comes the armor.
Saturday, 7th January 2023


Studio Today
This is going to be a part of a larger series of fish as well as a possible project for this coming summer when I teach at Interlochen. A mobile of fish suspended from the ceiling . A school of fish. Some enameling, some textured, some mixed media. Lots of ideas.
Friday, 6th January 2023
Studio Today
This one took a while because I became stuck as how to deal with the clouds. Then late one night before bed, I saw it and then knew what to do. Sometimes, that's how art happens.
Tuesday, 3rd January 2023
Studio Today
Another lengthy project of scratching away the black ink. Still debating on the yellow leaf. Originally was going to cover the white with yellow and then remove some of it but its really strong as is. Sometimes when you have a plan, the art tells you where it wants to go.
Thursday, 29th December 2022


Studio Today
With Snowstorm Elliot winding down, save the ongoing lake effect I get here from Lake Michigan, its been a non event. It was almost 6 degrees yesterday but it felt ok. Weird. Cold, frigid temps feel warmer for me than 45 degrees and damp. Must be the damp. Anyways, I've been steadily working on this 6 x 6 scratchbord. Lots of details but quietly relaxing. Just scratching away the black ink. Then it will get a layer of yellow/orange ink for the leaves. should be interesting. stay tuned. stay warm and have a happy christmas
Friday, 23rd December 2022
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Another Cloud study drawing. planning on making a bunch before I commit these scenes to paint. Always a good idea to do small studies to get a sense of composition and value studies. Plus, these little drawings are just cute.
Friday, 9th December 2022
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Finishing the year off with a series of small studies for future paintings. I am reminded that good drawing skills is paramount to a successful art career.
Saturday, 26th November 2022


Studio Today
Finally back to working on my Polar Bear series. This beast can stand on its own two feet, constructed of paper and cardboard and now is in the process of getting its second coat of plaster before I begin to fabricate a suit of armor out of metal. I envision an entire army of these sculptures filling up a gallery space. Might have to make a couple of small ones just because small bears are nice too.
Thursday, 17th November 2022
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After a long hiatus, I have returned to the bench and begun a new batch of contemporary copper jewelry. Lots of my work is really influenced by nature, patterns, science and astronomy. Basically I doodle on metal, etch it and then get a variety of cool patterns that can be worn every day or special occasions.
Thursday, 27th October 2022
Studio Today
I've been away for most of the summer, mostly, I was teaching Metal Arts to Junior High and High School art Students at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Six whole weeks, where I taught them the basics of metalsmithing, soldering and enameling. They even got to dabble with etching. Lots of fun. So, in the middle while the students worked on their projects, I decided to dig something up from the archives of my drawings and made this little piece. Its about 4 inches in length with crocheted chain. Now, I am in the process of getting my studio squared away again while etching some new cuffs for galleries.
Monday, 22nd August 2022


Studio Today
What makes an image interesting? subject matter helps. So does composition and interesting lighting/angles. With a little color tweak, this would be an interesting pastel painting.
Thursday, 19th May 2022
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Throwback Thursday. Another of my neon jazz pieces. I love the soft glow of the colors and the bending of glass over a hot ribbon burner. Burning my fingertips, not so much, but still, mesmerizing.
Thursday, 3rd March 2022
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paper mache. always brings up the kindergarten, grade school horrors of the stuff, but I opted to teach a summer camp on this material and well, best to reacquaint myself with the stuff. Right? so, I built a horse. Slightly abstract with plans to cover it with fabric it was actually a lot of fun and a lot of cardboard. I've decided to do a polar bear next. maybe a bunch of them and make them armored. . an idea. . throw back thursday part 2
Thursday, 3rd March 2022


Studio Today
A quick study in acrylics for a larger painting. White Lake in the winter. 6 x 6
Wednesday, 2nd March 2022
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Another in the 6 x6 scratchbord series. I like the bigger size, but it also means I need to be careful because one wrong mistake. . . Generally, working with this media means one needs to slow down and basically meditate while scratching away the art. Reverse thinking as well, instead of putting down dark, you are taking out the light. This tree is from a photo I took of a tree while in Rome in 99.
Friday, 25th February 2022
Studio Today
Its funny where inspiration can hit you, like a splash of water on concrete can turn into an interesting abstract painting. I could envision a series of these in one of those Richard Meier houses, you know, with all the glass and white walls.
Monday, 21st February 2022


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Start of a larger series of scratchbord. I'm working up the courage for a big one! This was interesting as I wasn't sure if the landscape would work and that I had a snow scene as well as a gray sky. It has that old timey feel photograph.
Thursday, 17th February 2022
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This mostly was an experiment to see how colored pencils reacted with pasteboard and a learning curve as well. All in all, I would do more. A landscape maybe is next.
Thursday, 10th February 2022
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Another figure study of a masters' drawing. charcoal on pastel paper. 18 x 24 I really love the man's broad shoulders, the contemplative posture. Even though he's nude, he's exuding this philosophical vibe like we all have epiphanies in the shower.
Tuesday, 8th February 2022


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something new. WIP. 5 x7 pastebord with colored pencils.
Friday, 4th February 2022
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I finally finished Max. Took me a little while
Thursday, 3rd February 2022
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dabbled a little with Painter, a graphic design program I think I have been using since high school. Its a different feel, not to mention a whole another level of planning and processing because you can't exactly smudge the media with your fingers in the same sense one would on paper. technology has certainly changed from the days of using MacPaint and a mouse . (i'm showing my age here. )
Monday, 31st January 2022


Studio Today
Every once in a while, it is good to break out the old master's drawings and study them. Not only does it help with muscle memory of drawing, its good practice 18 x 24 red conte on pastel paper.
Saturday, 29th January 2022
Studio Today
Throwback thursday. A day late due to feeling under the weather. So, this is back in college when I used to play with glass and gas. Very intoxicating to see the glass glow with the combination of gases to create the colors. Neon, Argon and Krypton. (Yes, a gas, not a planet)
Friday, 28th January 2022
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Getting back into the mode. This is Max, a WIP scratchbord 5 x 5 panel. Its coming along rather quickly.
Tuesday, 18th January 2022


Studio Today
Throwback Thursday. Some of my linos. Flowers and barns. and the one image of Sampson, whom I still miss very much.
Thursday, 13th January 2022
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Adding a new dimension to the Wordstracts Series. This is called Geografie. I can see a whole gallery of these. maybe even big sizes. that would be cool
Thursday, 13th January 2022
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Running on the same theme of Wordstract, pulling from an archive of work done back in 2006, I added color. I really like how warm this yellow is. It also feels like an album cover of a really funky, maybe fusion jazz music.
Monday, 10th January 2022


Studio Today
I promised myself that this year I would get better and actually hold myself to a 30 day challenge. So far, I have mostly done so. This is one of those odd pieces of work that doesn't fit in a particular category. I call this Rodchenko's Muse, part of a larger series that is currently unfolding, which I will name Wordstracts. A play on abstracts but with some words in them. mixed media. 5x 7
Thursday, 6th January 2022
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First painting of the year. Watercolor study with ink. It has that graphic novel feel to it. I like it.
Saturday, 1st January 2022
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It hasn't been the best week. Birthday dinner was ok. It was supposed to be french onion soup and baguettes but no one was in the mood. It happens. However, I did manage to break out some brushes and dust off some tubes of paint and finished this piece that had been sitting around since October. Flowers from my garden. Lots of coneflowers.
Tuesday, 28th December 2021


Studio Today
These four all belong to the woman that spearheaded the fundraiser for the local Muskegon Chapter. I was more than happy to share my skills in support of shelter animals.
Friday, 10th September 2021
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Part of the fundraiser series. This is Fern, a black cat in process. Stay tuned for the finished one
Thursday, 9th September 2021
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These two were a challenge for very different reasons. Again, for the fundraiser.
Saturday, 21st August 2021


Studio Today
I have been asked to share my skills as a painter, probably from my local legend teaching the ever popular pet painting classes, for the local chapter of humane society. These little gems, postcard sizes are a sampling of portraits I had the opportunity to do. It was something nice to give back as animals have a special place in my heart.
Tuesday, 10th August 2021
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I have been playing around with the idea of words as part of the painting. Its a little project that I've been working on since 2010 with leftover Letraset rub on letters. (Yeah, they're pretty brittle now.) these are with some colours first, mixing up paint, ink and stuff. These little guys measure 3 x 3 across.
Saturday, 17th October 2020
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Graphite on panel. ok, this panel was not what I expected. I thought it was going to be kaolin based (clay like surface, thus absorbent.) nope, nada. its basically working on Yupo paper it did take a nice burnish sheen in the dark areas, but it was a fight to get those layers of darks and light. I'll try it again, but not with the panel. Its about 12 x 16. Sometimes you have failures, this was one of them.
Wednesday, 7th October 2020


Studio Today
I have never done stained glass, but it has always interested me. I've worked with glass tubes for neon, enamel dust for metal, but never actual sheets of glass. A friend of mine, a real talent, invited me over as we have been teaching each other news things and I got to make this cool maple leaf. it was a good, fun day. I'd make more but you know, I've got enough projects going right now.
Friday, 25th September 2020
Studio Today
Paper mache. Me. Right? Its what kids play with in grade school, then I ended up teaching two art camps this summer and discovered, hey, this is fun and has a lot of potential with using mundane materials. So, I started off with a horse, that I will put up later when I finish the final layer and this polar bear. it can actually stand on its own two feet! and its pretty substantial. sculpture. I can envision an entire gallery full of these with armor and such as the armored bear series. . maybe I might make some in clay too now that the weather has cooled here and using the kiln is ok again.
Friday, 7th August 2020




Amerijana Casey Bemis Fine Art
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