Sharing Spaces

I was able to take a panoramic shot of the room after I had my graduate review.  The images get somewhat distorted so I have individual shots as well.

Kimberly Trowbridge

When perusing through The Painting Center (in NY) website, I stumbled upon the work of Kimberly Trowbridge.  I found a great affinity with her work and really appreciate the way she is utilizing color and experimenting with formal concerns by way of the figure and some very curious scenes.  So inspiring!

Haiku

Kevin and I were bored in Asheville and decided to write this Haiku in a cafe.  We took turns with each word and initially had a more rigorous format but then switched to just looking at syllables.  I am aware of my misspelling of Moratorium in the first one.  Kevin told me the correct spelling which made me wary of using it (sorry Kev).  This may be a good time to mention his blog: Mishaps & Misspellings, which we are ALL capable of making.

Haiku #1

Clear zuchini breathes

Relentless fancy stardust

Moratorium 

Haiku#2

Jet-Black baby. Boom.

Latex/ aluminum/ cork

Everything dies.  

*SKETCHING*

So, I am not really much of a "sketcher," I tend to write ideas and perhaps "doodle," but have never been one to constantly draw what I see.  Recently I tried using some EXCELLENT pastels handmade by Josh Zerangue, and discovered I was doing more painting then drawing.  I then decided to "sketch" a copy of a Bonnard painting with oil pastels.  I was able to paint with the pastels and invest more time in the color and shapes rather than a linear extraction.  I'm hoping to do more of these sketch-paintings in my free time.

Self Portait on Bristol using Joshua Zerangue Pastels 11x14

Copy of Breakfast by Bonnard.  Oil pastel on Bristol 11x14

Sufjan

We saw Sufjan Stevens in Asheville this weekend.  I'd always liked his music but felt like I got a lot more insight into his creative process and internal struggles after hearing him speak.  He's begun using sounds and even dance as a way to get more in touch with what he's feeling.  He also felt the new album was a response to the life and work of outsider artist Prophet Royal Robertson. One of Robertson's work below:

All I can say is- these dance moves are unparalleled.

Videography by Kevin Archie

Halloween Recap

I was a slinky for Halloween. 
It was not quite the success I anticipated. 

People thought I was:
A. Lady Gaga
B. A Corkscrew
C. Someone playing Lady Gaga in an episode of Glee

In addition to the misconceptions, the costume was rather cumbersome and fell apart within an hour and a half.  Wearing all black and a ponytail I then became Audrey Hepburn's character Jo Stockton in "Funny Face," or as Kevin would put it, simply "a jazz enthusiast." 


People then thought I was:
A. A secret agent
B. Night
C. A mime.

Failure? Well, maybe next Halloween?

Studio Work

This is where the painting of Kevin is at currently.  The color vibrations are more present and the "life" is starting to get more embodied in it.  Almost there I think?

Still working on this one of Jaime. 

Trying to troubleshoot through some ideas to discover what the work is really about and why it's worthwhile (/is it worthwhile?).  Also, I need people to sit for me.  If you'd like to volunteer for the sake of art please let me know!

Variations On Normal

My friend Jason showed me this.  Had to post it.  Especially a fan of the Chair Swing and Balloon Lights.  Kevin- check out workercise.

 Check out all 30 here.

via J-Man  

New Painting

I started this painting of my friend Jaime a couple weeks ago.  It will be another life-size "window" of what I'm seeing in the space.

Peter Doig

Came across this artist again in Painting Today, after seeing some of his work here and there and hearing his name passed around.  He's a very successful contemporary painter who paints dreamlike images in a way that's hard to define.  His variation in handling paint while still unifying his work through theme or mood is fascinating to me.

Silhouette on the Shade

Looking at a friend's blog post (http://jmharper.blogspot.com/) and his post on Melinda Gibson, I was reminded of this book I made my first year of grad school.  Somewhat elementary as illustrations, but possible painting ideas?

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/472444

Factory Girl

Recently I saw this work up at a local coffee shop.  I'm not trying to slander a particular artist, but more so use this as a launch pad for a larger discussion.  The type of art on display here, and seen often in S.C., sells well.  In other states they may be different icons, but the artists who make these pieces do so with a sort of production mode in mind.  Make the same painting 12 times but change the color, so it matches someone's living room.  I often ponder about making work like this myself.  Not specifically roosters and palmetto trees, but pieces that are decorative and sell well.  These paintings become more about production and selling than about the work itself.  Still, in a way they are self-sustaining.

I had a critique with a visiting artist this morning and mentioned the problems with creating a "project" for myself, explaining that often I design the project and then make 4 or 5 variations on a painting, instead of 5 powerful individual pieces.  He responded saying, "certainly no one wants to think of him or herself as a 'factory.'"  Exactly! I thought.  I don't want to be a factory.  I was immediately reminded of Warhol and his views on art as production.  I've always found it disturbing and insincere, yet there's something interesting about it too.

Where is the line between making art and mass-producing a product?  Is it okay to sometimes do both?  I am unsure whether it is because of lack of time, disinterest, or simply fear of damaging my name that I have neglected to make any "crafty" art.  I always ponder over ideas of collage, cards, or other "projects," outside of my artistic practice.

Will we ever as a society move beyond the palmetto tree?  Does it matter?

New Work

This is a 4x6' oil on canvas painting I've started for this semester.  I'm working directly from life.  I'm planning on beginning 1 or 2 more for the semester. 

The Audacity of a Painter

"There is no way to paint except the way I do it."

 -Gerhard Richter Writings 1961-2007

Kids, it takes moxie to be a painter. 

Les Nabis

I've been looking to these post-Impressionist painters for masterful scenes of interiors.  The way they embed their personal feelings into a very mundane subject matter shows their dedication to the synthetic approach, following the work of Gauguin.

Pierre Bonnard, Out of the Bath, 1926

Edouard Vuillard, Countess Jean de Polignac, 1932

Edouard Vuillard, The Green Interior, 1891

Interiors

I'm working more towards including an interior for the figure to relate to in my paintings.  This is a sketch I did in my house.  It's 18x24" oil pastel on canvas panel.  I'm hoping to create a life-size piece out it.

Figure Studies

Here are some studies I did before school started.  A friend hosted a night with a model so we could all get some figure painting in.  They are small (8x10") and quick (about 45 min), so they were really more about putting down paint to describe what I saw.

ZOOM In

  





























For those who missed the show, or like to look a little bit closer, here are some close-up shots of some of the work featured in Interiors & Exteriors. 

Good Reads

For the Fall I'm committing to reading what seem to be two promising books by painters, for painters.  Looking forward to posting any wisdom I glean from these two.

Red on Maroon by Rothko,  Zwei Liebspaare by Richter.  Both from the late 50's, early 60's and both worth several million.*

*in fact Richter's sold for 7.3 mil!

Interiors & Exteriors

Here are some images of the gallery:

NO FOTO!

Pictures (digital) from Europa.  There will be prints of these and others from Italy for sale at the show on Thursday. Hope to have some film scans in sooooooon.

Show Coming Up!

We have a show at Gallery 80808 August 12th.  Come out and see it!