Construction.

It is a bit unclear in this photo but this piece borrows from an earlier piece called Push. It also contains my framing device that is supporting an element that can best be described as anti art. I attached two pieces of torn drop cloth to the frame then I plan on adding two pieces of painted cloth to the drop cloth. I want this component to be very raw and crude in comparison to the more refined central panel. The hope is that the center will be an area of calm surrounded by areas of disquiet. I hope the viewers eye will be unsettled and bounce back and forth from each element. A meditative icon in a modern world of waste.

Iconic Red.

I have decided that this piece is finished. I don’t feel I should push it further, and risk over working it. I have been questioning whether the construction is too top heavy, and if I should add something to the lower end to balance the composition. But as I lived with the piece for awhile I decided that it worked, and if I did anything else to it it would lose a bit of the tension that the piece has. The two narrow red panels lean outwards and create a sense of the work approaching the viewers space. The work also has a feeling of lifting upwards.

The title I have chosen is Iconic Red.

Iconic: Of pertaining to or resembling an icon; of the nature of an icon.

Red: The active and masculine colour of life, fire, war, energy, aggression, danger, revolution, impulse, emotion, passion, love, joy, vitality and youth.

Cast plaster.

I have been trying my hand at making plaster casts. I plan on mounting them to the surface of paintings to add an extra dimension to my work. I have been using what ever is around for molds, in this case trays from boxes of chocolates.

I made two casts with plaster of Paris and mounted them to plywood supports. Then I gessoed the surface with several coats of Daniel Smith coloured gesso. I then began painting with Daniel Smith metallic oil paint.

The top panel is to be kept simple, and all I did was gild gold and aluminum foil to the surface of the plywood.

January.

I have been a bit lazy with my blog this month, and I must try to post regularly. January is such a hard month in Prince Edward Island, and when I think of all the summer vacationers who think of themselves as Islanders I find my disdain is limitless.

To put it simply January kicked the shit out of us, lots of endless snow, cold temperatures, and then a thaw that only brought an ice storm. Those of us in Charlottetown have had it easy. There are still people in areas of the Island who have had no power for a week, they are cold and isolated.

It is remarkable to see trees bent to the ground, and power poles broken in long rows by the dozens. The repair crews are working hard and doing a great job, but the wreckage is extensive and another storm will be a disaster.

The part that many people complain about is the difficulty of being housebound. The streets are deadly, and the sidewalks are a broken hip in the waiting. Most people just want to get out in their gardens, or take a lazy walk in the warm sun. Oddly I find being indoors so much hinders my painting, I lack energy and it is only February. Only five more months of terrible Island weather to go!