Painting, Push, and Cloak revisited.

I haven’t been writing much lately, I guess the end of winter and the beginning of spring have won the battle for my attention. I have been working on a number of paintings, though I seem to have trouble finishing some pieces. I am tired of feeling adrift. In some ways I really enjoy experimenting, and yet I feel a desire to concentrate my energies in fewer directions. I have been looking back over my work, and I see two different directions I would like to follow closer when this period of exploration is over.

Two paintings I feel I should follow are Push and Cloak. Both are very different from each other, but both seem to offer prospects.

Her are two variations on these themes.

Book paintings.

I have been working on a small series of paintings that I call book paintings. The paintings contain a book attached to each surface and painted over. The results are rather decorative and have been fun to work on.

Painting With Concealment.

The title I have chosen for this piece is Painting With Concealment. As I worked on the side panels I realized that they distracted from the center panel. I liked the idea of the side panels but I couldn’t make the piece work. So I wrapped the paintings in canvas and string. The paintings still exist, and a sense of mystery has been added. It is now for the viewer to imagine what the side panels are.

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.

Metal.

I have been working on a piece I’ve been thinking about for some time. I’ve always wanted to create a painting that had metal as a support.

I started by engraving simple patterns on the surface of the metal. I then filled the engraved lines with printing ink, and I wiped the surface but left the overall tone of the surface a beautiful gray. I then placed gold and aluminum foil on the surface. I plan on finishing the piece with oil paint.

Still something missing.

I have been looking at this piece for a few days now and I feel as if something is missing. The composition seems a bit top heavy and I’m trying to figure out what the best solution would be. I may add a red cord across the bottom; I would attach it to the framing device, and allow it to gently sag.

I very much like the two narrow red panels that I placed in the top portion of the composition. They have filled in dead areas, but have also created the sensation of top heaviness.

Many things underway.

My studio is in its usual chaotic state, and at first glance it would appear that I’m having trouble focusing on any one piece. But strangely I really do enjoy when things are as busy and cluttered as this; it makes me feel a little more creative during the January doldrums. I have several pieces I’m working on at the moment, and I’ve been sorting through stuff to redo or reassemble, or simply finish. There is nothing as pleasing as a studio full of work and possibilities!

Facade.

I have been looking at this painting / construction for a few days and I feel it is finished. The title that best suits this work is Facade. The definition that I like best from the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is “an outward appearance or front, esp. one which is deceptive.”

I like the fact that the shape of the work recalls the facade of a building, possibly a temple, and to heighten this relationship I included columns on either side of the doorway. The figure within the doorway is in a shroud wrapped with wire and surrounded by talismans, or to be precise, a magnet and string, and a strip of film.

All in all I’ve enjoyed this exercise; I’ve never worked on anything like this before and I feel I’ve gained a few ideas that I can make use of in further work. But the piece is something that I will probably bury away in my studio and never show. It is little more than a mental exercise, something to learn from, even if what I’ve learned is to never do that again! I can learn a lot from failure, and I feel that if I try to view this as a piece of art then it is a failure.