Bombs concludes phase I of project35, and marks the beginning of phase II. This photo has long been a favorite of mine, and I’ve been holding off its production until I had the right board and the right frame of mind. As the final sketch, I thought the timing was right. And the final board (of the original cutting) fit well with the composition.
It is perhaps the smallest board of all, comparable to sketch 2: Bloomington Quarry. As you recall, sketch #2 is where I began my experiment with gel pens. I learned from that piece, as it is the only photo I chose to produce twice. I discovered the nature of things; how the wood held the ink, how the ink behaved on the gesso, how each composition created a new set of challenges. Over the course of this process, I’ve learned the difficulties involved with the medium, and using the sketches from phase I as “studies”, I’m excited to move forward.
Bombs Over B-town has brought me to a new beginning. Imagine the original twin bedboard, used to divide and saw into these ten peices, nearly 7 feet in length. Now imagine Bombs projected at that scale…
