It occurred to me that I had not provided a reference for the Balboa Park piece (painted with black gesso). Here is the original photo, a snapshot taken of a statue of the Spanish explorer, Vasco Nunez de Balboa. The San Diego park was named in his honor, as he is claimed by some to be the first to see the Pacific Ocean. Others, including Wikipedia, give credit for its discovery to Ferdinand Magellan.
This photo was the original inspiration for Project35. Taken in the spring of ‘08 in Charleston, SC, while my wife (hence the beauty) and I were walking towards the harbor, on one of the cross-streets in the Battery. The town is as old as it is picturesque, and has managed to preserve itself so well. To think, these were the same city streets that witnessed the first shots of the civil war. I find that fascinating, and worth recording.
Alas!
After long last, I have completed another piece. 2 vacations and much travel slowed me up, so I apologize to my loyal readers. This one is my favorite so far. Continue reading »
Readers:
I am going on vacation for a week. I have however started on another piece, as evidenced by the sneak peak video below. I plan to document the real-time progress of this one when I return, and edit down an attempt at this project’s first experiential video. Ultimately this will have music, and I will add a few touches of editing magic, but overall it will remain quite simple. And, true to the process.
Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
Yesterday I met with the owners of pictura gallery, located on the north side of the square here in Bloomington, IN. David Moore and Brenda Stern have a beautiful space there, and I’m hoping this project goes well enough to merit a showing there. Continue reading »
I was amazed how fast this one went. This time the selection of the image took the most consideration. After selecting my board, I set it up on the wall and examined its surface (by this time, I’m no longer sanding the boards, as I don’t want to lose any of the texture). Plus, little surprises make there way onto the surface (note 2 tiny bugs, and knot-hole):
I thought it would be helpful to include this photo, so that you could compare the two sketches with the original:
This is the blue collar side of Bloomington, Indiana. Evidence of hard work and sweat, and a simple quality of life that appeals to all of us rises to thought. The monolithic presence of each stone appeals to me in a way that seems representative of those tasked with extracting them from the earth. The giant blocks are timeless and weathered, and exude a steadfast integrity that mirrors the honorable profession of their captors.
Bloomington is divided by “town and gown”, and it is especially evident when you contrast a scene like this with the multitude of limestone buildings on the campus of Indiana University.
I’m back with more. This time I tried a smaller board (maybe 18″ X 12″ at most). Last time I was unable to get the detail I was at least curious about attaining, so I tried a gel pen, purchased at Pygmalion’s once again.
I was immediately pleased with the fluidity of the pen strokes over the gesso/wood surface, and equally so with the level of detail shown.
I found that I was able to draw with almost as much detail as I could on paper, and the whole process became a joy to work on. The gesso is almost soft, and the pen sort of pushes through the surface, and you’re able to build up ink in certain places, and let it thin out when needed. The wood ended up adding a nice level of welcome texture, and the residual strokes from the gesso application provided an underlayer of motion that I was also able to key in on. (see detail)
The end result:
Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.
Hello again-
I have been working on a smaller board, and that post is coming very soon. I have one more sitting to complete the piece, and then I’ll post photos and commentary. What I will show you is my recent eBay win. I scored a bundle of four, 4.5 ft. sticks from user artnframing123. Thanks artnframing123, although I’m pretty sure that’s an alias.
Anyway, take a look. They came in 2 days after I ordered them, and I paid $18 for the wood, and $16.98 for the shipping. That is a huge discount compared to a retail framing shop’s pricing.
I am excited about my next post so stay tuned, my loyal readers!
Finally, the slide cartridge arrived! I didn’t get a chance to test everything until yesterday, but it was worth the wait. I unwrapped it and loaded my slides…
And, drumroll please…
This was the moment I had been waiting for. From the very beginning, all I really wanted was to see one of my photos displayed through the old projector. The smell of the electric fan and the projector bulb was beautiful; that old-time flavor reminiscent of the days when everything was electric.
From here I went out to my garage to sand down one of my boards. I really expected the gesso to sand down a bit smoother, but I knew it wouldn’t be perfectly flat. The result, as you can see, is a surface that allows itself to exist as part of the concept. The texture is as real and timeless as they come, and it lends (at times it commands) a presence to every stroke I drew.
Using black oil pastels, I decided to treat this first one as a litmus test for things to come.
As I began to draw, I began to discover the nature of the materials I was working with, and how each reacted to the other. As the artist, I had originally thought or hoped to capture some of the finer details presented within the photographs.
This photo, taken in the fall of 2006 in Bloomington, Indiana shows a grouping of massive limestone blocks, fresh from a nearby quarry. As you can see from the next picture, the texture of the wood surface coupled with the fine detail a photo can provide presented a challenge in my approach.
This is a challenge that I knew would present itself, and as such fulfills part of a process of discovery. I am not trying to recreate an exact replica of the photos, but rather discover a path inspired by the photos that allows me to convey the meaning or emotion captured within. When adapting an image from one medium to another, you can’t think of it as a mere transfer of surfaces. You must adapt to the materials, and let the piece evolve as it sees fit.
What ends up happening, and what I intend to keep investigating, is that when I turn the lamp off periodically, I see an abstraction of the image taking place. As I was not ready for it at the time, I think I’m more prepared now to embrace that abstraction as it comes along. I was too busy fighting with the materials to notice it right away. After a while, I left the lamp off and decided to give it a life of it’s own, created by me in the moment. That allowed me to get out of the literal mindset that “I must re-create this image” as closely as possible. I’d be kidding myself if I really thought that were possible.
Conclusion: I still would like a finer point to work with. I’m considering gel pens. I’m also considering the use of black gesso, with a fine brush, but I don’t think that would be quite right for what I need. The problem is, I need the macro ability of the oil pastels at times, but then the need for the micro details is also evident. Perhaps I’ll use both. One final note: as you see in the photo below, I think the resulting wood texture is beautiful, where the pastel fails to fill in as I draw. It’s starting to feel more and more like a wood-cut image, which is very very exciting.
Though you can’t really tell it’s a quarry field, it has a unique beauty all its own, and shows strong enough on its own, regardless of the subject matter’s precise existence. With these truths revealed through process, I intend to improve upon my learnings in the next piece.
Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.
