Revisions and Experimentation

As my art show draws nearer, I have fine tuned a few paintings and began to experiment with new paintings. I have documented my work in progress as well as completed work.  Several are detail shots. The last picture is of the 5 inch strips that are from a former painting called "The Invisible Thread." I'm playing with how pieces of a previous work can transform into an interesting new composition.

As an artist, I am often asked, "Who inspires you?" Over the course of the years, I have been consistently drawn to various painters and photographers such as: Marc Chagall, Christopher H. Martin, Gregory Crewdson, Jackson Pollock, Henri Bresson Cartier and W. Eugene Smith.
Each artist has an attribute that causes me to gravitate towards their work. For example, in Crewdson's work, I enjoy the unknown narrative of his photographs which leave you with an eerie and voyeuristic sensation.  If you have seen the "Wonder World" exhibit at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, you will see one of his works. My love for abstract came about from a gallery showing many moons ago in Dallas that featured the work of a local artist by the name of Christopher H. Martin. I began to understand how color can move you in mysterious ways without explanation. After several years into my photographic education, my professor discussed the work of the photojournalist, Eugene Smith. He persevered with relentless energy and tenacity to capture photographs that told a unique story within the picture frame. He truly understood and honored the editing process in photography. Nothing was put into the frame without intent. Henri Bresson Cartier also upheld the believe that everything in the frame should be considered. It is to grab you in and lead your eye throughout the photograph. He embodies the idea that you must always be alert to the environment around you for things change in a blink of an eye. One a different note, the Abstract Expressionist, Pollock, took a 180 approach from Cartier and Smith, for he he delved into his work without intention but rather an impulsive method. While not on the abstract realm of Pollock, Chagall engaged his viewers with his use of vivid colors, animals, and lovers through the sensation of light, aerial, and symbolic applications in his paintings.

Below are examples of my work in film photography. They were all shot with a 35 mm Canon Rebel set on manual. I also use the "Zone System" with some of my work which you might ponder, "What is that?" More than likely you have seen Ansel Adams' work. If you have, then you are surprisingly familiar with the amazing results of the method!

Another art show will be hanging up on April 29th at Arsaga's on Gregg. It will incorporate a collection of my abstract paintings. I will have five new paintings in this addition. I am currently working with a previous painting that I completed several years ago. It was called "Invisible Thread," and now is deconstructed into 5 inch strips. I am increasingly interested in what I once considered a "finished" piece of art and reediting it either by cutting, painting over, or combining with another piece of work. I enjoy seeing the unexpected interplay between the colors and textures. I find it similar to collage work. You pick, choose, and play with materials at hand.  I have also reworked another painting from my last show on Dickson.

On a different side note, I have decided to put aside my digital camera and in the next few months return to film photography. I will shoot in black and white film so that when I am able down the road to use a dark room again, I can print and work my negatives exactly how I want them.

Art Show on Dickson

I currently have ten paintings on display at Big Momma's Coffee on Dickson Street in Fayetteville. It features new paintings as well as pieces that I have reworked from previous years. Please drop in for a cup of coffe and browse the work. Let me know what you think!

Transition

Several years ago I worked on a painting called "The Invisible Thread" with approximate dimensions of 6 x 12 feet. The colorful abstract piece brought contentment but the display did not. It was not until a few months ago that I decided it should be cut vertically into 5 inch strips. I am contemplating the next step. Some ideas include weaving the strips together, hanging the strips in a new order,  and cutting the strips thinner. The idea of creating a work of art you once thought complete and rearranging it is exhausting yet rewarding. It is a great parallel to how one needs to move with the change in life in order to be a complete whole. I will have a photo up soon of the strips and see how the new interplay of color has changed.

New Approach to Painting

A few nights ago, I was staring at my paintings and wondering where they were going and how they came to be. I saw that I am approaching it differently than I had years before. The previous progression involved a base layer of color and then continually add more detail; however, I currently add "layers" on top of one another and see how the interrelate. In short, I am painting in the manner of how I would execute a screen print which involves layers of colors, patters, and textures on top of one another. The process is not the most gratifying or satisfactory till it is "complete." Unlike a screen print, I do not have a "finished" vision of what my paintings will become. I let the rhythm of each new layer take me to the next. This new approach is probably due to my inability to screen print and subconsciously trying to find a way to bring it out via another medium.