Art Wand
Entiled
Composing composition of tiles. New work. The photo is black-and-white but the art is painted in full color. Some of this work will be exhibited in May at the banana factory in Bethlehem PA.
Warming up.
Continuing small works as warm up for extending to the larger pieces I work on later today. Maybe a coffee is needed.
First Friday Bethlehem PA.
Studio adaptation
It’s coming up on my 1st anniversary at the Banana Factory. My studio is beginning to show the change that’s been incubating since January. I’m hiring a moving van and relocating some large pieces to the Log and Stone house and my moms home in Emmaus.
Working in several mediums is challenging in my studio, but the change is not all about moving equipment based on the medium for which it’s intended.
This move is about expansion of ideas and images. More room for a new series of work, larger but not literally in size. Open. Loose. Growth. Freedom. Those are some of my thoughts and feelings that are driving the bus right now.
Got my painting setup moved across the room and tomorrow stuff goes out!!
Flower Cafe series.
This is the third painting in a series I started this week after a long cold winter. The studio needed a swift clean up which I did while some backgrounds I painted earlier finished drying. Then I set to work laying out some ideas that I sketched while in bed with the flu this year. Once backgrounds are set, I choose paint colors and mix them in small batches. Then make notes in the sketchbook near the sketch about the colors and using a small hog bristle brush, I paint color mixes and tints on the page for reference. This painting is titled ‘Flower Cafe 3’ and is 18″ x 24″. I hope to finish this piece soon. The completed pink painting is 6″ x 6 ” titled ‘Flower Cafe 2’. The cream and white piece is 8″ x 10″ and first in the series.
Postcard Project #1 2014
A Lehigh Valley artist Kristen Barnes started an artists postcard exchange and invited local artists to take part. I was super excited to be invited by Kristen to join the project. My schedule was hectic and I put off working on the project for a few weeks.
Finally opportunity struck. About 2 weeks I got the flu and it hit me rather hard. With the flu keeping me in bed and the severe snow storms that left 2 feet of snow outside the Log and Stone House staying home became necessary. Yesterday I felt a little better and ventured downstairs and found a cardboard box that could be made into postcards. Today I got the strength to gather supplies, cut the box apart and start making cards. I measured a few to fit the USPS postcard dimensions and some are just random sizes. Simply using glue, scissors and gesso I got my base cards started. Then I packed them in between layers of plastic wrap and stacked them up. Found a heavy book and a few stones to weight them overnight. Tomorrow I can get started on the next steps of painting or drawing or collage.
I’m like an addict though: art is curing in my kitchen and I have to wait for the pieces to dry before I can make any additions. I can almost salivate at the thought of working again after the forced flucation. I am resisting running down and breaking into the stack to see if one is dry! The loop keeps running in my mind, I’’m visualizing myself running back upstairs in my chilled bare feet, card and pens clutched in hand, leaping back under the covers and working long into the night…
Its Just Talk
Watercolor, Ink, Papyrus
Regarding Sherlock Holmes and his ignorance of Copernican theory, “What the deuce is [the solar system] to me?” he exclaims to Watson in A Study in Scarlet. “You say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.” And now that he knows that fact? “I shall do my best to forget it,” he promises.
My art is mine, its not inspired by anything in particular or anyone. Simple concept or it should be. Well just try that on in the modern world. There are labels slung at the work, me and the style. Comparisons are made with no regard to my thoughts or feelings. I prefer the enigma that naturally exists in the creation and the process. I don’t intend to create and make statements of any kind. I’m not that pretentious. I wonder who really cares about my opinion…and do I actually care to use my precious work as a tool to provide statements to the public? If you’re a long standing friend we may find ourselves discussing it but otherwise I’m likely to say a little when queried about the art I make.
The reference to Sherlock Holmes? I read Conan Doyle in my youth and the realization of what Holmes referred to in the Copernicus statement stuck with me. What do I need to know–to shape my life as I want it to be….and what do I need to forget? I don’t want to know about the art that came before me or even really of what is being created right now. Keeping it simple, I have little need to know about artists, it impedes my progress, infiltrates my brain and I fight to keep it out. I’ve been told that I’m wrong, that if I had gone to art school or college I would know that I should build on the structure of artist who created before me. Now I have to forget that too! I met Ian Frazier several times and he told me he has had a similar experience. He said the internet contains so much information its difficult to filter when doing research for his writing. I explained my Holmes theory to him and he chuckled and nodded his head.
To all who know me, please stop telling me to change my mind on this subject. I paid dearly to avoid art school. I consider myself an iconoclast and being institutionalized doesn’t work for me. While working low paying full time jobs, I painted during my precious time off. Not having knowledge of art history doesn’t make me not bright. Figuring out processes by experimentation doesn’t make my work unsophisticated. It does make me an outsider for the most part. What I didn’t get by going to college…I struggled, worked hard and experimented a lot. I found out that I am an innovator, a risk taker and improvise on every piece I make. I’m happy with my work and proud of what I do. I am pleased and humbled every time someone acquires a piece. I’m impressed with those who collect my art, as they are an extraordinary group of people.
The Other Key
Recently I acquired a large vintage wooden flat file and was thrilled with it, had it refinished and found the missing (hidden) key. When it was finally delivered, it wouldn’t fit through the studio door. I was a little upset, but thought, oh well its not meant to be mine–because it would not fit through any door of any building I could conceivably move it into. Yes, friends and family all tried to come to forth to rescue said treasure–but no door could accommodate it. So, I put it on the block, but I had a chance meeting with the previous owner and mentioned the problem. He revealed the box had one more trick to reveal–it comes apart with the removal of two bolts. I will number the drawers and remove them, remove the large bolts and collapse the box, move it in and re-assemble it in my studio. Even better.
Magickal Day
Always fun to be blessed with a little Magick in my day! Today I acquired a sturdy wood flat file from my friend Maciek Albrecht. His studio, you can see his witty whimsical studio at http://www.magikworld.com is in Easton, PA.
The piece is funky and practical and I am super thrilled to have safe storage for my paper. I asked about the key and he said no key. Once we got back to Bethlehem, I started to go through the drawers. In the top drawer – I found a piece of tape – with the key under it!!
All that’s left is to roll it into the Banana Factory and into my studio and fill it with paper and wonderful art!!
Boundless 