Currently Reading

An important aspect to excellence in anything is a thorough understanding of the given subject. Often this knowledge is gained through reading. Currently I am reading Art and Objecthood by Micheal Fried. I am reading this collection of essays to improve my understanding of art versus object.

In addition, I am reading Art as Art by Ad Reinhardt. I'm reading Reinhardt to gain a better understanding of his black paintings and work in the monochrome genre of painting.

New Works

Pictured is a yet untitled work. It is acrylic and bubble wrap relief on panel with epoxy. The size is 12" x 12". The work floats off the wall approximately half an inch.

This piece is constructed of bubble wrap relief, pulled through using latex and acrylic paints, then placed on a panel which was gold-leafed. The piece floats off the wall approximately half an inch. The size of the panel is 12" x 12". Again, this piece is untitled as of now.

A rendition of my ever evolving artist statement

Working under the discipline of painting, I create paintings that vary in size but remain committed to embellishing the materials I use in creating the work. Within my paintings, to embellish the materials means to decorate using the material. Decorate refers to making more attractive through ornament.

There is a strict criteria I follow when choosing materials. The criteria is two fold. First, the materials I use in a painting tend to be plain things. These plain things range from toilet paper to mustard to bubble wrap. Many of the plain, boring things I choose for my paintings are just around, not typical objects of strong material desire. Second, visual tactility is a criteria in the process of choosing materials. By visual tactility I am referring to using materials which often appeal to the senses of touch and sight.

Using texture, I aim to stimulate the desire to touch. The surface of the painting is multi-leveled, with the intention of tempting the viewer to run their hand over the nooks and crannies. Concerning sight, I employ tactics of gloss and varnishes to draw the viewers’ eye. Once gloss lures the viewer in, I aim to keep the viewer’s attention through layering and slight color differences.

Additional Criteria Considerations

Steaming off the previous entry on material choices, I follow a second criteria when choosing materials. The previous criteria mentioned was choosing materials based on their plain, boring objectness. In addition, sensuality is a criteria in the process of choosing materials. If there is a surface texture that has great viscosity and tactility, I become attracted to the material for this sensual quality. The same attraction works when a material has a smooth, glass'like gloss such as epoxy. For installation work, the sensuality may come in the form of sounds created. When a material has sensual qualities of touch (and sound for installation), there is a greater chance I will work with the material in a piece.

Pictured is an installation from the previous year that used strips of aluminum from beer cans and pop cans. The cans hung in a tree, creating a beautiful wind-chime like sound in the wind. The aluminum also had a great reflective nature to it.

Criteria For Materials

When choosing materials to work with, careful consideration and criteria is need. By choosing one material over another, that material is being privaledged. For me, choosing a material to use, such as toilet paper and bubble wrap, comes down to the basic question of what is plain, boring. To answer this question, I consider what materials are consistent in every class, what the rich and poor share, have in their lives alike.

Images of New Works and Textures!

Bubble Wrap

Increasing play with materials, I am currently working with bubble wrap. Following the relief discovery of acrylic gesso and plastic, I am attempting to pull the relief of bubble wrap using acrylic gesso. If successful, the relief will float on the white gallery wall, for its presentation.

The color white and various surface textures are influencing my newer works, even though I am moving away from the materials of toilet paper and themes of spirituality. Spirituality and the figure of Jesus are still influences on my personality, but are moving further away from my current body of work.

Images of new work will be up very soon, I promise.

Plastic- It's Fantastic!

Recently, I discovered an amazing technique on pure accident. Acrylic gesso doesn't stick to plastic. When applied in thin layers, many layers are visible at once and in a very slim package. The textures of the wrinkles the plastic has shows through wonderfully with the white color scheme I am currently using. Shadows and depth become more apparent with the white, yet the piece is remarkably thin and flat. Imagine relief done with paint, and no structure other than paint being necessary to hold the relief of an object. Paint creates the image, the relief, and the structure.

James Hampton

The following link is a very interesting article. It pertains to religion, visions of God, and the art world. After viewing images and many readings of this article, I have every desire in the world to go see The Throne of The Third Heaven in person. I'm posting the article because I think everyone will find it most interesting.

http://missioncreep.com/tilt/hampton.html

Black

Black. I have been working with soothing whites and creams for some time now. They can offer a sense of ease, tranquility, and in some instances act as a gateway into an alternative, heavenly world. These white paintings offer a great sense of calm and are aesthetically pleasing to look at.

One can't always stay in the world of serenity without the need to feel a hellish out-lash. This is where black comes in. Too much calm and white and goodness leads me to angst and aggressive states of mind. I need the conflict, the despair, the violent urges. Show me bad things, cruel things, horrid things. Scare my mind til I want to go back to whiteness and tranquility. I need both.

Painting with darks and blacks offers me an escape from the serenity of white. Blacks offer a outlet for the anger, a way to let my emotions go. I abuse the canvas with hard strokes and violent palette knifing. It makes me feel good to have angst. Then, once the black is on the canvas, the angst is gone. White welcomes me home.

Importance of Studio Visits

As artists, it is important to network and keep connected with other artists and others outside art professions. When kept isolated, the artist' mind is difficult to challenge. It is with inquiry of others and conversation in a studio visit setting that an artist can truly push the borders of their work.

Recently, I have discussed my work with a trio of professors. From each professor came different insight. As the artist, it is my duty to sort through their insight to come to a conclusion of problems and solutions. One problem is stretching the whites paint and toilet paper can create. Through using faint hints of color, I can hopefully liven up the whites in my paintings.

Another problem plaguing my work is composition. When rendering representational, I have little difficulty in composing the element in the flat plane of the stretcher. However, my recent foray into abstract art has lead me to consider composition to a lesser degree. Through really thinking and questioning my compositions, I aim to draw the viewer in more effectively. By further attracting the viewer with composition, I hope to facilitate the deconstruction of my constructed textures for the viewer.

Lastly, I NEED to experiment with materials more! Toilet paper and aluminum foil have become my security blanket. There is a whole world of textures out there, and I need to channel Christopher Columbus. Columbus discovered a new world through navigation. I need to discover new textures through investigation. My sails will soar on a quest for texture.

Planning Process

In the process of creating my textural, abstracted works, I under go an intense planning process. First in my process is the conception of materials. Toilet paper and aluminum foil are standards in my material library. In addition, No. 2 pencil and acrylic paint are standards in the same library. Wood and insulation are materials I plan to activate in my library soon.

Once I have conceived the materials, I then experiment on small stretched canvas and canvas paper. The tests serve as a study of reactions the materials may have. I identify commonalities present. Then, I apply these repeating patterns in more developed studies, which often consist of multiple layers. The more layers used tend to produce finalized studies.

Using the finalized studies, I start on a final piece. I'll move from quick pen or pencil drawings, which act as architectural plans, to a larger support. Multiple layers are applied over a long duration of time to build up textures on the canvas support. Glosses, epoxy, and molding paste are applied to paint, to re-create the textures of my finalized studies.

Through these steps, I create abstract, textured paintings. Although abstract and apparently simple, my process in planning and producing is complex, time consuming, and rewarding. Ultimately, the reward of the finished piece is enough to keep me returning back for more.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll post pictures of my most recent studies.

Paintings

Welcome to my blog. This blog will serve to distribute an awareness of my name and art to the widely connected world using the internet. I'll post statements about my work and images of my work as well. As a painter, it is important to get your name out there and hopefully this blog will aid me in that mission. Here are some images to start salvating interest in my work: