Drawings Inspired by Europa WIP

I know I haven't blogged much about it, but the shit in my life, work, and the construction in the building around my studio is inhibiting my ability to do several things including:

• Paint
• Think
  
• Use the Internet
• Blog

I'm making the attempt to pass the free time in coffee shops drawing. I've started a series of 4x4s inspired by black and white photographs of Europa.

Otherwise, construction has knocked out the internet (and power... I had to re-rout things with extension cords) to my computer, and it may be a few weeks before it gets put back to normal. There's also imminent construction threat in as soon as 2 weeks for one of the walls in my space.

I'll try to remember to blog the construction progress later on this week!

Figure Drawing

Last post: Ended up drawing the guy in front of me over top of all other work meaning nothing worth posting.

Better focus next week.

Painting (it's like a brief tutorial!!)

Step 1: Remove all library books and other borrowed items from work surface (note: recent casualties)

Step 2: Locate Roller

Step 3: Locate suitable surface to roll paint onto (plexiglass pallets are good) and clean said surface with babywipes. Accept that it will never totally come clean, and give up, thus moving to step 4

Step 4: Spread paint with pallet knife

Step 5: Load roller with paint.

Step 6: Locate boring area of painting

Step 7: Roll roll roll

Step 8: Stop when areas have ideal coverage and painting seams more interesting (for the time being at least)

Step 9: When dry, glaze to achieve ideal colour and texture

Step 10 is being satisfied that painting can be a bit more interesting without always relying on the use of brushes, and that you've kinda been a complete lazy ass while doing it.


Next up: free pool and dinner as reward. I am a great white.

& Why Wouldn't We?

I finally busted out some red and I'm finally feeling better about (well at least this one) painting. Although this photo really ain't helping my cause but anyway. lol.

So still makes no sense, why we wouldn't still push paint around, even through difficult times.

Influence & Inspiration pt. 1

Last night I checked out the opening for the 4th annual juried miniature show, at The Art Exchange, which I had some work in. I really didn't really feel like going out... don't really feel like doing much of anything this past week. i've been re-evaluating things one by one. Figuring out what happenings I will and will no longer tolerate in my life. But I've been trying to make the effort to do the really important things, and going seams like it should be on my to-do list.

I survived for the most part. Got quizzed about artists that majorly influence my work, but I can rarely ever name any on the spot. Last night was a bit more of an embraressing train-wreck than normally - appearently being an anti-social introvert also inhibits my abilities to dodge such questions in clever but incredibly generalized manners. As much as I like to go out to openings and to galleries to see work, and can remember images of work in my mind, I still have to keep a binder in my studio, filled with show cards and business cards of the people I've been exposed to, and the places I've been. Sometimes it even takes google. I've never been much for remembering names or dates or places though... and it always destroyed me in school. Its been no different at this point in life. And lately when it comes to the content of my work, and the influences come mostly from natural history museums, x-rays, photographs in science books, data, even mathematical squares and patterns.

I think this is why I just no longer like my own openings!

Either way, I'm back at the studio today. And I plan on working on something a little bit later. I kind of want to go to the library again, return some books (natural history) and sign out some more (also natural history). I was talking to someone, about how painting just really isn't working out, and that should just give up and do drawings in coffee shops until spring.

I think I might actually do this.

Avoiding everything and being oddly removed from the rest of the world makes me the not most exciting thing to be around. Despite everything, I've been plodding through the code of the website, and trudging away at the studio. And maybe after a few more years of trudging, I'll actually be somewhere.

I was questioned the other day why I force myself to work through times when I'm so uninspired and withdrawn. Something about not forcing it. I don't know. I really don't know what else I'd do with my time. I think working has always been a way to let myself stay at least some-what afloat, and lets me remain feeling like I'm at least getting somewhere for myself, even if it's the most illogical and impractical place possible.

It's a good time to figure out what is and isn't important.

I wanted to post sketches from Monday before I rambled onto something else.

I'm returning more and more to approaching drawing in a similar way I did with pastel back about 2 years ago.... but keeping it monochromatic, still limited by the lighting in the workshops here.

I realize I need to go back to working larger, on better paper. Full sheets of watercolour if I can afford it? But I've discovered from some previous drawings that happened to be done on overly gessoed paper, that this is the surface I love to work on (right now) and enjoy the drawings more as they become messier and messier.

Graphite, pastel with gesso on watercolour paper

I think there's soon actually potential here to finally create work at sessions that's actually interesting enough to be exhibited, or at least seriously promoted to galleries.

If only we had a bit more time than 30 minutes of working time... I really must reconsider ways to do more substantial figurative work than this. I may return to self portraits again for a bit, when it gets warmer again.

Suicide by Paint (Transformation)

So there's a lot of people here following my facebook. They all know, from my little frustrated outbirsts via my constantly updated profile, that painting hasn't been working and I'm feeling more and more at a loss with work as everything in my mind (and studio) becomes more and more frazzled.

I got some soft-bodied (read: liquidy) alizarin crimson like it would solve all my painting problems. Perhaps only indirectly. I accidentally managed to drop a blob on my wrist and took it as a sign that these works will be the death of me, and I should move on.

It wouldn't imediately wash off.

I don't mind, really. Its usually better to just accept defeat and move on, than spending a thousand hours trying to make something happen out of nothing.

I've collaged:

Gessoed:

R.I.P. beautiful red swoosh of paint

And have done loose underpainting work:

It is currently much better in here right now. Though I still need to really consider cleaning.

There's been other major changes, re-thinking, and preperation for new work as well. When frustrations like this arrise, it usually means I'm well overdue for a drawing break.

Otherwise, I haven't had a chance to blog in a few days, but I've been trying to keep the camera handy.