May 19, 2008

Today's painting session felt unsatisfying and frustrating. I did not find my rhythm while painting and struggled through every color change. Yesterday I drove to Michael's and bought $150 worth of new paints, automatically making painting easier.(because you don't have the restriction of limited paint colors) To have problems with a full arsenal of paints is somewhat unusual although not unheard of. Every painting goes through a cycle of like-dislike-like. I'll like the freeness of a layer then paint over some of it to get the colors I want and feel the freeness has been lost. Sometimes the subject starts to bore me and I have been known to start over and paint an alternative painting on top of the old one. I recently completed a painting, sent it out to be photographed and painted over it when returned home because I still was not happy with the results.

One of the problems I'm having with "Jackson's Trip to Heaven" is that there is no compositional focus the focus points (first, second, third, etc.) will be managed through color. Right now there are only spots of color as I am still filling in the canvas with basic colors. Today I focused a bit on the mountain range that is below and to the left of the red dog (Jackson). I'm assuming that heaven has different ecosystems and felt sure that Jackson would have chosen his familiar mountains to surround himself.

May 18, 2008

Most times when I paint I listen to either podcasts or music. I'm not sure how these things work but having background noise on tends to keep my mind still and focussed what is visually in front of me. Today I was listening to Vegan Radio which is a vegan radio show broadcasted from Northampton, Massachusetts. Today the hosts were talking about animal testing and they mentioned Felix the chimp who was serving science by being a test subject and who was scheduled to be terminated once the tests are concluded. This gave me an idea to paint the bottom of the painting of earth as we know it with its turmoils (such as the demise of Felix) in opposition to the upper parts of the painting which is a view from heaven, much simpler and not as visually busy. Ofttimes I have a general sense of what I want to say in a painting but draw inspiration from the various things I listen to often adding and/or manipulating the painting to reflect ideas that I get from both podcasts and music.

May 17, 2008

Most of today was spent doing "other" things but I finally stole a few hours and started a new painting entitled  "Jackson's Trip to Heaven". I do not have a preconceived image of what this painting is. Unlike some artists who have a painting in mind in its entirety when they start, this painting started with only the smallest "thumbnail" drawing of Jackson's face. I had forgotten to check paints before I started and was somewhat limited to paint supplies. On the first layer I used a warm blue acrylic mixed with a cool green for the outline. I started with Jackson's head transferring what I had drawn with pencil in a thumbnail sketch to paint on a canvas. The head was not translating into shapes that felt correct. Additionally, the head was low and at a weird angle so when I added a body it looked cartoony and wrong. I turned the canvas to the right and started layer two with black acrylic painting a close-up of his head. A dribble of paint came down from one eye which I decided reflect the sadness Jackson would have felt (as well as my sadness) leaving his family. I was unhappy with this layer.  I felt this painting should have more sub-stories  so I could tell a more involved story about Jackson's trip to heaven and not simple show emotion as I would in a close-up painting of his head. I then turned the canvas once more to the right and roughed painted a dog in the upper right, some clouds, and trash can with brown paint. Because of the two layers of earlier lines I had opportunity for happy accidents. One line became a leash, there are mountains from those lines and a faucet with running water from layer two. Every painting that I do does not always start in the same manner. Some start with a more comprehensive pen or ink drawing, some paintings are compositional figured out in the first layer and some like this one, take a while to get where they need to go.

May 16, 2008

I finally did it and started my next painting. For one reason or another I had lost my painting momentum and used gardening, cleaning, hiking, yapping on the phone as well as any other distraction to avoid starting a new painting. There's a deadline looming albeit a several month one, but I know once the sun returns to Pennsylvania the outdoors will be beckoning quite loudly and it will be harder to keep myself inside to paint. As promised I will document the painting photographically each time I finish a session, the result being a diary of the progress of this painting. Today I stretched the canvas and painted two layers of white gesso to prepare the canvas surface. Because it is raining outside I will have to leave the canvas alone until tomorrow when the gesso has had a sufficent amount of time to dry. As I indicated in an earlier post (April 18th) My intention for this paint is to paint a vision of my newly departed Vizsla titled "Jackson's Trip to Heaven". The canvas is a hemp canvas from Near Sea Naturals  and the stretchers are from Upper Canada Stretchers.

May 15, 2008

Today was a day that lacked any type of opportunity for creativity yet it was filled with art all of it being a result of one person or another (including myself)’s creativity. There was a reception for a local show that I am in at the Penn State Altoona campus. Local shows are often pooh poohed for their lack of good art but I find that statement to be a false one. There is a diverse group of artists living in central Pennsylvania who create artwork ranging from the expected landscapes to collages, sculptures, abstract digital art, photography, and fabric art. Receptions are hardly the time to look at a show, there’s the distraction of socializing with a mix of art patrons and artists and the artwork although the draw of such events is actually the secondary focus. Because one of my pieces won an award there is extra attention on me, as with all other award winners by congratulatory greetings. I rarely go to openings for mainly because most of my art is shown out-of-town. Generally my contact with the physical part of an art show in non-existent. I fill out an application, send slides or digital materials, print out some paper work (resume, cv), send check or money order to cover application fees along with a self stamped addressed envelope and wait for the return acceptance/rejection letter. I always mark the SASE with the show’s name on the bottom left so I know what show I’m about to open the results of when I get the returned envelope. Sometimes there will be a mass printed letter or note, sometimes a stamped “in” or “out” on my application and return of your slides if you fail to get any of your pieces in. If a piece is accepted into a show I will either ship the artwork in a crate that I make from plywood and 1” x 2”s or drive if under 4 hours away. Every once in a while it’s fun to meet and greet others who appreciate the emotion and beauty of art and respond to your work in either a positive or negative way.

May 14, 2008

Photo of Todd Rundgren by Mindy Hertzon. 

Today was a strange day for me and although my intentions were there I never got to accomplish what my goals for the day were. Between having my monthly menace and small but thought inducing issues that came up I was distracted to the point that here it is 5:53 and the best I can claim to have done today was go grocery shopping and feed my daughter and animals. Oh well. One thought I had (and I will relate it to art I promise) was a idea presented to me by someone near and dear to me to travel to Hawaii to celebrate Todd Rundgren's 60th birthday with him at his house. I have been listening to Todd since 1977 so this is basically a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to have Todd and family open their house to their fans to host a week long party. They live on the beautiful island of Kauai on 5 acres and approximately 100 other Todd fans will be camping along side of each other, eating, drinking and making merriment at one of the most beautiful sites on the world. So where's the hesitation come from? Having been a Todd fan for so long the most contact I have had is him on stage, me in the audience and a few times that I got to go backstage and say "Hi". How will it feel to see him day and night, see him as a real person with his flaws and imperfections after so many years of idolization? Because of the isolation artist need to create (and most desire) we never really get to see them with their hands down after all what would Jackson Pollack smell like after a week-long bender or would it be so romantic to see Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in one of their throw things at each other fight? Whatever I decide I will always hold a special place in my heart for Todd Rundgren as his words and music have guided me through times both troubled and good. As all good artists do he crafted his words and music to reflect a universal truth that I could relate to even though we have never met and live worlds away. To quote one of his songs from "Initiation"

"You can say what you will about me

Talk is cheap and I don't mind

When you lay your life down in those grooves 

You know you're bound to get scratched up sometime

It's only just a song pay me no mind"

Todd Rundgren

May 13, 2008

Following yesterday's (May 12, 2008) thread of incorporating vegan issues in my artwork I decided to talk a bit about another painting I did, "Blah, Blah, Blah". Whenever I am excited about something new I feel compelled to share that excitement with those around me. In the case of newly becoming vegan I, like many newbies, felt compelled to share all the many facts about food processing particularly those concerning the use of animal and animal products. In this painting there are two people in the background, one in the fore. One is my neighbor who is represented with a crack in his head (too much information) and the second is my daughter who is looking away with interest somewhere else. Some of the symbols in the painting are the "Om" symbol which is often use in yoga, an owl which represents itself (I had seen a Bared Owl in the woods earlier in the week) and a dog which is my dear departed Vizsla, Jackson (see April 14th post).