cold stressin'

I suppose bloggers should be people who like to talk about themselves. I'm not that way. Tried to post some real thoughts the other night, but blogger wouldn't let me log in. So instead of stepping over to my secret stash of passwords, I gave up. Too much to do these days, so I must sit when I can ...

800%

I'm lame to make you click more, but instead of posting a link, I'll ask you to google Justin Bieber 800% Slower, and listen to the MP3. It's on Soundcloud. Though over 30 minutes long, you'll be glad for no matter how much you hear, it's pretty cool.

I think I've finally made it to the Bridge just now.

Anyway, me and the missus have been working hard on the basement, of which a portion is dedicated to my art. Though we won't be 'finishing' it any time soon, we are making it the type of functional we need, and I'm thrilled.

I've started two new pieces in anticipation for 2 upcoming OPST shows, and will be kicking down a pair to the PoBoy Art Scorpio Show in November, about which I will inform you ASAP.

Just take it day-by-day, and be the best person you can be each day.

productivity and momentum

after a period of slumber, i have had two of the most productive weeks of the year. two weeks ago today, stuck without my painting kit, i bought a canvas and a tube of white and a tube of black from my pals at utrecht and went out to sauvie island. ever since i read about dekooning using black and white house paints (because he was broke) i have wanted to try that in a plein air environment. it was as i had expected; tough to express the greens, reds, ochres, and blues with just two
tones. impossible to describe cool and warm. it was all about composition and texture. a fun exercise and something i will do again. i learned from the experience. had to do more with less, which is something i strive to do anyway (and usually end up pulling every tube out of the carrier).

all the while i am also playing with painting on my iphone. it has become my new coffee shop past time.

say what you will about this, i know many painters poo poo it, but i think it's every bit as informative as sketching. i have already converted two of these small sketches into paintings,

one of which isn't half bad. pictured here is a view out the window of the coffee shop in oceanside.

last week i read about an artist using walnut stain, and that sparked an idea to use various shades of wood stain on a plein air piece. i bought three colors, a golden oak, deep red cherry, and dark ebony. i worked on three small (24 x 24) panels last week, and four more panels today. all were done out on sauvie island.

like the black and white piece, i find it good to limit my material choices. again, i have no way of defining warm and cool (only warm and warmer), and everything is in a tone of red or yellow. the first week i introduced some white chalk to provide some additional contrast. this week i brought the spray paint with me, which was fun.

the spray paint and the stain really don't play well together, but that's part of the fun. of the four today, i think there are two with potential. i'm still figuring out what to do with this medium, and really these are just experiments in how the materials react. i have done some drawing (either with a fine brush or a "stain pen" (from home depot, used to fill scratches in furniture) and some big abstract washes. in all the material is more workable than i first thought. i figured i would have big ambiguous puddles of red and black, but really it's not unlike painting with watercolor.

for some reason i keep thinking the "puddles of abstraction" will be the more exciting pictures, but so far each trip has included those as well as a couple of more traditional representative experiments which have been the more interesting pieces.