"It Is Finished" (Part 2 - Final)

($450.00.....Mixed Media and Kiln Formed Glass....Mounted on a 2" depth Clayboard)

"It is finished." (John 19: 30) Of course, this is what Jesus uttered on the cross after drinking the wine vinegar. It's a day of remembering.

Several who follow my blog have shown interest in seeing the process in stages, followed by the final. So what you are seeing today is the second half of the piece and then the piece in totality. It is a progression. As you can see, the crosses are three different sizes from small to large measuring 3"....4"....and 5"....in width respectively. I also used the negative space of the cross to show the turquoise glass in two parts, then three parts, and then, the whole.

It is the equivalent of a visual crescendo in much the same way a piece of music goes from soft to loud. When dealing with a single "motif" in a piece, this is an effective way to make it more interesting. The same type of effect can also be achieved with gradated values by going from light to dark or dark to light. Having a crescendo and decrescendo side by side is also effective and introduces more complexity into your piece.

One last thing to notice is the crescendo effect in the lettering. I wrote "It is finished" with a very light gray gouache (Ult. Bl + Burnt Sienna + White) and a Speedball C-5 nib. I sprayed that with Acrylic Coating. Prepared the surface for lettering again and wrote it a bit darker and slightly overlapping the first lettering.  Followed the same steps and wrote it with Moon Palace Ink.

The advantage to fixing each layer is that you can wipe off a letter you don't like and not disturb the surface underneath. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"It Is Finished" (Part I - Final)

(12" x 36".....Image of the First Half of Piece....Mixed Media and Kiln Formed Glass)

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." (Romans 3: 23, 24...NIV) The lettering finally got finished so this is Part I again and Part II will be posted tomorrow.

This piece and the details of a very large exhibit installation are why I haven't posted the last two days. It is a spectacular exhibit and I hope all of you can come to an Opening Reception for "Fully Alive" at Hill Country Bible Church of Austin. We have postponed the Opening until Friday, April 12, in lieu of other special services this week end.

This piece was quite complicated with many different components that needed to come together in order to make it work. Several weeks ago, I began to fire glass to see how it would look and then I completed the final firings last week.

I then needed to cut balsa wood and then sand and prime it with white gesso. The support was painted, wire attached, label on back so I did not need to turn it over after beginning the placement of all of the elements.

The next step was to adhere passages from Romans from a very old bible that had the gold tabs for each book. Some of those pieces are under the glass and intermingled under some of the rice paper throughout. I was also careful to place the text around key areas where I knew it would show on the sides. It is a very interesting edge when done that way.

And, of course, the text under the main glass pieces contain the heading from the book of Romans and other key passages that contribute to the main message of the piece. After all of that was done, the pieces were adhered to the board, and weighted down with books and rocks for several hours.

More plain rice paper was applied to partially cover some of the seams between the balsa wood and adjust the values to only show what I wanted to show of the text and mono printed rice papers. The lettering was the last detail.

And that is the way it works in the world of mixed media and kiln formed glass.....lots of steps! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"It Is Finished" (Part I)

($450.00.....12" x 36"......Mixed Media and Kiln Formed Glass on a 2" depth Clayboard)

"It is finished." This is part of the text and the title of the piece. You are seeing the first half of a 12" x 36" piece. There is one more larger cross and one more smaller piece of glass with mixed media in between. You will see the actual lettering on the piece tomorrow although there is some pencil lettering in this first part.

There are significant things to learn when exploring new processes. And frankly, exploration is quite necessary in order to set yourself apart and establish a clear voice. Even while working on this piece after several practice runs on smaller ones, I have though of even more variations on this theme. So if you wonder why many artists like to work in a series or stay with a particular set of techniques for a long time, it is to discover everything that can be discovered until the well runs dry.

One of the things I've really noticed about my own personal aesthetic is that I love any materials that allow me to show transparency, translucency, and opacity and contrast all three in the same piece. Transparent glass is the premium material for transparency, but rice paper is the premium material for showing translucency. Depending on how many layers you apply, rice paper can reveal anything from a little to nothing. And that's what the process here is all about. 

I've carefully chosen what I want to reveal or conceal. There may be even more adjustments before tomorrow. For the most part, the piece is finished, all but the lettering, but I am opting to save that until early in the morning. It is ready to hang since all elements are adhered to the board, and the sides were painted and the wire and label were put on before adhering things to the board. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.