"Music, Art, and Life"

($50.00.......6" x 6".....Mixed Media on 140 lb. HP.....mounted on a Gessobord)

"Passion and tempo are the core of music, art, and life." If you can think back to the times where you were truly energized and at the top of your game, there were probably two ingredients that entered that equation. Those two things were probably passion and tempo (or pacing). Nothing gets done without them.

This is my warm up for beginning and completing a 12" x 12" mixed media piece. If all goes well, it will be posted on Sunday. 

There are several things I want to emphasize about old text pages and rice paper that you might not have noticed. Old book pages are often stained with age, spills, or simply fingerprints. Placing these text pages in a layering situation with white and pristine rice paper creates a wonderful dynamic. What really brings out the contrast, though, is spraying the piece with Spray Acrylic Coating. It's like a transformation of the piece right before your eyes. All of the "aged" qualities of the old book pages come to life and make an interesting background on which to build the piece. 

Another point about these two materials is the many different directions it can go. What you see today is only one way to use them. If you eliminate the mono printed rice papers and simply create a pen and ink drawing, you will have created a very strong piece which is totally graphic.

You could also change the base color of your support (140 lb. HP) and have a completely different look. Another way is to adhere strips of rectangular shapes in many different sizes and completely cover the support. ( I have done this on canvas.) After this first layer dries thoroughly (overnight)...it is then possible to paint over the entire piece with acrylic paints using a palette knife, sponge brush, or brayer.  The edges of the rice paper will always show through the paint.  I found it very useful to dilute the acrylic paint and apply it in thin layers as though it were watercolors. Fluid Acrylics would be good for this technique. You then have the option to use sgraffito effects, hand cut stamps, et. And if you're really brave, you can get out your sander and truly alter the surface. (I did learn the hard way that it is best to use a variable speed sander for more control. Otherwise you could sand straight through your piece. It would be wise to practice on a work off piece first to get the feel of the sander and what it will do.) 

My mind is whirling with all of the possibilities of rice paper and text pages so the studio will be a sea of activity today. Hopefully, you will also be in yours, working away on your work. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Music and Conversation"

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"Listening is a core skill in music and conversation." Listening requires practice in both of these areas. Because I always seem to have an opinion about everything, this is a difficult one for me, but I am determined to continue with my practice.

I must admit this background was not my favorite one to work with, but I decided to see how I could overcome the challenge of pulling it all together.

When there are horizontal bands of color with very little or no detail, there is a challenge to make the piece more interesting. My first attempt was to try a horizontal band across the bottom, but it just didn't work. I then tried a nice oval and flourished line engraving in the top middle. That didn't work either.

This particular column seemed to do the trick because it crosses over all of the color blocks and provides detail and a contrast to the horizontal bands. The music also contributed to the interest and especially when the notes were added to the upper right hand corner...creating an "echo". And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"A Peaceful State"

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"Music has the power to bring the soul to a peaceful state." Isn't it surprising how quickly a sad mood can disappear when music fills the air. We all need to remember how powerful it is and let the music play when stress and sadness come.

This is another 4 x 6 give away for an upcoming exhibit. It has been interesting to work in a format that isn't square. I would like to say a few words about some of the design issues in this piece.

It began with a blank sheet of 140 lb HP. I adhered a fragment of a concert program from 1935. You can actually read the date in some of the translucent black area. It was adhered with gel matte medium right out of the jar and dried with a hair dryer so I could immediately do the pouring medium.

What can happen when using black is that it can do what some people can do....suck up all of the oxygen in the room. In this case, I ended up with more black than I really wanted. The solution to this problem is to select another collage item (preferably something opaque rather than silk tissue prints) and place it somewhere in that block of color. This will break up the surface tension and then the black color block acts as a frame around the collage. The selection of the collage is very important and needs to echo the colors and theme of the piece. In this case I referenced a piece of music from medieval times where the music notation was a lot different from what we have to do.

Another more complex part of this piece is the idea of placing collage on the paper before the pouring medium to create a semi "veiled" effect. That effect combined with the transparent and opaque collage on top of the pouring medium creates a lot of depth and interest. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"A Distant Melody"

($40.00.....6" x 6"....mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)


"Hope is a distant melody that becomes louder and more distinct with time." Hope is essential to survive the difficult places in life. This quote is dedicated to several of my dear friends and family members who are going through a hard place. May hope work its way into the deepest recesses of you soul.

The foundation of this piece was created with large gestural strokes on a prepared paper. All of the acrylic paint I used was first mixed with a bit of molding paste, retarder, and glazing liquid. This allowed the paint to stay wet longer and have a smoothness and more body than simply applying acrylic paint out of the tube. The ability to make gestural marks into the paint was also enhanced by mixing this combination.

So the paper (Rives BFK) was toned with Raw Umber + Unbleached Titanium by brushing on with a sponge brush and then rolled over with a large brayer until the color was smooth. After that dried, I created the gestural strokes with a sponge brush followed by the removal of some of the paint with various sizes of shaper tools. Gestural marks were also included at this stage. The fun part was cropping this piece from a larger sheet...paying close attention to the division of space and having the color blocks touch at least two sides of the design space.

It is a wonderful surface to write or draw on because the paint has been applied thinly in most areas. My desire is to hone this in such a way as to create a look of transparency. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Play On" (sold)

(sold)


"Play your life with passion for it is the food of life." Energetic and gestural marks are all the rage because of the quick and passionate movement as they're being made. A lackadaisical approach has no energy. So it is in life. A positive and energetic approach is always more attractive.

The foundation of this piece began with acrylic paint and a palette knife. The shapes here are very free form. Basically, all it takes to create shapes is a value and color change. Inscribing into the wet paint with the corner of a credit card created the gestural writing as well as stamped lines to echo the bit of music collage.

I am working on a larger piece with these same colors so I knew the lettering would need to be white. (The Quinacridone Magenta did not show up well in the hairlines of the lettering) For that reason, I chose to include some white of the paper when cropping from a larger piece to tie in with the letters.

This piece is a reminder that it takes a spontaneous technique to create a spontaneous result. And in this day and age the use of spontaneous techniques is essential to set yourself apart in the art world....or at the minimum, using energetic brush strokes or including a bit of diagonal movement, etc. All of these things, plus an ever growing sense of design, is what will help an artist grow. Painting and creating what thousands of others are doing will not do it anymore because we are inundated with visuals every day. And there you have it. Just a few more things to think about.

"Staccatos" (unavailable)

"A life filled with staccatos is marked by quick movements and decisions." A staccato in music is indicated by a dot over the music note. It tells the musician to play the note(s) with a quick detached movement. In comparing this term to real life, it aptly describes the person who gets a lot done with quick movements and decisions.  (Tonight is show time for the pieces I've created this past week.  They will be given away tonight at the Opening Reception for "Perspectives".  Details can be found on pactofaustin.com/)

Since my college degree is in music, I do enjoy building a piece around music or making analogies between music and art. The easiest way to include a "snippet" of music in your art is to transfer it to the piece with graphite paper. Begin by making a copy of the music and watching how the paper passes through the copy machine. Take that copy and place a piece of tracing paper over the part that you've selected. Tape all four corners with removable tape. Hand feed it back through the copier the same way it went through the first time. Transferring an image with tracing paper works better because it's so thin. Plus, you can see where it needs to be positioned on the piece.

This same technique works very well with lightweight Japanese papers for the purposes of a collage. You will need to spray it with spray acrylic coating for inclusion in a piece. Just something to try or think about.

"Listen to the Music" (unavailable)

 

"Listen to the rhythm of the music in your heart." Scott Joplin is the king of Ragtime Music. It's "catchy" and has a definite jazz feel. Each of us has a definite rhythm that could be compared to a style of music. What is your style? (This is piece created for a give away at an Opening Reception this Friday.  Details can be seen at (http://www.pactofaustin.com/).

Rhythm is best described visually by repeating one or more design elements. In this piece, there are repeated verical bands and also repeated lines, color, and texture. As in music, rhythm can be very regular (like a march) or it can be syncopated. Syncopation happens when the strong beats become weak and vice versa. Visually, it can be described by throwing in an unexpected interruption in the repeated design element. In this piece, the line in the background that has the word listen is a very strong departure from the straight and softly curving lines. So in essence, the principle of design is to repeat an element of design with variation to achieve a sycopated rhythm. Just something to think about.

"Lines and Spaces" (unavailable)

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"Lines and spaces are good for writing and for music notes." This quote is self explanatory. I was just in the mood to do something with music and Bach Preludes and Fugues were required practice every semester while I was in college.  J.S. Bach ended up becoming my favorite composer.

In a Bach Fugue, counterpoint is the structure. Three or more different melodic lines are having a conversation back and forth. This piece includes the first line and one voice beginning the conversation. Eventually there are two more lines saying different things but all being played at the same time.

In this piece, there are two separate "voices" or patterns of space division taking place. There is the black writing, the black lines, and the line of music dividing the space horizontally from edge to edge. The other shapes are created with the gesso and they are in counterpoint to the horizontal lines.

Before your head spins off from that analysis, let me say that contrast is the name of the game and this is simply another way of dividing space. Explanations give feet to the process. It is my belief that any of us will be dependent on "accicdentally" creating unless we have an understanding of what makes a piece successful. Putting it down in writing will serve you well. It's not that each piece needs to be done the same. The issue is choosing techniques that lead into a spontaneous and successful direction.  Just something to think about.