"Shepherd" (Final)

($150.00......10" x 10".....Mixed Media.....Mounted on a 2" Depth Clayboard)

"Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need." (Psalm 23:1...Living Translation) As you can clearly see, many things have changed since yesterday. After writing "Shepherd" boldly in the background, the unfolding thought was to change the title and do only the first verse using a contemporary interpretation.

It has been a very long morning. I wrote this verse in gestural writing first...had some second thoughts so I sent the image to a friend and she confirmed what I was feeling, even though it didn't seem to line up with my conventional wisdom about edges and lines. 

So without further ado, I washed the lettering off and proceeded to deal with small, understated Versals. I do like it now and I believe the word "shepherd" written in white now remains the focal point. And this goes to the heart of layering and why I hope it has been instructive to see the actual steps. The best outcomes happen when you go with whatever evolves as you proceed with some of your original concept.

It is very important to allow it to morph into what it wants to be. Mental concepts tend to be stubborn and pesky little things that want their own way come "hell or high water". The only problem with that type of thinking is that it is like fitting a square peg in a round hole. Your piece will look contrived and overworked and end up on an ash heap.

The best thing to do is simply to relax and let it flow. Consult a friend. Pray and meditate. Walk away from it for awhile. Come back later and it will magically fall into place. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Psalm 23" (Draft 2)

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"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1) In a more contemporary translation, this same verse reads..."Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need." This is a very assuring and calming truth from scripture. 

The word Shepherd has become the focal point of the piece. The final size of this piece has become a 10" x 10". Squares are good because the orientation can go either horizontally, vertically, or both. Since yesterday, I have created horizontal bands to contrast with the vertical bands. The same alternation technique was used and condensed, but by making them shorter and having them go through the upper center of the piece, they lay the foundation for the layering of other horizontal bands.

After adhering these shorter and more narrow strips, I then adhered some plain rice paper in varying heights and widths across the first layer of horizontal banding. Since the first layer of lettering is peeking through in various places, I decided to add a bit more of text on top of the plain rice paper, creating another layer. However, I did not like a solid mass of text, so after adhering them to the support, I deconstructed by slipping a palette knife underneath each piece and literally ripping it off. It now looks more subtle. 

I left all of this to dry overnight and then prepared the surface for lettering this morning with (2) parts water to (1) part gel matte medium and brushed app. (5) coats of this over the entire surface by holding a hair dryer in my left hand and brushing with my right hand. (The heat is necessary to cause the medium to adhere to a slick surface.)   I then practiced my brush lettering several times and then wrote with White Bleedproof White Gouache (WN brand) over my horizontal band of tone on tone. Using white on white creates an ethereal look and can still be seen without conflicting with the lettering that will be added today. 

At the moment I am contemplating white versals, but that could change during the course of the day. The great news is that it is easily wiped off of this surface should I change my mind. I have made a new rule for myself. I no longer write on surfaces I can't correct! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 23" (First Draft)

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"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." (Psalm 23: 1) Today's posting is the first draft of a new piece entitled "Psalm 23". It is a well known psalm and I suspect that most people easily recognize verse one.

This piece began with 140 lb. HP with one coat of white gesso. It was taped to the table with masking tape to keep it from buckling. The undetermined size at this point is at least 9" x 13". I am quite sure that by tomorrow, I will have made the final decision on size.

I am showing you two images today so that you can see that I decided to adhere text over the entire sheet of HP so that text would be peeking through the white areas of the rice paper. (You cannot see it as well today as you will be able to see it tomorrow since I have not yet sprayed the adhered pieces with spray acrylic which gives it translucency.) This is an excellent way to include text for those of you who are not lettering artists and want to integrate text into your work.

In case you haven't been out into any stores lately...chartreuse and gray are very hot colors right now so I simply had to do at least one piece with those colors. (The colors are Speedball Printing Inks. The chartreuse is yellow and a tiny bit of turquoise. The gray is pewter.) And that leads me to another point. If you have no idea what to do next in your art work, it is a good idea to go with one idea or color scheme that keeps haunting you. The same is true for a particular layout. I can make that part easy for you by saying that horizontal bands either horizontally or vertically work every time they're tried.

You might also want to notice that I chose to make all of the exposed edges erratic by tearing the mono printed rice papers. It seemed to look better to me, especially with hard lines in the mono prints created with cut up credit cards or shaper tools. Mono printing is an excellent way to practice your mark making skills.

The feedback on showing process has been extremely positive even though it is uncomfortable for me to do. I much prefer to show the finished piece, but alas, I simply cannot keep that pace up if I want to do larger works...and they will be getting much larger as I go along. Hope all of this helps you and prompts some of your own ideas. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.