Definitely looking forward to getting a good picture of this one, I'm pretty happy with it.
Art and Alliteration in the Land of Tomorrow
Friday, April 13, 2012
Chameleon
I was gonna wait to post this one until I had finished another one, which I'm working on now, but then I managed to mess up my shoulder some more, so today was a zero day, painting-wise.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Two Paintings (and also exposition)
Do you know, it had gotten to be two, three weeks since I had painted something? My brain was starting to feel pretty weird.
During my last big sketch dump post, I mentioned briefly how some things had come together in my mind, and I feel like these are the start of that Important New Direction.
Except that it's not really a new direction: it's a bunch of old directions, combined. One of the best things about having studio mates is having someone to talk things through with, and one, I don't know, theme that came up repeatedly in discussions with Tracey Parker (website here) was the idea that just because a painting doesn't work, doesn't mean that the idea behind it is fundamentally wrong or bad in any way.
This line of thought lead me to reexamine the work I had done in previous semesters. What I realized was that while I felt that I was exploring different aspects of the same idea, that wasn't really clear, visually. So I knew that I needed to figure out a better way to present my ideas so that the paintings would be understandable without me being there to explain them, but at the same time I no longer felt the need to completely abandon previous lines of thought if the audience's (i.e. the professor's) reaction was less than warm.
So, let's step back in time, shall we?
The first time I was in advanced painting was also when I was in Florence doing study abroad. Concept didn't matter as much, or at all, and I was free to explore both materiality and objective abstraction (though I didn't know the term at the time, nor did I take it as far as I do now.)
The second time I was in advanced painting was...weird. Intense. So many descriptors. The execution of my paintings in this class was almost universally bad. Canvases were stretched poorly, gesso was spread unevenly, the colors were nonsensical and amateurish. That being said, these were also the paintings that forced me to transition from painting from a place of extreme emotional and intellectual reserve to doing paintings that I actually, y'know, gave a fuck or two about.
The third time I was in advanced painting, I spent most of my time doing small works on paper, none of which are online, even in my own personal photobucket files. This is absolutely fine, because they were....as explorations they were fine, but as finished works they fell short of their promise. But then I stepped it up, right at the end.
And then I was in advanced painting for the fourth and final time. I did.....a lot of paintings. Moved through a lot of ideas, almost too fast to keep track of. One of the best of them (although you can see most of the rest here) was this one:
And then, after all that, four years and change of professorial influence, I had to figure out what to do on my own. I set out on my roadtrip thinking that my landscapes would be a celebration of place, that I could make them as powerful and visually interesting as the image above. Some of them maybe almost got close, but not really. Although visually interesting, none of them really truly satisfied me. They weren't bad, mind. They just weren't excellent. At least, until this one:
I don't know exactly what it was about the woody gap painting that caused it, but afterwords, as I was driving away, all the little bits, the leftover puzzle pieces, just snapped into place. After a few months of not really enjoying the pieces I was producing, it's good to really really want to paint again.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Book recs: Unpopular
Sometimes when I read a book, I don't really mention it to anyone. It may be a very good book. It may have changed the way I look at the world. But I don't mention it.
This is not one of those books. (image links to amazon)
This book I mention to eeeeeeeeeveryooooooooooooone. Why? Because I know a lot of really independent people who are not really comfortable with the daily grind and the status quo but who are totally at home with lots and lots of hard work.
Also we aren't always all that good at being introverts in an extroverts' world, and it's good to have a guide, now and again. If other people can do it, we can too!
But, no, seriously, you guys should really read this book.
But, no, seriously, you guys should really read this book.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
A bit of perspective
This is going to be another text post. Bear with me.
I've been going back and forth (and up and down and inside out) about how I feel about this MICA post bac thing. And to a lesser extent about being an alternate candidate at University of Washington, but I figure it's safer to assume rejected until proven otherwise with that one. But that's getting away from the point a bit.
This program is a good opportunity. It's a really good opportunity. MICA is a good school, and having them on my resume cannot hurt. They have access to many resources that I do not have that would make my life easier in both the long and short runs. A friend (Tracey Parker, go check her out) got accepted to the Hoffberger school of painting, so not only would I have someone familiar there, I would potentially have a pretty sweet roommate. They have studio space, which I need. The East coast is good. The East coast has a tradition of innovation.
Can you tell I've been trying to sell myself on this for a while now?
Because there are downsides. The biggest one is always going to be expense. $40,000 is a lot for a single year of education, none of which rolls over into a Master's program. There is no guarantee of being accepted into a Master's program after being a post-bac, even one of MICA's. I had thought that my next big move was going to be a long term move, but what if I only go there for one year? In fact, it will almost certainly be for only the one year (personal preference), and then I'll have to move again.
But the biggest, baddest tangle has been one that I didn't really expect.
In my natural state, I am viciously prideful, easily offended. These are not qualities that I appreciate in others, and I absolutely despise them in myself; I've spent a lot of time rooting out and getting rid of that sort of base reaction. Seriously, a lot of time. More than I really care to admit to. And I've done a pretty good job of it: I've never been personally offended by any critique, whether given by student or professor, and I consider rejection to be as natural an outcome as acceptance. But this....just....something....pinged.
When I got the first email inviting me to the post bac program, one of the things they said in the email was to feel free to contact this one guy on staff who had done the program himself. It was easiest for him to talk on the phone, so I called him, and this is where the seeds were really planted. He talked about how good an opportunity it was for him, about how it changed his life, about how the people he did the program with and people who have done it since have gone on to do great things. Ok, fine, I wasn't really expecting them to send me to someone who was going to spit on their program.
But he also said things like 'this is for people who show great promise, but just aren't there yet, and who we feel could benefit from just a little bit more time' and 'this program really demands a lot of hard work.'
And that, just.....yeah, no fucking duh it requires a lot of hard work. Some people apply directly to the post bac program, and so may not be aware of how bitchy the upper levels of higher education can be. I applied to their master's program. I was aware. I was ready. I already work at a pace and with a determination befitting a grad student. Before he said that, my mentality was just that the people who were chosen over me were better or more appropriate this year. Not that I was being perceived as lacking, let alone lazy.
So, yeah, I'm going to hesitate to give $40,000 to an institution if their first impression of me is that I'm a slacker. Because I'm not. That's the last bastion of my indefatigable pride: I may not always be the best, but I always work.
And heaped on top of all of that, I know that he didn't mean it that way. There are people who are legitimately not ready for the level of work that MICA demands. That any graduate program worth its salt demands. Warning people is only fair.
Except when it's not. So let's move away from this a little bit.
For people who are familiar with both my work and Terry Winters', it's pretty obvious that he's a big influence on my work. Not the only one, by any means, but a big one. He has a new show right now, 'Terry Winters: Cricket Music, Tessellation Figures, & Notebook' at the Matthew Marks gallery in New York. I haven't seen this show in person (ah, the midwest, so far from new york) but from what I'm seeing online, I quite like it.
There is a brief review of it on Two Coats of Paint, a blog for this sort of thing.
The review is...odd. I've seen others like it before, but I am always made uncomfortable by them. It starts off by citing other reviews, which are glowing, and then moves straight into exactly the opposite of that. Sharon Butler, the author of the review, spends time talking about the things that were good about Winters' old work specifically to illustrate how the new pieces don't measure up. It ends with a particularly condescending "Not many artists of Winters's caliber are willing to risk learning out loud, and for that alone, this show is worth seeing."
This is a pretty nasty and fairly common 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation. On the one hand, if you become well known for painting in a certain way/working with a particular material/palette/subject/etc, and continue to do that, then you could be considered a sellout, lacking innovative edge. On the other hand, the moment you do depart from the familiar, you are no longer just compared (with an eye toward competition) with other artists, both contemporary and long deceased, but also with yourself.
Personally, I'm in the camp of innovation and risk being better than not, but I have no name, no following, no reputation to gamble, so it really costs me nothing to think that way.
Although I will say this: seeing this review and its sort of sly underhandedness made me feel a lot better about my own situation. It's not just me getting this sort of potentially demoralizing feedback, it's all of us.
Honestly, that needs to change, but for now, I will accept the solidarity.
I've been going back and forth (and up and down and inside out) about how I feel about this MICA post bac thing. And to a lesser extent about being an alternate candidate at University of Washington, but I figure it's safer to assume rejected until proven otherwise with that one. But that's getting away from the point a bit.
This program is a good opportunity. It's a really good opportunity. MICA is a good school, and having them on my resume cannot hurt. They have access to many resources that I do not have that would make my life easier in both the long and short runs. A friend (Tracey Parker, go check her out) got accepted to the Hoffberger school of painting, so not only would I have someone familiar there, I would potentially have a pretty sweet roommate. They have studio space, which I need. The East coast is good. The East coast has a tradition of innovation.
Can you tell I've been trying to sell myself on this for a while now?
Because there are downsides. The biggest one is always going to be expense. $40,000 is a lot for a single year of education, none of which rolls over into a Master's program. There is no guarantee of being accepted into a Master's program after being a post-bac, even one of MICA's. I had thought that my next big move was going to be a long term move, but what if I only go there for one year? In fact, it will almost certainly be for only the one year (personal preference), and then I'll have to move again.
But the biggest, baddest tangle has been one that I didn't really expect.
In my natural state, I am viciously prideful, easily offended. These are not qualities that I appreciate in others, and I absolutely despise them in myself; I've spent a lot of time rooting out and getting rid of that sort of base reaction. Seriously, a lot of time. More than I really care to admit to. And I've done a pretty good job of it: I've never been personally offended by any critique, whether given by student or professor, and I consider rejection to be as natural an outcome as acceptance. But this....just....something....pinged.
When I got the first email inviting me to the post bac program, one of the things they said in the email was to feel free to contact this one guy on staff who had done the program himself. It was easiest for him to talk on the phone, so I called him, and this is where the seeds were really planted. He talked about how good an opportunity it was for him, about how it changed his life, about how the people he did the program with and people who have done it since have gone on to do great things. Ok, fine, I wasn't really expecting them to send me to someone who was going to spit on their program.
But he also said things like 'this is for people who show great promise, but just aren't there yet, and who we feel could benefit from just a little bit more time' and 'this program really demands a lot of hard work.'
And that, just.....yeah, no fucking duh it requires a lot of hard work. Some people apply directly to the post bac program, and so may not be aware of how bitchy the upper levels of higher education can be. I applied to their master's program. I was aware. I was ready. I already work at a pace and with a determination befitting a grad student. Before he said that, my mentality was just that the people who were chosen over me were better or more appropriate this year. Not that I was being perceived as lacking, let alone lazy.
So, yeah, I'm going to hesitate to give $40,000 to an institution if their first impression of me is that I'm a slacker. Because I'm not. That's the last bastion of my indefatigable pride: I may not always be the best, but I always work.
And heaped on top of all of that, I know that he didn't mean it that way. There are people who are legitimately not ready for the level of work that MICA demands. That any graduate program worth its salt demands. Warning people is only fair.
Except when it's not. So let's move away from this a little bit.
For people who are familiar with both my work and Terry Winters', it's pretty obvious that he's a big influence on my work. Not the only one, by any means, but a big one. He has a new show right now, 'Terry Winters: Cricket Music, Tessellation Figures, & Notebook' at the Matthew Marks gallery in New York. I haven't seen this show in person (ah, the midwest, so far from new york) but from what I'm seeing online, I quite like it.
There is a brief review of it on Two Coats of Paint, a blog for this sort of thing.
The review is...odd. I've seen others like it before, but I am always made uncomfortable by them. It starts off by citing other reviews, which are glowing, and then moves straight into exactly the opposite of that. Sharon Butler, the author of the review, spends time talking about the things that were good about Winters' old work specifically to illustrate how the new pieces don't measure up. It ends with a particularly condescending "Not many artists of Winters's caliber are willing to risk learning out loud, and for that alone, this show is worth seeing."
This is a pretty nasty and fairly common 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation. On the one hand, if you become well known for painting in a certain way/working with a particular material/palette/subject/etc, and continue to do that, then you could be considered a sellout, lacking innovative edge. On the other hand, the moment you do depart from the familiar, you are no longer just compared (with an eye toward competition) with other artists, both contemporary and long deceased, but also with yourself.
Personally, I'm in the camp of innovation and risk being better than not, but I have no name, no following, no reputation to gamble, so it really costs me nothing to think that way.
Although I will say this: seeing this review and its sort of sly underhandedness made me feel a lot better about my own situation. It's not just me getting this sort of potentially demoralizing feedback, it's all of us.
Honestly, that needs to change, but for now, I will accept the solidarity.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Hunt Covers
As with the Air Squid covers, we're gonna start with the original design:
Outside of the Cover
And the inside. I wanted to experiment with pattern and having an interesting reveal when the book is opened. Screenprinting is still not my friend, btw, though I will continue to run my head into that brick wall until I get it right.
And the new one! Just finished today!
I'm trying to be mindful of branding and consistency, so I have included my logo and all the text that isn't hand done is in Gill, which is one of three fonts that I use more than any others.
If anyone is wondering about the price hike between the first version and the second: it's not just the updated, swanky cover. The first version was printed in black and white, but the files were done in color. This new version will be in color (my first! Very excited :) )
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Air Squid Covers
HEY THAR I FINISHED ONE LET US COMPARE
So, ok, things I kept from the first one: the price, the title (except correct this time), the main characters and some air squid, our names, the largely purple background. I also wanted to keep a wraparound element (because I like things like that) while keeping most of the interesting things on the front. I also added some text from inside the book because I always like to see that sort of thing.
Version 1, which premiered at last year's SPACE
Version 2, because we ran out of the first edition and also because I spelled the main character's name wrong on the cover of version 1.
So, ok, things I kept from the first one: the price, the title (except correct this time), the main characters and some air squid, our names, the largely purple background. I also wanted to keep a wraparound element (because I like things like that) while keeping most of the interesting things on the front. I also added some text from inside the book because I always like to see that sort of thing.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Covers in progress
I started working on these almost as soon as I got home. There were driver updates, first, of course, because you can't leave home for more than a week without there being driver updates.
These aren't even close to done, but they should be soon. Look for them both at SPACE!
These aren't even close to done, but they should be soon. Look for them both at SPACE!
Had to pause because I got a for serious hand cramp, so I'm gonna go get tea and then keep working. Or maybe sleep and then work tomorrow? Coin toss.
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