Day the Second, of Installation

The paintings are fully hung at Flashpoint already. My secret weapon came by and said, "Here, hold this pencil, and when I say 'I need a pencil' you hand it to me." To which I said, "ok." Strangely he hung the paintings and never once asked for a pencil. I might have to include other peoples' work into my graph. I also learned that I am only slightly better than Rothko when it comes to building stretchers. That is not saying very much apparently.

It's starting to look like a real show now. Who knew?

Until I can post images, please enjoy this picture of Howard Hodgkin in his studio that I stole from artinfo.

Some-But Not All-Of The Grass That I Painted

Home Stretch

The stencil thing wasn't panning out as expected. Plus there were little daubs of color that would squish under the edge of the stencil leaving little dots allover the place. It did provide a good map for location of subsequent leaf shapes. The moral of the story is that the template alone wasn't enough. Just like life.

Thinking about my varnish, or non varnish options. Still debating that one. Since the paintings won't be dry enough anyway I may just work on fixing the shiny, or dull, spots. Honestly varnish scares me. And I don't really like the high gloss.

Here are the (working) titles for the paintings:
1. Expulsion From The Green Derby (this paintings needs a little bit of help still)
2. Apprehension at Ondaatjee Pass
3. Arson at Nacotchtank Falls
4. Escape From Christmas Island
5. Regarding of the Empty Bottle
6. Massacre at Tocqueville

I am going to be painting blades of grass tomorrow. Should be pretty fun.

Drawing Restraint

Here is what last Sunday looked like for me. I am limiting my commentary because I have noticed a number of grammatical problems here in the past. So, as punishment, I can't dawdle away the minutes typing more than is absolutely necessary. Even though I really want to. That, and it's lunchtime. I have a craving for curry. Or noodles from China Boy.

Awesomeness Deferred

This week has not been great in terms of studio time. I was, after all, not in DC for the first half of the week, so maybe I should relax and allow myself a little breather. At any rate here is where we are as of last Wednesday. Awesomeness not yet achieved. Full speed ahead.

Give Up The Rock

Here is the "arrest" painting. It has been getting the most attention over the past week. I have a lot of rocks to paint here. I have a lot more rocks to paint on the other.

Other than mixing up buckets of grey-ish brown, I am reviewing Lyotard's Karel Appel: A Gesture of Color for the Art Librarian Society of North America. Look for that in May/June. I'll wager that nothing could possibly sound more exciting that that.

And speaking of "arrest" and "rocks": the pie place in my neighborhood has a Marion Barry pie. It is a berry pie with rock candy topping.

Cinecitta Chapel: Year One

I just realized that an important anniversary just passed. It has been one year -and four days- since I began working on these big paintings and only these big paintings; with one minor exception. I have three sketchbooks full ideas for other paintings, but NO! I must stay focused.

That said, this week has been horrible for studio time. To make matters worse, the weather is pitch perfect here in DC, so all I can think about are flowers and bicycle rides.

I am also thinking a lot about this stereoscope project that I have yet to mention. It seems quite doable thanks to ebay and other technologies. I am being vague because I want it to be a surprise. A surprise -frankly- that you, gentle reader, won't find out about for at least another year.

image: the Commons

Briny Seas

Here we are on a special Saturday edition...
My seas have gotten a little brinier than I would like. I like the awning, though. And the snaking arm needs another curlicue to keep it from calling to mind certain professional baseball teams in the area. After all he did already burn down their stadium.
Oh! I saw the little Avercamp show, so expect some Dutch hamlets to be popping up.

Hiding in Idle

the "arrest" painting...

...and "hiding"

These images are from the very first working day, so obviously there are already a number of differences. Also! Working on two at a time is the only way to go. Just saying.

Carpentry = Hope + Wishes + Fuzzy Math

Happy to report that the final two panels have been stretched and primed. Only 1/8" out of square, which I can take care of later.

This is such a relief because I am that much closer to being able to paint the other paintings I haven't been painting, save the Molotov painting, which you've seen. I sometimes test out ideas for future paintings in these big paintings, but I have had to keep myself in check for continuity reasons. Which is weird.

In this time I completed two drawings called "Bouquet Fight". One of them is the aftermath of a bouquet massacre at a banquet -which is an idea I have been trying to work out for about two years now!- and the other is set in a very idyllic, but lightning prone, landscape. Oh! I also did a tiny drawing of an axe wielding cowboy based on a Bewick engraving. One of the cowboys is tripping over an exposed root, ready to get chopped.

image via: LOC/Flickr Commons

Fin.

Finished! Well, not exactly. There is one little thing that I have to do, which will be finished by the time that you read this. 

This week is dedicated to drawing, reading, and sleeping past 6 am one of these mornings.

Good Time Malady

Here we are. I am sick right now, so I don't have much to say other than I knew this would happen eventually. The sickness I mean. 

You might like to see the finished version of this painting, plus one or two others, at an open studio I am hosting on March 12th at 7pm. Honfleur Gallery, directly beneath and outside of my studio door, is having their three year anniversary as well. It should be a good time.

Isle Floatant

Much better for all manner of reasons. Not shown is a bent rifle and a blue-grey pair of pants.

Lotza Yellow

Guarda! Now you get a glimpse of the top edge of Mr. Jailbreak. There is a whole lotta yellow going on in here. I mean, I like yellow, but is this really necessary? Really?!

I made a pretty decent drawing too. It is a drawing of a boat, broken in half, with an arm languishing on deck. There is also an erupting volcano in the background. I am considering changing it into a tornado.

Jail House Tattoo

Here is the "jailbreak" as of last Tuesday. The green curtain is finished now and I have started in on the pattern on the floor. I figured that I would work out the biggest challenges first then move into the things that I am more confident about. But, as experience has taught me, the things that I think I know are invariably more difficult than the things I haven't tackled before.

Oh!  Sorry. The top margin got chopped off. You will be seeing it soon enough I am sure.

Mit Flash

Here are some spiral stairs going in to the "jailbreak" painting.

It just occurred to me that long before I had begun these paintings, the cowboys began as simply needing figures to go in to these architectural fantasies that I had going on in sketchbooks, backs of receipts, comment cards, and napkins. I would draw these one point perspective chapels with bridges and moats and landscapes and plunk some dueling cowboys in them. Sometimes a samurai if I were feeling particularly cheeky. That struck me as hilarious. So hilarious in fact that it would take me another five years to actually paint one.

Flaming Moes

Here it is...the complete, for the most part, "Molotov Slide Tackle" painting. I am not sure if that title is going to stick.

Unfortunately a crease in the linen came back to haunt me. It is stretched over a panel, so I'll just slap some stretchers together and KER-POW! a taught little painting. There are a few other adjustments needed but overall I'm glad that I snuck it in to the process this year. It helped me solve some problems that I didn't even know I was going to encounter with the "jailbreak" painting.

What's My Motivation ?

It seems like a good idea to check in with the motivation department now and again, so the absence of studio time has enabled me to re-evaluate my motivation for making these paintings and why the paintings look like they do. I have drawn some conclusions and uncovered other questions.

As expected, studio time has been hard to come buy for the past week due to snow. I finally got to sink my teeth into the "jailbreak" painting enough for it not to seem like a huge, abstract problem.  It looks pretty terrible right now, but that's how they always start.

I decided that the small "slide tackle molotov" painting is indeed finished. I just can't consider adding anything to it without it seeming like an afterthought. There is, however, a tree that gets lost in the landscape. I can fix that later.

Holy Smokes!

Smoke on the water. Fire in the sky coming soon.

The "battle" painting as it looked last Friday. Now these figures, as well as the figure in the " arson" painting have finished hats and boots.

More words to follow. I had kind of an epiphany regarding the exhibition of these paintings.

More poetic than it sounds

I put myself into a coma re-painting water, drapery, and purple mountain majesties that I think should actually become great chalk cliffs.

I nailed a fraction of the water in the "battle" painting and took an out of focus image of it. No surprise there.