New Old Work

This week I spent most of my time cleaning out my grad studio and reconfiguring my apartment into my new studio. It's still a work in progress, but I'm almost done. The Annex studio has been a great place to work for the past three years, but I'm definitely ready to move on. I have lots of new ideas that I can't wait to share, but in the mean time, here are some older studies that I found.

Study for "And the window's lemon light"    charcoal on paper    15" x 11"    2012

Study for "And the window's lemon light"    oil on paper    15" x 11"    2012

Study, "Luis' Studio I"    graphite on paper    7 1/2" x 11 1/8"    2012

Study, "Luis' Studio II"    graphite on paper    11 1/8" x 11 1/8"    2012

"Bananas"    watercolor on paper    8" x 12 1/4"    2012

MASTER PIECES 8

Upcoming Show!

One of my paintings, "Pair", was juried into this year's Master Pieces exhibit at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati. The exhibit features 28 works by 21 artists (selected from a grand total of 402 entries by 148 artists). The show runs from July 11 - August 8, 2014, with a Friday evening reception on July 11th. If you're in the area, come say hi!

It looks like it's going to be a great show this year, with lots of interesting and strong work. For more information, check out the gallery's website here: www.manifestgallery.org

 Pair   2014   oil on canvas   30" x 30" 

I had the honor of participating in this show last year as well. Two pieces of mine were selected for the 2013 show, one painting and one drawing (see images below). This painting was the first of several explorations of outlets in my studio. A wall outlet is such a humble utilitarian object - we use them every day to charge all kinds of fancy technological devices. But how often do we contemplate the outlet itself? I could spend a long time ranting about technology, but that's for another blog post. This outlet in particular was especially interesting to me, as it was surrounded by studio "noise" - marks, smudges, ephemera - the record of past creative activity.

Plug   2013   oil on panel   36" x 36"

This drawing is still one of my favorites. It is graphite on Rives BFK. It was very satisfying and possibly a bit indulgent to make. I do still consider this part of my empty studio spaces series, even though it is somewhat of a visual tangent. I am especially fond of the butterflies on the paper towels.

Many thanks to Stephanie Chambers for the use of her table.

Shadow   2013   graphite on paper   22" x 30"

tanti pezzi (new work)

It's been a very productive studio week. As promised, here are full images of two recent paintings. Both are oil on canvas, 24" x 24". There is something compelling about these fragments - it started for me with an interest in the color relationships (as always). But as I was working on these, they became about something broader than mere formal exploration. 

ho visto tanti pezzi per un mosaico solo 

e certi giorni ho visto che c'è niente da capire 

pezzi della mia esistenza

It's been a great studio week, with lots of new projects in the works. I've been making small color studies on paper to test out different compositions and color relationships. There is something liberating about working on paper - probably because in my mind it's less precious than a stretched canvas. Therefore I think less and look more. Thinking is something I always forget not to do while painting. These studies help remind me.

Color is coming back into my paintings in a big way. Since the last thirty or so paintings I've made have been various shades of gray, I'm very excited about expanding my palette (and just in time for pride month, too!)

Here's a detail of one of the paint-chip-pile paintings. I've gotten so much more than I had anticipated out of that sad pile of broken paintings. Stay tuned for full images next week.

Evanston + Vicinity Biennial

It is such an honor to be included in this year's exhibition. If you find yourself in Evanston this summer, make sure to stop by the art center. It is a gorgeous building right on the lake. I spent a lot of time taking classes here as a child. To be showing here now, as a professional artist, means so much.

More studio work coming soon, to a screen near you. In the mean time, here are a few recent sketchbook pages. These Col-Erase colored pencils are my new favorite sketchbook medium.

Pieces

I finally had a chance to work on this image that has been in my head for months. Here are some photos of the painting as it progressed. 

Crossing Over to the Digital Dark Side

I've been experimenting with digital drawing and painting recently. With a tremendous amount of help from my significantly more tech-savvy friends, I've thus far managed to not set my computer on fire. This is by far one of the most challenging art forms I have ever tried, and I have to admit that it's fairly addicting. Here are a few recent sketches and studies from the past few weeks: 

...a selection of 2 minute figure gestures:

...a color study of Robert Dukes' "Bright Orange", 2011: (btw, there's a great interview with Dukes on the painting perceptions blog. You can check it out here: http://paintingperceptions.com/interviews/interview-with-robert-dukes) My favorite line: "I get excited looking at things and it makes me want to paint them." 

...and the beginnings of a digital sketch for a potential oil painting. I am intrigued by the idea of digital painting as another step in my preparation for a physical painting. Working on a tablet feels more like drawing than painting (at least, it does with the brush settings I am currently playing with), and it lets me test out colors, marks, and compositions quickly and cheaply. More to come...