triangles

I wanted something modern and bright for the show. I decided to start with wood triangles and connect them in a strange way (with masking tape for this part) and then spray paint, finger paint, splatter, drip, etc. with red and yellow on the wood to make it look "fiery." I want to make a cool design with the paint, but for now I'm just having fun and getting some texture. At the end, I will hang the triangles on the wall about an inch apart.

untitled

I have been working on this piece for weeks and it is finally almost done. I originally tried to spray paint the faces, but it ended up like big black smudges. So I then went over it with black and white acrylic paint to paint the faces by hand. This was really tedious because it took several coats of white paint to cover the black spray paint. Each time I got a smudge on one of the solid colors I had to mix the color and go over the whole thing again. I wanted this piece to be very straight and precise, with no texture, which is why I was such a perfectionist about the straight, even edges. I also did not want the faces to be of famous people, but some of them ended up looking like famous people (not how i intended them to turn out when I drew them). After a couple last touch ups this piece should be ready, and hopefully in the show on May 7th.

bottles

While I was waiting for some stuff to dry today, i noticed I had accumulated a large collection of vitamin water bottles in the desk in my studio. I decided to spray paint them to see what would happen. I'm not really sure where this is going, but I decided to use the primary colors. 

4/22/09

This is a water color painting I am working on. I wanted to do something with the female figure, but in only one color. I decided to use water color because I love how it looks with figure drawing, its messy, but looks 3D. I just started this today, so the proportions are not accurate yet. Something thats difficult though is the water color itself can not really be erased, and it dries very quickly. There's little room for error, but I'm considering going over some spots in white acrylic (i'll test it out first in my sketchbook). 

plan for show

For the final show, I want to have a pretty large, colorful piece. I am going to take a 2' x 3' piece of plywood and cut it into several triangles. I am then going to put the pieces together to work on so that the design on it is all connected. Then I am going to splatter paint and make an abstract design with red, orange, and yellow acrylic paint. After the design is try, I will separate the pieces and place them all an inch apart on the wall in the gallery for the show. In total, my piece will take up a little more than 2 feet  by 3 feet. 

galleries

i loved the galleries. i found all of the exhibits very interesting. i would have liked to stay and talk to Joseph Carroll for longer, but I wanted to go explore. My favorite piece was a photo in OHT gallery where the artist (Lori) made small dioramas of scenes that she found intriguing. She then photographed these scenes to look life-sive. I could have stared at these pictures forever. In fact, I could have looked through all those galleries forever. I find it much more interesting than walking through museums. 

Articles about Boston Art Scene

I think that the change in the art scene in Boston (and everywhere else) is mainly driven by the economical crisis we are facing. Rent is so expensive, and people are less willing to buy luxury goods, so galleries are suffering. Several are closing down in the South End and on Newbury Street. In the long run, I think that this might be a nice downsizing because it will bring more focus to the more prominent galleries. However, right now it seems terrible (especially for the gallery owners) because the contemporary art scene in Boston is shifting dramatically, and taking a turn for the worse. People are desperate for money, and art is such a difficult industry to be successful in. Not to mention the fact that no one can afford to spend $20,000 on an oil painting. 

I have been to several art galleries. I love the galleries in Portsmouth, as well as all of the ones down in the South End and on Newbury Street. I have an internship at Gallerie Dorsay on Newbury Street, so whenever I'm there I tend to roam and browse through other galleries in that area. I love the feel of a gallery, more so than a museum. I feel that it is more personal and intimate, and I can take a closer look at the work. Also, the art seems to be more real; real artists using real subject matter. Museum art tends to be more famous, usually by people who are deceased or from a different era. Galleries are more contemporary, and I think it is important for us as artists to focus more on that side of the art world.  

preparing to visit the galleries

Question for Carroll - When did you know you wanted to open your own gallery? What were the first steps?

Priorities:

I would really like to see Beal's exhibit in OHT gallery (if it's there) up close. What's on the website looks really cool and it says that it's pretty big, so I'm interested in seeing the detail.

I would also like to visit the Howard Yezerski gallery. Emily Eveleth's paintings of food and pastries caught my attention when browsing through the website.

These are two pictures of the paintings i've been working on this week/the past few days. They both have been very tedious. The one with color squares and black and white faces was originnally done with spray paint, but the outcome was too messy. i wanted it to be more linear, so i painted over everything (changing the faces a little as i went). the one with the words is supposed to depict what is perfection. these are all words that I associate with perfection (in a person) which i drew freehand with sharpie. I then cut out several different types/sizes of triangles and spraypainted over them in blue and purple, creating this design. i wanted to cover some parts of all of the words to portray the idea that not everyone is perfect in every way, and all of these qualities are debatable. nothing is as black and white as the words originally were.

These are pictures of my studio space. I could not ask for a more perfect studio, I have a mirror (for self portraits and/or learning about the shapes of a face), a sink, windows, plenty of natural light, and my own desk and easel. It looks messy, but it i know where everything is it.  

alternative exhibition formats

i love looking at how people exhibit their work, i find it fascinating. my plan is to take my final piece (like i described in the previous post #1) which will most likely be on wood (if possible) and cut it into several different peices (maybe squares or even triangles) and hand them on the wall an inch or two away from each other. the design will still make sense and connect, but it will be exhibited in a unique way, rather than just hanging the single piece of wood on the wall.

the critique handbook

1. what role could a critique play in a class like ours?

i think that critiques are a crucial part of artistic education, but if they are overused it can be harmful. the important thing to remember during critiques is that you should consider other peoples' advice but still maintain your original vision. sometimes the criticisms can be useful, but it is not obligated to take this advice. i think that it will be very useful to do a critique in our class because everyone has been working very independently. it will be good to not only see what everyone else is doing but help each other become better artists, and come closer to achieving our vision. 

2. how can you get the most out of a critique?

like i said before, it is important to remember that you do not HAVE to make any of the changes that your peers suggest. the way to get the most out of a critique is to listen carefully to what people are saying (not only to you but to others) but still keep in mind your personal intentions for the piece. if you like it the way it is, then keep it the way it is. if someone gives you some good advice, then take that advice and improve your piece.

3. how can you be a helpful participant in class critique?

the most important thing to remember when critiquing others is to be honest and specific. it can be hurtful to say things like "i hate this whole painting." it is much more helpful and useful for the critiquee to say something like "i think you should make that shadow darker." the artist wants your opinion, and they will do with it what they please, but you should keep in mind that they worked hard on the piece. still, you should not sugarcoat your advice too much because people are always looking to make their art better.

reflection on week before spring break

The week before spring break, I was brainstorming with a lot of new ideas. I have been doing this project where I am writing out a bunch of different positive words (written like Times New Roman font, but i've done it free hand). These words are supposed to encompass the qualities that make a person perfect (in my opinion). After I have covered the canvas with these words (which i am writing in sharpie) i will spraypaint certain sections of it so that some words are completely visible, some are slightly visible through a light layer of spray paint, and some are completely blocked with the spray paint. i've been working on this a little every day for a while - the letter writing can get very tedious.

i've also been thinking about my final project. what my plan is to take a small square of paper and use red, yellow, and orange paint to splatter, drip, smudge, basically make an abstract design. then, i will blow this design up into a large painting (i want to do it on a small piece of paper first to practice, and that way i'll have an idea to work from when i go bigger). i would like the final peice to be on wood.

i've also been working on a pretty standard still life to keep my oil painting skills in tact while i'm doing all of this abstract stuff. 

These are some of the first pictures I took of my studio space. The pots painting is an oil and is from last year, i've just been touching up on it as i go (and when i'm frustrating with something else i'm doing). it helps remind me of how light hits objects and how to create a round shape in still lifes. the one with the spraypainted piece is a landscape. i used sponges and acrylic paint to create the sunset sky. the other picture is just of my studio space. my desk is where i have my computer and where i do most of the drawing, i spraypaint by the window (not shown) and i paint at the eisel. 

Art & Fear

3 Quotes that I can relate to:

"Fears about artmaking fall into two families: fears about yourself, and fears about your reception by others." (page 23)

- Making art has always been scary to me. What I make always represents some part of me, whether I notice it or not. Seeing what the product is is like seeing yourself in the mirror after a hard days work. Having other people see your work is equally if not more terrifying, its like saying, here are the things i have spent all my time and energy on, please judge them. When people judge your work, its like they're judging you as a person. 

"Hovering out there somewhere between cause and effect, between fears about self and fears about others, lie expectations." (page 34-35)

- Whenever I tell people how often I spend in the studio or that I am applying to art schools, I feel like they expect me to be some magnificent painter. I don't think of myself that way, and thats not why I paint. I do it for fun and because I love it. However, there are high expectations held for someone like me who paints so much and is planning to make a career out of it.

"The lesson here is that courting approval, even that of peers, puts a dangerous amount of power in the hands of the audience." (page 47)

- It is important to remember why we make art: because it makes us happy, it's something that we enjoy. For me, when I have a paintbrush in my hand nothing else matters. I don't do it for the success or approval of other people. However, its hard to remember this when you have people staring at your work. The reasons for making art should not be to please the audience, it should be because its something that you love to do. 

Scratching, by Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp says that scratching is basically like finding inspiration. She suggests that we do it simply by looking at the world around us and trying to make it into our own forms of art. Even just after reading this article, I already began to use her methods. For example, I noticed an interesting design in the fabric on a pillow and in the way that my closet is arranged. Simply by being more observant, we can all be more creative. In the art studio, scratching for me is looking through art books or staring out the window or listening to music. Then, I convert it into my sketchbooks (via collage, pencil, words, etc.) and eventually it makes its way onto a canvas. 

The Artist's Studio

One thing that I noticed to be common in all of the studio spaces that I looked at was lots of stacks of magazines and papers. I think that this is because everyone uses these materials to brainstorm and get new ideas. There's nothing more inspiring than looking through a dense art book full of paintings and drawings. Also, looking through magazines can help people determine what kind of message they want to send with their work, or what types of pictures they want to model after. Also, a lot of the studios I looked at had [nearly] finished work placed or hung around the room. I do this is as well, because after looking at a piece that you think might be finished, you can get better ideas of what you might want to do to fix it. Having these products all over the room can help you get distance yet come back to them if you want to change something later. 

artists at work: workspaces and processes

I think that developing a work space is all about the specific person. In our powerpoint, we saw lots of different types of spaces: organized, cluttered, empty, messy, etc. For me, I like my work space to have lots of natural light and space. I also like it to be pretty organized, and have all my general supplies right there in front of me. For example, I cant start working unless I have my paper towels, scissors, glue stick, sharpie, and pencil right there in front of me, unless i'm painting, then its a whole new list of supplies. I love to brainstorm by looking through magazines and books, so there's always clippings and photocopies all over the place. My workspace can get very messy while I'm working, but every few days I like to clear out the junk and clean my pallet and organize it a little, because it makes working easier. I think that for each person, their workspace reflects their personality. For me, I am organized when I need to be but once i'm on a roll there's no stopping me. Some people have their stuff scattered all over the place, while others have labelled draws and one of every size paintbrush organized by color. It all depends on personal taste. 

Picture of Idea Map