Work from 8/15 - 8/18

Prepared surface ready for another oil sketch.

Getting ready to do some pattern work, masking tape starting to be applied. Some work was also done to the portrait that you can see peaking out from behind the pattern piece.

Work 8/4 - 8/10

Finally wrapped up the new panels: 15 24"x48" Rectangles, 15 24"x24" Squares, 4 24"x24" Triangles, 10 12"x12" Squares and 8 12" x 24" Rectangles. It was starting to feel a bit obsessive with the fabrication and the urge to make a great deal more small panels was there, but it was time to stop and get to painting.

Trying to get back into the painting.

New panels, 2 small squares, 1 small rectangle, 1 large rectangle and 1 large square. The panels were worked together and once they dry will be broken apart and rearranged and than something else applied on top.

Beginning of an oil painting of a hanging fern and American flag on our front porch over this past Memorial Day.

Panel Formats Expand

This is the current collection of panel formats. The large square and rectangle of course being where everything started from and the triangle was added this past spring. The 1x1 and 1x2 formats were created as a way to add to the mix although I do not see them being too prevalent in the work at this point but rather included as a way to add some physical interest and focus in certain arrangements. I really need to stop with the fabrication and get to the painting.

time has passed

It has been a while. Since getting back from Boston, I have been working, but haven't had time to post anything. Thanks for keeping things going Dolak! Below is the start of a piece that is much different now than how it is shown. And unfortunately I don't have any photos of the completed thing.

Just building up texture with latex color fields. You might notice some variation in color within the photos. If I were going to show this to my students of course I would painstakingly color-correct each of these . . . but . . . we'll just go with this. Imagine a consistent color cast on each of these if you can.

After this point I worked more text and texture into the horizontal stripe. I varnished the whole piece and then cut about six inches off of the bottom so it would fit in the trunk of our car (and of course, to improve the composition).

Look Mom No Clamps

It felt like time to investigate getting one of these 72" x 72" configurations on the wall. Wall Buddies W-3300 hangers were used as the hardware, although I am somewhat skeptical  on their claim that their product can support up to 80 lbs, these large pieces weigh in at just under 40 with the bolts in the back. I left his on the wall for an hour before running it back down to the basement, but would like to do a longer "test-hang" to see how comfortable I am with this hanging method. Originally I thought screws and D-hooks, but cleats may be another option. Some more investigation and exploring needs to be done but the Wall Buddies may prove to be a good final solution.

Sorry, bad photos, but an attempt to show how the bolts on the back of the panels holding it together. I over tightened them on the first pass and threw a bottom square out of alignment, so I learned my lesson and backed off on the torque of each and for the most part is is fairly square. Not too worried about it being perfect, it is nice to see the panels as individuals, emphasized by edges not lining up perfectly. 

In other news:

Counter sunk a few nails and puttied up the holes, will try and do sets of 6 rather than than all of the panels at once. I am anxious to get back to painting some new material.

Looking at something different, that left eye is still not right . . .  Kind of just want to paint over it.

Slowly

Used a nail punch to score lines into the surface of the panels which were then used as guides for a cube pattern.

Random combination just to see what the new pattern looks like next to image.

Initial fabrication is now done on the 15 2x4's and 18 2x2's. 

Now it's time to set the nails, putty the holes, sand, prime and sand again. Hopefully two more weeks and these will be done. 

July 4th Weekend

Added some paint to the edge of one of the configurations. This particular arrangement of panels had not been touched since October of 2010.