Wishful Thinking No 3

Been saving wishbones for  a year or so now to build out a small version of something I would like to do on a grander scale. Wishful Thinking uses artifacts - actual objects - in the composition. This will be tricky in future iterations on a larger scale: haven't cooked any 200 pound chickens, and even if I found one,  my kitchen couldn't accommodate the activity. So 3D printing will play a part constructing the larger wishbones.

To the right, the completed work, with a detailed shot to the left.  Don't think I will be working on this concept until well after the Orvis Residency, but I had to take a swing at the concept because it had been gnawing at me for a while...

Rift | Fragment One

Rift Fragment | overall composition

My Orvis Artist in Residence doesn't start until July, but I have been working on the color palette and over all composition since last week.  At first I was over-working the symbolism: thinking too much about the haves and have-nots. Seon-Doh reminded me that the artist's conception depicted in the proposal conveyed the theme; basically she reminded to paint and not think, which is what a painter should do after all.

Rift Fragment Closeup

This week I also submitted three paintings of which two were chosen for the 45th Annual Aloha Show, sponsored by the Association of Hawaii Artists. This year the show was at Honolulu Hale (City Hall) and buyers from the State Foundation for the Arts were looking for pieces to purchase. Pretty sure neither of my two works will be purchased because they don't depict "Kodak Hawaii," or anything especially Hawaiiana. Still I hope that some who go to the show will remember my work. In any case it was good to get the paintings out of the house.
The reception for the show is next week, I plan on attending mostly so I can see those pieces chosen as "best in show." My hunch is the show is parochial; a suspicion I need to confirm. Lately I have thought that art shows are like applying for a job, where one tailors their resume to meet the recruiter's buzz-words. If that is the case, I am afraid I will never be best in show: I could never paint to a meet anyone's expectations save my own!

Morning Calm

Morning Calm
acrylic, oil, interference pigments and textile on canvas
61.5 cm x 41 cm

Korea is referred to as "The Land of Morning Calm." My son Winter says "it got that name because no one gets up early here." I know better although I must admit, more people stay up late than get up early.

This painting captures truths about both perceptions. The city is neither fully lit, nor completely dark which for me captures Seoul in the dawn hours. Another New York; a city that never sleeps.

This will be my last painting in Korea for a while: we are all returning to Oahu on Boxing Day.  The last eighteen months have been my most productive to date. I completed sixteen important pieces in nearly as many months. The roll will continue when our household goods, with my easel, arrive back in Honolulu.

Close-ups (right) detail the textural gravity of this work.

Island in the Sun

This is the last of the paintings included in the exhibit this Saturday (15 November 2014). Like  Summer's End, it is presentational and strays to the symbolism side of the house. "Island in the Sun" pushed a bit harder on the new variation I explored with Summer's End, twisting the textile treatments and applying modeling paste to parts of the textile to give the impression of them "growing" from the canvas substrate.

Think I have had enough presentational imagery for the time being, and am going to return to work on the Tier 3 "perks" for the funding initiative. I am quite tempted to make good my threat to do something figurative as well; been sketching a lover's embrace composition that I might use as subject material.

Lately I have also been giving more thought about re-working the website which is pretty much in need of a face lift. I am not much of a believer in selling fine art on the web, nevertheless, I am going to make something that is more catalogue like with prices and shipping information (fairly simple that last part as I am willing to ship damn near anywhere with the art framed for the stated price).

Have been thinking about some other guerrilla marketing tactics since the cost of excellent printing is very affordable here in South Korea, and take a page from the DJ playbook: clubs here advertise by taping A7 color posters all over the sidewalk. I might try doing something like that here in Itaewon which has lately become oh so trendy with the monied types. Perhaps I can give a job to Winter and some of his school chums... More pondering to come!

Summer's End

I took a break from producing the Tier 3 perks of my crowd funding initiative, which I have decided to launch in the spring of next year; there are too many events going on between now and December.

Perhaps it is the time of year, but lately I have been thinking about the colors of events in time. This paintings a visual poem about summer's passing into autumn, the green giving way to shades of gold and rust and the hues in between.


The painting had a trying start: I attempted using an abstract drawing I composed three years ago as my subject: I'll never do that again! I plan on having at least one other painting completed in time for my 15 November Studio Exhibition, one of which I will raffle off.

Details

Title: Summer's End
Acrylic, oil, interference and textile on canvas
72.5 cm x 90 cm (unframed)
Close-ups of the work to the right

IndieGoGo Tier 3 Perk

Made tremendous progress on Saturday 27 September on the Tier 3 perks for my IndieGoGo crowd funding project thanks to 선도 and 영화... 감사합니다! Our subject (one of my favorites) are the urban canyons of my neighborhood Hannam-dong, We're taking the landscape and distributing it over 12 16 cm x 16 cm canvases which will be painted using my mixed-media technique.

On Saturday, we managed to draw and paint all but two. The next step will be to identify the areas were the textures will be built up prior to the oil paint layer.

Tomorrow is a day off from work to celebrate "Hangul Proclamation Day; plan on getting past the textural enhancements process with all 12 canvas. I would like to use the following week to add the oil and interference layers.

Not sure what subject I am gong to use for the Tier 4 image, which will be nine 16 cm x 20 cm canvases.  I am leaning to something more presentational, but I might produce another urban landscape; chime in at any time. Suggestions are always welcome here!

선도 [Sonny]

I finished the portrait last Sunday 21 September. 선도 [Sonny] is a big departure.

Top, the finished portrait. Second down, the composition overall, with basic colors blocked. Middle, acrylics with texture enhancements. Bottom close-up. Completed the painting with oil and interference overlays.
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Wasn't able to update this blog or create another entry this week because creating the Tier 3  Perks for my indiegogo crowd funding effort as required all my time this week!

Re-exploring a portrait was a result of seeing the Edvard Munch Exhibit here in Seoul beginning of August inspired me to again explore figurative subjects.  I'd like to do a complete figure, modestly posed: more Renoir than Munch. Probably not going to be able to start on that until after the crowd funding initiative is competed though. I have a Tier 4 perk which will take some effort to produce: next blog read all about it.