Orvis Residency: Day Seven (17 July)

East Wall 11:00

Took today off from my "day job" so I could complete the framework that will support the panels. This weekend is an important day for the museum: Sunday is the Bank of Hawaii sponsored Family Day. Free admission; I want the substrate to be in place so that visitors brave enough to venture into "my studio" can be given something constructive to do!

North Wall 13:30

I guess there is some amount of confusion about the Orvis Residency. Some of my friends and family seem to think it is "a show" going on for 6 weeks. It is that, but not in the usual sense. The Orvis Residency provides me with a a studio space which is also my gallery for six weeks. During that period, I have to complete a work utilizing the rather immense space (former tennis courts) and display the finished art. To top it off, the production itself needs to involve visitors.

My goal is to complete the piece with two weeks to spare so I can observe the observers interaction with what is arguably controversial and poignant.

In short, there is a whole lot of engaging going on on  a number of levels. Tomorrow's objective though is to have the luan substrate mounted to the framework so that the really fun techniques can begin.

Pip Pip!

Finished 15:50

Orvis Residency: Day Two (12 July)

Weather was cooperative today: finished the base texture and applied the background pigment to all ten panels. So happy when the weather forecasts stick to the trend, in other words wrong.

A heartfelt thanks to my wife Sonny for all her help: I couldn't have accomplished this key phase of the project without her assistance. She understands how I build my art and braved two of the stickiest days of the year with highs in the low 90's and no trade winds to give me a crucial hand in moving to the next phase - installation.

Installing the panels on the Surface Gallery walls  will occupy most of the next weekend. So if there is anyone out there reading this and feel comfortable with a hammer drill and a screw-gun "come on down!"

All ten pieces have to be anchored to as a "continuous strip"  that takes a corner from the north to east wall. I know that at close range, the panels will be discernible, but my intent is that the base substrate appears a seamless strip when viewed from between 4-6" and absolutely uniform from 10-12'. This means some very careful abutting and hanging; loads of fun.  Can't wait to figure this one out!

Orvis Residency: Day One (11 July)

Started at eight-thirty this morning. Completed the background textures on five of the ten panels this afternoon despite the weather.

Still coming to grips with the overall scale: 4' by 80'.  Using 4" masonry trowels and a small bamboo garden rake in place of my usual palette knives!

One intrepid visitor from New Zealand and her family braved the 23 steps down to the Surface Gallery and helped slop some mud onto the eyelet material; need more Spalding House visitors with the same spirit!

Towards the end of the day, when the first five panels had been completed, I couldn't resist leaning them against the north wall of the gallery, which is where they will be installed after the the ground has been applied.  One of my big concerns has been to utilize in a balanced sense, the entirety of the gallery walls; so far, I would say, my "paper design,"is meeting my "as-built" expectations.

Originally, I was planning on anchoring the panels directly to the concrete wall, but I  plan on using furring strips now, so that I will be able to control the  abutment and give the appearance of a uniform, contiguous substrate; "it's the way I want it to look." :)

Always Have A Plan B

"Stage Entrance" to the Gallery

Delivered mahogony plywood substrate for Rift this morning to Spalding House's Surface Gallery which will be my studio for the next six weeks.

Initially, I was going to uses lower grade 3/8" structural plywood that Home "DeePot" had on sale, but when I arrived at the local store that (according to the website) had 229 sheets available, no one (from customer service right through cashiers and lumber specialists) could find a single piece. So much for plan A.

Surface Gallery North and East Walls

 Luckily there is a local building supplier here in the islands, City Mill. Although Smaller, slightly  and more expensive than the "big boxes,"  the staff is  immanently knowledgeable, helpful and knew a better substitute material. And for a nominal fee, delivered right to the gallery (Plan A had called for me renting a truck and schlepping my purchase solo).  Go Plan B!

No doubt the next six weeks will see more Plan Bs: I learned from Aaron Padilla, Spalding Houses's Director,  that every  Orvis Resident Artist can expect rain the first week of their session: I've already figured how to use rain as a texturing agent and will be disappointed if this weekend's forecast is wrong!

Cut Back

I am going to produce four paintings about surfing before and or after the Orvis Residency  which starts in July; this is the first: Cut Back.  It's really a painting about the wave, not so much the surfer, about wind and sea, where the two meet. I am planning the final canvas to be largely figurative; a post-session "herbing under the trees" with the boys following an epic session. I am going to call the collection  Road to the Sea after the spot my pals and I used to surf in South Kona many years ago. Still need to sign the work,but here are the updated pics including the close-ups of the work.  Selling the piece for $650.00 USD price includes free shipping and frame anywhere in the world except places that are in conflict that FedEx fears to go.

Title: Cut Back

Acrylic, Oil, Interference and textile on canvas

24" x 30"

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!