Thursday, March 3, 2011

In the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, what can I do?

I've been looking over the past few entries and thinking about the fact that the explanations I provide of my techniques probably don't make much sense by themselves.  So I decided to create a sort of assignment for myself.  A self commission, if you will.  I wanted to create a piece that might communicate some of the turmoil and confusion I've been dealing with since I broke my head, but I wanted to capture the entire process on video so I could share it.  And I wanted the video to be short enough that people might actually watch the whole thing.  And I wanted a cigarette.  The answer was simple:

Here's a video I just made of me painting a piece I'm calling "Turbulence" for the time being.  To lend some freneticism to the process, I decided that I would only paint what I could in the time it would take me to smoke one cigarette.  I placed my ashtray at the edge of the camera's view so you can check my progress. My tools were squirt bottles, silicone sculpting tools, a scratch awl, and a tool I've built called a funnscoop.



The camera was oriented so the painting is upside-down in the video.  Here are some photographs of the piece right side up so you can get a closer peek at it: 

"Turbulence" 2011 Acrylic on Canvas

A little closer...

I love the lava-like and explosive texture in the lower left corner
... But I REALLY love the stars peeking through at the top here.










































































 This is obviously a very simple painting, but hopefully this video will give you some clue about what I'm doing. Like what you see?  Have questions?  Just ask!  Maybe later on I'll post some videos of a more intensive process I'm currently calling paint collage.  Until then, have a great night.  I'm going to go make a t-shirt.  Maybe.

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