week 3

Here are my favorites from Kelley and my photo shoot. I'm going to work from these but I'm not going to draw it and fill in the spaces. I'm just going to create shapes from collage elements and compose the pictures based on the photos directly.

week 2 cont.

These are the fabrics I dug out for this series.

week 2, so far.

So this isn't at all what I had in mind. I haven't pushed any of these yet. I didn't do anything we talked about. i started with one, but then i started the next as that dried, and the next as that dried, some have 2-3 layers, but I'm still not sure where any of them are going. they are 4"x6", 6"x6", and 8"x6". I'm going to try starting one and finishing it without getting wrapped into anything else. I seem to be overwhelmed by all of the options/factors/pieces, so I'm not getting any clarity or closure. So I'll keep working these to see what comes out, but I'll also try to actually do what you assigned/suggested. I'm so all over the map right now I'm getting a little frustrated. I haven't been able to let go and just have fun, but don't worry, I'll keep at it.
























This last one is a photograph I found. I have several of them for this series, different poses, and multiples. I found them in a house I was helping one of my former students clean out. The guy who owned the stuff died. I'm not sure the legal ramifications of this kind of thing, though... but it was the most fun thing i've worked on so far.

week 2 check in.

Richard and I chatted for 2 hours, below is a list of what we concluded:

*Make as much as possible without worrying about why or wherefores
*Work in a comfortable scale.
*Don't force anything. Do what comes naturally, a foundation to build on will occur pretty soon.
*Work with a drawing reference, but also in tandem work without a starting point. Use just the medium, and let it tell you what is going where.
*Go further... i.e. bring it all together with a heavy glaze so it becomes totally unified and only has a hint off whats underneath...may scratch into it while the glaze is wet or mask random areas to leave parts uncovered. The glaze could be spayed or watered down paint or dust or whatever ...pigment or pastel
*The new goal is, start one every day, and work on each one a little bit every day. Build up lots of layers over time, don't worry about finish dates. Scratch that old schedule.
*This week do 5 small things a day only allow 30mins on each.

week 1, more.

In process and I have somewhat of a plan on what to do next:


The brainstorming is getting more specific.
oil sticks, paper, photocopies, magazine cut outs,  acrylic.


I want to try going at it, working with a drawing and adding media. It seems like this should be a possibility but it also feels a little contrived so I want to do a whole series like this and see if i can get comfortable with it. mixed media. 8"x12".


drawing, pastel on paper, 6"x6.



Drawing with some of the media I will use, various papers.




In process and I don't know what to do next, yet:


This is a scale shot so you can see the range of sizes I'm working with



9"x12". acrylic, water soluble crayon,  and pastel on paper


This shot shows the color relationship better, than this one. I haven't worked on it anymore yet.


This is just a beginning. I don't have any intention for it yet, just using leftover paint, I find it easier to start works on existing unrelated paintings, more interesting and complex works come out of that process. So this is just an underlayer.



Finished, but I may work on again or use for a different project:



8"x10". acrylic, water soluble crayons on paper
This isn't offending me, but it's also not exciting me either, might make a good first layer for something else.



This is awkward but I like the simplicity. But maybe I'm just feeling this aesthetic because of sketchbooking so much lately.



I'm coming to terms with the fact that the schedule I made is just a skeleton, and my process doesn't work in a way where I can plan out when things are finished. I'm just going to keep starting images and eventually some will be done.

Week 1, so far.

fabric, papers, Vogue September Issue. paintings behind, lamp pencils, watering can. 
This is a table full of brainstorming activity.





4"x6". marker, pastel, paper on paper.
First drawing. I had just done the figure when I walked to the store and found that heart on the ground. it's not attached yet, but I like the idea. It's the start of something funny.

I got kind of frustrated starting out. I had said I wanted to warm up with a bunch of little ones but then the content seemed to be daunting. So, I turned to the magazines. At fist i was kind of stressing about the work being so derivative, I think it's ok to start here, especially while i explore what about fashion is so interesting. My fascination with the fashion industry is not just because i covet new clothes. So, to escape from the derivation, I asked my friend, who modeled for me a ton in undergrad, to do a photo shoot. I'm going to go out to her farm and we are going to play dress-up and scheme up a ton of different scenes, then I can use them to pull loosely based compositions, but having the characters for proportion and line references. As I was writing Kelley to ask her to conspire, I stumbled onto a key point, "I think what I am really attracted to in fashion is the way all the design elements come together on the page. High end fashion ads have all the elements that interest me, people and clothing in environments that create remarkable compositions with new, surprising colors and textures, and a little loose story telling. "





24"x26". acrylic on wood.
The above 2 images are inspired by the left page of the Dior ad in the first pic. I'm actually really liking this one. I'm tempted to wait to add to it, but I probably won't. I'm love the monochromatic. It doesn't have white, that's just the luan contrasting with the black made out of raw umber and ultramarine blue.

Right now it looks like a Nefertiti (Egyptian mid-1300s BC)


mixed with a Toulouse-Lautrec chorus girl (late nineteenth century.)




Since I like what I have I'm not sure where to go.




9"x12". acrylic on paper.
This is going to be based off the right-hand page of the Dior spread. This will have much more added, just a first layer.





8"x10". acrylic on paper.
This one I just started and intuitively tried to extract the figure, definitely just the beginning, here, too.