Saturday, August 27, 2016

A New Series?

I have now made enough of these new drawings that they are nearly constitute a series.  I keep thinking I will determine exactly what I am after as I work on them. So far, not exactly. They are shown in the order of their making, (I sold one early one), and the last one is the most interesting to me now.

A few of the things I'm thinking about:
   Poured paint ala Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis.
   Continued color exploration, frequently looking at optical color.
   Density of color and tone, gradated in some cases.
   The contrast between the organic and the regular. 
   In a way these are deconstructions of some earlier drawings. Making processes more obvious.
   The tightening of the grid down to tone.
   They still look like architecture to me, or biological structures. 

Each of these drawings is on Arches 300 pound watercolor paper and are sized at 30" x 22.75". The materials are either watercolor or India ink on the background and acrylic paint pen.


Friday, August 19, 2016

Variations on a Theme


Michael McGuire - Untitled - Acrylic Paint on Panel - 12 x 12 inches
A few of the gray panels I made last fall needed a little touching up, so I've taken this opportunity to revisit some of the concepts about these pieces. I consider the panels modular, that is movable and interchangeable. In a slightly embarrassing way they resemble carpet tiles and their endless variations. These panel by contrast are all hand made and each unique. At this point there are eight panels, and I do move them around all the time to explore the varied geometries. 
 
Detail

Eight Panels - 12 x 12 inches each
Shift the four right hand panel up 12 inches and you get something new.
Some variations on the panels created in Photoshop. These do not exist in reality, but suggest where the project could go.