August 24, 2013

Another Saturday at Wilmette Beach. I let Laura take the camera, (turn-about is fair play). We discuss the impossibility of holding on to any moment.

Building Study

I was looking through some old photos this week and I came across this panorama of an alley off of Devon Ave. in Chicago. This study, showing the overlaps and the uneven edges of the source photographs, was constructed quickly to test an idea and preview a potential panorama. I have been constructing panoramas in photoshop for years now, and I have some skill doing so. Now that every iPhone has a photographic panorama maker bundled in its software, it forces me to ponder the arguments for making imagery in this format. The horizontal proportion in art making has always seemed natural to me, as if this is the way I most often view the world. I happened to be walking the dog when I came upon this facade, and walking could be described as a horizontal experience. My background in architecture leads me to look at buildings and facades critically, and I'm particularly interested in architecture that derives from function more than 'design'. Hence my fascination with walls like this one; it expresses a  practical use of the building in a way that does not have much to do with proportions, materials or beauty.  It strikes me that there is a collaging aspect to architecture that becomes evident in mundane buildings - a window where needed, conduit here, a vent there. This idea of architectural collage is mirrored nicely in the collaging of the photographs that make up a panorama. By not hiding the overlaps and not cropping the edges, this photograph declares itself as a 'hand-made' digital image.

New Drawing - August 11, 2013

Untitled - Recycled Cardboard, Acrylic Paint, Archival Mat Board - 40 x 32 inche 

New Drawing

Acrylic paint marker on archival mat board. 40 x 32 inches.

The Perfect Summer Day

Saturday, August 3, 2013 - I haven't gotten a lot of work done this week, I was dog/house sitting and never really got settled into work mode in a lovely but strange environment. So today was my first day back in the studio and was determined to put in a full day. But fate and the weather intervened. Spectacular summer day; sunny, cool, nice breeze and no humidity. When Laura texted me at 3 and said she was heading to the beach I decided the day was too perfect, and to miss it would be a crime. Took the train to Wilmette, sunned, swam, and had a short drink. Laura and her husband made an incredible dinner, mostly from the farmers market; fresh corn, arugula, chicken on the grill. A quick trip to Dairy Queen but the capper on the prefect summer day.

A Problem of Orientation

Weird week work-wise. I'm a little bit in between projects, but it is important to me to keep working. I have a few strategies to move forward when I'm a little stalled, and one of those is to use materials I have on hand.  I went a little mad for acrylic paint markers last winter. In a binge of buying I accumulated at least 30 in various widths and colors. The colors were neutrals, white, gray, black, silver, with one hot pink and one fluorescent green. Well this week I dug them out of storage and dove in. Pictured are two piece I made this week using the white acrylic paint markers on archival gray mat board. My problem with orientation is that I cannot quite decide which way is up; they both look interesting both directions. That is not to say they convey the same meaning both orientations, something as basic as is one looking up or down at something are very different experiences. Is that the top of a building or the base? The two images on the bottom flipped from the original orientations.

Acrylic Paint on Archival Mat Board - 40 x 32 inches

Acrylic Paint on Archival Mat Board - 40 x 32 inches

Eight Variations On A Cardboard Collage

                                           Original cardboard collage based on nautical flag.
                                    Recycled cardboard, India Ink, watercolor paper, 20 x 30 inches

Eight modifications   based on the original created in 'Photoshop'. None of the variations exist except in digital form. This is an effective method to work out ideas without the investment of actually creating the piece, which in some cases is too time consuming.