Two Train Panoramas

This past month I've once again been making panoramic photos on the train. Not sure where this impulse comes from, except the train seems very dynamic these days. I suppose more people are riding it again, with the slow economy and all. There always seems to be some intriquing scene going on around me. I'm often on the train later in the evening, coming home from the north side. I have a good friend that lives very near the last stop on the Purple line, in Wilmette. So, at the end of most parties I have to jump on the train and make my way back to Lakeview and the Addison Red line stop. It's a little nervy of me to take out my camera (do most people mistake it for a phone?) and shoot a series of photos. To tell the truth I usually wait until I'm near my stop in case I have to make a quick exit. I get a couple looks that mark me as a perv - the things we do for art. The train is such a slice of Chicago life, not one that everyone experiences. It's a little thrilling, a little dangerous, and a lot voyeuristic.

New Collage

Very new; just finished yesterday morning, took about three days. India Ink on gray chip board, 32 x 40 inches. The pieces are made of the chip board, the black painted on a separate sheet, then cut up and applied as a layer. Consequently the collage has a 3D quality to it. If you look at the enlarged photo, (click on the small image), you can see some of the dimension.

Thanksgiving Has Cut Into My Work Schedule...

But I did make a couple building drawings this week. This was the most successful one. I finally broke down and purchased a new technical pen, the previous pen lasted for over a year, and it only worked sporadically the last few months. The size is 19 x 24 inches and the media is ink on paper.

Large Housing Project Collage

Small Housing Project Collage

New idea. Approximate size: 12 x 26 inches.

Photo Collage

Funny Story. Last year I sold a drawing to Polo Ralph Lauren. In transit the drawing was damaged. The box I built to send the drawing was crushed on its way to New York. I of course, offered to take the drawing back and exchange it for something similar, I was responsible for the inadaquate packing after all. Polo was kind enough to ship the damaged drawing back to me and in the return box, for protection I guess, there was a large section of a black and white photograph wrapped around my drawing. It was something that most likely had been used for in-store display and was damaged or for some other reason had been rejected. It was a large and the paper was of good quality. I won't mention what was depicted in the image, better to keep you guessing. It's creator and its history are not know to me. I destroyed the damaged drawing but held on to the photo thinking someday I might make of use of it, (and because I'm a packrat). Two weeks ago I had the impulse to cut the photo into two inch squares and then reassemble those pieces. It is a process I have been using in my India Ink drawings for a couple years, but had never employed using a photograph. I had some fun pieceing it together. Tried not to think about it too much. Let the pieces dictate their assembly, and employed a little problem solving for the last 15 minutes. The result; very Motherwell-like, and yet photo-based with hints of the animal world. I cannot make a decision about its orientation, I've turned it every which way. Settled on this direction but still unsure. I'd be happy to hear opinions about it, and if you have a guess as to what was depicted in the original photo....

Two New Building Drawings

Two new drawings of buildings, could not be more different from each other. Both India ink on paper, both 18 by 24 inches.
The bottom drawing I used an instrument where the ink poured out of the nib. I could not control it and just dove in. I attempted to create tension between abstract mark making and the image of a building.
For the top drawing I pulled out the technical pen and made many more marks. It creates this gray tone wherein volumes are defined by the changes in density and line direction.