Abstract Paintings and Musings on Art
Thanks to everyone who came out for my artist talk yesterday. We had a great little crowd, and a wonderful discussion. I sold another painting and a print yesterday, too! But mostly, I really enjoyed talking to and with all those who came!
Thanks again to all for spending a gorgeous Sunday afternoon with me!
Photo courtesy of Clay Leben.
Come join me while I talk about my work and my process, how I got to this point, and what I think will be interesting to explore in the future.
Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 2pm.
Bay6 Gallery and Studios
5305 Bolm Rd.
Austin, TX
“The E Word,” continues at Bay6 Gallery until November 1st. Bay6 is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm – 5pm, or by appointment.
People started to arrive right on the dot, and before long, friends and art fans were arriving so quickly that I did not get to meet at least a couple of dozen guests (sorry!), nor talk to quite a few of my friends! The good advice I got from another artist was indeed accurate: “Think of it like a wedding, you won’t be able to have a complete conversation with anybody, but they won’t mind.” At least I hope no one minded!
In eight days, I will be greeting friends and fans at my solo show at Bay6 Gallery in East Austin. I am really looking forward to that moment!
Getting ready for this has been an amazing process. Doing all the necessary organizational stuff besides trying to paint every moment that I can for weeks and weeks and weeks, that is.
I sent out email invitations to most of the people I know; and Bay6 has also invited a large number of folks. We’ve notified people via email, Facebook, Twitter, EventBrite, Eventful, and word-of-mouth, and we may be expecting a great turnout! I picked up my beautifully printed postcards today from Tom at ipgprint.com; I will be mailing those tomorrow. Plans are set for music, food, and drink, and we will start to hang the show next week. I owe some responses to emails and blog commenters, which I will try to get to as soon as my mental energy rolls in that direction.
I recently read an article by a representational painter on another blog, in which the writer said that one should very carefully and thoroughly plan one’s paintings. My first thought was, “No waaaaay!” That would take all the fun out the process of discovery that, for me at least, is a great deal of what painting is about. Feeling a little smug, I thought of the following much-loved quote:
You are lost the instant you know what the result will be. – Juan Gris
Solo show this October at Bay6 Gallery & Studios, Austin
My new exhibition, “The E Word,” explores life at different scales: from the elements of evolution to the essentials of our environment, and on to the endless reaches of space. Through the interplay and juxtaposition of the micro with the macro, I try to depict on canvas what nature could do in the world, but hasn’t gotten around to yet. There are always new combinations, and with them, new opportunities for capturing the kind of emergent qualities that animate the world; new ways of discovering parts whose sum creates a greater whole.
This wealth of possibilites lies in the inescapable fractal nature of the physical world: tiny crystals under a microscope resemble mountain ranges; neurons mirror nebulae; zoosphores echo supernovae.
This painting is based on a photograph of some crystalline concoction of various chemicals.
These little 5″x 7″ paintings are what I would call representational abstractions based on the stuff of life seen under a microscope. I love knowing how things are made and how they look, and often I best understand how something is made by painting it. Microphotography allows me to see the tiny things that make up the world. These paintings are not strict copies, but are based on microphotographs of stuff like soap film, chemicals, silica and other crystals and crystalline structures.
Painting based on patterns seen in caffeine crystals.
Painting based on patterns seen in silica glass.
Painting based on patterns seen in soap film.