Abstract Sketches

So for Abstract Painting last semester, we had to make around...3 or 4 sketches a week to develop ideas for our next painting. I'm actually glad that Professor Jeff Way made us do these sketches for a grade because I think it's a habit that should really be developed. This tradition is carrying through to this semester (though not quite so formally, I'm not sure if we're being graded) for our first project:

Make a series of 4 paintings based off of a painting you did last semester.

I really loved this one, so I decided to develop it further.

Here is a sketch of the next painting in the series.
Horizontal format, 30" x 50"

As for the other three...well, I'll get to those later. There are a billion different ways this series could play out, so be sure to stay tuned! Here are a few scans of watercolor sketches from last semester, some of which you should recognize.

Abstracted ukulele!

The organic one...

This last idea wasn't realized, but I do like the thought of a spiral and I might work that into another painting.

In other news, I have a smaller blank canvas hanging out at my apartment for me to do something of my own on. Maybe I'll do another self-portrait, but I'd rather paint a pretty lady's face. Any takers?

'Till next time,
-J

Self portrait re-re-re-re-MIX!

So here is a very bad cell phone photo of out first Figurative Painting project: A larger-than-life self portrait. This is on a 3' x 5' canvas. The very same canvas that was the star of my last post, in fact! It's pretty close to the first self-portrait I did last year. Almost a bit too similar, but the inclusion of my hand tosses something new to the mix. My middle finger is pushing my eyebrow and eyelid up, which is why that side of the face looks funny. Actually, a lot of things look funny in the drawing...but this is just underpainting. Once everything gets colored in, I'm sure it'll look better.

Just to be safe, I'm going to start using a mirror that I don't have to hold. It's hard to paint a hand when it's holding something!

I'll keep you guys posted on progress.

-J

The Blank Canvas

What will be on it? Only time will tell.

Or a professor giving us our next project.

Whatever the case, it needs to be sanded and another coat of gesso applied.

***

In other news, I've mostly settled in to my apartment. I moved in 3 weeks ago and have spent most of that time organizing, cleaning, and trying to get some portfolio work done. Here's a little tour!

The main space. Being a Chelsea studio, it's just over 7 feet wide. Looks a lot smaller than it actually feels. Check out the painting over the futon! It was actually on the frame that the blank canvas is currently on...penny pinching artist!


The home entertainment system. Recently started watching Pushing Daisies on DVD. It's a shame it was canceled. Also burned through Firefly and the movie continuation Serenity. Why do such amazing shows get canceled?


The wardrobe. Socks, undies, and pants. Shirts and jeans are in my closet.

The kitchen! Note the case of Shin Ramyun on top of the cabinet.

And, of course, my work space! Purchased this lovely drafting table, chair, and lamp as a bundle from Utrecht on 23rd. Right above my table is my budding Wall of Ancient Chinese Wisdom:

Good for keeping morale up.

And when you spin around, you're at me digital work station! Or something like that. Could use another bookshelf to put stuff on or something.

And that about sums it up for now. Classes start tomorrow and I have a bit of preparation to do. Stay tuned for updates on my artwork! Promise I'll update often!

End of the Semester

Look at me, I'm sheepish!

Whew!

I am SO tired right now. For the past week, I've been going to bed around 3 or 4 AM and waking up around 8 or 9 for class or to do work. Thankfully, with the passing of Thursday, the semester has officially ended for me. Unfortunately, I've been super-busy packing my stuff and moving it into my apartment! I haven't had much time to relax, but today I took it easy after moving a bunch of stuff in the morning.

Anyway, time for the interesting stuff:

Tuesday was the day of my class' Cluster Review. We gathered all of our work and had a critique in front of all of our professors. Naturally, it was a ridiculously long process: we went from 9:30 to almost 6 with an hour long break for lunch. Thankfully, my abstract painting teacher Jeff Way brought us bagels!

My critique went really well. I actually wish I heard more negative comments from my professors, but they didn't have much of that to say. The only thing I remember them saying is that I might think or plan too much. Here are some pictures of my work:


We had to display three paintings from each class, not including homework paintings from Figurative Painting class...

...In addition to both sculptures, our best few drawings, and a few prints. I need to photograph more of the latter two. And on the floor are some of my embossings. I'll photograph or scan those too, when I get the chance.
You can see two larger drawings we did in Life Drawing class here. They're pretty recent.
And here is a closeup of the last abstract painting of the semester. I rather like it, but the blue and yellow one is my my favorite.

All in all, an enjoyable (but long) day. It was really cool to see my classmates' work collected together.

***

Winter break has pretty much started and I'll be going home on Tuesday (assuming this crazy snow isn't going to delay the flight). Super-excited to see my nephew, but I'll probably need a flu shot before seeing him. I'm coming back to my apartment on the 10th and will spend the remainder of winter break cleaning up, organizing, and working on my Toy Design home test! Expect a few updates on that, but not too many! I don't want anyone to steal my ideas now, do I?

Anyway, updates might be a bit scarce over the next few weeks, so don't worry about checking on a regular basis! 'Though if you do want to stay updated on my latest blog posts, follow me on Twitter! You can reach my page over on the right side of the page.

I know we can make it if we take it slow,
-J

Final Abstract Painting of the semester

Above is the final abstract painting of the semester. Inspired by Loch Ness Monster, bamboo, love, and combat. I have to have it completed by Tuesday morning for our end-of-semester Cluster Review. Last year, it was a mid-semester deal...This time, we have more work and all of it is on a larger scale.

In addition, I have to finish my second sculpture (which is a long way from being done) and make a little pamphlet/catalog/booklet thingy describing my process for it. Busy, busy next few days.

***

Adding to the busy-ness of the next few days is my recent apartment-getting! I found an apartment for next semester and the lease has already started. I gotta move all of this:

And more by the end of next week into this:

It's bigger than it looks, but I hope I don't have too much crap...More pics later!

Looking forward to the end,
-J

Vicky and the Statue

Finished the last figure painting of the semester on Tuesday. At least, I think it's finished? Let me know what you guys think. Like I said before, we had to use non-naturalistic colors, and this is the result. I'm actually pleased after staring at this photo for a while; I hated the painting for the longest time. I really love the statue's face.Vicky and Statue

30" x 40"
Oil on canvas

And a peek at what I'm up to in sculpture:

Oooh, mysterious! Even I don't know what's happening!

Coming out of his cage, and doing just fine (for now),
-J

Untitled Abstract Painting

36 "x 60"
Acrylic on Canvas

The finished Result. Don't know what to call it. The blue area looks like it might be too open and plain, but I kinda like it. What's wrong with having big open spaces? Comments and criticism welcome.

Wrench in my gears

This figure painting really has me lost. The wrench tossed into the mix: non-naturalistic colors. I'm having a lot of difficulty making up colors that match the values that I see. I suppose the problem could be my attitude. Perhaps I should view the requirement as something that will push my artwork in a new direction rather than as a wrench in my cognitive process.

Whatever the case, here are pictures. As per usual, I take a particular interest in the face. And naturally, the rest of the painting lags behind a bit. Professor fixed up the model's face during the second half, which is why it is much less defined fight now.

After the first session of the day

At the end of class. Essentially, more stuff filled in.

Closeup of the statue's face. Easier to paint because she doesn't move.

***

In other news, I got an apartment. Expect a blog post with some pictures of my tiny hole in the wall sometime in the near future!

-J

Curled Up and Bent

Saw this at the Museum of Modern Art yesterday. Put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Jenny Holzer
American, born 1950
Living: There's no reason to sleep curled up
1980-82
Bronze

Clutter

So we've been working on this new painting for two weeks and have two more weeks to finish. I won't lie-I'm having a bit of difficulty with this one. This is mostly due to the fact that we aren't supposed to use naturalistic colors. Here is what the painting looked like at the start of class last week:


But my teacher wanted me to add a bunch of stuff to the background. She says she likes the idea of this painting feeling very cluttered. This is how it looked at the end of class:

At first, I didn't agree with the clutter in the background because I wanted to have a big empty space. I'm not particularly sure why, but now it makes a lot more sense to have more objects in the picture plane. I like my composition a lot because there are two faces: the actual model and the statue in the foreground. Now I have two 'happy places' I can work on when I need a break from the other bits of the painting.

Rather than match the real-life colors, we instead have to focus more on the black-and-white value of the colors. Here is the above image in grayscale.
I think the figure may be too dark....Potentially not a problem if the statue stays light and the background color changes. We'll see how it comes out.