Joseph Begnaud: from the Studio

Two Shades

2011-12-08T16:21:00.001-05:00

Two versions of another one: most recent on the right.

November Girl

2011-11-30T17:10:00.000-05:00

I've still been working on the small, dark, portraits through November. Seems like a good thing to do when night falls mid-afternoon. A sample from one in the works.

Savannah: Moss and Global Art

2011-11-13T11:35:00.001-05:00

Spent two full days in Savannah this week, checking out the arts scene and admiring the local flora. There's copious amounts of Spanish moss hanging off of pretty much everything about town, even more then I remember from my childhood visits to Louisiana. The old town is filled with small parks and old trees that are absolutely gorgeous. I spite of the cool weather and walkability of the streets, I did spend a large amount of time indoors trolling for art. I hit two of the Telfair museums on the first day, the contemporary Jepson Center for two current exhibits and the Telfair Academy which houses a modest permanent collection. On the second day I made it to SCAD's new museum, an impressive new complex with equally impressive hand dryers. Liza Lou on view with Kehinde Wiley, and Bill Viola, featuring a video that I actually like quite a lot but can't seem to get away from. (I first viewed "The Crossing" in Warsaw, Poland.) Not to disparage any of the artists, but it seems you can travel to any major city across the planet and see the same things over and over. It's great in some ways to give every towns a chance to host all the big names, but the names of the contemporary art elite also become brands as inescapable as Coca Cola, The Gap, or Mc Donald's. It leaves me to wonder if museum curators aspiring to global relevance are left with less choice on what to stock than the manager of a Disney Store outlet. Yet, it was the first time I witnessed a Wiley in person, so it was an opportunity to intersect with another New York artist outside a Chelsea venue--effect achieved. But this too, is hypocrisy, as blogging big names only serves to establish my cred as an educated art viewer. Time might be better spent giving props to the Jepson Center for a nice show of a local artist, Besty Cain, or reporting that the Telfair Academy had a curious amount of snow paintings like the one by George Bellows. Digressions aside, it was a great little trip and Savannah is a city I'd love to visit again anytime.

The last picture is from the flight home, which was amazingly clear. Perhaps why I was having such a removed perspective about Manhattan.....

Fall Colors

2011-10-09T18:34:00.000-04:00

Some shots taken from the kayak on the journey from Buker to Jimmy Pond in Lichfield, Maine.

Project Photofly

2011-09-27T09:41:00.000-04:00

This could be considered the second part my recent post "digital distractions." While playing around with Sculptris is fun, I was lamenting that I couldn't simply scan sculptures that I make by hand, IRL I'm aware that three dimensional scanning technology. exists, but the cost is still prohibitive to something that I'd have to label as a whim at this point. I've Googled, and it seems that some people are working on some hacks for Kinect to to make a more affordable scanner, but I'd suspect the resolution will be pretty crude. While I cheer for power to the people, I surely am not going to waste precious studio time learning to program to help the open source revolution. So, suffice to say I've been thinking on this lately and imagine my surprise when my October issue of Wired arrived and I hit page 68.

On page 68, they reviewed Autodesk's Project Photofly. The gist is a free program that allows you to use your point and shoot camera to make a 3D scan. No doubt every geek who reads the issue will be driven to scan their own head, their friend's heads, and all the knickknacks within reach, but I think this program could be of great use to artists with a few more enhancements.   (Autodesk, if you want to hire me on as a consultant, gimme a call.)    A caveat to the casually interested: the process is very labor intensive, and involves making well over 40 photographs, and an upload to a supercomputer to do the real work. That said, I was rather impressed by the results.

The truly amazing part remains, sadly, trapped in my computer.   Trust me, my sculpture is scanned into virtual space. I can play with it, relight it, zoom, and rotate it in any angle. As a novelty feature, the program allows users to plot a film of their own Matrix-like rotations and upload the video to YouTube. While you could wave a video recorder around an object for the same experience produced by this video, remember the part currently trapped in my computer.   If I had the necessary digital skills in other software to clean this baby up, I could print out a version for you, and then things would start to get really interesting.

From The Archive, 3

2011-09-25T08:52:00.000-04:00

Digital Distractions: Sculptris

2011-09-23T08:54:00.000-04:00

Sometime in February I picked up an old block of clay and started playing around. The result were a couple of sketches that were a fun distraction from my core paintings, but unrealized as to their application to my recent nocturnal explorations. As I responded in a comment, I perhaps came to making figures as naturally in clay as a child as to sketching.   In grad school, a colleague remarked that "I painted like a sculptor." While I may have suspected at the time he was simply trying to sound profound, I have since agreed with his proclamation.

Often, when I am painting a form in two dimensional space, I imagine it as if I am forming it three dimensionally. A curving line in space gets compressed by the flattening demands of the illusion, as the 2D eclipse follows the same flow as in the mind as a 3D circle it could represent.   It's not an easy concept to grasp if you don't draw, so I hope that my non-artist readers will forgive my musings. Suffice to say, when I heard about this computer modeling program which mimics some of the hand manipulations of clay forms, I was intrigued.

I admit, I've very briefly experimented with programs such as Painter (about one evening's worth), and found the initial learning curve of the Wacom tablet as in input to be off-putting. Similarly, while I've watched other veteran painters like David Hockney as they experiment with the ipad as a painting tool, I haven't been personally interested in making crude marks with my fingertips. In the digital age, if technology grows more accessible by the day and I'm holding out until someone makes an actual artist-level touch interface in a reasonable price-range. The free download of the Sculptris beta met my last criteria, and I was impressed by the rather natural interface.   While I may have lost five hours of painting time, I did manage to make a mushy version of a clay sleeper above by sheer trial and error from imagination.   The intense symmetry is a result of using a mirror option with each step that builds form in half the time. While I have yet to play with the program any further, or add hair to the guy, it's a neat tool that I would recommend to anyone looking for alternatives to the tablet interface.    Now, I will just have to wait until someone makes a Kinect hack so that I can just do this in real space with my hands.....

Lewiston Studio

2011-09-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

Although the studio has been set-up and operational for about a month, I haven't posted any pictures. Allow me to make amends with a glimpse of the interior in its fresh "decor by Dexter" state. Note the abundance of natural light. Somehow, I'm not missing the old cave just yet.

From the Archive: Drawing 2

2011-09-19T12:59:00.000-04:00

Another favorite that I posted to the archive last week during my somewhat massive portfolio website overhaul and update. The drawings are still a bit dark, so I will be adjusting them and re-posting them as I get a chance.

Postcards to Siena

2011-09-15T09:50:00.000-04:00

I recently sent three little collages to Siena, Italy in response to an open exhibition call by the Siena Art Institute. They're made up of scraps of interesting paper and spills that I had been keeping for years, embellished with bits of odd sketches that I had also been saving. While the show called for any work that's the size of postcard, I couldn't help but think of the idea a bit literally by adding some text to the images.

Last check, the Institute had over 1000 submissions from around the world that will go on display and end up filed somewhere in their permanent collection. There's a sweet irony to the thought that I rescued these little drawings from obscurity to only to have them lost and reburied in a new pile of work on the other side of the planet. Although artists often strive for solo attention, this project better resembles the demographics of art-making in a global context. Who knows---by today's deadline, these three might be tucked in amongst 10,000!

From the Archive....

2011-09-08T12:52:00.000-04:00

As I was sorting through piles of drawings after the move, I kept coming across sketches I had liked once upon a time but had forgotten. Out of sight, of mind. More unforgivable to the contemporary artist, I had forgotten to document them. In an effort to rectify the situation, I will be updating the portfolio website soon, and expanding the archives section to make it more comprehensive and easier to navigate. Yet, there may be a bigger problem---how many of you know there is an archive section? I became aware of this issue when I was giving an artists talk earlier this Spring. Some of the audience was surprised at all the "new" [old] work I was showing, that they didn't see on my website. Although my original intent in making the archive was to highlight the newest work in the painting section, it's a shame if all that not-so-old stuff falls victim to being too out of sight under that archives tab in the navigation bar. So, while I am at work on new projects in the studio, I may post up the occasional oldie-but-a-goodie to get it out there.

Sunflowers

2011-08-12T13:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, sunflowers. I'm still in the process of sorting and unpacking my new space in Lewiston, but my life of late has not been all work and drudgery. When summer days get too hot for comfort, it's best to take the day off and find some water. My new location, though bit further from the coast, places me within a short driving distance of dozens of lakes. I've made the most of this opportunity by securing a used kayak from a local craigslist seller and getting some paddling in. So far, I've had some lovely afternoons on Sabbatus Pond and briefly explored Buker and Sandy Ponds. On my most recent outing, I drove a tad father to Androscoggin Lake. While on a road near Leeds, Maine, I was awestruck by this amazing field of sunflowers and had to pull off the road to enjoy it and take some pictures.

413@536: End of an Era

2011-08-06T20:27:00.049-04:00

It's been a long while. Not only since the last blog, but since I first took up residence in the Artist's Studio Building at 536 Congress Street in Portland, Maine. Monday I finally bade farewell to my mates old and new, to set up shop a little further down the road in Lewiston. I've inhabited the grand, windowless, cavern of studio 413 for eight years, after spending a year prior at the top of the fourth floor in the smaller, adjacent 412. I've seen many great artists come and go, and I now find myself in the ranks of the the many proud alumni who went before. I have a lot of guest through this space through countless First Friday events, and events sponsored by the PMA. Of course, I've made a lot of art here in dark, happy seclusion, and had many inspiring conversations with my peers in the hall. It has been, and continues to be, a great community and I send my love to all the fantastic artists who remain. I'll see you and my stops down to Portland!

Affordable Prints

2011-06-25T12:21:00.000-04:00

Still traveling and have too much time on my hands away from the studio. While I am unable to adequately update my portfolio site, I am still able to tend my aging Saatchi Online account. Recently, Saatchi posted an offer to members allowing us to upload better quality images that they will print and mail through their own website. While there is no substitute for seeing real analog art in person, I' have had my paintings available online for quite a while in the spirit that something is far better than nothing. Along these lines, I think it is great that I can now offer third declension facsimiles for very little effort on my part. As these prints are not a signed and numbered edition, they may have dubious value beyond decorative purposes. Accordingly, I opted for the lowest pricing charge, starting at $20, to make my images affordable to anyone who wants their own humble copies on fine art paper. I hope this works out and I'll be honored to be displayed in a few more homes and offices.

For those of you that do order, please send me a line and let me know how the quality is. While Saatchi should be handling customer satisfaction, I will cease to participate in the program if I hear they they are doing a bad job. Also, I have focused on presenting new work with the above exception. If you have any favorites or requests from the archive, let me know and I'll make it available for printing .

Francis Bacon

2011-06-19T19:39:00.003-04:00

Francis Bacon, Study for Head of George Dyer, 1967

I recall reading an article a couple of years back during the time of the big traveling Francis Bacon retrospective. In it, a bunch of art stars were invited to comment on how Francis Bacon influenced their work. I was really quite dismayed at one contemporary figurative artist, who paints distorted figures in variety of intense colors, who saw no connection between at all between Bacon's work and her own. She never really looked at Francis Bacon. While is certainty within the realm of possibility that a contemporary artist can be ignorant of such a big twentieth century figure, I don't think that anyone working with the figure today hasn't been touched by his influence, either subconsciously, or through second or even third generation sources. Influence travels freely across the history of figuration, and Bacon quoted freely by many contemporary artists. Yet the issue at hand is why do I like Bacon's paintings?

Many of Bacon's paintings are horrific. They have this tremendous, dark, looming presence. While some may not go for his imagery, every painter should seriously consider and respect artwork that can evoke something from the viewer. While I may not aim for overt horror in my own work, I do strive to create a sense of presence, and this phenomena is difficult to describe without sounding a little kooky. For some, figures seem alive, but even non-image abstractions can facilitate a sensation of their being through color or scale. The painting becomes a physical encounter with the viewer that cannot be simply translated as an image; you have to be there. In the capacity of experience, Bacon continues to act as justification for making singular, private, work in digital age.

Official Site of the State of Francis Bacon

Bacon Wikipedia Article

Dark 2

2011-05-16T16:21:00.000-04:00

This my second dark little portrait on linen, 10 x 8 inches.

Studio, Twice Open

2011-05-07T18:07:00.000-04:00

Friday night my studio building had a very well-attended open studio event as part of the monthly art walk. The crowd might be explained by the sunny weather that draws Mainers back out in the Spring. We also only have a couple of events like this a year, so some town aficionados know if I door is open that they'd better stop by this rare event. Maybe the sweet sound of live accordion music pulled them up the stairs. I posted some photos of the evening over on the Facebook page. In any case, I am usually exhausted after but I was on the move bright and early to play host to another event sponsored by the Portland Museum of Art today.

The symposium, "Art On-Site: Studio Practice in 21st-Century Art," began at 10. Joe Fig, author of the book Inside the Painter's Studio, opened the day with an entertaining talk about his work and his decade of interviewing some of the most established figures in contemporary painting practice. After lunch, I had a nice flow of attendees from 1-5pm who stopped by as part of a tour of four artist studio sites in downtown Portland. I had some great conversations and it always great to meet more people seeking to learn a bit more about art. Thanks to everyone who stopped by both days asking so many thoughtful questions.

Dark Visage

2011-05-01T19:05:00.003-04:00

I really don't subscribe to one-day paintings, but this one came quite a long way in four hours. It's rather small, 10x8 inches, and I was enjoying the softness afforded by the wet paint. The features are borrowed from a sculpture bust I studied in the Musee d'Orsay. The color, hair, and clothing have been invented and the gesture altered. I have been toying with the idea appropriating sculptural forms for a little while now, reanimating them and casting them into roles in my little dramas. This also may be the darkest painting to date, perhaps even a little darker than the photo.

Raven, Coyote

2011-04-29T22:14:00.015-04:00

Spent the morning at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. This was only my second trip there, though it was a bit sleepier than I remembered. The sun was so bright it was difficult to see some of the birds from behind their cages. Not the best for taking references photos but an enjoyable walk all the same.

Squirrel, Redder

2011-04-21T18:46:00.000-04:00

This is the latest image of this one as it is nearing the home stretch. The squirrel is quite a bit more saturated and leaves and branches added for a little depth and context. Notice the difference?

UNE Pics

2011-04-19T15:54:00.001-04:00

Here's a few images from last week's opening at the University of New England's Art Gallery. The show was packed, inside and out, with both art and artists. It's up until July 20 in case you've missed it. Thanks to curator Nancy Davidson for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful exhibition.

Shirt Change

2011-04-14T21:59:00.001-04:00

Changed the color on the body/shirt on this one once again, with the latest version shown on the right. I feel like I'm about ready to call this one quits but, then again, you never know. A link to the previous version is here.

Parmigianino

2011-04-07T13:31:00.002-04:00

I attribute my current and abundant love of violet to one painting, "Virgin Mary with Baby and the Saints Margaret, Girolamo and Petronio." I had the privilege of seeing it as part on an undergraduate research trip to Italy quite a while back. There were several things that struck me about it, and that have stayed with me through the years. First, it is rarely reproduced and I stumbled across it for the first time in person. The figures are elegant and beautifully modeled, but Saint Margaret is most exquisitely rendered in the foreground right. My mind was blown by the amount of violet in her cheek, which I recall being in delicate contoured in slightly raised ribbons of paint. I had never seen so much violet used in flesh before. A little unnatural, but oh so brilliant! Another curiosity of the painting was that the circular halos of some of the figures (I can't recall exactly which or how many) were incised deeply into the panel itself, and then painted over. This, in addition to the violet, remains invisible on the reproduction on the museum's website, which I liberally color-adjusted here to jive more with my memories.

Parmigianino, most commonly known for his very conspicuous "Madonna of the Long Neck" was one of the of the Mannerist era following the Renaissance. For generations of art history, this period was viewed as a fall from the naturalism of the high Renaissance of Raphael and Leonardo to a more artificial mode of painting where artists looked to other art and artists as reference. Followed by the Protestant Reformation, and the austere realist paintings produced by Baroque artists in reaction, the Mannerist era was viewed by many as a bit of a puzzle, a decadent blip in the march of four centuries of realism before Modernism.

More on Parmigianino:
Bologna National Museum
Wikipedia
Web Gallery of Art

Yawn (Clay 2)

2011-04-02T16:58:00.001-04:00

Here's another imagined clay sketch, of someone yawning. I was told in some feedback about the previous scuplture that these little busts seem to be quite large on the photos so I included a pencil this time for scale.

Nightwatching

2011-03-16T14:07:00.001-04:00

Two more steps past the very quick sketch. Quite a few ideas rattling about on where this one will go.

Influences

2011-03-11T15:44:00.000-05:00

A common feature on many an artist's blog is the shout-out to other artists, alive or historical. It's been a pretty great temptation to get on my soap box and share, but I've resisted it so far. I wanted to keep the focus narrow and about personal process. After a couple of years doing this though, my studio floundering has been tough to keep interesting day to day. So, after some musing, what could not be more personal than mentioning artists who have influenced my own work, views, and perceptions?

Some artists like to imagine themselves born from the head of Zeus like Athena, fully formed and ready to roll, but its a bit disingenuous. A big part of what an educated artist thinks about in the studio is how their own work fits into the wider context of contemporary art and art history. For a figurative artist in particular, thousands of years of humans depicting themselves is never far behind. The canon is quoted, played with, reinvented by every generation. There are works of art that have affected me deeply. Some I have learned techniques from, some whose images come to mind as I make my own.

My latest series, which I have been labeling the "Kracow Cycle," accordingly quotes history, indirectly through influence, and directly through allusion. I described it flippantly to another artist as "Lady with Ermine" filtered through Picasso's rose period. I had been painting so many blue-violet paintings in the Nocturnes, that a switch two shifts over on the Newton color wheel, to red-violet, was significant. The style, subject matter, context, has almost nothing to do with Picasso, other than the simple idea of a dominant palette shift. As far as the Lady... which I do quote directly, I'll have to leave that to the forthcoming artist statement. A Picasso-Leonardo fusion may be a useful label, but really only scratches the surface of whats going. Influences are rarely that superficial, or clear in the studio or the mind. It's like isolating bits in a blender after the cocktail is made.

If this sounds complicated, I have only been speaking in reference to "fine art." Sculpture, photography, theater, dance, film are in the cultured mix. Not to be snobbish, television, magazines, comic books, and video games have also warped my brain more than juts a little. How has travel affected me? Nature, a specific tree? I also have a strong memory for faces.... It would be ridiculous, if not altogether self-obsessed, to sort it all out. So, to keep things simple, I start off with some specific paintings I really love, things I want to share, shout-out. And for lack of a better word, I'll tag it "influences."

Darker, More Saturated

2011-03-09T18:04:00.001-05:00

After a few months judgment, this one was far too light. Of course, I spent the last two steps lightening it to bring out volume, but the atmosphere was all but gone. As the shadows get more saturated, it's really hard to see any color in the "black" areas of this digital image but, trust me, hues are quite visible in person. The surface is a lot richer as well, but a there's a little ways to go before I can let this one go.

New Coat of Paint

2011-03-07T12:18:00.000-05:00

You might recognize this one from a few days ago. A full coat of paint and its rather different.

Reworked (Owl)

2011-03-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

Small to big changes from previous in terms of composition and color. Defined a window, and then warmer tones took over the violet that was dominate before. The surface on figure was almost completely reworked.

Poor Edward

2011-03-04T15:17:00.000-05:00

Another portrait start, based on Indanthrone blue.

Down the Rabbit Hole

2011-03-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

I've been making some rather big changes on a few of the fictional portraits that have been lying around. Although I could have left well enough alone on this one from its previous state, I had envisioned defining a bit more of the space to place it in an interior and to divide the picture plane. I loved the broken, expressive arm in the earlier stage as well, but I didn't want it to be an issue. It may be time for a shirt as well. (On the guy, not the rabbit.) With the old painting unraveling, a new adventure begins. Its more complicated, but far more interesting for me to work through.

Fresh Starts

2011-02-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

An alternative title for the post could be "all about nothing" as I dare post three rudimentary starts in the name of process. The first two are tiny by my standards, 10 x8 inches, and the last is another Kracow-size 20 x 24. Far from nothing, settling on the color for is everything when I work in my nocturne-method of finding a particular violet to evoke mood before stumbling about to place the protagonist. I had a more concrete vision for the third, so I dove right in sinopia-style, drawing to mark the canvas before I left for the night. It doesn't get more mysterious than the first stage, so I'll re-post them with the second stage as each develops.

Clay Sketch

2011-02-23T14:55:00.001-05:00

All the Kracow paintings are still in the works nearing the finishing stage, which means they are hanging on my walls until something truly bothering demands my attention. The changes are so incremental that I've decided that they would be completely boring as blog posts, except for those who enjoy playing "Where's Waldo" scoping for changes. It seems all the progress-excitement I can offer comes from those early stages of painting where something dramatic occurs every few hours. So, I've started a new cycle of canvases that are still that white or blue field stage that should provide something of interest soon.

For a little change, I spent a couple of hours sketching in clay yesterday and snapped some blurry photos for you. As with most of the work in the nocturnes, I just made him up, or mushed the clay around until the character started to evolve. Although I've yet to work from models, I wouldn't be surprised if this little fellow gets used in the development of a painting someday. In art, any method that sparks the imagination is fair game.

There and Back, Again

2011-02-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

I've been off the blog for quite some time now. Last post, I was reporting highlights from New York's November gallery and museum offerings. Today, I am back in Portland after another five days in Manhattan and have little to offer in way of shows seen as I was spending most of my time in the Hilton at 53rd and 6th Avenue at the 2011 College Art Association conference. For those of you who might not be teaching art at the college level, this conference, most commonly referred to as "CAA," is a yearly 4-day conference packed with discussion panels and formal presentations offered across a wide range of topics in art. For Art Historians, it is but one of many international venues where the most current research in the field is presented. For educators, CAA is also the largest annual opportunity for employers and job-seekers to meet. So, concurrent with tens of ballrooms booked in a constant barrage of scholarly topics, you have hundreds of candidates interviewing in rapid succession at tables, in booths, and even in rooms at the hotel. Although many colleges do not use CAA to screen applicants, enough do to make the trip worthwhile for candidates with prearranged interviews. I count myself lucky to have been busy this go round. With not much time to see art, I did make time to visit with friends over some great meals. Two memorable first experiences: authentic Sichuan in New Jersey and riding on top of the double-decker Megabus from Boston. Though the view on my ride back on Bolt yesterday was less dramatic, the winter landscapes were incredible and left me hungry for the studio.

Eastern Michigan Show

2011-02-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

Though the show "Figurative Work" at Easter Michigan University is coming down soon, I thought I'd give a quick link to a nice photo album of images from the show that was posted up on the EMU Art Galleries Facebook page. It's especially nice to see all the great work that was present from the exhibition since I was unable to attend. Thanks to the staff for the fine job in documenting.

Nara, Currin, Messerschmidt

2010-11-27T23:45:00.012-05:00

Met up with a good friend today and made our first stop Yoshitomo Nara at the Asia Society. "Nobody's fool" is a charming three-floor exhibition of installation, sculpture, painting, and drawing. Though I have a slight distaste for most Neopop, I was struck by the utter sincerity and completeness of Nara's vision as well as the excellent craft of his paintings. After Nara, we made a quick stop by the Frick to see an excellent exhibition of drawings by Goya and Ribera. The following stop was to see John Currin's latest paintings on the sixth floor of the Gagosian franchise on Madison Avenue. As always, Currin perplexes by mixing impeccable craft with his snide vision of beauty and ugliness. The ultimate goal for the day was Messerschmidt show of portrait busts at the Neue Galerie. (Here I'll defer to the NYT review.) I've chased these heads all over Europe and this was a rare chance to see so many in one place. The surprise treat of the day was the concurrent display of postcards from the Wiener Werkstatte. Thanks to A. for the great day!

Josef Divéky

Wiener Werkstätte Postcard 494

1911

Herr Hampelmann/Mr. Jumping-Jack
Chromolithograph

Dozier, Anselm, Brice

2010-11-26T23:53:00.018-05:00

Yesterday I learned that a good many New Yorkers eat Thanksgiving dinner in Chinatown. (Not a surprise really, since a good many people can be found doing anything in this city at any given moment.) Today while much of America (NYC included) was hunting for bargains, I spent the better part of the day trolling Chesea for art. (Doorbuster sale: 5 million off your first five installations!) Right away I stumbled across a Maine favorite, Dozier Bell, and her show of show of tiny, gray-- and very romantic--landscape drawings. Romanticism seemed to a dominant theme with a major exhibition of Anselm Kiefer just down the block At a previous exhibition at Gagosian, he left the space quite open to see paintings, with enormous, but low-lying sculptures of rolling concrete and steel. Kiefer's current show seems to be a return to form using his most familiar shattered glass and lead. The space was quite packed with vertical sculptures, paintings, and people. Mood and expectation greatly affects the viewing of art and I was in a rare good mood that put me quite of tune with Kiefer's relentless and somber reflection on the Holocaust. The equally cheerful crowds did not help as one couple posed for snapshots next to the photos of saluting Nazis and offered their own rendition. I made a pledge to return and went on to something more lyrical in the form of show of recent large works by Brice Marden. Though his current paintings are almost as gray as Kiefer's, the looping movement of Marden's lines was more in accord with my energy. The chief distraction here was in the form of the artist himself, who was standing in the center of the gallery inspecting his show at the time. While I have utmost respect for Marden as a living legend, I really had nothing to pester him about. So I let Brice be and moved on to the next venue. The timing of Kim Dorland's work in Mike Weiss Gallery seems to make it a parody of Kieffer. It is a smaller carnival of painting and sculpture, featuring dripping landscapes of white aspen and taxidermy wolf covered in purple paint. I had to chuckle at the bravura incompetence of his technique with off bits of yarn tacked on here and there and 3-inch deck screws used for emphasis, it is gleefully bad . There was lots more to see from photo-installations with cracking Tesla coils, to simple drawings, with only a few galleries on holiday. Too much to relate and I'll have no doubt more the next day.

Kim Dorland
Lavender Wolf, 2010
Oil, acrylic, screws and yarn on taxidermy
44 x 66 x 21 inches

Clemente, Krauss, Grand Central

2010-11-24T23:36:00.001-05:00

Arrived in Manhattan late last night. The Fung-Wah bus took forever to get in allowing me enough time to get pretty engrossed in The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. ..so much so that I had a late start on the day reading and then stopping for a haircut to trim off some of the Portland shag. (Scruffy won't do in NYC.) Galleries seemed to be closing early for the holiday but I did make it to Mary Boone before closing and caught their current exhibition of works on paper by Francesco Clemente. While I've never been a huge fan of his work, the small works on paper were particularly nice and quite complex, as was some of the larger watercolors.

After, I took a leisurely walk to Grand Central, reminiscing about my old commute to Madison and 59th and enjoying the holiday lights along the way.

Przasnysz Photos

2010-10-25T13:18:00.001-04:00

Some photos from the Przasnysz opening in Poland, courtesy of Stefan Niedzialkowski, featuring installation views and gallery staff present at the October 2 opening.

Road Trip Augusta

2010-10-02T07:45:00.001-04:00

Took a little trip up to Augusta yesterday to see the current show at UMA's Danforth Gallery, "Drawings, Marks, Traces, and Imprints." It's small but potent survey of drawing and prints of ten artists, including work by my dear friend and artist-colleague Ling-Wen Tsai. At noon, Ling-wen gave a lecture on the history of her work in relation to drawing. Though I've been following her work for years, I am continuously amazed at the depth, scope, and breadth of her work--mainly all the projects and side projects I've missed! It was great to catch up and to see the show.

Hello Przasnysz!

2010-09-25T10:28:00.013-04:00

I just received digital copies of the show announcements from my upcoming show in Przasnysz, Poland, small town two hours outside Warsaw. This solo exhibition features works on paper from the Night Fictions series. The show opens October 2, 2010 and will be on display for a month in the Gallery "Na Pietrze" in the Joseph Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski Center of Culture before traveling to other venues throughout Poland. I am very honored to have been offered this opportunity, and by the very nice work done on the poster announcement above and the card announcement below. My thanks to gallery director Krzysztof Gadomski and Stefan Niedzialkowski who first introduced us. A big thanks as well to the gallery staff! Dziękuję bardzo!

(In case your Polish is a bit rusty, the announcement is a pretty direct translation of the bio listed on my website.)

The Eurasian Red Squirrel

2010-09-24T12:00:00.007-04:00

As the majority of my readership is American, you may have though the squirrel from yesterday's update to be more than a little odd. As half of the imagery in this series is invented, you may have thought it to be a bit of artistic invention or fantasy. While I agree that there's nothing wrong with an artist taking license by painting a gray squirrel red and adding some devil ears for good measure, I am writing to assure you that this squirrel is very real and indigenous throughout much of Eurasia and, in particular, Poland. Among other things, the Kracow cycle is about the bridge between Poland and and other cultures, with the portrait from acting as a vehicle for this projected fantasy. A traveler to another country is first struck by all the differences, and I was always particularity interested in the new varieties of small animals in the cites and woods. The ubiquitous crow, the gray squirrel, both are absent. Magpies, Jackdaws, Rooks, and this curious little red fellow abound. Like it's American cousin, the reds are very fond of nuts and can be quite friendly if you have a pocket full of almonds.

Secret Corner Revealed

2010-09-23T12:52:00.000-04:00

This may come as a bit of a shocker to those who have been following this painting and have been pretty happy with it's progress without any animal interaction. I mentioned that I had an idea of what was going on all the while, now revealed to be a red squirrel. I was reticent to show the earlier stage (smaller image) as the block-in reminded me of one of Bill Murray's explosive sculptures from Caddyshack. It's more recognizable now, and I also had to adjust the position of the arm to seem less cramped and integrate the composition. Next step is to integrate the colors and start bringing this one in for a landing.

The Portrait-with-an-Owl Racket

2010-09-10T20:58:00.002-04:00

I was cruising through Kittery today, totally unaware that it's annual Septemberfest is in full swing. Other than the carnival atmosphere, I was attracted to this huge sign advertising "Birds of Prey." I am so glad I stopped. It turned out to be "The Raptor Project, " an amazingly large traveling bird show with 15-20 birds of prey just hanging out for your inspection, an artist's paradise! For $10 you can have your picture taken with an owl, which I must admit is much more affordable than one of my paintings. The birds are all rescue animals, and all proceeds go to supporting the project. They are only in town for two more days, but will back for Yarmouth Seaside Festival in October. Given that I was caught without my good camera, I may have to be some sort of bird groupie and catch these guys next time they are around.

Bring on the Green

2010-09-09T11:30:00.000-04:00

Here's the latest from the Beata/Abi addition to the series. I can be very rough and intuitive, but occasionally I do stop and make some conscious risks. I began the painting with violets and ochres instead of conventional flesh tones, and kept warming things up with pinks on top of that. The painting was needing highlights, and my first impulse was to keep going with a lighter pink in the highlight for naturalistic skin tones. I paused and thought, "what's the fun in that?" With the colors left on my palette, I mixed up cool mint which would add maximum contrast, hoping this would bring out the volume, and it worked. Though I've discovered this color logic over the years on my own, it is essentially a very old idea stemming from Venetian painting, where color, not value, is relied upon to create the illusion of volume. Reflecting further, I am struck by a little more irony and contradiction built into this series: I began by riffing off of Leonardo's imagery, which is essentially Florentine and his methods are Florentine, relying chiefly on value. By all accounts, though, my methods are direct and Venetian. It's a conceptual flaw, but I think I'll just keep going regardless.

Color and Relative Perception

2010-08-30T18:38:00.002-04:00

It is common knowledge to artist that "there's no accounting for taste," or that viewing art is already a highly subjective affair. Two people from the same location, economic status, education, gender, and so forth will often have quite different opinions about the same work of art. There's no reason to assume that they may be seeing them under a different perceptual bias, or is there? The New York Times recently posted an article that postulates that our native language may be a default lens through which we perceive reality. (Here's a link to the full article.) On page five, Guy Deutscher writes:

In what other ways might the language we speak influence our experience of the world? Recently, it has been demonstrated in a series of ingenious experiments that we even perceive colors through the lens of our mother tongue. There are radical variations in the way languages carve up the spectrum of visible light; for example, green and blue are distinct colors in English but are considered shades of the same color in many languages. And it turns out that the colors that our language routinely obliges us to treat as distinct can refine our purely visual sensitivity to certain color differences in reality, so that our brains are trained to exaggerate the distance between shades of color if these have different names in our language. As strange as it may sound, our experience of a Chagall painting actually depends to some extent on whether our language has a word for blue.

At first, this claim seems to have shocking implications for a visual artist.   (Exaggerating colors could be perilous for a realist!) Earlier this year, James Gurney stated in his blog that we already have a an exaggerated awareness of warm colors due to historical availability of certain pigments, but he does not go so far as to suggest color is at all relative person to person. Like most artists, he would insist that perception of color is fixed and quite knowable, and demonstratively reproducible. The thought that someone from a different culture could see your painting in a radically different way, as the article states, is a mind-bending hypothesis. I am reminded of the classic sophomoric discussion of the uncertainty of shared perception which wonders if we all see the same color "blue" that we call blue. We learn from perceptual psychologists that many women actually have a biological difference that leads to a richer perception of blue. (Jameson) (I'll try not to worry how tetrachromats see Chagall.)

Deutscher's implication is vocabulary provides the foundation for experience, and we certainly know vocabulary can be expanded. In my experience as a teacher, I can certainly attest that a student beginning sees color very differently than trained painter.   For example, a student sees a green bell pepper in a still life and tries to paint it. For them, green equals green right? They grab the first green tube of paint and approximate the shape and size of the pepper. The result is a green blob.   If they have a background drawing, they may try to make it look round by mixing in some black or white to make it lighter or darker, but the base color is still green, and the result will still look nothing like the pepper. An experienced painter may attempt the same thing, and will use a variety of colors: blue, green, yellow, perhaps even red!   More specifically, the painter will construct a painting from specific pigments.   For the professional, blue is a conversational simplification; a painter talks in terms of Indigo, Phathalocyanine, Prussian blue, Ultramarine. No doubt, someone trained in art restoration would have an even larger vocabulary of pigments no longer commonly used.   Yet, I return to the question: do I see the same pepper as the student? Is the inability to create a visual facsimile a gap between the eye and mind, or the mind in hand? Is failure a flaw of vocabulary, a lack of articulation, or a lack of facility and experience? A trained student can learn the names of pigments, identify them on a test, and still take many years to learn how those pigments may be applied.   When I take students to a museum, do we see the same Chagall painting?   Most certainly, we do not. Much as "you cannot step twice into the same river," I never see a painting exactly the same way as I look at it in different stages of my life.   Obviously, the reasons are too far to count, ranging from my development as an artist to what I ate for lunch that day. Yet, as I have matured as an artist, I do feel that not only my vocabulary, but my vision itself has expanded. I see a very different pepper than most people. This brings me to the question of sophistication, or connoisseurship.

Let's presume that the ability to produce a veristic representation has little to so with perception.   After all, one can be a lover of art, an aficionado, with no training.   Furthermore, the field of Art History produces experts who will describe a painting using very different words than an artist. A skilled writer with a mastery of language, but no visual arts training, will invent phrases and wording more different still. A writer knows the specificity of colors by the context of place, events, narrative purpose.   More radical still, color evokes emotion in the layman, the untrained, someone who simply "knows what they like." For an elitist, there is no doubt which person's perception is more valid.   (I'll have to leave my worries on elitism for another time.) For today, I am only concerned that there are so many different perceptual versions of the same painting out there in the world, so many different experiences of the same thing.

Who will be able to see my paintings as I see them or as I want them to be viewed? From a point of true relativity, some viewers could get close, but I have to ultimately answer that that no one will. That thought alone could drive an artist to despair. Back to the what-I-had-for-lunch example, my own views shift widely on my own work day by day,or even down to the second in the studio. During the act of painting I may feel something is brilliant only to look again and see another flaw, and another, until the whole situation seems hopeless. This leads me to conclude that an artist, in fact, may be least qualified to recognize their own work due to this total lack of perspective. (A crazy as it may sound, I do feel like any painting I create over time or rework is a collaboration between many past and future selves. Again, another topic.) For the self-critical, it's a blessing that others may appreciate our work more than we do.

Writing Exercise

2010-08-27T09:01:00.002-04:00

I've sent my entry off to another national exhibition call. It had some interesting parameters, asking for art that was in some manner inspired by the written word. As I find much writing inspiring, the premise wasn't much of a stretch. One art form often inspires another. Where would contemporary painting be without cinema, cinema without painting or the novel. I owe my last reserves of energy to music for sure. Anyways, the challenging (and ironic) part is that juror asked for a statement under 100 words. That's tough, practically a Twitter confinement for a loquacious bloke. Here's what I sent:

“…a thaw set in. The air became plaint. The beeches sweated. The branches gave up their heavy burdens of snow. “

In his book “Dog Years,” Gunter Grass uses a snowfall its subsequent thaw to echo the metamorphosis the story’s central character. In Grimm’s fairy tales, the woods and winter are familiar backdrops. These stories have never been far from my mind as I’ve ventured out through snow and night and found inspiration for creating my own images. In my current series of work, I’ve adapted this context explored by the German Romantics to the contemporary Maine landscape. In this setting, I write my own fictions through images. In them, the viewer reads the story of our protagonists, senses wide, straining against the night and the snow-covered stillness.

For those of you geeky enough to word-count me, I went way over. With the little quote at the top, I hit 128. I always aim at the spirit of the idea, so I figure that's close enough. Regardless of whether the work gets accepted, it was useful exercise. I can let a painting go, but artist statements never seem to be finished. They evolve constantly as the artwork shifts context and is shown in a new time or different venue.

Abi 2, Beata 5

2010-08-26T07:36:00.002-04:00

The sketchy start from Monday is now revealed: Beata and Abi, again! Beata insisted that they be included in the new series so who I am to knock two beautiful (and free) models. I've tired of self-portraits but I enjoy repeat portraits of my favorite models. By my quick count, I think this makes Abi's second appearance in a painting, and Beata's fifth. Here's to many more!

New Coat

2010-08-24T11:34:00.001-04:00

As promised, more snow, but a tad bit warmer with an identifiable coat now. Subtle layers added to the face as well.

Another One

2010-08-23T11:31:00.001-04:00

Another fresh start for the Kracow cycle. Stay tuned for updates.

Spots

2010-08-20T10:00:00.002-04:00

Pretty subtle changes on this one, beefing up the form on the figure and the owl. More spots and feathers on the owl. A few more adjustments and this one might be very close to finished.

The Lost Posts

2010-08-18T10:56:00.000-04:00

While I've been in and out of the studio for the last month trying to dodge the heat, I have been obviously not blogging. As the weather cools and head clears, I'll pledge to be somewhat more regular. You might remember this one, still pretty bleak but a tree has been added for company, and the suggestion of a cabin on the horizon, so all is not lost. A nice winter coat is the next addition with some more snow....

Youth

2010-06-28T09:23:00.000-04:00

Speaking of detail, this one's appearance seems dramatically different with the latest additions. (Eyes and eyebrows tend to do that.) As more of the actual model is referenced, her features seem to convey more youth and earnestness. The animal's arrival is long overdue. If you could only see what she and I are seeing...

The Devil's In...(Goat 6,7)

2010-06-27T11:36:00.004-04:00

When painting a goat, one is aware of it's more sinister connotations, but I'm not really thinking of that devil. I'm thinking of the old saying, the "Devil's in the details," which usually refers to some small, missed, detail that can wreck an undertaking. In finishing a painting, I find myself more and more concerned about the detail that gets added, of overworking. The unwanted added detail amounts to the same effect as the detail overlooked, failure, but my meaning is an inversion, a reminder to avoid the trap of detail. Distraction helps. Luckily, I've been either stretching or priming a canvas each day, so new paintings will join the cycle as these near completion.

Here are the two latest sessions, with the right showing the current state. More light has been built up over the face and arm, adding more solidity to the form. A little youthful roundness has left, the eyes are more tranquil with information added.

Titles

2010-06-17T11:18:00.001-04:00

I've made a lot fuss over the cat in this painting, so when it comes to a title, I had thought of simply calling it "Millie." I tend towards pretty dry titles, in the Modernist vain of "Sleep no. 1" and "Sleep no.6. Such work makes sense in a title formal series and leaves the viewer to wrestle with looking at the painting without an easy lifeline. After all, shouldn't the painting to do the work without having to being completed with a title? I'm also keen on a little bit of mystery. People are infinitely complex and a good portrait just scratches the surface, telling you little more than the sitter's name. For observed portraits it seems pretentious to make up something literary, so I usually go with something obvious like "Beata and Sadie." Things are getting a little stranger with the narrative paintings, however, and stranger still when I'm inventing the sitter. There's a history I'm digging through, someone I'm discovering, and a new working title comes to mind: "Leonora's Venetian Tendencies." I'll live with it for a while and see if it sticks.

Rough, Smooth

2010-06-15T10:23:00.003-04:00

Between the relative ideas of rough and smooth, I would say my surfaces tend more towards the rough, but only if you compared them with a highly varnished panel. (A Dutch still life comes to mind.) With regards to the image, most people would still see the image as smooth, thinking of the roundness of the form, even when looking at at painting with a lot of impasto, and general crusty paint. (Monet's haystacks, as an example.) I tend to let surfaces mostly dry and allow opaque layers to show one over another over many sessions. This latest layer had a lot of direct painting into a wet surface and it felt uncharacteristically smooth. (Previous layers.) With this series, I am really trying to keep the surfaces as thin for the very practical idea of getting them to Poland.

4,5 Enlargement

2010-06-12T13:21:00.000-04:00

The goat had been bothering me. When I was laying it out, it seemed overwhelming to paint it in to adult scale. In a series featuring relatively small animals, a real goat seemed huge. For weeks, I left it under the premise that it was a baby goat. The goat actually owned by the woman in the portrait is much, much larger, but if I rarely worry about an exact human likeness, why fret over a goat? It's the painting that matters-- its truth trumps nature. Well, it was a cute goat, and if unblemished beauty has a rough time making the cut in one of my paintings, cuteness doesn't stand a chance. It's still not to actual scale, but I'm satisfied with the compromise--currently.

Enter: Millie

2010-06-09T22:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my mother and sister for responding so quickly to my plea for a cat reference. And the winner is-- mom's Millie from Nashville! So, I've got her blocked in after only one false start. Reminds me that it's been too long since I painted a cat--eight years! Yikes, but since I put three in that painting, I still average one cat every two years. On a side note, I'm not sure what it implies when I've made up the human in the painting and then referenced an actual animal, who's almost a relative. (Step cat?)

Design

2010-06-08T09:23:00.007-04:00

Another new one; I snapped a few pictures during the drawing process so you could see me working with an idea. Something I tell young students, a painting isn't started until all the white (in this case, pink) is covered. I mainly tell them this to give them something very simple to achieve in the first class to break through the intimidation of starting a painting. I don't ask for quality, just coverage.

I often use a toned ground for the same purpose and to see value relationships more clearly, yet I become just as reluctant to see this new clean surface disappear. Drawing on canvas is so beautiful in itself that it could be tempting to just leave it as it is. When the ground is covered, that energy of a start does die a little, but it leads to a new, quieter, level of process.

That Monday Feeling

2010-06-07T09:32:00.000-04:00

I'm always quite excited to pull an abandoned painting out of the pile, so if it a less-than joyous image, it is a joyous occasion. Not content to simply have five canvas portraits in the works, I had to pull out a panel to have a nocturne to tinker with.

Sunday to Sunday

2010-06-06T11:28:00.001-04:00

Here's what happens in a week to over the start I shared last Sunday. I liked the initial composition enough not to push the figure around so much as I tend to do with my usual starts, so the composition and image look pretty much the same. What is harder to notice is the layers being built over what was a very thin oil sketch that makes it into a painting. My type of painting is almost low relief; building the surface and projecting the forms feels like making sculpture. Still, the image is evolving in minor ways, it is a bit more male now from its somewhat androgynous start, and the owl is certainly fluffier.

Goat 3,4

2010-06-03T17:35:00.000-04:00

The changes are getting more subtle in the middle stages, might be a bit boring from a new image perspective, but this is where all the work gets done. To keep it just a little interesting, here are different sessions that I have not posted.

For Want of a Cat

2010-06-02T11:01:00.000-04:00

When I last left off with this painting, what I'd always imagined to be a small cat was starting to look a lot like a Gila Monster. I was actually imagining it in closer proximity to the figure's neck. With all the nurturing going on the rabbit painting, I started pushing this painting in a different direction. I'm now imagining a more the cat far more upright and confrontational, and a bit larger, with its mouth open. Alas, I've hit the limits of my imagination since I lack a cat. Oh yes, and that troublesome window has been removed and we now find ourselves outside?

Rabbit

2010-06-01T13:47:00.001-04:00

The rabbit has arrived! Somewhere, someone might recognize their bunny, if they can see through all the violet. (I nicked it's head from a photo on the internet.) As you could see in the previous post on this one, the figure has been wholly imagined, but I'm starting to recognize a bit of self-portrait. Even though I haven't painted myself from life in years, I think most artists use themselves as the default for idealized forms.

Mime Five

2010-05-31T15:10:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking about the Mimes Studio especially of late because they are just finishing fours days of workshops and presentations. Very sorry to miss it, and I've been wishing them the best. Sounds like it is going very well. To commemorate, I've begun work on a new mime drawing. If you're counting, the fourth one is still rolled up somewhere waiting to be picked up. Better images may be a long time coming, so this composite will have to give you an idea of what the straight-on looks like:

Night Owl

2010-05-30T18:27:00.007-04:00

Another new one, with almost a fully realized narrative at the start. Here's to good dreams for tonight!

Layer2

2010-05-29T16:15:00.001-04:00

Added an opaque layer over last Sunday's post.

Three Stages

2010-05-28T11:48:00.000-04:00

A good night last night: a full moon, the town was full of great restaurant smells. Studio wasn't bad either. Finally getting some traction on one of the portraits I was lost on. It changed so much, that I have to show an old image, or most would probably not recognize it. Two nights ago, I muddled it over quite a bit and stopped at the second image, which is new. The figure and head was a little too large, and somehow was reminding me of Leonardo' head of a warrior. I want the smaller portraits in this series to be clearly less than life sized, so I reworked it as you see today in the larger image. I've always been imagining a small rabbit, and realized an association with Joseph Beuy's dead hare performance could be drawn. I'm okay with that.

Fatigue

2010-05-27T12:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's experiment in rising before dawn, and getting to the studio by 5am was interesting, if not repeatable today. It allowed me to successfully dodge the heat before the studio boiled in the afternoon. The dog and I especially enjoyed the rich night smells on the walk there. It's a bit cooler today, so I am risking the afternoon. Pictures:before and after last session.

Notebooks Unbound

2010-05-25T15:31:00.001-04:00

I've got a confession to make: I have never completed a notebook, journal, or sketchbook. I have come very close, closest perhaps with a sketch journal I started in grad school. As an experiment in non-linear thinking, I would collect ideas organized by subject on different pages rather than by date. It started out with a lot of profound headings, followed by free-associative riffs. As I lived with this book, the poor writing and bad drawings irritated me. I started whiting out embarrassing bits, editing them over and recreating the book like I would a painting. Eventually the pages became so fat the book had difficulty closing. When it was finally abandoned, this notebook too had blank pages. (Punctuation?) While I can accept the book now as a snapshot of a 23-year old mind, I will never divulge the secret location where I buried it. No one has to ever read it.

I dislike the binding of notebooks. Aside from locking information into a progressive order, it also binds the good with the bad; nothing can be discarded. I write down a lot of thoughts: ideas, rants, manifestos, bad poetry, great starts to short stories that I'll never finish. If they were written down in a notebook, I would rarely look at them again. My preference now is to write things down on scraps of paper and take them with me. My sketches also roam free: I take them out of their bindings, pin them up on the walls, and place them in boxes and portfolios. I tend to show my writing a little less respect than my drawings. I think of Milan Kundera's definition of Graphomania from 1979, which all but predicts blogging, and places my abundance of words in perspective. However, I am reluctant to throw something handwritten away. As a compromise, I've been tearing up the notes for the last year and saving some of the benign bits in boxes. This past Friday, I started recycling the unfinished notebooks, pasting pages along with the bits together looking at the text as mark and collage.

The dog doesn't care if I am doing this or painting. One act is just as strange looking to her as another, and both products bore her equally. While it will be interesting to see if either of these "drawings" can be brought to any end, I don't imagine showing them in a gallery setting. Phrases pop out like in William Burrough's cut-ups, but no narrative is intended either. They are simply a way of loosening up the mind, an oddity of my studio process. I certainly find them more fun to keep around than old notebooks so far. If only I could do this to the blog in a few years....

Sunday

2010-05-24T10:31:00.001-04:00

Latest start: Using references for this one, a bit of a relief. 20x24 inches. I'm thinking about one hand or two, maybe a bit of foliage if outdoors.

As I sat down to consider my efforts last night, I made a sketch from the painting. I work most things out through the paint, but I do like to draw from my paintings as a way of thinking. Erasure and contour allow me to project multiple ideas at once, so good luck deciphering.

Mush

2010-05-22T21:53:00.000-04:00

This a nocturne that has been kicking around for a bit. For the longest time I kept it around as a toned ground-- I was in love with the swoosh of violet across the surface. While there is a little bit left in the upper left, it has been well covered over. The figure got a new head today. I'm starting to think of the figures like clay beings, something I might mush around while keeping the core mass. The new portraits are also inching along. I really cringe at the second for now.

Dog Days

2010-05-21T13:18:00.000-04:00

If you happen to think what an artist does in his studio is suspicious, imagine how my dog feels....
My way of saying I'm on still on the trail of new paintings with progress pictures to come soon. Trying to get as much done before the metaphoric dog days of summer really begins.

Tree

2010-04-16T20:40:00.001-04:00

There is this fantastic tree that I walk past nearly every day on my way home from the studio and I'm always meaning to sketch or photograph. I had my camera with me today with a fixed lens so that I couldn't get the whole thing in the shot. Then I remembered photo stitch software. I was reminded of this last weekend when Gary was taking photographs of my larger work. He actually took several pictures from each one using a level and a special tripod, and then made a composite image from each at massive resolutions. While mine is hardly as precise as the work he was doing, I was surprised at how well this study came out with so little effort. Definitely will be good enough to inspire a painting, and the time to take it was now as it's been unseasonably warm. Thought today felt like the last breath of winter, it wont' be long before it will have all these pesky green leaves sprouting and lose all of its fierce naked majesty.

Kracow Cycle

2010-04-15T23:56:00.001-04:00

The new work has been under wraps for some time. I've been ruminating for sure, and some ideas have bubbled up through pushing paint around. Art historians should get an immediate deja-vu-but-not-quite from this image and I'll say no more, for now. (Hell, I don't know if she's holding a cat or a lemur.) The masking tape is another story as well.

Mime Drawings

2010-04-12T19:05:00.001-04:00

Among other images updated yesterday were high resolution shots of from the Studio Mimow series. You can follow the link to those as well as my 2007 artist statement about the drawings. I'm eager to get started on more drawings to flesh out the series, maybe another three for this summer....

Better Images

2010-04-11T21:01:00.001-04:00

The February show went up and came down and a month passed before I could take the big paintings to get properly photographed. (Only took a U-Haul and four flights of stairs x6.) Well, it was well worth it, so much so that I uploaded all of the paintings after I got home tonight in spite of the fatigue. Many thanks to Gary Lowell at Chasing the Sun Photography for his usual patience and fine eye for detail. The color is much improved on The Woods, Other, and all of the small linen work. Stop by the portfolio site to see the updates.

Evite for Monmouth opening

2010-04-07T18:34:00.000-04:00

Everyone is invited! Though, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the opening.

Life Drawings

2010-03-27T11:01:00.001-04:00

I conducted a demo in my Representational Drawing class Friday, drawing alongside my students. We've been working with the figure for half the semester and I've been encouraging them to push out in different areas, media, and explore independent investigations with the figure. My personal bias with drawings lately tends to be towards line. My painting is very tonal and color-based, so I like the variety. To discuss limitations, I took a planar/contour approach for the first hour pose. Like my paintings, I let forms swell and contract and eventually clarify with more decisive lines rather than erase. The second pose was also an hour, but I broke it into two drawings: the first a loose, gestural, contour, and the second was my attempt at a 30 minute value drawing with hatching.

Maine's 60 Most Collectable Artists

2010-03-25T15:37:00.001-04:00

I received my copy of April's Maine Home+Design magazine yesterday. This year's art issue focuses on sixty of Maine's "Most Collectible Artists." I'm thrilled to be listed among a wide range of emerging to established artists. Thanks to Susan Grisanti Kelley and the staff at "Maine Home+Design" for this fantastic feature supporting Maine arts!

Broken Umbrellas, Illuminated Manuscripts

2010-03-18T22:30:00.000-04:00

"Broken umbrellas like dead birds." This Waits line was on my tongue last week on my brief trip to New York. I left rain for more rain and on Saturday's walk back from Chelsea I passed at least twenty black umbrellas scattered about Seventh Avenue in under three blocks.   Memorable, but lead to relapse of the nasty cold I caught in February's monsoon which bloomed nicely into Bronchitis. That, combined, with leaving my computer behind is to blame for this retro-post.

The main goal of the trip was to see the display of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, a 15th century illuminated manuscript that is on display at the Morgan Library. Normally rare books are on display two pages at a time, if at all, but a rare showing of many of the pages is currently on view. At the end of the show, the book will be rebound and probably stashed away in the vault.   Included in the show is a touchable complete reproduction of the entire book, which will continue to be for sale in the gift shop, untouchable, for a the low low price of $15,000. Though I object that only the truly rich have that sort of pocket change for a glorified Kinkos (well, it did have gold leaf, and was probably made by hand...) I perhaps learned the most by having the simulated experience of flipping through the entire book of hours, page by page.

I also caught a completing show at the Met, "The Art of Illumination: The Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry." Not to be outdone, the Met's show was larger in scope, spread out across an area roughly four times the size of the Morgan show, with many pages displayed front and back in vertical glass cases.   The shows were equally incredible opportunities to see two equally rare and famous books. The effect of looking at all of those miniatures was exhausting. I can normally stay all day in a museum, but after two hours in the Met, I had literally absorbed a hundred incredibly rich paintings.

Both the Met and the Morgan museums also had concurrent drawing exhibits.    I'm a big fan of Bronzino, so the show of his drawings was a draw at the Met.   It's always fantastic to see drawings in person; reproductions rarely come close, and of course I always think of that docent at the Albertina who assured me otherwise. Though it's great to live in the immediacy of the hand of the master, Bronzino's drawings were clearly never intended to be shown and do not begin to compare to the complexity of his finished paintings.   There were scraps, sketches, and many drawings were covered by grids used by assistants as to enlarge for his murals. The show was small, three rooms, and really was more of an interesting curiosity.   It was the Morgan this time that trumped the Met with its drawing show, "Rome after Raphael." Though less cohesive in theme, the Morgan's show was of simply better drawings, even by lesser known artists.

Of course, I did my fair share of galleries.   I try to always stop at the Forum, and was surprised by the crustiness of Bernardo Siciliano's paintings. Also, the grid he must use to transfer his images from photographs was very evident at times, which I wonder if he views as a conceptual part of his paintings. Ross Bleckner at Mary Boone was nearly sold out, with each painting at 125-150K each. Some of the paintings had a really nice presence through scale and the blur. In Chelsea, I mostly got very, very, wet so I did not see a lot but I'm usually not impressed by shows with two-three sculptures in the big white box. There were a few more at Gagosian, but the space was pretty cold. Last, I confess I skipped the Whitney Biennial again.   The trip was just too short, and I used the time to linger near the Courbet paintings in the Met.

Cheers to the fast Fung-Wah, and here's a link to a great online resource of the Morgan Library, Corsair. Photo dedicated to Stefan and Ella.

Still Kicking

2010-03-01T19:42:00.000-05:00

Of course the last day of "Night Fictions." was last Wednesday. (I would have taken pictures of me moving paintings back to my studio, but the deluge made things a bit dicey.) If any of you missed my show last month at Susan Maasch Fine Art, or just wanted another dose, I still have a few paintings up in the new group show that opens this Wednesday at the gallery. It's concurrent with an exhibition of prints by Max Beckmann at SMFA, which is concurrent with the "Modernism and Masquerade: Max Beckmann" exhibition opening at the Portland Museum of Art on March 13. I've long been a student of Beckmann's painting, so it's a thrill to have any association. (Maybe some museum-goers will wander over?) Also, kudos to SMFA's new website update. It looks great, and I'm happy to be represented!

Skunk vs Mink

2010-02-20T17:15:00.001-05:00

Few things can make me as happy as driving home with a trunk full of borrowed taxidermy. You can imagine how ecstatic I am to have these beauties to study and work from for a whole week. It's all thanks to a golden tip I received from two fellow artists about a local loan program for educators. I'll take them to the studio tomorrow and see what my Wednesday class thinks. They'll probably be revolted. Just goes to show what a peach Beata is, letting me keep them on the dinner table overnight.

SMFA Reception

2010-02-07T11:26:00.002-05:00

While the rest of the nation has been getting so much snow, the streets of Portland are unseasonably clear. Accordingly, last Friday's art walk was unseasonably well-attended for February. The opening reception at Susan Maasch Fine Arts had a steady stream of people all night and it looked like the town was still in full swing at closing. Thanks to all my friends, students, and colleagues who stopped by to show their support.

Grounds

2010-02-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

I've been preparing new canvases this week for paintings that can travel to Poland later this summer. Right now, I'm imagining removing them from the stretchers when finished, and restretching them once there, so I'll need a flexible ground. For the archivists out there, I'm using one coat of Golden GAC 100 to seal the linen, lightly sanding the surface after that dries to promote better adhesion between layers, followed by some Golden acrylic gesso, another light sanding, and then one final layer of acrylic gesso. For the winter series, I liked to start on a ground that was slightly blue, and I've altered it further here with magenta. It's not riveting, but it's relaxing and a bit exciting imagining all the new paintings to follow.

Sightings Continued: Arabica

2010-02-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

Another place I've been asked about lately is Arabica. Yes, I do have two paintings up there as well this month, featured in partnership with Susan Maasch Fine Art. (Which makes three venues if you've been counting this month.) Unlike my conceptual exhibition through the window of Otto's, you can actually see two paintings from the "Night Fictions" series that didn't make it into the solo show on Congress street. (Four venues, if you count conceptual exhibtions.) Like Ottos, Arabica gets an immense amount of Portland traffic and is a hub of town activity. Arabica is open on Monday and Tuesday, so you can check out the preview on the off days that you are not camping out in SMFA proper.

Prime Location

2010-01-30T16:19:00.001-05:00

Okay, one of the arguably best things to happen to downtown Portland, Maine last year (other than the new SMFA location) was the opening of Otto's Pizza. Once you've been an inhabitant of the New York City area, you occasionally pine for it's many world-class museums and galleries, a good bagel, and a really good slice of pizza! Okay, in Portland we have a rocking gallery scene for our size and some good places to grab a whole pie, but we were really missing a place to grab that perfect slice to go. Enter Otto and I feel like we've really gone up a notch. Unique favorites like bacon and mashed-potato pizza literally stop traffic. Now, I'd like to think that people need art as much as pizza, but I'm not that naive. I'd be willing to wager that everyone in town has learned where Otto is, but might not have a clue where all the galleries are located. So for those of you who don't get out that much, the Joseph Begnaud solo show, "Night Fictions" will be right across the street for the month of February. Next time you're grabbing a slice, stroll over and check it out. Or if you must be lazy, if you can just sit in the window, squint, and admire my Blue Macaw painting. It's right under the second "O."

SMFA Photos

2010-01-24T18:17:00.001-05:00

Some photos of the exhibition for my friends and family far away. For Portlanders, a preview of what you can stroll in and see this Wednesday!

Occasional Sightings

2010-01-22T18:22:00.004-05:00

I've been asked a few times this week about the portrait that's hanging in the window of Space Gallery. It's mine alright--- a self-portrait that I submitted it to their current exhibition, "Free For All 2." You may also notice it's the painting I've been using for my profile picture online for sites like Facebook and Blogger. I imagined that this salon-style survey of Portland artists would be this huge mishmash of colliding images, much like the internet, so I entered the painting under the new title "ID." A chimera can always use another head, I figured, and it would be my own little conceptual appropriation of the show. Rather than my head peeking out of a sea of pictures, the curators went ahead and hung the painting in the front window---and nicely, I might add: plenty of white space and not at all the side-by-side chaos that I imagined. I've only peeked in to the gallery, but it all looks like a fun exhibit showing a wide range of Portland's talent. It's up until February 18th, so it seems I will be part of dueling windows on Congress street for almost a month.

Life Imitates Art

2010-01-20T19:26:00.002-05:00

So, it' not that surprising that it would snow in Maine for January. The plan of the Winter exhibition was to have the subject matter parallel reality. I was beginning to worry, but we got a fresh blanketing on Monday and Tuesday. It makes for a much more pleasant walk to work; the snow dampens sound, fewer people are out, and everything just seems at peace.

SMFA Installation

2010-01-17T13:33:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed watching the highly skilled team at Susan Maasch Fine Art go to work on Saturday. It's an honor to have so many talented people carefully consider everything down to the finest detail. As you can see, it was a hive of activity so I tried to stay out of their way. With the exception of snapping pictures of them working, that is.... Thanks again to Susan Maasch, Matthew Rosler, and all of the great team at Susan Maasch Fine Art for all of their hard work.

Drop-Off: SMFA

2010-01-16T15:49:00.003-05:00

I finished dropping off paintings for the solo show at Susan Maasch Fine Art! It's only two blocks from my studio building, but it becomes quite a hike after a few rounds up and down the four flights of stairs. I took the panels yesterday and finished with the larger work today. I really should have had a photographer documenting the process. It really feels like a performance or procession walking five foot paintings down Congress street. Extremely nice weather today, but the occasional crosswind had me thinking it was not so wise to continuing carrying them all myself down the street. Many thanks to Jesse for helping me schlep the last big ones down to the gallery today.

The Other

2010-01-12T20:01:00.002-05:00

So, this is the other one, 99.35% complete. As you can see, I was always intending to bring the human at least into some competition with the dog, though the Papillon is designed to steal the show--- or at least the foreground.

Fat Man

2010-01-11T23:46:00.022-05:00

I present the aforementioned big boy, 97% complete. This may be the first post where I have shown this head on. I brought in my wide angle lens, special, just so I could have room to take the shot. (Hence the fish-eye distortion. A little bit of glare for you too.) It's very similar to the smaller painting, which was not a study but a variation, shown in the previous post. The difference in scale and impact, other than lighting, makes them very different animals all together.

Out of the Woods

2010-01-07T18:59:00.023-05:00

Okay, hard to believe I dropped off the blog for over a month. As you may have guessed, I was working like crazy for the show opening at the end of this month! Took my usual break to go to Nashville for the holidays and barely made it after some delay. (Remember that storm that shut down the East coast, yep, that was the day of my original flight.) So, my visit was too short and then I was back working. Things are coming together, loose ends really, and I really think the show will be great. Stay tuned and I should have lots of updates. Little linen painting here is a variation on the big boy.

Night Fictions, statement

2009-12-03T12:26:00.001-05:00

"She had been walking a long while. Her senses were wide, straining against the night and the snow-covered stillness. As she walked, the air cooled her waking thoughts and her mind wandered..."

These paintings are fictions. If written, many of their stories could begin this way. In them, the viewer reads the story of our protagonists. Their mental states are alluded to by facial expression, gesture, and mark. The characters are as unaware of each other as they are of audience; each is lost in a world of the senses, absorbed within their own thoughts and emotions. Of course, we can see that their situations are remarkably parallel. There is a temptation to place the stories into sequence where there is none. Let me assure you that there was no preconception to be illustrated, no didactic intent. The stories are built out of the painting process itself. Paintings are an inefficient means of direct communication, or simply making an image.   They excel at oblique inference and reveal themselves slowly over time. Similar to writing fiction, I use painting as a participatory experience with the viewer, to pose questions without desiring an answer. Painting, writing, and viewing are all acts of discovery, of revelation.

Stare hard enough into the dark and you will begin to see things. What I see is guided by expectation, by my own nights of wandering in winter snow.   Thematically, the series speaks about longing, the love of being lost, the excitement and apprehension of what might be found in the dark. Winter, wilderness, night are all metaphors for the unknown, the Sublime. Our age of immediacy and information stokes a new longing for slowness, introspection, and experience beyond reason. A trip to Pompeii showed me that figures could gain meaning through half-existence, beauty through destruction. The Villa of Mysteries' decorative murals would be less curious if they were still intact. If the path to them were less steep, the climate less hot, the city less remote, the experience of witnessing them in person may be less valued. In this sense, the subject of my work could also be seen as a literal reflection of pilgrimage, or the arduous journey as an end unto itself.

My process reflects my belief that art is richer when discovered rather than imposed. I use a variety of sources: I've carried a tripod in the snow, photographed and sketched; yet, memory is my primary aid. I open my eyes wide at night and try to retain the experience. In the studio, these elements are pieced together, yet I rarely begin with a specific image in mind. Each painting begins with a vague mood that is brought forth by color.   As forms begin to emerge and take shape, I try to name and articulate the image. The light is theatrical, a device to allow us to witness what transpires. Some of the figures are then paired with a reference but many are completely invented. Detail ebbs and flows; if a figure becomes too explicit or banal, I'll work back into it to find something more. I work wet into wet paint, wet over dry, scrape and rework until the surface achieves its own interest for me beyond an image.

Peek into the Woods

2009-11-17T11:15:00.001-05:00

Here's a look at what I'm working on lately for the February show. It's 58x87 inches, and will most likely stay a landscape. After reviewing everything that's likely to go in, it seems like I will have a pure landscape in every medium. Pretty radical for me, since I identify as being a "figurative painter." The landscapes act as punctuation for the other narratives, creating a space for rest. They could be the view of the characters themselves, but they also act as point of entry for the viewer to become the protagonist.

Solo Date Set

2009-11-14T18:44:00.001-05:00

The date for the SMFA opening is set for Friday, February 5th, 2010. Note it's a month later than the earliest projection, but we're all but guaranteed that my fictions will match reality. So mark your calenders, and place your snow boots by the door.

Had a very good studio visit with Susan Maasch today. It seems the hardest decision to make for February is what paintings to include. Having too many to choose from is a good place to be. Tentative estimates include 6 or seven framed works on paper, 6 linen panels, 4-6 large panels, and probably both of the very large canvases. This week we'll be selecting images for the show announcements by Friday. If you'd like to be on my mailing list, send me an email (leaving in blog comments field is not recommended) and I'll mail you one personally.

Minor Adjustments

2009-11-12T17:00:00.003-05:00

I've shown these two before, and the changes may not be obvious past this point. They are nearly finished, barring perhaps some more minor adjustments.

Two Starts

2009-11-10T16:47:00.002-05:00

Here's a couple more of the linen panels in the works. There's no figure in the bottom panel yet.