Between The Ears

ihet – may/june 2018 – issue #233

In the pantheon of quotes by well know artists, Auguste Rodin’s “You must always work” is one of my favorites. It’s not a warning, promise or path to enlightenment, just a simple directive . . . do what you do and don’t stop. So while I’m not in the studio, I collect the ephemera that influences my work and at the moment, during an early summer road trip, it’s taking pictures of Utah Juniper and rock formations on the Shonto Plateau. Inkjet printed black and white, soaked with water, sun-dried, re-photographed and printed. They come out wrinkled and blurred, with the quality of graphite drawings. Taped above where I paint, they’re ideal studies for the canvasses. The studio is crowded with work in various stages of consideration, impatiently awaiting forward movement rather than sideways dithering. These two ended up next to each other and while I’m not ready to call them a pair, for now . . . an entertaining prospect.

Meanwhile, an apt metaphor for these recent studio efforts, a scene constructed from out-the-window snapshots. Upside down, around and around. Two views-Monument Valley, Arizona.

To wrap it up, A cinematic reminiscence of the valley taken from the porch of Golding’s Trading Post, framed within four Peabody Mine loading towers, Kayenta Arizona.
Thanks for reading.

Charles

Pasted Together In Falling Definitions

ihet – spring 2018 – issue 232

Gladiolas are a favorite flower and this was an exceptionally beautiful bunch, and while past prime, the richness of its color is still amazing. No they aren’t from my garden but a perfect segue . . . to being in the garden. My spring garden project this year was growing one of my botanical nemeses, wild flowers from seed. I lavished my attentions on garden endeavors providing a welcome distraction from the fits and starts that momentarily defined my studio efforts. This one took its bloody sweet time and having survived my relentless attacks, earned naming. Long Shores Meddling Beast #181After all that, back to something a little less chaotic, some space to breath. It’s inspired by the memory of a tranquil afternoon, backpacking in the Grand Canyon, watching the sun set on The Howlands Butte. The butte is named after two brothers killed in the canyon by Shivwits Indians in 1869. I’d started work on this canvas over a year ago then promptly ignored it. Now its mood fit mine and so back to work. Figures pirouette crimson in a misty field of ghostly white . When I set a Trap for You in an Appropriate Floating Reflection #151 .Pieces. I’ve a list of criteria guiding how and when I cut and reassemble, and #151 checked all the boxes. Take a photo of the painting. Print several copies. Cut into pieces. Paste together. Photograph. Print. This is what I got. A six inch by seven inch image, and a ledge to jump from.Landing here. Sideways on top. More pieces. Pieces of then. Pieces of now. This amalgamation driving the work forward. A synthesis of experiences molded by the passage of time and finding the words to name it. At the moment it’s just canvas #7. Thirty by thirty inches. In development.The process. Something to use. This time it’s pictures of the twisted, bent and knotted. Shot in close and tight, capturing the language of circumstance with a story to tell. And this is where they end up. Taped to the studio painting wall. A methodology authenticating belief. Images manipulated, themes extracted, geometries applied, perceptions tuned to desires needs.

Thanks for reading.

Charles

Flowers going wild .

Back to Black and Other Reflections

ihet – january 2018 – issue 231

Bang, bang, bang . . . twenty seventeen . . . it’s done and gone and I’m thinking a quick review is just the ticket. So this is it . . . a year of paintings and an brief inside look at how the Monuments Series of sculptures came to be.

I like the idea of mixing it up, compare and contrast. The paintings are shown in pairs, partnered up by virtue of the same inexact science that helps drive my creative process. The first image is of a new painting The Sleepwalking Beast (#31), all other paintings are from this year’s posts.

The Monuments have dominated my recent creative output. Beginning as a pleasant byproduct of organizational efforts, they’ve assumed a life of their own. This second grouping of photographs show the early development of the work, from creative play to the first primitive vignette. The subsequent photographs are reproductions of the background scenery taken from the finished work. A note on my photographic efforts. I relentlessly document my world in pictures. Besides a simple record of time and energy, these images end up being source material for my work, including the original urban images for the monuments. The landscape image is taken from a paint by number from my collection and the list is from my notebooks. Theses images have been digitally manipulated for this work.

For a closer look at The Monuments click here. For more on the paintings please go to ithappenseverytuesday.com click on Archives. Here you’ll find a list of posts from the past years, select a month and year and enjoy.