Boxes.

Mac n' cheese is new. The sugar one, i think, is finally finished.

Signs.

These signs are finally coming together. These are my very first wood projects and i can not believe how much time it is taking to prepare them. Since the cuts don't all line up perfect i used modeling paste to kind of even them out. Then gesso. Then Sanding. They are a little goopy and weird, but i think that will be okay. I really cant wait to start painting. God damn, how i miss really painting. I have some ideas for canvas paintings that will go with these.

Im not sure what I will paint on the left one, but the right one will be these images. The red will go on one side and the black and white on the other. I'm not sure how i will handle the edges.

Sign

Here is one of the two sings i cut and started to assemble. (with Rachel's help) I will cut pieces and attach them to the edges then and gesso and paint. It should keep me busy for quite a while. It took over three hours to cut and drill two of these. It is roughly 40" tall. I also did my all red shopping trip from the painting that will go on this. Sketches to come soon.

Bisquick

Here is the backside. I think its done now. (aside from resin)

RitzBox

Okay, new box today. I think this one is working a lot better than the others. I collage pieces from an illustrated cookbook, some stenciling and some painting and I'm pretty happy. I still haven't bought the resin, but that come soon.

cookie fries

I bought a cookie and it came in this rad french fry bag. So i painted cookies and fries on it... and thats my creative process.

Signs.

Because I'm in Portland Or this week, I'm working outside of the studio. I took advantage of being home to photograph some of the signs in the city, that I both love and recognize as home. Then I worked on some sketches to take to the wood shop this weekend.

This is the kind of visual information I will paint of the signs. However i am going to make an all red shopping trip, as I want all name brand items as well as fresh red produce. I decided to do this by color because while working on the yellow series i became interested in the ways yellow is used in marketing. I just think it will be fun to zero in on another color for a minute. The color version will be on one side and and a black and white version will be on the opposite. I did something similar to this with the yellow, only on two canvases. I intend for the signs to hang perpendicular to the wall.

YELLOW

I've been working on this, 30"x40", Trash Monkey while waiting on other stuff to dry. I'm trying to be looser on this one, than I was on all the previous Yellow. He is developing slow, but this is whats up for now.

More on The Boxes

After corresponding with Jennie this week, i can no longer ignore the fact that if i am going to be working on three-dimensional structures than i need to take advantage of all sides. So, good thing i haven't yet bought the resin. So here is whats going on with the Sugar box and the Bisquick Box

Then, i am also working on the coffee pot. This is what i have so far. I am going to do an image transfer of coffee beans, to put in the circle, that in its past life was full of Trader Joe's Cheerios. I am going to make one with color and one in the usual black and white and see what works out. I'm not sure yet what will be on the rest of this one, maybe some stenciling. This his is what i have so far.

These four will conclude the coffee. I have a Ritz Cracker box that i want to paint grommet cheese on and a Kraft macaroni and cheese that i want to put crackers on... Cheese and Crackers. I know I'm funny right...no? I'll also add some collage elements, old cook book pages and so forth as well as some gold leaf, because nothing says classy like mac n' cheese.

New Discovery and Inspiration.

I just found this artist, through a blog i fallow. He is producing work with the idea of image over load in our society, something that is of interest to me and is becoming a focus in my art.

Check it out, if you like.

Image overload by David Williams

Exciting News

Today I spent some time drinking tea, talking art and flipping through images in the studio with artist, Tom Judd. I will officially start working as his assistant Wednesday. He has a so much knowledge and experience to pass onto me, both in the studio and on the business side of art. We seemed to connect really well, I think his art seems like the old man version of my art. Plus he was very complimentary of my work! Im so excited, more doors opening to let me in :)

www.tomjuddart.com

This Week In the Studio

For now I believe these three boxes are done, aside from the resin. Im working on a forth, a coffee pot. I think that they all have issues. Like the coffee grinder is too dark for the image transfers to read will, i should have picked something else for that layer. Im fairly satisfied with the other two, but im still working out this idea as a whole. Its a lot of imagery for for such a small surface, but that is part of my interest in working with on boxes, the sensory over load of all the products in the grocery store. I hate grocery shopping.

Today at MoMA

I just returned from New York, where I experienced all that is MoMA for the first time. And what an experience it was. I knew what I should expect to see, and I knew what i was looking forward to seeing: Rosenquiest, Jasper Johns, Warhol, Lichtenstein... some of whom I have seen the work of in other institutions. I wasn't however, expecting to be so completely blown away by f-111 because I have spent so much time studying this work and because a certain painter told be how dis appointing Rosenquiest is in real life. I disagree entirely. MoMAs instillation is absolutely brilliant as well. The piece in hung so it completely surrounds you on all four walls of a small room. The experience was similar to that of walking into a Richard Serra piece. (I never before considered comparing those two artists, before now.) My mind was so completely blown, I returned to it four times in this one visit and can't wait to see it again. I was also delighted to see his studies, to compare to how they transform. Maybe because i am so familiar with f-111, they where almost more interesting.

Other surprises where how much i enjoyed Monet, his colors are so luscious i could put them in my mouth. This is an artist that i know and respect, but wanted to eat a painting is a different level of appreciation that i did not have before today.

It is so important to see these this work in real life. I always love to get up close to a Lichtenstein and see the imperfections and appearance of the artists hand that is missed in reproductions.

I also learned of the artist, Stuart Davis, who predated Pop Art by some 30 years but dealt with the exact same imagery. I look forward to looking further into him.



Well... this is the piece i saw, and after googeling him, it seems his other work is not much like this one.