It's been a very long time since I posted, but I wanted to share some of what I have been up to in my studio over the last six months.
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| Home 1: Self, 22"x30", acrylic on paper |
In the past I have
posted about the web imagery that has taken over my work, and I am still intrigued by it and with it. But it has changed and grown since I first began exploring it six years ago in my journal. I now consider them
webs of connection, and the works of art are all about my connection to the people, places, and things around me. The web is a map of the invisible forces that bind everything together, and in my latest series, I have been using maps as a basis of my work. In
Home 1 (above), I googled the addresses of 5 or 6 places that I have called home, and projected them onto the 22"x30" mixed media paper. I then traced the roads and highways with pencil to create the basis of the web, and then I used acrylic paint to create the web. In
Home 2 (below), I did the same thing with my wife.
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| Home 2: Joanne, 22"x30", acrylic on paper |
The next logical step was to combine the two home paintings creating a work that represents our marriage. I projected both paintings onto a new piece of paper and used purple acrylic paint. I used Golden High Flow Acrylic paint in Montana empty paint markers to apply the paint. This gave me much more control and finer detail. This resulted in a very dense web. I really like the organic, yet systematic feel of these paintings.
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| Home 3: Marriage, 22"x30", acrylic on paper |
I next wanted to create work that had a sense on depth to it, so I began using parts of the three different pieces to create layers. By cropping sections of the original paintings, I came up with separate, individual sections that I then used for each layer. I did this for both Home 4 and Home 5. I really like the depth that this creates, and it allows me to play with endless possibilities.
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| Home 4, 11"x14", acrylic on paper |
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| Home 5, 11"x14", acrylic on paper |
In my latest paintings, I am once again projecting the images onto the canvas and tracing them to create richly layered pieces. I've changed up my color scheme, and I am really enjoying the pink/red/purple combo. I have switched exclusively to using the Montana markers as a means of applying the Golden High Flow Acrylic, and I find that it works extremely well on canvas.
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| Home 6, 12"x12", acrylic on canvas |
I've done a lot of other web images using random lines and webs, but I feel using the maps really imbues this work with a deeper meaning. The fact that all of these paintings are linked together, makes it a such a cohesive body of work, and a strong line of inquiry.
I would love to do some commission pieces for people, as a way to visualize their connection to the places they have called home. If you're interested in setting up a commission, please
contact me.