Barn Art -- A New Series

I recently started a series of painting/sculptures for the outside of the converted barn I live in. I've never seen anyone else making anything like these so I figure they must be original. I'm not sure why I started or even what I'm doing. I have no plans or ideas, I'm just trying to follow the inspiration wherever it takes me with out any judgement. I think they are fun, I like how they alter the look and impact of my building. They change it from a drab structure to something that is different and unexpected. I like that. I can't tell whether they are good or bad, or whether anyone else likes them, and I really don't care. For me, it is just enough that they are what they are.

Below is the first one that I made in early August. It was made with all the cut-out circles I had left over from Box of Courage I made for the Exposed show in Stowe, VT back in June. I haven't titled any of these pieces yet and I'm not sure of the measurements either, I think not knowing these things is part of the fun. The front door this one hangs over is about 44" wide though, so this piece must be around 55" inches wide.

Untitled

exterior latex paint and 5/8" underlayment plywood

39" x 58" x 3"

August 2013

This one is more of a pure painting but it is done on the old hay bale door I pulled off the barn about nine years ago. I rediscovered it recently as I was cleaning up my stacks of stored lumber. When I found it I was entranced by the peeling alligator pattern of the old lead paint so I took off whatever wanted to be removed and used the door as a found canvas. The stripes are painted along the strips of tongue and groove boards used to make it so the colors just emphasize the pattern that already exist. I did measure this one and was surprise how large it is.

 Untitled

exterior latex paint and stains on old hay bale barn door

48" x 45"

August 2013

This piece was made with some scrap pieces of 3/4" underlayment plywood that I repurposed after 8 years of service as snow/ice protection for a couple of A/C compressors. When I finished it, I really didn't know what to think but it has grown on me, a lot. It has inspired me to make a similar style piece for indoor walls.

Untitled

exterior latex paint and stains on 3/4" underlayment plywood

55 x 54" x 2"

September 2013

These last three pieces were made with a repurposed sculpture I made last year for Art Hop. The old piece inspired this year's Box of Courage but I didn't feel it was nearly as good and I no longer had the desire to display it so I cut it up into geometric shards with no idea how they would be reassembled, only the assumption that something good would come of it. I was really surprised and very pleased with the results. In fact, I didn't have any idea how figurative this first piece was until a couple of days after I assembled it. To me, it looks like, if there were such a thing, one of Caesar's armored hippopotamus soldiers practicing yoga. Very funny. 

Untitled

exterior latex paint and stains on 5/8" underlayment plywood

63" x 45" x 2"

September 2013

I hadn't realized the figurative nature of this one until I had finished either. To me, it seems something like a Picasso portrait.

Untitled

exterior latex paint and stains on 5/8" underlayment plywood

61" x 37" x 2"

September 2013

And this last one seems more purely abstract but has a figurative element as well. I think that tension of being right on the edge of a figure makes it more interesting.

Untitled

exterior latex paint and stains on 5/8" underlayment plywood

45" x 31" x 2"

September 2013

Here is a view of the overall structure. The small window on the right side is where the original hay door was located.

At this point I either need to buy another barn or start selling these things because, unfortunately, I've run out of exterior wall space and I still have some pieces I'd like to finish. Marketing something like this can be problematic though. By nature, it isn't something that would hang on a gallery wall and aside from telling friends about it on Facebook, how do you get the word out? Maybe I should start a blog!!!